Entertainment
Wayne Brady: Talk Less, Sing More
Read More Wayne Brady, best known for his Emmy-winning TV work, is also at home onstage: He appeared on Broadway in Kinky Boots and is currently playing Aaron Burr in the Chicago cast of Hamilton through April 9. What’s your first theatrical memory? I think I was in first or second grade and was part of a school play or pageant. I saw James Brown on TV, and for my solo I decided to do a shimmy into one of the James Brown jazz splits. And I felt so cool onstage. That’s the feeling that I wanted to duplicate later in my life. My first time onstage doing a play was Dark of the Moon in high school my junior year. I walked onstage, got a bit of applause—I was playing a funny character named Uncle Smelicue Jed—and I thought, “Oh, this is what I want to do.”
‘Stout’ Attitude Leads to Success
“Creativity is just connecting things.”-‐Steve Jobs If that is true, then Becky Elizabeth Stout is a good example of what Mr. Jobs was talking about. Ms. Stout represents a new type of young performer; one possessing a wide range of expertise, education, personal experience and optimistic attitude. She connects all of her winning traits together into a fine-‐tuned 21st century artist, anchoring it with her dancing skills, but threading it with extra attention to singing and acting. “If I take one dance class, I will take two acting or singing classes,” says Stout, who possesses 20+years of dance training and works hard to compliment her dancing with training in singing and acting. In a world of information and accessibility, where young talent can be consumed by what they think the profe...
