This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Samantha Tuozzolo: Hello, everybody. Welcome to Survival Jobs, a podcast in collaboration with Broadway World and the Broadway Podcast Network. My name is Samantha Dawn Tuozzolo, and this is my amazing co-host Jason A. Coombs. And Jason and listeners and everybody who's here, we are approaching our four-year anniversary of this podcast.

[0:27] Jason A. Coombs: Yes, I was doing two peace signs before.

[0:32] Samantha Tuozzolo: Makes no sense, but so much sense. Also, April 1st, 2021.

[0:40] Jason A. Coombs: I know. I remember saying to you like, oh, should we release on April 1st and then release another episode right after and be like, April Fools, the real release day is going to be this. And you were like, no.

[0:52] Samantha Tuozzolo: No, we didn't say it was like, oh, should we tell? No, you were like, should we tell people it's April 1st, but then don't release and then release the next day.

[0:59] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, something. I wanted to like play a stupid April Fool's trick. And you were like, I don't think that's the way to like kick off a show.

[1:09] Samantha Tuozzolo: But anyway, happy four-year anniversary.

[1:11] Jason A. Coombs: April 1st, 2021.

[1:14] Samantha Tuozzolo: That's wild. Look at us now.

[1:16] Jason A. Coombs: A hundred and twenty four or episodes, three, three, three, so many episodes.

[1:23] Samantha Tuozzolo: I can't keep up with a lot of it.

[1:25] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah. How are you?

[1:30] Samantha Tuozzolo: I'm good. I am, you know, given everything in the world, trying to stay positive.

[1:38] Jason A. Coombs: But it's all we can do.

[1:40] Samantha Tuozzolo: It's challenging when, you know, when you're an Oscar winning filmmaker and then somebody could just kidnap you and torture you.

[1:48] Jason A. Coombs: Not sure about that, but we'll just keep it moving.

[1:51] Samantha Tuozzolo: It's wild. Yeah, the world is wild.

[1:54] Jason A. Coombs: Well, you look great. I love your hair.

[1:57] Samantha Tuozzolo: Thank you. I love your hair.

[1:59] Jason A. Coombs: I just want to take a minute to talk about survival jobs. You know, the reason we started the show and the theme of our show, because right now I I guess I don't know what I'm calling a survival job for myself anymore.

[2:12] Samantha Tuozzolo: Right. Like I am doing a lot of event work, event coordinating, event consulting. And so it's a career that I have and I'm just not sure like my path, but I'm just calling it a survival job. And I just want to you know, I've been out here surviving and it's event season and I'm out here at galas and lunches and just running things. And I just think it's a reminder to everybody and every artist that it's just it's just about the journey. You know, I had a moment where I was like, wait, am I even calling this a survival job anymore or is this?

[2:47] Jason A. Coombs: Mike, a career and I think it's OK.

[2:52] Samantha Tuozzolo: This is something I've been thinking about a lot. I think it is OK to want to have many paths. I want a life in events. I'm good at it. I like it. I dare even say I love it. And I want a life as an artist. And I don't think you have to be like that. This is my survival job until I'm at the thing.

[3:14] Jason A. Coombs: And Hannah, I think today in today's episode talks about that a little bit. Maybe or maybe I'm confusing her with another episode out of one hundred and twenty three. I don't know.

[3:23] Samantha Tuozzolo: But it's like if you sit in your job and it's always going to be like, oh, well, I'm just doing this until I get to the thing that I really want to do, then it's going to like be a shock of a life. And so I just wanted to to preach a little bit about that because I've been out here working a lot.

[3:41] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah. Feel so grateful for the connections I've made in my 14 years in New York and the life I have built. And my events career is at a place that's amazing.

[3:53] Samantha Tuozzolo: And that's all you can.

[3:57] Jason A. Coombs: In conclusion, you can do it all, people. You can have a job that maybe started out as a survival job that's turned into something you enjoy and you can still be working towards other things. You do not have to pick one or the other. And everyone's journey is different.

[4:14] Samantha Tuozzolo: Thank you. Thank you so much. So, Jason, what's up with this trailer you're telling me about?

[4:20] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, yeah. So do you remember Final Destination?

[4:23] Samantha Tuozzolo: I do. And yeah, I watched it once and then I was like terrified.

[4:28] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah. I've never revisited it and I don't think I will.

[4:31] Samantha Tuozzolo: Well, there's multiple sequels and they're making a new one called Final Destination Bloodlines.

[4:34] Jason A. Coombs: Bloodline. Yeah.

[4:38] Samantha Tuozzolo: So I don't know how many there are. Six or seven. I don't know.

[4:42] Jason A. Coombs: But yeah, I was just watching the trailer before this. And then I just wanted to say they got to stop giving crucial things away in these trailers, y'all. Like, what are y'all doing? Were you just spoiling the movies for people who want to watch your movie? It's so annoying when you're just like you have two minutes of something and you're seeing, especially like in a horror film when you're showing like the big deaths. Like, why would you why did they do that? Why do you think that's going to make people want to watch it more?

[5:06] Samantha Tuozzolo: Well, it makes me think that like that's not the thing. That's not the reveal. Like if they're exposing something in the trailer, then it must not be the big thing that happens.

[5:10] Jason A. Coombs: You're going to think that, you know, what's going on and you actually don't.

[5:18] Samantha Tuozzolo: That's what I hope so. I hope so. But I remember just watching like this when the new Screams came out. You know, I love Scream.

[5:27] Jason A. Coombs: I know.

[5:29] Samantha Tuozzolo: They were giving away stuff in the trailer then, too. And I'm just like, and it wasn't. They had literally someone on fire. That was the killer. If you look at it closely, I'm like. Why do you all do this?

[5:39] Jason A. Coombs: Anyway, that's just my little rant. I was like, oh, Final Destination is coming back. And then I was like, let me just watch this trailer. And then I was like, you all give away like eight deaths or what it appears to be. Maybe you're right, Samantha. Maybe they'll, you know, foil us.

[5:52] Samantha Tuozzolo: I would hope that, you know, marketing and those people are doing it intentionally to grab people in and then shock them with, you know, the real thing. So maybe that's the vibe.

[6:05] Jason A. Coombs: Perhaps, Samantha. What? Have you caught up with White Lotus yet?

[6:09] Samantha Tuozzolo: White Lotus yet? Oh, no, I have not.

[6:12] Jason A. Coombs: I'm so. Oh my gosh. I will do my best to catch up before our next mic check. But I'm I'm still on episode two.

[6:20] Samantha Tuozzolo: Oh, like what? I don't even know what happened.

[6:24] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, the guy was on the phone. The last thing I it's been weeks since I watched it. The guy was on the phone and something big was revealed and the episode ended.

[6:32] Samantha Tuozzolo: OK. Do you know what I mean?

[6:35] Jason A. Coombs: The dad. The dad. And he was like yelling at somebody. Something was revealed or something was going to be exposed.

[6:43] Samantha Tuozzolo: So, no, I'm very behind. I don't want to know anything.

[6:45] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah. So maybe.

[6:47] Samantha Tuozzolo: Got to catch up. I will.

[6:49] Jason A. Coombs: I will. But you know what else?

[6:51] Samantha Tuozzolo: What?

[6:54] Jason A. Coombs: Is out that I've been hearing buzz about is residents.

[6:56] Samantha Tuozzolo: The residents on Netflix.

[6:58] Jason A. Coombs: My girl Shonda Rhimes is.

[7:00] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, it's a Shonda.

[7:01] Jason A. Coombs: It's a Shonda. Hello, Shonda.

[7:01] Samantha Tuozzolo: Show her Uzo Uzo.

[7:04] Jason A. Coombs: And well, we're actually going to have one or two people from the residents on this podcast. So everybody stay tuned. We'll let you know more when we get that confirmed. But, you know, I love Shonda. And I was chatting with a friend of mine yesterday and she was like, oh, my God. Have you watched the residents? It's so good. And I said, not yet, but I sure, sure will. So anyway, and I love Shonda and I love like Knives Out. And it seems like it's like kind of like a Knives Out.

[7:31] Samantha Tuozzolo: I don't know what that is.

[7:36] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, it's like that. Just like that movie with Daniel Craig. And he's like a detective and he's like trying to solve the murder.

[7:43] Samantha Tuozzolo: You have to watch Knives Out. It's incredible.

[7:45] Jason A. Coombs: I will. I'll watch.

[7:47] Samantha Tuozzolo: So this reminds me of getting like a murder or something happening in the White House.

[7:50] Jason A. Coombs: Is that what it's about?

[7:50] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yes. Somebody gets murdered in the White House. Correct.

[7:53] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah. And then she's like the detective.

[7:55] Samantha Tuozzolo: It's like the detective. Yeah. Yeah.

[7:57] Jason A. Coombs: And then it's like it's like giving clue almost.

[8:00] Samantha Tuozzolo: Also, yes, I think you would love Knives Out. There's a sequel to great.

[8:04] Jason A. Coombs: I'll have to check it out after I catch up with the White Lotus.

[8:07] Samantha Tuozzolo: And after I watch it, I have too much to watch.

[8:09] Jason A. Coombs: I have too much to watch.

[8:10] Samantha Tuozzolo: And my friend, Ben, keeps telling me to watch this show on HBO. The all of us or something.

[8:15] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, I can't remember the name of the show, but that girl, that girl who was like a little girl, no, an older lady.

[8:27] Samantha Tuozzolo: It's OK. I went next.

[8:29] Jason A. Coombs: Next, Mike, check. I'll tell you guys what I'm talking about. There's like this older lady and she was on all that. She would be an amazing guest on this show because she's been on all the talk shows talking about how she didn't care that she was a server until she was like in her 40s, because she always knew that this is what she wanted and something would happen if she kept going. And now she's the lead on the HBO show.

[8:50] Samantha Tuozzolo: And I hear it's amazing, but I haven't. I've talked to Pete Burris.

[8:55] Jason A. Coombs: I can't. Yeah.

[8:57] Samantha Tuozzolo: Well, if I could remember the name or the name of the actress, I'm just like that girl, that lady, that woman.

[9:03] Jason A. Coombs: Good description.

[9:04] Samantha Tuozzolo: Anyhow, Jason, you talk about our girl, our girl.

[9:08] Jason A. Coombs: I think everybody's our girl. Hannah's like really our girl.

[9:11] Samantha Tuozzolo: Hannah Kevitt.

[9:12] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah. Wow.

[9:13] Samantha Tuozzolo: So Hannah, we met Hannah on the maybe happy ending opening night carpet back in November, October.

[9:22] Jason A. Coombs: It had to be October.

[9:23] Samantha Tuozzolo: And she came. We'll talk about this on the episode, but she came up to us on the carpet and was like, oh, my God, you guys, I love your podcast. And we were like, who? Like, who are you talking to?

[9:34] Jason A. Coombs: It's like, well, Joe Crump over there. Like, I mean, the hospital was.

[9:39] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah. And so that was so sweet. And it was just so nice to know that, you know, the things we talk about on here, people want to listen to. So we were like, we have to get on the show. So we finally did. She's understudying Claire, the lead of Maybe Happy Ending. She just went on for a whole week and I heard she crushed it. And we are we love Maybe Happy Ending, right, Jay?

[10:02] Jason A. Coombs: We love it. We love we love them. All of them.

[10:04] Samantha Tuozzolo: Darren, Dez, Ellen.

[10:08] Jason A. Coombs: All of the fucking little. What's the what's the fucking.

[10:11] Samantha Tuozzolo: Wabun. We love them all.

[10:13] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, listen, I'm obsessed with that show. We still both have a lot to see this Tony season, but I'm starting the Maybe Happy Ending Tony campaign right now because, man, when you have a musical so pure and those feelings and just to your core, it's like a Kimberley Kimbo vibe of like just. Just get in the field, so.

[10:34] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah. And so, yeah, you said everything I got to repeat you. Perfect. Thank you.

[10:40] Jason A. Coombs: Well, enjoy, everyone.

[10:43] Samantha Tuozzolo: Enjoy our convo with Miss Hannah.

[10:48] Jason A. Coombs: She's she's incredible.

[10:49] Samantha Tuozzolo: She's a star. She's a gift.

[10:52] Jason A. Coombs: Exactamundo. OK.

[10:55] Samantha Tuozzolo: Hannah, welcome to Survival Jobs, a podcast.

[10:59] Hannah Kevitt: We were just talking off mic how special you made us feel on the red carpet. Maybe. Well, I think it's a purple carpet, actually, of Maybe Happy Ending when you said you were a fan of us. And we were like, oh, my God.

[11:12] Jason A. Coombs: Well, yes, I am. It's the truth.

[11:15] Hannah Kevitt: I'm so excited to be here, you guys. Thank you. Thank you.

[11:18] Jason A. Coombs: And you are killing it, right? You just had a week on recently performing as Claire in Maybe Happy Ending.

[11:26] Hannah Kevitt: That's so exciting. Congratulations.

[11:28] Hannah Kevitt: Thank you. Thank you. It was amazing. I mean, that show is so special. And we're going to gap and gap and gap about it. My favorite of the season so far. I like took clients to it. Like after I saw it, I had like client.

[11:41] Samantha Tuozzolo: Oh, my God. Look at this thumb I just got. Thank you.

[11:44] Hannah Kevitt: Did you see that? Well, it never happens to me. Sorry to the people who are just listening sometimes in these little boxes. We have little things pop up like confetti balloons. I just got a thumbs up and I don't even know why, but it just means we're all meant to be here together. So amazing.

[11:59] Hannah Kevitt: Anyway, I was saying I love the show so much. I had clients and we're like, let's go see a Broadway show. And I was like, I know which one to go to. So it's so special. We're going to scream and gab about the show, obviously. But before we do that, obviously, you know, our vibe of the show is survival jobs. Can you please share maybe a favorite survival job you've had along your artistic journey or maybe one that has like a shocking story attached to it?

[12:24] Hannah Kevitt: OK, I've been thinking about this for the past few days, and I feel like I worked the gambit of like different like I dipped my toe in different kinds of survival jobs. So I worked. So, OK, this I feel like this helps ties tie in the vibes. So when I was 18, I graduated from high school and I was like, mom and dad, I'm not going to music theater school. I'm in a book Broadway right now. And they were like, OK, well, you have to have money to to do that, to move to New York.

[13:01] Hannah Kevitt: Yeah, kind of a little bit. Well, yes. And so I worked all these like odd jobs while I was living at home in my hometown of Hickory, North Carolina. So that is where I worked the majority of my my survival job. So I worked in food. I worked at this Chinese place for so long. I worked at a spa. I worked at I'm a certified yoga instructor. So I did that.

[13:27] Hannah Kevitt: I love that. Thank you. That was my I think my favorite survival job.

[13:34] Hannah Kevitt: And yoga? Teaching yoga?

[13:36] Hannah Kevitt: Yeah. I taught this like really cute like.

[13:40] Hannah Kevitt: Like 7 p.m. yoga for old ladies vibes and it was so fun. I love that. Have you ever taught hot yoga?

[13:48] Jason A. Coombs: I have not. I'm like trained as like a vinyasa flow vibe and I've been thinking about getting back into it but anyway.

[13:54] Hannah Kevitt: You're a little busy.

[13:56] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah. Well, yes. Yeah. Just a little bit. Yeah. I also, I guess my worst story is that I worked retail for a very, very short period of time because I worked at Aeropostale in the mall. And they were like, your first day is going to be Black Friday. And I was like, okay, perfect. And I have no idea where anything was or how to do anything. And this and we also I don't know if this is appropriate for the podcast, but someone did pee in the dressing stall. So like, it was honestly the worst.

[14:32] Hannah Kevitt: Were they wasted? Ever?

[14:41] Jason A. Coombs: I have no idea. I also feel like it was maybe because the vibes were so intense for Black Friday. It was like, we have no time to go pee. We have to just do it in this. You know what I mean? Isn't that insane? So I feel like our first pee story.

[14:56] Hannah Kevitt: Yeah. Oh my god. Oh my god. Survival Jobs history. We've never had a pee story.

[14:59] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, no. It can't be me bringing it to Survival Jobs.

[15:02] Hannah Kevitt: No, it's iconic.

[15:05] Jason A. Coombs: But anyway, so all of those experiences, I feel like have formed like, at least like my respect and appreciation for like service workers. I think everyone should have like a service job once because it treats you. It teaches you how to treat people with kindness and empathy. And we're all just people. Anyway.

[15:26] Hannah Kevitt: That is true. We are all just people.

[15:29] Jason A. Coombs: I agree with that. I think people will have more empathy if they've been in that position before, because it's really hard. I've done retail too. I've worked at the Gap. That was like my first job ever.

[15:38] Hannah Kevitt: Okay, Gap.

[15:41] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, it was terrible.

[15:44] Hannah Kevitt: It's tough. People can be mean. I got yelled at. When I was working at the Chinese restaurant, I got yelled at over the phone about like a box of white rice. And I was like, I don't know. And then I cried because I was like, I don't know. This is a lot of pressure. Anyway, and it's just rice. It's like, come on, people. It's just rice. You're not like solving cancer or anything. It's just rice.

[16:10] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[16:13] Hannah Kevitt: It's okay. That was a long explanation of all the different jobs I've had.

[16:18] Jason A. Coombs: Listen, we love to hear them. We love to hear them.

[16:21] Hannah Kevitt: We do. We do. So maybe Happy Ending is not your Broadway debut. You were first in Back to the Future. Can you tell us what that experience was like and how you felt when you booked that first role on Broadway?

[16:35] Hannah Kevitt: Oh my God, that was the best. Back to the Future was awesome. So I, spoiler alert, did not book Broadway when I was 18 years old and had all of these survival jobs. I kind of worked regionally, like on the East Coast with like a few regional theater jobs and then would like supplement with those like survival jobs that I mentioned. And then I was like, I started noticing like gaps in my knowledge as like a person and a performer. And I went to community college and then I went to university. I went to Elon University. And so my whole senior year at Elon, I, so the summer before I started my senior year at Elon, I saw this Playbill listing for Back to the Future of the Musical on Broadway. And I was like, oh, okay.

And then it said like starts rehearsals in summer of 2023. And I was like, wait, I graduate in summer of 2023. That would be kind of fierce if I could graduate with this job. It was like such a fleeting thought, but I was like, oh, that would be really cool. And so I basically spent my whole senior year auditioning, like flying back and forth from North Carolina to New York, missing classes left and right. And I think I went in, if you count all the times that I came in and was like kept or stayed an extra day or whatever, I think I went in and did things for them like a total of eight times or so. It was insane. And I was like, okay, this is this is it that I wanted. It was just so close and I wanted it so bad.

Anyway, so then I'm in class. This is the story of how I got it. I'm in class and I come out and I check my phone and I have an email from casting being like, hey, can you call me? Because I didn't have an agent at the time. And I was like, oh, okay. So I run into the other studio. I call and to voicemail and I was like, oh, no. And then I have to go to my next class, which is this huge departmental class with every single person from Elon University's department. Did we have that too, Samantha? We had something like that. We went to college together, too. I forgot about that, Jason.

[19:00] Hannah Kevitt: Yeah, yeah. Sorry, Hannah. No, we love it. We love it. We brought me back for a second. I forgot all about that. Wow.

[19:06] Jason A. Coombs: I know you're like sat in the in the lecture hall. You're like, yeah, but I'm sitting there and I have my phone on my leg like like this. I'm like.

[19:16] Hannah Kevitt: Looking back and forth and then a New York area code lights up, I run out very dramatically and in the hallway of the Center for the Performing Arts at Elon, my boyfriend runs after me to get a video just in case it's something really exciting. And I'm so glad he did. And I they were like, we want you to make your Broadway debut in Back to the Future of Music on Broadway. And I just collapsed like I tried to play it cool on the phone. I was like, yes, I would love to do that. And then like hung up and I was like, because it was just like this culmination of all these like wants and hopes and feelings and, you know, and the work and the things and, you know, and it was just you like manifested it. You saw it. You're like, oh, the timing. This is going to be perfect. I want it. And then it happened like that is so special. Please email us this video so we can insert it right here because that will be iconic.

[20:10] Jason A. Coombs: That will be iconic. So you went from Back to the Future and then right into maybe Happy Ending, which is like praise, booked and blessed.

[20:16] Hannah Kevitt: Yeah, booked and blessed, booked and blessed girl. Yeah. So we were just we were gushing about how special this show is and it really, really is. So can you tell us what first attracted you to this this play and what do you what do you think it is about it that's that's resonating so well with the audience?

[20:37] Hannah Kevitt: So I am so grateful to be able to go from one show to another. Like, what is my life? Like, that's crazy. It's so I was blessed. It's thank you, blessed. It's insane. And I just am so grateful. I can't believe that this is my life anyway. So I was doing Back to the Future. I did that show for a little over a year. And that was, I mean, just the best experience I got to learn from these amazing, amazing artists and got to learn how to do Broadway and get to learn how to do New York. And like, I moved here like the like the day of graduation and started rehearsals. It was so magical.

[21:19] Jason A. Coombs: It was crazy.

[21:19] Hannah Kevitt: So anyway, I was doing Back to the Future. I was like, in the run. I think we had just done Broadway and Bryant Park. Wait, actually, I have to back up before that. I was I was getting drinks with a friend. And this friend was like, Have you heard of the show called maybe happy ending? Because at that time, Helen and Darren had already been announced with it. And they were like, you should see if they need a cover, like, it would be amazing. And I was like, okay. So I went home, I researched the show. And I was like, wait, this looks kind of cool. Like I had seen things from Atlanta. And I was like, okay. So I sent my agents an email. And I was like, Hey, I've heard about this new show. Can I get an audition?

They were like, yes. So they sent me the whole script, which is like very uncommon, I feel like for Broadway and for theater stuff. So I took an afternoon before I was doing Back to the Future at night, I took like a Friday afternoon, and I sat on my couch, and I read the entirety of the draft of maybe happy ending. And I was like, Whoa, this is special. This is a really special story. And there was just like this sense of like, I have to be part of this. Like, I don't know how I could be I could be like, third bush to the left. Like, I just want to be a part of telling a story. And I just had this like gut feeling about it. And so I sent in my audition, I sent in a song and I think two scenes.

And I didn't hear anything after that, like for a month. And I was like, Okay, I guess it wasn't mine. I guess like, I just have to release. But I still have this like weird nagging feeling about it. And then like a month later, we we Back to the Future was performing at Broadway and Bryant Park. And I got I was like leaving, I got a call from my agent about something completely different. And I was like, Can you just check in about maybe happy ending? I'm sure they've cast somebody by now. I just want some feedback or kind of want to understand what happened there, whatever. And then the next day, my agent called him was like, funny story. So they I was about to email them to reach out about what you'd asked me about maybe happening. But I woke up to an email from casting about you being like, What are Hannah's outside Back to the Future? And I was like, what?

[23:51] Jason A. Coombs: You're the manifestation queen.

[23:53] Hannah Kevitt: Yeah, you're like, you are making everything that you want happen.

[23:59] Jason A. Coombs: I appreciate you. I really need to sit in a circle with you and do some witchcraft.

[24:05] Hannah Kevitt: I thoroughly believe in manifestation. Anyway. Um, so I was like, Oh my god, this was a Friday. And they were like, we may need to bring you back in. We may, they may not need an understudy. Like, who knows. But they said that your tape was great, whatever. And we'll know more on Monday. So I did like the whole weekend performing a Back to the Future being like, Oh, I wonder what's gonna happen. Um, and then Monday happened, I went to a dance class. And I came out and I had a voicemail from an agent that was like, Hey, we've got an offer. Can you call me back? And I had been in for a few things. So I didn't quite know if it was maybe happening. Of course, my phone's on 2%. So I run and I have to take the stupid local train.

And so I'm taking and I'm like, I feel like my hands are vibrating. I'm like, Oh my god, it's crazy. So then I run home, I plug my phone in. I texted my boyfriend, he was like, call me on FaceTime, so I can get a video. And I was like, Okay, um, no, he's slayed with the videos. We want this video as well, please. Okay, I'll drop it. I will send you guys the email. He's a keeper.

[25:10] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah. He's a good one. And so anyway, I pick up the phone. I think I have this video of me being like, Are you? Are they sure? Like, just off the tape? Because they don't know me. They've never met me. They have no idea if I'm like crazy. But my agent was like, Yeah, that was good enough for them. And I was like, okay. So then that day, I called everybody in my life. And then I figured out how to put in my notice of Back to the Future. And that was also like, very bittersweet, because I love that building. And I love those people. And I learned so, so much from them. And I love that show. It was so fun to do. Um, so anyway, then I, I put in my notice and worked out my notice and then started doing maybe happy ending. It was crazy and awesome.

[26:07] Jason A. Coombs: These are amazing stories. Thank you for like, I'm seeing it all play out.

[26:13] Hannah Kevitt: Yeah. You know, thanks for being here for the story time. I love it. I have a random question. I don't know anything about this. You have to put like a movie notice it when you're like leaving Broadway.

[26:20] Jason A. Coombs: No, that's a brilliant question. These are the things that like, no one talks about. There's so many things on Broadway that like, I had no idea about, you know, and you just, it's, I've been talking a lot with people about how it's like, it's Broadway is like this weird, like oral tradition thing, where it's like, you just pass it down. So I'm about to pass it down to y'all. So it's like, here we go. From my understanding, it's so you can sign something called a rider, which is like, which is what I did for Back to the Future, which is where I was like, I commit to being there for a year, a year rider. And then after the year mark, your, your contract continues with the show as an ensemble member. And then you kind of like renegotiate maybe with your agents or whatever. Anyway, Back to the Future's case, the producers decided that they would give us a four week out. So you can leave for any reason, if you work out your four week.

[27:50] Samantha Tuozzolo: So, the character of Claire basically never leaves the stage. As the understudy, how do you stay on top of like, I don't know, like, making sure you know all the lines all the time? I'm not sure if that's a stupid question either, but I feel like I would be like, nervous all the time. I wouldn't know the lines. And just like, do you ever feel like when you have your rehearsals with your other understudies? Like, how's that process like? And then last question, it's like a three part, right?

[28:20] Jason A. Coombs: I guess. What was it like doing the role for a week straight? That's so iconic and still awesome. You got that experience.

[28:27] Hannah Kevitt: Wow. Okay. Three amazing questions. Please remind me if I start derailing. I feel like I've dodged some questions by accident. So, okay, first question was, oh, how? Okay. So, understudying, I feel like I learned, I love these metaphors that Jonalyn Saxer from Back to the Future, she said to me, she was like, being an understudy or a standby or a swing, it's like, you know, when you're playing a video game, and you're like looking at all the cars like from above? Being an understudy is like looking at all of those things. And then when you're on, you're like, suddenly in the car. And you're like, Oh, where am I going? What does it look like from this perspective? And so that is what it feels like. It's like always having to be prepared for like a pop quiz, and you have to ace the pop quiz.

[29:15] Hannah Kevitt: Yeah. And I mean, you guys have seen like, there's it's just a huge set, and things are moving and scary and automation and whatever. And so and like you said, like Claire doesn't leave the stage at all. So it's literally right? Literally ever. There's I need you guys to know that there is, wait, I can't be the other bringing up pee again. But like, there's Mary a pee break in the show. Like, there's no time to pee. And there's no, it's true. And you have to hydrate it for the vocals like it's tough.

[30:09] Hannah Kevitt: And let's talk about that. That is like, honestly, the hardest part of the track for me personally, Helen and I talk about it all the time because I have the smallest bladder, I think. And so it's like really and I built in pee breaks usually into my tracks. And so like, I was like, Okay, perfect. So we're just not gonna be

[30:31] Jason A. Coombs: You're gonna be like, backstage, like the guy at Aeropostale. No time just like,

[30:34] Hannah Kevitt: I know. No time we got it.

[30:37] Jason A. Coombs: You're tying in your survival job now.

[30:41] Hannah Kevitt: What I've learned. So anyway, that's, that's kind of I'm. So right now I'm trying to, we hear the show every day we sit backstage and standbys and we listen to the show. So sometimes it'll be like, Oh, hey, Steven, can you run the scene with me really quick? I haven't run it in a while. Can we just like run the lines? Or we have monitors backstage. This is what I did yesterday. Sometimes I'll just like walk through it by myself. Walk through the blocking of the show like alone. I look. Yeah, just to like feel what it feels like to know what line I'm moving on that sort of thing.

[31:19] Hannah Kevitt: And then when we have rehearsals on stage, we usually have like understudy brush-ups and things like that. That is a great time to just like, get the stamina of the show, like understanding what that feels like to do a straight run vocally, physically, that sort of vibe. But truly, like, there is nothing that can prepare you for going on as prepared as you feel and as prepared as you have been made to feel, you know, like, then the feeling of like, okay, I'm doing it in front of a paying audience and I'm doing the show. This is also like my principal Broadway debut. So it's a big, big role and it feels insane and scary and awesome. So doing it the past week has been, or like the week that I was on, has been the biggest gift.

[32:10] Hannah Kevitt: Like being able to do a bunch of reps as an understudy, as a standby is a huge gift because it means that like, sometimes when you do like a one-off, like I understudied it back to the future and sometimes it would be like, oh, I'm going to do one Jennifer show or whatever. You get a note and then you don't know the next time that you get to apply that note. So getting to do a bunch of shows in a row, not only like gives you the opportunity to get like settle into the role, it gives you the opportunity to like, I got to do it with Darren the whole week. So that was amazing to get to like settle in and find what our Oliver and Claire look like, because like Helen and I are different people and both are valid and amazing ways to play the roles.

[32:55] Hannah Kevitt: And so just figuring out how, thank you. And figuring out how to navigate that with Darren and figure out what that looks like. And then also be like, okay, I've seen that spike before. I know what spike I'm going to now. I know what the suitcase feels like. I know I've touched Wabun before. You know what I mean? So it was just the hugest gift. And then on top of that, being like so supported in the building and so supported like people coming and like a lot of my Back to the Future fan came and like my actual, like my family, my mom and dad and people from all corners of my life came to support. And it just felt like the coolest. I'm going to cry. Oh, whatever.

[33:40] Jason A. Coombs: Oh yeah, that's amazing.

[33:43] Hannah Kevitt: And I felt so, so loved and felt like this huge, huge task because I was so nervous to do it.

[33:51] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, like, like we said, Claire never leaves the stage. And also, like you said, doing it with Darren Criss, like this, like celebrity, essentially, Darren is, right?

[34:04] Hannah Kevitt: Yeah.

[34:05] Jason A. Coombs: Right.

[34:06] Hannah Kevitt: Yeah, I grew up watching, I grew up watching Glee. So I was like, okay.

[34:13] Hannah Kevitt: Like singing Teenage Dream in the background.

[34:15] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, correct. And so now I'm like, okay, we are co workers. We are actually like, I talk about it all the time. Like, Claire and Oliver have such a big lift in the show. Like they are truly a team throughout the whole show, because it's just the two of them for most of it. And so, like, it really I wanted to be like, I got you, Darren, you got me like, we we gotta we gotta get into it.

[34:40] Samantha Tuozzolo: That's amazing. Well, congratulations. Yeah. And please next time you have dates, let us know or we will peep the Instagram and we will be there with signs with posters.

[34:52] Hannah Kevitt: Yeah.

[34:53] Jason A. Coombs: I was I that's so sweet.

[34:56] Samantha Tuozzolo: So we read that when you were 12, you made a PowerPoint PowerPoint presentation for your parents. That is a good like a warm up PowerPoint presentation for your parents, pee pee pee pee. Oh my god, pee pee again. Why are we talking about pee so much?

[35:11] Hannah Kevitt: Oh God, guys, this can't be my legacy.

[35:14] Samantha Tuozzolo: No, I'm obsessed. We're not gonna call the episode pee, but we kind of could. Anyway, so like I read we read this and I was like, that is so iconic. So can you tell us what first drew you to want to be an actor and a life as an artist and what continues to inspire you to live this life?

[35:37] Hannah Kevitt: So when I was four, I grew up watching like a bunch of Disney movies. And I would sing along to them. I loved like, dancing along, I would make up my own dances and things like that in my home. And my dad was like, we gotta get you in theater. So he enrolled me in this camp at our community theater, and I had the worst stage fright ever. Like of the fight, flight or freeze, I froze. And I was just like standing on stage. It was like a very small little play. It was like about nursery rhymes like it was not tea, but it was just if I was so scared. And so I was like, I'm never doing theater again at four years old. And my dad was like, we got to get back on the horse. So he started doing theater with me because I was so scared. And so we started doing like community theater together. He kind of rediscovered he did theater in college. So he kind of rediscovered his love of theater. And now he still does theater like without me.

[36:36] Jason A. Coombs: That needs to be like a movie. That's so cute. I love that so much.

[36:41] Hannah Kevitt: He's the best. He was just like, so, so supportive and encouraging. And it was just so cool. So I like got to build the confidence to do theater with him. And then I took dance lessons, you know, on the side. And, and then when I was 12, the reason I made a PowerPoint presentation is because I booked a JCPenney commercial. And I was like, parents, I can do this as a career. I think it was the first time that I saw that you could get paid to do what you love. And so I was like, guys, I think I can do this. And they were like, okay. And I was like, I, I don't want to be I was in private school at the time. And I was like, I don't want to be in school anymore. I want to be homeschooled because I want to dedicate to my craft. Like, I don't know where I got this. Like, I was like a little 12 year old.

[37:36] Hannah Kevitt: But that's and then they were like, and to much to their credit, they were like, Okay, yeah, sure. And so I just spent the time training and trying to do so it's something that I've like been doing for so, so long. And then, like, getting to do it now is like the biggest dream. Like, I mean, it was just, I don't know, like, when I booked, when I booked Back to the Future, I was like, when I called my parents, it was just tears because it was like, all the voice lessons they drove me to all the dance lessons, like all the acting class, like, everything that they did for me, like, it just felt like we guys, we did it. We did it. We got up this like, huge hill. And yeah, it was really cool. So now I'm, I think we all cry. Um, but yeah, I so I think, um, and of course, there have been moments where I'm like, Is this what I want to do? Is this something that I've just done? Because I do because I've just done it my whole life.

[38:41] Hannah Kevitt: But I'm a big believer in like, finding your bliss and checking in with yourself and, and, you know, always trying to be true to what my heart, my dad always said, like, if something feels right in your head, your heart and the pit of your stomach, you're on a good track. Um, so I try to catch that.

[39:01] Jason A. Coombs: That's great. I don't remember that.

[39:03] Hannah Kevitt: I know. So I try to follow that with my life. And right now that is like, what feels most in alignment for me is getting to do what I'm doing. And it feels the coolest.

[39:17] Samantha Tuozzolo: That's amazing. I love that. Yeah, I'll see your dad for that advice. I gotta write that down. That's so good.

[39:25] Hannah Kevitt: Yeah, yeah. Head, heart, pit.

[39:27] Jason A. Coombs: Head, heart, pit. Oh, okay. So I'm gonna go a little off script, Sam. I got another another two parter, but I'm gonna say one at a time. So don't overwhelm you. Do you have a favorite moment in the show as as maybe two parter like as a as performing it and then as watching it backstage? Or maybe it's the same?

[39:45] Hannah Kevitt: I think it's the same. Um, I think my favorite song in the show is how to not be alone. Um, it's my favorite song to watch because Helen Jason is amazing, is like that girl. And it's been I mean, I'm just so lucky that I get to work with her like she's, I truly feel like we have found like sisterhood. It's she's the best. And so watching her do that and build this role and like it just is the coolest and it's such a beautiful moment for Claire in like the Claire Oliver dynamic of like her discovering that she this feeling that she had of not being alone. And she's been alone for so long now. And she's like, Wait, I remember this feeling. I liked this feeling of like, sharing your life with someone and, and that sort of thing. And so it's my favorite number to watch. It's the one that like gets me the most emotional.

[40:46] Hannah Kevitt: And then it's my favorite number to do because it feels it's so like, it's music theater and everything you want it to be. It's like one character singing on stage, like you are so along for the ride at that point.

[41:02] Hannah Kevitt: Invested in their stories and so anyway, that's a long answer, but that is my favorite.

[41:07] Samantha Tuozzolo: No, I love that. I mean, I love this show. I know Jason and I were like, oh my god, this is so good.

[41:13] Jason A. Coombs: I'm like give it the Tony!

[41:22] Samantha Tuozzolo: God, I was going to say the actual question.

[41:25] Jason A. Coombs: I'm supposed to ask you was in the one word. Tell us why you think our listeners should run to see Maybe Happy Ending to buy their tickets right now and go see the show ASAP.

[41:33] Hannah Kevitt: One word. Oh god.

[41:39] Hannah Kevitt: It's so fun playing the one-word game. Oh, universal! Ooh, I think when I read the script on my couch right here for the first time, I was like wow. This is it! Like, it touched me and I was like, I think it's gonna touch everyone. Like, there's something about it that is so, so human, which is so cool because it's not about humans at all. I mean, it's about robots, but like I think what's so magical about this show? There's an author's note in the first, like in the script and the author's note from Will and Hugh, it's like we try to fill this show—I'm paraphrasing terribly, so please don't quote me on this—it's something about like we try to fill the show with as many simple life's simple magic moments as possible.

Like, and now I'm not paraphrasing anyone, like the first time you see firefly, like the first time you like touch someone and it means something, the first time you lose someone, the first time—like these moments that are such big, big things. I think this show does a brilliant, brilliant job of being like we all experience this, you know?

[43:00] Samantha Tuozzolo: You're amazing! Like, chatting with you is like sparking a fire in me of like inspiration and like remembering like what we're all here for, you know? So, thank you so much for being so open with your feelings on this show today. It's really appreciated and you're amazing.

[43:20] Hannah Kevitt: Thank you. You guys are amazing.

[43:25] Jason A. Coombs: We always love to bring it back to survival jobs, right? That's the reason we created this show. And so we have a ton of listeners who, you know, are maybe feeling stuck in their survival job wanting a life as an artist, an actor, a director, whatever their art form may be. But you know when you're in the grind and you don't see any hope coming or you're doing your 12th audition for the week and no callbacks, it gets hard. So what is your advice for anybody who might be feeling stuck in a survival job but really wanting that other life?

[43:58] Hannah Kevitt: Hmm, I think what I've been thinking about a lot recently is wherever you go, you are also there. So I've been thinking about because like there is this like this insatiableness—I don't know if that's a word—of being an artist, of being like, okay, once I book this, I will feel like enough. Once I book like this, I will feel like enough. I will feel like I did it, you know? And I think what I'm learning is that you have to give yourself permission to feel like enough, like what you're doing is enough and what you're doing is also really hard. Like every aspect of this industry is so, so hard. Whether you're auditioning, whether you're doing a show a week, like every single aspect is difficult in its own way.

So I feel like getting to know myself and getting to like myself as much as you know, like you can in therapy and whatever is like I think the key to like I'm trying to like myself on every step of the journey, you know what I mean? Like there is this thing about like, okay, once you book principal and you know, like then you book another role—I'm trying to like myself and like my life and like how it looks on every step of the journey or rung of the ladder or whatever you want to call it. And so I guess my advice would be like figure out how to like the way that your life looks right now and like even if that means like it's not where you want to be ultimately, like figuring out like what would serve you, what feels like balance, what feels like freedom.

And as an artist to be like, okay, I know that I'm burning myself out a little bit. I need to be around friends. I need to talk about something that has nothing to do with theater. I need to create something myself to be like, hey, I'm really missing that part of myself. Do you guys want to collaborate and make something? Because you are an artist no matter whether you're working or whether you're not working like currently. So I think—I don't know if that was a succinct piece of advice.

[46:25] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, no, it's perfect.

[46:27] Hannah Kevitt: But that's those are just kind of the things that I think about and as I go because the jobs will come and go and but you will be wherever you are. So, and it's so important to really love where you are in your life and look at where you are and say this is an accomplishment, what I'm doing now because life is short, you know? And you may never reach what your ultimate dream is, but that doesn't mean you haven't achieved your dream. It just maybe looks a little different. And so when you take yourself out of it and you look at your life and you're like, oh, but I'm doing XYZ, something I never thought I'd be doing, but I love it and I'm thriving. You know, I do that a lot with this show. I'm like, oh my god, I'm stressed about XYZ and then I'm like, oh my god, we're cranking out weekly episodes most of the time—most of the time weekly episodes chatting with these amazing people, something, you know, I personally never thought I'd be doing, but it's amazing, right? So thank you for that. That was excellent advice.

[47:21] Jason A. Coombs: Guys, I need to take myself sometime, so thank you.

[47:23] Hannah Kevitt: Thank you, guys.

[47:28] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, I hope you all had your notebooks out because it's true, you need that. I need that, so I'm honored.

[47:37] Jason A. Coombs: We're honored to have you. We're gonna go back to manifestation for the last question because Samantha and I are big manifestors. We definitely believe in that as much as you do, and we just think it's important to really set intentions of what you want in life and career and whatnot. So do you clearly have the power?

[48:00] Hannah Kevitt: Sorry? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you're the manifestation queen.

[48:08] Jason A. Coombs: We can't say the manifestation mama because I like alliterations, is that okay?

[48:11] Hannah Kevitt: Okay, period.

[48:16] Jason A. Coombs: No, but the other dream role or collaboration or someone you want to work with that you're you want to set with us on the show today?

[48:21] Hannah Kevitt: Oh god, it's crazy when people ask me this because I'm like I didn't even think I would be here. Like I feel like I'm living my dream actively. But things that I am thinking about, I would love to dip my toe in like TV film world. It's something I don't know a lot about, so it's something that I am like I would love to—like I love environments where I don't know everything. I love to be thrown into something and like have to learn. And so I think that would be really cool. And as far as next like dream roles, it's crazy because like I didn't realize like I didn't really grow up having a dream role. And I talked to Helen about this all the time, but like if I was a little Asian girl coming to see Maybe Happy Ending, Claire would be my dream role.

And so getting to work on something that is your dream role is like the coolest feeling ever. So I guess career-wise, like I just kind of want to keep following that thing where I'm like I did—I had never thought I would be here like this, like sense of gratitude and all of what life is and the universe is like bringing to me. So if I can keep following that feeling, that's like whether that be another Broadway show or whether that be TV or whether that be whatever, I will be grateful if that's the feeling that I keep getting.

[49:48] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, well when you book a TV show, we'll say well we manifest in here with manifestation mama.

[49:54] Hannah Kevitt: I don't know.

[49:56] Jason A. Coombs: And we'll pull up and you'll pull up the receipts. You'll be like, right, do you remember this?

[50:09] Hannah Kevitt: Oh man, this episode is so amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[50:14] Samantha Tuozzolo: As you know because you have listened to our show before because you're a queen, we always like to end the show with a little game or a little activity.

[50:27] Jason A. Coombs: Whoa, I've never used that before.

[50:29] Samantha Tuozzolo: Why and fun! So we thought we'd play a little fun word association game with you surrounding Broadway, surrounding the arts, surrounding random things. And then we're gonna read a word to you and then you just tell us the first word that comes to your brain.

[50:38] Hannah Kevitt: Oh god, this makes me—I'm nervous!

[50:44] Hannah Kevitt: This is the part that I was like listening to some episodes of yours and I was like, okay, the rapid-fire part is gonna be—

[50:51] Jason A. Coombs: Yep, it's fun. I'm down. I'm ready.

[50:55] Jason A. Coombs: Okay, first one is Broadway.

[51:01] Hannah Kevitt: Friends.

[51:03] Jason A. Coombs: JC Penney commercial.

[51:11] Hannah Kevitt: Darren Criss.

[51:14] Jason A. Coombs: Wabun.

[51:16] Hannah Kevitt: Musicals.

[51:18] Jason A. Coombs: Maybe Happy Ending.

[51:22] Hannah Kevitt: Elon University.

[51:26] Jason A. Coombs: Phoenix, North Carolina.

[51:28] Hannah Kevitt: Bojangles.

[51:30] Jason A. Coombs: Tori.

[51:33] Hannah Kevitt: Glee.

[51:34] Jason A. Coombs: Blaine.

[51:37] Hannah Kevitt: Audra McDonald.

[51:39] Jason A. Coombs: Gypsy.

[51:42] Hannah Kevitt: Dad's drawn.

[51:45] Jason A. Coombs: Funny.

[51:47] Hannah Kevitt: Casey likes.

[51:49] Jason A. Coombs: This is more than one word.

[51:51] Hannah Kevitt: Great team partner.

[51:53] Jason A. Coombs: Helper bot.

[51:55] Hannah Kevitt: Sorry, I fell asleep.

[51:58] Jason A. Coombs: Five.

[51:59] Hannah Kevitt: Miss Saigon.

[52:01] Jason A. Coombs: Helicopter.

[52:03] Hannah Kevitt: Telling.

[52:05] Jason A. Coombs: Jason.

[52:07] Hannah Kevitt: Star.

[52:09] Jason A. Coombs: Times Square.

[52:11] Hannah Kevitt: Scary.

[52:13] Jason A. Coombs: Of course.

[52:15] Hannah Kevitt: Line.

[52:17] Jason A. Coombs: Hard.

[52:19] Hannah Kevitt: And last one is Back to the Future.

[52:25] Jason A. Coombs: First.

[52:27] Hannah Kevitt: And a bonus one, Wabun.

[52:31] Jason A. Coombs: Diva.

[52:37] Hannah Kevitt: Nervous about ace it!

[52:39] Jason A. Coombs: You crushed it!

[52:41] Hannah Kevitt: I appreciate you.

[52:43] Jason A. Coombs: Thank you so much! Can you please drop your Instagram or any social media website, anything that our listeners can keep up with you on?

[52:45] Hannah Kevitt: Yeah, I'm on Instagram at hannahkevit. And then I think on TikTok, I'm hannahkevit. And yeah, that's where I'm at. And go see Maybe Happy Ending immediately!

[52:59] Jason A. Coombs: And if you're tuning into this episode because you're a Hannah fan, obviously, and you don't follow us yet, follow us at survivaljobspod on Instagram and TikTok. Send us an email at survivaljobspod@gmail.com. Facebook, we are Survival Jobs: A Podcast. Follow my social media at survivaljobspod. I'm also on Instagram and TikTok. I'm also on Facebook. I'm also on Twitter. I'm also on Instagram.

[53:20] Samantha Tuozzolo: We are Survival Jobs: A Podcast.

[53:25] Jason A. Coombs: Uh, follow my boy Jason at jasonacoombs and I am sammytoots.

[53:35] Hannah Kevitt: Thank you so much! Run to see Maybe Happy Ending. Keep an eye out when Hannah gets her dates—she gets more dates for Claire. We will shout it out on this podcast so everyone is aware.

[53:48] Jason A. Coombs: Yay!

[53:52] Hannah Kevitt: Thanks, guys!

[53:56] Jason A. Coombs: All right, survivors, thank you so much for tuning into our episode today. We hope that you continue to support us by liking and sharing and reposting if you want and suggesting guests to us. We really appreciate the love and the support. You know, this is like our business, right, Samantha?

[54:22] Samantha Tuozzolo: It's like a podcast is like having a small business. So your support, your guidance, your love just keeps us going.

[54:30] Jason A. Coombs: 420 something episodes!

[54:33] Samantha Tuozzolo: So, thank you for tuning in and we'll catch you next time.

[54:39] Jason A. Coombs: Thumbs up!