Vinie Burrows

She began her career as a child actress on radio and made her Broadway theater debut at the age of 15, when she snagged a role from 100 other girls for the Broadway play, "The Wisteria Trees," starring Helen Hayes. From then on, it was smooth sailing as she appeared on TV and radio and in seven other Broadway plays, garnering great reviews -- but still, as she put it during a TV interview, roles for "Black women were either mammies or whores." She chose another path and proceeded to create her own plays -- one-woman shows featuring a diverse group of characters from African villagers to American slaves to contemporary characters of all ages ranging from children to elders. The people she brings to life in these stunning vignettes exemplify the injustices she so hates. Her productions have been seen on Broadway, off Broadway, and in over 6,000 theaters, universities, and other venues on four continents. And they're still going strong as she continues to present them.

She graduated from a Harlem high school at the age of 15, a member of Arista honor society, with a Classics Award in Latin, an American History Award, and a prize for excellence in English composition and literature. In recent years, Vinie acquired a Masters Degree in Performance Studies, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Summa cum Laude. She received an Honorary Doctorate from Paine College, for "achievements as artist, activist and scholar."

This mother/grandmother and great-grandmother has been a fervent advocate for peace, joining together with 17 other grandmothers in October 2005 when they tried to enlist in the military at the Times Square recruiting center to replace America's grandchildren as a protest against the war in Iraq. This action resulted in arrest, time in jail, and a six-day trial in criminal court, at the end of which they were acquitted. Impressed with her oratorical brilliance and command of fact and theory, the Granny Peace Brigade quickly assigned her the task of often serving as spokesperson.

Some of her honors include:

• Michael Tigar Human Rights Award, University of Texas, Austin
• NYS Peace Action Award
• Eugene McDermott Award Council for the Arts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Silver Gavel Award American Bar Association - video narration
• Emmy Nomination - video narration
• Living Legend Award of The Black Theatre Festival
• AUDELCO Award, Best Actress of the Year
• Paul Robeson Award from Actors Equity Association

www.vinieburrows.com