Today is Saturday, February 11, 2012
Today is Saturday, February 11, 2012
Local writer and comedian Brian Copeland is scheduled to perform a matinee showing of his one-man show “Not a Genuine Black Man” on Sunday, April 25 in the Eagle Theatre.
After speaking at the school during Writers Week on the night of Tuesday, February 9, Copeland expressed interest in the program and returning to the school to perform his show. Fifty percent of the proceeds generated will be donated to the PTSA, which funds Writers Week.
“This is really very generous on his part,” said Debra Strichartz, Co-Chair of the Writers Week committee. “We really want to fill the auditorium with people from the community to take advantage of this opportunity.”
The hour-long show is open to students as well as others in the community. Student tickets are priced at $15 and adult tickets are $35. A $75 VIP package will also be offered, which includes an autographed hard back copy of his book “Not a Genuine Black Man” and admittance into a reception with Copeland after the show.
The PTSA plans on forming a bigger committee with students in order to help raise publicity for the event.
“They need help … communicating with the student body,” said junior Libby Strichartz, Co-President of the Juntos club. “They want us to really publicize, and we’ll be selling tickets and hanging up posters and just kind of making [the event] known on campus.”
Copeland’s show is based off of his experiences growing up as an African-American in the Bay Area suburbs of San Leandro in the 1970s. Then 99.99 percent white, according to www.briancopeland.com, San Leandro was “considered in the 1960s and 70s to be one of America’s most racist enclaves.”
A review by The New York Times said, “Copeland’s wit is the spoonful of sugar that helps his sad stories go down.”
”He performs multiple characters,” said English teacher Galen Rosenberg, also a member of the Writers Week committee. “He even acts out dialogue between different characters.”
The Writers Week committee hopes to publicize the show in hopes of a successful turnout.
“It’s a really popular show that plays all over the country,” Strichartz said. “We’re really lucky at LAHS.”
