One of the best Actors to walk the earth gives words of life and hope!

One of the BEST Playwrights

of all times...

AUGUST WILSON

After finally moving out of his mother's house in 1965, Wilson found lodging at a nearby rooming house, took a job as a short-order cook, and tried his hand at verse. Armed with a $20 typewriter he purchased with money from his sister Freda, Wilson tried desperately to become a successful poet and writer. This newfound freedom allowed Wilson to mingle with the Bohemian set. He learned their language and their ideals, emerging as a self-proclaimed Dylan Thomas. During this time he also identified with the cultural nationalists such as Amiri Baraka, (then known as LeRoi Jones), who argued for heightened racial consciousness. His initiation into African American aestheticism culminated in a heightened awareness of the importance of the blues, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and writers of the Harlem Renaissance.

In the late 1960s an interest in Malcolm X led him to a total acknowledgement of African American culture as his own. Renouncing his white father, moving out from his mother's house, and living among day to day reminders of this culture cleared the way for Wilson to find out more about his African American ancestors' trek from the fields of North Carolina to the cramped urban shelters of Pittsburgh. What followed this phase of cultural enlightenment in Wilson's life were organized efforts to raise consciousness among Pittsburgh natives. With such an agenda, Wilson co-founded, with director Rob Penny, Pittsburgh's Black Horizons Theater in 1968.

Although Wilson chose to imitate the style of flamboyant British poet Dylan Thomas during an early stage in his evolution into an artist, he soon realized that his African American heritage, grounded in the blues tradition, was at odds with the alien persona he had chosen to idolize. Serendipity was largely responsible for his discovery of the tremendous role music, in particular the blues, played in his writing. After buying a three-dollar record player that only played 78s, he discovered a record store that proved to be a veritable gold mine of the records that were no longer in circulation. Here he found a copy of Bessie Smith's "Nobody in Town Can Bake a Sweet Jelly Roll Like Mine" and was so moved by its Iyrics that he played it repeatedly. He later recalled, "I'd never heard of Bessie Smith. I listened to it twenty-two times, and I became aware that this stuff was my own. Patti Page, Frank Sinatra—they weren't me. This was me. The music became the wellspring of my work. I took the stuff and ran with it."

It took numerous rejection slips from magazines and several uninspired poetry readings to finally dissuade the would-be poet and nudge him in the direction of the theater. His conversion from poet to playwright was coerced by a supportive friend, Claude Purdy. In 1977 Wilson's poetry reading in Pittsburgh about a character named Black Bart so impressed Purdy that he encouraged Wilson to turn the material into a play. After much complaining that he could not write a play, Wilson sat down to complete the work in one week (Black Bart and the Sacred Hills [1981]).

In 1982 Lloyd Richards—artistic director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater in Waterford, Connecticut, dean of Yale's School of Drama, and director of the Yale Repertory Theater—discovered that among the hundreds of scripts sent to him was Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Although Richards admitted that the play had structural problems, he realized that, aside from these weaknesses, it evidenced an incredibly gifted talent. Over the next eight years Wilson and Richards formed a close alliance. Some have described their unique relationship with words like "avuncular," "paternal," or simply "compatible." At any rate, the two men blended their playwriting and directing talents to produce a string of successful plays. Wilson wrote the plays while Richards directed and polished them in workshop environments such as the Yale Repertory Theater and various regional theaters throughout the United States. Beginning with the initial Broadway success of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom in 1984, the two men collaborated successfully on four more of Wilson's plays: Fences, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, and Two Trains Running. During his collaboration with Richards, all of Wilson's works took similar routes, preliminary staging at the O'Neill Theater Center followed by presentations at the Yale Repertory Theater and other resident non-profit theaters and an eventual Broadway production.

Ylonda played Maretha in August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson" in 1987. Directed by the late Lloyd Richard and written by the late August Wilson.

(Ylonda in the front with white gown) 

A tip to help an actor create their own work

JP: Tell us what inspired you to pursue a career in film production.

LFJ: What inspired me to pursue a career in film production, was something that a happened to me as a child. I watched a ton of TV, and went to the movies often. So Diana Ross, Lola Falana, Dorothy Dandridge, Lucile Ball, Carol Burnett Jane Fonda, all of these woman made we want to work in movies and television. However seeing the works of Gordan Parks, Lorraine Hansberry, The Wiz, made feel like I could create what ever I wanted.

JP: What has been the biggest triumph in your career so far?

LFJ: One of the biggest triumphs in my career was to be recognized, celebrated and interviewed for work that I had taken from idea to finished film project in Berlin Germany, Spain, and then back here in the states. I had no idea it would take me so far from home and from my little desk and chair in my little room. Lol.

JP: Have you ever had naysayers that have said you will never be successful in this field? If so, how did you deal with it?

LFJ: Naysayers have surrounded me my entire life! My rebellious side said you just don't want to see me make it. My dad's voice rang in my ear, Rest his soul, and it still does today, He would always tell me that you can be, and do anything you want to do in this world. I believed him then and I still do today! I learned that haters only hate out of fear, and lack of faith!

JP: Tell us some well known producers, actors, directors or other industry professionals the you have worked with and who did you enjoy working the most and why?

LFJ: I have had the opportunity to work with Director William Graham, Producers, John Daly, Susanne De Passe, Dan Wigutow, Gail Berman, Scott Rudin, and actors like Louis Gossett Jr., Clifton Davis. I enjoyed working with William Graham, John Daly, and Susanne De Passe, most because I learned so much from each one of them. I worked hard, I worked long hours, I put in so much effort, yet I walked away from my experiences with them with more knowledge than any book or class could ever tech me.

JP: Are you currently working on any new projects? If so, can you share a little what they are?

LFJ: I am currently working on three very different projects. Two are family friendly and under 20 million dollar budgets, and another that is a conspiracy theory spy type thriller/ action movie with a large expensive budget. All are film projects that appeal to a larger global based audience than my projects have been intended for in the past.

JP: What are the biggest challenges you face as a film producer?

LFJ: The biggest challenges I face as a producer is securing financial backing. Investing in film isn't like investing in other businesses , or real estate. Its not tangible and make very little sense to those whom make a living through investing. Selling film project ideas is like selling the invisible, and in the end what you've sold funding sources on really isn't even your project at hand, instead what you sold them in your pitching meeting is you. Your selling the opportunity to believe in you, and your ability to make it happen!

JP: What do you like to do when you have down time from film making?

LFJ: The things I like to do during my down time is have fun! I like to laugh and trip with family, friends and meet new people and create more family and friends. I like to participate in healthy active lifestyle activities, and I like to inspire and motivate all whom I come in contact with. I believe that these are the experiences that inspire subject matter to write about.

JP: What tips can you give to aspiring actors/actresses that want to transition from theater to film?

LFJ: My tips to anyone who wants to act, write, and or produce film, coming from a theater background, Is to just do it! In my opinion it's easier to go from live to recorded performances than to go from recorded to live. Go for that audition, or networking event, or pitch meeting. Show up! Show Out! Shake a Hand and Make a Friend! They need you just as much as you need them! Creating a great production is all about putting together a great team!

JP: What is one of your favorite projects that you ever worked on and why?

LFJ: My favorite projects I've ever worked on were my indie film Shady Lane because I had to wear so many hats from start to finish it was very challenging, the others would be The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer, where I learned so much so fast, and was placed on the 20 century fox studio lot, the NBC studio lot, and the studio that is the most fun and exciting the Universal Studios lot, and last but not least the NAACP Image Awards, were I was able to meet and speak with so many of my favorite celebs, like Sydney Portiere, Halle Berry, Dwayne Johnson, Jill Scott and Ms. Beyonce. Oh how much fun we all had on all of those projects.

JP: How did it feel to be in the presence of so many movie stars when you attended the Oscar Awards? 

LFJ: My experience at the Oscars was amazingly funny. First of all when arrived, I pulled up to the wrong area unknowingly. Next thing I knew was I was placed right behind Viola Davis to walk on to the red carpet. When I stepped on to the carpet the crowd starting cheering and applauding. So I, not knowing any better started cheering and applauding as well. Then I was told that the applause were for me and to smile, wave and nod at the fans and the camera's surrounding me, which I did. Pharrell Williams, and Esperanza Spalding, showed up right behind me, as well, so it was the Black Carpet for a good minute that night. Then came the on camera interviews, I didn't know I would be partaking in. A writer/ reporter Richard Boyle introduced me as who I had become and it hit me, L. Farr-Jagodzinski indie filmmaker just returning back from being celebrated in Berlin, France and Spain. I was in shock for a few seconds, but once my lips began to move I managed to say all the right things as any professional would and should. My inner Lucile Ball came to life for sure. I was suffering from the flu, wearing a strapless darling dress that every star near me managed to step on and pull down a bit further, giving way to a fear that I too would soon be standing there in the nude like Oscar himself, and then there was my shoes, stunning and sparkling with jewels, and almost impossible to walk in. So I like to say I simply floated down the red carpet that night. Fake it til you make it is what I told myself, however I had no idea that it would be a good two and a half hours walk upon the Red Carpet, with a bright smile, and a twinkle in my eye, but I did just that! Once inside after meeting and greeting the likes of Meryl Streep, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer, and my girl whom I've met on a few occasions Siedah Garrett, I was finally sitting in my seat under the air conditioning vent when my cinderella quickly began to turn into a pumpkin. Impossible for a plane country pumpkin to become a golden carriage? Absolutely, positively not! LOL

JP: What is your favorite food or snack?

LFJ:  My favorite food salmon and lamb are my first choices most of the time, however I'm a huge fan of both Persian and Cuban food, if you're serving up any of those, I'm more than excited to sit at your table. I love to snack on trail mix and nuts of just about any kind.

JP: How can one audition for one of your movies or projects?

LFJ: Well I actually sit through and tape my casting sessions. My auditions are held as the preproduction phase is pretty much over allowing me the time to sit in, so I hand pick my fruit for sure. However I feel its best to get to know filmmakers before they actually have a need for you. I keep headshots, bio's and resumes, I like to develop relationships with the entire creative team, involved in the project. Developing a bond works better for me than just shouting out orders at nameless individuals I may never speak to again in life, like many in Hollywood do everyday. It's just not a part of whom I am. Shake a hand, Make a friend, run off into the sunset and laugh all the way to the bank, is how I like to work and play!