The Department of Performing and Media Arts is thrilled to welcome new faculty member this fall, Visiting Lecturer Carolyn Michelle Smith, enriching our department’s artistic vision and scholarly pursuits. In this episode, Christopher Christensen, IT Support, meets with actress, educator, and producer Carolyn Michelle Smith, to discuss her recent arrival at Cornell and what she envisions for her classes here in PMA for the 2024 – 2025 academic year. Carolyn is currently starring in the Paramount Plus award winning series “The Chi” (seasons 5 &6) as well as the forthcoming Season 3 of the HBO Max series “And Just Like That”. You may also know Carolyn from her TV roles in "Russian Doll", "House of Cards", "Law and Order", "Luke Cage", "How to Get Away with Murder", "The Oath", "Notorious", and "Cherish the Day".
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Transcript
Chris Christensen 00:00
Music. Hello, I'm Christopher Christensen. Welcome to Episode 60 of the PMA podcast. In this episode, I met with actress, educator and producer Carolyn Michelle Smith, to discuss her recent arrival at Cornell and what she envisions for her classes here in PMA for the 2024-2025 academic year. Carolyn is currently starring in the Paramount plus award winning series, 'The Chi' seasons five and six, as well as the forthcoming season three of the HBO Max series 'And Just Like That'. You may also know Carolyn from her TV roles in 'Russian Doll', 'House of Cards', 'Law and Order', 'Luke Cage', 'How to Get Away with Murder', 'The Oath', 'Notorious' and 'Cherish the Day'. Her film credits include 'He's Way More Famous Than You,' 'Reboot Camp', 'Sunny Days' and 'Tank House'. This fall, she stars in the premiere of the independent feature film 'Familiar Touch', directed by Sarah Friedland. As a producer, she currently has a feature film in development with Fandomodo Films in Los Angeles. So we've made our way to Friday.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 01:12
We've made our way to Friday.
Chris Christensen 01:13
Welcome to the podcast studio. How are you this morning?
Carolyn Michelle Smith 01:16
I am very well. Happy to see your face.
Chris Christensen 01:18
Yay! Yours as well. Oh my gosh. It has been, as we were just saying a few moments ago. We get to Friday and I feel like I'm, I'm, the tank has gone empty,
Carolyn Michelle Smith 01:28
Yeah, yeah, that's how I feel. I think that arriving here is- feels like an achievement,
Chris Christensen 01:39
Yeah, arriving here, getting to the building on Friday morning. Or,
Carolyn Michelle Smith 01:42
Oh, good, that's swell, yes, maybe that too. Yeah, arriving to Friday. This was a particularly stressful week, I think, but in a good way, I think, because there's so many new things that are being made for next semester. So with that in mind, things that are being built require a lot of focus, yeah, and I realized that there's a lot of focus this week 'cause I'm building something big,
Chris Christensen 02:05
I think, I think you said something about having pulled an all nighter-
Carolyn Michelle Smith 02:08
I did!
Chris Christensen 02:09
Earlier this week,
Carolyn Michelle Smith 02:10
Yeah! So, managing the balance of having an acting career and being a new professor is a delicate balance. It's- I got an audition for this really great, really, really great role on a TV show, and it'd be like, several episodes and and I was like, Oh, this would be so good. And the only time to do it was in the middle of the night. And so I did. I got up, got up at about 1am Oh, wow. Worked until about five, and then jumped to the shower and kept the day going.
Chris Christensen 02:47
My goodness, I can't do that anymore. I can't, well, you know, I haven't tried maybe, maybe I'll give it a whirl.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 02:52
Everything's possible, but not everything's beneficial.
Chris Christensen 02:57
Oh my gosh, I can't imagine. So along those lines, you had a pretty rich career working in TV and film and still continuing to do so much work. Now here at Cornell instructing you want to give us a little bit of the details as to what that journey looked like.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 03:17
Absolutely.
Chris Christensen 03:18
Used to look like?
Carolyn Michelle Smith 03:19
What it continues to look like. Well, great, good. So I started, I've always been interested in acting, always loved acting, and started in community theater, really children's theater, really young, around nine years old, I'd say, Yeah. And you know, was really inspired by the person who led that program. It was in Atlanta, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, and it was this teeny, tiny arts program called Dora ville Arts Center, and it was run by Jim Ray James. And he was an amazing, you know, former Broadway performer and, you know, master designer, actor extraordinaire, multi hyphenate before that was even a term. And he was also kind of like an adopted dad in a lot of ways too. He really made me love the craft and value dedication and and really showing up what it means to really show up as an actor in a variety of ways. And I think he was also my first multi hyphenate person. Example. Does that make sense of what it means to do many things? And so I continued to act all throughout high school and then into college. I went to Fordham undergrad for college, and then got a theater degree there. And after that program, kind of didn't want to do any kind of schooling at all. I was like, I just want to act. I just want to be in the industry. Cast me now, but I didn't really have a good sense of the industry, to be honest. Like I didn't know what was required in when you're on set, what you know good onset decorum would be. I didn't understand how the business itself actually worked, and I really wanted to pour into my artist self, and so I did. Yeah, but then I realized, you know what, there is more to learn. So I think I should apply to grad school programs. And so I did, and I chose three schools. I was like, You know what? I'm only applying to those programs once in my life, ever. And I applied to NYU. I'm sorry, not NYU, I applied to Yale, Juilliard, and UCSD, and I was going to apply to NYU, and then I had a moment when going to apply. This is random, but I'll share that I this is while paper applications were still a thing. I went to NYU, was there in person and asked for a paper application, and I remember the woman said, sure. She turned around, she went into a back room, and ashes in that back room, I literally heard a voice say, 'This is not your school.' who was like before the application. And so she came back, and I had the faith to believe that voice, and she presented me with the application. And I said, Thank you, but no,
Chris Christensen 06:02
Wow, good for you. Nice to listen to that gut instinct.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 06:06
I know, I know, and so. And it's an amazing program, like some of my closest friends, to be honest, to this very day, are NYU grads and so. But it wasn't the school for me to continue my studies at and, and I remember having that feeling of confirmation at the Juilliard callbacks. That's where I felt. And heard that voice again, saying, 'This is your school'.
Chris Christensen 06:30
Nice.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 06:31
And so I was like, great. That worked out. So yeah, I went. I went to Juilliard, and it was a great program, very intense, a lot of rigor, just as everybody assumes, four year program, and I went in with some very intentional goals. I you know, I was coming post undergrad experience, so I was definitely the most mature woman in my class. And so in that, I knew that when you enter, I'd learned by that point. Anytime you choose to enter a new environment, you have to come in with a clear intention for what you want to offer that space and what you want to receive from that space. And so since I'd learned that I wanted to put it to the test, I wrote down a list of things that I wanted to receive from this environment, but that I knew that I was fully equipped to offer that space as well. And did the callback, had a blast, and then got the call that I got in it must have been my gosh March, a long time ago, and so that was a very special call to get. And four years later, did the program, graduated, and that's how my career began.
Chris Christensen 07:44
Okay, and from there,
Carolyn Michelle Smith 07:46 -
and from there, whoa! Yes. And from there, it's been quite an adventure, you know, from there, it's been a combination of theater, film and television. And it really started with theater. I the first show that I did was right outside of Juilliard, right outside of graduating with one of our playwrights from the program. Her name is Katori Hall. She's also the showrunner and EP for 'P Valley' now-- it's a really great, amazing show. And this is while she was in school. She was- She and I forged a great friendship, and she- I worked on a play of hers, and that opened up a lot of doors for me. And so after doing that play, I ended up doing a play on Broadway, which was 'Romeo and Juliet'. I was in the, you know, part of that amazing production. And and then after that, my first on camera role was in 'House of Cards'. And so it was a really big first for me. It was the first recurring role I'd ever booked, first role I'd ever booked, really on camera, and quite a lesson, a beautiful lesson and a great way to start. And all of the things that I was craving to learn about the business definitely had opportunities to learn that in that first job, you know, and also all of the things that I desired in terms of craft. Was fortunate enough to have a director to work with on that set who had come from the theater and was someone I really felt comfortable with and opened up more in me. And so it was a the choice to go back for training for me was was wise, and I was able to get exactly what I what I wanted.
Chris Christensen 09:21
Okay, yeah, any other I guess we'll jump right into other roles, because let's see. So 'The Chi'
Carolyn Michelle Smith 09:29
Yes!
Chris Christensen 09:30
Yes, and then the other is 'And Just Like That'
Carolyn Michelle Smith 09:33
And Just Like That.
Chris Christensen 09:34
Yeah, I want to talk about that a little bit please. I'd love to, okay, yeah, Tell me about it, because I, I am one of those people who loads up their bookshelf with tons of books I have every intent to read, but they still sit there unread. My Netflix queue and other queues are much the same, where I add more things than I watch. So for those who are listening, who do know, or those who don't know, tell us a little bit about Yeah, what these two productions look like for you?
Carolyn Michelle Smith 10:02
Yeah, absolutely. Okay. So 'The Chi', I'm in seasons five and six of 'The Chi', and it's been quite an experience. I mean, before coming here to Cornell, my educational background, really in terms of teaching, specifically for the past two, two and a half years, I was co-director of the Hillman Grad Mentorship lab. And for me, teaching and acting are kind of, they, they, they kind of run parallel, and they always have. So that's why I bring it up to reference the show. Okay, so while I was teaching for Hillman Grad, I was leading a cohort of actors and Lena waith, who is an Emmy Award winning producer and writer. She's brilliant. She also, I admire her because she, she really has a strong heart for the bipoc community. And so she wrote 'The Chi'. 'The Chi' is her actual her, her actual show. And so while I was working for Hillman Grad, I had already auditioned for the show for the you know, years before, loved the show, and then during my time working for Hillman Grad, she and I forged a really great relationship, and she surprised me one day and said, Carolyn, we not only love the work that you're doing for Hillman Grad, but I know your work, and I know that you auditioned, and I think that you were a brilliant actress, and I would love to be able to cast her in the show. So she actually wrote the role for me of Deja, which is, yeah, so it's the first time I never auditioned, first time not having to audition for a role!
Chris Christensen 11:31
Oh, that's fantastic.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 11:32
Which was huge, yeah. And so, you know, we'd had several conversations about who Deja was. We had, you know, she had decided that Deja was a gallery owner, a gallerist. She actually owned an art gallery and was a curator as well. So I loved that experience. And in terms of the actual experience of it, I've, you know, 'The Chi' is a show that speaks so specifically to the heart of Chicagoans. And so I've been in Chicago where we shoot, and I've had people come up to me telling me how much it means to them to have a show that really represents represents their experience. And even as recent as a couple days ago, I happened to be out here in Ithaca,
Chris Christensen 12:12
I was gonna ask you about that
Carolyn Michelle Smith 12:13
Yes, I've had several Yeah, either students who are big fans of the show, and it's a niche show. There's some people that watch and some people that don't, and that's okay, that's okay, that's what program is- programming is for, right? But it's pretty niche. And I've, you know, I was just outside out here in Ithaca, and two young men came up to me. They're like, "Oh, excuse me, are you Deja- from 'Chi'-". And I was like, "Yes, that's me!" So it's kind of wild, but I always when I was when they when people approach me, it's because I know they've been moved not just necessarily by my work alone, but by what the show is about, and that feeling of representation. It's a very, very, very important thing. It's it's different. It's different.
Chris Christensen 12:55
So where do those conversations go when people approach you? I think you mentioned something to me earlier in the semester, sitting out in front of the Schwartz some girls came up to chat with you, totally, who were students as well. Yeah, did they show interest in 'Oh, I want to take your class..'?
Carolyn Michelle Smith 13:12
Absolutely, absolutely. So that was the thing, yeah, just at the top of the semester, I was just outside and just like you mentioned this sweet, young she must have been, like, a sophomore or junior. She likes, I saw her looking at me, and she slowly approached me. She's like, 'are you?' And I said, 'Yeah.' And she's like, 'Oh my god, I really want to take you. Are you a teacher as well here?' And she was really surprised to know that I was a teacher. I think she was kind of shocked. And I actually loved that, yeah, because I felt it was the perfect opportunity to say for her to understand that as actors, we have so many skills and also interests. I think people- I think society has taught us that there is only one idea of celebrity, right, which is a sort of untouchable space where there's only, there are only interests in that regard and nothing else. And I don't live my life by that framework or by that mindset. For me, I'm a full human being, truly dimensional, and I have one life, you know. So in that moment, I remembered saying yes, and I'm also a professor. And so yeah, she was really excited about it. But then she also just shared, she said, You know, it's honestly my favorite show. Like, there are no other shows that I love as much like to meet, like someone who's kind of a super fan is rare, yeah? And she was like, that is, like, some of my best memories are, like, watching the show with my parents. My mom's obsessed. We took a picture together. She's like, I'm sending this to my mom right now. So great. You know it's that's when that happens. I know that it means something deeper and and that I know that I have the opportunity to connect with another human being, you know what I mean, in a very organic and real way. So it's beyond celebrity, then
Chris Christensen 14:55
nice, yeah, so going along with that. So here you are. You're here. For the 2024, 2025 academic year. Welcome to Cornell.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 15:06
Thank you.
Chris Christensen 15:07
How are things going so far?
Carolyn Michelle Smith 15:09
Things are good. Actually, things are I'm growing and learning a lot in my educator space, and this is all a very good thing. That's exactly what I came here for. I made my list of things that I wanted to gain from this experience and offer as well. So I'm growing a lot. I'm learning. I think that I have an amazing, amazing cohort of students. I love all of my Intro to Acting students and my Advanced Acting students. They're really, really great. I think, you know, there's a it's really beautiful to be able to watch these students and remember my time as an undergrad and some of my questions and concerns, and so there are moments where I sit down and I'm talking to them, but I'm also in their shoes. It's like this weird thing that happens with time, where it's like, Yes, I'm the professor, but I also still feel like the student in a lot of ways. So I relate to them, but also have knowledge to offer. And it happens in every class where I feel I understand where they're coming from, so much and so I really love that part of it, it's still fresh for me. That's my identifying marker, that this experience of being a professor is still very fresh for me, coming off of what I know as a student. Does that make sense? Yeah, totally. It doesn't feel like, okay, let's go ahead and just do this thing that we do when we've been doing for the past, I don't know however many years, and I feel and not that time doing something over the course of time can make you disinterested or disengaged, but I feel the most engaged I've ever felt because it's so new.
Chris Christensen 16:46
Oh, that's fantastic.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 16:47
Does that make sense?
Chris Christensen 16:48
My gosh, it totally makes sense.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 16:49
Okay.
Chris Christensen 16:50
What are some things that your students can expect, yeah, from your classes this semester and next,
Carolyn Michelle Smith 16:55
Absolutely. So I've found already, as I've planned my curriculum and my syllabi, I've found that the common tenant throughout both classes, my Intro to Acting class and my Advanced class is the focus on imagination when building character, and it's something that is very, very present in the way that we read text, the questions that we ask, and then how we're able to sort of internalize and create a whole world to then recreate, whether you're on the stage or on camera. And so for my Intro to Acting students, there's a great physical component. So we always have a great focal and physical warm up at the start of class. You know, obviously they're normally taking classes where they're just seated in their lecture classes. I want them to get their bodies moving, because if you're, if your blood cells are pumping, then you're then you can open up and expand that imaginative space. And so we start with the vocal physical warm up. And then, you know, there's always a very strong attention to text analysis and what it means to closely read a play or film script. I think that that is where technique really begins on the page and asking deeper questions. And so you're going to expect, if you're if you want to take a class with me, you got to be ready to expand your imagination, ready to move and ready to ask really thoughtful questions about story in general.
Chris Christensen 18:22
Okay, and I have the good fortune of working with you very soon, yeah, we sort of came up with on a whim, yeah, just in conversation. So we're going to be adding a sound bath with gongs and singing bowls and different types of instruments to your class, with the imaginative aspect -- do we want to talk a little bit about that today?
Carolyn Michelle Smith 18:42
I would love to! about. I'd love to talk about that.
Chris Christensen 18:44
Let's- let's talk about it!
Carolyn Michelle Smith 18:46
Okay, Great-
Chris Christensen 18:46 -
Yeah, what do you have planned for this.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 18:48
Well, first of all, I'm very glad that you're able to come. Thank you.
Chris Christensen 18:51
Thank you.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 18:51
It's going to be very exciting.
Chris Christensen 18:53
I'm looking forward to it.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 18:54
Yeah, I think you know, the reason I decided to to incorporate your amazing talent in this space as well, too, because the reality is that for young actors, they don't realize how many resources are at their disposal in terms of crafting and deepening story, right? One of the phrases I always say is that story is king, meaning that if you're working on a play, if you're working on any film script, your allegiance are to the details of that story. Everything that you do is in pursuit of authenticity and honesty and letting that story land. And so we have a bevy of resources when it comes to how we choose to rehearse different ways and methods, and we should constantly be proactive in creating new ones. I found with sound baths for myself, they are able to transport me to a place that my regular imagination may not. I love the science of sound frequencies and what can be activated in the body and in the mind and also what can be done to facilitate deep healing. And so I believe that from that, what may seem like very scientific space, we can open up a deeper connection to what it means to think about a character and the circumstances that character is in, as long as we set the intention to do so before that session, before that sound bath session. Does that make sense? Totally makes sense. Yeah. So, you know. And then that's what you know. For me, I found that that's something that has opened up a lot in my prep work for other characters, like for 'And Just Like That', also for 'Russian Doll'. When I did 'Russian Doll' as well. You know, sound is powerful, and so yes, they can do improv around their scenes. Yes, they can find other music that resonates with their character. But then, what does it look like to give your character space to dream? What are they dreaming about in that space? Does that make sense?
Chris Christensen 18:54
Oh, totally and as you're describing it, and in what we've talked about so far, just in prepping for it, thinking about what I'm going to do in those moments, and whether it will be probably keeping it very subtle with very minimal volume level, just to kind of keep people in that, in that that relaxed state, but not so relaxed that they fall asleep. That's I often tell people that as a musician, you're trying to keep people awake and keep them entertained and excited about what you're doing on stage with a sound bath. If you hear somebody snore in the first five to 10 minutes, you're doing your job, right? So I will do my best not to put people to sleep, which I think is also kind of a challenging thing, because the mind does go to a resting state, but there can be some creativity there too. I know that when I might when I have attended sound baths, I tend to find myself going into a dream state very quickly, in these very peculiar places of the mind, and then feeling very refreshed after all of that, and saying, oh, there was something that maybe my psyche was chewing on for a bit, and now I've had an opportunity to look at it from a different perspective.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 22:06
Yeah. And look, here's the reality, too. I mean, look, even if they're doing it not for their character, but they themselves, are getting great benefit from this experience. That's valuable too. Do you know what I mean? Sure. And so you know, and I hear you on because, yeah, sometimes it sounds best. There's a tendency to be so relaxed one can fall asleep. But I also believe it's about the prompt and the intention set before, right, and what the space, what the intention of the space is, and the purpose of it. Because I think that that is a suggestion before, sort of going into, you know, that's that, that aural space, yeah? And sometimes a suggestion is needed,
Chris Christensen 22:44 -
yeah,
Carolyn Michelle Smith 22:44 -
you know?
Chris Christensen 22:45
And whatever comes up during that may not be the thing-
Carolyn Michelle Smith 22:49
Yes! Yeah!
Chris Christensen 22:50
They may not get what they're looking for in that moment. It may be the aha moment that happens as a result of the sound bath six hours later, a day later, something along those lines. Let's take a moment to jump back- -to some of the acting that you have done. What are some of your most memorable characters? Yeah, played?
Carolyn Michelle Smith 23:10
Yeah. I would definitely say 'Russian Doll' for me was one that was, was really enjoyable and very unique experience. We shot in Budapest to Hungary, which was really nice. So I was there for about, oh my gosh, about three weeks, and then stayed, ended up going on a great trip to Santorini afterwards. But I love that project specifically because I really love Natasha Leon. I've always been a big fan. I think she's quite brilliant. And this was the season. It was Season Two of 'Russian Doll', where she was directing, of course, she'd written an episode that that season as well, and so and leading. So she was leading the show, directing and had written. And it was brilliant to watch her work, you know, and sort of wear all of those hats simultaneously. And I also loved it because I got a chance to work with a really good friend of mine, who I went to Juilliard with, but he graduated a couple years ahead of me, and his name is Charlie Barnett, and he's just a really amazing human being. And even the audition, he popped into the Zoom, which I had no idea that he would and we got to read together, and that was like, you know, how often does that happen? You get to read with a friend who's who's brilliant. And so I love that experience because I found it creatively enriching. I challenged myself in terms of my own research and prep for it. I was playing a Ghanaian woman who lived in Germany in 1962 who was studying engineering, and her name was Agnes, and I loved her so much because she represented to me what what the immigrant experience really looks like, and has looked like. My mother's from Trinidad and Tobago, originally, my whole family's Caribbean and so, you know. And she moved here in like 1969 and figured out how to live life in 1969 in Washington, DC. And there were moments that I thought to myself, Wow, this was around the same era of my mom. Like, what did my mom see? What did you know? What is Agnes seeing? Of course, two very different cities. But I just loved the fact that I got to play a woman who defied odds and was deeply intelligent and and got to live a life, you know.
Chris Christensen 25:31
When you're preparing for these roles, did they differ depending on stage, when you're in film?
Carolyn Michelle Smith 25:37
Yeah, yeah, vastly, yeah. I mean, prep looks different because the time frame that you have before a project starts is going to vary. You know, fortunately for 'Russian Doll', I knew that I had a good like, two and a half months, three months before starting shooting. And so I had time to be able to, you know, read a couple books that I focused on the experience of many Ghanaians and Nigerians of that time that were being shipped out to Germany and going to a lot of these sort of like high STEM education schools, right? And, and it was interesting for me, because I liked having that much time. There are also times that I only have about a week, you know? And so, you know, it's about timeframe first. And that does look different for me. It's about, well, who is this person? What is important for me to know about what they do? I like to understand that first. It's like layers of like, prep, right? Okay, what do they do? What is their world? Understanding the minutia of that. And then also great, but who is this person in this experience? So crafting what that is like, what I see on the page, and then what I imagine, that's something that I talk to my students about, right? The facts are the given circumstances, and what we imagine happen around those facts. And so then that's my process going a little deeper in. And then after that, it's about sort of finding what I like to call, like the lifeblood of the character, like, what kind of music are they listening to? What artists do they love, what what inspires their ethos as a person, and that could be found in whatever is noted in the text, and then what else I see, or can glean from that time period, or from whatever I decide their sign is, or, you know, so all of that is so it's, for me, it's sort of, or sort of, like, if I were thinking about it like a, like a multi layered circle there are, there's the outer circle, which is all of the work that they may do, and then the inner circle becomes more about who they are on the inside. Does that make sense? Absolutely,
Chris Christensen 27:45
how do you impart that to the students? Yeah, I mean, you just imparted it to me. I'm guessing it's much the same, but yeah, how do you integrate that into your into your class? Absolutely,
Carolyn Michelle Smith 27:55
I I always start first with given circumstances and that conversation because, and that's generally something that when I talk about text analysis, which, right now we're in heavy text analysis time for both my intro students and my advanced students. And so I like to talk about it like, Great, let's read the play first, right? So I would have read the script. This is what my process is, akin to what I teach. I would have read the script at least four times first so that I know what's happening. I know what the events are. Then after I've read the script and I know what the events are, I start to ask deeper questions. And those questions look like great. Who is this person? Where are we? What's going on, all those sorts of things I glean that usually in those first four reads. And then after that, I start taking a look at what these given circumstances are on the page, and then seeing what else I imagine around them. And then after I see what I imagine around them, then I start thinking to myself, and I offer to the students to do this. Well, great, if we have this fact here, and then we have we imagine this thing around this particular fact, what could actually be happening this moment instead. Because specifically with film and TV, it's vital that you are and that's what I've been doing more of recently. It's vital to have multiple interpretations of a scene so that you can do many different takes, and it's great to have a one set understanding of what the scene is, right? You know what the events are, things like that. But right now with my advanced students, I'm like, great. Let's get the basic understanding. Know what the structure is, know what the events are and what the beats are like, how the scene is structured. Because one scene can be not necessarily separated, but we can understand where there is delineation between moments in a scene, and that's what a beat is. It's a delineation. Once we're able to structure out that scene and we see what's on the page, then we ask ourselves, great, what's happening in this scene? What are the events? Yeah. And once that's complete, then we start to ask deeper questions about, what do I want? What does my character want in this scene? And when we get that objective, which is the term, then things start to open up, and we can find, if this is my objective, there's many ways to get what I want, and that's where choice making begins. Does that make sense? Totally makes sense. So that's how we figure out, how they start to make those different choices for those different takes. Does that make sense?
Chris Christensen 30:27
Yeah. And you're working on 'Proof' right now.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 30:30
We are, yeah.
Chris Christensen 30:31
And why do I know this? Because I helped you print it out the other day.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 30:35
You did.Yes, yeah.
Chris Christensen 30:37
What's that looking like?
Carolyn Michelle Smith 30:38
Yeah, that's been actually really great. And thank you for helping me, friend that oh my gosh, of course, that's amazing, isn't it? Of course they were so happy to be like, Oh my gosh, a hard copy is like, yes, even in 2024 hard copies are great. Yeah, that's been actually very good, because proof is a kind of play that is excellent because it has a bit of an unreliable narrator or lead lead character. So, you know, there are things that are on the page that we get, that that we get to identify as facts or given circumstances, but she, the main character, has some issues with perception based on some genetic experiences in terms of mental health. And it's, a great challenge for the students, because they have to ask deeper questions about, did this actually happen, or did she perceive that it happened? And that opens up so much conversation. So we've already started that text analysis process. They already have had a chance to take a look at that first scene and figure out, oh, wow, what's real and what isn't, and then how do we build from at least what we know is real? Does that make sense? Absolutely. Yeah. So that's been really good. And I think the thing I always remind them, too, is, yes, it's great to do all of that work and understand structure, but yet, still, by the end of the day, you have to play an actual person, so you have to be looking at a play or any script with two eyes, yes, the macro perspective, which is, oh, great, I see what's happening here, the events and the given circumstances, the objectives. But then you have to make that focus laser sharp for just your character, and make it, make it an understanding that there is no judgment about the character's life or their choices, and to be able to lead from that very gracious space with the information that you have. Yeah. Does that make sense?
Chris Christensen 32:34
Great answer, thank you. I'm thinking back to earlier in our conversation, you mentioned how when you got into the industry itself, not having a lot of information at your fingertips and learning all of that, does that come into play in your classes at all, imparting that to your students in terms of, okay, here we are doing the work now. But also, how do I help prepare you for what it's going to be like being in the industry. Absolutely,
Carolyn Michelle Smith 33:02
I think it's vital for them to get that. I mean, I can't imagine coming into an academic space and not equipping students with that, that very thing that I wanted. And so that was one of my main purposes in coming here. One of the things that I wrote down that I would provide check exactly, right, literally, that? No, I definitely am doing that. As a matter of fact, for our advanced acting students this coming week, they're getting the great benefit of having a zoom with a casting director that's based in New York. She's based in New York. Name is Mary Beth Fox, and she has cast a ton of film and TV, probably over 500 projects at this point. She also went to Fordham for undergrad. We graduated the same year and but she is someone that I think is excellent for them to speak to, because she's seen the permutations of this industry. I think it's important to have someone who has experienced what the strike has done to our industry, understands, fiscally, what's happening in entertainment. Right now, there are some major, major changes happening in entertainment, so she's given the most first hand up to date. Look at what it means to be a casting director now in Hollywood, and that's what our advanced students will get a chance to experience and ask questions about what this current economy is and current landscape looks like, and how to best be prepared for that. So they're preparing their questions around that now, and I've given them all of her information in terms of bios that they can do some further research, maybe watch a film that she's cast. So they're really walking into that session educated and ready to be in even exchange.
Chris Christensen 34:43
Wow.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 34:44
Yeah.
Chris Christensen 34:44
Fantastic. You talked a bit about some of the projects you're working on. Are there other things that you've got coming up down the road that you want to touch on?
Carolyn Michelle Smith 34:55
Yes, there are a lot of projects that I have that are coming up right now, which I'm excited about so I'm going to be headed to the Berkshires for a week for a special artist residency that happens at Kripalu.
Chris Christensen 35:08
Oh, okay, wow
Carolyn Michelle Smith 35:08
Yes, I'm super thrilled about that. It's called the Sacred Artists Retreat, and it happens four times a year. It's you apply for this residency, and at the end of the year, we are creating a special project that we're offering the community a special performance, and the Sacred Artists that are a part of it are filmmakers, a few actors, musicians, writers, healing artists as well-- painters. And it's great because we are in conversation about not just the art itself, but what it means to be in practice of art making, right? And I think that there are very few spaces where artists get to be in dialog around that with other artists outside of their own medium. I love that a big part of this residency is also centered on what it means to have devotion to any practice, not just your artist practice, but that could also be a solid yoga practice or breath work practice. It's about devotion at the end of the day, devotion that then can manifest into a final product, right? And I think that's a very special, sacred thing. I'm very excited about that. So that's coming up. I'm also writing more now, which I'm very excited about.
Chris Christensen 35:09
How do you have time for all this?-
Carolyn Michelle Smith 35:11
Barely! Look, all nighters honey, that's how we do. No, yeah, I'm writing more now because, you know, I just finished a film that I'm excited about and is going to be coming stateside. It's called 'Familiar Touch'. We just had a premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and that was just about, I guess, about a week ago, which went really, really well.
Chris Christensen 36:53
Congratulations.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 36:54
Thank you. Thank you. It's a very special, special film, and it was written, directed by a dear friend of mine, Sarah Friedland, who, who is we've known each other for about 10 years now, and met while working together on a pilot that Steve McQueen had written and directed. So she was his direct assistant and and we became friends while working together on set, and she was just quite brilliant. So she wrote this great film, and we just took it to Venice and it won Best Film, Best Director, as well as best lead actress, which is Kathleen Chalfont. That's amazing. It's big! It's massive, which we're really excited about. So we gotta wait for it to come stateside, which will be next year, which will be its top of next year. And so we've got some festivals here in the states that we'll be a part of. So getting ready for what that looks like, not just in terms of what those screenings will be, but the press part of it, on the publicity part of it. So that's going to be exciting. And then because of that experience and that journey, that's why I've started writing more. That's what made me bring up the writing thing. I think that I'm excited, because while I've been able to do a lot of really special projects, I think that as artists, there's always more that we desire. And I'm finding at this point in my life, clearly, I've got lots to say. So I feel like there is, there's lots to share in terms of in terms of the stories that I want to tell. And so I'm working first on a couple things, a one woman show that is a play, yeah. But then also I have a project that's in development currently in Los Angeles, and it's, it's with Fandomodo Productions. It's based on the life of, based on, loosely based on, the life of Calypso Rose, who is an amazing Calypsonian from Trinidad and one of the first few and very rare female Calypsonians in a mostly male dominated music industry. And she was a queer woman. She was very strong, very opinionated and an impeccable lyricist. She has a kind of social commentary and humor within her music that I think many Calypsonians during that time were vying for, and she just naturally was able to access it. And so I felt it was necessary to tell her story. So we have our script set. We're in the process now of trying to attach talent for it, and I'm excited, because I want to tell stories that feel not just authentic to my experience, but that are shining a light on voices that would have been unheard otherwise. So, yeah.
Chris Christensen 39:34
You are one of the busiest human beings I know, and just in our conversations outside of the podcast studio, and now hearing all of this, I'm so impressed, because you always display an incredible level of equanimity. How do you manage it? How do you How are you going to impart that to your students, like, what? What's, is there a trick? Is there an approach? That's there that helps you stay balanced.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 40:01
You know, first of all, I receive that, and I'm grateful that that is I'm grateful that that's your experience of me.
Chris Christensen 40:10
Does noteverybody get that experience?
Carolyn Michelle Smith 40:12
You know,
Chris Christensen 40:12
I can't believe that that would not
Carolyn Michelle Smith 40:14
No, I consciously choose for everybody to get that experience. That's also conscious, you know, I think that, and it's not. And I think conscious and crafted are different, right? I think conscious means that there's a kind of intent that's still coming from an authentic place. I think crafted is something different, right, yeah, but no, I'm conscious of it and consciously doing it and intentionally doing it. No this equanimity thing, you know, it comes from choosing to look at life as a really rare opportunity. I mean, I have, I think many of us, if we are living, will have the experience of losing a loved one and have to navigate what that means in terms of our own relationship to mortality. And I think for myself, a pivotal figure in my life has been my mother. And we had, of have had a very, very close relationship. And I am an only child, her only child. And in 2020, she passed,
Chris Christensen 41:20
Oh, I'm so sorry,
Carolyn Michelle Smith 41:22
Received. And you know, when she passed, a lot shifted for me in terms of my purpose here, and being aware of how limited time is while we're here. And so that equanimity that you experience comes from a space of a time is short. Do what you can with the time that you've got. B You are not the only one having to do this alone. You've got ancestors lovingly sending energy right at your backsides, front, everywhere, all over, all around you. And you are gifted to be able to receive love, guidance and support from a divine source, and from the grace that I receive from that source. That's the grace that I choose to receive everyone that I encounter every day, and that may not be easy all the time, because I am a human being, right, but it's also conscious. It's a decision, right? Because I've received so much grace in my life.
Chris Christensen 42:38
Wonderful words. Carolyn, I don't know where else to go from that. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. Absolutely Is there anything I didn't ask you today that you wanted to chat about?
Carolyn Michelle Smith 42:50
I feel complete.
Chris Christensen 42:51
Okay. Fantastic. Thanks so much.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 42:53
Thank you.
Chris Christensen 42:54
Have a good weekend.
Carolyn Michelle Smith 42:55
You too.
