A Rose In Full Bloom

A Rose In Full Bloom Part 2

Today we pick up with my interview with Actress, Keisha Rose.

CSW:  Keisha Rose, let’s get this party started.

KR: Let’s do this.

CSW:  You are one busy woman and I want to know, how do you balance personal life and your career?

KR:  Ooh, that’s a tough one because you feel like you’re not giving everything 100 percent.  Am I giving my kids enough time, am I giving this enough time?  This project is coming up.  Did I research enough?  Did I spend enough time rehearsing?  Did I spend enough time preparing?  So you just do it.  As a woman, you make it happen.  I have a great support team that makes sure everything is running smoothly.  I don’t stress out about it.

CSW:  As of today, what’s the hardest role you’ve acted in and why?

KR:  I would say the hardest role I’ve acted in was in Pink Baby Doll, and it was a true story.  The character I played Raven, was so dark, down and depressed.  You know what I’m saying?  She was just down all the time. I was like, is she going to smile today? Is there a good ending to this?  Just to stay in that mind frame for two days was tough.  I literally had to do something just to pump myself up.  I would have to go into meditation because Raven was so heavy.

CSW:  I imagine that would be difficult especially if that’s not how you are as a person.

KR: I’m an Energizer bunny.

CSW and KR: Laughs.

KR:  I’m always up and positive and to take on that role where I had to be down and negative was really hard.  Being in that state of mind, you’re mentally taking on the characteristics of the person and it can really weigh you down.  And because it was a true story, I wanted to get the character right and feel how it would be to lose a child.  It was a sad situation.  The pressure to get it right was there and staying in that mode of depression and crying all the time was deep.  Extremely hard.

CSW:  Just from listening to you talk about that character, we need to lighten the mood now.

KR: Yes. Positive vibes.

CSW: The Isley Brothers or Earth Wind and Fire?

KR:  Earth Wind and Fire.  They’re timeless and I love R&B music.

CSW: A book or Kindle?

KR:  Book.  I love the smell of a book.  I have to turn pages and I love book stores.

CSW:  Cigar bar or a bar and grill?

KR:  Cigar Bar.  I like a nice cigar, after all, I’m the face for Ms. Alourdam of Alourdam Cigars.

CSW:  That’s right, I remember.  House music or Techno music?

Ms. Alourdam

KR:  House music.  Nothing compares to real house music.

CSW:  House heads unite.  

KR: Yes!

CSW:  Let’s jump back in. What do you do to prepare for auditions?

KR: Here’s the joke about Keisha Rose in the entertainment business.  I’ve been fortunate enough to not have had to audition for the roles I’ve been in.

CSW:  Wow.

KR:  The last thing I auditioned for was There Are No Good Men Because There Are No Good Women. And I’m not bragging at all.  I’ve been offered roles but of course if I did audition for a role I’d be nervous just because I haven’t had to really do it.  And it would be a challenge, and I’d dig deep, prepare and study my monologues.  Every actor has like three monologues in their mind so you just push on and do it.

CSW:  Nice. All right, speaking of roles, tell us all about Meet Karma and how it came to be.

KR:  Meet Karma, is about a psychiatrist who really has empathy for her patients and what they’re going through.  She takes matters into her own hands and tries to fix their problems.  In her mind, she truly feels she’s helping them.  And the patients are the heartbeat of the series because you get to see their pain and why they’re in therapy.  We see how Karma reacts to them.  We’ll also learn about Karma’s upbringing, how she met her husband, and how she became a psychiatrist.  We’re hoping the premier will be this summer in June or July.  We’ll invite you.

CSW:  And I’ll definitely be there, thank you.   Sounds like a show that we’ll all want to tune in for.

KR:  It is and the first season is done and the trailer is coming soon.  We’re in pre-production for the second season, and the soundtrack is amazing.

CSW:  There’s nothing like good music on a television show.

KR:  Right and we are so blessed with all the people who are blessing us with music and we have more artists to come.

CSW:  Who’s on the soundtrack?

KR:  We have Chicago’s own, Solo Red. We’ve got Marcus Alexander, the group Aniba Hotep and Nina Rae, Alisa Inez and Shawn Mason. 

CSW:  How’d you hear about the script and get involved?

KR:  The creator of Meet Karma, Carlos Torres, hit me up on Facebook and it was one of those moments of discernment that I get often.  He said I looked like his main character and introduced himself.  I was like what? Okay (laughs), then he asked if I’d read his script and let him know what I thought.  I did my research and looked on his social media in, out and around.  Anybody I knew on his page, I contacted.  While he was waiting for my response, I was in research mode.  I had never heard of him so I had to contact people to find out who he had worked with.  How was his demeanor?  What was his set like?  I needed to know because I don’t put myself in situations that aren’t good.  If I don’t like something, I remove myself from the project. I don’t take a project just to say I’m working on something.  I’m not that girl.  Later that day, I hit him back and told him it was pretty good.  We talked and before I knew it, I was on set.

CSW:  Social media connects lots of people.

KR:  I tell people it’s important what they post on social media pages.  I get a lot of offers and work because of people following my page and they see what I’m doing.

CSW:  That’s good stuff. 

KR:   We’re trying to promote Meet Karma everywhere and we’re shopping for networks.  I think the creator is in love with HBO and that’s his goal.  My goal is Showtime or Netflix. 

CSW:  I can’t wait to watch it.  I want to go back for a moment to you mentoring young women.  What would you tell your fifteen year old self?

A fifteen year old Keisha.

KR:  Listen more.  Speak up for yourself more and go after your dreams.  Just go for it and be less fearful.  I think I let fear stop me from doing a lot of things.  However, if things had happened earlier, I don’t believe I would have handled things the way I handle them now.  I don’t think I would have been responsible enough. 

CSW:  What things would you have handled differently?

KR:  I probably would have been in everybody’s circle, going to all the parties and I wouldn’t have stayed true to myself.  Today, I know what I want and what to do, to get there.  I surround myself with the best people and I take care of what needs to be taken care of. 

CSW:  Timing is the key.  As always it’s been a pleasure.  What can we look forward to in the last part of this series?  Hmmm, I hate it’s coming to an end next week.

KR:  I know right?! We’ll wrap up with writing, fun facts, all about my projects and more.

CSW:  Stay tuned next Wednesday, April 3rd.  Thank you Keisha Rose.  Keep blooming.  You can find Keisha Rose on all social media at iamkeisharose.  Bookings for Keisha Rose is available at Info@220communications.com.