SBIFF: Coleman Domingo and the Power of Love in Art
LOVE WAS UNMISTAKABLY IN THE AIR ON FRIDAY NIGHT, Valentine’s Day, as Coleman Domingo was celebrated for his body of work with the Montecito Award at the Arlington. A fitting way to wind down 12 days of SBIFF, so much of Domingo’s message was centered around love: for the craft of acting, for artistic expression, for soul music, for being raised with love, and for loving oneself, and just as importantly, one’s freedom to love who they wish.
Roger Durling, SBIFF’s longtime director, who hosted the ceremony and interview, revealed a personal investment in Domingo’s story. Durling has been following Domingo’s career since he was performing his one man show, A Boy and His Soul, off-Broadway. Calling Domingo the “performer we desperately needed in our lives,” Durling revealed how a deep attachment to an artist can impact one’s life, and at one point even broke into tears.
Indeed, it felt like there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, at this point. Domingo’s career arc, full of the highs and lows that mark any artist’s trajectory, carried tremendous emotional weight, as he wasn’t afraid to address the challenges of being Black and gay in America. His vulnerability in his roles is also very much who he is, and as such he bonded with the Arlington audience in a meaningful way.
Despite the odds stacked up against him, Domingo was raised in a household full of love, and taught he could achieve whatever he wanted. A testament to what being loved can produce, he spoke at length of his desire to give that back to the world.
“I was born to just believe that the Universe was meant to do me more good than harm,” said Domingo, early in the interview. “I know I wake up with joy and hope and possibility, I wake up believing that there’s a place for me that never ends.”
As if to support this claim, Durling pointed out the synchronicities in Domingo’s career that signaled a universe that opened up for him. He has shared moments with actors on screen that repeat in odd ways, years later, with a revolving cast of familiar directors, and the same actors, that are drawn into his orbit, as if these artists are not done complimenting each other’s work.
Domingo is a multi-hyphenate talent. Besides acting, he writes and produces. “I wish I had the liberty to just be an actor, but I’m glad I didn’t,” he said. “If I wanted to create, to be a part of roles that were complex and interesting, and lean into all the things that I can do, I had to write the material…and then I had to direct some of the work, and because I wanted it to exist, I had to find how to produce the work, so I naturally became all of these things out of necessity.”
With a resume that spans Broadway (Chicago and The Scottsboro Boys), small independent movies and bigger smash hits like The Color Purple and Candyman, to the recent success of Euphoria (winning Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series) and The Madness, Domingo has enjoyed both commercial and critical success. The Montecito Award, which seeks to honor actors who have had a significant impact with their work, is deservedly his.
After a rousing speech from Oprah Winfrey, Domingo accepted the award, and offered some wisdom around what it means to make art. “There’s a gospel song that says, ‘Your steps are ordered,’” he said. “When I was a kid, my mother always said, make sure you just have a little bit of the Word with you. You can find that Word out in nature…you can find that word sometimes on the dance floor, you can find that Word anywhere, it’s spirit. But if you follow those steps and your steps are ordered, you’ll make a difference. You’ll be in service, you will be cared for, you will be loved.”
The message served as a reminder to the audience, that art made out of love and service can indeed impact the world at large, and change things for the better.
