I'm a homegirl that knows a little bit about everything and everybody.
You know, if you don't lie about that.
Right, Hey, y'all, what's up. It's Laura la Rosa and this is the latest with Laura l Rosa. This is your daily dig on all things pop culture and a timid news and all of the conversations that shake the room. Now today I'm bringing you, guys, another conversation that was guaranteed to shake your room, but also shake your faith
a little bit, your motivation a little bit. I'm sitting down with Marcus Callender, who is not only an actor, he would actually be a He would be so annoyed if I only called him an actor.
But he is a creative.
He's a multi hyphenate, an actor, director, writer, all around storyteller who has been able to make impact both on screen, behind the camera and now behind the script with his play Spades Spae's The play is Everything Black, bold conversation, nuance comedy, put into one Spades game and put on a live stage. You guys will know Marcus Calendar who played Power, who played Oliver Power grant On Wu Tang in American Saga. He also played Ray ray On ghosts
from Power book two. Y'all remember we lost Raino because of Ray Ray. But if you don't know him, or if you're just finding him, I'm so happy to introduce him here in conversation on the Latest with Lona Rosa.
This is part one.
First of all, let's let the people know who you are and who these voices are that they're hearing and you know, for the visual people seeing.
So introduce yourself.
Marcus Calendar born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Yeah, and I am the writer and director of Spae the play. Some of y'all might know me from Power. I played Rey Ray. I was the guy that killed the little girl. I know you're gonna ask, why did you have to do? It was in the script. Some of y'all might know
me from Wu Tang and American Saga. I play Power Oliver Grant, who's one of the co founders of Wu Tang, And I've done a bunch of other stuff, but those are the like, the main two things people recognize.
They stop you on the street about.
Yeah.
So when people ask you why did Real Ray kill Tarik's sister and you say it was in the script, how does the conversation go after that.
They'd be like yo, man, like, but you did your thing, you know, like for real, for real? Can I get a picture of you? You know, like yo, like I hated you for a long time, you know. But I take that as like, look, you know, if people see me and still think that I'm that character, I guess I did a good job in portraying that, you know what I'm saying. So but I think also to the beauty in that is that people get to meet me and you know, sense my energy because I'm a pretty
down to earth person, I don't you know. I know some celebrities give off that whatever, but I'm a pretty down the earth person because you know, I understand what the journey is in this kind of career, you know what I mean. This wasn't handed to me. This is something I had to work for, work very hard for. So I'm cool, I'm approachable. I'm from Brooklyn, you know what I mean. I'm in New Yorker still at the end of the day, So like, don't come at me too crazy, you know what I'm saying.
But that era of power is like cemented in so many people's Like like I remember waiting for Power to drop, like the new episodes, and I mean there's all these different iterations of it and chapters of it now, and I think there are still some people that do that. But I feel like those early days of Power, when we had Tarique and Raina and Tasha and ghosts like y'all was really in people houses for real, people's homes for real, for real, had us waiting all talking on Twitter together.
You know what I'm saying, Like watch parties in there one hundred percent? What was it like for you? Because you're on both sides.
You're your creator of you know, these conversations and film and theater and all these things, but also you're an actor. What was it like being that like intertwined with culture where people lived and breathed for your next episode?
Oh man? Well one it was power where I started being recognized on the train or like everywhere I went, and like especially when that episode dropped, like I literally had to like hide my.
Face all the time, you know what I mean?
Because Yo, you the dude from Yo Way, Yo. That's crazy, you know what I'm saying. And I remember when it happened because the episode leaked Effort and you know, so people saw it before it officially came out, and I remember being I was in LA at the time, and like some friends hit me like, yo, yo, son, I saw you on this episode. That's that's you killing the little girl that I said, Wait, how the fuck you know that?
That's not supposed to be information yet.
So I came back to New York. I got invited to some watch parties and shit, and you know, going there and like experiencing the people and whatnot was kind of like a surreal moment for me.
Like it was, as I said, it was the it was time.
Like Okay, now I'm being recognized outside of you know, I'm being recognized on the street, you know what I mean. So like getting used to that and acclimated to that, because you know, as I said, when you're from New York and you can see somebody staring at you, the first thing you're thinking is like, yo, what you're looking at you? You know what I mean. So like for a while, it's like, Yo, why people keep staring at me? You know what I'm saying. It's like, oh, yeah, the show,
you know what I'm saying. So that was that was an adjustment period. But at this point I'm used to it, and you know, I show love all the.
Time, and you know, so now people aren't recognizing you can't go on the train because people want beef, they want to step on your tims. And for you as an actor at that point, does it put pressure on you?
Because you know, we.
Had you for some time, but then we didn't have you anymore and a certain point in the eend season?
Yeah, pressure, what kind of pressure?
Pressure?
Like I mean, because you know more about the script than where the story is going than we do. Right, So, you know, people are getting to know you, they're starting to recognize you, but you know that you're not gonna be on the show forever eventually or did you know that at that point when people were recognizing you know.
I knew. I mean even before we shot the episode. Courtney Camp she she called me personally and was like, look, you know this is what we're gonna do with your character. We're gonna kill you off, damn right, you know what I mean, Because I'm like, I could have you know what I'm saying, I could have been Rainy having for another season. She was like, yeah, we're gonna I mean,
I didn't know. I didn't okay. So I didn't know I was gonna kill Raina until the table read of that episode, because they, you know, they're pretty top secret about the script, like you don't see it until the table read.
And the table read is how far out from actual shooting we shoot.
We do the table read probably like a week before we shoot it. So I came to the table read. You know, I'm highlighting my lines before and I'm reading the thing and I'm like, oh shit. I remember like looking up and like everyone was looking at me like yeah, everybody's gonna hate you now that I said, Yo, what like me, okay, okay, cool, this is interesting. All right, I'm gonna be a villain. Okay, I'll take it. But I didn't realize like how much of an impact it
was gonna be. So, you know, we did the table read and then right before we started shooting. That's when Courtney was like, yeah, so we're gonna we're gonna be cause I think I did like two more episodes. It was an episode where I killed her and then the next episode Get Comfortable, Yeah exactly. She's like, look, we're gonna kill you off, but look we love the work you're doing.
Da da da da da.
I said, okay, cool, you know, like it was honor the that y'all chose me to even do this part. Because that's another thing too. I don't know if a lot of people notice, but originally I was supposed to just do one episode in season three. I did the I was in the last episode of season three. I was just supposed to do that episode. But Courtney liked my work so much that after we filmed, she said, look,
I want to bring you back for next season. And you know, in this business, you hear that all the time. You know, people say hey, we're going to bring you back, and it's like, all right, cool. So I didn't necessarily believe her until you know, my reps hit me, hey
they want to bring you back. I said, all right cool. So, you know, coming back to it, it was like, all right, you know, now I got some time to like really develop this character, see where I want to take where I want to take it, you know what I mean. And that's when I you know, I was shooting that with Anika Noni Rose was in that because she played jukebox and you know, so that was cool to work with her. And I mean, fifty is in it, So
that was cool to work with them. But you know, I approached it in the best way I know how I tell people all the time, every character is in you.
But what makes it was going to make it different. It's simply you.
There's only one you on the planet, you know what I mean. So for me, it was just kind of like, okay, like what's my version of this?
Right?
You know what I'm saying.
What happens in actor's mind when you get that moment and it's big and everybody's talking about it and your phone's ringing crazy, and then you're not on the show anymore. So now it's like, I mean, you're not new kid at school because you got the work under your belt, but you got to figure out what's next now, Like how does what's that mental journey?
Like that's a great question.
You know, this is my job. This is the latest one. Laura the Rosa the podcast.
No, that's that's real ship right there. Because there is pressure if you, especially if you allow it, because that you know, in our community especially, it's all about what's next, what's next, what's next? What's next? It's like, damn, I just shot this shit? Can I you know, let it breathe for a second. So yeah, there was that pressure
of like, okay, what's next. Fun fact, I didn't work for about a year after I shot Power, and I was confused by that, you know what I mean, Because here I am like, okay, like I did this role.
It's fifty everybody's paying attention to that exactly.
You know, everyone's recognizing me. But I was not booked. I couldn't book a gig for shit, why not, I don't. It was out of my control, you know what I mean, Like because I moved to La shortly after thanks to Courtney Kim when I finished. I finished filming Power on my birthday of that year. I forget what year that was. I think it was like two thousand and like seventeen
or something like that. Yeah, and it was my birthday on the last day of filming, and I remember she came to me, she was like, you should move to La.
I said, yo, people tell me that all the time.
She said, no, you should, Like you will work a lot out there, like you know, there'll be a good city field. This is when La was La. La ain't the same no more.
No, I was living there during that time, and.
So I was like, okay, I'll think about it. And then I wasn't working. I'm you know, in not working. I was depressed, you know what I'm saying. Because it's like yo, like because I had just finished shooting Power and I was doing a show called The Breaks. I was literally shooting both these shows at the same time. Like one day I'm on Power, one day I'm on So I was booked. So for all of it to just come to a halt, which was extremely confusing to me, and I couldn't fathom it. And I was at home
one day I took a nap. I took a nap. Right before I took a nap, I said, Lord, I need a sign something like what is going on? So I took a nap and I woke up to this offer to go do a workshop in Connecticut for a play.
And I was like, okay, all right.
It's something, you know what I mean. I read the script. I liked the script. I realized that the playwright who wrote it I worked with him on another workshop like a year or two ago, and he just remembered my work from there. That's why you always got to bring one hundred percent to whatever you do. Don't ever think that something is too little or too small to give you all because you never know. So when I realized it was him, I was like, oh shit, this is
the guy he remembered me. Wow. Okay, So I said, all right, cool, I'm gonna go and do this workshop. At this point, I hadn't done a play in a very long time. I was just doing TV, so getting in that environment again was an adjustment. But I remember the day I got there. I like, I was like staring into the abyss and something just hit me, like a ton of bricks. You need to move to LA. Like it just it just hit me. I feel like it was this guy speaking to me. It's like, you
need to move to LA. And I immediately called my manager. I said, yoah, I think we got to do the LA thing. She said, all right, cool, I'll set up some meetings boom. I said, all right cool. So I did the workshop. The workshop was cool. That was a dope experience. And then shortly after I came back from the workshop, I went to LA to take some generals, like some general meetings with like casting directors, producers. I
was supposed to be there for two weeks. Two weeks turn into a month because you know, one meeting followed up with another meeting, followed up to another meeting. I signed with a new agent, Like I got all these things on this La trip. And that's when right before I came back, that's when the power, the episode of power leaked. So it was just a lot going on. And you know what I'm saying. So I came back and you know, Basket and all of that. But in that trip to LA was when I decided, Okay, yeah,
I'm definitely gonna move out here. Because like every person I was meeting with there like you're moving out here, right, I was like, yeah, I didn't know how I was gonna do it. I didn't have the money to do it.
That's the La story, man, I didn't know how. That's how it be.
That's how it be. But at the same time, too, it's it's but at it's it's about trusting, trusting that that intuition, you know what I'm saying, Trusting what God placed in me, you know what I'm saying, Because in my head, I'm like, there's no way I had that epiphany to move to LA and he ain't gonna make a way. And lo and behold. You know, I got the money to go out there. I had just enough to you know, to survive for a couple of months, thank god. You know.
I got some friends out there, you know.
I was able to stay with family, you know, people who I love. So you know, I went out there. I was there for the pilot season of that year, and I tested for two pilots. I'm thinking, okay, cool, I'd have moved out here. I'm about the book show up exactly. You know that show New Amsterdam or NBC. Yes, I was almost on that show. I was tested for that show. I thought I was gonna get it. I was convinced I was going to get that role because when I did the screen test, the producers were like, Yo,
how'd you make that look? They literally said, Yo, you made that look easy. So I'm walking out like, yeah, I got this. And then I didn't get it, you know what I'm saying. So it was you know, and that's the thing too, It's true what they say. There's way more nose than yes, it's you know what I'm saying. So I didn't get that. I was up for this other show on the c W. I didn't get that. I mean but that show didn't end up going forward anyway.
But you know, I had I had these two shows that I was up for didn't get I was almost up for this other show, but they weren't with Lorenz Tape. But understandable. I love Lorenz, you know what I'm saying.
But that's a good Like, oh, they didn't book me, they book Lorenz. He's a legend, you know what I'm saying. So like the fact that the casting directors and producers or whoever are debating between you and Lorenz Tate a lot of times too.
For us as talent, just being in a conversation in.
The room is a win, even though you can't pay your rent with that exact you know what I'm saying, But I mean, that's a great either or to be in exactly.
So it was like, okay, cool. I mean I didn't get the rolls, but like I'm like this close and that's but okay, I didn't book these jobs, but I'm still in LA, you know what I mean.
One thing people don't tell you about LA.
Yeah, it's all Sonny and all that, but when you ain't doing shit, that shit really gets to you, you know what I mean.
Yeah, it feels like, especially because you're so far away from like the people you know and like the ways that you were just like, you know, real quick, I could go do this real quick if I'm back home or like whatever.
It feels so lonely.
It's like you're in a room and it's like echoing and you're trying to figure out, like what do I do to turn the noise down?
Exactly.
I was in that space when I first moved to LA for about like six seven months, and I was just.
Like what is going on? And then people the move to La itself. People you're just like, oh, look at God got a move to LA.
You made it.
Yeah, so you it's like, you know, opening up about it not going the way that you wanted to go. It's tough and explaining to family why it's not going to the way you wanted to go. It's tough having to act for things in the meantime. It's like such a process. But I think for anybody that has done it, it definitely is like survival to fit this. But it makes you a different type of hungry about your career exactly.
That's a good word hungry. Yes, I feel like a lot of folks ain't hungry, you know what I mean. People just want the result. They want the end goal as opposed to and understanding what the journey is. Journey is way more interesting than the goal, you know what I mean, Because every time I reach the goal, I'm I'm mostly thinking about what it took to get here,
you know what I mean. It's like, Okay, yeah, this is great, but like, man, I did this, I do this, do that to get to this point, and it allows you to appreciate it more. I feel like when people get things too quick, they don't understand, you know, they have they don't have an appreciation for it, so they fumble it, you know what I mean. They think they're entitled, or they think it's just always going to be that way,
you know what I mean. So at the same time, it is a blessing that I had to go through the journey that I did. But in that time, after you know, not booking these gigs, I'm still in LA and I'm like, Okay, well, what the hell am I going to do? Because after pilot season, it's a little slow in terms of auditions. It's mostly like independent films and all of that. So I'm just like, okay, well, what the hell am I gonna do with all this time?
I started dating this girl. That's a distract action, you know what I'm saying.
And it's expensive, and it's.
It's expensive so especially in LA, like twenty five dollars.
Yo.
I know she wanted to go to town. Come on now, I like room on a Wednesday.
You know she's on TV now funny enough, Well, what's show that's that's that's an off camera conversation.
Were y'all auditioning together? No?
No, no, no no no, I mean I wild help her with auditions and stuff like that. She knows anyway.
You watch the show she's currently on. Oh so it ended bad?
I didn't. I don't watch it because she's on it. I just that's just not my kind of show to watch.
Okay, so it's like a Zeus network then no, okay.
I'm sure you watch it though, No, a TV show, scripted show that they they're in.
They're like fifty six seasons.
It's not Dear from Detroit. Then that's like second season. I'm gonna figure this out.
Beautiful girl, amazing woman, you know, nothing bad to say.
About it, Just and work out. And she's a scorpio. You know what I'm saying.
Anyway, So I'm in La. I'm like, okay, what am I doing. I go to this party. It was on Easter.
As soon as I walked in, I saw people playing space. I'm like, oh shit, hm.
I need to start. I need to get back into this script because I had put the script down for like almost two years.
So you wrote the script when you were in LA or before you moved to LS.
I started writing the script in twenty fifteen, so ten years ago. I started writing the script. When I first started writing it, it was just a one.
Act, I explained to the regular people with all that means.
So typically in a play, you know, you'll have like two acts and a play and a full length play you'll typically have two acts. So one acts is just, you know, kind of like just the first half of it. I didn't think it was gonna be a full lend thing when I first wrote it. It was just something that I was inspired to write because I was learning how to play spades at the time. Yes, when I started
writing it, so I was inspired to write it. I wanted to I knew I wanted to get into writing at some point, but I didn't think I could do it because I didn't go to school for it, and you know, like you know what I mean. I had a bit of imposter syndrome. But I just started writing it and it just kind of poured out of me. So I did a stage reading of it. This is in Brooklyn at the spot at the time it was called the Kimberley Project in Bedstide, and we had a
pretty big turnout. This is before like Instagram was Instagram for real, you know what I mean. So the fact that we got so many people there off of word of mouth was a really big deal. So we did the reading and like the biggest feedback people like we want more, we want more, Like it's gotta be longer. So I was like, all right, cool, I'm gonna do that. But then I started filming something else, so I kind of put it to the side where I started filming
the breaks. So I started filming that, so I got caught up in that, and then power came along, so I was just all in that. So with this downtime, I go into this space and I see the script. I mean, I see people playing space. I'm like, okay, this is gonna give me something to do, because I was tired of like running into people like what are you working on? That's the number one question people are going to ask you in Los Angeles? What are you so? What are you working on?
What are you working on? Or what do you do?
What do you do? You know what I'm saying. So I was tired of not having anything to say, so I said, you know what. Literally the next day, I went back to the script. At the time, the script was like one hundred and eighty something pages. There was a lot of a lot of pages, and I had some friends over to read it. I said, look, you know, I just want I need to hear this out loud because I need to see where I want to go with it. They read all one hundred and eighty something
pages of it, shout out to y'all. And from there I just kind of like started diving into that. Like that became my focus. You know what I'm saying. I'm like, okay, I'm I'm going to employing myself, you know what I'm saying. So I said, look, so I'm a dive into that. So I started working on that. I did. I did a reading of it in LA and I want so I was going to produce it in LA that was going to be like where I first produced it. But then I booked a play in New York. See that's
another thing too. I went so long not working. The minute I dive into my own shit, now all of the opportunities come.
Which play, did you?
I did a play called Fabulation, written by Lenn Knowledge at the Signature, really big off Broadway Theater company. It was actually like my dream theater company. To work at. The Signature is where I got some of my first bearings into theater, you know what I mean. So you know, I was like, oh shit, I'm about to go do this play in New York. All right, cool. So the plan was to go do the play and then come
back and produce Spades. While I was doing the play in New York, that's when I booked the Bo Tang. So it kept me in New York York. So I said, all right, well, shit, okay, I'm gonna stay in New York. So I kind of once again put space to the.
Side, because now Wu Tang is like that after when that series dropped too exactly, people were also very tied to it, just because people wanted the story exactly, and it was timely and it was all the things. So now your star is, you know, rising again because of Wu Tang. And what was that experience like because you were going through this like very mental depressing period of like why is this not? Like God, am I supposed to be here? And then boom you're back up again.
So you're high up on the hill now, So what is that like for you as.
Town Let me tell you something.
It was December twenty first or twenty second when I.
Got the cold that I got that role.
It was how I approached that entire process was like unlike how I approached any other show that I auditioned for, because you know, sometimes you know we'll get apart, but we're getting audition, We're like, well I want this, Like I'm gonna make sure I know all my lines for the audition. I'm going to be perfect. Those be the ones you never get, the ones where you're like, man, i'm gonna just you know, I'm gonna just do it.
So with this one, when I read the script, I was like, oh, ye, I could do this in my sleep. It's New York niggas, I'm from New York. Yeah, I could do that. I didn't know Power was a real person. I thought it was a fictional character. But I was like, okay, cool, I could do that. It's funny his name is Power because I was on Power. Okay, that's cool. So I did the audition, I did a I sent the tape. I sent the tape. I was also but I was also up for another you see what you see? You
see the theme here. There was a lot going on. I was up for another role. They were going to bring back NYPD Blue on ABC. Remember that show. Yes, so I was up to be on that show. I wanted to be on that because it's ABC. You know what I'm saying, Like, who's cool? Network television?
We're talking about which is normally a bit more stable.
It's more stable. Just more money, yes, just more money. So I wanted that, and it would have kept me in New York still. So I was like, okay, cool, I want that shit. So the same day I found out that I didn't get that, I found out I had a call back for the Wu Tang shit catching. Okay, all right, well something. I went to the callback for Wu Tang and I remember going in there. We had
to do it, and this is before twenty twenty. I had to do it to a computer to Rizza in La So I go to the office to catching directors like, okay, so you know we have Riz on the laptop.
He's coming in through zoom, so you gotta do the audition to the computer.
I'm like, what you know what I'm saying. Like at the time, it was like I ain't never done that. You know what I'm saying, and it's Rizza. But like at the same time, like I thought it was. I thought I was at a disadvantage because I'm not in the room. It's always different when you're in the room. They could feel your energy and all of that. I'm like, there's no way this is going to translate over a computer screen. But I did. I did it. I only had to do each scene once. I didn't even have
to do it again. I remember after the casting director was like, really, good job.
I was amazing. I was like, thanks, all right, cool.
I left. I went to my friend's house. As soon as I got off the train, my agent calls me. This is like forty five minutes later. My agent calls me. She's like, hey, they want to test you. I was like, I just left the motherfucking aut that shit right. But I knew in that moment that I had to roll because I was like, I've never gotten.
That's not true, that's not true, New Amsterdam.
I found out they wanted to test me probably like fifteen minutes after my got you, I was in.
The room test you. For those who don't know, the talent side of TV means.
What okay, So when you do a screen test, it basically means, hey, we love you, we want you for this role, but we also want this person for this role. Also considering this person, We just want to see how what makes the most sense on camera? You know what I mean? Visually?
Who else were they to the role of power?
They were testing? It was me, this cat named Antoine Harris who I did the breaks with, and I don't remember the other person. So we did the test. They said they wanted me to test, So I was like, okay, but I'm doing a play. How the hell am I gonna make it to LA Because you know, when you're doing a play, it's eight shows a week. You only have one day off, which is a Monday. So I said, yo,
I mean, do they know I'm gonna play? I can't how am I gonna, you know, because what they do in those scenarios, if you can't be there, they'll use your audition tape as the screen test got you.
But that kind of is it's you know what I mean, I'm like, I wanna be Yeah.
So they worked around my schedule, which is another test. That was another sign. I was like, Oh, they want me for this. They scheduled it. It was so I had two shows that Sunday. I did the two shows. Then after the second show, I literally went from the theater to the airport to LA I flew on a red eye and did the test the next morning and flew back to New York that same night. It was just like, man, I felt like a rock star, you know what I'm saying. So, but I remember how I
felt going into the test. I wasn't nervous, I wasn't trying to put on I kind of just knew it was mine, you know what I mean. I walked in said it up to Rizza, said it up to Kim Coleman. Shout out to Kim Coleman. She was the casting director. I did the scene. I only had to do each
scene once and I left. I didn't you know, like you know what I'm saying, Like, I hope I did the screen test, went back to New York to do the play, and you know, but that also helped too, because I was locked in on that, so I wasn't too distracted about are they gonna pick me or that, because I already had something to do. So I remember the day I found out I got it. It was like December twenty first second or something like that. I went to lunch with a friend of mine. Shout out
to Megan. I went to lunch and I was telling her. I was like, yeah, I'm supposed to be finding out today if I got the roll. But I was so jaded at the time because you know, I had just I've been through so much. The year's been crazy. I'm like, you know, it was raining that day too. I got a little trauma with rain because the day I found out I didn't get New Amsterdam, it was raining in La in La, it on rain.
Like that in l a number lie it rains in southern California.
You know what I'm saying. It was just like, damn, it's raining again, damn saying, go get it. So I left lunch and as I'm walking. It stopped raining. The sun's coming out, and shit.
I'm like, okay, okay, okay.
I remember I went to team. I went to the T Mobile store to pay my phone bill. While I was in line, my manager at the time, she calls me. She goes, she calls me. She's like, hey, I got so and so and so. My agents they you know, they're on the line too. They only on the line if you got the throw. So I said, wait, hold on a second, let me step out side real quick.
What's up?
What's up y'all? I said, just give it to me. Don't try because sometimes they'll try to like play with you and be like it's so unfortunately psych.
I said, just give it to me. They said, look, they went to offer you this. I said, get the fuck out it.
I was on it was like mid town, like fifty something street. I said, Yo, get the fuck out. I said, yeah, nigga, yeah, because it was just it was the it was that moment of like, yo, I've been through so much this year. This year has been so hard. So they ended on this note was like here I'm about to be a serious regular yo crazy on the Woo Tang joint.
This is crazy, right.
So more distraction to take me away from Spades, you know what I'm saying, Because remember the plan was to go back to La and produce it. So I just kind of dived into Wou Tang. I did that. We did that for three seasons. I was still working on Spades.
And the guys were really really involved with you guys to like, you know, developing the characters and on set.
What was I mean?
Because you say distraction, but I'm sitting here like all this stuff you're learning in real time from all these great people that didn't bring back to your players.
I'm looking at it. But in the moment, I get it. I don't feel like that, right.
But like talk about, you know, showing up on setting, you have Rizza and whoever else would come, and you were like, these are superheroes to us.
I mean I was in a unique position because I wasn't playing one of the rappers, right, you know what I mean. I was playing the behind the scenes guy, the business guy who a lot of people don't know about, you know what I mean? So for me, it was like, yeah, you know, meeting the you know, meeting the Wu Tang was cool, but I need to meet Power. Where's Power? Never? Like he would never show up to Sad. I'm asking around, like, Whi's bo. You haven't met pe? You gotta meet pe? P?
Is this P is that? I'm like, all right, well, where are you at? Where you at? I'm playing on one day, we were like seven episodes in, so the season's almost done. We like seven episodes in. We shoot season one. We shot all of that in stat Island, so we had to pause because it was raining theme with rain. Yes, it was raining crazy, So we had to pause filming for a couple of hours. And you know, I get a knock on the door and the PA is like, yo, you know you have a guest there.
I said that Loland. He peeks his head over and said what up? I said, oh shit, what suck y'all? What's good? He came into my trailer. Our first conversation was like three hours. We spoke for like three hours just shooting the ship. Like we got along immediately, and once we met, we've been locked in even to this to this day, we're locked in.
You know what I'm saying?
What was it like?
Because on on Power, the show Power, you're playing a person that we don't know, this isn't a real person, you know what I mean.
But then on Wu Tan, you're playing.
A person in power who is a real person, and you have played him for almost all.
Of the season and then you get to meet him.
So how does your direction as an actor change when you go from something that is based on a real person or something that's not based on a real person, to based on a real person, and then even after that it probably changes because you didn't meet the real person.
That's another great question.
So season one is all about who these members are before the group was formed, So it's just a lot of like just backstory stuff, you know what I'm saying. So, like, I was kind of pretty the performance I was given was pretty solid for what was asked to me that season because we hadn't gotten into like Wou Tang yet. So when I met him, it's like, Okay, the timing is good. So once we finished filming season one that summer,
I spent a lot of time with him. I mean we went to you know, I went to DC with him with Miami, Like I was just traveling with He was just inviting me out, Yo, come to this, come to.
That he's doing now because well, first of all, I guess explain a bit for anyone who may not have seen the series Power's role in the Wu Tang and then kind of where he is now, like what his life looks like now.
Power. Power is the executive producer of Whu Tang as well as the co founder of Whu Tang. He was a party. He was there from the very beginning, you know what I mean the show. You see that. You know, Power is the one that basically fronted the money for Rizza to make this album. You know what I mean? Because Power, you know, Power was a street nigga. Got
what I'm saying. He was a getting money nigga. And you know, especially in the rap game, a lot of the time we go to the you know, when when when we need that bread, going to the street nigga, you know what I'm saying. So that's who Power was. Power already had a name for himself, he was already established. So it was kind of like he recognized what Rizza was doing and said, Okay, cool, I'm I'm gonna invest in that. That's gonna be my flip, you know what
I'm saying. So Season two is when we got into all of that. So before we started shoot shooting season two, you know, I got to see because he's still i mean, thank is still very much his brand, you know what I mean. He has who Wear, which is the clothing line as well that he started. Yes, so you know, he would do pop ups a lot, so he would invite me to these pop ups. So I'm meeting people, I'm seeing him like at work in action. I'm talking like down to like how he counts money. He counts
money like a minute, you know what I'm saying. Like, so I'm like just taking note of all of that. So in spending time with him, now I'm able to refine my performance because now I can add details, you know what I mean, specificity. I'm big on specifics. You know what I mean. I don't like general you know what I'm saying. So, like I was able to pick up on little things how he dresses, how he you know, like power never ties his shoelace, he always his kicks,
is always super clean, fresh out the box linkss. You know what I'm saying, don't boy shit, you know what I mean. So I was able to pick up on all of that. He sacks his pants a lot, so like even down to like my wardrobe and how I wore it. I'm picking up on all of these things. Sometimes I'll be at a fitting and I will FaceTime I'm like, yo, is this something you will wear? Like how you feel about this? Down to like how I wear the chain. He never wears his chain on the outside.
He always has his tough thing, you know what I mean, Just like little things. So I was so in that I was able to bring more to the role, which I think paid off because now when I meet people, you know, they're like, Yo, you got billy damn. Like to the yo, you got pee damn. You know what I'm saying. And I heard that from Wu Tang members, you know what I mean. So, like to even get their blessing was a big deal.
Right.
So then, okay, so Wu Tang has happened, or at this point put spades on the back end your play, which is honestly what we're here to talk about.
But this all is a part of the journey. We're gonna get there, y'all.
So at what point, so Wu Tang happens, that's done. When do you say, okay, I need to get this play happening. And you're gonna be New York.
Okay, So finished shooting Boutee. We finished filming in twenty and twenty two, the end of twenty twenty two, and then was it twenty twenty two three, twenty twenty two, and then the writers strike happened right after we finished filming.
Yeah, it was like what the fuck?
It was like, Yo, we just finished shooting this show. We finished, like okay, cool, we off this show. What's the next thing?
Did you have things on the table, like conversations and stuff for other shows that weren't coming round.
It was finally like, okay, this show led to boom.
Yeah, I was doing I was doing this film and we had to stop production because I think I think production I think they ran out of money or something like that. But it was like, but it was supposed to be this like really dope indie film that they offered me this role, and I was gonna body this role. We had a production on that, and then I had a meeting.
With this producer for this other film.
So it was just like okay, okay, and then the writer strike happened, So everything kind of just came to a hole. So it's just like all right, okay, what do I What do I do with this information? So it put me in another depression again because it's just kind of like when you're an artist and you and you're not doing your art, folks with you.
You know what I'm saying, are you doing anything actively for the depression? Like are you? Because I know, like I.
Was doing the things I'm not supposed to be doing, meaning.
You know.
What tell us we want to know. You can't just leave us hanging like that.
Look, man, I was I was.
You're leaning into your vices?
Yeah, yeah, I was leaning into my vices. You know what I mean. I was, you know, messing with you know, messing with young ladies. I shouldn't be messing with just kind of just I was just all over the place.
So I was indulging in that.
But that wasn't good because you know, here I am not really staying focus then letting distractions kind of get to me. And then I had my birthday party in twenty twenty three. I'll never forget that day. I have my birthday party. I invited everybody. I've invited, all my friends, all my little joints, all everybody came out and I remember I didn't even like it. It was at this spot, remember the grill BK.
Yeah.
I wasn't here during the time of all of that, like popping off. I just started coming around breakfast club guest hosts and started in twenty twenty three, so.
I was a little new, but I knew of it. I would see people there.
Yeah, my homegirl Melissa, she owned that spot. So I had my birthday there. It was an open bar. Like I basically threw my birthday. I threw a party for people on my birthday because I wasn't even really like I was literally sitting at the bar the whole party. Everyone's like, yo, this is your party, Like, why you
not chilling? I said, I don't know. I'm just kind of chilling because it was one of It was another one of those like my spirit told me like, okay, I should throw a party from my It was my thirty third birthday.
I was like something told me I should, I should throw a party or something.
So I did it, and I remember sitting it.
I couldn't even enjoy it.
Really. All I did was like watch people. That's all. I did.
Some shrooms, you know what I'm saying, My little shrooms.
I saw you were sitting at the Star.
But but you know that was like I love shrooms, man, shrooms. That should opened your mind.
Y'all got that. That is not my ministry.
You would love it. Stick thing. So I'm shrooms, I'm sipping my rum punch and shit, and I'm just like staying at people and just like watching people, and I'm just thinking to myself, I'm like, yeah, like I feel like most of these people are here just because you know, I'm on TV, and you know, I don't know if like all of these people actually fuck with me, you know what I'm saying. But that was something I was
thinking about. And then you know, after that party, I ended up like I ended a lot of friendships because it was it was stuf.
You know, people are starting to show their ass, you know what I'm.
Saying, Like off the rum punch that night or no, no, no not, I'm.
Like, oh, it happened at the party, but just following after that, you know what I'm saying, like, yeah, people, it's easy people. It's easy to be around people or to be with you when you're up, you know what I mean. When things are up, it's that's when it's easy. But when when it's not like that. That's when people start to show their true colors. And for me, I kind of was just like, yo, I need to kind of like clear space because I feel like some of this energy is not helpful for me.
It's not conducive.
It's distractions, you know what I mean, just energy I shouldn't be around. So twenty twenty three was a really tough year for me because it was a lot of purging a lot of it and a lot of like realizations of like, oh shit, this motherfucker's been like this this whole motherfucking time. I couldn't see it because I was, you know, I just spent the last three years, you know, living on a high that I didn't I didn't have the moment like really dissect and like really.
Understand what was around me, you know what I'm saying.
So in that, you know, twenty twenty three, I was, you know, I was also in a relationship, so I was just kind of like feeding into that more than anything. I wasn't really feeding into myself as an artist or because I didn't know what to do, you know what I mean. I still had space, but I wasn't inspired
to keep working on it. During the like when the writer Strike first hit, I recorded the first two scenes on audio because I was going to try to sell it as an audio as an audio book kind of thing, because that was like one of the things we could do in the writer Strike. So I did that.
I was supposed to meet with some people.
They never responded back to the email. So it was just like it just kind of felt like, Yo, nothing is like going my way, man, Like nothing, you know what I'm saying. So then a friend at the time, we were supposed to do a reading of Spades in Detroit, and that ended up not happening because it was a lot of it was more like funny business happening, you
know what I mean. It was another moment of like kind of like seeing of someone who's supposed to be your friend, they true colors, you know what I'm saying. It was starting to feel like she was she wanted to take my work and put her name on it, take the credit for my shit. But in hindsight, I'm glad that happened because it lit a fire under me, you know what I mean, Because even before that, you know, like I try to pitch this play to like different
theater companies. You know, these are all white institutions, you know, that are going to take our stories and kind of dilute it and not really give it that authenticity that it needs when it comes to our stories, black stories and how we tell our stories. And that's a whole other thing I'll get into later. But so, you know, I'm pitching the to these theater companies. They're like, we love that, okay, but what's what's up? Oh, you know,
we're gonna do this other play. We're I'm tired of waiting. So after that whole Detroit thing fell through, I said, you know what, I'm just I'm gonna do this myself. I'm gonna do this myself. And I said, you know what I mean. It woke something up in me. It woke something up in me. So I did a reading of so where the play is now? I did a stage reading there last year last September, same kind of formula with the whole theater and around at the table,
but you know, except they had scripts. And that was kind of like the launching of like, okay, like I'm gonna commit to producing this play. Like I'm just gonna commit to it, you know what I mean? Because I got all this downtime, I'm not filming anything. I need to do something, you know what I'm saying, Like, and what better way than to employ yourself, you know what I'm saying. So from that moment, I did the reading. Then after that we did the reading at Dumbo House, and then from.
Oh so that was still relatively like knew when I saw that Dumble House.
Okay, cool, exactly, so you know, But because the point of doing these readings was to like get the word out, I wanted people to start knowing about this play so that when we produce it, it's like, oh, that's the play that I you know what I'm saying, So it's not like out of thin air. But some people thought, I think I just wrote this play, you know what I mean, not knowing, Like, No, this was a ten year journey, you know what I'm saying.
Now, y'all stay tuned because this is only part one. But if you're feel an.
Inspired, if you're digging a story in this conversation, I want to hear from you, my low riders.
Make sure you at me.
I'm Lauren lo Rosa everywhere and check out Spades, the play now playing in New York. Visit Spades to play, on Instagram or on paj
For your tickets.