Life’s a stage for San Diegan Kevin “Blax” Burroughs, who was appointed the new associate artistic director of Oceanside Theatre Company (OTC, oceansidetheatre.org) in early August.
PHOTO BY KATHERINE ROSE PHOTOGRAPHY
“My current role is to be in charge of planning the entertainment for the 2024 season and helping bring artists into Oceanside for the community to see,” says Burroughs, the 2022 Craig Noel Award winner for Outstanding Speciality Artist. “Maintaining the artistic vision and professionalism of what takes place on the main stage of OTC is key.” Here, the multihyphenate—whose talents range from singing, dancing and acting to directing, choreographing and designing lighting—takes us behind the scenes of his theatrical life.
WAKE-UP TIME: 7AM
BREAKFAST: A 7-Eleven Big Gulp of Vitamin Water or an iced caramel vanilla latte with almond milk from Lightbulb Coffee in La Mesa
WORKOUT: Walking my angel of a 65-pound pitbull named Okoye, whose name was inspired by the Black Panther character
GROOMING ESSENTIAL: A haircut by Russell Lowe at Cali Coast Barbershop. I’ve been going to Cali Coast for over 10 years.
CURRENTLY WATCHING: Reruns of The Office and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Any musical cast recording I can get my hands on
FAVORITE FOLLOW:@kevonstage
THEME SONG TO YOUR LIFE: “Man In The Mirror” by Michael Jackson or “I’m Good” by Tim Bowman Jr.
UNIFORM: Jeans and a casual button-up
ZODIAC: Leo
NEMESIS: Lack of time
WEAKNESS: Seeing my loved ones hurt
HOTEL: I love a good Vegas hotel. The Palazzo at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas is my favorite.
LOCAL HAUNT: Any theatre producing live shows because I love the feeling of being inside one, or Throwback Gamez in Oceanside.
LAST MEAL ON EARTH: Soul food—fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, cornbread and collard greens. Yum!
MENTOR: My family
BEST ADVICE: At the end of the day, you have to take care of yourself; that is what matters most. The key is to also have care and respect for others in your personal journey.
PHILANTHROPY: Along with a few other artists, I started my own theatre company, Teatro San Diego, at the height of the Black Lives Matter Movement to focus on giving artistic opportunities to BIPOC artists.
MANTRA: I am enough.
SOULMATE: She’s out there somewhere… I’m a hopeless romantic.
COCKTAIL: Disaronno with a splash of Hawaiian punch
DINNER: Yes. Just yes. I love food.
BEDTIME: Usually around 11PM to midnight from being out at a theater
Photography by:
