Darren Anthony making his mark in the arts
July 28, 2020
Frustrated at not being selected for the NSI Totally Television program in 2018, Darren Anthony threw his hands up in despair.
“I told myself I can’t take this rejection anymore and I am done,” the playwright and screenwriter recalled. “It felt like I was always getting doors slammed in my face.”
Anthony’s older sister, Trey Anthony who graduated from the program in 2004, would have none of it.
“She has always told me that I have to be resilient,” he said. “Transitioning from theatre to film hasn’t been easy, but just getting the support of my wife and sister really helped me to pull up my bootstrap and plug away.”
The encouragement paid off.
Anthony was one of eight screen professionals selected for the year-long customized hands-on training program that provides Canadian producer/writer teams with the opportunity to develop story ideas into polished packages to offer buyers in the global marketplace.
The first phase comprised a six-day boot camp in early March and homework assignment due last May.
“The one-week boot camp was eye-opening,” said Anthony. “It was the most intense and creative period I have experienced outside of a theatre production.”
Earlier this month, Anthony’s television series concept, ‘Dwayne Has Issues’, was chosen to advance to the second phase of training that includes an intensive three-day boot camp to be delivered online later this year with customized guidance and mentorship as they prepare to attend Content London in England in December, travel permitting.
The three-day summit from December 1-4 brings together film industry professionals from around the world.
“Even if we don’t get the opportunity to go to England because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am very pleased with what we have been able to achieve through NSI,” the married father of two young kids said. “We have landed a development deal with a Canadian network which was the goal. Getting to Phase Two is icing on the cake. Hearing a ‘yes’ and being acknowledged and validated are extremely humbling and reassuring. It says you are doing something right. Things are finally coming together for me and I am very excited about the future of my project. The timing couldn’t have been better.”
Produced by Eva Thomas who has a Master of Arts degree in American Indian Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles, ‘Dwayne Has Issues’ – which last year won the Telefilm Canada New Voices Award last year – is a family sitcom.
“It is basically about a Jamaican family that migrate to Canada and, after five years, Dwayne – who stays behind with his grandmother – joins his parents and sister in Toronto and is like a fish out water in his new environment,” Anthony pointed out.
Having Ken Cuperus as a creative mentor during the process was fulfilling for Anthony whose first critically acclaimed play, ‘Secrets of a Black Boy’, launched with a sold-out run at the Music Hall.
Cuperus is an Emmy-nominated writer/producer/show runner with over 100 hours of produced television credits.
“The most meaningful part for me was the time we were given to work with Ken,” noted Anthony who was a participant in the 2019 ReelWorld Film Festival Emerging 20 Incubator. “You always want seasoned creators to read your material and provide feedback. I have my sister, but at the same time you want to get a different perspective. He inspected and broke down our series to the bare bones and helped us build it back up critically and constructively. Though this process forced us to really examine every intimate aspect of the show, it really gave me a clearer perspective and deeper love for and connection to the story I am trying to tell. This exercise really reminded me why I started telling this story in the first place and I am thankful for it.”
‘Dwayne Has Issues’ is his first family series creation.
“I am pretty stoked about that,” said Anthony. “It’s definitely needed, particularly here in Canada. We haven’t had a Black family sitcom on the air since ‘Da Kink in My Hair’ and that was over 10 years ago. I think now, more than ever, we need to see representation of ourselves on Canadian TV. I want to make sure I showcase that.”
The production assistant on Season Two of ‘Da Kink in My Hair’ said his sister fuelled his creative passion.
Trey Anthony wrote and produced ‘Da Kink in My Hair’ which won four National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People’s (NAACP) Theatre awards and was nominated for four Toronto Theatre Dora awards. It also ran for a week in October 2010 at New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts.
Darren Anthony (l) accepted the 2016 Brampton Walk of Fame induction award from city councillor Jeff Bowman on behalf of his sister Trey Anthony
Global TV, which adapted the sitcom as a television series, cancelled the show after the second season. The award-winning playwright and producer ran a wellness centre for women in downtown Toronto for two years before relocating to Atlanta.
“Seeing Trey doing readings in small spaces in public libraries that evolved into live stage readings, going to the Princess of Wales theatre and doing things in England and the United States certainly inspired me,” said Anthony who is working to adapt ‘Secrets of a Black Boy’ into a feature film. “The journey for me hasn’t been easy because I was held back a Grade because of being dyslexic. So, writing has not been easy for me, but my passion was there and I always thought if Trey can do it, so can I. Witnessing her growth and evolution has been the biggest inspiration in my life.”
Anthony is two years younger than his sister with whom he has enjoyed a very close relationship.
“I think there’s a difference when you love your sibling and when you like and respect them,” she said. “I am blessed to have both. Darren has had so much rejection and obstacles, yet he has stayed the course. He has struggled with school and writing, but he has such a high level of perseverance. He’s a lifelong learner who never gives up on himself.”
Coming to Canada with his sister to reunite with their mother after being raised by his grandmother for four years, Anthony graduated from Lakeshore Collegiate Institute and completed George Brown College’s Child & Youth Worker program.
“I worked in detention centres, group homes and with people who had mental issues and that allowed me to see things from a different perspective before I ventured fully into the creative arts,” he said.
Darren Anthony is inspired by older sister Trey Anthony
Had it not been for a Peel Regional Police Officer decision to allow Anthony’s mother to punish him after he was caught stealing blank cassettes from a Brampton store when he was in Grade Eight, his career trajectory might have been different with a criminal record attached to his name.
“That was more terrifying than taking me to the station,” he said. “As we got close to our home, I saw a car outside which belonged to my mom’s friend. I knew that my mom would be so upset with me for stealing and also embarrassed by having her friend witness a police bringing me home because I had done something wrong. I remember the officer telling me, ‘You are going to thank me later’, and I was like, ‘No, I am not’.
Anthony’s punishment was a trip to Jamaica to spend time with his grandmother.
“My mom told me I was going to visit my grandma and it was only when I got to the airport did she say I was travelling on a one-way ticket,” he recounted. “The few months I spent in Jamaica was a culture shock and wake-up call for me. Realizing how good I had it back here in Toronto, I begged and pleaded to come back. I needed that and I took school more seriously on my return. What I didn’t have back then was the most positive male influences in my life. But what I did have was a very strong network of Black women, like my mom, sister, aunts and the community, really raising me. Without that support, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”
Vowing he would make his family proud after his brush with the law, Anthony has lived up to that promise.
