As a child growing up, Don Reed found himself part of two polarizing worlds following his parents’ split. On one side lay his life with his mother, a practicing Jehovah’s Witness. However, he was introduced to a far different world when he moved in with his father and uncovered his dad’s true profession — that of a pimp.

Needless to say, the Oakland, Calif., native found the new environment jarring. “I was so naïve. I was the outsider’s outsider,” he recalls. “Leaving [a] straight-laced [environment] and being dipped into [the] player and hustler world — and trying to shoehorn myself into that world — was hard. [I tried], but [failed] miserably on a daily basis.”

Those experiences would eventually lead Reed to writing and starring in his one-man play titled, East 14th: True Tales of a Reluctant Player. Although Reed has built a career as a stand-up comedian and impersonator, he found it difficult to put his upbringing under the spotlight. “It was a bold jump to go ahead and tell it and I knew I was scared. I decided to do the show in 1999, but it took me until 2003 to actually write the thing because I didn’t know if I wanted to put it all out there,” recounts Reed.
Since making its debut, Reed’s tale of his unconventional upbringing has sparked talk of television and big screen spin-offs. More importantly, it’s given him the validation he was searching for back then. “The audience’s response has really been life-altering,” says Reed. “It’s just so authentic and so pure.” – ivory m. jones

For more information on where to catch Don Reed’s East 14th: True Tales of a Reluctant Player next, visit www.myspace.com/donreednow.

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