Black fatherhood takes center stage

Founding members of Manhood Tree will share their stories, experiences at Hartbeat Ensemble

Black men share stories of being fathers, or of having fathers, in the latest incarnation of “Fatherhood Manologues” this weekend at Hartbeat Ensemble’s Carriage House theater.

Abdul-rahmaan I. Muhammad of the Hartford-based My People Clinical Services created “Fatherhood Manologues” because he feels that feelings about fatherhood should be discussed more openly and more often. He started group storytelling sessions, and those gatherings developed into a series of live performances.

“Fatherhood Manologues” is one of several initiatives run by the Manhood Tree, a program that Muhammad created to “explore the four ‘Hoods’: Boyhood, Brotherhood, Fatherhood and Manhood” through the sharing of stories and experiences. Some of the group’s stories about being fathers and sons were developed into a performance project, including live shows at the University of St. Joseph’s Autorino Center and video versions of the stories that were webcast for Father’s Day in 2020 during the COVID shutdown. Godfrey L. Simmons Jr., the artistic director of Hartbeat Ensemble, came on board as a director to help shape the stories for the stage and videos.

The latest public “Fatherhood Manologues” show, with performances at 2 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, is an all-star event featuring stories told by those who’ve been with the group since its beginning. Muhammad is one of the four storytellers, and Simmons is once again directing. “These are all stories from the original members, the top-of-the-line performers of the group,” Muhammad says.

“This is the theater version,” he says of the 90-minute show. “We perform at prisons every month.”

The group has also performed at conferences and schools and run story-sharing groups for several organizations, including for the Hartbeat staff. This weekend’s show is specifically for Hartbeat Ensemble, expanded with a theatrical framing device that links the four storytellers’ offerings by focusing on “neighborhood, brotherhood and fatherhood. We recreate conversations we had when we first met each other. We give ourselves the freedom to bring up different topics, so it’s like improv. We talk about different issues as fathers and as friends.”

There will be a talkback with the audience following each performance.

Muhammad describes the

process. “We meet together for weeks, and the stories get better and better. We make the stories as specific as possible. On the sixth week, we perform.”

The stories are personal and emerge from a range of emotional perspectives. “About half the story

tellers are talking about being fathers, and the other half are talking about their own fathers,” Muhammad says. “Some didn’t have relationships with their fathers. Some aren’t fathers themselves.”

One of the stories Muhammad tells is about being “a Black superhero, all the things a father does for his kids. I’m aware that being a Black superhero for my kids is not enough. I talk about community.” In his other story in the “Manologues” show, he presents the image of “Daddy’s home! And the kids run up to greet him after work. It’s about how you can take that for granted, and how fast the kids grow up.”

There are three other storytellers at the Hartbeat presentation. Demetrius Chamblee discusses his fight for his daughter as a non-custodial father, Malik Champlain’s story concerns talking to his son before he was even born and Jesse White III shares lessons he learned from his father.

“When we did this three years ago,” Muhammad says, “we didn’t know we’d be at this point, collaborating with Hartbeat. We’ve taken it to another level. Over the last six months, we have been going to different venues and we feel like we are at a point now where we can take this further. We’re not planning on stopping.”