a four questions
Rick Sperling chats with Platinum.
He certainly deserves a round of applause for enhanc-
WHAT BOOK, CD OR OTHER
MEDIA DO YOU LONG TO SHARE?
ing the lives of countless Metro Detroit students. RICK
SPERUNG founded the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit
I recently finished the book The Element: How
Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by
Ken Robinson. It's a powerful argument for
something we see constantly with the young
artists at Mosaic, that finding something
you're passionate about can make all of the
other pieces of your life come together.
in 1992 with a small loan and the dream of showcas-
ing the talents of the region's young people. Today,
the theater has thousands of supporters (including
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle
Obama, who recently made a $10,000 personal
contribution to Mosaic), more than 20 staff members
and about 500 school-aged participants. "It's a mys-
tery how the Obamas' gift came to be," Sperling explained. "The Mosaic singers
performed before one of the president's campaign stops in Detroit in 2008, but he
wasn't there to personally see them. The check just arrived in the mail. We're very
grateful." Sperling, 43, is an award-winning actor, director and playwright. A gradu-
ate of Oberlin College, he once worked with the Tony Award-winning San Francisco
Mime Troupe. Sperling's brother, Gene, was a national economic adviser to former
President Bill Clinton. But, Rick Sperling is most star-struck by the talented 12- to
18-year-olds he serves. "We provide youth development through the arts," Sperling
said. "We empower young people to maximize their potential; 95 percent of our
IF YOU COULD HAVE BRUNCH
WITH ONE BIBLICAL OR
HISTORICAL JEWISH FIGURE,
WHO WOULD IT BE?
I'd love to have brunch with Albert Einstein.
His statements about the importance of
creativity and the way he saw a direct link
between science and the arts are fascinating
to me.
participants go on to college." The theater is currently raising funds with the hope of
renovating and moving into the former Channel 56 building in Detroit's New Center
area. (Mosaic recently won $62,000 through the Chase Community Giving Facebook
challenge.) Sperling and his wife, Valeria Montes, live in Detroit with their daughter,
Ana Maria, 13. Here, we ask Rick Sperling our version of the Four Questions.
— Robin Schwartz
WHAT IMPORTANT LIFE LESSONS
HAVE YOU RECENTLY LEARNED?
Like many organizations, Mosaic was hit hard
by the recession; and for the first time in our
history, we had to cut programs and serve
Remodel your bathroom the
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fewer young people than the year before. This
was a real blow because every year since we
started in 1992, we had increased funding and
expanded to serve more youth. I was working
harder than ever, yet the external results were
flat. I really took it personally. Once I real-
ized that there were external things I could
not change, I focused internally. I focused on
my personal values and what kind of leader I
wanted to be. This helped me achieve some
peace of mind at the time and continues to
help me maintain a more grounded outlook.
WHAT WOULD PEOPLE BE
SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU?
I'm not musically trained. People hear the
breathtaking sounds of the Mosaic Singers
and they assume I'm a music guy. Actually,
I'm a trained actor and director, but I've
always had a love for music. So, I hired people
who had the right musical skills. Eventually,
it was one of Mosaic's alumni, Kenneth
Anderson, who developed the Mosaic Singers
into a concert choir and brought the group to
international prominence.
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