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[0:00] Josh: What's going on, Queens? My name is Josh, and welcome back to the Queendom Podcast for episode 28. Wow, it's been a journey, and I am really excited to keep sharing it with you as well as the team now at Broadway Podcast Network. You guys would have heard the new intro to the episodes. If you missed the announcement, I am officially a part of the Broadway Podcast Network. I'm really excited to be working with the team at BPN to help get my episodes out to another audience out there, and hopefully bringing some new people in to share the love of this show with them and with all of you as well. But this week we have Jas Shen. We're going back out on the cruises. Jas was Aragon on the Breakaway, and she is stopping by the podcast this week to have a good old chat with us. So grab your popcorn, buckle in because it is time to get down. Here we go, Queen. Stop me because I'm the Queen of the Castle. Get down, you dirty Ross.

[1:07] Josh: Hey Queens, and welcome back to the Queendom Podcast. I am joined by another Breakaway member, Miss Jas Shen. Hey Jas, how are you going?

[1:15] Jasmine Shen: Hello! I am really excited to have you here today.

[1:19] Josh: Just checking my book. You're our first Aragon that we've had. Congratulations.

[1:23] Jasmine Shen: Am I?

[1:25] Josh: Yes, I believe so. You're the first full-time Aragon that we've had.

[1:28] Jasmine Shen: Honoured.

[1:29] Josh: Yes. You can put that up on your wall. That's the official winner there. So we were just speaking about how you've listened to the podcast, so we're just gonna get stuck straight in with these quick-fire questions. Do you remember the first musical that you ever saw?

[1:40] Jasmine Shen: The Lion King.

[1:43] Josh: Oh, great introduction. Bit of the Disney.

[1:46] Jasmine Shen: Yeah, yay. Love a bit of Disney.

[1:50] Josh: Do you know what your most used emoji is?

[1:53] Jasmine Shen: Oh, it has to be the cry laughing face.

[1:55] Josh: Oh, that's mine. I use that way too often, and it's ridiculous.

[2:00] Jasmine Shen: What is the top thing on your bucket list right now?

[2:04] Jasmine Shen: Skydiving.

[2:05] Josh: Oh.

[2:07] Jasmine Shen: Yeah. I really want to do it. We were supposed to do it when we were on the cruise and we planned it all, but obviously then got cut short.

[2:13] Josh: We were like, no. Going off for that, what's your biggest fear?

[2:19] Jasmine Shen: Ooh. I have a fear of spiders, but then that's not really like a big fear. I don't really have a fear. When people ask me this question, I'm like, I don't have a fear. Like I can, yeah, I don't really have one. Spiders, whatever it is, I can do it.

[2:34] Josh: Perfect. So theatre, that is where we connect. What was your introduction to the performing arts? How did you get into performing?

[2:49] Jasmine Shen: Well, I actually started dancing when I was about four and I did the whole thing, start with ballet, then you do jazz, and then I started tap when I was probably about eleven or twelve, quite late. I didn't actually start singing until I had my very first professional singing lesson when I went to Bird College in the UK, which is where I trained. But before that I just kind of sang in the shower, did little mini concerts for myself. But then I decided that I wanted to be on the stage when I watched The Lion King the musical, and I think I was about 10. It was just that light bulb moment of watching it and just being in awe of everything. I don't know if you've watched The Lion King, but I was sat in the stalls, and I'm not gonna give any spoilers, but if you sit in the stalls, it's a way better experience than when you sat anywhere else.

And it literally, I was so blown away. I just turned to my mom and was like, "Mom, I want to do that." And she just went, "Okay, carry on watching." Good thing I'm just like, "I want to do it." She was like, "Okay, okay."

[3:59] Josh: That is great. So obviously, Six is the main reason we are here. That is the show that I think is bringing us together. If it's Lion King, good on Disney, but I'm 100% certain it is Six. How did you find out about the show? What was your kind of...

[4:17] Jasmine Shen: I'd heard about it, and like when it first came out, I know that like all of my friends who are like really, really into musical theatre were like, "This soundtrack's amazing, you need to listen to this," blah blah blah blah blah. And I was like, "Oh, I don't know." And I was actually the same with Hamilton as well. When Hamilton's soundtrack came out, I was really late on that one, and I just, I'm very much, I'm always the last person to get onto stuff because I just, my attention span is awful for a starter, so I just can't sit there and listen to a whole soundtrack, have to do it in little bits. So I finally got around to listening to the soundtrack, and I was like, "Oh my god, this is amazing, like this is incredible," and I didn't realise it was so poppy, and the genre was literally pure like pop, musical theatre pop, and I was all for that because growing up I always thought like I didn't even know what legit musicals were before I started training.

That's how awful I was at musical theatre, and I literally just listened to the soundtrack and thought this is amazing, like I have to be in this, and I remember listening to the soundtrack, I think when I was near the end of my first year training and more towards into the second year when I was in my second year I was really into it and I was like, "Oh this is amazing, this is brilliant." But yeah, that is how I heard about Six basically through the grapevine.

[5:10] Josh: That's amazing. I'm definitely the same. I had a friend tell me to listen to it and then six months later was like, "You actually look like you had to listen to it." I think I got through like the first, I think I got to the first live in Ex Wives and I was like messaged her straight away, I was like, "I'm so sorry I should have listened six months ago. I'm sorry for doubting you." So what was it like auditioning for this show from your experience? Talk me through your experience.

[6:00] Jasmine Shen: So I actually auditioned for Six twice. The first time was when I met Hazel, so we both auditioned for Town and Tour back in, oh I can't even remember now, maybe March time 2019. And basically I think I got cut like the second, like the round just before the final, so I didn't make it to the final but I got cut before that and I was like, you know what, that's first. And Pierce and casting were amazing, so they're the people who cast the show. I remember James took me to the side and he was like, actually said to my face like, "It's a no from us," blah blah blah blah blah, but said it in the most heartfelt way and I thought, "Wow, that is incredible." Like I've never had a casting director come up to me and say no to my face, which I really appreciated because normally you just don't ever hear back, and you're like, "Well, I don't know if I got it or not."

So then that was the end of my journey. Then I was obviously following Hazel's journey because she got to the, I think she got to the next round and then got cut. I can't quite remember. But then funny story because then the second time round when I auditioned was probably around this time last year, to be honest. And I went into the audition room and I was like, "Oh, this is scary, but like also familiar," because I'd just done it literally like a couple of months before. And it was all like amazing, and I couldn't make my private audition, so I had to turn up to the opens, and oh my god, I put my hands up to people who turn up to open auditions because the queue, oh my god, it literally went round the whole of Fulham, and I was like, "Oh my god, this is mental."

And then I felt really bad because then I cut the queue because I'd messaged James and I was like, "I can't make my private. Do you mind if I turn up to the opens?" He's like, "Yeah, yeah, go for it, just turn up at like 12 and cut the queue, come in and just join in." I was like, "Amazing, thank you." So I said, and literally the whole line of people going round the whole of town literally just looked at me as I cut the queue, and I felt awful. I was like, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." And I just went in, did the audition process, got to the final, and then the rest is history, I guess. Yeah, and here we are.

[8:31] Jasmine Shen: See, I don't know. I don't know because I feel like something took over my body in that audition process because in real life, I would class myself as a Berlin, I really would class myself as a Berlin. And so when I got told that I was gonna be playing Aragon, I was like, "Oh, interesting." And then I remember doing the Aragon song in the auditions, and I swear to God, I was possessed by that point because it wasn't me performing that song. I was like some diva, I don't even know what happened. I was just like, "Charles, where have you gone? Who was this person right now?" Snaps out of it. What just happened? Did I just do that? Cool, sweet, thanks.

[9:18] Josh: So getting the call, what was that moment like for you? Because this was your first professional gig as well, wasn't it?

[9:25] Jasmine Shen: Yeah. What was it like getting that call being like, "Yo, this is you?"

[9:30] Jasmine Shen: Oh, it was mad. I remember, so basically it was during summer term at college, so it was when I had to like do my assessments were finished, my dissertation was done, and it was just like getting ready for the summer show. So it was kind of like in and out of college, and I literally lived like 10 seconds away from college in a flat, and I lived by myself for two years, so like the only contact I had was when I went to college to see my friends. So I was on a lunch break, and I remember my agent called me and I was like, "Oh, interesting." And I picked up and I was like, "Hello." She was like, "Are you busy?" and I was like, "No." She was like, "Oh, well, I've got something to tell you," and I was like, "Oh god, I thought it was really bad news."

I don't know why, but every time someone says, "I've got something to tell you," I'm like, "It has to be bad news." And she was like, "Um, love, you got Six on the ship," and I honestly, I just broke down. I broke down because at the time, so at the time I was also hearing back from Les Mis, so I didn't know whether she was gonna just tell me that I didn't get either of them like at all and that I've just got to carry on auditioning, blah blah blah. But then in the end, it was that I'd got Six and I was just, I don't think I've ever cried so much in my entire life, and I like rang my whole family and they were like, "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" And I just couldn't make any words. I was like, having an emotional breakdown, like I don't know. I was like, "I think I'm nice amazing."

[11:03] Josh: That is so cool. I love these stories. So going into the first day of rehearsals, meeting your other girls. Did you know anyone else in the cast before going into that first day?

[11:16] Jasmine Shen: I knew Jess and Georgia and Liv, but not very well. But basically I'd met Liv, we were all in the same audition process, so we all like knew of each other, but just not very well. And I remember we had costume fittings in London, and I'd met Georgia on a couple of them, and she was absolutely lovely. She was like, "Oh, let me know if you need anything, like I'll be here for you." And I was like, "Thank you." And then I met Liv in one of my costume ones as well, and we had a few conversations there, and then with Jess, it was really funny because we were messaging each other like back and forth, and then we realized that because obviously we worked on the ship, we had to get a visa and everything, and we realized that our visa appointments were on the same day, and I was like, "Oh, amazing, like we can go for a coffee afterwards."

And obviously it being a Sunday, everything was closed, so we just kind of like walked around and like tried to find like the nearest coffee shop. But it's funny because we didn't realise that our visa appointments were at the same time as well, and I saw this girl in this queue, and I thought, "I know who that is," and I was like, but you know when you don't want to say hi in case it's not them, and I was literally like, "Oh, I can't do it." I literally went, "Jess!" She turned around, I was like, "It's you," just waved at her, and then she went off to wear an appointment, and oh my god, but literally, like, I get on with all of the girls so well, I miss them so much, and we've all got to know each other so well. But yeah, those are the three queens that I knew like kind of vaguely before we started rehearsal.

[12:56] Josh: Amazing. Now we've heard previously on the podcast about the little history kind of experiment that Lucy gets everyone to do on their first day. How is your tutor history going into this show?

[13:12] Jasmine Shen: Oh honestly, not great because I've grown up not being extremely academic. I got by with a lot of hard work, but history wasn't one of my subjects, so I didn't know a lot, and I actually found out that Catherine of Aragon was actually living in Ludlow in Ludlow Castle, and I live in Ludlow, which is mental, and I was like, "Eh." I found that out, and we were watching the documentaries because we got given a list of documentaries that we should be watching to get to know the Queens more, blah blah blah. So I skipped to the Catherine of Aragon bit after the introduction, and I thought, "Oh, this will be interesting, this will be interesting," because I do like history and I love documentaries.

[13:55] Jasmine Shen: And uh I was watching, and then they were like, Here we are in Ludlow, and I was like, eh, why are you in Ludlow? And then she was just like explaining how Catherine of Aragon um got married to Henry's uh brother, and I was literally like, okay, that's cool. And then they lived in Ludlow Castle, and I was like, What? Like, that is mental, so so mental. And I thought, oh my god, I'm actually closer to little Miss Aragon than I thought. It was meant to be. Literally, I was like, oh my god. That was gonna be my next question. What was the coolest thing you learnt about Aragon? But I think I think that kind of tips the time. That was the coolest thing. That topped everything. So going in to rehearsals, obviously, although this is a 75-minute show compared to Lame Is, um, Lame Is would have been hard with all the harmonies. Um this show, the energy, the jam-packed kind of vibe that is this Beyoncé concert with Queens.

[14:51] Josh: Um, what was the hardest part for you to learn?

[14:56] Jasmine Shen: Oh god. I think it was actually harmonies, you know? Yeah. Because I think so we had to change around the harmonies because obviously Aragon's usually near to SOP, but I'm not a sop, I'm an alto. Um, and if you've seen the one woman mega six, then you'll hear my lovely alto lights. And um, I think it was basically so we made up paragon, so it was Par and Aragon, and we were both on the bottom because myself and Amelia were both Altos, and um, so we changed it into Paragon. And basically, Paragon's harmonies are so similar that I just kept singing all of Amelia's lines, and I thought, Jazz, stop doing that. So I'd just be there at nighttime, like, uh uh uh like oh, the harmonies. I got there in the end, but the harmonies are probably the hardest bit.

[15:49] Josh: What was it like trying to get through your introduction for the first time? Uh, how long did it take you to get the monologue down for Aragon right at the very start?

[16:00] Jasmine Shen: Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that. Okay, last question. I tell I withdraw my answer from the last question because oh my god. I literally had mental breakdown after mental breakdown after mental breakdown over that monologue. I just oh my god. It's the wittiest piece of text for the first time. Like it is a brilliant album for so long. You like I'd listen to it that when I first went to saw the see the show, I was like, I'm here for everything but the music. Like I'm just gonna watch everything, and because I know the songs, that's fine. Yeah, that first monologue started, and I was like, damn. I just follow her across the stage. I'm like, oh wow. It just doesn't stop, it doesn't stop, and I'm literally like trying to learn it and learn it because my memory's not great.

I have to literally like do it over and over and over and over and over. And I think the girls, because we shared flats in Tampa in our rehearsal process, and I think the girls just got sick of me doing it over and over and over and over. But I literally did it that many times, and I just the timing is just so hard, and like for me, when I went to go see the show, because obviously I need to do my own research as well before I started doing the show. Um see me and my friend Janice, we went to go watch the show in London, and I thought that Aragon's monologue was brilliant, like it was brilliant, but that was way before I knew that I'd got the show, yeah, and so I didn't really pay that much attention to it.

I just thought it was amazing, but I didn't really like pay attention, if that makes sense, and um when it got round to doing it, I thought, oh my god. How the other queens have done this so seamlessly is beyond me because this is hard, it's hard.

[17:43] Josh: Did you have to mark out spots to breathe?

[17:47] Jasmine Shen: Um it seems like it just it's really it's like it'll probably be like the no way breathe. Yeah, kind of. Yeah. I guess it was more like you just had to know when like the okay's were coming in. Yes. And the thing is, if you get one word wrong, you've got the whole thing wrong. And um I'm gonna be honest, I did that at least two times when I was on the ship, and I thought, oh my god, like I don't know what came out of my mouth. I was like, well, that's not the monologue.

[18:17] Josh: What's your favorite line in the monologue? Because there's about three or four different kind of paragraphs that Aragon has. If you had to pick one, what would what's your favourite one?

[18:28] Jasmine Shen: Oh, I don't think I can pick one. I like the whole thing. Um I'd get you to do it, but I don't think I'm allowed to. I think I would pay to have that recording. I think it's gotta be uh I think it's gotta be the tiny little bit when Aragon just says, okay, bit weird, because I'm just like snapping out of it, and she's like, okay, that is a little bit weird.

[18:56] Josh: What was it like getting into kind of character with Aragon being younger and Aragon's the kind of motherly figure in the show?

[19:04] Jasmine Shen: Yeah. What was that like for you to take on? Considering some of the girls are older than you as well, so you've got to kind of play that through as well. Cause I think because I was one of the babies of the group, and it was it was a challenge. It was a challenge to get into the role of Aragon, because as I said, I am very much a Berlin. Um, and I think it was just difficult to try and be sassy but not cocky if that makes sense like yeah like trying to be sassy but in like a powerful woman type way not a it's almost like me on the best type way it's almost like a confident like I know yeah kind of way where Billy is kind of just that regality of just holding it all in your shoulders and just I don't know just not not losing your call like Aragon does say and I just think like it was just a very difficult role to get my head around because growing up as well I've always played like either the ditzy one the comedic one the young one like I've never been which was actually a privilege because I just thought when am I ever going to play a role that I'm the si well like one of the serious characters if that makes sense.

[20:13] Josh: So I don't know if that's my ethnicity or what but I've always seen to be a comedic character which I don't mind because I love it but I was like when am I gonna play a serious role boom here you go have a hard one kick off that show um in the show in its entirety what is your favourite moment to perform in the show it's got to be the beginning of six just because every time we did it on the stage no matter if it was with the actual queens the swings any queens didn't matter who it was it was that connection that we had on the stage that made me really feel like I was I really belonged there and that I had a great group of girls with me on the stage and it was just like we literally had a proper connection that no one else I feel like would never understand because we are just a group of sisters now.

[21:06] Jasmine Shen: I really do believe that, and we're one big family, and it was just the bit before six, and we just singing to each other, kind of forgot the audience were there, and we just sang the song to each other, which was just absolutely lovely to do every single time we did it. It was so nice. It makes me emotional. I love it.

[21:29] Josh: Um choreography wise. Hmm. Hardest song to learn.

[21:38] Jasmine Shen: Or favorite, favourite choreography. Let's do both. I think favourite choreography has got to be no way for sure. No way choreography is my fave. But then, if anything, the hardest choreo was in um don't lose your head with the whole head thing with the feet thing at the same time.

[21:59] Josh: Oh, I saw someone do this on TikTok the other day, and it was seamless. I was like, God, how have you oh it's hard?

[22:05] Jasmine Shen: I like looked at it, it was slowed down, and I was like, man, that's still difficult. Like, there's no way I'm even gonna try. Yeah, I remember we did it in the audition process, and I just couldn't do it. I genuinely look like a chicken who'd lost their legs. I was like, Oh, this looks awful. I am not getting the job.

[22:22] Josh: So, what was it like seeing the your costume for the first time, seeing it all come together?

[22:28] Jasmine Shen: Oh, that was a dream. I just like obviously going to college, you don't have a massive budget to have like amazing costumes, you should kind of like do with the hand-me-downs from the year before, and like they're still amazing costumes, but to have your own personal costume that has been fitted for you like specifically, like no other person is gonna wear my costume, you know. And when I put it on for the first time, I thought, wow, I really do feel like a queen because it really I mean it was heavy, but it was amazing, and I didn't care that it was heavy because I thought I looked so bomb, like I'm blowing my own trumpet, but I've never felt that amazing in my entire life, and then I put the shoes on and I was like, girl, like I felt amazing because Aragon's kind of costume is let uh the most regal of them all, and I'm just pulling trying to find a photo of yours at the moment, just scrolling through your Instagram.

[23:26] Jasmine Shen: I think it's the shoulder pads, you know, the shoulder pads are huge. Um what was it how what how do you explain the weight? Because PVC vinyl and all the studs and everything it can't be oh it's heavy, it baffles me how she's made them comfortable to wear on stage yet.

[23:50] Josh: Yeah, so I mean they're comfortable, it's comfortable, but it's heavy, and I can't believe that I managed to do this show in that kind of weight because basically one day I was just like, I wonder how heavy my costume actually is when I've got like everything on, including the shoes.

[24:06] Jasmine Shen: So there were some weighing scales in the changing room, and I thought, okay, I'll weigh myself without anything on, just like no costume, no nothing. So I waved myself and then I got changed, got ready for the show, blah blah blah, and then waved myself again, and my costume weighed 10 pounds.

[24:23] Josh: Oh wow, and I was like, Oh my god, like that's heavy.

[24:28] Jasmine Shen: And I thought, oh my god. I think she went, girls, girls, girls, girls. And they were like, What? And I was like, my costume weighs 10 pounds, and they were like, What? I was like, Oh no, it's so heavy.

[24:37] Josh: How what's the chain? Is the chain like heavy, or is it you know what?

[24:44] Jasmine Shen: The chain isn't that heavy. I think it's like a plasticky material, I'm not sure. But it's not overly heavy. I mean, it's a little bit annoying when you're trying to jump because it kind of just goes in your face. Um so that kind of hurts. But then I think it's not heavy, but it can sometimes be like annoying when like I said, when you're trying to jump, but the costume needs it because I feel like if you don't have the necklace, like I put like one show, I remember the necklace, I had a bit of a costume malfunction that show, don't know why, and my cost my necklace fell off just after no way. I was like, Oh, for God's sake. So then after that, I just felt a bit naked because I didn't have my necklace on.

[25:28] Josh: Yeah, and I thought, wow, I didn't realise how important this necklace was, and it was a real big statement of it. And I thought, I need this necklace in my life.

[25:36] Jasmine Shen: So speaking of malfunctions, um, let's you can throw yourself under the bus or your castmates or something. What let's talk about some on stage or rehearsal mishaps that are very memorable.

[25:50] Jasmine Shen: Oh my god. Oh, okay, so a rehearsal one. I'm gonna throw the lovely Kelly Sweener on uh Kelly Sweeney under the bus here. Kelly, you're gonna have to come on now and defend yourself, just FYI.

[26:01] Josh: Yeah, Kelly, you're gonna have to fight back now.

[26:03] Jasmine Shen: Um basically, we watch this same rehearsal video over and over and over again for one particular reason, and basically Kelly was doing don't use your head, and basically, you know, when you are just like walking innocently along a pavement and you go over your ankle and you just go, whoop, and you don't really know what the hell just happened, and you're like, okay, I just ignore that. And basically, Kelly did this a I don't know how she did it, but we zoomed in and she literally buckles her ankle like three times in a row, but she does it in time with the music when she's singing every night, she's like every night, and like it's literally her ankle is like every night, and I'm like, that is incredible.

And when you watch it, I mean it's not funny when I say it, but it's literally you watch it, and it's the funniest thing you've ever seen because she's just going down to the floor, and God help that girl, she's just falling down and falling down, and no one is helping her, and I'm like, oh, that is hilarious, and that's the only thing we would watch on the ship because it was just so funny.

[27:14] Josh: With buckling ankles, this is something I've been meaning to touch on for ages, but just never have. Um learning this show straight off. Did you were you learning in the heels and the size heel that you were gonna be performing in from like day one?

[27:33] Jasmine Shen: So you kind of got used to the height difference. So basically, we had you know Dr. Martin shoes shoes. So we had Doc Martin's, and it was the heel ones, the chunky ones, which are actually taller than the the Laducas that we use on the stage.

[27:51] Jasmine Shen: So if anything, it was quite a relief to then have the Laducas, because they weren't as tall as the Doc Martins. Obviously, Doc Martins aren't made to dance in. But um yeah, I just think I mean, don't get me wrong, our feet did hurt, but it's just kind of one of those things you just get on with. Um dance alive. Yeah, yeah. Literally dance a life, but literally the yeah, the shoes that we had were the Doc Martin ones, the heel ones. So we had those for rehearsals until we got our Laducas in, and then we started rehearsing with those once we had them.

[28:25] Josh: Okay, cool. Um ship. Most memorable experience from being on sea, like whether it's a show or just in a cabin. What what is something that stands out to you that you'll ever forever hold dear that's all good.

[28:48] Jasmine Shen: We are all good. Um so let's jump straight back into that question. So for anyone that's wondering why we're laughing, it's because um we just had a technical mouth. So where we were, Jess, we were at uh most memorable experience on board the ship. Yeah, so basically, I will what I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by my Wi-Fi. Um basically we went to Nassau in the Bahamas, and basically there's a massive water park there, and it's called Atlantis, and that day we all decided to get off the ship and just have a good day, go to this water park, and it was all eight of us, and hands down, that was one of the best days of my entire life. It was so fun, and I'm not really one for like water slides or like big drops or anything, or like roller coasters or anything like that.

So, literally, like me and Kelly, I remember we absolutely pooed ourselves on this one slide. Oh my god, it was so scary. I just thought, you know what, I need to do it. If I don't do it now, I'll never do it. And we did it together, and it was just the it was just the best day. It was the best day, great company, great like location that we were at, and it was sunny, and it was just an amazing day.

[30:04] Josh: Amazing. That's amazing. I love that. Um now, Jazz, you are a YouTuber, a YouTube sensation.

[30:12] Jasmine Shen: Um I mean, I wouldn't go that far, but thank you. Um, but your YouTube channel is all about bringing awareness and understanding a syndrome that you do have, which is nephrotic syndrome?

[30:25] Jasmine Shen: Yes, nephrotic syndrome, yeah. Beautiful go my pronunciation. Do you want to take us through what that is and uh what you're trying to do on your YouTube channel?

[30:35] Jasmine Shen: So basically, around four years ago this month, I got diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome, and it's basically an autoimmune disease where your immune system fights your own immune system, which is very bizarre, but I mean human body, it is a human body. But um, basically, four years ago, I got diagnosed, and I'm an avid YouTube watcher. I love a bit of YouTube, uh, it is my guilty pleasure, and um, so I was trying to I was trying to like research things because there's like certain things that I couldn't eat, certain things that I couldn't do, medications that I had to take, and I didn't know like how severe the side effects were gonna be if I was ever gonna dance ever again, because I remember my doctor being like, Yeah, because this was just before I went off to train in musical theatre, and I remember my doctor literally just looking me in the eye and being like, sorry, you're probably not gonna dance again.

And I was like, Right, okay, so I'm still gonna dance. Look at me now, Doc. Yeah, literally, look at me now. Um, but I just was like, no, like surely there is people who still have a career who have an autoimmune disease. You can't just say you can't ever dance ever again because that's just mad. Um obviously like I got put on steroid medication, that makes you like look like a chipmunk, which is just brilliant. Um then so then I just thought I need to find someone who's going through this with me. So I did find a lot of like Facebook support groups that I joined, and like everyone was in the same boat, which was amazing. I felt really like supported there. But then for me personally, I like seeing things physically and like seeing how these things affect people physically and mentally and emotionally, and um I couldn't find anything, and literally on YouTube there was like doctors like explaining like the scientific ways of like how this syndrome works and whatever, and I was like, Yeah, but that's not helpful.

Like, how do people live? How do you live with this? And uh so I thought, you know what? Screw it, I'm gonna be the person that's gonna promote this syndrome and talk about it, and I always look at I always look back at my first video and just laugh at myself because that is not me. I just like I think I'm very like introverted and like shy, and I look like an egg because I'm on steroids, and I was literally like, oh jazz, but it's out it's out there, it's on the internet, so if you can watch it. Listen to my first podcast episode back the other day, and I was like, oh, that we've kind of like I'm glad we stepped it up because we have you almost feel sorry, and you almost feel like apologizing to the people that watched that first video because you're like, Well, um, I'm glad we're here now because it's been a journey, it's been a journey, and um I remember my dissertation at college.

Basically, I didn't want to go down the route of because obviously I was doing a musical theatre degree. I didn't want to go down the route of like the stereotypical why can't dancers be fat. Why is this? Why is that in musical theater? I didn't want to do that. So, like personally, I I struggled for the entirety of my first year when I was at college. Like, I was I lost all my muscle because I was like I'm in hospital so much. It was a struggle mentally and physically, it was hard. Um and basically I thought, what could I do to make this process for other people who were going through the same thing as me and training eight hours a day, how can I make this easier? So I wrote my dissertation on autoimmune diseases and uh vocational training and how to help.

And I'm very proud of myself because like I said before, not very academic, but I managed to get a first, gonna blow my own trumpet there because I'm very proud of that. And um it was a hit and I remember getting the comments back from my marker and they were like basically saying that they'd never seen a like a subject like this and it was interesting and I was really happy with that. And um, I don't know whether one day I might I had like this thought in my head that maybe I'll publish it one day if I just like get rid of the typos because there were too many typos in that dissertation. And um, but I don't know. I that might be s a future project. I'm not sure.

[34:55] Josh: That's amazing though, guys. If you wanna get some more understanding of what Jazz has been through, I will pop all the links to her YouTube channel down below so you can thank you so much. Go and watch her videos because I I watched one or two before we started recording and 100% the information is great. So 100% go watch it so you you kind of grab some understanding, even if it's not affecting you it's good to know these things are out in the world. That way maybe if a friend or a family member comes down with or gets diagnosed with the syndrome you know like yep cool this is exactly where I can go it's all about awareness yeah exactly um that pretty much nearly wraps things up for us jazz what I want to ask you uh before we we do truly wrap things up um we've kind of answered my second last question that we already do um what what was your favorite part of the show to learn have we already touched that to learn you know what I can't remember we haven't I feel like we've spoken so much I can't even remember what's come up now that's all good I think favorite part of the show to learn ooh yeah we haven't asked this question this is a good no yeah otherwise I wouldn't be yeah what was my favorite part to learn oh my god there's too many I think you know what it's just gotta be the very beginning the very very beginning day one rehearsal when we're doing the walk down from the roster I remember just walking down in rehearsal like once we blocked it and everything then ran it through the music and we were just all stood in our queen order and then you just say that first line and obviously Aragon starts the whole show and I'm like divorced and I'm literally like oh my god like I start the whole show, this is amazing.

I was like, this is insane. And I think that has got to be my favourite part to learn. And it made it very surreal that this was my job. I was getting paid to do what I love, and I've only ever dreamt of doing this. And it's just mad. It was mad, but that was probably one of my favourite moments of rehearsal for sure.

[37:10] Josh: Amazing. So we've got two more questions. But before we do, guys, if you want to follow jazz, please go follow her on Instagram because she's a bomb. I will pop that at down below as well. You know where to find us. You can find us at Ozqueendom and the Queenham Cast. Uh, we've got our merch line up and running at the Queenam Online.com forward slash shop. So go check that out. What is um oh, I've forgotten the question, guys. I had two really good questions and I've forgotten one. No.

[37:43] Jasmine Shen: Oh, I want you to talk me through performing the first show on the ship, knowing you've got an audience in front of you. What was it like hitting that final boom at the end of the case?

[37:56] Jasmine Shen: Oh god. That show. I think we actually did a cruise show before we did a show for a real audience. Yeah. And like the cruise show was good because I feel like I feel like entertainment get a lot of stick on cruises because it kind of seems like we just sleep all day, blah blah blah. But obviously, we've actually been training since we were like very young. Um so the cruise show was really good, but then I was so so nervous for the real thing, and you just never know on a cruise how the audience are gonna react because obviously they've booked the cruise, they haven't booked the show. So obviously, like you've got West End, Broadway, and UK Tour, where people have specifically booked tickets to watch the show, but then you've got people on a cruise of all different ages, all different genders, and you don't know how they're gonna react.

And I feel like the first show went really well, went really, really well, and I was happy with it, and the audience seemed to love it. Um, and to be honest, sometimes you get audiences that are a bit quiet, but I just don't know whether it's because uh they're like I don't know, they don't understand the show, maybe. Um but yeah, I think the first time we ever did the show in front of it, I was just really proud of everyone, honestly, so proud. Like we we ran off the stage and just was like, what just happened, like what actually just happened, it was it was an incredible feeling, really great.

[39:31] Josh: Yeah, amazing. Now we're gonna get all soft, cuddly, gooey-ooey. Being away from your girls for a while now. What's the biggest thing you miss about the show? And this will wrap us up.

[39:45] Jasmine Shen: Oh, you know what? It's not even about the show, it's just about being with the girls, and literally, like, we would always go into Jess's room. Jess's room was next to my room, and Jess was definitely the mum, the mum of the group, and we would just if you needed anything, you go to Jess's room. You just want to sit there, you go to Jess's room. You want to watch something, you go to Jess's room, and we would always gather there. It would be like one person would go to Jess's room, and it's like the whole of our cast would know that that one person was in Jess's room and like Jess's room, let's go. And we'd always go there, and it'd just be so great. And even if it was just to have a nap, like to have a nap, you could fit several people on that bed.

So it would literally be like four people on the bed, two people on the sofa, one person on the chair, and we'd all just have a nap, and we'd just fall asleep, and then be like, okay, guys, show time. It's just I miss the girls and their company, and it's not even the fact that we have to be doing anything, it's just them being around me. I miss, you know?

[40:49] Josh: Yeah. I really miss that.

[40:50] Jasmine Shen: That's the perfect note to wrap up.

[40:53] Josh: So Queens, thank you for joining us. Thank you, Jazz, for coming and hanging out. I appreciate it.

[41:00] Jasmine Shen: Anytime.

[41:01] Josh: Uh Queens, make sure you're hitting that subscribe button to make sure you're staying up to date with any episodes we drop. Remember, Saturdays, every Saturday, 10 a.m. London time, 6 p.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time, and whatever time that is in the US, because I still haven't figured that out. Um we will catch you next week's Queens. Thanks.

[41:20] Jasmine Shen: Bye.

[41:29] ♪ Musical number ♪