photo by steed media service

Growing up in Marlboro, Ark., Towonda Kilpatrick says her parents had no role in raising her. So when she gave birth to daughter, Brooke, on Sept. 20, 1988, one thought was in the forefront of the proud mother's mind. "My mother didn't raise me," she says pointedly. "I thought, 'now I have the opportunity to be a better mother than my mother was.' "

Kilpatrick's rejection in her own childhhood coupled with disturbing stories about more neglected and abandoned children as relayed to her by her daughter, struck a chord in her heart. Those conversations culminated in the stage play Mama! I'm Your Child! The production is Kilpatrick's most personal work to date. Mama deals with issues of adolescence, drug abuse, sexuality and parental misdirection, and stars V-103's Wanda Smith and Dr. James "Butch" Rosser.

Often compared to Tyler Perry, Kilpatrick's art mirrors real-life issues and Mama promises to be no different. "The thing about Mama! I'm Your Child! is that you'll hear issues in there that every kid is going through," she says. "We are so busy, [and] caught up in our own worlds; we've got to take care of the house, we've got to pay the bills and our kids are caught up in things and they want out." - gavin philip godfrey

For ticket information, visit www.mamimyourchild.com.

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