MEET THE PRODUCER
A native son of the south, William was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Information Systems & Business Administration from Alabama State University. William moved to Los Angeles, California in the early eighties, where he was introduced to the performing arts through his local church, Greater Bethany Community Church. From the beginning, he was always aggressive, assertive and self-driven to get things done. These character traits came in handy as he launched his first production, “The High Life”. It ran for four years in the southern California theatre circuit. But theatre was not his only artistic endeavor. He later became involved in the music industry as a producer for industry names such as B Angie B, Lori Perry and Toni & Tami.
With encouragement from his sister, Dee, and support from a devoted family, William put his degree to work in the founding of an extremely successful mortgage company, but his artistic vision never died. In 2004, he decided to launch the first run of his masterpiece stage production “The Woman I Am Today” in a test market.
This run proved to be successful and exciting to those who witnessed it. This production launched the career of Demetria McKinney from “The House of Payne” when she was discovered by Tyler Perry after he saw her perform in William’s show! Also Nicci Gilbert from the 90’s hit group Brown Stone was a part of this first installment of this stage play, Mr. Perry’s Meet The Browns Stage play featured Nicci alongside Demetria. That show also starred Monifah, another 90’s diva who was discovered by the late great Heavy D and formerly a part of the TV One Reality Show R & B Divas, which was created by Nicci Gilbert.
In 2007, William worked to establish a fine dining soul food eatery in Stone Mountain, Georgia – the hugely successful and popular soul food eatery, Mamma Nem’s. Being a restaurant owner allowed him the opportunity to meet many of the great people who are, in part, responsible for his ability to launch productions and create music.
William moved backed to Montgomery in 2010 and is currently the Sole Proprietor of My Place Uptown…“I am gifted to produce anything through Christ who strengthens me, for without Him, nothing is possible and through Him all things are possible.” William is very proud of the stability of his businesses in Montgomery and equally excited to have a hand in helping employ and mentor young people in the area.
”The entire production is dedicated in loving memory of my number one fan, Novella Parks, my mom, who is no longer with me on this earth but always in my heart, and will be with me for the rest of my natural life. Momma, you are loved and missed everyday…
I would like to thank all of the talented people in the cast and crew who have made this experience a dream-come-true and my amazing team at My Place Uptown… Levi, Karen, James, Kevin, Gary, Marlo, Ken, Heather and my business sister and friend Chrys Thompson for always listening to me when I need to vent…
I had to save the best four for last… there would be no “Woman I Am Today” or woman I am tomorrow without Lori Perry who inspired the concept that allowed me to create these realistic stories from various real women in my life. Also the brilliant and talented Mahalia A. Jackson, for agreeing to vocally coach the production, provided script revisions and song creations, Maestro A.J. Hebrew for his musical genius as M.D. and the amazingly talented Derricius Breon for directing and choreographing this play. Finally, a huge thanks to all of the promoters who helped spread the word in Montgomery about the show.
Ladies and gentlemen I present to YOU the hit stage play “THE WOMAN I AM TODAY – a MUSICAL MASTERPIECE!”