Actress and vocalist Keke Palmer shared insights about struggles she has overcome in the entertainment industry with a group of Chicago high school and college students. On Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, the “hometown hero,” who grew up in Chicago and Harvey, Illinois, led a 30-minute question-and-answer session during a virtual workshop she hosted with Stanley Coleman Jr. Productions LLC, where she offered advice to the young, aspiring actors and actresses and discussed her upcoming role as a host for the MTV Music Awards.
Stanley Coleman Jr., CEO, SCJR Productions: With your monster work ethic, you’ve already begun preparing for the MTV Video Music Awards. How is your preparation?
Palmer: It’s still in the early stages. We’re getting some of the scripts to different people who are going to be performing and what special guests we may or may not have. I actually have a call tomorrow discussing all of that, and I’m very excited. But other than that, I’ve just been doing my usual running around, juggling that and a bunch of other things, too, that I have going on like “Proud Family” and other voice-over animated things.
Marshall Callery, Mather High School graduate: How has COVID-19 been affecting acting for you?
Palmer: It’s affected me quite a bit. I was just about to film a movie and it got pulled off, so it’s going to be pushed back until October. This [pandemic] has come so fast that there hasn’t been enough time to handle it the proper way. Some people excel with it, and some people are being held back. It’s very different. The wonderful thing is that I love doing things solo, so it lends me the opportunity to do a lot of my independent stuff.
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