In 2014, I was invited to an digital influencer night Disgraced on Broadway. Till this day, it remains to be one of the most moving pieces of theatre I have ever seen. Karen Pittman was a tour de force, and watching her was like taking a masterclass in acting. Since then, she’s been seen on television screens in The Americans, Person of Interest, Horace and Pete, and Luke Cage.
And now, she’s the first participant of our Actors & Actresses Q&A Series of 2017.
MM: When did you first realize you wanted to be an actress?
KP: Maybe 3rd grade, I had an inkling that I could escape my difficult emotions by self-expression through dramatic play. It was easier than being just stupid and angsty, but I was very shy so it was not easy and it didn’t really resonate that I could do it for a living. I thought it would be cool if I could, but growing up in Nashville, I didn’t know how that would stand up next to my parents desires for me. So mostly, it was just a daydream…
MM: Of all the roles you’ve played in your career thus far, which ones are the closest to your heart?
KP: All of the characters are fractions of me, so I don’t know how to answer that. I definitely have feelings about the collaborators that created the characters I worked on. So I would say working with Cheo and Ayad and Louis, in their world and mining their ideas with my imagination were really transformative for me. Joe and Joel opened their world to me on “The Americans.”
MM: When one walks into your home, what books are permanently on your bookshelf?
KP: Living Beautifully: With Uncertainty and Change, by Pema Chodron, a journal with a pencil stuck in it, It’s All Good by Gwyneth Paltrow, and The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, by Sogyal Rinpoche.
MM: If you were stranded on a desert island, what television shows and/or movies would you want available to you, (assuming of course you have a television and Internet connection?)
KP: I mean, American TV/film is utterly changed now because of the streaming format. This might not be a totally fair question. I wouldn’t make it without Netflix and Hulu…
MM: What’s the best piece of advice you’d want to offer aspiring actors and performers?
KP: Don’t take my advice. Listen to your heart.
MM: What sound do you love? What sound do you hate?
KP: I love to hear, quite predictably, my children laughing. I HATE the sound of a child crying, especially mine.
MM: What literary or musical theatre character is most like your personality? Least like your personality?
KP: Maya, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” Diana in “Next to Normal,” Henrik Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler.” I’m least like one of those characters in any of the Bronte novels.
MM: In today’s economic state, arts education programs are being cut. What reasons would you give to a school board or politician for preserving arts education programming in schools?
KP: Arts education not only helps children to express themselves emotionally and mentally, it also develops fine and gross motor skills, improves reading and writing and mathematics, and engages their spirit.
MM: Who is/was your greatest teacher?
KP: My mother. My father. Lena and Jacob. Zelda Fichandler. Life.
Thank you, Karen!
Write Teacher(s) Reader(s), be sure to keep up with Karen on twitter @pittmankaren to find out about her latest projects.
Live, Love, Learn,