Stereotypes Are Given a Fair ‘Trial’ : Stage: Playwright says that there is some good in remembering what these black characters represent.

In “The Trial of One Short-Sighted Black Woman vs. Mammy Louise and Safreeta Mae,” an upwardly mobile young professional woman confronts, and in turn is confronted by, a pair of black stereotypes.

Set in a courtroom where reality and fantasy mix, “The Trial” (to be offered in a series of staged readings by the Orange County Black Actors Theatre beginning Wednesday in honor of Black History Month) gives Victoria the opportunity to challenge two slaves and, by extension, the negative symbolism they reflect, says playwright Marcia L. Leslie.

But, as the title suggests, Victoria’s doubts are valid only to a point. Leslie explained that the character correctly attacks the slaves as distortions passing for truth but mistakenly ignores the value of Mammy Louise and Safreeta Mae as reminders of black history.

“Victoria is a yuppie-buppie (black urban professional) who makes good money but doesn’t read much. She thinks she has all the answers but she doesn’t,” Leslie said. “What she wants (the court to do) is eliminate all negative images from the media.

“But she doesn’t know everything, and she doesn’t know much about these two people. She doesn’t realize that there is some good in our remembering what these characters represent . . . that they are part of our heritage that should be embraced.”

Leslie said “The Trial,” which won the 1989 Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Center’s Short Play Competition, was inspired in part by her own frustration with what she sees in the media, especially movies and TV. Leslie was a staff writer for the short-lived CBS series “You Take the Kids” starring Nell Carter.

Demeaning images of blacks don’t often show up in contemporary entertainment. But Leslie complained that what’s missing now is a more accurate depiction of mainstream blacks. TV programs such as “The Cosby Show” and “A Different World” get good marks, but she believes there aren’t many others that show the range of the black experience.

“I know that I don’t see myself or my 16-year-old son out there. We’re not represented. Why can’t there be a ‘The Wonder Years’ for blacks?”

“The Trial” also was prompted by her feelings after seeing George C. Wolfe’s acclaimed play “The Colored Museum” staged at both the Mark Taper Forum and the Westwood Playhouse in 1988. While she was impressed by the comedy, which parades a gamut of black stereotypes in a satirical setting, Leslie was disturbed by the “Mammy” character. She felt Wolfe didn’t take the symbol, one of both subservience and nurturing, far enough.

“I really thought Mammy had more to say. I wanted to explore her much more as a part of our experience, the good elements along with the bad.”

Leslie pointed out that “The Trial” has been lengthened from its original 20 minutes into a full-length play and that she still considers it “a work in progress that may go through some changes yet.”

The Black Actors will follow “The Trial” with a series of readings (Feb. 7-10) of “East Texas Hot Links,” Eugene Lee’s drama set in a small Texas town in 1955.

Staged readings of Marcia L. Leslie’s “The Trial of One Short-Sighted Black Woman vs. Mammy Louise and Safreeta Mae” will be given Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Gem Theatre, 12852 Main St., Garden Grove. Tickets: $7.50 and $10. Information: (714) 636-7213.