The Vision
"I was first introduced to theatre by my grandmother, the late Bishop Mary H. King. In 1980, she purchased a typewriter, enrolled in a typing class at Richard Bland College, and wrote a gospel stage play titled “The Harvest is Plentiful, But the Laborers are Few.” She directed the production performed at Zion Apostolic Church (now Zion Apostolic Christian Memorial Temple) when the late Reverend Christian was pastor. Years later, she began the Fruits of the Spirit of God’s Church, where she revived the production. I was 9 years old when I played a little old lady with a wig, glasses, and housedress--the congregation was rolling! I realized then that I could move people.
"What I didn’t know then was that the telling of our stories is an art that can move people to laughter, to tears, to empathy, to action. The art of storytelling, through theatre and film, commands us to address the human condition by first seeing ourselves in all our complexities. My grandmother’s desire to heal people's spirits through theatre is my God given gift to share with the world. I want to tell the untold stories, family stories, community stories, faith-filled trials and triumph stories, back-alley taboo stories, the stories of ordinary people in extraordinary situations doing amazing things—kind of stories.
"In these economic times, it is my obligation and my honor to contribute to the revitalization of my hometown. I aim to do this the best way I know how. That is through my talent, my resources, my passion, and, above all, my FAITH. I see no better place to launch my filmmaking career than in Petersburg, "The 'Burg", VA, and no better time than right now.
May you be Blessed,
Bakesta S. King