Today we’d like to introduce you to Jermaine Williams.
Jermaine, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It all began in 2008 while watching TBS at home and I noticed that Tyler Perry’s House of Payne ran back to back for about two or three hours. Me being the ultimate competitor that I am, I said to myself that Mr. Perry needed some competition, obviously. So, I had my female friend take a few pictures of me against a plain white wall at home and those digital pictures became what is now known as my first “headshots”. With those same headshots, I landed 5 auditions and an extra role on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne and a stand-in for Why Did I Get Married Too. After landing roles in each of my very first five auditions, I decided that this is what I was born to do. After filling up two sheets of paper on my acting resume in just one year, I realized that I could write the same shows and plays myself that I was acting in and probably do it better. So, in 2009, a close acting friend of mine and myself decided to branch out on our own and start a tv, film, and theater production company. I would do the writing and producing and she handled the directing and EVERYTHING else pretty much. I was blessed to have an awesome business partner and friend. In our first two years in existence, we produced three hit stage plays (The Tracks, The Apartment and Surreptitious), one sitcom-style web series (Scouts) and we even held our very own SUAAP AWARDS and COMEDY show to honor all those who worked hard on projects for SUAAP.
Two years later in 2013, I would lose my mother unexpectedly and my life literally crumbled before my eyes. We dissolve the company and went separate ways and I laid dormant and received counseling for five years to deal with the death of my mom. It wasn’t until March of last year when my mother visited me in my sleep for the very first time since her untimely passing and she said very strongly three words… “Son, it’s time. I woke up immediately and I knew exactly what my mother meant and I took immediate action. The very next morning, I purchased a billboard for a new TV Drama Series of mine titled, Country Boys before even getting a cast or crew together. You see, in 2009, my mother made me promise to write and produce a show based in her hometown of Waynesboro, GA. She also wanted the majority of the cast and/or crew to be from or residence of the city fo Waynesboro or Burke County. She told me that she wanted me to give the people down there something to be proud of. So, I wrote the script using one of my favorite shows at the time, HBO’s The Wire, as a blueprint. The script was never produced or even reviewed other than by my mother and myself and after her untimely passing, I had no intentions to ever put it into production or even look at it for that matter. Not until that night in March when she visited me.
Since then, the show was produced and premiered at the Imperial Theater in Augusta, Ga in October of 2018 and it has since then gone on to win multiple awards and nominations in film festival internationally and locally, including, BEST SHORT FILM, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST WRITING, BEST ORIGINAL IDEA, BEST ACTOR, BEST MUSIC, with several more festivals to hear from. The show will actually be screened at the Regal Cinema 24 in Chamblee, Ga on Friday, August 16, 2019, at the Hollywood South Urban Film Festival. We have also completed one entire season of the Country Boys web series which can be found on YouTube as well as WebFlix and Chill and we are gearing for filming of season 2 in August.
Has it been a smooth road?
Not at all. My biggest struggle was the untimely death of my mother and the drama and losses that ensued afterwards. I attempted suicide twice and even turned to drugs and alcohol to cope. I had multiple run-ins with the law and multiple people turn their backs on me but I made it through and I’m stronger and wiser because of it.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Shut Up And Act Productions a.k.a. SUAAP is a full-fledged tv, film, and theater production company. Not only do we write, produce and direct our own productions, but we also do music videos, web series, commercials, motion graphics, weddings, special events, etc. I write and sell scripts as well and we offer coaching and mentoring. We specialize in any and everything ENTERTAINMENT. I like to think that we can handle anything and anything can be handled. As a company, I’m most proud of the many careers that got their first shot at acting and or took off with SUAAP. I see faces almost every day on television today of people who got the very first shot at acting through SUAAP. It’s a blessing to see this because all I ever wanted to do was not only be great but teach and motivate others to do the same. You can say that I’m the Keenan Ivory Wayans of the Atlanta Independent Filmmaking community. What sets us apart from other production companies is just that. I don’t look at us as a production company, I look at us as a production family. I’m not just CEO and head of SUAAP but I’m more like the head of the household and the household consist of my ALL my SUAAP family. We’re a family over here and as a family, we focus on quality productions and turning our dreams into a reality.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Of course. It’s where I got my start so that answer is simple. Yes.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.suaap.net
- Phone: (904)501-3062
- Email: jermainewilliams.suaap@gmail.com
- Instagram: @suaapllc
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/jermaine.williams.315
- Other: YouTube: SUAAP or SUAAP INC
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