Rosalyn Coleman Williams
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Rosalyn Coleman Williams
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Inspired By A Pink Hat...

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Inspired By A Pink Hat...
  • I believe in the magic of the muse.  
  • I believe the teacher learns from from the students.
  • I believe joy in it's purest form is priceless (Julia Robert's Laugh...how much is it worth?) 
  • I believe that craft plus freedom of expression equals art, which puts us in such a state that when witnessed by an audience, together we breathe heaven's air.

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THE CALLBACK THAT BOOKED A MAJOR ROLE

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THE CALLBACK THAT BOOKED A MAJOR ROLE

I received the email on Friday afternoon for the call back on Monday.  I had been on my way to the health club and scrapped that to go to The Drama Book Shop, as the recommendation for the call back was to prepare a scene that was dramatic, emotional and painstaking.  I didn't have that scene in my back pocket.  I picked up some good material there, though, nothing really landed on me.  I went back to The Drama Book Shop and bought the play of "The Normal Heart".  I read that on Friday evening and then wrote a two page scene of my own.  I was already invested in the story, being Albert's Mother, in "The Normal Heart". It didn't make sense to me to prepare a scene from another play, nor did I have time to prepare a scene before Monday...more 

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New Update to Everything Acting Podcast App!

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Darbi gets on the horn with voice-over SUPERSTAR, Joe Cipriano, to discuss his career and new book, “Living On Air.”  New Yorkers, you can meet Joe, hear him read from his book and get a book signed on Monday, December 9th.  The event starts at 6pmat Pranna (79 Madison Avenue at 28th).  Darbi will be there so introduce yourself if you see her!

Learn more about Joe at joecipriano.com

Don't want to miss it!

Don't want to miss it!

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The Thanksgiving Post. A Long Time Coming.

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This post is about my work, people I work with and for, my life and how thankful I am for all of it. 

It's all mixed up together. my family, my work, and my life reflect each other. Together they equal my art my reason for living, my calling.  

A few months ago my husband told me I had to stop working on a project. Essentially he fired me.

It felt like a punch in the stomach. I didn't know what to do which way to go. Why to wake  up in the morning. You see to me a story untold, unfinished,  unborn is like a stillbirth. It's like that raisin in the sun that Lorraine Hansberry lamented. Does it explode?  No it rots inside and that's far worse. 

When I don't get to finish a project that I start (which has only happened to me once before) it feels like I've been dumped. Fired. Broken up with in the most humiliating of ways.  Publicly disregarded. Rejected.  A dangerous tailspin of deep depression is something that a responsible mother, wife, cannot afford to risk. 

After much talk I saw that perhaps the husband was right and we should leave the project unfinished.  But where did that leave me? 

Looking very lost.   

Looking very lost. 
 

I was lost. LOST. 

So I went on a quest to find out what we should do next.  

And this is why I am thankful for my work and my clients because that is what got me through a very long period of not knowing.

I wanted to take some time off a sabbatical. A trip to nowhere. To stop and think. To meditate. Stretch, fast and renew. But that was a fantasy. And unrealistic one at that. I'm not Alice Walker, I'm Roz Coleman. I don't have a MacArthur Genius Grant.  

I didn't stop. I slowed down. 

What I did was take a class.  And then another. I had already committed to doing a play and teaching a new acting class at NYU and continuing at SUNY Purchase.  Other than that my husband supported my time to learn, listen, and not know.  New clients and acting opportunities kept creeping into my life and I saw them as my teachers as my guides through this time. 

The quote that culminated this time came last week while I was on set coaching a creative genius. Let's call him Prince (As in the artist who made Purple Rain) because I don't want to disclose his name but he is a director, actor, artist, musician on that level.  As I observed him step into his greatness, using his own body as a canvas for his work. He was playing with his food between takes on set. The actress who is acting opposite him, who although is more experienced in acting is admittedly not as free as he is, jokingly said to him "don't play with your food."  He replied in a serious tone "why everything in life is meant to be played with."

Full stop. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

Enjoy. 

Below. 

The work of the students.

More to come...

Husband & Business Partner? Top 6 Ways To Make It Work

Before Step 1.  Marry a really nice guy who loves your dirty drawers.  Loves the Lord like you do. Who is quick to forgive and willing to apologize, a man who loves to see you happy. A man who is comfortable in his own skin. Marry that guy.  And choose to love him daily.  Love is a choice. A verb. Do it. 

It Takes A Villiage Roz & Craig Wedding .jpeg

12 years ago today I married my husband. I had no idea that we would make a business together. Newsflash - When your husband becomes your business partner you will be spending a lot of time together. People see that and wonder.

A FAQ that I get is how do you work with a husband who is business partner? My normal response is I don’t know. If I had gun to my head or better yet there was 1 million dollars on the line, I would give it a more thoughtful answer.

So after thinking about it, here are my top 6 responses. I found that they are the same reasons I married him.

  1. We are big believers in each other’s talent. When I read one of my husband scripts I am truly awestruck by how talented he is. And it doesn’t hurt that he writes strong central female characters. Inspired by yours truly.
  2. He makes me a better person because overall we are stronger as a couple than I was as an individual. His strengths compliment my weaknesses. For instance generosity. Craig is always giving money to other people’s film projects. I am very stingy.
  3. I really trust him. Like with my life. He has gotten us out of some sticky situations. He knows how to walk away from a fight. And when not to.
  4. We agree that partnership is a 100/100 effort (not the more popular 50/50), we fall short and we don’t keep score.
  5. Compatibility. We are able to travel together peacefully. It’s a you and me against the world kind of thing with us. We are committed to being each other’s soft place to fall. This is crucial when we work together on set.
  6. One more. He is an optimist and I am a cautious person. It seems to be the right level of risk taking for our creative lifestyle business. And he's always willing to learn more, to grow and so am I.
Love Roz