The Fourth Wall: The Wheels of a Dream

Yesterday, I did a "back.story" shoot with my friend, actress Shemika Berry. We were originally going to do a shoot with her as Ruth from the play "A Raisin in the Sun", but in order to continue with the theme of my series we decided to cast her as Sarah from the musical "Ragtime". Instead of telling you about the character and the show, this is the back story Shemika provided...

"Sarah in Ragtime is an idealistic young woman raised in Harlem during the Ragtime heyday of music. She grew up in a staunchly religious home and was very active in her church. Her one true passion has always been music. It stirs her soul and when she heard the piano playings and singing of a young musician named Coalhouse she instantly fell in love. The passion she felt for him made her forget about everything around her. Her love for him cause him to compromise her standards and the morals her parents raised her with. Her parents disowned her and forced her to leave her home upon discovery that she was pregnant with "that musician" Coalhouse's baby. Pregnant and unwed, Sarah was a disgrace to her family. When she had her baby, Coalhouse, Jr. she was alone, the baby came early and was so small he wasn't breathing. She didn't know he was still alive when she buried him, she would have never tried to harm her own child. Her anguish and horror at what she has done comes crashing down around her after her baby is discovered alive and crying in the garden."

Here are the photographs we came up with!