I've been in New York for 14 years. I would never leave for good. The city is so much more alive than so many other places, and I think it is fodder for performers. You see so much; research is thrown at you everywhere you go. There was a rat on the subway train recently - you saw the video online - that's fantastic! That's something that is so specific to this city, the way you are pushed up against humanity, and the animal kingdom, whether you want to be or not. It's a stimulating city - physically, intellectually, culturally. It never ceases to thrill me.
Anika Noni RoseRegardless of whether or not the producers think that there are five other people waiting for the job, the one that is there needs to be treated as if they are the only person for the job in that moment.
Anika Noni RoseThe seventies was a time when a lot of people didn't tell their children they were adopted.
Anika Noni RoseI feel like if you are going to come to somebody who you don't even know on a worldwide platform, then your idiocy needs to be seen worldwide so it can get smacked down. And that's what just needs to happen with some people.
Anika Noni RoseSomebody came and directed a show at my high school. I approached it with sort of the sensibility - "Oh, I know that music. I'm going to go audition." I ended up being in it and I sang and it was mind-altering - to me, to my parents, who had never heard me sing like that. It put a stop to everything else that I was doing - every sport that I played, every instrument, it was all dropped because nothing felt like that. I feel really lucky that I found my passion at that point. There are people who are adults who don't know what their passion is and go through life doing "a job."
Anika Noni Rose