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The Benefits of Theatre for Mental Health
68 Plays9 months ago
In this episode Jon and Nate invite Christine Hall back to the podcast. They discuss how theatre affects our mental health, and Alive Theatre's next production, Pride & Prejudice, performing June 20th - 28th. To find out more about Alive Theatre and Christine's work you can follow them on Facebook or Instagram.
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Transcript
00:00:02
Speaker
Hey friends,
Introduction and Overview
00:00:03
Speaker
welcome back to Artists of the Way.
00:00:04
Speaker
I'm John, the host.
00:00:05
Speaker
Today my friend Nate and I are chatting with Christine Hall from Alive Theatre.
00:00:10
Speaker
They have an upcoming production of Pride and Prejudice, which Nate especially was really excited to talk to Christine about.
00:00:17
Speaker
Sounds like it's going to be a really great show.
00:00:18
Speaker
If you guys can make it, you absolutely should.
00:00:20
Speaker
It sounds like they have a phenomenal cast and a really exciting script.
00:00:24
Speaker
And then
Mental Health in Theater
00:00:25
Speaker
I wanted to chat with Christine because her and I have chatted a little bit before about kind of a shared passion around
00:00:31
Speaker
mental health in theater.
00:00:32
Speaker
We've both had experiences, both ourselves and with people close to us, where we've seen positive and negative sides of theater and its effects on mental health.
00:00:45
Speaker
So I was really excited to have that conversation, and it was really, really wonderful.
00:00:50
Speaker
I'm so incredibly excited to share this with you guys.
00:00:53
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in.
00:00:58
Speaker
So yeah, so I guess especially background for you, Nate, on this conversation, because Christine and I had, we'd done an episode previously, and then we were talking recently, and the subject of mental health and theater came up.
00:01:15
Speaker
And you especially, Christine, are really passionate about that.
00:01:19
Speaker
So I wanted to pick your brain some more about that and chat a little bit about
00:01:24
Speaker
what you're currently doing at Alive and all of that stuff.
Alive Theatre's Family-Friendly Vision
00:01:29
Speaker
But yeah, I just think that's an important conversation, mental health and art in general, just because we use our minds a lot with art and so seeing the ways that that affects us.
00:01:39
Speaker
So I'm excited to pick your brain about it.
00:01:42
Speaker
We did chat a little bit about it and then our computers failed.
00:01:46
Speaker
But then we're going to chat about it some more and I'm excited.
00:01:50
Speaker
It's okay.
00:01:50
Speaker
It's okay.
00:01:51
Speaker
We're here.
00:01:53
Speaker
Technology, man.
00:01:54
Speaker
It's great.
00:01:55
Speaker
So first, can you tell us a little bit about what you're working on right now and how that is going?
00:02:03
Speaker
Yeah.
00:02:04
Speaker
So Alive Theater is working on its second show ever,
00:02:10
Speaker
and it's pride and prejudice and we just had our auditions i just cast the show and last night actually we had the read through so tomorrow tomorrow's another rehearsal we have like a four-hour rehearsal tomorrow um wow but yeah so how many rehearsals are you doing for that
00:02:29
Speaker
We're doing one a week, but then we have one Saturday a month and it's the first Saturday a month.
00:02:34
Speaker
That's a good way to do it.
00:02:35
Speaker
Nice.
00:02:36
Speaker
I think that's really nice, especially for adults as life gets busy.
00:02:41
Speaker
It's like, I want to do theater, but it can be hard with like many nights a week.
00:02:45
Speaker
So that one night a week thing is really nice.
00:02:48
Speaker
Yeah, that's part of my vision and the way I brand the theater is I'm talking about being kind of like a family friendly theater because we accommodate family schedules like me as a new mom, like I can't commit to a lot of theaters around here.
00:03:02
Speaker
They rehearse like up to four or five times a week.
00:03:05
Speaker
It's crazy.
00:03:07
Speaker
And I'm like, and they do a show with it in like two months.
00:03:09
Speaker
And I'm like, I just, that's just too much commitment for a mom.
00:03:11
Speaker
I can't get away from my baby that much and get a babysitter every night, you know?
00:03:14
Speaker
So yeah.
00:03:17
Speaker
You know, ours is a little bit more spread out, but it works for people's schedules.
00:03:21
Speaker
And there's a lot of people that, you know, work nights that can't get every night of the week off.
00:03:25
Speaker
So I remember when I was younger, I was like, if I want to be in theater, I have to have a day job because it's just not accommodating.
00:03:32
Speaker
And so, you know, I feel like now with Alive and there's other, I think Midway is similar to, I think they just do once a week.
00:03:39
Speaker
Like it's nice to have theater options for people with all schedules.
00:03:43
Speaker
Yeah.
00:03:44
Speaker
I've done midway before and that once a week was nice.
00:03:48
Speaker
Yeah.
00:03:49
Speaker
It's, yeah, it's a, it's a different pace, but it's, it's really helpful.
00:03:53
Speaker
And I feel like you can still make it work in such a way where you're able to put in the work that you need to for the show.
00:04:00
Speaker
Um, so I, it's been cool to see different places be willing to like experiment with what that format looks like.
00:04:08
Speaker
Yes.
The Role of Theater Post-COVID
00:04:09
Speaker
And that actually kind of ties into, um,
00:04:13
Speaker
we've talked about before with like mental health, I came up with this schedule because I mean, because I had to do it, but really I wanted to reach out to so many people that have especially loved theater in the past, but then life's gotten busy, families, you know, things happen and they just, they don't feel like they have a place in there.
00:04:34
Speaker
They don't have an opportunity to be in theater.
00:04:35
Speaker
And so already
00:04:56
Speaker
you know, directing the show and giving me an opportunity to do theater again, I just finally feel alive again.
00:05:01
Speaker
And like that kind of comment over and over again, hearing that and then just knowing myself that after having the break of COVID, you know, with all of us performers, we couldn't perform for like a couple of years.
00:05:11
Speaker
When I got back on the stage, I was like, I forget how much this makes me feel alive.
00:05:16
Speaker
So I always told myself, if I'm ever going to start a theater company, because I never really planned on starting it.
00:05:21
Speaker
It's kind of...
00:05:22
Speaker
God called me to it.
00:05:24
Speaker
But I was like, I'm going to call it a live theater.
00:05:26
Speaker
That's what I'm going to call it.
00:05:27
Speaker
For a question, that's what I wanted to name the theater.
00:05:31
Speaker
That's lovely.
00:05:35
Speaker
Are there any shows or roles that have made you feel alive?
00:05:40
Speaker
Or is it just the act of theater in general that you feel like?
00:05:45
Speaker
I think it's really just this.
00:05:47
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's just like the theater in general, like the whole thing, you know, the show week, the community, you get to spend time with the actors.
00:05:55
Speaker
There's nothing as specific I can think of of the show itself.
00:05:58
Speaker
Some shows are obviously better than other shows and some casts are better than other casts.
00:06:03
Speaker
But, you know,
00:06:06
Speaker
Um, in general, it's just, yeah, I just something about the magic of theater and, and the community it brings.
00:06:13
Speaker
It's, it's, I think it really does help people's mental health.
00:06:16
Speaker
And I think it, it can help with just self-confidence and all of the things that we can get into it.
00:06:24
Speaker
But, but yeah, I just know it personally.
00:06:26
Speaker
And I've just seen it so many times in other people's lives.
00:06:29
Speaker
Yep.
00:06:30
Speaker
That's really cool.
00:06:32
Speaker
I'm curious, before we delve a little further into the mental health side of things, what is it now that you're past the read-through?
Pride and Prejudice Adaptation
00:06:41
Speaker
Is there anything that you're really excited and hopped up about with this show in particular that you guys are doing?
00:06:47
Speaker
I was excited to hear that John said that your script is based on the 95 Pride Prejudice movie, which is like one of my favorite pieces of media ever.
00:06:58
Speaker
It's so good.
00:07:00
Speaker
It's so good.
00:07:01
Speaker
Yeah.
00:07:02
Speaker
I'm making John watch it with us right now.
00:07:07
Speaker
Yeah, it was fun.
00:07:08
Speaker
I was like, oh my gosh, this is perfect timing because we're about to have this conversation with Christine about this script that's based on this and I'm just starting to watch it.
00:07:14
Speaker
Yeah, because John never seen it before and it's like my favorite thing.
00:07:17
Speaker
So my wife and his wife and I.
00:07:21
Speaker
Just, well, I think we're halfway through the second episode.
00:07:24
Speaker
So like Mr. Collins has rolled up and has started doing Mr. Collins shenanigans.
00:07:30
Speaker
So yeah, not super far in, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far.
00:07:35
Speaker
It's interesting to me how similar the characters still feel to the movie, which is the only, that's really the only Pride and Prejudice I've delved into.
00:07:44
Speaker
The 2005 one?
00:07:45
Speaker
Yeah.
00:07:47
Speaker
Yes, but I think it's interesting.
00:07:50
Speaker
I just feel like usually when I see actors play roles, those characters feel very different.
00:07:58
Speaker
But...
00:07:59
Speaker
they felt, especially Lizzie, I think, like they felt very similar as people.
00:08:05
Speaker
Like there were differences still, but it felt like essence-wise, they still felt the same.
00:08:10
Speaker
I thought that was interesting.
00:08:12
Speaker
It's not always that way because Ellie found a version from like the 80s on YouTube that she'd seen before.
00:08:19
Speaker
We started watching it and it was not good.
00:08:23
Speaker
Oh, no.
00:08:24
Speaker
She was saying it looked like maybe their first, like the 95 version, because the scenes are very similar, but maybe this was just their first run-through, read-through of it.
00:08:34
Speaker
It was quite bad acting.
00:08:37
Speaker
And so it was kind of fun in that way.
00:08:39
Speaker
It was interesting because it's like, wow, I didn't realize how good the 95 version was until you compare it to something bad.
00:08:47
Speaker
It's like, oh, you just take some of the good for granted sometimes.
00:08:51
Speaker
Oh yeah, for sure.
00:08:55
Speaker
Do you have a favorite character?
00:08:56
Speaker
There's so many characters I love.
00:09:03
Speaker
I don't know how to pick a favorite, but I will say
00:09:06
Speaker
Mrs. Bennett is just hilarious.
00:09:09
Speaker
Like, and the 95 version, the series, she's my favorite.
00:09:13
Speaker
Like, I'm going to tell my Mrs. Bennett, like my cast, I'm like, hey, can you just like emulate her?
00:09:19
Speaker
Can you just like study her?
00:09:20
Speaker
Because everything she does is so perfect.
00:09:23
Speaker
I like her so much better than the movie version, the 2005.
00:09:27
Speaker
Because she's just so much more...
00:09:31
Speaker
real like I feel like she's like actually just that's how she is it doesn't feel over dramatic or active even though she's completely over dramatic and active it's not that like yeah they're like real I don't know I love I love how she plays her I watched some behind the scenes from the 95 recently and it was interesting to see that actress as a regular person it's like oh that's not who you are just because she played it so convincingly yeah yeah that's awesome
00:09:59
Speaker
Yeah.
00:10:00
Speaker
But yeah, there's a lot of great
The Cast and Characters of the Play
00:10:01
Speaker
characters.
00:10:01
Speaker
I mean, I think personally, and you said they were similar essence for sure, but the Collins, I think are very different in a way, like between the movie and the- I see that.
00:10:11
Speaker
Just like a little bit.
00:10:12
Speaker
I mean, it's still, they're both obviously Collins type.
00:10:15
Speaker
Right.
00:10:15
Speaker
type personalities and i'm trying to figure out even with my my cast just hearing the read through last night i'm like okay how am i gonna this is probably what i'm most excited about to answer your question is like hearing everybody finally together and reading after you like piece together the auditions because it was a huge turnout we had over 50 people signed up for auditions amazing and um i have like 20 characters i had a cast
00:10:38
Speaker
And so it was a lot of older people too.
00:10:41
Speaker
Oh, that's great.
00:10:42
Speaker
You gotta find a show that has like older ladies for Lansing because there's a ton of them out there that apparently wanted to come out for Lady Catherine.
00:10:49
Speaker
Steel Magnolias.
00:10:50
Speaker
I love Steel Magnolias.
00:10:52
Speaker
Yes.
00:10:53
Speaker
But yeah, I'm just hearing like everyone talking and thinking already through like how I'm going to pull like, oh, like there's so much potential.
00:11:00
Speaker
There's so much good right there.
00:11:01
Speaker
Like I'm just going to pull into that and like make these characters even more
00:11:06
Speaker
you know, by the time we perform, it's going to be so much fun to like work with them.
00:11:11
Speaker
And even like the Collins, like how do we, because Collins is such a comedic character that you, that I'm like, okay, like comedic timing is everything with him.
00:11:19
Speaker
And like finding that like genuine, okay, this is a real person, but this is how they act, right?
00:11:26
Speaker
Right.
00:11:27
Speaker
Yeah.
00:11:29
Speaker
And not being overacting.
00:11:30
Speaker
Because that's one thing I always.
00:11:32
Speaker
I'm big about that as a director.
00:11:34
Speaker
I'm like I don't want to see that you're acting.
00:11:36
Speaker
And if I see that you're acting.
00:11:37
Speaker
I'm going to call it out and be like stop acting.
00:11:39
Speaker
Because I can tell you're just playing a character.
00:11:41
Speaker
Yeah.
00:11:42
Speaker
Well and I feel like the best comedy.
00:11:45
Speaker
Is when you're just real.
00:11:48
Speaker
And it feels like real life.
00:11:50
Speaker
I mean there's slapstick in vaudeville.
00:11:52
Speaker
That's funny too.
00:11:53
Speaker
But like I feel like.
00:11:57
Speaker
focusing on the truth of comedy and that's why I feel like a lot of comedians are really good actors when they actually try and do dramatic acting is because they've succeeded because even in their comedy they've just been focused on the truth of the thing it's interesting how they can be like way bigger than life and like how Collins is and Mrs. Bennett is but still feel like no you're that's a real person right there and like they're just being true and not acting
00:12:25
Speaker
Yeah, our Mr. Bingley is kind of like that.
00:12:27
Speaker
We're like, he's actually Mr. Bingley in real life.
00:12:29
Speaker
Like his personality is just so nice.
00:12:32
Speaker
He's like so helpful.
00:12:34
Speaker
He's like, can I help you like, put the chairs away?
00:12:36
Speaker
Can I, you know, and like, he's like a golden retriever personality.
00:12:40
Speaker
Yeah, that's Bingley.
00:12:41
Speaker
And it was just, it was funny because I felt like I didn't have like all that many options for Mr. Collins.
00:12:46
Speaker
And then he shows up and he had Mr. Darcy on his form.
00:12:49
Speaker
And then like halfway through,
00:12:50
Speaker
he came back up and up to us and he's like, no, no, no.
00:12:53
Speaker
I want to be Mr. Bingley, not Darcy.
00:12:56
Speaker
Mr. Bingley is my preferred.
00:12:57
Speaker
And I was like, oh, you got it.
00:12:59
Speaker
And he was just so cute.
00:13:03
Speaker
I'm like, he's great.
00:13:04
Speaker
I'm so excited because he's very new.
00:13:06
Speaker
This is only his second show ever.
00:13:08
Speaker
He's new to theater and I'm just really excited to like work with him.
00:13:13
Speaker
That's cool.
00:13:14
Speaker
I think that's cool too when you have like a younger or newer actor.
00:13:17
Speaker
I think when it's something that's closer to them, you can get more nitpicky about things because they're not trying to inhabit something totally different.
00:13:27
Speaker
So you can just really strip away and be like, okay, you already are very much embodying this character.
00:13:32
Speaker
So now let's just make it more raw.
00:13:35
Speaker
Right.
00:13:35
Speaker
And that's cool.
00:13:37
Speaker
Yeah.
00:13:37
Speaker
That's going to be awesome.
00:13:39
Speaker
Cool.
00:13:40
Speaker
I'm excited to see it.
00:13:42
Speaker
I'm going to jump into mental health here some.
00:13:46
Speaker
Sad.
00:13:47
Speaker
I could talk about pride and prejudice all day.
00:13:49
Speaker
That's good for my mental health.
00:13:54
Speaker
Now we see a positive example.
00:13:56
Speaker
i want to hear nate though like once you're yes like you said so many are great but as we were talking my mind is on mr bennett he's just so funny in a different way that um and specifically again in the 95 version but i think the book too um
00:14:16
Speaker
And he's hilarious.
00:14:18
Speaker
The way that he just enjoys the ridiculousness of people.
00:14:23
Speaker
It's like, oh, good.
00:14:24
Speaker
I get to laugh at these people now.
00:14:26
Speaker
It's just, it's really great.
00:14:28
Speaker
Yeah.
00:14:29
Speaker
I feel like I see Mr. Bennett-ness in you.
00:14:33
Speaker
All right.
00:14:36
Speaker
I'll take it.
00:14:36
Speaker
He's not like the most admirable character, but he is fun.
00:14:40
Speaker
So I'll take that.
00:14:43
Speaker
I mean, it might be better than being like, oh, I see Mr. Darcy, because he's pretty much not very friendly for a while.
00:14:48
Speaker
He kind of sucks.
00:14:50
Speaker
I played Mr. Darcy in like a, it was like a sequel to Pride and Prejudice.
00:14:56
Speaker
It was called Miss, Miss, Christmas at Miss Pemberley.
00:15:01
Speaker
Yeah, it was Miss Ben at Christmas at Pemberley.
00:15:03
Speaker
So it focused on Mary.
00:15:06
Speaker
But she came and visited Darcy and Elizabeth.
00:15:08
Speaker
It was actually a really solid script.
00:15:10
Speaker
Yeah, it was really good.
00:15:11
Speaker
Surprisingly good.
00:15:12
Speaker
Yeah.
00:15:13
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know how well I inhabited Darcy, but it was a blast.
00:15:16
Speaker
I thought you did good.
00:15:17
Speaker
Well, thanks.
00:15:17
Speaker
Yeah.
00:15:18
Speaker
That would be cool to see.
00:15:19
Speaker
I'm really curious about that script now.
00:15:21
Speaker
Oh, it's fun.
00:15:22
Speaker
It's really well written.
00:15:24
Speaker
It's got the Jane Austen vibes and language to it.
00:15:28
Speaker
Yeah, I really enjoyed it.
00:15:29
Speaker
They feel true to the characters.
00:15:32
Speaker
Isn't that... There's a new character in that too, right?
00:15:34
Speaker
Yeah.
00:15:35
Speaker
Is that guy a new character?
00:15:36
Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
00:15:37
Speaker
So the main male protagonist is a cousin of Darcy's named Arthur.
00:15:44
Speaker
And so him and Mary get together and they're both like nerdy people.
00:15:49
Speaker
But he just feels like he fits right into that world.
00:15:52
Speaker
Yeah.
00:15:53
Speaker
It's very, you can tell the author, the writer put a lot of care into that to try and make it feel true to the essence of it.
00:16:03
Speaker
And it's fun because Anne de Berg shows up and she thinks that she's supposed to marry this Arthur guy, just like she was supposed to marry Darcy and causes all kinds of trouble.
00:16:14
Speaker
Oh, that's hilarious.
00:16:15
Speaker
Lots of fun.
00:16:15
Speaker
So Lady Anne actually speaks in your script where she doesn't speak in my script.
00:16:19
Speaker
Exactly.
00:16:20
Speaker
Exactly.
00:16:21
Speaker
She's rather pushy and obnoxious, really.
00:16:26
Speaker
Which is that part's different.
00:16:28
Speaker
Yeah.
00:16:29
Speaker
Well, you're gonna love our Mr. Bennett.
00:16:31
Speaker
I will say he is amazing, especially considering he's never done theater.
00:16:37
Speaker
Wow.
00:16:38
Speaker
Like, probably...
00:16:41
Speaker
If I have to think about people that don't have any notes, it's probably him right now.
00:16:44
Speaker
Just based off of the read-through, I'm like, he's so good.
00:16:47
Speaker
That's great.
00:16:48
Speaker
You were just the instincts, man.
00:16:51
Speaker
Nobody sent him this episode, though.
00:16:53
Speaker
Don't tell him he has no notes or he'll be like, I'm perfect.
00:16:57
Speaker
Right, right.
00:16:58
Speaker
No, he's so humble.
00:16:59
Speaker
But I'm just going off of the read-through.
00:17:01
Speaker
I'm sure I'll have lots of notes for him later.
00:17:02
Speaker
Right.
00:17:03
Speaker
I do
Psychological Benefits of Theater
00:17:04
Speaker
often feel like I get to like a read through or like a first blocking rehearsal where the only thing in my head has been blocking.
00:17:10
Speaker
And I'm looking at the cast and I'm like, oh, shoot, they're already doing everything I was thinking of right now.
00:17:14
Speaker
I don't know what I have to tell them now.
00:17:17
Speaker
And then something comes up.
00:17:18
Speaker
I always have this little panic moment early on.
00:17:22
Speaker
Too good.
00:17:23
Speaker
Am I just useless?
00:17:25
Speaker
Oh, no, I think that's probably maybe not normal.
00:17:27
Speaker
I feel like as a director, I have that feeling sometimes too.
00:17:30
Speaker
I'm like, oh, no, like, what if like they don't like what if when I'm directing them, they don't understand what I'm trying to like say.
00:17:36
Speaker
And then they just look at me like, what are you saying?
00:17:39
Speaker
Do you even know what you're doing?
00:17:39
Speaker
And like, it's like the insecurity of like a director comes out.
00:17:42
Speaker
Yeah.
00:17:44
Speaker
especially adults.
00:17:45
Speaker
I feel like kids are easier to work with, but adults, it's like, well, kids don't know anything and adults think that they know everything.
00:17:52
Speaker
I'm like, if I try and direct an adult, they're going to be like, um, uh, I know.
00:17:58
Speaker
Cause I'm an actor.
00:17:59
Speaker
And sometimes I go, he's a really good director though.
00:18:04
Speaker
He's directing me in a show right now.
00:18:07
Speaker
Yeah, it's great.
00:18:10
Speaker
So I'm curious, delving into the mental health aspect, are there like specific benefits that you see from theater in mental health, either in your own mental health or in other people's like ways that it's been helpful to them?
00:18:32
Speaker
Yeah, so...
00:18:34
Speaker
I've also studied this a little bit.
00:18:35
Speaker
And statistically, there is like the science of it or whatever you want to call it, surveys, you know, like
00:18:43
Speaker
a huge percentage, I think it was like 89% say it helps with self-confidence, which I thought was really cool.
00:18:48
Speaker
And then like 52% says it helps with anxiety.
00:18:52
Speaker
So just doing like the arts, like helps that much of those two things that I think are such a huge thing when it comes to mental health.
00:18:59
Speaker
Obviously you want to have some self-confidence in yourself.
00:19:01
Speaker
You don't want to have anxiety.
00:19:03
Speaker
But for me, I think a lot of it is,
00:19:07
Speaker
just an outlet to be so creative with other community, other people that are like-minded and in the community of it.
00:19:16
Speaker
And also I just feel like it helps you.
00:19:18
Speaker
Like it helps think about other things other than yourself and your own, whatever you're struggling with.
00:19:22
Speaker
Right.
00:19:23
Speaker
Like you can kind of even hopefully lean on your cast a little bit.
00:19:27
Speaker
If you're close to them, you can, they can kind of like family and it can become just a really safe place to, um,
00:19:33
Speaker
to be yourself, I think, and not to feel, at least for me, like I've always felt like theater, I belonged.
00:19:41
Speaker
Whereas like, or even in high school and stuff, I was never like the popular person.
00:19:46
Speaker
I always kind of felt like I was like, I didn't fit in with anybody.
00:19:49
Speaker
I just, I was friends with everybody.
00:19:51
Speaker
So I didn't really have like a clique or club or anything.
00:19:55
Speaker
But there was theater and that kind of was like my thing.
00:19:57
Speaker
That's where I belong.
00:19:58
Speaker
That's
00:19:59
Speaker
where I felt like I could be myself and it wasn't, I wasn't judged for being this dramatic teenager, you know, whatever.
00:20:06
Speaker
But yeah, it's just, it's a very, I feel like it can be a very comforting place in the right type of setting.
00:20:12
Speaker
Like, obviously I think there's some theaters, maybe they aren't, they don't make you feel that way, but, but in my experience, a lot of productions and places, it's been really nice to just,
00:20:23
Speaker
to just feel like you're kind of, I always say, I'm with my people, my theater people, my people that, you know,
00:20:31
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know.
00:20:32
Speaker
So the community for me is a lot of that.
00:20:34
Speaker
Sorry, that was kind of a long answer.
00:20:36
Speaker
No, you're good.
00:20:37
Speaker
That's beautiful.
00:20:39
Speaker
Yeah, it makes me think I just did an acting class.
00:20:42
Speaker
I finally got to take, I feel like maybe we were talking about this last time we talked, but I finally got to take an acting class on Meisner, which I love.
00:20:48
Speaker
Oh, yeah.
00:20:49
Speaker
But I've never been able to actually do the exercises and things myself.
00:20:54
Speaker
So that was really great.
00:20:55
Speaker
But there was a really big emphasis placed by the teacher on...
00:21:00
Speaker
saying this is a safe place and we're going to take a little bit of time to like get to know each other at the start of each class and talk about what's going on in life.
00:21:08
Speaker
And we're going to make sure that we know that what happens here emotionally kind of stays here emotionally, not in a negative sense, but in like, it's okay to walk through it.
00:21:18
Speaker
You're not making each other uncomfortable, but whatever you're bringing to the table here is allowed.
00:21:25
Speaker
I love that.
00:21:27
Speaker
And it was great.
00:21:28
Speaker
And he was like, this is like a laboratory setting, which is a phrase I stole.
00:21:32
Speaker
But it's just like this idea of like, we're just going to come and we're just going to bring ourselves and experiment with acting and with our emotions and know that it's okay to just be.
00:21:44
Speaker
Um...
00:21:46
Speaker
And I think that that's beautiful.
00:21:49
Speaker
I think that's beautiful in any community.
00:21:51
Speaker
Like, I think, I think a lot of times a Christian community when done well can be that and should be that.
00:21:59
Speaker
Where, you know, come as you are type.
00:22:03
Speaker
of idea, but I think the arts embodies that really well, especially when you have a director and a leadership team that's really intentional about putting that forward and saying, we're going to create this environment.
00:22:16
Speaker
where it's okay for you to fall down and cry because we've got a cushion here and we're all here to hold you and walk through that and experience that here.
00:22:25
Speaker
And then just let it be okay, both here and outside of here and beyond.
00:22:32
Speaker
I think that's really amazing.
00:22:36
Speaker
Oh, for sure.
00:22:39
Speaker
I know I talked about it last time a little bit, that we talked, but...
00:22:46
Speaker
There's been, there was one episode while I'm on TV, one show I did where you've been in the podcast world enough that was seeping into you.
00:22:58
Speaker
Oh my goodness.
00:22:58
Speaker
So
Theater as Healing and Support
00:22:59
Speaker
there was a show I was doing, I was directing actually.
00:23:02
Speaker
And, um, um,
00:23:05
Speaker
It was basically like, it was such a hard time.
00:23:08
Speaker
And I taught this friend of mine, I actually talked to her.
00:23:10
Speaker
I'm like, if I bring this up ever, like, is this okay in public?
00:23:13
Speaker
And she's like, oh yeah, completely.
00:23:14
Speaker
So I just want to say, he's okay with me sharing this personal thing that happened to her.
00:23:18
Speaker
But a friend of mine lost her brother to suicide.
00:23:23
Speaker
And it was like two or three weeks before our read through.
00:23:26
Speaker
So like the whole show was like cast already and like we were all planning on it.
00:23:30
Speaker
And it was Little Women, actually, the show.
00:23:33
Speaker
And so, and she was playing Joe.
00:23:35
Speaker
And Joe loses her sister in the show.
00:23:38
Speaker
And I was thinking, like, I cannot.
00:23:41
Speaker
Yeah.
00:23:42
Speaker
And on top of it, she's, like, best friends of this brother of hers.
00:23:44
Speaker
Like, they're, like, besties.
00:23:46
Speaker
It's a younger brother.
00:23:48
Speaker
He was only 17.
00:23:49
Speaker
It was like tragic, right?
00:23:51
Speaker
And we all were like, and we were all doing this show as like a work.
00:23:54
Speaker
It was kind of like a show workshop.
00:23:55
Speaker
It wasn't like an official thing where we would like performed it and sold tickets or anything like that.
00:23:59
Speaker
It was like a workshop thing, but we were like loved the show.
00:24:01
Speaker
We wanted to work on it and we hadn't done theater in years.
00:24:04
Speaker
So, um,
00:24:05
Speaker
We were all friends pretty much.
00:24:07
Speaker
And so this whole, this death like affected all of us as we're all like mourning this for this family and for people that knew him so well.
00:24:15
Speaker
And so I was like, yeah, we're not doing this show.
00:24:18
Speaker
Right.
00:24:18
Speaker
But she literally texted me like that week and was like, don't even think about canceling.
00:24:23
Speaker
I need this show.
00:24:24
Speaker
Like I need to do it.
00:24:25
Speaker
And I was like, okay.
00:24:27
Speaker
That's what you want.
00:24:29
Speaker
Like, I actually said, don't even think about that right now.
00:24:31
Speaker
She's like, nope, nope, I need to think about it.
00:24:32
Speaker
And it was an interesting, like, shift in my thinking of like, oh, no, it's not.
00:24:37
Speaker
It's not that she can't do theaters that she needs right now.
00:24:40
Speaker
Like, and that was like so.
00:24:44
Speaker
It ended up being such a healing and crazy time because it wasn't just her.
00:24:48
Speaker
It was like everybody else in the show had different reasons they were doing this workshop.
00:24:53
Speaker
And there were some really, let me just say, I had really talented people doing this workshop thing that just had missed theater and they needed to be in it.
00:25:00
Speaker
So, you know, and that was where I got this idea of like mental health and alive and where I was going to call a theater one day.
00:25:07
Speaker
And because for myself, I was going through a lot of depression because I was going through a miscarriage at that time.
00:25:14
Speaker
And there was just it was just a lot.
00:25:17
Speaker
It was like that was going on.
00:25:18
Speaker
Somebody hadn't done theater in years because they had major back problems and they got to be in it.
00:25:23
Speaker
But through that, it was like seeing the cast like work through like the characters feelings, but then also like the emotions and the feelings of obviously what
00:25:36
Speaker
personally, especially the person that played Joe is going through.
00:25:39
Speaker
And I remember her and Marmee, the girl who played Marmee, she told me, she was like, she was able to actually pull out some like raw stuff that like I needed to process.
00:25:54
Speaker
Like theater and the show and these characters, like helping these people process and get through such a hard time and pouring themselves into something instead of
00:26:05
Speaker
I was just like, you're doing this theater thing.
00:26:08
Speaker
So I don't know.
00:26:09
Speaker
After that, I was just like, wow, like, like theater is so important.
00:26:12
Speaker
And like, it became really important to me to keep giving people an opportunity to have a safe place and to
00:26:23
Speaker
to grow through the experience and to process what they need to process.
00:26:27
Speaker
And I saw that again when I directed Peter Pan Jr. So it was a bunch of kids, but there was things at the end of that show when there was a girl that's like, I lost one of my best friends and this show has been such a comfort for me just to be part of during this hard time.
00:26:44
Speaker
And she was like, I just wanted to say thank you.
00:26:46
Speaker
And I was like,
00:26:48
Speaker
It's like those moments you're like, this is so much more than just performing.
00:26:51
Speaker
Like this is about community and like people and people's hearts and they just, they matter and like we need each other.
00:26:59
Speaker
And so, yeah, I don't know.
00:27:01
Speaker
I just wanted to share that because I think it really demonstrates like the importance of how it can help mental health.
00:27:07
Speaker
That's huge.
00:27:08
Speaker
It makes sense because it seems like kind of the perfect collision of things because, like you said, it's a community, a community of love if a leader is setting that up.
00:27:22
Speaker
But it's also we're interacting with a story and our own lives are stories.
00:27:27
Speaker
And so that makes those things real.
00:27:29
Speaker
cross paths with each other so that you bring up those processing things, but then you're processing it in an environment of love.
00:27:36
Speaker
And so that's really beautiful.
00:27:38
Speaker
Yeah.
00:27:40
Speaker
There's every time you've brought up the mental health aspect of theater, there's been, I feel like you and I have talked about maybe that I feel like it's that little women experience that's brought it to mind.
00:27:52
Speaker
Cause I think we've talked about it a couple of times before, but I,
00:27:58
Speaker
I'm going to talk about Hamlet, which my audience will love because I talk about it every other episode, I think.
00:28:05
Speaker
He was
Personal Insights Through Roles
00:28:06
Speaker
in Hamlet.
00:28:06
Speaker
I was, in case you didn't know.
00:28:10
Speaker
But my wife played Ophelia in Hamlet, which was very exciting.
00:28:17
Speaker
But there were a few people who were like,
00:28:22
Speaker
is this a good idea?
00:28:23
Speaker
Because she struggled with some pretty intense depression.
00:28:26
Speaker
And Ophelia, if you know the story, if you don't, I'm going to spoil it.
00:28:31
Speaker
Sorry, audience.
00:28:33
Speaker
Probably committed suicide.
00:28:35
Speaker
And so it's like,
00:28:37
Speaker
You have to walk through things that kind of intersect with some of your heaviest moments.
00:28:44
Speaker
Is that going to be good?
00:28:45
Speaker
And she was like, oh, it's going to be great.
00:28:47
Speaker
She was just 100% convinced that it was just going to be wonderful, that she would have no issues with it, and that it would be cathartic.
00:28:57
Speaker
And it absolutely was.
00:28:59
Speaker
There was something about...
00:29:02
Speaker
walking through even like the intersection with some of the darkest times she's ever had.
00:29:08
Speaker
Wow.
00:29:09
Speaker
That for her was really healing and important and cathartic.
00:29:14
Speaker
Like important enough that we've talked before, like if we ever had a daughter, she's like, I wouldn't name them Ophelia because of the connotations.
00:29:20
Speaker
But if it weren't for the connotations, I would name them Ophelia.
00:29:23
Speaker
Ophelia.
00:29:24
Speaker
And so I just think it's so remarkable.
00:29:27
Speaker
And I've seen that.
00:29:28
Speaker
Yeah.
00:29:29
Speaker
go wrong before where it intersects with the darker side of one's life.
00:29:33
Speaker
I feel like we talked about that last time.
00:29:35
Speaker
Maybe we'll talk about it in a little bit.
00:29:38
Speaker
So I've seen where that can not be beneficial to somebody.
00:29:44
Speaker
But for her, walking through parallels to her own dark, challenging, emotionally harrowing times
00:29:57
Speaker
it seemed to give her strength and, um, yeah, it just let her confront it in a new way.
00:30:05
Speaker
I think that was really beautiful and, and new and really cool to see both as her husband as, and as an actor.
00:30:14
Speaker
Um, yeah, it was really neat.
00:30:17
Speaker
So yeah, I, it is interesting that way that
00:30:22
Speaker
Because my instinct a lot of times as a director too is to be like, if this is too much, let's just leave it.
00:30:30
Speaker
But yeah, I think a lot of times being pushed towards those uncomfortable things.
00:30:38
Speaker
So you can push through.
00:30:39
Speaker
Yeah, it can be a healing thing.
00:30:44
Speaker
Yeah, definitely.
00:30:47
Speaker
Do you have any experiences where for you doing a show or doing something was growing for you either for, I don't know if there's specific examples or anything, so if not, that's fine, but ways in which you've grown and benefited from a particular experience in theater?
00:31:09
Speaker
I'm sure there is.
00:31:10
Speaker
I just think of like a moment or an example of
00:31:16
Speaker
A show you mean or just like any?
00:31:19
Speaker
Could be any.
00:31:19
Speaker
I think a show is what I had in mind, but it could be anything.
00:31:22
Speaker
It could be watching a show.
00:31:25
Speaker
Doing props for a show.
00:31:27
Speaker
It's going to be pretty emotional.
00:31:29
Speaker
I mean, sorry, what did you say?
00:31:36
Speaker
I was just saying it could have been while you're doing props for a show because that can be pretty emotional.
00:31:42
Speaker
She made me say it twice.
00:31:44
Speaker
It was that good of a joke.
00:31:45
Speaker
It was that good.
00:31:51
Speaker
Okay, so let me think.
00:31:57
Speaker
I think like.
00:31:59
Speaker
There's definitely, I think some of the more serious roles I've played, I definitely can see how I've been inspired by the roles, like by the characters.
00:32:08
Speaker
And so I can say, grow through that experience of, you know, the character.
00:32:16
Speaker
Like I obviously think of Shining Lives because it was a true story.
00:32:19
Speaker
You're great in that.
00:32:22
Speaker
Oh, thank you.
00:32:23
Speaker
It was very much a passion project.
00:32:26
Speaker
Like I've always wanted to do that show.
00:32:29
Speaker
I'm a big history person.
00:32:31
Speaker
Like I love to tell history and to, especially anything that has like a message that needs to be told.
00:32:39
Speaker
It was, it was one of those things where like, to give the audience some context, she ends up, you know, dying from,
00:32:49
Speaker
radium poisoning through her job.
00:32:51
Speaker
She was in the 1920s and she worked in a shop.
00:32:56
Speaker
And so Catherine Donahue is a real character.
00:32:58
Speaker
You can look up and research all about that story.
00:33:01
Speaker
But what was crazy is that she has scenes like with her husband, with her kids and having to face the reality when she finds out that she's terminal, she can't, there's no cure, like she's going to die.
00:33:15
Speaker
um really was like just a lot of like things that it feels and i know like there's this is a very these are one of those roles where i know a friend of mine who actually had to not play the character she was asked to play the character she's an amazing actress and um she ended up through the rehearsal process she started to
00:33:38
Speaker
she started to decline to decline the she's like, I can't do it.
00:33:42
Speaker
Um, she said it was too triggering for her.
00:33:44
Speaker
It reminded her of some near death experiences.
00:33:46
Speaker
I think she had, and because she had the scene with the kids was too much.
00:33:51
Speaker
Um, and it's totally like, and that's where it's like, yeah, as a director, you need to respect that.
00:33:55
Speaker
Like if that's too much.
00:33:56
Speaker
And she's telling you that because the director wanted her to do it because she's a really great actress.
00:34:01
Speaker
Um, and so me playing that same kind of character, I can totally understand.
00:34:06
Speaker
that for me, it was such a fun challenge to like represent this character and to bring justice to her story and to, you know,
00:34:14
Speaker
I definitely think the second time I, cause I got to do it twice.
00:34:17
Speaker
We did it in Lansing and then we did it with master arts.
00:34:21
Speaker
And the second time it was definitely a more powerful, I think performance on my part.
00:34:26
Speaker
And I really think everyone's part in some ways, but my part, especially, um, I think having, cause I was pregnant with the first and then I had the baby by the second show and, um, he was only three, but he's only three months then.
00:34:38
Speaker
And, um,
00:34:39
Speaker
um so it was i was probably like i was like crying like you know acting but it was a lot easier i feel like to reach in and just pull some tears out as like a mom now myself and some of those scenes and i don't know i don't even know why i'm getting to this but i guess all that to say like um i really was like you know what life is short and we need to like i feel like i grew as a person and just in the sense of like
00:35:06
Speaker
appreciating what we have and our families we have because we never know how much time we have and oh that story is just it's so tragic but it's also so like beautiful and it's like the most one of the most well-written script scripts i've ever read and so i had to do it i was like it's such a good script um but but yeah it was it was a it was yeah it's such a cool story to be part of because it was such a important
00:35:35
Speaker
thing where people is like really still happens today right people get greedy people cut costs and they don't think about how it affects our health how it affects so many things right and so i'm just really passionate about that so i was like we need to tell the story and so i remember the last show we did in grand rapids last time i'll ever play that character um i guess i was getting emotional like christine was getting emotional at the very end of it and i started to find this
00:36:02
Speaker
like i need to keep it together one more line but i was like doing the final monologue of katherine donahue and it was like it's such a powerful moment um but like how special as as us as actors that we get to experience that like that's beautiful are there any negative
00:36:21
Speaker
aspects to theater that you've seen as far as people's mental health times where it's not been good.
00:36:27
Speaker
I guess
Balancing Identity with Acting
00:36:28
Speaker
we kind of touched on a little bit with your friend who didn't want to go and play the role of Catherine because of how it was almost triggering and hit like some things that she was like, yeah, this is not healthy for me to step into.
00:36:43
Speaker
Are there times for yourself or with other people that you've seen that happen?
00:36:51
Speaker
Um, I can't think of anything that's like, besides that example, I, um, I do feel, I feel like actors need to be careful, definitely be careful of like knowing themselves, knowing what's good for them, what's not good for them when it comes to diving into a character.
00:37:10
Speaker
I mean, we've seen
00:37:12
Speaker
we've seen examples in TV with actors.
00:37:15
Speaker
I won't even name.
00:37:16
Speaker
I'm sure we're all thinking the same person where it's like, you go a little too crazy, you go a little too much into character.
00:37:21
Speaker
And it's like, that does happen.
00:37:22
Speaker
And it's understandable as actors that we get so involved in it.
00:37:25
Speaker
And then it's like, okay, let's not, let's not actually have this affect our personal life.
00:37:29
Speaker
Right.
00:37:30
Speaker
So, you know, I do a couple of things to kind of always keep, I always talk about my character as like, this is her character.
00:37:36
Speaker
this is what she's doing.
00:37:37
Speaker
I don't say me or I, at least I try not to just because it's very separate and I like to keep things that separate.
00:37:44
Speaker
But I do think that actors need to be careful.
00:37:47
Speaker
They need to know their boundaries.
00:37:50
Speaker
So there's that aspect of theater that, yeah,
00:37:54
Speaker
that for sure you can you yes for sure you need to be careful but then there's also another aspect that i wanted to talk about because it's also really important and that is the you know we talk about how it makes us feel alive and everything and when it's a community we belong but there is a sad part of theater and it's when you you get to an audition you do your job and you do you do a good job and you feel great about it but you don't get cast
00:38:20
Speaker
feeling of rejection and that can be really painful and um especially if you have a number of them in a row or you know maybe there's a streak where you're not getting in shows or maybe it's just a show you're like really loud like it's your favorite show and you get to finally audition for it and you don't get in i mean that can really wreck you and really make you sad so i think i mean i think a lot of actors can relate like
00:38:46
Speaker
That's hard.
00:38:46
Speaker
It's been hard for me.
00:38:48
Speaker
I mean, I've definitely had moments of crying over not getting a show before, especially when I feel like I had it.
00:38:53
Speaker
I was like, what happened?
00:38:54
Speaker
You know?
00:38:56
Speaker
But it's where it's like, okay, we need to remember that our identity and who we are as people and people with talent and gifts, like that isn't everything.
00:39:06
Speaker
Like we have other qualities and we have other things we can do with ourselves when we're not acting.
00:39:11
Speaker
And so just remembering to like have that balance of,
00:39:16
Speaker
Like, okay, yes, I got rejected, but that's okay.
00:39:19
Speaker
Like there's probably around the corner and trying to keep that positive mindset.
00:39:24
Speaker
Because I mean, I just had to say no to 30 people that I would have loved to work with.
00:39:31
Speaker
And a lot of them actually were people I know personally too.
00:39:34
Speaker
And all of them reached out and they're like, yeah, I'm having a really hard time.
00:39:37
Speaker
And I'm like, it's like awkward for me because I'm like, I'm sorry.
00:39:40
Speaker
But like, also like, no, it was not, you know, it was a hard like show to get in.
00:39:44
Speaker
And so yeah,
00:39:46
Speaker
Yeah, I just encourage actors, like, remember that, like, your identity is not all wrapped up in theater and you are more than just not getting the show, right?
00:39:55
Speaker
Like, there's other shows out there.
00:39:57
Speaker
Yeah.
00:39:58
Speaker
That can be a downside that can really get depressing and frustrating, especially if you struggle with depression already and you're looking for something to, like,
00:40:04
Speaker
help distract you that's that can be really scary when it's like i'm gonna put all my distractions to this and if it doesn't work out or even if it does work out like you need to have a balance right we need to have some of that so yeah i think that's that's important for you to hear john because someday you might not get the lead part i've already not gotten the lead part usually though i'm just josh you kind of
00:40:36
Speaker
Does Johnny even understand what she's talking about at all?
00:40:40
Speaker
Yeah.
00:40:41
Speaker
No, I think that's important.
00:40:43
Speaker
There was like a season where...
00:40:45
Speaker
I made the mistake of telling God one day.
00:40:48
Speaker
I was like, God, if you ever want me to not do art for a while, then I won't.
00:40:53
Speaker
Because God's supposed to be the most important thing.
00:40:55
Speaker
And then there was a stretch of a year where it's like, okay, John, you're only going to do backstage and you're only going to do bit parts.
00:41:01
Speaker
And it's going to come right off of your two best roles that you've done so far.
00:41:06
Speaker
After those two roles, it's going to be like a year and a half of nothing for you.
00:41:10
Speaker
Have fun.
00:41:11
Speaker
You're going to specifically get the roles you didn't want to get.
00:41:14
Speaker
But I think that was helpful because I had to say, okay, I'm not just these characters that I play.
00:41:22
Speaker
I'm not an actor.
00:41:25
Speaker
That's not all that I am.
00:41:27
Speaker
I act.
00:41:29
Speaker
I love to do that.
00:41:31
Speaker
That is a core part of how I live my life, but it's not the bedrock of it.
00:41:37
Speaker
I feel like it's similar to how I've been describing...
00:41:42
Speaker
I've like landed in a denomination now, which is weird for me because I've generally been a fairly like anti-denominational person in the faith.
00:41:50
Speaker
But recently I've been like, oh, shit.
00:41:52
Speaker
You've given that up, though.
00:41:52
Speaker
I've given that up.
00:41:53
Speaker
Now I think that my denomination's the only one and you're all hate.
00:41:56
Speaker
No.
00:41:58
Speaker
He still talks to us, though.
00:41:59
Speaker
I'm still over here in the floating, like, I love... You know, we're all working together.
00:42:04
Speaker
We're all the body.
00:42:05
Speaker
And that's really where I am theologically.
00:42:08
Speaker
And so as I've been piecing this together, I'm like, okay, how do I parse out?
00:42:13
Speaker
I'm kind of falling in love with this...
00:42:15
Speaker
denomination or this tradition but also i don't think it's the it's not the bedrock i want to build my life on yeah so i've been talking about this is the way that i'm christian but it's not it it this isn't my religion
00:42:31
Speaker
Yeah, it's your way of the way.
00:42:33
Speaker
Yes.
00:42:34
Speaker
And I think art can be similar.
00:42:37
Speaker
That's actually why it's called artists of the way.
00:42:40
Speaker
Because it's the name of the podcast.
00:42:42
Speaker
It is.
00:42:43
Speaker
But I'm like, we should all have our bedrock on Christ.
00:42:47
Speaker
And the path that we are walking is that path.
00:42:53
Speaker
the path of Christ that Christ laid out for us.
00:42:57
Speaker
But if he made us to be artists, we're going to do that artistically.
00:43:03
Speaker
And so as we go, we're artistic, but it's not what all of our hopes and everything is resting on.
00:43:13
Speaker
We do it as we go, but some seasons we may do it less.
00:43:17
Speaker
Some seasons we may do it more.
00:43:19
Speaker
Some seasons we might be a lead.
00:43:20
Speaker
Some seasons we might not be a lead.
00:43:22
Speaker
Some seasons we might be able to write.
00:43:23
Speaker
Some seasons we may not be able to.
00:43:26
Speaker
Whether because we don't feel inspired artistically for some reason or because we don't have space.
00:43:32
Speaker
So I think that that's important to differentiate because you can still own that it's a core part of you without making it like everything, you know, and putting all of your worth on it.
00:43:45
Speaker
Yeah, for sure.
00:43:46
Speaker
That's important.
00:43:47
Speaker
Yeah.
00:43:48
Speaker
Yeah.
00:43:48
Speaker
And it could be sweeter for holding it with an open hand.
00:43:51
Speaker
Yeah.
00:43:52
Speaker
Yeah.
00:43:55
Speaker
Cool.
00:43:55
Speaker
What are...
00:43:57
Speaker
I'll start nearing us near a close, I think, because we're getting close to our time.
00:44:01
Speaker
But I wanted to
Directors' Responsibility
00:44:02
Speaker
ask, before we go, are there any ways that you think directors in particular or people who are leaders in an artistic space and creating an atmosphere, are there things that you think they can do either in the atmosphere they're creating or things that they can do to prepare themselves for
00:44:25
Speaker
to work well with people's hearts and minds and emotions as they're walking through this and creating with these people?
00:44:35
Speaker
I mean, I don't have like a book I've written or anything, but I would say like, yeah, it's important for directors to realize that, you know, if you're going to start to like,
00:44:51
Speaker
kind of pull things out of them or pick at, you know, the characters and like try to reach into like, tap into different emotions and stuff.
00:45:00
Speaker
Just realize you might, there might be stuff you uncover where it could be maybe too much for them, or it could be a place where you can come alongside and help them heal and grow through something in their life.
00:45:13
Speaker
And I think that
00:45:14
Speaker
A director, a good director, I would hope, would realize that it's not just about an excellent show.
00:45:20
Speaker
Obviously, that's very important, and a director wants to find the best show they can, but it's also about the people that you now have under your care, in a sense, that are your cast, and you want to take good care of them.
00:45:31
Speaker
So, you know, be compassionate, be understanding.
00:45:37
Speaker
I think that's a big thing, is that it's kind of a lost art, is some people aren't compassionate and understanding anymore, and they're just...
00:45:44
Speaker
they think it's okay to be how they are, but I always think it's like, okay, understand that people are different and people have different things they're dealing with.
00:45:50
Speaker
And so, you know, even if you're not the right person, maybe having like an assistant or a stage manager, if you know they're more compassionate person, like maybe they can help out, you know, I don't know.
00:45:59
Speaker
Just, I think it's just good for directors to realize like we're working with human beings here and there's going to be times when, you know, they're, they might be holding back on a character because they don't want to go explore that area of their life.
00:46:13
Speaker
And,
00:46:13
Speaker
just really thinking through how that, how that could be a great opportunity for you to help them.
00:46:19
Speaker
Um, but also I think just being knowledgeable about, yeah, like the mental health side, just that it's there, it's always going to be there.
00:46:26
Speaker
You're working with people and you're working with emotions a lot of times and stuff with that.
00:46:33
Speaker
I love the phrase under that they're under their care.
00:46:37
Speaker
That's a great way of putting that.
00:46:39
Speaker
Because, yeah, we've talked about this together before, too.
00:46:43
Speaker
And I'm talking with, as there's conversations around Artists of the Way and where that's going, that's a big conversation piece is who are the directors we're getting and if we're doing that again and what does that need to be.
00:46:58
Speaker
And I think...
00:47:01
Speaker
Yeah, there's a huge responsibility just for anybody in leadership.
00:47:04
Speaker
But recognizing as somebody leading in the arts, you're not just caring for the art.
00:47:11
Speaker
You are also caring for the people.
00:47:14
Speaker
They are under your care.
00:47:15
Speaker
Because it is such a sensitive thing.
00:47:17
Speaker
Yeah, that's wonderful.
00:47:21
Speaker
Cool.
00:47:23
Speaker
Well, thank you so much.
Closing and Upcoming Performances
00:47:24
Speaker
This has been a really, really fun discussion.
00:47:27
Speaker
I'm glad that our last conversation didn't work out so that we can have this one again because this is another great conversation.
00:47:33
Speaker
Yeah, no, it really, really has been special.
00:47:35
Speaker
So we can talk all night about it, I'm sure.
00:47:37
Speaker
Yeah, for sure.
00:47:39
Speaker
Thank you so much, Christine.
00:47:41
Speaker
Thank you again for making the time.
00:47:43
Speaker
I really, really appreciate it.
00:47:45
Speaker
Yeah, of course.
00:47:46
Speaker
Thank you so much for inviting me on your podcast.
00:47:49
Speaker
And yeah.
00:47:50
Speaker
You guys have to come see Pride and Pride just in June.
00:47:53
Speaker
Oh, we should.
00:47:53
Speaker
We should do a date.
00:47:55
Speaker
Unless I'm laid up with my wife because our due date is at the end of May.
00:47:58
Speaker
So we will see.
00:48:01
Speaker
But if we're able to make it.
00:48:02
Speaker
That could be tough.
00:48:03
Speaker
When's the show?
00:48:05
Speaker
Go ahead and plug it.
00:48:06
Speaker
When is it?
00:48:06
Speaker
Yep.
00:48:06
Speaker
It's June 20th, 21st, and 27th and 28th.
00:48:11
Speaker
And we have two shows on Saturday, 2 o'clock and 7 p.m.
00:48:15
Speaker
Or the 7 p.m.
00:48:16
Speaker
is for all the evening shows.
00:48:18
Speaker
Nice.
00:48:18
Speaker
We'll put information in the description so people can find it.
00:48:23
Speaker
And if it's at the end of June, maybe I can be there.
00:48:26
Speaker
Yeah, you know, you have a month-ish.
00:48:28
Speaker
But you never know.
00:48:30
Speaker
She could be late, she could be early.
00:48:32
Speaker
That's true.
00:48:35
Speaker
I would like to get there.
00:48:36
Speaker
I would love to see it.
00:48:37
Speaker
So fingers crossed.
00:48:40
Speaker
Applesauced.
00:48:41
Speaker
And applesauced.
00:48:43
Speaker
Cool.
00:48:44
Speaker
Awesome.
00:48:44
Speaker
Thanks again, Christine.
00:48:46
Speaker
Bye.
00:48:46
Speaker
Good to see you.
00:48:47
Speaker
Bye.