Now, when building a show, I ask myself the question - like, 'Jumping off this table will be really cool, but can I do that eight times a week?'.
Doing something out of town is so beautiful because it really becomes about the process, and the product will be a result of it, but process is what is the goal - to really see what works and create the best story possible.
Exposing yourself to many kinds of art can only lead to amazing things. It helps you learn about your own art, your own taste, what kind of art you want to create for yourself.
The only musicals I've really worked on in New York are new musicals, and I like the idea that my job as an actor is also that of a detective, archaeologist, and mystery solver.
I definitely have been approached and reached out to by a lot of young Asian American and Asian women, which has been really cool for me.
Right out of school, I did this show called 'Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.' It is based on a classical text with new music - not necessarily confined by a certain genre. It was a diverse, interesting group of musicians, actors, nonactors, and singers all creating this thing that is bigger than all of us.
We did a student-initiated project of 'A Little Night Music', which was the first time that all of the divisions - music, dance, drama, opera - came together and put on a piece. It was a black box kind of feel. We had to get costumes that were pieced together. We had our own lighting that we finagled.
There's the cool factor, right? You see your face on a sign or your name on something, like, 'Ahh! Here I am!' And then there's a huge responsibility and the scary part of it, which is like, 'Now what happens?' And then you realize, 'Oh, yeah, this is my job.'
I hope they're reminded that joy is very easy to access if you just put down your phone, look at another person, and make a human connection. You'll find a new experience that you wouldn't have had otherwise.
Beyond just the respect that you want to have, people just miss out on being in the moment when they have a screen in front of their face. I just don't know to tell people. I feel it's like, you know, 'Turn off your phone and go to the theater.'
I took dance from a very early age, although my first recital, I remember refusing to go onstage. I think I was three. It's funny because that stage was also my high school theater stage.
I think I'm obsessed with food. Maybe that's why I'm making the transition to organic products - they just feel yummy. I like vanilla scents. I like mint. I like sage. I like the idea of smelling blackberries every time I blink. It's so good.
You get to crack the code of the play. You get to really pick at it and see, 'What is the story that we're telling?' 'What are the clues in the text that I can find that will help inform what story we're telling?' It's almost like a detective mystery.
I didn't know anything about Eliza when I first got the call about 'Hamilton.' Tommy Kail, the director, asked me if I wanted to be a part of it. I knew what he was talking about because I'd seen the video of Lin performing it at the White House for Barack and Michelle Obama.
When I go into a theater, I'm very excited to turn off my phone. But then, of course, I get anxiety.
It wasn't until 'Hamilton' that I began to be considered an actor of color, and I really don't know what to make of it.
I'm definitely not as good as people who consider themselves beatboxers.
That's kind of just the nature of our business, is that you're really putting a lot of energy and time and care into something that isn't necessarily going to last forever.
It doesn't matter where you are: theater brings people together.
There's a very old tradition of theater actors doing their own makeup. It's like putting on your mask. There's an element of storytelling involved in it - you put on your character when you put on your makeup. At least, that's how I like to look at it.
