How Anthony Rap began to heal in his fight against abuse

Currently a star of “Star Trek: Discovery,” Anthony Rapp recently went back in time and relived his past. Off-Broadway, he is starring in “Without You,” his autobiographical show about his experiences with the original cast of “Rent” and composer Jonathan Larson and the death of his own mother. And in court, the actor — one of the first to come forward with sexual assault allegations against Kevin Spacey — recently recounted his experiences with Spacey during the proceedings of a civil suit brought by the rap against Spacey.

Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:

Spacey was not found guilty, but in the latest episode of Stagecraft, diversityOn its theater podcast, Rapp said it’s all worth it — not least because it’s one step in a long process of healing. “Balance? It’s valuable in the sense that my coming forward has helped pave the way for others to come forward and helped save people,” he said. “And there’s a part of my 14-year-old self that can come full-circle in a way that I knew I could. Not that it was possible.”

She added that after years of focusing on the abuser, she has recently started to turn the focus back on herself. “It’s really only in the last few years that so many of us started talking about ourselves and how [these incidents] affected us, and really started trying to square that circle and patch up wounds that we didn’t even recognize as wounds,” he said.

Meanwhile, in “Without You,” now playing at Off-Broadway’s New World Stage, Rapp looks back on one of the most exciting, formative periods of his life — and finds unexpected gifts there, too. “I didn’t expect it, but I’m spending time with my mom,” he revealed. “I’m spending time with Jonathan [Larson]. I spend time listening to them, which has always given me a sense of strength, love and support. Just being around them feels active and present in a way I don’t get to experience every day.”

Also on the new episode of Stagecraft, Rapp discusses his roles in the “Rent” and “Star Trek” franchises — both of which are “a lot to a lot of people” — and explains the unexpected overlap between the two properties.

“Both of those pieces speak of hope,” he said. “They are both pieces that are about community. They are idealists. They are opposites. They have dark moments, but I think fandoms are drawn to them because they have so much life and light, and hope and a sense of what’s possible.”

To hear the full conversation, listen at the link above or download and subscribe to “Stagecraft” on podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and the Broadway Podcast Network. New episodes of “Stagecraft” are released every week.