Part of My Extern EXPERIENCE
As part of my externship with The Vandiver Group I got to contribute to their company blog. Here's the link to check it out! http://vandivergroup.com/dress-demonstrates-social-media/
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Interview with Tony Award Winning Actress: Trazana Beverley
In an elementary school in Baltimore, Maryland sat future Tony award winning actress and director, Trazana Beverley.
“I wanted to act every since I was 8 or 9. I’ve always wanted to be an actress,” Beverly said. “I always wanted to tell stories. All the kids in the class would raise their hands to make me tell stories. Such a good time.”
As if growing up in Baltimore wasn’t hard enough already Beverly, African American, had to face the challenges of being an African American in the United States during that time.
“Integrated schools were a challenge,” Beverly said. “I Had my challenge.”
Beverly eventually went to Western High School, which is an all girls school, she was an average student who had issues being socially accepted. “I don’t believe I blossomed until I went to college.” Beverly said “I belonged I was very happy.”
Beverly attended New York University. In the late 60’s, late 70’s it was the time John Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, and Malcolm X were all assassinated. A lot of plays about social conciseness were flourishing.
“African American actors and actresses got a lot of work. You could just go out on the street and get a job,” Beverly said. “Writers were stimulated by their environment.”
Being in the middle of New York City as a young adult to Beverly was amazing. “When you are in the middle of that you have no perspective.” Beverly said. In 1976 a play by the name of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf based off the book of the same title by author Ntozake Shange made its way on to Broadway, Beverly was apart of that original cast. For Colored Girls was Beverly’s second Broadway play. My Sister My Sister was Beverly’s very first. “I had been working for about 5 years professionally.“ Beverly said Beverly started working on the project from the ground up. She met Ntozake.
“From the west coast her way of looking at things were different. I don’t think you quite realize what you have, what’s been giving to you look back and say wow.” Beverly said The play consisted of ladies in different colors. There was a lady in blue, green, yellow, orange, purple, red, and brown. Beverly played the lady in red. Beverly describes Broadway as a magical, mystical place. However, all good things never last. Although a lot of African Americans were getting their dream jobs on Broadway they still faced difficulties.
“It was still difficult getting a taxi cab home. Taxi cabs didn’t want to pick up black people,” Beverly said.
The play would go on to change Beverly’s career forever. Beverly eventually won the Tony for Best actress in a feature role.
“Wonderful moment in my life!” Beverly said. “My school provided me with a stretch limo my mom and dad came from Maryland and my godmother we just hung out all night going to the parties. It was wonderful. I had a good time! I wanted to take it all in.”
Although Beverly was ecstatic and very happy she won, in the back of her mind she knew that she would win.
From that moment on things were different for Beverly. “It changed my life dramatically because all of a sudden your name is out there you’re offered parts.” Beverly said. “Artistic directors would ask me who I wanted to play opposite. They would ask me who did I wanna work with. That’s a certain amount of power that lasted a few years.” Beverly’s early success came with some early burdens.
“I didn’t know enough to align myself with someone older who understood the business.” Beverly said “I really needed someone in my corner who was just there for me and could help me make wise decisions for myself and I didn’t have that.”
Opportunities came and went and on some of them Beverly didn’t feel that she made the right decision.
“When you are hot and people want to come to you have to be able to parlay on that take advantage of opportunity when it knocks at your door.” Beverly said as she laughed. “I was very young at the time.” Beverly is not just an actress. She has tried her hand at other things surrounding her passion, such as directing. She went into directing because when she was in school studying to be an actress her teachers already said that she was already a director. “I was very intrigued by what they was seeing. I was stuck between two worlds. Direction is extremely visual.” Beverly said. Beverly knew that if she could get this directing thing down that she could extend her theatrical career. The progression for her was natural. “It was absolutely a smart move.” Beverly said “I make a living.”
For Beverly being accepted as a director was a bit of a challenge also. Her peers knew her as an actress and they wanted her to stay an actress. “People want you to stay what they want you to be.” Beverly said. In 2013 Beverly went to Southern Illinois University to direct the school’s version of For Colored Girls. Beverly believes that this play is one of the most important in American history. “I believe that it is crucial for African American women to see this.” Beverly said “I think for colored girls is a rite of passage for every African American woman.” Beverly feels that this is something that all generations should experience together. “See mothers need to take daughters, aunties need to take nieces. It sets up so many realities that we need to see, teach the younger women.” Beverly said “African American women that are in the arts, business, education, science, need to understand our history as black women in this country we have a unique history and if you don’t understand you’re going to fall in the same traps and you will be overwhelmed.” Although Beverly has accomplished a lot in her lifetime, and has perfected her craft there are still some rings that she would like to throw her hat into.
“There are some acting roles that I would still like to perform. I could direct on Broadway. . I love to sing I feel I could do that too.” Beverly said When asked what she would tell her younger self if she could go back, she simply replied
“Have a little more fun.”
“I wanted to act every since I was 8 or 9. I’ve always wanted to be an actress,” Beverly said. “I always wanted to tell stories. All the kids in the class would raise their hands to make me tell stories. Such a good time.”
As if growing up in Baltimore wasn’t hard enough already Beverly, African American, had to face the challenges of being an African American in the United States during that time.
“Integrated schools were a challenge,” Beverly said. “I Had my challenge.”
Beverly eventually went to Western High School, which is an all girls school, she was an average student who had issues being socially accepted. “I don’t believe I blossomed until I went to college.” Beverly said “I belonged I was very happy.”
Beverly attended New York University. In the late 60’s, late 70’s it was the time John Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, and Malcolm X were all assassinated. A lot of plays about social conciseness were flourishing.
“African American actors and actresses got a lot of work. You could just go out on the street and get a job,” Beverly said. “Writers were stimulated by their environment.”
Being in the middle of New York City as a young adult to Beverly was amazing. “When you are in the middle of that you have no perspective.” Beverly said. In 1976 a play by the name of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf based off the book of the same title by author Ntozake Shange made its way on to Broadway, Beverly was apart of that original cast. For Colored Girls was Beverly’s second Broadway play. My Sister My Sister was Beverly’s very first. “I had been working for about 5 years professionally.“ Beverly said Beverly started working on the project from the ground up. She met Ntozake.
“From the west coast her way of looking at things were different. I don’t think you quite realize what you have, what’s been giving to you look back and say wow.” Beverly said The play consisted of ladies in different colors. There was a lady in blue, green, yellow, orange, purple, red, and brown. Beverly played the lady in red. Beverly describes Broadway as a magical, mystical place. However, all good things never last. Although a lot of African Americans were getting their dream jobs on Broadway they still faced difficulties.
“It was still difficult getting a taxi cab home. Taxi cabs didn’t want to pick up black people,” Beverly said.
The play would go on to change Beverly’s career forever. Beverly eventually won the Tony for Best actress in a feature role.
“Wonderful moment in my life!” Beverly said. “My school provided me with a stretch limo my mom and dad came from Maryland and my godmother we just hung out all night going to the parties. It was wonderful. I had a good time! I wanted to take it all in.”
Although Beverly was ecstatic and very happy she won, in the back of her mind she knew that she would win.
From that moment on things were different for Beverly. “It changed my life dramatically because all of a sudden your name is out there you’re offered parts.” Beverly said. “Artistic directors would ask me who I wanted to play opposite. They would ask me who did I wanna work with. That’s a certain amount of power that lasted a few years.” Beverly’s early success came with some early burdens.
“I didn’t know enough to align myself with someone older who understood the business.” Beverly said “I really needed someone in my corner who was just there for me and could help me make wise decisions for myself and I didn’t have that.”
Opportunities came and went and on some of them Beverly didn’t feel that she made the right decision.
“When you are hot and people want to come to you have to be able to parlay on that take advantage of opportunity when it knocks at your door.” Beverly said as she laughed. “I was very young at the time.” Beverly is not just an actress. She has tried her hand at other things surrounding her passion, such as directing. She went into directing because when she was in school studying to be an actress her teachers already said that she was already a director. “I was very intrigued by what they was seeing. I was stuck between two worlds. Direction is extremely visual.” Beverly said. Beverly knew that if she could get this directing thing down that she could extend her theatrical career. The progression for her was natural. “It was absolutely a smart move.” Beverly said “I make a living.”
For Beverly being accepted as a director was a bit of a challenge also. Her peers knew her as an actress and they wanted her to stay an actress. “People want you to stay what they want you to be.” Beverly said. In 2013 Beverly went to Southern Illinois University to direct the school’s version of For Colored Girls. Beverly believes that this play is one of the most important in American history. “I believe that it is crucial for African American women to see this.” Beverly said “I think for colored girls is a rite of passage for every African American woman.” Beverly feels that this is something that all generations should experience together. “See mothers need to take daughters, aunties need to take nieces. It sets up so many realities that we need to see, teach the younger women.” Beverly said “African American women that are in the arts, business, education, science, need to understand our history as black women in this country we have a unique history and if you don’t understand you’re going to fall in the same traps and you will be overwhelmed.” Although Beverly has accomplished a lot in her lifetime, and has perfected her craft there are still some rings that she would like to throw her hat into.
“There are some acting roles that I would still like to perform. I could direct on Broadway. . I love to sing I feel I could do that too.” Beverly said When asked what she would tell her younger self if she could go back, she simply replied
“Have a little more fun.”
How music has helped African Americans with their struggles over the years
Throughout time the African-American race has faced many hardships. From slavery to segregation to modern day racism. While the struggles that they faced took many forms the one thing that stayed constant was their connection to music. The music always reflected what was going on in the African American community whether it was in celebratory form or talking about the very struggles they had to face. They learned to express these struggles through early spirituals, soul, funk, and the popular rap.
The hardships of African- Americans started instantly upon their arrival to America in the 19th century. They were forced to be slaves. Slaves weren’t allowed to communicate with each other verbally so they used music. Music played a key part in the self-freeing of many slaves.” Lyrics about the Exodus were a metaphor for freedom from slavery” (www. authentichistory.com). When Harriet Tubman would come back to help slaves escape spirituals were essential. Spirituals are songs that are passed down verbally from generation to generation. “They were also used to provide hope for a better life” (American Popular Music: A Multicultural History). Some Negro spirituals had specific messages such as Follow the drinking gourd. This song tells slaves the way to make it north is to follow the big dipper in the sky which contained the North Star that the slaves would use to escape north. Another spiritual that had key instruction was Wade in the Water. This song describes what to do when the slave catchers would bring dogs. Waiting in the water washed off your sent making it difficult for the dogs to track you or your scent. Other songs like Swing low Sweet Chariot and The gospel train were talking about the Underground Railroad.
Although slavery had ended still 87 years later African-Americans were still going through struggles as a race. In the late 1950’s and the 60’s African Americans were fighting for the rights that their white counterparts had. Everything in the south was segregated. There were white only restaurants where the blacks had to go through the back, if they were willing to serve them. There were white only schools, water fountains, seats on the bus, everything. If an African-American didn’t comply with these rules they were sent to jail or sometimes killed. They also had the Ku Klux Klan to deal with. Even during these times music was still involving and still telling stories of the things that blacks had to face while also giving them a sense of pride. Funk and soul began to emerge during this time. One of the most influential songs of the 60’s was Sam Cooke’s 1965 “A Change is Gonna come”. This song is still associated with overcoming struggles even in today’s society. Sam Cooke’s song inspiration came from a situation where “Cooke and some of his friends were arrested for disturbing the peace after they were denied rooms at a motel in Shreveport, Louisiana because they were black” (www.songfacts.com). This was a typical event that happened a lot in the south. Another key song during this time was Aretha Franklin’s RESPECT. Although the song was a cover of Otis Redding song it still became a huge hit. This song became an anthem for the women and for African Americans while instilling pride in whoever heard it. James brown, another huge soul singer, penned the song “I’m Black and I’m proud” which must like Aretha’s respect gave African Americans something to celebrate rather than hate, their culture and their skin color. Marvin Gaye’s “What’s going on” album talked about a lot of the things that African Americans went through on the daily. It also “made a tremendous impact on increasing social awareness” (www.soul-patrol.com). While during this time Martin Luther King was pushing non-violence there were other groups and people such as the black panthers and Malcolm X that was pushing the opposite. A popular song/poem to come out from that side was Gil Scott Heron’s 1970 “The revolution will not be televised”. This song/poem talked about how media outlets didn’t report things that were deeply important to African Americans and how they simply didn’t care.
In the 80’s and 90’s racism and prejudice were in full effect and in need of new leaders to get the message out. One of the most popular songs to come out during this time that addressed these issues was Public Enemy’s Fight the Power. The song encouraged African Americans to get involved with politics and the things that were going on in their neighborhoods. “Spike Lee wanted the song to open his 1989 film Do the Right Thing, a movie that immersed itself in the racial tension of the decade” (www.shmoop.com). The racism and prejudice weren’t the only things that the African Americans had to go through. The highly addictive drug crack cocaine had hit the black community harder than any of its counterparts. More teenagers were drawn to selling it and more and more “crack babies” were being born. It was turning into an epidemic. A widespread of gangs began to pop up in many places and many people were being killed. The generation was as lost as ever. One of the popular songs that demonstrated this was 2pac’s Brenda’s got a baby. In this song he describes the hardships that a young woman went through and the choices that she made. Another popular song that 2pac penned to bring attention to the African American community is “Keep your head up”. With classic lines like “blacker the berry, sweeter the juice” he reminded that being black was something to be proud of.
Although now in 2013 the country has its first African American president, Barack Obama, as highly celebrated in Young Jeezy’s “My president is black”, and although most songs don’t talk about the struggle of the black race but more so the come-up, the lavish side, music is still the heart of an entire culture and the very thing that connect the people to one another.
The hardships of African- Americans started instantly upon their arrival to America in the 19th century. They were forced to be slaves. Slaves weren’t allowed to communicate with each other verbally so they used music. Music played a key part in the self-freeing of many slaves.” Lyrics about the Exodus were a metaphor for freedom from slavery” (www. authentichistory.com). When Harriet Tubman would come back to help slaves escape spirituals were essential. Spirituals are songs that are passed down verbally from generation to generation. “They were also used to provide hope for a better life” (American Popular Music: A Multicultural History). Some Negro spirituals had specific messages such as Follow the drinking gourd. This song tells slaves the way to make it north is to follow the big dipper in the sky which contained the North Star that the slaves would use to escape north. Another spiritual that had key instruction was Wade in the Water. This song describes what to do when the slave catchers would bring dogs. Waiting in the water washed off your sent making it difficult for the dogs to track you or your scent. Other songs like Swing low Sweet Chariot and The gospel train were talking about the Underground Railroad.
Although slavery had ended still 87 years later African-Americans were still going through struggles as a race. In the late 1950’s and the 60’s African Americans were fighting for the rights that their white counterparts had. Everything in the south was segregated. There were white only restaurants where the blacks had to go through the back, if they were willing to serve them. There were white only schools, water fountains, seats on the bus, everything. If an African-American didn’t comply with these rules they were sent to jail or sometimes killed. They also had the Ku Klux Klan to deal with. Even during these times music was still involving and still telling stories of the things that blacks had to face while also giving them a sense of pride. Funk and soul began to emerge during this time. One of the most influential songs of the 60’s was Sam Cooke’s 1965 “A Change is Gonna come”. This song is still associated with overcoming struggles even in today’s society. Sam Cooke’s song inspiration came from a situation where “Cooke and some of his friends were arrested for disturbing the peace after they were denied rooms at a motel in Shreveport, Louisiana because they were black” (www.songfacts.com). This was a typical event that happened a lot in the south. Another key song during this time was Aretha Franklin’s RESPECT. Although the song was a cover of Otis Redding song it still became a huge hit. This song became an anthem for the women and for African Americans while instilling pride in whoever heard it. James brown, another huge soul singer, penned the song “I’m Black and I’m proud” which must like Aretha’s respect gave African Americans something to celebrate rather than hate, their culture and their skin color. Marvin Gaye’s “What’s going on” album talked about a lot of the things that African Americans went through on the daily. It also “made a tremendous impact on increasing social awareness” (www.soul-patrol.com). While during this time Martin Luther King was pushing non-violence there were other groups and people such as the black panthers and Malcolm X that was pushing the opposite. A popular song/poem to come out from that side was Gil Scott Heron’s 1970 “The revolution will not be televised”. This song/poem talked about how media outlets didn’t report things that were deeply important to African Americans and how they simply didn’t care.
In the 80’s and 90’s racism and prejudice were in full effect and in need of new leaders to get the message out. One of the most popular songs to come out during this time that addressed these issues was Public Enemy’s Fight the Power. The song encouraged African Americans to get involved with politics and the things that were going on in their neighborhoods. “Spike Lee wanted the song to open his 1989 film Do the Right Thing, a movie that immersed itself in the racial tension of the decade” (www.shmoop.com). The racism and prejudice weren’t the only things that the African Americans had to go through. The highly addictive drug crack cocaine had hit the black community harder than any of its counterparts. More teenagers were drawn to selling it and more and more “crack babies” were being born. It was turning into an epidemic. A widespread of gangs began to pop up in many places and many people were being killed. The generation was as lost as ever. One of the popular songs that demonstrated this was 2pac’s Brenda’s got a baby. In this song he describes the hardships that a young woman went through and the choices that she made. Another popular song that 2pac penned to bring attention to the African American community is “Keep your head up”. With classic lines like “blacker the berry, sweeter the juice” he reminded that being black was something to be proud of.
Although now in 2013 the country has its first African American president, Barack Obama, as highly celebrated in Young Jeezy’s “My president is black”, and although most songs don’t talk about the struggle of the black race but more so the come-up, the lavish side, music is still the heart of an entire culture and the very thing that connect the people to one another.
"Only make moves when your heart is in it. And live the phrase sky's the limit."- Notorious B.I.G