This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Martín Acuña: Hi, everyone. I am Martín Acuña, and you're listening to Backstage Talk.

[0:10] Martín Acuña: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Backstage Talk. Today's guest is a diva, a queen, not only on Broadway and off-Broadway, but on the West End and the Australian theatre scene. I am honored to have Amelia Cormack here with me. She is currently playing Raven Johnson in Beau the Musical off-Broadway, a show that is very near and dear to my heart. We have a couple of friends working on that show, both onstage and offstage, and it just warms my heart. It's one of those shows that warms my heart. Amelia has been an original diva of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the musical, in Australia and New Zealand. Then she moved to London for a couple of years, where she had her incredible West End debut in the London production of Priscilla, toured with a couple of other shows, and then she moved to New York City, where she was part of Kinky Boots, the first national tour, the Les Mis North American tour, Come From Away, and she made her incredible Broadway debut in Hadestown. So thank you so much for being here. It's an honor to have you.

[1:25] Amelia Cormack: Oh, it's such a pleasure to be here. I'm really excited, and I'm really glad we could tee this up. Yeah, I am a podcaster myself, so I'm always happy to chat to people. Forgive the morning voice and face. It's all good, it's all good. Amelia, I just went through your artistic bio, but tell us a little bit more about yourself.

[1:51] Amelia Cormack: Yeah, so I was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. I went to university there, and it was very clear. I started playing instruments at a young age, so I started, I was violin at six, piano at nine, and then I picked up a guitar when I was like 19 or 20 and started writing my own very, you know, sob songs, as everyone does, and then I started playing mandolin in 2017. Sorry, I'm going all over the place today. Did shows in high school. Basically, I used to say that I'm a performance addict, so if it involved performance in some way, whether it was playing in the orchestra, or singing in the choir, or doing the plays, or I wanted to be involved. So yeah, I did my four years at Sydney University, and then I went to the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, which is where Hugh Jackman went.

So it's, at the time, was the top music theatre program in the country. And then, yeah, my kind of big theatrical music theatre debut was in Priscilla, and that show has just opened every single door for me. I am so incredibly grateful for it. I would not be here in America without it. And I did that for nearly two years, and then I did a show with the Sydney Theatre Company, which is like Australia's top theatre company, and I ended up doing a tour of the UK with that. And then I got back from that, and I was like, okay, I want to be doing more acting roles, or I want to be playing leads in music theatre. And then I had a period of doing independent shows, but not really booking anything big.

And I'd been to New York at 22 at the end of my first year of drama school, and I remember stepping out of Grand Central, because I was staying with family up in Westchester, and I stepped out of Grand Central onto 42nd Street, and I just went, oh, I'm meant to be here for the rest of my life. And I just knew it instantaneously. And I always say to people, New York hits you in the face, and you either love it, or you hate it. And it was love at first sight.

[4:07] Amelia Cormack: You either feel at home, or you're like, okay, I can spend a couple of days here, and then I'm leaving.

[4:14] Amelia Cormack: Exactly, exactly. So I was just fighting off the tail end of a cold at the moment. So yeah, it was instant love at first sight. And so when I turned 30, and I looked at my career and my personal life, and I was like, this is not where I thought I would be by now. And I have this dream of Broadway, and if I don't leave now, it's not going to happen. And as an Australian, there is a two-year working visa that you can do in the UK, because we're still part of the Commonwealth of the UK. And so I thought, well, I'm going to go to New York for two months, meet with an immigration lawyer who'd got green cards for a number of my friends, and to see if it was going to be possible. And so I came here, met with him, and then I had my two years in London.

And I left Australia, not really knowing if I was good enough to be on the world stage. And literally weeks into being in London, two weeks into being in London, I got a phone call from a friend of mine who was working behind the scenes on the West End production saying, so the girl who's doing your track on the West End has been injured, and would you like to come back and do the last three months of the West End run? And I was like, yeah. So six weeks into being in London, I was on the West End in a role that I had originated. And I mean, you couldn't write it. It was like the universe just, like, I went, I don't know, I'm taking a massive leap, and the universe went, you're absolutely where you're meant to be. And yeah, the rest is history. I did my two years in London, got my green card, and I've been here since October of 2013.

[6:02] Martín Acuña: Oh, my God. Yeah, that's incredible. Yeah. And like, I, when I was in college, I was introduced to Priscilla, thanks to a friend.

[6:10] Amelia Cormack: Oh, wow.

[6:18] Martín Acuña: And he was obsessed with Priscilla. Yeah. I, we have spent years trying to find a bootleg of either the West End or the Australian production. We haven't been successful yet. But oh, my God, that show, it's just wholesome. And it's such a great show. And like seeing and hearing your story from originating the role in Australia, then moving it to the West End. You just said it, it was meant to be.

[6:46] Amelia Cormack: Yeah, yeah, it was, it was wild. And I think the thing I actually, because I say to people all the time, you know, I moved to New York at 33 with a career behind me, but I would not have been ready before that two years in London because I needed to find my ambition and embrace it before I moved here. Because Australians, we're bred to be very self-deprecating. The worst thing you can be as an Australian is arrogant. And so the idea of celebrating our own achievements is we don't do it, which is sad. So one of the first things you have to do when you move here as an Australian, and we inherited it from the British, and the British do the same thing. But when you move here, that's like Americans will take what you say at face value.

So if you walk into a meeting with a manager or an agent or even an audition, and they're like, Oh, wow, you're really good. And you go, nah, nah, bitch it. That doesn't, they go, well, then why would I want to work with you? And so I call it, so wanky, but I call it shaking off the mantle of self-deprecation, because it feels like this heavy coat that you, and remember when I came out from under that coat, it was like, Oh, my God. And so that's what I love about being here is you have to celebrate your own achievements and your own talents, because no one else will. And it's encouraged. And so I remember the moment where I realized, because it's also like not seen as a necessarily admirable quality to be super ambitious.

I will say, because I'm sure people in Australia will listen to this, that take it in mind, I've been away for a total of 14 years and 12. So things may have changed back there. I don't know. But this, I'm talking about how it felt at the time when I left. But I yeah, I remember the moment when I was on tour with an Australian friend of mine in the UK that who lived there as well, we've done a show together. And something happened in a conversation with a cast mate in the show. And she looked at me and we were having I was getting really emotional about something this friend had said. And she went, it's like there was a tiger inside you that was asleep. And now it's awake. And I went, Yeah, you're right.

I haven't achieved the things I want to achieve yet. And it basically was around the fact that this person was like, well, I haven't done this. I think I'm going to give up because I want to get married and have kids. And I was like, I want those things too. But I don't want to give that up. And I'm not where I where I think I might be able to be. So I keep going and I work hard and I needed that spark of that moment in order to then move here and really hit the ground running.

[9:57] Martín Acuña: So you've, you've had the chance to experience the three big markets in theatre, basically, which is Broadway, the West End, and the Australian market, which even though it's on the other side of the world, it's still a big market for theatre and for musical theatre. And for opera, I mean, the Sydney Opera is a symbol on that side of the world. What have been the biggest or what are the biggest differences that you found on each of those industries, each of those economies?

[10:35] Amelia Cormack: Yeah, that's a really, really good question, because all three are very, very, very different. I am so grateful that I grew up with my training in Australia. I think the training that we offer is fantastic. I feel like in Australia, when you leave school, you're really ready, because the industry is so much more competitive. I know people are like, no, but you're in New York City, what do you mean? There are so few jobs. And we have so many, that's why we all leave, because there's not enough work to sustain the amount of talent that we produce. But that's why we do really well wherever we go, because we're bred to kind of, we're trained to work hard, take it seriously. And, you know, be really good at what you do.

That having been said, because the market is so small, in terms of, because Australia's population is only 25 million or so. So we're a small country in terms of population compared to how big the country is. And there's a real emphasis on sport and sport, the arts doesn't get nearly as well funded as that.

[11:58] Amelia Cormack: And so I remember you'd be lucky to have four music theatre auditions in a year in Australia, let alone, and it, I mean, that was, again, that was at the time I left. Now there's a lot more independent work that's come up, like fringe theatre and things, so it's changed a lot, but it's still, it's still really, really tough. The UK is very interesting because, and, and I can also illustrate the difference between the union styles in the three countries, and Australia's, I mean, but I'm also biased because that's the union that I grew up in, and at the time, I know obviously equity here has changed a lot as well, and now anyone can join, which is great. In Australia, anyone can join, and so you didn't have to earn your place necessarily, you were encouraged to join your union as an actor.

In the UK, the union doesn't have as much power, and there was a lot that happened under Thatcher with unions in the 80s, and so she really kind of gutted a lot of the unions, and so it also has a voluntary membership, but I was able to do non-union work as a union actor in the UK. The system there is also really different, and again, I, this was 12 years ago that I lived in London, and pre-pandemic, which is also a different thing, touring there was an amazing experience, so the way it works there, because the country is so small, you get a travel allowance, and then you would get yourself to each city, usually by train, because most of us were London-based, didn't own cars, and then every theatre that you go to on a regional tour has what they call a digs list, and they'll give you hotels and motels and that kind of thing, but they tend to be more expensive.

On the list are people who let out rooms in their house, so it was like before there was Airbnb, you would do this, and sometimes you'd stay in these gorgeous places, and they were just so much cheaper than hotels, but then other times you'd be in some weird cat lady's home where everything smelled, and the cats had clearly been eating off the dishes, and yeah, it was wild, and I remember, because when we toured there, and with, under the Sydney Theatre Company, they had organised, our cast was half British and half Australian, and us Aussies were under an Australian contract, so all our accommodation was taken care of, that all our travel, like that was all taken care of, but the Brits had to do this, and I remember they were telling us about it in Australia, and we were like, what do you mean?

What do you mean you're staying in someone's house? So it was wild, and then in the US, obviously, it's very, very different again, in that, you know, it used to be that you would have to earn your place in your union, there are very strict rules around non-union and union work, you know, I will say the biggest difference for me here is coming back around to that idea of embracing ambition, that everyone that moves to New York moves here to be the best at what they do in the world, if that's finance, food, fashion, the Fs, or the Fs, or theatre, you move here because this is the, this is the place that is the best in the world for that thing, and so everyone knows that they think they have what it takes to be the best, so it's like all the competition, like we're aware of it, but it doesn't matter, because we're all here for the same reason, and I will never forget going into an audition, and I walked out, and this girl went, oh my god, you sounded amazing, and I went, what do you mean, you just gave me a compliment, we're in competition, and then, but because you're auditioning all the time, you're seeing the same people, and it's like, oh hey, yeah, I remember you from last time, and especially being an active musician, where that world is, again, even smaller, you're seeing the same people all the time, and it's never, whereas in Australia, where I was auditioning, I remember, it was like, don't talk to anyone, keep focused, don't make friends, yeah, because the competition was so stiff, and so that's what I, and, and it, this brings out the best in me, because I'm allowed to let that side of myself out, and I always felt in Australia, like I was too much, you know, like I was too big physically, because I am a curvy lady, and I always felt too loud, too opinionated, and then, you know, you come here, and those qualities are kind of encouraged, so yeah, I love that, yeah, and I love that, and that sense of community that you just alluded to here in New York, you can feel it, and yes, the competition is out there, but at the end of the day, all of us are, we end up rooting for whoever gets the role, and we end up cheering for them, and we will go to the show, if we're not on a show ourselves, yeah, we will go and support, and, and put our two cents, exactly, to, to see them succeed, and I love that, exactly, yeah, yeah, so in terms of, I love all three dearly, they're all very different, obviously, I would love to go back and work at home, I would love to go back and work in London, and I feel so fortunate that I have, you know, things in place that I would be able to do that easily, but it also is, I've been away a long time now, so, and, but it also is the thing of, like, I would go back for certain projects, if it was the right project, I feel like I've had a place in my career here, where, in order for me to go back to Australia, it would have to be a really good project, and it would have to be what, because now I have a family, and it would be, it'd have to be really worth my, my time, and as much as I know my family will hate that, because all my family and friends back home are dying for me to come back, of course, yeah, so, but it's hard, I mean, you know what it's, it's like being, when you're so far away from where you grew up, it's, it's tough, yeah, I do want to ask you about your Broadway debut with Hadestown, I am forever obsessed with that show, yeah, and, and, yeah, I just, I just want to know all about it, like, yeah, how did you end up in Hadestown?

So, I had originally auditioned, me and actually Max Sangerman, who's in Bow, who was one of the first friends I made here, we saw each other at, I think, the movement call for Hadestown, for the original Broadway company, way back, and I didn't, yeah, didn't, didn't book it, got down to some of the final rounds, and I was really sad, because I really wanted to be in that show, and then I was out on tour with Come From Away, and, yeah, got a, got a submission for a self-tape, which I put in, and then everything happened really quickly, so we were, of course, in Seattle, on the opposite side of the country, and I literally had days moment, like, flew in, did my movement call, but then my flight got cancelled, so it was like, it was just a whole thing, it was a whole thing, but, you know, it was so worth it, and I ended up, ended up booking the show, and so that was, I think, September, September, yeah, no, I started rehearsals in September of 22, and I left Come, I literally walked from Come From Away one day, and straight into rehearsals for Hadestown the next day, learnt the show in two weeks, oh my god, and then, yeah, but, you know, one of the things that I'm really passionate about, I made my Broadway debut at 42, I'm 45 now, and it's, it's really, in this age of instant celebrity, it's something that I'm really passionate about, because not every kid's going to be the ingenue, I knew I wasn't a romantic lead very early on, and I knew, because I was constantly cast as the mother my entire life, because I've had my body since I was 13, that, I'm not even joking, I fit into dresses that I had made when I was 14, it's wild, that the role, my roles are going to come later in my life, and so that's the thing that the girls who look like me, the kids that look like me, if you want to do this, sometimes it's going to take a really long time, but all the paths that you'll take to get there are so interesting, and make you so much more prepared for that moment.

So yeah, it was, I have an incredible photo that I'm so grateful that someone took, and it was the night that I got put into the show, and I'm standing there with our dance captain, Tara Jackson, and she's whispering in my ear, and there's tears streaming down my face, and I'm in a mask, because it was still COVID times, and she's like, and she's whispering to me, and she said, I just want you to take a breath, and look at where you are, and I know it makes me want to cry as well, she said, look at what you did, and I will forever be grateful to her for that moment, because it's one, and I can also, I can, I can provide a link, I think I have it somewhere on Instagram, so I can provide a link if any of the listeners want to look at the photo, but yeah, it was, and you know, my dad flew out from Australia, I had a bunch of like my really good friends there, my aunt, who I stayed with when I first moved to New York, and who supported me in so many ways, yeah, I, it was, it was surreal, and incredible, and I also feel like I am carrying so many people's unlived lives on my shoulders, and that is a really sacred thing, sorry, excuse me, I had one of the girls that I did Priscilla with in London, who's a dear Australian friend, died very young of bowel cancer, and then another friend of mine just recently also died of bowel cancer, also quite young, and he was the phantom on the Love Never Dies video recording, and then my great-grandmother, who I'm supposedly a lot like, who I never met, she died in childbirth with.

[24:55] Amelia Cormack: I’m a big believer in that we carry our ancestors with us, and we walk the path for them as well. So, yeah, I agree so much. Also, because I'm a big believer that we not only carry our ancestors with us, we also carry the next generation with us. We're paving the way for them. Absolutely. And I do believe that that's one thing that you're doing for a lot of people, not only for Australians or for immigrants in this country, but also for people that have curves, right? People that are not in those canon bodies or canon roles. And I also, when in my past life, when I was still an actor, I also knew that I was not going to be cast in Prince Charming, even though I am a Prince Charming in real life, but I know that I wasn't going to be cast as Prince Charming.

And I always knew that my roles, if I kept going down the performing route, would come much later in life. So, that is something that I truly, truly value. And also you just said it, you made your Broadway debut at 42. It's never too late. Like here on the show, we've had Deborah Cardona. She made her Broadway debut in Funny Girl a couple of years ago in her sixties. It is never too late. That's incredible. Yeah, I love that. It's never too late.

[26:41] Amelia Cormack: Well, and I've been having a lot of conversations as well around what happens when you're your authentic self and like, you know, the viewers may not be able to see, but I don't dye my hair. I'm going quite gray. My mother was my model of beauty and she never dyed her hair. And I'm so fortunate to have two Tony winners as friends. We all started out in Kinky Boots together with Bonnie Milligan and Jay Harrison G, and watching both of them again, be their authentic selves and be celebrated for that. Again, it's like, we shouldn't be trying to shoehorn ourselves into a role. If you have to do that, that role is not for you. And I'm a big believer in what's for you won't pass you. And it's really hard because I recently went in, I submitted a self-tape way back for Operation Mincemeat.

And I'm like, I am going to be in that show. And I have dear, dear friends that are in auditions for it right now. And it's a real test in that of like, there is some reason that this is not for you right now or, you know, whatever, something, but it's hard. But this role of Raven, just to bring it back to Beau, I mean, it's such a gift. I've never played a role where I get to flex every creative muscle that I have in that I get to be funny. I get to be warm and heartfelt. I get to be sexy. I get to play my instruments. I get to belt my face. It truly, and it's funny because I auditioned for the musical once for six years and I never booked it. I was this close to booking it on the West End.

And then from that point on, I auditioned for every single version you can possibly imagine. And I never booked it. And now I'm like, the universe was going, it's okay. You're going to originate. It's okay. Just wait, you know?

[28:57] Amelia Cormack: I love that. And yes, I do want to dive into Beau because I've been following this show for quite a while. I think when I saw it a couple of months back in, it was the basement theater of this place, like downtown.

[29:14] Martín Acuña: Yeah. Theta 154.

[29:15] Amelia Cormack: Yes. And I was like, I am going in blind. I have only listened to the cast recording. I'm truly going in blind. I do not know what to expect of this. And I was blown away, not only by the talent of this cast, because it was like six of you and all eight. Yeah. Yeah. Eight. All of you play instruments and rotate characters throughout the show. And as you just said, it truly flexes every creative muscle that all of you as performers have, like truly quadruple threats because you're literally singing, dancing, acting, and playing an instrument. I'm playing not only one because I think you play several.

[30:05] Amelia Cormack: I do. Yeah. It's insane. Yeah. I'm playing, this show is hilarious of the four conventional instruments that I play. I'm playing the one that I have been playing for the least amount of time, which is the mandolin. And then I'm playing some percussion, which, you know, I've never been taught to play. I'm purely pretending. It was funny, this iteration uptown and our music supervisor, the genius Chris Gurr said, Oh, can you make that pattern a little more complicated? I was like, Chris, I don't know what I'm doing. I am making this up. Can you please allot me a session with our drummer? Who was a Broadway subbing pit playing drummer. Who's extraordinary, Derek Stoltenberg, and who also is acting for the first time and doing an incredible job.

And so he and I had a half-hour session because I'm playing Jembe. And the Jembe is wonderful because there are so many different pitch options in a Jembe, like it's got such, so for a novice, it's actually kind of, you need to know a little bit about what you're doing in order to find those pitches. And then I'm playing tambourine, which, you know, is its own joy. I will say if you could see me backstage trying to maneuver the tambourine so it doesn't make noise when I have to move it in really quiet scenes, it's pretty funny.

[31:45] Martín Acuña: I love that. I truly do. What is your favorite part of this show?

[31:49] Amelia Cormack: Oh, I have to say my favorite parts of this show are the moments where we get to jam out as the band. So it couldn't be and disappear where there's no choreography and we just, I mean there, or if there is, it's like tiny incidental, but watching because as the show goes along, we just get better and better and tighter and tighter. And it is just such a joy to play with these extraordinary, extraordinary people. And now that a number of us have been doing it for a long time together. So the four of us being Max Angerman, me, Matt Rodin, and Jeb Brown have all been on Beau for a number of years. I've been on it for six and a half years and Matt, Max, and Jeb have been with it since the beginning of about eight years ago.

And then we have Derek Stoltenberg, Andrea Goss, and Miyuki Miyagi who have been with us since the downtown run. Derek and Andrea, Andrea's done multiple workshops of it. And Derek was also in the workshop that we did in 23 while I was doing Hadestown. And then we have Ryan Holsaber on the bass. Who's the sweetest, kindest, funniest man. He did a workshop in 23 as well. So everyone now on it has had a prior relationship with the show. It's really nice. And the downtown run was the first time that we had to run it for an extended period of time. So to really understand what it's like to do this show and downtown, we only had seven shows a week, but now we're up to eight shows a week. And so it's just benefiting from that and having that season downtown has enabled us this time around with rehearsals to actually sit and have, because we just didn't have time to do table work last time.

And so to really delve in deeply to these characters, and there's been some rewrites for this season as well, which really helped just on a personal level to really flesh out this fracture between Beau and Raven, which has been really beautiful to dig into. And I care very deeply for this character. She and I have been together a long time and also there's a crazy synchronicity between her life and mine that's really fun to play with in that similar ages when similar events happen. I don't want to spoil anything for your viewers/listeners that haven't seen it yet. So yeah, that's such an immense privilege as well.

[34:46] Martín Acuña: Oh, I love that. And yes, this show feels like a very safe space for a lot of themes, coming out, coming of age, your relationship with family, not with parents, with grandparents. But that can be truly taken out and put into any type of family relationship. And it truly is, I remember leaving the show with such a deep feeling of joy and warmth. So yeah, I cannot recommend this show enough. I truly adore it.

[35:34] Amelia Cormack: Going back to your whole journey, what advice would you give to people that would like to break into this industry? Ah, be true to yourself. Truly.

[35:54] Amelia Cormack: Be true to yourself and understand that it takes time and that if you want to do this for a living, you have to be willing to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. That actually, in the long run, is going to set you up so much better because the people who it happens for instantaneously, it's like, well, where do you go from now? So I think that's been the biggest lesson for me, particularly recently. When you walk into an audition room, the panel want to see you, what you bring to this role, not you trying to pretend to be someone else's version that you think that they might want. So bold choices are always fantastic, but be willing to let that go. So come in with a version of the character that you think feels right for you, and they may say, oh my gosh, we love this, but can you do it?

I've had auditions where I've gone in with a really strong choice and they've gone, that was great, thanks, let's try it the complete opposite way. And so you have to be willing to that flexibility. And now that doesn't mean necessarily wrap yourself in knots trying to figure out every 500 different ways they're going to ask you to do it. You have no idea how they're going to ask you to do it. And just because someone's played it on Broadway a particular way does not mean that they're going to want that from you because you're a different person. A classic example of this is, um, I was very fortunate when I joined the Come From Away tour. I joined in the second year and I was a standby and, but I got to rehearse my primary role of Beulah.

So I, the way it works on Come From Away, you have primaries and secondaries. I had two primary covers, which were Beulah and Hannah, and then I had three secondary covers, but I got to rehearse Beulah as if I was rehearsing the role, which was incredible on that show. And I remember saying to our resident director at the time, um, you know, do you want me to kind of play her a bit older? And he said, no, just do exactly because I'm a lot younger than the actors that tend to play Beulah. Um, and that was incredible. He, he never once said to me, try and do it more like this. It was very much you bring you to that role. Um, you know, and I was in my head, I was like, well, you know, Beulah could have a grand grandchild or Hannah could have a grandchild at 40 something very easily.

Um, so yeah, so that's, I think that's my biggest pieces of advice and don't try not to pay attention to people getting stuff on YouTube or TikTok or getting Instafamous, you know, like it, it's not, it's not real. It truly is not. And increasingly with, with, you know, us barreling towards this dystopian thing of AI theater, I think is actually going to be one of the more secure jobs because real humans are required. And in order for real humans to be on stage, we need real humans in all their will be useful diversity. Um, and I think, you know, in conservative times, conservative pieces tend to be preferred. Um, but I bringing it back to, to Bo, I truly do think that is what it makes our show unique is we are going to be a safe space for everyone.

If you feel lost, if you want to feel a sense of community come to us, because our story is not just a queer coming of age story. It's a story of intergenerational trauma, which we all have. Um, and I think that's what's been beautiful is watching out the, who our audience is. And our audience are a lot of older women, a lot of older men couples, but also we have non-binary people. We have trans people. We have, you know, it's, it's a beautiful thing to feel like we're creating a safe space in a time when we really need it.

[40:44] Martín Acuña: Amelia, one of my last questions for you, you've taken one of the biggest risks that anyone could take. You have moved continents three times. Um, but what is another risk that you've taken that has totally paid off?

[40:53] Amelia Cormack: I mean, yeah, that it's, it's interesting. I find myself in an interesting time right now, uh, with my husband because he's been unemployed for a while now. Um, and it's in right now, it's like, I, I truly believe that I am on the cusp of all the things and the visions that I've had for our life to be here. But it's, it's just a question of being like, I just need, I need you to have a little faith because that's the thing as actors, we live on faith. We have to, and, and everything from, you know, signing a lease on an apartment that's slightly outside your budget. Or I've always believed that when it's the right thing, it works itself out. And I feel like we are at the, the nadir or the, the, the flat time before the wave starts to crest.

It's taken a real long time. Um, but yeah, it's, it is, it is a weird moment of a sense of insecurity for our little family, but also being on the precipice of some really exciting things. Um, another big risk that I have taken that's actually not theatre related, but I just wanted to bring it up, um, is, is being very open about my mental health journey as someone who was hospitalized with postpartum depression. Um, and I talk very openly about it. Um, we devoted an episode of my podcast to it. Um, and so that, that has been something that I've become very, very passionate about is maternal mental health. And I think that the only way that we destigmatize it is by bringing it out into the open.

And I feel no sense of shame of what I experienced. And to come back to your question of taking that risk and for it paying off, my dad said to me, cause he's had his own mental health journey about being hospitalized. He said, you're going to look back on this as the greatest thing that's ever happened to you. And in, obviously in one way, it brought me my daughter, but in the other, the, the, the knowledge of myself and the fearlessness that it's brought me, because I've been to the darkest possible place it is to go without it being the forever one, um, things aren't as scary to me anymore as they used to be because I've been to where it was the scariest. And also what that's brought to me in terms of the, the entering the leading lady phase of my life, part of that is leadership and not being afraid to make a noise and not being afraid to stand up for things that I care about in rooms where before I would have been terrified because I didn't want to make ways.

I didn't want to get in trouble. Biggest fear has always been conflict. Um, so that is a, again, all these are very present right now, um, because it's wild to think that I've only been back to theater work since May of this year. And yet in that six months, I feel like I've become a different person. Um, so yeah, it's a very kind of deep version of answering that question, but, um, I guess it comes back to that thing of authenticity. You know, I'm, this is who I am once and all, and I'm, I don't feel any shame about that. And I think the, the, the less shame we can have about these things that we all go through, um, not only birthing people, but just mental health generally opening up that conversation, which I think is happening.

[45:04] Martín Acuña: Um, then, you know, anyway, I love that. My dear Amelia, thank you. I cannot thank you enough for this. Thank you so, so much. Um, before we go, where can people find you and listen to your podcast? Tell us all about that.

[45:21] Amelia Cormack: Yeah. So, um, basically the, the best way to find me is through my website, which is just Amelia Cormack.com. Um, I update everything on there pretty regularly. So you can check out, I have everything on there from my music that I'm a singer songwriter. Um, you just reminded me, I need to take down the Spotify and put up the title. Um, I've switched, made the switch from Spotify to title because Spotify are putting AI music everywhere and giving streamers nothing. And title are allowing you as an artist to upload your own material, put your own like, um, artwork up there, and then they also link your cash app. So you can put your cash up up there so people can pay you directly for consuming your content.

So go and check it out. It's incredible. Um, and I'm, they're not paying me to say that I'm just found them. Um, and so yeah, that will on my website, that the stuff that I've done, I've done voiceovers. So there's audio book samples up there. Um, my podcast is called some dark holler and I'm not sure when this is going to come out, but my, um, my folk country bluegrassy duo is called Cormack and Gwen with the incredible Alison Gwynn. Um, who if you've seen season four of only murders in the building, she was the stage manager, Katie. She's brilliant and wonderful. And I adore her. We are doing a gig at Madam George on Monday night. We'll the evening is called Broadway night off and it starts at seven 30 and then we go to, we were on after our show at bow.

So it'd be around nine 45 ish. Um, what else do I have on there? Oh yeah. Tickets come and see bow. Um, find me on the socials. I'm also like, if you're, if you're a student or if you're up and coming, I'm a big believer in mentorship. So please, it's just Amelia Cormack on Instagram. Come find me, ask me whatever you want. Reach out. Um, yeah, and I'll, I'm sure I'll send, um, Martine a bunch of links as well. So you can put them in the everywhere.

[47:29] Martín Acuña: Yes. Amelia, thank you so much. You're so welcome. Thanks everyone for listening to this new episode of Backstage Talk. Remember to follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Backstage Talk Podcast.