Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 7-14-17

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Actress And Theater Head Leaving Bay Area To
Pursue Ultimate Dream
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
One of Tampa Bay’s most prominent theater actresses is trading easy living in the Sun- shine State for the glamour and glitz of Tinsel Town.
Erica Sutherlin, whose directing credits include Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, and Memphis, The Musical, this month is leaving her position as artistic managing director of West Tampa’s, The Space and mov- ing to Los Angeles.
On the West Coast, she’ll attend graduate school at the University of Southern Califor- nia (USC) where she will study film production.
Sutherlin – who also was a performance arts instructor at Pinellas County Center for the Arts at St. Petersburg’s Gibbs High School – said while she’s grown to embrace the bay area as her home, the chance to further her education is a long- time dream come true.
“I have learned so much here,” she said. “(Florida has) afforded me the opportunity that if I could think it, I could manifest it.”
Last year, Sutherlin teamed up with partners Jared O’Roark and Rob Morris to open The Space at
ERICA SUTHERLIN
2106, a theater nestled on Main Street in Old West Tampa.
The trio spent months in 2015 renovating an old build- ing in the heart of the block. It’s now a major draw for plays, parties, and other gatherings.
In her role, Sutherlin, 37, was the only Black woman at the head of a theater in the Tampa Bay area.
O’Roark and Morris will continue to operate The Space, she said.
During her ten-year tenure in Tampa Bay, Sutherlin has logged dozens of notable per- formances in theaters on both sides of the bay, including Stageworks and American Stage in Tampa and Studio 620 in St. Petersburg.
The latter was the location of Sutherlin’s last perform- ance, as Lady MacBeth in MacBeth, which ran earlier this year.
July Is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
African Americans are more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population, accord- ing to the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health.
July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month and local mental health profession- als say it’s important that the topic is destigmatized in the African American community.
Mental illness should not be seen as a “weakness” and those who are afflicted are not “pos- sessed by the devil or wanting attention,” said Dr. Marketa Wills, a psychiatrist and board member of National Alliance on Mental Illness Hillsborough chapter.
Rather, schizophrenia, de- pression, anxiety and other dis- orders represent physiological illness much like a toothache, she said.
Things can go awry in any part of the body – including the brain. But not everyone is af- fected by mental issues, and those who are do not share the same experiences.
And that can lead to misun- derstandings that perpetuate mental illness myths, Wills said.
DR. MARKETA WILLS ....Board certified Psychiatrist and board member of National Alliance on Mental Illness, Hillsborough Chapter
Changing the narrative re- quires talking more about men- tal illness and sharing resources and information about different disorders and treatment.
This is more common than in the past, thanks in part to celebrities and other high pro- file figures being forthcoming about their mental health chal- lenges and changes attitudes from bedrock institutions in the Black community such as the church, Wills said.
More churches are adding counseling services to their ministries, which is “an enor- mous step forward,” she said.
Overall, a once-taboo topic now is being addressed head- on along with other issues that affect health and well-being, Wills said.
“I think that we are getting more and more familiar with mental illness,” she said.
But access to quality care still eludes many African Amer- icans who suffer from mental illness, said Rhonda Rhodes, a licensed clinical social worker.
The Affordable Care Act has helped greatly to close the gap and enable people to get access to services and treatment, she said.
“That has been a great bridge for our people to have access to care,” she said.
While discussions about mental illness are shrouded less in mystery and whispers, there’s more that can be done, Rhodes said.
“We are still not recognizing it – the signs, the symptoms,” she said. “We’re much too prone to brush it off.”
RHONDA RHODES ....Licensed Clinical Social Worker
And the lack of awareness is hitting hard in the Black com- munity, where depression and anxiety are the most prevalent mental illnesses and suicide among young Black men is high, Rhodes said.
Black women also suffer greatly from depression but it’s hidden because they are condi- tioned to “compartmentalize” their mental health issues.
“The real problems and is- sues are being swept under the rug until something cata- strophic happens,” Rhodes said.
The result manifests itself in physical ailments, like headaches, strokes, and heart attacks, she said.
If you think you’re experi- encing mental health issues, it’s important to seek help from a trusted mental health profes- sional, Rhodes said.
This person should work with you to develop a treatment plan that can start the healing process “that allows you to begin to heal and apply inter- ventions to help you get back to a healthier state,” she said.
Minority Mental Health
Awareness Month
One of every four individu- als has a mental health condi- tion of some kind. The good news is that there is help and that these conditions can be treated. If you or someone you know has a mental health con- dition, it is important to know that recovery is possible. Locate mental health professionals and education and support re- sources at www.namihillsbor- ough.org.
Source: National Alliance on Mental Illness
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