"Fatherhood Manologues"

HartBeat Ensemble and My People Community Services Announce Four-Performance Engagement of

FATHERHOOD MANOLOGUES

Storytelling Event Featuring Four Fathers Celebrating and Navigating Fatherhood to Be Presented March 11 & 12 in Hartford

February 16, 2023/Hartford, CT… HartBeat Ensemble (Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr., Artistic Director and Rhoda Cerritelli, Managing Director) in partnership with My People Community Services announced today a four-performance engagement of Fatherhood Manologues, a storytelling event featuring four fathers celebrating and navigating the challenges of modern fatherhood. The show will be performed Saturday, March 11 and Sunday, March 12 at 2pm and 7:30pm both days at HartBeat Ensemble's Carriage House Theater (360 Farmington Avenue) in Hartford, CT.

Fatherhood Manologues is conceived by My People Community Services Executive Director and Founder Abdul-Rahmann I. Muhammad and will be directed by HartBeat Ensemble Artistic Director Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. The cast of four storytellers and fathers -- Mr. Muhammad, Demetrius Chamblee, Malik S. Champlain and Jesse White III -- all developed their stories through participation in My People Community Services' The Manhood Tree Program. Technical direction will be provided by Jon-Paul LaRocco.

Fatherhood Manologues is an exhilarating collection of stories written and performed by fathers from our community. Whether touching on being a father, being fathered, the role of a father in the family, absent fathers, or the expectations fathers face, each story is touching, insightful, funny and emotional. Join HartBeat Ensemble and My People Community Services as they celebrate fatherhood and urge you to reconnect, repair broken relationships, or reflect on the fathers in your life.

Fatherhood Manologues runs Saturday, March 11 and Sunday, March 12 with performances at 2pm and 7:30pm both days. General Admission tickets are $25; Student and Seniors are $20. No one turned away for lack of funds. Tickets, information and COVID safety measures can be found at HartBeatEnsemble.org.

The performances of Fatherhood Manologues are supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts Arts Work program. Additional support provided by the J. Walton Bissell Foundation, Department of Economic and Community Development, CT Office of the Arts, CT Humanities, and National Endowment for the Arts and Travelers.

About the Artists

Demetrius Chamblee (storyteller) was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, and graduated from Manchester Community College, where he earned his Associate’s Degree in Business Administration in 2016. He is an entrepreneur, production manager, community investor, book club founder, community advocate, and keynote speaker with over 15 years of experience in operations and production. Demetrius is currently the owner of Madams Beauty Supply, established in 2018, and is also a Production Manager in The Heat Treat Aerospace Industry, President of ASE Investments (Real Estate), and Vice President of Prolific Society Investment Group.

In addition, he also serves as the co-founder of Revolution of the Mind Book Club, Books to CT Prisons, and 20/20. Revolution of the Mind Book Club has over 300 members and encourages community members to read one book monthly to promote literacy and comprehension. Books to CT Prisons, which has currently provided over 400 books, is a Connecticut-based organization whose mission is to amplify a passion for reading while incarcerated, inspiring the pursuit of knowledge. 20/20, an initiative that helps grow Black Businesses within the community by bringing community members together to support black businesses. In honor of his work within the community, Demetrius received the Modern-Day Martin Luther King Award, the 100 Men of Color Award, and the Neighborhood Hero Key to the City of Hartford Award in 2021.He is the father of 2 children, Xyimea and Demetrius Jr, and husband to Latoya, with whom he co-owns Madams Beauty Supply.

Malik S. Champlain (storyteller) is the CEO at ULeverage Capital LLC where he helps small business owners obtain the capital and credit with his expert business advising and finance team. He has a long history in education and provides school districts nationwide with educational consulting involving SEL, Anti-Racism, and Abolitionist Teaching practices. Mr. Champlain is the Managing Partner with Freedmen's Transport LLC, which is a intrastate freight transportation company.

Mr. Champlain is a renowned speaker with a message that is both forceful and inspiring because of his ability to connect and encourage people to strive for more, by using their "Passion Hunger and Drive". He is the author of the motivational best selling book, Passion Hunger Drive: Live Your Dreams, Not Your Fears. He comes from humble beginning's with a journey from living in poverty, being labeled a special education student, and living out of his car. Since then, Mr. Champlain has risen to be a modern-day renaissance man with his roles as an educator, author, consultant, entrepreneur, social activist, motivational speaker, and real estate investor.

Abdul-Rahmaan I. Muhammad (conceiver, co-producer and storyteller) is the executive director and founder of My People Clinical Services. Founded on March 5, 2005, My People Clinical Services offers a wide array of both therapeutic and non-therapeutic, supports, services and programs. The driving philosophy of My People Clinical Services is derived from the agencies mission statement: “To enable My People to help Your People so that Our People will succeed”. Muhammad also leads the non-profit arm of the agency, My People Community Services.

Mr. Muhammad currently serves as one of the Tri-Chairs for the Statewide Fatherhood Engagement Leadership Team and has been providing fatherhood engagement, inclusion and equity training statewide for DCF. Over the past couple years, He developed The Manhood Tree Program, which is comprised of initiatives that focus on the six “hoods”: neighborhood, boyhood, young adulthood, brotherhood, fatherhood and manhood. Mr. Muhammad also founded The Dream Support Network which is best known for its signature event, Ice Cream for a Dream. The Dream Support Network provides workshops, motivational speaking and a curriculum that teaches participants the logistics to making their dreams reality. Muhammad received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Tougaloo College and his Master of Social Work degree from Clark-Atlanta University. He is a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, and member of The National Association of Black Social Workers.

Jesse J. White III (storyteller) currently serves the community as Principal of Bloomfield High School. A native of Hartford, CT , Mr. White resides in Bloomfield with his wife and three daughters. He has been involved in the Bloomfield community for 21 years; serving in such capacities as Democratic Town Committee member, Library Building Committee member, and employee of the Bloomfield Public School system. Mr. White is also the founder and CEO of Kingdom Culture LLC, the author of a book entitled A is for Affirm, the Director of Educational Activities for the Beta Sigma Lambda Educational Foundation and a public speaker. He has a gift and a desire to utilize education as a tool to improve upon the lives of all of the students he encounters. His mission is to make a visible and long lasting impact in the lives of the next generation.

Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. (director) is the artistic director of HartBeat Ensemble. He has appeared in HartBeat's productions of My Children! My Africa! and his adaptation of Mike Daisey's The Trump Card. He appeared in both of those plays at Civic Ensemble, a theater he co-founded, where he also appeared in Fast Blood. Godfrey was Producing Artist in charge of New Artist Development for Off-Broadway’s Epic Theatre Ensemble, appearing in A More Perfect Union, Widowers' Houses (which Godfrey co-adapted with Ron Russell), and Measure for Measure, among other plays. At Epic, he also co-wrote and starred in a documentary play about the election of President Barack Obama, Dispatches From (A)mended America. Additional New York theatre credits include The Old Settler (Primary Stages), Betty’s Summer Vacation (Playwrights Horizons), Free Market (Working Theater), Leader of the People (New Georges), microcrisis (Ensemble Studio Theater), and It's a Wonderful Life - A Live Radio Play (Hartford Stage). He has also appeared in several plays at Syracuse Stage and People's Light. Godfrey is a 2012 TCG/Fox Fellow, a participant in the TCG SPARK Leadership Program, and a lifetime member of Ensemble Studio Theatre.

About HartBeat Ensemble:

Founded in 2001, HartBeat Ensemble's mission is to create provocative theater that connects our community beyond traditional barriers of race, gender, class and geography. HartBeat Ensemble is the only institution in Hartford that consistently uses theater to speak powerfully across different generations, races, populations and interest groups. As an ensemble of Citizen Artists, we create as well as present innovative productions based on critical civic issues. HartBeat continues to inspire the next generation of leaders to create change for a better world through its Youth Play Institute. To learn more, please visit HartBeatEnsemble.org.

About My People Community Services:

My People Community Services was established in 2014 out of the desire to do community-based, therapeutic and preventive work directly to the Hartford community. Too often, community members have to be engaged in one of the "systems" (educational, court, or social services) to meet their mental health and behavioral health needs. With that as the entry point, the community engages in services and supports the referring entity's terms rather than their conditions. Due to this introduction to services and supports, our society has become weary of social service providers and has deemed therapy and groups only useful for "crazy people." In turn, our community suffers from holding in trauma, accepting abuse, and tolerating misinformation because of the mistrust of the system and therapeutic providers. With this in mind, My People Community Services endeavors to rebuild the trust with the community through our services and supports that have been created to help individuals heal, feel supported and uplift the community as a whole. For more information, visit MyPeople-CT.com.

About The Manhood Tree:

The Manhood Tree, a program of My People Community Services, is comprised of four community based initiatives that aim to support men and fathers. The initiatives emphasize the importance of men's mental and physical health and provides men the opportunity to tell their story. The Manhood Tree Initiatives stretch men outside of their comfort zone and encourage them to venture into topics and areas of their lives they don’t often visit. Individuals that participate in our programs are encouraged to address their past fully and move confidently toward their future with new vigor, awareness and vision. The four initiatives of the Manhood Tree are: