Day 174: Grace Fraga

March 23, 2010 at 12:01 am, Category: Inspiration

“I believe in comedy, because comedy really lightens up the load of life itself.  So I think that by doing comedy and showing people that my problems can be made light of, then that inspires them to do the same thing or to at least laugh for a second and just forget about their own problems.  So I find comedy to be very rewarding and very inspirational.”

.

.

Right click here to download…

.

Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Grace, for agreeing to be part of the Project today, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?

Grace Fraga: Well, first I wanted to thank you, Toni, for inviting me to be on the Project.  I’m very excited, and yes, I’m actually a comedian, and like most comedians and actors, I teach part-time.  You know, we have a part-time job.  So that’s what I do for a living.

Toni: Well, Grace, when you think of that word inspiration, who do you inspire and how do you do you that?

Grace: Well, I think we can inspire people on a daily basis, sometimes without even knowing we’re doing that, and people are like, you know … you say something and they’re like “Oh wow, you just inspired me to do this or that,” and that was not your intention.  That’s one kind of inspiration that I find, you know, throughout my life.

And another type of inspiration is what you do.  You know, I do comedy and I teach, and I don’t just do it for the money or for, you know, just to have a job.  I do it because I really believe in what I do.  I believe in comedy, because comedy really lightens up the load of life itself.

So I think that by doing comedy and showing people that my problems can be made light of, then that inspires them to do the same thing or to at least laugh for a second and just forget about their own problems.  So I find comedy to be very rewarding and very inspirational.

Toni: Absolutely; and how does the inspiration translate into the work you do with kids?

Grace: Well, with kids it’s really incredible.  It’s just … I love kids, first of all, so it’s just a natural thing for me to teach them.  I teach them math, language arts, and swimming.  Swimming is a lot of fun because it’s like two kids playing.  I’m like a kid in the water with the kids.

The main thing is I deal with a lot of kids that are low-income kids that through a program of the LAUSD they get to have free tutoring.  They can’t afford it, of course, but they get to have it for free, and they’re the ones that need it the most.  So a lot of these kids are in low income areas and really bad neighborhoods, dangerous neighborhoods, which I venture into and it’s kind of crazy, but I don’t care.

And just the fact that I’m Hispanic, by the way, and you know, I have three college degrees and it’s almost like, I think, a role model for them.  Like “Oh wow, she speaks Spanish like my mom and dad and she teaches, she’s a teacher, and she has, you know, college degrees,” you know, and so that inspires the kids.

As a matter of fact, one of the kids’ parents, when we finished the 30 hours that we do with every kid, came up to me and said “Thank you so much because you inspired my kids to continue their education.”

Toni: Oh, that must have felt wonderful.

Grace: It felt amazing.  He said that way they “would not end up in prison like I did.”

Toni: Well that is just such a great lead-in, Grace, to the second question of the Project, which is what do you do to help explore the potential in others?  And you’ve stated a great example of that through the kids.  Are there other examples with the kids that you help them to explore their potential, and then also, how does your comedy, do you think, help explore potential in others?

Grace: Well, first of all let’s start with the comedy.  With comedy, I used to do a TV show, a talk show … I actually shot 100 episodes, and I made it a point to do that show, produce that show and host it because it got me away from myself.  Because show business can really get you to be kind of egocentric and all about you, and you get focused on the wrong things in life, you know?  You know, the short-term things and the “I want to make it, I want to make it!”

So it gave me an opportunity to actually help other people, a lot of people who had never been on TV, a lot of fellow comedians who had never been on TV, help the musicians and the comedians and the magicians and everybody that was on the show do their thing on TV.

And it got me outside of myself by … as you know, interviewing other people it’s really not about you, it’s about the other people.  So it really actually inspired me more than anything also because of the people that I had on the show.  You know, I learned a lot from them, and I think it inspired them to be on the show.  It kind of, you know, made them think, especially people that had never been on TV, like “Wow, this is so cool, I really want to do this.  It’s fun.  I get to show my talent, showcase my talent,” you know.  It was a really great thing for me and for the other people, and that was very rewarding.

As far as the kids, what I do is I inspire them more than anything to continue their education, and I explore what their likings are.  Like if they like math or they like, you know, language arts or social studies or whatever they like, I usually try to guide them, like “You’re going to go to college, right?  You know that you can do it, and you can go to a community college or you can, you know, ask for a grant or a loan or, you know, as a minority.”

And so I always put that in their head and make sure that they know that they’re great and they’re appreciated and they’re smart, and they’re wonderful, and they have incredible potential to be whatever they want to be.  I always make sure of that.

Toni: It sounds to me, Grace, that the same thing you do with the comedy with the show that you had done — you said you showcased talents – that’s exactly the way it’s coming across that you do with the kids that you work with, that you work with them to bring out those talents and gifts and showcase them.

Grace: Yeah, wow, I should be an agent.  What am I doing on the stage?  That’s where the money is.  You just inspired me!

Toni: Well, good!  So there you go – thanks again for another great lead-in.  What do you need to be inspired?

Grace: More money.  Give me some cash and guess what?  I will be fine for the rest of my life.

Toni: All right, well there you go – so more money, we could put that down; but what else inspires you?

Grace: Well, actually, my dream, believe it or not is – this is kind of like my thing – I would love to make it in show business and make a lot of money and have a name for this reason only – I’m telling you, I’m weird.  I want to build an arts academy for low income kids where they can do theater, they can do painting, they can do music.  Because a lot of these kids, I find, have artistic talents, and at school they don’t develop it, or their parents don’t have the money to send them to a piano teacher or a, you know, painting, to do painting – to do anything.  So that would be my dream, actually, to build an arts academy for low income kids and get, of course, sponsors and all kinds of things, but that’s my dream, really.

Toni: And so that’s what you need to be inspired, is to hold onto that dream.

Grace: Yes.

Toni: And to stay in this business, I would imagine, you would need to … the business that you speak about, you would have to be inspired towards a dream.

Grace: Yes.

Toni: That’s interesting, that the money, the holy grail of money is being fueled by a whole other dream.

Grace: Oh yeah, absolutely, because you know, how many lunches can you have?  How many cars can you have?  How many houses can you have?  You die, and you don’t take it with you.  You know, when I saw my dad die seven years ago, it was like, you know, it really gave me a lot of perspective.  I’m like “Wow, you really just go naked out of this world.  You come in naked, you go out naked.”

It has to be more … there has to be more than just, you know, I want to make money to have stuff.  No.  There has to be something that goes beyond, way beyond that, and actually unfortunately, my father’s death was like the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced, and it was also the most inspiring thing, which is so strange to me.

So that’s what inspires me.  It’s not about, you know, being famous or being, you know, it’s really … the meaning of life to me is to give to others.  It’s not about me and my pleasures, it’s about giving, and I find more pleasure in giving and inspiring than in getting stuff for myself.

Toni: It really sounds similar in thought to a gentleman we had on the Project who said … had a similar experience that you did when he lost a parent, and he said … and then he became sick, and he said “I started to realize that why do I … I will never know what my legacy is.  You know, people will have thoughts of you.  I won’t know what my legacy is, so I’m going to make my legacy and live my legacy now,” and it sounds like that’s what you’re doing.

Grace: Yes, absolutely.  You know, I did have – I still do – an art gallery, a painting gallery, with my ex-husband, and you know, I made money and I went to expensive restaurants and I traveled, and I did the whole thing.  And let me tell you, I was never as empty and as unhappy in my life as that time of my life.

So money does not give you happiness.  I know that.  There has to be something more to life than just making money and, you know, just being shallow, enjoying the shallow things in life, I think.  It’s just how I feel.  It doesn’t mean it’s for everybody, but that’s how I feel.

Toni: So how did you get into comedy?  How did you … are you a stand-up act?  I mean, how does that happen?

Grace: Yes.  Well, when I had the art gallery, as a matter of fact, people would come in, and they were like “Oh, you need to do stand-up, you need to do stand-up, you’re so funny, blah, blah blah,” and I always really wanted to do it because … like I’m from a family where if you didn’t tease each other, and if you weren’t smart and witty, you were dead, okay?  So it was a survival thing for me to be funny.

And so, I really started like about 12 years ago and then I quit, I chickened out, and the bug just stayed with me.  I really wanted to do it.  It’s just very intoxicating to make people laugh.  It’s just incredible.  It’s like better than drugs, seriously, and I’ve never done drugs.

Toni: And so this is … that’s the path that you chose to go on.  You just kind of went for it.

Grace: Yes.

Toni: When you find yourself needing inspiration and you’re waking up one day and you’re going “Gosh, you know, I’m going to need a little inspiration today,” what do you find yourself reaching for?

Grace: Inspiration.  Well, like on an everyday basis?

Toni: Or just, you know, let’s say today you wake up and you’re like “I’m very uninspired today,” or you need to kind of, I don’t know, reenergize and you’re looking for that inspiration.  What might you reach for?  Are there tools that you go to, to reach for consistently?  Are there are books or music?

Grace: No, I just go on Facebook and see what other people are doing.  Other people have lives, okay, let’s get on with my life.  That’s what I do.  That’s the honest to God truth.

Toni: You are first person to answer that question with Facebook!  So that’s pretty good!

Grace: Then the people are lying, because they do the same thing, you know it!

Toni: Oh my goodness …

Grace: You see how many people answer on Facebook?  I post something, and there’s like 20,000 comments.  What are these people doing?  What am I doing?

Toni: Oh my gosh.

Grace: Oh, yeah.

Toni: So what do you do, Grace, to continue to explore your own potential so that you can keep doing the great work that you’re doing and also get that dream to come true?

Grace: I look in the mirror every day and see how much Botox I need for the next three months, that’s what I … no … I … you know, I always assess what I’m doing and I’m never … you know, I’m one of those people that I’m an over achiever, so I’m never happy with what’s happening, so I’m always assessing what I’m doing.

Like “Okay, where am I as far as my goals are concerned,” and “I’m so far behind that I should kill myself” … no … but that’s what I do.  I assess every day, and if I get discouraged, which we all do, you know, we have our periods when we get … nobody is happy and inspired all the time, of course.  So when I get down and I’m like “Oh, you know, what am I doing?  What is this?  I’m bored, I’m tired, I’m depressed, blah, blah,” I always think about “Well, why was I put here on earth?  You know, what is my mission?  Why am I living?”

Again, it’s the same answer.  It’s to give to others, and really inspire others.  And by inspiring and giving, I think that you get more out of that than by being inspired by others or receiving from others.  I mean, that’s how I feel.  It took me a long time to figure that out because I was like “Give me, give me, cookie, cookie,” you know … but I find that giving is actually very blessed.

Toni: What’s really cool in this interview, Grace, in such a short amount of time, is the fact that you were able to say that you help others showcase their talents and their gifts with the kids that you work with, and also the show that you did, by allowing others to come on board and have it not be about you.

And so what’s really cool about this is that even with your potential and what you need to do to explore your own potential, it’s to showcase your own talents and your own gifts that so you can help others do the same when you realize your dream, and that’s what I heard.  That came full circle here.

Grace: Oh wow, I didn’t even plan it.

Toni: That was really cool.  Good luck to you, Grace, and we will have, at the bottom of the interview like we always do, a way to get a hold of you and see what you’re doing.  And for the interview today for the Get Inspired! Project, we thank you so very much .

Grace: Thank you so much, and I wanted to plug something.  My DVD, “Full of Grace,” is available on iTunes.

Toni: Okay!

Grace: Yay!

Toni: Thank you very much.

Grace: Thank you so much.

___________________________________________________________

For more information about interviewee:  www.gracecomedian.com

.