DEBORA SHAULIS | On the Scene Expanding role of black women

Stan Foster and Tess Drake are telling the stories of black women in their own ways.
Both are Ohioans. Foster grew up in Youngstown, graduated from the former South High School and was a pre-law student at Ohio State University before relocating to Los Angeles. Drake was born in Mississippi but reared in Sandusky. She, too, gravitated toward California.
Foster's entertainment career began as an actor; he was Sgt. Marvin Johnson on the TV series "Tour of Duty" a decade ago. Most recently, he wrote the screenplay for the independent feature film "Woman, Thou Art Loosed," based on a self-help book and play by Bishop T.D. Jakes.
Drake was a finalist on the NBC reality series "Last Comic Standing." You can just call her Tess when she performs Friday and Saturday nights at Funny Farm Comedy Club's second location inside Soffo's Cafe, 8586 South Ave., Boardman (330-759-HAHA for reservations).
New genre
Foster believes he and Jakes, who is founder of the nondenominational Potter's House mega-church in Dallas, are pioneers of a new entertainment genre: gospel cinema.
"I really want to do a lot more of these kinds of projects that can change lives," Foster said. "I think I'm onto a formula here" by uniting a prominent pastor with a good story and Hollywood talent.
"Woman, Thou Art Loosed" is about a young woman who is embittered by ugly life experiences -- rape, addiction and poverty -- and lashes out before embarking on the road to redemption. Foster added the narrative to Jakes' book about releasing women from the bonds of emotional pain.
Prominent actors Kimberly Elise, Loretta Devine, Debbi Morgan, Michael Boatman and Clifton Powell appear in the movie, as does Jakes. Talk show host Oprah Winfrey, actor Danny Glover, comedian Cedric the Entertainer and lawyer Johnnie Cochran were among the movie's investors.
USA Today reported that "Woman" cost about $2 million to make. As of Wednesday, it had grossed nearly $6.6 million on an average of 400 screens. It made it into the Top 10 briefly after its nationwide opening Oct. 1.
It wasn't difficult for Foster to relate to the plight of the movie's central character. An ex-girlfriend who he met at OSU had been molested by her father. The woman in the movie is a composite, but there are comparisons with Foster's friend.
"People cover things up for years and years," Foster said. "You just never understand the hurt that somebody is going through until they share that with you."Foster says he and Jakes are in negotiations with three major studios about their next gospel film.
"Woman" isn't playing in Youngstown, but moviegoers in other cities are being exposed to Foster's references to his hometown. Devine's character agrees to go to dinner with a man who ultimately makes her pick up the tab. He wants to take her to a nice place called Antone's.
"I put Youngstown references in every script I write," Foster said.
More recognition
Since "Last Comic Standing," Tess has enjoyed more recognition. "I was big on the college circuit already. This gave me the opportunity to move into clubs," she said.
Asked what it's like for female comedians, she said, "Oh my God, you would not believe what we go through. This is still a man's game." The mostly-male club owners don't believe women can draw audiences, and yet "75 percent of audience is female," she said.
The answer for Tess, for now, is to get on a comedy tour with a man. That means second billing as a feature act, rather than a headliner.
Tess definitely wants to be THE star. She has her own ideas for TV shows that would break stereotypes. "They think black women only fit one mold, one type," she said of industry executives.
Perhaps she could portray a marriage therapist -- after all, she says, black women are always giving advice. She could have a thriving practice but a hard-luck love life, & agrave; la another fictional TV therapist, Dr. Frasier Crane. "I think it would be totally hilarious as a black woman," she said. "I think you can be intelligent and still be dysfunctional."
Other ideas
Or maybe she should play a woman who's married to a Nashville country singer, as an antidote to sitcoms that feature pudgy white men and their pretty wives, she added.
Whatever the case, the TV character she would like to play would be voluptuous, smartly dressed and the object of men's desires.
When Tess performs in comedy clubs, people comment on how different she is compared with her "Last Comic Standing" appearances. That's because, in shows, she uses "all the stuff that NBC wouldn't let me say." Contestants had to submit their jokes in advance. Her lists were returned with lots of lines crossed out in red ink, she said. Plus, each of them had only about 21/2 minutes to perform. "It was all punch lines," she said.
Topics for Tess are relationships -- including her own marriage that lasted only 90 days -- politics and the attitudes of young girls toward sex. "I talk about women, too, because we are a devious species," she added. "It's not a man-bashing show."
In fact, "I would like to make a little love connection" here in the Valley, Tess said. "I'm always looking for my next ex-husband."
XDebora Shaulis is entertainment editor. Write her at shaulis@vindy.com.