Clik 4 Ur Success: October 2011

All Photos: Alan Mercer

I met Actress Tina Parker through my friend Richard Levi when I was in Dallas recently. Tina has been a Co-Artistic Director and Administrative Director of the famed Kitchen Dog Theater for almost twenty years and has recently made a splash as a semi-regular on AMC's hit show 'Breaking Bad.'

Besides her breakthrough role on 'Breaking Bad' Tina has also been featured in several other TV shows and films including 'Trespass' with Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman, 'The Final Destination' and Robert Altman's 'Dr.T and the Women' with Richard Gere.

She has starred in and directed several plays at Kitchen Dog where they are committed to providing a place where questions of justice, freedom and human morality can be explored. They invite their audiences to be provoked, challenged and amazed. Since theater of this kind is not bound by any tradition, Kitchen Dog Theater is committed to exploring these questions whether they are found in the classics, contemporary works, or new plays.

AM: Tina, are you from Texas?

TP: I'm a native Texan...yes!

AM: What part of the state are you from?

TP: I was born in Woodville which is in Southeast Texas and very small, but I've lived in Dallas the longest so I'd say I'm from Dallas. I'm a card carrying State Fair Season Pass holder! (Laughter)

AM: The state fair is going on right now. Have you gone?

TP: Oh Yeah! I've been there three times so far and there's still a week left. You can go to the livestock section, the food section, you go to the rides and look at people.

AM: We're here at the Kitchen Dog Theater and I wonder how you got involved with this?

TP: I went to school with the founders at SMU. They were in Graduate School when I was an Undergrad. About two years after I graduated I started working with the company and I've been with them ever since. Now I'm one of the co-artistic directors here. I've been here forever. The theater is in it's twenty first season and I'm on my nineteenth.

AM: Did you grow up knowing you were going to be an actress?

TP: Pretty much, I always felt like it was my niche' as a kid. We moved a lot so I always had to be a clown. It's just where I fit in. I read really fast so my teachers were always encouraging me to act out the books. I toyed with the idea of being a heart surgeon when I was in fifth grade and in first grade I thought I'd be a horse jockey but I was already too tall so that was depressing. Actor was the last thing that was left!!!

AM: You seem to have a slant towards comedy.

TP: Yes I guess...I don't know.

AM: Do you act in a lot of dramas?

TP: I do actually. Kitchen Dog is known for that. I've really done a mix of both comedy and drama. The film work has been a mix as well. I've played a lot of Lesbians and cocky yard guards...stuff like that! I have a pretty wide mix of work out there.

AM: You seem to working a lot now and getting great reviews!

TP: So far so good. You go through spells as anybody can attest. There was a big jag last year where everything was work, work, work and that was awesome. Now all that work has come out and I'm not booking as much work at this moment. It really is the ebb and flow. You take it when you can get it. I've been fortunate to get a lot of work the last couple of years like 'Breaking Bad.' That was a huge boost for me!

AM: What's it like working with Bryan Cranston?

TP: AMAZING! He's an Actor's Actor for sure. It doesn't matter what side of the camera he is on. The camera can totally be on you and he is still giving you 100% and if he gets a new idea from you he will go that way. I'm trained in the theater more than film so it's exciting when you have that connectivity of moment to moment work. He has that listening ability, he is so present.

AM: Do you have a preference in working in theater or on film?

TP: I'll be honest...I still really love the theater. There's nothing like doing a show. The audience is the last component that gets added to it. Things can change every night. You're always going in the right order. In film you can be filming your love scene the first day and the part where you get to know each other is filmed three weeks later. In theater you have the progression, so you have the natural sense of propulsion, that's a good way to describe it. There's just nothing like performing in front of a live audience.

AM: Do you enjoy the reciprocation of the audience?

TP: I enjoy the energy of the crowd. The way that Kitchen Dog Theater is set up you are really close. If you wanted to you could reach out and touch an actor on stage. The energy they give you is amazing and that's what's exciting about it. That makes it different from any other art form performance to me.

AM: Have you directed before?

TP: I direct theater all the time. I'm directing a show right now actually.

AM: Is directing more or less fulfilling than acting?

TP: It's harder. You are handling more details and I'm kind of OCD with the details. It's a lot more effort. That's one of the reasons I've stayed at Kitchen Dog because I get the chance to do projects that I want to do.

AM: Why did you get into all this theater?

TP: It's just where I felt I fit and I felt good doing it. I was lucky because I found my place. I was never a desk clerk who hated my job. I did have to wait tables for ten years. That sure helped me with some of the characters I've found on screen. I don't have to do that anymore. On my last day I got a gold lapel pin from the restaurant. My career as a waiter was over.

AM: What advice do you give to young actors?

TP: Keep yourself engaged and recharged. Keep educating yourself. Take risks because if you try to play it safe the payoff isn't going to be as good. Trust your intuition and don't give up!

Learn more about Kitchen Dog Theater here http://www.kitchendogtheater.org/

All Photos: Alan Mercer

True soul music evokes emotions and speaks straight to the heart of the listener. Robert Gee not only continues the great legacy of soulful singers, he evolves it. With a rich, seductive voice he has crafted a multi-dimensional sound that is at once uniquely his own but reminiscent of the great crooners who came before him. He has no problem serving up his own brand of modern day soul complete with lush, harmonious backing vocals that are a delight to the ears, however his forte is delivering quiet storm ballads.

Hailing from the city of brotherly love, Robert Gee is an heir apparent to the “Philly Soul” tradition. However, it is his electrifying stage presence and voice that has critics saying, now it’s his turn to rightfully take his place as the next big thing in music and with such an impeccable reputation as a showstopper, Robert Gee is bound to become an icon.

I met up with Robert Gee at his home in the Leimert Park section of Los Angeles. We took these photos in the street. Robert is very easy to photograph!

AM: Robert, I know you are a great Soul Singer...so my first question is were you a child Soul Singer?

RG: I actually was!

AM: Where did you grow up?

RG: I grew up in Philadelphia and the only music I listened to was my Mom's record collection that included Ray Charles, Nancy Wilson, Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin. Those were the LP's you would find in her stereo so that's what we would listen to. Then when I got old enough to know what the radio was I listened to WDAS which is all Soul Music.

AM: Who were some of your favorites?

RG: I was into Earth, Wind & Fire, Heatwave, Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes with and without Teddy Pendergrass, Patti Labelle, Phyllis Hyman, Chaka Khan, Minnie Ripperton, Parlament Funkadelic, Jeffrey Osborne and Peabo Bryson. These are the singers that groomed me, also Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder.

AM: You can tell that by listening to your album. Did you have any training as a child?

RG: Yes I did., voice and piano. I was a classically trained singer singing R&B, LOL. I started singing professionally when I was fifteen.

AM: Did you have 'the voice' when you were five? You always got attention for your voice?

RG: I did. I always got attention for my voice...because it was a unique voice and my dancing too. When I was a kid I would look at Michael Jackson and go, "Wow! How do you get there? I can do that." I was fascinated with the fact that the Jackson 5 were who they were. They were on TV and they had a cartoon. I wanted to do that too.

AM: What was your family life like growing up?

RG: I'm the youngest of six and I came into the family at a very challenging time. My parents were divorcing my Mother shifted from Mommy mode to Survival mode. Suddenly she is responsible for a big house and our private school. We all went to Catholic School. Anyway my Mom had to work many jobs and consequently there wasn't a lot of attention paid to my gifts and talents within the family unit. We were trying to make it…and did. It wasn’t until my brothers and sisters started getting married that the attention came from the in-laws. They would ask my siblings if any of them had heard their little brother sing or seen me dance. They were the catalysts for giving me platforms.

AM: So you felt what they were saying?

RG: Absolutely, intrinsically I knew it was true. I think all people who have this gift know. I knew when I was five years old that I would be an entertainer. That was my proclamation.

AM: And you have never varied from your path have you?

RG: No, other than some survival jobs. Back when I first moved to Los Angeles all my friends told me you get a job at a restaurant at night and go to auditions in the day. I never got any of those jobs. They always said, "Don't waste yourself here." I ended up in real estate! That’s my daytime grind.

AM: Have you worked as a background singer?

RG: My first was with another Philly native son named Donald Welch when we were younsters and he was doing his nightclub act. He's a writer/director here in LA now and he just directed me in one of his productions called "The First Lad of Zion". However, my first celebrity caliber artist I had the honor of working for was Vesta. But I've done BGV work with Norwood, Laurnea Laurae, Atlantic Star, Kashif, Teena Marie, Tevin Campbell, Bee Bee Winans and Lashun Pace to name a few.

AM: How are you doing since we lost Vesta? I know you were close.

RG: I've known her now fifteen years. We were friends…really family because everywhere we went she told everyone “this is my brother ‘Roberto”…I am profoundly baffled and heart broken by these events and have to stop now...

AM: I understand how difficult this time must be for you. I love Teena Marie too. Tell me a little about your experience with her.

RG: Well Teena was changing personnel in the middle of a tour. I had known her for years before she even heard me sing. I remember the night she heard me sing. She had a pool party and the guests had all left so just a few of us were hanging out in the kitchen and someone asked what was everyone's favorite Teena Marie moment. I had too many moments but I told her my favorite song of hers was 'Now That I Have You' and we started singing it! That was the moment! It was so magical. Pamela Williams was there too. After we got done Teena told me she was so mad at me. She said, "Dude, how long have you been around me and I didn't know you had this beautiful voice!?!" Unfortunately after rehearsing me to get ready to go out with her, I never got to go but will never forget that experience… Both Teena and Vesta were very musical women and demanded your best, even in rehearsal.

AM: How wonderful! Do you mean the saxophone player Pamela Williams?

RG: Yes one of my best friends from High School. She is on the title track of my CD 'All My Love.'

AM: Awesome! Didn't you work with Luther Vandross as well?

RG: Yes I was in the 'Power Of Love' video when I first moved to LA. I went to the audition and all they asked was could I swim? Yes I can. I didn't get picked but I had a phone message when I got home and it was the casting office saying that Mr. Vandross had come into the office and saw my photo I a stack of Polaroid's and wanted me in the video. It was awesome, there was a moment on the set when Luther called us together and said " Look, I know you guys will be lipsyncing but I want you to learn this chorus like you really recorded it!" so he actually rehearsed us to get the words and timing down and I will never forget standing next to him singing and what "our" voices, his and mine sounded like...magic!

AM: How awesome is that?

RG: I am beside myself because Luther is one of my vocal heroes. He showed me how to do R&B first class. He was perfection.

AM: Now you have your album all finished and out there!

RG: Yes I do...and...the irony is, it was funded by real estate! My day job…LOL

AM: Your CD is titled 'All My Love' and it's about love.

RG: What is life without love in some form? Whatever kind of love it is we were made for it. We're here to love each other. As we're learning love it takes on so many different shades and colors.

AM: Love is the foundation of breathing.

RG: Totally. That's why I called the CD 'All My Love' and I'm so proud of it. It garnered me a BMA 2010 Best R& B Male Vocal Performance Awards from the Black Music Association.

AM: Are you recording new material already?

RG: Yes I am. The single is being mixed as we speak. It’s a collaboration between Maqman productions out of Switzerland. It will be ready for a top of the year drop! Very excited about it. I am three songs into the next project. I will definitely collaborate again like I did on my first album.

AM: You wrote most of the songs didn't you?

RG: Yes I wrote four by myself and collaborated on the other seven. Then there is one cover.

AM: I love your version of 'Round Midnight.' Are you doing another cover on the next album?

RG: Thank you, I am. I love Jazz standards so I am preparing my fans for something exciting, sexy and very eclectic. I like to bring something fresh to a timeless tale…One of the first bands I ever fronted was a jazz band called “A Different Class”. So it is a part of me, in my musical DNA, my roots and where I came from. I am honored to carry on the legacy of great soul man and women that have paved the way and gone on…speaking of…R.I.P to my girl Vesta Williams, one of the best to ever do it. I humbly dedicate this to your memory.

You can purchase Robert Gee's fantastic album 'All My Love' at CD Baby, Amazon and I-Tunes.