Tracie Thoms

Tracie Thoms: I love doing ensemble work, which is one of the reasons why I always gravitated toward Rent-it's such an ensemble show, and everybody had their moment, and everybody got to support each other. And again, here I am, I keep repeating--I have this pattern in my life of being the new girl all the time.

Tracie Thoms: (About telling Jesse L. Martin that she was going to play Joanne while filming Law and Order with him) I'm like, "Hey Jesse, it looks like we're gonna be spending a lot of time together." And he's like, "We are?" I'm like, "Yeah. I'm Joanne." [imitates Jesse gasping] "ACTION!

Tracie Thoms: It's like, I'm like a RENThead, and somebody called me up and said, "Hey RENThead, why don't you be in the movie? Would you like that? Would that be fun for you?" I'm like, b-,b-, but before I was, you know, standing outside trying to get in to see the Rent, you know, and now you want me to be in the Rent. I don't understand, what happened? Who owed me a favor?

Tracie Thoms: Hi, my name is Tracie Thoms. I'm playing Joanne. Jefferson. Not of the Jeffersons on TV, but the Jeffersons of Rent. And, um, Im a lesbian lawyer, whose in love with Maureen.

Tracie Thoms: Acting is something that I just love to do. I trained for it 17 years. Every time I tried to walk away from it, I was miserable. It's like I have to do it. I try not to mystify the whole thing, but it really is a magical experience for me. It's hard to explain the joy I get from essentially dressing up and pretending I'm other people. Some days it seems rather silly to me. But then I remember what fuctions I serve as an actor. First and foremost, I am a storyteller. Without stories to tell and to listen to, life would be a boring, mundane place. I help people learn about things and experiences they might not know otherwise. I make people laugh, and sometimes make them cry. It's a very important responsibility.