THE MUSICIAN'S SHED PODCAST: CARRIE COMPERE

The lights of Broadway are bright, but the path to getting there is often paved with grit, grace, and a whole lot of heart. This week in The Musician’s Shed, host Samar Newsome welcomes the phenomenal Carrie Compere for a soul-stirring conversation about life on and off the stage.

Carrie is a powerhouse talent known for her unforgettable roles in Broadway’s The Color Purple, Holler If Ya Hear Me, and the national tour of The Lion King. But beyond the standing ovations lies a story of humble beginnings and the delicate art of the "juggle."

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• The Origin Story: How Carrie transitioned from her early musical roots to the biggest stages in the world.
• The Broadway Reality: What it’s truly like to perform at the highest level while staying true to your craft.
• The Balancing Act: A transparent look at how she manages a high-demand career while prioritizing family and home life.
• Advice for Creatives: Insights for performers who feel they are "starting late" or balancing multiple roles in life.

Carrie’s journey is a masterclass in perseverance and proof that you don’t have to sacrifice your soul to find your spotlight. Whether you’re an aspiring performer or a parent chasing a dream, this episode will leave you inspired.

✨ Follow our Guest: Instagram: @carriecompere

🎧 Subscribe to The Musician's Shed: Don't miss an episode! Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_07 0:19

Hey, this is Samar Newsom, and we're back for the Musician Shed Podcast. I got a very special guest with me, my friend Carrie Compare. Welcome, Carrie. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Oh, thank you for coming.

SPEAKER_03 0:32

Absolutely. Of course I was gonna do this, but you, what?

SPEAKER_07 0:35

This this is the homie from back in the uh back in the college. Let's not even talk about it. All that craziness days. We got stories, but we won't share any of those stories. No, none of them. All right, so but I do want to I want you to introduce yourself to the people. Okay. I mean, I could talk all about you, but of course, you can tell us more. You there's probably stuff I don't even know. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 0:56

Tell us about who Carrie is and well, uh Carrie is um born in Southern California, but raised in New Jersey. You know it. Oh, yeah, that's a story in and of itself. Um, but raised in Trenton, New Jersey, so Trenton is home for me, and New Jersey has been home for me for a very, very, very, very long time. Um, I'm married for 26 years. We have two beautiful children, um Isaiah and Numa. And um, and I'm a performer. I act and I sing, and I try to look do a little, you know, five, six, seven, eight every now and then. I'm a strong mover. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:36

Exactly, exactly. So, I mean, you're you're an incredible singer. Thank you. Um, of course, I got to perform with you in college. We met in college, and um, but over the years, like, you know, you you've gotten into some some big things. Yeah. So I remember going to see you on tour.

SPEAKER_02 1:54

Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_07 1:55

So tell us about um, first of all, what was your goal when you went to college? What was your goal professionally? And what were you trying to like go for at that time?

SPEAKER_03 2:06

Uh to be honest with you, I don't even know. Like, I didn't know then what I was trying to do. I just knew it was the thing to try to get into school if you can go to school. I really had no plans um of getting into entertainment at all. I was I always wanted to be a lawyer because I had so many family members that needed lawyers.

SPEAKER_07 2:28

One second, one second. I'm gonna pause. Okay. Because my something's jumping in the screen. Uh oh. How do you know that?

SPEAKER_02 2:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:26

Listen.

SPEAKER_07 3:32

So how did you get into listening? So yeah, you you were saying, uh, let me just wipe my brow. No, you're fine. You were saying that you didn't know you wanted to get into entertainment.

SPEAKER_03 3:43

Yeah, I I actually was living after I uh graduated from high school, um, I went through something. Okay. And so I was just like, I need to get out of here. So I went to California to stay with my grandmother. I was out there with her for a while, and um God just did amazing things out there. And I just came home to visit and surprise my mom one summer. And while I was out in I came back to New Jersey, and while I was back here, um, there was a woman named Sue Ellen Page who had a group called Trenton Children's Course that I used to tutor for after school. And she was like, Carrie, what are you doing? And I was like, Well, I just enrolled in like community college. Is that thing getting you?

SPEAKER_07 4:27

Is it the fish? Let me close this one.

SPEAKER_03 4:32

Okay. Oh, the fish was drunk.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 4:56

If you see that fish one more time, we're gonna smack it.

SPEAKER_07 5:01

So we'll we'll say that again.

SPEAKER_03 5:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 5:04

So you said you didn't know that you wanted to be in entertainment. Tell us about that.

SPEAKER_03 5:09

Yeah, so when I actually went to college, it was I just needed something to do. Um, and it was suggested to me by a woman that I used to work for her program. It was an after-school program that she had, it was called Trenton Children's Course. I believe it's still in existence. She has since passed. Her name was um Sue Ellen Page, and she was wonderful. I I is it still gonna be on there.

SPEAKER_07 5:32

It's just gonna be on there. She's gonna be a fish every now and then.

SPEAKER_03 5:37

Um, but while I was home visiting, she said, um, Carrie, why don't you audition for this music school? I think you'll be great. And I was just like, okay. I was like, but I don't have any money for school or anything. She was like, don't worry about it, we'll figure it out. Long story short, I auditioned for Westminster Choir College. I had never heard of it before. It was not on my radar. I know. I I think most of the people that I went to school with, especially uh the uses, our people, they were just like, uh I just kind of dropped into this. Um, but I auditioned for it and um and I got in. And then we worked like I worked like a fiend, like just going and trying to get financial aid and all the things. So um I had no real like goal in terms of like what I wanted to do. I just knew I I needed to do something. And while I was there, um, is when I met my husband, and um and I did not finish at Westminster, but it definitely planted a seed for music and for performance in me that I had not really tapped into at that point. I did a little bit of singing while I was in high school, um, but it was nothing that I really saw me myself doing.

SPEAKER_04 6:53

Right.

SPEAKER_03 6:54

Um and then uh after I left Westminster, uh, you know, I worked because me and my husband, we started out very young, as you know. We had our children very young. We got married very young. And um, and so we had to work, you know. I worked in dental offices and for schools and main offices and all the things. And then we got an offer to move to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and and to work for a church. And my husband was the um the MD there. And while we were there, um, I got involved in community theater, and that was like that that was the thing. Yeah, yeah. I I was just like, we I remember we did a production of Ain't Misbehaving, and me and Jerry were driving home one night, and he was like, Babe, you gotta do this. Like you, you gotta do this. And I was like, Okay, we ain't got no money, we don't have no resources really, but we got the Lord, and we're gonna make it happen. And then um, I was just I became intentional about making that happen. And then Broadway TV, yeah, commercials, like crazy, crazy national tours, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 7:58

I so I think I think some people, first of all, I mean, like, I don't I didn't know what I wanted to do as a producer. I knew I wanted to be a producer, I decided that a long time ago because I was like, uh, who makes the money? Right. I was like, the artists don't make the money. Right, right. But um, but even with that, you know, the artistry, like I didn't, I didn't really know I wanted to go to school for music. Sure. As a matter of fact, I met you at Westminster, but I didn't start at Westminster. I started at Rutgers at Makes You Gross. And I just honestly, my brother was at Rutgers, right? They had like a whole movement at Rutgers at the time. And I was just like, yo, I'm gonna just rock. Might as well, yeah, yeah. And it was cool, but musically, it was just like, I don't want to say it was it, it was advanced, it wasn't really catered to like singers. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm a singer first, and I was learning to play piano at the time, but I didn't know how to read music and I didn't know none of that stuff. Yeah, and so when I got to uh when I got to Rutgers, they were like a bunch of band people in there, they've been they've been reading music all they like. Whole life. I'm like, how y'all know how to do this?

SPEAKER_03 9:09

Right, exactly.

SPEAKER_07 9:10

And so so I I had gotten into Westminster and I was like halfway uh through the first semester, I was like, man, this ain't working now. I think I need to go to Westminster or at least try it. And so I ended up going, calling Janet. Janet, uh you know, do you think you can get me in? She's like, Yeah, we could get you in. Like, you want to come? So I went and yo, I just drove up there one day, and then next day I know I was in the school. You in the school, I'm in the school, and it made it happen.

SPEAKER_03 9:39

And I think for like for me, I don't know if this was your experience as well, but for me, I just didn't know that this was an option, right? Like, I I didn't grow up knowing that this you see, people on TV, you see artists, you see musicians all the time, we listen to their records or whatever. And but I just did not know that that was a thing that could be real for me. And I think that um when you talk about not being able to read music and stuff like that, there were a lot of those resources um for me. I don't know, I can't speak for everyone, but for me, that just wasn't tangible when I was growing up. They didn't, it wasn't something that, you know, because I I visited some predominantly white schools and I've seen their music programs and how they're set up. And they're set up to like these kids are reading music, they are they're learning um technique, they are a lot of stuff is based in um classical music. They have a a breadth of and a wealth of resources and knowledge, you know. And um for me, although I wasn't into music like that in high school, it just was never anything that I felt was like placed before me as an option, you know. I didn't start reading until I got to Westminster, right? Quiet college. I didn't really know about classical training until I got to Westminster, you know. That wasn't so and I played violin in in elementary school, you know. So I knew where Middle C was on, you know, I knew what, but as far as um it being uh a thing that I knew that, oh, this is an option for you. Like if you really want to be a performer or whatever, like you can make this happen. We live an hour away from New York City, right? I had bare I don't remember going to New York when I was younger. I I we really didn't go to New York. And my and my parents, they were working middle class people, so they didn't have time to get on a train and go to New York. But I, you know, I'm less than an hour from Broadway and from everything, you know, and from this like full rich cultural experience that um I didn't really have access to until I got older. And I think that that's why it's important that we give this to our kids now so that they know you don't have to do this, but this is an option, we can do it.

SPEAKER_07 11:49

I I you said that thing about New York. I mean, my my dad was from New York, so my mom hated New York, though. So, you know, she hated driving in New York, yeah. So we barely we would go to New York because she had family in New York, my dad had family in New York, so we would go, but um, but she hated it. She hated like just driving, yeah. It was crazy traffic, yeah. Yeah, of course. So, but uh it's crazy you mentioned that. So, but Westminster, again, was a was a great starting place. I thought so. And it's crazy when you left, you know, you know, we knew you could be whatever you wanted to be. You know, you were you were killing it back in Westminster. But one of the things that I remember, I remember running into you in the city. I don't know if you remember this. Okay, I was doing a recording session for someone, uh, this guy named I forgot the guy's name, but I was doing a recording session playing piano on it on some songs. And I saw you in the city.

SPEAKER_03 12:44

Okay, you gotta you gotta.

SPEAKER_07 12:46

And you were like coming from like dance lessons or something like that. Yeah, probably.

SPEAKER_03 12:50

My God, hustling.

SPEAKER_07 12:51

Yeah, hustling. And I was just like, yo, this girl is out here hustling. And that and it was it was crazy because again, sometimes, you know, when one thing don't work out, which school is school. Yeah, but you you people don't always pivot. And that's one of the things I was talking to my mentor on with the uh with the podcast, is like pivoting is so important. Absolutely because things change, the climate changes. Um, what how did you get so deeply involved? Because you you ended up like studying and doing your due diligence to really be good at um getting into Broadway.

SPEAKER_03 13:28

Yeah, I have like I don't have I tell people all the time, because you know, a lot of times when you do shows, you do talkbacks, and people have all the standard questions like where did you go to school? And you know, and I don't have any formal training in what I do. Um, like I said, I went to Westminster for a year and a couple of months, I think, um, and had to leave there. But as far as like what I actively do as a performer right now, I don't have any formal training. And I knew that at the time I didn't have the monies to like go to NYU or or study at a you know, a conservative drama conservatory or whatever. I just didn't, we had a family that we were raising. So I was like, what I already had my kids on my hips, yeah, and my husband. And we were like we were hustling. Yeah. And um what I did do was like I found out about workshops and intensives and things that were um specifically catered toward the thing that I needed to learn. Like I knew I wanted to learn how to do on-screen performing. So let me go find somebody that's teaching an on-screen class. Right. I want to know how to do commercial voiceovers, so let me find where that class is and like go to these classes. Another super duper helpful um thing for me was that I was um blessed to get representation early on. Yeah. So I had a manager and an agent um very early on in my career who helped to, my manager, especially who I'm still with, um, helped to sort of guide and put me in places in connection with people that she knew that were doing classes and and things like that. So for me, the the hustle was um, I was like, I want to do this and I want to be great at this. Um, and I know I need to learn, I know I need to glean. And then the other thing is that, and I and I thank God for this. I talk about God a lot because I'm a believer and um I know that a lot of what I do is um is due to the fact that um God has been an active source and resource in my life. And um another thing had been that I would book these jobs and work with like these phenomenal people with names, and I learned how to sit and be quiet and listen and observe and glean and be like, yo, okay, I see them moving like this. So da da da. You know, I remember one day I it was my first um Broadway show. It's called Holler If you hear me, um, directed by Kenny Leon.

SPEAKER_07 15:59

That's the Tupac one. That's the Tupac one. Oh, that was a one it was short-lived, it was a good one.

SPEAKER_03 16:04

It was short-lived, it was a good one, man. It was a good idea, it was a good idea, and I, you know, maybe one day it'll swing back around. I don't know. But I remember um, so Kenny Leon is is friends with everybody.

SPEAKER_07 16:15

Kenny Leon is huge, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:16

He's huge. He's he's he's huge. You ain't you ain't got broke. Look and Google it. He's serious. Um, but he had um uh Denzel Washington is really great friends with him, and so Denzel was doing uh Denzel was doing um because Kenny we put the show up and we were like in the show, and at the same time, Kenny was also directing. He was always doing other things. I mean, that's how you gotta set it up. That's the way you gotta do it. That's the hustle. And he was directing a raisin and his son right down the street from us, which um Denzel was starring in. So Denzel came to our show and he came backstage and somebody was like, Denzel's in the building. And I say, I don't care. Everybody dream, oh my god, Denzel. I was like, I don't care. I'm going to find this man and I'm going to talk to him. I'm gonna go see him. And I found him somewhere, like in somewhere in the building. And um he sat there and talked to me. Wow. And like he let me ask him whatever I wanted to ask him. It was moments like that where I was just like, um, you know, like God just giving me opportunities to hear from people that do this thing. My one of my pastors used to say, if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room.

SPEAKER_07 17:27

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 17:28

Right. And so for me, it was just about it was taking the classes and stuff like that, but also when you have the opportunity to work with people that are smarter than you, yeah, that know more than you, then also using that as your classroom. Absolutely. You know, and so and I and I stay in that place, you know. I feel like I have accomplished a lot in my life as a performer. There's still so much more that I want to do for sure, but I stay in that place of like learning and listening and watching.

SPEAKER_07 17:56

That's that's important. I mean, first of all, I think finding places where you can learn or putting yourself, like you said, in the right rooms. Yeah, that's important. And then when you're there, you have to understand where you are in the totem pole. Absolutely. Like you're not the teacher right now, you're the you're the learner right now.

SPEAKER_03 18:12

Right, like shut up.

SPEAKER_07 18:13

Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of people get themselves kicked out of the room. It's really, and it's not because you don't have talent or you don't know something, yeah. But you didn't arrive there to to teach. Like, that's not where you are yet. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? You'll get there if you if you spend enough time there. But yeah, I remember being in a room writing sessions with Israel Houghton. Yeah, and I think that he's a he's a freak of nature when it comes to like that. Because he if you look at his catalog, you kind of can see that. But like one of the things I asked a lot of questions around him, like yo, how how many sessions do you do? Like, how often are you writing? Because I'm like curious, like, what is the what is your approach work-wise? Because if if you don't understand it, you won't understand how to get to absolutely a couple of hundred, three hundred songs in a catalog. You won't know that, and you'll think it's impossible, probably. You know what I'm saying? But like literally being in a place with the right people and asking the right questions. Yes. I'm glad you said that. Yeah. Um, so continue. I mean, you did a bunch of stuff.

SPEAKER_03 19:14

I I've gotten this to you in Shrek. Yes, you saw me in Shrek. You saw I think y'all saw Color Purple on tour, right? No, no, no. No, y'all not kind of broadway. Okay, yeah. You met Cynthia. Yes, Danielle.

SPEAKER_07 19:29

Yeah, Danielle. How was that? Because that was like one of my favorite things to see you in.

SPEAKER_03 19:35

Yeah, Color Purple was great. Um, it was the revival. We um we opened, we're coming up on our 10 years next month. December, I think it's December 15th, um, 2015 was when we opened, and it was the it was the Broadway debut of Cynthia Arrivo, who's like who's ridiculous, ridiculous right now.

SPEAKER_07 19:55

Like, you know, she's done. Um, but when when we saw her, we were like, oh, she's a star. Oh yeah. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_03 20:02

Like, oh, people knew. People knew what once that and that's the thing. When we first opened, so when we first opened, our leading ladies were Cynthia Arrivo, Danielle Brooks, and Jennifer Hudson. Yeah. And Jennifer, of course, was already mega, mega, mega, mega. Um, and who, by the way, is a very dear friend of mine. I love her so much, and she's she's everything that you think she is. She's sweetie pie.

SPEAKER_06 20:24

She seemed like she's a real person.

SPEAKER_03 20:25

She is, she's a real person. Um, and then Danielle Brooks was playing Sophia, and I love Danielle. And Danielle had um was uh still doing Oranges and New Black, so she has some notoriety, you know what I'm saying? But here's this Cynthia Arrivo girl from the UK. Nobody really knew who she was. But voice was I mean voice was crazy, and she had done the color purple in London at the Chocolate Power Factory, yes, with John Doyle, who was our director. And that's I think I don't want to misspeak, but I believe that that was one of the things that was um a part of his thing was like if I'm going to do this, I'm going to bring this young lady back.

SPEAKER_07 21:06

Well, it's amazing. I mean, I got to see the first iteration of it with Fantasia. Yeah. So I took my mom to see it because my my my cousin used to sing with Fantasia. So we had a relationship with Fantasia. So we went, it was good. It wasn't bad, it was good. Yeah. But this one, what I saw, I think I read that they had stripped it down and made it like more about just the story and the music.

SPEAKER_03 21:29

Buddy, every time we walked into our rehearsal space, there were less and less props. We were like, what is going on? He left us, John left us with some chairs and some blankets and a Bible.

SPEAKER_07 21:44

And y'all gotta sell this and make it work. But it was effective though.

SPEAKER_03 21:47

Well, I mean, J John is, you know, people call him a minimalist or whatever. I don't know if that that's what he considers himself, but he I remember having a conversation with him and he was just Like we need to get back into people tapping into their imagination. And um, and that was important for him to say it's we don't need to spoon feed people, right? It's we're actors, we're performers. You know, he gave us the example of like I think he watched his grandchildren, they were playing in the bedroom, and one of them put a sheet around their uh on their shoulders and put something on their head and said, I'm the king. And he was the king with just a sheet in a in a paper towel holder or whatever. And he was like, and he believed he was the king and he was performing. He was like, Yeah, we need to be kings with these Bible, this Bible and these two chairs and this one blanket. And it was effective. It made you, it made the audience really hone into the storytelling, yeah, what we were saying um and what we were doing, um, as opposed to uh all the extra pomp and circumstances, what he used to call it. And there's nothing wrong with that. There's, you know, I mean, that's what Broadway's built on. I mean, it is it's lights, it's smoke, it's all the and those things are beautiful, right? And they work, but for this particular production, um, I believe that's why it was so special because he did strip it down so much, and and he really was um intentional about the storytelling. Yeah, you know, so yeah, and that was and that was great. And we ran for um, I think a year and some change. I took over the role of Sophia when Danielle left, um, which was great. And then we did the tour, and they offered me the tour, Sophia on the tour. So we took we toured, I'm sorry, for about a year. Uh I I believe it was a year and a couple months. Um, and we ended our tour in New Jersey, which was so like, which was like Chef's kiss. Um, yeah. That's dope. That's dope. Color Purple was is definitely one of the shows that will always have a place in my heart. You know, we met so many people, so many people came through there to see the show. And um Auntie O, we call it Auntie Oprah came through, and she was one of our producers, and she was great, and it was just it was surreal. It was a great time.

SPEAKER_07 24:17

What was your favorite show you've done so far? Because I know you're so far.

SPEAKER_03 24:21

Um, I do have to say, and I'm I'm I'll I'll be I'm trying to be unbiased about this, but I think my favorite favorite uh, and I don't know if anything's gonna top this for a while, has been um Shout Sister Shout, where I played Um Sister Rosetta Fire. Yeah, the godmother rock and roll. Yeah, which is an important story. It's so important. And I believe Liza was about to do uh a feature film with it, and then there's other things popping up. I'm just glad that she is getting the recognition that she deserves. Um a lot of people don't know her name, but they know her music. They wouldn't know that that was that you know Rosetta Tharp had anything to do with you know some of the music that they listen to now. Some of the more popular people that you think that they're gonna be able to do that. Absolutely. And they mm-hmm and they stole, you know, from her.

SPEAKER_07 25:13

But which I think I feel like that's Beyonce's mission right now is to kind of like really say, This is ours, take this back. This is ours.

SPEAKER_03 25:21

Absolutely. No, 100%. She she mentioned Rosetta's name at I think an awards acceptance or something like that. And the the I I looked it up and I think the Google search for Rosetta Tharp went up like by like a billion or something. It was something outrageous, you know. So yeah, I'm glad that she's getting um, she's starting to get her due with that. But I did a production of that in Seattle with you and Salisha came out to see.

SPEAKER_01 25:46

I was like, oh, my friends came out to Seattle! It was worth it.

SPEAKER_03 25:50

And we also did a production in um of it at uh at uh Ford's Theater in DC. DC, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 25:56

That's cool, man. I mean, it's it's it's amazing to, again, this is a journey, right? So um what there was something special that I remember Jerry telling me about this Shrek thing you did, about like a microphone or something and all this stuff like that. Because you what did you play in Shrek?

SPEAKER_03 26:16

So I was mama, or I was Shrek's mom, and and I was also Dragon's Dragon, right? Yeah, yeah. So the story with that is so Shrek was my first professional anything when it came to, you know, and I remember going and auditioning, um, I got the part. I didn't realize how big of a move that was for me, being somebody who had not trained, had not had any any anything really on my resume at that point. And I um I booked the first national tour, so that means they were on Broadway and now they were going to send it out into the world. Um, and the really special thing about that was that on Broadway, Dragon had a song called Donkey Pop Pie that she was singing. And um when I after they they cast me in it, I got a phone call and they basically said, So we're writing you a new song.

SPEAKER_07 27:09

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 27:10

You know, this is Disney. This is no, this was DreamWorks. Oh, Dreamworks. Dreamworks, yeah, yeah. And so um, and so I was like, okay, so I met with the writers and we in a studio in New York, and we kind of closed in in this room and like workshop these lyrics and the music and everything. I was just like, oh my god, what is my life? And so for the song Forever was birthed, and which is the song that most people, if you license the show out now, that's the song that is on there. So when you look it up on Apple Music or whatever, I'm the one singing it. Go look that up, yeah. That's it, yeah. Go look that up. Yeah, so yeah, so I'm I sang forever, and um, and also with that, uh, they also sent me to London because they were opening up their uh the show in London and they didn't have anybody at the time that was playing dragon.

SPEAKER_02 28:04

Okay, wow.

SPEAKER_03 28:04

And so they were like, we have this huge PR event and we would like to send you out to London. I was like, oh my god.

SPEAKER_05 28:10

No, I'd love to love to go.

SPEAKER_03 28:11

What is this? Do I do I, you know, they're like, Do you have a passport? They're right, cheer me. They were like, Do you have a passport? I was like, Yeah, I think I have a passport. I don't know if I had a passport, if I need to get one. Right, exactly. I was like, Oh, we're gonna work this out. I'm from Trenton. So I went, I went, it was my first time out of the country. Wow. Um, in terms of like doing work, you know. I had I had gone to like to Haiti to visit my husband's uh uh uh place of birth or whatever, but like as far as doing work, you know, you know, go international. I was like, ooh, so yeah, Shrek was very, very special in that um in that way. So and the the creators I have to name them is um uh Janine Tassori, who's huge in the musical theater um world, and David Lindsay Abair, who's an author, um, and uh he does feature films and stage stuff. So yeah, so I got to work with them, and like that was crazy.

SPEAKER_07 29:07

That's great, man.

SPEAKER_03 29:08

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 29:09

So one of the things, so you you bring up things that I kind of want to highlight because one of the reasons for the podcast is to really like be something that we didn't have, like we didn't really have like a bunch of resources. We had them in college, yeah. But if we hadn't gone to Westminster, I mean how many things we wouldn't have got. So um, but uh it's just really a resource, especially in these days where there's so much easy things that people can get access to. One of the things I think they they don't get to build is character, yeah. And so like you can go learn chops all day. I mean, like the best musicians are posting, and you can go say, oh, he did that, uh, tick that, or whatever. And and that's amazing because that access is there, and we have that, but but uh, but then I think you know there's there's character that goes with that, there's work, there's work ethic, and like how you approach it. And so you said a couple things that I've been talking to my mentor about, one of them being um networking, yeah. So tell us how how did you get a manager agent? How did you do that?

SPEAKER_03 30:14

Well, that came from I was in the process of, I will not name the show, but I was in the pot process of auditioning for this show, and I was in a nine-month process with this one show. They kept calling me back, and I was this is when I was still living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and they were I was flying back and forth on my own dime, okay? And my poor husband, because we did not have money like that, but my husband was like, We're gonna make it work, you know? Well, y'all both artists, so yeah, yeah, he understood, right? And so um uh during one of the uh callbacks that I had, there was a young lady who was there, and I think at this point we had maybe seen each other like twice. And so we got to talking, and so uh I told her, she asked me about myself and what I was doing, and then and long story short, she was just like, Oh, you might really um like uh my manager, and you know, and she has this intensive that she does, and she brings in other agents and um people that work in a business and stuff like that, and and I'm sure she would love to talk to you. And I was just like, Okay. So when I went, I flew back home, I got on the phone with Susan. And by this time, my husband and I had already decided that we were moving back to New Jersey. I was like, this is a thing because I was in this process with this other show, and I'm like, oh, I think I'm gonna book it. I think I'm gonna get it because they keep calling me back. And so at this time, I, you know, I would come back and I would be looking for schools for the kids and like where we're gonna live. And so while I was back in Tulsa, uh I had a phone call with um my now manager, um Susan, and uh, and I basically auditioned for her over the phone. Wow, you know, so she was like, Oh my god, I want you to come to this intensive. And so when I got back, I went to her three-day intensive and she had different agents there. She had directors and uh uh voiceover people, and you know, um just a beautiful like hodgepodge of different people that sit on the other side of the table in this business, and that can really give you some constructive, you know, criticism. And um, by the end of the three days, she said, Carrie, I would love to manage you if you are open to that. And so we talked about it, and I signed on with her, you know. So that's how I got my manager.

SPEAKER_07 32:23

And that, I mean, it's it's important to have people who believe in you in this business, and any business, I think, but especially entertainment. Um, so I'm sure that's been fruitful.

SPEAKER_03 32:34

Oh, it's been absolutely fruitful. And she also has been some, you know, when when you talk about representation in this business, um, you know, most agents, managers, they have other clients as well, right? So they're sort of juggling all of these careers and trying to put everybody out, you know. Um, but one thing I can say about my manager is that she has been somebody who has been so ride or die for me. She submitted me for things that in the breakdown, it might say white woman, blonde hair, blue eyed, and oh, Carrie can do that.

SPEAKER_07 33:13

Carrie can be white, right?

SPEAKER_03 33:15

Well, no, like true story. I will give you, I will give you a true story. So there was a there was a show that was uh coming to showtime, and um the breakdown was not me at all. But she was like, Carrie, I'm gonna submit you anyway because listen, we're gonna get you. We're gonna get you on here. And so it was a role of a prostitute.

SPEAKER_05 33:34

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 33:35

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, and so uh, and I have my, you know, I have my my limits. Like there's certain things I I know that you know I don't feel comfortable doing or whatever. But I read it and I was just like, okay, I think this is cool. Um, and so before I went to my audition, I was like, I can't believe I'm going to audition for this thing. Um, but before I went, I was, I, you know, I I live in a world where you have to keep your hair in the hit, in a, in a, in a prep. Your hair in a prep, right? And so I wear a lot of wigs. I have wigs for days. And so while I was there, I remember me and Jerry were in the bedroom and I was like, okay, I'm getting ready to go for this audition, whatever. And I and I was going over my lines and I snatched my wig off, right? And Jerry laughed, and I was like, hmm.

SPEAKER_05 34:20

This might work.

SPEAKER_03 34:21

Hmm, this might work. Well, I walk into the room where they're holding all the young ladies who are coming in to audition for it, and they're all like tall and thin and and not me at all. And I am the only one that is me, right? And I was just like, oh my god. And I and I'm like, okay, Carrie, get focused, you know, whatever. So I I was intentional. I was like, I'm gonna go in there and I'm gonna snatch this wig off. Yeah, I'm gonna do something that's gonna make them remember me.

SPEAKER_07 34:48

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 34:49

Not just because I'm different than everybody else that's been it, but like, you know, so I go in.

SPEAKER_07 34:54

You gotta pay attention.

SPEAKER_03 34:55

You gotta pay attention to it. So I go in, I do my audition, and when I'm saying my line, I snatch my wig off and I keep going. And there are two people in there. There's a casting agent, and then there's uh like an associate. Okay, and they're filming this, and so they died to the point where they had to stop recording and I had to redo the audition because they were like, She was like, do that same thing, and we and and we're just gonna stay really quiet, you know. They didn't know. Right. And I was like, Oh my god, this this worked, you know, and I booked it.

SPEAKER_07 35:28

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 35:28

I booked it, and I was like, Because you showed them something else, because I saw, but also my manager believed that I could do this thing, even though the breakdown said something else, she was just like, No, I'm gonna submit you. And you're gonna go in there and you're gonna do your thing. And it was up to me to do the work, right? I had to find out who my character was and what I wanted to, how I wanted to put sort of show up in that room. Right. But you know, my you know, my manager will call me and be like, um, can you play the ukulele?

SPEAKER_01 35:59

Do you have a harmonica? Do you have a harmonica?

SPEAKER_03 36:03

Do you, you know, and I'm like, you know, I remember when she submitted me for um Holler, she was like, Do you rap? Do you know any rap songs? I was like, uh, I know some. I'm not a rapper, but I know some. She was like, okay, I'm submitting you. As long as you can do something. You understand? And I went in there with the corny, well, it's not corny. I mean, back in the day it was great, but I was like, Laddie daddy, we like to body, but don't call it. And I understand. You understand? I understood it.

SPEAKER_07 36:33

And so because I think I think in those places, they know what they have to offer in terms of if it's coaching or teaching. Sure, yeah. But they know that you gotta have something.

SPEAKER_03 36:44

You gotta have some foundation. Exactly.

SPEAKER_07 36:46

But I was like And your manager knows that.

SPEAKER_03 36:48

And my manager knows that, and I love her for that. She, I mean, she is forever like ride or die. So I think that's been a also a huge part of me being able to do what I do in this business is having a team that really, really, really believes in me. And she has other clients and things like that, and they all love her too. But I feel like I'm the only one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that is that's that's rare in this business, you know.

SPEAKER_07 37:12

So that's amazing. That's amazing. I mean, so that's that's also one of the things that my mentor talked about. Yeah. Team, having a team. Yeah, because you're not gonna get there by yourself.

SPEAKER_03 37:22

No, no, and you need people.

SPEAKER_07 37:24

That networking and team is like two things that you need. Yeah, tell us now. You worked with again, you talked about some iconic people you worked with. What was that like? Like, what was it like working with Cynthia or Jennifer or Danielle? Like, I know they're bringing their own professional experience to the table as well.

SPEAKER_03 37:44

So I mean, working with people like them um was again, it was me sitting down, shutting up, and just watching, you know, the magic happen. Um, and and listening to, I I'm so glad that I got like a front row seat to watching not only the talent, but also the um the creative team, right? Because we, you know, you're what you see is the talent on the stage and and the people singing and acting and doing all that stuff. But what you don't see is the creative team behind the project that really has helped to um to shape this thing. You know, and so what was also great for me is like watching them as professionals, the the talent, be able to sit back and learn too and see how they learn and see how they um are able to take direction. And and I've been in places where I've been in places where I've worked with some very famous people who uh I gotta be careful. I don't know where this is gonna go in the world, I but I've I've been in some spaces and places where there have been some people who um wanted to direct the thing themselves. Wow, okay. You understand what I'm saying? Or thought that they had better ideas than the creative team. And that happens. And sometimes you do have a better idea. Sometimes you do have a um uh especially actors that have really taken time with their character development and sort of like um and know how they want to sort of go into this scene or this work or whatever, and then you're working with somebody who wasn't in your brain when you came up with all that, so and they don't understand what you're trying to bring across. But ultimately, our job is to tell the story that's on the page and also paint the picture that the director and the creative team is trying to create. Um, I uh most times I have been in positions where the creative team have been collaborative, right? Um, but to walk into a space expecting that my voice is going to carry some weight, yeah, don't set yourself up. Yeah. Because you still have to respect the work and the the bricks that were laid down before you even got there. Right. Right. And so um it's it's been great for me to see um some major people, especially in the musical theater world, like Tanya Pinkins, um, who won the Tony for Doubt, um, like working with her, she was in Holler as well, and seeing how she sort of navigated the space. And um, she's somebody that I look at and I'm like, she's been in this business for years. Like, who's gonna tell her anything? You know, but seeing how she can sit there, and she's a director herself, but seeing how she can take the information and oh, okay, I got what you oh, this is what you want, okay. And and and and still be transformative, even if she has her own ideas about things, and that's and I think that's a that's an art too, yeah, is being able to take somebody's vision and still having your ideas and how to layer those things on so that nobody's offended.

SPEAKER_05 41:13

Right, right, no, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 41:14

You know what I mean? And still making everybody feel like, oh, I'm I'm a team player, I'm in this for uh, you know, the big picture.

SPEAKER_07 41:22

Yeah, um it's not just you, yeah, but you know, I can also add. Yeah, or like you said, Lia, I love that. That was good.

SPEAKER_03 41:29

Absolutely. So for me, it's um it's been great to see it's been great to see the good, the bad, and the ugly from all of these, uh, you know, from from different artists that I've worked with, you know, it's been it's all been learning for me. I've seen some people just act the fool. Yeah, you know, and you're like, and you're still working?

SPEAKER_07 41:47

Right.

SPEAKER_03 41:50

It's the business, you know.

SPEAKER_07 41:52

Like on both sides. Yeah. What what was your least or what was your worst day like or worst experience like in this business?

SPEAKER_03 42:03

I would say my worst experience in this business to date has nothing to do with um anybody that I worked with. It had everything to do with uh logistics and where I was at the time. So I was um doing a contract for Disney on The Wish, and I was playing Ursula, and um I got the phone call that my dad passed away. Wow. And I was in the middle of the ocean. And you're gonna be able to do it. Yeah, what am I gonna do? Um, that was probably my my worst experience as far as like working, um, being away from home, and not being able to get to where I needed to get to when I needed to get there. Right. Um, but thank God I was just surrounded by a wonderful company and cast and crew and like everybody was so like amazing. Um, and then all my family that was still at home, they were, you know, my husband was like, babe, we got you. It's it's all good, you know. Um, so that was probably my worst experience, like um being at work and and hearing that my father passed away and not being able to get to him, you know, feeling completely like helpless. Like, what do I what do I do? Um, but like if there was an incident that I can recall in terms of um like people that I've worked with or whatever, I I do have to say, and I'm not just saying this, I've been really blessed to work with some amazing people. Like overall, I I can't I can't even say like I had like you know people could be crazy.

SPEAKER_02 43:46

They just don't show me they're crazy.

SPEAKER_03 43:48

I I don't, you know, I don't expect I don't get the personal attack crazy, you know. I'm I can I can observe crazy and I can see it happening to other people, but I you know I I feel Like I've walked into spaces and places and just shown up authentically as me, and people have for the most part just respected that. Yeah, and um and I I don't get into people's business, you know what I mean? I show up, I do my work, um, and and then if the if if there's any you know significant amount of time you develop relationships with your with your cast with your cast members and stuff like that. And I have beautiful, long-lasting relationships from years ago, you know. Um, and so yeah, there are things that I've seen and and experienced and you know, um, but nothing that I think was like, oh God, this was the worst day ever at work.

SPEAKER_07 44:42

Yeah, you know, um have you ever uh had a had a performance that just didn't go?

SPEAKER_03 44:47

Oh, I had plenty of oh wow, how long do we have? Uh man, I had well, I have I maybe I shouldn't say this out loud, but um there was this one oh gosh, uh it was Durham Color Purple, and um there was a very serious scene, and for some reason I had uh theory that I was talking to her. Um I something happened, I don't know what it was, and I broke. And I'm laughing, and I don't know if you know like those laughs that are so deep that you can't make a sound, but just tears start coming. And I was like, so I gotta figure out how to play this because I'm laughing, my body is shaking, and I was like, how do I play this scene? And there's tears. I say, I gotta lean into this or whatever. And I and I know there's a line that I'm about to have to say, and if I have to open up my mouth, I'm not gonna, I can't, I'm not gonna be able to say what I need to say because I'm so this laugh got a chokehold on me, you understand? This giggle got a gag on me, you understand? And so I'm standing there and my and my co-laborer on the stage is just looking at me and I'm like, and then he starts laughing. Okay, oh, we shut it down for about 10 minutes on stage, and I was like, I'm getting so fired for this. I'm I I'm getting written up, somebody's gonna get in trouble, like I'm getting so fired for this. But then people behind stage started left. I don't even know what it was, but I just could not get it together. But I have to say, like, when we got through it and I felt so bad because I was like, oh, you're supposed to be a professional, and how could you break like that and for so long? Like the scene went on for like an extra 10 minutes because neither at one point neither one of us could get it together. It was it was a mess. Um, but you know, there were there have been moments like that, and there have been moments where I've going I've gonna sing something in a note. Don't ask me, I was singing in a key of Z somewhere. I'm like, where am I? There are times where you know I've gone up on my lines, like forgotten, like, you know, there was one time in particular where um I don't know if you remember in Color Purple, so we had these baskets and we would set them at the edge of the stage sometimes, and one of the person the people in the audience decided to pick it up and move it. Oh wow. Because they, if the basket was in their way, and I was like, I can't see. Right, exactly. And I was seat. Exactly. I paid good money for their seat, exactly, and I'm sitting there and we're like, oh my god, like what like what do we do? Because they they moved it, but it was the the baskets were strategically put. So we have to go in and grab things and put them back and whatever. And so, but I felt like the Trenton in me rising because I was like, How dear you touched my stage prop. So I had to, you know, I had to gather myself up, but yeah, I've definitely had those moments where like I've like for oh, I was doing um Shout Sister Shout at Ford's Theater in DC, and you know, I had to play the guitar and that. And I got real happy one day, and I did this last chord and I went bling and I cut my finger all the way up. I was bleeding.

SPEAKER_05 48:24

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 48:24

But I had to go right in front right from that scene into a studio scene. Oh there was no me coming off stage or whatever. So I'm literally the the lights go dark for like a millisecond. I like I'm sucking my finger, and then I'm like trying to squeeze the thing that's and then oh my god, it was a mess. I was bleeding, and but I I we were still going. We were still going. And I was trying to find things to like wrap my finger around. I went to go grab the guy who's in front of me had this suit on and he had this little uh pocket napkin. So I went to go grab it, I was like, oh, I'll use that. And I went to go grab it and didn't know that it was stone in stopping.

SPEAKER_07 49:04

It was like a becomes a comedy comedy game.

SPEAKER_03 49:07

It's not working. Exactly, it's not working. He's like, what are you doing? It was a mess. And then finally, I like ripped some tissue paper off of a box and just wrapped my finger up and did the scene. I kept like the scene didn't stop. Like we kept going, all of this comedy was happening, but the scene did not stop. And then finally, like, if that scene was over, I was like, oh my god. And I still didn't leave the stage. I didn't leave the stage a lot for that, uh, right for that show. I was on the stage for like the whole show. The set changed around you. And um, and then uh the woman that plays uh play my mom, Carol Dennis, she came out with a band-aid because they figured it out. Yeah, yeah. I'm like, I think she's bleeding. You're right, you're right. What is happening? Um, and so she came out with a band-aid, and I put the band-aid on and still stayed in the scene, you know. Yeah, but like having to stay on top of stuff like that, you know, in the midst of like this chaos, but it's like it's uh it's live theater, and it's like, and that's the good stuff to me. Yeah, that's the good stuff.

SPEAKER_07 50:08

That's what that's what makes it unique. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's it's crazy. Um, uh my my my best friend, he's um an actor, and he it's it's I remember when you went to Seattle, I'm like, oh Warner did a joint in Seattle. The same thing, it's like those regional theaters and and how they break shows and all that. Just learning that process like from both of you guys. It's been amazing. I saw both of y'all in something. Y'all were both in there was a stage space on what street is that? 42nd Street.

SPEAKER_02 50:41

42nd Street, okay.

SPEAKER_07 50:42

Yeah, I saw you guys both there one day. I was there to see something. I was there to see you or him, one of them, but you both were doing something there, I think, at the same time.

SPEAKER_03 50:52

It was at was it at one of the studios?

SPEAKER_07 50:54

It was like, yeah, it was like a smaller theater. No, it was a theater.

SPEAKER_03 50:57

Was it in the basement?

SPEAKER_07 50:59

I don't know if it was in the basement, but I happened, I don't know. You were there and everything happened in there.

SPEAKER_03 51:05

Okay. Was there a restaurant on top? No, you don't know.

SPEAKER_07 51:08

No, but it's like right off the Lincoln Tunnel when you make a left right onto 42nd.

SPEAKER_03 51:13

It's like right there on the I think that's the Laura Beachman. I think that's the Beachman.

SPEAKER_07 51:17

It's like it had several studios in there, like oh, studios, so then there's something different. I meant like, what do you mean? Like theaters?

SPEAKER_03 51:25

Yeah, this well, this theaters, and then there were a couple theaters. Okay, so that was something else. I don't know.

SPEAKER_07 51:31

I have a picture, I have the picture with you and Warner. Okay, I gotta I gotta look at it. But anyway, um, so I mean, there's so much we could talk about. Um musically, so so have you ever had the desire to record? And I mean, obviously, you have recorded on private whatever. Like, what what do you say about that?

SPEAKER_03 51:51

Um, that's something that I'm asked a lot in terms of like, well, what about the music? Your music. Um you know, if I'm being honest, I don't I see myself eventually maybe doing a record of some sort, of some kind of out. I don't know if it'll be an album, maybe just like a little singles, you know, EP. EP, yeah, a couple singles on there or whatever. Um, but being like a recording artist has never been something that was um like a desire for me. Um, I love to sing, I love it, and it's a part of what I do, you know. Um, but being a recording artist, because I have been able to um actually have um a perspective on that too, like seeing some of my friends who are doing uh like all the things they they're trying to act and record and make albums and stuff like that. And some of them are are doing it with finesse and like and some are like struggling. It's it's hard. It's a lot of work. Yeah, it's a lot of work, and you know, people are like, well, you know, things are a little bit easier now with social media, and you can just kind of put your stuff out, whatever. I'm like, I don't know that game, right? I'm not up on it like that, you know. Um, my husband knows way more than I do because he actually produces and records and stuff, but like I I just don't know that I have the passion for like actually being a recording artist. Yeah, what do I have the passion to sing? Absolutely. Um, but everything that goes along, and that's what I'm talking about, like the business of it. Yeah, you know, I think a lot of people they don't think about the business of being an artist, whether you're an actor, you know, a performer or somebody that is a recording artist or you know, any other form of art. Yeah. Um, and I'm like, I don't know if I want to get involved in the business of it. You know, it's a lot. Um, and I respect people that do it. I look at Jennifer, me and uh Jerry just went to visit her. Well, not just, but we went last December um because she had her uh her holiday album tour. And she was in Vegas. I think Vegas was her last stop, and we went to go visit with her out there. And I mean, Jen was just like crazy. Like, I'm like, girl, like you just like dang. You know, it was it was amazing to watch her and to see her and see, but you know, there's promo even Jennifer, she has to promote, she has to put stuff out there. She got she has her own talk show, she has, you know, all of these things that she she's an actor herself, you know, all of these things that she um has to juggle. She has an amazing team, um, amazing team. Um, but I I'm I'm I look at her, I'm like, girl, you are busy. Yeah, and I I just don't know if I want to sign up for that life, you know. I know that what I'm passionate about is acting and being on stage, film, screen, um, and and kind of continuing to pursue that. Um, but yeah, recording, I don't know. I mean, maybe down the line. Ask me, ask me in two, three years. I'm I'm gonna be like, yes, I'm ready to do an album. Right, right, right. Ready. But yeah, right now I'm I'm cool on it.

SPEAKER_07 55:06

Nah, I hear that. Yeah, yeah. It's funny, like when like when we went to see you at uh in a color purple, you got you showed us your dressing room and stuff. And then we I run into people that I know, like uh Jenny. Yes, my boogie. And I met Saikon at um when Warner did the um the premiere for American Gangster. Oh yes, yeah. So and then she's on um what's that show she's on now?

SPEAKER_03 55:33

Oh uh Wonder Years.

SPEAKER_07 55:34

The Wonder Years. Oh, I was like, this is crazy. Yeah, but it but it's so dope to see people in their journey. Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 55:46

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 55:47

If you had to choose one, what would you what what what would be your favorite? TV, film, or bro, or stage.

SPEAKER_03 55:52

I mean, you don't have to, but I mean you know this this is I'm really um working right now to really do more TV film stuff. I just did a short film that's now um it it it's in the running to um it's uh it has Oscar eligibility, which I'm very excited about. Um and um it's won a a bunch of awards. Um, but I I do see myself shifting more to TV film. Okay. Um but my heart is you know, I could not choose one or the other because my heart really is on the stage. Um I've learned so much, and I would even venture to say that um the stage, being a stage actor has uh helped to develop me in a way that I know had I started in TV film, I probably would not be who I am as an actor today. Okay. Um yeah, there's a it's a different kind of discipline, you know, um, which is it's funny to me because I I think a lot of people they um they feel that the medium of TV and film is broader, right? Nobody has to come to see a TV show or come to see a film. You can go to your local theater, you can turn on your TV, you can watch it.

SPEAKER_07 57:17

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 57:18

Exactly. But you have to be intentional about theater. If you are somebody that loves theater, you have to go and see it and and invest in a way um that uh you can pause a TV show, you can pause a back to the screen. Exactly, but you have to be invested in that. Absolutely. And so there's um there's a beauty in performing live in front of people who are invested, yeah, who have made the investment to come out to journey to sit in that seat and go on this ride with you for two, two and a half hours, whatever it is. Um, so um, and there's a discipline that comes along with that because you have to, you know, you do you can do you know, 300, 400 performances of the same show. Yeah. How do you keep that fresh? Yeah, how do you keep it new?

SPEAKER_01 58:03

How do you keep it fresh?

SPEAKER_03 58:05

How do you keep it new? You know, I think the answer to that is for me, it um it's about honoring honoring the story. It's about being truly integrous about my work. Yeah, um, and I'm not just saying that to sound like a sedity or anything like that, but really um it I when I was in Shrek and I was playing, you know, Tweedledee, you know, and I had to wear this goofy suit in a in a clown shoe, I was committed to that, you know, and I and also committed to making sure that the person that is sitting in the seat in the seat that I'm sort of bringing this to has an experience.

SPEAKER_05 58:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 58:44

And that's important. Like we can we can perform for ourselves in a shower or you know, you can go, you know, sing to yourself in a mirror if that's what you if it's all about you. Yeah, but it really is about the people that are coming and investing their time and and and spending their money. Like tickets for theater are crazy.

SPEAKER_06 59:03

Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 59:03

They're crazy, and it's like I that person deserves to get the fresh me as much as I possibly can. And am I always at 100%? No. Sometimes you get sick, sometimes it's you know, you you're tired, you know, doing eight shows a week on Broadway is no joke, you know. Um, it's a lot of work, but you know, that's the thing that, you know, makes me want to be the best that I can possibly be, often often on stage, you know, taking care of myself off stage so that when I get on stage, I'm doing what I'm doing my job and I'm doing what I came to do. You want everybody to walk away with the experience of like, yo, I don't know what else is going on in this show, but that one right there, yeah, she gave it to us, yeah, you know, and left no crumbs, you know. And that's my that's my goal every time.

SPEAKER_06 59:52

That's great. That's great. Uh what's what's next?

SPEAKER_03 59:57

What's next? Um, well, actually, I'm heading off to Toronto in a couple weeks. Um, I have another contract with Disney. Um, I have a potential opportunity coming up. I can't talk about it. We can talk about it off camera. Yeah, we'll talk about it. You guys won't hear about it.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:14

You'll hear about it if and when it happens.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:16

Yes, then we can talk about it. Um, I just did a reading for a new musical a couple weeks ago, and that is going to transfer to a theater um here in New Jersey in the early spring. Um, and so as of right now, um, I might be doing that. Um, they sent me an offer, so I was like, okay. Um, so I got a couple of fires burning, you know, and always I stay I stay auditioning. Like even when you book something, you you gotta keep the balls going.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:49

You know, now do you do you only audition for stuff as a singer actor or just whatever?

SPEAKER_03 1:00:55

No, I yeah, I I audition for straight uh plays. Um, and again, you know, there's not too many singing parts for TV and film. So I'm always submitting for yeah, just straight acting, um, commercials, you know, stuff like that. So yeah, I'm like all over the board with that.

SPEAKER_07 1:01:13

What would be the ideal? Like, if is there a show now that you're like, yo, if I can get in that show, that would be ideal, or either Broadway TV, film, streaming, whatever.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:26

I you know, there's a couple shows that I see, and I'm just like, yo, I would love to have been on that, or I would love to get on that show. I I what comes to mind for me though, um, I'll do stage is um like I would love to see a revival of Ain't Misbehaving and on Broadway. Um to me, the music, the characters. Is that Fats Waller? That's Fats Waller, yeah. Um, and it's uh it's that ragtime music, you know. Um, and it's uh I think it's a music, it's a it's a flow of music that we haven't we've gotten so far away from and when it comes to pop culture. Yeah, you know, um that used to be the kind of music that everybody listens to. That was a pop culture, and so I think like sort of a resurgence of that would be cool. For people to um to hear that again. And and then the story, I mean, there's no real story to it, it's you know, these five people kind of singing this this music, but it was um it's a beautiful the movement of it is beautiful beautiful to me. And um, the only other time I've gotten to do it was when I did community theater many, many moons ago. And so I'm like, man, I would love to revisit that uh that show. There, but there's a lot of stuff that I mean, of course, like I think I could kill a role on Bridgetton, like some of this I think too. Like Bridgetton, you know, I you know, I could throw the accent on, you know, I'm pretty good. Hello, hello. Um, but um, yeah, I I couldn't even I couldn't even tell you, like, oh, there's just there's a lot of shows out. Almost too many, I think.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:11

Yeah, no, it's and it's it's only gonna keep growing.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:14

It's only gonna keep growing, like with the streaming services.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:16

All of the like almost every studio is gonna have a studio in New Jersey. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:22

Oh, yeah, I mean, well, well, the thing, the big Netflix studio studio is yeah, Fort Mometh.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:27

Lionsgate will be here.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:28

Lionsgate, I think Paramount is here. Paramount, I think, is gonna be here too. Yeah, it's gonna be I mean it's gonna be crazy.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:33

It's gonna be. I mean, you know, Atlanta, y'all had y'all time. Tyler Perry, y'all, yes, y'all did y'all thing. But now New Jersey's about to step themselves up.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:42

I mean, it's it's getting it's gonna be wild.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:45

It's gonna be, I mean, listen, I mean you still gotta make the connection, but yeah, at least you're you're here. Yeah. You're right here. It's gonna be backyard.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:53

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:54

But man, listen, I I I love to follow your career. I mean, of course, knowing where you started from, we started together, so it's amazing. Um, but you know, uh, tell us just just encourage like somebody that's just starting. Like, they don't know what to do. They like, I don't know. Where did I get an audition? Uh and I mean, obviously, there's this resources. Yeah but like give, I would say, what's the encouragement you'll give? And like, I'm sure you inspire your children. Like, yeah, they're I know they're doing their thing too. So, what are some things that you give as far as wisdom of your experience and getting into this business or any type type of entertainment?

SPEAKER_03 1:04:34

Um, I would say tap into whatever you have locally. Um, there are a lot of places that do have community theaters, they're smaller theaters, um, their budgets are not huge, but they give you an opportunity to exercise your gift. Yeah, right. So, so invest in your local theaters, get become a part of community theater. And let me backtrack and say first thing I would say is be teachable. Yeah, that is so important. If you already think you got it all together, you're not gonna do well. Right, you're just not gonna do well. Um, first of all, everybody thinks they're smart, right? So, you know, y'all.

SPEAKER_07 1:05:19

My seven-year-old niece is smart. Yeah, well, but she don't know how smart she is and how much smart she isn't.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:26

Right, right. So she's there's still time for some humility there, you know, the shaping of her. Absolutely. You know, um, but then that goes back to what you were saying about character, you know, you never wanna, you never want to allow your gift to take you into rooms where you where your character won't keep you. You know, so I would say be teachable, be humble, be quiet sometimes. Just know how to be quiet and observe and listen and take information in. Um, if there are classes that you can take, take them. You know, you don't necessarily I don't tell people you have to go to college or whatever. I I didn't go to school for that. You gotta learn your craft. But I had to learn my craft. Absolutely. And I had to grab the opportunities that I had to go looking for things. I had to again intentionality. You have to be intentional. So I would say for those that are like, I don't know where to start, start locally. Find some, if there's a church basement that's doing little, you know, plays or whatever. Um get a vocal coach, get an acting coach. They're everywhere. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:06:30

Go on YouTube. Just find somebody who's done more than you.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:34

Yes. Find somebody who is smarter than you are, and and get as much as you can. And then there are all kinds of resources online. There's playbill.com, there's backstage, and people are looking for auditions, actorsequity.com. There's all kinds of websites you can go to, casting networks, um, actors access. There's a bunch of um of um sites out there where you can find auditions. Um, people that are trying to get TV film and they're like, I'm not really a theater person, but I want to get involved in TV film. Go be an extra.

SPEAKER_07 1:07:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:07

Go be extra. They don't, it doesn't pay a lot, but get on the set.

SPEAKER_07 1:07:10

Yeah, or just be there.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:11

It just be take up some space. Start networking. Yeah. Start, you know, we talked about networking. Be the one that they know, oh, I know I can call on David because he's gonna show up and put this costume on and just be drink some coffee. And you know, get get in, start to get into the spaces um and create your opportunities for yourself. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_07 1:07:32

I think Terry Cruz told the story like that, or something like that. Being on the set of like, I want to say training day or something. It was some somebody that was talking about being on the set of training day and then how it developed into more opportunities just from being there or being security there. Yeah, that's the biggest thing people don't understand. If you can get there, then the there's opportunities all over.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:55

And they always need extras, they need extras everywhere. There's a there's a documentary about the Game of Thrones, and they did a they did a feature on one of the extras.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:04

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:05

Because he has been there from the beginning and he didn't ask for nothing. Right, he's just like, I want to be a part of this. And so if I'm in the background, and then they like he got promoted to like one of the league guards, and I mean he's living his best life as an extra, you know. And I'm sure he's built enough in terms of relationship with some people that if he did want to do something more, he now has access.

SPEAKER_07 1:08:27

Or they know him, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:28

You know what I mean? So I think jumping out uh into a space where you think that you're just gonna be the star automatically and not really understanding that there's some work that goes into that. There's some rookie years, there's some there's some, yeah, there's some grinding, and like, you know, there were times where I had to get up at three o'clock in the morning and and catch an early train from Trenton and go up to New York and stand in line just to be seen. Yeah. All day.

SPEAKER_07 1:08:56

Just to be rejected.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:57

Just to be rejected, babe. I'm telling you, because when I wasn't an equity equity actor, I would still go to the equity auditions, they don't, but they're not required to see you.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:06

Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:06

And I would stay, there were times I would stay in line all day up until six o'clock, and they they they're just like, sorry, we just had we had to get our equity people in.

SPEAKER_07 1:09:14

Right.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:15

And that would that happen multiple times.

SPEAKER_07 1:09:17

But you gotta, you gotta, but you gotta press to accept that this is part of paying the juice. It's a part of paying a juice, it's part of the process. Exactly. Exactly. Um, one of the things I remember, and I I don't I don't know if you were there, but we went to see Kim Burrell at one of her uh when she was on Tommy Boy, and she released her live album. Yeah. And one of the things she said to the crowd, I think we had it on recording somewhere, she said, even if you're just singing at your family reunion, yeah, keep singing at the family reunion. She said, like, do whatever you're doing, like master wherever you are. Master where you are. Because if you don't understand that, this there's lessons already where you are. Yeah, and if you don't get that, then yeah, it it it won't help you to be at the next level because you can sabotage everything.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:05

And that's one of the things I had a conversation with my daughter, who's a performer now. She just had her first professional grid. She went out on audition, and I was like, Yes, my baby. But we were having a conversation, and you know, basically just saying how you also don't want to be somewhere prematurely, right?

SPEAKER_07 1:10:23

Absolutely, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:10:24

Because you can there can be a space made that you can take up and you're not ready to be there yet. You don't know how to handle that. So, yes, master where you are, understand that. No, know how to talk to people, yeah, know how to show up on time.

SPEAKER_06 1:10:39

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:40

My God, the basics, the basics, know how to manage your time well, know how to like people want to be stars, but they don't they don't want to get up in the morning or they're late to everything.

SPEAKER_07 1:10:49

Like, yeah, I used to be late to everything.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:51

It's a problem. Are you still late to everything?

SPEAKER_07 1:10:53

Absolutely not. Amen. Absolutely not. I had to learn, you know, like when you get to different levels, yeah, it's not acceptable. No, levels, you know, like you won't be there long, especially somebody writing a check to you. Well, no, no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:05

No, no, no.

SPEAKER_07 1:11:06

Absolutely. I mean, you gotta you gotta just it's it's a responsibility to be in any level of excellence, it's responsibility, absolutely, you know what I mean. And so you have to understand that, yeah. Um, yeah, this, I mean, this we could talk for hours.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:19

I know, I know.

SPEAKER_07 1:11:19

I appreciate you being here.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:21

Man, this was so good.

SPEAKER_07 1:11:22

Thank you, Samar.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:24

I really appreciate you.

SPEAKER_07 1:11:25

You will see Carrie everywhere, she'll be on your screens and your Broadway shows, everywhere. So uh amazing performer. Thank you. Always enjoyed everything I saw you in. So thank you, brother. I appreciate you. All the people did too.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:40

So I hope so.

SPEAKER_07 1:11:41

Thank you so much, and then maybe an EP or a couple songs one day. Maybe you know, maybe we'll show off that song. Oh, absolutely. Oh, you know what I asked you about? And I don't know how this affects your business, but like a a lot of conversation now about AI.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:56

Oh because that's a whole nother album.

SPEAKER_07 1:12:00

Yeah, we can go into it.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:01

Yeah, I think long story short, with that is um, I'm glad that uh so there's a big thing between um, I think it was SAG AFTRA, um, there was a big thing with that, with the union fighting um for because basically what produce well producers wanted to be able to do is take your image and use it in perpetuity. Your image, your likeness, your voice. Yeah. And so they were using examples of like, oh, we have like um the uh what's the car movie? The Furious of uh Oh, Fast and Furious. Fast and Furious. So if Paul Walker, who passed away, which the the franchise started using his twin brother, yeah, yeah, right? And they're like, well, if we had access to this, we could just use him and not have to write his character out, not have to, and they're like, no, we're like, absolutely not, you know. So you're gonna take my voice, my likeness, and my image, and use me, but not use me, right, and not pay me, you know, and so yeah, AI is a whole uh, you know, I think there's good and bad in just about everything. Um, AI has been uh um I don't really use it like that, but I know some people that have been like, yo, I've been in a jam and I didn't know how to write this thing up, and I was able to go to chat GPT or however and and ask them and they were able to, you know, formulate this thing and it helped them out. Yeah. I'm like, great. Yeah, but when you talk about replacing people, right, right.

SPEAKER_07 1:13:33

And that's really the challenge that everybody has with it. Yeah, and it's but unfortunately it will. Well, and that's the thing, it will, and it will, and I think it it can never, it can never like I I was I was uh talking to somebody just probably yesterday, uh Timberlin, he has an AI artist. Yes, so you know, we're like, well, are we ever gonna see the artist perform? Right, or they're gonna have a hologram, what they're gonna do. So that's that's a thing, and I think when I think about theater, yes, I'm like, you can't fake theater.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:05

Well, and that's what I was just talking to my husband about this uh well a couple weeks ago. I think we were talking about this, and I was just like, that's the thing about theater with all of this new world order stuff that's happening and coming into place, you cannot duplicate, you can't fake and artificialize live theater, right? Right, or live performances, live performances of any type, and so that's the thing that I love about also.

SPEAKER_07 1:14:31

I hear people talk about some performances just karaoke, but go ahead. Well, they're playing, you know, they're just lip syncing, but go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:39

Well, some people are, you know. There's there's like special mics that are built for people to sound one way, wow, and they're not, yeah, it's it's deep. But I do think eventually, uh, you know, I don't know, I don't know what's gonna happen down the line. I hope I never see this in my lifetime, but I do think eventually they're going to have robots and people that I mean I I'm we're seeing stuff now on social media with like um there was uh there was a thing that I saw the other day, a clip of like this convention. I think it was in China somewhere, one of the Asian countries, and they have like life size, life-like people that were like not real, and they're talking to you and then and they're moving, and you can still see that they're not real, but I'm like, we're moving at a rate transition, we're moving at a rate where it's gonna be real, real.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:38

I also saw a clip where this guy was like, he he said, and he like creates AI programming. Wow, and he was like, he had to stop because he was saying that, um, and I'm paraphrasing, but he basically said he went to the program and said, Um, if I wanted to destroy you, how would I do it? And the programming answered him in a way that was just like, well, why would you want to do that?

SPEAKER_07 1:16:01

Right.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:02

And gave all the answers were not like, oh, you push this button, da da da da. No, it was like, well, why would you want to do that? Right. Well, that doesn't make any sense. I, you know, I was like, oh, see, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_07 1:16:14

Too sophisticated. No, oh yeah. That that iRobot movie that uh Will Smith was in. I feel like we're approaching that, yeah, unfortunately. I mean, I don't know what that's gonna be like for performers. Yeah, I just saw a gospel number one AI artist, country AI artist was number one on some chart. Oh, but it's like it's deceptive, and I mean, and the stuff sounds decent. Like it ain't it ain't bad at all. It's not sound like a robot, it sounds like a real voice. It probably sounds comparable to whatever they learned, but they definitely learned from real voices.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:49

I mean, but but also it's a um to me, it's equivalent of somebody that's like a subpart artist, but then they get in with a really good tech.

SPEAKER_06 1:16:55

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:56

They know how to finagle those buttons and make them sound like something. Now I sing on pitch. Exactly. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_07 1:17:04

And you know, and that became the sound of the day. But I mean, I just think that there will always be room for real performers. There will always be, you know, I think I think it may make theater more valuable. Oh, 100%. It'll make live performance more valuable. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Um, you know, we're we're we're safe for now. And people, and people who actually put time in their craft will be safe, I think.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:28

Yeah, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And the and and and I think that's key, like being going back to what you said, master where you are, mastering your your skills, always being in a place of learning and getting better because it, you know, you have people like Denzel Washington who have been in this business forever. You know, I just saw Denzel the other day, not in in person, but I saw him like on screen or something. He was doing something. I was just like, oh, like, oh, he's getting older now. Yeah, I didn't realize he was aging all these years. I didn't realize he was getting older because he's just always been Denzel. Oh, yeah, but and he's always been so great at what he does. So now, like, I'm like, oh, I see, oh, he's like one.

SPEAKER_07 1:18:09

Looks like he's been that old other age for a long time. Forever. For like 50 years. And I was like, oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:14

And now he's one of the older, like he's one of the old dudes now. Yeah, he's like no, he's like in his 70s now, I think. He's in his 70s.

SPEAKER_07 1:18:22

Yeah, but he still looks good, but you could tell.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:25

He looks amazing. But he's so good at what he does as an actor that you he's so transformative, and you just like you don't even care.

SPEAKER_07 1:18:34

You don't even care.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:35

Yeah, so be that, like be that person.

SPEAKER_07 1:18:38

I saw him in uh I took Selicia for her birthday to see Othello. Othello, and yo, it was I thought it was great. Selicia's like, she thought it was great, but she also is like uh she's an English teacher, so she's like from the purity of Shakespeare. She's like, they missed this, you know. I was like, okay, I'm not a Shakespeare enthusiast, so I don't know what they missed. It was a great performance. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But but again, uh he's just a master. So he's a master. I think people won't ever not want to see him. Yeah, it seems like he's ready to retire, though. He's he talks to him.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:13

He has said that, but you know, he's about to do, I think, the next Black Panther.

SPEAKER_07 1:19:18

He sounds like he's trying to one, do some some legacy things, and also just like get a get some more checks. You know what I'm saying? Like, not because he is not doing the work for me or not worth it, but just like I need to get a couple more dollars. Well, but until because at some point he won't be able to.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:36

At some point he won't be able to, and I'm I think that he understands mortality in a way that a lot of people don't, but also like he's one of those ones that's that's like I'm always gonna come back to the stage, yeah. Because the stage is what grew grew him. Oh, 100%, 100%. So yeah, so yeah, we're gonna keep grinding, bruh.

SPEAKER_07 1:19:56

Yeah, hey, listen. Until the robots take over, until the robots, you know, put on put on Chicago themselves, yeah. With dancing ladies, dancing robot ladies. But thank you so much. Thank you. And again, Carrie Compare. Can they follow you somewhere or something?

SPEAKER_03 1:20:12

Yeah, Carrie Compare. That's it. C-A-R-R-I-E-C-O-M-P-E-R-E. What platform? On Facebook and um Instagram, on the Facebook? On the Facebook, and I and I I do have a TikTok, but it's very rarely. I've I just my daughter, my I mean, don't yeah, not yet. I mean, if you want to go by there, I might put something like my daughter's been trying like mom, you gotta be on TikTok. I'm like, I don't want to.

SPEAKER_07 1:20:35

Yeah, I mean, listen, you're working. Yeah, I like to like sit and like, what do what can I do?

SPEAKER_03 1:20:40

What can I put?

SPEAKER_07 1:20:41

Can I post? Yeah, I mean, but I mean, I think a lot of people post their life, so yeah. I mean, it's yeah, yeah. You kind of gotta be comfortable with it.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:48

Well, and that's a part of it too. Like that that is now become a part of being an artist now. I mean, honestly, I know I need to do more content because it's a part that people want, you know? Yeah, so it is a part of being an artist now, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_07 1:21:02

Yeah, well, hey, we'll see you.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:05

Yeah, buddy.

SPEAKER_07 1:21:06

All right, well, thank you. The musicians, share podcasts, follow us and continue to listen, and we'll be back with more stories.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:16

Thanks for listening. To stay up to date between episodes, follow us on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, and make sure you're subscribed to our YouTube channel. If you liked what you heard today, or if there's something specific you want us to dive into next, leave us a comment. Catch you in the next episode.