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Many actors have to leave their support systems behind when they set out to follow their Broadway dreams.<\/p>\n
But Kara Young, a Tony Award-winning actress who grew up in Harlem \u2014 and lives just three blocks from where she was born \u2014 has been able to share her success with the community that raised her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a super beautiful community,\u201d Ms. Young said of Spanish Harlem, the neighborhood on the east side of Manhattan known for its Puerto Rican culture. She attended elementary school and high school there after her parents immigrated from Belize.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut at the same time,\u201d she added, \u201cI recognize that I\u2019ve been privileged to be able to stay in the community I grew up in. Gentrification is real.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
It was at the 92nd Street Y, she said, that she first became hooked on theater. Her older brother, Klay, was taking a mime class as part of an after-school program \u2014 and a 5-year-old Ms. Young knew she wanted in.<\/p>\n
Soon she was performing with the other students around Manhattan, and \u201cthat set off my imagination,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She earned an associate degree in acting from the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts and balanced several rotating gigs \u2014 babysitting and working at a cigar bar, a restaurant and an office \u2014 while going to auditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said to myself, \u2018Either you\u2019re going to do this, or you\u2019re going to fail,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ms. Young made her Broadway debut in 2021 and won her first Tony Award last year<\/a> for her role as Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins in the Broadway revival of Ossie Davis\u2019s satire \u201cPurlie Victorious.\u201d Her next role is in the family drama \u201cPurpose,<\/a>\u201d set to open Feb. 25.<\/p>\n Ms. Young, who often plays young characters but declined to give her age, lives in a two-bedroom apartment in Harlem with her partner, the actor and playwright Biko Eisen-Martin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n CREATURE OF HABIT<\/strong> It doesn\u2019t matter how late I\u2019m up the night before \u2014 my body still gets up at 6:30 or 7 a.m. with no alarm. Sleeping in takes great effort.<\/p>\n WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE<\/strong> I\u2019m drinking water, then throwing some cold water on my face, then hopping in the shower. It wakes up my body.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Biko makes coffee \u2014 he\u2019s really into it. He grinds the beans fresh and does drip.<\/p>\n FAMILY BRUNCH<\/strong> I\u2019m usually working Saturdays and Sundays, so when I do have a rare Sunday off, it\u2019s all about spending time with family. We\u2019ll get together for brunch at Melba\u2019s<\/a>, or Archer & Goat<\/a>. I\u2019ll get two eggs over medium, maybe some turkey bacon. Or I might order a waffle, with lots of butter and syrup on the side.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n RETAIL THERAPY<\/strong> I love walking up and down 125th Street and popping into the beauty supply stores. They have everything you could ever need. I might get new earrings, or you can buy all kinds of different hair if you want to do your braids different, or new shampoos or oils for your scalp, or eyelashes. I\u2019m like a kid in a candy store.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n EAR CANDY<\/strong> I\u2019ve been getting into audiobooks lately. I was just listening to \u201cWayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments\u201d by Saidiya Hartman. And then the \u201cPurlie Victorious\u201d playwright Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee do the audiobook of their story together. It\u2019s amazing to hear their voices. I\u2019ve also started listening to music purposefully. I love Kendrick Lamar and SZA\u2019s new albums. I also listen to a lot of old-school reggae \u2014 Beres Hammond, Buju Banton and Sanchez. And rap, I need my rap! I love Tyler, the Creator and Doechii. I\u2019m also into this incredible Asian R&B artist named SAILORR<\/a>.<\/p>\n SUNDAY IS SHOW DAY <\/strong>When you\u2019re in a show, it\u2019s hard to see your actor friends\u2019 shows, because your performances are often on the same days and times. So when I\u2019m between shows, I go to town! I\u2019ll see a matinee, or maybe even two shows, if I can find one with an evening curtain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n CATCHING UP<\/strong> I\u2019ll spend the afternoon on the phone, calling up people I haven\u2019t spoken to in a while \u2014 my mentors, my family, my fellow artists. It might even be my mom, even though I might have just left her. Me and my mom can be on the phone for hours, and other times it\u2019s less than a two-minute call just to hear her voice. Sometimes I think I bother her too much! Also usually Portia, Liza Col\u00f3n-Zayas and Patrice Johnson \u2014 I\u2019ve been watching them for years and am in awe not only of their instruments, but also their spirits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n CHEF KARA <\/strong>If I have time, I\u2019ll cook dinner. I wish I had more time to spend in the kitchen; I love it. I take pride in my arroz con gandules, which I learned how to make from the Puerto Rican mothers of my childhood friends. You have to make your own sofrito \u2014 it\u2019s taken some practice! I definitely haven\u2019t mastered it.<\/p>\n BETTER OFFER<\/strong> Or I might go over to my dad\u2019s for dinner; my father is an incredible cook. His baby lamb chops are to die for. He\u2019s been in the hospitality industry for so long \u2014 he\u2019s worked at the Rainbow Room for more than 30 years<\/a> \u2014 and seen some of the best chefs ever cook. My father makes really great Thai food, fantastic Indian food, and, of course, traditional Belizean food. We get to taste a little bit of his hospitality education through his meals.<\/p>\n TURN-MY-BRAIN-OFF TV <\/strong>I\u2019ll end the night with either \u201cThe Real Housewives of Potomac\u201d or a documentary. I wouldn\u2019t call it winding down, though. My brain always feels like it\u2019s on.<\/p>\n ONE MORE TIME<\/strong> I shower at night, too \u2014 I like to be extra clean!<\/p>\n HEAD STILL SPINNING <\/strong>I crawl into bed around midnight, though I don\u2019t usually fall asleep until around 3 a.m. It\u2019s hard to turn my brain off. The characters I play never really go away \u2014 they live inside me. I was sitting across from this iconic actress the other day, and she told me she\u2019d heard that characters in plays are like spirits that haven\u2019t found a body. You happen to be the body that they are entering so that they can live for this moment in time. That\u2019s a beautiful way to think about it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n