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Leading Ladies Luncheon 2019: Kerry Butler

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Trinity Hall, an all-girls college preparatory school in Monmouth County, NJ, welcomed Kerry Butler as the keynote speaker for our annual Leading Ladies Luncheon. Ms. Butler is a professional actress, and we were honored to meet Kerry and hear her speak about her life and experiences.

Show Transcript

hello it is our pleasure to introduce Terry Butler has found tremendous success in her 20 plus years on the great white way she's gone from being an aunt to an award winner two illegitimate theater icon her co-stars week when they meet her because in many cases they grew up listening to her sing and dreamed of someday performing with I think she had her fair share she had her heart broken by chippies professional rejection and pride production failures but has always responded to the disappointment in the same way Hardware heading to be other characters but she knows exactly I got you guys did your homework here. Sounds amazing hearing about it at my table and I am to talk a little bit about two of your core principle if your perseverance and faith is the other right so my mom was a teacher nobody in my family was in the Arts at all and I thought that was it to let me audition for it so took me how to school and another part of my future husband he remembers our principal Sister Mary Our Queen getting on the past call she has her final call back for Annie but so anyway just for I didn't get it and then I auditioned for Annie and then I came home from school there was a message on my answering machine as one of the orphans in the anterior to leave my family are screaming jumping up and down then there was another please disregard that last message we dialed the wrong number actor and I think all of you everfilter going into you can you can make this work for you to because you know whatever when you're a keeper job you just can't take it personally whatever you do like they're not your hair they're not like I'm jealous because I had the same name as their niece you just do your best and then let it go okay so then I didn't get any but I did get this Cabaret Broadway Station purple worms for this, Ray in the city where we get paid and ice cream sundaes everyone all the kids were actually on Broadway so the kids would be wearing t-shirt of the show that there has never been on Broadway then you maybe I will make it one day even though some doors closed you have to embrace the little successes and not going away went to how do I get commercials so I didn't all the time high school for my college with the money I made from commercials and my agent at the time because I was making a lot of money commercial I wanted so I had whatever I got to cancel me to work on that I still I constantly take I I constantly work. So I went to college there my first semester I got a letter saying stay in the program and I was devastated and when I when I when I get upset about something I allow myself a day to really indulge in that they all had some and then I get it since I let myself like living that rejection and then and then it's like out of my system and I can move on and I'll say okay now what am I going to take to be better next time making through the program my time at college so many times I'll see people who like you have to have a really strong I finished college and I got a job my senior Year Edition while I was still in school for truck tour of the show Oklahoma is basically you get on the bus and you drive the theater tonight and then you get back on the bus Drive 3 hours to the next place we're going to until I did this in your aura is getting paid to travel and I don't know if the whole show in English except for Italy and a few other places but it was amazing and during our 7 a.m. session if you want to ask questions about that there are some good stories about to Oklahoma end of the road and I started losing my voice and by the end of the air was coming out Italy and you know he's being Italian which I don't have to go home so I go home and I see a doctor in New York and they say Mission taco you'll be okay for cell phone no texting I stopped talking for a month I would go out with a chalkboard my friends would like one of these would be yes to be swimming Nike Jordans with a different voice teacher this is very specific to serious but I was up I'm a big Belcher which is like like Julie Andrews and then I'm kind of type and I wasn't doing it correctly so I started studying with someone and not on what I've never had a problem now I do like showing half hour Todd needs instruments from my Khalid I got I don't do it anymore and they're the ones who got me when I was in college semester in London and I saw the Show brothers and three times favorite show take me to Broadway what time is it but somehow they got me in and the time you can shoot like usually you know you want this for one person then they got me into the final like juicers and everything's like that this song called I just want to be a star and at the end the producers that's me Harry I think you will be until then I fight he called me back. and when I finish my teens should I just disappear every single night then I got tasked as the swing which means I basically undercity for a much different people I got to watch it every single night people I saw in one day and they were incredible and this is my first Broadway show and then I ended up moving into the show and I did it with a lot of people you guys won't remember but your appearance might like the John Cassidy and Terrell King into I'm so it was it was really really really exciting and a great first experience to do lots of different shows like Angela Lansbury James Earl Jones and her something I learned from this and the light. Is that you are your own best advocate so you should know your own strengths and weaknesses and then fight for yourself and like okay so I'm a terrible dancer I taken dance classes firelight so people might be able how did you do that you be on Broadway and now I am turn my business into a positive who is every show there's like a Moment Like This trying to be good just now I have a moment and Advocates you can't pay for everything is your number and then you fight for the that you think that you can actually get cuz I don't like everything's a okay now the second part of my Little Caesars going to be about a lot of things my life based on signs that you might think I'm crazy when I was little I have very specific plan for my life I was going to be a superstar by 8:30 getting married to a six foot tall blonde Baker I am after the after I did my brothers I went to LA to become a superstar and nothing I wouldn't remember him dating him so I called him to break up with him the real never even discussed getting married like never ever spotted my dad singing this is going to be my house weather and I see this list that I had us write I talked to him the next day he called me because I said no I was I survived that I found today so I'm glad he died I can't even tell you how many times I called off the wedding because I was so scared it wasn't what I wanted and he's so great he's he's totally not. he's not blond he's not 6 feet all I know what you're thinking getting released a banker and uncertainty every other day I think it's just a great to have this person in my life I'm so glad you see that people who have really good hearing I just set up so much better to handle the stress stresses of life and the struggles that happen in life being a good parent how blessed I really don't talk to another child and so I really really want to take. And my husband said he loves me after you've been married like 10 years and he was like we open our Bible and turns the passage whoever welcomes a child in my name welcomes me and he's like the Bible for me turn it up half as if I was just sign the boys up and then we get this now this time he was really mad that he got the sign meeting all these people talking about adoption and how it changed you you're going through something he's like we ended up adopting our daughters we were just really wanted to help somebody to we wanted to go through a program that we knew was saved because so many times I adopting from other countries that you can turn into something so we go to China and then right because of the Olympics I don't want to look like they have a lot of show me the doctor so they said when you switch to a doctor for Museo wedding the best best thing I ever did in my whole life with two daughters from there now 7 a.m. to Maya and they're amazing and option is that little girls never known the world advocate for the African American Community like my daughter with him here in a cab which is about 4 years old and commercial for portal what show has all brown people and I could always have a lot of shows have it usually it's just one and so she thought I was holding up something that you know a lot of things it's just been a great experience and and also the other day and 1/2 which mrs. teaches you in your drama classes so you know when they said we weren't doing China. so that's also something that I've done a lot of my career like one of my hardest hardest I ever did and you believe cease all the time done it with crazy and I went to rehearsal I'd like to register for he was so hard I couldn't even like think of my life because I didn't think it was a fire. I'm not to be able to ask you know for like a month or something by Tony Barr herself Lego Iron Man I got asked to play Hillary Clinton in a musical Hillary Clinton to me but I decided I wasn't doing anything, like Hillary Clinton I really got inside and I didn't fail you like anything so when you say yes you're really scared to do then who knows what will happen so those are the things that you and lastly what this is about becoming a I always thought when I saw it was starting to use that she she I realized when I started my work so many people need you until I see you again because you can add and how everyone around you right now especially with Instagram Instagram especially music too good this whole thing now we're supposed to be positive things are all sending meter so you can do on YouTube you can follow your passions and racing happen for yourself or how old you are and start that pack and I just want to say a little something for you this is what I say to my daughters when they were little this is their favorite song and I think that it's like sunrises everything that your mom has shoot you in every way show me all the shoes I'll help you with those feelings that was a bonus so I'm treating you have some question I know that she's a little bit about having a story so if you have a question question over here that's a great question again knowing what you want in life is anything important and making sure that you are on the same mindset as your agent isn't it doesn't matter if the huge agency or small eyes and see if they really leaving they're the ones we're going to push for you and everything like that but if you have choices I don't want to be a superstar anymore now I just want to have my family and I love what I do so like my insurance turn down without me knowing because they wanted me to like you free for TV and stuff and so when I found out yeah I'm having open communication but knowing what you want to look like I'll be able to lead one time and then I'll be you know just a member of The Impossible because I don't care about your ego that only one you know when my agent has money I have no idea what I do I just want to do it I don't care and so yeah finding a person who also had the same vision for you is important Belinda what time is it I think trust their passion because that's what's going to money isn't necessarily going to make you happy my husband and his parents said that she couldn't go to school and the artist they told him he had to go to the only minor now so he had to go for economic and he does remember no head became a puppeteer did amazing so I think when you really are really happening stay open to whatever like I want to be on Broadway snot is there a dream is to be an artist than you can support that in any way and they can do that anywhere and be successful when you really yourself that's when you get in trouble so if I say to say I want to be working I said I can work in DC I can work in Seattle's there's so many places that have a great art community 2% of all jurors or people who won the actress come to New York ever get a paycheck for acting 2% of all actors and soap with but that doesn't mean you can't be an actress someplace else doesn't mean you can't be an artist some place out there I knew I feel like from when I was in high school Nissan connection to God and I felt like might have more than being hot and I was searching for deeper connection and I'm still searching in my changing and I think it's cuz it's a real relationship you know just like your relationship with your husband your relationship with a rude time are you saying you love me love me everything is going to be me and I have so I was going to open shoe shopping churches in politics has really might hurt my face like I felt like a lot of things Jesus was being corrupted in a way really questioned my face and then I found people being exactly Jesus loving people in so when I saw that I believe in God anyone else I just think that you just can't take it personally it's just like we know when you meet somebody somebody is going to see in this room like I think it is a certificate like if he is going to meet you in Japanese. so when you get bad criticism is my dear I can't take it personally and trying to decide if I want to forget about it I don't want to be why are they calling you know I just forget about it and I just think you know that's my job I just needed my job that's the hard part and doing the work is the easy part I think this my favorite part about Maya High School just a question of sitting in a group and and really questioning all of the things that the Bible says I think religion religions and I love all of the things that come along with that the value except that like I love your horse or principles I think I can my school I was so focused on where I wasn't a great student because I just wanted to get out and want to do so how to reset my teachers had told me how I could use all of these things and I like calculus with all of that stuff everything you learn is incorporated depending on what character you're playing science is really into science science for dummies what about your daughter how old are they now and so my daughters are sick 13 she's just starting to look at high school and take me to LaGuardia in New York school where's my daughter to take acting and stuff but yeah cuz she's not she's not that into it she wants to be a model and she wants to start her own skin care line and my daughters also think like going to Broadway so supportive as soon as I said that I wanted to do it at 9 teacher and she would take me right after school on auditions at least three times a week into the city but I have my own daughters no giving in my dad said he just said the other day mission for anyone you made the final call I was trying not to cry that day cars were really little I had a nanny and a dragon crazy my first show was when we first adopted my daughter and I needed to have Sundays off so I have like a real and the hard her with my daughter when she was my husband I was never there at night and Sonam Kapoor trying to think TV show in LA but yeah that's why I will turn down. The student out of that pipe or take a break six months but yeah definitely definitely heard my husband doing a show in La for four months until this all this while I was opening hang my older daughter $20 in the morning to get her sister ready so that I can have an extra half hour of sleep to half hour ago. thank you so much thank you so much thank you Perry I really enjoyed that I hope you as well I kind of mentioned it when there was a question if Carrie could sing again and I think we were all asking that question now hard but if you would like to see Carrie obviously I'm going to go see her in Beetlejuice have a nice long run Rihanna on the back of your menu cards and has carried style and it has the name of her album which is about available on iTunes so I don't think Harry would mine one day if you downloaded that today okay so take care thank you can we just give her one more round of applause and I'd like to thank all of you for being here today many of you are here multiple you so thank you watch for continuing our tradition of inspiring our junior class as they enter the very intimidating world of networking wish that I hope you enjoyed that they've enjoyed speaking to you as well what time can I can I ask for 11th graders to see a note please AR young ladies this is our class of 2020 there are rising seniors they are wonderful young ladies they are smart they are spice continue to grow great things for this world and in this world so we are looking forward to seeing your growth in the next year girl thank you so much I want to give a shout out to our lungs along table what's up Spanky Brown somatic appointment at this point we're almost ready to class that we've only had two classes at fragile we are we are relentlessly proud of you and as you know if you walk into the door the Trinity Hall we grabbed you like we haven't seen you in years and years and years it feels like that because we saw so much of you coming back this year this year at Trinity Hall we just completed building a overnight we doubled our square footage and the suit quickly in the new space I found their own little nooks and crannies of places that they enjoy to spend time learning or not. because as I well know as the director of admissions there is a constant need and a real desire for girls in this area to have an all-girls option for school so if you're interested as we continue to expand there are as narrates romance mentioned at the beginning you are beautiful artist over here from Anthony it's amazing to work at CSUN show Lily is going to create if you take your time to share a time to shine did you have a couple of ways that you want to share with her she is going to graphically record on the time to shine our collective experience here today still bouncing song please please share them on your way out please give those cards to Lily and she will incorporate that into the artwork you may have mentioned the big table on the way in so those were generously donated by Broad Street dough, which is a woman able to support Front Street no, please do follow follow them on Instagram and the social is called a step-and-repeat backdrop with take a picture. That was really funny so please take a picture and share it on Instagram or Twitter you're all dressed up and he was really nice to me and my friend new friend girl do you want to grab some of the channels are on the back of your car so follow her on Instagram and she mentioned she does talk a lot about the Gratitude and and there's also some really cool backstage thing so if you're interested or I can get a suit from their keeping in touch with Trinity Hall can I put our souls at Trinity Hall NJ on Instagram and Twitter and I just put my business hard on every table so if you have any questions so please feel free if you have questions about anything that happened today if you want to donate to try to call that be okay behalf of everyone here at Trinity Hall thank you so much for being I'm actually at this time we're all collectively say goodbye to Carrie because she's been very humble but just kind of casually how to make a addition to a performance tonight she has a Tony rehearsal so we're going to jump in her car yet stadio olimpico

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Leading Ladies Luncheon 2019: Kerry Butler

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