Thanks to the themes presented, this story resonates so deeply that everyone can get something out of it. How do you immerse yourself in characters who are going through something so difficult that you don’t take it home with you? What do you do to keep the topic from constantly running in your head?
Fantasia: It was tough for me because my life was dark as hell when we did this production on Broadway in 2007. I couldn’t figure out how to disconnect from Ceilie. She took her back to her house and woke up with Celie. I was calling my girlfriend’s mother and saying, “I don’t want to feel this way,” but that was also because my life was a mess. Now that I’m older and wiser and healed and still healing, I see it a little differently. Now I was able to step into that dark moment and relive that dark moment. There were moments where I thought, “You better go ahead, girl, you got through it, go for it, you bad mommy jam.” I was still letting myself feel that way, but eventually I was like, “Girl, you did that.” That’s what I want all young girls to see. I have a daughter who is currently 22 years old. She wants her to see what you’re doing. She’s going to go through some things in her life, but what’s important is how you get through them. There’s no need to forget, no need to hide, no need to prove your success to anyone but yourself. Then you can say to other young girls, “This is what I’ve been through, this and that.” That way we can get through it and get through it. We must take the test for testimony. I had to take the test and now it’s our testimony.
Daniel: In my case, I actually attended Juilliard. At Juilliard, he was taught how to shed that character after performing for an hour or two hours on stage. However, there are some things that Juilliard won’t teach you. What we were doing to me was like the work of the ancestors, the work of the blood, the work of the spirit as I call it. It was a challenge to call upon the ancestors for over 70 days during filming, and I felt very exhausted after finishing this.
When I was doing a hard scene, I spent most of my time in the trailer praying. First I pray for it, thank my ancestors for giving me what I need, and now I’m going to release it by just doing that. It was really tough and I had a lot to work on, so that’s how I managed to get out of it. The prison scene, the dinner scene, the white mob coming to Sofia. There were many. Again, there were some things I had to learn on my own, and I learned how to detox the character.
Fantasia: I think a lot of women can relate to Sophia and Celie. Because they’ve been through a lot. I’ll never forget that scene at dinner after Celie checks on Mr. We both have moments where we wake up.
The strength of sisterhood, seeing someone you admire work hard for themselves and become a new person makes you a stronger person too.
Fantasia: yes. That was a big moment. I tell him what I want to say and Sophia just sits there. No one at the table is used to that, because we’re used to Sophia saying, “Don’t hold Harpo back, don’t make him wait,” but every day she saw her best friend come After visiting her, feeding her, investing in her, she stood up and said, “Some changes are going to happen here, I like this, I’m back.” “Is called. I think all women need to understand that sisterhood, that strength, and the fact that sometimes you go through things, but it’s a process and it’s necessary. If you trust the process, you’ll end up with a result like ours.
