ABOUT
ARTIST STATEMENT
I grew up the only Black family in a small Kansas town where a teacher renamed me without permission and a woman who never let me inside her house suddenly fed me a burger and asked about my uncle. I learned early that visibility is a transaction. Someone decides you exist, usually because of what you cost them or what you've survived.
That's the question underneath everything I make. What does it cost a person to feel valuable? And what will they do to get there?
I spent fifteen years building a breath mint company that sold in 54 countries. I wasn't hiding from that question. I was just answering it wrong. When I came back to the stage I brought that question with me, but I finally had enough life to start answering it honestly.
I write stories that invite audiences to look beyond color while feeling color. Not to transcend race but to arrive at the human being wearing it. I didn't come to theater with a graduate degree or a grant history. I came with a life that kept insisting it had something to say. I write because a woman crouched over a shiny bug on a dirt road in Haiti once told me I was an eagle. I didn't believe her. But I kept the sketch she drew me. And I'm still trying to prove she was right.
ARTIST BIO
Cooper Bates, (Playwright & Performer) is a journeyman of life with an insatiable thirst for creativity and an affinity for the unexpected. Hailing from the roots of a Kansas town, his path meandered through wrestling scholarships and a long-held dream of acting since his sixth-grade days. Settling into Dallas, he dedicated himself to honing his craft at Kim Dawson’s Acting Conservatory, reigniting his passion with fervor.
Fate intervened, steering him into an unforeseen detour—an unexpected motorcycle accident that became the catalyst for a profound transformation. Responding to the call of change, he ventured to Haiti as an educator, uncovering fresh purpose and perspectives along the way. Back in Los Angeles, his artistic spirit blossomed as he immersed himself in directing short films, plays, and screenplays that mirrored his evolving journey.
Life's plot took yet another captivating twist when a partnership gave birth to "Hint Mint," a breath mint company that unexpectedly evolved into a 15-year odyssey. Even amidst the whirlwind of entrepreneurship, the artist within remained unyielding.
In 2017, the award winning "Black When I Was A Boy" was unleashed—a solo show encapsulating two decades of contemplation and creative expression.
As the pandemic unfolded, Cooper's focus shifted toward the completion of "Black When I Was A Boy Part II: Black Out," chronicling his nascent acting journey in Dallas after enrolling in KD Conservatory. This chapter is a tale of ambition, tenacity, and the art of navigating adversity.
Black When I Was A Boy and Black Out are chapters within a larger narrative that’s designed as a four-part series, spanning geographies from Kansas to Texas, Hait Paris France and Los Angeles. It's a sweeping saga entrenched in themes of hope, resilience, and the universal voyage of coming of age.
