5 questions for Shywanee L. Manson about her play ‘When You Cry, I Cry’

shywannee

When You Cry, I Cry is a stage play about violence with an interesting perspective: it examines the lives of a family in the aftermath of losing a loved one to violence. The cast includes BerNadette Stanis (Good Times), Gary “Lil G” Jenkins (of the R&B group Silk), Edgar “Gemini” Porter (of the R&B group Men at Large), and Chicago’s very own Brian “Da Wildcat” Smith, along with community activist Andrew Holmes.


Author and playwright Shywanee L. Manson recently sat down with rolling out to discuss the play and her take on possible solutions to the violence that seems to be at an all time high in our community.


What can you tell us about the play?
When You Cry, I Cry tells the tale of a family coping with the loss of their child to gun violence. Now, though this is a sad topic, we have added comedy and great music to take the audience on an emotional roller coaster.

So many people and their stories are often forgotten once they leave the news cycle. Was there a specific inspiration for writing this particular story?
My inspiration for writing this play came when I found myself wondering how Trayvon’s parents, Hadiyah’s parents, Shamiya’s parents and so on and so forth are doing today. Wondering how they are coping with their losses after the media has moved on to the next victim. The media doesn’t really focus on the prolonged affect of traumatic experiences, they focus on the moments, the ratings and then it’s done. So I wanted to give a glimpse of the life of post-traumatic situations and how families try to pull back together to maintain and regain a normality after life-altering events.


Talk about what having community activist Andrew Holmes involved brought to the production? 
It’s good to have someone that’s been on the front line of the situation to be able to get their insight of the happenings after the cameras are turned off. As you know, Andrew Holmes was a victim himself so the key thing with being a victim is being able to hear from the horse’s mouth so we won’t have to fabricate or come up with an idea of possibly what a family is going through. Andrew can give us count by count details in situations and feelings of how he coped with the incident which helps bring the story into a better perspective for the audience.

In your opinion, what are some possible solutions to the gun violence epidemic?
It starts at home and the focus of the parent(s) or caregivers to be stern on the children about things that are glorified in the media.

What’s next for Coming To The Stage Live Productions?
Coming To The Stage Live will be bringing bigger and better entertainment in the near future. We have a few ideas in mind and you will be the first to know when we decide what’s next.

When You Cry, I Cry will play two shows on Saturday Aug. 23, at the Harold Washington Cultural Center located on Chicago’s South Side at 4701 S. King Dr.

For more information please visit www.comingtothestagelive.com.

When You Cry poster (5)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Join our Newsletter

Sign up for Rolling Out news straight to your inbox.

Read more about:
Also read