Southern Siren
Marquelle Young
There are those who dream of creating and those who do it. Since meeting Marquelle (when we were both teenagers), it has been very clear to me that this woman is a doer. From the stage to the screen to the set, Marquelle’s talent knows no bounds. A woman of action, she moves fast and with a force of talent and determination one is sure not to miss.
Her work is beautiful and her spirit even more so. She kindly joined me for a chat to talk about her projects, passions, and what it means to be southern. Allow me to introduce this Summer’s Siren, Marquelle Young.
Rachelle: What are you working on right now?
Marquelle: For a while I was helping people produce or directing their projects. But right now I am trying to focus on passion projects. Projects for myself. Currently I am writing a series that will feature women, a coming of age story. It will feature diverse characters. I hope to have an all women production team, in front of and behind the camera. I’ve never had that before and I think that would be really cool. I am also working on a documentary, it’s called AAA. Me and a couple friends are producing it together. I’m directing. We’re focusing on Atlanta actors. Giving them a space to talk about how the industry has been for them. In comparison to LA actors and NYC actors that are making the rush to ATL and being bombarded here with all of that talent and how it’s affecting Southeast actors and casting directors.
Also, I’m in the middle of finishing the pre-production for a short film that I wrote for a friend of mine and hoping to direct as well. It’s a bigger production and something I don’t want to try and do during quarantine. We’re finishing all the development for that so that hopefully we can do that safely when the restrictions lift with a full crew and make it as big and as grand as it can be.
R: Considering your many hats of writing, directing, acting, producing, which one is your favorite? And which is the most challenging?
Behind the scenes of the award-winning Moving On music video, directed by Marquelle.
M: My favorite right now is directing. I love finding the vision for something. And I really love diving into pieces of work and analyzing things. I love being able to collaborate with people to make something better than any of us thought it would be. I would say that directing is also the hardest. That or producing. With producing you’re wearing so many hats, especially as an indie producer. But when directing, not only are you wearing those hats but you also have to make so many decisions. But when you have a clear vision it comes a little easier.
R: Do you prefer to direct things you have written or that other people have written?
M: I just prefer to direct things that are good. If it’s great and I wrote it, cool! If it’s great and somebody else wrote it, even better. What I love doing is being able to see something on paper then seeing it in my head and figuring out how to make it even more cool. I think when it’s mine it can be a little more stressful. When it’s someone else’s I can be more detached and I see things differently.
R: One of the hardest things I’ve done, creatively, is let someone else direct a play I wrote. I had the option to direct it but I knew it was good for me to learn to let it go.
M: I haven’t written something for someone else to direct yet. But I would love to do that if it was someone I trusted or someone amazing because I would love to learn from them.
R: Switching gears a little bit, what does it mean to you to be Southern?
M: When I think of being southern I think of the saying, “Put things back better than the way you found them.” I think there’s a kindness that Southern people have. I remember the first time I went to New York and people being weirded out that I smiled a lot. There’s a genuine kindness that marks southernhood. Southern hospitality is a real thing. We wave at our neighbors. We smile at people. We ask how they are doing and actually care. That is truly southern. And I’m hoping that the film industry can catch that bug because the industry can be a bit grim. Film sets are crazy. But there is a difference between being on a set with mostly southerners and a set where people are not; it’s just a different energy. The energy with Southern people is more laid back. And not in a lazy way but in a “I see you and respect you and we’re going to have fun today” kind of way. It’s not going to be a stressful, awful 10 hours.
R: How long were you in NYC?
M: Six years.
R: How does working in the context of the south now contribute to your story and the types of stories you choose to tell?
M: I don’t think I realized I was Southern until I went to New York City. I was born in Denver but have been in the South since I was two. But when I went to New York I realized I was different. Innately my story is Southern because of who I am. Any story I tell will be from my perspective as a southern woman, as a southern Black woman. The stories I want to tell haven’t been told before and what I’m writing will either be shot in Atlanta or Savannah. These places are something I definitely want to highlight.
There was a show that I was producing and it was supposed to take place in Atlanta but they were fighting to move it to New York City. When I was sitting with the writer, I asked him why it was written in Atlanta. He said, “because we’re not highlighted as much. We have Donald Glover’s Atlanta and that’s it. And because we have this one show suddenly we can’t have other stories? But there’s so many other stories to tell from Atlanta.” And he’s right!
R: The Southern Siren’s motto is own the narrative. For me that came from the journey of realizing that we as women can choose for ourselves what our path is. For me it was like a second coming of age. When you hear own the narrative what does that mean to you, especially as someone who’s a story-teller?
M: Growing up I had a path that was already made for me. The first coming of age is realizing that path is not going to happen. The second coming of age is stepping into your own story and knowing it’s okay that it’s not the path you thought it would be. There’s so much more to life than just following expectations. But also as a woman of color, there are some stories that I hesitate to talk about. Even though we’re in the 2020s and there’s this line that it’s okay to open up, there is still a fear to do so. A fear that the content will be looked down upon or that it’s too conflicting. There is always that fear of owning your narrative. That is where my journey is right now and why I’m working on projects for myself. And in doing so, helping other women that look like me and even women that don’t look like me to own their stories as well.
R: Tell us about the part in your journey when you first started finding your voice.
M: I was a dancer for a long time. I always felt like I had a voice through dance. When I stopped dancing, I lost a little bit of myself. Once I got back into moving my body, there was a spiritual thing that happened. Things just come to me; I’m a very visual person. When I start moving my body and listening to music, I see things. I wanted to make a film that represented what I was feeling and what others were feeling. I was in New York. The Black Lives Matter movement was happening. I was frustrated. And so I moved. I danced. And I created a piece. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I knew I had something that I needed to get out. Marrying dance and film has always been within me. With both of those art forms, you can say nothing and still tell a story. I think that’s so powerful! The minute I started combining those I was able to open a flood of ideas. Being pushed and prodded is what it took to get that voice out of me.
R: Who are the influential southern, female voices in your life, living or dead?
M: My grandmother. She is the spiritual matirach. She holds everybody together and shows us what love is in a way that doesn’t make sense. She’s the reason why I think love can exist as long as it does. And obviously, Beyonce and Opera. They are all such an inspiration.
R: What do you wish people knew about southern womanhood?
M: I wish people knew that you are not going to die if you’re kind. I think there’s this weird stigma that you have to be rough. People think if you’re nice you are a pushover or you are green or you could be easily taken advantage of. I wish more people knew that it is okay to be a kind person. And if you see that in other people respect it.
Marquelle Young is an award winning Director and Producer. She has directed several films, that have gone on to win awards in the film festival circuit, and is currently working on her fifth production for this year. She has over a decade of work as a professional actor and coach, having trained at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, and with various professionals over the years including the likes of Tony-winning Director, Kenny Leon and Emmy-winning Director, Mary Lou Belli to name a few.
As a director, she is known for her ability to connect with actors and bring the vulnerable work out of them they never knew existed, instilling empathy in them and the audience as a whole. Marquelle has a passion for all aspects of the arts, and works toward growth and honoring the power of storytelling. She believes empathy will save the world.
Follow Marquelle and her production company on Instagram to keep up with her projects.