Legacy Reads featuring Louie Laviest

Born in Great Bay (Philipsburg), St. Martin in 1957, Laveist attended Milton Peters College high school. By age 15, he was already an active member of the Cole Bay Theatre Company and acted in several of its plays, subconsciously imbibing the technical qualities of such works and preparing himself for a future as a playwright.

As an actor, Laveist has been directed by Victor J. Martin, David Edge- combe, and Ian Valz; he has played lead roles in The Game, Old Story Time, Son of A Bitch, Nite Box, and Moon On A Rainbow Shawl.

In 1991, Laveist founded the United Theatre Company, wrote and directed his first play Who's Fooling Who? and became the drama coordinator at the Department of Culture in Great Bay.

Laveist has also taken acting and play writing courses in Jamaica and in the USA. He directed his Forbidden Love (1992) at the Little Carib Theatre for CA- RIFESTA VI in Trinidad in 1995 and, in that same year, completed The House That Jack Built. In Aruba, he won the award for "Best Supporting Actor" (1983) and "Best Actor" (1986) at the Caribbean/ Latin American Drama Festival and has been named in St. Martin Massive! A snapshot of Popular Artists (2000) as one of the island’s 20 most popular artists at the turn of the century.