This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Cassie Beck: So we have Cassie Beck as well as Jocelyn Shek and Emilyn Toffler, who are all part of the amazing tour of What the Constitution Means to Me going on now through April.

[0:10] Jocelyn Shek: Hi guys.

[0:11] Emilyn Toffler: Hi, hey everybody.

[0:13] Cassie Beck: Hi, it's Cassie. So what was all of your paths to the show to get on this amazing tour?

[0:18] Jocelyn Shek: Well, Jocelyn's been with it the longest, right, Jocelyn?

[0:21] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah, I have been. I actually started with the show before the pandemic. I started with the show. I was cast in late 2019, started in January 2020, started with the tour in LA and Chicago, and then obviously everyone, all the shows shut down because of COVID. And then now I'm back at it. We started it up again last September. So September 2021, and now I'm still doing it. I started with the show because I knew that they were looking for at least an hour role. So we do a debate with Cassie who plays herself, but also with Heidi in the show. But I knew that they were looking for people who were interested in debate and were interested in theater, and I thought that was like really amazing for me.

So I auditioned for the show in ninth grade. Yeah, ninth grade. Um, and I just thought I actually saw like an open casting call for it, and I like messaged the show on Instagram, being like, I'm a really big fan of everything you do. Can I audition? And miraculously, to some random Instagram DM, they said yes. So I went in, not a lot of experience except for like a very much mediocre middle school improv team to audition for the show. And I just did what and I just did the audition and then it got cast. It was a fun time. Oh yeah, and I've done debate and stuff for a very long time too. So that was definitely part of it.

[1:49] Emilyn Toffler: And then M and I are the newbies.

[1:51] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah.

[1:52] Emilyn Toffler: We came on at the same time in September of this year or of 2021. So M, how did you audition too?

[2:00] Emilyn Toffler: Or yeah. So Jocelyn and I actually got cast at the same time, but she got cast for the LA and Chicago run, which then got shut down. And I got cast for this run. Um, but my very similar to Jocelyn, I actually saw the show on Broadway, I think something like three weeks before it closed. And after the show, Heidi came to talk to us about the show and the debate and all this stuff, and I was like, wow, this is like super cool, and this is a great show. Have this wonderful experience, like going away, like not really thinking anything of it. And like Jocelyn, I also saw an ad online, but I saw that they were looking for trans and non-binary actors slash debaters, and I was like, Well, I'm trans, like line at audition.

Like, when am I ever gonna have the chance to be like an openly trans person in theater? Like, never, and obviously now that not now. There are a bunch of other role models that I can look through. But at the time, there were none none of us were in theater, wasn't a thing. So I also replied to the ad, and then my dad emailed Taylor, our brilliant casting director, who was a lovely human being, and so I auditioned in LA. I got a call back, and then I think a week later we both were cast.

[3:08] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah, that's amazing.

[3:10] Cassie Beck: It's a little different for me. So Heidi Shreck obviously wrote and performed in the piece originally, and it is her story. So she developed it for over the course of 10 years, off Broadway in developmental playwright developmental workshops. They did it at Berkeley Rep, a very early version out on the West Coast and Berkeley Rep. Yeah. Then it came to New York, um, eventually made its way off Broadway and then Broadway, obviously. And then they also played the Kennedy Center for one week, which is where they met all the fancy politicians. Uh, which was incredible experience. And then I like these guys, I saw it at New York Theater Workshop off Broadway. So Heidi and I go back, we're friends.

I've worked on some of her other plays before. Fun little fun fact is she's Heidi Shreck, I'm Cassie Beck. We look a lot alike, um, we're very similar, and we get confused for each other all the time in New York. So um, I'll be somewhere just having lunch, and someone will come up to me and say, uh, you were great in Circle Mirror Transformation, which is a show that she did very brilliantly. We just now take it as a joke and we take the compliment for each other, and then we just text each other real fast. So I just say thank you, thank you very much. And that person leaves, and I text her. I say, just a compliment for you. So it's all good. You're feeling the love out here in New York, and same vice versa.

So the role kind of rolled around to me. I think when they decided that they were gonna go ahead and do a tour, um, Ria Diza, who's also a colleague and friend of all of us, did the launch in LA and Chicago, and then it was always in conversation with Heidi to come around to me to potentially do the tour. And um, I signed on too. So Emma and I had our first rehearsal with everyone else. Mike Iveson was um playing the Legionnaire. Um now Gabe Morin is playing the Gabriel Marin is playing the Legionnaire. So we've now kind of moved out of all the OG constitution people, and it's now a different cast, fully different cast, uh finishing off the tour around the country.

[5:09] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah. And so both of the debaters, you guys are both very young and joining this show. So being young and finding this voice for the show with all the important topics of women's rights, immigration, as well as the history of the US through the Constitution. How do you find your political stance there to um be able to tell this story around the country?

[5:29] Cassie Beck: Wow, that's a brilliant question, Jocelyn. You go first.

[5:31] Jocelyn Shek: Um, wow. Um, that's that's a wonderful question. I love that. I think for me, I always kind of been more of a moderate in my like fiscal policies. Um, like I know a lot of my friends kind of get mad at me because I'm a Pete Buttigieg supporter because I like Medicare for All Who Want. Thank you. Uh, and they're like, that's he's terrible. Like, you're a horrible human being, and blah, blah, blah, blah. But I think it's definitely helped me like open open my eyes to a lot of topics that I wouldn't normally consider. Like, I wouldn't pro I wouldn't probably be as involved as to as to topics as like immigration or what else you talk about. We talk a lot about immigration in the show, that's for sure.

Yeah, precedent in the Supreme Court. Yeah, that I'm very, very, very aware of right now, especially mostly because of the show, but also topics like healthcare. Like, I never really have been able to speak about that, and this kind of gave me a platform to speak about. Yeah, maybe you're in healthcare, which I think are extremely, extremely important. Yeah, I hope that answers your question in a very relevant way.

[6:33] Emilyn Toffler: And um, I will say Pete Buttigieg is from Indiana.

[6:37] Jocelyn Shek: Yes, yeah.

[6:38] Emilyn Toffler: One good thing came out of here.

[6:40] Jocelyn Shek: You have to tell your airport story.

[6:42] Emilyn Toffler: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that was so different. I was I was at we were at O'Hare, right? We were connecting to a flight and we were having these troubles, and there's these group of guys and like these like black peacoats, and I'm like, wow, those guys look really cool, like that's awesome. And then I'm walking past and like with my mom, and I'm like, wow, one of those guys that really looks like Pete Buttigieg. And I'm like, oh my god, that is Pete Buttigieg. And I went up to him and he was like, Hi, how are you? Like, thank you for saying hello to me. And we talked a bit about like the show, and like that. I was applying to Harvard and his some of his policies and also that we met Amy Klobuchar, and that was really cool. Yeah, he's just a really lovely, lovely person when I met him for the span of 10 minutes at Chicago while he was meeting Pete Buttigieg at the airport.

[7:29] Jocelyn Shek: I was hunting down the popcorn stand.

[7:33] Emilyn Toffler: Like of the city.

[7:34] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah, that is bad because you didn't give me any.

[7:36] Emilyn Toffler: I left.

[7:38] Jocelyn Shek: I know I texted you. I was like, give me some, and then you didn't, because you didn't give my text.

[7:43] Emilyn Toffler: Yeah.

[7:44] Jocelyn Shek: You always gotta get popcorn for everyone.

[7:46] Emilyn Toffler: I'm sorry. I just I didn't know who wanted popcorn, but I don't know.

[7:50] Jocelyn Shek: I mean you didn't get my text.

[7:51] Emilyn Toffler: Okay.

[7:52] Jocelyn Shek: You getting to meet school people is like in revenge, I guess.

[7:56] Emilyn Toffler: Yeah, I guess that's true.

[7:57] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah, anyway. Yeah, I guess it's true that like the Kennedy Center production of Constitution are not the only ones that have met the fancy politicians.

[8:04] Emilyn Toffler: Yeah, that's true.

[8:05] Jocelyn Shek: M seeking him out in the airport on the company's lights and seeing him all over the place. You have great eyes. I can't believe you identified him. That's amazing.

[8:13] Emilyn Toffler: And he was wearing a mask too. Like, in there's a picture of us together. We're both wearing masks.

[8:18] Jocelyn Shek: Amazing. I don't know my own family in a mask.

[8:21] Cassie Beck: That's incredible. But also, we did Amy Klobuchar did come to our second show ever performance ever at the Guthrie in Minneapolis, and so she watched the show, came down, got to give a kind of like miniature welcome back, some speech, but also welcome back to the theater. She was a big part of the Save Our Stages initiative. So um, yeah, that's a and we benefit this tour benefited from that legislation, so we were able to actually go back on tour, so it was great to meet her as well.

[8:51] Jocelyn Shek: I mean, it seems like kind of the debate is the opportunity for you guys to really talk about what's going on now, right?

[8:57] Emilyn Toffler: Yeah.

[8:57] Jocelyn Shek: Well, or yeah, because like we were because of the stuff going on in Texas, Florida, no offense. Also in Indiana, no offense.

[9:05] Emilyn Toffler: None taken.

[9:06] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah, and a bunch of other states like Alabama, I think, and Arkansas, like a bunch of other things. I Heidi actually texted me and was like, Hey, I know this is probably super hard for you right now, but do you wanna add this in the debate? And we were like, Yeah. So Cassie and I talked it over and we now have new points in the debate about what's happening in very all across the country about with LGBTQIA kids.

[9:30] Emilyn Toffler: Yeah, I think that's something really cool about the show is obviously I know we were talking about how us as young people get to like have a political voice in the show. Something that for me has been really cool is even though things have changed a lot. So I'm obviously a young person, we do play to predominantly older audiences. So a lot of them are a little bit surprised by some of the perspectives that we have on ideas, which has been really interesting and cool because I love getting to be a voice for young people to see what issues are affecting us, like disproportionately, like climate change, yeah, and like quickly increasing like rent costs and things like that. So being able to be a part of that has been really cool. And even on a much smaller scale, like Em just talked about, seeing how this show specifically has changed over time has been really cool.

[10:16] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah. I think my favorite example of this is that in the show we do have a part where we talk about the Equal Rights Amendment and the way in which that has been passed in Virginia. So when I first started with the show, I was talking about how in a couple of weeks, yeah, we Virginia might pass the Equal Rights Amendment, or say that they approved the Equal Rights Amendment, and now two and a half years later, it's me saying two years ago, Virginia passed this and still nothing has happened. So what's going on there?

[10:45] Emilyn Toffler: So that's been really cool. You've said I'm 15 the show, I'm 16, and I'm said I'm 14.

[10:51] Jocelyn Shek: 14, 40, 15, 16, and 17.

[10:53] Emilyn Toffler: So you've done that with crazy.

[10:56] Cassie Beck: Oh my God. Um now I want to pass the same question off to you, um, Cassie. But before I get to that, I want to add on to the point of spreading knowledge about um LGBTQIA plus representation. Um, I think it's really important because there's a lot of different types of people that come to theater to bring them together. And I think it's really important that you guys are spreading the modern education that people need with that.

[11:18] Cassie Beck: For sure, for sure. And like, like I always saw like a lot of gay guys represented, and that's awesome. Like, love that. Yeah. And then it slowly started increasing into more lesbian representation, but still, still not enough, not a lot. And then there was zero like trans representation. There was no trans masculine representation in TV, like nothing. I never saw anything, so I just kind of thought, yeah, oh well, I can't be a trans guy and be in theater. And then I kind of saw this ad and I was like, oh, well, I guess I can. Great. And so now to be like one of three people in national tours that's out here for the community is just like yeah, it's an honor. And it's not something I take lightly.

[11:56] Cassie Beck: Yeah, absolutely. And Cassie, you take on a lot of topics that they mentioned as well as a lot more. So um, how do you find your stance in performing that each night truthfully for yourself?

[12:12] Cassie Beck: Well, unfortunately, I think as long as there isn't true equality in this country, this play is relevant. Yeah. Um, Heidi has a great quote of saying she wishes her play was irrelevant. You know, she wishes that we were at a time when this play didn't matter. But unfortunately, it still does. And so I mean, all I gotta do is tap into the headlines, you know, and understand what's going on to we really focus on the ninth and the 14th amendment um in the show, and it's basically human rights, and we're highlighting human rights. And I feel like um that's still a struggle, that's still a battle. We all have a role to play, yeah, in that. I don't think we're mad enough in this country about these issues.

[12:52] Jocelyn Shek: Absolutely.

[12:52] Cassie Beck: We're not mad enough. And the play, I think is a galvanizing force. So for me, um, you know, it takes a lot, it takes it takes a lot out of me. I get really tired, but at the same time, it's like it's important, it's cathartic for me to have a voice. Heidi's given all of us a voice to get out there, and unfortunately, it's still unusual to see a woman talk for an hour on stage. That's still unusual, you know. A heterosexual white female is still unusual to give them this much talking space, this much time. And so I think Heidi kind of used debate to find her voice and exercise it, and she's just parlayed that into her other love, which is theater, and we're still talking about it. We're still talking, we're out there talking about it and hopefully galvanizing people out there in the audience.

I think one thing in particular in the play is two parts. There's the contest, which is mainly the character of Heidi questioning the constitution and questioning her relationship to it, both as her 15-year-old self and as her 45-year-old self. And you know, she started this. I think I think she started performing in 2018. It might have even been 2017, 2018, 2019 for sure. Um, we got to there's a moment in the play that we're talking about, we're playing with about updating a little bit because it's the introduction to clause four of the 14th Amendment, and it is section one, 14th uh clause four. And she's talking about how undocumented immigrants cannot have to have all the productions of clause four.

[14:24] Cassie Beck: So they cannot be locked up without a fair trial, you cannot have anything or anyone seized from you. And at the time, Trump's immigration policy was really at the forefront of the news and clearly unconstitutional, and people were fighting this. And now I think when we mention that moment in time, people go right back to Trump and go back to that time and place. And so we're talking about how now there are still unconstitutional policies happening in different states, like M and Jocelyn have been talking about, and how to bring that into the current day. So I'm ad-libbing a little bit, Mason, which is amazing.

[14:57] Mason Bray: Yeah.

[14:57] Cassie Beck: Uh Heidi's like improv a little bit, say what you're feeling, go ahead and bring it into the current, say exactly what now, you know. So she's given me personally a lot of freedom and a lot of trust to kind of tap into today, right now.

[15:12] Mason Bray: Yeah.

[15:12] Cassie Beck: The other thing that's changed a little bit is um the greeting, the very beginning of the play has a little bit of a greeting where Heidi, the character of Heidi comes out and just addresses the crowd right off at the top and says hi and thank you. And I think in a post-pandemic or an endemic world, um, where people are really going through a lot to get to the theater, they're wearing their masks the whole time, they're vaccinated, they're taking tests, they're doing everything they need to do to get there. I while we wanted to, we wanted to acknowledge that work and that effort and thank them, but also not focus on the pandemic necessarily. It's kind of a fine line to walk.

[15:46] Cassie Beck: Um, so now, and then also with Ukraine being invaded and there's war in the world, I can feel that from the audience as they come in. And because I'm in direct relationship with them, I wanted to address that too. So now my opening line is I just want to say and acknowledge there's so much happening globally and in our own country right now today, and it feels so good to be in the theater with you today. So let's talk about the constitution, you know, and then we move forward. But it's important these little talking about bringing it into the current. I think we're not trying to ignore the pandemic and act like it never happened, and we're just picking right back up in 2019 because I don't think that's um possible. And we're also trying to weave the current politics and struggles with equality into the fabric of the show that existed before the pandemic.

[16:37] Jocelyn Shek: Absolutely.

[16:37] Cassie Beck: And I was about to ask if how much of your own thoughts and beliefs and heart you're able to put into the show. And I think that's fascinating that you do get to put your own beliefs in there to bring it more to the audience in a more personal way.

[16:52] Cassie Beck: Well, I definitely agree with the politics of the show. So that's not hard, you know. I think I approach the role just like I would any other role. There you you bring yourself to any role you're in. I will never be Heidi. I will also never be, you know, uh axe murderer in a Florida swamp, but I might play that someday, you know, and I'll have to bring myself to it. So I I approached it just like I would any role. I'm playing the role of Heidi. I happen to know her and be friends with her, so that's helpful.

[17:20] Cassie Beck: Um, but I'm not trying to be Heidi. I'm I'm trying to bring myself to this part. And she wrote a little breakout um monologue for me. So I I say I'm Heidi and I introduce myself as Heidi, and I play the whole show as Heidi, and then at the very end, I get this nice little moment where I say, actually, you know what? I'm Cassie Beck. Um, and here's a little bit of me at 15, and I get to tell a little tale about myself, and then um, you know, and then we move on. So all the illusions are broken, you know, by the end.

[17:47] Emilyn Toffler: And I think we just got a hint on Cassie's next show.

[17:50] Emilyn Toffler: Um, she will be playing an axe murderer from the Florida swamp.

[17:54] Cassie Beck: Oh, listen, maybe the money tour.

[17:57] Emilyn Toffler: Maybe the money, no problem.

[17:59] Cassie Beck: Okay. I I will be on the lookout for that.

[18:02] Emilyn Toffler: And I will fly wherever it is.

[18:05] Cassie Beck: Okay. Sounds like it's gonna be Florida.

[18:08] Emilyn Toffler: Oh, yes. It needs to be like an immersive theater experience in a swamp.

[18:14] Cassie Beck: No alligators.

[18:15] Emilyn Toffler: Okay.

[18:17] Mason Bray: Um, so what do you think sticks most with people right now coming back from the pandemic? Is it the pandemic and being able to conduct with each other in this space, or is it another topic that you guys all talk about?

[18:28] Jocelyn Shek: I mean, I think connection is a big one.

[18:30] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah. Um, I hope I hope. We're the only non-musical on tour.

[18:34] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah. Um, so for people who are passionate about plays, you know, we're it right now.

[18:39] Jocelyn Shek: Besides what, you know, obviously our big theaters and in even our I think our community and smaller Lort theaters are all coming back, you know. So um there are offerings, but as far as Broadway tours, um, we're it and it it's I'm so grateful. I'm so grateful to be working. I'm so grateful to be bringing this important show across the country, and I'm so grateful to the people for doing, like I said, what they have to do to get out there.

[19:06] Cassie Beck: So I think it's sort of the the perfect play because that fourth wall is broken and because we're in direct relationship with them, and because we're talking to them, I hope that they feel acknowledged and validated and galvanized and connected with directly, you know. But what do you guys think about?

[19:22] Emilyn Toffler: I mean, I think certain certain issues are really popping out right now in the division.

[19:26] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah, for sure.

[19:27] Jocelyn Shek: Well, like I mean, uh, I think connected to what you said before about how obviously in the show we do break the fourth wall we connect we are connecting with the audiences that come in every night and obviously a lot of the show again is about human rights and just making sure that we all have a place where we belong and for me I've been able to see people feeling that through the theater even coming to like me like on Instagram and being like oh I saw you in the show I really appreciate how you created a space for young people.

[20:01] Jocelyn Shek: This was the first show that I saw back from the pandemic which was just really cool. And I think when we talk about like the politics that are affecting our lives right now making sure people are seen and people feel heard in our discussions of that has just been like really powerful.

[20:16] Emilyn Toffler: Yeah and also like it's very interesting because like everyone I talked to has been like they're so excited to see the play they're so excited to be in the theater but also like some people haven't had great reactions to it and that's okay and like my mom was at lunch and she was sitting with these two couples one who had seen the show and was like we loved it we're gonna go out and vote now and we're gonna fight and it's gonna be great and the other couple was like we didn't like that at all.

[20:41] Emilyn Toffler: Those viewpoints are wrong we just didn't they didn't appreciate it but like I which is interesting obviously and of course I think we are um kind of a controversial play but I think that's kind of what I love about it is that we're able to meet people where they're at.

[20:57] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah.

[20:57] Jocelyn Shek: So like I've had people come to the show who maybe didn't agree with my my healthcare point on healthcare. And then my dad's friend saw the show and he's like, Wow, like I never thought of it that way. Like, and now because you said it, I'm thinking of it in a different way now.

[21:12] Cassie Beck: Yeah.

[21:12] Jocelyn Shek: I think that's a really powerful thing. I had a family member do the same thing who came to the show and was like, Wow, there's a lot to think about, you know, like because it's just presented in an interesting way.

[21:24] Cassie Beck: Um, and I think you have a good point too, because like the social media is like the new stage door because you can't have people at the stage door, you know, um, right now with COVID.

[21:32] Jocelyn Shek: So uh social media is definitely the stage door.

[21:35] Jocelyn Shek: This is how we're getting feedback, this is how we're talking to people that we would normally maybe be able to talk to, you know, right after the show.

[21:41] Cassie Beck: Yeah.

[21:41] Jocelyn Shek: And so that's been super interesting to get DMs and notes and and that people are actually so wanting to share their stories with us or or further connect with us that they'll even take the time to write it out, you know.

[21:55] Cassie Beck: On their iPhone.

[21:55] Jocelyn Shek: On their iPhone, yeah.

[21:59] Jocelyn Shek: But like Cassie, you do like such an awesome job of making sure that everyone feels welcome, like regardless of their viewpoint, and you do such a great job with that, then I think that also really is what makes sense.

[22:10] Cassie Beck: Awesome.

[22:11] Cassie Beck: Yeah. Well, thank you. I think the play is striking in that way too, because I think I know because I have I've heard her say this enough, I think she won't mind me saying this for her that Heidi originally set out to talk to write a show about this contest and about her her time as a teenager doing this contest, and then started really thinking about it from her 45 year old self's point of view, and then that sort of was kind of the concept of the show.

[22:38] Cassie Beck: But then as she started to kind of um research the history of a lot of this legislation and rights in our country, she started to apply it to her matriarchal lines to her mother, her grandmother, her great grandmother, and then it started to become clear how marginalized and disenfranchised people are.

[22:56] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah.

[22:56] Cassie Beck: And then she's like, I can't just talk about women. This is affecting so many other people, the kind of the minority majority in the in the country. And so um the play really expanded to kind of embrace the true struggle with equality, which has a lot of intersectionality in it. And I think it was very important to her to be welcoming to everyone to give everyone as much of a voice as she can in a in a play you know in a two hour play.

[23:24] Emilyn Toffler: But for example, one of the things we really worked on is um Heidi and Oliver Butler, our director who's amazing by the way and we should give him a shout out who's incredible been with this show every step of the way they really reached out to you know we're coming across the country we're now going across the heartland and into the south and back up on the east eastern corridor and they met with tribes local tribes of each land area where we were to discuss how the show can best represent them on stage as far as a land acknowledgement which a lot of theaters across the country are doing now where they do yeah either in their lobbies or in their programs a land acknowledgement.

[24:02] Cassie Beck: I think Guthrie they had it in their lobby in the program and then we would have it before the show. And so they have different I think different theaters have different policies around all of this but but Heidi wanted to make sure that we were on we're performing on their land.

[24:17] Cassie Beck: Yeah um and that we acknowledge that and so we've woven that into the debate and we we have a pre-show announcement um acknowledging you know the land we're on yeah and that's just a small example of how she and Oliver, I think, and all of us are constantly thinking about how we can, like you guys are saying, um, make people feel seen and acknowledged.

[24:40] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah.

[24:40] Jocelyn Shek: And I've asked this in every single one of my interviews that I've ever done, but I'm gonna put it on a little bit of a twist with the um political voice of the show.

[24:48] Mason Bray: Um, but education or experience in your career or in just finding your stance in being politically active and representing what needs to be represented. Do you think your education or experience in the world has benefited those more?

[25:01] Jocelyn Shek: I think when it comes to my like political viewpoints, it was definitely my experience like as a marginalized person.

[25:07] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah. But when it comes to like my acting and theater experience, that has to do with all of my wonderful arts education and the wonderful theater teachers that I've had, um, who just really shaped me into the actor that I am and like who are still a part of my life today.

[25:22] Cassie Beck: Yeah.

[25:22] Jocelyn Shek: We're always there for me and just kind of pushing me to be better.

[25:25] Cassie Beck: That's amazing.

[25:26] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah, I mean, I think similarly, I think, in terms of like my political views, I would say both experience and education have brought me to where I am today. Obviously, I have had like a lot of experiences of my own that have shaped my political viewpoints, but also uh I like trying to get like as a woman of color, I've had my own unique experiences that are unique, unique experience that are unique.

[25:52] Jocelyn Shek: Uh I've I've had my own experiences that are unique to that um part of my identity, but also being able to go broader than myself and seeing what has affected the lives of other people in this country and other people in the world has also just been given able to give me a more nuanced perspective on my politics.

[26:14] Jocelyn Shek: So just like decentering myself from the conversations of how laws should work, because even if something is beneficial to me, it might not be beneficial to other people and it might not actually be equitable.

[26:26] Cassie Beck: So definitely education has been an important part of my life.

[26:29] Cassie Beck: In terms of like art and my art and theater, I definitely would have to say education. This show is like the first big production I've ever really done.

[26:39] Jocelyn Shek: So the people of this show, I really appreciate all of their support throughout all this, and like obviously my theater teachers at school and things like that who have helped me do this.

[26:49] Cassie Beck: Yeah.

[26:50] Cassie Beck: And then Cassie.

[26:51] Jocelyn Shek: Uh I think education comes in a lot of forms.

[26:55] Cassie Beck: I think the shows I see, the books I read, the travel, like like Jocelyn mentioned. I like to consider myself a total a perpetual student.

[27:04] Cassie Beck: So I'll say education, but I'm not gonna say it's institutional education only. I think it's yeah, I I mean, I'm learning from these two and from you.

[27:12] Cassie Beck: So uh, you know, what's important to you all right now and how is it affecting you?

[27:17] Jocelyn Shek: I mean, I think an open mind and uh there's always knowledge to seek, you know, and the and I think through the pandemic and kind of this sort of um this reckoning we're having in our industry right now has been a huge education for me, yeah.

[27:31] Cassie Beck: You know, about my own bias, about my own line spot. We we were fortunate that we got to have some EDI workshops, you know, before we set out on rehearsal, and I learned a ton in those, and those are like social education for certain people, because for other people it's lived experience, and it's just like, well, duh, like of course this is how it is, and for some of us, it's a learning, you know.

[27:55] Cassie Beck: So I don't know. I just think I'm I think I'm I think education is all around us that and we just have to seek it and be open to it.

[28:01] Jocelyn Shek: Yeah, and also with political when it comes to political viewpoints, it's also like acknowledging like my own privilege, especially as like a white trans man.

[28:08] Cassie Beck: Like, I have so much privilege that other people in the community that other people in the world don't have simply because of the color of my skin and like where I was raised and where how I was born and blah blah blah blah.

[28:18] Jocelyn Shek: So it's also about acknowledging your own privilege and seeing how you can use that to help others.

[28:24] Cassie Beck: Yeah.

[28:24] Cassie Beck: And the show is education for some and introduction to most people for the cities that you're going to because some of these topics have been ignored for years and years because they try to sweep it under the rug because it's their history and they don't want to talk about it. So I think it's really important that you guys are doing that.

[28:40] Mason Bray: And I just want to say thank you for being here.

[28:42] Cassie Beck: Oh thank you so much.

[28:44] All: Thank you.