September 12, 2024 • 43 mins
myBurbank reporter Ashley Erikson sits down with Lisa Dyson and Andrea Daveline to talk about their roles in the new Colony Theatre musical, “The Civility of Albert Cashier.” The powerful and moving new musical tells the true-story of a Civil War soldier whose life defied definition and who served his country all while keeping the secret that he was born Jennifer Hodgers.
Lisa who is currently the Huerta Middle School Librarian, shares her journey bringing theatre into Burbank schools over the years and exposing kids to Shakespeare and arts education. Andrea recently moved to Burbank and shares how her and her family have adapted to the city, and have been so impressed by the school’s show choir and arts choices. The two discuss their roles in the new musical, and how their characters go head-to-head on stage doing what they believe to be best for Albert in his older years. The three women talk about the importance of the story in today’s climate and how the creative team has put together something that appeals to the modern times but feels completely enveloped in the era of the Civil War and post years.
To learn more about “The Civility of Albert Cashier” and get tickert during it’s run through September 22, 2024, visit www.colonytheatre.org.
This episode was sponsored by Compass Realtors Mike McDonald and Mary Anne Been. https://burbankarealiving.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
From deep in the Burbank Media District.
It's time for another editionof my Burbank Talks, presented
by the staff of my Burbank.
Now let's see what's on today'sagenda as we join our program.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome back to another episode of the Women of
Burbank.
Today I have two incredibleBurbank women, lisa Dyson and
Andrea Dave Line, who are partof the cast of the Civility of
Albert Cashier, a new musicalthat is performing at the Colony
Theater here in Burbank.
The show, which opened thispast Saturday, will be running
through September 22nd and isabout the true story of Civil
War hero Albert Cashier, who wasborn Jennifer Hodgers.
(00:37):
He immigrated from Ireland in1862 and worked as a laborer
until President Lincoln's urgentcall for soldiers to fight in
the Civil War ignited his senseof adventure and he enlisted as
a member of Company G under thename Albert DJ Cashier.
So welcome, ladies, thank you.
Thank you for being here.
Before we get into the show andyour roles, I just want to get
(00:59):
to know you guys a little bitbetter and hear about where you
were born, where you're raisedand when you came to Burbank.
So whoever would like to start,go for it, lisa.
Thanks Andrea.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
I was born and raised outside of Philadelphia.
I've been out in California now, so basically I feel like a
native forever and ever and everand moved to Burbank 20 years
ago, so I've lived all over theplace.
Oddly enough, one of the placesI lived you know, because being
an actor we travel everywherewas I shared a house with a
(01:32):
couple other actors that wasliterally right across from the
football field of Burroughs.
Oh, wow, long before I wasmarried, long before I had a
daughter who went to Burroughs,and so that was kind of a fun
little fact.
The house is still there.
I walk by it every once in awhile and relive memories.
And so, technically, 20 yearsin Burbank Okay, yeah, and you
(01:53):
raised your kids here.
I have one child.
Yes, she is now 25.
And so she went through theBurbank School District and,
yeah, that's why we moved toBurbank, because we had, you
know, it was a good schooldistrict and we squeaked by
because we were actors, neverthought we'd afford a house and
actually squeaked in rightbefore they jumped sky high.
(02:13):
So we lucked out and, you know,actually raised her here with a
bunch of great neighbors andcool people.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
So I'd say you're pretty much a Burbank native.
20 years is a good time, twodecades.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
I think that's a big chunk, but you're super new to
Burbank.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
I am.
We just moved in April.
So I grew up in American Fork,utah, and then my husband and I
spent the early parts of ourcareer just kind of going around
from theater to theater earningequity points and doing little
tours and all that kind of stuff, and then ended up in New York
City where we spent the majorityof our time and then when the
(02:52):
pandemic shut everything down,we were like, hey, you know what
?
Our family's getting bigger.
This five of us in one bedroomis not working out as well when
our giant son keeps growing.
Why don't we switch over?
We had talked about moving to,you know, la, um, and discussing
some of the ideas betweentheater and film.
How, uh, film is maybe a littlebit more permanent.
(03:15):
The magic of theater is thatit's that moment right then, um,
and only those people in thatshow are sharing that, and and
it's a really incredibleexperience Some of the
discussions we want to have, wewere wanting them to be a little
bit more permanent.
So we moved out to LA during thepandemic and ended in Sherman
Oaks and spent that time justkind of figuring out where in LA
(03:38):
we wanted to live.
And every single time we cameto Burbank we're like how does
this exist?
This is magic.
It's like a bubble.
It's well, it's like huge bigcity stuff where you have all
the arts programs and you havefood and you have film and you
have theater and all of that andyet it like feels like a little
community.
It was it.
(03:59):
It's incredible.
So we started looking for aplace and as soon as one came
available, we're like it's ours.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Yeah, so do you plan on staying here for a while?
Oh yeah, I don't think we'll bemoving anytime soon.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
No, no, no, no.
Our oldest is in high school,so he just started, and then we
have two in elementary school,so the school system here is
incredible and the people, likethe community, has been so
welcoming.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yeah is incredible and the people like the
community has been so welcoming.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Yeah, yeah, that's amazing well welcome to burbank.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Thank you, I love it and you guys have been in
theater for a very long time.
Yeah, um, you were saying thatyour first role was a chicken.
At age four I was in marypoppins.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
My dad was a director and he just kind of threw us
all on stage and any show thathe directed in town I was a part
of, no matter what.
And then all through middleschool, high school, college, I
went to school college on atheater scholarship and somehow
it was surprising to my parentswhen I grew up and was like I'm
(04:57):
an actor and they're like waitwhat?
And I was like, yup, thanks forcasting me as a chicken.
Yep it all started with you dad, so that's been quite a few
years and yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
And another really cool experience that I read that
you worked at the Finding Nemo,the musical World Kingdom.
Yes, Tell me about thatexperience.
It's amazing.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
So Bobby and Kristen Lopez, who are big Broadway
composers and they have amazingshows they were hired to do a
full-length musical.
They cut it down to 48 minutesand they have amazing shows.
They were hired to do afull-length musical.
They cut it down to 48 minutesand they put it in the park and
so Adam and I got cast togetherin that.
So he played Bruce, the greatwhite shark, and that shark we
(05:37):
learned puppetry, which wasMichael Curry puppets the same
ones they use on Broadway forLion King.
So Bruce was like this 20-pound, 27-pound shark that Adam had
to learn how to like, swimaround and manipulate.
And then I played Dory, so Igot to learn mechanical eye
blinks and lip syncs and I gotto fly Like.
(05:59):
I learned flying and the foysystem and everything.
It was such a fun time and wewere there for two years and
then Adam went and got hismaster's degree and then I went
back for another year just withmyself and my son while he was.
So we were like apart from eachother.
For a year Adam was in SanDiego and I was in Orlando with
Xander.
So that's such a coolexperience.
(06:20):
It was amazing and the peopledown there are incredible and
the it's an equity park, sothey're really really good about
you know, owning your time,Like you own your time, and it
was such an incredibleexperience.
Yeah, Loved it, you're youngand vibrant again.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
The check is in the mail and um, you know you were
talking about.
A lot of the theaters that youhave been at are not in
existence anymore.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Yeah, sadly, um and and I think that's just a sign
of the times is that the the big, big houses, um and and you can
see it now with downtown theCenter Theater Group and just
trying to get people inSubscription audiences, are not
really there anymore.
I mean, I know that was mymom's generation, you know,
would have season tickets, andwe don't really do that anymore,
(07:16):
and so it's hard to fill those2,000 plus seats.
So, they're beautiful theaters.
I'm lucky to have worked inthem prior to them no longer
experiencing actual stage plays.
And dinner theaters out herehave all gone away.
I mean, there was a time when,literally, you could just make
(07:38):
your living going from dinnertheater show to dinner theater
show, because each one would bethree months or six months and
it was great.
And that doesn't exist anymore.
Um, not out here.
It does sort of in other partsof the country, but but not out
here.
Um, people kind of got awayfrom and the pandemic didn't
help.
No, right, because everybodygot used to just sitting at home
with their big screen tvs andand at a time when live theater
(08:00):
is so important right now, thestorytelling of it and just
getting people out there toexperience that, that feeling is
that, um, all together as anaudience.
You know the gasps or just theapplause there's nothing like it
.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Yeah, we're so lucky to have the colony theater here.
Very lucky that's another wholestory?
Speaker 3 (08:18):
yeah, it is.
It is a whole story, that's awhole podcast in itself.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
I do feel like the arts really begins in the
classroom.
Like you know, you both haveraised your kids here in burbank
, um you know how important isit for you to have arts
incorporated in the schoolsystem I mean for me, if it's
not in the school system.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
like when we were in new york city, they didn't have
a theater program.
So our theater company MottTheater Company made a theater
program for the school, becauseone of the things that I say is
we spend so much time and efforton athletics and there's so
much great things that kidslearn from that.
However, if you can stand infront of people and say your
(09:04):
piece, if you can speakconfidently, if you can take a
moment and put yourself insomeone else's shoes, that is a
lifelong skill that will benefityou, no matter what you do in
the future.
Your ability to speak and thinkthrough things in a different
way is vital, and without thearts I don't know how you do
(09:24):
that.
Quite as well.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yeah, exactly To piggyback on that, because
that's exactly what I would say,because I used to do out here
in Burbank School District, Iinterviewed before we moved to
Burbank to see how they had artseducation, because in my resume
for five years I worked with acompany that worked through
Music Center on tour.
Yeah, and we saw, we went toevery elementary school and red
(09:46):
heart happened to be one ofthose tryout schools for music
center on tour.
So when I went and interviewedbecause we were living in that
neighborhood, um, the principalat that time, diane burger, was
oh yes, I love being the one tohave the, you know, try out all
the new acts or whatever youknow.
And so that was like, oh, sold.
(10:07):
You know, I mean, that's what Iwant I want kids and for me it's
always not just about my childbecause she, just because of her
DNA and who she was born to,she was always going to be
exposed to the arts.
It was about all those kidsthat I would see going to each
elementary school who never gotexposed to it ever and their
faces would just light up withlive music or live stories and
(10:30):
there's just nothing like it.
And so, knowing that Burbanksupported that and that they
would get the assemblies fromMusic Center on Tour which was
kind of a big deal as I datemyself in the 90s Told you I was
a dinosaur.
It was.
It's really cool and that hascontinued.
I mean, we fought a group ofparents that we could not
(10:52):
believe that Burbank was cuttingmusic education.
That did not have it.
We were in the media capital ofthe world and we did not have
music education or theater orarts, visual arts for our
students.
You know, almost everyone hereis in the business at some point
, and so it was just appallingto us that that would happen.
So the Burbank Arts for All wasstarted up, a foundation for
(11:17):
that, which provided grant moneyfor teachers.
We paid for elementary schoolmusic teachers to come in and we
paid for visual arts teachersto come in and theater programs
and I mean, and we kept it going.
That was a really long time.
It's only very recently thatthat's been taken over and
become the Burbank ArtsEducation Foundation.
They still provide grants forarts education as well.
(11:39):
But arts integration andeducation is so important
because, as we say, it's notjust that, it's about your
building confidence and to me,it's the most common core of
every common core academic thing, because you have to learn it
all Problem solving, workingwith each other, ensemble
building, everything.
Whether you become an actor ornot.
(12:00):
It's not even about that, it'sabout life skills.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
It's always the first thing that gets cut.
When there's a budget crisis,right, it's always the first
thing to go.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Which is so interesting to me?
Also because it doesn't takemuch.
It takes one person withpassion In New York, our theater
company would take a box ofjust stuff and say what can we
make out of this and whatstories can we tell out of this?
It doesn't take much, so I'malways confused as to why it's
(12:28):
one of the first things to gowhen it's so vital, and it
doesn't take much.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Especially here in Burbank.
We're creating the futuregeneration of people that are
working here in Burbank.
Yeah, and you know, keeping thecity surviving yeah, so it's
very interesting.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
It's money.
I mean it comes down to money.
You know, yeah, I mean we canprovide money.
You know, yeah, it's a life.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
It's a career.
You've done theater with kidsLike.
What I want to talk about isyour Burbank Youth Summer
Theater Institute.
Misty, is that your baby?
Is that our baby?
Yeah, the funny story.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Sure, the funny story is Peggy Flynn, who is our
Vapatosa at the district.
This is all new to you Hi.
She's great.
She was a teacher.
We met at a music center ontour professional development
thing, and then she called me upand said hey, woodbury
University here wants to see ifwe can come up with some sort of
summer program.
Shakespeare the dean at thattime had had a similar program
(13:26):
in Maine and he wanted to bringsomething like that to here, and
me, being always the improvsaying yes, said sure, I can do
that.
And so I, we, jumped into it.
It's literally you jump off thecliff, you know, and you go.
Okay, let's make this work.
And I hired two other parents,burbank parents, who also happen
to be actors, david Prather andCrystal Robbins and Beth
(13:50):
Morrison, who is still the artteacher, visual arts teacher at
Burroughs, and we had our team.
We did Shakespeare in the Parkfor kids 8 to 16 and we did it
for nine years and I always Iedited the scripts um down to a
manageable hour ish, because itwas Shakespeare in the Park with
no lighting, no lights, um, sowe had to be done before it was
(14:12):
dark and uh, and for three weeksevery summer, um, from nine to
three, the kids would learnShakespeare, they would learn
character, they would learn whatit means, how to understand it,
how to decipher Shakespeare,how to, how to play and make
everyone understand what they'resaying.
And, um, there was always amusical element, because it was
(14:33):
me.
Um and uh, um, and Beth wouldhave them, they'd visualize the
props and, you know, foam corefor days and just pieces for
costumes, and those kids wereamazing, amazing.
And then they'd do it, you know, for an hour and not, you know,
we, you know say you have tomemorize your lines, and they'd
(14:54):
all memorize their lines and alldifferent kids from all walks
of life would do it.
And it's one of the things I'mproudest of, because then they
don't you know, we, you know sayyou have to memorize your lines
and they all memorize theirlines and all different kids
from all walks of life would doit.
And it's one of the things I'mproudest of, because then they
don't, you know, be like, oh,wow, we totally get it, you know
, before they even get to highschool and do it.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yeah, that's an experience that not a lot of
kids get to have to participatein.
Something like that.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Yeah, and even though it was hard, I remember it was
like oh, it's hard, it's stillevery year.
It was like what are we doingthis year?
You know, as soon as you'dfinish the one, they'd be like
what are we doing next year?
And we did them all.
And I think I wrote on my biothat there's nothing better than
13-year-olds acting out asrebellious teenagers in Romeo
and Juliet.
It's just so real they're likeMom, I don't want to do this.
(15:34):
It's like, oh my gosh, youdon't even have to act.
That's amazing.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Yeah, it was really, really fun, so super proud of
that yeah, and another thingit's always kids in in theater
here um time travelers, oh yeah.
So that's parents and actorsdressing up as historical
figures and visiting elementaryschools, which is still
happening today, um, it's stillhappening.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Uh, on the hill, on your section, the woods.
Your kids will see it this yearbecause I think they go to
Emerson.
It originally started two momswho wrote for TV and film and
one was a sculptor, just putthis program together called
Time Travelers.
And then by the time I got heretheir kids were out and they
were like, yeah, just keep going.
And so at that point we hadadults doing it and, like I said
(16:20):
, everybody's an actor, so youknow, parents would be like,
sure, whatever, um, and then mygoal, my personal goal, was to
have it be the play pro.
Students in the high schoolscome to the elementary schools
and do it.
And that goal was realized.
Like my friend crystal again,she was on the hill, her kids
went to burbank high, um, andthen they, uh, they hit this
hill, the schools on the hilland burrows hit the flatlands so
(16:43):
we would go to bret, hart,mckinley and disney, and you
know, I mean it's just, it's areally cool thing to keep going
and so, um, like I said, I I wasbetsy ross at one time and so
the dress had been made for meand I think it was maybe last
year.
Um, I was at miller and I couldsee, and betsy ross walked by
oh my god that's my dress, likeit was so cool so now it's still
(17:04):
the play pro kids doing itagain.
It's.
It's about trickle down, right.
So once I left, there's nobodyreally stepped up.
Yeah, so no, that's what kindof got and and.
And Guy Myers was there.
It was my um drama teacher.
I was a drama mama.
Um and uh, and that's changed aswell.
He's gone back to teachingEnglish.
So it's all about therelationships that you do and
(17:27):
the thing.
Oh, and another thing I forgotis that I was the parent who
brought the fundraising umBurroughs Play Pro fundraising
to the colony because I'd had acolony, because I'd had a
relationship with the colony andBarbara Beckley long before my
child and so, and people inBurbank had never heard of the
colony to me yeah, Was thisbefore it was in the location
(17:47):
that it was at?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
No, it was when it was right here right here in
Burbank and they're all like.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
I never even knew this existed and so we'd do our
fundraising there.
And that was Brenda.
Thank goodness to BrendaKalkoff, who actually was like
sure let's try and make thishappen, and Barbara Beckley's
blessing as well, but still itwas just like so.
Then that became a traditionevery year and the kids got the
experience of being on thecolony stage.
And then Burbank High now stilldoes that I think they take.
Sometimes they'll do theirplays there as well, because
(18:13):
they're close enough.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Oh well, because they're close enough.
Yeah, yeah, they have really.
Yeah, so there's it's likeright on the corner so you can
walk right over.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
So yeah, so I feel like I have a lot of burbank
experience.
It's really kind of bizarre.
I just love it.
It's called the hill and theflatland.
Putting that in my little brainfor later got it.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
You're on the hill.
There's a lot to learn.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Yeah Well, are your kids into theater or the arts at
all?
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Yeah, Not that I want them to be, but not that I
don't want them to be, meaning Idon't want to pressure them to
have to do it, but all three ofthem love it.
So all three of them sing andall three of them play
instruments, and all three ofthem have been in shows and they
love it.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
And so for as long as they love it, they will be
involved and you said your sonis in the show choir at
Burroughs, which is like a hugething.
Yeah, I didn't know.
Burroughs is very like worldrenowned for that.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
I didn't know, it was a big deal.
He's like I'm going to do showchoir and I was like great.
And I, you know, show choirwhen I was going to school was
like sequin bow tie.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Some pot of arrays and some grapevines to some
Broadway songs, and that is notwhat we've gotten ourselves into
.
So he's in Men at Work andSound Waves.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
So how has that experience been like?
Going into Burbank show choirwith him, have you seen?
Have they had a first show yet?
Speaker 4 (19:38):
So we went to the final concert last year to see
what it was, into Burbank showchoir with it and like, have you
seen?
Have they had a first show yet?
So we went to the final concertlast year to see what what it
was.
He's like, mom, you don't knowwhat I'm talking about.
And I'm like, you're right, Ihave no idea.
So we went and I was like, ohmy word, this is, this is so
much work and the mamas andpapas there that do all the work
is incredible.
This year I'm taking kind of abackseat to just kind of look
and see what this is, becausethese people all have expertise
(20:02):
where I have none, and so I wantto learn what they're doing and
see how I can support and thenwe'll see.
You know, I've got three total.
So I'll be there for a while.
It's going to be, it's going tobe a process, so I want to see
you there sometime We'll bethere.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Our oldest are there, and then my youngest will
probably be there.
When your youngest are there,it's going to be a life
commitment.
It is.
Speaker 4 (20:23):
It's a life like we signed the contract in blood and
then we'll go all the way.
It's fine.
No, but they're incredible.
We just had a meeting lastnight and it was really great
and I'm excited to support.
He's very excited about it.
That's awesome.
I love it.
That's incredible.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yeah, and back to you , lisa.
Another way you're tied intoRavink Schools.
As people don't know thisalready, you are the Huerta
Middle School Librarian.
Oh that you forgot about that.
That's a huge thing.
You went from volunteering andbuilding these programs to now
working with the district.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
So how has that been?
I did it's actually um, uh,it's great.
Um, I got into it because, um,my husband said oh, you know
what?
Um college is approaching andmaybe you should go back to work
, um, because I at that point Imean I was still doing show to
show, to show, to show to show,but you know there is college
and so, um, so I knew theprincipal, bret hart.
(21:17):
I started to bre Bret Hartfirst as part-time Librarians.
I don't know if anybodyunderstands this, but the
elementary librarians are onlypart-time.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
They're only there.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
Four hours a day and they do an incredible amount of
work and all of them haveamazing expertise in their
fields.
A lot of them were animators, alot of them were just major,
major people in their own fieldsand then, because they had
children and they wanted to bepart of the schools, then that's
, you know, that's a way forthem to give back and be with
their kids, um, and be off atthe same time.
That's really kind of what itcame down to, so that I could be
(21:48):
off in the summers to do theshakespeare camp.
yeah it's a perfect schedulereally, and be off when she was
off in the whole nine yards, um,and then still do summer stock,
you know, and there just was,timing was perfect.
And then, um, and then I wentto edison so I did burp red
heart and edison and alsobecause they didn't have, like
that was another thing it wascut library coordinators were
cut elementary school, and thenthat was a big mess.
(22:09):
And then, um, they brought thatback with a lot of push back
from people um and uh and thenjust to read out loud to kids to
get them to understand that youcan read with expression,
because you know we all gettired of hearing and then they
did.
You know, it's just all thatstuff and it's like no, it can
be fun, and so, um and then, uh,stacy cashman brought me over
(22:30):
to huerta, which at that timewas still jay.
Would start jordan um which isanother podcast um the uh.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
There's a lot of burbank history.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
You've got a lot of history like we need to have a
sit down chat and then uh soI've been there now 10 years.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
I think it goes by really fast.
Once they're in school, it'slike you're, you're like done
right, you just lose track ofany time what year you are.
Yeah, um, and I love it.
I actually love middle schoolkids.
Um, I think it's part of my dnathat I just like that age,
that's a hard age to love, youknow, and it is gonna be honest.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
I have a middle school but they're just, they're
still.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
Don't tell your middle schoolers but they're
just they're still.
Don't tell your middleschoolers, but they're still
kids right, it is that limbo.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
It's like that between like figuring themselves
out and like growing into theirbodies and all of those things
and wanting to be so grown up,but they're really just still
yes, 100%.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
It's just an awkward age, forever.
We've all gone through it.
It's just awkward, no matterwho you are, and I just love it,
so I love you, know.
And so then part of the thingis to make sure that.
um, my deal unfortunately theadministration feels the same
way is to make sure that everykid in the school feels that
they're represented when theywalk in the library yeah and and
I think we're there and it's,it's really, really nice and
(23:50):
it's, I think they feel it and Ithink that they, the teachers,
are great and so, um, and they,they, you know, and I actually
do Shakespeare for one of theseventh grade classes.
I go in and do it somewhere forher, and so I've been doing
that for her.
And they're like oh, my, youknow, because they don't know,
Like oh, and they really getinto it and it's fun because,
you know, it's just, it's a funway to express themselves.
(24:13):
So wonderful.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
So there, that's so wonderful same way.
Yay, all little kids at heartLove that.
So tell me about what you'redoing, right?
Speaker 3 (24:21):
now.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
I mean, we'll talk about the theater and stuff like
that, but you're in somewriting groups that you joined
when you came to LA.
So what's your days look?
Speaker 4 (24:44):
like when we first moved here.
The whole goal was to take ModTheater Company from New York
City and make it into ModProductions, and my husband
jumped into UCLA Film Directingextension program because he'd
been a theater director.
But we didn't know much aboutfilm and he actually just
finished his last master thesisclass yesterday.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
Congratulations.
So he has completed his program.
And then I jumped into ascreenwriting program here in
Burbank with the group labscalled Bad Pitch Writers Lab and
it has like changed my world.
It's Lab and it has likechanged my world.
It's incredible.
So I took a four week coursewith them, just kind of an entry
level, and then now everysingle week for the past three
years I get to go to a writer'sroom basically and I pitch
(25:31):
either five pages of my scriptor if I'm struggling with
structure or if I'm trying toget my cards right, like
whatever it is.
I take it and I have X amountof time and the the teachers
there are incredible.
Alexa and Caden are amazing andthey've they're both
professional teachers but alsoprofessional writers themselves.
(25:54):
So we've been working.
We just wrapped our first shortthat I wrote, called Bigfoot in
the Park, and we're going onour second one.
We're starting it calledPrivate Burials.
Bigfoot in the Park is kind oflike a short or a half-hour
comedy.
That's kind of what the world Ilive in is half-hour comedy and
network, because I don't havethe swears inside of my body or
(26:19):
inside of my head.
So everything I write tends tobe pretty clean but awfully
silly.
We try to talk about thingsthat are important in the
funniest way possible, so thatwhen you have those poignant
moments they really hit home.
Private burials is about.
I actually have four sons.
My youngest passed away rightafter he was born, and so the
(26:42):
half hour comedy genre that Iwork in is with my husband.
We're team writers and then thestuff that I do by myself is a
lot about women's roles andfeminism and kind of
specifically the roles we justkind of put on moms and expect
them to bear, and then we don'ttalk about it and we expect them
(27:02):
to get over things, and so it'strying to shine a light on some
of those difficulties andnuances.
That's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
I thank you for sharing those stories.
Yeah, absolutely yeah.
I'm excited to learn more aboutthem.
They're gonna be great me too.
Well, we're gonna take a quickcommercial break and then we're
going to talk about the civilityof Albert Cashier.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Oh, I can't wait, that's so good.
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Speaker 2 (28:22):
All right, welcome back.
Thank you for that message fromour sponsor.
I want to talk about the showAbra Cashier, your characters
and how your two charactersespecially kind of go head to
head in their scenes.
You know it's like you knowgood and evil, hot and cold.
So tell me a little bit aboutyour characters and their roles
(28:44):
in this show.
Speaker 4 (28:44):
So tell me a little bit about your characters and
their roles in this show.
Sure, so I play Abigail Lannan,and she is a friend and ally of
Albert in his later years.
She is definitely on the sideof a suffragette and votes for
women and equality, and she'sjust also kind of entitled, like
she's had the world go her wayand she knows how to work within
(29:06):
it, and so it's kind ofshocking to her to see the world
not go the way that she decidedit should go, and so she has
kind of some difficulty withthis idea that she couldn't work
things out for Albert the wayshe would have had them.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
And I guess a little backstory in this.
This is, the show kind of goesin two folds, two parts, and it
kind of intertwines.
You know, young Albert duringthe civil war and old Albert
when he's injured by a caraccident.
He's in a home that's takingcare of him and they don't know
that he was born female.
And so your role, you're kindof keeping things undercover,
(29:45):
correct.
You're showing up, I'm aware ofit, and so I'm there to help him
and support him, but I can't bein the home Right and you want
to take him home to take care ofhim, to protect him, but then,
nurse, won't let me Head nurse,she wouldn't say that Head nurse
.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
Yes, so my character, um, um, is the the some call
her mean, but she's really not.
She's well-meaning, um, I, Ibelieve I know I recognize her,
um, even contemporarily thesedays.
Um, she means well, she, shefeels bad, I mean, because she
finds out that Albert was afemale, is a female which goes
(30:30):
against everything she believesin.
And so her, her plan is to savehim, which is slightly
different from Abigail's plan.
Is is to, is to just have himadmit it that it was all a lie,
that he's lying and so hedoesn't go to hell is basically
what the deal is you know, it'slike I want.
(30:50):
I want to make sure that he'she's safe and he's happy, and
and and and gets over this,whatever delusion he's under,
you know she's under, so so I goabout it that way, which sort
of is completely the oppositeway of Abigail, and we do our
foes.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
We have some words on stage, but it is interesting
the way they've crafted it.
There's a lot of disagreementand there's actual physical war
and dying and everything right.
There's a lot of masculinethings, that I would say
masculine energy, and so, whenit comes to our arguments, they
tend to be a little bit morepolite.
They tend to be a little bitmore well, let's have tea and
(31:34):
talk this out.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
We're going to discuss this as civilized people
.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
So it is also, I think, a foil to all of the deep
masculine difficulty and deathand issues there.
And then we as the women comein and it's a little bit more
mannered a manners play.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
And the way, like Andrea just said, the way it's
crafted and is written is thewomen are both very clear-cut
characters.
I mean, you're not, you couldmeet them on the street today.
I mean, you absolutely could.
And so it's just, they're sofascinating to play.
They're not stereotypical,they're not, they're real humans
(32:18):
, which I think makes it evenmore interesting the dynamic
between the two of them.
It's just, you can understandboth points of view.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Yeah, especially when you take that time period into
consideration and everythingthat's going on yeah, 100, yeah,
if you.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
If you take nurse smith's position of I'm trying
to save you, like I literally Ilike you and I want to save you,
and it comes from a place of II I'm only doing this for your
good, not I hate you and you'rea terrible person Right it adds
that other layer on top of itwhere you're, because we all
know those people right whogenuinely fear for our souls or
(32:54):
our well-being and you're like Ireally appreciate it.
But if you could just back allthe way off of that, that'd be
great.
So she's that well-meaningperson who just sees things in
black and white.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's a great way to explain it
.
I love that.
I feel like now that I'm gonnasee the show again, I'll see in
a different light.
Speaker 4 (33:14):
I'm just like ah, that nurse okay, no, she
genuinely wants to help, andespecially when she oh, I see,
now you really were, jenny, thisis actually a whole.
You're not a bad person, you'rejust having mental instability.
You're not just a crotchety oldman, you're like oh, I get it.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
The term.
I think the script is so goodWay to go.
Speaker 4 (33:37):
Jay.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
Because we get it.
Yeah, it's just so brilliantJust when she is called, when he
calls her hysterical, when hecalls her hysterical when he
calls abigail hysterical and wehave all heard that, and we've
all heard that recently is that,you know, women can't show
emotion because then you'rehysterical and it's just like
it's just so brilliantly writtenthat she goes no, not call me
that.
Yeah, I am no different fromany guy that's gonna have
(33:58):
whatever emotional you knowoutburst and uh, I think I just
love that.
I mean, that's the lines thatare just so smart and so spot on
to what we're all seeing today.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
It's just not a historical piece, you know it's
universal, taking that modern,the modern themes, and putting
into this historical era whichis so beautifully done and I
know the choreography and themovement and the songs,
everything kind of falls intothat time era, which is really
incredible because you feel likeyou're transported in that
piece.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
Yeah, great.
I think one of my favoritethings about it, too, is that
the directing team, the artisticteam, everybody talks about how
we're all learning from eachother.
Right in his younger years,learns from H Ford, who is
(34:52):
striving for his own personhoodas a black man in the civil war.
I'm trying to learn from Albert.
Albert learns from me.
Jeffrey learns from like we'reall and how, even though our
experiences might differ, we allcan learn from each other and
become better together.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Yeah, absolutely.
It's such a beautiful story ofbrotherhood and friendship and
identity and I got to sit in thetable, read and gosh, that was
so hard to get through, I meaneverybody there was not a dry
eye in that room, and it wasjust sitting down, yeah, yeah,
talking and singing.
So I mean everybody's put theirheart into these characters.
Why do you think this story isso important to be told today?
Speaker 4 (35:36):
I think there's just, uh, even in the title, the
civility, like everybody isfighting their own battle.
The first time I worked withthis show was in 2021.
I'm going to say 2021.
Might have been 2022.
It was a reading up in the hillsthe Hollywood hills, not the
Burbank hills and I came inbeing like amazing, I'm going to
(36:02):
be like an ally.
This sounds like a great piece.
I want to be here for peoplewho have a different lived
experience.
But in the process ofunderstanding how the humanity
of this show comes out, I wasagain reminded of the things
that I am fighting for theindividual rights, freedoms,
even in some cases, like the sonthat I lost his personhood and
(36:24):
representing him, and the thingsthat we do for each other and
for ourselves in order to havethat.
This is my life moment.
You know what I mean.
It's gonna differ for every,every single person, but I love
how this show shows you that itit shouldn't it shouldn't have
to happen to you to matter toyou, right like you shouldn't
have to be a trans person towant to have rights equal rights
(36:46):
for everybody.
You shouldn't have to be atrans person to want to have
rights equal rights foreverybody.
You shouldn't have to be aperson of color in order to want
and yearn and vote for peopleand be active for equality.
You shouldn't have to be awoman in order to have your
voice.
You know to feel like, hey, myvoice matters to listen to me,
(37:06):
you know.
So that's, I think, somethingthat they've done so incredibly
well.
It's not just about this onething, it's about all of us.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Yeah, I do feel like those walls of divisiveness kind
of just melt away on that stage.
You can kind of find yourselfin every single character.
Yeah, which is prettyincredible and that's probably
my favorite thing about it.
I love it, yeah.
And so you guys just hadopening night the weekend
walking the red carpet,interviews, photos how was that
experience for you guys?
(37:34):
It's bizarre.
You had, you had your openingnight of footloose, so you, you
know how crazy it gets at thecolony.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
Oh, to that one, because we let we let the kids
go to that one because they wereall dressed to the nines.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
The adults were like no one wants to see us.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
So it's really footloose, no one wants to see
the principal, but this one wassuper fun.
It was really fun, it wasreally well done, everybody got
dressed up and it happened to bePhillip's birthday.
Our friend who plays Booker inthe show sings Chicago Chicago.
(38:09):
For those of you who have, seenthe show.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
Also one of my favorite parts of the show, my
husband's favorite number.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
Um and they uh.
So it was just it was super fun.
Yeah, we had a blast.
I know I had fun and I wasn'texpecting to as much like oh my
gosh, we have to walk the redcarpet.
It's like, oh my gosh, this isreally fun.
Speaker 4 (38:26):
One of the fun things is is that they really did a
great job of bringing people inyou know what I mean and being
like, hey, we've done this thing, but we want you to join us, to
join the fun.
Come be part of this, be partof this movement, be part of
this musical, be part of thisfeeling.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
There's people that flew in from all over for this
show.
You had celebrities, you hadcouncil members.
I mean, it was a really a bigmix of incredible people that
got to witness that night, whichwas really cool.
Speaker 4 (38:51):
Yeah, I think Jay and Christine and Robert the
producing team have just beenall out incredible, and then
Heather, of course, with all ofher work and contacts at the
Colony it's incredible.
So with all the shows I've done,I think this is the first one
that every single person castcrew, creative, producing
everybody is on the same messageyou know, what I mean, and
(39:12):
everybody believes so much inthis message that we're all like
, yes, I will say everything andget everybody there, because
it's really not about us, it'sabout this story, important
story, yeah absolutely, I 100agree with that.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Yeah, and I feel like it's hard to explain.
You know, we're trying topromote it ahead of time and
you're trying to explain thestory.
Until you're there, until youwitness the music and the
feelings that you, that come outof your body during these, some
of these songs, you walk outthere like how do I get
everybody else to come see thisshow?
Right, it's just incredible,isn't it what?
Speaker 3 (39:46):
um, what is Sid's first line?
Is that nobody wants to beforgotten?
Yeah, which is so universal,right?
Nobody wants to be forgotten,yeah, and you want to be
remembered in the way that youwant to be remembered and that's
, that's kind of the, theunderlying message as well, and
it's just yeah, you want yourpersonal dignity, and I mean the
(40:06):
character faces dementia aswell.
I mean, there's like so manydifferent levels.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
Grief and loss and so many, so many aspects are
touched on this musical.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
It really is hard.
Also, I think, when you're like, hey, I'm in a new musical, and
people are like, oh, cool, yeah, and you're like, no, no, like
I have had that reaction so manytimes I'm like great.
Another jukebox music, cool, goyou.
But this one is.
It is interesting because it'sthe.
The power behind it is veryunique yes, yeah yes, so if you
(40:38):
are listening, please, please go.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
Yeah, this show, yeah , you won't be sorry.
Yeah, and it's only there untilseptember 22.
We only have a couple moreweekends left.
But something else I want tobring up which is really cool
during rehearsal is you broughtin a book that you had purchased
for your library before AlbertCashier was even on your brain.
Yes, which?
Speaker 3 (40:57):
was so cool.
It's so bizarre, the Fighting.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
Infantryman by Rob Sanders.
She brings it in and we're justlike there's a children's book.
Speaker 4 (41:03):
Seriously, it was so I got to take it home to my boys
, did you?
Yeah, it's, it's so clear too,like it's so well written.
I think that there's a lot offear mongering out there, uh,
about books, and we need to banthis, I mean, and this book does
such a lovely job of justsaying, hey, look at this piece
of history, how interesting,yeah, what a surprise yeah, yeah
(41:24):
, um, I actually had read thefirst.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
The civil war of amos abernethy was the middle grade
book that I also bought, and Iand this was literally the the
year before- yeah robert cashiereven came into my really yeah,
so bizarre.
Um, so that when I saw theaudition notice for this show, I
was like that name soundsfamiliar.
Why does that name soundfamiliar?
And I went, did I read aboutthis?
And I look look up and I went,oh, I did In a middle school
(41:47):
book, oh my gosh, in my library.
So I was like, okay, I have gotto share this because this is
such a timely thing.
And then thank you to you,ashley.
Well, we worked together andcontacted these authors.
Speaker 2 (42:10):
That's going to be after the matinee show, after
your two o'clock, so hopefullysome of the cast will stick
around.
There's going to be a live Q&A.
They're going to talk aboutintegrating this book into the
classroom and the themes, andyou're going help moderate that.
Speaker 3 (42:25):
I am going to help moderate, thank you, and then
they'll have a couple books forfor sale.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
But they'll also be signing, I think, some postcards
or some bookmarks as well, soeveryone can have their
signature so it's gonna bereally really neat.
Speaker 4 (42:38):
The.
The book itself is gorgeous.
Yes, like such a gorgeous pieceand the story the way that the
author has put it together isaccessible and easy and and not
like, uh oh, this is clearly aside that I'm taking politically
, but just a look at this story.
This is what happened yeah,it's a.
Speaker 2 (42:56):
It's incredibly well done well, I'm very excited for
it.
So that will be saturday.
Saturday, you said what time at4 30.
Speaker 4 (43:02):
Okay, I'll bring my boys yay, that'd be great.
Speaker 2 (43:05):
Yeah, I think we've been trying to invite all of the
educators around burbank tryingto get librarians at the
schools, at the public libraries, just to kind of hear these
pieces and hopefully integratethem into their classrooms and
to their, to their libraries andthings like that.
So, uh, just thank you guys somuch for being here.
Speaker 4 (43:22):
Oh, yeah I really appreciate it, so fun I love
that you're both.
Speaker 2 (43:25):
you know Burbank moms yeah.
Speaker 4 (43:28):
Welcome to Burbank.
Thank you, I'm going to claimthat title.
You do?
I'm going to claim it.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
The second you step foot in, here you're now a
Burbank mom, we'll bring you in.
So come see the civility ofAlbert Cashier.
The tickets are atcolonytheaterorg and I will put
that link in our bio in the show.
And thank you guys, so much forbeing here.
Speaker 4 (43:49):
It's been so great.
Speaker 2 (43:50):
All right, awesome, I'll see you guys in the next
podcast.
From deep in the Burbank Media District.
It's time for another editionof my Burbank Talks, presented
by the staff of my Burbank.
Now let's see what's on today'sagenda as we join our program.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome back to another episode of the Women of
Burbank.
Today I have two incredibleBurbank women, lisa Dyson and
Andrea Dave Line, who are partof the cast of the Civility of
Albert Cashier, a new musicalthat is performing at the Colony
Theater here in Burbank.
The show, which opened thispast Saturday, will be running
through September 22nd and isabout the true story of Civil
War hero Albert Cashier, who wasborn Jennifer Hodgers.
(00:37):
He immigrated from Ireland in1862 and worked as a laborer
until President Lincoln's urgentcall for soldiers to fight in
the Civil War ignited his senseof adventure and he enlisted as
a member of Company G under thename Albert DJ Cashier.
So welcome, ladies, thank you.
Thank you for being here.
Before we get into the show andyour roles, I just want to get
(00:59):
to know you guys a little bitbetter and hear about where you
were born, where you're raisedand when you came to Burbank.
So whoever would like to start,go for it, lisa.
Thanks Andrea.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
I was born and raised outside of Philadelphia.
I've been out in California now, so basically I feel like a
native forever and ever and everand moved to Burbank 20 years
ago, so I've lived all over theplace.
Oddly enough, one of the placesI lived you know, because being
an actor we travel everywherewas I shared a house with a
(01:32):
couple other actors that wasliterally right across from the
football field of Burroughs.
Oh, wow, long before I wasmarried, long before I had a
daughter who went to Burroughs,and so that was kind of a fun
little fact.
The house is still there.
I walk by it every once in awhile and relive memories.
And so, technically, 20 yearsin Burbank Okay, yeah, and you
(01:53):
raised your kids here.
I have one child.
Yes, she is now 25.
And so she went through theBurbank School District and,
yeah, that's why we moved toBurbank, because we had, you
know, it was a good schooldistrict and we squeaked by
because we were actors, neverthought we'd afford a house and
actually squeaked in rightbefore they jumped sky high.
(02:13):
So we lucked out and, you know,actually raised her here with a
bunch of great neighbors andcool people.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
So I'd say you're pretty much a Burbank native.
20 years is a good time, twodecades.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
I think that's a big chunk, but you're super new to
Burbank.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
I am.
We just moved in April.
So I grew up in American Fork,utah, and then my husband and I
spent the early parts of ourcareer just kind of going around
from theater to theater earningequity points and doing little
tours and all that kind of stuff, and then ended up in New York
City where we spent the majorityof our time and then when the
(02:52):
pandemic shut everything down,we were like, hey, you know what
?
Our family's getting bigger.
This five of us in one bedroomis not working out as well when
our giant son keeps growing.
Why don't we switch over?
We had talked about moving to,you know, la, um, and discussing
some of the ideas betweentheater and film.
How, uh, film is maybe a littlebit more permanent.
(03:15):
The magic of theater is thatit's that moment right then, um,
and only those people in thatshow are sharing that, and and
it's a really incredibleexperience Some of the
discussions we want to have, wewere wanting them to be a little
bit more permanent.
So we moved out to LA during thepandemic and ended in Sherman
Oaks and spent that time justkind of figuring out where in LA
(03:38):
we wanted to live.
And every single time we cameto Burbank we're like how does
this exist?
This is magic.
It's like a bubble.
It's well, it's like huge bigcity stuff where you have all
the arts programs and you havefood and you have film and you
have theater and all of that andyet it like feels like a little
community.
It was it.
(03:59):
It's incredible.
So we started looking for aplace and as soon as one came
available, we're like it's ours.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Yeah, so do you plan on staying here for a while?
Oh yeah, I don't think we'll bemoving anytime soon.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
No, no, no, no.
Our oldest is in high school,so he just started, and then we
have two in elementary school,so the school system here is
incredible and the people, likethe community, has been so
welcoming.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yeah is incredible and the people like the
community has been so welcoming.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Yeah, yeah, that's amazing well welcome to burbank.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Thank you, I love it and you guys have been in
theater for a very long time.
Yeah, um, you were saying thatyour first role was a chicken.
At age four I was in marypoppins.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
My dad was a director and he just kind of threw us
all on stage and any show thathe directed in town I was a part
of, no matter what.
And then all through middleschool, high school, college, I
went to school college on atheater scholarship and somehow
it was surprising to my parentswhen I grew up and was like I'm
(04:57):
an actor and they're like waitwhat?
And I was like, yup, thanks forcasting me as a chicken.
Yep it all started with you dad, so that's been quite a few
years and yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
And another really cool experience that I read that
you worked at the Finding Nemo,the musical World Kingdom.
Yes, Tell me about thatexperience.
It's amazing.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
So Bobby and Kristen Lopez, who are big Broadway
composers and they have amazingshows they were hired to do a
full-length musical.
They cut it down to 48 minutesand they have amazing shows.
They were hired to do afull-length musical.
They cut it down to 48 minutesand they put it in the park and
so Adam and I got cast togetherin that.
So he played Bruce, the greatwhite shark, and that shark we
(05:37):
learned puppetry, which wasMichael Curry puppets the same
ones they use on Broadway forLion King.
So Bruce was like this 20-pound, 27-pound shark that Adam had
to learn how to like, swimaround and manipulate.
And then I played Dory, so Igot to learn mechanical eye
blinks and lip syncs and I gotto fly Like.
(05:59):
I learned flying and the foysystem and everything.
It was such a fun time and wewere there for two years and
then Adam went and got hismaster's degree and then I went
back for another year just withmyself and my son while he was.
So we were like apart from eachother.
For a year Adam was in SanDiego and I was in Orlando with
Xander.
So that's such a coolexperience.
(06:20):
It was amazing and the peopledown there are incredible and
the it's an equity park, sothey're really really good about
you know, owning your time,Like you own your time, and it
was such an incredibleexperience.
Yeah, Loved it, you're youngand vibrant again.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
The check is in the mail and um, you know you were
talking about.
A lot of the theaters that youhave been at are not in
existence anymore.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Yeah, sadly, um and and I think that's just a sign
of the times is that the the big, big houses, um and and you can
see it now with downtown theCenter Theater Group and just
trying to get people inSubscription audiences, are not
really there anymore.
I mean, I know that was mymom's generation, you know,
would have season tickets, andwe don't really do that anymore,
(07:16):
and so it's hard to fill those2,000 plus seats.
So, they're beautiful theaters.
I'm lucky to have worked inthem prior to them no longer
experiencing actual stage plays.
And dinner theaters out herehave all gone away.
I mean, there was a time when,literally, you could just make
(07:38):
your living going from dinnertheater show to dinner theater
show, because each one would bethree months or six months and
it was great.
And that doesn't exist anymore.
Um, not out here.
It does sort of in other partsof the country, but but not out
here.
Um, people kind of got awayfrom and the pandemic didn't
help.
No, right, because everybodygot used to just sitting at home
with their big screen tvs andand at a time when live theater
(08:00):
is so important right now, thestorytelling of it and just
getting people out there toexperience that, that feeling is
that, um, all together as anaudience.
You know the gasps or just theapplause there's nothing like it
.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Yeah, we're so lucky to have the colony theater here.
Very lucky that's another wholestory?
Speaker 3 (08:18):
yeah, it is.
It is a whole story, that's awhole podcast in itself.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
I do feel like the arts really begins in the
classroom.
Like you know, you both haveraised your kids here in burbank
, um you know how important isit for you to have arts
incorporated in the schoolsystem I mean for me, if it's
not in the school system.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
like when we were in new york city, they didn't have
a theater program.
So our theater company MottTheater Company made a theater
program for the school, becauseone of the things that I say is
we spend so much time and efforton athletics and there's so
much great things that kidslearn from that.
However, if you can stand infront of people and say your
(09:04):
piece, if you can speakconfidently, if you can take a
moment and put yourself insomeone else's shoes, that is a
lifelong skill that will benefityou, no matter what you do in
the future.
Your ability to speak and thinkthrough things in a different
way is vital, and without thearts I don't know how you do
(09:24):
that.
Quite as well.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yeah, exactly To piggyback on that, because
that's exactly what I would say,because I used to do out here
in Burbank School District, Iinterviewed before we moved to
Burbank to see how they had artseducation, because in my resume
for five years I worked with acompany that worked through
Music Center on tour.
Yeah, and we saw, we went toevery elementary school and red
(09:46):
heart happened to be one ofthose tryout schools for music
center on tour.
So when I went and interviewedbecause we were living in that
neighborhood, um, the principalat that time, diane burger, was
oh yes, I love being the one tohave the, you know, try out all
the new acts or whatever youknow.
And so that was like, oh, sold.
(10:07):
You know, I mean, that's what Iwant I want kids and for me it's
always not just about my childbecause she, just because of her
DNA and who she was born to,she was always going to be
exposed to the arts.
It was about all those kidsthat I would see going to each
elementary school who never gotexposed to it ever and their
faces would just light up withlive music or live stories and
(10:30):
there's just nothing like it.
And so, knowing that Burbanksupported that and that they
would get the assemblies fromMusic Center on Tour which was
kind of a big deal as I datemyself in the 90s Told you I was
a dinosaur.
It was.
It's really cool and that hascontinued.
I mean, we fought a group ofparents that we could not
(10:52):
believe that Burbank was cuttingmusic education.
That did not have it.
We were in the media capital ofthe world and we did not have
music education or theater orarts, visual arts for our
students.
You know, almost everyone hereis in the business at some point
, and so it was just appallingto us that that would happen.
So the Burbank Arts for All wasstarted up, a foundation for
(11:17):
that, which provided grant moneyfor teachers.
We paid for elementary schoolmusic teachers to come in and we
paid for visual arts teachersto come in and theater programs
and I mean, and we kept it going.
That was a really long time.
It's only very recently thatthat's been taken over and
become the Burbank ArtsEducation Foundation.
They still provide grants forarts education as well.
(11:39):
But arts integration andeducation is so important
because, as we say, it's notjust that, it's about your
building confidence and to me,it's the most common core of
every common core academic thing, because you have to learn it
all Problem solving, workingwith each other, ensemble
building, everything.
Whether you become an actor ornot.
(12:00):
It's not even about that, it'sabout life skills.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
It's always the first thing that gets cut.
When there's a budget crisis,right, it's always the first
thing to go.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Which is so interesting to me?
Also because it doesn't takemuch.
It takes one person withpassion In New York, our theater
company would take a box ofjust stuff and say what can we
make out of this and whatstories can we tell out of this?
It doesn't take much, so I'malways confused as to why it's
(12:28):
one of the first things to gowhen it's so vital, and it
doesn't take much.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Especially here in Burbank.
We're creating the futuregeneration of people that are
working here in Burbank.
Yeah, and you know, keeping thecity surviving yeah, so it's
very interesting.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
It's money.
I mean it comes down to money.
You know, yeah, I mean we canprovide money.
You know, yeah, it's a life.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
It's a career.
You've done theater with kidsLike.
What I want to talk about isyour Burbank Youth Summer
Theater Institute.
Misty, is that your baby?
Is that our baby?
Yeah, the funny story.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Sure, the funny story is Peggy Flynn, who is our
Vapatosa at the district.
This is all new to you Hi.
She's great.
She was a teacher.
We met at a music center ontour professional development
thing, and then she called me upand said hey, woodbury
University here wants to see ifwe can come up with some sort of
summer program.
Shakespeare the dean at thattime had had a similar program
(13:26):
in Maine and he wanted to bringsomething like that to here, and
me, being always the improvsaying yes, said sure, I can do
that.
And so I, we, jumped into it.
It's literally you jump off thecliff, you know, and you go.
Okay, let's make this work.
And I hired two other parents,burbank parents, who also happen
to be actors, david Prather andCrystal Robbins and Beth
(13:50):
Morrison, who is still the artteacher, visual arts teacher at
Burroughs, and we had our team.
We did Shakespeare in the Parkfor kids 8 to 16 and we did it
for nine years and I always Iedited the scripts um down to a
manageable hour ish, because itwas Shakespeare in the Park with
no lighting, no lights, um, sowe had to be done before it was
(14:12):
dark and uh, and for three weeksevery summer, um, from nine to
three, the kids would learnShakespeare, they would learn
character, they would learn whatit means, how to understand it,
how to decipher Shakespeare,how to, how to play and make
everyone understand what they'resaying.
And, um, there was always amusical element, because it was
(14:33):
me.
Um and uh, um, and Beth wouldhave them, they'd visualize the
props and, you know, foam corefor days and just pieces for
costumes, and those kids wereamazing, amazing.
And then they'd do it, you know, for an hour and not, you know,
we, you know say you have tomemorize your lines, and they'd
(14:54):
all memorize their lines and alldifferent kids from all walks
of life would do it.
And it's one of the things I'mproudest of, because then they
don't you know, we, you know sayyou have to memorize your lines
and they all memorize theirlines and all different kids
from all walks of life would doit.
And it's one of the things I'mproudest of, because then they
don't, you know, be like, oh,wow, we totally get it, you know
, before they even get to highschool and do it.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yeah, that's an experience that not a lot of
kids get to have to participatein.
Something like that.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Yeah, and even though it was hard, I remember it was
like oh, it's hard, it's stillevery year.
It was like what are we doingthis year?
You know, as soon as you'dfinish the one, they'd be like
what are we doing next year?
And we did them all.
And I think I wrote on my biothat there's nothing better than
13-year-olds acting out asrebellious teenagers in Romeo
and Juliet.
It's just so real they're likeMom, I don't want to do this.
(15:34):
It's like, oh my gosh, youdon't even have to act.
That's amazing.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Yeah, it was really, really fun, so super proud of
that yeah, and another thingit's always kids in in theater
here um time travelers, oh yeah.
So that's parents and actorsdressing up as historical
figures and visiting elementaryschools, which is still
happening today, um, it's stillhappening.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Uh, on the hill, on your section, the woods.
Your kids will see it this yearbecause I think they go to
Emerson.
It originally started two momswho wrote for TV and film and
one was a sculptor, just putthis program together called
Time Travelers.
And then by the time I got heretheir kids were out and they
were like, yeah, just keep going.
And so at that point we hadadults doing it and, like I said
(16:20):
, everybody's an actor, so youknow, parents would be like,
sure, whatever, um, and then mygoal, my personal goal, was to
have it be the play pro.
Students in the high schoolscome to the elementary schools
and do it.
And that goal was realized.
Like my friend crystal again,she was on the hill, her kids
went to burbank high, um, andthen they, uh, they hit this
hill, the schools on the hilland burrows hit the flatlands so
(16:43):
we would go to bret, hart,mckinley and disney, and you
know, I mean it's just, it's areally cool thing to keep going
and so, um, like I said, I I wasbetsy ross at one time and so
the dress had been made for meand I think it was maybe last
year.
Um, I was at miller and I couldsee, and betsy ross walked by
oh my god that's my dress, likeit was so cool so now it's still
(17:04):
the play pro kids doing itagain.
It's.
It's about trickle down, right.
So once I left, there's nobodyreally stepped up.
Yeah, so no, that's what kindof got and and.
And Guy Myers was there.
It was my um drama teacher.
I was a drama mama.
Um and uh, and that's changed aswell.
He's gone back to teachingEnglish.
So it's all about therelationships that you do and
(17:27):
the thing.
Oh, and another thing I forgotis that I was the parent who
brought the fundraising umBurroughs Play Pro fundraising
to the colony because I'd had acolony, because I'd had a
relationship with the colony andBarbara Beckley long before my
child and so, and people inBurbank had never heard of the
colony to me yeah, Was thisbefore it was in the location
(17:47):
that it was at?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
No, it was when it was right here right here in
Burbank and they're all like.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
I never even knew this existed and so we'd do our
fundraising there.
And that was Brenda.
Thank goodness to BrendaKalkoff, who actually was like
sure let's try and make thishappen, and Barbara Beckley's
blessing as well, but still itwas just like so.
Then that became a traditionevery year and the kids got the
experience of being on thecolony stage.
And then Burbank High now stilldoes that I think they take.
Sometimes they'll do theirplays there as well, because
(18:13):
they're close enough.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Oh well, because they're close enough.
Yeah, yeah, they have really.
Yeah, so there's it's likeright on the corner so you can
walk right over.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
So yeah, so I feel like I have a lot of burbank
experience.
It's really kind of bizarre.
I just love it.
It's called the hill and theflatland.
Putting that in my little brainfor later got it.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
You're on the hill.
There's a lot to learn.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Yeah Well, are your kids into theater or the arts at
all?
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Yeah, Not that I want them to be, but not that I
don't want them to be, meaning Idon't want to pressure them to
have to do it, but all three ofthem love it.
So all three of them sing andall three of them play
instruments, and all three ofthem have been in shows and they
love it.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
And so for as long as they love it, they will be
involved and you said your sonis in the show choir at
Burroughs, which is like a hugething.
Yeah, I didn't know.
Burroughs is very like worldrenowned for that.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
I didn't know, it was a big deal.
He's like I'm going to do showchoir and I was like great.
And I, you know, show choirwhen I was going to school was
like sequin bow tie.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Some pot of arrays and some grapevines to some
Broadway songs, and that is notwhat we've gotten ourselves into
.
So he's in Men at Work andSound Waves.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
So how has that experience been like?
Going into Burbank show choirwith him, have you seen?
Have they had a first show yet?
Speaker 4 (19:38):
So we went to the final concert last year to see
what it was, into Burbank showchoir with it and like, have you
seen?
Have they had a first show yet?
So we went to the final concertlast year to see what what it
was.
He's like, mom, you don't knowwhat I'm talking about.
And I'm like, you're right, Ihave no idea.
So we went and I was like, ohmy word, this is, this is so
much work and the mamas andpapas there that do all the work
is incredible.
This year I'm taking kind of abackseat to just kind of look
and see what this is, becausethese people all have expertise
(20:02):
where I have none, and so I wantto learn what they're doing and
see how I can support and thenwe'll see.
You know, I've got three total.
So I'll be there for a while.
It's going to be, it's going tobe a process, so I want to see
you there sometime We'll bethere.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Our oldest are there, and then my youngest will
probably be there.
When your youngest are there,it's going to be a life
commitment.
It is.
Speaker 4 (20:23):
It's a life like we signed the contract in blood and
then we'll go all the way.
It's fine.
No, but they're incredible.
We just had a meeting lastnight and it was really great
and I'm excited to support.
He's very excited about it.
That's awesome.
I love it.
That's incredible.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yeah, and back to you , lisa.
Another way you're tied intoRavink Schools.
As people don't know thisalready, you are the Huerta
Middle School Librarian.
Oh that you forgot about that.
That's a huge thing.
You went from volunteering andbuilding these programs to now
working with the district.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
So how has that been?
I did it's actually um, uh,it's great.
Um, I got into it because, um,my husband said oh, you know
what?
Um college is approaching andmaybe you should go back to work
, um, because I at that point Imean I was still doing show to
show, to show, to show to show,but you know there is college
and so, um, so I knew theprincipal, bret hart.
(21:17):
I started to bre Bret Hartfirst as part-time Librarians.
I don't know if anybodyunderstands this, but the
elementary librarians are onlypart-time.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
They're only there.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
Four hours a day and they do an incredible amount of
work and all of them haveamazing expertise in their
fields.
A lot of them were animators, alot of them were just major,
major people in their own fieldsand then, because they had
children and they wanted to bepart of the schools, then that's
, you know, that's a way forthem to give back and be with
their kids, um, and be off atthe same time.
That's really kind of what itcame down to, so that I could be
(21:48):
off in the summers to do theshakespeare camp.
yeah it's a perfect schedulereally, and be off when she was
off in the whole nine yards, um,and then still do summer stock,
you know, and there just was,timing was perfect.
And then, um, and then I wentto edison so I did burp red
heart and edison and alsobecause they didn't have, like
that was another thing it wascut library coordinators were
cut elementary school, and thenthat was a big mess.
(22:09):
And then, um, they brought thatback with a lot of push back
from people um and uh and thenjust to read out loud to kids to
get them to understand that youcan read with expression,
because you know we all gettired of hearing and then they
did.
You know, it's just all thatstuff and it's like no, it can
be fun, and so, um and then, uh,stacy cashman brought me over
(22:30):
to huerta, which at that timewas still jay.
Would start jordan um which isanother podcast um the uh.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
There's a lot of burbank history.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
You've got a lot of history like we need to have a
sit down chat and then uh soI've been there now 10 years.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
I think it goes by really fast.
Once they're in school, it'slike you're, you're like done
right, you just lose track ofany time what year you are.
Yeah, um, and I love it.
I actually love middle schoolkids.
Um, I think it's part of my dnathat I just like that age,
that's a hard age to love, youknow, and it is gonna be honest.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
I have a middle school but they're just, they're
still.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
Don't tell your middle schoolers but they're
just they're still.
Don't tell your middleschoolers, but they're still
kids right, it is that limbo.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
It's like that between like figuring themselves
out and like growing into theirbodies and all of those things
and wanting to be so grown up,but they're really just still
yes, 100%.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
It's just an awkward age, forever.
We've all gone through it.
It's just awkward, no matterwho you are, and I just love it,
so I love you, know.
And so then part of the thingis to make sure that.
um, my deal unfortunately theadministration feels the same
way is to make sure that everykid in the school feels that
they're represented when theywalk in the library yeah and and
I think we're there and it's,it's really, really nice and
(23:50):
it's, I think they feel it and Ithink that they, the teachers,
are great and so, um, and they,they, you know, and I actually
do Shakespeare for one of theseventh grade classes.
I go in and do it somewhere forher, and so I've been doing
that for her.
And they're like oh, my, youknow, because they don't know,
Like oh, and they really getinto it and it's fun because,
you know, it's just, it's a funway to express themselves.
(24:13):
So wonderful.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
So there, that's so wonderful same way.
Yay, all little kids at heartLove that.
So tell me about what you'redoing, right?
Speaker 3 (24:21):
now.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
I mean, we'll talk about the theater and stuff like
that, but you're in somewriting groups that you joined
when you came to LA.
So what's your days look?
Speaker 4 (24:44):
like when we first moved here.
The whole goal was to take ModTheater Company from New York
City and make it into ModProductions, and my husband
jumped into UCLA Film Directingextension program because he'd
been a theater director.
But we didn't know much aboutfilm and he actually just
finished his last master thesisclass yesterday.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
Congratulations.
So he has completed his program.
And then I jumped into ascreenwriting program here in
Burbank with the group labscalled Bad Pitch Writers Lab and
it has like changed my world.
It's Lab and it has likechanged my world.
It's incredible.
So I took a four week coursewith them, just kind of an entry
level, and then now everysingle week for the past three
years I get to go to a writer'sroom basically and I pitch
(25:31):
either five pages of my scriptor if I'm struggling with
structure or if I'm trying toget my cards right, like
whatever it is.
I take it and I have X amountof time and the the teachers
there are incredible.
Alexa and Caden are amazing andthey've they're both
professional teachers but alsoprofessional writers themselves.
(25:54):
So we've been working.
We just wrapped our first shortthat I wrote, called Bigfoot in
the Park, and we're going onour second one.
We're starting it calledPrivate Burials.
Bigfoot in the Park is kind oflike a short or a half-hour
comedy.
That's kind of what the world Ilive in is half-hour comedy and
network, because I don't havethe swears inside of my body or
(26:19):
inside of my head.
So everything I write tends tobe pretty clean but awfully
silly.
We try to talk about thingsthat are important in the
funniest way possible, so thatwhen you have those poignant
moments they really hit home.
Private burials is about.
I actually have four sons.
My youngest passed away rightafter he was born, and so the
(26:42):
half hour comedy genre that Iwork in is with my husband.
We're team writers and then thestuff that I do by myself is a
lot about women's roles andfeminism and kind of
specifically the roles we justkind of put on moms and expect
them to bear, and then we don'ttalk about it and we expect them
(27:02):
to get over things, and so it'strying to shine a light on some
of those difficulties andnuances.
That's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
I thank you for sharing those stories.
Yeah, absolutely yeah.
I'm excited to learn more aboutthem.
They're gonna be great me too.
Well, we're gonna take a quickcommercial break and then we're
going to talk about the civilityof Albert Cashier.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Oh, I can't wait, that's so good.
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Speaker 2 (28:22):
All right, welcome back.
Thank you for that message fromour sponsor.
I want to talk about the showAbra Cashier, your characters
and how your two charactersespecially kind of go head to
head in their scenes.
You know it's like you knowgood and evil, hot and cold.
So tell me a little bit aboutyour characters and their roles
(28:44):
in this show.
Speaker 4 (28:44):
So tell me a little bit about your characters and
their roles in this show.
Sure, so I play Abigail Lannan,and she is a friend and ally of
Albert in his later years.
She is definitely on the sideof a suffragette and votes for
women and equality, and she'sjust also kind of entitled, like
she's had the world go her wayand she knows how to work within
(29:06):
it, and so it's kind ofshocking to her to see the world
not go the way that she decidedit should go, and so she has
kind of some difficulty withthis idea that she couldn't work
things out for Albert the wayshe would have had them.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
And I guess a little backstory in this.
This is, the show kind of goesin two folds, two parts, and it
kind of intertwines.
You know, young Albert duringthe civil war and old Albert
when he's injured by a caraccident.
He's in a home that's takingcare of him and they don't know
that he was born female.
And so your role, you're kindof keeping things undercover,
(29:45):
correct.
You're showing up, I'm aware ofit, and so I'm there to help him
and support him, but I can't bein the home Right and you want
to take him home to take care ofhim, to protect him, but then,
nurse, won't let me Head nurse,she wouldn't say that Head nurse
.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
Yes, so my character, um, um, is the the some call
her mean, but she's really not.
She's well-meaning, um, I, Ibelieve I know I recognize her,
um, even contemporarily thesedays.
Um, she means well, she, shefeels bad, I mean, because she
finds out that Albert was afemale, is a female which goes
(30:30):
against everything she believesin.
And so her, her plan is to savehim, which is slightly
different from Abigail's plan.
Is is to, is to just have himadmit it that it was all a lie,
that he's lying and so hedoesn't go to hell is basically
what the deal is you know, it'slike I want.
(30:50):
I want to make sure that he'she's safe and he's happy, and
and and and gets over this,whatever delusion he's under,
you know she's under, so so I goabout it that way, which sort
of is completely the oppositeway of Abigail, and we do our
foes.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
We have some words on stage, but it is interesting
the way they've crafted it.
There's a lot of disagreementand there's actual physical war
and dying and everything right.
There's a lot of masculinethings, that I would say
masculine energy, and so, whenit comes to our arguments, they
tend to be a little bit morepolite.
They tend to be a little bitmore well, let's have tea and
(31:34):
talk this out.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
We're going to discuss this as civilized people
.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
So it is also, I think, a foil to all of the deep
masculine difficulty and deathand issues there.
And then we as the women comein and it's a little bit more
mannered a manners play.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
And the way, like Andrea just said, the way it's
crafted and is written is thewomen are both very clear-cut
characters.
I mean, you're not, you couldmeet them on the street today.
I mean, you absolutely could.
And so it's just, they're sofascinating to play.
They're not stereotypical,they're not, they're real humans
(32:18):
, which I think makes it evenmore interesting the dynamic
between the two of them.
It's just, you can understandboth points of view.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Yeah, especially when you take that time period into
consideration and everythingthat's going on yeah, 100, yeah,
if you.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
If you take nurse smith's position of I'm trying
to save you, like I literally Ilike you and I want to save you,
and it comes from a place of II I'm only doing this for your
good, not I hate you and you'rea terrible person Right it adds
that other layer on top of itwhere you're, because we all
know those people right whogenuinely fear for our souls or
(32:54):
our well-being and you're like Ireally appreciate it.
But if you could just back allthe way off of that, that'd be
great.
So she's that well-meaningperson who just sees things in
black and white.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's a great way to explain it
.
I love that.
I feel like now that I'm gonnasee the show again, I'll see in
a different light.
Speaker 4 (33:14):
I'm just like ah, that nurse okay, no, she
genuinely wants to help, andespecially when she oh, I see,
now you really were, jenny, thisis actually a whole.
You're not a bad person, you'rejust having mental instability.
You're not just a crotchety oldman, you're like oh, I get it.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
The term.
I think the script is so goodWay to go.
Speaker 4 (33:37):
Jay.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
Because we get it.
Yeah, it's just so brilliantJust when she is called, when he
calls her hysterical, when hecalls her hysterical when he
calls abigail hysterical and wehave all heard that, and we've
all heard that recently is that,you know, women can't show
emotion because then you'rehysterical and it's just like
it's just so brilliantly writtenthat she goes no, not call me
that.
Yeah, I am no different fromany guy that's gonna have
(33:58):
whatever emotional you knowoutburst and uh, I think I just
love that.
I mean, that's the lines thatare just so smart and so spot on
to what we're all seeing today.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
It's just not a historical piece, you know it's
universal, taking that modern,the modern themes, and putting
into this historical era whichis so beautifully done and I
know the choreography and themovement and the songs,
everything kind of falls intothat time era, which is really
incredible because you feel likeyou're transported in that
piece.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
Yeah, great.
I think one of my favoritethings about it, too, is that
the directing team, the artisticteam, everybody talks about how
we're all learning from eachother.
Right in his younger years,learns from H Ford, who is
(34:52):
striving for his own personhoodas a black man in the civil war.
I'm trying to learn from Albert.
Albert learns from me.
Jeffrey learns from like we'reall and how, even though our
experiences might differ, we allcan learn from each other and
become better together.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Yeah, absolutely.
It's such a beautiful story ofbrotherhood and friendship and
identity and I got to sit in thetable, read and gosh, that was
so hard to get through, I meaneverybody there was not a dry
eye in that room, and it wasjust sitting down, yeah, yeah,
talking and singing.
So I mean everybody's put theirheart into these characters.
Why do you think this story isso important to be told today?
Speaker 4 (35:36):
I think there's just, uh, even in the title, the
civility, like everybody isfighting their own battle.
The first time I worked withthis show was in 2021.
I'm going to say 2021.
Might have been 2022.
It was a reading up in the hillsthe Hollywood hills, not the
Burbank hills and I came inbeing like amazing, I'm going to
(36:02):
be like an ally.
This sounds like a great piece.
I want to be here for peoplewho have a different lived
experience.
But in the process ofunderstanding how the humanity
of this show comes out, I wasagain reminded of the things
that I am fighting for theindividual rights, freedoms,
even in some cases, like the sonthat I lost his personhood and
(36:24):
representing him, and the thingsthat we do for each other and
for ourselves in order to havethat.
This is my life moment.
You know what I mean.
It's gonna differ for every,every single person, but I love
how this show shows you that itit shouldn't it shouldn't have
to happen to you to matter toyou, right like you shouldn't
have to be a trans person towant to have rights equal rights
(36:46):
for everybody.
You shouldn't have to be atrans person to want to have
rights equal rights foreverybody.
You shouldn't have to be aperson of color in order to want
and yearn and vote for peopleand be active for equality.
You shouldn't have to be awoman in order to have your
voice.
You know to feel like, hey, myvoice matters to listen to me,
(37:06):
you know.
So that's, I think, somethingthat they've done so incredibly
well.
It's not just about this onething, it's about all of us.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Yeah, I do feel like those walls of divisiveness kind
of just melt away on that stage.
You can kind of find yourselfin every single character.
Yeah, which is prettyincredible and that's probably
my favorite thing about it.
I love it, yeah.
And so you guys just hadopening night the weekend
walking the red carpet,interviews, photos how was that
experience for you guys?
(37:34):
It's bizarre.
You had, you had your openingnight of footloose, so you, you
know how crazy it gets at thecolony.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
Oh, to that one, because we let we let the kids
go to that one because they wereall dressed to the nines.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
The adults were like no one wants to see us.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
So it's really footloose, no one wants to see
the principal, but this one wassuper fun.
It was really fun, it wasreally well done, everybody got
dressed up and it happened to bePhillip's birthday.
Our friend who plays Booker inthe show sings Chicago Chicago.
(38:09):
For those of you who have, seenthe show.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
Also one of my favorite parts of the show, my
husband's favorite number.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
Um and they uh.
So it was just it was super fun.
Yeah, we had a blast.
I know I had fun and I wasn'texpecting to as much like oh my
gosh, we have to walk the redcarpet.
It's like, oh my gosh, this isreally fun.
Speaker 4 (38:26):
One of the fun things is is that they really did a
great job of bringing people inyou know what I mean and being
like, hey, we've done this thing, but we want you to join us, to
join the fun.
Come be part of this, be partof this movement, be part of
this musical, be part of thisfeeling.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
There's people that flew in from all over for this
show.
You had celebrities, you hadcouncil members.
I mean, it was a really a bigmix of incredible people that
got to witness that night, whichwas really cool.
Speaker 4 (38:51):
Yeah, I think Jay and Christine and Robert the
producing team have just beenall out incredible, and then
Heather, of course, with all ofher work and contacts at the
Colony it's incredible.
So with all the shows I've done,I think this is the first one
that every single person castcrew, creative, producing
everybody is on the same messageyou know, what I mean, and
(39:12):
everybody believes so much inthis message that we're all like
, yes, I will say everything andget everybody there, because
it's really not about us, it'sabout this story, important
story, yeah absolutely, I 100agree with that.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Yeah, and I feel like it's hard to explain.
You know, we're trying topromote it ahead of time and
you're trying to explain thestory.
Until you're there, until youwitness the music and the
feelings that you, that come outof your body during these, some
of these songs, you walk outthere like how do I get
everybody else to come see thisshow?
Right, it's just incredible,isn't it what?
Speaker 3 (39:46):
um, what is Sid's first line?
Is that nobody wants to beforgotten?
Yeah, which is so universal,right?
Nobody wants to be forgotten,yeah, and you want to be
remembered in the way that youwant to be remembered and that's
, that's kind of the, theunderlying message as well, and
it's just yeah, you want yourpersonal dignity, and I mean the
(40:06):
character faces dementia aswell.
I mean, there's like so manydifferent levels.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
Grief and loss and so many, so many aspects are
touched on this musical.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
It really is hard.
Also, I think, when you're like, hey, I'm in a new musical, and
people are like, oh, cool, yeah, and you're like, no, no, like
I have had that reaction so manytimes I'm like great.
Another jukebox music, cool, goyou.
But this one is.
It is interesting because it'sthe.
The power behind it is veryunique yes, yeah yes, so if you
(40:38):
are listening, please, please go.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
Yeah, this show, yeah , you won't be sorry.
Yeah, and it's only there untilseptember 22.
We only have a couple moreweekends left.
But something else I want tobring up which is really cool
during rehearsal is you broughtin a book that you had purchased
for your library before AlbertCashier was even on your brain.
Yes, which?
Speaker 3 (40:57):
was so cool.
It's so bizarre, the Fighting.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
Infantryman by Rob Sanders.
She brings it in and we're justlike there's a children's book.
Speaker 4 (41:03):
Seriously, it was so I got to take it home to my boys
, did you?
Yeah, it's, it's so clear too,like it's so well written.
I think that there's a lot offear mongering out there, uh,
about books, and we need to banthis, I mean, and this book does
such a lovely job of justsaying, hey, look at this piece
of history, how interesting,yeah, what a surprise yeah, yeah
(41:24):
, um, I actually had read thefirst.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
The civil war of amos abernethy was the middle grade
book that I also bought, and Iand this was literally the the
year before- yeah robert cashiereven came into my really yeah,
so bizarre.
Um, so that when I saw theaudition notice for this show, I
was like that name soundsfamiliar.
Why does that name soundfamiliar?
And I went, did I read aboutthis?
And I look look up and I went,oh, I did In a middle school
(41:47):
book, oh my gosh, in my library.
So I was like, okay, I have gotto share this because this is
such a timely thing.
And then thank you to you,ashley.
Well, we worked together andcontacted these authors.
Speaker 2 (42:10):
That's going to be after the matinee show, after
your two o'clock, so hopefullysome of the cast will stick
around.
There's going to be a live Q&A.
They're going to talk aboutintegrating this book into the
classroom and the themes, andyou're going help moderate that.
Speaker 3 (42:25):
I am going to help moderate, thank you, and then
they'll have a couple books forfor sale.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
But they'll also be signing, I think, some postcards
or some bookmarks as well, soeveryone can have their
signature so it's gonna bereally really neat.
Speaker 4 (42:38):
The.
The book itself is gorgeous.
Yes, like such a gorgeous pieceand the story the way that the
author has put it together isaccessible and easy and and not
like, uh oh, this is clearly aside that I'm taking politically
, but just a look at this story.
This is what happened yeah,it's a.
Speaker 2 (42:56):
It's incredibly well done well, I'm very excited for
it.
So that will be saturday.
Saturday, you said what time at4 30.
Speaker 4 (43:02):
Okay, I'll bring my boys yay, that'd be great.
Speaker 2 (43:05):
Yeah, I think we've been trying to invite all of the
educators around burbank tryingto get librarians at the
schools, at the public libraries, just to kind of hear these
pieces and hopefully integratethem into their classrooms and
to their, to their libraries andthings like that.
So, uh, just thank you guys somuch for being here.
Speaker 4 (43:22):
Oh, yeah I really appreciate it, so fun I love
that you're both.
Speaker 2 (43:25):
you know Burbank moms yeah.
Speaker 4 (43:28):
Welcome to Burbank.
Thank you, I'm going to claimthat title.
You do?
I'm going to claim it.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
The second you step foot in, here you're now a
Burbank mom, we'll bring you in.
So come see the civility ofAlbert Cashier.
The tickets are atcolonytheaterorg and I will put
that link in our bio in the show.
And thank you guys, so much forbeing here.
Speaker 4 (43:49):
It's been so great.
Speaker 2 (43:50):
All right, awesome, I'll see you guys in the next
podcast.
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