Kahlil Ashanti

Kahlil Ashantihttp://www.kahlilashanti.com

(Born on November 3, 1973 in Landstuhl, Germany) is an award winning American actor, writer, comedian and producer known for his ability to portray a large array of characters with depth and precision. Kahlil Ashanti began his career as a teenager performing in community theater and open mic nights at comedy clubs throughout the midwestern United States. He then enlisted in the United States Air Force, winning the 1993 Air Force Worldwide Talent Contest which earned him the opportunity to tour with the elite Air Force Entertainment troupe Tops In Blue http://www.topsinblue.com in 1994 and 1995 as a comedian/dancer/actor. This provided him the unique opportunity to perform for over 700,000 people in nearly 27 countries. After being honorably discharged in 1996 Kahlil performed his own magic/comedy dinner theater show at Caesar's Magical Empire, Caesar's Palace Las Vegas from 1997-2000. Upon his arrival in Los Angeles in 2001 he began writing his critically acclaimed one man show, 'Basic Training' which premiered at the 2nd Stage Theater in Oct 2004 and will open Off Broadway at the Barrow Street Theatre http://www.basictrainingnyc.com on October 13, 2008 produced by Barry Josephson, Erich Jungwirth and Richard Jordan. With sold out performances in several cities around the world, Basic Training is currently in development as a feature film by producer Barry Josephson (Men In Black, Bad Boys, Air Force One, Bones, Enchanted). In addition to a separate television property being developed with Lowell Mate and the prestigious Second City Chicago, Liza Dawson & Associates http://www.lizadawsonassociates.com are representing the upcoming release of the book based on the true story behind the one man show.

Biography

The Early Years

The constant traveling that comes with being a 'military brat' can drive some kids crazy but Kahlil quickly adjusted to life on the road and never looked back. He spent large chunks of his childhood living in Bay City, Texas and Sagamihara, Japan where he learned that he had a talent for languages. By the time he arrived in the U.S. at age ten Kahlil could read, write and speak Japanese fluently. His family settled in Davenport Iowa where Kahlil realized he had a talent for making people laugh.As the situation at home deteriorated Kahlil's resolve seemed to strengthen as he landed his first gig as the opening act for a local magician. This led to several appearances at school talent shows and Kahlil was seen by a local club owner who suggestedthat Kahlil's brand of clean comedy would be welcome at the open mic nights that were sprouting up around town.

Stand Up Comedy

Kahlil's first paid performance as a comic was at the Cardinal Supper Club in Dyersville Iowa (where Field of Dreams was filmed). The Funny Bone Comedy Club soon opened in Davenport and between touringand opening for his young magician friends he honed his skills at the open mic nights, sharing the stage with Jamie Foxx, Tommy Davidson, Max Alexander and Richard Lewis.

United States Air Force

In 1992 Kahlil joined the United States Air Force to become an architect in an effort to escape a childhood better forgotten. His artistic skills had won him several awards during his childhood and architecture was a passion encouraged by his teachers because 'nobody makes a living being an actor'. The Air Force recruiter promised eighteen year old Kahlil that a career as an architect was waiting for him at the base of his choice. Kahlil chose Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although he was lucky enough to get his first choice for a duty station his career didn't pan out the way he was promised. Upon arriving at Nellis Kahlil found out that he was going to be working at the Base Information Transfer Center delivering classified and non classified correspondence to on-base organizations. He was an Air Force mailman. As he delivered the mail in the searing Las Vegas heat he came across a notice at the dormitory. The Air Force Worldwide Talent Contest was having auditions.

Tops In Blue

His attempt to put comedy behind him and get 'a real job' failed miserably. Kahlil quickly did some library research (no internet back then) about Tops In Blue http://www.topsinblue.com and realized that he had to try. His supervisor warned him that he probably wasn't funny enough to make Tops In Blue and he should shut up, stick to the military and do his twenty years. He decided to disobey a direct order and tried out anyway. Although he made it to the World finals among thousands of contestants in 1992 he was not selected for Tops In Blue. After returning to his base and incurring the wrath of a gloating sergeant Kahlil licked his wounds and spent his evenings rehearsing and performing his material at local Las Vegas nightspots including The Improv at The Riviera where hulking entertainment director Steve Schirripa (The Sopranos) gave him three minutes to open for Jimmie Walker. His routine brought the house down and he was invited back for several guest spots but it was cut short by some unfinished business. The next year against the wishes of his immediate supervisors Kahlil auditioned for Tops In Blue and not only won the Air Force Worldwide Talent contest he was selected for Tops in Blue 1994 as a comedian and dancer. This experience would be one of the most significant events in his young life as he was selected to tour again in 1995 and as a civilian tour manager in 1996, 2000 and 2001. Although it was the hardest and most grueling work Kahlil has ever done, each year the Tops In Blue tour took him to over 40 states and 17 countries performing 130 shows every ten months for thousands of military and civilian families. In 1996 Kahlil was honorably discharged from the Air Force and his dreams of being an architect took the form of him designing the floor plans for his own dream home.

Caesar's Magical Empire at Caesars Palace

From 1997-2000 Kahlil performed his own magic/comedy dinner theater show at Caesar's Magical Empire at Caesars Palace. Kahlil again competed with hundreds of actors for the role and impressed the judges in his audition by performing a stand-upcomedy routine in Japanese and then in English. Kahlil later translated, marketed and performed the show for Japanese guests and tour groups, resulting in a significant increase in ticket sales for Caesars Palace. Performing three shows a night five nights a week in two languages allowed Kahlil to spread his wings and use the entertainment skills he learned in the Air Force to receive rave reviews at Caesars Palace.

Basic Training

After avoiding several opportunities to move to Los Angeles Kahlil decided to make the move after leaving Caesars Palace in 2000. He found himself getting too comfortable with the lifestyle and good money and after his divorce he felt like he had nothing to lose. By this time he was an expert couch surfer (living out of a suitcase) and he made the rounds in Los Angeles, in and out of auditions and casting director workshops finding it hard to make friends when all people wanted to talk about was pilot season. Acting classes became benign as he watched people paralyzed with fear about not 'making it' because they didn't have an agent or weren't in the union. After being accepted into an exceptional acting class with several working actors that he still calls close friends Kahlil decided to forget all the expectations of the Hollywood system and just get on stage and do what he knows best. This led to him creating a one man show that chronicled his time touring the world and in a few short years Basic Training had snowballed into a critically acclaimed hit. This began when Dalia Philips one of Kahlil's scene partners introduced Kahlil to her friend, Nicholl Award Winning writer/director Doug Atchison who at the time was in the early stages of securing a studio deal for his film Akeelah and the Bee http://www.akeelahandthebee.com. They quickly became friends and after seeing a workshop performance of Basic Training Doug and Kahlil agreed to develop a screen adaptation of the show. Doug brought Kahlil to the attention of Barry Josephson, a producer with 20th Century Fox and during one of their first meetings at the Josephson Entertainment offices Doug pitched Barry the concept. Instead of handing him a script or a treatment Doug pointed to Kahlil and he performed the first half of his one man show in Barry's office. This was the first time anyone had pitched a project to him in this manner and Barry responded by vowing to do everything in his power to assist Kahlil on his journey to success, including getting the show a New York run at a major Off Broadway theater.

The Future

With its humble beginnings at the Montreal and Vancouver Fringe Festivals, Kahlil's idea to take Basic Training on the road allowed him a to develop the contacts necessary to contribute his own business acumen to his and Barry's goal of getting the show to New York. In August of 2005 Basic Training made its UK premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and it sold out at the Gilded Balloon, competing for an audience with over 2500 shows every night. For an unknown American actor with no previous Edinburgh or UK exposure this was unheard of. It was during this time that Basic Training was awarded the Scotsman Fringe First Award for Excellence in Writing and Performance, given to the top 2% of the original dramatic entries in the festival. After seeing the Edinburgh performances Liza Dawson, http://www.lizadawsonassociates.com a highly respected literary agent in New York offered to usher Kahlil's story to the public in book form and has since brought in author Johnny Dodd to help shape the upcoming book based on Kahlil's show and life. In August 2007 Kahlil returned to Edinburgh with a more streamlined and concise version of Basic Training and this time it sold out at the Assembly Rooms, increasing the international profile of the show and bringing it to the attention of New York theatre producer Erich Jungwirth and London theatre producer Richard Jordan as well as former Warner Brothers and HBO exec Lowell Mate, now VP of television and film acquisitions for Second City Entertainment.

Business Ventures

In March 2008 Kahlil Ashanti and Justin Sudds began doing business as Career Arc Talent Consulting. It is a mobile Vancouver based talent consulting and tour development firm that provides specialized in-person career business guidance and tour management solutions for everything from live artists to keynote speakers. Their clients include world renowned speed painter Dan Dunn http://www.paintjam.com and financial experts The Smart Cookies http://www.smartcookies.com. With over 25 combined years of touring, performance and talent booking and development experience Career Arc Consulting empowers artists to get the maximum exposure from their talent from a business and creative perspective.

Awards and Nominations

*Montreal English Critics Circle Award - Best Visiting Production
*NAACP Image Award (for 'Basic Training' Los Angeles Director Nick DeGruccio)
*Montreal Fringe - Best Production
*Vancouver Fringe - Best Production
*Melbourne Fringe - Best Male Performance
*Scotsman Fringe First Award For Excellence in Writing And Performance
*Edinburgh Fringe Sell Out Show 2005, 2007