Apollo’s Kamilah Forbes explains how she used 'blind-faith' and 'stick-to-itivenes' to find success

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Kamilah Forbes answered your questions about her career and the inner workings of the industry.

The road less traveled can be a lonely one. And if you don’t have the support of close friends or family when embarking on an unconventional career path, it can be tough.

For Kamilah Forbes, she had three career options growing up: to become a lawyer, a doctor like her mom, or an engineer like her dad.

Children often follow their parents' footprint when it comes to their career, and that was Forbes’ intention at first. She studied pre-med her first semester in college at Howard University, but quickly turned her attention to a degree in theatre, a choice that alarmed her parents at first.

“That was a big firestorm in my house,” recalled Forbes, who has directed and produced for theater and television.

But Forbes’ love of theatre, which dates back to her childhood, was too strong to deny. When she was a child in Chicago, her parents took her to plays and musicals. She recalls being spellbound by the lights, sounds, and action taking place on the stage.

“It shook me to the core,” recalled Forbes. “I thought, ‘Wow, I want to do that. I want to create that for other people, that kind of experience, that kind of magic.’”

In her 20-year career, Forbes has worked on several well-known projects, including HBO’s "Def Poetry Jam," the PBS documentary "The Women’s List," the Broadway revival of "A Raisin in the Sun," and NBC’s "The Wiz Live!" She’s also taken home several awards for her work, including a Tony and an NAACP Image award. Now as the executive producer for the Apollo, which celebrates its 85th anniversary this year, Forbes is responsible for everything that happens on the iconic stage.

In this episode of #HowIGotHere, Forbes shares how she used blind-faith and stick-to-itiveness to find success in the arts and ascend the entertainment industry.

Whether it’s your business, your work or career aspirations, how have you handled unsupportive friends or family? What did you do to overcome doubt from others?

Here's a transcript of the video:

Kamilah Forbes: As the executive producer of the Apollo, I am responsible for everything that happens on the stage. I would say, I create magic on the stage.

Maya Pope-Chappell: Kamilah Forbes is an award-winning director and producer, whose body of work spans television and theater. From her work on the Broadway revival, "A Raisin In The Sun," to "The Wiz Live!" for NBC, her programming and productions often infuse hip-hop and spoken word, art forms that have inspired her since her youth. This is how she got here.

Forbes: I was first introduced to the theater at a very young age. One of the first musicals that I saw was a musical called, "Once On This Island," about a young, Caribbean, brown girl searching for true love. That was a musical that really changed my life, and it was one of the first times that I saw myself reflected. And with all the bells and the lights and the magic of the theater, I thought, 'Wow, I want to do that, and I want to create that for other people, that kind of experience, that kind of magic.'

Growing up in Chicago, Illinois, of Jamaican parentage, both of my parents were very much like, 'You have three career options.' You could either be a lawyer. You could be a doctor, of which she is, or an engineer, which my dad is, and that was it. So my second semester of school, I came home and decided that, 'You know what? I'm not going to be a doctor. I'm going to be an actor,' and my parents basically fell out.

Forbe's father: Mom didn't like that too much. It took me a little while, but it took Mom much, much longer.

Forbes: Yeah, you came around a lot easier.

Forbe's father: No, Mom didn't go for that at all, because Mom didn't see the ability to survive.

Forbes: My mother said, 'Well, we're not paying for that, so you need to figure it out.' They literally sent me back with no tuition money. But you know what? It taught me a huge lesson because it really forced me to think, 'Okay, do I really want this?' And I did it.

Forbes: It's not the easiest journey.

Forbe's father: No, but you know, you got to go with what you feel, what you love.

Forbes: Yes, that's true.

Forbes: So, I literally knocked on every single administrative department head door, and I got a scholarship from the Department of Theater Arts, that ultimately paid for my tuition for the next four years, but I had to work for it. It's that kind of stick-to-it-iveness, that kind of focus and drive, that if you don't have that within the arts, it's a tough road, because in the arts you really have to make the road while walking. For me, it was a lot of having to go out on blind-faith, on my own faith and trusting myself that it would all come together at some point.

Pope-Chappell: After graduating from Howard University with a theater degree, Kamilah worked a series of side jobs, receptionist, bartender, roles that gave her the flexibility to work as an actress.

Forbes: A lot of times, when through a hard situation, we want to get over it quickly. Rip off the bandaid quickly and keep it moving, to get to the good part. But I think it's important that we walk through failure slowly. I remember I was told this, that it couldn't. It can't work. That's a pipe dream, but trust your voice, and I think every moment of failure should be a moment of learning.

Forbes: I love it. I like this take. You're right. That's a one. That's the one.

Pope-Chappell: After co-founding, the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, which produced shows at the intersection of arts and hip-hop, she moved to New York City.

Forbes: When I moved in about 2001, I met a director who ultimately would become my mentor.

Pope-Chappell: That mentor was Stan Lathan, a legendary director and producer. He'd become instrumental in helping her ascend the entertainment industry.

Forbes: Because of the work that I was doing with the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, I was in the spoken word community, so I knew all those players. I interviewed as an assistant. He said, 'Actually, I'm not going to hire you as my assistant. I think I have something better.' So then I became a talent executive on a show, that ultimately became Def Poetry Jam.

Forbes: Then eventually Executive Producer, and then I became the tour director of that show, as well, and on Broadway. That show toward nationally, internationally, won a Peabody award, a Tony Award, and I think working with Stan was really pivotal moment in my career, because it also opened up this potential of directing for television. He, being one of the early first Black directors in Hollywood, it was really pivotal to see him in action and to have a model that I can say, 'Okay, he did it and so can I.' So being able to maintain good and healthy relationships are key; not burning bridges are key. How you treat people, very simple, it's key, particularly in this business, because the entertainment business is quite small.

Another pivotal career moment was actually a concert that I created, directed and produced at the Kennedy Center, with Nas and the [National] Symphony Orchestra.

Forbes: It was the 20th anniversary of Nas' "Illmatic" album, and at that time the National Symphony had never collaborated with a hip hop artist. So that was a dream project.

My one piece of career advice is to try everything. Once you try everything, you will find your purpose and your passion, but don't feel as though you have to be limited by anyone else's expectations, choices, decisions. We only have one life.

That moment when I'm in the theater and the lights go dim and the audience feels that magic, or that moment of transformation, or walk out feeling transformed from the theater, that's when I know I'm in the right space. This is exactly what I was sent here to do. I'm walking and living in my purpose, and as long as I have those moments in front of me, then I know I'm in the right space.