Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Kandarian.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Paul. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I always follow my heart, and thus far it’s led me down interesting paths, all of them satisfying, rewarding, enlightening in their own way. I am a freelance writer, preferring to do profiles on people, telling their story, because, throughout our lives and the lives of humans since our cave days, it’s always, always been about the story. We converse through a story, we learn, we thrive, we connect, we humanize. As a writer, I take the art and craft of story very seriously.
And especially as an actor as well. I did turn 65 in the fall, and have been acting 12 years now, not having the balls to try something that burned inside of me since I was a kid. I’d always wanted to be an actor, so in 2007, I tried, the bug biting hard and directly into my soul. I’ve not looked back since, doing scores of plays and in more recent years, films, including indie projects, student films, national films, international films, various commercials regional and national, educational videos, patient videos for hospitals, college films, you name it. Never do I feel more at home than in front of a camera, or on a stage. None of it makes me nervous. And none of it truly satisfies the ache to do more, again and again, and again, because that ache to keep doing it keeps it alive and fresh and immediate and so damned necessary.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Money, of course, isn’t that always the way? I think I’m reasonably good at what I do and should make a lot more at it – and I will. I see it happening as if it already has, manifesting it to happen, and it will happen. Meanwhile, the craft of telling a story is what keeps me going, and always will, even when the money comes in.
It’s funny, I know that my two main income streams from acting and writing are more of a trickle, albeit a very satisfying one. But absolutely nothing on Earth or in purported heaven could ever be more fulfilling. Every day, I remind myself to be grateful for what I have: The ability to tell stories the best way I know how. Every day, I tell myself I’m blessed with abundance because where it counts – in my soul – no one is richer than me.
Well-intended but oblivious people sometimes ask “Well, yeah, acting is great, but do you have a fallback?” I laugh and ask them “Do you have a fallback for breathing? Neither do I.”
No one gets into acting because they want to. We get into acting because we have to.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
By far, the acting I’m most proud of is with a nonprofit, Creating Outreach About Addiction Support Together (COAAST). We have a signature play, “Four Legs to Stand On,” a 35-minute piece about a family in crisis over the addiction of a child. We’ve been at it for three years, have done it all over Massachusetts and Rhode Island for thousands of high schoolers, hundreds of doctors and as continuing education for places like Children’s Hospital in Boston, the general public, dental conventions, etc. It is followed by a 25-minute talkback that is a powerful tool in connecting our stories: Virtually everyone who speaks up has a story of addiction, their own, their child’s, their father’s, etc. Some end happily. Many do not. But we share it all as a community. And as a community, we shall heal.
It is a piece that is being noticed; Boston Channel 5 earlier this year did a “Chronicle” segment on us, for which we are grateful. And we took our show to Washington, DC, to perform it for senators involved in the national opioid crisis, giving us a crucially important national platform.
In another COAAST component: My son is an Army veteran, war survivor, and recovering addict who is also involved with us. Through our nonprofit and with the Harvard University Health Story Collaborative, my son and I wrote a powerful piece called “Resurfacing,” a true telling of his addiction through my eyes and his. We just did a shortened version for the VA in West Roxbury (I play myself, another actor plays my son), and as of this writing, are scheduled to do it for health professionals at Harvard Medical School. It is a piece quite near and dear to my heart and one that will travel the country, of this I have no doubt. My son, who lives in Framingham and is pursuing degrees in psychology at UMass.-Boston, is also a public speaker, telling his personal story of addiction wherever he is needed to do so. I could not be prouder of that boy.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success… what does that mean? To me, it’s finding oneself, one’s mission, one’s heart and following it, and I’ve done that my entire life. Materialistically, I have an old car, few possessions besides stinky hockey gear, worn shoes, and a fat cuddly cat well into his senior years, but that suffices. My acting has brought me accolades and awards for works shown at various festivals, and that’s great, of course, there’s no question that it’s encouraging, rewarding, affirming. And humbling.
But I get up every day knowing true success comes with human connection, helping others in any way we can. For me, that is by telling stories, in print, on camera or on stage, my own or someone else’s. We are all here on this great, green spinning orb in the vastness for the cosmos for the veritable blink of an eye. If we can make someone’s day or even moment better at that time… you tell me what success is better than that.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.coaast.org
- Phone: 508-509-7317
- Email: pkandarian@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulkandarian/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pkandarian
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Travelboomerman
- Other: www.coaast.org
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
