INTERVIEWS with ARTISTS

BEN VEREEN

JEANINE TESORI

PSALMAYENE 24

SYLVIA MCNAIR

MICHAEL McELROY

DEIDRE KINAHAN

BOB ARI

PAUL TAZEWELL

PATRICIA ROZARIO

NANCY RHODES

MAIA DANZIGER

EARL “PEANUTT” MONTGOMERY

WILLIE RUFF

DENNIS D’AMICO

GRACE CACHOCHA

KAREN SAILLANT

JENNIFER HORNE

JEANIE THOMPSON

ROBERT PERRY

WAYNE SIDES

JAMIE LEE McMAHAN

SPOTLIGHT ON ARTISTS

Zana Marjanovic

Dr. Ashley William Joseph

M. Safeer

Kevin Kimani Kahuro

Ilire Vinca

Avra Sidiropoulou

Sujatha Balakrishnan

Mihaela Dragan

Farah Deen

Katy Lipson

Juan Maldonado

Odile Gakire Katese

Hartmut von Lieres

Dragan Jovičić

Sachin Gupta

Jill Navarre

“To grasp the full significance of life is the actor's duty, to interpret it is his problem, and to express it his dedication.”  
– Marlon Brando

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”
– Helen Keller

“The theatre should be treated with respect. The theatre is a wonderful place, a house of strange enchantment, a temple of illusion.”
– Noel Coward

“Cultivate an ever continuous power of observation...see the sunlight and everything that is to be seen.”
– John Singer Sargent

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
– T.S. Eliot

“Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.”
– Ernest Hemingway:

“In a moment of grace, we can grasp eternity in the palm of our hand. This is the gift given to creative individuals who can identify with the mysteries of life through art.”
– Marcel Marceau:


Articles

Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company

Black Theatre United

Mabou Mines

Theater J

Pangea World Theater

Round House Theatre

Bucks County Playhouse

Charleston Stage

Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

PURE Theatre Company

Ronald Rand’s “CREATE! How Extraordinary People Live to Create and Create to Live”

Virginia Stage Company

Constellation Theatre Company

League of Professional Theatre Women

Maryland Hall

BlackRock Center for the Arts

Great American Songbook Foundation & Academy

Kennedy Center REACH

Inter Act Art Theatre

“Grand Ball in the Belle Epoch” – Edwardian Period Style Salon

 

 

 

 

 

Ronald Rand in Let It Be Art

“There are always new sounds to imagine; new feelings to get at. And always, there is the need to keep purifying these feelings and sounds so that we can really see what we've discovered in its pure state.” – John Coltrane

“Living consciously involves being genuine; it involves listening and  responding to others honestly and openly; it involves being in the moment.” – Sidney Poitier

“Art became the first teacher of nations.” – Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

 

 

“In the long history of man, countless empires and nations have come and gone. Those which created no lasting works of art are reduced today to short footnotes in history's catalog. Art is a nation's most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves, and to others, the inner vision which guides us as a Nation. And where there is no vision, the people perish.”
– President Lyndon B. Johnson

 

 

“Write if you will: but write about the world as it is and as you think it ought to be and must be—if there is to be a world.”
– Lorraine Hansberry

“We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr

“This is perhaps the most noble aim of poetry, to attach ourselves to the world around us, to turn desire into love, to embrace, finally what always evades us, what is beyond, but what is always there – the unspoken, the spirit, the soul.”
– Octavio Paz

“I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of our artists. If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him...Art is not a form of propaganda, it is a form of truth...Art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstones of our judgment.”
– President John F. Kennedy

“You dance love, and you dance joy, and you dance dreams.”
– Gene Kelly

“The poem, the song, the picture, is only water drawn from the well of the people, and it should be given back to them in a cup of beauty so that they may drink - and in drinking understand themselves.”
– Federico Garcia Lorca

“Living consciously involves being genuine; it involves listening and responding to others honestly and openly; it involves being in the moment.”
– Sidney Poitier

“The artist must be a leader. He must be true to what is most eager, vital and boldest within himself. Only in this way can the audience gain something from him. By being awake himself, the artist must awaken the audience. This ultimately is what the audience also desires – to be awakened.”
– Harold Clurman

“Life is short, Break the Rules. Forgive quickly, Kiss SLOWLY. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably And never regret ANYTHING That makes you smile.”
– Mark Twain

“One must surrender entirely to the power of one’s artistic nature. It will do all the necessary things. Do not impose any solution upon yourself in advance.”
– Yevgeny Vakhtangov

“All I insist on, and nothing else, is that you should show the whole world that you are not afraid. Be silent, if you choose; but when it is necessary, speak—and speak in such a way that people will remember it.”
– Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

“As an artist, I feel that we must try many things—but above all, we must dare to fail. You must have the courage to be willing to risk everything to really express it all.”
– John Cassavetes

Hirschfeld

Ronald Rand’s new book “CREATE! How Extraordinary People Live to Create and Create to Live”

The spark of artistic genius has always been a conundrum, but the answer can be found in a new and extraordinary book, “CREATE! How Extraordinary People Live to Create and Create to Live,” written by International Goodwill Cultural Ambassador, Performing Artist, Director and Publisher, Ronald Rand.

The book explains the “creative state of mind” with over 130 rare interviews with the most innovative and visionary actors, actresses, artists, designers, choreographers and dancers. There are also interviews with composers, lyricists, directors, educators, musicians, singers, playwrights, poets and writers from the present and the past. Mr. Rand has also taken the time to interview experts on the art of pantomime, circus clowning and puppetry.

Mr. Rand writes in his introduction that each artist has their own personal journey where their unique talents and drive has led them to overcome impossible odds to either create a new play or draw a new painting. In many instances, Rand’s interviews throughout the book show that “luck” played a strong hand in each artists’ success.

 Ronald Rand, by Martha Carpenter, inside “Create!”

For example, the actress Nicole Ansari who appeared on Broadway and at London’s Royal Court Theatre in Tom Stoppard’s play, “Rock N’ Roll,” says she “was one of the lucky people who knew from a young age” that she wanted to act. For others, like the actress Mary Alice who performed with James Earl Jones on Broadway in “Fences,” says “acting was her third career after being a school teacher and working for the Social Security Administration. “

“Create!” also includes over 150 full-color paintings, photographs and artwork by such world-renowned artists as Paula Allen, Kwaku Alston, Lucie Arnaz, Stan Barouh, Alvin Colt, Martha Carpenter, Julieta Cervantes, Ming Cho Lee, David Pena, Jillian Edelstein, Davis Freeman, Mary Gearhart, Gregg Goldston, Andre Gregory, Joel Grey, Lawrence Halprin, Fred Hatt, Al Hirschfeld, Dragan Jovicic, Randall Duk Kim, Everett Raymond Kinstler, Parish Kohanim, Paul Kolnik, Walter Kurtz, Stephen Lang, James McMullan, Henry Muttoo, Thomas V. Nash, Michael Shane Neal, Carolyn Palmer, Eduardo Rioja Paradela, N. Paripovic, Tara Sabharwal, Tim Stevenson, Tommy Tune, Jimmy Turrell, Jean-Claude van Itallie, Melvin van Peebles, Sir Derek Walcott, Allan Warren, and Jim Warren.

Carol Burnett interview inside “Create!”

“Create!” many unforgettable interviews with many extraordinary actors and actresses include F. Murray Abraham, Mary Alice, Selma Alispahic, Nicole Ansari, Lucie Arnaz, Elizabeth Ashley, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Burstyn, Phoebe Brand, Carol Burnett, Len Cariou, Carol Channing, Tina Chen, Brian Cox, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Andre De Shields, Olympia Dukakis, Randall Duk Kim, Ben Gazzara, Kelsey Grammer, Lee Grant, Joel Grey, Spalding Gray, Julie Harris, Stephen Henderson, Kim Hunter, Dragan Jovicic, Jack Klugman, Shirley Knight, Stephen Lang, Laurence Luckinbill, Judith Malina, Jan Maxwell, Rue McClanahan, Patricia Neal, Jerry Orbach, Angelica Page, Christopher Plummer, Bill Pullman, Phylicia Rashad, Tony Randall, Luise Rainer, Chita Rivera, Roy Scheider, Marian Seldes, Sabera Shaik, Sylvia Sidney, Kate Valk, Ben Vereen, Eli Wallach, and Fritz Weaver.

Alec Baldwin interview inside “Create!”

The book has interviews with several world-renowned designers, sculptors and artists who give an account of their artistic journey including Martha Carpenter, Alvin Colt, Al Hirschfeld, Everett Raymond Kinstler, Parish Kohanim, Ming Cho Lee, Carolyn Palmer, Tara Sabharwal, Tim Stevenson, and Paul Tazewell.

If you love dance, “Create!” features inspiring stories from choreographers and dancers: Lori Belilove, Jacques d’Amboise, Daniele Graciela, Katherine Dunham, Anna Halprin, Alonzo King, Pearl Lang, Pilar Rioja, and Tommy Tune. Professional clowns, mimes and puppeteers interviewed by Mr. Rand include Gregg Goldston, Barry Lubin, Craig Marin, Rob Mermin, and David Shiner.

Chaka Khan interview inside “Create!”

Renowned composers and lyricists also tell their stories in “Create!” Among those featured include: Gretchen Cryer, Erwin Drake, Marvin Hamlisch, Sheldon Harnick, Charles Strouse, Melvin van Peebles, and Jeanine Tesori. Mr. Hamlisch who wrote the music for “A Chorus Line” reveals he started playing music when he was six years old, and that for him music is an “international language.”

Famous directors reveal how they were drawn to the theatre to direct including Eugenio Barba, Anne Bogart, Joseph Chaikin, Tisa Chang, Ping Chong, Jack Garfein, Andre Gregory, Sabra Jones, Michael Kahn, Woodie King, Jr., Robert Lepage, Emily Mann, Diljana Milosevic, Diane Paulus, Michael Pressman, Harold Prince, Nancy Rhodes, Lloyd Richards, Mark Rydell, Andrei Serban, Ellen Stewart, Tadashi Suzuki, and Robert Wilson.

“The Luthier” by Martha Carpenter, interview
with Ms. Carpenter inside “Create!”

Jack Garfein, who had to survive eleven concentration camps and lost his entire family in the Holocaust, was able to go on and direct numerous Broadway plays, and in collaboration with Paul Newman created The Actors Studio in Los Angeles.

Diane Paulus received the 2013 Tony Award for “Pippin” on Broadway and knew in high school that she was going to be a director because she had an epiphany moment  after her freshman year in college when she realized she wanted to be “in the trenches” and roll up her sleeves and work directly with people.

There are also noted educators in “Create!” who chronicle their careers including Patch Adams, Robert Brustein, Dick Cavett, Victor Masayesva, Jr., Henry Muttoo, Tina Ramirez, Charlie Soap, and Dr. Barbara Ann Teer.

Mr. Brustein, who founded the Yale Repertory Theatre, says it all started because he had a lisp and his parents sent him to elocution school to learn how to articulate his words. 

Self-portrait by Tim Stevenson, inside “Create!"’

Musicians and singers recount their path to successful creative careers including: Leon Bates, Julie Budd, Stephanie Chase, Karen Drucker, Chaka Khan, Meredith Monk, Vinicio Quezada, Steve Ross, Jim Seales, Travis Wammack, Melvin Van Peebles, Eve Wolf, and Eugenia Zukerman.

You will not be able to put “Create! down, as you’ll also come across within the pages of “Create!” several gifted playwrights, poets and writers including Edward Albee, Harold Bloom, Ed Bullins, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Eve Ensler, Horton Foote, Maria Irene Fornes, Larry Gelbart, John Guare, Tina Howe, David Henry Hwang, Odile Gakire Katese, Arthur Kopit, Arthur Laurents, Budd Schulberg, John Patrick Shanley, Peter Stone, Apriana Taylor, Vijay Tendulkar, Elise Thoron, Jean-Claude van Itallie, Sir Derek Walcott, Elie Wiesel, and William Yellow Robe, Jr.

“Create!” Book Event at Alabama Music Hall of Fame with Eddie Martin, Tim Stevenson, Ronald Rand and Martha Carpenter, photo by Mary Carton

With the debut of the book, Mr. Rand has held several exciting panel discussions in New York City including at The Drama Book Shop with Mr. Rand, Tina Chen, Nicole Ansari, Martha Carpenter, Sabera Shaik, Carolyn D Palmer, Rob Mermin, Tara Sabharwal, Penny Templeton, with Mel Gordon and Steve Ross. At Barnes & Noble on 17th Street in Manhattan Mr. Rand had an inspiring panel discussion with Brian Cox, Elizabeth Ashley, Everett Raymond Kinstler, Nancy Rhodes, Michael Pressman, Louise Hirschfeld, and Carolyn D Palmer.

Create!” Book Event at Alabama Music Hall of Fame with Eddie Martin, Tim Stevenson,
Martha Carpenter, Ronald Rand, Marty Raybon and Jim Seales, photo by Mary Carton

Ronald Rand also hosted a notable Book Event at the social club “The Players” founded by the noted 19th century Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth in New York City hosted a book event with notable speeches by Everett Raymond Kinstler, Jack Garfein, and Louise Hirschfeld. Also in attendance were several artists from “Create!” including Martha Carpenter, Sabera Shaik, Randall Duk Kim, Parish Kohanim, Nicole Ansari, Carolyn D Palmer, Rob Mermin and Nancy Rhodes. Among special guests attending included Rita Salzman, Vic Perillo,

The prestigious Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia, Alabama hosted a Benefit and Panel Discussion/Book Signing with Mr. Rand. Unforgettable performances were given by music stars Marty Raybon, Will McFarlane, Garrett Miles; Jim Seales, Mitchell Curtis, Michael Curtis and Donny Carpenter of Three Wheel Drive; Kerry Gilbert, Alyssa Ashley, Hugh Banks, Shane Goodson, and Randy Kimbrough of The KGB Band with Steve Bigbee; Eddie Martin, Tony Lee and Malcolm Singleton of the Wildwood Ruminators. Afterwards there was an inspiring panel with several of the performers as well as Martha Carpenter, Tim Stevenson, Jerry Masters, Jan Masters and Dixie Griffin. Ms. Carpenter and Mr. Stevenson exhibited some of their large paintings related to music, along with an iconic photograph displayed by acclaimed Atlanta-based photographer, Parish Kohanim, and needlepoint by Muscle Shoals native, Jan Masters.

In Alabama, Cold Waters Books in Tuscumbia, Alabama also hosted a wonderful book discussion with Mr. Rand, Martha Carpenter, Tim Stevenson and Betty Maloney — as well as the Florence-Lauderdale Libray hosting a book event with an exciting panel discussion with Mr. Rand, Jake Landers, Martha Carpenter, Tim Stevenson, Libby Jordan, Amanda Perry, Michael Curtis, Jerry & Jan Masters and Hugh Banks. Plus another Book Event was also held at the Muscle Shoals Public Library with Ronald Rand leading a panel discussion with guests as Eddie Martin, Jerry Foster, Martha Carpenter, Suzie Shoemaker, Amanda Perry, and Jerry & Jan Masters. 

Katherine Dunham

Mr. Rand shares on his website for the book at www.CreatetheBook.com that every interview he has done for the book has changed his life because he learned something new from each person. There is no doubt that by reading this book, your life will be changed as well! 

Self-portrait by Tommy Tune, inside "Create!"

“Create!” is published by Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing: www.wymacpublishing.com. You will find CREATE! at: www.amazon.com/Create-How-Extraordinary-People-Live/dp/1942545428

 


"It is a law of life that man cannot live for himself alone. The world's problems are also our personal problems. Health is achieved through maintaining our personal truth in a balanced relation of love to the rest of the world. No expression is more emblematic of this relation than the creative act which we call art, and none more than the theatre. The theatre, to be fully understood and appreciated, must be seen as a manifestation of this process of interchange between society and the individual. It must be judged as a continuous development of groups of individuals within society, becoming richer, acquiring greater force and value as it grows with the society. Only in this way can the theatre nourish us."  - Harold Clurman

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