Cover Story
The True Beauty of
Phylicia Rashad
Phylicia Rashad has come full circle in her search of whom she really is. Although Rashad says she is still learning, her mission of self-discovery is apparent in the roles that she chooses to bring to life. Consider the high-powered attorney and loving mother-of-five, Clair Huxtable, on The Cosby Show, and the mother, in A Raisin in the Sun, the role that won her a Tony. She also made strides as the 287-year-old Aunt Ester in August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean and as Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Even with Rashad’s busy schedule, she has managed to have her own production company since 1980—Chocolate Swan, which represents her brand. “Chocolate Swan is me. My brother said that when I awake in the morning, I looked like a chocolate swan.” Recently, Rashad sat down with Swing, to give readers a look into her majestic life and style:
Swing: How would you describe the mental and spiritual place where you are today?
Rashad: Everything to me is fresh and new. I want to be in awareness all the time, of that which is deeper, truer and unchanging in life. That is part of the work that I choose; it forms the work to be truer, deeper and unchanging.
S: Your mother, Vivian Ayers, was a Pulitzer prize-nominated artist, poet, playwright and publisher. How did she influence your work?
R: Mother taught me by example that you must be firmly committed to whatever it is that you do. You must always say yes, when the world says no. ... You have to be firmly committed.
The turning point ... a beautiful thing
S: In 1982, there was a turning point in your life when you were offered a permanent role as the understudy for Sheryl Lee Ralph in Dream Girls. Please explain this turning point to our readers.
R: The turning point had to do with me and owning up to who I am. That decision was what I wanted to be and acknowledging that. You see, there is something in our ethic, when we are reared, often times that says ‘be humble about this’; and depending on how you process it, the way you process, it is so important. To say to oneself that ‘I am really great,’ some may think that that is proud or arrogant, but that is not true. It is acknowledging that you are great and what about you that makes you great. And that is the presence of that which is deeper, true and unchanging— deep within you. That is what makes you great. What was happening [in this turning point] was really a very beautiful thing. It afforded me the opportunity to stand firm in what it is to be great and acknowledge that it is time for me to leave the show, because I am not an understudy. I am a leading lady, and it is time for me to realize myself in my profession. Those were the exact words that I said to Michael Bennett when I was leaving. And he looked at me and said, ‘you are right.’
The reality check
R: People in arts and entertainment are still people. At the time Dream Girls was happening, I was a single mother with an 8-year-old son. When you work in the theater, it is just like any other job; you don’t want to leave the job that you are in until you have another job to go to, especially when you are a single mother. This is reality; look at what is happening in the economy today. Actors have lived with these challenges that people are now facing forever. As an actor, you may work in a show, and when that show closes, you might not work again for six months to a year. At the time when I made my declaration of independence from Dream Girls, I didn’t have another job to go to. But I understood that if I didn’t take that leap of faith and leave Dream Girls, then, I probably would not ever have another job to go to. This leap has to come from inside yourself—on an honest level. It can’t be your mind flipping out because you feel that you got passed over.
S: This is good, I wanted to go to the core of your beliefs, so as a continuation of your point, how do you handle fear?
R: Let’s take a look at what fear is? What is fear to you?
S: An illusion?
R: No, no, no, no. No, that is too cerebral, honey. No, no no. Now you are talking about getting down in it, and going to the core. Now, let’s get down in it and be real. None of that new age stuff. The thing that we know the least about in this world is our own self.
S: You sound like Nelson Mandela.
R: But that is the truth. Our own self—with a capital S.
S: Would you add to that our untapped ability?
R: Forget ability. Let’s deal with the self for a minute. All that other stuff are attachments. You say you want to get to the core, I am willing to go with you. This is what we know least about is our self. Our own self, that which is deeper true and unchanging. Why is it that we know so little about us? Think about your senses for a moment. Your eyes, ears, tongue, nose, think about your hands that feel and touch. All of that information that you receive from these things, where is it coming from? When you taste, feel, see or touch, where is that coming from? Where is that perception at that moment? Is it on the inside or on the outside? Where does it appear to be coming from? When you hear music, it is coming from the outside? This is my point. Because we are given to taking information in from the outside, so much of our focus is what is outside of ourselves. This is what is true. When we began to look within, that is when we begin to experience what is deeper, what is truer and what is unchanging. It is never far away.
S: How long have you been in this mindset?
R: How long have I been in this understanding, how long have I been looking on the inside? For about 28 years.
S: What happened to allow you to reach that level of understanding?
R: The turning point was meeting a Siddha Yoga master. Yoga means union. This master, who I met, was named, Baba Muktananda. It was just a very simple meeting—nothing strange, very clear. ... He has profound respect for all religious traditions. He said that to greet another person with love and respect was true religion, was the worship of God. It is as simple as that.
S: Do you practice this everyday?
R: Everyday I practice sitting in silence. It takes patience to remember God’s presence in people. We say all the time omnipotent, omnipresence. It means presence in everything, everywhere all the time—not just because it is not to our liking or in our comfort zone. It is something that I am constantly working on; it is not easy. But with grace, I will get there. This life is a blessing, and life is a blessing. I feel blessed to witness beauty and mastery in people, and intelligence and light in people. Hmm ... Uh-huh. I really do. I love to be in nature. I like to sit outside, look at trees and watch the wind dancing in the treetops. I like to watch the butterflies fly as high as they can go; listen to the different birds sing; watch a good storm, a sunrise and sunset. Nature, in a relaxed way (not as a hunter) allows me to understand and experience myself as a part of nature. This experience remains as my awareness.
S: How do you stay true to yourself?
R: Being true to myself is not so difficult. It allows me to arrive in a place of light within myself, because that light is there ... I assure you. I have seen it.
S: Have you accomplished everything that you have wanted to accomplish?
R: I am not even half way there or, even half way through. I can spend more time in company with my true self. An expanded awareness of what self is. Now, I feel as if I don’t know anything ... there is just so much that I don’t know—about music, theater, film, quilting, art ... about things. That is very gratifying to me, to know that there is so much that I don’t know. Because that means that there is so much that I can learn.
One time, I was playing the role of a 287-year-old woman. And it was when I was playing this role that I discovered the beauty of senior citizenship. I really enjoyed the beauty and majesty of it. People have such trepidation about getting older. I was being interviewed by this young woman, who asked, ‘Oh, Ms. Rashad, what would you tell a young woman about getting old.’ And that 287-year-old character just leaped up and said, without thinking, ‘I wouldn’t tell her nothing. If she was lucky, she would live long enough to get old.’ We both ended with laughter and an “Amen.”
