Speaker 1: And that's what you really missed with Jenna.
Speaker 2: And Kevin An iHeartRadio podcast.
Speaker 3: Welcome to and That's what you real miss podcast. Kevin,
Speaker 3: we have an angel of a person today. We have
Speaker 3: Shyanne Jackson. I just like was a huge man. This
Speaker 3: was he was like in the generation of like me
Speaker 3: when I was coming up in musical theater, in training
Speaker 3: in the school, going to see Broadway shows every night.
Speaker 3: I had a chance to like student rush a show
Speaker 3: or on the weekend, like Cheyenne was in those shows.
Speaker 3: Like he was just a household Broadway name at that point.
Speaker 3: So to hear that he was coming on Glee, I
Speaker 3: was just thrilled.
Speaker 2: Thrill. I feel like so many of the guest stars
Speaker 2: we had were of that same era, Broadway era, and
Speaker 2: like fame and success level that it must have just
Speaker 2: been a field day, Yes, like every other week for you.
Speaker 3: Yes, I mean starting with Kristen, I mean you even
Speaker 3: had Matt who you obviously became a friend very quickly,
Speaker 3: and then you have the Cheyennes and the ms and
Speaker 3: I just grof and I just was like, I can't,
Speaker 3: I just can't do it anymore. I can't do it anymore.
Speaker 3: I would have never known so exciting. But there's just
Speaker 3: like they were they they were so formative for me
Speaker 3: in my you know, training, and in my dreams, in
Speaker 3: following my dreams.
Speaker 2: So and it's so nice to know that they're also
Speaker 2: because we spent so much time with them, that they're
Speaker 2: good people, all of them. Yeah, it's a really a
Speaker 2: testament to you know, people always say like, oh, the
Speaker 2: good guy finishes last, not always, not always.
Speaker 3: No, but our good people and our good crew of
Speaker 3: people and our Glee family enjoyed this conversation with Cheyenne.
Speaker 2: Oh oh, Chyenne Jackson, voice of an Angel, Face of
Speaker 2: an Angel of an Angel, Kevin, thank you.
Speaker 3: Shows up whenever we ask. I'm like, heyshi, and can
Speaker 3: you come see it this thing?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Can you go to a podcast? Yeah?
Speaker 2: Yeah, just the nicest And I'll never forget the moment
Speaker 2: of hearing you sing live for the first time. I
Speaker 2: was just like, okay, yeah, so if that's what people
Speaker 2: are doing, I'm gonna go home. And no, it wasn't
Speaker 2: you have If people have not heard you sing, I
Speaker 2: don't know who they are, but you are just one
Speaker 2: of the best singers I've ever heard my entire life,
Speaker 2: my goodness. Yes, it's true though we talked about it
Speaker 2: all the time, like you're a freak.
Speaker 3: We were so thrilled when you came on the show,
Speaker 3: very early on. You were one of the first like
Speaker 3: guest stars. And I have to say I had seen
Speaker 3: you in Xana Do Right, and I was like, you, guys,
Speaker 3: you don't understand you can roller skate and he can zing.
Speaker 3: I'm super stoked. I was so excited. We were so
Speaker 3: so happy to have you. What can do you remember?
Speaker 3: Did you have to audition? Was this a call from Ryan?
Speaker 3: How did you get involved with the show.
Speaker 1: I was trying to wrack my brain before this, but
Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure that I auditioned for mister Shue. I
Speaker 1: think I think I just sent in a tape, like
Speaker 1: a tape from New York. And I had been friends
Speaker 1: with Matt for oh my god, our whole Broadway careers.
Speaker 1: We would we would watch work together and I would
Speaker 1: go to like my and then he would go to
Speaker 1: like South Pacific or whatever, and so I was super
Speaker 1: thrilled for him, honestly when he got it. And then Ryan, Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was a call from Ryan. Ryan saw Xana Do
Speaker 1: and UH said, oh, I want you to be on
Speaker 1: Lee and I have this great idea. He was trying
Speaker 1: to figure out what it was going to be or
Speaker 1: how he was in and then his initial pitch changed,
Speaker 1: as we all know that happens, and so he and
Speaker 1: then it morphed, and then I was he was like,
Speaker 1: I have this, I have this other part. It's it's
Speaker 1: now going to be. You're going to be like this choreographer,
Speaker 1: the special choreographer that gets brought on to like, you know,
Speaker 1: give everybody this, this this great new stuff. That's great.
Speaker 1: And then I came out there and I got sick.
Speaker 1: I had oh my god, yeah, I was in my
Speaker 1: fitting with uh uh I rick. Yeah, I was so
Speaker 1: sick and I'm like, thank I don't usually get it
Speaker 1: and and I was so sick, and I was like,
Speaker 1: get it together, You're fine.
Speaker 2: But I had a.
Speaker 1: Fever and I was lying on the ground of costume
Speaker 1: shop and I was just like, oh, this is not
Speaker 1: going to happen. It's not gonna happen. And so they
Speaker 1: had to scrap it. And then as somebody else quickly
Speaker 1: you know, okay, well there's my glue experience. And then
Speaker 1: I guess maybe it was the same season. I think
Speaker 1: it was season two. Then I got another call from
Speaker 1: Ryan and he's like, Okay, I have a different idea
Speaker 1: and you're going to be this like evil coach of
Speaker 1: vocal adrenaline. You're going to be like you're gonna go
Speaker 1: head to head with Matt. And I was like, this
Speaker 1: is this is quite fun.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I do fun.
Speaker 1: I loved it. And then yeah, and so yeah, I
Speaker 1: did an audition. But I came in and I remember
Speaker 1: it was the second you guys it was. It had
Speaker 1: just become a juggernaut and it was like the world
Speaker 1: was on fire. And I remember coming to set for
Speaker 1: the first time and like, and Leah, who I just
Speaker 1: knew a little bit from you guys in Spring Wakening,
Speaker 1: she like ran across the parking lot a flying leap,
Speaker 1: like a monkey around me, and I was very sweet,
Speaker 1: and we're so excited you're here. But I had never
Speaker 1: been on a set with that much energy. There was
Speaker 1: so much energy around all of you guys that was
Speaker 1: like wild wild to just be like a fly on
Speaker 1: the wall and watch like all of your little orbits
Speaker 1: and the you know.
Speaker 4: The.
Speaker 1: Excitement and the drama and the politics and all the
Speaker 1: things that come with like with New fame.
Speaker 2: It was.
Speaker 1: It was wild. Yeah, I had a great I remember
Speaker 1: my first big thing. I had this long monologue with
Speaker 1: Gwyneth Paltrow, Yes, and it was like one of those
Speaker 1: long like you know Jane Lynch monologues, rapid fire it
Speaker 1: out and camera moves, and I remember like Gwyneth was
Speaker 1: completely off book, perfect, perfect, hit every mark, and I
Speaker 1: was like, I need to nail this. But I'm an
Speaker 1: over preparer, so I knew that no matter what happened,
Speaker 1: I would be fine.
Speaker 5: But I was.
Speaker 1: It was really exciting and she was so good and yeah,
Speaker 1: so that was Remember that was my first kind of
Speaker 1: big thing.
Speaker 2: Crazy like coming to the show that has now just
Speaker 2: like reached its peak of popularity and do the scene
Speaker 2: with Gwinne Pucho.
Speaker 1: It was total shitting my pants, it was. But you
Speaker 1: guys were, Yeah, I couldn't believe how how long the
Speaker 1: days were and the musical component, and you guys were
Speaker 1: all having to record and then rehearse and then come back.
Speaker 1: I remember one night it was one of the times,
Speaker 1: one of the times where you all went to regionals
Speaker 1: like every every.
Speaker 2: Year, every couple of months. It was a competition and
Speaker 2: we were.
Speaker 1: I remember where we were. It was like I want
Speaker 1: to say, like Long Beach or something. It was far yeah,
Speaker 1: and there's like this auditorium and like half the audience
Speaker 1: was was background, but then the other half were like
Speaker 1: blow up dolls terrifying.
Speaker 5: It was.
Speaker 1: It was so incredible to see you all like do
Speaker 1: these numbers over and over and over and over again.
Speaker 1: Because you know, I know from my years on Horror Story,
Speaker 1: you say, just when you think they have the coverage,
Speaker 1: then they're like, now we're going to do a fish
Speaker 1: eye lens down right, SU's ear coverage.
Speaker 2: Yes, but then every.
Speaker 1: Time you had to still give a full performance, and
Speaker 1: it was like four in the morning, and I was saying, like,
Speaker 1: how is this going to happen? You guys did it.
Speaker 2: Over and over and over and over, but watching it back,
Speaker 2: I'm like, oh, I'm dead behind the eyes doing this.
Speaker 3: Did you know that you like, weren't going to be
Speaker 3: a performer on the show, Like, was you were you
Speaker 3: prepared for that? Did you think you were going to
Speaker 3: sing and do all these things?
Speaker 1: Yes? I did think I was going to sing, right
Speaker 1: of course. Of course, the whole I think the initial
Speaker 1: idea was he said, you and aDNA are going to
Speaker 1: be together romantically and then you're going to sing. And
Speaker 1: I was just like wow because I knew a Dina
Speaker 1: from New York and I just it was so and
Speaker 1: then it just kind of veered and there were too
Speaker 1: many there were so many storylines, and then things kept
Speaker 1: getting trimmed, and it was really my first experience of
Speaker 1: like a meditation in just like going with the flow, yes,
Speaker 1: letting it be. And I remember like some of my
Speaker 1: big chunky stuff was cut before we even shot it
Speaker 1: one day and I went to and went to Matt
Speaker 1: in his trailer and I was like, man, I'm so
Speaker 1: bummed because I all this stuff and I worked so
Speaker 1: hard on it, and and he was like, it just happens.
Speaker 1: It's not personal. It happens to all of us on here.
Speaker 1: We all have these great arcs and then they're suddenly like, no,
Speaker 1: we're adding a song for whoever, and it just is
Speaker 1: not enough time. And it was really good because I
Speaker 1: was really I was really butt hurt at first and
Speaker 1: I was like, this is just not what I imagined.
Speaker 1: But then once I just changed my perspective on it,
Speaker 1: it has helped me in every other job since because
Speaker 1: because as you know, you have to just kind of
Speaker 1: like roll with it and yeah, yeah, I had a
Speaker 1: great time on it. And then I can I can
Speaker 1: say I'm one of the only you know, singing guest stars.
Speaker 1: They didn't sing on Glee.
Speaker 3: It's actually maddening and sad, and I was starting to justice.
Speaker 1: Neil Patrick, Harris, John Stamos, Matt Boehmer, like.
Speaker 4: All of my peers, like.
Speaker 1: I'm the only the bitch here.
Speaker 2: That's why it was, like I think it was at
Speaker 2: a Tremor Project thing when I got to hear you
Speaker 2: sing yes, I was just like, wait, this is who
Speaker 2: we've had. I remember like running back stage to see
Speaker 2: you or something afterwards. My mind was because I had
Speaker 2: heard from Jenna and everybody, because I was not a
Speaker 2: Broadway person, like I didn't know idiot, I had no idea,
Speaker 2: And then I just remember looking around being like what
Speaker 2: are we doing.
Speaker 3: I remember it as a soundtrack.
Speaker 2: This is the best voice ever on the show that
Speaker 2: it's not on the show. Furious, very good. I'm also
Speaker 2: just mad at the missed opportunity of you and Aadana
Speaker 2: and like Matt doing something together.
Speaker 1: Yes, So I think that's the embarrassment of Riches with
Speaker 1: that show. There were so many people that could come
Speaker 1: on and do so many things, and sure, I've let
Speaker 1: Ryan have it about that over the years.
Speaker 2: We were so lucky that to have you like you were,
Speaker 2: I mean, you're just the nicest person, but getting you
Speaker 2: terrifying as a local generally coach, which is so funny
Speaker 2: because when I didn't know you as well at first,
Speaker 2: I was like, he's scary. Yeah, it's like, actually scary you.
Speaker 1: I love to play the bad guy and I never
Speaker 1: think of bad guys as bad. And one of the
Speaker 1: favorite things that came out of that show is my
Speaker 1: friendship with Jane and such a such a delicious person,
Speaker 1: and you know, we've done concerts together and kind of
Speaker 1: I love that. Yeah. I just love to find the
Speaker 1: joy in the badness and and really dig deep and
Speaker 1: with the little protege that I brought on.
Speaker 3: Oh yes, Jake Sunshine HoriZone Sunshine Horizon.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 1: But I remember seeing them on like, uh a vocal
Speaker 1: show before it, and I was just how serendipitous that
Speaker 1: they were able to get them and then come on
Speaker 1: and be this.
Speaker 3: Righte and for totally.
Speaker 1: I remember they hadn't ever really acted before and that
Speaker 1: was that was fun part about that show. It's just
Speaker 1: like you never knew who's going to pop up.
Speaker 3: It's still a very controversial thing because Rachel in the show,
Speaker 3: Rachel takes Sunshine to a crack dad. Yeah, Rachel directs
Speaker 3: them too for the audition.
Speaker 5: Ye.
Speaker 3: And then you guys got to work. You worked with
Speaker 3: like Jane and Steven and Jescelyn is like the League
Speaker 3: of Doom. That's so much fun that it's it's just
Speaker 3: so funch fun to watch you guys.
Speaker 1: Anytime there was stuff with Jane, it was always amazing.
Speaker 1: She just think never misses, no, never misses, positive, grateful
Speaker 1: to be there.
Speaker 3: Yes, that's right as a human and then as an actor,
Speaker 3: and like if Jane has these men massive tongue twister lines, monologues,
Speaker 3: you show up to work and she has it down
Speaker 3: and she doesn't bat an eye. You're like, don't laugh
Speaker 3: and mess up her take. And also, don't mess up
Speaker 3: your one line because it's not nearly as hard.
Speaker 1: As that's harder. Don't you think that's harder when you
Speaker 1: if you have a big but your focus the interjections
Speaker 1: where you're like, I think.
Speaker 2: You're like nightmare, nightmare of screwing up somebody's monologue and
Speaker 2: what you're saying makes no sense.
Speaker 3: Might shid a lot of those too, because there's like
Speaker 3: eighteen of us in a room, and sometimes you just
Speaker 3: have one line and you don't know what it comes
Speaker 3: before or after, and you don't remember what it's about,
Speaker 3: and you just your train of thought is not there
Speaker 3: because it's not there's no stream of consciousness.
Speaker 1: It's the worst. Those are my favorite ones. And you
Speaker 1: literally are like, do I even know English?
Speaker 2: Right?
Speaker 1: I think I know what? And then it's almost just
Speaker 1: like a timing thing. I guess I'm going to just
Speaker 1: say after that guy says that thing.
Speaker 2: Yes, Yes.
Speaker 3: It's the equivalent of like entering White Roman. It's an
Speaker 3: existential crisis of like why why am I somebody an actor?
Speaker 3: And I don't think this is for me? I can't
Speaker 3: even say two words. You got to do some of
Speaker 3: those crazy, like any villain on the show. Yeah, got
Speaker 3: to say the most insane shit. And it was always
Speaker 3: so impressive when any like n I had to do
Speaker 3: it a lot, Jane, you Becca had to do it a.
Speaker 2: Lot, Yes, but I never really had to do that.
Speaker 2: Is it also just like delicious, you know, delicating to
Speaker 2: say these evil because also like Ian would write these rants, yes,
Speaker 2: and they were so funny and seemingly disconnected, but because
Speaker 2: you're such a good writer, there was some sort of
Speaker 2: like flow to it, like how was it learning that?
Speaker 2: Performing that?
Speaker 1: I think because I had done thirty Rock and thirty
Speaker 1: Rock was similar in that it was it was me
Speaker 1: yes with diald and Alec would have these long, long,
Speaker 1: long things where he's like lemon your wit and everything
Speaker 1: is just like rolling out. But I remember watching him
Speaker 1: and learning from him, and so in anytime I would
Speaker 1: get a long chunk, I would just learn it so
Speaker 1: much to where you you it's not even it's not
Speaker 1: even a question if you know your line right. But yeah,
Speaker 1: it was Also I think Ian wrote a lot of
Speaker 1: my stuff, and I remember one of my lines was like,
Speaker 1: oh oh, my hairline is eighty five percent my own,
Speaker 1: and I was off the charts. I watched Drida Hamburg
Speaker 1: like everything is just like it's.
Speaker 3: T it's forward, but it's also.
Speaker 5: Like what I didn't mean to say that, but it's true, so.
Speaker 1: So so fun I think pretty wrong. Yeah, prepared me
Speaker 1: for that.
Speaker 2: But did you You mentioned your friendship with Matt Did
Speaker 2: you love getting to be sort of you know, the
Speaker 2: villain against Matt. Yes, like that must have been such
Speaker 2: a joy to work together.
Speaker 1: It was such a joy and we loved The last
Speaker 1: time I was on it was I can't remember the season,
Speaker 1: maybe it was just one season. I can't even remember.
Speaker 1: But the last episode I did was at like a
Speaker 1: state championship, and then that was another one where we
Speaker 1: had a big, huge scene that was cut but then
Speaker 1: they just truncated it to this little scene at the bar.
Speaker 1: But it was right because we got to we just
Speaker 1: got to use a lot of our our own real
Speaker 1: life rivalry. And we all hate about it because in
Speaker 1: real life it was like, you know, him and I
Speaker 1: for a lot of different things, and so we just
Speaker 1: like leaned into that and everything was just very open
Speaker 1: and like, god, we can you know, I can't really
Speaker 1: do That's not really my vibe to just go play
Speaker 1: the dark.
Speaker 3: Side of Yes. Yes, yeah, you guys are similar in
Speaker 3: ways in that leading man type way, but you very fork.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he plays very and then positive.
Speaker 3: Chip chipper yeah, uplift.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Now you've worked on multiple Ryan Murphy sets. Now after
Speaker 3: your experience with Lee, which was the first one, correct, Yeah,
Speaker 3: what was it like walking on to another Ryan set.
Speaker 3: Did they run the same way. Did you feel like
Speaker 3: you had an understanding of how his shows are run
Speaker 3: since you had been on one before.
Speaker 2: Were you more impressed by us than Lady Gaga?
Speaker 1: There will be never anything as exciting as that walking
Speaker 1: onto that Glease set, I'm telling you how well it
Speaker 1: was electricity. It really was fascinating.
Speaker 2: I wish we knew what the hell was going on.
Speaker 1: That's the thing you never know.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1: Actually the next thing after that was I was casting.
Speaker 1: He cast me in his pilot, this HBO pilot called Open.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, oh. Because of course, like anytime Ryan started
Speaker 2: doing anything else, we would all talk about it, and
Speaker 2: we would see people coming with meetings for meetings and things, and.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there was like throttles and it was like the
Speaker 1: beginning of you know, his kind of the exploration into
Speaker 1: that world. So that didn't end up happening. But then
Speaker 1: I saw him at I saw Ryan at Equinox and
Speaker 1: he was like, I'm going to take a spin class.
Speaker 1: Do you want to take a spin class with me?
Speaker 1: I was like, okay, sure, so I took it. It
Speaker 1: wasn't really my vibe.
Speaker 2: But what is Ryan like in a spin class.
Speaker 1: He he hunkers down and he just like gets it done.
Speaker 1: He's like, he's really good at it. He likes to
Speaker 1: sit in the back. Yeah, So like he sat in
Speaker 1: the back of the spin class and he was We're
Speaker 1: huffing and puffing and kind of like, you know, the
Speaker 1: spin instructors, they're kind of like giving you life advice,
Speaker 1: but they're all like beautiful models. And I remember the.
Speaker 2: Guy I done there and he was like, you know,
Speaker 2: if life gets you.
Speaker 4: Down, and we're like, oh god, and over the music
Speaker 4: shouts to me, I want you to be on American
Speaker 4: Horror Story and you're going to be married to Lady Goga.
Speaker 1: What can you say a little louder. I couldn't believe
Speaker 1: my ears, and just because I had seen four times
Speaker 1: in New York and small before, she'd kind of exploded. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: it was. It was just one of those things where
Speaker 1: I was like, Wow, this is lucky.
Speaker 2: That is the craziest job offer story I've ever heard.
Speaker 1: It was awesome. And then so I I hadn't really
Speaker 1: watched the first few seasons because actually, honestly, I'm not
Speaker 1: a huge fan of Gore. Yeah, like horror sometimes Horror
Speaker 1: Story was a little too rough for me to watch,
Speaker 1: but I was like, let's just get into this. And
Speaker 1: my first season I really got into it was the
Speaker 1: Freak Show season.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 5: I was like, okay, this is I just read the
Speaker 5: music and the swampy look. Yeah, I was like, this
Speaker 5: is insane. And I was friends with Sarah Paulson from
Speaker 5: New York.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 1: So the next season after that was a hotel that
Speaker 1: they you know, be with Gaga, and I remember my
Speaker 1: first day on set. It was so intimidating. It was
Speaker 1: the most because he built a real hotel with the
Speaker 1: real you know, elevator, and you didn't even like you
Speaker 1: were in the elevator, you were in the hotel. And
Speaker 1: I was so nervous about meeting Gaga because I just
Speaker 1: wanted to you know, I was really prepared. I knew
Speaker 1: what I wanted to do, but I just wanted to
Speaker 1: impress her. And I didn't want to come off to eager,
Speaker 1: but I didn't come off to aloof but just you know,
Speaker 1: the first day of school where I away like I'm
Speaker 1: going to be that cool guy in the corner that
Speaker 1: that goes out the way. My husband, I was like, Jason,
Speaker 1: what do I do? And he's like, just be yourself.
Speaker 1: She's gonna she's gonna love you. So I remember somebody said,
Speaker 1: you know, Gaga wants to meet you. So I was like, Okay,
Speaker 1: I got myself together and I walked in the soundstage
Speaker 1: and she was kind of behind the scrim so go
Speaker 1: around the corner and she's like fully in costume, lit
Speaker 1: cigarette like full, and she was like, will Drake, I
Speaker 1: was wondering when we were going to meet you to
Speaker 1: kiss it? And I was like, oh, is this pitch
Speaker 1: and character right now? Like, am I gonna? Is this
Speaker 1: what I have to? Oh my god, this is not
Speaker 1: what I planned. So in my mind I was like
Speaker 1: and so I like started to do like a weird
Speaker 1: bow and like kind of kiss her hand and she's like,
Speaker 1: I'm just with you. My name is Stephanie.
Speaker 2: It was like, thank god, thank god.
Speaker 1: It was and continues to be just an incredible see
Speaker 1: at her chick. She's just cool. Yeah, And I think
Speaker 1: my favorite thing about working with her was her openness.
Speaker 1: She told everybody like she was always with Kathy Bates.
Speaker 1: She's I remember her saying, and everybody was starstruck because
Speaker 1: when you're that kind of famous, you know, and she
Speaker 1: goes you, guys, I just I want to do my
Speaker 1: best and I'm on the wrong spot. We just move me.
Speaker 1: I just want to learn. Yeah, she learned.
Speaker 3: She was.
Speaker 1: She was so good right off the bat. But even
Speaker 1: the trajectory from her first episode to the end, I
Speaker 1: was like giving you in her life, She's given you nuance.
Speaker 4: It was.
Speaker 3: It was nice.
Speaker 2: Damn.
Speaker 1: So in yeah, Ryan sets are you know, they are adventures.
Speaker 1: They are they are three act plays. They are they
Speaker 1: are dramatic and beautiful and frightening, and it's kind of
Speaker 1: like that's just the vibe and you just kind of
Speaker 1: have to roll with it. And yes, four seasons on
Speaker 1: that show and wow, yeah I was wow, wild wild.
Speaker 3: Yeah that's crazy.
Speaker 2: But Matt taught you early on don't take a person.
Speaker 1: And that just served me well truly in every every job.
Speaker 1: But yeah, yeah, horror story. I I really had to
Speaker 1: just get into the the make believe of it all
Speaker 1: because I'm a very sensitive person. I'm a cancer. Things
Speaker 1: stick to me. At the end of the day. I'm like,
Speaker 1: oh my god. I was going home my little babies
Speaker 1: at the time, and I was like, ugh, I just
Speaker 1: know it's like a massacre and like it's just it's
Speaker 1: just make believe.
Speaker 3: Leave it there, you tiny, tiny baby.
Speaker 2: I had to go visit some of the sets so
Speaker 2: it could be desensitized to I could watch the show believe.
Speaker 2: Oh look there's the rubber suit. All right, it's all just.
Speaker 3: Yeah. You're now going back into well, not back into
Speaker 3: where you're in music you're doing. You're touring around a
Speaker 3: bit performing. Tell us about your tour, your performances.
Speaker 1: Sure, yeah, really this last ever since? So the last
Speaker 1: show I was on I was on a sitcom called
Speaker 1: Call Me Kat on Fox. Yes, And when that got canceled,
Speaker 1: it was the same day my husband left his company
Speaker 1: of a long time. It started something new. So it's
Speaker 1: definitely a very scary time for us. And this is
Speaker 1: the time where I want to really do the things
Speaker 1: that I want to do. I'll always act, I'll always
Speaker 1: people will have me, i will always be in great projects.
Speaker 1: But my secret and singing will always be there. I
Speaker 1: love singing first and foremost. But my dream was to
Speaker 1: always be a writer, and I'd always written on my own.
Speaker 1: I'd always just written for you know, for therapy. But
Speaker 1: I started to really get into it and I started
Speaker 1: taking classes and workshops and got into some writing groups.
Speaker 1: I've had some great mentors and that's what I've spent
Speaker 1: the last year and a half doing. And I got
Speaker 1: based on my writing. I got a great lit agent
Speaker 1: and I'm pitching stuff now and I think that's going
Speaker 1: to be my next frontier. Incredible, and it's so exciting
Speaker 1: in a different way because it's very vulnerable because at
Speaker 1: all from your gut and your head. But it's also
Speaker 1: really exciting because it doesn't have anything to do with
Speaker 1: your face or your rod totally how you are on
Speaker 1: the day and right whole different practice, but it like
Speaker 1: scratches a completely different itch of creativity. It's so fun
Speaker 1: and I'm just I'm really really loving it. And then yeah,
Speaker 1: music wise, I wanted to kind of bump up that
Speaker 1: side as well, and so I with a new a
Speaker 1: new agent for concerts called Opus and they they're mostly
Speaker 1: a classical company and they but they have some they
Speaker 1: have like Patty the Pone and Jessica v Osk and
Speaker 1: some some of my contemporaries. But yeah, and that's I'm
Speaker 1: hitting the ground running. I'm doing some big stuff writing.
Speaker 1: My pieces for concerts are not just like a list
Speaker 1: of songs I've done. I've been doing kind of long
Speaker 1: form cabaret the beginning, middle, and end, and.
Speaker 3: Wow, just much more satisfying, right for yourself and your
Speaker 3: soul and artistic self.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's also I love the feeling of having
Speaker 1: it be all on me m hm, be like going
Speaker 1: out there and knowing like for ninety minutes you bitch
Speaker 1: so like, yeah, that is daunting every single time, and
Speaker 1: I love it. Slash loathe it. And you talk about
Speaker 1: in the white room sometimes she visits and you like
Speaker 1: take a little step in the white room and you're like,
Speaker 1: I don't even know my name right now. I started,
Speaker 1: I started.
Speaker 2: That makes you feel so much better?
Speaker 3: Yes, I started a.
Speaker 1: Wrong song the other day. Something started and I went
Speaker 1: into like a weird old timey version of don't get
Speaker 1: around much anymore. But I hadn't sung in a decade.
Speaker 1: I was like, it's just sad, like I don't even know.
Speaker 3: It's okay though, because you know you're by yourself, so
Speaker 3: you're in control. Nobody else is looking at you, and.
Speaker 2: Thank you for sharing that you And Adam Lambert told
Speaker 2: me last year he wore me up pride and I
Speaker 2: saw my outterwards. He's like I started the last song
Speaker 2: and the wrong key. He was like, whoops. It's like,
Speaker 2: oh god, it's good to know you're human, both of you.
Speaker 3: Yes, exactly, exactly, so human.
Speaker 1: I get scared every time. And I had a mentor
Speaker 1: told me, uh, shy if you if you're not scared,
Speaker 1: I means you need to get the out.
Speaker 2: But it seems like you chase that though. You're you
Speaker 2: just writing classes and teaching yourself how to write, and
Speaker 2: you're going into that, which is frightening, I'm sure, and
Speaker 2: so like the constant search for like what scares me next? Yes,
Speaker 2: maybe because the feeling of getting through that is incredible, right,
Speaker 2: like if you overcome you step out of the white
Speaker 2: room and get through that show, you're like, damn, I
Speaker 2: just did that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it feels so powerful. And I keep it really lean.
Speaker 1: It's just it's just me and a small little band,
Speaker 1: sometimes just me and a piano. I don't travel with.
Speaker 2: Wow, and even scarier.
Speaker 1: I just love it. I love me in a suitcase
Speaker 1: and like my brain and my voice. I'm like, here
Speaker 1: we go. That's really it just makes me feel powerful
Speaker 1: and as a kid, not feeling powerful and feeling scared,
Speaker 1: you know, A big queer kid from northern Idaho. I
Speaker 1: was constantly just like, oh, I don't belong now I'm wrong.
Speaker 1: Now I just feel all of my big gay power.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's fear. Like feels your power. It's like go
Speaker 2: through the fear, yep to it. Amazing.
Speaker 3: It's so strange the end way the industry is shifting,
Speaker 3: and the way the world has shifted. What we've all
Speaker 3: been through in the last ten fifteen years, what we've accomplished,
Speaker 3: what we've seen, and now like hearing you these new
Speaker 3: ventures of just doing exactly what you want, how you
Speaker 3: want to do it, and like you know, you get
Speaker 3: you have your family, You're like, that's priority, right, So
Speaker 3: then how am I spending my time when I'm away
Speaker 3: from them? How do I choose that time?
Speaker 1: That's right? I think it's so I always just to
Speaker 1: get vulnerable for a second. I it's very difficult for
Speaker 1: me to connect to people. I've always been very introverted
Speaker 1: and very shy. I married somebody who is not. Just say,
Speaker 1: we'll be in the checkout of Gelson's and he's like
Speaker 1: talking to the lady about her like fibroids and how
Speaker 1: much she pays for Jesus chick. But he's taught me.
Speaker 1: I say, I want to connect more, and he's like,
Speaker 1: then you have to go first, go first, and then people.
Speaker 1: And so that's what I do on stage. I allow
Speaker 1: myself to be vulnerable, like here's a vulnerable story I
Speaker 1: haven't said. Last year, for the first time in eighteen
Speaker 1: years as a professional actor, I didn't make enough. I
Speaker 1: wasn't on enough TV shows to get my SAG insurance.
Speaker 1: I did two indies and I did a guest spot yep,
Speaker 1: but it wasn't enough. And so I was like one
Speaker 1: gig short yep, it's never happened. And I have two
Speaker 1: kids and you know I mean. So I was like, okay,
Speaker 1: I need to I need to do something crazy here.
Speaker 1: So I was just calling all my friends in power positions,
Speaker 1: like is there anything you can do? I called Kathy Bates,
Speaker 1: who on Horror Story I had the pleasure being murdered
Speaker 1: by her three times rest and with Matt Locke and stuff.
Speaker 1: I was like, is there do you have anything for me?
Speaker 1: I have sidebar real quick. I love Peloton and I
Speaker 1: take all the Peloton classes.
Speaker 2: And class it's got good places.
Speaker 1: Yes, but one of the one of the instructors her
Speaker 1: favorite motto is no ego amigo. Yeah, I love it,
Speaker 1: and that's how I like to be. And so keeping
Speaker 1: that in mind, when I said, Kathy, is there anything
Speaker 1: on Mattlock, She's like, it's all we are all Katy,
Speaker 1: you know, we're full, but I will check. And she
Speaker 1: called me back in fifteen minutes, She's like, Okay, there's
Speaker 1: there's a part on our final season. You only have
Speaker 1: three lines and you don't have a name. You're a detective.
Speaker 5: And I was like, yes, no ego amigo, yeah, yes,
Speaker 5: I will do that.
Speaker 1: And I had so much fun.
Speaker 2: Yes, and I was.
Speaker 5: A detective and I was like, well, I think there's
Speaker 5: a look over here and.
Speaker 1: I and I took it just as seriously as when
Speaker 1: I was doing a monologue with Gwyneth Paltrow. Yes, I
Speaker 1: love that, and that bumped me up over and that
Speaker 1: got me insurance for the next year. I think, like,
Speaker 1: you got us. That's how life is. I'm a actor
Speaker 1: and I you know, will be. But you know, in April,
Speaker 1: if you check out Matt Locke, I'm going to walk
Speaker 1: on fort five.
Speaker 3: I can't wait to see that. I can't wait to
Speaker 3: see that.
Speaker 2: What a good lesson, though, I love that. I love
Speaker 2: that there's good people out there that's helped somebody out.
Speaker 2: That's great.
Speaker 3: Go we go. We don't want to take up any
Speaker 3: more of your busy, busy life. You're so you're so kind,
Speaker 3: always showing up for good causes and things, to lend
Speaker 3: your voice and lend your instrument and your kind human person.
Speaker 3: And we just adore you. I really just think the
Speaker 3: world of you, so thank you so so much. And
Speaker 3: it's an injustice. Bickley didn't get to hear you say, yeah.
Speaker 2: I'll never get over it.
Speaker 3: Please, I'm sorry. We have We have a question that
Speaker 3: we ask everybody that I forgot to ask you. What
Speaker 3: is the feeling that Glee leaves you with?
Speaker 1: Nostalgia?
Speaker 3: Mm hmm. Nobody said that one yet. That's a good one.
Speaker 1: Just it is nostalgia because, as you said, Kevin, like
Speaker 1: you didn't when you were on it, you didn't kind
Speaker 1: of even know because it was you were all just
Speaker 1: in it. But now looking back that meant so much
Speaker 1: to the world, all of you and and what you
Speaker 1: all created. Yeah, it's very nostalgic. When I think for
Speaker 1: my kid, my kids are going to see it soon.
Speaker 1: I was thinking, like how old. Are they there'll be
Speaker 1: nine Ober.
Speaker 6: Yeah, for sure, Yeah, definitely they're going to be like
Speaker 6: this didn't age well, you guys, it was the two
Speaker 6: different time capsule, time capsule different times that we look at.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much, thank you so so much to
Speaker 2: see and whatever you write, that's right.
Speaker 3: Can't wait to see it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you, sweet man, Thank you so much for
Speaker 2: taking the time. So good to see you.
Speaker 1: So welcome by guys.
Speaker 3: Bye bye. I really I really love him. I remember
Speaker 3: being such a big fan of his and then he
Speaker 3: came on the show and you know, our time like
Speaker 3: working with him was kind of brief. He did a
Speaker 3: ton of other you know, he had a bunch of
Speaker 3: different storylines that didn't really include us, And I remember
Speaker 3: he reached out to me and he was promoting his
Speaker 3: singing album at the time, and he's like, hey, I
Speaker 3: wouldn't like, would you mind like promote him? Like would
Speaker 3: I mind Chyenne Jackson d m me.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm like all my info about Hyanne was from
Speaker 2: you because you were so excited and so mind you
Speaker 2: that if you were excited, like okay, I need to
Speaker 2: really potentially.
Speaker 3: God, he's so wildly talented and he's so and he
Speaker 3: is not what is this saying?
Speaker 2: No ego ego, no.
Speaker 3: No. I was going to say, he's not a sore
Speaker 3: to the eye.
Speaker 2: He's a beautiful man. Yes, he's.
Speaker 3: And just like the nicest person, like a good soul
Speaker 3: who was like, where, you're.
Speaker 2: So beautiful as a kind as they are talented, And
Speaker 2: it's infuriating.
Speaker 3: It really is. They're just so great.
Speaker 2: And they're like that all the time. It's like graf
Speaker 2: like you think you're going to like catch them when
Speaker 2: they're not.
Speaker 3: So certainly something has to be off here, right, we're
Speaker 3: not getting the whole story, and then you get the
Speaker 3: whole st.
Speaker 2: The whole story. They're good at everything and being a
Speaker 2: good person.
Speaker 3: That's Glee and that's all of our wonderful guest stars.
Speaker 3: So thank you shann for taking the time.
Speaker 2: And also just taught us so many life lessons.
Speaker 3: Just now I feel, yeah, I feel like a better
Speaker 3: person just because I like, he just came on.
Speaker 2: Wow, what a man. Thank you, Sanne.
Speaker 3: Thank you san that's what you really missed.
Speaker 2: Thanks for listening and follow us on Instagram at and
Speaker 2: that's what you really miss pod. Make sure to write
Speaker 2: us a review and leave us five stars, see you
Speaker 2: next time.