WEBVTT - Tony Award Winner Ali Stroker 0:00:01.760 --> 0:00:04.359 And that's what you Really missed with Jenna. 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:07.119 And Kevin An iHeartRadio podcast. 0:00:09.280 --> 0:00:12.720 Welcome to When That's What You Really miss podcast. Oh 0:00:12.760 --> 0:00:16.080 my god, it's Tony Award winner Ali Stroger. 0:00:18.200 --> 0:00:19.960 How I never get tired of hearing that? 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:23.960 Nope, well never, I'll just that's her new name. 0:00:24.520 --> 0:00:26.439 You know. There's going to be three of us in 0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:31.160 this conversation and three Tonys, but I have zero Tonys. 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:36.200 And Alie did Oklahoma, which she won the Tony four 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:40.200 in Circle and Square in the same theater that Alex 0:00:40.280 --> 0:00:44.000 Newall did once on this Island the year before and 0:00:44.120 --> 0:00:47.440 one Best Revival which one me and the Tony as well. 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:50.960 And so we are in Circle and Square in full Circle. 0:00:51.560 --> 0:00:53.760 And she was in the revival String Wakening of Broadway 0:00:53.840 --> 0:00:55.800 and you were in the original String Wakning of Broadway. 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:59.520 Correct, all coming together and we were both ungry. 0:00:59.680 --> 0:01:03.640 Yes, And she's just one of the kindest, most talented, 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:08.959 creative bright lights in the world. And we love her. Yes, 0:01:09.520 --> 0:01:15.039 Ali Stroker, Hi, Allie, are you my god? 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:17.840 I was so excited when I got your message and 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:19.880 I was love. 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:23.320 Your I had to have on too. 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:28.759 Thanks for having me and also congratulations on the next 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:30.039 little baby. 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:35.479 Thank you and congratulations to you too, Yeah. 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:36.800 You, thank you. 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:38.600 How's being a mama? How does it feel? 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:41.039 I love it? Like I am obsessed with it. 0:01:41.280 --> 0:01:42.240 How old is your bibe? 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:45.160 He's twenty one months? Next? 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:47.360 Oh really? 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:48.400 Yeah? 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:51.600 We were like pretty close then Emma's twenty five or 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:52.280 twenty six months? 0:01:52.320 --> 0:01:56.000 I think, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, So you know that 0:01:56.360 --> 0:02:00.520 the season it's intense, really intense. But I love it 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:04.160 like more than anything. It's been special. I do want 0:02:04.160 --> 0:02:07.560 to like work a little bit now. I was so 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:09.640 ready for the first year. I was like, I can't 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:15.120 miss anything, I know, so, like you know, like I 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:17.600 had so much FOMO on both ends, and so now 0:02:17.800 --> 0:02:21.720 it was this fall ready you will play and just 0:02:21.760 --> 0:02:25.519 get back into it a little bit. But yeah, it's 0:02:25.520 --> 0:02:28.720 been so so good. How are you guys? Good? 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:31.239 Same old ship over here? 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:32.480 Yeah, how's la? 0:02:32.960 --> 0:02:37.080 That's fine. It's a weird TI like job wise. 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:38.840 I don't know if you guys feel this way, but 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:41.960 like I feel like the industry has like been shaken up, 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:47.080 and like the dust has not quite settled yet strikes 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:50.920 and like the pandemic, and like the way that everything 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:55.160 has changed with streaming, and I just feel like it's 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:57.079 still a bit in transition, like I. 0:02:57.000 --> 0:02:59.440 Don't know, yes, yes, I agree, it's like everything is 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:04.120 pulled apart. We don't know exactly the new mold yet. Yeah, 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:07.720 but it does feel like it feels like because you 0:03:07.760 --> 0:03:09.200 don't have to be in the city or you don't 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:12.600 have to be in la people. Part of the adjustment 0:03:12.840 --> 0:03:15.600 outside of like the things we can't control, like the 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:22.320 structures of anything, is like the work life balance. So 0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:24.320 being able to live forty five minutes outside of the 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:27.880 city and like not feel guilty about it and like 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:32.440 or feeling you're missing anything because like you can do 0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:38.080 that and I have a family and yeah, yeah, I 0:03:38.200 --> 0:03:38.520 like that. 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:40.760 And it also is starting to feel good that it 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:44.400 feels like our generation is now becoming like the bosses 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:50.280 and like creating content and writing, directing, and it's like, yeah, 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:53.680 for me, it's what a relief, Like yes, yes, now 0:03:54.120 --> 0:03:58.760 they're like making decisions versus like this other generation of 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:03.240 art that were amazing but came from a different world. 0:04:04.200 --> 0:04:08.200 So that's something that I am like grateful for and 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:11.840 like feeling like, oh good, it's it's us. It's like 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:12.560 our time now. 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:18.760 Yeah hopefully, Yeah, you know, especially when you like we've 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:21.440 all been around for a little bit, and so we're 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:24.960 seeing our friends get opportunities and friends want to work 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:26.480 with friends, and like if we're in a position to 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:28.920 help people, like oh, this person's so talented, let's work 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:31.880 with them. And exactly right what you said, I think. 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:36.120 Yeah, it feels like it's like finally it's like our voices, 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:39.080 you know, and like I feel that same way. It's 0:04:39.120 --> 0:04:42.480 like my friends are now like casting and hiring and 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:45.800 wanting me to be a part of creating something. And 0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:48.160 it doesn't feel so much. And I know this also 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:53.000 comes with like coming into your own and like maturing, 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:56.760 but it doesn't feel like I have to prove myself, like. 0:04:56.880 --> 0:04:58.640 Right, Tony doesn't hurt either. 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:10.040 Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean those those opportunities are It's 0:05:10.200 --> 0:05:11.320 it feels different now. 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:15.680 It doesn't feel as much like, oh God, like will 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:18.320 I ever work again. There's like a little bit more. 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:23.680 Trust in what's coming, what's next, and and people do 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:25.000 you feel that On the other end, Two, it's like 0:05:25.040 --> 0:05:28.279 people trust in you where they come to you like 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:29.880 we know you can do this. 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:34.880 So yes, there's that confidence that we often don't get, 0:05:35.600 --> 0:05:35.800 you know. 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:39.400 On that side of it, I always thought after I 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:42.560 did an episode of Glee, I was like, oh, like 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:47.520 I'm set, like the doors now will fly open and 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:52.400 everything will be so easy, And then like nothing happened, 0:05:52.440 --> 0:05:56.200 and what like how could this not? You know? I 0:05:56.240 --> 0:06:00.440 always look like Glee was like the magic wand this 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:05.160 thing that was like gonna just like change my career, 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:11.240 and it did in so many ways. But I also 0:06:11.360 --> 0:06:15.720 feel like those changes come. 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:19.440 Slowly, yeah, like incrementally. 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:21.599 Yeah, it's not just like one wave. 0:06:22.040 --> 0:06:23.520 It's yeah, that's not obvious. 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:27.680 Years later I hear from somebody, or four years from now, 0:06:27.839 --> 0:06:31.560 I'm getting a call from someone who knew someone who 0:06:32.320 --> 0:06:34.279 did the Glee Project, you know what I mean. Like, 0:06:34.400 --> 0:06:37.359 there's all different ways in which it's like affected and 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:40.159 changed my life, and in none of the ways that 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:40.919 I thought it would. 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:47.200 Semial Glee, Yes, because you did. We've talked to a 0:06:47.200 --> 0:06:51.440 lot of the first Glee Project season one Gleed Project folks. Yes, 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:56.279 you had a different like Glee Project Season two was 0:06:56.360 --> 0:07:01.640 quite different than season one. Yes, how did you even 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:03.599 get into that? How did you like, how did you 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:06.000 hear about it? Like what was your life going into that? 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:10.600 So I graduated from NYU in two thousand and nine, 0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:15.880 and that's when I feel like we like exploded. Yes, 0:07:16.040 --> 0:07:19.680 And I was so excited because I saw your character Kevin, 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:21.240 and I was like, oh my god, I don't have 0:07:21.320 --> 0:07:23.520 to make this up. Like this is a world I 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:26.800 could fit into. And so I told my parents I 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:31.080 wanted to move to LA and they were like what, 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:34.320 And I was like, I want to go after this, 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:36.559 like I want to be ugly. And at the time, 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:37.960 like I was young, and I even I was like, 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:40.760 they shoot it there, it's where it's happening, Like I'm 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:43.239 going to go out there for pilot season. I wasn't 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:46.800 super green, like I knew that, yeah, you know, I 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:48.680 knew that you had audition and it was like a 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:53.640 super super big deal show. But I was like I couldn't. 0:07:53.720 --> 0:07:57.080 I was having trouble getting auditions in New York and 0:07:57.160 --> 0:07:59.200 sort of looked at theater as like sort of an 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:03.679 older art and TV was kind of maybe a world 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:07.360 that I would fit into. So I go out for 0:08:07.440 --> 0:08:15.680 pilot season and I go into U d K and Uh, 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:23.120 I don't meet with Robert, but Robert finds out I'm 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:26.120 in the office and asks me to come in to 0:08:26.280 --> 0:08:30.720 his office and sing on tape for Ryan, and I was. 0:08:30.800 --> 0:08:33.199 Like, now, did you go into UdK for a Glee 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:35.600 audition or did you go in for some general audition 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:38.520 or like a general general okay to like meet them? 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:42.800 Yes, wow. So Robert's like Ryan needs to meet you. 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:47.200 So I sing Here's where I Stand, which is like 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:50.160 this song from Camp Amazing that I sang for my 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:55.120 YU showcase. And I was like this is it, Like 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:59.000 I'm gonna get to go in for the show. And 0:08:59.040 --> 0:09:06.680 then I hear nothing for like three years until the 0:09:06.720 --> 0:09:12.120 Glee Project was like being talked about and advertised on 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:16.960 Facebook and I was like what is this? Like what 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:20.280 is this? And it's not on Fox, It's on Oxygen, 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:22.600 Like what is this? And then I'm like, oh, it's 0:09:22.679 --> 0:09:27.040 reality TV show. I don't want to do reality I 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:29.319 want to be like an actor. I don't want to 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:34.400 reality TV show. I was like total ego, like I 0:09:34.520 --> 0:09:39.200 can't do that. And then I was like I like 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:41.680 it over yourself, Like you can't even get an audition 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:47.800 right now, like put yourself on tape. So I put 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:50.440 myself on tape. And at the time it was like 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:55.560 this for the Glee Project, it was like this website 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:58.040 that was like kind of like MySpace. And this was 0:09:58.080 --> 0:10:04.440 even before like the like culture happened. 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:06.880 Yeah, but so. 0:10:06.960 --> 0:10:11.800 If you submitted a video, people could star it. And 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:14.800 I submitted a video singing true Colors, and the next 0:10:14.840 --> 0:10:16.760 morning it had like twelve hundred stars. 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:17.600 Wow. 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:20.199 And I was like, oh my god, this is so cool, 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:25.000 you know, like before yes, And so I was like, oh, 0:10:25.040 --> 0:10:27.880 maybe i'll hear back. And I did have an agent 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:31.240 at the time, and so I don't hear anything for 0:10:31.320 --> 0:10:35.360 a while, and I end up getting cast in Spelling 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:39.760 Bee at paper Mill Playhouse. So I go back to 0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:45.160 New Jersey and my agents call and they're like, they 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:46.839 want you to come in for the final callbacks for 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:51.240 the Glee Project. And I was like, but I'm doing 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:54.440 the show, like I can't. I can't miss it. And 0:10:54.480 --> 0:10:55.760 I take the back. I don't think it was tech. 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:58.120 I think like we were in the run or it's 0:10:58.120 --> 0:11:01.880 like opening night or something like that. As a better person, 0:11:01.920 --> 0:11:04.520 like you don't miss right. So I was like, I 0:11:04.520 --> 0:11:06.640 can't do it, Like I can't do I can't go 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:09.920 to the callbacks for season one. So I was like, well, 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:14.439 there goes my opportunity to be Ungly Project or Glee 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:15.440 oh my god. 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:19.000 And then of course, though I mean the amount of time, right, 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:23.720 it pours and it comes down to like the same day, 0:11:24.480 --> 0:11:26.880 like I've been trying to get work for years, I'm 0:11:26.920 --> 0:11:29.160 doing this play and now. 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:32.360 Glee always always like why is this not lining up? 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:35.640 Could have been any other time in the last always happens. 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:39.400 So then I go back to La after spelling Bee, 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:42.480 and I like, am really in a not good place, 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:45.800 Like I'm in a dark place. I'm like, what am 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:48.120 I gonna do? Like what am I doing out here? 0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:49.559 Like I think I even did one of those things 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:53.640 where you like paid to be in a play like Wow. 0:11:53.880 --> 0:11:55.840 It was like a low point and I was just 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:59.560 feeling and I had been in like some bad relationships, 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:03.559 like was not thriving, And so I decided to come 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:08.920 back to New York and I moved in like to Midtown, 0:12:09.040 --> 0:12:11.320 and I was like doing well again, and they were 0:12:11.360 --> 0:12:13.680 like they called and they were like, we want you 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:17.120 to come to the final callbacks in New York first, 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:21.560 and so I did and don't where you can cut 0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:24.160 the line, you know, at the time, sort of like 0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:27.480 the open calls in New York around the block, and 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:31.040 they were filming all that you know. And then I 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:34.400 find out I'm going to the final callbacks in La 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:40.880 and I go and that's when I like meet everyone, 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:45.280 Like I met Lily at the final callbacks, I met Danny. 0:12:45.440 --> 0:12:50.400 That was the first time we met. I met people 0:12:50.600 --> 0:12:52.320 that didn't end up being on the show that now 0:12:52.400 --> 0:12:56.080 are on Broadway. Like it was sort of the beginning 0:12:56.120 --> 0:13:01.040 of this era, like my Glee era season, and it 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:04.440 went really well. And then I got a call, like 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:08.439 right before Thanksgiving that I was going to be cast 0:13:08.440 --> 0:13:12.679 on the show, and they filmed that again, and and 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.360 that was it. And then and then not long after 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:22.160 we moved into the house stop. 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:25.360 A strong word, yeah. 0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:30.600 Exactly, And they took away our phones, they took away 0:13:30.600 --> 0:13:34.160 our books, they took away our music because they didn't 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:36.760 want you to be like influenced, and like I had 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:38.440 no contact with my family. 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:42.560 Oh my god, how long was that? How long were 0:13:42.640 --> 0:13:43.440 you on the show for? 0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:48.920 I was on the show for ten weeks, Oh my long, Yeah, 0:13:48.920 --> 0:13:52.119 which is why I feel so close to everybody beforse, 0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:56.079 they were the only people I was in contact with. 0:13:57.640 --> 0:14:00.480 I had a lot of fun, like, oh god, show, 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:03.559 I had a really positive experience, and I was also 0:14:03.679 --> 0:14:05.599 just a little bit older, like I was out of 0:14:05.679 --> 0:14:08.040 college at this point, so I was sort of like 0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:11.800 taken with like the experience of making a reality show. 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:15.440 I was like, this is hilarious, like another room of 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:17.560 producers like trying to figure out how to like string 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:21.080 this story together and create a drama. And I got 0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:24.480 to really kind of share my story the way that 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:27.720 I wanted to. So that was something I was very 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:31.440 conscious of that, like being in a chair, being in 0:14:31.440 --> 0:14:35.680 a wheelchair, people in the industry might make assumptions about 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:38.360 me and what I could do, and Patrick was this 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:42.680 amazing platform to like tell my version of who I 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:47.280 am and what I do. And then Glee was sort 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:51.720 of the perfect genre for me. It was like musical 0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:56.560 theater meets pop meets like the underdog meets like overcoming 0:14:56.720 --> 0:15:01.240 things and this is perfect, Like this I fit into this. 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:04.400 So then I'm the final I'm in the final three, 0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:08.720 Like I'm in the final episode and I don't win. 0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:11.080 Now did you think you were like you were gonna win? 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:14.600 Like was there? Where were you at? Where was your head? 0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:15.760 At that point? 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:21.600 I thought I could win. However, I knew that the 0:15:21.720 --> 0:15:27.160 show had to be like m structured in a certain 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:31.680 way that like the underdog would win, which in the 0:15:31.800 --> 0:15:36.520 end was very funny because Blake won, like was not 0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:42.760 exactly the underdog all the way through and in the industry, 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:48.480 isn't really like an underdog. No, but it was a 0:15:48.520 --> 0:15:54.880 different time, like the world has changed a lot, so 0:15:56.200 --> 0:16:00.560 this narrative of like who's the underdog, like who should 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:04.120 win this show? They also Glee was super established. They 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:07.840 needed certain kinds of characters on that on your guys 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:08.560 scripted show. 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:13.360 Yeah, it wasn't just a reality show. It was also 0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:14.960 we have to fill these slots that we know we 0:16:14.960 --> 0:16:16.440 are going to carry up. 0:16:17.880 --> 0:16:21.040 And the other part of it was that they didn't 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:23.400 air this because they did this on the first season. 0:16:23.400 --> 0:16:27.720 But the first season they were like they gave people 0:16:27.840 --> 0:16:34.080 spots on the show that didn't win, and our season 0:16:34.880 --> 0:16:38.080 they did not air that. So they told Eileen and 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:40.000 I that we were going to be on the show, 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:42.840 but they didn't air that on the Glee Project, and 0:16:42.880 --> 0:16:45.600 they told us they were not going to which was 0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:48.080 scary because it was like, well, now there's no accountability, 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:52.920 they don't have to totally and that interesting to Eileen. 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:54.960 She ended up not being on the show. 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:58.680 Wow, because I remember running into her, like out at 0:16:58.680 --> 0:17:00.480 Starbucks or something, and she was like, I was told 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:01.040 I was going to be on. 0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:04.119 I was like, ah, super disappointed. 0:17:04.119 --> 0:17:06.320 I mean, of course breaking yes. 0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:10.320 But they called me not long after the final episode 0:17:10.560 --> 0:17:13.359 aired and they were like, Okay, we're going to have 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:18.080 you coming on for the Valentine's Day episode and immediately 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:19.280 I was like, oh, they're going to pair me up 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:22.159 with Kevin and like I didn't know exactly what my 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:25.000 story would be, but Ryan on the Glee project was 0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:27.600 always like, you're like sassy, You're like Dolly Parton, but 0:17:27.640 --> 0:17:31.439 like also like a cheerleader bitch. And I was like, Okay, 0:17:31.520 --> 0:17:34.080 I'm getting like what you might write for me. 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:35.040 That's fun. 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:40.400 So that's kind of how my Glee journey went until then. 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:44.280 I was on the show and it was just a 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:46.719 dream come true. Like it was it was what I 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:51.840 wanted and uh, it happened, and it was in so 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:54.280 many ways you like dream about it in your head, 0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:56.159 like what would you like to be on set? And 0:17:56.840 --> 0:17:59.520 it was just better because in so many ways I 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:02.000 already of felt like a part of your guys family 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:05.919 and everyone was really nice to me, and I was 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:09.240 really you know, I was really observant and watching like 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:12.920 how people like were acting and how people and who 0:18:12.960 --> 0:18:15.960 were the leaders in the cast. And obviously you two 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:20.080 were like just so genuine and real and and kind 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:23.080 to everybody who was, you know, not a regular on 0:18:23.119 --> 0:18:27.560 the show. And I just loved sort of seeing the 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:32.320 machine right right and Jenna you talking to you and 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:36.040 you were like, I am so tired, like you had 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:38.960 been in rehearsal, like all night you were shooting yet 0:18:39.000 --> 0:18:41.760 all day, yes, and you know it was like you 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:45.960 guys were working so hard and it was just really 0:18:46.080 --> 0:18:48.040 beautiful to get to be a part of it. 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:50.800 Aw, that's very good to hear. 0:18:51.480 --> 0:18:56.360 Yeah, you never know sometimes. 0:18:55.440 --> 0:19:02.400 Every time like somebody because we were we I especially 0:19:02.400 --> 0:19:05.919 that episode, we just watched it and we just like 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:08.040 I do we just by the way. 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:13.960 Very you were funny, so very funny, so good, very funny. 0:19:22.640 --> 0:19:26.640 Now knowing the backstory of you saw the show like well, 0:19:26.640 --> 0:19:29.360 I'm gonna I gotta get on that show, and then 0:19:29.840 --> 0:19:34.479 you did. You got on the damn show and you 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:37.920 didn't miss. Everything that came out of your mouth was 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:38.920 so funny. 0:19:39.119 --> 0:19:41.879 So I was. 0:19:43.240 --> 0:19:46.480 Of course, I was also like even like the thing, 0:19:46.480 --> 0:19:48.160 even though I had been doing it for four years 0:19:48.160 --> 0:19:50.600 at that point, like the things of like us being 0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:54.199 in bed together that was new and like me me 0:19:54.359 --> 0:19:56.720 working with like someone who was actually in a chair. 0:19:56.880 --> 0:19:59.199 I was also like, I feel like the fraud and 0:19:59.320 --> 0:20:00.560 is this okay? 0:20:00.680 --> 0:20:02.360 I don't know, I felt about that. 0:20:02.640 --> 0:20:05.600 I felt self conscious of it. I was like, like, 0:20:05.640 --> 0:20:07.920 are you okay with this? How is this from your end? 0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:11.560 Like yes, yes, So there was a lot of all 0:20:11.680 --> 0:20:16.199 but obviously you're like the kindest, sweetest and most creative person, 0:20:16.840 --> 0:20:19.680 and so you are. You do have like eyes everywhere, 0:20:20.480 --> 0:20:24.480 you are really noticing everything all the time and taking 0:20:24.520 --> 0:20:27.399 all that in and being around you also someone who 0:20:27.520 --> 0:20:29.240 was on the show for a long time, you made 0:20:29.280 --> 0:20:33.399 me feel calmer too. So I felt very lucky to 0:20:33.400 --> 0:20:37.000 be able to work with you because you're just a beast, 0:20:37.600 --> 0:20:38.480 your powerhouse. 0:20:39.119 --> 0:20:42.080 Thank you so much for saying that. I really that 0:20:42.160 --> 0:20:45.920 means so much. Kevin and I you know, I admired 0:20:45.960 --> 0:20:50.280 all of you so much, right, like what you created, 0:20:50.640 --> 0:20:53.919 Like it's one thing you know, to write a show, 0:20:54.600 --> 0:20:57.159 but it's the people who make the show. And like 0:20:57.880 --> 0:21:00.560 there was magic. There was magic with you guys, Like 0:21:00.640 --> 0:21:05.440 there was a magical thing that happened it was an 0:21:05.440 --> 0:21:08.280 opportunity that I dreamt about, that I wanted, and I 0:21:08.320 --> 0:21:11.800 think arriving at it and getting to see what it 0:21:11.840 --> 0:21:15.760 really took to make that show, it set the tone 0:21:15.800 --> 0:21:20.040 for me of like, oh, my dreams and my goals, 0:21:20.119 --> 0:21:23.760 Like that's not just like an instant thing that happens. 0:21:23.880 --> 0:21:27.159 It's years and years and years of hard work and 0:21:27.200 --> 0:21:30.880 then once you arrive there, like you have to give 0:21:30.920 --> 0:21:36.639 a hundred percent of you. And that is kind of 0:21:36.720 --> 0:21:41.920 what started sort of my journey to like really finding 0:21:41.960 --> 0:21:44.560 the things that I was very excited about working on, 0:21:44.640 --> 0:21:48.720 like Spring Awakening, Deaf West and then making my Broadway 0:21:48.760 --> 0:21:53.119 debut and you know Spring Awakening, Kevin, you know like 0:21:53.160 --> 0:21:55.120 a lot about that journey. I'm sure you do too 0:21:55.160 --> 0:21:58.000 at this point, Jenna. But like it was like two 0:21:58.000 --> 0:22:01.360 and a half years in LA before were it transferred. 0:22:01.480 --> 0:22:03.760 And you know the first time we did it, we 0:22:03.760 --> 0:22:06.720 were getting paid like forty bucks a week, and like 0:22:07.160 --> 0:22:11.399 we're seeing at a church. It wasn't like some fancy, 0:22:11.760 --> 0:22:17.879 flashy opportunity, but it was something really special totally. 0:22:17.880 --> 0:22:19.800 You guys are grinding it out. 0:22:19.880 --> 0:22:25.600 Skid row, Yes, Oh my gosh, Dna skid row. Okay, 0:22:25.840 --> 0:22:32.880 So that was that was kind of again another situation 0:22:32.920 --> 0:22:35.600 where I was like, this is there's something magical here. 0:22:36.560 --> 0:22:39.200 What a valuable lesson? Though I think it seems like 0:22:39.240 --> 0:22:41.840 when you see people, it often seems like, oh, they're 0:22:41.880 --> 0:22:44.840 an overnight success, and sometimes they are. Sometimes that happens, 0:22:44.920 --> 0:22:48.600 but it's very very rare. You just haven't seen no 0:22:49.359 --> 0:22:51.520 before you showing up on Glee. People don't know it's 0:22:51.520 --> 0:22:54.160 a three year process, or they go see Spring Awakening 0:22:54.240 --> 0:22:55.800 on Broadway and like, no, that's been a two and 0:22:55.840 --> 0:22:59.040 a half year process starting down for forty dollars a week, 0:22:59.600 --> 0:23:02.320 or like Austin was living in his car, like he 0:23:02.359 --> 0:23:08.120 moved to la where you being able to appreciate the 0:23:08.160 --> 0:23:13.720 work itself, the camaraderie, the experience, and being able to 0:23:14.720 --> 0:23:18.480 also then appreciate the journey it takes is such an 0:23:18.480 --> 0:23:24.920 important lesson, yep, because people don't know about that or 0:23:25.040 --> 0:23:28.000 they forget that and they only see the success of it. 0:23:28.040 --> 0:23:30.520 And it's like, if you don't enjoy the other part 0:23:30.560 --> 0:23:33.960 of it, you will not enjoy doing this. And so 0:23:34.000 --> 0:23:38.359 it sounds like you really learned how to find the 0:23:38.480 --> 0:23:41.600 joy in each and every day of just doing sort 0:23:41.640 --> 0:23:44.680 of the very unglamorous parts of the job. 0:23:45.520 --> 0:23:45.680 Yeah. 0:23:45.640 --> 0:23:48.080 I mean I came up as a theater kid. So 0:23:48.640 --> 0:23:54.840 the process of theater was the thing that I fell 0:23:54.880 --> 0:23:57.960 in love with because it wasn't just like get on 0:23:58.080 --> 0:24:00.480 stage and be the star. It was like you get 0:24:00.520 --> 0:24:04.680 this family and this community and these best friends, and 0:24:04.760 --> 0:24:07.520 like you're getting to sing and dance every day and 0:24:07.560 --> 0:24:13.360 it's really hard and there's drama, and like I loved that. Yeah, 0:24:14.680 --> 0:24:20.359 that to me was just heaven. And I think growing 0:24:20.440 --> 0:24:23.560 up with a disability and being in a wheelchair and 0:24:24.359 --> 0:24:28.240 having that outlet, like it wasn't just something I loved, 0:24:28.320 --> 0:24:31.800 like I needed it to survive. It was how I 0:24:31.880 --> 0:24:34.159 was able to express myself. And I was feeling so 0:24:34.280 --> 0:24:40.680 many like intense things about being so different right and 0:24:42.040 --> 0:24:45.680 wanting as a teenager to be to fit in so badly. 0:24:47.119 --> 0:24:51.080 I mean, I'm just curious because as like a woman 0:24:51.160 --> 0:24:53.960 of color, which is not even It's like I was 0:24:54.000 --> 0:24:56.800 told theater with you know, this industry was going to 0:24:56.840 --> 0:24:58.480 be hard, that it was going to be harder for 0:24:58.600 --> 0:25:03.159 me than a lot of other people, and that you know, 0:25:03.240 --> 0:25:07.640 maybe I shouldn't pursue it because I probably wouldn't succeed. 0:25:08.359 --> 0:25:12.480 I'm curious for you as you said, you grew up 0:25:12.480 --> 0:25:15.320 with the disability in theatre, was your outlet, Like what 0:25:15.359 --> 0:25:19.439 were people telling you or what was kind of the 0:25:19.520 --> 0:25:23.720 methods that you were getting as you were brought up 0:25:23.720 --> 0:25:27.480 in this industry and then wanting to pursue it. 0:25:28.560 --> 0:25:33.560 I I always could sing, which was helpful because it 0:25:33.640 --> 0:25:36.560 kind of opened the door for me. But as far 0:25:36.560 --> 0:25:38.960 as like logistically how I was going to do it, 0:25:38.960 --> 0:25:42.639 people were terrified. They had no idea what to do 0:25:42.720 --> 0:25:45.119 with me. They didn't know how to stage me, they 0:25:45.119 --> 0:25:47.640 didn't know how to choreograph for me. They didn't know 0:25:47.800 --> 0:25:51.840 like in certain buildings, like how I would get around, 0:25:52.680 --> 0:25:55.600 but I would sit there and sing and like people 0:25:55.600 --> 0:25:58.520 would cry. And I think for like a lot of 0:25:58.600 --> 0:26:02.240 reasons as an adult, I can like unpack and see. 0:26:02.520 --> 0:26:05.760 But at the time, like was really like it was 0:26:05.840 --> 0:26:09.480 something that I felt like gave me power my voice, 0:26:10.400 --> 0:26:14.679 Like nobody could take that right right, nobody could say, like, 0:26:15.480 --> 0:26:19.560 you know, she's you know, like I knew that my voice, 0:26:20.400 --> 0:26:23.960 and it was where I didn't feel limited. It wasn't 0:26:24.000 --> 0:26:26.720 like I had to figure out the stairs and the 0:26:26.800 --> 0:26:29.600 lifts like when I sang. Like when I sang, I 0:26:29.760 --> 0:26:37.359 was just like free yeah, and so you know, people 0:26:37.359 --> 0:26:40.240 were really afraid, and thank goodness, my parents were always 0:26:40.280 --> 0:26:43.240 like we'll make it work, We'll make it happen, don't 0:26:43.240 --> 0:26:45.639 worry about it. Like my dad, I remember him carrying 0:26:45.680 --> 0:26:49.639 me on to stages like in the performances wow, and 0:26:49.760 --> 0:26:52.720 like wow. My mom would drive me into the city 0:26:52.800 --> 0:26:55.720 and like sit there and rehur like I'd be in 0:26:55.800 --> 0:26:59.639 I'd rehearse for things, and my mom would just like 0:27:00.040 --> 0:27:01.679 sit there and be there and make sure like if 0:27:01.720 --> 0:27:04.879 there was any sort of like accessibility issues, like she 0:27:05.040 --> 0:27:07.840 was right there. So they didn't have to like take 0:27:07.880 --> 0:27:12.280 it on themselves. And I just felt like an enormous 0:27:12.280 --> 0:27:15.200 amount of support from the people I trusted the most, 0:27:15.280 --> 0:27:19.280 which were my parents, and they were like, Alie, you 0:27:19.320 --> 0:27:24.800 can do anything like if they and they really didn't 0:27:24.800 --> 0:27:28.360 want me to hear some of the stuff. But then 0:27:28.480 --> 0:27:33.800 when I got to college, yeah, it got a little 0:27:33.840 --> 0:27:37.600 more wild because they couldn't protect me. And I went 0:27:37.640 --> 0:27:42.240 to Nyu Tish and Yu Tish had never had a 0:27:42.280 --> 0:27:45.000 student like the drama department had never had a student 0:27:45.040 --> 0:27:47.719 in a chair, and so it was clumsy at the beginning, 0:27:47.760 --> 0:27:49.119 Like they sat me down and they were like, we 0:27:49.119 --> 0:27:53.000 don't want you to take dance class, like we want 0:27:53.000 --> 0:27:55.719 you to sit on the side and take notes. And 0:27:56.359 --> 0:27:58.239 you know, this was two thousand and five, It's not 0:27:58.320 --> 0:28:04.359 like this was like right the seventy recently. And I 0:28:04.440 --> 0:28:09.399 remember like this thing clicking in of like these people 0:28:09.480 --> 0:28:14.480 are terrified they trust me, and the thing I've always 0:28:14.520 --> 0:28:19.120 been good at my whole life is making people feel good. 0:28:20.160 --> 0:28:24.320 So I was like, listen, let's just keep talking about this. 0:28:24.720 --> 0:28:28.200 I really want to take dance class. I will sit 0:28:28.240 --> 0:28:30.840 on the side in the beginning, but like, let's revisit this, like, 0:28:30.960 --> 0:28:34.600 let's talk about this again, because like I think I 0:28:34.640 --> 0:28:38.120 can do this. And it was the best lesson of 0:28:38.160 --> 0:28:41.760 my four years at NYU because I learned that no 0:28:41.840 --> 0:28:45.640 one can do this for me. I'm going to have 0:28:45.720 --> 0:28:47.760 to figure this out and I'm going to have to 0:28:47.760 --> 0:28:52.440 get creative and for dance, like I had to learn 0:28:52.480 --> 0:28:56.400 how to translate on the spot for myself, like in 0:28:56.440 --> 0:29:00.080 a chair, and I couldn't rely on anybody giving me 0:29:00.320 --> 0:29:05.120 like ideas, and totally it was an opportunity to get 0:29:05.120 --> 0:29:09.480 really creative, and my desire to be a part of 0:29:09.520 --> 0:29:14.560 it was so strong that there was no part of 0:29:14.560 --> 0:29:17.520 me that was going to give up or quit. And 0:29:17.560 --> 0:29:22.120 that's how I feel about my career, and like how 0:29:22.160 --> 0:29:24.040 I felt about being on Broadway. I was like, I 0:29:24.080 --> 0:29:26.240 don't know when this is going to happen, but it's 0:29:26.360 --> 0:29:29.640 gonna happen. Like even if I'm sixty years old and 0:29:29.640 --> 0:29:32.320 I'm playing a grandma on stage, like I will be 0:29:32.400 --> 0:29:33.440 on Broadway one day. 0:29:33.640 --> 0:29:34.440 Yeah. 0:29:34.480 --> 0:29:38.960 And I think that like people can feel that somewhere 0:29:40.120 --> 0:29:47.880 that like, oh, she's not she's not going anywhere. Yeah, 0:29:47.920 --> 0:29:51.720 And I just I was like, let's get creative. It's 0:29:51.840 --> 0:29:54.520 what I've had to do my entire life, everything from 0:29:54.600 --> 0:30:00.840 like gym class in kindergarten to like sleep overs and 0:30:00.920 --> 0:30:04.840 like trips to the beach in fifth grade and like 0:30:05.280 --> 0:30:08.320 high school, like getting cast in a show where there's 0:30:08.320 --> 0:30:12.440 a tap number, like let's go, Like I don't care 0:30:12.520 --> 0:30:15.400 if you guys don't have the answers. I don't, but 0:30:15.440 --> 0:30:17.320 I was raised to just like make it up. 0:30:18.360 --> 0:30:22.320 That's big. Anyway, everyone feels like they have to know 0:30:22.720 --> 0:30:25.720 what to do, Like it's okay to not know. It's 0:30:25.760 --> 0:30:29.920 a collaboration and it's like your game, then figure it out. 0:30:30.240 --> 0:30:33.000 But in college, you know, I remember we did these 0:30:33.040 --> 0:30:36.320 casting director workshops at the end of senior year, like 0:30:36.360 --> 0:30:39.280 oh meat cat some drittors and I auditioned for this 0:30:39.440 --> 0:30:42.080 one and he's like, you know, this is going to 0:30:42.160 --> 0:30:47.520 be really difficult for you. And I remember leaving like 0:30:47.680 --> 0:30:54.680 being so fired up. Welcome to my life. Right, life 0:30:54.840 --> 0:30:58.920 is hard, right, I don't do easy like when you're 0:30:58.960 --> 0:31:02.240 in a chair, Like you don't get weekends off. Right, 0:31:02.880 --> 0:31:06.400 this is my this is my every day. I don't 0:31:06.440 --> 0:31:10.360 know life without challenges. So like the industry, I was like. 0:31:11.040 --> 0:31:15.040 Yeah, this is hard for. 0:31:16.680 --> 0:31:21.120 Exactly. And I also like wanted to like come in 0:31:21.440 --> 0:31:25.440 and like sing well and look good. Like I was 0:31:25.520 --> 0:31:31.000 super conscious that I wanted to be like competitive. I 0:31:31.080 --> 0:31:33.480 was like I have to be as good as everybody 0:31:33.480 --> 0:31:35.720 else and then better in some way. 0:31:36.160 --> 0:31:37.440 Which you were and you are. 0:31:38.080 --> 0:31:40.760 Yeah that's what I wanted. 0:31:40.880 --> 0:31:46.239 I wanted that, and like I was super aware of 0:31:46.400 --> 0:31:51.360 what it was going to take. And and that's part 0:31:51.360 --> 0:31:52.960 of why I want to be on Glee because it 0:31:53.040 --> 0:31:57.840 was like this super like respected and like it was 0:31:57.880 --> 0:32:02.000 the most famous show for you know, like it was 0:32:02.160 --> 0:32:04.760 such a big deal and I was like, if I 0:32:04.920 --> 0:32:09.080 can do that, it will give me some kind of reputation. 0:32:10.600 --> 0:32:15.800 And Ryan Murphy trusts me maybe other and writers and 0:32:15.880 --> 0:32:18.960 people will direct me or direct and want to want 0:32:19.040 --> 0:32:19.760 to work with me. 0:32:20.000 --> 0:32:20.640 That's right. 0:32:21.240 --> 0:32:24.120 All I wanted. I didn't go after I never thought 0:32:24.120 --> 0:32:26.520 I was going to win Tony Award. I just wanted 0:32:26.560 --> 0:32:29.440 to be able to work in the highest level of 0:32:29.480 --> 0:32:30.840 our industry, right. 0:32:31.480 --> 0:32:37.200 And the important thing is you have to to an 0:32:37.200 --> 0:32:41.840 extent know that there is a possibility of it happening 0:32:42.200 --> 0:32:46.400 seeing yourself in some way, and so Ryan having a 0:32:46.440 --> 0:32:49.360 show that checked off a lot of boxers, for a 0:32:49.360 --> 0:32:51.920 lot of different groups that never seen each other, seeing 0:32:51.920 --> 0:32:56.680 themselves on network television then gives those people permission to 0:32:56.720 --> 0:32:59.720 be like, oh, I mean you're living proof of that, 0:33:00.320 --> 0:33:03.800 of like, oh I can do this because that that 0:33:03.840 --> 0:33:07.360 guy sees it, he sees me, and so nobody else does. 0:33:07.600 --> 0:33:11.440 Then you smart smart business lady. 0:33:11.760 --> 0:33:16.160 Yeah, thanks, thank you. I just I've always loved it, 0:33:16.600 --> 0:33:19.440 So I just like, yeah, I needed it. 0:33:19.800 --> 0:33:30.080 You have to. You have to love it. So you 0:33:30.120 --> 0:33:33.280 got on Glee, you got you, you did the three 0:33:33.360 --> 0:33:36.920 year hard work manifestation, got on the show, and then 0:33:36.960 --> 0:33:39.640 you said at the beginning of this that you thought 0:33:39.640 --> 0:33:41.600 it was going to open all these doors, and it 0:33:41.680 --> 0:33:43.280 like kind of did in a lot of ways. But 0:33:43.320 --> 0:33:45.120 then it also didn't so talk about that. 0:33:46.600 --> 0:33:50.239 Yeah, I thought that like being on Glee was going 0:33:50.280 --> 0:33:54.440 to open up like more TV opportunitary, right, and that 0:33:54.600 --> 0:33:59.280 like it would just get easier because it was really 0:33:59.320 --> 0:34:04.160 hard to get an audition totally, and you know, there 0:34:04.200 --> 0:34:08.840 were very few people with disabilities working in the industry. 0:34:09.360 --> 0:34:16.480 Very yeah you could name them, yeah, yeah. 0:34:15.360 --> 0:34:22.120 Yeah, and like still and so I was like, this 0:34:22.280 --> 0:34:30.920 is this is my like ticket And then when that 0:34:30.960 --> 0:34:41.440 didn't happen, I was like, Okay, I was doing like 0:34:41.640 --> 0:34:45.200 all these other creative things, and the way that I 0:34:45.280 --> 0:34:50.200 live my life is like I really trust timing and 0:34:50.280 --> 0:34:57.279 like the border of things. So I did Glee, and 0:34:57.360 --> 0:34:59.480 I was in a relationship with Danny, and that was 0:34:59.480 --> 0:35:03.600 a very new experience and I had met them through 0:35:03.760 --> 0:35:07.279 this experience and I was really trusting all of that. 0:35:08.440 --> 0:35:13.399 And then I had moved back to LA again and 0:35:13.800 --> 0:35:17.400 was doing this non for profit call Be More Heroic, 0:35:17.520 --> 0:35:20.359 where we were touring around the country and doing these 0:35:20.440 --> 0:35:26.280 anti bullying, pro love, pro compassion campaign shows at high schools, 0:35:27.040 --> 0:35:28.920 and it felt like I was really like making a 0:35:28.960 --> 0:35:31.960 difference and like doing something positive with the thing that 0:35:32.000 --> 0:35:37.640 I love to do most and then I started working 0:35:37.640 --> 0:35:41.479 with new agents and the first audition that they got 0:35:41.480 --> 0:35:44.800 for me was this production of Spring Awakening with Deaf West, 0:35:45.440 --> 0:35:48.200 and it felt like kind of perfectly on brand, like 0:35:48.239 --> 0:35:50.840 it was a musical and it was with a company 0:35:50.840 --> 0:35:53.279 that worked with people with disabilities, and it was with 0:35:53.320 --> 0:35:57.359 Michael Arden, and I was like, this sounds cool. Let 0:35:57.400 --> 0:36:01.720 me audition. And then when I auditioned and got called 0:36:01.800 --> 0:36:04.399 back and had to learn sign language and sing at 0:36:04.400 --> 0:36:09.080 the same time, there was this moment where like I 0:36:09.120 --> 0:36:16.960 felt so emotional, like I have to do this, like 0:36:17.760 --> 0:36:26.320 expressing yourself on stage with sign language. It was something 0:36:26.320 --> 0:36:30.360 I needed to do while I sang. It was like, oh, 0:36:30.400 --> 0:36:32.480 these are the ways I can express myself. 0:36:32.600 --> 0:36:32.920 Wow. 0:36:34.520 --> 0:36:38.560 And you know I have my hands, like I can't 0:36:38.600 --> 0:36:41.839 take tap dance, but I can sign. Yeah. So when 0:36:41.880 --> 0:36:44.080 I got involved with that project, I didn't think it 0:36:44.120 --> 0:36:46.000 was going to be on Broadway, but it was something 0:36:46.000 --> 0:36:50.400 that was so creatively fulfilling it didn't matter if it 0:36:50.520 --> 0:36:54.799 had that commercial, sparkly thing on it yet totally. In fact, 0:36:54.840 --> 0:36:56.880 I didn't know, you know, like I said, like I 0:36:56.880 --> 0:36:58.600 didn't know if it was going to be that. 0:37:00.840 --> 0:37:01.840 I felt like I. 0:37:01.880 --> 0:37:04.440 Knew I had to do it, and the people involved 0:37:04.600 --> 0:37:07.520 were like electric. Yeah, you know, I was meeting all 0:37:07.520 --> 0:37:10.920 these new people and like Austin Leading, it was like 0:37:11.640 --> 0:37:16.799 super wild and he was just like just electric, you know. 0:37:17.080 --> 0:37:22.040 And all of the deaf actors and actresses that I 0:37:22.080 --> 0:37:26.480 was meeting, they were all so passionate and so good. 0:37:26.960 --> 0:37:31.160 And then like the people that Michael cast that we're 0:37:31.200 --> 0:37:35.960 hearing were just so interesting and not like you're like 0:37:36.080 --> 0:37:42.040 typical commercial Broadway company. They were just like different. And 0:37:43.520 --> 0:37:48.399 rehearsing that show and doing that show was like it 0:37:48.440 --> 0:37:51.400 was heaven. It was just like the best thing I 0:37:51.400 --> 0:37:53.960 had ever done and to this day is still my 0:37:53.960 --> 0:37:55.040 favorite show I've ever done. 0:37:55.040 --> 0:37:58.680 Oh wow, Oh yeah, I mean it's so special. 0:37:59.239 --> 0:38:01.200 I feel like, talk to anybody who was a part 0:38:01.239 --> 0:38:03.280 of that, and it's very similar Centers. 0:38:03.560 --> 0:38:08.839 Yes, definitely, it's super something was happening. It's like there 0:38:08.960 --> 0:38:12.680 was like a like a like a power thing that 0:38:12.800 --> 0:38:16.400 connected and you see so many of those people and 0:38:16.480 --> 0:38:17.399 like what they're doing now. 0:38:17.400 --> 0:38:18.920 It was like mm hm whoa. 0:38:19.320 --> 0:38:20.160 Yeah for sure. 0:38:20.880 --> 0:38:24.600 And the fact that we went to Broadway, and you know, 0:38:24.640 --> 0:38:30.719 I remember getting this email that we were going to 0:38:30.760 --> 0:38:32.920 go to Broadway and I was in South Africa at 0:38:32.920 --> 0:38:37.800 the time teaching, and I like saw the email and 0:38:37.840 --> 0:38:40.120 I went into the office and I started sobbing, and 0:38:40.160 --> 0:38:41.799 I was like, I'm going to be on Broadway, Like 0:38:41.840 --> 0:38:44.640 my dream is coming through. I'm going to be on Broadway. 0:38:45.040 --> 0:38:47.960 And I like hugged my friend and I went back 0:38:48.000 --> 0:38:50.120 into the classroom and the kids were like, miss Ali, 0:38:50.200 --> 0:38:53.239 why are you crying? And I was like, like, my 0:38:53.400 --> 0:38:55.480 dream is going to come true. I'm going to be 0:38:55.600 --> 0:38:58.160 on Broadway. And they like raised their hand, They're like, 0:38:58.200 --> 0:38:59.520 miss Ali, what's Broadway? 0:39:00.040 --> 0:39:00.640 Oh my god? 0:39:01.440 --> 0:39:03.600 And I was like, oh my god. 0:39:03.920 --> 0:39:09.359 That's so like right, yeah, yeah, yeah. 0:39:09.080 --> 0:39:11.920 So important to me, Like, but there's so many people 0:39:12.160 --> 0:39:15.920 like that don't even know what this is. This is 0:39:16.239 --> 0:39:19.320 my heaven, this is my magic, and it's so special 0:39:19.360 --> 0:39:23.120 to share with them like what it was. And and 0:39:24.960 --> 0:39:28.759 you know, I think that I I do like I 0:39:28.840 --> 0:39:32.000 carry like this little piece of Mike Lee experience into 0:39:32.080 --> 0:39:37.440 every single thing that I do, and that is this 0:39:37.640 --> 0:39:43.480 like importance of like being you and like being yourself 0:39:44.080 --> 0:39:46.560 because it was the first time that I felt like 0:39:47.360 --> 0:39:50.080 being in a chair and being different was an advantage. 0:39:52.080 --> 0:39:55.439 And I carry that into every single thing that I do. 0:39:55.719 --> 0:40:00.040 That it's not something that takes it doesn't take anything 0:40:00.080 --> 0:40:03.280 away from me. It enhances me, it makes me better. 0:40:04.200 --> 0:40:09.840 And that I think is exactly what the show's message was, 0:40:11.239 --> 0:40:16.439 or at least what I took from it and what 0:40:16.520 --> 0:40:20.640 you guys brought to it, that like, you don't need 0:40:20.680 --> 0:40:26.160 to be anyone but yourself and that is enough, and 0:40:26.239 --> 0:40:35.600 that is that is important for a character, for your work, 0:40:36.239 --> 0:40:45.239 for your everything, Like like Kevin, your character, like was 0:40:45.280 --> 0:40:52.520 a moment of like, oh, like Artie is like someone 0:40:52.719 --> 0:40:57.439 that people want to know about and someone can care 0:40:57.520 --> 0:41:01.400 about and someone that someone could un love with. Like 0:41:02.320 --> 0:41:08.040 that was so important to me. And you know, when 0:41:08.040 --> 0:41:09.600 I found out you were in a chair, like there 0:41:09.640 --> 0:41:11.640 was a part of me that was devastated because I 0:41:11.680 --> 0:41:21.840 was so scared that that we weren't ready to see 0:41:22.160 --> 0:41:29.319 disability as it is in real life, that like my 0:41:29.520 --> 0:41:37.959 body wouldn't be enough or like digestible for mass audiences. 0:41:39.400 --> 0:41:42.840 And there was this narrative in my head that disability 0:41:44.120 --> 0:41:46.960 like it has to be like diet disability or like 0:41:47.239 --> 0:41:53.560 light disability, disability totally. And I was so scared, like 0:41:54.560 --> 0:42:01.640 would they cast me on the show? And everywhere I went, 0:42:01.800 --> 0:42:04.880 you guys, people were like you could be on Glee, 0:42:04.880 --> 0:42:10.840 you could be Artie's girlfriend. I know, I know. I 0:42:10.880 --> 0:42:16.680 don't tell me about it, I know. But the confidence 0:42:16.840 --> 0:42:19.200 that I took from not just being on the show 0:42:19.280 --> 0:42:25.960 but being a fan of the show has affected my 0:42:26.040 --> 0:42:29.759 life in every possible way, everything from being on Broadway, 0:42:30.520 --> 0:42:35.520 everything from having relationships and getting married and having a child. 0:42:35.960 --> 0:42:42.000 Like Glee was such a huge deal for me. 0:42:42.440 --> 0:42:49.480 Wow, Wow, it was so important wild It's really crazy. 0:42:49.760 --> 0:42:52.120 Yeah, I feel like this has been the gospel according 0:42:52.120 --> 0:42:52.479 to Ali. 0:42:52.760 --> 0:43:03.799 Yeah, great, it was like spiritual connection, well for. 0:43:03.800 --> 0:43:06.720 Somebody else who I don't think a lot of people 0:43:06.840 --> 0:43:09.560 know this that you. You saw it and were like 0:43:09.760 --> 0:43:13.120 that's that could be mine, you know, and you took 0:43:13.160 --> 0:43:15.200 ownership and you were like I'm just gonna go get. 0:43:15.040 --> 0:43:18.880 It well and to be the person who's actually in 0:43:18.920 --> 0:43:22.080 a chair and to actually be the real and go. 0:43:22.040 --> 0:43:24.640 Through all the journey of the insecurity of it all, 0:43:24.719 --> 0:43:26.640 like would they cast me? Would I can I be 0:43:26.719 --> 0:43:30.000 a part of it? Even seeing somebody in a chair 0:43:30.480 --> 0:43:35.160 on TV like that, So then getting there and being 0:43:35.280 --> 0:43:37.360 like such an integral part, like you were one hundred 0:43:37.400 --> 0:43:40.440 and ten percent, like we said, like you took no 0:43:40.520 --> 0:43:43.960 prisoners on your on the episode, and I'm like, I 0:43:43.960 --> 0:43:45.640 wish there was more. I wish you got to spend 0:43:45.640 --> 0:43:46.880 we got to spend more time with you, and I 0:43:46.920 --> 0:43:49.319 wish you had to be on the show more. But 0:43:49.560 --> 0:43:53.560 just that episode was such an impactful part of your journey. 0:43:54.160 --> 0:43:55.360 It was it was every you know. 0:43:56.560 --> 0:44:00.520 Also, I remember am the Glee Project thanking Ryan. So 0:44:00.880 --> 0:44:03.080 something that I was aware of was that there was 0:44:03.120 --> 0:44:05.200 and Kevin, you obviously were aware of this too, like 0:44:05.239 --> 0:44:10.480 that the disabled community was upset obviously, Like I felt 0:44:10.480 --> 0:44:13.120 something when I found out that already you know, Kevin 0:44:13.160 --> 0:44:16.880 that you ablebodied, but I understandable. It's like but I 0:44:16.960 --> 0:44:19.880 said to Ryan, I was like, I have to thank 0:44:19.920 --> 0:44:26.360 you for writing this character, because this character has changed 0:44:26.360 --> 0:44:31.080 my life and it will change the business. And it 0:44:31.160 --> 0:44:36.319 did in so many ways, Like there are there is 0:44:36.400 --> 0:44:40.719 more and more disabled representation on television and across the 0:44:40.760 --> 0:44:44.600 board in film and TV and on stage every single year, 0:44:46.040 --> 0:44:52.799 and like that character is so important to people, and 0:44:52.920 --> 0:44:57.080 you are, Kevin, like you did that with Grace. You 0:44:57.120 --> 0:44:58.040 did that with Grace. 0:44:58.360 --> 0:45:02.640 Yes, well, I felt for all of those reasons, very 0:45:05.640 --> 0:45:08.960 I felt an enormous sense of responsibility obviously, like this 0:45:09.000 --> 0:45:12.319 is not my group, Like, I can't be like I'm 0:45:12.320 --> 0:45:15.480 the spokesperson now because that is a living experience that 0:45:15.560 --> 0:45:21.359 I have not had. And so and like when the episode, 0:45:22.120 --> 0:45:24.600 the first episode of Jenna and I had that was 0:45:24.640 --> 0:45:28.160 like both of our biggest storylines at that point. Because 0:45:28.160 --> 0:45:30.120 of that episode, we started going to all these events 0:45:30.200 --> 0:45:33.480 and I started meeting and obviously that week that was 0:45:33.480 --> 0:45:35.400 the first time there was sort of negative press about 0:45:35.800 --> 0:45:39.239 already being played by me, which I completely understood, but 0:45:39.239 --> 0:45:42.480 I was like, I don't know what to do about this. Yeah, 0:45:42.719 --> 0:45:45.520 I don't know. Like it also wasn't the first time 0:45:45.800 --> 0:45:49.440 me or my friends had auditioned for characters and chairs 0:45:49.719 --> 0:45:53.520 like that was something like and we were very ignorant 0:45:53.520 --> 0:45:56.359 and naive about it because we had no idea and 0:45:57.280 --> 0:46:00.800 I just reet. I remember one night meeting a group 0:46:00.800 --> 0:46:06.839 of parents who told me about their little kids who 0:46:06.880 --> 0:46:11.480 were in chairs watching the show and then becoming obsessed 0:46:12.040 --> 0:46:18.080 with Artie, and I was like, Okay, I was like, 0:46:18.120 --> 0:46:24.520 this isn't perfect, but it's doing what I think, you know, 0:46:24.600 --> 0:46:26.920 Ryan Brad and Ian wanted it to do, in the 0:46:26.960 --> 0:46:31.040 sense that kids are seeing themselves and it's not necessarily 0:46:31.440 --> 0:46:36.239 obviously about who's playing it At this moment, it's just 0:46:36.320 --> 0:46:42.200 about Artie and seeing this kid on TV that looks like. 0:46:42.160 --> 0:46:46.360 Them and like dances and sings. 0:46:46.440 --> 0:46:47.200 Yeah. 0:46:47.320 --> 0:46:49.600 That was huge for me too, because I was like 0:46:50.080 --> 0:46:51.160 he's dancing, like. 0:46:51.120 --> 0:46:55.080 He's like everybody else, right, and like it looks good, 0:46:56.520 --> 0:47:02.000 not awkward, it looks awesome, and like, no, you did 0:47:02.160 --> 0:47:02.960 such a great job. 0:47:03.280 --> 0:47:06.440 That was also the first say rehearsals acts, like, so 0:47:08.480 --> 0:47:12.640 you figure out what you can do? I'm like, you did. 0:47:12.320 --> 0:47:15.120 I mean to figure it out, yeah, which was a challenge, 0:47:15.480 --> 0:47:19.920 but like, yeah, but I think you know, you just 0:47:21.000 --> 0:47:24.480 figure it out. Yeah, it is that hard to figure 0:47:24.480 --> 0:47:28.239 out in terms of like hearing you talk about going to. 0:47:28.600 --> 0:47:31.040 Tish and then you can't take dance class. It seems 0:47:31.200 --> 0:47:34.759 crazy because it's like you can like what are you 0:47:34.840 --> 0:47:38.640 talking about? How can I not be part of dance class? 0:47:38.640 --> 0:47:39.720 Of course I can still dance. 0:47:40.360 --> 0:47:43.359 Yeah, And that's always been so important to me, Like 0:47:44.320 --> 0:47:49.279 getting the opportunity to physically express myself. Yeah, because I 0:47:49.320 --> 0:47:51.920 have a lot to express and physically I just have 0:47:52.000 --> 0:47:55.960 a different vocabulary than you. Right, It's like allowing somebody 0:47:56.000 --> 0:47:58.200 it's like telling somebody they can't speak if they don't 0:47:58.239 --> 0:48:03.040 speak your language. Right, wait a minute. Everyone deserves the 0:48:03.160 --> 0:48:07.759 chance to express themselves. And I just was excited, you know. 0:48:07.840 --> 0:48:10.160 I was excited to like figure it out and find 0:48:10.200 --> 0:48:10.600 a way. 0:48:11.080 --> 0:48:14.719 Yeah, and because it's obviously very doable and it's like. 0:48:15.320 --> 0:48:21.080 Yeah, yeah, well that's their issue, not yours, you know, yeah. 0:48:20.400 --> 0:48:24.600 Right, exactly exactly, And I really did. I'm jumping around 0:48:24.600 --> 0:48:29.920 a little bit. But when I got the episode of 0:48:30.280 --> 0:48:35.400 I Do I read it, I was so nervous about 0:48:35.440 --> 0:48:39.759 like this sort of storyline about like you know, like 0:48:40.040 --> 0:48:44.080 Betty and Already like go into a hotel room together. 0:48:45.000 --> 0:48:50.680 And I was like, Okay, what are they trying to say, Like, oh, 0:48:50.760 --> 0:48:52.880 they're going to go like sleep with each other. And 0:48:52.920 --> 0:48:56.720 then like that is loaded, which is like they weren't 0:48:56.760 --> 0:49:01.000 gonna unpack that on the show, right, But anybody who's 0:49:01.040 --> 0:49:06.440 in a chair knows that, right, And I thought it 0:49:06.480 --> 0:49:09.400 was like very tasteful that we're just like in bed together. 0:49:10.440 --> 0:49:12.359 But like there was a part of me that was 0:49:12.400 --> 0:49:17.400 like for a teenager in a chair, like there's so 0:49:17.719 --> 0:49:21.839 much there, so much there. 0:49:22.239 --> 0:49:30.520 Yeah, So I was like, okay, like are we to 0:49:30.760 --> 0:49:32.600 We're not going to talk about it because like the 0:49:33.080 --> 0:49:36.360 theater where like we had to like spend a week from. 0:49:36.360 --> 0:49:39.799 This scene, right, I would have been nice though, oh 0:49:39.840 --> 0:49:40.239 for sure. 0:49:41.160 --> 0:49:47.880 But I did appreciate the show always went there. Yeah, 0:49:48.000 --> 0:49:53.520 Like they didn't pull back, and I appreciated that. Yeah, 0:49:53.800 --> 0:49:56.440 And I appreciated that they just created the representation that 0:49:56.480 --> 0:49:59.759 these two people in a wheelchair, like are gonna go 0:49:59.840 --> 0:50:02.799 in to this hotel room and like whether they had 0:50:02.880 --> 0:50:05.319 sex or they like hooked up or whatever it was, 0:50:06.440 --> 0:50:08.080 we're just gonna put it on TV. 0:50:08.280 --> 0:50:12.080 Yeah, they're just horning them, Yeah exactly. 0:50:12.400 --> 0:50:15.600 But there is there was a part of me afterwards 0:50:15.600 --> 0:50:19.680 that was like, I feel like people in chairs deserve 0:50:19.800 --> 0:50:23.240 to like have like, you know a little bit more 0:50:23.440 --> 0:50:27.839 of like an unpacking of what that is. Yeah, because 0:50:27.880 --> 0:50:30.080 they was also like at a time like I was 0:50:30.120 --> 0:50:34.640 in you know, like in my twenties, and like there 0:50:34.719 --> 0:50:38.920 was a lot that I felt about disability and sexuality 0:50:39.760 --> 0:50:43.759 and what that meant for me and what assumptions I 0:50:43.840 --> 0:50:49.360 was constantly being fed and asked about, like can you 0:50:49.440 --> 0:50:53.160 have sex? Like how does that work? And like getting 0:50:53.200 --> 0:50:57.400 so hurt a few years earlier by like guys that 0:50:57.400 --> 0:50:59.000 I would go out on dates with that were just 0:50:59.080 --> 0:51:02.279 like curious, like they weren't like actually interested in me, 0:51:02.440 --> 0:51:04.520 but just like kind of curious about like sleeping with 0:51:04.600 --> 0:51:10.319 a girl in a wheelchair, and right, always curiosity, and 0:51:10.400 --> 0:51:11.640 so there was a part of me that was like 0:51:11.640 --> 0:51:13.800 I wish they like had gone a little bit further 0:51:13.920 --> 0:51:18.640 with that. Yeah, but right, it was cool to be 0:51:19.280 --> 0:51:20.960 like in an episode and it's like, oh, you get 0:51:20.960 --> 0:51:23.719 to sleep with one of them, Like that's kind of 0:51:23.719 --> 0:51:29.200 a cool like just diving right in and like that 0:51:29.200 --> 0:51:34.040 that can exist. Yeah, Again, like the representation was like, yeah, 0:51:34.520 --> 0:51:35.040 let's do this. 0:51:35.239 --> 0:51:38.319 It also felt like to me that it was very 0:51:38.320 --> 0:51:43.840 important for your character to have this power or like 0:51:43.880 --> 0:51:46.360 you talk about you had that session with the casting 0:51:46.360 --> 0:51:48.040 director where like this is going to be hard for 0:51:48.080 --> 0:51:52.960 you where you're sort of being talked down to and 0:51:53.000 --> 0:51:56.840 like pitied. But I always felt like Ryan always wrote 0:51:58.320 --> 0:52:01.680 all these characters to like no, no, no, I have the power. 0:52:02.760 --> 0:52:05.400 I'm going to do what I want to do, you know, 0:52:05.560 --> 0:52:07.400 And it felt like you showed up on that episode 0:52:07.800 --> 0:52:10.600 and every single moment you were on screen, you're like, no, no, 0:52:11.360 --> 0:52:15.279 I'm doing whatever I want. Yeah, and nothing is going 0:52:15.320 --> 0:52:15.920 to affect that. 0:52:16.480 --> 0:52:17.360 Yeah. 0:52:17.400 --> 0:52:21.160 And like the fact that she was a cheerleader, Yes, 0:52:21.520 --> 0:52:25.319 like I liked that. I liked that she could do 0:52:25.320 --> 0:52:28.319 this cheerleader because like in the world of Glee, like 0:52:28.360 --> 0:52:32.480 that was power. Yeah, right right with insecurities. 0:52:42.760 --> 0:52:45.240 We always ask people at the end who are involved 0:52:45.239 --> 0:52:49.200 in the show, what is the feeling that Glee leaves 0:52:49.239 --> 0:52:49.520 you with? 0:52:50.600 --> 0:52:58.200 Oh, great question. I think Lee changed the world. To 0:52:58.320 --> 0:53:05.920 be a part of that feels really special. I was 0:53:05.960 --> 0:53:08.760 a fan of the show before I was on the show, 0:53:09.960 --> 0:53:16.040 and it changed me. It changed my life. The opportunity, 0:53:16.080 --> 0:53:19.680 but the storylines and the representation like changed my life. 0:53:20.960 --> 0:53:27.040 So the feeling is that Glee had this unbelievable impact 0:53:27.160 --> 0:53:32.719 on me, and it makes me smile because for me, 0:53:33.120 --> 0:53:37.279 like musical theater is my favorite genre and so they 0:53:37.280 --> 0:53:41.960 get to watch that like on TV with people that 0:53:42.520 --> 0:53:52.080 I identified with. Was it was just it shook my 0:53:52.200 --> 0:53:57.359 world and it changed everything and it really really catapulted 0:53:57.440 --> 0:54:00.600 my career. I think in so many ways. So grateful. 0:54:00.760 --> 0:54:05.640 I mean that's sort of like, you know, not that interesting, 0:54:05.840 --> 0:54:10.319 but it's very interesting, but also just like emotional too 0:54:10.600 --> 0:54:15.840 that so many things happened for me around the show, 0:54:15.920 --> 0:54:20.480 whether it was the Glee project, like different kinds of 0:54:20.560 --> 0:54:24.080 relationships that I had, getting to be on the show, 0:54:24.560 --> 0:54:29.120 meeting and getting to know you guys, and then having 0:54:29.480 --> 0:54:37.720 many of you as friends. It really was just such 0:54:37.760 --> 0:54:40.920 a highlight of my life in my career. 0:54:41.200 --> 0:54:44.320 Well, the feeling is very mutual. We like to claim 0:54:44.360 --> 0:54:47.960 you as much as possible on that Tony stage. Mike, 0:54:48.040 --> 0:54:50.040 that's the first Glee Acting Tony Award. 0:54:51.320 --> 0:54:56.200 That's right, right, Thank you guys, Thank you so so much. 0:54:56.400 --> 0:54:57.960 I'm so happy you do this. 0:54:58.640 --> 0:55:01.360 Oh yeah, but but it's what's so nice that people 0:55:01.960 --> 0:55:05.239 like you come on and like open yourselves up and 0:55:05.280 --> 0:55:09.560 share all these experiences, and it's so nice to hear 0:55:09.680 --> 0:55:13.040 because as you experience on that set, when you're in it, 0:55:13.160 --> 0:55:16.880 you're just like, I'm just tired. You're not necessarily getting 0:55:16.960 --> 0:55:20.200 to soak up every moment maybe like you should. And 0:55:21.160 --> 0:55:26.600 it's unbelievable, and I think we're so grateful that we 0:55:26.640 --> 0:55:30.360 get to hear everybody else's perspectives of this and to 0:55:30.440 --> 0:55:32.800 know what it meant to you means a lot to us. 0:55:32.880 --> 0:55:35.880 And I think people listening will enjoy it because it 0:55:35.920 --> 0:55:38.840 means a lot to them. And just thank you for 0:55:38.880 --> 0:55:41.560 taking the time to come on and share that and 0:55:41.800 --> 0:55:44.560 just you're love you so much. I feel like we're 0:55:44.560 --> 0:55:46.280 all like attached for life. 0:55:47.520 --> 0:55:49.920 Yeah. I love you, guys. I'd love to do something 0:55:49.960 --> 0:55:53.600 again with you and do it if you're ever like 0:55:54.080 --> 0:55:57.000 making stuff and the same for me, Like you know, 0:55:57.400 --> 0:56:02.720 it's so fun to like know you and to figure 0:56:02.719 --> 0:56:06.800 out ways that we can create something else together. Yes, yes, 0:56:06.960 --> 0:56:09.360 so more, let's just say more. 0:56:09.800 --> 0:56:12.120 I also love all the ways in which we're connected. 0:56:12.120 --> 0:56:14.880 There's spring awakening and then there's Austin and it's just 0:56:15.000 --> 0:56:18.759 we're all, yes, intertwined. 0:56:18.840 --> 0:56:20.879 And Jenna, we're doing this mom thing. 0:56:21.440 --> 0:56:22.120 We're doing it. 0:56:22.200 --> 0:56:24.560 We're in the mom cloud, crushing it. And there's two 0:56:24.600 --> 0:56:28.239 people I would trust with raising children. It would be 0:56:28.400 --> 0:56:31.600 you two like you to have all the kids. 0:56:31.920 --> 0:56:36.480 Thank you very very much, thank you, congrats Sally, congrats. 0:56:36.680 --> 0:56:37.960 I really appreciate you, guys. 0:56:38.520 --> 0:56:39.040 I love you. 0:56:39.880 --> 0:56:41.359 Thank you so much for coming on here. 0:56:41.680 --> 0:56:43.920 Thank you to you soon. 0:56:44.520 --> 0:56:49.480 Yes please, thanks Sally, have a great day, guys, Thank 0:56:49.480 --> 0:56:50.120 you too. 0:56:50.440 --> 0:56:55.080 Bye bye. Thanks for listening and follow us on Instagram 0:56:55.280 --> 0:56:57.680 at and that's what you really miss pod. Make sure 0:56:57.680 --> 0:56:59.800 to write us a review and leave us five stars. 0:57:00.040 --> 0:57:00.680 See you next time.