Kara Young: Tony Winner on Theater's Urgency

Kara Young, a recent Tony award winner, reflects on the vital immediacy of live theater. She recently made history by being the first person nominated for a Tony Award four consecutive years in the Best Featured Actress in a Play category.

Young is now performing in the Broadway revival of David Auburn's "Proof," a play where she portrays Claire. This production is notably the first on Broadway to feature Black leads in this specific play, aiming to unlock Black genius and explore themes of gentrification, mental illness, and grief.

She emphasizes theater's role in communal experience, stating it can change brain chemistry by offering moments that shift consciousness. Young also anticipates the release of her film "Is God Is," a project she describes as an epic sister-love story, a Greek tragedy, and a unique cinematic offering.

Young feels honored to inhabit and represent complex Black female characters, stressing that their stories are nuanced, universal, and varied. She finds deep personal value in community building within the theater world, prioritizing this over fleeting accolades.