Sunday mornings have always held special meaning in the fabric of Black culture. They’re filled with the hustle and bustle of getting ready — women waiting for curling irons to heat to the perfect temperature while men both young and old perfect the knots of their ties.
Congregations then begin to file into church pews as ushers greet them with white gloves. Church mothers fill the front rows dressed as elegantly as the grace they exude. The angelic choir voices sing songs of hope, faith, and praise before a sermon the pastor has mused to echo those sentiments.
“We all know Sunday morning,” Sabrina Norwood, executive director of the Young Actors Guild (YAG), says. “When you think about Sunday morning, that’s you getting up and getting dressed and coming to be rejuvenated. There’s a lot of hand clapping, a lot of foot stomping, and beautiful music that will not only connect you but will reinvigorate you.”
While images of these mornings may be different through the years, themes of hope mixed with the spirit of congregation remain. It’s an important scene to capture, one that YAG is working to encapsulate in their performance, aptly titled Sunday Morning: Dance to Freedom, on February 23rd at the Mt. Vernon Baptist Church, located at 620 Parkrose Road in Memphis, TN.
The performance is timely — the organization celebrates Black History Month and its own 34th anniversary this February — but it also reflects the empowerment needed during this political climate.
“I think we’re all operating in uncertainty,” Norwood says. “One thing that stays true is the arts, and love for the arts, and everybody can relate to it. We hope it’s both healing and reflective to others.”
Community has been a mainstay for the organization since its inception. Founder and creative director Chrysti Chandler recalls coming back to Memphis in 1991 after seeing there were many children who didn’t participate in after-school activities. She was shocked to find out it was because students couldn’t afford it.
“Many of the young people we serve are from underrepresented populations,” Norwood says. “Those students are able to attend our program for little to no cost because we believe arts should be accessible for all.”
Norwood says through Chandler’s vision, more than 41,000 young people have come through their doors. YAG houses a performing arts academy that operates year-round with students ages 8 to 17. And Norwood says being in the Orange Mound community allows young people a platform they haven’t typically had. They are able to showcase their talent and creativity while also giving a voice to their generation.
Norwood says this age group is known for an outspoken and unconventional approach to social justice, and these themes are interwoven through Sunday Morning intentionally.
“This performance is all about a dance to freedom,” Norwood says. “About them finding ways to create their own avenues to bring justice, equality, accessibility to their community, and to create sustainability. This production will provide an opportunity to not only unify our young people but unify our community.”
As she reflects on YAG’s students, she says they’re a generation who will move mountains, and art gives them the opportunity to advocate on their behalf while celebrating how far their heritage has come. To amplify this, the production will include a performance from Orange Mound-founded band Black Cream. Gospel artist Deborah Manning Thomas — whom Norwood calls a “vocal powerhouse” — will also join. Rooted Souls, a group that developed from parents of YAG, will perform. And Sharonda Mcfield will come in from North Carolina to join the production, along with Kevin Davidson.
“Gospel music certainly is healing,” Norwood says. “We all know that. Just walking through that Sunday morning of getting there and sometimes feeling so burdened down, but leaving feeling like you can take over the world. That’s the experience we want to be able to create, and hopefully it’ll revive us with the climate we’re in. We really want this to be an amazing presentation of revival.”