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Kenny Leon Quotes

Powerful Kenny Leon for Daily Growth

About Kenny Leon

Kenny Leon, a prominent figure in American theater, was born on February 17, 1950, in Atlanta, Georgia. Raised in a humble environment, he developed a deep passion for the arts at an early age, often finding solace in the local movie theaters and community productions. His career took flight when he moved to New York City to study at the Herbert Berghof Studio. After making his off-Broadway debut in 1973, Leon quickly ascended through the ranks, directing for regional theaters across the country before landing his first Broadway production, Ain't Misbehavin', in 1978. Leon's work, often steeped in social commentary and cultural relevance, has significantly impacted the American stage. He is best known for directing the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Raisin in the Sun (1996), and the groundbreaking revival of A Raisin in the Sun (2004). Other notable works include Fences (1987) with James Earl Jones and Viola Davis, and the Broadway debut of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson (1990). Throughout his career, Leon has been recognized for his contributions to theater. He won a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for A Raisin in the Sun and was nominated for numerous other productions. In 2018, he received the prestigious George C. Wolfe Lifetime Achievement Award at the Drama League. Leon's impact extends beyond the stage, as he has been a vocal advocate for diversity and social justice in theater. He served as Artistic Director of the True Colors Theatre Company in Atlanta from 2000 to 2018 and continues to champion new voices and stories in American theater.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The power of theater is that it has the ability to change hearts and minds."

This quote highlights the impactful nature of theater, suggesting its unique capacity to influence people's emotions, perceptions, and ultimately, attitudes and actions. By presenting stories and characters that reflect real-life situations, theater provides a platform for audiences to empathize, learn, and grow. Thus, it can potentially prompt changes in individuals' hearts (emotions) and minds (opinions), fostering understanding, tolerance, and progressive thinking in society.

"I think our responsibility as artists is to reflect the world we live in and help people understand each other a little better."

Kenny Leon's quote suggests that artists have a crucial role in society, which is to mirror and interpret the complexities of the world we inhabit. Through their work, they aim to foster empathy and understanding among people by exploring various aspects of human life and culture. Essentially, art serves as a bridge for communication, helping us connect with one another on a deeper level, thereby promoting unity and mutual respect in our diverse world.

"The stage is a place where we can speak truth to power, and remind those in power that they're human beings too."

This quote by Kenny Leon suggests that the stage serves as a platform for expressing truth and challenging authority. By using art and performance, it offers an opportunity to hold powerful individuals accountable, reminding them of their shared humanity beyond their positions of power. In essence, the stage is a space where empathy and understanding can transcend social hierarchies.

"As an artist, you have a duty to serve your community, not just entertain them."

This quote emphasizes the responsibility artists bear beyond merely providing entertainment. Kenny Leon's view is that artistry should extend into serving communities by using one's creative talents to enrich, educate, and inspire people, fostering growth, empathy, and understanding within society. It highlights the potential impact of artistic expression on a community, suggesting that artists have a unique role in shaping culture and engaging in social change.

"Storytelling is essential to the human spirit. It allows us to explore our fears, our hopes, our dreams."

This quote emphasizes the significance of storytelling in human life. By telling stories, we have a platform to express and understand our deepest emotions and aspirations. Storytelling provides an avenue for exploring our collective fears, joys, and dreams, fostering empathy, understanding, and connection among individuals and communities. In essence, Kenny Leon suggests that storytelling is not just entertainment or information transmission, but a fundamental means through which we navigate and enrich the human experience.

I grew up a poor kid in Florida, and I was always in Florida living with my stepfather and my mother, and we used to, every year, sit down and watch 'The Wizard of Oz.' And I think to this day that's probably the foundation for everything I've done since.

- Kenny Leon

Year, Florida, I Think, Stepfather

Broadway, in my opinion, is a microcosm of America. Those challenges that we have in our country, I think we still have those challenges on the Broadway stage. I think there are far too few African-American directors working on Broadway.

- Kenny Leon

Think, Country, Still, African-American

I think 'Holler If Ya Hear Me' is almost 'A Raisin in the Sun' 50 years later, with just a different 20-year-old voice speaking the words. But it's about access to the American dream and equal lives having equal value in America. It's still holding a mirror up to us so we can see ourselves.

- Kenny Leon

Mirror, Voice, I Think, Raisin

I've directed 'Raisin in the Sun' five times. You keep discovering things. You keep on seeing things in the script that you never saw before. That's what great pieces of art do.

- Kenny Leon

Art, Directed, Discovering, Raisin

As an older generation, we need to give all our young people love and the possibility of realizing their dreams. For instance, if I get really political, the fact that some people can't go to college, can't even think about college, that's not American; that's not right.

- Kenny Leon

Love, College, Some, Realizing

I've always had an affinity for writers who have a poetry background, so I always liked Tennessee Williams.

- Kenny Leon

Always, Tennessee Williams, Tennessee

I always approach every play based on the cast. When Denzel and I did 'Fences,' I didn't go to rehearsals and say, 'OK, James Earl Jones did a wonderful job in '87. Let me see if you can come close to James Earl Jones.'

- Kenny Leon

Play, James, Wonderful Job, Rehearsals

To me, I'm sort of like Dorothy in 'The Wiz.' It kind of parallels my life. It's a story that reminds me... that home is where the love is. So if I go to Tampa or St. Pete, and I feel the love there, that's my home. That's where the love is.

- Kenny Leon

Love, My Life, Tampa, Love Is

In the early '90s, there was an attention to diversity. In this country, diversity was a good thing. People would use words like 'multicultural' and like it. Now, politically, those words are out. But I still feel theaters have to be diverse in order to survive.

- Kenny Leon

Country, Feel, Use, Theaters

The first 45 or 50 years of the regional theater movement, all these folks, they built these theaters. The job of the next generation is to maintain them.

- Kenny Leon

Generation, Next, Regional, Theaters

As I tell young people in workshops, 'It's your country. If you came here on the bottom of a slave ship, if your people came here seeking political freedom - however your folks got here - it belongs to you just as much as it belongs to anyone, so claim it. It's your birthright. America belongs to every person who is here.'

- Kenny Leon

Country, Here, However, Claim

Great theater continues to bind us, one to the other, and most of us will travel far and wide to see a good story told well.

- Kenny Leon

Other, Good Story, Wide, Bind

There's room for Spike Lee's movies; there's room for Tyler Perry's movies. There's room for classics with an all black cast. There's room for all of it as long as we don't try to make any one piece define us as a race.

- Kenny Leon

Black, Race, Classics, Perry

I love the idea of live theater the best because you are sitting there with the community in the dark, looking at the light, and that's really - you can't get any higher than that.

- Kenny Leon

Love, Best, Idea, Live Theater

I've always liked that idea of a diverse group of audience members sitting together, rubbing up against each other and taking on the life of a culture that doesn't belong to either one of them.

- Kenny Leon

Audience, Always, Other, Diverse

I came from the South with a mother who was hard working, so I love going to work every day.

- Kenny Leon

Love, Going, South, Hard Working

I don't know how racists live with their racism. We need to take the road of love. I don't think folks are born that way; it's learned and taught out of fear.

- Kenny Leon

Love, Racism, Think, Racists

When I'm acting, I'm just worried about that piece of the pie, contributing to the whole. But when you're directing, you... get the vision out of your head and on the stage.

- Kenny Leon

About, Contributing, Whole, Worried

I love film because you have the last word. I never get that on stage because you've got to really believe; you've got to get the actors to trust you, and they have to believe in you, and then hopefully they will when you open the show.

- Kenny Leon

Love, Trust, Last, Hopefully

Broadway is the same as Hollywood. Every few years we say we reached the mountaintop, then we take two steps back.

- Kenny Leon

Back, Hollywood, Broadway, Reached

When I'm working in television, I've learned you've got to work fast. You don't have time to rehearse; you don't have time to just mess around. You've got to move quickly. So I pick that up from that world, and I also pick up the idea of development of character and development of situations.

- Kenny Leon

Mess, Idea, Quickly, Situations

President Obama became our first African American president, and for me, it is the stuff of which dreams are made.

- Kenny Leon

African American, Which, President Obama

As an artist, you're thankful to get a shot at a story more than once, because it doesn't happen all the time. Whether you talk about 'Hamlet' or 'Death of a Salesman,' you always want to see what the next group of actors will do.

- Kenny Leon

Death, Artist, Next, Salesman

I always say film is art, theater is life and television is furniture.

- Kenny Leon

Art, Always, Theater, Furniture

I tried to stay off the stage, but you know, I'm an actor; I'm an artist.

- Kenny Leon

Actor, Stage, Tried, I Tried

A lot of times, we are trapped by our own false sense of security. You can do whatever it is you put your mind to. Your goal is to find your purpose.

- Kenny Leon

Mind, Goal, Trapped, False

I'm not one to spend my life asking the question, 'Is there racism in America?' Certainly there is. But I want to do something about it.

- Kenny Leon

Racism, My Life, Certainly, Asking

I was a political science major. I was always interested in social impact.

- Kenny Leon

Always, Social, Major, Political Science

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