Colman Domingo on the profound power and poignance of 'Sing Sing'

Colman Domingo woke up people astatine 3:30 successful the greeting connected the time Oscar nominations were announced. He was jetlagged, having conscionable returned to L.A. from Europe. He looked up astatine the satellite and felt that, contempt the acheronian of the fires and the country’s brainsick authorities and everything other going connected — nary substance what happens — the satellite was there, and helium was blessed.

Two hours later, helium recovered retired he’d been nominated for his soul-baring show successful “Sing Sing.”

We met conscionable a fewer hours aboriginal astatine the sky-scraping offices of A24 successful West Hollywood, wherever Domingo — 55, impeccably dressed, wide awake and successful bully wit — was waxing thoughtfully astir the powerfulness of Shakespeare.

Colman Domingo, Sean San Jose and the formed of “Sing Sing.”

(A24)

“Shakespeare is idiosyncratic who gives radical confidence, I think, erstwhile it comes to connection skills,” says Domingo, a Philadelphia autochthonal who has been acting for 34 years and who has done his just stock of board-treading with the Bard’s work. “I deliberation wherefore I’m not acrophobic of connection successful my enactment is due to the fact that I’m rooted with a batch of Shakespeare. ... He’s giving you specified large jumping-off points to make full worlds with language.”

He ponders it a small more, and adds: “I deliberation Shakespeare would beryllium a bully buddy of mine. I deliberation we’d person a mates beers together, and a bully laugh.”

When I notation that I’ve ever struggled with Shakespeare due to the fact that it feels similar a overseas language, Domingo launches into a afloat committed and carnal recitation, from memory, of a transition from “A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream” — astir hopping fairies and blessing this palace with saccharine peace.

“You understood that, didn’t you?” helium says erstwhile helium finishes, a twinkle successful his eye, and it’s abruptly wide conscionable however overmuch of himself Domingo poured into his relation successful “Sing Sing.”

His character, John “Divine G” Whitfield, opens the movie with different riveting code from “Midsummer’s” — Lysander’s monologue astir however “The people of existent emotion ne'er did tally smooth” — which, the histrion says, “tells you a batch astir the quality successful the precise archetypal sentence.” Whitfield is simply a precise existent person, formerly incarcerated and the merchandise of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) programme astatine Sing Sing Correctional Facility successful New York. In conceiving his performance, Domingo saw Divine G arsenic “the champion of that programme and what it tin be.”

“When I was examining his level of skill,” Domingo says, “I thought: ‘He’s conscionable a precise earthy actor. Not polished.’ ... But ideate if that earthy endowment was polished — it could beryllium utile extracurricular of the walls. You know, helium tin really marque a vocation for himself. Which is what my co-star, Clarence Maclin, is doing.”

Maclin, a.k.a. “Divine Eye,” plays a mentation of himself successful the film, which helium besides co-wrote. He is 1 of respective formerly incarcerated menand RTA alumni who play themselves alongside Domingo and a fistful of nonrecreational actors, lending the full accumulation a almighty authenticity. It besides forced Domingo — who had precise small clip to hole to sprout the movie successful 18 days, betwixt doing “The Color Purple” and reshoots connected “Rustin” — to beryllium much of his existent aforesaid than he’s ever been onscreen.

“I knew determination needed to beryllium benignant of a sleight-of-hand,” helium says. “But also, if I’m dealing with guys who had the existent lived experience, and they’re bringing themselves and playing versions of themselves, to a definite grade I had to play a mentation of myself. I had to bring myself successful each azygous way.”

Clarence Maclin and Colman Domingo.

(A24)

For that reason, it’s hard for him to ticker the film. He’s seen the movie lone twice; erstwhile successful a unsmooth chopped and past again connected an airplane. “When I would commencement to ticker it, thing would travel up successful me,” Domingo says. “I’m like: ‘I’m excessively emotional, and I can’t watch.’ And I had ne'er felt that mode astir thing I’ve watched of my ain — due to the fact that usually I’m gathering a character. I deliberation I felt excessively exposed,” successful “Sing Sing.”

In the film, Divine G is the de facto person of a radical of men who signifier plays astatine the maximum-security prison. He’s a talented thespian who besides writes plays; a gentle man, a mentor and a self-described jailhouse lawyer who is preparing for his parole hearing. He recruits the overmuch rougher-edged Divine Eye to articulation the RTA program, and contempt their precise antithetic temperaments and Divine Eye’s archetypal absorption to the vulnerability and unguarded emotions the programme elicits, they go improbable friends.

In 1 scene, Divine Eye calls Divine G the N-word, and Divine G says they don’t usage that connection wrong the radical — instead, they telephone each different “beloved.” This was, successful fact, a acquisition the existent Divine Eye taught Domingo during 1 of their Zoom rehearsals, and Domingo insisted they enactment it into the script.

“He said it conscionable truthful carefree,” Domingo says. “And I was like: ‘Grown, tough, beardown men successful situation telephone each different “beloved.” ’ ” It was said truthful casually, Domingo notes, and yet was truthful impactful. “I thought that was key.”

“Sing Sing” illustrates the profound powerfulness of acting and the arts to heal the cracked and hardened hearts and bodies of men locked down bars. It does truthful without preaching oregon grandstanding, with the astir gentle interaction and feathery 16mm cinematography by Pat Scola, who chose to usage earthy airy and to absorption connected the “landscape” of these men’s faces arsenic they alternate betwixt parading successful silly costumes and softly visualizing their happiest memories.

Clarence Maclin and Colman Domingo.

(A24)

“I deliberation it has a grace to it,” says Domingo, “a grace and an quality and a tenderness. And thing astir it is being an activistic oregon governmental successful immoderate way. If anything, it’s the antithesis of that. It’s precise human — truthful so it does go political, due to the fact that you’re dealing with the people. So it takes attraction of that by conscionable going much micro.”

Much of the movie was changeable successful 2 existent prisons — including Downstate Correctional Facility successful upstate New York, which had conscionable been decommissioned 2 weeks earlier the formed arrived.

“So each ounce of it was precise real,” Domingo says. “The mode the aerial did not flow. The cells. The colors. The layout of the land, wherever you can’t find your owed northbound due to the fact that it’s conscionable acceptable up that way. And you thought astir what that does to you psychologically. And past you thought: ‘Well, this doesn’t consciousness similar a spot wherever anyone tin heal oregon get amended oregon contribute.’”

For Domingo, putting connected situation greens (which helium wanted to beryllium a small ill-fitting) was conscionable different costume, but for his castmates it was a existent enactment of courageousness to get backmost into clothes, and an environment, from which they hoped they had been permanently freed — “but I cognize that they knew the interaction it could have, a movie similar this,” helium says.

Still, adjacent he needed a bigger affectional information nett to bash this project, which is wherefore helium requested that Sharon Washington play the parole committee serviceman and Sean San Jose his incarcerated friend, Mike Mike. “Those are my 2 closest friends connected the planet,” says Domingo, who has known San Jose since the mid-’90s, erstwhile they were young actors unneurotic successful San Francisco, bringing plays astir the AIDS situation to Bay Area students. He needed them, helium says, due to the fact that they “really held that abstraction for maine to beryllium arsenic susceptible arsenic possible,” helium says. “They cognize my heart.”

Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin.

(Dominic Leon/A24)

There’s a pivotal scene, midway done the film, wherever Divine G comes to his parole proceeding with a stack of envelopes and evidence, assured that a recently recovered signaling volition exonerate him from the execution that wrongly sent him to Sing Sing.

“He’s hopeful, and he’s open, and he’s besides vulnerable,” Domingo says. “He’s each the things that the programme has built him to be. There are spot exercises successful the theater, truthful I deliberation he’s being trusting that this idiosyncratic volition conscionable him wherever he’s gathering them, with the truth. But helium astir forgot, I think, that he’s up against the cynicism of the world.”

It takes conscionable 1 question from Washington’s quality — asking if his sincerity successful the interrogation is really a show — “to conscionable derail him, to instrumentality thing that he’s been utilizing arsenic his psyche work, and to question it,” helium says. “It conscionable dismantles him close there.”

Domingo didn’t program however to enactment that scene, but moving smack into the harsh world of the system, the histrion visibly deflates. “I tried to accidental something, but I had nary words,” helium explains. “Someone who always has thing to accidental is rendered speechless.”

This heartbreaking moment, compounded by different tragedy, causes Divine G to suffer hope, and helium becomes precise quiescent and astir catatonic erstwhile he’s backmost successful rehearsals for the upcoming play — “I deliberation due to the fact that there’s a volcano heavy inside, and besides an abyss,” Domingo says. “I deliberation he’s idiosyncratic who has hung connected and clung to religion and anticipation successful art. And his hands can’t cling anymore. So helium conscionable goes to zero.”

In that state, the slightest disturbance — idiosyncratic successful the programme taking his props, idiosyncratic forgetting their enactment — sets him off, and Divine G erupts.

“It gets maine affectional to deliberation astir it,” says Domingo, “but it’s like, this man’s beingness has been ruined — and galore different folks’ excessively who’ve been wrongly incarcerated. And you consciousness similar you’re conscionable a plaything for life. And astatine immoderate point, he’s like: ‘I can’t instrumentality it anymore.’ Even this gentle antheral volition autumn isolated and get angry.”

After a shocking outburst and withdrawal, helium is yet capable to travel backmost to the airy acknowledgment to the lessons of tenderness and compassion he’s been imparting to Divine Eye. In the film’s last scene, erstwhile Divine G has yet been released, Domingo walked up the roadworthy leaving the prison, again, helium says, not premeditating however helium would respond erstwhile helium saw Maclin waiting to greet him. That country had been rewritten galore times, “overwritten” successful Domingo’s opinion, and helium asked: “Can we conscionable effort 1 without those words?”

The director, Greg Kwedar, said: “I’m going to spot what you and Clarence do.”

Domingo’s caput and bosom were filling up with the character’s reality: Having been locked up for 25 years, he’s coming retired to a satellite wherever his parent is gone and helium doesn’t cognize who, if anyone, volition beryllium determination for him. That’s erstwhile Maclin opened his big, manly arms for a hug.

“No, no, no, nary — not with the value of 25 years and what he’s thinking,” Domingo thought. “No, delight don’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. All that he’s been holding, each that he’s been holding. Clarence hugs maine — and the dependable that came retired of maine is simply a dependable that I cognize I’ve lone heard 1 different clip retired of my ain body. And lone radical who recognize this cognize that sound. It’s a guttural sound, and it’s a dependable erstwhile you suffer idiosyncratic precise beloved to you ... similar erstwhile I mislaid my mother. It’s a dependable that I ne'er privation to perceive again travel retired of my ain body.”

“Sing Sing” manager Greg Kwedar and Colman Domingo.

(Phyllis Kwedar/A24)

But for Domingo, “Sing Sing” was worthy the outgo of however overmuch helium gave of himself. It’s a movie that delights successful the uncommon quality of seeing big men outcry together, of trusting their hearts to each different and of recovering the childlike joyousness of play.

He tells maine an anecdote astir a young pistillate who said she started bawling erstwhile Sean Dino Johnson — 1 of the existent formerly incarcerated men — rolls astir connected the level playing with a sword. He asked her why, and she said: “Because it’s thing I privation for my father, for my brother, to let themselves to play and beryllium vulnerable, and however beauteous that is, and however that helps everybody.”

Domingo says this movie is the astir important happening helium has ever made. “It’s thing that tin truly displacement people’s hearts and minds,” helium says. “It truly can.”