CHRIS CHALK Theatre/Film/TV Actor Shares His Formula for Success
Porfirio Solorzano
G
b y To m A l s i p
Goals. Confidence. A positive attitude. These are essential requisites for performers to succeed, according to actor Chris Chalk, who earned a Drama Desk Award nomination and a Theatre World Award for his role as Cory in Fences on Broadway and went on to win praise for numerous other film and TV roles, including his current portrayal of Lucius Fox on TV’s Gotham.
His message at the 2018 SETC Convention was the same in a room full of high school theatre hopefuls on
Wednesday night, in his electrifying Thursday keynote address, and in an interview with Southern Theatre magazine: There is no goal that is too big if you are willing to make it specific, approach it with confidence and a positive attitude, and put in the work necessary to achieve it.
“You have a question to ask yourself: What are you seeking to achieve?” he told his keynote audience. “Start
to develop [your goals], because that will give you drive. You’ll start to find your inspiration. You'll start to find the thing that makes you tick as you continue to explore yourself. Start, honestly, even having a mantra. I have a mantra that I use every single day. Every morning I wake up and I say this thing, and this thing was built of my dreams, meaning I know who I want to be, where I want to be, how I want to be, and how I want 28 x Southern Theatre x Spring 2018
