MANSFIELD — Helen Black may be a playwright and director, but she’s taking her cues from the Holy Spirit.
The Mansfield resident has written and produced 10 plays in the last 12 years, each with a spiritual message and a little bit of music.
Black’s latest production, “Everybody Doing Their Own Thing,” will be presented as a dinner theater performance on Sept. 10 at the Mid Ohio Conference Center. Doors open at 6:15, the show starts at 7 p.m.
The show stars local actors John K. Dorsey, Obesida Cooke, Lucille Franklin, Lodia Liz Vaughn, Emma Jones, Danielle K. Parks, Teresa Wilkins and Mechelle Hairston.
Each actor plays a member of the Tator family. First names like “Irri” and “Hesi” offer a glimpse into each character’s personality and struggles.
“Everybody’s name is basically what they are,” said Parks, who plays “Emma” Tator.
Parks said her character is an aspiring talk show host who copies the styles of those who inspire her, from Wendy Williams to Oprah Winfrey.
Dorsey said his character, “Dick” Tator, is a stubborn control freak. The upcoming production is Dorsey’s third time acting in one of Black’s plays.
“I feel like her productions are very down-to-earth, relatable and at the same time, very comedic,” Dorsey said.
“While you will laugh, you’re also going to come away with a great moral story,” he said. “It’s going to make you think.”
Black described Everybody Doing Their Own Thing as a story of ordinary people, hurried and caught up in the busyness of life, who are called to reexamine their priorities.
She hopes the play will challenge audience members to do the same.
“Let’s just take a moment and focus on someone else,” she said. “Engage in your surroundings. What’s going on in my family? What’s going on in my community that I may be able to be of service? Just stop doing your thing for a second.”
“What is my relationship with God?” she added. “He’s coming back and He’s gonna do His thing. Are you ready for that?”
Tickets are $35 at the door. Dinner is included in the price of the ticket.
Proceeds will go to the scholarship fund of Black’s non-profit organization, Living Waters Restoration Center. A prize will be given away for the best-dressed audience member.
Parks, who has acted in several of Black’s plays, said the local dramatist uses her talent to make others’ lives better.
“Her organization that she does it for is to give scholarships to students,” she said. “It’s not like she’s working for nothing. She has a vision. She’s trying to bring that to fruition so everybody’s benefitting from it.”
Black, who is 69, had always been creative. But she didn’t discover that gift until later in life.
“I didn’t really realize that I had the writing skills until July of 2010,” she recalled. “I heard this voice inside that said, ‘You’re gifted to write songs and plays and movies and books.’ I hadn’t done anything, never written anything.”
A few months later, on October 20, the late Pastor Walter Jordan II called her. He said she had popped into his mind during prayer and asked if she’d received any messages from God.
Black told her pastor about the puzzling message, as well as her doubts.
“I said ‘Pastor Walt, I’ve never written a play. I don’t know what to do,'” she recalled.
Jordan didn’t see her lack of experience as a barrier. He told her to write a play for the church’s New Year’s Eve program and wouldn’t take no for an answer.
She was shocked when 26 of her fellow parishioners volunteered to be in the production.
It was the beginning of her time as a playwright, but it wasn’t the last time God surprised her.
Black wrote another play and felt God prompting her to rent out the biggest venue in Mansfield. She approached the Renaissance Theatre, but didn’t have the money to rent out the space.
Then a woman she knew made an unsolicited donation.
“I didn’t have a dime. Honest to God, I didn’t,” Black recalled. “This woman came up to me and she gave me 3,000 dollars.”
“She just comes up to me, gives me this money and says ‘I want to invest in you.'”
Since then, supporters have stepped up to help Black finance her plays.
“Every time I put on a play, they always bless me to do it,” she said.
When she’s not writing plays, Black enjoys volunteering, mentoring young people and participating in the North End Community Improvement Collaborative’s Elder Program.
Her community involvement is part of the three-fold directive she felt God give her 12 years ago — to meet people’s needs, to bring joy, and to share the message of God’s salvation with others.
“How can I tell them to come to Christ when they may be hungry or they’re going through something?” she said. “Meet them where they’re at, at their point of need, then I can say, ‘I know a God that can supply all that. But first, let me help you with what you need right now.'”
Bringing joy comes naturally to Black, whether it’s writing a witty one-liner in her plays or a sharing wisdom with those around her.
“I’m always thinking positive and always enjoying life because it’s like a vapor. It’s here and it’s gone,” she said.
“They call me Pollyanna. I can find some good in anybody.”
