Michelle Kholos Brooks On How Live Arts Helped Teach Courage, Authenticity, Vulnerability & Career Success
An Interview With Vanessa Ogle
Any live performance takes courage. You leave yourself open and vulnerable to judgment and mistakes. It can feel like the whole world is watching, but you do it anyway.
The stage is a powerful platform for personal and professional growth. Through live arts, individuals learn to embrace vulnerability, project authenticity, and muster unparalleled courage. These experiences not only shape artists but also prepare them for varied career paths with a distinctive edge. From actors and dancers to directors and behind-the-scenes creators, the lessons learned in the limelight often translate into profound career success beyond the footlights. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Michelle Kholos Brooks.
Michelle Kholos Brooks is an award-winning playwright with productions staged internationally. Awards and distinctions include the Susan Glaspell Award for H*TLER’S TASTERS and the Riva Shiner Comedy Award for KALAMAZOO, co-written with Kelly Younger. ROOM 1214 was a finalist for The Ashland New Plays Festival. HOSTAGE was a finalist for the Woodward/Newman Drama Award, The Fratti-Newman Political Play Contest, and a Showcase finalist for the National New Play Network. CHAIR received second place in the Firehouse Theatre Festival of New American Plays. Brooks earned a B.A. from Emerson College and an M.F.A. in Fiction from Otis College of Art and Design. She is the Playwright-in-Residence at NewYorkRep, a board member of ShPIel-Performing Identity Theatre Project, and a member of The Dramatists Guild of America, The Playwright’s Center, and Pacific Resident Theatre. In addition, she is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career in live arts?
I was always a writer but for a long time I kept my work contained within limits that felt safe to me. I was a journalist — doing feature work and producing, but all within the confines of reality. I wrote fiction on the side. It wasn’t until I started seeing theater in LA that I got activated to try playwriting. When I had my first short play produced, it was awful and thrilling at the same time. I felt incredibly alive. I’m not a daredevil — I have no interest in skydiving or bungee jumping, or any of that. For me, seeing my work on stage feels like freefall.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
I think the most interesting thing that’s happened to me was when a four-star General came to my house to talk to me about my play, War Words. I had written a docu-play that consisted of interviews with people who had served during the Long War in Iraq and Afghanistan. After we met, we went to the theater together and watched the show. He took notes the entire time and I was mortified. He was scheduled to talk to the audience at the end, and I was sure he would recite a litany of things he hated or that I had gotten wrong. I thought about running, but there were too many people who expected me to be there. Thankfully, he surprised me by being very complementary. He went on to become a great supporter of the play. When I started this project, I didn’t know anyone in the military, and now I occasionally email with a four-star general.
Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Perseverance. I think most artists hear “no” more than we hear, “yes.”
- Patience. Actually, I’m not very a very patient person but I don’t have much of a choice. Waiting for “yes,” “no,” is inextricable from the experience. I’ve had to make my peace with patience and trust.
- Sense of humor. The endeavor of theater can feel absurd. Sometimes you have to laugh to remember it’s not brain surgery.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. How has a live performance experience directly influenced a critical decision or leadership style in your professional career?
This may not speak well of me, but before I wrote plays, I saw a show with prominent actors in a prominent theater. The actors did a magnificent job, but the play confounded me. I thought it was quite dull, outdated and transparently manipulative. At the end of the show, as the audience applauded I thought, “Well..I know I can at least do that.” That’s when I got the nerve to start writing plays. It was a lesson in realizing that I may not write the best thing, but I may not write the worst thing either.
Can you describe a moment on stage that taught you a profound lesson about vulnerability and how you’ve applied that lesson offstage?
I’ve participated in a number of 24-hour and 48-hour play festivals, where I was given prompts and tasked with writing a play in one or two days. It’s a terrifying endeavor, but I believe I’ve written some of my most interesting work under that kind of pressure. There’s no time to doubt or question yourself. There’s no time to second-guess. Of course, the plays have to be shaped and refined once the exercise is over, but it’s amazing what emerges when there’s no time for filters. So I’ve learned to trust my gut and embrace my impulses instead of worrying what anyone else will think about the first draft. That draft, maybe the first five drafts, are for me.
In what ways has the discipline and creativity demanded by live arts shaped your approach to career challenges and opportunities?
I’ve learned that nothing good happens overnight. You might suddenly get discovered by the greater world, but sitting down and doing the work — being invested in the day-to-day slog while being committed for the long haul is the only trick, as far as I can tell.
How do you think the authenticity required in live performances has impacted your personal brand or leadership identity in your career?
You can’t hide when you are on stage or when your work is being done onstage. If you’re not presenting authentically the audience is going to know. Also, I’ve learned that ten people will write about the same subject ten different ways. I’m the only one who can write through my authentic lens.
Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Ways That Live Arts Helped Teach Courage, Authenticity, Vulnerability and Career Success?”
Any live performance takes courage. You leave yourself open and vulnerable to judgment and mistakes. It can feel like the whole world is watching, but you do it anyway.
Live theater demands authenticity. The audience can smell an inauthentic moment a mile away. They start fidgeting the second that the writing feels contrived.
Over the years I’ve learned that the only way to get to the truth of a play is to leave myself vulnerable to express the work in a way that is 100% through the lens of me. Not what people expect the work to be.
It’s hard to define success in the arts. Often the rewards are not monetary. For me, success comes when I’m writing and I, “crack the spine of the story.” It’s the moment when I discover why I’m writing what I’m writing. The reason is never as simple as, “This would make a good story.” There is always something in the story that I connect to deeply. I discover something about myself every time I write a play.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I feel, very strongly, that you either believe in equal rights for everyone, or you don’t. There’s no parsing it. No one is entitled to more stature than anyone else. It’s all or nothing. That would be my movement. All or Nothing. To be honest, I’m not much interested in the “nothing” people.
How can our readers further follow you online?
My website is MichelleKholosBrooks.com or follow me on Instagram at michellekholosbrooks
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.
Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle.
Michelle Kholos Brooks On How Live Arts Helped Teach Courage, Authenticity, Vulnerability & Career… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.