Where are you from? From Yard! Urban drama traces the true-life story of Jamaica Born Dave G Heron

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Producers of the new TV series “From Yard” have announced a prominent lineup of celebrity hosts for the much-anticipated Jamaican and New York World Premiere screenings of the show’s pilot episode.

“From Yard” is an immigrant urban drama directed by Leland Benford that traces the true-life story of Jamaican born Dave G Heron (not to be confused with the David Heron), from his humble childhood beginnings in Maverley, Kingston through his subsequent emigration to the USA, and his turbulent adolescence and young adulthood on the streets of New York City. The series is the first ever television production to portray the pursuit of the American dream through the eyes of a Jamaican family.

The largely Jamaican cast includes: Shevrado Oliver as series lead, Dave G Heron, Glen ‘Titus’ Campbell, Joe Herrera, Darron Donaldson, Claire Dennison, Ashanti Harris and Adam Christian, making his professional acting debut as young Dave G, seen in flashback scenes of the character’s childhood in Jamaica and the USA.

Co-host of the Jamaican Premiere, David Heron (not to be confused with Dave G Heron), also appears in the production as Samuel Heron, father of series protagonist Dave G.

Last week, I had an opportunity to sit down with Dave G Heron, the visionary behind “From Yard.” David Heron is a playwright, producer and actor, who began his career in Jamaica as the writer of such critically and commercially successful plays as: Ecstasy, Intermission, Against His Will and Love and Marriage and New York City.

His work has subsequently been performed Off Broadway and on several continents to thousands of theatergoers throughout the diaspora. Emigrating to the USA, as an actor he has appeared Off Broadway, regionally and internationally in a diverse range of roles. One of a select few Caribbean born actors performing Shakespeare at the highest level across the USA, he recently earned stellar reviews for his work in the Colonial Theater of Rhode Island’s Shakespeare in The Park production of The Tempest.

In addition to his latest role in From Yard, he is collaborating with actor-producer Malik Yoba (Cool Runnings, New York Undercover) to bring his courtroom drama Against His Will to the New York stage.

During our discussion, he shared with me exactly how this project came to be. “I went on vacation and some crazy things started to happen. I had an out of body experience during that time, and I started keeping a journal.

When I came back to the states, I had planned to go on a trip to Mexico, and during that trip I had a chance to reread the journal. I was like, this could be a book. I also got some feedback from family members, and they also thought it could be a book.”

Instead of a book, his journal became a screenplay, one that ended up on Phedra Benford’s desk. “I am a script reader, so my job is to analyze scripts. David’s script was passed on to me, and I really liked the voice behind it. It had legs, heart. We were like, let’s jump on board.”

David had another producer who wanted to use American actors to play Jamaican and he was not about that. “I was like no way. We were not on the same page. The universe was working in my favour because I had a chance to meet Leeland.”

Director Leeland Benford (Detroit native) instantly stepped up to the plate after the script was approved by his wife Phedra. “David and I were on another set talking and he introduced it to me. We were like, let’s shoot in Jamaica. It was refreshing to me. Detroit gets a rough rap, all the movies from their hype the stereotype. David’s movie was more wholesome, about the working man’s plight.           

In 2018 while I was in film school, I told my classmates that I was going to shoot a film in Jamaica, and I manifested. One aspect of creating the film that was difficult was finding that cultural balance. How do we do this? Do we make this a completely Jamaican experience? We wanted it so that everyone could watch it and feel the authenticity of the story. I wanted people who have gone through this experience of moving to another country to be able to relate. 

We had a casting call for kids, and we came across Adam. He was so professional, bubbly; he came prepared with sticky notes ready to do his part. It was great working with our entire cast. We had casting calls in Atlanta and in Jamaica.

We had an investor who pulled out at the last minute; so, we had to put our money where our mouth was. He pulled out the day before we went to Jamaica. We considered shutting down production, but we all worked together and figured it out.”

Actor Nick Creegan, songstress Nadine Sutherland, actor, playwright David Heron and broadcaster and media personality Paula-Anne Porter-Jones will share hosting responsibilities for the two-star studded premiere events, which take place one week apart in September. Porter-Jones and Heron will co-host the Jamaican Premiere Screening on Monday September 18^th, 2023, at 8:30 pm at Palace Cineplex, Sovereign Centre in Kingston. Creegan and Sutherland will step into the spotlight to host the Gala World Premiere at the Langston Hughes Auditorium, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York, one week later on Monday September 25^th, 2023, at 8pm.

The Jamaican Premiere Screening will be a charity fundraiser for The BAM MOMS Club while New York’s Gala World Premiere will benefit The Union of Jamaican Alumni Associations (USA) Inc. (UJAA) UJAAbotics programme.

For tickets and further information on both premieres, please see also www.bammomsclub.com and www.ujaausa.org.