Hello Beautiful People,
As some of you may know…MOTOWN is alive and well on the Great White Way! Opening on April 14th at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Motown: The Musical will undoubtedly wow ya and dazzle ya with the melodies and majesty of one of musics greatest periods. Which is why I’m SO pleased to introduce you all to our latest feature in the Actors & Actresses Q&A Series, Charl Brown, who’ll be playing Smokey Robinson. I sat down to chat with Charl about arts education, theater, Broadway, and of course, our just for fun questions. I know you all will enjoy this just as much as I did!
TWT: First things first, did you always want to be a performer?
CB: I’ve been singing my whole life. I grew up singing and directing the choir in church. And my family will tell you I’ve always been a natural performer, HA! But, I discovered Musical Theater in the 8th grade when I finally was accepted into the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts and was cast in my first show, Annie, which was also my first real audition ever.
TWT: If you were not an actor and a singer, what profession do you think you’d have?
CB: Growing up, I thought I might become a professional baseball player, because that was my activity of choice before I was bit by “the theater bug”. And I was a great athlete. I enjoy the Broadway Show League!
TWT: What advice would you give to high school students who wish to pursue a career in theater?
CB: First I would tell anyone who says that they want to pursue a career in theater is to be sure this is what he/she wants to do for a living. In theater there is a lot of hard work for sometimes very little reward. And, if you’re lucky you can make a great living. Also, always try to work to your full potential and never burn any bridges; you never know where your next life-changing job could come from.
TWT: Shortly after your time at USC, you joined the European Tour of HAIR, playing the role of Hud. Can you explain to our Write Teacher(s) readers what tour like is like?
CB: Tour is a whole other aspect of theater life. I have yet to go on an American Tour, which is something I look forward to doing at some point in my career, but being young, and getting paid to tour Europe with a bunch of actors, (making the most money I’ve ever made at that point) and being perceived as a local celebrity in places like Paris, and Milan, was one of the absolute best experiences of my life! Fun aside, it has its down side as well: you’re far away from the people you love, working six days a week and sometimes spending your one day off for hours on a bus. But, I know for a fact that my experience with HAIR made me who I am, and gave me the confidence and the strength I needed to take on New York!
TWT: Just for fun, what books are on your bookshelf at the moment?
CB: Obviously Smokey Robinson’s autobiography, and To Be Loved, Berry Gordy’s autobiography. Don’t have time for much else, but I can’t wait to get into Mindy Kaling’s new book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? My best friend just gave me a copy for my birthday. I’ll get to that eventually.
TWT: Just for fun, what sound do you hate?
CB: I hate the sound of the alarm in the morning. I am so not a morning person, but when I am in rehearsals for a new show like I am now I have to bed…and I hate it.
TWT: Just for fun, what sound do you love?
CB: I love the sound of great singing.
TWT: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received in regards to your career?
CB: The best piece of advice I’ve gotten in my career is from my High School Theater Director, Ole Kittleson, who taught us that it is show business not show fun. That for some reason has stuck with me my whole career. Now, that’s not to say that I don’t have a lot of fun, sometimes maybe too much, but it taught me to always strive to be professional and take it seriously. It can be a lot of fun but at the end of the day we are being paid to do a job, and I value my work ethic.
TWT: In today’s economy, arts programs are being cut. What reasons would you give a politician and/or school board for preserving the arts?
CB: You know, I have seen the arts, music especially, save children’s trajectory, and therefore, lives. I attended a performing arts high school, which was a magnet school for all different areas of San Diego County, based on the concept of voluntary integration. There were lots of my peers who weren’t fortunate like I was to come from a two parent home or from a middle class family, and some of which were what we now would call “at-risk” teens. And I saw and continue to see how having an education in the arts and music has prevented them from falling into dangerous lifestyles. I think the arts are much more important than we give them credit for and, unfortunately, in our culture we tend to place more value on things that make us money and not what makes us better as a society.
TWT: Who is/was your greatest teacher?
CB: My parents are both retired educators and I would say they were my greatest teachers because they were both wonderful parents, superb role models, while also being great teachers. My mother was an Elementary School principal when she retired. She was a 6th grade teacher when I was born. (She drove herself to the hospital to deliver me, from the classroom; I was a month early). I think for me it was important to see a woman, especially a Black woman, born before the civil rights movement, be able to work hard and eventually rise to such a high-powered position in her chosen field. That taught me that anything was possible and that has influenced me all the way to achieving my Broadway dreams!
Thank you, Charl!
Live, Love, Learn,