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" For a while, I couldn't get arrested in television because everybody thought of me as that guy on 'Trapper John.' So I thought, 'Great, I'll come out here to New York and do some theater, and when they get tired of me, I'll do something else.' "

Brian Stokes Mitchell
Tired
Thought
New York
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" I was raised on jazz. My father, from the time I was born, used to get up early on Saturdays and Sundays and put on Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Kenny Burrell, Sarah Vaughn, John Coltrane - all these great, classic albums. "
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" I'd been playing the piano since I was 6 and wanted to be a composer, but I also wanted to be an actor. I decided to just pursue both and see which won out. "
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" When I was 6 years old, I asked my parents for an organ. I don't have any idea why I wanted an organ. "
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" I think I just had it by osmosis: an appreciation of Duke Ellington before I really even knew who he was. "
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" People comment on the way that I phrase. And in my 20s, I realized, my phrasing is jazz phrasing. I don't comply strictly with musical theater phrasing. Musical theater tends to be very one and three, and jazz is definitely two and four. "
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" Performing in the theater is a very ethereal profession because you do it once and it goes out into the ether and it goes into people's minds and that's the only place that it ever exists. And it never exists truly; it only exists in the way that people think they remember it. But it's a really powerful way to tell a story and to pass something on. "
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People
Think
" I always like to talk about how important space is. Art is in the spaces. Anybody can sing a note; it takes an artist to sing the spaces. Anybody can paint a brushstroke; it takes an artist to know when not to put the brushstroke. "
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Artist
" I studied arranging and orchestration a number of years ago, so I have a home studio and arrange about three-fourths of my songs on the computer. Since writing orchestration is tedious, I often put an arrangement on the keyboard and let someone better-qualified finish it. "
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Home
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" The first time I really had an influence on a show was during 'Ragtime.' It's still the most magical show that I've ever done. "
Brian Stokes Mitchell
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Time
" I love being outside, and I love the fresh air. "
Brian Stokes Mitchell
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Fresh
Fresh Air
" 'Kiss Me, Kate' was my 'Ragtime' Tony. "
Brian Stokes Mitchell
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Kiss
Me
" I'm not a pop singer; I'm not a jazz singer. And I know I sing like not a whole lot of people do; I also know that a lot of other people act like I do. And better than I do. But what informs the singing is the acting. They're not separate from each other. "
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Acting
People
Singing
" I love the theater, and I just don't love television like that. "
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Theater
Just
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" I think the problem is when people hear 'arts education,' they think, 'I don't want my son to be some painter that's going to be hanging in some museum after he dies. I don't want my daughter to be a struggling artist making no money.' People don't realize it's more than that. It's beautiful. It brings beauty to our lives. "
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Daughter
Beauty
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" My mother was the first African-American policewoman in Seattle - recruited, actually - and she did it for only 2 years, as she did not want to carry a gun. She worked mostly on domestic disturbances. The NAACP wanted her to do it. She did not actually have the temperament to be a cop - she was very sweet. She had a Masters in social work. "
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Mother
She
Sweet
" Music is liquid. It's meant to be messed with and played with and stretched and pulled and pushed, I think. "
Brian Stokes Mitchell
I Think
Think
Meant To Be
" I'm one of the few lucky actors in the world. I've never waited tables. I never pumped gas. I've always earned a living. I never had to borrow from my parents. I was the first in our family to own a new car. "
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Family
Car
New Car
" I'm the chairman of the board of the Actor's Fund. It's an incredible organization. It helps anybody that has made their living in the performing arts and entertainment: actors, singers, dancers, film producers, agents, managers, ticket takers, writers, anybody in times of need or crisis. "
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Living
Need
Organization
" I kind of feel the career chose me. My motto has always been, 'Go where I'm wanted.' "
Brian Stokes Mitchell
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" That's the magic of art and the magic of theatre: it has the power to transform an audience, an individual, or en masse, to transform them and give them an epiphanal experience that changes their life, opens their hearts and their minds and the way they think. "
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Experience
" To me, a theater is a kind of a sacred space. It needs a kind of ceremony, like what happens when you consecrate a church. "
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" One of the best pieces of wisdom I ever got is you work because you work, meaning you work because you're saying yes to things, and you're connecting with people. "
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" You lose more than you win in life, and that's OK. That's the nature of life. "
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" I love seeing the stars, and I love being around my friends and family. "
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