CAROLYN MCDONALD, JASMINE GUY CREATE FILM FOR NAFF YOUTH PROGRAM

Article in TENNESSEE TRIBUNE: JASMINE GUY MAKES HOLIDAY VISIT TO MUSIC CITY — By Janice Malone..

Acclaimed actress, dancer and now director, Jasmine Guy, was in Nashville recently to direct the new independent film THAT’S HOW STRONG MY LOVE IS. The film is part of the Nashville Film Festival’s Youth Outreach Film program, which partners with various after school programs, organizations, and inner city youth programs within the Nashville. Now in its seventh year, the next upcoming film project will feature students from the Martha O’Bryan Center’s after school program (www. marthaobryan.org). Writer/producer/director and Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) board member Carolyn McDonald, has worked with the student film program for the last three years. “It’s a very rewarding project for me to work with each time I’ve done so,” says Carolyn, while on a break during the film shoot at Stratford High School. Ms. McDonald says she’s known Jasmine Guy for many years and since Guy recently worked on a project with some students out in L.A., the NaFF student film was only a natural fit. The two long time friends have known each other since 1995. “I first worked with Jasmine during the years I was running Danny Glover’s production company out in L.A. We met while I was producing a film call America’s Dream, in which Jasmine starred in. She and I have been friends over the years since then,” recalls Carolyn.

“That’s How Strong My Love Is” is now being edited here locally by film editor Mark Jackson and will make its premiere at next year’s Nashville Film Festival in April. Meanwhile, both Carolyn and Jasmine are both very busy with their creative talents. Carolyn is finishing up the script for an independent film she wrote and will produce entitled ROCKET LOVE. She will soon be producing a film that she co-wrote with veteran actor Glynn Turman, which will mark his film directorial debut. And later this month she will be launching a new online merchandising boutique featuring various products that can be ordered. The Tribune will be doing an upcoming feature on this new venture next month. Meanwhile, Jasmine Guy is equally as busy in her career as a director and actor. We had a chance to also chat with her on a lunch break during the film shoot at Stratford High.

TRIBUNE: What brings you to Nashville?
J. Guy: “I was invited to be a guest director by the Nashville Film Festival. Each year the festival has a component that works with the youth in the city. They work with students in local schools and various community centers and have the youth create their own movies. And director, such as myself and others, are invited to come in to direct the students’ film. The students are the actors and the writers of the film and I’m the guest director. It’s two days of fast moving hard work but in the end, after the editing and such, we’ll end up with a quality film that was created by these very talented young people right here in Nashville.”

TRIBUNE: What was it like working with the kids from the Martha O’Bryan Center?
J. Guy: “It was incredible! I really didn’t know what I was getting into but wow, it was very rewarding. Most of these kids had no acting experience, so it was kind of a crash course, on-the-job training in acting for some of them. I worked with the kids just as I do with professional actors and these kids really did rise to the occasion. It’s been amazing to see young people really believe in themselves. Both Carolyn (McDonald) and I believed they could do the job and they proved us correctly. These stories are they’re own, written totally from what they’ve experienced. There are stories about triumphs and loss; what has kept them going when they’ve been down. There are some topics that are pretty heavy stuff.”

TRIBUNE: What’s the storyline of the film THAT’S HOW STRONG MY LOVE IS?
J. Guy: “The film takes place within a school. The kids are re-enacting stories that they’ve told to the documentary filmmakers. The entire piece will be about an hour long. There will be interviews with the kids, the instructors, and clips of all of us as we’re actually doing the filming etc. There’s a scene where one of the girls was being bullied and teases because she was in a wheel chair. There’s another scene in a locker room where some teammates have stolen each other’s stuff and it erupts into a big fight. And another storyline is about a student who had a friend and classmate who committed suicide and the boy was only in the eighth grade. These are actual incidents that have taken place.”

TRIBUNE: You’ve now become such an accomplished director over the last few years.
J. Guy: “Yes, I’m very happy about that. I’ve now been back in Atlanta for the last 18 months. Earlier this summer I directed “I Dream,” which is a musical drama based in part on Dr. King’s life story. But the first project I directed was the stage production of “For Colored Girls…” at the Southwest Arts Center there in Atlanta. I also worked with Spelman College on directing The Bluest Eye plus, several other projects that I’ve really enjoyed directing.”

TRIBUNE: What did you think of Tyler Perry’s film adaptation of For Colored Girls?
J. Guy: “I saw it and enjoyed it a lot. Tyler Perry came to see our stage production of it when it was running. He also invited Janet (Jackson) too. For Colored Girls is a very ambitious project to undertake because it’s a complicated piece to translate for film but I thought Tyler did a great job with it. When he saw our stage production I think it gave him more insight of what it would look like on film.”

TRIBUNE: What does directing do for you that acting doesn’t and vice versa?
J. Guy: “I just finished acting in a Pearl Cleage play. In the “I Dream” production I directed and acted. But whenever I transition between acting and directing in a project I have to constantly remind myself that to change hats whenever I switch. For me, the biggest difference is that as a director you have be in the actor’s heads. As the director you have the overall vision of how you want the piece to look but how do you get that vision into your actors heads? But since I am an actor I understand how to best do that—even though it can be a little tricky. I love acting and directing. I don’t have an either or feeling with each.”

TRIBUNE: Was directing an area that you’ve wanted to do even when you were doing “A Different World”?
J. Guy: “That wasn’t the original plan for me. I always thought it would be acting and writing for me. But these directing opportunities have started coming my way and it’s been a great experience. But I really do love writing. I feel the power of our business lies within the words that are written on the page. Being asked to direct was something that other people saw within me that I didn’t see within me.”

TRIBUNE: Now that you’re directing full time, has any of Debbie Allen’s directing skills have brushed off on you since she directed so many episodes of A Different World?
J. Guy: “Yes, I often hear Debbie Allen coming out of my mouth when I’m directing! (LOL). It’s like when you become a parent you find yourself sounding like your mom—that’s how this is. It was so important for me personally for Debbie to see the “I Dream” production this summer. She’s been so instrumental to my career. Throughout my career people have told me ‘No’ in so many areas. I started as a dancer who later wanted to act but I was told ‘no’. I was told that I could only do comedic acting but I challenged that too. So each time I was told no by someone, I would think about how Debbie Allen had very similar challenges in her career too but she overcame them with big success. Debbie did so many things that I wanted to do in my career and she’s been such an inspiration for me.”

TRIBUNE: You and Debbie have worked together on several projects.
J. Guy: “Yes, we have. I first worked with her on the TV show “FAME”. I was only 18 at the time. I was 25 when I started on “A Different World” and that lasted for six years. During those years we also worked together on the film “Stompin’ At The Savoy”. Debbie had me dancing on one of the Oscars event. I wrote four episodes of A Different World and I also directed some of them. This happened because Debbie was always encouraging us to write, direct and expand our talents.”

TRIBUNE: I will be interviewing Bill Cosby in a few more days. Anything that you’d like to say to him that I can pass on?
J. Guy: “I want to send Mr. Cosby my love and respect. I also want to express my gratitude on the opportunities that he created for all of us on “The Cosby Show” and “A Different World”. He was constantly fighting for us. What the public didn’t know is that while these two shows were the number one and number two shows for seven years, it was Mr. Cosby who was constantly behind the scenes fighting for us to stay on the air. He fought for the quality of both shows to remain top quality in every aspect and I am forever grateful for what he did for all of us who worked on both shows.”

TRIBUNE: In addition to the Pearl Cleage play, what’s next for you that we can look forward to seeing you in?
J. Guy: “I’ve become the producing director for True Colors Theatre Company in Atlanta. I’ve already done five of their productions. I’ve either been in them as an actor or director. My next play that I’ll be in is called “Brokeology”, which will be performed in February. After that, I’m directing “The Colored Museum” in March. And in May I’m also acting in the production “Fool For Love”, which is a Sam Shepard play. And I also plan on returning to Nashville in April for the Nashville Film Festival for the premiere of “That’s How Strong My Love Is.””

TRIBUNE: We will look forward to having you back in Music City. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.
J. Guy: “Thank you so much and the same to you and all of the readers of the Tennessee Tribune. I want to thank all of the people in Nashville who made my visit such a wonderful experience!”