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Ursula O. Robinson, a drama professor at South Carolina State University, landed roles in multiple productions by well-known director Tyler Perry.
Photo by Crush Rush
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Robinson got her start acting on the smallest of stages—putting on plays with family members in her grandmother’s house.
Photo by Crush Rush
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Robinson tells her drama students that the stage is one of the safest places in the world. “You can be everything and then drop it, leave it there and walk away,” Robinson says.
Photo by Crush Rush
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Catch Robinson in Tyler Perry’s “Divorce in the Black” on Amazon Prime and “Beauty in Black” on Netflix.
Photo by Crush Rush
Ursula O. Robinson
Age: Enjoying her “second act.”
Resides in: Orangeburg.
The playwright bug: Robinson wrote her first play about Jack and Jill in high school. But in her version, Jack chases Jill for her money, and the story ends with an investigation worthy of “CSI.”
Where to watch: Catch Robinson in Tyler Perry’s thriller “Divorce in the Black” on Amazon Prime Video and in Perry’s Netflix drama series “Beauty in Black.”
Taking the stage: Theater lovers can take on a new persona themselves by hiring her to write a personalized monologue.
Some of Ursula O. Robinson’s first memories of performing are set in her grandmother’s house. There, caroling and a nativity scene evolved into a Christmas talent show—complete with her grandmother’s “good towels and sheets” wrapped around Robinson’s head.
The family Christmas performance was a tradition for years. But while Robinson’s aunts and uncles quit when they got older, Robinson kept on acting. She performed while she attended college and grad school, where she honed her skills as a writer and educator.
Robinson has excelled as a tenured associate professor of drama at South Carolina State University and an award-winning humorous speechwriter. Still, she never slept on her original dream of making it as an actor.
“I was just saying, ‘Hey, I’m gonna be famous,’” Robinson says.
Robinson acted in a few smaller TV shows and movies before landing a role in hit director Tyler Perry’s “Divorce in the Black,” which released last summer. In the movie, Robinson portrays a passionate mother whom she describes as “on the edge”—an emotion Robinson loves to play.
It gives her a chance to put her anger out into the world without worrying about it later. And that’s one quality that makes the stage one of the safest places in the world, Robinson tells her drama students.
“You can be everything and then drop it, leave it there and walk away,” Robinson says. “And that’s exciting.”
There is a magical invisible connection, she says, between the actor and audience in theater and film that makes the experience powerful.
“You take the audience with you on a ride, and they’re laughing when they should laugh, and they’re getting all of the nuances and everything you do; they’re watching and responding to it, and it’s like you have mastered this particular moment,” Robinson says. “Yeah, that’s the best feeling in the world.”
Robinson hopes her experience will inspire others to take risks to achieve their goals, regardless of their age or experience.
“You can definitively live your dream, live a life that you never thought you could live,” Robinson says. “You can do all of that, but it just takes you going out and doing some work.”