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[0:06] Robert Peterpaul: Hello, beautiful people. Welcome to the Art of Kindness, where we have compassionate conversations with artists from all areas of the entertainment industry who are using their voice to spread joy and make this big spinning planet in the universe a better place to be.

[0:22] Robert Peterpaul: I'm Robert Peterpaul, and I'm so glad you're here.

[0:35] Robert Peterpaul: Hi friends. Surprise! I'm coming at you with a bonus episode because I love you. And it's Valentine's Day week. It's also random acts of kindness week. So get on those acts of kindness, my lovers, my friends, my people. Oh, I'm a little unhinged right now. I gotta tell you, last night I had the honor of attending the Black Theater Coalition's inaugural gala honoring the National Black Theater. This was a really important night. I was thrilled to be there with my friends from the Broadway Podcast Network and so many other wonderful people. And I have some really amazing interview clips to share with you that I hope brighten your day and also raise awareness about all the incredible things the Black Theater Coalition is doing. If you want to learn more immediately, go check out the link in the show notes.

[1:27] Robert Peterpaul: First, I have to tell you though what happened to me on the way there. So I'm on the train, I have my equipment, our lovely intern Carly. Shout out, Carly. We love you, we miss you, is doing amazing work right now on her capping project. She's making a film. Oh, I'm so proud of you, Carly. I can't wait to share with you all more about that. Needless to say, I was by myself. Now I could have asked someone to come join me, but I didn't ask anybody. I felt like I can do this on my own. It's an important event. I want to show up. I want to spotlight this. And I just need my little ring light and my microphone. Well, little did I know. I'm sitting on the train, getting way too happy on Instagram.

You know, I'm just flying through the newsfeed, zoning in when I probably should be meditating or reading a book. But anyway, that's neither here nor there. When I realized I left my SD card at home. My SD card is the memory chip that goes into my microphone and allows me to save the interviews as they're being recorded in real time. So without an SD card, you can't record interviews.

[2:41] Robert Peterpaul: Now, I do not like to be late for things. I had about a 40 minute window from the time I got into the city to when the event check-in started. So I had time. I texted a friend who is in the area. Bryce, shout out Bryce. He said there's a Best Buy on my way. You know, I also could have Googled it. Thank you, Bryce. There was, lo and behold. So I stopped at the Best Buy. I ran in there. I searched for this SD card. They didn't have the mini SD card that I needed, but then I talked to someone else, and it turns out they did have it. It was a journey. Finally got this mini SD card. I had to borrow scissors from them to open up the case and put it in my microphone. Woo! I was walking on sunshine, walking out of that Best Buy.

You would have thought I was walking out of Disneyland. And then I got to have a lovely waltz through Fifth Avenue to 30 Rock because the event was in the iconic Rainbow Room. I used to intern at 30 Rock, by the way. And it was like being home. It was nice. Anyway, sorry, that's my tangent of the day. I'm sure there'll be at least 17 more.

[3:41] Robert Peterpaul: Get to 30 Rock. I'm so happy to see everyone there. I am really honored to be in attendance and cover this event. And I'm talking to people, you know, I'm having my little moments of just totally blacking out and being energetic. And then the celebrities start arriving. And it's time to work. You know, this is it's fun, but it's work. So I get there, I'm ready, I'm set up. We had to shuffle our arrangements a couple times because if you don't know, there's photographers on the carpet, there's interviewers with cameras. It's a bit of a Jenga game behind the carpet. It's pretty wild. Anyway, I have my spot. I'm excited. And then I go to test my microphone, and it says SD card, not formatted. It was not formatted.

So I take it out, I put it back in. Same error. Then it tells me I can format it. So I think the logical solution is if something's unformatted, you gotta format it. But then it says error again. Not accepted. Card not accepted. And so I'm freaking out because I don't know what I'm doing there. What am I gonna do if I'm not gonna interview people? These lovely folks running the organization think I'm there to help promote the night. And no, I have nothing that I can promote it with.

[4:54] Robert Peterpaul: So I asked someone I was friends with from the Broadway Podcast Network team who talk about acts of kindness was so lovely. Thank you, Sarah, to look into helping me. Also, my friend Eli from Take a Bow Podcast. Joel was there from Broadway Time while we're shouting people out, and my friend Jason, who's the bomb, he's the best from Survival Jobs, which is another amazing podcast. Go check out all of them. Everyone tried to help me, but also they had to start interviewing people, and you know, I made my own bed. So, needless to say, what was I gonna do? Some people might have cried, went home under the covers. I did want to, but I thought, I'll pivot in real time. I honestly was just so nervous that I didn't know what else to do besides turn my ring light on, pop my phone in that ring light stand, and say, okay, this ring light is now becoming a self-kindness corner.

I'm gonna have every guest come up here, look into the camera, and give it a pep talk. So if you want to see that pep talk, it is being posted on our Instagram at Art of Kindness Pod. And it turned out pretty great. The sound, needless to say, for the little interviews that I was able to secure with my ring light stand is not the best. I'm warning you now. It feels like you're next to me on that red carpet, which is fun, but it's loud, you know. The ones I can salvage, I decided to string together for you all because again, this was a beautiful night for the Black Theater Coalition, really wonderful mission, and I thought I'm still gonna put this out there.

[6:26] Robert Peterpaul: So I hope you enjoy these interview clips. I did just want to warn you one more time, the sound's not the best. But if you focus on the people talking, I think you'll get through it. And what they're saying is so inspirational and empowering, and I think vital for the times we're living in. So I hope you get something out of it. And if not, I told you, the sound, not our best. The theme for the Black Theatre Coalition's Gala was building the change. And when I think of building the change, it makes me wonder, of course, from the standpoint of this podcast, what all of us out there can do to take part in that building to help move change forward, move the needle. And you know I love tangible advice.

So the first question I asked our friends was exactly that a tangible tip for helping to contribute to building the change. I also asked folks for a pep talk, so you're gonna hear their pep talk too. I did cut myself out, so you won't necessarily hear the questions, but they'll be in that order. Building the change, and then a little pep talk. We will start by hearing from our new friend, the co-founder and artistic director of the Black Theater Coalition, Warren Adams.

[7:56] Warren Adams: I think that building the change really applies to everyone, not just this evening. And the idea of when you walk into a space and go, have we done the best job possible to make sure that everybody had an opportunity to be in this room. Um we're not saying just put everybody in the room, we're saying does everyone have the chance to participate. So I think as far as building the change, I always say build the world that you want to live in. And this is the world I want to live in.

[8:22] Robert Peterpaul: That's so beautiful. The elevator to the top is broken. Take the stairs. Something that made me so happy, and I know will also make y'all happy. There I go, saying y'all, pretending I'm from the South, was seeing former podcast guest and Broadway legend, Laura Benanti. Yes, she attended this event with her friend Alexa Smith, who is someone you should also get excited over. She works for the Public Theater, does amazing work running their DEI department. Check out what both of them had to say.

[8:55] Laura Benanti: Somebody's learn something new, read something from an author you don't know, listen to music that you wouldn't normally listen to. Like figure out what you respond to that's outside of your little world. Um for me, that was Angela Lansbury. No, but there's a lot of things that I related to that were not a part of my identity. Like I was really taken the first time I saw Fiddler on the Roof because I saw that intersection. So I think just you know, experimenting with new things and new art is always always a great way to do it.

[9:29] Laura Benanti: I love that. Taylor's oldest time. I really like that answer a lot because I do think that for me as a person growing up in like a very, very small town in New Jersey, it was so homogenous, and there weren't that many options. And so it just made life very small. And the smaller life is, I feel like the more it becomes like a prison or like an echo chamber of your own beliefs.

[9:54] Warren Adams: And as a young person growing up in that environment, it was kind of dangerous in a way, because then you end up walking into the world with preconceived notions about other people's life in general.

[10:07] Robert Peterpaul: That is an incredible answer, and I am going to do that.

[10:12] Warren Adams: I mean, you are doing it, I guess. But I would I I definitely have like my lady things where I'm like, I listen to this music on this Afghan.

[10:24] Robert Peterpaul: Yes.

[10:25] Warren Adams: Well, it's so important because we all, you know, we're all sitting at home watching TV. So that's kind of an easy way to start. I love that. My dad always says to me, be still, be bold, and be true. And that is the model that I try to take into as many situations that I possibly can. First, I have to still myself. Because I can be a very um anxiety prone, sort of frenetic person where I can't take in the full view. And then really, once you're still, then you can really behold it and go, okay, this is where I am in space and time. And then once you do that, you can be true to yourself to the best of your ability. And that in some ways is maybe the hardest part. If that is true, then I'm lying to someone.

And so deciding to be brutally honest with yourself and other people is scary, but it's great. I would say make sure your path is flexible. I have an absolute dream of a job at the public theater leading their EDI work, and that job did not exist three or four years ago. I didn't know that that would be the right thing for me. Um I started as a performer, so remaining flexible and seeing what is unfolding in front of us, I think it's really important because I would never you can't even go to college for the work I do. But it's exactly right for me. Um and had I been more rigid in that path, I wouldn't have been able to like find this sort of joy. It was so great to meet Broadway star Anthony Wayne. Please enjoy hearing what he has to say.

[12:03] Anthony Wayne: On a daily basis to take care of yourself to be the change, I think you need to do it from within. I think it comes from understanding what kind of person you are and the kind of voice that you want to have in this world. So I think the more that you start to listen to that voice and open your heart to understand what kind of impact you want to make and your voice in this world, that's what I think could be the change. Because it has to start with you.

[12:25] Yes!

[12:25] Anthony Wayne: So the key is to take care of yourself, watch over yourself, and to live free, love hard, and laugh loud for the rest of your life. The more that you do that, the more you will find joy in your life consistently on a daily basis. So continue to choose you and choose happiness and choose joy. Someone else I was really excited to see is the one and only Shoshana Bean. She was my alphabet, the first alphabet I saw in Wicked on Broadway. And I did a musical theater workshop of a new show in the city recently, and she was there and could not have been lovelier to me. She's such a kind person, ran over, gave me a huge hug, was spreading kindness all around the red carpet. Shoshana, we love you. And we might be related in a weird way, but that's a story for another time. Please enjoy Shoshana Bean giving you honestly the pep talk you should listen to every day.

[13:15] Shoshana Bean: I think for me, it's being mindful of my intention whenever I'm approaching. So for me as someone who likes to check things off the list and move through and be productive and create and make things happen. Um for me, it's been about slowing down and being really mindful and intentional in every task that I approach. If I'm approaching it with the right heart, if I thought through who I want on my team, if I thought through who I'm picking up the phone to call. So I think when it comes to making really big shifts in our community and in our work and the inclusivity of that, I think it starts with just mindfulness and an intention and then a commitment to that intention. The actions that you take are in alignment with what you intended and said you want to do.

[13:58] Robert Peterpaul: I love that.

[14:03] Shoshana Bean: You are singular, you are necessary, you are vital. Whatever you're feeling in this moment is temporary. So either, of course, milk it for all it's worth and it feels good, ride the wave if it doesn't feel good, but know that there is only one you on this planet. You get one life in this body, make it count. Ah, I'm gonna play the number key on the chair right home. As I mentioned, the Black Theater Coalition was honoring the National Black Theater as the recipient of the Chadwick Bozeman Changemaker Award. Of course, we all know Chadwick Bozeman, who has left behind the most beautiful legacy as the Black Panther himself. He is an amazing person that we unfortunately lost way too soon. And it was really special to see his brother, Kevin Boseman, who's also an artiste there on his behalf. I loved connecting with Kevin, and I think you're really gonna enjoy what he had to say as well.

[15:00] Kevin Boseman: Hi, I'm Kevin Boseman, brother of Chadwick Bozeman, and I am here tonight honoring Chad, the Black Theatre Coalition, are giving an award, the Chadwick Bozeman Changemaker Award to the National Black Theater. And I cannot think of an organization more fitting, more aligned with who Chadwick was as an actor, a writer, a producer, an educator, an advocate. All the things that National Black Theater are, and it is an honor to be here to honor them. You know, I think what Chad would say in this moment is pray and meditate. He was deep into meditation and prayer and asking questions and being curious. And I am also about that as well, and so that's my advice. I have been on a journey of reparenting myself and re-partnering myself and just loving on me.

And so my advice to you, which is the advice I give to myself each and every day, is to take care of you. You are the only you that you are. You are responsible for you. And you're also responsible to your community to be the best version of you, the healthiest, the physically healthiest, the mentally healthiest, the spiritually healthiest, the financially healthiest version of you. We are all responsible to each other, but we gotta start with this.

[16:32] Anthony Wayne: You may have seen Jaja's African hair breeding on Broadway recently. I was so happy to see the director of that show, Whitney White. Be nice to yourself, be kind to yourself, be present with others, get a little exercise, eat some good food, and enjoy the ride.

[16:50] Robert Peterpaul: Woo! I hope you're still here with me, friends. Thank you so much for putting up with this audio. I loved meeting Broadway stage manager, Cody Renard Richard. Building the change. And then once you get that done, go to the next small thing, and we just keep chipping away until the thing that we want looks like, the thing that we want it to look like. One step at a time, and she says these three things. She says, um, I trust my flow, I expect that everything will always work out for me, and I expect joy and fun. So that's how I live my life.

[17:43] Robert Peterpaul: I love that so much. Last but certainly not least, let's wrap things up with Grammy Award-winning music legend, Bebe Winans.

[17:53] Bebe Winans: Hi, I'm Bebe Winans. What does it mean for me to be here? Well, I'll tell you this. Every time there's an opportunity to shine for someone else to encourage them through my performance, that they were born with a purpose. So that's the reason I'm here, and I hope I accomplish just that. So, something I do to make change within myself, and that is there is fruit. There is spiritual fruit that I practice. So, like today, my fruit is kindness. So I practice kindness. Next day will be um gratefulness. So I practice the things that I want from other people. So to me, that's how we make the world better by making ourselves better.

[18:46] Robert Peterpaul: Oh, I love that.

[18:48] Bebe Winans: Seeing about good things. We just say it was. Um take your time. You don't need to say anything. Get quiet. Other than that, speak life to yourself. You're feeling bad, but you're doing good. I hope you enjoyed this little slice from the red carpet, and I hope that you're kind to yourself today. Again, this is random acts of kindness week. Well, depending on when you listen to this episode, you know, it might be the future in that case. Hello, people of the future. Either way, I hope you're kind to yourself and everyone around you. There's no reason not to be. And until next time, please remember, everything's gonna be a-okay.