Actress Porscha Coleman Talks "Black Sistas" and Growing Up in Hollywood
Music Matters with Darrell Craig Harris - Darrell Craig Harris
Actress Porscha Coleman discusses her role in Tyler Perry's 'Black Sistas' on Paramount Plus, her Hollywood High School roots, and the importance of arts education. She reflects on her journey from background actor to le
Key takeaways
- Arts programs shape future talent
Transcript preview
Welcome to Music Matters Podcasts with Darrell Craig Harris talking about all things music with celebrities artists music, with celebrities, artists, music business insiders and more. weird when I'm not busy. So yes, very busy and loving it. Yeah, it keeps us, it keeps me out of trouble anyway. Come on now, let's have the trouble. Exactly. So you have an interesting history. You're a elite character in Tyler Perry's divorce sisters, which is on Paramount Plus, formerly on another Wreck network that was merged. Really interesting show, a drama from what I just what I was checking out and it's at times intense drama but awesome. You're a Van Nuys, California girl. A lot of famous folks came through Hollywood High School. A lot. Yes. Yeah. So tell me about the show because I know that's what everybody is interested in for sure. It's gotten a lot of a lot of press, a lot of word of mouth. Yeah, absolutely. We debuted in July of 25 and we initially came out on BT plus. So that was basically like Tyler Perry's, that the cat for all their original content and now Tyler Perry has merged all his content and now he's on Paramount Plus. So our show debut show debut the biggest show that B. E. T. Plus had ever seen and now we are here we are a year later and we just had part B of our show they just aired it just wrapped up a couple weeks ago and now we're breaking numbers and doing big things on Paramount Plus so yeah I'm a Valley Native born and raised 818 like I said I'm definitely a Valley girl I'm a Valley girl born and raised which I'm so proud of and Hollywood High School so proud to go there. at Hollywood High School. So if you ever drive by there, you'll see that they have murals of like all the artists' photos. So it's like, today, I'm like, I want my picture right on the side over there, you know, since they have everybody else. Yeah, and it's a good, it's a good to be part of that alumni class for sure. It's a prestigious student, and that's a great area. And if you're in television or you want to be in TV movie, of course, of course. It's kind of course, it's kind of course, it's kind of course, So it's amazing how the schools that I went to were performing arts base and I wish they brought these programs back like I said every day after school I had music I had dance it was choir then it was back to dance and it was back to drama like we got all that stuff for free so grateful for that because even though I was acting at seven before I got to the school I every day I was doing it in school and then when I was out to do work it just helped so much I wish those same programs were around and they're not as much due to budgets and budgets and funding so I wish I wish our I think it would help kids kind of bond. You know, we love computers and technology, but our generation of kids, whereas in the rooms, talking, interacting, and we socialize, you know, I don't want that to get fully lost in this generation. Yeah, and those programs, and I'm a California school kid too, back, you know, way back when I'm probably, I'm older than you are. But the awesome thing was, yeah, I had like tons of music classes, but it's a clay for young Instead of doing other things, I was going to dance class and after that it was like six or seven o'clock and then you had to go home do homework and do it all over. So I do believe that these programs kept kids active but it also took their passions and gave them an outlet. The kids that you know are doing things now that don't have an outlet that's why they're acted up. That's why they're getting into trouble. They need things to do because now it's so easy to get quote-on-quote bored, even though there's a lot to do. I wish our school system would really it was amazing you know what I'm saying so yes my training I I really do bank and helped cultivate who I can be today yeah and it's important to have mentors and and positivity as we as we know we need positivity in our life it's not it's not an easy world I mean you're man for whether it's your family whether it's your friends you need people that are like minds and that's what I loved about my junior high school everyone in our school was also in performing art so you have Columbus short that was in Stomp the yard you had malaic You had Mikey Minden who is the choreographer and tour director for the Pussy Gad dolls like we had so many entertainers that were at our school. It's like you're walking on the hallway seeing kids that are doing exactly what you're doing. It's competitive in a good way because it really motivates you to like I got to be on my game right? Yeah like it's funny it's funny. It's like it's funny. It's funny. It's funny I even graduated early. It's a year early because I had a year early because I had so I had so I had so many credits a year early because I had so many credits, I had so many taking whole school and was going to summer school in between the times that I wasn't, I could have graduated as a junior at 16. So for me, I was able to work on sets as an adult even though I was only 16. Because that's what they consider, you know, being emancipated in a way when you have to go to school and take that time off of being on set, they rather cast a one over 18 to look younger. So for me it held that I got my diploma. I was still able to do that transition well, but as an adult on paper. And you're, host, obviously actress, who were some of your early heroes? Who were some of the performers that you looked up to and either acting or singing or whatever? Of course. I mean my first first memory was, and I have this, this is on VHS at my mom's house. I was in a talent show with the YMCA and I sang Janet Jackson's I miss you much. I had a flashlight and I had two backup dancers and the whole time I just said, just do the running man. That was the hottest at the time. I had a running man. That was a man. I was a hot. I was a hot on that little YMCA room with a flashlight doing my Janet move. So she's one of the first artists on the music side though I totally remember and seeing like oh my God I love her and her stage presence and just in who she was because my mother is a lot older than I was