Rising Star Brandon Walker of Seeing Place Theater On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry

An Interview with Karina Michel Feld

Finish school. Not for a backup plan. For your own intellectual growth and personal edification. I got so much out of taking general education, even the stuff that doesn’t seem to matter.

As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Brandon Walker.

Brandon Walker is a mixed-race and gender-fluid actor, director, playwright, producer, designer, and musician. They are the Producing Artistic Director of The Seeing Place Theater in NYC. Favorite productions include: I Am My Own Wife, Cloud Nine, A Lie of the Mind, Animal Farm, The Hysteria of Doctor Faustus, Hamlet, Rhinoceros, The Credeaux Canvas, The Laramie Project, and Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Off Broadway, NYIT Award Nominated). www.theseeingplace.com

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I grew up very poor in San Diego with a single mother, who works at the Post Office. We moved around the city a lot, and I went to several schools. I spent a good deal of time alone, and I entertained myself with make believe. I don’t feel that I started to grow up until my 20s. It wasn’t until 30 that I began to have a real sense of myself, and I am just now getting to the point where I feel comfortable in my skin.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

Hmmm…is it a career? I don’t sustain myself with it. And quite honestly, I act, direct, write, design, and play music purely for the love of creating. I am a true amateur. Once upon a time, it paid the bills. But I wasn’t happy. Over time, I’ve devoted my time more and more to things that are fulfilling. If one day I can make a living, great. If not, a day job isn’t the worst thing in the world. As far as what brought me to acting and writing is concerned…my mother always knew I would never be two things: a performer and a writer. Obviously, she was not correct. I had such extreme anxiety in public speaking and in front of a camera. I still do. Wearing the armor of a story and a character helps me to be open. I’m also not a very good reader. I never have been. And when asked in school to write a story, I struggled immensely. But I have a fascination with people and how they behave. I love to live in their skin, and I love to give voice to things I can’t speak in life. For a long time, I have relied on adapting other stories, from life or from literature, in order to help me structure a narrative. One day, I hope to write a play completely from scratch. But perhaps nobody ever does that. Even great artists steal.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I think that the most interesting story that happened to me occurred two years ago when I was fired from my serving and bartending job over Yelp reviews. My manager had really dressed me down for about a year over my poor hospitality skills, and it no longer made sense to me to continue down that road. So, I finally went back to school. Initially, I was planning to get a B.A. in Theatre as a final goal. Pretty quickly, I added a minor in Cultural Anthropology, took extra French classes, and started down the line towards a Ph.D. I’ll be attending an M.A. program in Applied Theatre this Fall. All this from someone who had hated school all their life until going back. I didn’t quite recognize just how much I love learning.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I wish I could say that I don’t make funny mistakes all the time. The funniest one I can think of, though, was in my first go at Romeo. It was outside at a community college gazebo. It was set in an asylum for no good reason I can remember. There was saran wrap around the gazebo to represent glass walls. I kissed Juliet through the saran wrap. But the mistake was that during the scene with the Friar, I overemphasized the word “FLIES” in the sentence “Flies may do this but I from this must fly” to such an extent that 1.) It seemed to suggest that the play really was about flies, and 2.) I have never lived it down with anyone that saw that production. Thankfully, I redeemed myself in a a professional production a few years later.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I’m currently in the process of performing THE QUEER WITCH CONSPIRACY with my theatre company, The Seeing Place. I wrote the play for our ensemble, to celebrate Pride, and to benefit the Audre Lorde Project. It is based on the real-life story of a non-binary witch in New Orleans, who posted to a queer witch group, offering to share bones they were taking from a poor graveyard. It was quickly picked up by internet trolls, and it was discovered that the cemetery in question primarily houses BIPOC people. After the controversy exploded onto the internet, the community was torn apart. I was particularly interested in the circumstances because it provides many roles for LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC people, and it also allows us to explore intersectionality and safe spaces.

You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

Failure is inevitable. We all fail. Constantly. Do what you love to do. If someone tells you that you’re no good, recognize that they have different interests and that there is an audience out there for you — even if it’s only one person.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

I think diversity is important to let others know that they are not alone, to help us all get used to the idea that other approaches to life are okay, and to allow everyone to see behind the defenses of those individuals who need to protect themselves on the streets. I think it allows for culture change. My favorite quote: “Art imitates life, and life imitates TV” — Ani DiFranco

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1.) No matter what you do, your main goal has to revolve around becoming more and more yourself. I spent 35 years fighting against my gender identity. Things would have been so much easier if I had worked towards acceptance a long time ago.

2.) Every actor can only stand to benefit from therapy. There’s too much stigma around mental health, and I spent way too long feeling that there was something wrong with me and avoiding therapy because I felt it would prove that I was broken. In reality, I’m much healthier now.

3.) Finish school. Not for a backup plan. For your own intellectual growth and personal edification. I got so much out of taking general education, even the stuff that doesn’t seem to matter.

4.) You will learn as much as you set out to learn. Challenge your teachers to rise to your level of interest. Chances are, they will. It worked that way for me.

5.) It is okay to go an untraditional route. I have studied with David Gideon for the last fourteen years, who teaches professional acting classes at his own studio in NYC. Over that time, I have learned all kinds of skills that have enriched my creativity and humanity. That’s the best acting lesson out there. I would not have been able to succeed in many areas of life without his help.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Read, sleep, exercise, eat, don’t do anything in excess, and make it a point to keep learning.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

The movement I am out to inspire is that genderfluidity is okay and should be accepted in any space.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I am very grateful to my fiancée and partner-in-crime, Erin. She has run The Seeing Place with me for the last many years. She knew me before I was a more evolved individual and has inspired me to work harder to communicate and to overcome several traumatic life experiences. She has also created the possibility for me to enjoy an artistic outlet, and she listens to all of my kvetching all the time. She also models empathy, and I have learned a lot from her.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My life lesson quote is: “Live to the point of tears.” — Albert Camus. THE STRANGER was the first book I could read. Before that, I would have to have someone read to me, to listen as I read to an audiobook, to read heavy summaries or watch the movie to get my imagination started. For some reason, I was able to read THE STRANGER cover to cover, though, in one sitting and with no prior information. In fact, I so identified with Meursault that I completely missed the point of the book or who the stranger was on my first time through it. But I just felt like that person who was written there was one of the first pieces of evidence I had seen of a human being that operated like me. At some point, I found the quote above, and it jumped out at me. It is how I live my life.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

I would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with Kenneth Lonergan. I saw him on the street once. I was too star-struck to say anything. I just imagine he must be such an interesting person. I have known another contemporary playwright to express behavior so well.

How can our readers follow you online?

All of my information is up on my theatre’s website: www.seeingplacetheater.com

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

Thanks!