FortheboysEps1--Pilot

Mekhai Lee and Ellis Dawson, the writers and visionaries behind Fortheboys, met via a chance encounter, as is so often the case for folks working in the tight-knit community of NYC Theatre. During that meeting they shared ideas for individual projects with each other; two of which felt uncannily similar. This synergy in concept and their shared affinity in experience and worldview (as Black Queer men and creatives) was the birth of Fortheboys. The success of this initial collaboration is the beginning of what will be a long partnership in the arts.

Mekhai Lee, a proud graduate of the Drama program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, has been writing creatively since his youth. Using his unique voice and personal experience, Mekhai is an award winning actor/performer who is moved to tell stories that show the depth of humanity, and how our connection to the people around us help us connect to ourselves. As a director, his shooting style reflects some of his inspirations, including but not limited to Spike Lee, Christopher Nolan, Barry Jenkins and Pedro Almadovar. Mekhai’s purpose as an artist is to highlight the stories so often omitted in mainstream media. Ellis Dawson, who helms from Virginia Beach, Virginia is a graduate of Baldwin Wallace University with a Bachelors of Music in Music Theatre. Ellis is a published photographer, an award winning spoken word artist, and screenwriter. By way of multiple visual mediums, Ellis’ mantra as an artist stems from Baldwin’s words, “A society must assume that it is stable, but an artist must know and he let us know there is nothing stable under heaven.” As a director, his shooting style is heavily influenced by Gordon Parks' portraiture; creating beauty from the ordinary Black experience. He draws a range of inspiration from the writing style of the likes of August Wilson, Katori Hall, Issa Rae, and shooting style/storytelling technique by way of Quentin Tarantino’s imaginative dynamic perspectives.