Question
You sound like you know yourself very well. Do you?

Answer
I don’t think I know myself well, but I am getting to know myself better every day. If you know yourself well, what is the point of continuing to live? There is a lot of confidence that comes with knowing you are a work in progress, that you don’t have all the answers.

Question
I know you spend time at your Urban Arts Partnership.What’s your philosophy when you walk in there to work with students?

Answer
I give them guidelines. I tell them about people I grew up with who used weed, Ecstasy and drugs and they’ll be laughing at me. And then I tell them how those kids are all 50 million steps behind me now. All those kids had the same ability as I did but they didn’t focus. I am tough with students but I don’t insult their intelligence. I don’t handle them with kid gloves and I will not give them bullshit. The only way to teach effectively is to be open and see who the students are and you do that by saying who you are. I am very honest, and I let them know I am not trying to be better than them.

Question
I understand you are going to be on TV again, yes? And you are also appearing at Manhattan Theatre Club?

Answer
I am. I am going to be on a 2012 episode of “Nurse Jackie” on Showtime. I am playing a patient with a terminal condition. And at the theater, I am in “Close Up Space” and it’s going fabulous. I love the stage.

Question
What’s something no one knows about you?

Answer
I am a cornball, very corny and goofy and silly with family and friends. I love to watch PBS, I love the Discovery Channel. I love Harry Potter. I had a hairdresser who was from Connecticut, Johnny Lavoy.

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The 17th annual “In the Company of Women” luncheon begins at 11 a.m. with a networking session followed by lunch. For ticket information call 860-525-1163.