Alexandria Public Housing Residents Star in 'The Berg Diaries'

Michelle Robinson, a resident of the Hopkins-Tancil community in Old Town Alexandria is nervous. She’s been nervous all week.

She has stage fright.

Robinson is one of the many stars of “The Berg Diaries,” a play written and directed by Ruby Tucker Family Center Program Coordinator Jason Ellis.

“Working here with public housing residents is quite enlightening. You discover a lot of things and the dynamics of human relationships,” says Ellis, who has a performing arts background and holds a graduate degree in public administration.

His play, which will be performed by about 25 residents on Friday, “is reflective of a lot of the experiences of people who live in public housing. Everyone can find something in the production that’s near and dear to them.”

Ellis said he set out to dispel some of the negative stereotypes of public housing residents, but says at the same time he realizes that “not everyone in public housing is trying to do the right thing.”

“We have people in public housing who are working on their Master’s degrees,” says Ellis, whose has an occasional accent belying his Jamaican youth. “In public housing, there are a lot of people who may be some life circumstances forced them to seek public assistance.”

The play is a series of monologues. Ellis describes one character, Nikki, “who embodies all of the bad public housing stereotypes,” he says. For example, even though someone has laden a Thanksgiving gift basket for her full of enough food for an entire family, “she would not make the effort to go get it herself. She has a sense of entitlement. It’s inconvenient for her.”

Ellis thanks Roy Priest, head of ARHA, for encouraging him to put the program together: “He loves the arts. He wants to make the arts accessible to everyone in the community as a means of building the community and bringing them together.”

The city’s Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Department donated space at the for the all-volunteer production. Ellis, who wrote the play in his spare time, has “scrounged around” for props.

He adds that one deep dimension of the play is that the actors have no acting background and have never been on a stage before. “This play is a lot about the back stories too.”

As for Robinson, she says she got involved with the project after seeing a similar, one-night performance in August. She’s looking forward to performing with her grandkids, who are also in the production.

“I keep praying I got to do this. I’ve memorized my lines. I’ve got to get through this,” she says, laughing.

Ellis adds: “What I want people to walk away with is to understand that obstacles are not my stumbling block. They are my stepping stone.”

The free performance begins at 7 p.m. at the Nannie J. Lee Center on Friday, Nov. 11 in Alexandria as part of a festival for original playwrights.