This week on Yes But Why, we talk to Austin based actress and voiceover artist, Danu Uribe.

Danu Uribe is an Emmy-nominated, full-time voice-over and on-camera talent for commercials, video games, film, animation, motion capture, corporate training, and eLearning projects. Danu has twenty years of audio and video studio experience.

Danu earned her B.A. in Drama from Texas Woman’s University, received her introduction to comedy performing with the critically acclaimed, multimedia sketch comedy troupe, The Latino Comedy Project, and then, completed studies in Writing and Improvisational Comedy at the historic Second City Training Center in Chicago.

In our conversation, Danu talks about 4 years of touring the world with the live-action graphic novel show, The Intergalactic Nemesis. She talks about what a toll touring can take and yet how happy she is to have been able to do that before covid.

I really loved the part where she told me about when The Intergalactic Nemesis was featured on CONAN. It was so wild that she got to perform with Conan O’Brien!

In our chat, we talk about Danu’s natural inclination toward entertaining. Danu tells me all about the path she has found in voice-over work and how much she enjoys the creative collaborations she has found in that industry.

Danu also loves acting in film and TV and she is just SO DARN GOOD at it. Unlike many of my other guests on this podcast, I have gotten to see Danu perform onstage many times and she is always wonderful to watch! This is likely due to her dedication to her craft. Listen in as she talks about the work she has put in (and continues to do) to make sure she brings her best to the table. Danu is a hard worker and a kind soul and we had so much fun catching up.

And you know what? Danu can be heard all over the country voicing brands such as Staples, Lowe’s, Burlington Coat Factory, World Market and many more. Listen for her while you are Christmas shopping!

Support Danu by watching her act on TV and in movies! Danu can be heard as the character “Toth” in the animated series, “Nomad of Nowhere” streaming on Amazon (added it to my list CHECK).  Danu can also be seen in the feature film, “Call Me Brother” in live and virtual theaters now (dying to see that CHECK).

 

Yes But Why Podcast is a proud member of the HC Universal Network family of podcasts. Visit us at HCUniversalNetwork.com to join in on the fun.

This episode of Yes But Why podcast is sponsored by audible – get your FREE audiobook download and your 30 day free trial at http://www.audibletrial.com/YESBUTWHY. 

This episode of Yes But Why is also sponsored by PodcastCadet.com. Swing on by PodcastCadet.com to get help for all your podcasting needs! Go to PodcastCadet.com and put in offer code YBY20 to get 20% off your first consultation!

 

 

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(production notes: recorded phone call with Rodecaster on 11/10/2020)

 

 

 

TRANSCRIPT by Otter.ai

HOST  00:01

Hello, Yes But Why listeners, this is your host, Amy Jordan.   Welcome to Yes But Why episode 239 – my chat with actress, Danu Uribe.   But first, you guys should totally buy stuff from my sponsors because a) they are awesome and b) I’ll get some Christmas money! It’s a win win.    So, our first sponsor is, of course, audible. Get your FREE audiobook download and your 30 day free trial at audibletrial.com/YESBUTWHY.   I just started listening to the book, “The Gifts of Imperfection” written by Brene Brown. y’all! I can just tell I’m going to be dotting my Is and crossing my Ts better than I ever have before. And I just would NEVER have found time to read the book if not for audible. I swear.  Audible is available on most of the devices in your house. Go now and download your free audiobook today at audibletrial.com/YESBUTWHY.  The next sponsor of this episode is PodcastCadet.com. Podcast Cadet is a company dedicated to helping you figure out the ins and outs of podcasting. Let Podcast Cadet get you started! Ask Podcast Cadet for help with your existing podcast! No matter what your question, Podcast Cadet can help.   I have a webinar on PodcastCadet.com about being a better host for your podcast! Check out what me and the rest of the Podcast Cadet community can do to help you do the best podcast you can do!    Use code YBY20 when you contact PodcastCadet.com and you’ll get 20% off the workshop or service you buy!  This week on Yes But Why, we talk to Danu Uribe, an Emmy-nominated, voice-over and on-camera talent for commercials, video games, film, animation, and corporate training.  In our chat, we talk about 4 years on the road with The Intergalactic Nemesis, about finding her path in the voice-over world, and about performing onstage with Conan O’Brien.   If you recognize Danu’s voice, it’s likely because you heard her while Christmas shopping! Danu can be heard all over the country voicing brands such as Staples, Lowe’s, Burlington Coat Factory, and World Market.  I now present to you: Yes But Why episode 239: Danu Uribe on finding the unique creative path that works for you.  Enjoy!  I’m Amy Jordan. And this is yes, but why podcast? To begin, let me know what the what it was that got you started in being a performer and doing theater.

 

GUEST  03:20

I would have to assume I had something to do with my birth order. I’m the last of four kids. And my sister’s nine and a half years older, and then I have two twin brothers that are four years older than I am. Well, and I think you know, there’s something about being the last of multiple kids that makes you crave attention. Partly because I was probably at that point, an accidental afterthought as far as children go. And, comedy culture at a super young age with HBO and that kind of thing. And never wanted to do stand up in particular, but I definitely admired stand up. And as I got older, I thought to myself, that’s a really like, that’s a really hard job. I know that there’s a lot of careers that there’s a lot more pressure as far as you know, maybe being an ER surgeon or something like that. But, man to be a stand up. I feel like it’s very courageous. And I have a lot of respect for people that go that route. Yeah, but yeah, so I think it’s just partly circumstantial for me in that way, and then I guess I had other people When I was young sort of encouraged me to do this, or that they would put a microphone in my hand at a school assembly or something. And over time, I guess I just got comfortable holding a microphone.

 

HOST  05:12

You know, they don’t just hand microphones to anybody, you clearly already had some sort of like, stage presence or like confidence enough. And also keep in mind as a person who’s an adult now, who deals with young children, to whom I’m handing microphones, you’re not just handing it to some schmo, right? You’re like this person is for sure. Gonna do what we need her to do. And we trust her and she’s gonna do it. Right. And then you hand the mic to that person. So I mean, you seem to you had to have had a little bit of, you know, confidence going into it, or else those adults would never have trusted you with that kind of thing.

 

GUEST  05:52

Yeah, were you like, I am seeing events like

 

HOST  05:55

where you MC, even if they didn’t give you a microphone, because I definitely was.

 

GUEST  06:04

I mean, if I’m at a wedding or something, like Watch out, I might get up there with the band. But, you know, as a kid, I think the first time that I have photographic evidence of was either like kindergarten or first grade, there was a streak of days that had over 100 degree weather, I lived in the valley of Texas and Brownsville. And, and it was like, 107 for a week or something. And at some point, they decided to just have everybody go into the cafetorium, or whatever, because it was cooler in there. And they, they got some little Blue Bell cups delivered. And we all sat in the cafetorium and ate Blue Bell ice cream with little wooden sticks. But somebody had the idea of having like, an Indian rain dance, and like starting this thing, and no, somebody volunteered me like it was like I raised my hand. But they’re like, we need somebody to, you know, start to Indian rain dance or whatever. And, and so I, I got, I got thrown to the lions, like my first my first time, you know, having to felt important, you know, like, we did rain really badly. So I couldn’t say no, you know, it’s kinda like, Jesus,

 

HOST  07:26

did you want to do it? Like not meaning like, did you want to do the rain dance? It seems like a silly thing, of course. But

 

GUEST  07:31

like,

 

HOST  07:32

were you excited to be performing in that moment?

 

GUEST  07:35

Are you excited? No, no. Um, I think I always just felt like it was what I was supposed to do. I don’t there were many times in my life over the years, where I tried to do a more practical thing. I, you know, I got a desk job or I, you know, I selected a major that was going to, you know, not be performance based in college. But it always felt very inauthentic in that way. That, that, yeah, it was just sort of like, what are your superpowers? And are you going to use them or you’re not going to use them. And while I know, I, I definitely could use a lot of those abilities in a lot of different jobs. It just, I always sort of fell back to, I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to chicken out of something, and I’d have a teacher say, No, you’re gonna do that solo. Like, we’re not we’re not doing the show. If you’re if you don’t play the lead, and you don’t do that sing that song. And, you know, just like somebody’s just shoving me out there. And, and it’s hard because I’ve definitely dealt with it with fear. Like, when I’m not the person making the choice to go out into the shopping you stage kind of thing. I had to override that, that fear response over and over and over again. And so it just became, you know, second nature at some point, like nuts, but I got to do. But it’s it has served me well, over the years. And I I adore every one of those people that that pushed me along the way, you know, I don’t think they were wrong. I think they saw something and they didn’t want me to waste it.

 

HOST  09:33

So do you still get afraid every time you perform though, is that still something you work through?

 

GUEST  09:39

Yeah, I don’t know if you if you saw Jennifer Fogg when we read it. But my artistic director at the Latino comedy project, Adrian Vegas. He wanted me to do the next show that they were going to do called Star Wars with the May the fourth Cinco de Mayo fiasco. It was a great show, but I I bowed out of that show. And I explained to Adrian I’ve been doing a lot of healing work on myself I toward for several years, I lived on the road out of a suitcase, basically, when I was toying with a show called The Intergalactic Nemesis, and I didn’t realize what an effect, you know, always being on has on your body and your limbic system and your nervous system. And I was, I was suffering from the pressure of like, having a morning show a kids show, and then an afternoon show and on an evening show, and then not getting enough sleep, and then you know, getting on a plane or back in the van or whatever, for year after year after year, was exhausting. And, and, and when Adrian asked me to commit to this, this new show, they were writing, I was like I can’t, I’m not, you’re not, you know, I get stage fright. We work together for a couple of decades almost now. And, and he’s like, you get stage fright. And I’m like, I mean, and they’re, you know, you can look at everything from everything, every side of the coin, right, like, in some regards, stage fright, you might think is bad for you, and it doesn’t hope and, you know, makes you feel bad in your tummy. But on the other side of the coin, it, it allows you to like laser precision and ability to like, do things that you wouldn’t normally be able to do if your brain were pumping out all of these, you know, adrenalized chemicals. And my, my brand, my body would just tired of being on, you know, day after day, because it’s not natural. And that’s why I have so much respect for athletes, because I know that they get stage fright too, but that’s what allows them to make that three pointer, the you know that your brain is trying to do some favors. They’re just for me, it was it was a long time of doing where I wanted to just like be able to feel relaxation in my body and wanted to be able to take deep inhalations and exhalations and, and feel calmness wash over me, and it’s really hard to do and, and that’s, you know, the opposite of what your job is. So when I got off a tour, I decided to really focus on on wellness and, and I started working at a plati studio on the side just to you know, get more in touch with my body and, and that kind of thing. And it’s helped a whole lot.

 

HOST  12:39

You know, your friend who was like what stage right? What are you talking about? I, you know, am of equal surprise, you know, and I mean, purely because I’ve known you for a number of years. And, you know, you project a great confidence and, and great ease, when you’re on stage. So to hear that it affects you so deeply on the inside is like, gosh, you’re like an extra good actor, because I really can’t even tell that you’re feeling that on the inside. But

 

13:13

as well as that.

 

HOST  13:15

I totally like the idea of going on this tour and having to do it all the time. And then since you’re on the tour, it’s not like you get to go home and like relax after a show. You’re still with the people and you still gotta be, you know, like fun time dhanu in the in the van, you know, and you’re like, Alright, listen, I’m gonna put my earphones in. And no one talked to me. But you can’t say that because people are like, what?

 

13:46

No, let’s all hang out.

 

HOST  13:48

When we bond, you know? Yeah, that’s gonna be rough.

 

GUEST  13:54

How many years have you Yeah, about four years. And I you know, like, during the holidays or stuff, I come home, there might be a little break in the summertime. We can hear we can there. But, you know, I never had like, eight roommates at once. You know, it was like, the real world on MTV, you know? Or like, I’m dating myself. But

 

HOST  14:21

I love it first show ever. That’s right.

 

GUEST  14:27

In how other people can trigger your responses. And and, and it was such an opportunity to learn more about myself, you know, where I’m like, why did the wrong way and what you know what that remind me of? And, and you can I mean? It was it was a real gift for me to to be able to have that experience. And I’m really glad I took it. When I told my sister, my older sister that I had that opportunity she you know, like shouldn’t do it and she’s like, well, you kind of have to Right. And that was I mean, that’s been the theme of like, like, you’ve been, you’ve been chosen, you know, like, you kind of have to and, and I know, in life, it’s not really like that. I mean, you do have free will and choice, but sometimes when everything in your environment is pushing you down a path, you know, to look back, or do you just go, you know, head headfirst, and kind of one at first. It was, it was what I felt like the universe was pushing me to at that time, and then it came to an end at the right time.

 

HOST  15:38

Yeah, I was gonna say, it’s always finite. You know what I mean? It’s not like you have to do it forever. That’s the beauty of Yanks. Like some people work at a bank for 40 years. Well, nobody does. But yeah, I hear that was a thing that happened one time. And all I knew they didn’t get to try different things or go on different adventures. In this case, when you went on that tour. Yeah, I mean, I’m sure it was super hard. But you’re right, you learn so much. Maybe it happened at a time in your life, when it was like the last possible moment, when you’re going to say yes to something like that. You know what I mean? The world, certainly now the world is different. There’s no way you could have anticipated this. But like, the idea of going on a four year tour, now is a lot different than going on a four year tour A few years ago, right? And so you got to check that off your list. Now. Other people might not be able to, you know, it’s just gonna be a different kind of thing. They don’t get to experience that. And I like the idea that you got your little real world experience. Like, even though it’s weird and crazy. I mean, if you had never had a bunch of roommates in your life, before, it’s a it’s a crazy experience. And I would say generally, to the audience, I would say try to do this in your early 20s. And not wait,

 

17:02

however,

 

HOST  17:04

yeah, if you need to do it later. Cuz that’s how it leads with, you know, group tours, then, you know, that’s, that’s what you got to do, right? I mean, the first time I ever traveled for a show, I was like, you know, 36, or something like that. And like going in a van with a bunch of people to go do a show and stay over one night. It was like, this is crazy, you know, but I wanted to do it before I was gonna be like now. No, like, if you ever have a I’d be like, no, no.

 

GUEST  17:36

I think it was after I got off a tour, but I was shooting, Christina Parrish and David house movie call me brother. And they were shooting it at Christina’s grandmother’s house. And this was, this isn’t within the last several years. But um, I I was going to sleep overnight there. And it was like, even that experience was really funny for me, because they here they are shooting the movie in this big house. And like people are sleeping in every nook and cranny. And I’m sharing a bed with an actress that I had met that day. You know, it was just it was really funny, because you’re like, wow, I never thought I’d be like, sharing a bed with a female stranger. Right? Yeah. But the Yeah, the whole touring experience was was great for so many reasons. I mean, there, there was a point in the tour where, you know, we got asked to perform on Conan. And and there was something about that, that particular experience when the director of the show after, I mean, I think it was after that he was like here, it’d be like holding yourself differently. You know, and I hadn’t noticed it. But I did, I felt different. It was weird, because I anticipated being really nervous for that show. And then I wasn’t, and part of that was because I had watched that documentary on Conan, before I left on that trip. And he’s so improv based. You know, he has so much background in improv, and I was like, Oh, we speak the same language. Okay. And it was such a deep comfort that when I got on stage with him, yeah, like, we just were like old friends, you know, to certain extent, you know, meanwhile, there were other people that were around us that were super nerdy. But, but yeah, it was just, it did something to me like, it kind of shut off that sort of imposter syndrome voice that a lot of really amazing performers have there. They just have that that voice in their head. It’s like you You’re a fake. You’re not talented, you’re not good enough. What are you doing here? Like, all these talented people? Like, Oh, wait, if at some point, you are in a room with other really amazingly talented people, like it’s not a mistake, you know, and it’s having that confidence in yourself and being able to really own your talent. A lot of people don’t even don’t ever get to that point, you know, they make amazing things and still, you know, talk crap to themselves every night, you know, you know, can I just say, like, what

 

HOST  20:37

a huge shout out to improv in general, like, the idea that it was, it’s a style of performance that you and this other person had been involved in. And even though you had never done improv with them before, or knew how, what they had studied or anything like that, just the sheer fact that you were like, We are both aware of the rules. And you know, and I know, and we’re gonna be okay. And I say that because, you know, if I, I don’t know much about Conan O’Brien, but from what I understand, he’s not exactly himself, the most comfortable person like he’s pretty anxiety ridden on the rags. So and I saw the clip with you guys. And he also seems comfortable. So I wonder if like, just thought of that natural. Like, like, you both felt it. You know what I mean? It’s like you made a person because this happened throughout life. You know, you meet a person, and you’re just like you and mere friends. I we’ve never met before, but I can feel it. Yeah. And sometimes I think improv helps that, like, if I meet if there’s a bunch of people in a big room, and I find out one person does improv me and that person just like, whoo, and then we’re like, what’s

 

GUEST  21:53

up? How’s it going?

 

HOST  21:54

Tell me everything. You know, so I love that it connected you and, and made you both feel comfortable enough to like, enjoy that and like, you know, get to play as opposed to like, we are doing this because we are going to promote this event. Like,

 

GUEST  22:12

you know what I mean? Right, right. Yeah. And that was a thing where it was like, we we were performing a live radio show, right? Yeah, good, good style, like via, like an old style radio show. So we were all at our individual microphones. But at some point, he breaks the wall, you know, and walks over to me at my microphone, which is something we don’t do in the show ever. We all stay stationary. And and that might have freaked somebody out being like, Oh, god, what is he doing? This wasn’t in the script. But instead I was like, Oh, you’re playing with me? Okay. Feel good. You know? And, and yeah, it’s good. It’s comforting, even if, and that’s the thing is like, improv is so you don’t know what to expect. You just have each other’s back. And, and that that’s a, you know, something that you can’t, you can teach people. But it’s it’s so nice when you just fall into a certain environment or situation. And you can just trust that.

 

HOST  23:14

Yeah. And I mean, you and he both have been involved in that community in a lot for a long, long, long, long, long, long time. I mean, like, since his days since his early days, like, but even before writing for SNL, he’s been doing what we’re doing, essentially hanging out with groups of people trying to make shows. Right? So he gets it, he’s in on it. He gets involved with improv.

 

23:39

Let’s talk about that.

 

HOST  23:41

How did you get involved with improv thinking about it? All of a sudden, my brain went, didn’t she just tell us that she’s afraid on stage? How did you why of all the things to choose as a performance you’d think you’d want to do plays where you’re saying lines that you know, this is for sure the right thing that I’m supposed to say? How did you get involved in improv if you have, you know, if part of your experience is the fear?

 

GUEST  24:09

Um, I think it’s, my personality is such that I am a thoughtful person, very much in my head and, and kind of wear my heart on my sleeve to sew those things. Both are really great for scripted work, and especially like scripted dramatic work, but and I’ve always had an appreciation for comedy. Man, I never really got any comedy experience in school, you know, like, there was no there was not an improv troupe in my high school or in my college, and my theatre department. And while I did have a lead in some comedic plays is not the same. You know, and at the time when I was in Austin, I was kind of fresh out of college, and I was interning at one of the talent agencies in town. And I had, I guess, at that point, I had started working, volunteering, at least, at a paramount theatre, which is a block away from the hideout theater where the heroes of comedy originated. And now, I guess it’s the hideout theater. But anyway, but it was the only place to go, as far as I knew at that point in life for any kind of comedic anything. And it definitely got me out of my comfort zone, but I see pictures, where I’m like, like a step away, like, there’s a lineup and like, I’m like, over to the right, you know, like, I can see how this played I am. You know, but there were exercises in those classes. And shaylee, Shana Marlon was in auditing one of my first classes, and we were doing like a mirroring exercise. And it was just so intense, you know, like, I don’t know what was going on in her head. But like, we’d be like, smiling, and then tearing up and then smiling in the light, you know, like, there’s a certain magic you have just working off of what you’re getting given in that moment, and especially when there’s no words involved. But I was kind of hooked in that regard of just being able to go someplace and flex those muscles. And, and use language in a way that you know, is, is fun, and you just never know, what’s gonna come out. Over the years, I think I’ve gravitated away from improv, partly because I do have that, that tendency to sort of like, freeze, when I’m overthinking and I don’t enjoy. enjoys it that much. But I will say when I am playing with people who I’m very close to, it just comes naturally and, and I think I was attracted to improv because I’ve been doing improv my whole life. Like, I always loved putting on a hat and become another character and doing a funny dialect and, and holding that character for however many hours, you know, a little evening, I could do it. And in making it believable, and fun, is something that I’ve always enjoyed doing. I just don’t know if people need to pay money to see.

 

HOST  27:53

It is a bit of an educational process for sure. But like Stan requires the audience you know, it’s not great. Sometimes you’re like, yeah, that joke didn’t work. But that person needs to hear that that joke didn’t work, right. I’ve taught enough number one classes to know that some of the lessons that I tried to tell them over and over and over are hard one on that recital night, they walk back after the show, and they tell me the thing that I’ve been telling them the whole time. Hey,

 

28:26

did you know that this and

 

HOST  28:28

I was like, yeah, that’s what I was saying.

 

28:33

Right? You know, whatever it might be like, Hey, did

 

HOST  28:37

you know it’s easier when you keep it simple? Yeah. Yeah, I do. I know, I do that. Mm hmm. Yeah, that was the day lesson is what it was, you know? Just things like that. Or like, or, like, they come back and I go, like, how’d that political scene go? And they’re, like, not good. And I was like, Yeah, I know, I

 

28:56

told you not to, you know, why did you do that?

 

GUEST  28:59

Don’t do that. And that’s a big, it’s like, like, well, there are, you know, rules, air quotes. And it helps to know the rules. Remember, the rules, want to break the rules. If you don’t do anything with enough frequency, it’s gonna be harder when you go back to do it. It’s like any workout anything or whatever. So So for me, I was always kind of juggling multiple balls in that way. And, and so I never, I mean, I I’ve been in a couple of different improv troupes, but I never gave improv all of my creative energy, you know. So I think in that way I could have an and I, when I was on tour, I actually had the opportunity to have the summer off and I went to second city and and did there There’s summer, there’s summer camp. We call it which training center? Yeah, yeah. In Chicago and I did the writing sketch and improv, and one training. And that was super educational for me, because I hadn’t, you know, I hadn’t closed my mind off to improv in any way. But I was very much intrigued by the idea of, of creating sketches through improv. And that there were some like life choices that that came into interview. After that experience. He kind of just, you get an impression of what it’s going to be like, you know, I know, there are some people that, that do improv, as a, you know, a sort of stepping stone to their next big thing, you know, whether that’s, you know, a comedy variety show or a sketch show, or, you know, eventually, you know, they want to be a YouTuber, or they want to be, you know, on SNL, or whatever the thing is. And it can serve those people really, really well. For me, I saw people being super cutthroat in that environment, to get into, you know, whatever team that was going to be able to perform on the cruise ship that was going to eventually be on this other team and may be able to, you know, tour with the Tang or whatever. And I was like, Oh, I don’t, I don’t enjoy touring enough to continue to the next set from this place, like, I’ve already been on tour for several years. That’s not where I want to see myself, you know. And I think that that’s an important lesson that my, my older sister taught me a long, long time ago was, like, when you think about your job, like, Where do you want to be? Where do you see yourself? Are you inside or outside? Are you with other humans? Are you not with human? You with animals or trees? Or right? You know, do you deal with paper and data entry? Are you on your feet, you know, like all of these elements of what a job entails? And if any of those elements don’t seem appealing to you, you know, there’s other jobs out there. But for me, I am. You know, I was like, No, I don’t, I don’t want to be in a really competitive environment, where people are not being nice to each other. That’s the smell. And I’m not saying people are not nice to each other. They’re at that I met a multitude of extremely kind, loving people. But

 

HOST  32:49

it’s okay. To improv and theater scene is a cutthroat thing. It’s a tough situation. There’s a lot going on there. And that town is very much a location from where, you know, a big chunk of people get famous, you know, what do you mean? So, if that’s your end game, you know,

 

GUEST  33:08

that’s what you got to do. You got Yeah, go for it. Yeah, yeah. I mean, Lorne Michaels was in the audience that a couple shows I was. So though it’s real, you know, real deal, I was on the same, you know, the same idea. When, when we were touring, we had a, you know, a couple weeks day and on Broadway. And I’d never lived in New York before, but I got sort of a taste of what it would be like commuting every morning, and every night. And, you know, and that kind of thing. And I’m like, I love Broadway, I love singing and dancing and all the things that I don’t enjoy the quality of life in New York City. It’s just not my feed, you know. And I’m aware of that. So if, you know, if in order to be an astronaut, I have to ride the missile in the rocket, like, I’m not going to have I’m not going to enjoy that experience. I can’t just get to the moon without writing the rocket. So I guess I’m not going to be an astronaut. You know. And I think a lot of people have, you know, this dream of, I want to do X, Y, or Z performance wise, but they don’t think about what their quality of life is going to be like, whether they can live in a home or have a cat or even have a plan, like, interview like, No, you don’t get any of those things ever. You live in a suitcase and that’s your future. You know, that maybe that’s, you know, what you thought was your dream isn’t really your dream. And it’s okay. It’s true.

 

HOST  34:48

There are a lot of things to consider for the larger idea of, you know, what it takes to be an actor and you’re right like, there’s not it’s There’s only a handful of like, okay, you’re an actor, you are going to make a ton of money and have a nice house and maybe even relationships, who knows. But most of the time, it’s like, and I feel like, I feel like literally from this from the COVID shut down and talking to friends of mine, like across the world, like, theater people, like people who are performers are on constant duty. They’re always out there singing and dancing, they get the hat in the air that that data that you know, like, they can’t stop. They constantly have to either be auditioning all the time or maintaining the, you know, show that they’re in whether it’s traveling, or it’s playing the like, the game like you’re saying with the, you know, the cutthroat thing, there’s cutthroat stuff in all the major you think in LA it’s not cutthroat. Oh, it is especially for the actors that are like on television shows that aren’t the famous person people are watching it for like, the the idea of that the pressure of that, are you willing to do that for your whole life, right, like I have an uncle, who is older, I want to tell you a holiday is You’re welcome, Joe. But he’s an older man. He’s been acting for many, many years. And he’s dealt with the crap. And he deals with the crap like today, like I’m talking to him recently about like, the gigs he’s doing and the gigs he’s got to find and it’s like, oh, my God, like, he chose this for a full time forever job. Right? This the figuring it out the gig to gig the like, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Like, you know, you have to be okay with that. And you have to be able to, you know, drop everything or, or juggle, if you’re great at juggling, and you can juggle a relationship and kids and also doing full time theater work and figuring out how to pay bills using that like, great. You go good for you juggler. But I don’t know, I mean, so. So to your juggling act, which I’ve again, only watched the side bits of, you know, I, we know each other, but we’re not like around each other all the time. So I don’t know all the things you’re involved in. How for you, we so after you got out of college, where you got a quote unquote, respectable degree. Then you’re doing improv in Austin? How did you become an actor on in, you know, film and commercials? Like, where did that come in? And how did that progress for you to the other things that you ended up doing?

 

GUEST  37:51

Um, so, I had heard a long time ago, somebody tell the story of like Rita Hayworth, or something, right? And she gets discovered by working in a diner or something, right? But, but somebody along the way said something really bright, which was, if you’re going to get a day job, or you know, some kind of job, to pay the bills, while you’re trying to do this other thing, do it somewhere that feels like, Oh, go get a restaurant job. Because that’s not where, you know, the people that can give you work are when you don’t even know where they are. So I, I immediately came back to Austin, and like I said, I got an internship at a talent agency, which just taught me a lot about casting and what people are looking for, how unimaginative they might be. And with the sort of dynamics of, you know, print versus on camera versus voiceover, and that kind of thing. And I just, I learned what, what aspects I I really liked about it, and what aspects I know, which didn’t exist. And for me at the time, it was it was difficult, because I didn’t, you know, I mixed ethnicity. And I was a, I was younger and just didn’t feel like I fit into any sort of, of those casting boxes that you know, when people are looking for a Latina, you know, she looks this way or a girl next door, it looks that way. And like I didn’t look like necessarily either, but maybe a little both. And so so I ended up let’s see, I did work, selling furniture for a little while, which was a good idea. So you know, about home furnishings. But I

 

HOST  39:52

always say that whatever job that you get in your life, it’s either going to be something where you can learn a skill that you need or Somewhere where you can get a discount on things you like, Hey man, Home Furnishings expensive, I can get 50% off a couch all day, okay?

 

GUEST  40:10

discounts are where it’s at. I mean, that’s the thing, like, if you are going to go get a job, like, go to a shop, I mean, you might as well. But um,

 

HOST  40:18

or it’s like, do you want to know how to weld great get a job doing that you’ll never otherwise.

 

GUEST  40:26

I mean, I know how to fluff the pillow like nobody. But it’s called a fitted sheet really well. Oh, but I, I used to go to hip hop hump days on Wednesday night, down on Sixth Street, and that it was great, or there was a lot of hip hop talent in Austin. I don’t know where it is now. But, uh, anyway, I met a guy who was an audio engineer at an elearning company that was owned by Neil Bush, and George’s George’s brother. And he asked me if I’d ever done voiceover work. And I told him that I, you know, I hadn’t professionally but I had a teacher in college, who I was really hard on me. But one day, he gave me a compliment. He’s like, you should really do something with your voice. And I noted that in the nice column. And so anyway, when this guy asked me if I’d ever done voiceover work, I said no. And he asked me if I wanted to, you know, read some narration for these elearning modules for kids. And it was right up my alley. Because not only did I get to do, you know, just straight narration, but also, they had a lot of animated modules with different characters, and they were different ethnicity. And suddenly, I was able to open up my tool chest of, you know, different ages and colors and in sounds and in a way that, that on camera stuff that always been very limited, limiting for me, in particular. And so, I, I really, I discovered I loved this, this freedom that voiceovers provided me. And at that job, I also met Danny Johnson, who is an amazing animator, and filmmaker. And at some point, he he asked me to do a scratch track for a movie he was doing called flatland. And I was basically recording the part of the lead role hex for an actress to listen to, so that she could, you know, know what she was getting into and do the do the roll. Well, as it turns out, that was I was doing that for Kristen Bell of all people. And so that was, that was really cool. And then I ended up also getting cast in that movie with her. But I played her grandmother, Arlene, and, and my husband is Martin Sheen. So while I never got to, like actually interact with any of those be, and Tony Hale as the movie I never got to interact with anybody is it’s cool to like, see your name in the credits of, you know, an animated feature. In that way. And after that, you know, I just, I started just doing something here or there. And it really just came down to word of mouth. I mean, people are always like, Where do you get your jobs? And how do you find them and this and that, and I’m like, I am not a super competitive person. You know, I, I played soccer as a little kid for a couple of seasons, but eventually, like your take the ball, like, I don’t want to fight about it. And so that’s kind of always been my approach, you know, whether that’s to my advantage or disadvantage, but But yeah, for the most part, I, I let things fall into my lap, or have people push them on me. And I’m like, Okay, I’ll do it. And it’s worked out really nicely on. Yeah, I mean, I still audition for stuff, here and there and get the rejection like anybody else. Because you know, all about numbers and stuff. But for, you know, for all the things that people keep using me for whatever I mean, it’s word of mouth, they ask somebody and they’re like, yeah, she’s, you know, she’s efficient, and she’s versatile, and you know, takes direction well, or whatever. And, and then they use me and I’m like, yeah, that’s all true. And then, you know, they call me next time or whatever show. Or sometimes people will like, take me with them. Like, if they leave a job at one company, and they go to another job. They’ll take me with them in that sense, you know, so that’s always really flattering as well. I have a LinkedIn page that people say nice things about me and I’m like, I guess it’s true cuz they put it in print and take their word for it. Oh, man,

 

HOST  44:45

you’re so funny being like, I guess that I guess I have to take their word for it. You are really great. I mean, if if I’ve talked to tons of people about what it is to audition, and usually It’s more of a, you know, a slog and uphill battle. I like the idea that it’s just, and I don’t want to say just worked out for you What I mean is, it is it’s flowed from friendship to friendship, that the idea of, you know, just being good at your job and pleasant and people wanting to work with you, and then it, it going from gig to gig purely out of like friendliness, and like, respect, that’s great. That’s amazing. That’s way better than some of the other stuff. You know what I mean? Like, be hot if you want, but to have people like you enough to want to work with you multiple times. I’ll take it, I’d much rather that. Like, that’s an excellent skill to have, like,

 

GUEST  45:47

yeah,

 

HOST  45:48

put that one in a locket and keep it.

 

GUEST  45:52

I mean, I, I never had like, like, terrible self esteem. I luckily, my parents, you know, set me up pretty well in that regard. But there are a lot of experiences that can shred your self esteem over the years, and I feel like auditioning can absolutely be one of those things, you know, especially a lot of like, in person auditioning. You’re like, they don’t like me, they don’t like my eyebrows. They don’t like, like, what, what is it about me that they don’t like, and, and that can really damage you, you know, or On the flip side, like, if people do hire you, because like, you’re hot or whatever, you know, then you start doubting if you have any craft, you know, like, so I decided at some point, like, Look, I’m just, I’m just gonna be on time and do what they asked me and ask about the people in our lives and, and then legitimately care about the people in our lives and create friendships that way. You know, I think that’s really important. When MTV, came to Austin, they take the Latino comedy project to comedy troupe for them to do a campaign of ads for MTV Fest, which is their, like, Latino MTV. And they had looked all over the US for a comedy troupe, and they decided on us because we like, went to Cuba and or to West Coast, or to New York or whatever, anyway. It’s just funny, cuz, you know, here, this big, like, team of people was coming to Austin to shoot us. And it was, it was one of the first times had been on kind of a big shoot like that. And the director there, he, I don’t know, somebody said something to somebody in a certain way. And he was like, no, we’re not going to play like that here. You know, we’re going to speak to each other, you know, with with respect. And, you know, I don’t know where you came from. But as you know, we’re in Austin right now. And this is how we’re going to treat each other. And it was, it was cool, because it was like, oh, if, if, if you’re in charge, you can decide what kind of work culture you’re in. And so things don’t have to be ugly, or cutthroat or, you know, high pressure or mean, I understand people have deadlines, and that pressure can cause stress and stress can have people acting out or whatever, but people can just be nice, you know, there is a world like everybody there is happy to be there, you know? And,

 

HOST  48:36

yeah, and I mean, is it would not need to be rewarded.

 

GUEST  48:39

No, right. Like, just because you know, you’re crazy narcissist doesn’t mean that you have to make this workplace toxic for everybody. And get that get that guy out of here. So, yeah, yeah, I just I decided I never wanted to be one of those people. You know. That’s great.

 

HOST  48:59

That sounds like such a great moment to have when you’re like, Oh, no, this is about to go terribly wrong. And then the boss is like, Alright, just in case we’re all unclear. We’re in Austin and Austin is fun. So you’re all gonna stop being losers and be fun. And I love that. I also, by the way, I love that Austin stands for too many people, not even just this one director. But like too many people. It stands for a certain level of like kindness. And like, whenever I talk to people about it, they’ll the vibe they get from Austin is like, oh, no good work happens there. And everybody’s really nice to each other. And I’m like, that’s exactly what I want you to think. And it’s not that it’s untrue. It is true. It’s hard one, you know, I don’t think it was always true. Certainly not during my, you know, 10 years of living here. It’s been up and down. But it’s like that’s what we’re trying to project so thank you.

 

GUEST  49:59

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, it’s our brand, you know? And we’d like to like reinforcing that. Yeah. You know, honestly, I

 

HOST  50:07

feel like, you know, with COVID, there has been a big outcry for sort of community and kindness and without any onstage performance of any kind theater or, you know, or improv, the communities have started to connect with each other in a in a bit of a tighter way. You know what I mean? Like, there’s been a lot of people from all over the world doing shows at the theaters in town, because they’re online. So there’s like, oh, there’s this person from Sri Lanka, who’s gonna be in the hideout tonight? Like,

 

50:44

what? Are you kidding me?

 

HOST  50:46

Like, things like that, where it’s like, just different people connect, but people connect in, because they’re like, I know, this place is going to welcome me and not be weird. And not potentially have, you know, no offense to Chicago, Chicago will be changing post COVID for sure. But like, oh, doesn’t have the same cutthroat nature to it. I mean, you know, Lauren Michaels not coming to our shows in Austin. So I can see why it’s less cutthroat, but but you know, regardless, it’s like, so he even if he did come, we’d be like, come on, by, grab a beer. Sit down. Like, I’m not worried about you. I mean, I think about even moontower. And like, when the famous people come into town, every person that I’ve ever been able to have a conversation with has been like, God, I love when I come to this town, I finally feel comfortable. Like, it’s not like I’m, you know, I want to I want to be here because it’s like, good, other real comedians, as opposed to people who either they live their whole lives on the road with just audience, or they are constantly just, they’re working their way up. So they’re constantly like fighting to get the best thing and then doing this, can I be the host of this thing? Can I be the, you know, headliner on this thing? You know, but when they get to Austin, it’s just like, Hey, man, how

 

52:09

are you? Great.

 

HOST  52:10

Come on. All right, like easygoing, fun times. And I’ve always, I’ve always appreciated that.

 

GUEST  52:18

Yeah, I definitely have a deep appreciation just for the ability to be in an environment where you can feel relaxed. And that’s, that’s sort of why, you know, New York, and I was, you know, saying that the speed of the city, it’s just, it’s just too much stimulation for me personally. Yeah. But that’s not to say that, you know, if, if you want something and you want to go for it, you know, like, hustle, you know, like, there, there are people that want to be, you know, want to have their evening talk show or whatever, someday, you know, and, and, you know, no slight on Austin, but I know that being in an environment where you are surrounded by talent that is, let’s say, of a higher level than you’re currently at, is the best thing for you, if you want to get better at doing something. If you if you stay on the level of people that are currently on your level, it’s harder to rise up in that way. I mean, sure, you feel like a big fish in a little pond, but you want something and an environment that challenges you. And I don’t mean challenges you to like be able to pay your rent just challenges you educationally and mentally. And sometimes you’re you may not find that locally, and that’s okay. And in my face, you know, go to go to where you’re going to find that. For me, I didn’t, you know, have enough teachers pushed me along the way. And now I’m ready to sit down a little bit. But for people that still have that speed, and then like, yeah, go go, go, go do it. Just hope you have a thick skin.

 

HOST  54:00

Well, it’s like we were talking about what your sister’s suggestion was, like, know all the details of the different jobs. Like if you’re fine with like, if you want to do if you want to become a famous person, I’m sorry, but you’ve got to go to LA. You just got to go. I hear it’s not as fun as you want it to be. But who cares? Because that’s not the part. It’s like you that’s not what you’re focused on right now. Your apartment is overpriced and small. Who cares? Move forward. Can you sleep now you’re fine. Like, go do the thing. It’s a tasa. Right? It’s like what parts of your life do you want? And every I’m gonna say that like, for me, it changes. You know, I’ve abdun flowed sometimes like because I lived in New York for I lived in New York City for almost 10 years. And at the time, it was exactly what I wanted. At the time. It was like, Yes, I want the heavy energy of this place. I want to try real hard. I want it to be weird and being dirty basements. Do In comedy, yes. But when I left, I was sad for a little while. But now, I could never live there again. Never ever and even think about my friends who are still there who are in the same boat as I am married with kids now and I’m like, you do our you’ve been doing that, like, that’s crazy, right? But it’s just a matter of what you’re looking for. Right? Whatever your mind is, whatever the place that makes you feel like this is home. Like, I didn’t know I grew up in Boston, nobody was like, Hi, have you heard of Austin, Texas? You should move there right away. No, I didn’t even move here until I was 30. That’s a bunch of my life that I was like,

 

55:41

I guess I’ll try this.

 

HOST  55:42

I guess I’ll try that. Right.

 

55:44

That’s kind of what you gotta do.

 

HOST  55:46

Right? with, with your, with whatever you know about the job that you want to try. You get to try it here. You got to try it there. Did it work here? Doesn’t seem to let’s try a different spot, right? And just find your place. And sometimes Yeah, sometimes you’re Conan, and you’re working your way up. And you work on SNL. And you get your own show and all sorts of great stuff. Sometimes you’re not. Or sometimes you’re like the guy who works for Conan, and nobody knows your name. But you’re still writing every day. And your jokes go up and up in front of people every day. And you’re like,

 

56:17

Oh, look at their laugh. And I wrote that that was so great.

 

GUEST  56:20

Like, that scene is tight,

 

HOST  56:22

there’s nothing. There’s just nothing wrong with whatever journey you want. Whatever part of it you want to be part of, there’s a spot, there’s a spot for you to do it. Because there’s a lot of jobs. And the other thing, the war right now is that people are leaving. It’s hard to hard to maintain. It’s hard to continue to do. And as far as I’m concerned, now, it’s just a waiting game of who’s going to be left.

 

GUEST  56:49

Because once

 

HOST  56:50

Yeah, there’s gonna be a much smaller pool

 

56:54

for to pull from. So if

 

HOST  56:55

you stick around, you’re in the pool. Right? They might be pulling it from anywhere. You know, speaking of which, I wanted to ask you during COVID Have you been doing a lot of like self tapes?

 

GUEST  57:08

So audition? Yeah. Um, I wouldn’t say a lot. I’ve had a couple of June auditions, many have been interesting. But a while back, I told my, my, my agency like, Hey, don’t submit me for any on camera. Just like not feeling it right now. But they still do. And then I still audition. And you know, it’s just a fun exercise. You know, you got to work those muscles out. But um, but yeah, one of the one of the reasons I gravitated toward voiceover work, not only for the freedom of expression, but like, talking about quality of life is it’s really weird when somebody recognizes you at the airport at six in the morning in a city you don’t live in, because they saw you on TV the night before. And that’s never happened to you. And you’re like, what’s happening right now, like, great job. But you know, what I’m I would warn you. And depending on if you want privacy in your life ever or not, you know, will determine how famous you might want to become, you know, there is a certain point where there’s no going back, it doesn’t matter if your internet famous for a day, or you were on a terrible news story, or you are an Oscar award winner. Somebody’s going to probably recognize you somewhere where you’re just trying to go about your daily business. And, and that’s, that’s something to consider, you know, if somebody’s really proud of it, but they, you know, they’re like, I want to be famous, but then you don’t think about what that is. You don’t think of all that you have to give up to be a celebrity. And yeah, I mean, I don’t think a lot of people do, you know, they just keep going that next step forward. But for me, it sounds horrible. I just want to be able to go to Costco and not have anybody bother me. You know, that’s where I’m at these days.

 

HOST  59:06

Like, like COVID shut down. Were you enjoying being alone in your house for a long time? Because I’m pretty sure that’s the lifestyle of most very famous people. Like, I’m sure Jerry Seinfeld was like, yep, pretty regular. Still ordering my groceries. Like, you know what I mean? Like not going out that often. He goes out to do our coffee show. He invented that show so he could leave his house. You know? I didn’t realize that. Well, no, he didn’t. Like I’m making that up. I bet.

 

GUEST  59:38

You know what I mean? Like, how else

 

HOST  59:41

would a hugely famous person, like be able to leave their house without it being a super nuisance while you bring a camera crew and people aren’t going to bother you?

 

GUEST  59:51

properly? Yeah,

 

HOST  59:52

there’s like a plan going like I’m sorry. He’s in the middle of something right now. Like

 

GUEST  1:00:00

I’ve only juggled like you were talking about juggling earlier, I’ve always had at least three jobs, right. So I was in my car for a good portion of the day, most weekdays. Anyway, just sort of hopping from job to job. And, and now, you know, I record at home too. So now I’m just not driving to studios as frequently, which I kind of like a not driving part. But I don’t like the human connection that is not present anymore. And I’m, you know, admittedly somewhat of a people pleaser. So having a director, they’re telling you what they want is so useful to me. I mean, I love it so much. I love being for them to like, be talking at me and being like, I want you to sound more like avocado and I’m like, Okay, yeah, I got that. I’m like, No, more like sunflower butter. And I’m like, Yes, okay, okay. Okay, change it, make a little saltier, you know, like, whatever the thing is, and, and it’s so gratifying to me, I love Love, love, love, love doing that. There’s an intimacy that I get to have at home without people that can be useful at times too. I do a lot of you know, sort of more informational, educational kind of stuff. And you know, every once in a while I’ll get a voiceover about, you know, breast cancer or something and like some feeling in that you know, that maybe I wouldn’t be as vulnerable with an audience but so it’s nice being in my little box I found the thing you know, that the only dream that I have that has not you know, come true would be to be on like a an animated series like the Simpsons that’s on for decades. And that has the the genius behind it, of Matt graining, you know, that cast and that level of talent. I mean, obviously, I grew up with with the Simpsons, my my stepkids are now going up the defenses and just putting that out in the universe, if anybody’s working on anything, that’s, that’s the only next level thing that I that I would want to do. I did, I did voice something animated series called the Nomad of nowhere, for roosterteeth not too long ago, and that was super fun. But it just, it was just a couple seasons. So yeah, my dream would be to just, you know, have a gig like that and went on for dental until the end of my time.

 

HOST  1:02:36

is so voiceover is pretty much your main bread and butter has it maintained throughout COVID.

 

GUEST  1:02:43

Man, it shut down, like being shut down right there at first. But then very quickly, there was a need for hospitals, banks, and like veterinarians, places that were still open, I needed COVID messaging, basically. So my, my gigs have really reflected the state of the nation in the sense that I can tell where, when people were being more careful when people started relaxing, when the spikes went up, when people had to get careful again, you know, what types of activities people are, are doing and what state because, you know, I’ll do voiceovers for for companies, hotels, and casinos, and all kinds of venues all over the nation. And so, you know, I’ll be doing a voiceover for a Casino in Las Vegas. And I’m like, oh, they’re, they’re open again. Okay, you know, and then the messaging might be, you know, please write and ask when you’re doing this or that, but the casinos open girl, you know, so, but, but yeah, it’s just been a really interesting. So anyway, over the months, yeah, the work is picked up fairly steadily. But, you know, it’s still very much COVID related information. Although now with the holidays. There’s some more you know, uplifting shopping to do and things like that, but

 

HOST  1:04:19

maybe some holiday messages and not just like, please don’t die try you’re trying to avoid dying now. It’s like, yeah, avoid dying and buy some gifts.

 

GUEST  1:04:29

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. discounts come in this Black Friday. Yeah. Yeah.

 

HOST  1:04:37

Really, again, stuff away because literally no one could purchase a kit. So

 

1:04:41

just break down this. We’re closing up,

 

HOST  1:04:44

just take it away, empty it out. by brick.

 

GUEST  1:04:48

This thing’s coming down. It’s crazy. I mean, I mean, I see so many venues and stores and restaurants and places closing you know, so I’m Just really, really proud of all of the business owners that have been able to pivot their business in such a manner to allow them to stay in business and employing people in a safe way. You know, I mean, the whole haphazard like, we’re just going to reopen and everybody’s working again. And don’t tell anybody if you got, if you don’t like, the whole, like, don’t ask them to tell, okay, like, that doesn’t work with this y’all. Like, you just need to keep your employees informed, and they can make educated decisions, but don’t like, keep it a secret. But yeah, but I’m just I’m really impressed with the companies that have been able to make it work, you know?

 

HOST  1:05:37

Yeah. Yeah, for real, and even ones where you’re like, wait, so and so closed, you know, like, just weird things where you’re like, how is that, you know, I just, I am looking forward. And I’ve said this 1000 times, but I’ll say it 1000 more. I’m looking forward to five to 10 years in the future, when I can watch a documentary that explains to me everything that happened, like not just the science and the actual virus, no, no, I’m interested in the larger cultural, like, the way that the businesses were which businesses worked well. What’s the business model for those? Like, what did they do to pivot? Like, how did it work out? Because it’s like, like, if you’re a business that’s open right now, and especially if you’re a business that’s doing well right now, like a plus, like you’re doing it, write a book, yeah, immediately about how you did it, because it turns out the other ways to do it didn’t keep you going. Right. So you are doing it. And that’s amazing, right? So that’s a really good thing. Also, sideline back to your voiceover work.

 

1:06:44

voiceover work. Number

 

HOST  1:06:45

one, what a great gig to get into, like, from the beginning, so awesome, you are great, your voice is great. But also like, it keeps you It could keep you for your whole life. Like you can be doing voices. You know, I think about the Simpsons, you know, I mean, those people

 

1:07:03

are

 

HOST  1:07:04

quite a bit older than they were when they started, right. And they’re still doing the voice of an eight year old, right? Like, that’s amazing. You know, and making hopefully millions of dollars. I don’t know how much they make, hopefully a lot. But like they’re doing this work, even like, you know, shows that I like watching things like Bob’s Burgers, like I’m like, I love that they are all doing this. I love that these are all performers that are do lots of other different things. Even people like john benjamin H, john benjamin, who’s in a bunch of things, like I’ve heard his voice maybe a million times, it was like three years into listening to his voice every day before I was like, I should google this guy and see what he looks like. And I was like, Oh my god, wow, I would never have put that face to his voice. And it doesn’t even matter. Because he’s just he just has this ability to be 1000 different characters, right? And that’s such a skill and so fun. And I’m so glad that that’s something that you do. Like, I don’t know, I just wanted to like we were talking about code for a little while weird. And I was like, No, no, let’s not talk about how down It was great. And what a cool path that you’re on like that you can maintain for a long time. Like, super cool, super cool.

 

GUEST  1:08:22

And I feel really fortunate. Yeah. So thank you to everybody that’s had a hand and a big shout out to all y’all. Yeah,

 

HOST  1:08:33

it’s a good time. I mean, you’re great. I’m so

 

1:08:38

what,

 

HOST  1:08:39

what advice do you would you have for actors who are, you know, trying to get into it trying to get involved? I mean, I think one of the details I wrote down that you mentioned that I think is like such an amazing, like smart move was getting the job at the talent agency just to sort of see how it worked before you were, you know, in the fray, like that’s super smart. But like, what advice do you have for people like, how do they get started? What should they be doing to get themselves ready? When the world opens up? Again, they’re going to look for people, what could they do?

 

GUEST  1:09:17

I’m going to say it and I’ll maybe surprise but I highly recommend for all humans having an experience on this planet, to find yourself an excellent therapist that you shouldn’t trust. Regardless of whether the acting thing works out or not. It’s going to serve you well. It is a lot better to be an actor that has done some introspection and understands themselves understands what triggers them. Understand how they react to things because acting is reacting. So if it especially in improv, if you have tendency to react in certain ways in real life, it might come out on the stage, and maybe you don’t want it to because you want to beat somebody else on stage instead of yourself. So that that would be the very first thing I would say to anybody, anybody that’s like, we don’t need a counselor, I have friends and family or whatever. No, everybody experiences trauma every day. And maybe you have some outlets that help you through that. But I would say if, if somebody’s looking for an answer, they’re going to find it in themselves. To trust your own intuition. Listen to the nice voice in your head, not the mean one. And to, to follow, what what that nice voice is telling you, you know, there, there is something inside of you, that will help guide you on this journey. And, and if you’re looking outside of yourself to spill something inside of yourself, success is much more difficult. So I think for in any, in any job in any career path, knowing yourself is a great place to start. I guess the other thing would be to, to be kind, you know, I think a lot of people take that for granted. But how you deal with people how you make people feel, even if it’s a very brief interaction, you know, that person that you’re signing in at the audition at that little table, you know, like, be extra nice to that person. Like, they have a lot more power than you think. That kind of thing. And, and not taking things personally, because while you’ll probably receive a lot of criticism on your journey, hopefully they’re critiquing performance, they’re not critiquing you, as a human being. Don’t internalize it, just try to find ways to relieve stress and let it go. Because it’s just like dating. It’s just a numbers game. And eventually, you’re going to find a good match, you know, so those types of things. I know there’s like not really career based. Oh, the other thing is to listen more than you talk. It’s something I tell people that if you’re in a room surrounded by people that know more than you do, shut up. Don’t try to captivate them and, you know, get grabbed their attention, or whatever. I mean, yeah. A nicely placed joke in a conversation might get you some points, but, but like, really, really listen, actively. Listen, put your phone down, you know, like, make eye contact connect with that other person there. Yeah, I mean, put your phone down. Yeah. Yeah. connect with people. Yeah, connect with people, like in person, you know, 10 feet away, whatever. also wear your Mac. Yes. Yeah. But, um, but yeah, you know, it just is sort of like, the kind of stuff that will help you every day, but will especially help you on the difficult journey of, you know, being an actor. For sure.

 

1:13:25

Awesome. Awesome.

 

GUEST  1:13:26

Great.

 

HOST  1:13:27

Thank you, Donna, so much for chatting with me and being on the podcast chatting about your experiences. And you know, just, I’m really excited that the voiceover work continues for you. I’m sorry that it’s weird. But, you know, it’ll it’ll improve, you know, like you said, it’s the holidays pretty soon. It’s

 

1:13:47

like, you know,

 

HOST  1:13:49

so Nick is go on his way, you know, you’ll be saying more pleasant things. But I’m so glad that you’re working and I’m just so happy you’re out there. And I know that you’ll be working hard and you know, in more projects as projects start happening.

 

GUEST  1:14:08

Yeah. Yeah. And and if you do any holiday shopping, listen out for my voice overhead, because I love that. I’m gonna be listening for you everywhere. It’s kind of creepy. Sometimes. I’m like, Oh, that’s me. That’s me.

 

HOST  1:14:26

You’re all over the country just telling people to wear their mask. I

 

GUEST  1:14:30

like it. Yeah, for what sales? You know, you can save on? Yeah. I mean, I’ve always been frugal. So I’m like, it is my pleasure to help people save money.

 

1:14:42

So funny. Oh

 

HOST  1:14:44

my God. Oh, my God. Thank you so much for being on the show.

 

GUEST  1:14:48

And thank you for thinking of me. Oh, absolutely. Really appreciate it. It’s been really great.

 

HOST  1:15:02

Thanks for listening to yes but why podcast? Check out all our episodes on yes but why podcast calm or check out all the content on our network at Universal and HC Universal Network calm