Brian Stokes Mitchell

“When you have a community that's strong in the arts, it brings all sorts of attention and different businesses into the community.”

“I don't recommend skipping college, but things have worked out for me.”

“I am always looking for the next show.”

“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.”

“My job as an entertainer is to give a great show.”

“Stay as connected as you can. Sometimes that means you're going to do a job that may not pay you much but may give you a great connection. If the work is not going the way you need it to go, create your own!”

“Everybody comes to the planet with certain gifts. It may be writing, it may be acting, it may be singing, it may be being a lawyer, it may be making a beautiful cabinet, it may be being a spectacular dry cleaner. It could be anything. We all have gifts in different areas.”

“Left to my own devices, I would go to bed at 2:30 or 3, but I can't do that if I'm getting up at 6:50!”

“'Kiss Me, Kate' was my 'Ragtime' Tony.”

“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.”

“If you can make an audience laugh, you can make them love any character.”

“Usually, I don't feel comfortable with a character until I've played him before an audience for several performances. It is not until after three months of performing that I learn to discover what I call 'all the nooks and crannies' of the person.”

“When I was preparing 'Kiss Me, Kate,' I did go to the Museum of Broadcasting and watched an old kinescope of Alfred Drake doing the role on a television special. It was interesting, but I didn't feel any need to try to copy him.”

“To take the ugly language out of 'Ragtime' is to sanitize it, and that does it a great disservice.”

“I can't remember ever not singing.”

“Through most of my life, music has been like a radio that plays and plays in my head.”

“I'm a fan of odd meters. For example, I've decided to sing 'No Business Like Show Business,' but I'll be doing it in constantly changing 5/4, 7/4 and 11/4 time signatures. I've found a way to make that work.”

“There's a lot of risk involved in acting, and you can't take the same kind of risks when you have a kid to feed.”

“I love rearranging and reimagining tunes, so I want my audience to enjoy hearing songs in a new way and make their own discoveries.”

“I can count on one hand the number of conductors-composers-arrangers that I enjoy working with, and at the top of that list is Mack Wilberg. I feel like I've known Mack forever. I'm just nuts for him.”