'I'm Dop3!' Set To Open Dec. 7 In Hollywood

            The title “I’m Dop3!” is pronounced “I’m dope.” It’s hip-hop slang for “I’m great!” The 3 is a backwards E.

            The show, written and performed by Afia Fields and directed by Debra De Liso, is set to open Dec. 7, at the Elephant Studio Theatre in Hollywood.  

            At the age of 3, Afia Fields found herself engulfed in flames during a tragic fire in a basement playroom in her Baltimore home. The conflagration took the lives of her cousin and her baby brother. Two of her other cousins escaped. Afia herself sustained third-degree burns and emerged from a coma three months later.

            The damage done to her by the fire was the ultimate form of identity theft. She is not, as she would tell you, a burn victim, but rather a burn survivor.

            Possessed of limitless quantities of pluck and grit, she became a motivator, bringing healing and comfort to others dealing with challenge and adversity. The inspirational figure had dreams of her own, as well, as she pursued a career in the entertainment industry.

            A double medalist in the NAACP’s ACT-SO program (a competition for African American youths achieving in the arts, sciences, business and technology), Ms. Fields , now 22, went on to receive a degree from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Her credits include roles in “Little Shop of Horrors,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “High School Musical,” and “The Venus Hottentot.”

            Debra De Liso directs. She has directed over 300 solo performance pieces in a career spanning over thirty years as an actor, director, choreographer and writer. She wrote two solos shows, “Isadora’s Dream” and “The Nurse June Show.” Her recent stage credits as an actor include two shows at Los Angeles Theatre Center, the Ovation-nominated “1951-2006” and “The Einstein Plan,” in which she co-starred with James Cromwell.

            SAIPRO is the producing organization. The name is an abbreviation for Serving Artists In Process. It recently produced “Prison Is Where I Learned to Fly” at the Carrie Hamilton Theatre. SAIPRO is a project of the nonprofit Pasadena Arts Council’s EMERGE Fiscal Sponsorship Program.

            Ms. Fields states, “It’s my physical appearance you walk in seeing and my personality you take home with you.”

            The Elephant Studio Theater, 1076 Lillian Way, Hollywood, CA 90038; December 7, 2012- January 19, 2013; Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Dark on December 28 and 29; Admission: $30.  Reservations: www.saiproarts.org   Information: (443) 928-5941.