Chicago Insight April 12th 2026

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I mean you about the institutions as well as the

(00:02):
individuals who are doing extraordinary things in our cities and communities.
Will begin this morning commemorating Autism Awareness Month by telling
you about services available at the Answer Inc. For Autism,
and we'll talk to acclaimed actor Chakutia Wouji, who is
one of the stars in the Chicago crime thriller Moses
the Black. But first up Autism Support. April is National

(00:25):
Autism Awareness Month. When a loved one or a family
member is diagnosed as being on the spectrum, many times
they have so many questions. Well, there is a local
organization dedicated to providing answers to those questions, and it's
called the Answer Inc. For Autism. Joining us this morning
to provide more awareness about autism is Answer Inc. Founder

(00:49):
and CEO Deborah Vines. Deborah, always a pleasure to talk
to you. Happy National Autism Awareness Month.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Good boy, you know Autism Awareness Month. I'm so grateful
that our month has been deemed But we live this
every single day, So I'm in celebratory mode every single
day as relays to autism.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
Yeah, talk about the founding of the Answer in and
this is personal for you.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
It is it is. In two thousand and seven, my
husband and I decided to help community help the families
that are a lot of them are still suffering in silence,
and to be able to provide resources for them so
that they wouldn't have to go through the challenges that
he and I went through. Jason would be thirty nine
years old this year, and we just we have gone

(01:35):
through all the gamuts of autism, from medication to schools,
to IEPs, to community, to church, to everything, and we
wanted the families to be able to be empowered in that,
and not just that but education.

Speaker 3 (01:49):
Oftentimes, a lot of our children's.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
Behavior problems are so irate that they don't get a
chance to get the education that they need, and so
we want to make sure that those families get the services,
the different therapies that they need so that their loved
ones would be able to be able to sit and
be able to be taught right, we have to get
the behavior together first. So it's just so many different

(02:12):
things that the Answer Incorporated does and I'm just grateful
to still be able to be in service within almost
twenty years with Answer. We started in two thousand and seven,
so we've been around for a minute, and we've helped
so many people.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
And it was really because when you had went through
a difficult pregnancy and then your son Jason was born,
that you didn't have answers in terms of his behavior,
that what's concerning for you at the.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Time, no answers that all Daryl. The numbers when Jason
was diagnosed, they were one in a thousand. Now they're
one and thirty five. So just imagine back in I
would say was nineteen eighty nine just filling alone in
an underserved community where there were no services. I felt
totally alone, and it just spirals you into a place

(03:02):
where you just don't know what to do. And it
took a minute for me to get there to be
empowered for myself, my husband, and my family and to
be able to I guess have the power to be able.

Speaker 3 (03:13):
To help someone else. We went through a lot, and.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
The answer I think was started when Jason was about eighteen,
So we went through eighteen years of trying to figure
it out before we could help someone else.

Speaker 4 (03:27):
And how is Jason doing.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
Jason is amazing. He is amazing. He is the light
of my life outside of.

Speaker 3 (03:34):
My other son as well.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
I have two children, Mark, who is fifty two, And
my children are the light of my life, and they
propelled they have to wind beneath my wings. You know
Jason's You're not just Jason, but most children that have disabilities,
their love is just unconditional because they don't want anything,
They just want love.

Speaker 1 (03:53):
Yeah, and you do an extraordinary work there, and the
love and the holistic approach that you take towards providing
answers for autism has impacted your life because it's made
you a better person and much more physically aware of
what we do to our bodies.

Speaker 3 (04:11):
Oh my god.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yes, you know, I'm really intentional on making sure that
I take care of myself because I am a seasoned
woman now. But at the same time, like I'm a
seasoned woman, I'll be sixty eight this year, and I
encourage our families, you know, to you know, you can't
take care of your child if you don't take care
of yourself. We focus on a lot of self care

(04:34):
things like meditation when you first get up in the morning.
I actually just purchase myself for a vibrating plate and
I do this in the morning and I'm doing it
at night to increase the circulation when your circulation is increased,
it helps your mind, right.

Speaker 3 (04:49):
So I'm really intentional on that.

Speaker 2 (04:51):
And you know, a lot of our families, their children,
they call me I'm like their best friend, right, And
I'm happy about that because, guess what, you always want
your kids to have a safe space, to be able
to talk to someone outside of you. Of course I
don't get keep conversations, but at the same time, we
want them to feel like they have a safe space.
The ones that do have the cognital ability to have conversations,

(05:15):
they are my best friends.

Speaker 3 (05:16):
We talk on the phone.

Speaker 2 (05:18):
They tell me about everything that's going on with them
in school or the challenges that they're having. And we're
also getting ready to start a mentoring program where, you know,
because we have a lot of seasoned parents and then
we have a lot of parents that are just starting
grand and grandparents as well. Thank you, Denied for bringing
that up, and not just grandparents, will say family members period,
because we have a lot of aunties that are that

(05:40):
are mommies now of children that have disabilities because of
situations with their with their with their birth parents. We
have a lot of situations like that where the family
members have to step in and you know what, although
it might be a challenging time, it is still a
time to learn. You have to be really transparent about
their triggers, about things that upset them, about how to

(06:03):
navigate their day so that they can be a part
of the family outing as well the family gathering. You know,
because as it relates to holidays, oftentimes when the family
members see the person that has a disability coming and
I've heard this, oh my god, here they come because
the parent And I'm going to put a lot of

(06:23):
this on the parents too, because the way our kids
act out is the way they act at home.

Speaker 3 (06:28):
So we have to put that extra work in. You know.
It's just like when we go to restaurants, we make
sure that we.

Speaker 2 (06:33):
Put our napkin in our lap, that our table.

Speaker 3 (06:35):
Settings are good and things like that.

Speaker 2 (06:37):
But sometimes we get home, we just drop the plate,
the plate on the TV stand and we don't do
all the extra things that we do in restaurants. Every
single day when we eat in our household, Jason and
I napkin in the lap, place settings on the site.

Speaker 3 (06:50):
Where they need to be. Drink is where it needs
to be.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
You cut your food the way it needs to be
you know acting, you know, just because you're comfortable at home,
because what you do at home, it's.

Speaker 3 (07:00):
What you do when you're out west.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
I'm really yeah, I'm really intentional on behavior because we want.

Speaker 3 (07:07):
The community to accept us.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
But if we don't get those behaviors together, they're afraid.

Speaker 1 (07:13):
And you have a wonderful eighteenth annual walkathon that is
going to have a D nine strolled talk to us.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
About yes, yes, yes, yes, yes yes. I was always
excited about our events, but it's our eighteenth annual and
we actually started this walkathon Dyrol to raise money for
children and adults who attend horseback.

Speaker 3 (07:34):
Riting camp for an entire week.

Speaker 2 (07:36):
But we've kind of changed our trajectory because we understand
that it's a lot of families that need therapeutic services
and day camps that that are in house, right because
oftentimes a lot of families don't want to send their
kids away from home for a week. So we're providing
scholarships for them to have therapeutic services and to have

(07:57):
a scholarship to go to day summer day camp, and
also all of our other services that we provide. But
it's going to be a day of fund we have
a game truck. The Illinoy Kidney Foundation is doing screenings.
We have a sensory room. We have a taco cafe
that's sponsored by Living Fresh My Girl Melody Winston. There's
so many things that are going to be going on.

(08:18):
We're actually going to be honoring of actually own a
Scott from Esthi, Marie Salad Dressing. I got Gary Stevens
that always cooks for us. He has a great catering
organization and also District two O nine before providing this
space for us every year.

Speaker 3 (08:34):
So it's just going to be a great day.

Speaker 2 (08:36):
We expect a lot of special guests. I can't say
right now, but it's going to be some celebrities on
deck and.

Speaker 3 (08:43):
Just a great time Winlow.

Speaker 2 (08:45):
It provides o West High School forty seven oh one
Harrison in Hillside, Illinois, and it's an indoor track. You
don't have to worry about the weather. It's inside.

Speaker 3 (08:56):
It's a huge track, so it's not just going to
be about walking and all.

Speaker 2 (09:00):
So I forgot to mention that we have almost one
hundred vendors of resources and businesses, so you'll be to
buy some things and you will be able to get
some resources for your kiddo. And this is from schools
to the villages that provide services for our families with disabilities,
to fire departments, police departments.

Speaker 3 (09:19):
All types of vendors. So we are super excited.

Speaker 1 (09:22):
And it's taking place on April eighteenth.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
April eighteenth, and registration starts at eleven o'clock. We're going
to start our opening ceremonies at eleven thirty eleven forty five.
Mis yas, It's going to be our mc DJ. Brandon
below is going to be our DJ.

Speaker 3 (09:41):
Like I said, I'm excited.

Speaker 2 (09:42):
I can't stop saying outside because I am. I wake
up with this and I go to be it withness.

Speaker 1 (09:47):
So what is the best way to people find What
is the best way for people to find out more
about the Answer Inc.

Speaker 2 (09:53):
Well, they can go to our website at the Answerinc
dot org, or they can give me a call at
seventy eight two nine six fifty six fifty.

Speaker 3 (10:03):
One, or you can go to.

Speaker 2 (10:05):
Our Facebook page, in ig page and LinkedIn snapchat TikTok
the Answer Inc.

Speaker 1 (10:11):
Well, listen, I'm glad that you're providing answers for so
many families that are impacted by autism. Debra Vine's nothing
but the very best to you.

Speaker 2 (10:21):
Thank you so much, Daryl for always supporting us. I
will appreciate you so much.

Speaker 1 (10:25):
If you're looking for a movie with a sobering view
of street life on Chicago's South and West sides with
a powerful message of redemption, then you may want to
consider Moses the Black, Available now on digital and streaming platforms.
The movie, directed by Yolena Popovic and executive produced by
Curtis fifty Cents Jackson, follows the Chicago gangster's journey of reckoning,

(10:48):
inspired by the true story a fourth century saint called
Saint Moses the Black. Omar Epp stars as gang leader Malik.
Cast members include Whiz Khalifa and Quabo and my next
guest actor Chikudi Ouji, who plays the role of Saint
Moses the Black. Now many of us may recognize him

(11:10):
for his outstanding roles.

Speaker 3 (11:11):
And Dave D.

Speaker 1 (11:12):
Jacko Peacemaker the Underground Railroad and playing High Evolutionary and
Guardians of the Galaxy Part three.

Speaker 5 (11:19):
It's a pleasure this.

Speaker 1 (11:20):
Morning to welcome you to the program. How are you doing, sir?

Speaker 4 (11:24):
Very well? Thank you for that lovely introduction. And I'm
in London, so it's a bit more of an afternoon here.
So wow, thanks for looking to speak to me, and
so early in the morning for you.

Speaker 1 (11:34):
Indeed, well you know it's a little bit later there
for you. You are an extraordinary actor. And I'd like to
start by giving you an acting assignment. If you were
playing the role of pr agent, how would you describe
Moses the Black.

Speaker 4 (11:49):
I would certainly move it away from any sort of niche.
I think I would simply say a very powerful drama
about redemption is how I would put it. It's about redemption.
It's something we all need. And as I've said throughout
the discussions about this, the biggest message that comes out

(12:10):
of it is we don't have to stay where we are,
we don't have to end up where we think we're going,
and we have more control over where our life goes
than many people believe, you know. So i'd say it's
a very powerful drama about redemption.

Speaker 1 (12:28):
Yeah it is, and it's redemption told through the eyes
of a Chicago street hustler. And what did you find
in terms of his journey to redemption? Based on flashbacks
of this fourth century Egyptian saint called Saint Moses the Black,
what did you find most revealing about Saint Moses while

(12:48):
you were researching the film.

Speaker 4 (12:50):
Well, it was for me. It was very interesting to
understand this concept of the gangster right going back to
the fourth century. I mean, it's not because in many
ways Moses was the old as it were. So it
was very interesting to just understand that concept. And also
it helped with breaking down this wall I guess between

(13:10):
us and them, you know, when we you know, think
of you know, gangs of violence and stuff that anyone
can find themselves wrapped in the middle of all that.
So for me, I'd never heard about Moses the Black
before Yelena approached me with this project, and I just thought,
what a powerful icon, What a powerful figure, What a

(13:32):
powerful figure who had the same skin as I do.
You know, what a powerful figure that can be inspirational
that so many around the world followed that I had
no idea about. It's funny how many other Sis I
can tell you about all the saints you know, you
know that I've heard of and never heard about this
one who in many ways is very close to me.
I grew apart Nigerian by birth, but I spent a

(13:54):
lot of my childhood in Ethiopia. So the Orthodox Church
is a big part of you know, my you know history,
and I know of that. And this guy came from Ethiopia.
So I sit there and I go, how the hell
am I only now hearing about this saint? You know,
because we all have our ideas. Don't wry about what
saints look like? You know.

Speaker 1 (14:16):
Well, I could tell you, you know, I wasn't raised
in a religious household. But the only saint I remember
from growing up was Saint Martin Dupoor's and you know,
the patron saint of pets. And I'm like, why is
it to make the only black saint the guy who's
watching over the animals?

Speaker 4 (14:35):
And there you go, he isn't I guess the answer
is that he isn't. You know? You know, and I'm
sure you know it. It probably suggests that one should
do more research and read more about these figures and
all that, because he is a very very, very sort
of influential saint in the Coptic faith. And I had

(14:57):
no idea. And I spent in New York. I spent
my time. I live in New York and stuff. So
around where we live, in the wonderful borough of Astoria,
which we love, is the big Greek Orthodox community as well,
you know.

Speaker 1 (15:13):
As well as every other into every other you can
the planet in Queens.

Speaker 4 (15:18):
In Queens absolutely, I think per square per squarefoot is
the most diverse area on the planet per square foot,
And so for me it was really great to know that,
you know, this guy really exists in the lives of
many of my neighbors, as it were.

Speaker 1 (15:34):
You know, first of all, even before we get to
the film, let's get to the concept of the film,
Because Saint Moses the Black was the idea of producer
director Elena Popvich, and she had shopped it around for years,
but she only really found success when she started to
kind of change the storyline and include this kind of
gritty Some will say, gangst the storyline to get the

(15:58):
project green lighted. Why did it take that? Do you
think in terms of adding kind of bones to the
skeleton or flesh to the skeleton.

Speaker 4 (16:07):
Yeah, I think it's because it did just that what
you said. I think it did add bones to the skeleton.
I think it's very hard to shop a movie that's
about someone from the fourth century that no one really
knows about. When I say no one, you know what
I mean by that, That isn't hardly anybody, hardly anyone

(16:28):
that's in the mission. That's a hard cell. You're talking
about setting something. I don't know what her initial idea
for setting it. I never spoke to about those initial ideas.
But you're talking about telling someone you want to set
something in the fourth century eighty and you go, people
go here, we go a costume drama about someone we
don't know about, you know, And let's face it, nine
out of ten times when we talk a costume drama,

(16:48):
when we talk a period drama, we're talking about the
usual suspects of moves. It's Queen Elizabeth or Mose you
know what I mean when i'm cultural appropriation exactly exactly.
So I think she was very smart to go, okay,
what are the All great stories are about the themes.
And I think it was very clever of her to go, okay,

(17:08):
what are the themes? What does this saint represent? Redemption, forgiveness,
turning the corner road to Damascus, all those things, and
finding a modern, modern story that we can all associate with.
We can when we see you know, Omar EPs playing
this gangster, you know who's looking for the light. You know,

(17:31):
everything from boys in the hood, you know, to you know,
like like all these great iconic movie is set in
that world come to mind and then you go, oh,
the theme, that theme of redemption and finding the light
is very powerful. But we've got to find a way
of making it seem like it's appropriate to X, Y
and Z going to the cinema to see it, as

(17:52):
opposed to this far off thing said far away? Do
you know what I mean? And it's a big part
of this this story is to make sure it doesn't
get pigeon Hold into a faith movie. It's bigger than that.
It's bigger than you say, you didn't grow up in
a religious household, you know. It's it has to appeal
to people like you that I'm coming at it from
that side, because these are all events and themes and

(18:14):
issues that we all deal with as individuals. You know.

Speaker 5 (18:17):
I agree.

Speaker 1 (18:18):
The major arc of the storyline centers around in terms
of molik struggle with faith and him being mentored, you know,
while he was in the joint and then trying to
wrestle that with the reality of street life and features
of course, like I said, wis Khalifa and Quevo and

(18:39):
these are Chicago scenes and then there are relatively brief
flashbacks to the life of Saint Moses the Black in
terms of him being in for century Egypt at the time.
Did you miss.

Speaker 4 (18:52):
Acting with your fellow actors? Absolutely? I did, and that
was part of the real challenge of it, because I
have this brief scene with with Omar, you know, Malik
where he sort of comes into my world and I
sort of speak to.

Speaker 6 (19:12):
Him those who live by the sword die by the sword.
And I missed it because he's such an electric actor.
So and for me as an actor, how can you
not miss being part of that sort of drama Because
there's a very isolating shoot For me, you know, it
was really me and.

Speaker 4 (19:27):
The camera, and it was me the you know, the
camera and Yelena talking to me. Really, I didn't really
interact with other actors much, so I felt very It
was a lonely shoot in that sense. But of course
it helped with the because when you're on that journey,
it is a journey of introspection. It really is my inspection.

(19:48):
I had to pull things out from the inside. Normally,
I love acting with other people because you get all
you need from your scene partners or whatever. It's not
about but that was this was a project where ninety
five percent of all the stuff I did had to
come from the inside, had to come from dense memories
and generating what I felt this guy was going through.

(20:11):
So it was a bit lonely. Yeah, I can see that.

Speaker 1 (20:15):
While it's not a character, the role of the city
of Chicago has a very prominent place in the film.
Producer director Yolena said during an interview on The Breakfast
Club recently, and she said this about visiting the West Side.
She said, people will never feel more alive when they
visit Chicago's inner city end quote. Now, this movie provides

(20:39):
an unvarnished view of Chicago. Do you think the desired
result in terms of adding a real, visceral realness to
the city and to the struggle is paying off here?

Speaker 4 (20:52):
I mean, I feel the people that can answer that
best are the inhabitants of Chicago, the people that know
the city in a way I will never know it.
I only know Chicago's the city I used to visit,
you know, when I went to drama school in Milwaukee,
so Chicago was our playground. But I think you use
the word unvarnished, and I think that was what Yelena

(21:14):
really wanted to get at to give a raw sense,
almost documentaries un romanticized version of Chicago and also a
sort of acknowledgment, a sort of like love letter to
the survivalist mentality that exists in that city in many ways,
and I think she did by stripping the movie down.

(21:37):
Of stripping down you think some of the big set pieces,
like without giving it away, like you know, the shootout
they have and stuff, there was something very raw and
completely unglamorous about it. And I think it was to
like sort of write down to the popping sounds of
the pistols as opposed to the like heightened explosive sound

(22:00):
and stuff like that. It had to be real for
people to understand that we're not trying to romanticize this,
but there is a beautiful, vibrant city alive here, and
you know, with all things that are beautiful and vibrant,
the emotions are very extreme also, and I think she
did that by not getting in the way of the city,
by giving us a very stripped down version of the city,

(22:23):
which I think really worked in that almost documentary size
of the style of the film.

Speaker 1 (22:28):
You know, now you're a Nigerian British actor. But you
have deep western, Midwestern actually roots, and tell me about them.

Speaker 4 (22:36):
Well, I have more than Midwestern in the sense that
the first time I came to America was on my
way to undergrad. I went to undergrad at Yale, So
I'm very easy. You guys are talking New York, New York.
Is I live in New York now because New York
is a my playground, like Yale, the best four years
of my life. So we'd always take that train to
New York and just hang out a lot.

Speaker 5 (22:54):
I mean, I.

Speaker 4 (22:56):
Studied economics, so I was going to go into the
financial district, you know what I mean, which is where
a lot of my friends went. So that meant a
lot of summers were in New York and Central Park
when Rollerblades were in roller Blade.

Speaker 1 (23:10):
Central Park, when Lloyd Richards and August Wilson.

Speaker 4 (23:15):
Lloyd Lloyd Richards was had had just was Lloyd there?
I did economic site was away from the Drama School,
but it was Leon. Lloyd might have just been coming
to the tail end of his time at the drama
School when I was there. So while I was at Yale,
I was I did you know they have all these
underground Productions and the head of undergraduate Dramas saw me

(23:37):
do one of the plays Beckett Jean and Luiz Beckett
playing Beckett, and he offered me a drama school to
Milwaukee and a scholarship to drama school in Milwaukee at
full rides. So I took it and got my degree
in economics. I was never gonna not finish what I started,
and I finished in what I start.

Speaker 1 (23:53):
But then I went good what a good British Nigerian?

Speaker 4 (23:56):
Yeah, wish for And then spent the next three years
in the coldest city I've ever lived in my life.
But also I was in Milwaukee. I was in Milwaukee,
not Madison, so I was in you know, not even
it was it was I had a great time there.

(24:16):
Where was. It was completely immersive, like there was no
time off. In fact, the only time off we'd have
was Saturday night around ten pm, the last of the
classes we'd finish, and we with my friend Cheeky Johnson,
who's a big actor you know in the York City
in Chicago and and he's also has Nigerian roots. We

(24:37):
were just getting in his car and do that drive
straight down to Chicago and hit the nightclubs. And stuff
and drive home early hours of the morning and have
really dodgy Chinese all you can eat crab buffet or something,
you know, Yeah, exactly. So there were fun times, cold
but fun times and stuff. So I feel very so

(24:59):
much of my formative years from eighteen until you know,
I came back to England after drama school for several
years before moving back to New York. So America is
really a big you know, such a formative part of
my life there, you know.

Speaker 1 (25:15):
Well, you know, we have two powerhouses in terms of
Steppenwolf Theater Chicago's Shakespeare Theater. You're in London right now.
I've had the pleasure on my program to interview low
leader Chakrabodi, who's play right of him and Hamnet matter
of fact, and that just was just on stage at

(25:36):
Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Speaker 4 (25:38):
Yes, I was talking to at Hall who runs it,
and I go way back. He gave me my first
job at the Royal Shakespeare Company, you know, quite a
while ago at Hall and we were just on the
phone recently, and no, it's a great time for I mean,
the dream when we were in drama school was you know,
to get a call from one of the houses in

(25:59):
Chicago to that be your first job when you leave,
you know what I mean? Because of course it's such
a serious town for theater. It is such a serious
stuff of it. When you think of the Gary sonisis
the John Malcovich.

Speaker 1 (26:11):
Put Glenn Davis's name there. Who's that young producer of
you know purpose that had an extraordinary Tony Award winning
run on Broadway?

Speaker 4 (26:20):
Amazing? I mean, like I there's just such a culture
of nurturing theater for itself. Does that make sense? In
other major cities you feel there's a sense of theater
being sort of an avenue to other things to be discovered.
But there's a real pride in theater being just for
itself in Chicago, which I find very attractive.

Speaker 1 (26:41):
You know, this is this is a sensitive question for you. Yes, Black,
African and British actors are making a name for themselves
without question.

Speaker 5 (26:52):
What is some of the.

Speaker 1 (26:53):
Unique traits, if any, that they bring to the art
form that may differ from their American counterparts. Because the
acting is so good, so many times people don't realize
that they happen to be from across the pond.

Speaker 4 (27:07):
I find that really interesting because there is something weird
about how we're sort of separated as in black African
Brits as opposed to African Americans. Does that make sense?
I find that's really interesting. It has become a big
part of the dialogue which I think exactly acting is acting,
thank you very much, which really does upset me because

(27:29):
it drives a wedge in the fact that we are
all trying to make the best work we can do. Look,
this goes back for ages. You go back to Ira
Aldridge eighteen thirty three was doing Shakespeare in London. He
was an African American. He was an American and he was
doing it in London and across all of Europe. So,
first of all, the conversation that makes this seem like

(27:49):
such a new thing I find is a problem. I
really find that acting is acting and it's a very individual.
You can talk about the excellence of British Black actors,
but are you going to tell me there's been a
better Black actor on the planet than Denzel Washington in
the over the last fifty years. No, So it doesn't
excellence doesn't belong to one side of the Atlantic or not,

(28:12):
you know all. I will say that maybe attracts certain
directors to looking across water from America is is maybe
because we in general over in England it really is
a culture of shall I say, there's there's a real

(28:33):
nurturing of talent beyond drama school. Like you leave drama
school in England and then you have the RSC, the
National Sheffield, the Crucible, you have Bristol Old Vick, you
have the Young Vic, the Old you have Birmingham Rep,
Liverpool Rep. You have all these places you can go
to and immerse yourself in the skill of becoming an

(28:54):
actor theater actor for ten years, fifteen years nurtured that way,
Whereas in America that sort of company ensemble, which is
something at Hall's trying to change with Chicago Shakes, actually
doesn't really exist. As a young actor, you leave drama
school and you're then thrown into the wild to compete
with the A listers and compete with X, Y and

(29:15):
Z on Broadway, all the people that have been child
actors from there is a nurturing school. And our culture
is about apprenticeship, and part of that apprenticeship is specifically
apprenticeship with the classics with language, so that someone gives
you a script. The first thing I know I have
to do is I have to be word perfect. They're
not going in there to try and challenge the script
or improvise. I'm going to give you that script and

(29:37):
if you want me to then improvise, we can do that.
But I'm going to have that script cold because my
whole culture and upbringing is trusting the language on the page.
And I think part of that is why a lot
of directors and producers enjoy working whatever, because that's that's
sort of how we do it. It's the discipline. It's
the discipline is the crow that we have a chance

(29:59):
to just said big time, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (30:02):
I totally know what you mean, and the world is
the better because of it. Chikudi, I really want to
thank you for just giving your talents to us because
they are worthwhile to see. You can check out his
masterful work and Moses the Black that is available right
now on streaming and digital platforms. Thank you so much

(30:23):
for joining us this morning.

Speaker 4 (30:24):
Thank you so much, it was such a pleasure.

Speaker 1 (30:26):
Well, that wraps up this edition of Chicago Insight and closing.
Please take advantage of the useful information presented today. I'm
Daryld Dinard always remembered to use informed insight and everything
that you do.

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