Vanessa Williams
A SOLID FOUNDATION by joel martens “There she is, Miss America…” it was a defining moment for Vanessa Williams. She was the first
African-American to be crowned in the pageant’s history and then also to lose that crown after nude photos surfaced. Something much more commonplace these days and even dare we say “accepted,” as a part of rising up through the ranks in the entertainment world. 1984 was a long time ago and Vanessa Williams, to her credit, was determined to not let that mo-
ment shame her, or define who she was. Believing the “best revenge is success,” Williams persisted and soon began recording her first album, The Right Stuff, releasing it to great success. She contin- ued that trajectory with two more albums and several number one hits, then followed them with even more success as she branched out in to acting, in films, on television and on Broadway. There is no sign of her stopping professionally, or slowing personally and she has even managed
to raise four kids, with her youngest about to start high school. The future looks bright and lucky for us, she is returning to perform in Southern California. She generously shared some of her life and experiences with us here at The Rage Monthly.
Your career is so broad, you sing, dance and act, is there a par- ticular one of the three that is a favorite? There really is no easy answer to that. They really each
have equal importance. It’s all combined for me. When you come in to the first day of what ever it might
be, any project it might be, I get the same thrill. When I open a new script for the first time, or am with a cast at a table read for the first time, whether it’s a television part or for a movie, exploring what the next steps are. It’s the same when it’s the first day of rehearsal on a musical, when you get your music notebook, open to that first song and have to sing, the rush of reading the music and learning the tempos. When I’m in the recording studio for the first time and getting ready to record a new track, hopefully recording a hit behind the microphone, it’s the same kind of thing. It’s the same the first day of a dance rehearsal too, when you begin working on a spe- cific routine and are getting used to new choreography, it is all a thrill for me. It’s essentially all about teamwork, sometimes with a
new show and new people, sometimes with old friends like when I’m doing my tour show. I just finished doing 12 shows in Japan, it was a thrill from the moment we
34 RAGE monthly | AUGUST 2014
started doing sound checks. Looking out and seeing familiar fans that come from all over, singing the songs with me, it’s really satisfying. You seem to especially have an understanding of the pleasure of it and a fundamental gratitude about your work that is refreshing. Well, it’s certainly not a burden (laughs)! It is not the
easiest work on the planet and the hours are tough sometimes; especially when you’re doing live theatre eight shows a week. While in Japan, I was performing two shows a night and getting up to do that second show, after being so jet-lagged that I couldn’t feel my legs (laughs), sort of feeling out of my body… you just have to power through, because, it’s what I love to do. I think that being able to start young in the profession
makes a difference. Theatre is such a great base for, well… really pretty much everything. It’s truly a team effort; you have to appreciate everyone who is involved in making a show work, whether it’s the lighting designer, or the stagehand in charge of props. You learn to appreciate what they do. You might be the first name on the call sheet, but if you don’t appreciate everyone involved in making that production a hit, then you really are no where.
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