Interview: Director Kevin “Blax” Burroughs brings ONCE ON THIS ISLAND to Oceanside Theatre Company

Director Kevin “Blax” Burroughs and the cast and crew of “Once on This Island” invite you to this Caribbean fairytale where gods and humans find out if love truly can conquer all. Burroughs talks about working with the creative team to bring this show to the stage, and why it’s a good show for audiences to see at this moment in time. “Once On This Island is playing through April 13th at Oceanside Theatre.

When it premiered, “Once On This Island” was nominated for 16 Tony Awards, and won Best Revival of a Musical at the 2017 Tony Awards.  The show takes inspiration from multiple literary sources, including The Little Mermaid and the 1985 novel My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl.

On this island, there are two sides divided by wealth and privilege.  When peasant girl Ti Moune falls in love with the wealthy Daniel, after rescuing him from a deadly situation, she sets in motion a supernatural test that will have consequences for everyone.  The story explores love, loss, and just how far one may go for the person they love.

Kevin says that this show is not just a favorite, but also one that has more nuance and complexity than the fairytale inspiration.

It’s a show that is loosely based on the story of “The Little Mermaid”, as both shows have a similar plot point, although Once On This Island has much more content to navigate through. The show is about love, hope, resilience, community, energy, and so much more.

The music and the style of storytelling this show has is truly spellbinding and mesmerizing. I always feel like I'm in some sort of trance whenever I get a chance to experience this show in any kind of way whether it be listening to the cast recordings, performing in it or in this case, directing a production.

The show has a strong framing and recurring theme about storytelling and how the stories we tell ourselves and others create the world and the perspective in which they live. One lyric says, “Life is why we tell the story, pain is why we tell the story, love is why we did this story.” This focus on community and coming together to tell the story in the good times and the bad was appealing for this current season.

The world is a really tough place. With the divide of not only our country but across all continents being so prevalent, we have to remind ourselves that we are all still one. We are a really large community. We all have to interact and work with each other. So, taking that ideology and reminding each and every one of us to have grace and love for each other is something that we need. We see certain people in our lives go through some really tough things, and to be able to sit by and do nothing is something so very disappointing. 

In this show, Ti Moune goes through a tremendous amount on her journey but yet she still has an insane amount of hope, love, and resilience that she took from her community to help guide her way. We as a people need a reminder of Ti Moune's life and how we can adapt her experiences to our own lives.

Burroughs directs this piece along with the creative team, which includes musical director Lyndon Pugeda, and choreography by Alyssa “Ajay” Junious. Coming together creatively to create this piece and work with the cast has been a creative gift.

From the beginning, I've always really strived for the idea of a troupe of actors putting on a show. Once On This Island really leans into the idea of "a play within a play" and usually the storytellers are talking to a little girl but in this version, everyone onstage is directing their attention to the people sitting in the audience. We want you to feel like you are in this little hut with us putting on a show for the community. The way that my creative team and cast has taken that on is so wonderful. To trust the process, as confusing as it may be at first, and let the art speak for itself is truly beautiful. 

This is the first time I'm directing some of these actors and also the first time I'm working with some of the creative team as well. On this show, we have 8 artists making their debut with the company both on and off the stage while everyone else will be returning artists (some years later). This is my first time working with Lyndon Pugeda, our musical director, on the creative side as I've been a performer in shows for him multiple times. On the other hand, this is my 5th production working with Alyssa "Ajay" Junious as my choreographer and I truly think we create magic. We understand each other and usually think of the same ideas at the same time. It's kind of scary.....”

Kevin has been a fan of this show for a long time and has appreciated it as an audience member, a performer in it, and now as a director. Revisiting it as a director has allowed Kevin to explore and bring so many facets of the show to life in a rewarding way.

My perspective as a director has opened up so many different ideas and moments that I never thought to see as a performer or audience member. Seeing the show is one thing where I'm usually only seeing it once and not getting to see all the details, while also seeing one person's view on the show. As a performer, I'm focusing on my track and what my characters do so I get closed off from the grand picture at times. 

As a director, I can create all these different pathways, connections with each actor, easter eggs, moments to foreshadow, etc. It's one of the reasons I love being a director so much. I was watching the designer run at the back of the theatre to see everything from my usual up close point of view, and I found myself not only in a trance (as usual when I experience this show) but in tears at some moments with how these wonderfully talented actors executed them. Being able to see your vision come to life with a show you've only experienced in isolated incidents is so incredibly rewarding.

How To Get Tickets

You can see “Once On This Island” at Oceanside Theatre through April 13th.  For ticket, showtime, and cast information, go to https://oceansidetheatre.org/once-on-this-island

Photo Credit: Oceanside Theatre Company