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[0:24] Amber Brzezinski: Oh my god.

[0:25] Heather Bedor: Happy Monday, everybody.

[0:26] Amber Brzezinski: This is the funniest show.

[0:27] Heather Bedor: I don't know what is together.

[0:29] Amber Brzezinski: We're together, by the way.

[0:31] Heather Bedor: It's only but it's only when we're together, does Trevier do weird tech stuff? Did you notice that?

[0:35] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, because we had the last time that I was in Connecticut with Amber.

[0:40] Heather Bedor: Um we had Michael Drole on the show, and I've said look at this beautiful face that just joined us.

[0:46] Amber Brzezinski: Uh let's just welcome to the studio right away. The one and only Jeanna de Waal.

[0:50] Jeanna de Waal: Hello, ma'am.

[0:52] Amber Brzezinski: Thanks for having me.

[0:54] Heather Bedor: Thanks for being here. You're you're so delightful.

[0:57] Amber Brzezinski: We've been enjoying. We uh we may have binge watched Diana last night in your honor.

[1:02] Jeanna de Waal: We did had you seen it before, yes.

[1:04] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, I've seen it.

[1:05] Jeanna de Waal: Um, but we haven't watched it together.

[1:07] Heather Bedor: So how did we pass it together?

[1:09] Jeanna de Waal: Oh well thank you. Thank you.

[1:11] Amber Brzezinski: We'll get all into that.

[1:12] Heather Bedor: Yeah, we're just uh right now we're we're talking about the weekend. Did you do anything interesting this weekend?

[1:20] Jeanna de Waal: I had an audition, so um I got it on like Thursday and it was on Saturday, so uh I feel like I spent all Friday like working on it, then I went into town.

[1:31] Jeanna de Waal: I live at two hours out of the city. So I went into town Friday night to see it, then came home, then Saturday prepared for it, did it, then kind of like relaxed from it Sunday and then today I found out I didn't get it.

[1:42] Amber Brzezinski: So that's somebody didn't hire you.

[1:46] Jeanna de Waal: Oh.

[1:46] Heather Bedor: Give us give us their name.

[1:48] Jeanna de Waal: Let me take that down.

[1:50] Amber Brzezinski: Come on, it's the way it is, you know.

[1:52] Heather Bedor: Do you have like while while we're talking about auditions, do you have like pre-audition rituals or something that you always do or a good way to kind of get yourself ready or decompress afterwards?

[2:04] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah.

[2:05] Jeanna de Waal: I would say um, just like most people probably, I get pretty all consumed by the meaning. I just find it hard to focus on other things.

[2:12] Amber Brzezinski: Right.

[2:13] Jeanna de Waal: Um, so um that preparation can look really different each time, but I will just absolutely make it a you know, the especially on the on the day of I it's really hard for me even to do a simple email.

[2:26] Jeanna de Waal: I'm just like, oh, today I'm on this. So um, but in a way, like, you know, as I've uh um through the years, I definitely have found ways to like enjoy that ride as opposed to feeling like deathly nervous by it, or or sort of realize that like wow, this is just a ride of a day, and um and sort of appreciate it for that.

[2:48] Jeanna de Waal: Uh so it's not still have the nerves, you still get the little bit of the butterfly, or you just like walk in and you're so there's there's definitely nerves, but it's not in a way that um that uh feels either debilitating or just like so so stressful, so painful that it's like not worth it.

[3:07] Jeanna de Waal: You're like, this is horrendous. Where so I don't feel that way anymore. I'm warm just like today is dedicated to this crazy experience, and and I'll let myself do every need, whether whether that's like work out or go for a walk or lie down or whatever it is.

[3:21] Jeanna de Waal: I will just like allow myself to sort of relax and I would say if you're on because this is 8 p.m. and yes, I thought you were gonna have some cortado coffee.

[3:29] Amber Brzezinski: I was like, let's do it.

[3:30] Jeanna de Waal: I've got some sprites.

[3:31] Amber Brzezinski: Well, I I'm I I did put on a little bit of a scarf, you guys, but as soon as we're done, I'm going to bed because I have like jet lag, so it's really um uh and I'm also just not the earliest bud in the world.

[3:43] Jeanna de Waal: Like I wake up at like 5 a.m.

[3:45] Amber Brzezinski: We'll go we'll go A Zania tonight, we promise.

[3:48] Jeanna de Waal: Oh my god, yes, please.

[3:49] Amber Brzezinski: And if you hear a cat meowing, Amber is fostering a cat who is desperately trying to get into the roommate's room right now.

[3:55] Jeanna de Waal: So we'll just roll with it.

[4:00] Amber Brzezinski: She's got a little baby bean that we've been dealing with.

[4:02] Jeanna de Waal: So we got I hear there's a job where um like fostering baby dogs.

[4:08] Amber Brzezinski: Uh I guess before they uh give dogs for adoption, they have to sort of like uh give it a little time away from its mom.

[4:16] Jeanna de Waal: And I hear that there's a job where you actually can foster baby dogs.

[4:20] Amber Brzezinski: I that's what I do.

[4:22] Jeanna de Waal: I do, I do that, yeah, and they just cry in your bed, and your job is just to console them.

[4:28] Amber Brzezinski: Basically, yeah, and then like pick up like little tiny baby dog.

[4:33] Jeanna de Waal: You want to show her the baby bean?

[4:34] Amber Brzezinski: I'll show you what my current baby is right now.

[4:37] Amber Brzezinski: So um the foster cat came in as Bernadette, and Amber has um a great appreciation and love for gypsies, so she changed changed the mom's name to Mama Rose, and then this is baby Herbie.

[4:58] Jeanna de Waal: No, the mama the mama was crying because mama wants you in the room.

[5:03] Amber Brzezinski: Um he's only two weeks old.

[5:06] Jeanna de Waal: You can't take the baby to mama.

[5:09] Amber Brzezinski: Um he like lives with like a little like maternity ward, he's got like his own spa with like a heating pad, that's great.

[5:17] Jeanna de Waal: You can hear him spelling out, but yep, so that's what she does.

[5:20] Amber Brzezinski: And here's the mama coming to see what's going on.

[5:22] Jeanna de Waal: But you also had last month, she had uh mama pit bull with like six or five, eight.

[5:29] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, eight, eight puppies, eight puppies in a one-bedroom apartment.

[5:34] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah, wow.

[5:36] Amber Brzezinski: That is really fun.

[5:39] Jeanna de Waal: It's nice to know.

[5:41] Amber Brzezinski: I don't have any, but it's nice to know that if you want to inject your life with just some chaos and mayhem, it's always yes, you know, absolutely enough for me.

[5:52] Jeanna de Waal: I'm like, if I ever feel like it's too bleak or boring, I'm just gonna adopt a pit bull with eight puppies, and that was but the nice part is I got to give them back, like yeah, over again.

[6:05] Amber Brzezinski: I got to snuggle them for their potato for like while they were just little potatoes they were making.

[6:13] Jeanna de Waal: Oh, and then as soon as they started becoming like dogs, I was like, Okay, there's too many when I sign up for too many, gotta go back a week ago.

[6:21] Amber Brzezinski: They finally went up on the foster site for people to actually adopt, and they're massive dogs.

[6:26] Jeanna de Waal: They all and they were all adopted.

[6:28] Amber Brzezinski: I will happily report.

[6:30] Jeanna de Waal: I'll send you pictures later.

[6:31] Amber Brzezinski: That's that's amazing.

[6:33] Jeanna de Waal: Well, we're sorry that these people like missed out and lost out on the opportunity to have you as part of their lot of Kiki Palmer recently.

[6:41] Amber Brzezinski: Are you guys a fan?

[6:42] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah, huge about the reframe.

[6:45] Amber Brzezinski: You know, yes, you've seen her talk about this, yes, and she says you have to reframe it.

[6:51] Jeanna de Waal: It's not that you didn't get the job, it's that that project will no longer be as good as you because that's right.

[6:57] Amber Brzezinski: You know, so yeah, no, I'm already over it.

[6:59] Jeanna de Waal: Like, don't even worry about it.

[7:00] Jeanna de Waal: And I really had myself a good time, like learning material, uh, seeing the show, doing the audition.

[7:05] Amber Brzezinski: You just asked me what my weekend was, and my weekend was all consumed.

[7:08] Jeanna de Waal: An audition.

[7:09] Amber Brzezinski: I love it.

[7:10] Jeanna de Waal: We had a an interesting weekend.

[7:11] Jeanna de Waal: I went into the city Saturday, and um, I went to go see Operation Mince Meet.

[7:16] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, did you like I did the voiceover advertising for that actually?

[7:20] Jeanna de Waal: Well, of course you did. That makes so much sense.

[7:23] Jeanna de Waal: Um, I had never seen it before, and I went to go into the theater to try to get a rush ticket.

[7:28] Jeanna de Waal: Like I flew in from Orlando, I walked with my luggage over to the Golden, and um, they were like, the last seat we have is like partial view, rear mez.

[7:38] Jeanna de Waal: And I'm like, oh, they're like, it's 159.

[7:41] Jeanna de Waal: I'm like, I'll just I'll come back because they were dark on Sundays, I'll come back, I'll come back next week and I'm still in town.

[7:46] Jeanna de Waal: And this kind gentleman named John, older gentleman goes, ma'am, did you get a ticket?

[7:51] Jeanna de Waal: And I said, Oh no, I'll I'll because we're both standing online.

[7:55] Jeanna de Waal: He goes, My wife couldn't make it. Would you like to join me?

[7:57] Jeanna de Waal: He's like, No funny business or anything.

[7:59] Jeanna de Waal: And I was like, seriously.

[8:01] Jeanna de Waal: I started to cry, like it's like the most craziest thing that's ever happened.

[8:05] Jeanna de Waal: And it was center, center row, like like second row center.

[8:09] Amber Brzezinski: Ugh, we love those.

[8:10] Jeanna de Waal: And I was just shocked.

[8:12] Jeanna de Waal: I will sneeze, I will go see a lot of stuff like back row, um, cheap seats because I just like to see like see stuff, and I and I will put up with a bad seat.

[8:22] Jeanna de Waal: But when you sit in a good seat, dear gosh, it really there's just no comparison.

[8:31] Jeanna de Waal: Uh unbelievable, and that show is just so much fun, and you know, there's a lot of talent in that cast because there's five cast members that play 500 different roles.

[8:39] Amber Brzezinski: Um so, and they couldn't be lovelier at the stage door.

[8:43] Jeanna de Waal: So very yeah, I say I always stage or we've we love running the fan groups for it, and I it's just nice to be able to say thank you.

[8:51] Jeanna de Waal: Like, I don't necessarily need an autograph, I'm certainly not gonna take a selfie, but like to sit there and you know say thank you, or hey, you know, we run the fan group or blah blah blah.

[9:00] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, and then we actually I I came across a woman at that stage store who had met her group of 10 women.

[9:06] Amber Brzezinski: They formed their own like little meetups group because they met through our groups, and it was kind of like yeah, it was so sweet.

[9:12] Jeanna de Waal: She's like, Do you mind taking a picture?

[9:13] Amber Brzezinski: I said, No, let's do it. It was so much fun.

[9:15] Jeanna de Waal: Oh, that's great.

[9:17] Amber Brzezinski: That's nice.

[9:17] Jeanna de Waal: But yeah, we love it.

[9:18] Jeanna de Waal: Um, we can get right into it.

[9:20] Amber Brzezinski: Amber is uh sharing to all 78 of our groups right now.

[9:22] Jeanna de Waal: That's why she kind of sits in the corner.

[9:27] Amber Brzezinski: That's what I'm doing.

[9:28] Jeanna de Waal: I'm in the zone.

[9:29] Amber Brzezinski: She's in the zone.

[9:30] Jeanna de Waal: She's in the zone.

[9:31] Jeanna de Waal: Um, also you can probably see that we have some comments section.

[9:34] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, look at this.

[9:35] Jeanna de Waal: Talking about Michael Drole, dear friend of mine.

[9:38] Amber Brzezinski: Um love me some Jeanna.

[9:41] Jeanna de Waal: Yes, uh-huh.

[9:43] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, wooe.

[9:44] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah.

[9:45] Amber Brzezinski: I wonder if he's still in Wicked.

[9:47] Jeanna de Waal: Uh he is living in Orlando, just got a um, yep, so just transferred.

[9:52] Amber Brzezinski: I'm gonna I'm gonna brag about Michael.

[9:54] Jeanna de Waal: Uh just transferred to a brand new full-time um job opportunity at the newer theme park um epic, which has not even opened yet.

[10:04] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, incredible.

[10:05] Jeanna de Waal: Yes, but no, we had we had Michael on the show last time I was in Connecticut, and he and I met in the most bizarre way possible, and I love him to death.

[10:13] Jeanna de Waal: And I always say he has the best hair in the entire universe, like the gorgeous curls.

[10:17] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, yeah.

[10:19] Jeanna de Waal: Which we're seeing in the picture as well.

[10:21] Amber Brzezinski: Oh yeah.

[10:22] Jeanna de Waal: Um I will I will I Michael Drole, I still love you so much.

[10:27] Jeanna de Waal: I will see you when I come home.

[10:29] Jeanna de Waal: But um, but I will also tell you somebody also said to say hi on on his behalf.

[10:33] Jeanna de Waal: Stephen Tookesberry was very excited for me to be on the show.

[10:37] Jeanna de Waal: He said, please tell her I say hi, and I said, Yes, we will, we absolutely will.

[10:41] Amber Brzezinski: Um we had him on the show.

[10:44] Jeanna de Waal: Now me and Stephen.

[10:45] Jeanna de Waal: We did Kinky Boots together, and we just did Sweeney Todd last season.

[10:48] Amber Brzezinski: I know.

[10:49] Jeanna de Waal: Well, that's how Amber and I met is I had started the fan group because a lot of people had wanted a Sweeney Todd fan group.

[10:56] Jeanna de Waal: And Amber became one of my admins.

[10:58] Amber Brzezinski: And um we just got along famously, and we actually met in person opening Night of Water for Elephants because we were invited guests.

[11:06] Jeanna de Waal: And that was the night that the Broadway fan club was created.

[11:09] Amber Brzezinski: So I will put it if it wasn't for Sweeney Todd, the Broadway fan club wouldn't exist.

[11:13] Jeanna de Waal: My word.

[11:14] Amber Brzezinski: Well, didn't you see Jeanna?

[11:16] Jeanna de Waal: Jeanna was your first love it, right?

[11:17] Amber Brzezinski: I did.

[11:18] Jeanna de Waal: You were my very first love it.

[11:19] Amber Brzezinski: Oh my god.

[11:20] Jeanna de Waal: And do you know, was it my first show, or was I done it first?

[11:23] Amber Brzezinski: Uh it might have been your like second or third, because it was it was around that time when everyone was getting sick, and so it was it was definitely around it was like your either first or second.

[11:38] Jeanna de Waal: Okay.

[11:39] Jeanna de Waal: I'm sure I was in the baptism of fire up there.

[11:41] Jeanna de Waal: It was amazing.

[11:42] Jeanna de Waal: It was so good.

[11:43] Jeanna de Waal: I like loved it.

[11:44] Jeanna de Waal: I ended up going back like four or five more times after that because I loved it so much to get your like fanos ring of like all the love.

[11:52] Amber Brzezinski: All the every no, I just needed to see like every iteration of the show.

[11:57] Jeanna de Waal: I won Lotto twice, and then I got a bunch of like TDF tickets, and I I like got rush tickets.

[12:06] Jeanna de Waal: I was like, I'm gonna go see the show any which way I can see the show.

[12:10] Amber Brzezinski: Yep.

[12:11] Jeanna de Waal: It was fun.

[12:12] Jeanna de Waal: I actually dressed up like Mrs. Lovett for first preview.

[12:15] Jeanna de Waal: We had no idea what was going on, and I was like, Well, I'm just gonna dress up.

[12:18] Jeanna de Waal: So I walked through Times Square and like the Lovett outfit, changed into like from my my Crocs into like the Victorian boots, and I got surrounded by all the scary Times Square characters because I thought I was trying to like sell autographs.

[12:33] Amber Brzezinski: Oh and then the the social team like saw me at the theater and did like a full little video of me like slapping them, rolling pedals.

[12:33] Jeanna de Waal: How did you feel about that role?

[12:43] Jeanna de Waal: Because you you you've had first off your you know Princess Diana, but also you played all these really fun, like let loose roles like Lauren and Kinky, and then you know Mrs. Lovett, and then every other track that you possibly can in Sweeney.

[12:59] Jeanna de Waal: Um letting loose, letting loose.

[13:02] Jeanna de Waal: Um yes, I mean I mean, I don't know if I'd ever compartmentalized it as like as like that.

[13:09] Jeanna de Waal: I really enjoyed my time at Sweeney, like I can definitely say that.

[13:12] Jeanna de Waal: Um, that there was something about the like a grandiosity of that set.

[13:18] Jeanna de Waal: Oh, sure.

[13:19] Jeanna de Waal: Theater that is kind of like a football field and the live orchestra and the smoke and the seriousness of the show that kind of made it feel like this precious gloss box on stage that was like very scary to touch and like scary to step into.

[13:37] Jeanna de Waal: Um, like it felt like the air was different, it felt like it was colder and that it was like more magical.

[13:43] Jeanna de Waal: And I remember when I was learning the track, it felt like something that I couldn't quite like imagine being able to step into and all those things.

[13:51] Jeanna de Waal: Um, and somehow also in that same breath when you actually were in it, all those elements kind of made it feel more of a world you could buy into and believe in. And once you were in it, it was just like there, there you are for the next three hours. And um, but it was it was such a joy to play. I mean, it really was one of those things where you're like, gosh, when material is that good, you just have to step in and it carries you. Um and you could hear the audience, even though it was like that, even though it's a big theater and they're kind of far away, like that you can still really hear them, and um, and I loved the pressure of standbying, which is not for the faint of heart, I gotta say, no, and I definitely had my experiences that will be like uh what uh being like last minute or when you find out, or I had those experiences, and they are as terrifying as you can absolutely imagine them being.

Um, and but it and it's almost like this crazy trustful where you just kind of have to trust your because trust yourself because like with Diana, it was so long the rehearsal creation process that I by the end of it, I like thought through every single head placement, every single voice. Like, you know what I mean? Like um, so and I obviously you try and keep some flexibility in there, but I thought through so much. Whereas with standbying, the first time I went on, um, so much was just still in my own head of like how I would play it and how I all these things. So um there was like a real trust for to be like you have to just trust that you can navigate your voice and you can navigate listening to the audience and that you can listen to your scene partner and all these things, and I really enjoyed that that challenge.

I mean, it was scary, but it was fun. I think that like scare, like scared side of it does a kind of add to the adrenaline, but it's flawless. I mean, and somebody did ask in the comments, we'll kind of go into Diana a little bit. But Andy Leech would like to ask you, talk about handling the vocal demands of singing Diana eight times a week, a vocal masterclass, you're so sweet. Um, okay. Well, some crazy things about Diana. One is even though it was eight shows a week, we only really did it for like three or four weeks on end. So I didn't really have the true test of like the preview madness where you're like, uh, well, actually, I did do the preview madness because we were like a day from opening away, but I didn't have like, you know, like those Death Become Her girls, I'm sure they're they're tired.

They've been doing it for months now with all the, you know, so I didn't quite get to that. But a crazy vocal story about it was uh when we filmed it for Netflix, we went back on the stage and we filmed it, and because they wanted the raw sound from the microphone so that they could mix it, we sang it acoustically. So when we were filming it, the only thing that was playing was like the MD playing the piano as quietly as possible so that people get their notes. But even the drums and stuff, maybe we had a drummer, maybe we had a pianist. No, I don't think we had drums. I'm gonna say we just had chords from the MD. Um, so uh there was no drums, there was no normally when you step out on a Broadway stage, you know, you make a small sound, but it like comes right back around.

Yeah, there's no escaping your own voice, right? There's no escaping your own voice. Whereas this was stepping into this big space and then being just your literal acoustic voice and having to trust the same performance and the same delivery that you're in a rock show and that like all the things that you know are going to be in the final mix, but they would put it as an acoustic experience because they wanted out. So that was really wild. They did a hell of audio mixing on that. Wow, because you would never tell. You could absolutely like a Broadway show or like a Redwood winner, but it's just you would get the output in a show, and they wanted just the wolf sound. Yeah. Andy says, Aha, I've looked for the mics on the video.

So Andy is a super sleuth. All right, that's incredible. That I can't imagine. And I have to ask, you know, you made mention about making sure your head was in the right position. And I was talking to Amber about it and I said, I wonder, first off, what an incredible role to have the honor of doing. And you just exemplified Diana. Um how did it feel to kind of step into that role? But also did you have to have like royal classes? Like I know when they bring people into the royal family, there's a lot going on there. Um so yes, it was an absolute dream. It was also um uh so so that process now started when w uh like seven years ago. So a long time ago. But when I when it first all started, it was such a um like a glass ceiling, you know, like, oh, I wanna create a role and this was such a meaty role that was like so much to it that I could unpack and that I could work on and and we did all these, you know, readings or out of towns and and they kept me, so I felt like part of the team and like it was just such a great experience in so many ways.

Um and then the second question you asked was remind me. Did you as far as like did you have to have specific Oh so so what I really had lessons on was um I uh did a l it was like a fitness stuff because um one it w it was this combination of a personal trainer and gyro tonics. The reason with a personal trainer was because it was just like a three hour back to show back to back show with no breaks. So You don't you don't start moving right now. So you just had to have like your actual level of fitness like high. So that was something that I implemented um probably in like three four months lead up to the to the opening um we were doing I was doing like four sessions, five sessions a week. And then four five sessions a week of gyro tonics which is all it's like um pilates but with weights and it's all about posture and and um things like that because I because I knew it would be so important when you're belting or any of those sort of things not to take on like a modern posture not to take on like a colloquial slap slotly posture but to really keep that relaxed regal placement while you sort of uh try this so that I knew I had to build up the muscle capability to uh belt like that but still sort of have this very relaxed right it looked it looked effortless but clearly there was a lot of effort put into it yeah there was there was definitely thought put but that but as I say we had these three four months of like prep um where I just every day went training and then gyro tonics and then you know it's quite nice life to be honest.

And then and then um so by the time we were in previews it actually felt very doable. I kind of I remember joking in a press thing then that I felt like a the producer's racehorse like I literally felt like so in shape and so ready and like so good to do this. The weird thing was then we closed like opening and all of that prep like you can imagine like being so focused on something for three, four months, just closing like that. It was very hard. And then it happened again. Um, so that was very hard to deal with, you know. I can't I can't imagine because there's so much hard work, you know. We're we think about we talk about swept away all the time. So it's probably you know, you've you've you've been around Stark Sands a couple of times.

Um Matt DeAngeles and John Gallagher. Matt actually, you you and Matt were both scheduled for the same night because we were trying to figure out what night. So he's he's in the process of putting reunion together for once. Um, and then now they just announced. I don't know if you saw it, um, but they just announce a concert reunion on April 28th. Of once? Of no, of uh swept away. No, Matt, um, gosh, I'll have to look up the date. I think it's like the 14th. My sister was in once. Oh, nice. Oh, she was the girl. She was in Matt's car, she was the pianist girl. I love it. Then she quit, and now she's a software engineer. Oh, I mean, you know, you gotta you gotta pick your battles in, right? But um whatever path life takes you.

Shoot, no kidding. But yeah, with um what they worked like six years getting the show to Broadway and then have 20 HO's, 28 shows, something like that, yeah. And I can't I can't imagine being in that position of you know, spending months and months preparing something, especially like with Diana, where you're literally changing your posture and making sure that you know you don't look like a slouchy American like I always do. Uh it's tough, but you know, the exciting part of it is that there's always new stuff coming. Right. And there's always new seasons, and um, I mean, I know we're gonna do it this later, but you know, like uh I do run this summer company summer camp each year, which is based on the Tony C. We wouldn't be able to do stuff like that if it wasn't sort of re-energized every year, which is not the same in the West End sometimes.

No, right. And Lucy is still running. Lucy um had made a couple of comments, so I always love to call it the positive stuff. So Lucy says, standbys are amazing. Seriously, the backbone of theater. And then clearly a fan of once. I love once so much. The score is gorgeous. So there you go. We have some really incredible members who love to chat in our chat room. So it's like to make sure that they get a shout out. But yeah, well, we can talk a little bit about Broadway weekends. Why not? Yeah, why not? Let's hear more about them. Um so I have always said so. I do a lot of fringe stuff, and I'm always when people ask about the Orlando fringe or just fringe in general, I'm like, it's literally summer camp, but theater and adults.

But you've actually made a theater camp for adults, and it's incredible. It sounds so fun. It yeah, thank you guys. Yeah, I have. And it really started as such a I started it back in like 2017. So we've been going for a minute, and it really did start as such an authentic reaction to um my friend who runs yoga retreats, and she was sort of telling me why people attend and and what people get out of it. And I was in that really busy uh stage in my 20s when I was just saying yes to every single reading or workshop that would have me. And I was always in these rooms, and I was like, Well, wait a minute, I feel like everything you're describing is what I get out of these experiences, and there's also almost like even though each one is unique, there is a formula to it, like there are tools being used to make people uh build community and feel brave exploring uh you know trouble areas and all these things, like these have been taught in drama schools for hundreds of hundreds of years, and we create these creative spaces often.

Um, and I know we can replicate it, and uh replicate it for people who want to do it for the joy of it for people who want to do it as a reminder of something they used to do or something that they might never dream they'd do it um uh so we I started it very much with that intent and even though over the years we've definitely uh shifted a lot you know we navigated a pandemic which was hard for a starter did it and I think it grew Broadway weekends even stronger from that because we had like a we went virtual which really helps us we reach a a wide demographic um and then we had to transition back through our out of the pandemic from virtual to in person which was kind of a new audience like not everyone that wants to hang out on virtual uh wants to or can come to New York to do an in-person so that also was tough but we really sort of are not only we out of the woods we're flying and um last year we had a lovely big group and this year we're gonna have an even bigger group um and it really is a mix of sort of workshops that are called fundamentals and things we need to know but also really pulling from the current Tony season uh so that people can access the shows that are currently shaping the art form and connect with those actors and know what's coming on the road and just have this sort of like immersive version of the Broadway experience like most of the people that come also go see the shows at night um especially like oh we did this workshop with so and so let's go see them in so and so um and and it really adds a layer to the people who who um are inspired by sort of diving into theater in that way.

Um, and it really inspires me. Like, honestly, it's so much work every year to put it together up together. I can imagine. But by the time it's running, and afterwards it it really does like affirm why I'm in this business. I love connecting to other artists in this way, like, hey, we did this reading together, now come teach for me, or uh, or seeing my generous friends like come out of their Broadway shows and do a scene study on the on it on, you know, it's it's just such a good experience in my life every year, and we grow every year, and I always meet lots of new people and all those things. I love it. And now, have you do you want to name drop a little bit as to like who you've had work with your students in the past?

Yes, so I definitely can name drop and say some celebs, but I'm gonna name drop with a bigger thing, which is working Broadway artists. So that is the standbys, the swings, the associates. Um, those are the heartbeat of the theater. The Harby at Broadway, they're attached to that show. You're still gonna meet seeing them the show. Um, but they they uh there's lots of reasons I hire those people. I hire them because uh the their perspective is different, their perspective on the work is um is different than um swingo is a real thing, we know. Yeah, exactly. There's kind of in the nuts and the bolts of it, they're not just relying on their God given luck, talent, whatever you want to quote that makes someone a sala star and a celebrity.

[27:48] Jeanna de Waal: They know how to manipulate their body and their voices and everything to fit into the cogs and to do all those things. A lot of them teach a lot on the side, so they're often really great teachers. Um, and um, and they're still related so directly to this celebrity Broadway, which is the shows that are the big hits, you know, um, and whatever what everyone draws people to. So even though I could name some celebrities, I would rather say the value of coming to oh, I have a pen. Look, Broadway weekends. Yeah, I love it. Cute pen. That's a cute pen. That's a cute pen. So maybe this is the best pen I've ever got. Um, is that you get to, you know, rub shoulders with see into the life of be taught by all those things by the backbone of Broadway that people being on the inside in the inside circle of it all to really have a good understanding of it for sure. Correct. Um, but yeah, no, so and I know that it's geared towards adults, you also have a full educator's program too.

[28:43] Amber Brzezinski: Right. So it's actually the same program. It started off very much as a fantasy camp for theater lovers. Um, and uh we just have marketed ourselves or advertised ourselves to high school theater teachers. Um, so they come to the same program actually. Um, and we offer a couple of tools like maybe some worksheets to take away or stuff like that, but it essentially is the same programming. Uh, but we really met this group demographic in the pandemic when our virtual sort of introduced us to school teachers, and we learned that there was like not that much um professional development available. And when I say personal development, I don't mean like the stuffy, like sitting in a in a room like um, this is how to teach acting, A B C. I mean just like professional development, like getting to know what's happening in your business and like getting excited again and feeling rejuvenated to you know be an ambassador of the arts and all those things.

And we've had a lot of luck supporting teachers actually um find funding from their districts and schools to come to Summit Camp and we you know, and all of those. So it's the same program, it's just that we sort of uh we just target two demographics.

[29:54] Jeanna de Waal: No, but I love that because you offer the in-person and it's in midtown, so they're right in the theater district if they're coming in that way and the virtuals kind of like do it at your school too which I think is really important and you also are constantly there's scholarship opportunities which I think is tremendous so kind. Yeah um and there's yeah an early bird special pricing right now as well correct correct we uh we did actually finish the early bud but there's another discount there's always discounts we should I love discounts discounts are great if you love a discount yeah so is the current one that's running right now um is the 25% off 25% off exactly if you sign up before May which is when we get over that's pretty diverse that's amazing that's a great that's a great deal for a really good opportunity like you said to grow within a community and to kind of really because that's something that we kind of pride ourselves on a lot as as the Broadway fan club as as community builders to kind of take theater and to take it one step further and to find your community within the theater itself.

[30:59] Amber Brzezinski: 100 it feels like what you're doing is is kind of a similar it's a step further of that yeah taking it as a separate I agree and it always was that my heating just kicked on I suddenly got so hot it might be the red wine or it might be the white it could be both 20 degrees huh? Or am I just being with you lovely ladies.

[31:28] Jeanna de Waal: Are you in Orlando right now? No, I'm actually in Connecticut. I came up to I did I went to New York this past weekend. I'm hanging out with Amber um until Saturday. We're two showing it on Saturday. So and you're more than welcome to join. But Saturday, um Amber gets to see maybe Happy Ending for the first time.

[31:47] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, you're gonna love it. That's so excited. Uh we don't know yet no TDF scenes. That's that's an example of a show where the the seats make a difference. I was gonna be amazing from the back. I can't say that enough. It was so I sat second row mez left and I see I saw pretty much everything. Um, but so there's nothing you can't see. It's so good. It's so great, it's so great from the back. What I will say when you have a good seat, it's magic. Like you can't see the strings. You can't see like you're like, especially the first time I saw it, I had a good seat and I didn't know like what was coming. Um, so I just wasn't my jaw dropped. Like I just wasn't ready for it. And I was just like thrown off kilter, and I was like, are we leaving a theater?

Like is is the roof about to take off? Yes. It was so but it was it's so like tech heavy, but it's so I do I say basic. It's simplified in the most beautiful way possible. And then I won't give anything away for anybody that's watching or for this one right here. I'm a spoiler person. No, I'm trying so hard not to read the plot this show.

[32:56] Jeanna de Waal: That one scene, like where you're really in it, you know what I'm talking about? No, not really. I'll just say fireflies. Okay, sure. That that scene put me over the edge. It was amazing. It was it was gorgeous. And then we're gonna go do Redwood um Saturday night.

[33:15] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, fun, great. Yep. And then this past weekend, besides Operation Mint's Meet, I just saw the Jonathan Larson project at the Orphean.

[33:23] Jeanna de Waal: Oh, how was that? Incredible. Get an if you get an opportunity to see it, go see it.

[33:28] Amber Brzezinski: Okay, well, I'm gonna go this week. Have you do you know anything about the show? Um, I know that I well, I have a few friends in it, and obviously love Jonathan Lawson, but that's about all I know.

[33:37] Jeanna de Waal: Um, well, first off, your friends are damn talented because I got a rush ticket off today ticks because it was impossible to buy tickets, it was completely sold out. Um, and I was front row center in the Orfam, so like on the aisle. Incredible. I could literally look up and like see the tears coming out of people's eyes as they're singing. Um, but the music has not been released except during the show. And then in the playbill itself, it actually goes over the title of the songs. It talks about the meaning behind them, and they have not changed a single word. And it's incredible. And it just it's one of those shows that everybody just talks about. It's 90 minutes, you don't even know that 90 minutes has gone by, but it's so beautiful.

And like I'm always that person that wants to like really encourage the audience to like clap or you know, give like a standing ovation because they definitely deserve it. But I almost headbutted somebody standing up because I was that close and I was like, I'm gonna wait, wait before I set up.

[34:34] Amber Brzezinski: Um is today ticks your favorite way to get tickets, then um, no. What are what are some advice you could give me of how to get good tickets? Um, no people, no skin. Oh, well, besides that, I mean she I'll lose both. Um I I love supporting TDF, like we both do. So um TKTS is always really great right in Midtown. Um, and especially because if I don't know, I'm sure you know the insiders' information, but for those that don't, um, if you purchase a ticket for TKT through TKTS, it goes to the theater development fund. And from there, if you purchase a ticket and you want to go back instead of waiting the like hour or two hour line, whatever day you're going, you get like their express pass and you go through their fast lane, you go right up to the front with proof of a ticket purchased.

Um keep be going to the box office because that's always my trick. I just box office is my favorite way of purchasing because I like to give it directly to the theater, but if they only have like rear mez partial view or something to that effect, I'll go right to TKTS because I like to play it risky unless it's like Sweeney Todd, where I literally bought the last seat for open like first preview. Um, or cabray when I got my cabaret seat for the the table. I was lucky enough that we also run Bicell Broadway, and um one of our members had actually bought a pair because you can only buy the cabaret tickets in pairs, and um she was looking for someone to go with her, so I joined. Um, and we love that that's where that community comes from for sure. But in front, but I love going to the box office and in-person rushing, like Lucy says, Um, I love an in-person rush, absolutely.

[36:16] Jeanna de Waal: But you know what I miss? In person lotteries. In-person lotteries. Did you ever get a chance to do them? Um, well, I don't love all this in-person thing. I'm like, I I like it being online. I like the digital lotteries myself too. But there was something about like in person lottery for wicked, and you're just around a bunch of people that are obsessed. In person lottery, I mean, for newsies, Book of Mormon, Hedwig and the Ingrance, you're around like super diehard fans, and it's kind of like a gathering of the minds in person. Um, I loved it, but yeah, the digital stuff's good, but I think it gives too many people an opportunity to like buy it to get it. Yeah, but there's they're not putting anything into it. Like, I could literally apply for a digital lottery ticket, like from Orlando, and know that I'm definitely not making it for a mane.

[37:09] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, they oh, you don't have to buy it by a certain time pay for it by a certain time or anything. You can you can literally take the ticket, it just goes back in. It will it'll go to either somebody else for like a weightless lottery or they just absorb it into the theater. Oh, yeah. So um, we've seen an uptick in a couple of uh third party sales that they'll get a lottery ticket and try to flip it for much higher. Yeah, so it's hard to watch that too. But yeah, it's a blanket. I'm looking through your thing. Okay, for those of us going, what are the good seats? Christopher, maybe happy ending. Do you know where we're like orchestra? You want to sit, yeah. You want to sit like orchestra close.

[37:50] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah. Um, I I what what is your favorite show from the season? Do you have one? Um from this season. Oh, well, do we can still count Death Becomes her? Of course. Then I I love that. I saw that out of town and I knew I was a big fan. Okay. That was another audition. I chased the standby for that. And I just said I was too young. Um, but I love that. Yeah, I know that all right, fine. Well, we'll let that go. Um, but no, I love that show. It's so well done and and uh actually. And the lun looks great in purple. The lun looks great. But I loved it in red and black. I'm nostalgic for that venue. Yeah, that's a good thing. Amber bought me for Christmas. Um, she got a custom made like light up shadow box of the Sweeney Todd set.

[38:43] Jeanna de Waal: Stop. Wow. I'll send you a picture. It is. It's really cool. She gave it to me. Where were we at? We were at Sunset Boulevard. We were at Sunset Boulevard. We did our Christmas gift exchange at Sunset Boulevard and she handed it to me, and I'm like, I'm not crying. I'm not crying. It's beautiful. But you you even said yourself earlier. You're talking about the magic of that theater and how everything was. Yeah. Um, do you have a favorite set that you've worked around?

[39:11] Jeanna de Waal: Favorite set that I've worked around. Or like prop piece that really just spoke to you. Yeah. Um, let's go all the way back to Carrie with the bucket of blood. There's a very specific reason I'm asking you this question.

[39:32] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, then tell me.

[39:33] Jeanna de Waal: No, no, I want you to continue with that.

[39:35] Jeanna de Waal: Oh, here's a worse one. I have a worse one. In Will Roku in the West End. There was like a truck um that they're like singing on, and then at one point she has to climb up the uh the window of the front window like the windshield windshield onto the roof, but you're wearing these like platform boots, and it was so hard to run up. Um, and it was literally the pain of my show, the bane, I was a covering that the pain in my show, bane in my show would be like you finish ripping, and then you gotta run up the windshield on the tip of your boot on the rock using the rubber tips to get to the top so you can stop. We will really um and I slip so many times that and someone behind me had to like grab my butt and like push it. Right at the voice too front up. Oh my god. I bet people are clamoring to be that role, like I got you this but I got her, I got it. Right.

[40:26] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, so that that that brings back memories. Uh you know when we sweeney chauchi comes out wheeled in the desk. Do you know do you know that the Mrs. Lovett is hiding in the thing? Yes, yeah. So that's quite that was fun, but it definitely was like uh adrenaline inducing because like everyone's banging on the table. And then you gotta pop out. I it it was that it's always back in the box. Yeah, it's always when you gotta pop out. All right, wow, this is gonna be a lot of adrenaline. Chaos and adrenaline.

[41:01] Jeanna de Waal: No, I want to go back to Carrie.

[41:02] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, okay.

[41:03] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah. Very, very specific. So I'm selfishly she wants to go back to Carrie. Another wonderfully but short-lived show that needs to live on for forever. I loved the music from Carrie.

[41:14] Amber Brzezinski: It was so good.

[41:15] Jeanna de Waal: One of my favorite soundtracks.

[41:17] Amber Brzezinski: Cast recordings? Did you just say a soundtrack?

[41:20] Jeanna de Waal: I did get out.

[41:21] Amber Brzezinski: Um get out.

[41:23] Jeanna de Waal: Um, no, I'll be going on the Broadway cruise um at the end of this month. And they have two theme nights, and um, it's through six man, and one theme night is high school, like back to high school.

[41:35] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah, and it's a little bit older of a demographic. So I'm like, well, they're all gonna do like Grease or Dear Evan Hansen or West Side or whatever. And I'm like, oh no, I'm going as Carrie. So I have I'm bedazzling it here at Amber's house. I have a Carrie-esque prom dress that I've now doused in blood, and I'm going to build a bucket um and have blood coming out of it, and I'm gonna walk around a cruise ship like that.

[42:04] Amber Brzezinski: Great. Who's performing in your Broadway cruise ship?

[42:08] Jeanna de Waal: Um, so it's a full like celebrity lineup. Um, so this year, gosh, there's gonna be Well, Shoshana Bean. Um, I think Lauren Bananti was supposed to come and she is unable to. Roger Bart was supposed to come and got recast with something else. Eva Noblazada was supposed to do it again, but she was supposed to do it last year, she got casting gas meetings, she's supposed to do it this year, she got casting cabaret. Um, Anthony Rapp, Anna Pascal, Corey Cott. You're gonna have to help me with the concussion stuff. Casey Levy, Wayne Brady, maybe Wayne Brady.

[42:39] Amber Brzezinski: And then um Wow, they really pack them on all on one cruise.

[42:44] Jeanna de Waal: Yes, and Bob Mackie is judging the costume contest.

[42:47] Amber Brzezinski: Oh my god. And how many people are on this cruise?

[42:49] Jeanna de Waal: I think maxed out like 1700.

[42:52] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, it's Anna Lee's gonna be.

[42:54] Jeanna de Waal: Oh, yeah, and Annaline just got uh Annalie just got um offered to go on to the cruise uh to replace was it Eva if it had a drop-out that Anna's Roger Bart.

[43:02] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, she replaced Roger Bart. That's that's a pretty small group for all those major celebs.

[43:08] Jeanna de Waal: And Anna Goster, yeah. Well, they do so it's last year there was like five full days. Now it's like a Monday through Friday. So there's two days to see that everyone goes into Cozumel. Um, I love it because it helps out the group.

[43:22] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, so it goes to Cozumel. It's the only day if you're at sea, you're at sea, you go to Cozumel, you're at sea and you're back.

[43:29] Jeanna de Waal: Oh, wow. Um, but it's 24-7 cabaret singing. Um I played it at poker table with Matt Doyle last year. Um, Norm Lewis was making ice cream sundaes for everybody.

[43:44] Amber Brzezinski: Oh my god. And who and what's the company that like runs it?

[43:48] Jeanna de Waal: It's six man, so they actually do um, I was like not associated, um, but they're like Norwegian cruise line based. So it's Norwegian cruise line, um like third party, but hosts these charters. They do like the 90s cruise and a Star Trek cruise and but this one so what crazy it's crazy. Um everyone's like, oh, it's a Seth Rudesky one, and I'm like, no, this is like people know how to party.

[44:14] Amber Brzezinski: Um last year we had Bernadette Peters that flew in and performed on the deck and then flew out of Grand Cayman.

[44:21] Jeanna de Waal: It was incredible.

[44:23] Amber Brzezinski: Wow.

[44:24] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah. We'll get you on the next one.

[44:26] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, get me on the next one. I'll be there.

[44:28] Jeanna de Waal: Done. I'll tell them I'll be like, she really wants to be on it, and I think everybody needs Princess Diana on board.

[44:33] Amber Brzezinski: But also, do you know that your Broadway debut is one of my favorite shows ever?

[44:38] Jeanna de Waal: American Idiot, a good one. A real a great one.

[44:42] Amber Brzezinski: Um, and I mean hello, Heather Heather.

[44:42] Jeanna de Waal: Heather Heather.

[44:46] Amber Brzezinski: But um go ahead.

[44:50] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah, no, that was just such an awesome introduction to the business and Broadway and New York and all those things. It was so that was an energetic as hell show. That I couldn't do it now. I could only do it because I was 22.

[45:03] Amber Brzezinski: I know.

[45:03] Jeanna de Waal: Like, what the hell did they make us do to our bodies? It was insane. Blame Green Day, but like incredible show, punk rock.

[45:11] Amber Brzezinski: They made you do punk rock to your bodies.

[45:13] Jeanna de Waal: I know we love it.

[45:14] Amber Brzezinski: What's wrong with that?

[45:15] Jeanna de Waal: Nothing, yeah. Nothing, at all.

[45:18] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, nothing at all.

[45:19] Jeanna de Waal: But I oh yeah. Um, we're I was showing her clips earlier, and I was like, look at baby Stark and look at baby John. So it's just so much fun.

[45:29] Amber Brzezinski: Seriously, it's yeah, we were all I was I was 21 or something like that.

[45:35] Jeanna de Waal: You haven't aged age today if that makes sense.

[45:37] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, I think you're so sweet.

[45:39] Jeanna de Waal: No, but it's true, it's so true. Um, you know, watching Diana again last night, I was looking at the wig and I'm like, but it's just still like your face. Like your face doesn't you you don't change, like you very much have a very beautiful, distinctive look, and like it fits within every character you've ever done.

[45:55] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, thank you very much. Thank you.

[45:58] Jeanna de Waal: Now, if you had any like if like casting didn't matter, do you have any like dream roles?

[46:06] Jeanna de Waal: Um dream roles, yes. Um obviously this is love it is a huge one to cross off your bucket list.

[46:18] Amber Brzezinski: That's a huge one.

[46:18] Jeanna de Waal: I'd like to play um Sound of Music, Maria.

[46:22] Amber Brzezinski: That would be you would be a wonderful Maria to play that one day.

[46:27] Jeanna de Waal: Do you remember what we talked about last night? We also said you would make a wonderful Mary Poppins.

[46:32] Jeanna de Waal: I played that the Muni and I love playing it. I love playing Mary Poppins.

[46:39] Amber Brzezinski: I know Ashley Brown and she was fantastic, but I can very much see like you would have such a beautiful take on the role.

[46:46] Jeanna de Waal: Like I kind of I don't I don't I don't is there a cast recording from the Muni?

[46:50] Amber Brzezinski: No, they don't do cast recordings, I don't think or something I've gotta like find like a slime tutorial, which I don't encourage, but to hear like feed the birds, I can't imagine with your vocals.

[47:00] Jeanna de Waal: Well, I yeah, I love doing Mary Poppins. Um what else? Um You know what I love and I still do love it is is new projects of like stuff stuff that readings and workshops and it doesn't even have to be a big fancy Broadway show.

[47:16] Jeanna de Waal: That doesn't exist yet, yeah.

[47:18] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, I love that.

[47:19] Jeanna de Waal: I really do. Are you do you are you like a table read girl? Like you just sit and you just girl.

[47:24] Amber Brzezinski: I'm like, please ask me to be in your reading. Don't be a Christian, but please ask me to be in your reading.

[47:30] Jeanna de Waal: They're fun. I I've produced a couple of shows and I always love to sit on the table reads, like local shows, of course, but it's just such a unique experience because one, you don't know if you're gonna whoever's gonna be cast or what's gonna happen with the show, but it's really the first time that you get to hear all the words on the paper come out.

[47:46] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, one more time. And there's nothing like it.

[47:48] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah. Nothing like it.

[47:50] Amber Brzezinski: I'm gonna ask my favorite question.

[47:51] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah.

[47:52] Amber Brzezinski: My favorite question. Everybody every everybody's special gets a special question. Is there a question that you've always wanted to be asked but have not been? And if so, what is your answer?

[48:04] Jeanna de Waal: Oh my god. I'm um I know I'm like, well, do you mean from my mom or my therapist or my brother?

[48:11] Amber Brzezinski: Anybody really anybody want to be asked?

[48:15] Jeanna de Waal: Um oh gosh, I I really don't know. I'm sorry, that's a terrible answer to that's no, it's it's totally fine. Sometimes people are like, Oh yeah, what did I have for breakfast today? Or you know, it's fine.

[48:27] Amber Brzezinski: Um Jay Jay Elaine was like, uh, what'd you say? Oh, um, what what is something that you would um tell somebody who wants to make it onto the Broadway stage or the West End?

[48:42] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah, I would say well, the thing is, you know, this business is we really want like advice now. Is this really what we're going with this? No, but I mean you can we can take the notebook out, but like, you know, what would you have liked to have heard, you know, growing up and going through this? Like, did you ever receive some sort of advice, whether it was good or bad, that it kind of stuck with you? Or like would you share it with somebody else?

[49:06] Jeanna de Waal: A lot of advice, a lot good, a lot bad. Um, and I will say that um the thing is it this this business is so challenging that I don't need to put you off.

[49:09] Amber Brzezinski: Right.

[49:09] Jeanna de Waal: I don't need to say anything negative because it is so challenging um that it will put you off in itself. So if you have that positivity to do it and you have that joy and you have that one, cling to it because um because it you know what it means to you and you know what joy it brings you when it when it comes around.

[49:45] Jeanna de Waal: And it does come around, even in those times when you don't book and you don't know when it's happening, those projects do come if you keep your finger in the flame and um they're so special. So uh, you know, I think especially in this day and age when um it's easy to get sidetracked by things that don't matter when you love the arts and you feel community and you feel in your power when you're performing and you feel like you're affecting people when you're on stage, and all these wonderful things which are magic, which are like bigger than anything, hold hold to those things and keep reminding yourself that that those are valuable things to dedicate your life and time to, and that they're not silly or frivolous or something you should forget, but you have to keep reminding yourself of like why why it's it's a great time to spend your time and energy.

[50:38] Amber Brzezinski: I think that's but see that I don't think anyone could say that any better.

[50:43] Jeanna de Waal: Well, but think about it, like you know, I I I recently heard an interview from a TV casting agent who's well retired. She had a lot of uh child actors um of like the 80s and 90s and um yeah, and I think a savage agency, and she she would be asked, like what do you tell people when they come in, or you know, child performer um or child actor, what you know what do you look for? And she said, Well, I'd always ask what they wanted to do with their lives, and you know, if it was like mommy and daddy's response of like, well, I want to be an actor or an actress, um, she would get them to the point where they'd be like, I want to be an astronaut or I wanna play baseball.

[51:23] Jeanna de Waal: And she was always like, if you don't have the like grit and like the stomach for it, like you can't stick it with it. And um, I have friends that always say, if you're going into theater to make a big on Broadway, you're not in the right business. You have to do it for the love of the art of the theater, which I think is tremendous.

[51:43] Amber Brzezinski: And that shows, I mean, you've created this incredible company with Broadway weekends.

[51:47] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah, you've created this community of people who look towards Broadway weekends, and you like to have Gina De Waal like hosting this incredible event and putting this together, like who else better to teach you what it takes to really make it in the theater industry or have like an insight into it where it's not just some showy thing where you walk in and they're like, Oh, congratulations, you're on Broadway. It's like here's here's this educational course, and here's this workshop, and let's go to the show, and you're gonna meet this person who is doing you know eight different roles on a track and running around, but you're gonna see what kind of determination it takes.

[52:26] Jeanna de Waal: I think it's tremendous.

[52:27] Amber Brzezinski: Great, thank you very much.

[52:29] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah, exactly. Thank you.

[52:31] Amber Brzezinski: Is there anything you want people to know about you? Do you have any upcoming uh projects coming up?

[52:36] Jeanna de Waal: Or I have so I'm auditioning and I'm planning the Broadway Weekend Summit Camp and I've started writing again, which uh has been really uh cool and hard and all those things. Um and I don't know if I'll ever share more on that, but hopefully I will. Um, but yeah, just trying to stay like motivated and happy and filled every day.

[52:58] Amber Brzezinski: The red wine helps.

[53:00] Jeanna de Waal: The red wine helps, but not too much.

[53:02] Amber Brzezinski: Only a little bit helps.

[53:04] Jeanna de Waal: Only moderation.

[53:05] Amber Brzezinski: Just in moderation, that's fine.

[53:07] Jeanna de Waal: Um, and then the best way for people to check out Broadway weekends is there we go.

[53:12] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, Broadway and then weekends plural.

[53:14] Jeanna de Waal: And uh I hope people join us.

[53:16] Amber Brzezinski: Thanks so much for taking.

[53:17] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah, no, we are so excited. Thank you for joining the show. I told you we go easy, Anya.

[53:21] Amber Brzezinski: Um thank you for staying up past your bedtime.

[53:24] Jeanna de Waal: I know we can't do that.

[53:26] Amber Brzezinski: Um no, of course. Thank you for joining us and and even you know, coming on the show is so important because we love being able to bring a little bit of theater to the masses too. Like this that virtual thing, what you guys are doing with Broadway weekends, you know, is so so important for theater to be accessible and whatever we can do to help, like that's what we love doing.

[53:47] Jeanna de Waal: Um so thank you for giving a bit of your time to us and to our followers um and to hopefully new listeners that'll be able to learn some more about you and how incredible you are, which I think we already know.

[53:59] Amber Brzezinski: Um, but also to learn about Broadway weekends. So guys, please please go check out this incredible adventure of Gina's. It's www.broadwayweekends with an s dot com.

[54:11] Jeanna de Waal: Um you can find that we'll put that up on our Link Tree website at WWW the Broadway FanClub.com.

[54:18] Amber Brzezinski: Um, and then I'm just gonna talk to six men and tell them to get you on the next cruise, and we'll go party.

[54:23] Jeanna de Waal: I would love that.

[54:24] Amber Brzezinski: We definitely need to make that happen.

[54:26] Jeanna de Waal: I'm not, I'm determined. I'll call them up tomorrow and be like, you know what? I got a guest for you.

[54:30] Amber Brzezinski: Maybe we can maybe we can get an American Idiot reunion going on the cruise.

[54:37] Jeanna de Waal: I mean, you know, that cast is is off the chain with the talent.

[54:41] Amber Brzezinski: So household names.

[54:43] Jeanna de Waal: But thank you so much. Please get some rest.

[54:44] Amber Brzezinski: Um, we'll talk soon.

[54:47] Jeanna de Waal: I'll send you pictures of the little baby kitten so you can see how yes.

[54:50] Amber Brzezinski: Oh my gosh.

[54:51] Jeanna de Waal: I know. And maybe next time you have puppies, I'm adopt one.

[54:54] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, there you go.

[54:55] Jeanna de Waal: There we go. We'll we'll find some.

[54:58] Amber Brzezinski: We'll make sure they're like Broadway pups.

[55:00] Jeanna de Waal: It's great.

[55:01] Amber Brzezinski: Well, everybody.

[55:03] Jeanna de Waal: Yeah, thank you.

[55:04] Amber Brzezinski: Uh, we'll talk to you soon.

[55:06] Jeanna de Waal: And we hope everybody enjoyed hanging out with us.

[55:08] Amber Brzezinski: Thank you so much. Uh, thank you to the beautiful Gina De Waal. Hello, gorgeous.

[55:11] Jeanna de Waal: Um, and we'll see you guys next week.

[55:15] Amber Brzezinski: Have a great week, everybody.