I relate to that idea of not necessarily seeking out 'interesting female roles,' but 'this character, this role, who happens to be a woman, is interesting to me, and I relate to it in some way, so I'm just gonna go with my gut and see where it leads me.'
In terms of my own experience, my dad is first-generation, so his parents were from China, and my mom was born and raised in southern Illinois, and she was involved in the arts. My dad's a doctor.
'Hamilton' just asks us all to go a little bit deeper: whether you're a hip-hop fan seeing musical theater for the first time, or if you were thinking you were gonna see some reprise of 1776, and now it's this? And you're thinking, 'Wait a minute, these people aren't white!' It asks you just take a step and go a little deeper.
There is a certain vulnerability to creating art and putting it out in the world for the first time, but again, there's a kind of thrill to that as well.
You are carving out a story. You and your colleagues are trying to make something that is bigger than yourself. Although it can be a scary experience because you're putting your work out on the line, it's also incredibly rewarding because a lot of it comes from you.
I came to New York for school, and then I did this amazing show that was received very well, with a great group of people, and I felt like I was creating something that I was really proud of, and then 'Hamilton' was my next big thing in New York.
I would put on shows for my family.
You're able to get into somebody's brain through song.
I like that Amelie is strange, just like me. I'm happy I've gotten to be on this journey following my 'Hamilton' journey because they're so different.
