Live Life Your Way!.
[EPISODE] What Roles Are You Playing in Life?
Join Noreen Sumpter on Beyond Potential: Live Life Your Way as she mashes it up with Van Dirk Fisher, the Founder and Artistic Director of The Riant Theatre and the Strawberry One-Act Festival.
He has spent his career nurturing and inspiring New York City’s emerging actors and playwrights. A native of Brooklyn, he performed on stage and screen. Like most people who are committed to living their dreams, their dreams start early in life.
Van Dirk has always been fascinated by plays and musicals, exploring human behavior and seeing what he could reveal by how a story was told. Join Noreen and Van. Find out if you have a story in you that would look great on the stage.
Segment 1:
Noreen begins tonight’s show with a recap of a recent Black History Month event she attended. She is joined by Van Dark Fisher of The Riant Theatre. He discusses growing up in Brooklyn, attending School of The Performing Arts, and his passion for producing. He shares the importance of telling stories and how producing allows him to be in control of the narrative. Van describes his acting career beginning in middle school and throughout his adult life.
Segment 2:
Van tells how he uses dialogue from his home life in his plays. Noreen and Van share a love for finding dialogue in real life and hear hustling. Van brings up the history of the Strawberry One-Act Festival and how it began as a means to offer playwrights a platform. Van describes the plays he has written about racial events in America’s history. He describes how the visual aspect of theater allows him to move people’s souls and make effective change.
Segment 3:
Van shares the story of a Nigerian gay activist he worked with and the story of abuse he faced for being homosexual. Van further tells how the activist used the struggle of his personal life to touch people, spread his message, and ultimately heal himself. Noreen and Van express the importance of compassion and empathy in healing. Van explains how everyone has a story and his CORE project to assist playwrights with their vision. They pivot to method acting and how people immerse themselves in certain roles.
Segment 4:
Van shares how he got his name Van Dirk from his parents. He provides an update on the upcoming events for The Riant Theatre. Van and Noreen touch on the plays coming out in March at The Riant. Van discusses certain scholarships offered through The Riant and how people can give back through theatre. They conclude with a message about the importance of helping others and making a difference.