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[0:06] Robert Peterpaul: Hello, beautiful people. Welcome to the Art of Kindness, where we have compassionate conversations with artists from all areas of the entertainment industry who are using their voice to spread joy and make this big spinning planet in the universe a better place to be. I'm Robert Peterpaul, and I'm so glad you're here.

[0:38] Robert Peterpaul: We are live from P-R-E-S-S Day at the Kennedy Center's's Spelling Bee, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. We're gonna talk with all the stars and creatives. I'm so P-U-M-P-E-D, pumped, well, P-U-M-P-E-D. Anyway, I'm pumped.

[1:08] Kevin McHale: I am Kevin McHale, and my favorite word is Beyonce.

[1:13] Robert Peterpaul: Oh, can you spell it?

[1:15] Kevin McHale: Yes, of course I can. I am from Texas.

[1:18] Robert Peterpaul: Okay, okay. Do you want me to spell it?

[1:20] Kevin McHale: I mean, I won't believe it until you do.

[1:24] Kevin McHale: I love it. Well, one of my favorite things about Barfay is that you have this magic foot. It's kind of a lucky charm. As a performer, do you have any lucky charms or rituals that you need for each show or set?

[1:36] Kevin McHale: Um. This is a boring answer, but I don't really it's more the preparation. Beanie and I were just talking. It's more about like regulating your energy before, making sure when you go out there, you don't have the adrenaline takeover. So sort of like this mental checklist of like be cool, enjoy the moment, but also like remember the training.

[1:59] Kevin McHale: Alright. The be cool I probably fail. Another thing I love about this show is that it's all about inclusivity and kindness in a way, at least toward the end with Farplay and that arc. My podcast is The Art of Kindness on the Network. And so I would love to know if you have a tangible kindness tip, something you would like listeners out there to do to try and make the world better on their own little corner.

[2:17] Kevin McHale: I always give, I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I think when you meet people, if you're going to a coffee shop and somebody's rude to you that one day, or you meet a celebrity that you like, or something like that. It doesn't matter who it is. And they may not be the kindest that day or whatever. Beyonce's always nice for the record. Everyone's going through something. And you know, you have your moments. We all have our moments where we're not at our best, and we may say something and act in a certain way that we hope is not reflective of who we actually are. And so I think it's always best to remember that like people are usually trying their best. I think to give people a second chance if you have an off encounter the first time.

[3:00] Robert Peterpaul: Yeah, I love that. It only takes a moment.

[3:02] Kevin McHale: It does. It does. Thank you so much. It was great to meet you. Congratulations.

[3:05] Kevin McHale: Thank you very much. I'll call your sister hello.

[3:07] Robert Peterpaul: Please do. I could take this from you. Thank you for coming. Thanks. Awesome performance. I love your take.

[3:11] Kevin McHale: Hello. How are you?

[3:14] Philippe Arroyo: Hi, I love your shirt.

[3:15] Robert Peterpaul: Thank you so much. My name is Philippe Arroyo. And my favorite word is love.

[3:19] Robert Peterpaul: Oh.

[3:20] Philippe Arroyo: Yeah. L-O-V-E. It's a good song, too.

[3:23] Robert Peterpaul: Still thinking about this one. My name is Alex Joseph Grayson. And today, my favorite word is Assumption.

[3:35] Philippe Arroyo: Ooh, that could be dangerous sometimes.

[3:40] Robert Peterpaul: I like that you said for today, because we reserve the right to change our minds.

[3:43] Alex Joseph Grayson: We sure do. Wow. That's I do want to expand upon that, but we have we have a short amount of time, so I want to keep you moving. In this show, Barfay has a magic foot, which I love and I wish I had. Do either of you as performers have sort of a magical crutch or a lucky charm that you need for every show? It could be like a ritual or um lucky rock.

[4:03] Philippe Arroyo: I don't know. I in terms of luck, no. But any time I meditate before anything, I feel like everything just goes well. If you just still your mind and just, you know, just let it all go. Everything kind of just works out in a way when you're just a little bit stiller.

[4:22] Robert Peterpaul: Yeah. When you're calmer with yourself.

[4:23] Philippe Arroyo: Okay. So that's my little ritual.

[4:25] Robert Peterpaul: Wow. Yeah. I gotta learn from you. What about you, friend?

[4:30] Alex Joseph Grayson: I think that meditation is very nice. I would say tweet. Yeah, I would say for me, before a performance, I like to sort of embarrass myself as a reminder that we're just playing around. Acting is playing theater is play. So I'll do like a very, very silly dance or a noise or combination of dance movement noise in front of a mirror to just look at how ridiculous I am and then release the need to be anything other than who I am in the moment. Because live theater is full of unknown things.

[5:06] Robert Peterpaul: Yeah. I love that.

[5:07] Kevin McHale: So seriously, I love that.

[5:08] Robert Peterpaul: Yeah. Let's do it. I there's there was someone in on SNL who had a lot of anxiety, and they would do the weekend update as Stefan. Bill, I'm blanking out his name.

[5:15] Kevin McHale: Hader, thank you.

[5:18] Robert Peterpaul: Bill Hader. And he said that every time he would go out there, he would purposely mess up one of his first lines. Because then from there on, he's like, okay, I already messed up.

[5:24] Kevin McHale: Yeah.

[5:25] Robert Peterpaul: So I love that. This kind of leads into my next question, my last question for y'all. This show deals with a lot of themes of kindness and inclusivity. I would love to know, because my podcast is called The Art of Kindness. Do you have a kindness tip you would like to share with listeners? Something you would want people out there to do on their own corner just to try and make the world brighter.

[5:42] Philippe Arroyo: I do have one. I really try my hardest to surround myself with people who yes and each other. I think when that comes to ideas or in conversation, I think it's very important to support and yes, and your friends, and sometimes people who aren't your friends.

[6:04] Alex Joseph Grayson: I love that. Yes, and to that. You know, I'm finding that there is always something to compliment about someone, even if they are irritating you. Like if you really are present with somebody and take them in, you can find something that you like. And I think it's worthwhile to be in the practice of when you find that thing, verbalizing it. Because it tends to improve people's moods. And it's a gift to be able to pass that along, even if it's just like once a day.

[6:39] Robert Peterpaul: Yeah. I love that. I think that's like a little cobblestone in the path of kindness, and we need that more than ever to unite these days, I think. So don't stop them on the street.

[6:47] Philippe Arroyo: Yes. Sometimes I can get a little creepy, right?

[6:51] Kevin McHale: I try and smile at people on the street. I'm like, that's a Muppet.

[6:54] Robert Peterpaul: Yeah. Thank you so much. It was so honest to meet you both. Also loved you and Anne Juliet.

[6:58] Philippe Arroyo: Thank you so much. We had Nell on here. What a joy.

[7:01] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah. She's very kind.

[7:03] Robert Peterpaul: Hello. How are you?

[7:05] Noah Galvin: Good. How are you?

[7:06] Robert Peterpaul: I'm Robert.

[7:07] Noah Galvin: Hi, Robert.

[7:07] Noah Galvin: I like your shirt.

[7:09] Robert Peterpaul: Thank you.

[7:09] Noah Galvin: Hi, I'm Robert. Nice to meet you.

[7:12] Noah Galvin: Y'all killed it. I wish I could see this show.

[7:14] Philippe Arroyo: Thank you.

[7:14] Noah Galvin: Why can't you come?

[7:15] Robert Peterpaul: Maybe I'll try. I can hop on the Amtrak.

[7:19] Noah Galvin: I can't. It's an maybe I can. I'll see you on Broadway when you do the revival here.

[7:26] Noah Galvin: I'm Noah Galvin. I play Leaf Coney Bear.

[7:27] Leana Rae Concepcion: I'm Leana Rae Concepcion and I play Marcy Park. My favorite word is fuck.

[7:36] Noah Galvin: Yeah, wait, are we allowed to cuss?

[7:38] Leana Rae Concepcion: You can do whatever you want.

[7:38] Noah Galvin: Yeah, there's not really any rules.

[7:41] Leana Rae Concepcion: I'm just gonna make something up. My favorite word is onomonopeia.

[7:45] Noah Galvin: Oh, love that. Can you spell it?

[7:48] Leana Rae Concepcion: O N-O M-O-N-O-E-I-A.

[7:53] Noah Galvin: Automonopoeia.

[7:54] Leana Rae Concepcion: Okay. I'm impressed.

[7:56] Noah Galvin: P-O-E-I-A. I'm severely impressed. You know, one thing that also impresses me in this show, I to have a really clunky transition, is um the song Magic Foot. And it makes me wonder, as performers, do either of you have your own sort of magic foot, like your own artistic crutch or ritual, something you need for every show that kind of gets you in the vibe, makes you feel safe.

[8:20] Leana Rae Concepcion: I mean, I'm pretty crazy about steaming. Like if I don't, after a show, if I don't go home in Steam, and then I go to sleep, and then if I don't wake up in Steam, I'm convinced that she's not gonna be here. She ain't made my voice. So I'm pretty crazy in terms of steaming. Sponsored by Throatcoat.

[8:36] Noah Galvin: I think when I was younger, I had like special audition underwear I used to wear.

[8:43] Leana Rae Concepcion: Oh.

[8:45] Noah Galvin: But I grew out of that eventually. And by that I mean the underwear. I still have that, not gonna lie. It does have Lucky Charms on it. Not the cereal. And my final question is my podcast is called The Art of Kindness on the Network, and this show deals with a lot of themes of kindness and inclusivity. I would love to know for each of you do you have a tangible kindness tip for listeners? Something you would like people out there to do on their own corner to make the world a little brighter.

[9:12] Noah Galvin: Everybody has their own baggage. Come into a space with that knowledge and know that everybody's going through their own bullshit. You know what I mean? This seems very strange, but remembering people's names go a really long way.

[9:29] Leana Rae Concepcion: Yeah.

[9:30] Noah Galvin: And like even if you have to like when you're first meeting someone and repeat their name a couple times in the conversation or something. I don't know. It just like I feel like sometimes in an industry where some things or some people and instances can make people feel less than. Just the simple thing of like knowing someone's name or remembering them the next time you see them. I think goes a really long way, and it makes people feel like you know, that they matter.

[9:55] Leana Rae Concepcion: Important.

[9:55] Noah Galvin: Yeah, and it's like I love that. It's funny you bring that up this week because I had Galvin Creel on at one point, and that's exactly what he gave as a kindness tip. He said remember people's names, so the kindest man in the world.

[10:06] Leana Rae Concepcion: Yeah.

[10:07] Robert Peterpaul: Well, thank you both for also bringing light to my day, and I'm sure you're gonna bring it to so many with this show. Goosey spelling bee.

[10:11] Noah Galvin: I hope so. We wanna bring you joy.

[10:14] Leana Rae Concepcion: Just show up in DC.

[10:16] Noah Galvin: Let's take the Amtrak.

[10:17] Leana Rae Concepcion: You hear that? Beautiful. Gorgeous. Gorgeous is great. Gorgeous, gorgeous trade. It's fall, we need to leave. I don't know what that meant.

[10:24] Robert Peterpaul: Thank you so much for holding the microphone too.

[10:26] Leana Rae Concepcion: No problem. It was great to meet you both. Congratulations.

[10:29] Noah Galvin: Yeah, we went like that.

[10:30] Leana Rae Concepcion: Thank you. I'm actually scared, but also like happy.

[10:34] Noah Galvin: Rob, can you spell podcast?

[10:37] Robert Peterpaul: Broadway Podcast Network is spelled BPM. Be a part of it.

[10:39] Leana Rae Concepcion: Oh.

[10:46] Nina White: The way you wear your hats. The way you sing off key.

[10:53] Robert Peterpaul: Hi. How are you?

[10:55] Nina White: My name is Nina White. And my favorite word today, because it's what came to mind in my heart, is dusk.

[11:02] Beanie Feldstein: My name is Beanie. Oh, sorry, do you want an example?

[11:04] Nina White: No, that no, that's a good that's a good one. Can you spell it?

[11:07] Beanie Feldstein: No, I'm sure you can. My name is Beanie Feldstein, and my favorite word is cozy.

[11:11] Nina White: Cozy.

[11:12] Beanie Feldstein: That actually gave me warm, cozy vibes. I love that so much, especially this time of year. One thing I find cozy, this is actually a terrible transition, is the song Magic Foot.

[11:21] Nina White: Is it? Is that cozy?

[11:22] Beanie Feldstein: Is it cozy? It's actually probably the only one that's not cozy.

[11:26] Nina White: Sure, it can be cozy.

[11:28] Beanie Feldstein: We're all physically cozy during it, you know.

[11:30] Nina White: Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate the yes and of it all. And yes. I would love to know if each of you had your own magic foot just in life as performers. Do you have sort of like a lucky charm or something that really gets you in the zone that you need for each show?

[11:44] Beanie Feldstein: You mean like a ritual?

[11:45] Nina White: It could be a ritual. Could be a little rock.

[11:51] Beanie Feldstein: This is I have a I'm um a bit of a superstitious girly pop. Um bit of an OCD girly. So my ritual could be about 45 to 50 minutes of my eleven. You're like, touch the door handle seven times. It um, yeah, no, OCD's real. I have it, I get it. I yeah, so then I get it kind of gets the beginning of a run, it'll be like one or two things, but then by the end it'll be like 45 things. Um, and I stick to them very seriously.

[12:22] Nina White: Uh good. I relate to that hardcore.

[12:24] Beanie Feldstein: Yeah, but I feel like every show is different, so you have to we have to figure out once we get there what our things will be.

[12:29] Nina White: Yeah. Um, I feel like my magic foot, if it's possible, is that I really, really like to see everyone that I'm going to be on stage with before we are actually on stage. I feel like it adjusts like if you're seeing someone for the first time that night or that day when you're on stage, it um I don't know, it can be um kind of disorienting.

[12:57] Nina White: Yeah, yeah. I or I really appreciate a moment of connection, even if you just like make eye contact or say hi in the hallway or something before you're on stage, because it's just like a really good reminder of like, I have your back, you have my back, you're here.

[13:08] Noah Galvin: This is a team sport.

[13:10] Leana Rae Concepcion: I love that.

[13:11] Kevin McHale: Yeah.

[13:12] Noah Galvin: Love that.

[13:13] Leana Rae Concepcion: Yeah, I really love that. I just recent not recently, but a few years ago found out that in on West End, they do a company warm-up.

[13:19] Kevin McHale: A mandatory company warm-up every single day.

[13:23] Noah Galvin: And I'm like, why are we not doing that? Bring those back. Like I want the theater camp vibes.

[13:27] Leana Rae Concepcion: Yeah, because also then you're like actually checking in with everyone, and everyone's you know, on the same page.

[13:33] Kevin McHale: Yeah, I love that.

[13:34] Noah Galvin: And it's fun.

[13:35] Leana Rae Concepcion: Yeah, I love that too. Also, has anyone ever told you you could do a mean Drew Barrymore impression?

[13:38] Kevin McHale: Just like listening to him talk.

[13:40] Noah Galvin: I kind of get that vibe. I don't know why.

[13:42] Leana Rae Concepcion: That's so true.

[13:43] Noah Galvin: I don't know why that just hit me. I felt the need to share.

[13:45] Kevin McHale: I'm so honored. And it's gonna put my hand on your knee that she doesn't have not actually, but on her shoulder.

[13:51] Noah Galvin: I know, she gets real close.

[13:52] Leana Rae Concepcion: I um it's cozy.

[13:53] Noah Galvin: It's so cozy. I love her so much. And I recently revealed to her that I fully got a concussion walking in to be on the Drew Barrymore show and went out there anyway.

[14:03] Kevin McHale: And I literally felt like she had, you know, like in cartoons where they have like the little tweety birds.

[14:08] Noah Galvin: Yeah.

[14:08] Leana Rae Concepcion: I could see those tweety birds above her head, and I was like, yes, Beltstein.

[14:13] Kevin McHale: Did you say it on air or you just had to pass?

[14:14] Noah Galvin: I just kept it to myself.

[14:15] Kevin McHale: Oh wow.

[14:16] Noah Galvin: And then fully called my dear friend who's a doctor. And I was like, she's like, can't you define it? She's like, you were fully blacked out. I walked into the trunk, the corner of a trunk door of an SUV.

[14:29] Leana Rae Concepcion: Literally getting out.

[14:31] Noah Galvin: So it's like, yeah, sorry, this was such a kind of office. These things are. These shows are dangerous. I was in Beauty and the Beast once, and I was LaFoo anyway, so who's like a Muppet, which I am.

[14:40] Kevin McHale: And I ran on stage and I like cut my arm and my arm was bleeding during the whole song. I didn't know. Kids were like screaming. It was really, it was scary.

[14:46] Leana Rae Concepcion: Oh my gosh. Are we talking on stage miss ups?

[14:49] Noah Galvin: I think we can get into that if you want. If you have any that come to mind.

[14:53] Kevin McHale: Were there any akimbo?

[14:55] Noah Galvin: I fell a handful of times during the skating during the a show during the run of Kimberly Akimbo. One of them was like right down center stage too.

[15:07] Leana Rae Concepcion: Um and it's just humbling. But it's okay. It the real problem for me is that I can very, very easily giggle on stage.

[15:15] Kevin McHale: Oh, I feel you.

[15:16] Noah Galvin: If something goes wrong, that's good to know. Put that in your pocket.

[15:19] Leana Rae Concepcion: I'll be using that. Please remember that. So if anyone fell, obviously, once I confirmed that they were well and okay, which everyone always was, no one ever was injured.

[15:31] Noah Galvin: I was like truly useless for the rest of the number. Like done for no harmony, nothing was coming out other than me like But that's that's why it's like theater. That's why I love SNL.

[15:41] Kevin McHale: It's like when people break, that's why we're not AI.

[15:45] Noah Galvin: Yeah. Do you do you have a mishap that you want to share?

[15:47] Leana Rae Concepcion: Well, this this is. I want to dock it, but well, when I was growing up, I did children's theater, and me and my best friend Nick shared the role of the artful dodger in Oliver.

[15:57] Kevin McHale: Nice.

[15:58] Leana Rae Concepcion: And he did like the afternoon show and I did the evening shows, probably at five. And we shared a costume, which is insane looking back.

[16:07] Noah Galvin: And he fully peed in our costume.

[16:12] Leana Rae Concepcion: Just because he felt like it, in direct quotes from him that day.

[16:16] Noah Galvin: And you leave Pony Bear, I feel like.

[16:19] Kevin McHale: I was simply left without a costume.

[16:23] Leana Rae Concepcion: So I wasn't on stage when that happened, but you know, I kind of reaped the repercussions.

[16:28] Noah Galvin: Did you just make was it like DIY costume from home?

[16:31] Leana Rae Concepcion: My mom was a costume designer, so she pulled that out. You know, she was like, I got it. That's the best. You know, I love it.

[16:37] Noah Galvin: But it was not even like I was first seeing I could it was like just because I felt like it.

[16:42] Kevin McHale: Well, I think That's a six-year-old boy right there, you know?

[16:45] Leana Rae Concepcion: Listen.

[16:46] Noah Galvin: Carrying the role of the artful doctor on his back. You know what I mean? Yeah, to get that going.

[16:51] Kevin McHale: Uh laughter is such good medicine. I'm bad we're laughing, but it's a terrible transition again. But actually, it's rooted in research with this nonprofit I work with, kindness.org.

[17:02] Noah Galvin: And my podcast is The Art of Kindness. So I would love to know if either of you, who I've heard like are so kind behind the scenes. The sweetest. Uh which is the best. Do you have any kindness tips you would like to share with listeners? Something you want people to do on their own corner.

[17:16] Leana Rae Concepcion: This question and Robin. I love it. So much. I love it. Um that is literally my only goal in life is to be kind. I always say that I'd rather people think I'm a good person than a good actor.

[17:29] Kevin McHale: I think people often will prioritize a performance or something over how they treat people.

[17:38] Noah Galvin: And for me, you know, great if you can get both, but more important to get how you treat people off stage or off-screen.

[17:45] Leana Rae Concepcion: Or in your costume, your shared costume.

[17:47] Noah Galvin: Maybe don't be in a shared. Don't be in the costume you're sharing. That's a good one.

[17:50] Kevin McHale: Um he loves podcasts, so he'll be thrilled.

[17:59] Noah Galvin: Oh yeah, I don't know. I just think like it's just so much easier to be kind. It's so much easier to be nice. I literally don't. It's like you should stick up for yourself and you should you you know you can hold boundaries without being unkind and work on that.

[18:16] Leana Rae Concepcion: Well boundaries for yourself too.

[18:19] Noah Galvin: So boundaries are self-kindness.

[18:20] Kevin McHale: I love it.

[18:20] Noah Galvin: I don't know. I just think that that's that's so good.

[18:23] Kevin McHale: Yeah.

[18:23] Noah Galvin: Well you have that reputation. Kind and talented.

[18:25] Kevin McHale: So you're Kelly.

[18:27] Leana Rae Concepcion: That's kind of you.

[18:28] Kevin McHale: Yeah.

[18:28] Noah Galvin: She's the kindest.

[18:30] Kevin McHale: No.

[18:34] Beanie Feldstein: I'm gonna end it all tonight.

[18:37] Kevin McHale: Sorry.

[18:38] Noah Galvin: Not on the mic.

[18:40] Kevin McHale: No, Beanie truly is incredibly kind. And I said this in my other interviews, and I told Beanie the other day that I thank you.

[18:47] Noah Galvin: Okay, right. That I actually um very, very, very greatly look up to Beanie. And when I was a college student, you know, they were always like, who, you know, who's like doing work that you're like, oh my god, like, oh, like I I want to do that too. And I was like Beanie Feldstein, truly. So this is like an honor.

[19:07] Leana Rae Concepcion: And um Beanie is so wonderful and so kind.

[19:11] Kevin McHale: Two boots.

[19:12] Noah Galvin: Oh beautiful. Well, a lot of people feel that way about you.

[19:18] Leana Rae Concepcion: Yeah. Also, I feel like your character is kind of rooted in kindness.

[19:21] Beanie Feldstein: Olive, yeah.

[19:22] Leana Rae Concepcion: I would agree.

[19:23] Beanie Feldstein: I would agree. I think it's very important to Olive to be tender.

[19:29] Noah Galvin: That is, I guess, maybe my my kindness tip. Um something I try to remember is to be tender. Um, which is, I guess to me, means like um assuming good intent.

[19:49] Noah Galvin: Um like assuming that other people are um whatever's whatever they are doing, assuming first that they are doing it with good intent before assuming ill intent. Um also um I mean it's like the simplest rule in the book or whatever, but like to do unto others as you would want them to do unto you, you know, um and like truly try to believe, although this sometimes hard off they're spelling minds.

[20:22] Leana Rae Concepcion: I didn't want to make anybody spell, they're like, should what should they spell my?

[20:27] Noah Galvin: Okay, honestly, I love that. And now I want chicken tenders because that's what makes me tender.

[20:32] Leana Rae Concepcion: And no, I thought that was really beautiful, not to shrink that down. But thank you both. I admire both of you, and thank you for making people smile. Like you you both do that consistently.

[20:40] Noah Galvin: So art honor.

[20:41] Kevin McHale: Yeah, thank you, Linda.

[20:42] Leana Rae Concepcion: Thank you.

[20:42] Noah Galvin: So nice to meet you. I could take this back. Or you could keep it, doesn't matter.

[20:45] Kevin McHale: Hello, how are you?

[20:48] Taran Killam: Not at all. Love, love, love. I'm Robert, nice to meet you. Such a big fan of both of you.

[20:53] Bonnie Milligan: So good.

[20:53] Taran Killam: I love your sweater too.

[20:54] Bonnie Milligan: Thank you very much.

[20:58] Taran Killam: Hour two of press day. There are regrets about a tightness.

[21:01] Bonnie Milligan: It's warm, it's warm.

[21:02] Taran Killam: I know it's hard, right? You know what I mean? But thank you.

[21:04] Bonnie Milligan: But a little shiny, I apologize.

[21:06] Taran Killam: You're not. It's great. I'm loving it. We are podcast network, as you can see in your hand there. So if you could just start out by introducing yourself since no one will see you, and then sharing your favorite word.

[21:16] Taran Killam: Like ever. Okay. Um my name is Taran Killam. I'm playing uh Vice Principal Douglas Panch in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Kennedy Center's. My favorite word.

[21:28] Taran Killam: I'm gonna go, I've said different favorite words, so for all the like detectives in in podcast land, he's like, well, he said love the other time, and that was a little too sacrine. I'm gonna go with onomonope.

[21:39] Bonnie Milligan: You're not the first one to say that today.

[21:41] Taran Killam: Damn it. Yeah. Wow, not original.

[21:42] Bonnie Milligan: Yeah.

[21:45] Taran Killam: I'm sorry.

[21:46] Bonnie Milligan: It's fine.

[21:46] Taran Killam: It's still great. Can you spell it?

[21:49] Bonnie Milligan: Uh nope.

[21:49] Taran Killam: Okay. An honest answer. Great. Um, and I'm Bonnie Milligan. I'm playing Rona Lisa Peretti. And my favorite word is laughter.

[21:58] Taran Killam: Oh, well, you bring so much laughter to all of us. So that makes sense. I love it. And so does Barfay to have a clunky transition here, like I always do. And I love his song Magic Foot. I'm wondering, each of you as performers, do you have sort of your own magic foot? Do you have like a lucky charm or a ritual for every performance?

[22:16] Bonnie Milligan: Ooh. That you feel like gets you in the zone.

[22:18] Taran Killam: Um listening to music, but it but not always the same. Right now, I'm very big on Pink Pony Club.

[22:24] Bonnie Milligan: I'm sorry.

[22:24] Taran Killam: I know that that is obvious, and I'm like that 42-year-old white dad who's like, oh yeah, you finally caught up, huh? But it affects me where I hear that there's a special place where girls and boys can all be queens every single day. Makes me cry every time.

[22:39] Bonnie Milligan: I think that's great. Good music is good music.

[22:41] Taran Killam: That's so sweet. I honestly I I find a ritual for each show. So I don't have like one thing I always do, but like when I was doing head over heels, I wanted to connect with every single person before we started the show, and we each found a very specific way, and one was like a very involved sort of handshake hug.

[23:01] Bonnie Milligan: Um and then on Kimberly Akimbo, we did the same sort of thing. Like most of the cast would come into my dressing room before the show and we would just connect with each other and we would do a like, let's make eyes, and we each made eye contact with each other before we went out there and did the thing.

[23:15] Taran Killam: I love that. It's great for this show, especially because there's a lot of connection, but also you start the show.

[23:19] Bonnie Milligan: Yeah.

[23:19] Taran Killam: Very one of them comes out with the show. So we should find a moment of connection in this show.

[23:24] Bonnie Milligan: I trained and performed at the Groundlings Theater, which is an improv sketch comedy theater in LA. And before every show, we go, I got your back. I got your back, I got your back. And that's that's a that's a nice tradition.

[23:34] Taran Killam: Well, that kind of leads perfectly into my next question. My podcast.

[23:38] Bonnie Milligan: Yeah, no one's trying to say that.

[23:40] Taran Killam: Just got back from the Brahma podcast network, chiropractor. Well, my podcast is the art of kindness. And so speaking of human connection, I would love to know if either of you, although that was great, that answer right there, have a tangible kindness tip, something you would like listeners out there to do to try and make the world a little brighter on their own front in these kind of dark times.

[23:58] Bonnie Milligan: What a wonderful and significant question. I find I find when I get wrapped up in my own head, as we all do, and I'm going like nobody likes me, everybody hates me, I'm gonna eat some worms. I find the word, I'll go back to a single word, the word inquiry, inquiry very helpful. To inquire about others will open up something that will ultimately unwind whatever's going on inside myself.

[24:19] Taran Killam: That's what's helpful. So just inquire, inquire uh with someone, it could be a stranger, but just uh how are you doing? What do you what are you up to? How is your day?

[24:27] Bonnie Milligan: I love that. Someone once told me on here, Mike Cabalon from that NBC show, The Mayor, I believe. He said, uh, listen for the curious thing. So when you're talking to someone, pick out what makes you curious and then ask them about that.

[24:38] Taran Killam: Oh, that's nice.

[24:39] Bonnie Milligan: And I love that.

[24:40] Taran Killam: Yeah. I think for me, I would say the word grace, um, and having grace with others, but also with yourself. I think sometimes it's hard to be kind to ourselves. Um, you might be having a bad day, things might be going awry, or you keep making mistakes. And if you just have grace with where you are, deep breaths, and that is with everybody too.

[25:01] Bonnie Milligan: I I've been places where I've had, you know, maybe somebody in the the at a restaurant be incredibly rude to me right away, and I just don't react and just try to have grace. You don't know what they're going through. You don't know what sometimes you're going through. So I just try to respond as positively as I can. And um but I think in general, the idea of holding space for all of us, including ourselves, but we're not perfect, and we we have things that I think that act can go a long way.

[25:29] Taran Killam: Yeah, I love that. We don't have to always have the right thing to say. I think I fall into that trope. We can just hold space and be with each other.

[25:34] Bonnie Milligan: Yeah. And everyone is gonna go be with you at the 25th annual Putnam County Spelling Band, the Kennedy Center's. I'm so happy you're doing the show and this time to make us laugh.

[25:42] Taran Killam: Thank you. It was great to meet you both.

[25:43] Bonnie Milligan: Thank you so much. I'm such a big fan of both of you series.

[25:45] Taran Killam: Oh, thank you. I hope I see you again soon.

[25:47] Bonnie Milligan: I hope so too.

[25:48] Taran Killam: Thank you. Break all the legs.

[25:50] Taran Killam: Hey friends, that's a W-R-A-P at the Putnam County Spelling B. Ooh, that rhymed. Thank you so much for tuning in, and I'll see you next time on the Broadway Podcast Network or on the Art of Kindness Podcast. Love you, L O V E.