Dr. Thomas Mitchell. Abiba Biao Photos.
Looking out across the room, Dr. Thomas Mitchell could see a whole creative ecosystem. From poets to singers to filmmakers to artistic newbies, everyone had a place at the table. Some also had a place at the mic—and in the future of New Haven’s cultural, spiritual and cinematographic community.
“We didn’t have to drive all the way to Hollywood tonight,” he said to murmurs of delight and agreement.
Over 100 friends, family members, theater-lovers and cultural champions came together at Woodbridge’s Birchwoods Banquet Facility on a recent Friday to celebrate The Cry Within, a monologue series from playwright, producer, and director Andrea Daniels-Singleton that turns 10 this year.
Started as a series at St. Mary's UFWB Church in 2016, the work has grown into a live multi-media show and concert, all under the wider creative umbrella of A2A Productions. In January, it made its way from St. Mary’s to the Shubert Theatre, and performed to a sold out crowd, with an encore at St. Mary’s several weeks later. Read more about that here, and listen to previous interviews here and here.
At Birchwoods, the event doubled as a private screening for Daniels-Singleton’s new film MIDNIGHT, and a ceremony honoring cast members. Awardees of the night included Christopher Holland, MeLisa Brown Fleming, Latonya D. Jackson, Sean Gardner, and Eva Daniels-Smith among others.
“We deal with a lot,” Daniels-Singleton said of her inspiration to grow The Cry Within into an annual event. Through monologues, the series broaches everything from intimate partner violence to social and spiritual isolation. “Things that nobody wants to talk about, because such stigma is attached to it.”
“My motto is: ‘We put a face to your pain,’” she added. “You don’t have to admit it’s you. We’ll say ‘It’s us,’ but we’ll give the resources, so you know exactly where to go.”
That gentle, inclusive and ambitious approach was everywhere during the ceremony and screening, as attendees trickled in and stopped on a red carpet to discuss Daniels-Singleton’s vision, long commitment to the craft, and gift of working alongside her.
Sporting Oscar-worthy fits and dresses that glimmered with glitter, actors described both MIDNIGHT and The Cry Within series as a blessing, with a delicate balance of deep feeling, laughter, and spiritual resonance that has kept them coming back.
Steffon Jenkins, who has been with The Cry Within since its early days, said that she was thrilled to support not just the cast and crew of MIDNIGHT (in which she played a part), but the work that A2A has been willing to do in opening up conversations around mental health, domestic violence, isolation, self-harm, racism, and patriarchy.
“The unity” within the cast of MIDNIGHT was her favorite part, Jenkins said. When she joined The Cry Within, very few people were willing to have these discussions around taboo subjects. Now, she feels like the monologues have the power to shift the narrative. A huge, glitter-studded tulle flower bloomed from one side of her dress as she spoke. “It was an awesome experience.”
Dr. Jonathan Berryman, assistant principal at James Hillhouse High School and the founder and director of the Heritage Chorale, echoed that enthusiasm, and noted Daniels-Singleton’s work as an innovator. To him, Daniels-Singleton is not just a friend and colleague, but also a visionary.
“I’m so glad to support her work in telling stories that we sometimes don’t want to tell,” he said. Earlier this year, he met the current political and existential moment with the monologue "The Skin I'm In," giving the performance a steady and unflinching delivery as he spoke about racism in the U.S. Friday, he savored a chance to celebrate his fellow creative.
“I think my favorite part [of working with A2A] has just been the richness of talent that has come together to fulfill Andrea’s dream,” he said. “It’s wonderful to see how things have come together over the past 10 iterations of this, and I can’t think of anybody else other than Andrea who can pull together so much of the talent.”
Inside, that excitement spilled into the banquet hall, filling the room as Rev. Dr. Janet Brown-Clayton kicked off the evening with both prayer and an introduction of the cast, and Miller stepped in to emcee much of the evening. When Daniels-Singleton took the mic, it seemed as if all of Birchwoods was on its feet, ready to honor the woman who had brought them all together.
To the praise, Daniels-Singleton did what she does best: she lifted up everyone around her. The film, which deals with a family that is tested by multiple stressors, broadens what The Cry Within could look like. After years of growing the monologue series, she felt ready for it.
“We have a beautiful, beautiful cast that walked with me,” she said. “We worked.”
And they did. While MIDNIGHT presents a series of social taboos in a different format than previous monologue performances, it still follows a fundamental tenet of The Cry Within, ready to address the silences that surround family relationships, multiple kinds of violence, and multigenerational trauma. In doing so, it opens up conversation in a way that is completely accessible—and riveting—rather than putting its listeners on the defensive.
When the lights came back up, it only seemed fitting that Daniels-Singleton had designed awards for members of the cast, complete with announcements that came from friends and family, and placed their names right alongside Broadway performances from shows like The Color Purple.
Stefon Hawkins, a powerhouse vocalist who is Daniels-Singleton’s cousin, voiced his support for both the project and for A2A, which he’s been lucky enough to watch the evolution of. He’s still extremely proud, for instance, of his work for Pastors Cry In The Dark, a short film that Daniels-Singleton released last November.
The film, which actor J. Kelly Edge II anchors, addresses emotional burnout, exhaustion and isolation among faith leaders, who are often taking care of their congregants, but not themselves. Hawkins sings gospel with his band Empowered, in a multi-take performance that remains, almost a year later, completely divine.
“I’m very proud of everything she’s been doing so far and I’m just looking forward to this next movie to see,” he said of MIDNIGHT, which very much became a family undertaking (for instance Daniels-Singleton’s daughter, Zshonna Singleton, plays the character Maiya).
“I am absolutely excited, ecstatic, and just overwhelmed by being able to come together to commemorate this auspicious occasion,” added Mitchell. The film, like The Cry Within and Pastors Cry Too more broadly, “speaks about different social emotional issues that happen within our secular community, our church community … she’s giving a face to those things that go unspoken.”
Smith (top) and Hardy (bottom): There to see the evolution of the series.
Tiffany Smith, who has been with Daniels-Singleton since that first Cry Within in a Newhallville church, highlighted how transformative it has been to join the monologue series and MIDNIGHT, for which she sang. As Smith stayed with The Cry Within year after year, Daniels-Singleton pushed her to try things outside of her comfort zone. This year, she took the plunge with new vocal work.
“It was exciting. It was nerve racking,” she said, adding that she’s honored to be a part of the larger A2A vision. “I’m not really used to being on camera like that, but it was definitely an experience I’ll never forget.”
Sean W. Hardy, a cousin of Daniels-Singleton’s who frequently emcees her events (and if attendees are lucky, sermonizes at the podium a little as well), agreed, in good cheer as he made his way up to the podium to Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady.” There, to his own surprise, he accepted an award for the help he’s given his cousin over the years.
“I’m just a pebble on the beach, I’m not worthy of this,” he said when accepting the award. Hardy has faced many obstacles in his life, including dealing with and recovering from brain surgery, but nothing was enough to stop him from supporting Daniels-Singleton and The Cry Within, he added.
“I’ve seen this project grow tremendously, naturally, and spiritually,” he said, rocking a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Joe Biden. “I’ve seen her hard work, her diligence, even her faith, when things didn’t look the greatest, her enduring power is what makes her projects and her as an individual so successful.”
Lucy Gellman contributed reporting.