top of page

The Courtship of Mona Mae Cast and Crew

download-2.jpg

Brandon Micheal Hall as Zekial Montgomery. 

Brandon starred as the lead of the television series The Mayor (2017) and God Friended Me (2018–2020) and also appeared as a series regular on Search Party (2016–present).

GabrielleAdkinsHeadshot1.jpg

Gabrielle Adkins as Mona Mae Christophe.

 

Gabrielle is an Air Force brat from the South whose love of performing arts started with dance and music. After training in singing and dance for 15 years, she got a BA from American University in Political Science and International Relations with a focus on human rights and women’s studies. She then went to the Atlantic Acting School, going on to perform in The Crucible, A Pier Drawn in Chalk at The Secret Theatre, Hamlet adaptation, May Violets Spring, and web series, Adult the Series, Let Nina Prosper, and The Single Man. She is currently voicing Madame Stephanie St. Clair on the Top 30 Apple Podcast Drama, Harlem Queen. She will next be seen in the upcoming short film, Novel Romance.

download-2.jpg

Luke Slattery as James Conners. 

 

Luke  is an actor and director, known for Late Night (2019), The Post (2017) and Chicago P.D. (2014).

images.jpg

D. Rubin Green as Tump.

D. Rubin Green is an actor, writer, producer. Films:The Sisters Karras (2021), Ambition's Debt (2017), Somewhere In the Middle (2015), August the First (2007),  and the horror classic, Jacob's Ladder (1990). New Media: Harlem Queen (Apple Podcasts).

 

IMG_7122-2.JPG

TJ Washington as Hayes. 

GoldJoshuaHeadshot.jpg

Joshua Gold is a BFA actor at Pennsylvania State University (intended graduation of May 2021). He has previously voiced Manos and the Gunman in Harlem Queen. Other Credits include Count Paris in the radio play of Romeo and Juliet with PSU, Officer 1 in The Osaze Project with PSU, and the Boy in 60 Seconds with the State Radio Players. Aside from theatre and voice over, Josh has a love for all things nerdy and as well as martial arts.

image_6483441.JPG

Sound Designer - Xperience J (Crystal Judkins) is a content creator  from Alexandria, Virginia. She is also a self-published author, poet, songwriter, freelance voice actress, and all around creative. Xperience J is the co-founder of Black Audio Dramas Exist, where she continues to promote creatively provocative audio dramas written, produced, and starring black creatives. 

 

She has written and produced two audio dramas of her own, "Past Due Audio Series" and "Kiss: The Audio Series." Most recently, she established Shhh! Jus’ Listen Media, where she uses her love of sound to produce innovative audio experiences that will change the face of audio dramas forever.

DSC_2962-1_EDIT1bw.jpg

Composer of Mona Mae’s Theme - Jeanette Berry

Long Island’s Jeanette Berry brings an intense artistry to the music that can be felt in every track she releases. Her voice reaches into your soul and through her honesty, through her vulnerabilities she connects with her audience. The premier quality in her music cannot be overstated or ignored, Jazz, R&B, Soul, Berry can do it all. With multiple projects under her belt, the genre-bending artist has an entire discography of sounds and range of emotions to listen to. Between the Press picking up and covering Jeanette or the number of features she’s done over the course of her career, the world is catching on. As 2021 approaches, Berry has more music, content, and merchandise on the way, now’s the time to tune in to one of the generation’s most unique talents.

Screen Shot 2021-01-12 at 2.47.10 PM.png

Art Designer - Saramit Morales.

Saramit studied art at The New York City College of Technology . As a school aide in a New York City public school, Saramit supports students with learning disabilities with art therapy and art projects.  Her murals and artwork can be seen in several public schools in East Harlem.

IMG_1789_2 (1).jpg

Creator, writer, director Yhane Smith is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, producer, folklorist, film festival founder, Columbia University Community Scholar and ten-time Lower Manhattan Cultural Council grant recipient.  

 

After graduating from Rutgers University, where she was fortunate to have Amiri Baraka as a mentor, Yhane began her artistic career working as a dramaturge assistant, script reader and development assistant in the theater.  She worked at the Crossroads Theater (NJ), the Eugene O’Neill Theatre, Theater for a New City, Theater for a New Audience, Theater Communications Group (all in NYC) and the Walnut Street Theatre (Philadelphia). 

 

Yhane soon transitioned to television and film production. She worked as a freelance production coordinator and associate producer on commercials, videos and independent films with directors such as Spike Lee and Joe Pytka.

 

While working as a freelance producer, Yhane independently made her own short films. Her directorial work includes Jesus Children, which won Best Experimental at Philafilm Festival and received an Honorable Mention at Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival. Yhane is currently editing her independently produced short film titled Mother(ing). 

 

For nine years, Yhane amplified the work of women filmmakers through her non-profit Chicks with Flicks Film Fest. She curated the film festival, garnered the local film and art community’s support and partnered with corporations such as Kodak, Kinkos, Kiehls, Estee Lauder and Slim Fast as well as the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council to showcase the work of independent women filmmakers. 

 

In 2019, Yhane independently produced and launched Harlem Queen, an audio drama based on the life and times of Madame Stephanie St. Clair, “Numbers Queen”. In Harlem Queen, our Black Royalty of the Harlem Renaissance  clashes against the seedy underworld of mobsters.  Harlem Queen is listed in Discover Pods’ Best 71 Podcasts of 2020, CBC Radio’s 12 Hidden Gems of  2020 and  Discover Pods’ 14 Audio Drama Podcasts to Get You Hooked on Fiction. Harlem Queen recently made an appearance on the ABC primetime documentary, The Story of Soaps. 

Yhane recently co-directed Harlem Queen at Pennsylvania State University's Centre Stage.

 

Yhane volunteered as a community organizer for the annual Odunde Festival in Philadelphia, researcher at the Philadelphia Folklore Society and traveled to West Africa as a volunteer with Crossroads Africa. Her interests and research in folklore, music and culture throughout the African Diaspora has led her to travel to Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Jamaica, Sint Maarten and the Lesser Antilles as well as England, Portugal, Italy and France. 

 

Yhane was born in Hammonton, New Jersey, the “Blueberry Capital of the World”, and now lives in Harlem with her family.

bottom of page