b"One of the joys in directing The Sapphires is being able to cast emerging talents and spotlight them, says Briggs.Its part of my business plan for this production because there are so many incredibly talented young performers out theregirls who have grown up knowing this story from the film or seeing it in a theatre. They want to be a Sapphire.An American friend said to me, in the vernacular, it aint no fun if your homeez cant have none, and I really get that. What is the point if you cant do something for love and do it for the people you love?Way back, says Briggs, someone approached him with the idea of turning The Sapphires into a play for an all-white cast. My first reaction was to laugh, says Briggs. Later, I thought about that moment and well, if I had no morals, no respect for my people or my mother, I could have done that and made a mint. No one would have known. But that's not who I am and today Im proud thats never been who I am. This show has created so many opportunities and if I never write anything else again, never do anything else in my career, it wouldnt matter. I did this.Story originally by Elissa Blake and published on Audrey Journal 57"