"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men

who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing." - Muhammad Ali.

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Thank you for opening and reading!

I have updates on the Harlem Queen play and The Courtship of Mona Mae audio drama and live show!

Thanks to you, we are making good progress with the play!

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But first…

I got yet another rejection.

I was bummed, it feels bad getting “rejected”.

BUT I reconciled the sad feelings. The above quote helped.

And reading about Octavia Butler’s years of rejections.

And remembering the time Barack Obama laughed at Lin-Manuel Miranda when he debuted Hamilton at the White House. (Sometimes, people just don’t “get it”.)

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There’s a lot going on in the next month or so.

So I am telling you now and I will tell you again later because I do not want you to forget or get confused.

I am really relying on you to help spread the word.

On Tuesday September 8 the new season of The Courtship of Mona Mae begins!

Mona Mae is a western. I made a western because I NEVER liked westerns so I thought I would challenge myself and make a western.

Oooh chile’. Black folks were all up in it out west. Starting communities, building schools, building churches, running businesses, serving in government, taking care of themselves and one another.

And the west was wildly diverse; Black people, Native people, Europeans, Asians.

I had no idea.

IF you were taught about the Reconstruction Era (1865-1900ish) you were taught that it failed.

Actually, the opposite is true. Reconstruction was the closest this nation came to upholding it’s self imposed tenets of “democracy”, “equality” , “justice” and “liberty” for all.

I think it is good to know about Reconstruction so that we can imagine and build a country where there is “democracy”, “equality”, “justice” and “liberty” for all.

You can get caught up or re-listen to Mona Mae on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, all of the places.

Here is the link: https://pod.link/1549428590

You can listen on your walk or while folding the laundry or at the gym.

My goal is for Mona Mae to be my next “Hollywood” movie or TV show. (Like what we did with Harlem Queen). It all begins here with you listening. Thank you!

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On Saturday September 26 we will have The Courtship of Mona Mae Live!

Our standing room only Harlem Queen Live! show that we did two years ago was so much fun! It was so nice seeing so many of you!

AND we got to see TWO time Tony Award winner Kara Young perform in the show a few weeks BEFORE she won her first Tony.

Who will be the “break out star” from Mona Mae? Come and find out!

Yay! If you are able to come!

Here is the link to purchase a ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1997797742828?aff=oddtdtcreator

If you can’t come, but want to contribute five or ten bucks (which I will use to pay the actors) you can click the link and give a donation.

Thank you!

Photo from Harlem Queen Live!

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On Monday September 28 we will have an “industry reading” of Harlem Queen.

I am very excited about this.

This is a big deal!

Where we’ve been:

I made the Harlem Queen podcast. A friend introduced me to Terence Winter another friend introduced me to Melina Matsoukas. It took a few years, but I finally got hired by Sony Pictures to write the feature story of Harlem Queen.

I think that my Harlem Queen is better than the “Hollywood” “Queenie”. (Yes, they are calling it “Queenie”). So I decided to make it a stage play.

I never made a play. I do not know anyone who makes plays.

BUT You know what?

I decided to take a risk and start from scratch.

I have spent the past year writing the Harlem Queen stage play and networking and asking y’all for contacts, names, ideas.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for giving me a name of a producer, asking someone a question on my behalf, telling a friend how great Harlem Queen is, listening, commenting!

Where we are:

So the script is solid. (I Changed the main character’s name so that I don’t piss off Sony.)

I got a “sponsor” willing to take a risk and pay for the reading.

This is a big deal!

A reading is when the script is read by actors. No sets, no costumes, no props. The purpose of this reading is to get investors, producers, theaters interested in making the play.

And thanks to YOU I have FOUR producers already confirmed!

This is a big deal!

Sarin Monae West will read “Madame Queen”.

Brandon Micheal Hall will read “Wallace Thurman”.

This is a big deal!

The goal is to have a theater person or producer say, “I LOVE this show!

I will take a risk and produce it!”

That’s it.

Easy peasy, right?

I hope you see how important you are to getting this show made.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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That’s it for now. Thank you for reading, listening, sharing!

Love,

Yhane

Oh! I have a Mona Mae playlist. Songs I listen to while working on Mona Mae. Come and Get Your Love is one of my favorites.

And I had a really good time at the beach in July.

Here is a little something to cleanse your visual palate.

Thank you for opening and reading this message!

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HARLEM QUEEN update!

1. I applied to 8 fellowships to help me develop and stage HARLEM QUEEN. (Developing and staging are the first steps toward making a play.) I got rejected by all 8 fellowships.

Yeah, bummer.

But, as (my cousin) Andre De Shields said, ‘I only want what has my name on it.’

And you know what does have my name on it?

That theater marquee where HARLEM QUEEN will play.

AND the HARLEM QUEEN Playbill.

And dare I say that Tony Award? :)

And you know what I did to help me “get over” the “rejections”?

I wrote to every program that “rejected” me and invited them to the staged reading that I am having. The staged reading I applied to them for, got rejected, but got on. my. own.

That’s right. Yes I did.

(And when I say “got on my own”, you know I’m saying I got help from y’all, right?)

Not to dwell too much on these rejections, but I have realized a few things other than (cousin) Andre De Shield’s wise words:

• I am applying to programs for “playwrights”. I am not a “playwright”.

  Even though these programs are for “new” and “emerging” playwrights, the artists selected for the programs have:

  already had at least one play produced

  OR

  have a degree in writing/theater

  OR

  have been working in the theater for years

  OR

  all of the above

• There is more than one way to skin a cat. I got what I applied for and what I need in other ways.

• If I want HARLEM QUEEN to exist in this world. I have to put it in this world.

  NO ONE is going to call me out of the blue and say,

  ‘Yhane, I was thinking. Uh, I want to make a play about a brilliant woman gangster who ruled Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance. Here’s 6 million dollars to make it.’

  BUT that is what I’m working towards and it will happen because I did the work of making the audio drama, I am writing the script, networking, applying, re-writing, developing, etc. to put it in the world.

2. The staged reading date will be Monday September 28 at 6:00 pm at the Barrow Group at 520 8th Ave, (Between 36th and 37th Streets) 9th floor, New York, NY.

• The purpose of this reading is to show off the show to investors and producers so that they will want to invest in the show and produce the show.

• Because of union guidelines, the reading is by invite only.

• To those of you who would like to come, and you are already in NYC, I would appreciate you coming through. Please let me know you can come so that I can send you an invite.

• This is NOT something to travel to from Jersey, Philly, anywhere outside of NYC, but thank you for being willing to come through!

• If you know anyone I should invite please let me know.

  If you know they can’t make it, that does not matter.

  The important thing is to canvas as many people as possible.

  It does not matter if they have a lot of money or not.

  If you know anyone who likes the HARLEM QUEEN audio drama

  OR

  likes me and wants to support me

  OR

  likes the theater

  please, please, please let me know.

  For example, Jody told me about a producer of her daughter’s acting program. The producer was also a co-producer on CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL, REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES, LIBERATION (all shows I saw, btw). I reached out to that producer and turns out, she is very nice! She has been wonderful! And she’s coming to the reading! This is huge! To make HARLEM QUEEN I need producers and investors. We may already have our first producer!

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This is what you can do to make HARLEM QUEEN happen and be a hit. Money is not needed.

Talk, talk, talk about:

Harlem Queen

the Harlem Renaissance

historical fiction

gangsters

Black women gangsters

the numbers

the Depression

Harlem

Black women millionaires

Duke Ellington

and on and on and on…

Word of mouth is the best marketing tool.

Word of mouth is what tells people to buy tickets.

Word of mouth is what tells people to say good things about the show.

Word of mouth tells people to donate, invest, produce.

Word of mouth is using your mouth to say the words about the show to your :

friend

aunt

neighbor

pastor

dentist

teacher

co-worker

hairdresser

and on and on and on…

Word of mouth is how I can make a dollar out of 15 cents.

I have listeners because YOU open your mouths and tell people to listen. Not because I buy ads - I don’t have the money for ads.

Word of mouth is valuable - and it is free!

No one has any money to contribute, I get it, but everyone has a mouth don’t they?

Talk up HARLEM QUEEN!

Talk about it like it already exists in the world.

(You will be surprised by how many folks say that they’ve heard of it - when they have not heard of it.)

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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Through this process of making HARLEM QUEEN (the audio drama and play), applying to grants, sponsors, asking for donations and getting rejected, I’ve had to learn how to do without.

I am learning what I really need to make this audio drama and play. When I can be specific about what I need, I can just ask for what I need and I usually get what I need; whether it’s a script or an introduction.

I’ve had to figure out a way to make HARLEM QUEEN happen with no money, no contacts, no experience.

So

I created the audio drama myself and that gives me experience.

I network my little booty off and that gives me contacts.

I don’t have much money (yet) so I focus on and use what I do have: time, good health, support, a job.

And I have YOU.

YOU are the HARLEM QUEEN foot soldiers.

HARLEM QUEEN will become a show because of you.

(I’m not kidding. I know what I am talking about.)

I know I am doing a lot of work, but I need YOU to shout out that work.

I will be sure to get you good seats when the show opens.

And you can brag to your friends that you knew about the award winning HARLEM QUEEN back when it was just being developed. :)

You’re welcome.

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THIS is how it happens. When I’m up there accepting my Tony, I can state that THIS is what got me there.

Making art or shows or wonderful things may not always look beautiful or be fun.

Didn’t Basquiat paint on pieces of wood and trash he found in the street??

He didn’t do that because he thought it was cool art.

He did it because that was what he could get with no money and he believed that he could make it cool art and make money.

Making art may be long walks on the beach in gratitude while listening to a podcast about how artists figured out how to make theater.

Making art is a lot of prayer.

Making art is a lot of rejections.

Making art is a lot of work and it don’t always look pretty or glamorous.

Making art is writing this newsletter.

The five episodes - about an hours worth of audio - of MONA MAE that I am currently making has already been six months of work.

And it will take another six months to complete.

That’s a year to make an hour of art!

Not to mention the hours of time the actors have already put in.

I was put here to tell stories and that is what I will do.

Lack of money is a barrier.

So I remove that barrier.

I do a lot without money. Which is why I do a lot of the work myself. The editing, marketing, publicity, fundraising to get to do the things I enjoy. The researching, writing and directing.

I probably should pay myself for doing all of this work, but I don’t. Pay myself with what money?

My priority is to pay the people who work with me; the actors ($100+ each/day) the sound designer ($400 + each episode), etc.

My dream project that I work on for free may not be their dream project that they want to work on for free.

People need gas money, toll fare, groceries, electricity, money to get their hair cut, nails done.

So I apply for grants, sponsors, Patreon, etc. to pay my people.

If I don’t raise the money, I use my own money.

I just live on less. I live on 15 cents, forget the dollar.

I’m a writer and storyteller because I know I was put here to be a writer and storyteller. (What else am I going to do with my time?)

You all enjoying my work is my reward. (And getting hired by Sony/Tristar Pictures is a nice return on my investment too. )

You’re welcome.

:)

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I really wanted to give you an update on THE COURTSHIP OF MONA MAE, but this note has already gotten long.

So I will update you next time.

In the meantime please, please, please, talk, talk, talk about HARLEM QUEEN!

Thank you for reading, listening, sharing, talking!

Love,

Yhane

PS - If you know anyone who would like to join us on this journey to make HARLEM QUEEN please, please, please share this newsletter.

Thank you all for your wonderful comments!

I can not fully express what your comments and likes mean to me. Yes, it may be a dopamine rush, but I also feel very supported and as an indie artist that is very, very valuable. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I’m actually flattered that so many people are impressed by my determination.

I’m sure there were a few of you who wanted to write a comment, but didn’t know how to navigate the registration, account set up, passwords and what not. I feel you. Thank you for trying!

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I met with my producer and I have Harlem Queen stage play updates!

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But first,

A few months ago, a good friend asked me what did I do stay happy all of the time. Or maybe she asked what did I do to not be sad all of the time.

I thought she was joking.

But she wasn’t. She asked, ‘How do you do it?’

I’m not sure if I am happy all of the time, but I definitely work hard NOT be sad. At all. Like, never, ever.

I feel guilty about it, but I put a bubble up around myself. I have to.

I used to be up on all of the world affairs - good and bad - because I thought it was my responsibility to be informed and it was insensitive not to be informed. BUT as a result of being “informed” I did not want to get up out of the freakin’ bed! Life was freakin’ miserable!

So I cut down on reading, listening, scrolling and you know what? Now, I believe that I have power to make things better! I believe what I do actually helps! I write, donate (time and money) click a like. I know some folks don’t believe in the power of prayer, but I do. So I pray too. I pray for y’all. (You’re welcome.)

Am I out marching?

No.

Toni Morrison said she could not do all that marching. She was a writer. Writing was her activism. So I’m like yeah, I need to do what I can do. My pen is my sword! My laptop is my armor!

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I make my stories so that YOU will feel empowered and not depressed.

For me, knowing the true history or the whole story that includes people like me, makes me feel strong. I am encouraged when I see that folks have gone through what we are going through now.

And the proof that they did well is that we are still here today.

And the proof that we should not forget is that we are still in similar situations.

All that to say, I pray that each of you are happy and more importantly, I pray that each of you are not sad - at least not for too long. AND I pray that you know and use your power to make this world a better place. (Thank you.)

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I got four rejections this past week. One a few weeks ago.

I was even rejected for the application that I was a finalist for. I was bummed and sad. I did not rush myself to “get over it”. I just “let it sit”.

I reminded myself of what my wise cousin and Tony winning theater legend Andre DeShields said, ‘I only want what has my name on it.’

None of those fellowships had my name on it.

The programs I applied to and were rejected for were programs to help me develop my script and help me get a producer.

Ha! I already have a producer!

I’m already developed, baby!

In other words, the resources and opportunities that I applied for and got rejected for, I actually managed to get on my own! Through sheer wit, grit, determination and a little luck.

The things that I have managed to get have my name on them.

Today I was listening to a Billy Joel song and it reminded of the documentary about him that I watched on HBO - it is very good by the way.

Then I realized…

Billy Joel didn’t get a development fellowship!

And he still managed to become Billy Joel!

I also watched the documentaries on the Bee Gees and Earth, Wind & Fire.

You think Earth, Wind and Fire got a development fellowship?!

James Van Der Zee, Augusta Savage, Alice B. Russell (Oscar Micheaux’s wife) did their work by doing the work. Not because they got some fellowship!

I see them and think, where there is a will there is a way.

I think part of being an artist is finding creative ways to make your art.

I keep thinking how young Beyonce and Destiny’s Child “lost” on Star Search. Where are the people that “beat” them? …Exactly!

Trust me, if I got selected for anything I applied for I would be happy. But I wasn’t so what? Am I supposed to be sad and stop? Nah.

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Now a Harlem Queen stage play update:

1. I met with the development producer, Pat.

Quick recap. There are two types of producers:

• A development producer is a producer who helps with development - that’s writing the script, readings, staged readings, re-writes. Off-Broadway theaters may fall into this category. The development programs I applied to are all off Broadway theaters.

• Then there are what I call Broadway producers. These producers do not get involved with development. These are the producers who have money, give money and know they probably won’t make back their money. (Most shows do not make money.) So to be a Broadway producer means you can afford to lose a lot of money.

• *Also, I just learned from Pat that to be a Broadway producer, you need to earn at least $250,000 a year AND have a million dollars stashed or saved somewhere.

2. Our next step is a staged reading. This is what we did at the Classical Theatre of Harlem. At the staged reading, the actors will just read their scripts. No costumes. No set. No lights. No music. The actors rehearse the day before.

*The purpose of this staged reading is to get investors, producers, theater people there so that at least one of them will want to put up the money to make the play.

Staged reading details:

Date: Monday September 28. Theaters are dark on Mondays. Better for securing talent and space.

Place: TBD

Time: 6pm

3. Pat is raising the money for the staged reading. Space rental (for read and rehearsal) $2500. Stipends to actors and director $2500.

4.Karen and I are looking for a place to have the reading AND getting the invite list together.

5.If you or someone you know want to get in on the “ground floor” and contribute a few bucks towards the staged reading, please let me know.

6. I would love for YOU to share the invite with your network! I will send everyone the invite in late August/early September.

Word of mouth is how we’re gonna get this play made. Spread the word! “Harlem Queen” is truly a hit in the making!

How do I know? I have a producer willing to invest this early in the process! (That means money! And money talks.)

I have several Broadway producers ready to support. (That means more money! And more money talks louder.)

Tell your friends that I am making a play - a Broadway play - from scratch. With a “little” help from my friends.

Tell them it’s gonna be a hit!

Tell them in a few years when Harlem Queen is winning awards, they’re gonna remember you telling them about Harlem Queen and say, wait a second, my friend told me about this show when it was just getting made!

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We are recording the Courtship of Mona Mae next week. I am VERY excited.

I’m determined for Mona Mae to become a TV show or movie or a play - just like Harlem Queen.

As you know by now, I am very determined - it is in my DNA.

You heard it her first folks!

Get caught up on Mona Mae.

It’s only two 15 minute episodes and a bonus 5 minute explanation of the Reconstruction Era.

Here is the link:

https://pod.link/1549428590

Next time, I will send an update on the Mona Mae audio drama and the Harlem Queen stage play!

Thank you for reading, listening, sharing!

Love,

Yhane

I got a producer!

My first of many to come.

This. is. huge.

Time for an update!

But first, a recap:

Looking back on the past year, we have come a long way.

Last June, I met with LaChanze’s two associate producers about making a play. (I DM’d them on Instagram and got a meeting.)

I didn’t even have a script.

BUT I just pitched Sony and got hired to co-write a feature story with Terence Winter (Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos) so I thought I was the shit. I told them that I decided to make my version of Harlem Queen a play.

I honestly did not know what to ask them for or what to offer them. I didn’t know what was involved in making a play. I was hoping they would tell me what to do. They did not tell me what to do.

The meeting wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. It ended with a ‘keep in touch”.

If you’ve been reading my newsletter for a while, you know what “keep in touch” means. It means they can’t say yes, but they don’t want to say no.

They kinda wanna see what you do. Are you gonna quit? or keep going?

Of course I kept going.

I met with a friend’s friend who makes theater and he broke down the process of making a play:

1. First, you write a script.

2. Next, you have readings to make the script better.

3. Then, you have staged readings/workshops to get investors, producers, generate buzz so that a theater will put up your play.

Easy peasy, right?

I knew that the only way this play was gonna get made was if I made it.

By August I had a (terrible) first draft and my first table read.

The reading was hosted by Crooked Letter, which is owned by three creators including Jeremy Allen White (star of The Bear).

I got super notes. Rewrote.

Meanwhile, I saw plays. Networked at the New York Theatre Workshop with my friend, Karen. I wrote people on Instagram and kept LaChanze updated on my progress.

I finally got paid by Sony.

By October I asked three writers to co-write the script with me because I never wrote a stage play and wanted to work with someone who did. None of the writers worked out.

By December I decided to write the play on my own.

Also in December, I went to another networking opportunity and met the Executive Director of the Lortel Theatre and I blabbed about my show. He said he was interested in the show. Of course he’s interested. It’s a great show! The Lortel is a big time off Broadway theater and the executive director knows me by name! I keep him updated too.

By now, the agent who I asked to be my agent last year, and passed on me, offered to help with the deal when the time comes.

Mind you, when she passed on me, she said that it wasn’t a good time for her. Those words are a pass. But I decided to keep in touch with her.

Now, I have an agent for when the time comes, for when it really matters - when there’s a deal.

And in December, I met my cousin Andre DeShields for the first time (he and I have the same g.,g., grandfather) at a play titled Tartuffe.

In February I had another table read. The script got better, got more notes.

While still seeing plays and networking, cold emailing and stalking people on Instagram.

I asked writer friends to read and give me notes; Lise, Anita, Alex…I am very thankful for them taking the time to do that.

In March, I had my third table read. Sarin Monae West (Lucille Lortel winner) came and read. We had it at the Mink Building in Harlem. Brunch at Zions catered. LaChanze sent a rep. It was dope! Thank you Miss Andrietta!

I got more notes. I am so incredibly appreciative of the people who came out to each (bad to better) read! I’m not so sure I would be willing to do that for someone.

More rewriting, seeing shows, networking.

In April, I had my first staged reading of a portion of my play with The Classical Theatre of Harlem.

I learned about this opportunity with the CTH by going to see someone else’s play reading there.

The audience’s reaction to Harlem Queen was wonderful! Better than I hoped it would be. My CPE II crew, family and friends came out. It was fire!

In May, I went to The Classical Theatre of Harlem’s gala where I met an investor.

I changed the name of my main character so that I don’t piss off Sony.

One of my CPE II crew, named Jody told me about two producers who supported her daughter’s theater troupe. I found a contact for them and wrote them. They are interested in supporting. (Again, they did not say yes, and they did not say no. They want to see what I do.) And they asked to come to a workshop.

LaChanze told me she does not do development. I rolled my eyes and wrote back. I told her I know that already. I told her I will do the work, I am doing the work, just point me in the right direction.

In the meantime, I learned that my next step is to do a staged reading. Getting a staged reading is not easy.

I applied to five development programs.

A development program provides a writing group and advice on writing your script, some provide a stipend, most of all, they provide a staged reading!

I learned about these programs by reading the bios of the writers of the plays I went to see.

I am a finalist for one of the development programs. I am praying that my name is on at least one of those opportunities.

You all know that I am doing this from scratch, right? I am learning while doing.

Now we are back to June.

I realized that NONE of the producers I asked for advice or suggestions responded to me. What was up with that? I know they like the show, but why the tight lips?

Then I googled (-ai), Are there legal reasons why a producer will not help during development?

And YES! There are a bunch of legal reasons! I was so relieved. I was trying not to take the lack of response personal and now I had proof that it was not personal.

It is illegal for a producer to offer suggestions during development.

Because of copyright infringement and because a producer can claim to have helped write the show…

Also, there are union (Actors Equity) rules that tell you how to have a staged reading.

• There are rules about where you can have a reading.

• There are rules about how much time an actor can work on a reading.

• There are rules about pay.

• There are rules about recording and publicizing those recordings.

I just wish someone told me all of this. But hey, now I know.

Last week, I attended an online webinar on how to get a producer.

I learned a few more things:

There are commercial producers. (Mostly Broadway. ) They make their money by selling tickets.

There are not-for profit producers. (Mostly off Broadway.) The theaters already have benefactors, donors, etc. so they want to make an impact.

That is when I realized that the producers I contact in my Playbills are commercial producers and that may be why they do not respond to me.

I’m not at the commercial producer stage yet.

I am currently in the development stage. (The writing, readings, staged readings.)

In the webinar, I blabbed about my play. The producer who led the workshop asked for more information about my show. I sent information right away. The next day he wrote back saying he wants to produce a staged reading! He’s putting together a budget to do a reading!

We are off to the races! I am crushin’ it!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Next steps. My goal is to get an off - Broadway, non-profit theater (MCC, Lortel, NYTW) interested in putting up my play.

Off Broadway is a great way to start because:

*The theater (usually) has the money.

*You want to make back your money, but you are not as stressed about it because the show is already paid for.

*You can prove that there is an interest in your show and your show will make money.

*By the way, the Playbill for a play that was written by a woman mentioned that plays written by women usually have a higher rate of earning back their initial investment.

*And dare I point out that more than half of the top ten grossing shows on Broadway have POC casts:

CATS

HAMILTON

ALADIN

JOE TURNER COME AND GONE

BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB

THE LION KING

Imagine how successful a play written by a Black woman about a Black woman and featuring a POC cast will be! (ca-ching!) (that’s the sound of a cash register taking in moola.)

And I have proof! Thanks to YOU, the Harlem Queen audio drama is listened to and enjoyed all over the world. Proof that people are very interested in this story!

Once we have success off-Broadway then comes Broadway.

My cousin’s (Andre DeShields’s) show Cats: The Jellicle Ball started at a non profit off-Broadway theater. The show was extended several times. Now, it is on Broadway making history and usually at a 95+% capacity! That is significant because a show with just 60% capacity (like LIBERATION) is just breaking even.

So that is where we are now.

1. I am hoping to have a staged reading within the next few months.

2. I’m hoping to get the producers to the staged reading to see the show AND want to be involved.

3. I’m hoping one of those development programs has my name on it.

I am still seeing shows, meeting people, applying to grants, fellowships, etc.

Just want to say (and I probably shouldn’t put this in writing, but) you good people putting me in touch with people are actually “producers” too. You have earned your ticket(s) to the premiere.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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This update has gotten so long, but I also want you to know that I am working on my next audio drama titled The Courtship of Mona Mae.

We start recording at the end of this month.

I’m planning another live show this fall! It was so nice seeing so many of you at the live show I did in ‘24.

This live show will launch the new season of Mona Mae.

My dream location is the American Negro Theatre in the Schomburg Library in Harlem.

My sister said I need to have food so I will have to charge admission.

I will keep you posted.

My dream is for Mona Mae to become a feature film or even a TV series.

I love this story so much because it shows so many incredible things Black women have done in this country that we all still benefit from today - and I had no idea about them!

I’m really ready to learn the truth. Aren’t you?

My experience with Harlem Queen has shown me that selling a show is a long, slow process - Harlem Queen took 5 years.

I really hope to have Mona Mae sold and even made within 10 years. So I gotta start now. I ain’t getting any younger.

I want to tell you about the Freedman’s Bureau led by Major General Oliver Otis Howard. Howard is one of the reasons why I call bullshit on the phrase “he/she was before their time”. So you are telling me someone who decides to do the right thing is BEFORE their time??

It is always the right time to do the right thing. (that sounds dope, don’t it?)

Are you doing the right thing? Are you on the right side of history?

For the record, I do believe there is a right side and a wrong side in many situations.

For example, American Chattel Enslavement of Africans - wrong. Periodt. (Apparently, we have to make it clear about what type of slavery we are talking about because some forms of slavery are “OK”.)

Yes, there are plenty of other clearly wrong things, but I am just giving this one example.

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Jumping off my soapbox.

That’s it for now.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading, sharing your roledex, listening, praying and commenting.

Love,

Yhane

Hi!

Thank you for opening this newsletter, reading and joining me on this journey to make a Broadway show!

I am very excited to give you updates on making the HARLEM QUEEN play.

BUT FIRST, I want to share a few realizations that I’ve had recently regarding rejection. I know I dwell on rejections, but I’m done now.

1. I do not think about myself as NOT having what I need. I focus on what I DO have. I look at my life as having and I feel “rich” and powerful. I have talent, I have health, grit, determination (I have a show playing on Broadway someday) and I have YOU. (heart emoji)

2. There is enough for everyone.

3. I thought I had all of this competition. But not “everyone” wants to do what I do which is write.

4. Not everyone is going to like me or the work I make. That doesn’t mean it isn’t good.

5. When applying for grants, fellowships, etc. the best I can do is:

   a. make sure I am eligible

   b. submit what they ask for

   c. share my vision as clearly as possible

   If I do all of that and they still don’t fund my project, I refer to #4 above and #6 below.

6. I will receive what is for me.

Now the update:

Last month we had a reading of a scene of HARLEM QUEEN at the Classical Theatre of Harlem. The reading went very well! I had my CPE II crew there! My husband and children came, even a few friends!

The reading helped in a few ways:

1. I got the chance to hear an audience’s reaction to the story. The audience laughed at places I did not expect them to laugh and did not laugh at the things I wrote to be funny.

2. Now HARLEM QUEEN is affiliated with the prestigious Classical Theatre of Harlem so that prestige rubs off onto me! This industry is all about who you know and who you roll with.

3. I really think we have something special. We have a hit on our hands, folks! (smile emoji)

What I am doing:

1. Writing the script and figuring out the staging is called development. I am in the development phase.

   • Not every producer wants to be involved in development. Many producers just want to show up when the play is done AND a proven money maker and attach their names to it as producers.

   • LaChanze is not interested in development.

   • I understand, development is a lot of work, time, money and no guarantee that you will get a return on your investment.

   • I was feeling some kind of way because I really don’t want her help developing - I’m already doing that.

   • What I want is LaChanze’s rolodex. Access to theaters, people, money. People don’t like to share their contacts because if I act stupid, it makes them look stupid.

   • THAT is why I do it from scratch. I contact the producers and investors listed in my Playbills.

   • I told LaChanze that I would keep them updated because they are going to want to be producers on this show. (A little arrogance doesn’t hurt.)

2. One of you sent me the name of a married couple who are producers and investors. Thank you!

   • I wrote to those producers telling them about HARLEM QUEEN, the audio drama, my gig at Sony, the readings.

   • They are producers on CATS: The Jellicle Ball so I just had to tell them that one of the stars of the show, Andre DeShield and I have the same g.,g. grandfather.

   • They were impressed about my relation to Andre DeShields. AND they liked what I pitched them about the story. They got back to me right away! which never happens.

   • They asked to come to a workshop. I said, sure! I’ll let you know the date asap! (Now I just have to get a workshop together. )

3. A workshop is when the play is performed with very little sets, costumes, lighting. It’s a very rough production of the play. Producers, investors, industry folks are invited - and hopefully they come - so that you can raise money and generate interest.

   

   

   Sardi’s is a famous restaurant on Broadway known for its drawings of Broadway celebrities.

   I applied to three development programs:

   • WP Theater ( I am a finalist!)

   • Page 73

   • National Black Theatre

   • Waiting for the fourth program to open for applications.

   These development programs provide:

   • a writing group to help you make your script better

   • staged readings to hear your play in front of an audience

   • a workshop

   • NBT may even produce your show!

   (Y’all are still prayin’ for me, right? Thank you.)

   Announcements for the programs will be at the end of summer.

   So in the meantime, I am working on:

   MONA MAE

   • I have it cast, almost, I booked the studio.

   • For the past few years, I’ve been recording episodes of shows online because it’s cheap and I can work with anyone in the country. But I’m not happy with the audio quality so I am going back to recording in a studio.

   • Sony paid me to write the feature story so I can use that money to pay for a recording studio.

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You might wanna know the following

to prepare for MONA MAE:

Learn about the Reconstruction Era.

I am enjoying my research and learning history. There are a few things I assume everyone knows, but they don’t. It’s not their fault. No one told them. So I’ma tell you. (you’re welcome).

My audio drama The COURTSHIP OF MONA MAE takes place during 1872 - during the Reconstruction Era.

Reconstruction was roughly the years right after emancipation until 1900ish. The era ended when folks (Northern and Southern) got tired of supporting Black folks.

During the Reconstruction Era, Black Americans, who just came out of slavery, mind you, did incredible things:

• Learned to read.

• Ran for government offices - and won! There were Black senators, state representatives, lieutenant governors…

• Owned land and grew and sold crops and were able to support themselves.

• Opened schools, churches, founded towns.

• And more!

The 13th, (slavery abolished) 14th (citizenship granted to people born here) and 15th (right to vote) amendments are called the reconstruction amendments.

Folks like Clara Brown (who is a character in my audio drama) went on to open restaurants and became wealthy. Makes sense because white folks didn’t know how to cook because Black folks did all the cooking.

In my opinion, the Reconstruction Era is the closest this nation has ever come to living up to its self-imposed tenets of justice, equality and democracy. I said closest because women still could not vote. Indigenous Americans were being wiped out. There was plenty of racism and injustice going around.

About 30% of whites in this country owned slaves. So there were A LOT of poor white folks back in the day. THAT is one of the reasons why “whiteness” was created. To help the poor whites feel good about themselves and affiliate themselves with the rich whites against the Blacks. That is still what we have today.

What a shame.

What if those Blacks and whites united? What if Blacks were just left alone to build, create? Can you imagine?

I’m hoping that because we know the history and have seen this all before - a few times - we can course correct.

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This issue’s call to action - CTA - hug someone and/or tell them you love them.

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Thank you for reading, sharing, listening, supporting!

Love,

Yhane

Thank you for opening and reading about my journey to adapt the HARLEM QUEEN audio drama to the stage!

HARLEM QUEEN PLAY UPDATE

Where we were:

1. Last month, we had our third table read.

• Sarin Monae West read the role of Stephanie St. Clair and was terrific.

• I got very helpful notes. The script is getting better with each read. (yay!)

• I was really hoping that LaChanze would come to the read. She sent a very nice representative. (yay!)

• I can not thank Miss Andrietta enough for arranging the read. AND we had a fabulous caterer!

  The read was pretty dope, y’all.

Where we are:

1. LaChanze’s team asked to read the updated script. (yay!) My hope and dream is for LaChanze to be a producer. She’s a big deal; 5 Tony Award wins! 4 of them for producing!

2. I am “cold calling” producers and investors to introduce myself and tell them about the show.

I reach out to the producers listed in the many Playbills that I have.

If you have any ideas about who I should reach out to, please let me know. No one is too big or too small.

On my list I also have:

Halle Berry, Taraji P. Henson, Nia DaCosta, Nia Long, Pauletta Washington, Ava DuVernay, Gina Prince-Bythewood…if you have a contact for any of these people, and you don’t mind sharing, please let me know.

Most of the people I write ignore me, but hey, I’m an artist starting from scratch, what else am I supposed to do? Crawl up into a ball and not do anything? No way.

Next steps:

1. A staged reading for producers, investors, theaters. A staged reading is when you have the full cast read the script and you may have them enter and exit between scenes. No sets, no costumes, no music.

The purpose?

• To see how the play “moves”. For example, are the transitions that I have between scenes really enough time for the actors to transition?

• Does the staging I have on the page, work on the stage?

• Ultimately, this read is to invite producers and investors to hear the play and decide if they want to participate.

• We are past the table read phase, however this is another opportunity to hear the play. (Notes or suggestions to make the play better are always welcome at any time - even when the play is up and running.)

2. Apply. February to April is the application season. This is the time of year many grant, fellowship, festival applications are due. Winners/grantees are announced around late summer/early fall so that they can begin their work at the top of the year in January.

• That is the cycle I am on now. I am applying to things now and hoping to receive something by the fall to start in January.

• I am applying directly to theaters for staged reading opportunities. If I am able to do a staged reading at a theater that will give me lots of access and visibility and “heat” (yes, “heat” really is a thing). The point is to do readings over and over until I secure people and money.

Last September, I applied to a grant that I received for 10 years and just got the email telling me that I was rejected. Yes, VERY bummed.

Why was I rejected?

The funder offered to tell me why I was rejected. (Very valuable to know for future applications.) But I am not going to ask. (Why kick a dead horse?)

BUT I do console myself with this thought: that grant is a “beginner” grant. One of the purposes of that grant is to help launch the artist to bigger opportunities. In other words, I outgrew the grant. I had to tell myself:

I wrote a feature story for Sony Pictures!

I am launching a play for Broadway!

I am not a beginner!

I’m big time!

So I’ve been applying to larger grants. I am intimidated, there is stiff competition up here, but it’s time. This latest rejection is actually forcing me to grow.

I applied to a theater for their fellowship, which includes money AND a staged reading - and I am a semi-finalist! (yay!)

Y’all please pray for me, cross your fingers, meditate, speak this opportunity into existence. Ashe, thank you, bless you, heart emoji.

3. Name change. The name of our main character has changed from Stephanie St. Clair to Jacqueline Mercier.

Why?

Because I just wrote a feature story about Stephanie St. Clair for Sony Pictures.

Even though I can legally write about St. Clair because she is a historical figure, I decided to play it safe and change the name. I do not want to burn any bridges with Sony and Terence Winter, my co-writer of the feature story.

I made up so much of St. Clair’s story; the daughter, her affair with Luciano, Bunky, why she was sent to prison…I might as well make her a different person. Madame Jacqueline is just like Stephanie; sassy, clever, smart and rich.

And a former schoolmate of my son and I have the same birthday and now I am using his name!

Fun fact: Stephanie St. Clair was not the only Black “Policy Queen”. There were several in Harlem and Queens at the same time as Stephanie St. Clair. But Stephanie St. Clair was the loudest.

What else am I working on?

1. I decided to re-launch my audio drama The Courtship of Mona Mae and publish four new episodes in September, October, November and December. Our last episode of this season will be a special Christmas episode.

Mona Mae is a romantic western. I never liked westerns so I made one. The story takes place in 1872, during the Reconstruction Era. The R.E. was about 1865-1900 and was the closest this nation came to being great. The closest it ever came to living up to its tenets of freedom, democracy and equality.

I was taught that the R.E. was a failure. A failure for who? Because Black folks were voting, reading, farming, politicking, building, raising, loving, marrying…

THAT is why I really, really want to tell this story. IF you were taught about the R.E. you were taught the opposite about this bountiful era. That’s a shame. The R.E. was sooo good for Black and Indigenous folks that non-Blacks lost their freaking minds. Hence, the KKK, lynchings, arrests, terrorism…

By knowing the real history, I am not so afraid of the present day craziness. We have been here before (unfortunately). If my ancestors could live through that hard core sh*t, I can live through a few micro-aggressions.

Knowing the truth helps me feel fortified and empowered.

My theory is that the more truth we all know, the better we can course correct - go further, do better.

I am also casting three roles!

• Tump - mid 30s, Black man, a Civil War veteran.

  Fun fact: In Mona Mae, I created the fictional character Tump as a Civil War veteran who had a pre-Civil War family and a post Civil War family. I JUST learned that my g.g. grandfather did the same thing! He had a pre-Civil War family in Virginia then had a post Civil War family in South Carolina. I’m from the South Carolina branch. Because of the war, this situation was not uncommon.

• Zekial - mid 20s, Black man, a lawyer.

• An early 20s Cherokee woman - (I forgot the name I gave her.) She needs to be able to speak Oklahoma Cherokee. (I Just learned that there are different types of Cherokee.)

We will record in a recording studio in NYC on June 30. The recording will take 4-6 hours. We will rehearse over Zoom. I pay SAG minimum.

If you know of anyone who may be interested in any of the roles, please let me know. Thank you!

I’ve been using an online recording program since the pandemic. It is VERY cheap to record online. But the audio recorded in a studio really is better.

So I am using my “Sony money” to make these shows.

Ultimately, I would love for Mona Mae to be a feature film.

2.I finished the Harlem Queen audio drama. There will be no more episodes. However, I am still pushing it out there. I really want the person or people who need to hear it, to hear it.

Call to Action

Send all of your good vibes so that I get this fellowship for a theater read!

Let me know of anyone interested in the roles of Tump, Zekial, or the Young Cherokee Woman.

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As always, share, share, share,

thank you, thank you, thank you,

love, love, love,

Yhane

PS - Guess what?! On my way home from work I got an email from the Classical Theatre of Harlem. I was invited to do an abbreviated (one scene) stage reading of Harlem Queen! (This is NOT the theater I asked y’all to pray for me to get. So I still appreciate y’all’s prayers for that other thing too.)

This is a big deal because:

1. I have the affirmation from a legitimate theatre that my work is good! As an independent artist (and dare I say a Black woman) I am constantly having to prove my worth, intelligence and abilities. So this support from CTH says, “Yeah, she’s dope.”

2.I can ride on the coat tails of the reputation of CTH to help generate “heat” for my work!

IF you happen to be in Harlem on April 27, PLEASE come thru. This will be a reading of just one scene (I have to work my way up to the full play).

To my Jersey friends and fam, this is not really worth the long commute - I know y’all are ready to come and support. Thank you! But not this time, perhaps when we do the entire play.

I will let you all know how the read went next month!

Thank you for opening and reading my update!

Thank you so much to for your incredible comments last month! They really made me so happy and proud and thankful!

I’m very excited to tell you about the progress of the play!

But first an update on other things.

I work at a public school. So March is a long month - no holidays or breaks. (We did have off for Eid Al-Fitr, but that isn’t every March.) April is spring break, (yay!) which actually makes March feel longer. (boo)

To get through this long month, I decided that I would keep my head down and take it day by day.

1. I decided to run every day. Post brain aneurysm and 2 or 3 brain surgeries, I gained 30 pounds. I want to lose the “extra” pounds. I move more and eat less. Below is the track where I run everyday. I’m losing a pound to a pound and a half every week. A nice steady weight loss.

   By the end of the summer, I will be able to fit into the beautiful clothes that I bought pre-brain aneurysm. :) (I wear a lot of a brand of clothes that I recently learned Beyonce also wears.)

   

2. I decided that I will read at least ten pages of my book each day and be done by the end of the month.

   I’m currently reading about Frank Sinatra - a kid from Jersey like me who I greatly admired until I read 1600 pages about him.

   Just kidding, I still really admire Frank Sinatra and enjoy his music.

   I like Frank Sinatra because my father, a Black man from North Philly, liked Frank Sinatra. (There’s a story in there somewhere.)

   If Sinatra lived nowadays, I think he would have been diagnosed with OCD and/or he would be on the autism spectrum. He was “complicated” and “brilliant”.

   By looking at the character arc of Sinatra’s life, I’m learning the value of taking a step back and looking at the character arc of my life.

3. I’ve seen 1-2 shows every weekend. I go see shows to learn how to make my show.

   a. I’m getting ideas about sets. My idea for a set can certainly work because I’ve seen it done in several shows.

   b. Some shows are too long, some are too slow. I decided that I will keep my show to 80 minutes. That’s about how long I can stand watching a show. However, “Spelling Bee” was close to 2 hours, and it moved quickly. 80 minutes is short and sweet, in and out.

   c. Jokes. The funniest parts of the play are in the first five, ten minutes. That makes sense because the more drama (and there is drama in comedies) the less funny things tend to be. There are jokes throughout, but especially at the top of the show.

3. Fiore invited me to speak to his class! (I don’t have a picture.) The class is made up of veterans. (I think) they are learning how to apply to grad school, grants, etc. Things to help them get to the next level of their career and life goals.

   Several of the students are already in grad school.

   It took me a minute to register that these people are veterans. My idea of a veteran is very limited. I thought veterans were old white guys like Patton. But this class was very diverse, young(er than me) and super smart and experienced and creative and nice.

   I spoke a little about my grant writing experience, my experience getting to work with Terence Winter (creator of Boardwalk Empire, Oscar nominated writer of Wolf of Wall Street) for Sony/Tristar Pictures.

   And you know what? My story is pretty incredible. :) I really hope it inspires people to do what they were put here to do. One of the students even sent me a lovely thank you note. :)

4. The highlight of my month was our table read! It was so, so, so nice! All of the things I wanted to happen happened!

   a. I wanted a nice place to have a reading to invite producers. Welp, huge shout out to Miss Andrietta for finding a space for us AND a caterer! (AND submitted my project to investors!) *THIS is what a producer does.

   b. If you’ve been reading my newsletter for a while, you will know how much I really like LaChanze and would love for her to be a producer of my play. Welp, she sent a rep from her production company! (She’s working out in L.A. and actually apologized to me for not being able to come herself.)

   c. If you’ve been reading my newsletter, you will also know how I really wanted the phenomenal actress Sarin Monae West to read the role of Stephanie St. Clair. Welp, Sarin Monae showed up and did the thing!

   d. It really was a great read. The script was good, but because of the read and all of the really helpful notes I received, the script will be even better!

Next steps:

First, I have to tell you how grateful I am for each of you.

You know, my feelings get hurt a lot.

I know I shouldn’t take the rejection personal, but I do.

BUT what am I gonna do? Stay down? Oh, hell naw.

Staying down is not my character arc.

Your kind words really help me pick myself back up and support me until the next kick in the proverbial “balls”.

Next, I have to rewrite the script.

While I am rewriting the script, I have to reach out to theaters to ask if they will sponsor a STAGE reading.

Keep doing the work. I need to have readings (staged or table) over and over and over and invite investors, producers and make the story better and better and generate “buzz” until I secure funding, investors, producers and get to put on a show!

Friday’s table read was a gem, but just the beginning.

My short term goal: I would love to have my first STAGED reading by June/July. I’m hoping that with LaChanze attached, more doors will open for us to have a staged reading this summer.

However, I am not waiting on or relying on Miss LaChanze (Homey don’t play that).

I want to keep the momentum going (yes, “momentum” is a real thing in this industry) and will apply to and call theaters and producers and send them my deck.

A deck is a portfolio that tells what the show is about, who is on the team, budget, awards, themes, visuals. I am just starting so my deck is basic. I have a synopsis of the play, who is supporting us, what we have done so far and comps.

“Comps” is short for comparables (I think). Comps are shows similar to the show you are making. You show comps in your deck for your prospective producers and investors to have an idea of what your show will look like.

The comps I used are The Great Gatsby Musical and The Buena Vista Social Club Musical. I just saw The Wild Party today so I may add that too. All of the comps I mentioned are musicals. So I state in bold letters that my play has plenty of music and dance (the story takes place during the Harlem Renaissance), but is NOT a musical.

SO if you know anyone at a theater that I can send my deck to and ask them about a staged reading, please let me know. You may even earn yourself a stroll on the red carpet, with me, LaChanze, Sarin Monae and Miss Andrietta! :)

Most importantly, I know that when all of those nos come back, YOU will have my back and help me feel better to do it again and again and again.

Stay tuned…

Love,

Yhane

Oh! This play has been taking up a lot of my time. I am really enjoying it, but that leaves less time for me to make and promote and market my audio dramas.

I said less time, not no time. I am working on more episodes of Mona Mae!

You can start listening here: https://pod.link/1549428590. Thank you!

Hi!

Thank you for clicking this newsletter open! And for joining me on this journey of making something out of nothing!

Backstory:

You may know by now (because I tell everyone when I get a chance) that as a result of making my audio drama, “Harlem Queen”, I was hired by Sony Pictures to co-write with Terence Winter (Oscar nominated writer of “Wolf of Wall Street”) the feature story about Stephanie St. Clair (the protagonist of “Harlem Queen”) for Melina Matsoukas (dir. of “Queen & Slim”) to direct. Yes. I am super proud of myself. I made something out of nothing! I’m feeling good, empowered, even “successful”.

Now on to the next thing. I decided to adapt my audio drama “Harlem Queen” to a stage play.

How do I do that? I didn’t know how to do it so I started from scratch. No matter how “successful” I may be, I still have to start at the beginning/bottom. I am glad to know that this is the case for most people. Even someone famously successful, like Spike Lee. For every project, he still has to start at the beginning/bottom. (Some folks’s starting line may be further back than others, but hey…)

So what did I do so far?

I asked everyone I knew who made plays, how to make a play. Most people did not respond to my inquiry, a few incredible people did.

I was advised to:

1. Write a great script.

2. Generate buzz/interest by having staged readings of the script.

3. As a result of that buzz, theaters and producers will become interested in putting on my play.

Easy peasy, right? So I:

• Wrote a script.

• Had a reading.

• Got notes on the script from fellow writers and supporters. Including Anita, creator of the audio drama “Bayou’s Wrath” and a real dope live “radio show” on TikTok. Check out NitaVerse on TikTok. It is really good to see people make their stuff and put it out there. Honestly, just making it can be hard, but to put it out there too?! That takes chutzpah.

• I did a rewrite.

• While I was rewriting the script, I looked up theaters and producers listed in playbills and wrote to them to introduce myself and the play. I also sent some a very early draft of the play, which was not good. But I told them it was a draft, I’m still working on the play. Most did not respond, but a few did respond and I am happy with and thankful for those folks who did respond.

• I networked in real life.

  a. I went to an after show event at the New York Theatre Workshop and met folks.

  b. I wrote LaChanze on Instagram and we finally met at one of her plays. LaChanze, is a big deal, she is a theater producer. A producer knows other producers (with money) and theaters.

  c. I went to a pre-show event and met the executive director of the Lucille Lortel Theatre, a big deal.

  d. I met with a very nice up and coming producer.

• I asked another writer to help me write the script. But I wrote the next draft without their help.

• In January, I asked you good folks for help finding a space to do another reading at a nice place where I can invite “industry” people.

• My super fan, Andrietta found a space in Harlem for March 20!

• I right away invited LaChanze to the next reading on March 20.

• I asked Sarin Monae West an incredible actress and Lortel Award winner, to read the Stephanie St. Clair role for our table read on March 20. They said yes!!

• In early February, I had another table read.

• Got more notes.

• Rewriting the script.

• LaChanze wrote back. She is going to try to make the reading! (Yes, a big deal.)

• Applying to fellowships and grants.

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How am I feeling about all of this?

It took me some time to say out loud/tell people that I am making “Harlem Queen” a stage play. It’s embarrassing. I had all of the reasons NOT to do it: a. I never wrote a stage play. b. I knew no one in the theater world. c. I didn’t know how to get a play made. d. What if it never happens?

So I had to talk to myself. a. I am a good writer and I can learn how to write a stage play. I am reading and seeing plays all of the time. b. I’m going out to see shows and I’m learning the who’s who of the theater world. c. By going to shows and by reading the bios of the writers, I am learning how they got their plays made. (Hint: There really is no one way.) d. This is going to happen. That was the first thing I needed to do before I even started writing the script. I had to tell myself that this is a done deal.

In fact, in my mind, the play already exists. I can see and hear the band playing that bumping jazz music as beautiful dancers kick and shimmy across the stage. We are in it! The elegance, arrogance, sophistication of the Harlem Renaissance. Madame Stephanie St. Clair struts across the stage in her mink, cigarette in holder, a glass of gin in hand. Sweet and dapper Bunky always at her side. Dutch Schultz being an a-hole. The show is fun and exciting and does very, very well, of course. Can you see it? Yes?! Yay! Now I just have to help the people with the theaters and money see it. If you know any theater people who you don’t think would mind getting a note from me, please let me know.

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There are a few things that I learned after working on the “Harlem Queen” movie deal for four years! (Overnight) Success takes a long time.

1. Things get made because you don’t stop making them. You can not give up. Think about it, a lot of stuff made is questionable, you may wonder, how did this get made? It got made because the maker did not stop. Besides, what else am I going to do with my time? I’m a writer, a creator, this is what I do.

2. I know that people will LOVE the “Harlem Queen” play. Don’t you think so?

3. Rejections are part of the work. (In 1962-63, some dude at Capitol Records rejected The Beatles three times!) I know I keep dwelling on the rejections, that’s because they hurt. I am learning to let the rejections hurt, but keep doing the work because the folks who reject me just don’t have no sense. So am I supposed to listen to their rejections and not do what I know I was put here to do? Would YOU stop doing what you know you were put here to do even if someone (with no sense) tells you you’re not smart enough or capable? No.

4. Keep doing what I can do. I applied to a fellowship to get access to play scripts. I got rejected. BUT by going to an event at the New York Theatre Workshop I asked for a copy of a script. And they sent it to me!

I also applied to a fellowship that would introduce me to people like the executive directors at theaters. I got rejected. BUT by going out to an event, I met an executive director at a theater! I told him about my work and he was very interested.

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That’s where we are.

Next time, I will let you know how the reading went. The dream would be for LaChanze to come and hear the play and say “this is amazing!” and ask to be a producer. :)

Thank you for reading! Stay well!

Love,

Yhane

PS - THANK YOU so much for your likes and comments. (Dara!) As you can imagine, I spend A LOT of time in my own head. Insecurity and doubt like to creep in so it is VERY encouraging and helpful to see that my work resonates with you.

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Oh! While I am working to get the play made, I am putting together another season of my series titled “The Courtship of Mona Mae”. This is a “western” and romance story, which takes place during the Reconstruction Era and centers a Black woman pioneer.

This is a very timely story. So much of the Reconstruction Era is very similar to our present era. That’s one of the reasons why I am not pressed, we’ve seen this mess before and we got through it.

In my opinion, The Reconstruction Era is the closest this nation came to living up to its tenets of democracy, independence and liberty for all.

Here is the link: https://pod.link/1549428590

I don’t know about you, but I was taught that the Reconstruction Era was a failure. A failure for who? Because Black folks were doing okay. They had land and farms, they were making money, building communities, educating themselves, many Black men were Congressmen and in other elected positions and there were plenty of white “allies”.

The failure was that (white) folks just got tired of having to donate, share, be “tolerant” and considerate of the millions of freed slaves. It was easier and more beneficial for them to come up with reasons why they should not help the recently emancipated. Hence, “Jim Crow”. And the nation had a very bigoted and racist president Jackson who was hell bent on expanding the country with his “Manifest Destiny” and wiping out Indigenous Americans. This all sounds familiar, right?

As a result of the research that I do, I have learned that a lot of what I was taught is not only a lie, but the opposite is usually the truth. For example, watermelons. I won’t speak for all Black folks, but for a long time I avoided watermelon because a Black person eating watermelon is an ugly stereotype. However, I just learned that watermelons and other crops earned Black folks a lot of money for many years after slavery ended. Our “cousins” didn’t like that Black folks were doing well (for some reason) and started dissing watermelons, they created those ugly stereotypes and stopped buying watermelons. Eventually, Black folks stopped selling what was once a very lucrative crop! Now I LOVE watermelon. You do too?! Yes! Enjoy your melon!

Thank you for reading, listening, sharing, commenting!

I love you!

Yhane

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One more thing! I finally reached 200 subscribers! When you recommend this newsletter, people really do subscribe! Thank you!

I really do appreciate every single one of you. ESPECIALLY the 47% of you who actually open this newsletter! That is a significant open rate! (That looks very impressive on my pitch decks and grant applications.)

As an artist I do not concern myself too much with numbers. HOWEVER, as an artist who wants to continue to do her work, the numbers do matter. The numbers are a “shortcut” to determine if I am “successful” and have “value”.

So yes, the number of subscribers, downloads, likes, followers, etc. matter. So thank you for subscribing and reading!

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Happy New Year!

I actually had a very productive 2025.

1. I made THREE audio dramas:

   “Dancers on the Shore”

   Here is the link: https://pod.link/1821036025

   

   I hope you have a chance to listen to William Melvin Kelley’s stories! If you enjoy American literature like Baldwin, Hughes, Hurston, you really should put Kelley on your list.

   I am proud of making all three shows, but especially “Moses Mama”. In that story we travelled from the Gulf of Mexico during the 1950s to ancient Egypt. It sounds great!

   _________________________________

2. I finished “Harlem Queen”.

   I concluded the ”Harlem Queen” series. However, I did leave a door open in the story to launch a spin off series that centers Stephanie’s daughter, Michelle.

   Here is the link: https://pod.link/1453287583

   

   ___________________________________.

3. I’ve been wanting to make “A Seneca Village Christmas” for two years. I never knew how Black people celebrated Christmas during the 1850s. I never thought about it. This story is very warm and loving, based on actual events.

   The show is in “The Courtship of Mona Mae” feed. Here is the link:https://pod.link/1549428590

   

   My goal was to make six shows, but what was I thinking?! Making one or two shows is hard enough!

   Also in 2025:

4. I got a grant from the Penguin Foundation!

5. Secured a sponsor for “A Seneca Village Christmas”. Andrietta Sims paid for the editor! Sooo necessary because I can’t stand editing.

6. I saw at least one play each month. Except February when I went to see Wynton Marsalis.

7. I did the “impossible” and got a writing gig for Sony/Tristar. Why is that considered “impossible”?

   Well, because :

   a. I know no one in Hollywood, let alone Sony.

   b. I am not in L.A.

   c. I am no “spring chicken”.

   d. I have no professional writing experience.

   e. Hollywood is “melting” right now. Apparently, no one is hiring or paying.

What I do have is persistence and passion.

I take my persistence and passion for granted.

(I’m a Black woman in America. Of course I am passionate and I know that giving up is not an option.)

However, I am discovering that many people are not passionate AND persistent. I’m also realizing that most of the battle in this business (and in life) is won if you just do not give up!

My friend Tom Tracy comes to mind when I think of someone passionate and persistent. Tom and I didn’t grow up in the same town, but the same area in South Jersey. We were friends in middle school and kind of still friends in high school. I had no idea he liked writing!

Tom writes very special children’s books. I am super proud and inspired by him. His books are stories that only he can write. I am glad his books exist in this world. Here is a link to his site: https://www.tomtracybooks.com/

What do you have that only you can share with the world?

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I did learn some things in 2025:

1. If I don’t want it repeated, I don’t say it. Because it will be repeated and repeated out of context.

2. I do things as they come to me; pay a bill, edit, work on an application. I may not finish that day, but I get started and continue to do a bit each day until it is completed. There will always be another thing that needs to be done and it will pop-up “out of nowhere”. If I’m caught up with my work, I’m not stressed by the “pop-up”.

3. Rejections are nothing. This took me a while to fully learn and internalize. My problem was that I only applied to things that I thought that I could and should get, but when I didn’t get it I was flummoxed, stunned.

   But there are really so many reasons why I did not get a grant:

   a. Sometimes the decision has nothing to do with me or my project or my submission.

   b. A few times, I misread the guidelines and should not have applied in the first place.

   c. Sometimes I do not provide the correct information in the format they requested.

4. I am pretty incredible. You know that I survived a massive brain bleed and had an AVM removed, right? I JUST learned that the survival rate of what I went through is less that 20%! That means 80 people out of 100 drop dead, done or they are gone in a few months!

   As a result, I want to be sure to “earn my keep” on this earth. I want to share what only I can share. Would you have known of Stephanie St. Clair or Clara Brown if I wasn’t here to tell you about them? No? You see, it’s good I’m here to tell you.

Goals for 2026:

1. Pick up with my audio drama “The Courtship of Mona Mae”. Here is the link:https://pod.link/1549428590

2. Make “Harlem Queen” a stage play.

3. Do another live “radio show”.

4. Start rounding up the troops to get the “Mona Mae” movie made.

5. Secure the funding to make “Crown Beauty”, which is a spinoff of “Harlem Queen”.

Update on making “Harlem Queen” a stage play:

You know that I do not know how to get a play made.

So I started with what I could do and asked people a lot of questions. Some answered, some didn’t.

I wrote a draft, had a table read, wrote more drafts, I enlisted a co-writer, I go to see shows and I am networking my booty off.

In order to make the play I need:

1. A theater.

2. Investors to pay for the theater and talent and crew, marketing, publicity…

3. Producers to actually make the play happen. Help with Casting, finding a director, finding a venue… (I’ve been communicating with LaChanze and would love for her to be one of the producers.)

4. A really great script. (I got this.)

5. A terrific cast. (TWO time Tony Award winner Kara Young performed in the “Harlem Queen” audio drama. She has expressed interest in playing Stephanie St. Clair.)

Part of my networking and education included going to see this play in December:

This was a one woman show. I really liked that the writer/star is from Jersey. So much of it was in Spanish. I don’t speak Spanish, but I understood what was being said! That’s because the writing was so good. AND I got to play an abuelita!

*I went to a pre-show mixer and met George Forbes, the executive director of the Lucille Lortel Theatre. The Lortel was one of the producers/investors of the play I went to see. If you don’t know much about NYC theater, I’m telling you that the Lortel is a big deal.

Forbes was so generous with his time. He told us all about the Lortel. They do a lot of work! I blabbed to him about my play, Kara blah, blah, blah…

He told me to “stay in touch” regarding “Harlem Queen”. (Gasp) Could this be the theater and investor that I need?! If you’ve been reading me a few months by now, you know that “stay in touch” is a big deal. In this business, no one says “yes”, no one says “no,” they say “stay in touch”. (By the way, I applied to a program that gives people like me access to people like George Forbes and got rejected. )

*I also reached out to New York Theatre Workshop. And a kind artistic director offered to help me apply for a staged reading at NYTW!

• As I mentioned before, I went to one of their networking events on October(?) and wrote to them afterwards.

• I also went to see Tartuffe and wrote to them afterwards.

• I asked for a copy of a script and they sent it to me. (By the way, I applied to a program that gives writers like me access to scripts, but got rejected.)

*Another development is that we are having another table read in February.

A table read is friends reading the script out loud so that I can hear it and get notes.

I would love to do a staged reading in April/May or both. Maybe that will be when NYTW will step in?

A staged reading is when the actors read the play from their scripts and move around and exit and enter the stage. This is an opportunity to :

• Get more notes.

• See if the transitions I had in my head or on the page work on stage.

• Invite investors, producers to raise funds to make the play.

For the staged reading I need a space for the actors to perform/read their scripts. Ideally, some place nice and clean and comfortable and holds maybe at least 20 people.

Again, Andrietta put in some calls for a space. Now we have a beautiful space in the Mink building in Harlem on 126th Street!

Thank you Andrietta! You have certainly earned your opening night comps!

We are really on a good track with this show!

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That’s it for now! I will tell you about the table read next time.

Thank you for reading, listening, supporting!

YOU are my foot soldiers. If you know someone who needs to listen to a very good story about a woman who does incredible things in spite of the hurdles set before her, please tell them about one or all of my shows: “Harlem Queen”, “The Courtship of Mona Mae”, “1972”. Thank you!

Love,

Yhane

I finally made the Christmas story I’ve been wanting to make for two years - A Seneca Village Christmas.

Major shout out of appreciation to Andrietta Sims who heard my cry for an editor (yes, cry because I can not stand editing - but I do not because I can’t afford an editor - and my brain was about to explode - again!) and paid the editor, Jordan Kauwling, to edit the show!

Celebrate Christmas with the Gunther family in Seneca Village, 1850. Contrary to what you may have been told about Seneca Village - IF you were even told about it - the village’s predominantly African American population (with some Irish and Indigenous folks) were landowners, educated and skilled.

This story has two parts.

Here is the link to the show: https://pod.link/1549428590. The show is in The Courtship of Mona Mae feed.

I am fortunate to work with incredibly talented people who love doing what they do and are willing and able to share their talents.

Ebonie Ellington (who also voiced Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm in my limited series 1972), Yusuf Lamont, Isaiah Mueller, Okema T. Moore, Nina Smith, Emilio Smith, Polly McKie, Peter Killy.

I worked with sound designer Sidney Evans for the first time. The story really sounds great.

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My birthday is December 17!

I will be 56 years old. Another year older, another year wiser.

I like that my birthday is the week before Christmas because most people are in a good mood.

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I had a lovely year.

1. I saw at least one play each month. I learned a lot going to see plays:

   1. Anything can be done in the theater because our imaginations can create anything.

   2. Putting on a play costs a lot of money and time.

   3. The “brass ring” is to get in with a non-profit theater like MCC or NYTW or Lucille Lortel because they have the theater and staff to make a show. So what I am doing now is getting to know these theaters and others like them. That is why I am going to a pre-show mixer and see a play at the Lortel on December 14. I actually do really like the Lortel theater. I saw Gruesome Playground Injuries and Duke and Roya at the Lortel.

      

2. I made three audio dramas series this year! Dancers on the Shore, the final season of Harlem Queen and A Seneca Village Christmas AND I am finally finishing another show I started two years ago. My goal was to make six series this year. What was I thinking?! Making these shows is a lot of work.

3. I read at least one book each month.

4. I walked home every day from work - except when it rained.

5. I got hired by Sony to co-write the feature Stephanie St. Clair story with Terence Winter. Melina Matsoukas is slated to direct. I also got a co-producer credit - my name will be in lights on the big screen!

6. I finally met a distant relative, who I just learned was a relative, Andre DeShields! He most recently and notably originated the role of Hermes on Broadway in the musical Hadestown, winning the 2019 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical and the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for his performance.

   How are we related? He and I have the same great-great grandfather, George Washington who was a freeman in Virginia in 1850 and served in the Civil War. I think Washington would be proud of his talented, smart, resourceful grandchildren!

Andre and I met for the first time at New York Theatre Workshop. We both were there to see Tartuffe. He did a production of Tartuffe in October, which I also went to see.

It was a nice lesson to see the same story told two very different ways.

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Now a “Harlem Queen” stage play update.

As you may know, up to this point I:

Wrote a draft.

Had a table read and got notes.

Wrote another draft.

Enlisted another writer with stage writing experience.

Jason Moran said yes! Sarin Monae said yes! I met LaChanze, she didn’t say yes or no, but gave me a big hug!

Went to networking events. The one at New York Theatre Workshop was especially nice.

So now we are up to:

1. I met with a very nice producer. What exactly does a producer do?

   1. Producers help at different levels; some are hands on, some make a phone call or two to investors who join. You want producers who have access to people with money to invest in your show.

   2. Producers also help you find the theater, crew, actors to make the show.

   3. Look in any Playbill and you will see dozens of producers (and investors) listed. Putting on a show takes a lot of money and a lot of help.

2. We will have another draft of the play in January.

3. We are planning a table read in early February. A table read is when the actors read the play at a table. The table read is mostly for the writer to hear the play, get notes, make adjustments, etc.

4. I got an agent!

   1. I’ve learned that a rejection can be a building block to a relationship. This agent rejected me in January. BUT…

   2. I stayed in touch, sent updates and now the agent offered to broker this deal. (Not a hard decision on the agent’s part. I’m already doing the work. BUT I will need someone to broker this deal when the time comes. )

What I am learning is that, like any field, it is truly about networking and knowing people. Several theaters have programs that artists can apply to to gain development support (writing, workshops, readings, space, actors…).

BUT the same theaters also invite artists to participate. I have applied to several of these opportunities. Got rejected twice. BUT I am still networking with these folks. I am doing readings not only to make the script better, but to also generate “buzz” so that theaters will invite me to develop my play with them.

I am also learning that plays hardly make a profit. Exceptions are Lion King, Hamilton and a dozen or so others.

If a play breaks even it is considered a success.

Why do investors invest in a play even though they most likely won’t make any money? Because they want the show/art/story to exist in the world.

The theater is not “Hollywood”. It is not always about making big money, (although you don’t want to lose money and you do want to make money). The theater is truly about the art.

I’m realizing that is why so many theaters are “not-for-profit”. They know they are not going to make a profit. (Not that they aren’t trying to.) They are committed to creating very strong work that resonates with people and empowers people.

I like that. That is why I make my audio dramas. For 6 years, I’ve been fortunate to earn back what I put in. I truly want these stories to resonate with you and empower you.

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I got another rejection for a grant I applied to. This one was for a theater and crew so that I could have a staged reading of the play.

A next step after the table read process is having a staged reading. A staged reading is when the actors read their lines from their scripts. There is no set or wardrobe or lights, etc. There may be some minimal movement (upstage, downstage, exits, entrances). I want to have a staged reading because I want to see if what I wrote makes sense and can be done on the stage. AND you invite potential investors to your staged read.

So I will have to get a space another way:

1. I can do the reading in a really nice apartment.

2. OR do the reading at Crooked Media where I had the first reading.

3. OR just ask a theater if I can use their space - for free.

*Do you have access to a space to do a reading? Let me know. Thank you!

I’m applying to another grant to get funding to make the spin off series of “Harlem Queen”.

If you have anything nice to say about my work, please put it in the comments. I would like to put your good words of support in my grant application. I’m thinking your good words will impress the money folks. I also plan to use the previous posts and reviews. Thank you!

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“Harlem Queen” audio drama has finally come to an end.

If you haven’t listened to the last season, here is a link to the show: https://pod.link/1453287583

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Am I sad that “Harlem Queen” is done? Nope. Stephanie St. Clair has been very good to me, but I’m ready for a break from the ol’ girl.

BUT she is keeping me busy with this play and spin-off I am hoping to make next year.

Yes, I am itching to make a “Harlem Queen” spin-off. YOU can help by writing in the comments how much you love “Harlem Queen” and can’t wait for a spin-off and I will put that in my grant proposals. Thank you!

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That’s it for now.

Very excited about going to the Lortel mixer AND our reading in February!

Have a terrific Christmas or whichever Holiday(s) you celebrate!

Love,

Yhane

This year I realized that I have grit!

I make my shows because I want these stories to exist in the world and I do not stop making them despite the nos and rejections. (Stopping is an option, but isn’t really a consideration.) I am thankful for my grit.

Why would I stop doing what I love doing when I know that knowing the people in my stories has helped me and will probably help you? Didn’t you listen to Harlem Queen then thought about it and then discovered the badass boss b*tch(es) in your family?

Besides, what else am I going to do with my time?

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All of the nos this year really got me down. No is easy for a lot of people because doing nothing is really easy.

As an independent artist, I have to constantly get through the nos. Not taking it personal is…impossible - for me. Maybe someone else can not take it personal.

But I got through it. How? By focusing on what I do have. I have you! I have a very impressive credit with Tristar/Sony! I have a beautiful collection of work that entertains and inspires!

And I’ve just come to the conclusion that:

The rejections are from idiots who just don’t know no better.

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Did you know that I make these shows with just a few thousand dollars? Production companies with budgets do what I do for tens of thousands of dollars. Yes, tens of thousands - PER episode! They make one episode for $10,000, I make one episode for $2500.

I make my shows with a few thousand dollars. That is to pay the actors and the sound designer and sometimes an editor and a recording engineer. I pay SAG insurance. When we recorded in a recording studio, I bought food, paid for rehearsal space, hired production assistants. The point is, I didn’t skimp on paying what I needed to pay for.

I do not know what those big production companies are using all that money for. I edit myself most of the time so that I don’t have to pay for an editor. I produce and direct because I can not afford to pay people to do that. I do the marketing, publicity.

Oh, and I still have to read and research and write the show, but that is truly the fun part. As an indie artist you have to do it all because you don’t have any money to pay people to do it. I suppose if I was getting paid to do all of that work, it would total about $7500 per episode.

That is why I take long breaks between seasons. So that I can research and write while working my day job to save money to pay the people who help me make these shows. My goal is to at least earn back what I pay out - to break even. It takes a long time to earn back that money.

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As you may know, we are on our last season of Harlem Queen. On November 11, I will publish episode 3 of 5 episodes. I’ve been wanting to incorporate ALL of the Boss Madames of this era since I started the series in 2019. Now is the time! Please check it out.

What are my plans once the series is done? 1. Keep promoting it and my other shows. 2. Adapt it to the stage. 3. Make a spinoff.

Yes! I wrote a spinoff series, which stars Stephanie’s estranged daughter, Michelle Mondesir. The story is set ten years later (the 1940s) in Atlantic City, which was quite a hot spot for musicians, performers, gamblers and mobsters. I’ve been seeking funding this past year and applied to grants to pay the folks to act, edit and sound design.

What will I do if I don’t get the funding? I will probably still make at least two episodes because like I said, I have grit and I believe this story should exist in the world. If I don’t get the funding, it will just take me longer to make it because I will have to save up the money. I’m here to do what I was put here to do and I believe I was put here to share these stories.

And here’s the kicker, once I make the show, people will be like, ’Oh, why didn’t you ask so and so for funding? Or ask me for help?’. (eyeroll and shrug)

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Progress

Many of you may already know that I am in the process of adapting Harlem Queen to the stage.

I’ve had some lovely people take the time to explain the process of making a play to me. (heart emoji).

I’ve had a few people say, ‘Keep me posted.’. (eyeroll, but OK)

I’ve even had a few people say yes I want to help! (grinning heart emoji)

I’ve never made a play. I am starting from scratch.

• A big part of my process includes going to see shows. I learn a lot by seeing shows. These are the shows that I saw the last two weeks of October. I go and see at least one show a month. But several shows have been extended so I rushed to see them before they closed.

• I am in the process of re-writing the script. I asked a terrific writer, Alle Mims who also makes audio dramas and recently got their MFA from Columbia University to help me adapt the script to the stage.

• I am seeking investors and producers. I don’t know anyone in the theater world, but I am learning who the movers and shakers are.

• I am applying to fellowships for space, access to scrips, money to pay the actors and getting “rejected”. So now I just ask the theaters directly for what I need. One theater sent me the script of a play that I want to use as a template for my play! I asked and they sent it to me!

• In order to gain support and share my work, I go out A LOT. I go to shows. I go to networking opportunities. I also write people on Instagram. I find their contact information on IMDB and I reach out to them. (Actually, my friend Karen finds the information on IMDB because she has an IMDB account. ).

  • I’m thrilled to be able to go out.

    • I had a life threatening brain hemorrhage a few years ago. (My doctors like to tell me, I should have/could have died.) So to be able to get on the subway and walk to a theater and sit for 2 hours and get myself back home is a big deal.

• Most people do not respond, BUT the most exciting response I received recently was from LaChanze.

  • I met her when I went to see a play she produced titled Other. I highly recommend the play.

  • LaChanze Productions is a big deal. Different producers do different things. If you look at a playbill there could easily be a dozens producers listed. A producer may help develop the script, they may help find funding, they may help actually put the show together (find a venue, casting, etc.). Coincidentally, I went to see several plays that LaChanze co-produced; Wine in the Wilderness, Trouble in Mind, The Outsiders, Other, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Buena Vista Social Club Musical. Harlem Queen would be an obvious fit, right? I sent her my deck. I will keep you posted.

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Only six subscribers away from 200. I would love to reach 200 by the end of the year. It’s a pretty number, isn’t it? So if you know anyone who would be interested in coming along on this journey of making something out of nothing, please encourage them to subscribe. Thank you!

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I got my check from TriStar/Sony for co-writing the Stephanie St. Clair story with Terence Winter for Melina Matsoukas to direct. I put most of it in savings and treated myself to the bamboo earrings below. I’ve wanted these earrings since I was 14, 15, 16 years old. It took 40 years and I love wearing them!

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I MUST shout out the dopest audio drama creator and sound designer out here - Xperience J.

Xperience J. has created the soundscapes for all of my shows; Harlem Queen, The Courtship of Mona Mae, 1972, Dancers on the Shore. That dope music you hear in 1972? Xperience J. found it. Those crystal glasses filled with gin? Xperience J. That gun battle? You guessed it, Xperience J.

Please check out her latest series.

Moitreyee: A Faceless Film

Plagued by writer’s block and a strained marriage, a bestselling author becomes entangled in an affair with the newly hired housekeeper. As dark secrets emerge, he finds himself in a race against time to safeguard his loved ones from a looming danger.

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That’s it!

Thank you for reading, listening, sharing!

Love,

Yhane

Why do I focus on the rejections? I’ve decided that I am not going to focus on the rejections anymore. I can not control who says “no” to me. I can not control who says “yes” to me. I can control myself and the work that I do.

I want y’all to know better to do better. I want you to know and care for yourselves so that you can know and care for others.

Knowing myself makes me more understanding and caring for others. Knowing myself and my people who came before me is pretty powerful. I want that for you.

My mission is to make these stories so that they will help all of us. You know the phrase knowledge is power? Yeah, I believe that.

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Now on to focusing on the goodness that I receive as a result of doing my work:

I receive INCREDIBLE messages that I just ignore because I think the people who send me those messages are “just being nice”. Uh… yeah!
”Just being nice” is not always easy to do. Being nice is logging in even though you have to create a new password, to leave a comment, or creating an account to leave a comment or typing a comment on your phone without your eyeglasses! Being nice is getting up from your comfortable seat to go find your credit card to send me a contribution. Being nice can be a hassle, which is why I am so appreciative when people are nice to me.

Look at the messages I’ve received:

“I appreciate your hard work! …art like yours makes the world a nicer place.” - Renee Ramos on Instagram

“Yhane, I could never forget you. Your spirit is PRESENT! I’m not surprised our heroes grabbed you to tell her story…I’d be honored and privileged to get to support you in developing the story— yes yes always yes…” - Sarin Monae on Instagram.

“YESS!!!!” - Jason Moran

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I am reverse engineering. Being an artist includes having a vision. The vision is the beginning, not the ending. In my mind, this play is already made and you’ve already seen it and enjoyed it. Yay! (I just have to wait for everyone else to catch up.)

So what are the steps that will get me to that point?

Here we go…

First, a quick backstory, you know that I was hired by Sony/Trisar to co-write the feature story of the Stephanie St. Clair story.

I still have my IP (intellectual property) and I decided to adapt my audio drama to the stage.

So

I wrote the script.

We had a great table read.

I got great notes and did a rewrite.

Got more notes.

Now - The biggest note I got this time around was that the play does not read like a story. I’ve enlisted the help of a playwright. I will let you know about them next time.

Also now, while working on the script, I am trying to find a theater that will support a staged reading. A staged reading is when actors read the script, there is some movement on the stage maybe a hint of props and costumes, lighting, sound.

As I understand it, the purpose of a staged reading is: 1. to see the show move, 2. to get notes, 3. to introduce and secure producers and investors.

I’ve applied to the staged reading programs at New York Theatre Workshop and Theater for a New City, MCC (Manhattan Class Company) CSC (Classic Stage Company) MTC (Manhattan Theatre Club), PAC NYC. The Public no longer does readings. I also wrote to three theaters in London because “Harlem Queen” is doing very well in the UK.

Do I know anyone at any of these theaters? Nope. I call it “cold calling”. I find an email address online and write to them. I introduce myself, my work, my team, I tell them about YOU and that we are making something very powerful and special. I keep writing until someone “catches up”.

Last week, I attended the New York Theatre Workshop’s Black Theatre Night, it was beautiful. If YOU know of a theater that I should reach out to, please let me know. I obviously have no problem with “cold calling”.

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My “to-do” list check in: There were a couple of things on my to-do list this year that I just could not get to this year. (I think I can move faster than I actually can.) BUT I’ve had a VERY productive year:

I made three incredible episodes of Dancers on the Shore.

I made the final season of Harlem Queen.

I relaunched The Courtship of Mona Mae.

I made spin-off episodes of Mona Mae, A Seneca Village Christmas, which will come out this Thanksgiving for Christmas. I will tell you more about A Seneca Village Christmas next time.

HARLEM QUEEN: https://pod.link/1453287583

THE COURTSHIP MONA MAE: https://pod.link/1549428590

DANCERS ON THE SHORE: https://pod.link/1821036025

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Now a bit of business involved in being an indie artist:

Did you know that YOU are my distributors? You know how big studios like Paramount and Warner Brothers have millions of dollars to sink into getting the word out about their work? They advertise on billboards, ads, newspapers, posters, etc. Yes, that is publicity, marketing and distribution. I can post from here to kingdom come, but if YOU don’t back me, no one will pay attention and listen.

So

YOU are my foot soldiers, thank you!

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I’ve perused my data recently. I am thrilled to say that all of my shows have listeners all over the world; Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, Belgium, South Africa, but here are some interesting places:

Mona Mae, the western, has a significant amount of listeners in ITALY and AUSTRALIA!

Harlem Queen, has listeners a significant amount of listeners in SLOVENIA, BANGLADESH, PHILIPPINES!

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LOTS of Research and getting out this month:

I went to see “The Other Americans” by John Leguizamo at the Public Theater. Very good. The program said this was a “family drama” and it was. Reminded me of “A Raisin in the Sun”.

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At the NY Library of Performing Arts exhibit about Black theater, I saw a photo of this singer, Sisseretta Jones from the 1890s and immediately thought of Fantasia in the 2020s.

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The library I like to go to is in the Lincoln Center Complex. San Juan Hill was a predominantly African American, West Indian and Puerto Rican neighborhood; schools, churches, clubs, businesses, which was destroyed in order to build Lincoln Center.

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181 Mercer Street today on the left, which was home to the African Grove Theater in the 1820s on the right.

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I really hate editing, but I know you will love this show. This is my last episode for the final season of “Harlem Queen”. Thank you to my #1 fan who sponsored the editor for my next show! Stay tuned…

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Thank you for listening, talking me up, reading!

Love,

Yhane

If you responded to my call for more subscribers and just joined, thank you and welcome!

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My number #1 fan is my number #1 cheerleader and #1 supporter, Miss Andrietta. In the photo above she is wearing her Hotsy Totsy chapeau. ( I had a few Hotsy Totsy hats made.) Hotsy Totsy is slang from the 1920s. A Hotsy Totsy is a very attractive woman. An attractive and kind man was called a Darb. (This was before binary and non-binary gender and gender identity was a part of the common or “majority” lexicon.)

I think of you good people as hotsy totsies and darbs. You all really keep me encouraged - Denese! Talib! Corey! Virginia! Bob Raymonda! Hi, Fiore! Anita! Naomi! Gabby! Jac’leen! And so many more. Thank you for telling me I’m doing good work! Thank you for telling your friends about my audio dramas! Thank you for showing up!

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I am adapting the “Harlem Queen” audio drama to the stage. For me, a huge part of learning how to make a play is by going to see plays. I go and see at least one show a month. I am really on a roll. I’ve seen PURPOSE, GYPSY, HELL’S KITCHEN, SUNSET BOULEVARD, REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES, BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB and several other shows on Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off Broadway over the past few years. My biggest takeaway is you can create anything in the theater and your imagination is a powerful storytelling tool.

Andrietta and I went to see “The Brothers Size” last week. It was SO good. It was theater in the round (the performance space was surrounded by the audience). No set, no props. Just the actors and the opportunity to use and exercise my brain by imagining props and sets. When the characters were in a car shop, there was no car shop on the stage, but I could “see” a car shop. Incredible. The play was written by Tarell Alvin McCraney who also wrote the film “Moonlight”.

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My first step in adapting the “Harlem Queen” audio drama was writing the script.

Then we had a reading, which was great.

Next, I received very good notes, which I incorporated into the script and the script really is a lot better.

Crooked Letter provided the space for the read. The actors came out to read and did not get paid. Instead of paying everyone, which I could not afford to do, I bought everyone dinner from DIG. SO good.

Crooked Letter might be a producer(?). I’m not trying to dis Crooked Letter, I am very thankful to have their support, but I say might because I notice in my limited experience in the “industry” that folks do not feel comfortable committing. They can say no in a heartbeat, buy yes? they don’t say it. They say things like “Ok, we’ll check back next week,” or “Let’s keep in touch” or “I’ll call business affairs." (B.A. or Business affairs are the contract and money people.) When they bring up B.A., that means yes, let’s do this. BUT no one says, yes, let’s do this.

The biggest note I received after the reading was fleshing out the daughter character, Michelle. It took me a minute to think about Michelle as a full character on her own, with her own “why” (thank you, Anita) and not as a part of Stephanie’s story.

Freddy Washington’s role in “The Imitation of Life” and Nella Larson’s book “Passing” influenced me to add the Michelle character.

I suppose I was influenced by the famous actress (not sure if I should mention her by name) who we met with two years ago who wanted to play Stephanie St. Clair in the movie, but did NOT want the Michelle character in the story.

As a result of her note, I made Michelle small, but there is a reason why I put Michelle in the story in the first place and the reading and notes reminded me why.

We are also in the process of putting together a deck to send to producers and investors. We need producers and investors to cover the costs of rehearsal space and paying the actors and crew as we put the show together. And most of all, pay the productions costs until the show starts earning money. I’ve been to several, intimate and comfortable theaters that I really like; MCC (Manhattan Class Company) Lucille Lortel Theater, The Shed, The Public, the Hayes Theater on West 44th Street, CSC (Classic Stage Company) way downtown and many others.

Duke Ellington and his band is a large part of the show and Jason Moran is thee expert on Duke. Jason Moran, said I can drop his name in the deck! He also created the theme music for “Harlem Queen” and he said YES! in a heartbeat. (heart emoji)

Watch this space, I will keep you posted on developments of the play and my experiences navigating the “industry”. (eyeroll)

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I got ANOTHER rejection last week. I was bummed. I think that makes it rejection number six or seven this year.

I find it ironic that I get these rejections, yet I have sponsors and listeners all over the world (India, Singapore, Philippines, Brazil, etc.) AND did I mention Sony/Tristar hired me to co-write the feature story?! AND I have you good people telling me I do good work! I’m either not explaining my project clearly enough or my project does not fit with their “mandate” or the funders are just “losers” with no vision - but they will know who I am and my work soon enough. Like Beyonce said, best revenge is yo’ paper. (laugh emoji)

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I rely so much on and value my cheerleaders who encourage me to keep doing this work in spite of the rejections. So I want to be a cheerleader for others. I REALLY want more writers who want to get there stories “out there” to consider making audio dramas and “win”.

So…

This was my second presentation about audio dramas with the BPA, the Black Podcasters Association.

I also spoke virtually at the BFAB (Black Film Art Books) Festival in Kentucky about my journey making audio dramas and how that segued into my first paid writing gig. Very fun!

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I will launch the fifth and final season of “Harlem Queen” on September 16. Since you all are so awesome sauce you get to hear it here first. Enjoy!

This episode is titled “Queens of Harlem” and introduces the other businesswomen in New York City during the early 1930s.

This episode features:

Isabelle Kerby-McGowan as Anita

Denese Longsworth as Rita

Karen Chmielnicki as Polly Adler

Nina Smith as Michelle Mondesir

Sound Design by Colin Thomas

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Thank you so much for reading, listening sharing!

I’m only 11 away from 200 cheerleaders! If you know anyone who may be interested in going on this journey, please share.

Love,

Yhane

I’m blessed with determination. Despite the rejections, the unreturned emails, the unanswered questions, lack of funds… I keep doing the work. I persevere. I just do.

As I mentioned before, I am co-writing with Terence Winter the feature film story of the Stephanie St. Clair story for Sony/TriStar. I’ve wanted to write TV since I was about ten, films since I was about sixteen. This is my first paid writing gig and I am 55 years old.

The odds were really stacked against me ever getting to this point. But I just kept doing my thing and thought to myself that I’ll just have to do the “impossible”.

Terence Winter created Boardwalk Empire and was a writer and producer on The Sopranos and was nominated for an Oscar for Wolf of Wall St. One of the first things he said to me when we met was that he liked that I do not give up and that is someone he wanted to work with.

I took my determination for granted. I mean, dude, I’m a Black woman in America, of course I’m not going to give up! What else am I gonna do with my time besides research, write, make these stories and get them out into the world? Besides, (the spirit of) Madame Stephanie St. Clair won’t leave me alone. Not only did she want a podcast AND a movie, but now she wants to be on “Broadway”. (laugh emoji)

So, despite the obstacles and nos, I keep my head to the sky and keep doing my sh*t. AND I really do rely on the folks who support me. Folks like you and my co-worker, Miss Andrietta who introduced me to Terence Winter.

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As Carol Burnett sang, when an episode of her show was coming to an end, I’m so glad we had this time together, the “Harlem Queen” audio drama is coming to an end. I am editing the final episodes of the final season of “Harlem Queen”. The first episode will drop in a few weeks!

Stay tuned, I will post the episode here before I publish it on Apple, Spotify, etc.

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As I mentioned last time, I am adapting “Harlem Queen” to the stage and it all begins here. We had a table read so that I could hear the story out loud and get notes. To me, part of the writing process is getting feedback and incorporating that feedback.

Watch this space, I will keep you updated on the progress.

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I applied for a fellowship for my stage script of “Harlem Queen”.

While I waited to see if I got the fellowship, I wrote my script, put the word out and a good friend (who I hired as my manager) spread the word and voila! We are working with a producer. I have a two time Tony award winner on deck to star as Stephanie St. Clair. I even have investors on deck!

Aaand I was rejected by that fellowship.

The funny thing is, the fellowship was for the things I managed to cobble together on my own.

My takeaway: Do not let rejections hold you back. Keep doing your thing. Some gatekeepers just don’t know what’s up.

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I apply for grants and use my own money to make these audio dramas.

I could always use a little financial help. I would love 200 bucks to hire an editor!

Here is the Patreon link:

https://www.patreon.com/c/harlemqueen

Here is the Ko-Fi link:

https://ko-fi.com/yhanewashingtonsmith

Thank you!

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Please continue to read, listen, share!

Love,

Yhane

PS - Keep Your Head to the Sky is an Earth Wind and Fire song that I listened to and LIVED by when I was a kid. This is what I listen to when I get a rejection. Optimism and positivity literally keep me alive.

But August is when I had the brain surgeries (yes, plural) that saved my life! So now I consider August my re-birth month.

This July and August have been wonderful. I am so appreciative of friends, family, collaborators, prayers, hugs, shoutouts.

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In July, I finally signed my deal with Sony/TriStar! That’s right, I am officially a “Hollywood” writer and producer. Excited, relieved and exhausted.

This process took four years. We went through 2 or 3 actresses. We went from TV to film. We went through 2 or 3 versions of the story.

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Then we celebrated! This will be my last season of making “Harlem Queen”. I appreciated my NYC Harlem Crew for six years of showing up! (heart emoji)

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I see a live show every month and in July I saw Beau the Musical. It was so much fun!

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It’s been three years since my brain hemorrhage/brain bleed/stroke. I am doing very well.

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I am editing the fifth and final season of Harlem Queen.

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In a few weeks we will have a table read of the Harlem Queen stage play. I am very excited and will send you photos!

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This week, I received two rejections from grants that I applied for to pay for presenting another live show. The live show we did in February 2024 was so much fun! I really want to do another one.

Why? Because it was so wonderful seeing so many of you in person. Everyone who came was so supportive. AND it was great storytelling, it was kind of like gathering around the fire or radio to hear a great story. AND the foley artist was incredible. I was hoping to do one this year.

I know that rejections are part of the job, but they do still really hurt. Overcoming those rejections is also a part of the job. It helps me to focus on what I do have and that is why I am so happy I have YOU. You read, listen, share, donate and show up and keep me doing what I do!

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Thank you for reading, listening, sharing, carrying me through. I LOVE making these stories so I am so glad you listen and enjoy them.

Love,

Yhane

Look at what the past few months have brought me! I am thrilled, very excited, very happy!

I’ve seen at least one show every month! I adapted, directed and launched a new audio drama, Dancers on the Shore. I researched, wrote and recorded the final season of Harlem Queen. I am in the process of adapting Harlem Queen to the stage. All while working my day job, going to my doctor and physical therapy appointments. Walking everyday and recovering from that massive brain hemorrhage I had three years ago.

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You know what? I am just now realizing that I am an independent artist. For so long, I wanted to get paid to do what I love to do, which is write. I started making audio dramas because I wanted to get hired to do a “real job” as a writer for film or TV. Here it is five, six years later and I still don’t have a “real job” as a writer, BUT I have been writing and writing very well, might I add. I make my shows independently.

Making audio dramas is a lot of work, but it is not a job that I get paid to do. Thank the Lord for my day job. I would not be able to do the audio dramas if I didn’t have my day job. I use my own money to make the audio dramas. (You’re welcome!) That is why I am always asking for contributions, patrons, etc., so that I can recoup the money that I use to make the shows. (THANK YOU to those who are able to contribute.) I write and make audio dramas because I believe the stories and people I uncover are incredible, dramatic, intelligent, funny and people I believe we can ALL learn from.

I am very thankful to YOU for listening and rating and sharing.

Nowadays we really need our artists to keep arting. I will continue to unearth the incredible people throughout our history in this country so that we can learn from those people. I don’t know about you, but I feel undefeated because I know what Stephanie St. Clair went through in spite of all of the obstacles set before her and she still succeeded. Stephanie St. Clair was not just a gangster, she was a businesswoman who had no choice, but to do “illegal” work. (Interesting to note that “the numbers” were illegal when it was a mostly Black enterprise.) She could have run a bank, but they weren’t hiring Black women bankers in the 1920s and 30s.

Knowing history is actually quite comforting for me. I know my people have been through hard times before and they got through it so why wouldn’t I? What is happening in this country right now does not surprise me. It gets me angry, but I have the opportunity to go further and do better because I’ve seen all of this before and I can help course correct.

I am looking forward to seeing the next Stephanie St. Clair emerge from the ashes. The next Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm (some may say that it is Rep. Jasmine Crockett). I am looking forward to seeing the next new era of art, music, stories that rise out of the ashes like the blues, jazz, hip-hop and be-bop did during their respective eras.

We are the holders of history! Know your story. How, why, when did your grandmother get from St. Croix to Columbia, South Carolina? THAT’s a story. That is history.

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Here is the first episode of Dancers on the Shore, A Visit to Grandmother. I am very proud of this series. We made it on a threadbare budget, but with incredibly talented people! Enjoy!

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This issue’s call to actions:

1. Listen to Dancers on the Shore on Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you listen to your podcasts.

2. Tell someone about Dancers on the Shore.

3. Find out where your grandparents were born.

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Do you like my Hotsy Totsy hat? Get one for yourself! https://www.cafepress.com/shop/HarlemQueenHotsyTotsy/products?designId=137321499

Help me make more shows!

Here is the Patreon link:

https://www.patreon.com/c/harlemqueen

Here is the Ko-Fi link:

https://ko-fi.com/yhanewashingtonsmith

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Thank you for reading, listening, sharing, supporting!

Love,

Yhane

View draft history

As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, I was in a funk because of so many rejections recently.

I was disappointed in not gaining more access, more exposure, more funding. I was bummed, but what was I gonna do? NOT do my work? That’s ridiculous. So I tapped into what I DO have. I got you, babe!

I asked everyone to spread the good word about my work. (Word of mouth is the most effective way to promote/publicize). You know what? SO many people already do spread the good word about my work and many had some truly lovely and encouraging things to say! I had no idea. I felt so good.

YOU are my foot soldiers! Thank you!

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This post in the Podcaster’s Digest gave me goosebumps.

Every once in a while, I get an email that makes me stop, take a breath, and feel something. Not the kind of email that’s asking for downloads or follows or “engagement”—but one that reminds me why we do this. Why storytelling matters.

This week, that email came from WOC Podcasters member Yhane Washington Smith.

If you don’t know her name, you should. She’s the creative mind behind Harlem Queen, and after years of self-producing her own audio dramas, here’s what she just shared:

🎬 She’s been selected for the Tribeca Festival
🎓 Named a Bundles Scholar at Columbia
🎤 Earned fellowships from AIR Media and NYSCA
🌟 Made history as the first person to write and direct an audio play at Penn State
🎧 And now? She’s been tapped by a major Hollywood studio to write the feature film on Madame Stephanie St. Clair—the real-life Harlem queenpin who inspired her audio series.

Her ask? Not for donations. Not for clout. Just this:

“Tell one person about my work. Or tell me something good.”

Tell someone about a podcast you love. A professor. A producer. A newsletter. A publication. A drama department. A TikTok account. A vibe. Anything that aligns.

Because word of mouth is still the most powerful form of support—especially for Black and brown creators.

Why It Matters

Yhane is living proof of what’s possible when we create outside of the gatekeeping machine—and why this community matters.

And it’s a reminder that you don’t need a big budget, viral campaign, or blue check to make an impact.
You just need to believe in your story—and be bold enough to share it.

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Two days after asking everyone to shout me out, I learned that I got a grant from the Puffin Foundation!

I’m on my way to raising the money to make the fifth and final season of “Harlem Queen”! Yay!

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I had a lovely cultural weekend.

On Saturday, I saw Buena Vista Social Club, the musical. On Sunday, I went to see the Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I recommend the exhibit and the musical.

This year’s Met Gala theme was Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. The gala raised $31 million dollars, the highest amount raised in the history of the gala.

Nothing like a little art to help you feel good!

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At the exhibit, I learned about James Forten, (September 2, 1766 – March 4, 1842).

This guy was no joke. Born a freeman in Philadelphia, he became wealthy by making sails. When he was 14 years old, during the Revolutionary War, he was a prisoner of war and imprisoned in Brooklyn for nearly a year. He WALKED from Brooklyn to Philadelphia to be reunited with his mother and sister! Can you see that scene in a movie?!

But what fascinates me about his story and what I didn’t know was that the abolitionists were fierce! Abolitionists were wealthy Black folks (like Forten) escaped slaves (like Douglas and Tubman) and white folks like Lloyd Garrison who worked together for many years, founding newspapers, giving speeches, influencing legislature, while raising their families, providing education, jobs…all of the things for their communities. I’m exhausted just reading about them! They did this work for years.

There’s an incredible period in U.S. history, which I know very little about; the period from around 1800 up to 1865. Yes, slavery was robust at that time, but so were the abolitionists AND at that time there was a movement of Black folks on a mission to go back to Africa, Haiti and other places.

Now I’m going on a research dive. If you have any book or article recommendations, please drop in the comments. Thank you! I absolutely LOVE learning about these incredible folks. In simple terms, I feel if they could do what they did in spite of the bullshit they had to put up with, so can I. My dream is always to transform my research into a story for you. Give me a minute to get this done. I gotchu!

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Thank you for reading, sharing, talking, asking!

Love,

Yhane

Help me make my work!

Here is the Patreon link:

https://www.patreon.com/c/harlemqueen

Here is the Ko-Fi link:

https://ko-fi.com/yhanewashingtonsmith

The weather has been lovely in NYC. I’m starting to do my touring walks. I went by Zora Neale Hurston’s old stomping ground. She lived at 43 West 66th Street in 1926, just half a block away from Central Park! Nice. Later, Hurston lived on 136th Street in Harlem.

This area, 59th Street to 65th Street, Amsterdam Avenue to West End Avenue, was called San Juan Hill. Lots of African Americans, Puerto Ricans and folks from throughout the Caribbean lived in San Juan Hill from the 1880s to the 1950s. Stephanie St. Clair (the star of Harlem Queen) lived in San Juan Hill when she first arrived in New York City from French Guadeloupe around 1918. San Juan Hill was the precursor to Harlem. Mostly, families of color lived in San Juan Hill; there were churches, clubs, businesses, schools. It was a thriving community!

In The 1960s they tore up San Juan Hill,

and built Lincoln Center.

I also went by Duke Ellington’s home at 106th Street and Riverside Drive. Ellington lived at 333 Riverside Drive from 1961 to his death in 1974.

I’m glad the weather is brightening because I’m coming off a depressing week as an independent artist. Last week, I got rejected for the fifth time in four months. I applied for two grants to help me make a podcast and a live show, I applied to two festivals that would have helped me promote my work and I applied for an award that would have helped me promote my work. Not getting the grants means I will not be able to make more shows. No festivals or promotion opportunities means I have to use what I got (you) to get what I want (world domination! just kidding, more listeners). Listeners = downloads = money = more shows.

Let’s do this! Squabble up!

Squabble up means it is time for me to get my peeps, my crew, my posse together. That’s you! Thank you for being my foundation!

I know that you all think well of me and want me to continue to do well and I appreciate you for that. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

BUT I have a feeling there is at least one person “out there” who needs to know who Stephanie St. Clair and Mona Mae are and needs to know how Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm supported FBI’s Most Wanted, Angela Davis while Chisholm was running for the presidency of the United States! That was political suicide, but she did it. Jasmine Crocket says what she says, the way she says it because she saw Shirley Chisholm do it and a host of other daring, smart, womenfolk.

All right foot soldiers, (that’s you) let’s keep spreading the good word. Our stories matter. Our stories impact lives. History is only his story. We are all ready for the wholestory.

I was reading about Harry Belafonte last night and today I walked past his home!

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CTA - Call to Action

Five stars on Spotify! Thank you if you rated the show! Five stars is kind of unheard of, especially for a show that centers Black people. Some mean folks get a kick out of rating shows about “Black” history and stories that center Black folks very low. Low ratings mean you don’t appear in those algorithms. This really does hurt the show because less people are able to find it, listen, download and (unfortunately) those downloads are important for creators to earn money to create more shows.

Harlem Queen has a 4.6 on Spotify. Hmm…side eye. That’s good, but I would really like for it to be at least a 4.8 on Spotify. Harlem Queen has a 4.8 on Apple.

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Know the Wholestory

“They” are trying to erase our history…again. The truth is that there is A LOT we didn’t learn growing up (I never heard of Stephanie St. Clair until seven years ago), but we are learning it now, thanks to shows like Harlem Queen, Mona Mae and 1972 and oodles of non-fiction podcasts.

Here are a few incredible people that I think you should know and I’m hoping to share with you in my stories at some point:

Mary Jane Richardson Jones was a wealthy Black woman in Chicago who sponsored Frederick D. and Ida B.

Elizabeth A. Gloucester was a wealthy Black woman in Brooklyn who sponsored Booker T. and J.B. (John Brown).

Notice a pattern here?

Also, we have Oliver O. Howard, a white man who as head of the Freedmen’s Bureau, did his freakin’ job. Yes, many formerly enslaved folks did receive 40 acres and a mule - only for it to be taken back - BUT Howard was all about doing the right thing at a time when it was very hard to do the right thing. So when folks say so and so was acting like that (like a racist/sexist/ignoramus) because those were the times or they were products of their time, I call bullshit. Because I know for a fact that there were white folks who were doing the right thing in spite of the racists/ignoramuses. (I’m not gonna dissect the ill-advised or misunderstood tenets or philosophies that brought them - not all of them - to do what was right. That’s a whole other conversation.)

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Thank you for reading, sharing, talking, asking!

Love,

Yhane

Help me make my work!

Here is the Patreon link:

https://www.patreon.com/c/harlemqueen

Here is the Ko-Fi link:

https://ko-fi.com/yhanewashingtonsmith

Thank you!

I truly LOVE knowing the stories of so many incredible Black women who came before me - and are still on this planet right now - who did the work, the thing, the art in spite of terrific hurdles placed before them. If they can do it, so can I. I have learned from those other women who came before me to go further and do better.

Anna J. Cooper is a name I’ve skimmed over for years. She was born enslaved and after emancipation she still managed to go to college, then get her masters, then when she was 60 years old she got her P.H. freakin’ D.!! She wrote, lectured, traveled, activated, motivated, educated…until she died at the age of 105. Incredible.

Did you know that Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell were homegirls?? Neither did I, but it makes sense. They were only a year apart in age. They both lived in Memphis. They were both brilliant. They both actively pursued suffrage for Black women. They were both there when the NAACP was founded. They knew the same people. I do not know why I thought all this time that our sheroes were working solo. So where is the story about these two incredible women locking arms and working towards making this nation a better place? (Yup, working on it.) I like knowing about strong friendships in history like Ida B. and Mary C.T. I feel encouraged.

I am also inspired by Ella Fitzgerald. I don’t know too much of her story, but I do know that she did what she had to do and what she could do to make it through, in spite of all of the racism, arrests, discrimination, bullsh*t that she had to put up with.

She wasn’t trying to be a super star or a household name, she was just working to put food on the table. Becoming “rich and famous” were the added “benefits” of her getting up every morning and going to work. Therefore, my goal is to get up every morning and do the work, which is the three things I list on my “to do” list.

I’m noticing much of writing nowadays is about learning how to empower ourselves, learning our value and learning how to turn the hard knocks into open doors.

My biggest lesson has been learning my family’s story, the history of this nation and how people who looked like me built this nation. Knowing these facts is incredibly inspiring and empowering. Growing up, I did not feel like I belonged in this country. Now, I realize that not only do I belong here, but my people helped freakin’ build this place. This is my house.

Knowing history helps me in my day to day because I know times were hard, really hard, but I also know that things are going to get better. If Ella Fitzgerald, Ida B. and Mary C.T. could get up every morning and go to work in spite of what they had to put up with, I can certainly get up and go to work in spite of what (little) I have to put up with. (A crowded crosstown M96 bus.)

I encourage you to find your way to go further and do better.

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This issue’s call to action - CTA

Please continue to rate, comment on my shows or even this newsletter. All your engagement matters - it really does. Your engagement is “proof” that you read, listen to, support my work.

Check out these lovely reviews I’ve received:

“Harlem Queen is an AMAZING show, and Yhane is always on point with production tips and history facts.”

Observer Pictures, Observations

“Harlem Queen is a well written and entertaining audio drama, created by Yhane Washington Smith. If you like historical fiction, you’ll want to take a listen. ”

Anita Williams, Bayou's Wrath

Here is the link to Harlem Queen. Thank you!

https://pod.link/1453287583

Another Call to Action - CTA

If you can’t rate or review, please, please, please tell somebody.

Word of mouth is the BEST way to advertise a show. If the topic of podcasts, Black Excellence, American history, Black women gangsters, Black women millionaires, the Harlem Renaissance, gangsters or just trying to find something to listen to while folding the clothes or walking the dog, ever come up in conversation with one of your friends, family, co-workers, please tell them to check out “Harlem Queen”. If you showed them how to listen to it on their phone or computer, that would be amazing! Listens and downloads translate into money coming in, which I use to make more shows.

One More Call to Action - CTA

If you can’t rate, write a review, share, please donate!

Here is my Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/c/harlemqueen

OR

Make a one time donation:

https://ko-fi.com/yhanewashingtonsmith

Even a $1 a month ($12 a year) helps me pay for hosting fees.

Last Call to Action - CTA

If you can not rate, review, share, donate, then like this issue of the newsletter. When you tap, “like”, that is considered engagement and engagement translates into…you guessed it, money coming in, which I use to make more shows. Have a comment or question? even better! In your comment, you can tell me other audio dramas you listen to and/or what other newsletters you read. Thank you!

My goal is to gain 8 new subscribers a month. For March I got 8 new subscribers! AND On April 1 I got a new subscriber - yay! and welcome! So just 7 more to go for the month of April!

Audio drama shoutout:

Bronzeville - this is the show that started it all for me.

https://episodes.fm/1199964972

Starring Laurence Fishburne, Larenz Tate and Tika Sumpter, and written by Academy Award(r) and BAFTA nominee Josh Olson ("A History of Violence"), BRONZEVILLE will chronicle the lives of players in the lottery games while illuminating the self-sustainability of the community's African American residents.

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On a disappointing note, I did NOT get the grant that I applied for to do another live show so we will not have another live show - this year. I am applying for next year. I’ll keep you posted.

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Thank you for listening, reading, sharing, donating.

Love,

Yhane

I have been waiting a long time (over six months) to get word on a grant that I applied for to make season five of “Harlem Queen”. I have also been waiting to sign a contract to write the feature film of the Stephanie St. Clair story (April will make it a year ). I understand that six months, a year, are not long waiting times over the span of a lifetime. I am not trying to rush anything, but now is a really good time to do the episodes that I want to do, especially since the episodes culminate in a Christmas story. To have the stories ready by Christmas, I have to start working on them now.

Most importantly, we need theses stories now! We need to see smart, Black women who know how to navigate the pitfalls, jump the hurdles set before them and are still able to educate and support their people.

So I am practicing what I preach. I am investing in what I know is possible. I told you about my 2nd grandfather, who bought himself during slavery, right? He self-manumitted or bought his “freedom”. He did that for me as much as he did that for himself. Having vision, faith is in my blood.

I am going to use my little bit of “spare” coins to make season five myself. I’m going to “step out on faith” (another one of my mother’s favorite sayings) and hope, pray, expect the money that I spend comes back to me.

So here we go…

For season five, it is all about the women. We have new art work. (See above.)

There are new allies and foes for Stephanie St. Clair in season five. First, Anita Howell was actually a Black, woman, policy banker like Stephanie. Howell made a lot of money like Stephanie, but she just wasn’t as loud as Stephanie. In “Harlem Queen”, Howell is ready to take over Stephanie’s empire now that Stephanie escaped to France.

Next, we have Stephanie’s estranged daughter, Michelle (yes, the spoiled daughter who put her mother in prison) moving in on her mother’s empire, which she reminds everyone is rightfully hers.

We also have Rita, who manages her boyfriend’s multi-million dollar empire as he serves time in prison. Rita tries to uphold Stephanie’s stake.

Dutch Schultz is murdered.

Luciano and Stephanie have an affair. (This is a an already recorded, special episode, which features Tony Award winner, Kara Young as Stephanie.) Luciano is arrested and put on trial (in truth by an actual Black, woman, lawyer Eunice Carter ). Stephanie turns her back on Luciano. Luciano is deported.

If you made it to our “Harlem Queen Live!” last February, thank you! You also got to see pre-Tony award winner, Kara Young portray Wilhemina in our live show.

This issue’s Call to Action - CTA

Please, please, please rate “Harlem Queen” five stars and follow, if you can write a review too, that would be amazing! The good thing about waiting is that I have used my time going to plenty of webinars about podcasting. One thing I learned is that these ratings and engagement really matter. It is “proof”. It is proof that I have listeners who like “Harlem Queen”, it is proof that YOU (my audience, my community, my supporters) exist! It is proof that I should receive grants/funding to continue this show. Ratings and reviews translate into money coming, which I use to make more shows.

Here is the link to Harlem Queen. Thank you!

https://pod.link/1453287583

Another Call to Action - CTA

If you can’t rate or review, please, please, please tell somebody.

Word of mouth is the BEST way to advertise a show. If podcasts, Black Excellence, American history, Black women gangsters, Black women millionaires, the Harlem Renaissance, gangsters or just trying to find something to listen to while folding the clothes or walking the dog, ever come up in conversation with one of your friends, family, co-workers, please tell them to check out “Harlem Queen”. If you showed them how to listen to it on their phone or computer, that would be amazing! Listens and downloads translate into money coming, which I use to make more shows.

One More Call to Action - CTA

If you can’t rate, write a review, share, please donate!

Here is my Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/c/harlemqueen

OR

Make a one time donation:

https://ko-fi.com/yhanewashingtonsmith

Even a $1 a month ($12 a year) helps me pay for hosting fees.

Last Call to Action - CTA

If you can not rate, review, share, donate, then like this issue of the newsletter. When you tap, “like”, that is considered engagement and engagement translate into…you guessed it, money coming, which I use to make more shows. Have a comment or question? even better! In your comment, you can tell me other audio dramas you listen to and/or what other newsletters you read. Thank you!

My goal is to gain 8 new subscribers a month. So far, I have 5 new subscribers this month - yay! and welcome! Three more new subscribers to reach this month’s goal.

Audio drama shoutout:

Visionaries. Just today I was reminded of this oldie, but goodie.

Here is the link: https://pod.link/1504546930

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Thank you for listening, reading, sharing, donating.

Love,

Yhane

Oh! I almost forgot! I did a “training” on how to make an audio drama! Folks came out on a Saturday morning even in LA and Chicago! It was truly a lovely group of folks who came out and supported the “ol’ girl” (that’s me).