Condola Rashad quotes:

The reason why I like theater is because it's a long journey, and no matter what role you play, we are all in it together.

When I'm in Los Angeles, sometimes I hesitate saying that I'm an actor because people are like, "Of course you are." And I'm like "No, not, 'Of course I am.'"

Shakespeare teaches you how to act. You come out of this process as a better actor. It's just the nature of the words he writes.

There are a lot of celebrities that I think can get a little bit distracted by the way that our society views celebrity. All of a sudden, the film becomes about, "Come see this celebrity!" I'm not interested in that. I want to see a story.

My view of myself as an artist expanded because of the time I spent at Cal Arts.

If I see something that's extremely challenging, I'm like, 'That seems really hard. Let's try it.' It's just my personality.

One day I'm not busy at all; the next day I have work for months - that's kind of the way it works!

You know how theres always the one girl in drama school who can cry at the drop of a hat? She has that emotional well she can tap into in a second? Im not that girl. It takes a lot to get me to that place.

I wasn't even a theater kid in high school. I studied classical piano, and I ran track.

William Shakespeare was a brilliant writer and he only wrote the truth. So, if I dont believe it, I have to work really hard to see what that truth is so that I do; thats the only way I can make it believable for the audience.

[In New York,] when you say you're an actor, there's a certain level of respect that goes with that.

You know how there's always the one girl in drama school who can cry at the drop of a hat? She has that emotional well she can tap into in a second? I'm not that girl. It takes a lot to get me to that place.

I started playing piano when I was around four; thats my first passion.

I prefer theater and film. I did a little television, and obviously I'm not knocking it. It can be great, and it does pay the bills. But it's a little bit more disjointed.

I started playing piano when I was around four; that's my first passion.

The way I work emotionally is: I don't ever try to cry. I try not to, which is what for me produces organic emotion.

Theater is a lot more interactive, more of a cohesive unit. With television, it can be a different director every episode.

Im a songwriter and Id love to make that a part of my career.

My favorite films are when all of the technicalities are so seamless and so well done that I'm not thinking about them - you're able to go full-on into the story versus talking about edgy this moment was.

My thing is that if you don't really connect to something or see that it's going to be something you're going to be proud of, I wouldn't do it.

I admire fashion and I respect it greatly, but I don't necessarily follow trends. I never really have. I just wear what I like to wear. I really like colors, and there are some things I wear and don't care what anybody says about it being in style or not. I wear it anyway.

In L.A., being an actor is like a pastime, everybody there is like, "I was on this reality show; I'm an actor." It becomes a word that is loosely thrown around.

I wanted to become an actor and I knew that if I was really going to do it, I needed the training. I was not one of those people that was like, "I got it." I was like, "No, I don't have it yet. I need work. I need help fixing myself."

My first exploration through art was really through music - I've trained classically with piano for about ten years.

I think even when I was little there was signs that I was an artist. I've always been an artist.

The directors were often really nice and I was well behaved, so I would just sit there in rehearsal. That allowed me to see the process - not just the result, the red carpet, all of the wonderful, fun things that happen afterwards - the nuts and bolts, the nitty-gritty, "Let's try to build this character from the page," tech rehearsals.

My mom was really busy when I was growing up, but she did a really good job in terms of balancing her home life with her professional life. She basically took me everywhere.

I grew up in the theater with my mom and that's how I knew I wanted to be an actor in the first place.

I've realized that a lot of people go to see film or theater with a different expectation. I have a friend who's an actor and I can't stand watching movies with him because he never quite allows himself to just watch the story. He'll comment on the lighting, he'll comment on the [camera] angle. I'm not saying there's a wrong way to watch it - maybe that's helpful to him - but to me, you're getting way too caught up in the technical aspects.

I realized that once I graduated from college, there might be a period of time where people might typecast me or be more limiting, and I might not be able to play a crazy character. For me, it was important to do that at least in school.

The big challenge is finding something new without changing completely what you've already done - going deeper into what you've already done and discovering new things while carrying out the same intention.

Personally, especially as a young black woman, I didn't think that Los Angeles was a place for me to start. There's a certain type that they go for or don't.