Page 46 - ABILITY Magazine -Cedric Yarbrough Issue

Yarbrough subtly illustrating his theatrical beginnings to Martirosyan
Martirosyan: What was the first production you took part in?
Lia Martirosyan: What got you into acting?
Cedric Yarbrough: I was always interested in acting, but in my high school sports was the cool thing to be part of, and I was still very into being cool. So I played a lot of basketball and football. But I always had that want to be in theater and to be a part of theater arts. But in my school, it was just a really nerdy thing to be a part of. Everyone in my school wore bowler hats—they were always on, always acting, and all so big. I was like, “I can’t be that, even though I wanted to be.
Yarbrough: The first production I ever did was A Streetcar Named Desire. I did that and really fell in love with lan- guage and scripts and Tennessee Williams and how you just transport people into this whole world by watching other people doing it. That really sat well with me.
Martirosyan: What high school did you go to?
My mother is really big into musical theater—The Sound of Music and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. She would wake us up in the middle of the night to watch these old musicals.
Yarbrough: This was in Minnesota at Burnsville High School. When I graduated, I was able to go to a commu- nity college where they didn’t have any sports and none of my peers were there, none of my friends, so I could really get into acting.
Martirosyan: That’s a nice memory.
Martirosyan: So you didn’t feel any pressure or judgment?
Yarbrough: She would make popcorn or mac and cheese or cereal or something, and wake us up. “Get on up! Sound of Music is on!” You know, that was before we had VCRs and all that kind of stuff. So that really fueled my first love of acting and theater and music. When I finally got to college, I was able to try it.
Yarbrough: No. So I was able to wear bowler hats and be as big and stupid as I possibly could, and then from there I got a scholarship and went to Minnesota State University, where I really got into it.
Martirosyan: Where did the comedy come in to your life?
Martirosyan: So you got a scholarship in theater? Nice!
Martirosyan: Accidental? (laughter)
Yarbrough: Yes.
Yarbrough: My family is hilarious. They’re really funny.
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