WEBVTT
00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:03.200
You're listening to the Broadway Podcast Network.
00:00:03.680 --> 00:00:05.040
Hey guys, what's up?
00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:17.760
It's me Salish and I'm so excited because I'm doing a cabaret in New York City, not Brooklyn, not Jersey, no, right in Manhattan.
00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:23.600
And for those of you who are listening who are not in New York at all, I will also be streaming it.
00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:25.760
So please save the date.
00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:28.559
Monday, October 14th at 7 p.m.
00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:32.479
EST at Chelsea Table and Stage or online.
00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:36.399
And you can go to Chelsea Tableandstage.com and get your tickets now.
00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:39.759
The show is called A Decade of Dreams.
00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:42.079
This will be one that you're not gonna want to miss.
00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:43.280
I am so proud of it.
00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:45.280
I'll put the link down in the description.
00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:47.600
Get your tickets for Monday, October 14th.
00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:54.320
Yes, that is a holiday weekend, and I will see you there online or in New York City at Chelsea Table and Stage.
00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:55.280
See ya.
00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:07.040
We don't need it right there.
00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:23.439
I am so excited.
00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:32.959
I feel like I am always, I will always, forever and always be the theater kid in my high school who just happened to end it up, like I actually ended up in the Broadway community.
00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:35.280
And it is an honor and a pleasure to be here.
00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:37.519
Hey girl, nice to see you.
00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:47.519
It is so cool to be here as a performer, but also as a host of a panel today on behalf of the Broadway Podcast Network, the Salicia Show, and Black Hair and Big Leagues.
00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:50.079
And I'm excited to show you my guests today.
00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:51.040
I've got two.
00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:54.079
We're starting out with Joe.
00:01:55.680 --> 00:02:01.680
A longtime friend, and then later on I'll bring on Amber Mon, who we know her, we love her.
00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:04.159
So she'll be joining us in just a few minutes.
00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:08.879
But let's start off with the guest we have next to us right now.
00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:10.000
Let's see here.
00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:17.199
He's performed in all the major regional theaters across the country and is currently sitting pretty broad.
00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:17.759
Wait.
00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:20.960
He embodies the Broadway fantasy.
00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:22.400
You really do.
00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:28.639
You embody the Broadway fantasy by giving a glimpse of behind the scenes of being in a Broadway show.
00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:30.319
You do such a good job at it.
00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:34.479
I'll be I remember like being in a show being like, oh my gosh, it is like that.
00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:35.919
I love it.
00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:40.159
Um he uh you were in, I'm gonna talk about you, not to you.
00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:40.560
Okay.
00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:50.479
Um he was in New York for merely days after graduating from Milan University because BFA and school theater before booking the Book of Mormon.
00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:51.919
Like, how dare he?
00:02:52.479 --> 00:03:03.199
And let's see here, with over one million followers on TikTok and currently performing eight times a week in Back to the Future.
00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:06.159
Please help me welcome JJ.
00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:12.319
Hi everybody, that is the sweetest intro I've ever had.
00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:19.360
JJ, first of all, I love you, and I just realized the photo dump that I posted of us this week.
00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:21.840
Yes, I never actually put the glow up after that.
00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:22.159
Right.
00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:23.919
The glow up is important.
00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:24.800
The glow up is important.
00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:31.439
Of like photos that we took for Playbill in like 2017 or 2019.
00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:33.039
Which they still use, by the way.
00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:35.919
Like if you look at certain programs, it's like us in our Playbill pajamas.
00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:39.439
It's like in my straight hair wig, which when's the last time I've had straight hair?
00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:39.680
Right.
00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:40.879
Six and a half years.
00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:41.599
Oh my gosh.
00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:47.680
And you are like I look like my Book of Mormon self, like a little short hair, little sweet little cheeks, you know, yeah.
00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:54.960
You really do, but it's kind of cool to like see the journey where you started, where you're at, and the glow-up just keeps glowing.
00:03:55.439 --> 00:04:04.080
So um, at first wanna ask you, how long was your audition process for Book of Mormon versus how long was your audition process for Back to the Future?
00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:05.360
That is a great question.
00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:07.840
So, Book of Mormon was Fast and Furious.
00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:10.879
I will say I did a like self-tape for it.
00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:15.680
I got an email from like a casting director having like gone in for them um before.
00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:20.160
And so that I was like, I want to say maybe April or May of my senior year.
00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:26.800
I graduated on, I remember the dates, May 20th, um, 2017 from college.
00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:28.480
And 2017.
00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:29.920
Yeah, from Elon.
00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:32.319
So I um I graduated that day.
00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:36.000
I hacked up my apartment, flew up to New York the next day, which was a Sunday.
00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:37.360
Monday was my callback.
00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:47.439
I got an in-person callback for Book of Mormon, went through all of that day, got a final callback for the next day, which was a Tuesday, and then got a call that night, like, hey, can you start rehearsals tomorrow?
00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:53.519
Like, come and sign a contract, we need a vacation swing, or not a vacation swing, a full-time swing immediately in our show.
00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:56.160
And so I was just like thrown to the wolves.
00:04:56.319 --> 00:05:01.199
So that was like, if we're talking in person, that was a two-day audition process.
00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:05.920
Um, now for Back to the Future, it was like four months, I want to say.
00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:09.759
Like I was giving, it was giving carrot, it was giving Dangold, um, which is fine.
00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:13.600
Like it was a long process, and also because I went in for some different things.
00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:17.759
Like, I went in for the role itself, Marty, several times, made it through all the callbacks for that.
00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:23.680
Then they kind of were like, okay, they went back to square one with a lot of that, but were like, we want you in the show, possibly as a cover.
00:05:23.759 --> 00:05:24.480
I was like, great.
00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:28.319
And so then I um later, two months later, then did a tape.
00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:42.800
Then I went in, I was flying up for callbacks, and the only reason I was able to make my final callback, by the way, for Back to the Future, was because I almost missed it, and I was like, I'm like running the risk that I, you know, they can rely on my past auditions that they filmed.
00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:48.399
But um, I was doing a production of Mama Me at Flat Rock Playhouse in like close to Asheville, North Carolina.
00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:51.839
Um, and they canceled a week of shows because our two leads got COVID.
00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:57.279
And the second, very sad, that week cancelled shows, but I was like, I called my agent and I was like, I gotta get up.
00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:00.720
Immediately flew up to New York and I was like, I'm gonna be at that final callback.
00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:03.040
And I think it was just like meant to be, obviously.
00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:12.240
But um I'm sorry, it is such a like we oh, an emotional like backflips when your coworkers get COVID and you're like, I'm gonna be about this.
00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:13.040
No, yes.
00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:16.160
But if you're the cover, also you're like, I guess I'm on.
00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:16.560
Right.
00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:19.839
It's like such an emotional so okay, that is awesome.
00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:24.639
Just so you know, like like hearing him, you can be in a Broadway show within two days.
00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:26.720
Sometimes it also takes years.
00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:27.040
Yeah.
00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:30.800
People going through auditions for years before they land the role.
00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:36.720
And I also know in before I got married, dated somebody in his 50s who like made his Broadway debut in his 50s.
00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:41.680
So if it's something that is like Yes, you never know when your dream can come true.
00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:42.079
Yeah.
00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:46.480
So, okay, how many roles do you cover in Back to the Future?
00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:46.800
Yeah.
00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:48.959
So yeah, so in Book of Mormon, I did seven.
00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:50.560
That was that was like a lot.
00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:51.920
Um, but it was that was like swing.
00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:52.480
That was like math.
00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:53.519
I mean, you've swung before, right?
00:06:53.759 --> 00:06:59.759
When you were, yes, yes, yes, and it's giving and like cover leads and ensemble at the same time.
00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:00.399
Crazy.
00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:02.560
Um I'm gonna need some whiskey.
00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:05.279
Right, like visceral reaction.
00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:12.560
Um, so in Back to the Future, though, I have my own track that I do eight times a week, and then I cover George McFly and Marty McFly, who two of the leads.
00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:16.879
When it comes to covering, for you, is it can we be real?
00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:17.759
Let's be real.
00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:22.959
Okay, is it stressful or is it oh my god, I'm so excited.
00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:30.480
Oh, like that's it's a uh it's a bittersweet answer, you know, or like a twofold answer because like I don't know, there was something about swinging.
00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:40.399
Like I always say to people, I was like, I don't, I would never have made it that long in Book of Mormon, respectively, like in one show, sitting in one show for so long, if it wasn't for the freshness of going on for all these different parts.
00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:40.879
Really?
00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:42.240
Yes, it kept it fun for me.
00:07:42.399 --> 00:07:46.000
I was in beautiful for like five years, and I would still be there today if we weren't closed.
00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:46.480
Period.
00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:48.800
Like old woman in the corner, still doing it.
00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:50.000
You're like, yes, I got it.
00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:51.600
Yes.
00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:54.560
Yes, but you're the opposite.
00:07:54.639 --> 00:07:55.759
You like the freshness.
00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:06.639
Yes, and so that kind of like thankfully, I'm in a show where like the role, like specifically, I was hired to cover Marty from the get-go, and that role is so demanding to do eight times a week.
00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:09.759
In West End, they actually have an alternate that does one show every week.
00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:09.920
Oh.
00:08:10.160 --> 00:08:11.600
That's just our union rules.
00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:13.600
It didn't work out that way with these contracts.
00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:15.040
But like we love an alternate.
00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:21.519
We love an alternate, and so I kind of like low-key am one of those, like, but not without like the designated performances.
00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:27.759
So I get to do that so often that it really keeps it fresh and also makes me enjoy my ensemble.
00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:34.320
We call it my quat track, which if you know Hannah Kevitt from my show, quat is the quitting to the fullest extent of your being.
00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:40.799
And so sometimes in the ensemble, you're just like, and today I get to be in the back for all these scenes and just like live my life and be with my friends.
00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:43.440
And then some days you're like, I have all the pressure on me.
00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:44.639
So it's it kind of makes you really.
00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:47.279
If you know JJ when he's in the back, he's a good one.
00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:48.159
Oh no, no, no, no.
00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:48.879
We're not quatting.
00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:49.840
We're not really quadding.
00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:52.320
No, and I had the pleasure of getting to see Back to the Future.
00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:56.879
Forgive me for waiting so long, because it really was a great show, a slow burn.
00:08:57.039 --> 00:09:00.159
But at the end, I'm like, yeah! Yeah.
00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:02.240
Like it really like that's how I felt.
00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:03.919
It really was so fun.
00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:13.039
It was fun to watch you because, first of all, we did a show together where we were in the 1950s and were dancing in Greece, and then I see him dancing in Greece.
00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:13.440
Yes.
00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:18.080
We partnered, we were in Greece together and partner danced, and we we had so much fun.
00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:21.039
We did have fun, and he was very patient with me because JJ is a dancer.
00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:27.519
Like he you are you really are an extraordinary dancer, and like you don't hold back.
00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:29.600
You've got two switches on and off.
00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:30.399
Period.
00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:31.039
Yeah.
00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:39.200
So when you went on for your first time in Marty, what was that experience?
00:09:39.440 --> 00:09:40.159
Well, yes.
00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:44.159
Um, so I um made my debut.
00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:51.200
I was the first person to go on for like a lead in our show for one of the principals, and that was um during preview still.
00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:54.639
Like we had done, we had just done our gala opening, which was like a faux opening.
00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:55.519
It was like super confusing.
00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:00.559
Yeah, our actual opening is uh was August 2nd, I want to say last year, somewhere around there.
00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:01.440
Third, maybe?
00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:02.559
There we go, thank you.
00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:13.519
Um and so though that week, and it was right after Gala and Broughton Brian Park and all this craziness, I made my debut with three hours notice, and I had I hadn't rehearsed half Selesha, I hadn't rehearsed half the show.
00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:17.200
And do you see how dangerous, respectfully, like the show is so dangerous.
00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:19.759
Like I was actually worried sick and so scared.
00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:20.639
And you know what?
00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:34.080
I I just there was something about my nerves, like you would think in a moment like that, every anxiousness and nerve in your body, but like I was so, I was like, it can't possibly, there are no expectations for me right now because I'm being asked to do the impossible.
00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:35.759
So anything I do is very fierce.
00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:36.559
And you know what?
00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:37.679
I'm really proud of myself.
00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:39.840
During previews, I knew this was gonna happen.
00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:41.840
They kept saying, no, no, we'll rehearse you, we'll rehearse you.
00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:42.480
You're gonna have time.
00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:43.919
I was like, I know how this goes.
00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:45.279
Like I've seen, you've seen the stories.
00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:48.720
You've seen the stories during COVID, especially.
00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:50.240
It's like you know, you see covered.
00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:54.240
They're calling in the 18th Alphabet from the second national tour from 10 years ago.
00:10:54.559 --> 00:10:57.360
It's like, right, okay, I need to be ready.
00:10:57.519 --> 00:10:59.840
So like No, literally.
00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:06.080
So like So I was like, I need to be ready.
00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:06.320
Okay.
00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:09.919
Do you fit these costumes?
00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:12.320
Well, yes! Well, yes.
00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:23.679
Yes! So, yeah, so anyway, I was like, and I'm not gonna lie, and I'm not just trying to toot my own horn, but during previews, I was every day running my lines with scene partners running and doing your homework.
00:11:23.919 --> 00:11:29.360
Homework, and I was like, one thing I can control is being word-perfect, knowing every single line, every single lyric.
00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:32.960
And that was the one thing that I was like, I can't believe that's the last thing I'm thinking about right now.
00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:40.240
Because when you're jumping on and off fences, you're driving in a car, you're putting stuff in the car, you're flying in a car, you're riding a skateboard for the first time on a Broadway stage.
00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:40.879
I don't skateboard.
00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:44.000
I thought you were being symbolic right now, but you're literally, there's the DeLorean.
00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:45.840
No, literally flying in a car.
00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:50.720
Like, it's like to flip the switch, you know, like da-da-da-da, you know, and it's like, oh my god, like so much relies.
00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:55.519
Every single, almost every single lighting and sound cue and band cue relies on you to say the right lines.
00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:58.000
It's like you have to hold this stuff together.
00:11:58.240 --> 00:11:58.480
Right.
00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:00.000
So, yes.
00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:00.879
That's how it went.
00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:06.559
Okay, so then my question is for you for your Broadway debut, the first time you went on a Book of Mormon, were you this relaxed?
00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:09.039
Were you this in the pocket and grounded?
00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:11.519
You know, I I don't think so.
00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:19.279
Um I think I blacked out a little bit, which you hear about that a lot, but like I definitely blacked out a little bit, but also I was just so, I was so emotional.
00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:20.960
It was very cathartic at the end.
00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:23.840
I remember being very emotional about how like special.
00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:25.600
I mean, you only make your debut one time.
00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:31.679
So it's like making, I will say making your principal debut in something and doing a role like that, it is a similar feeling.
00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:34.080
It's a cathartic, like, oh my god, I can't believe that's freaking out.
00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:34.559
Really cool.
00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:36.000
Like I that's how I feel.
00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:44.960
I feel like it once that moment happens, it doesn't matter what happens from here on out, what happens in the future, if you never did anything else, you did that.
00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:45.440
Yes.
00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:48.639
It happened, no one can ever take it away from you.
00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:49.039
Yeah.
00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:50.879
So I love that.
00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:51.600
And I'm okay.
00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:58.320
I also want to ask you about, okay, the question that I have here is when did the TikTok start TikToking?
00:12:58.559 --> 00:12:59.039
Right.
00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:00.240
Right.
00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:03.840
Because when I first met you, you didn't have a TikTok following, did you?
00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:04.159
No man.
00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:07.519
Or did you I don't even think that the app existed, question marker?
00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:09.440
It was like Bite Dance, or uh, what's it called?
00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:10.639
Musically, there we go.
00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:14.720
Um it was like uh it was like the the kids doing like the you know little dances.
00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:18.480
Um and so I didn't have that, and also that's why I was so resistant.
00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:30.720
I think a lot of people at first were resistant to TikTok because it's like, oh, these are a bunch of kids doing dances, and then once I downloaded it, I want to say around February, like right before COVID hit, and I was just watching stuff and I was like, wait, there's so much funny content.
00:13:30.879 --> 00:13:38.159
Wait, there's theater content and relatable stuff, and like, okay, wait, and then I started making skits, and I was like, I used to make YouTube videos when I was like 11.
00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:38.559
Okay.
00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:41.120
Yes, and uh they're all scrubbed from the internet, honey.
00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:43.519
So I hope, please, Jesus.
00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:48.240
Um, so I uh yeah, but I I've always had a passion for video making.
00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:51.600
How about you also said this is the thing that the kids do.
00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:53.440
I'm like, you just graduated in 2017.
00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:54.080
Right, right.
00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:55.759
I was still You and the kids!
00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:59.759
Right, but I meant the kids like the 13-year-old, you know, like babies, babies.
00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:00.159
Yeah.
00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:06.720
So um, so anyway, then I I started making videos, and I was like, I was so scared to first put myself out there.
00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:11.120
Um, and you know, I just embraced that, like, okay, let me be a little cringe.
00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:13.360
Like, this is cringy and like let me do it, like whatever.
00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:15.279
And I found a whole community.
00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:16.000
It's like crazy.
00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:26.799
So wait, was there an energetic shift of when you were just kind of doing it for fun versus you're like, hold up, people are kind of responding to this.
00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:28.159
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:32.799
I would say the shift was doing the like the POV videos, the actors with the mics on and off.
00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:44.480
Because I was using my my own voice and I was singing and I was taking requests, I was doing different shows, showing what it's like to do a quick change and pretending to talk to my dresser, and oh my god, I'm singing my lines and on stage, offstage.
00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:48.960
So it was there was an energetic shift there because then everything was like, oh, these are getting millions of views.
00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:52.480
Oh, I'm building momentum, oh, and then it really just kind of went from there.
00:14:52.639 --> 00:15:02.879
And so my question for me, for you, in that is when you did something and it and it popped off, was there ever a moment of, well, I did that, so I can't do it again?
00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:06.320
Versus, I did that, let me do it again.
00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:07.440
Like, does that make any sense?
00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:08.559
For sure, yeah.
00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:14.480
I mean, there have definitely been certain videos I've made that I'm like, that's a one-off, like that's not something I want to make like a trend or like continue.
00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:24.879
Um, and then, but there were that was something that I was like, oh, I can take requests, and everyone's like, Wait, wait, wait, do Heather's, do Mean Girls, do this show, and it's like, oh my god, wait, this is so fun.
00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:27.519
And and it's relatable for anybody who has done.
00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:36.399
That's what I realized is I'm like, almost everybody out there has done at least one school play, school production, even if you're like, I don't even do theater, like most people have done something.
00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:41.039
And there's a relatability and showing that Broadway actors are like genuinely just like the same.
00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:42.320
Like we're literally the same.
00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:47.919
So how do you okay, and I kind of have an idea of what this answer might be, but I want to hear from you.
00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:52.720
How do you balance your actually pre you film these when you're in the show?
00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:56.559
Uh well, I did a lot of these that that was mostly during the pandemic.
00:15:56.720 --> 00:15:59.039
It was like in my closet at home with a green screen.
00:15:59.200 --> 00:15:59.679
But yeah.
00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:00.159
Right.
00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:00.399
Oh.
00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:01.519
Literally in a closet.
00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:09.120
Did you ever have you ever filmed any of your TikTok videos during a show?
00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:10.559
Oh yeah, for sure.
00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:14.639
And how do you balance doing the show and doing your TikTok?
00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:16.159
And have you missed any interests?
00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:17.440
Never, never.
00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:17.919
Okay.
00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:20.240
I do scare the stage managers sometimes.
00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:22.960
I will say I cut it a little close and I have a reputation for that.
00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:38.480
But um I definitely um no, I I I I love doing it backstage, and also my favorite part is like getting people like Roger Bart, like Roger Bart and I, now every time I'm on for Marty, he plays Doc Brown, and and every time I'm on, he's like, okay, what are we doing today?
00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:40.320
Like, you didn't send me a TikTok, what are we doing?
00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:41.360
Like, you didn't send me a sound.
00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:45.679
I'm like, oh my gosh, like I love that like getting other people involved, and now it's like the whole cast.
00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:57.679
Versus, I feel like a few years ago, like when I was doing Book of Mormon, I would want to make content, but I was too scared to ask my cast members, and now I feel like there's a different shape of mind, and also like people just are willing to make it now.
00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:00.159
It's not like so, like, oh, taboo.
00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:00.720
I don't know.
00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:02.320
Question for you.
00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:04.559
This might be controversial.
00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:06.000
Yet brave.
00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:07.599
How drave.
00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:12.079
How do you feel about phones in the theater?
00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:14.799
Ooh, like filming the show?
00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:17.759
Uh I I always say, if you have something, send it to me.
00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:19.200
Okay, if you're gonna take it.
00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:21.440
Um, I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding.
00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:23.039
Um for legal reasons.
00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:24.960
Um, no, I'm kidding.
00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:28.160
I do like that shows now have like, okay, we have like a mega mix.
00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:33.119
Very woo uh uh uh, you know, very that, very um back in time in our show.
00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:34.640
Like it's like there's a moment.
00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:36.319
Are you like you're like triggered?
00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:40.880
Um there's a time now in shows that we get to film.
00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:43.599
Um and like I like that we have that.
00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:47.839
Granted, last night there were like two people filming like randomly at different times with the flash.
00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:49.440
Wait, the other one with a flash?
00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:51.440
Yes, why yes?
00:17:51.839 --> 00:18:03.839
And and the one thing is like there's someone the other week, like two weeks ago, we were doing um the opening of act two, and we're all like walking around do do do, and um someone in the second row has their phone and it's a front-facing camera.
00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:05.039
They're on FaceTime with someone.
00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:09.519
No! And had their phone had their phone on their chest, and I literally am like looking at myself.
00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:11.119
I'm like, that's crazy.
00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:12.480
That was crazy.
00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:13.440
What?
00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:16.400
So to answer your question, it can be very distracting.
00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:18.640
Um, I kind of live, but like I don't.
00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:19.440
That's the thing.
00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:24.720
I kind of feel like back in the day, if there was like a phone that popped up in the theater, it's like, you absolutely not.
00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:28.799
And like even as a performer, we were kind of taught like, no, don't film.
00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:31.440
I'm like, how many cameras have I mean mugged?
00:18:31.759 --> 00:19:11.839
Right, right, truly, you see it, you're like, wait a minute, I'm like looking at the camera like but now today I'm kind of like, isn't that a way to maybe keep this is controversial, but to maybe keep theater like alive and relevant and people who can't be there because it is a privilege to be here in New York City to get to see a show live, like people who like were in the audience for the uh original Broadway cast of Hamilton or Olympica or Wicked or like that is like you were there, it's such a privilege, and so to create some kind of access, yeah.
00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:21.519
I mean, you can go to the New York public library, but you have to like watch it, your bag is in another room, you only get to watch it once, and you have to have a reason to watch it.
00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:23.599
That is also still a privilege.
00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:24.880
Like, okay.
00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:38.960
But I will say that being said, it is a live art form, and it's also like scary as performers to be like, oh my gosh, I have one off show and then that lives forever on the internet, and like that is the one thing is that like as long as people are respectful about it, or like if they have it for the I don't know.
00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:46.799
I will say there is a couple people a few people who would film once upon a one more time, and every now and then I'd see a clip that I was like, oh Lord.
00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:49.519
You're like, delete your account, delete your account, yes.
00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.319
It's like you maybe take that one down, but you can keep the other one.
00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:55.200
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:55.839
Yeah.
00:19:56.400 --> 00:20:00.240
And also the filming in HD, I'm like, this is what we came here for.
00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:00.799
Right.
00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:05.920
Um, we do have a few more minutes before I let you go for a while, then I'll bring you back up.
00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:08.079
What has been your biggest pinch me moment?
00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:11.200
Ooh, biggest pinch me moment?
00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:12.160
I mean, there.
00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:15.599
Oh, that's hard.
00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:16.559
There's been so many.
00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:20.240
I will say there was something really special about doing the Macy's Day parade for the first time.
00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:26.319
I know I know everybody is like very like, you know, performing on the Tony's, and obviously that's a dream, still have yet to do that.
00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:32.559
But the Macy's, like, there was something so magical in like all the different shows and the trailers, and then you're out there and the audience is there.
00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:41.759
I just like that is something I watch every single year, and I would wake up and watch it with my family, and so like that was just something that like was a tradition with my family, and it was very special to be there.
00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:42.559
Yeah.
00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:43.519
I love that.
00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:44.400
Okay, let's see.
00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:55.599
What would be your advice for aspiring performers versus also your advice for aspiring influencers?
00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:56.640
Ooh, yes.
00:20:56.880 --> 00:20:57.200
Okay.
00:20:57.519 --> 00:21:00.720
Well, then those are kind of two, I'll say two things.
00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:09.359
Um my advice for aspiring performers is kind of um, I mean, it's everyone says it, but really truly trust your path and your journey.
00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:22.559
I actually this week had like a perfect moment that I was like, wow, this is exactly what the things I need I need to remind myself because I tell other people this advice, but like I got a huge no this past week that I was actually shook to my core about.
00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:26.000
I was like, oh, this is my job, and then it's no, it's not, okay, it's not my job.
00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:32.240
Um, and then the next day I got like four auditions for other things that I'm like, wait, I would rather do most of those things than this anyway.
00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:41.519
And it was truly a reroute of like people always say every you know no is a not yet, or every no is just a redirection and closed door is another door open.
00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:49.440
And I think if you believe in higher powers, I choose to believe in God, the universe, whatever is guiding me, and it's like what is meant for me is gonna happen.
00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:53.920
So trust that because that's at the end of the day, all you can that's all you can do.
00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:56.240
Like you can't focus on the what ifs.
00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:59.680
Um, and then my advice for aspiring content creators.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.960
Say because I hate the word influence as I'm like actually.
00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:07.119
But cont the content creators.
00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:18.480
Um my advice for aspiring content creators is like truly find what makes you your unique, like find your angle because um one person's cringe is another person's pleasure.
00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:23.759
Okay, so like I I think so many people live life, like, oh my god, how can I be cool?
00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:24.720
How can I not be cringe?
00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:25.680
I'm like, I'm not cool.
00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:26.319
Okay, great.
00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:28.480
And actually, that makes me cool to some people.
00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:32.480
Some other people are gonna see me walking on the street and they're like, oh, that's that Broadway boy.
00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:33.119
I've gotten it.
00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:37.279
And half the time I work with people respectfully, they're like, wow, I didn't know if I was gonna like you.
00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:39.440
And I'm I'm like, oh, that's so wild.
00:22:39.519 --> 00:22:41.440
You say that, but I'm glad I won you over.
00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:44.559
Um but but I get so bold.
00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:45.200
Out.
00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:53.440
Yeah, so no, so a lot of times people like just will see content creators and they'll be like, oh, like that's so much or so extra, da da da.
00:22:54.000 --> 00:23:01.680
But it's like, okay, but like you're doing something, you're putting yourself out there, you're making a name, and a lot of times people are just like anti-scared to do that.
00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:01.920
Yeah.
00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:08.559
So don't let fear prevent you or fear of being cringe or something like that, prevent you from putting yourself out there and making something.
00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:09.119
Yeah.
00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:24.240
Before I let you go, I want to say that a lot of times you see people online, and it really rare than I would have hoped for it to be, but it's really refreshing to meet somebody whose personality in real life reflects who they are online.
00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:27.119
And JJ Neiman, you are one of those people.
00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:27.680
I appreciate it.
00:23:27.920 --> 00:23:30.000
So thank you so much for joining us today.
00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:36.400
Thanks for listening to The Silicia Show.
00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:39.440
Are you subscribed to thesia show.com?
00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:43.200
Are you following us at the Silicia Show on Instagram?
00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:46.799
If not, go on over there and check it out.
00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:53.440
Shout out to Wilton Music for producing the theme song Love C O D, sung by yours truly.
00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:55.039
And you know what I would love?
00:23:55.200 --> 00:24:01.359
I would love if you rated this podcast and if you gave us a review, even if it's just one sentence.
00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:03.519
That makes so much of a difference, you guys.
00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:04.720
You have no idea.
00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:12.960
And as always, if you have any ideas for guests or somebody who you want to listen to, slip into my DMs at the Silicia Show on Instagram.
00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:17.039
And finally, are you subscribed to us on Patreon?
00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:23.519
You can become a Patreon member for as little as$1 a month and hear your name right here.
00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:25.920
What are you waiting for?
00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:30.640
Thank you so much for listening to Black Hair in the Big Leagues and the Silicia Show.
00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:35.039
I'm your host, Salisha Thomas, and I'm so happy to be on this journey with you.
00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:36.640
See you next week.
00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:03.200
You're listening to the Broadway Podcast Network.
00:00:03.680 --> 00:00:05.040
Hey guys, what's up?
00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:17.760
It's me Salish and I'm so excited because I'm doing a cabaret in New York City, not Brooklyn, not Jersey, no, right in Manhattan.
00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:23.600
And for those of you who are listening who are not in New York at all, I will also be streaming it.
00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:25.760
So please save the date.
00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:28.559
Monday, October 14th at 7 p.m.
00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:32.479
EST at Chelsea Table and Stage or online.
00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:36.399
And you can go to Chelsea Tableandstage.com and get your tickets now.
00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:39.759
The show is called A Decade of Dreams.
00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:42.079
This will be one that you're not gonna want to miss.
00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:43.280
I am so proud of it.
00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:45.280
I'll put the link down in the description.
00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:47.600
Get your tickets for Monday, October 14th.
00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:54.320
Yes, that is a holiday weekend, and I will see you there online or in New York City at Chelsea Table and Stage.
00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:55.280
See ya.
00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:07.040
We don't need it right there.
00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:23.439
I am so excited.
00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:32.959
I feel like I am always, I will always, forever and always be the theater kid in my high school who just happened to end it up, like I actually ended up in the Broadway community.
00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:35.280
And it is an honor and a pleasure to be here.
00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:37.519
Hey girl, nice to see you.
00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:47.519
It is so cool to be here as a performer, but also as a host of a panel today on behalf of the Broadway Podcast Network, the Salicia Show, and Black Hair and Big Leagues.
00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:50.079
And I'm excited to show you my guests today.
00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:51.040
I've got two.
00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:54.079
We're starting out with Joe.
00:01:55.680 --> 00:02:01.680
A longtime friend, and then later on I'll bring on Amber Mon, who we know her, we love her.
00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:04.159
So she'll be joining us in just a few minutes.
00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:08.879
But let's start off with the guest we have next to us right now.
00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:10.000
Let's see here.
00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:17.199
He's performed in all the major regional theaters across the country and is currently sitting pretty broad.
00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:17.759
Wait.
00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:20.960
He embodies the Broadway fantasy.
00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:22.400
You really do.
00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:28.639
You embody the Broadway fantasy by giving a glimpse of behind the scenes of being in a Broadway show.
00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:30.319
You do such a good job at it.
00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:34.479
I'll be I remember like being in a show being like, oh my gosh, it is like that.
00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:35.919
I love it.
00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:40.159
Um he uh you were in, I'm gonna talk about you, not to you.
00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:40.560
Okay.
00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:50.479
Um he was in New York for merely days after graduating from Milan University because BFA and school theater before booking the Book of Mormon.
00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:51.919
Like, how dare he?
00:02:52.479 --> 00:03:03.199
And let's see here, with over one million followers on TikTok and currently performing eight times a week in Back to the Future.
00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:06.159
Please help me welcome JJ.
00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:12.319
Hi everybody, that is the sweetest intro I've ever had.
00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:19.360
JJ, first of all, I love you, and I just realized the photo dump that I posted of us this week.
00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:21.840
Yes, I never actually put the glow up after that.
00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:22.159
Right.
00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:23.919
The glow up is important.
00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:24.800
The glow up is important.
00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:31.439
Of like photos that we took for Playbill in like 2017 or 2019.
00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:33.039
Which they still use, by the way.
00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:35.919
Like if you look at certain programs, it's like us in our Playbill pajamas.
00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:39.439
It's like in my straight hair wig, which when's the last time I've had straight hair?
00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:39.680
Right.
00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:40.879
Six and a half years.
00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:41.599
Oh my gosh.
00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:47.680
And you are like I look like my Book of Mormon self, like a little short hair, little sweet little cheeks, you know, yeah.
00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:54.960
You really do, but it's kind of cool to like see the journey where you started, where you're at, and the glow-up just keeps glowing.
00:03:55.439 --> 00:04:04.080
So um, at first wanna ask you, how long was your audition process for Book of Mormon versus how long was your audition process for Back to the Future?
00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:05.360
That is a great question.
00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:07.840
So, Book of Mormon was Fast and Furious.
00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:10.879
I will say I did a like self-tape for it.
00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:15.680
I got an email from like a casting director having like gone in for them um before.
00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:20.160
And so that I was like, I want to say maybe April or May of my senior year.
00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:26.800
I graduated on, I remember the dates, May 20th, um, 2017 from college.
00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:28.480
And 2017.
00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:29.920
Yeah, from Elon.
00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:32.319
So I um I graduated that day.
00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:36.000
I hacked up my apartment, flew up to New York the next day, which was a Sunday.
00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:37.360
Monday was my callback.
00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:47.439
I got an in-person callback for Book of Mormon, went through all of that day, got a final callback for the next day, which was a Tuesday, and then got a call that night, like, hey, can you start rehearsals tomorrow?
00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:53.519
Like, come and sign a contract, we need a vacation swing, or not a vacation swing, a full-time swing immediately in our show.
00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:56.160
And so I was just like thrown to the wolves.
00:04:56.319 --> 00:05:01.199
So that was like, if we're talking in person, that was a two-day audition process.
00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:05.920
Um, now for Back to the Future, it was like four months, I want to say.
00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:09.759
Like I was giving, it was giving carrot, it was giving Dangold, um, which is fine.
00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:13.600
Like it was a long process, and also because I went in for some different things.
00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:17.759
Like, I went in for the role itself, Marty, several times, made it through all the callbacks for that.
00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:23.680
Then they kind of were like, okay, they went back to square one with a lot of that, but were like, we want you in the show, possibly as a cover.
00:05:23.759 --> 00:05:24.480
I was like, great.
00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:28.319
And so then I um later, two months later, then did a tape.
00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:42.800
Then I went in, I was flying up for callbacks, and the only reason I was able to make my final callback, by the way, for Back to the Future, was because I almost missed it, and I was like, I'm like running the risk that I, you know, they can rely on my past auditions that they filmed.
00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:48.399
But um, I was doing a production of Mama Me at Flat Rock Playhouse in like close to Asheville, North Carolina.
00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:51.839
Um, and they canceled a week of shows because our two leads got COVID.
00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:57.279
And the second, very sad, that week cancelled shows, but I was like, I called my agent and I was like, I gotta get up.
00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:00.720
Immediately flew up to New York and I was like, I'm gonna be at that final callback.
00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:03.040
And I think it was just like meant to be, obviously.
00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:12.240
But um I'm sorry, it is such a like we oh, an emotional like backflips when your coworkers get COVID and you're like, I'm gonna be about this.
00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:13.040
No, yes.
00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:16.160
But if you're the cover, also you're like, I guess I'm on.
00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:16.560
Right.
00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:19.839
It's like such an emotional so okay, that is awesome.
00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:24.639
Just so you know, like like hearing him, you can be in a Broadway show within two days.
00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:26.720
Sometimes it also takes years.
00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:27.040
Yeah.
00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:30.800
People going through auditions for years before they land the role.
00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:36.720
And I also know in before I got married, dated somebody in his 50s who like made his Broadway debut in his 50s.
00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:41.680
So if it's something that is like Yes, you never know when your dream can come true.
00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:42.079
Yeah.
00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:46.480
So, okay, how many roles do you cover in Back to the Future?
00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:46.800
Yeah.
00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:48.959
So yeah, so in Book of Mormon, I did seven.
00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:50.560
That was that was like a lot.
00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:51.920
Um, but it was that was like swing.
00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:52.480
That was like math.
00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:53.519
I mean, you've swung before, right?
00:06:53.759 --> 00:06:59.759
When you were, yes, yes, yes, and it's giving and like cover leads and ensemble at the same time.
00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:00.399
Crazy.
00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:02.560
Um I'm gonna need some whiskey.
00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:05.279
Right, like visceral reaction.
00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:12.560
Um, so in Back to the Future, though, I have my own track that I do eight times a week, and then I cover George McFly and Marty McFly, who two of the leads.
00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:16.879
When it comes to covering, for you, is it can we be real?
00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:17.759
Let's be real.
00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:22.959
Okay, is it stressful or is it oh my god, I'm so excited.
00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:30.480
Oh, like that's it's a uh it's a bittersweet answer, you know, or like a twofold answer because like I don't know, there was something about swinging.
00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:40.399
Like I always say to people, I was like, I don't, I would never have made it that long in Book of Mormon, respectively, like in one show, sitting in one show for so long, if it wasn't for the freshness of going on for all these different parts.
00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:40.879
Really?
00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:42.240
Yes, it kept it fun for me.
00:07:42.399 --> 00:07:46.000
I was in beautiful for like five years, and I would still be there today if we weren't closed.
00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:46.480
Period.
00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:48.800
Like old woman in the corner, still doing it.
00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:50.000
You're like, yes, I got it.
00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:51.600
Yes.
00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:54.560
Yes, but you're the opposite.
00:07:54.639 --> 00:07:55.759
You like the freshness.
00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:06.639
Yes, and so that kind of like thankfully, I'm in a show where like the role, like specifically, I was hired to cover Marty from the get-go, and that role is so demanding to do eight times a week.
00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:09.759
In West End, they actually have an alternate that does one show every week.
00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:09.920
Oh.
00:08:10.160 --> 00:08:11.600
That's just our union rules.
00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:13.600
It didn't work out that way with these contracts.
00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:15.040
But like we love an alternate.
00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:21.519
We love an alternate, and so I kind of like low-key am one of those, like, but not without like the designated performances.
00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:27.759
So I get to do that so often that it really keeps it fresh and also makes me enjoy my ensemble.
00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:34.320
We call it my quat track, which if you know Hannah Kevitt from my show, quat is the quitting to the fullest extent of your being.
00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:40.799
And so sometimes in the ensemble, you're just like, and today I get to be in the back for all these scenes and just like live my life and be with my friends.
00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:43.440
And then some days you're like, I have all the pressure on me.
00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:44.639
So it's it kind of makes you really.
00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:47.279
If you know JJ when he's in the back, he's a good one.
00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:48.159
Oh no, no, no, no.
00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:48.879
We're not quatting.
00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:49.840
We're not really quadding.
00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:52.320
No, and I had the pleasure of getting to see Back to the Future.
00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:56.879
Forgive me for waiting so long, because it really was a great show, a slow burn.
00:08:57.039 --> 00:09:00.159
But at the end, I'm like, yeah! Yeah.
00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:02.240
Like it really like that's how I felt.
00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:03.919
It really was so fun.
00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:13.039
It was fun to watch you because, first of all, we did a show together where we were in the 1950s and were dancing in Greece, and then I see him dancing in Greece.
00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:13.440
Yes.
00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:18.080
We partnered, we were in Greece together and partner danced, and we we had so much fun.
00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:21.039
We did have fun, and he was very patient with me because JJ is a dancer.
00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:27.519
Like he you are you really are an extraordinary dancer, and like you don't hold back.
00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:29.600
You've got two switches on and off.
00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:30.399
Period.
00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:31.039
Yeah.
00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:39.200
So when you went on for your first time in Marty, what was that experience?
00:09:39.440 --> 00:09:40.159
Well, yes.
00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:44.159
Um, so I um made my debut.
00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:51.200
I was the first person to go on for like a lead in our show for one of the principals, and that was um during preview still.
00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:54.639
Like we had done, we had just done our gala opening, which was like a faux opening.
00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:55.519
It was like super confusing.
00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:00.559
Yeah, our actual opening is uh was August 2nd, I want to say last year, somewhere around there.
00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:01.440
Third, maybe?
00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:02.559
There we go, thank you.
00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:13.519
Um and so though that week, and it was right after Gala and Broughton Brian Park and all this craziness, I made my debut with three hours notice, and I had I hadn't rehearsed half Selesha, I hadn't rehearsed half the show.
00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:17.200
And do you see how dangerous, respectfully, like the show is so dangerous.
00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:19.759
Like I was actually worried sick and so scared.
00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:20.639
And you know what?
00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:34.080
I I just there was something about my nerves, like you would think in a moment like that, every anxiousness and nerve in your body, but like I was so, I was like, it can't possibly, there are no expectations for me right now because I'm being asked to do the impossible.
00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:35.759
So anything I do is very fierce.
00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:36.559
And you know what?
00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:37.679
I'm really proud of myself.
00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:39.840
During previews, I knew this was gonna happen.
00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:41.840
They kept saying, no, no, we'll rehearse you, we'll rehearse you.
00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:42.480
You're gonna have time.
00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:43.919
I was like, I know how this goes.
00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:45.279
Like I've seen, you've seen the stories.
00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:48.720
You've seen the stories during COVID, especially.
00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:50.240
It's like you know, you see covered.
00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:54.240
They're calling in the 18th Alphabet from the second national tour from 10 years ago.
00:10:54.559 --> 00:10:57.360
It's like, right, okay, I need to be ready.
00:10:57.519 --> 00:10:59.840
So like No, literally.
00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:06.080
So like So I was like, I need to be ready.
00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:06.320
Okay.
00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:09.919
Do you fit these costumes?
00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:12.320
Well, yes! Well, yes.
00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:23.679
Yes! So, yeah, so anyway, I was like, and I'm not gonna lie, and I'm not just trying to toot my own horn, but during previews, I was every day running my lines with scene partners running and doing your homework.
00:11:23.919 --> 00:11:29.360
Homework, and I was like, one thing I can control is being word-perfect, knowing every single line, every single lyric.
00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:32.960
And that was the one thing that I was like, I can't believe that's the last thing I'm thinking about right now.
00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:40.240
Because when you're jumping on and off fences, you're driving in a car, you're putting stuff in the car, you're flying in a car, you're riding a skateboard for the first time on a Broadway stage.
00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:40.879
I don't skateboard.
00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:44.000
I thought you were being symbolic right now, but you're literally, there's the DeLorean.
00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:45.840
No, literally flying in a car.
00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:50.720
Like, it's like to flip the switch, you know, like da-da-da-da, you know, and it's like, oh my god, like so much relies.
00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:55.519
Every single, almost every single lighting and sound cue and band cue relies on you to say the right lines.
00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:58.000
It's like you have to hold this stuff together.
00:11:58.240 --> 00:11:58.480
Right.
00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:00.000
So, yes.
00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:00.879
That's how it went.
00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:06.559
Okay, so then my question is for you for your Broadway debut, the first time you went on a Book of Mormon, were you this relaxed?
00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:09.039
Were you this in the pocket and grounded?
00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:11.519
You know, I I don't think so.
00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:19.279
Um I think I blacked out a little bit, which you hear about that a lot, but like I definitely blacked out a little bit, but also I was just so, I was so emotional.
00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:20.960
It was very cathartic at the end.
00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:23.840
I remember being very emotional about how like special.
00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:25.600
I mean, you only make your debut one time.
00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:31.679
So it's like making, I will say making your principal debut in something and doing a role like that, it is a similar feeling.
00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:34.080
It's a cathartic, like, oh my god, I can't believe that's freaking out.
00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:34.559
Really cool.
00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:36.000
Like I that's how I feel.
00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:44.960
I feel like it once that moment happens, it doesn't matter what happens from here on out, what happens in the future, if you never did anything else, you did that.
00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:45.440
Yes.
00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:48.639
It happened, no one can ever take it away from you.
00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:49.039
Yeah.
00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:50.879
So I love that.
00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:51.600
And I'm okay.
00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:58.320
I also want to ask you about, okay, the question that I have here is when did the TikTok start TikToking?
00:12:58.559 --> 00:12:59.039
Right.
00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:00.240
Right.
00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:03.840
Because when I first met you, you didn't have a TikTok following, did you?
00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:04.159
No man.
00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:07.519
Or did you I don't even think that the app existed, question marker?
00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:09.440
It was like Bite Dance, or uh, what's it called?
00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:10.639
Musically, there we go.
00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:14.720
Um it was like uh it was like the the kids doing like the you know little dances.
00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:18.480
Um and so I didn't have that, and also that's why I was so resistant.
00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:30.720
I think a lot of people at first were resistant to TikTok because it's like, oh, these are a bunch of kids doing dances, and then once I downloaded it, I want to say around February, like right before COVID hit, and I was just watching stuff and I was like, wait, there's so much funny content.
00:13:30.879 --> 00:13:38.159
Wait, there's theater content and relatable stuff, and like, okay, wait, and then I started making skits, and I was like, I used to make YouTube videos when I was like 11.
00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:38.559
Okay.
00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:41.120
Yes, and uh they're all scrubbed from the internet, honey.
00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:43.519
So I hope, please, Jesus.
00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:48.240
Um, so I uh yeah, but I I've always had a passion for video making.
00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:51.600
How about you also said this is the thing that the kids do.
00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:53.440
I'm like, you just graduated in 2017.
00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:54.080
Right, right.
00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:55.759
I was still You and the kids!
00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:59.759
Right, but I meant the kids like the 13-year-old, you know, like babies, babies.
00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:00.159
Yeah.
00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:06.720
So um, so anyway, then I I started making videos, and I was like, I was so scared to first put myself out there.
00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:11.120
Um, and you know, I just embraced that, like, okay, let me be a little cringe.
00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:13.360
Like, this is cringy and like let me do it, like whatever.
00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:15.279
And I found a whole community.
00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:16.000
It's like crazy.
00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:26.799
So wait, was there an energetic shift of when you were just kind of doing it for fun versus you're like, hold up, people are kind of responding to this.
00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:28.159
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:32.799
I would say the shift was doing the like the POV videos, the actors with the mics on and off.
00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:44.480
Because I was using my my own voice and I was singing and I was taking requests, I was doing different shows, showing what it's like to do a quick change and pretending to talk to my dresser, and oh my god, I'm singing my lines and on stage, offstage.
00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:48.960
So it was there was an energetic shift there because then everything was like, oh, these are getting millions of views.
00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:52.480
Oh, I'm building momentum, oh, and then it really just kind of went from there.
00:14:52.639 --> 00:15:02.879
And so my question for me, for you, in that is when you did something and it and it popped off, was there ever a moment of, well, I did that, so I can't do it again?
00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:06.320
Versus, I did that, let me do it again.
00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:07.440
Like, does that make any sense?
00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:08.559
For sure, yeah.
00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:14.480
I mean, there have definitely been certain videos I've made that I'm like, that's a one-off, like that's not something I want to make like a trend or like continue.
00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:24.879
Um, and then, but there were that was something that I was like, oh, I can take requests, and everyone's like, Wait, wait, wait, do Heather's, do Mean Girls, do this show, and it's like, oh my god, wait, this is so fun.
00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:27.519
And and it's relatable for anybody who has done.
00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:36.399
That's what I realized is I'm like, almost everybody out there has done at least one school play, school production, even if you're like, I don't even do theater, like most people have done something.
00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:41.039
And there's a relatability and showing that Broadway actors are like genuinely just like the same.
00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:42.320
Like we're literally the same.
00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:47.919
So how do you okay, and I kind of have an idea of what this answer might be, but I want to hear from you.
00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:52.720
How do you balance your actually pre you film these when you're in the show?
00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:56.559
Uh well, I did a lot of these that that was mostly during the pandemic.
00:15:56.720 --> 00:15:59.039
It was like in my closet at home with a green screen.
00:15:59.200 --> 00:15:59.679
But yeah.
00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:00.159
Right.
00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:00.399
Oh.
00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:01.519
Literally in a closet.
00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:09.120
Did you ever have you ever filmed any of your TikTok videos during a show?
00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:10.559
Oh yeah, for sure.
00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:14.639
And how do you balance doing the show and doing your TikTok?
00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:16.159
And have you missed any interests?
00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:17.440
Never, never.
00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:17.919
Okay.
00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:20.240
I do scare the stage managers sometimes.
00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:22.960
I will say I cut it a little close and I have a reputation for that.
00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:38.480
But um I definitely um no, I I I I love doing it backstage, and also my favorite part is like getting people like Roger Bart, like Roger Bart and I, now every time I'm on for Marty, he plays Doc Brown, and and every time I'm on, he's like, okay, what are we doing today?
00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:40.320
Like, you didn't send me a TikTok, what are we doing?
00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:41.360
Like, you didn't send me a sound.
00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:45.679
I'm like, oh my gosh, like I love that like getting other people involved, and now it's like the whole cast.
00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:57.679
Versus, I feel like a few years ago, like when I was doing Book of Mormon, I would want to make content, but I was too scared to ask my cast members, and now I feel like there's a different shape of mind, and also like people just are willing to make it now.
00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:00.159
It's not like so, like, oh, taboo.
00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:00.720
I don't know.
00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:02.320
Question for you.
00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:04.559
This might be controversial.
00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:06.000
Yet brave.
00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:07.599
How drave.
00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:12.079
How do you feel about phones in the theater?
00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:14.799
Ooh, like filming the show?
00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:17.759
Uh I I always say, if you have something, send it to me.
00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:19.200
Okay, if you're gonna take it.
00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:21.440
Um, I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding.
00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:23.039
Um for legal reasons.
00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:24.960
Um, no, I'm kidding.
00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:28.160
I do like that shows now have like, okay, we have like a mega mix.
00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:33.119
Very woo uh uh uh, you know, very that, very um back in time in our show.
00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:34.640
Like it's like there's a moment.
00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:36.319
Are you like you're like triggered?
00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:40.880
Um there's a time now in shows that we get to film.
00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:43.599
Um and like I like that we have that.
00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:47.839
Granted, last night there were like two people filming like randomly at different times with the flash.
00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:49.440
Wait, the other one with a flash?
00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:51.440
Yes, why yes?
00:17:51.839 --> 00:18:03.839
And and the one thing is like there's someone the other week, like two weeks ago, we were doing um the opening of act two, and we're all like walking around do do do, and um someone in the second row has their phone and it's a front-facing camera.
00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:05.039
They're on FaceTime with someone.
00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:09.519
No! And had their phone had their phone on their chest, and I literally am like looking at myself.
00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:11.119
I'm like, that's crazy.
00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:12.480
That was crazy.
00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:13.440
What?
00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:16.400
So to answer your question, it can be very distracting.
00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:18.640
Um, I kind of live, but like I don't.
00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:19.440
That's the thing.
00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:24.720
I kind of feel like back in the day, if there was like a phone that popped up in the theater, it's like, you absolutely not.
00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:28.799
And like even as a performer, we were kind of taught like, no, don't film.
00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:31.440
I'm like, how many cameras have I mean mugged?
00:18:31.759 --> 00:19:11.839
Right, right, truly, you see it, you're like, wait a minute, I'm like looking at the camera like but now today I'm kind of like, isn't that a way to maybe keep this is controversial, but to maybe keep theater like alive and relevant and people who can't be there because it is a privilege to be here in New York City to get to see a show live, like people who like were in the audience for the uh original Broadway cast of Hamilton or Olympica or Wicked or like that is like you were there, it's such a privilege, and so to create some kind of access, yeah.
00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:21.519
I mean, you can go to the New York public library, but you have to like watch it, your bag is in another room, you only get to watch it once, and you have to have a reason to watch it.
00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:23.599
That is also still a privilege.
00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:24.880
Like, okay.
00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:38.960
But I will say that being said, it is a live art form, and it's also like scary as performers to be like, oh my gosh, I have one off show and then that lives forever on the internet, and like that is the one thing is that like as long as people are respectful about it, or like if they have it for the I don't know.
00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:46.799
I will say there is a couple people a few people who would film once upon a one more time, and every now and then I'd see a clip that I was like, oh Lord.
00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:49.519
You're like, delete your account, delete your account, yes.
00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.319
It's like you maybe take that one down, but you can keep the other one.
00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:55.200
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:55.839
Yeah.
00:19:56.400 --> 00:20:00.240
And also the filming in HD, I'm like, this is what we came here for.
00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:00.799
Right.
00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:05.920
Um, we do have a few more minutes before I let you go for a while, then I'll bring you back up.
00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:08.079
What has been your biggest pinch me moment?
00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:11.200
Ooh, biggest pinch me moment?
00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:12.160
I mean, there.
00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:15.599
Oh, that's hard.
00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:16.559
There's been so many.
00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:20.240
I will say there was something really special about doing the Macy's Day parade for the first time.
00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:26.319
I know I know everybody is like very like, you know, performing on the Tony's, and obviously that's a dream, still have yet to do that.
00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:32.559
But the Macy's, like, there was something so magical in like all the different shows and the trailers, and then you're out there and the audience is there.
00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:41.759
I just like that is something I watch every single year, and I would wake up and watch it with my family, and so like that was just something that like was a tradition with my family, and it was very special to be there.
00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:42.559
Yeah.
00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:43.519
I love that.
00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:44.400
Okay, let's see.
00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:55.599
What would be your advice for aspiring performers versus also your advice for aspiring influencers?
00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:56.640
Ooh, yes.
00:20:56.880 --> 00:20:57.200
Okay.
00:20:57.519 --> 00:21:00.720
Well, then those are kind of two, I'll say two things.
00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:09.359
Um my advice for aspiring performers is kind of um, I mean, it's everyone says it, but really truly trust your path and your journey.
00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:22.559
I actually this week had like a perfect moment that I was like, wow, this is exactly what the things I need I need to remind myself because I tell other people this advice, but like I got a huge no this past week that I was actually shook to my core about.
00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:26.000
I was like, oh, this is my job, and then it's no, it's not, okay, it's not my job.
00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:32.240
Um, and then the next day I got like four auditions for other things that I'm like, wait, I would rather do most of those things than this anyway.
00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:41.519
And it was truly a reroute of like people always say every you know no is a not yet, or every no is just a redirection and closed door is another door open.
00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:49.440
And I think if you believe in higher powers, I choose to believe in God, the universe, whatever is guiding me, and it's like what is meant for me is gonna happen.
00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:53.920
So trust that because that's at the end of the day, all you can that's all you can do.
00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:56.240
Like you can't focus on the what ifs.
00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:59.680
Um, and then my advice for aspiring content creators.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.960
Say because I hate the word influence as I'm like actually.
00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:07.119
But cont the content creators.
00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:18.480
Um my advice for aspiring content creators is like truly find what makes you your unique, like find your angle because um one person's cringe is another person's pleasure.
00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:23.759
Okay, so like I I think so many people live life, like, oh my god, how can I be cool?
00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:24.720
How can I not be cringe?
00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:25.680
I'm like, I'm not cool.
00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:26.319
Okay, great.
00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:28.480
And actually, that makes me cool to some people.
00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:32.480
Some other people are gonna see me walking on the street and they're like, oh, that's that Broadway boy.
00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:33.119
I've gotten it.
00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:37.279
And half the time I work with people respectfully, they're like, wow, I didn't know if I was gonna like you.
00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:39.440
And I'm I'm like, oh, that's so wild.
00:22:39.519 --> 00:22:41.440
You say that, but I'm glad I won you over.
00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:44.559
Um but but I get so bold.
00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:45.200
Out.
00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:53.440
Yeah, so no, so a lot of times people like just will see content creators and they'll be like, oh, like that's so much or so extra, da da da.
00:22:54.000 --> 00:23:01.680
But it's like, okay, but like you're doing something, you're putting yourself out there, you're making a name, and a lot of times people are just like anti-scared to do that.
00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:01.920
Yeah.
00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:08.559
So don't let fear prevent you or fear of being cringe or something like that, prevent you from putting yourself out there and making something.
00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:09.119
Yeah.
00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:24.240
Before I let you go, I want to say that a lot of times you see people online, and it really rare than I would have hoped for it to be, but it's really refreshing to meet somebody whose personality in real life reflects who they are online.
00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:27.119
And JJ Neiman, you are one of those people.
00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:27.680
I appreciate it.
00:23:27.920 --> 00:23:30.000
So thank you so much for joining us today.
00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:36.400
Thanks for listening to The Silicia Show.
00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:39.440
Are you subscribed to thesia show.com?
00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:43.200
Are you following us at the Silicia Show on Instagram?
00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:46.799
If not, go on over there and check it out.
00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:53.440
Shout out to Wilton Music for producing the theme song Love C O D, sung by yours truly.
00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:55.039
And you know what I would love?
00:23:55.200 --> 00:24:01.359
I would love if you rated this podcast and if you gave us a review, even if it's just one sentence.
00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:03.519
That makes so much of a difference, you guys.
00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:04.720
You have no idea.
00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:12.960
And as always, if you have any ideas for guests or somebody who you want to listen to, slip into my DMs at the Silicia Show on Instagram.
00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:17.039
And finally, are you subscribed to us on Patreon?
00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:23.519
You can become a Patreon member for as little as$1 a month and hear your name right here.
00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:25.920
What are you waiting for?
00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:30.640
Thank you so much for listening to Black Hair in the Big Leagues and the Silicia Show.
00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:35.039
I'm your host, Salisha Thomas, and I'm so happy to be on this journey with you.
00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:36.640
See you next week.
