This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Alan Seales: Welcome to another episode of The Theatre Podcast. I'm your host, Alan Seales, and this episode is with Kathryn Allison, who you probably know from Aladdin on Broadway right now, but hopefully you also know her from the new original scripted podcast called Loveville High. And lovevillehigh.com, you should visit that whenever you have a chance to learn more about it. It's nine, 10-minute episodes. They could stand alone on their own, but they can also be played serialized to have a bigger story. It's about every different type of relationship that you can think of all attending this prom in a high school. And it's just a phenomenal idea and a phenomenal concept. And Kathryn, I brought her in.

We talked about Loveville High. We talked about, gosh, she's got a learning disability that actually prevents her from easily learning blocking and lyrics and lines, which you would think, of course, might prohibit her from getting on the Broadway stage, but she's there. She's learned how to use it to her advantage. She's a phenomenal person, and I enjoy talking with her so much. She's also very body positive. How she presents herself on social media is very, I look up to it. I respect her for how she puts herself out there, and it's very impressive. So, as always, I'll keep this reflection section short, and here we go. Please enjoy this episode with Kathryn Allison.

[1:37] Alan Seales: In 2014, she won the New York Musical Theatre Festival's Next Big Broadway Sensation contest put on by New World Stages, beating out 200 other singers as an alumni of Paper Mill Playhouse, where she won the Douglas Michael Krueger Scholarship in addition to having Bucks County Playhouse and The Muny on her resume. Also recently featured by Broadway.com as one of five rising stars they'd pick to play Dorothy in The Wiz Live. Now currently in Disney's Aladdin on Broadway and playing Madison in the new podcast musical Loveville High, Kathryn Allison, thank you for joining me today.

[2:10] Kathryn Allison: Thank you for having me.

[2:13] Alan Seales: How are you doing?

[2:15] Kathryn Allison: I'm good.

[2:15] Alan Seales: It is cold outside, isn't it?

[2:19] Kathryn Allison: It is cold, but I just got some mint tea, so I'm warming up.

[2:22] Alan Seales: I am a fan of the mint.

[2:22] Kathryn Allison: So am I. I feel like it just opens all the nasal cavities and all the things, so I feel good.

[2:29] Alan Seales: Good. So, let's start off here how we normally start off, and we go way back to your childhood and talk about where you came from, and I think you are a New York City child, right?

[2:40] Kathryn Allison: Yeah, so I was born here, and my parents lived in New Jersey, so born here, raised in New Jersey, so I'd like to say I'm a tri-state area child, you know? I grew up very close to New York City, so I used to come every weekend with my mom to get our hair done, and I had this weird thing that I'd always have to wear black coming into the city, because I thought everyone who was cool in New York City wore black. I don't know why.

[3:05] Alan Seales: How old were you?

[3:11] Kathryn Allison: I don't know, like six or seven. My mom was like, what are you doing? You should be wearing some color. I was like, no, I have to wear black. Everyone cool wears black. When I was a kid, I wore everything oversized. That's what I thought everybody wore, because I was in North Carolina. It wasn't anything about New York, so I didn't have any sense of fashion, but maybe I could have done better wearing all black.

[3:34] Alan Seales: So then what part of New Jersey did you grow up in?

[3:40] Kathryn Allison: So originally Maplewood, and then when I was in middle school, we moved to South Orange, and now my parents live in West Orange, but I didn't know until I was in high school that a lot of Broadway people live in Maplewood, New Jersey.

[3:50] Alan Seales: Really?

[3:50] Kathryn Allison: Yeah. Like currently?

[3:50] Alan Seales: Currently, yeah, currently and when I was there, but if I had known that, I'd probably been like stalking everyone, because I was such, I mean, I still am a huge theater nerd, but I probably would have been like, oh my God, who's that over there? I'm like, oh my God, are they some, I don't know, yeah.

[4:05] Alan Seales: Is there like the equivalent in LA, where they do the tours of Broadway homes, not Broadway, the celebrities' homes, is there like a tour people can start here of touring all the-

[4:11] Kathryn Allison: Oh my gosh.

[4:21] Alan Seales: And inside on the 31st floor of that high rise building is-

[4:25] Kathryn Allison: Is so-and-so, probably. I mean, I know I used to live very close to where Lauren Hill used to live.

[4:32] Alan Seales: No kidding.

[4:34] Kathryn Allison: So I probably would have, if I'd known exactly where she was, I would have been like, hey, like, can you teach me some stuff? She would have been like, again?

[4:44] Alan Seales: Again, yeah.

[4:47] Kathryn Allison: And I read an article in which point that, you said that you discovered at a young age that you had a learning disability?

[4:56] Kathryn Allison: I did, yeah. I have several of them. They're pretty, you know, it's interesting because theater involves a lot of memorizing and memory. And one of the things I have is short-term memory, as well as auditory processing, which basically means if someone gives me a list of things, tasks, they tell me a list of tasks, it's hard for me to replay what those tasks are to you, which weirdly, I know it's weird. So it's like, it was very simple when I was little. My mom would be like, hey, can you pick up the laundry? Can you go downstairs and get me a pencil? Can you go to the refrigerator and grab me a glass of orange juice? And I wouldn't be able to repeat those things back to her, which is so crazy to think that, like, why something in my brain wasn't firing.

But because I was in theater, it actually helped me to remember those things better, because those are the things that you need to learn when you're memorizing lines, you know, you have to remember your cues and things like that. So it's kind of, it's been a great deal of help. It's still a bit of a struggle, but it's gotten a lot, a lot better.

[6:08] Alan Seales: So what's the difference actually between short-term and long-term? I know that people often confuse the two.

[6:13] Kathryn Allison: So short-term is literally like less than a minute or something, right?

[6:19] Alan Seales: Yeah, yeah. Things that are very, you know, happened just recently, whereas, you know, things that have happened over a long period of time stick in longer. So for me, I've had to create different techniques about how to get, yeah, how to like stick lines in my head, because, you know, I will forget things very quickly, which is obviously not great for this industry. But yeah, some people look at me weird when I'm memorizing my lines. They're like, why do you have like all of these note cards with all your lines on it? I'm like, this is how I got to do this process or it's not going to get in there and stick, you know?

[7:01] Alan Seales: And so how, how do you, how then do you commit it to long-term? Because you have to like, get it past short-term.

[7:02] Kathryn Allison: Right, right. So I...

[7:04] Alan Seales: Sorry, I'm really curious.

[7:05] Kathryn Allison: I know, you're like, no, it's cool. So, I mean, I feel like I do what most people do, maybe, but just, you know, I sit with my script once I have a script, I sit with it every single night and I read through the whole thing every single night, which sounds crazy because you're like, wow, that's two and a half hours worth of material that you're doing every night before bed. But it seems to work for me. And then also, if it's something that's really tough, I'll take, just like when you were in school and you were studying a language that you would have the definition or the, for example, like...

[7:44] Alan Seales: The word on one side.

[7:45] Kathryn Allison: Yeah. And the meaning on the other side would be the same thing. So that would be, I don't know, in Aladdin, like still, I think she's rather tasty would be on one side and then the Q line would be on the other, you know?

[7:56] Alan Seales: Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh gosh. I didn't even think about that. Yeah, your lines are coming in a sequence. Yeah. So if you can't remember sequences and then that poses a challenge.

[8:07] Kathryn Allison: Yeah.

[8:08] Alan Seales: Huh.

[8:08] Kathryn Allison: Yeah.

[8:09] Alan Seales: Well, I'm glad you've worked through that.

[8:12] Kathryn Allison: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. With lots of help, with lots of help. But yeah.

[8:15] Alan Seales: Yeah. Well, how did that affect you as a child?

[8:19] Kathryn Allison: You know, I had really great parents. They were ones to see a problem and not be like, man, that sucks. I don't know how we're going to deal with that. They were like, nope, we're going to figure this out because we think that there's nothing that you can overcome. So I was really lucky and in a privileged situation to attend a school that was specifically for people who had learning differences. So a lot of the tools that I learned while I was in middle school at that school is kind of still the stuff that I use today.

[8:54] Alan Seales: I've talked with a lot of people now and mental health and therapy comes up so often, so often.

[9:00] Kathryn Allison: Yeah.

[9:00] Alan Seales: Because I'm going to generalize here a little bit, but I feel like to be a really good actor, you have to be in touch with your emotions, of course, you have to be in touch with who you are. And that comes with a lot of realization of pain and hurt that you may have caused others or that others are causing you.

[9:22] Kathryn Allison: Absolutely.

[9:23] Alan Seales: And you kind of deal with the coping or how you cope with it is a lot of people's therapy or literally the therapy is how you cope with it and they get on stage and that's how they can deal with a lot of it. And a lot of like super shy people or people who have issues, they can work through that by getting on stage, by singing, by expressing themselves in a way. It was interesting, something really eye-opening for me and I'm kind of digressing here a little bit. When I was talking with Allie Stroker, of course, she's in a wheelchair.

[9:54] Kathryn Allison: Yeah.

[9:54] Alan Seales: And she said that she loves theater because it gives people an excuse to look at her.

[10:02] Kathryn Allison: I love that.

[10:06] Alan Seales: When we're walking around, we see somebody with a disability and we're like, okay, got to look away. You're not supposed to look at them. Mommy says never stare. Daddy says never stare. But she's like, when I'm on stage, they can look at me for an hour and a half and not feel bad about themselves and it's not uncomfortable for me and I'm like, that is beautiful.

[10:23] Kathryn Allison: Yeah, I love that. I'm a huge fan of hers, by the way. Huge fan, yeah. And I think she did Paper Mill as well.

[10:34] Alan Seales: And she's in Loveville High as well.

[10:35] Kathryn Allison: Exactly, which is so dope. I'm like, oh my gosh, all these people that I'm huge fans of are in this podcast and the fact that I'm listening to them in my head, I'm like, this is just the best thing ever.

[10:47] Alan Seales: Let's talk about Loveville High for a second now that we've gotten there. So for those who don't know, what is Loveville High?

[10:52] Kathryn Allison: Loveville High is a nine episode podcast musical that is set in a fictional town in Ohio. And it deals with, I think, a lot of things that high schoolers today are dealing with about identity and love and what do you do before you get to college and typical things that I think a modern teenager in this day is dealing with, which I think is pretty cool.

[11:22] Alan Seales: Yeah, there's a lot of modern teenage drama that I always... I'm a dad, I got two small kids now. And the crap that they're going to deal with... I dealt with crap. The crap that they're going to deal with now that the internet is a thing...

[11:36] Kathryn Allison: Oh my gosh.

[11:37] Alan Seales: I grew up analog, and then I went to college digital. I'm that, what is it? Xenial? That five-year window of Xenials.

[11:44] Kathryn Allison: Yeah.

[11:45] Alan Seales: And the stuff that they're going to have to deal with, it baffles me.

[11:51] Kathryn Allison: I'm scared.

[11:52] Alan Seales: I'm scared for them, but I really want them. Again, going back to the therapy aspect is finding something like this to express themselves.

[11:59] Kathryn Allison: Yeah, yeah.

[12:00] Alan Seales: I think it's... I kind of grew up in a switch. Kind of happened for me in the middle of high school, which I don't know if it was the best, or maybe it was. I don't know. Because we were kind of slowly learning what Facebook was, and kind of cyberbullying, and how that came up.

[12:22] Kathryn Allison: But having a place where you can express things to someone who is totally unbiased and can give you so many angles to assess the situation and figure out what the best way to handle it is, I think is essential, for me, at least.

[12:37] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[12:37] Kathryn Allison: Yeah.

[12:37] Alan Seales: Yeah, and singing is a form of therapy. Writing is a form of therapy. Therapy, obviously, is literal, literal therapy.

[12:46] Kathryn Allison: Yeah.

[12:47] Alan Seales: Now, gosh, I cannot talk enough about the importance of maintaining your mental health as much as your physical health. I think in America, it's taboo. And it's considered shameful for some reason.

[13:01] Kathryn Allison: It is, and I don't like it. And I really applaud the creators of Loveville High for creating something that is bringing out what is, like you said, what is becoming very standard in high school now for these kids. Like high school, that is your whole world. The prom is the pinnacle.

[13:21] Alan Seales: Yes. Yes. Yeah, absolutely.

[13:23] Kathryn Allison: So, in Loveville High, you've got transgender, cisgender, gay and straight relationships. You've got all these representative relationships. And I love it. I love that that's where we're heading. So, your character, Madison, right? So, what is Madison?

[13:45] Kathryn Allison: Madison is, you know, she's exuberant. She's super playful. Everyone loves having her around. You know, she's a big girl with a big voice. But I don't know if she, you know, she realizes, I think, throughout the episode that she kind of loves the quieter sides of herself and, you know, wants to be the girl who has, like, a close-knit group of friends that she relies on for everything. And I think she kind of shocks herself through the episode about how she feels about that. And I think that's pretty cool because I relate a lot to Madison, actually. Kind of like that imposter syndrome where you're like, everyone's put this role on me, but I don't actually, am I that? Or am I truly something else? And I think the quieter moments that she has in the episode are so beautiful and poignant. And I can't wait for people to hear that.

[14:49] Alan Seales: Have you recorded it yet?

[14:50] Kathryn Allison: I have not.

[14:51] Alan Seales: Oh, wow.

[14:53] Kathryn Allison: But we have rehearsed some of the songs in the episode and they're so beautiful. They're so, so beautiful.

[15:04] Alan Seales: I was going to ask about the rehearsal process. First, I guess, let's back up before we get to rehearsal. The audition and casting process. This is a podcast. This isn't a normal musical. So how is it different?

[15:17] Kathryn Allison: Um, I guess it's more of an internet thing, right? So I got an email saying like, hey, would you be interested in playing this part? Here's what the music sounds like, and here's a piece of the script. And I was like, I'm obsessed with this. And I'm very honored that you asked me to be a part of this fabulous group of people. Um, and then I said yes, and that was it. So my assumption is that maybe they saw some of my videos online and were interested in my sound. And that's pretty dope. I think I love the age of the internet for that. I love the age of the internet for that.

[16:00] Alan Seales: Well, there's a lot of that going on. I mean, like, look at Be More Chill, right?

[16:04] Kathryn Allison: Yeah.

[16:04] Alan Seales: That is coming to Broadway literally because of the internet.

[16:07] Kathryn Allison: Yes. It's incredible.

[16:09] Alan Seales: So I love that. I love and I'm scared at the same time.

[16:15] Kathryn Allison: Yes.

[16:16] Alan Seales: Because I've mentioned this in a previous episode that I hope we don't get to the point where it's like, okay, um, so we're looking for this type of person with this type of personality and must have 50,000 Instagram followers.

[16:29] Kathryn Allison: Which is starting to happen.

[16:29] Alan Seales: It is starting to happen, which is, you know, it's a catch-22 because you want people to come and see this amazing piece that you've done. Um, and you hope that the people that you give it to do it justice, which they, I feel like they do, but you know, it's, it's a, it's a catch-22, you know?

[16:51] Kathryn Allison: Yeah. And I guess it's, it's, you know, necessity of change where we can't fight it. So might as well join it.

[16:59] Alan Seales: Right. But I was, I was reading an article the other day about, um, uh, I guess it was interviewing well-known influencers and one of them who's millions of influencers. All he does is literally just post crap on, on Instagram and gets paid for it. And, and he's like, yeah, this is going to go away. I realized that this age of influencers is going to die. So, you know,

[17:22] Kathryn Allison: It's like, I'm just going to get it out as much as I can and like use it for what I, yeah.

[17:26] Alan Seales: Yeah. So it's, it's very interesting to me, but that's where I think like there's a, there's a great love, Loveville High. Um, it's a great merge of this technology because it's, it's using the platform to bring out, uh, new content in it or old content in a new way.

[17:43] Kathryn Allison: Yeah. I love this 1940s, like radio play thing coming back. Like I'm really, really into it. Um, and I hope there's more, I, there's some sort of aspect of, it's kind of like when you listen to really old Broadway cast recordings, I don't know about anybody else, but I used to like, kind of like sit on the floor of my bedroom and like have my headphones on and just like, try to imagine myself there in places that, you know, like King and I, stuff like that I couldn't see because I just wasn't around. Um, physically, um, and the fact that this is kind of broadening that and creating a full story. So you get the lines and it's, and the sound effects of it's, it's really cool.

[18:32] Alan Seales: Oh, Foley artists are so underappreciated.

[18:34] Kathryn Allison: So underappreciated.

[18:36] Alan Seales: Like you, if you're not thinking about it, then they're doing their job. That's, that's the great part about it.

[18:43] Kathryn Allison: Yeah.

[18:44] Alan Seales: So, you know, you gotta be, you gotta be listening for all that kind of stuff. Did you, I love how they're now starting to film like a quiet place, how they brought out, did you ever see that?

[18:52] Kathryn Allison: Yeah.

[18:53] Alan Seales: They did like the Foley artist. And so you got to see actually how they do it. And I'm like, this is incredibly fascinating how to create, uh, uh, an energy and a space.

[19:04] Kathryn Allison: Uh, yeah.

[19:05] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[19:06] Kathryn Allison: I like the behind the scenes stuff where it's like, okay, now for this horror movie, here's guts getting pulled out of the person. But what we really did was just like crushed up some lettuce and put ketchup in it, you know? So that's what they're getting all that stuff. I like the creativity behind some of this. It's, it's so fascinating.

[19:21] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[19:22] Kathryn Allison: But, um, anyway, back to you. That's what we're talking about here.

[19:25] Alan Seales: Um, you also have said, I read that you're a body activist. What does that mean?

[19:30] Kathryn Allison: To me, that means, um, finding self-love in yourself and trying to as best you can every day, rejecting the societal standards, um, that I feel like have been put on women's bodies or pretty much everybody really that we've seen on magazines, on TV, what we should look like, what we should be eating, what we should be working out, um, and doing. And so that's really what it is for me is not being a body activist to myself, waking up every day and being like, I love myself. I love the way I look. I'm gorgeous. But also, um, conveying to people that you don't have to be what everyone expects you to be.

[20:15] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[20:16] Kathryn Allison: Um, and that's okay. And I, it's what I love about this episode is that Madison talks about that. She's like, I know it's crazy that I feel this way. And I know it's society putting it on me that, you know, that I should be like this skinny girl at prom wearing this gorgeous prom dress. But like, I love the way I look and why, why does not everybody see that?

[20:41] Alan Seales: So how long did it take you to get to grow into your skin, like to get comfortable with things?

[20:46] Kathryn Allison: You know, I think the internet helped me with that.

[20:48] Alan Seales: Really?

[20:49] Kathryn Allison: Yeah. Um, I was on Tumblr a lot in high school and there was this one specific blogger that I found. She's now huge. She like has her own swimwear line, like her own lingerie line. Um, Gabby Fresh for anybody who wants to check it out. Um, and she helped me a lot because she was so, she looked like me. She lived in New York City. She wore all these amazing outfits. And I was like, oh, that's the stuff I want to wear, but I can't find it. And she was so good about being like, here's the stuff that I'm wearing. This is the place you can go find it. And it was so cheap and accessible. And it was really honestly her that helped me like start that, um, love of myself. And of course, therapy with, you know, helps as well.

[21:40] Alan Seales: Of course.

[21:40] Kathryn Allison: So you were, you said in high school, so like 16, 17.

[21:43] Kathryn Allison: Yeah. Like the really impressionable years.

[21:46] Kathryn Allison: Yeah. Yeah.

[21:47] Alan Seales: Going in again, going back into the prom and what all your friends think of you.

[21:52] Kathryn Allison: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And my abuela actually made my prom dress.

[21:55] Alan Seales: Really?

[21:56] Kathryn Allison: Yeah. Because I was like, I can't find anything in my size that looks remotely great. It doesn't look like an 80 year old would wear this. So my abuela and I got together. I designed the dress and she helped me make it. And it was, people were like, wow, that dress is so beautiful. And I was like, what can I say? I made it.

[22:22] Alan Seales: And you have a bachelor's degree in musical theater from Ithaca College. When did you decide that you really wanted to pursue acting?

[22:31] Kathryn Allison: Man, I feel like a little later than most. I wanted so badly to be a politician, actually.

[22:39] Alan Seales: No kidding.

[22:40] Kathryn Allison: Yeah. I wanted to be in the New Jersey State Senate. Like that was something I was really keen on. And it flipped. I started taking voice lessons because my teacher in middle school was like, oh, you have a voice and your mom should put you in voice lessons. And I was like, OK. And it suddenly kind of took over everything. And my friend at the time was like, I'm going to make you a mixtape of some Broadway tunes that I think you might like. And I was like, what's Broadway? I had no idea. I think Little Shop was on there and Castle on a Cloud and Aida. And I was like, whoa, my mind was blown. So that kind of it started changing around that time that I was like, maybe Broadway is what I want to do. I want to become an actress. OK, how do I do that?

[23:35] Alan Seales: What did you listen to until you got that mixtape? What was your music style?

[23:38] Kathryn Allison: Oh, NSYNC. Backstreet Boys, but also my parents were really into jazz and R&B. So I was really just listening to their music. So a lot of Chaka Khan, John Lucian, Luther Vandross, Ella Fitzgerald. I mean, the list can go on and on. But that's what I was listening to. Like the boy bands are nice, but they're not someone to emulate.

[24:06] Alan Seales: Right, right, right.

[24:07] Kathryn Allison: But definitely the Ella Fitzgerald and the Sarah Vons and Whitney Houston. Of course. Those are the people that when I look back, I'm like, oh, that's who I was trying to model my voice after.

[24:22] Alan Seales: So, yeah. So at Ithaca, at what point? I mean, I guess you're talking about imposter syndrome earlier. Do you yet feel like, yeah, this is me, I'm coming into my own now?

[24:35] Kathryn Allison: A little bit. Yeah. A little bit. I feel like I'm confident in certain areas. And then there's other areas that I'm like, you know, I really, I still need to work on that. Or I still need to delve deeper into genres or different aspects of myself. I feel, I mean, I definitely feel more confident about myself since college. For sure. I feel like college is such a world would time because you enter, you come from your high school microcosm and then you enter into like this huge microcosm of people, of all different types of people that you've never probably met before and discovering who you are within that. But you can also start over and like leave your high school persona behind, which is kind of exciting.

[25:27] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[25:27] Kathryn Allison: Yeah. I enjoyed leaving a lot of my high school behind too. I'm like, bye!

[25:33] Alan Seales: Yep. Peace out. I'm going to go get an education now.

[25:35] Kathryn Allison: Yeah. And so in 2015, you made your Broadway debut in Aladdin. And what was the first thing that went through your head when you got that call?

[25:46] Kathryn Allison: The first thing I said was, shut up. I was shocked. I really, I, it was one of those things that I went in and I was like, I'm going to try and do the best I can.

[26:01] Kathryn Allison: Because the other people that are out for this are amazing. And maybe they'll call me one day, like six years from now. And so, receiving that call, I was like, my mind was blown. My mind was blown. I was gagged.

[26:21] Alan Seales: And how has your life changed since joining the show?

[26:26] Kathryn Allison: I mean, simple things like I've moved to New York, which is what I've always wanted to do since I was a kid. And I just feel like my creativity has grown. My cast is one to not stop dreaming or working on themselves. And I find that so inspiring. And we've done so many projects together. We've done short films together. We've taken class together. They're just one to be like, you know what, I'm not, just because I'm in a show, it doesn't mean I'm not trying to better myself, which is so great to learn at an early part of your career. So, it's been an amazing ride.

[27:12] Alan Seales: Yeah, even the people who have just been at this for decades still take classes. A lot of them teach, but they're still working. They're always trying to improve. That's a sign of somebody who really cares about themselves and their craft.

[27:28] Kathryn Allison: You're always looking to get better in some aspect.

[27:33] Alan Seales: Going back to Loveville High, we touched on this earlier, the rehearsal process. I promised you we'd get back to this. So, the rehearsal process, how was that different for this compared to your traditional Aladdin, traditional Broadway musical?

[27:49] Kathryn Allison: Traditional. I would say there's a lot of aspects that are the same. David is kind of directing. And so, we go through the scene, and the beats of the scene, and what are the intentions, and what is she fighting for? What is she learning about herself throughout the episode? But where it differs is that you only have your voice to use. You don't have your body. You don't have your face to convey how you're feeling. And so, therein lies the challenge of how to convey everything that she feels and expresses through the lovely voice, which is a challenge I love. And I think some of the best Broadway recordings, cast recordings I've heard, is going to the show and seeing it, and then listening to the cast recording and being like, wow, it's still the same experience I got on stage. So, how can I invoke the song or invoke the piece with the same amount of energy and intention that would happen on stage if someone were to see a live version of it?

[29:00] Alan Seales: Oh, it's so interesting you say that. When I first started listening to cast albums, it was long before I'd ever, I think, seen a show. And I thought that they recorded, they took a live performance and put it on tape.

[29:15] Kathryn Allison: You would think that.

[29:17] Alan Seales: Yeah, because the energy is just there.

[29:18] Kathryn Allison: It's just there. And you're like, it's so amazing. What? How do they do that?

[29:26] Alan Seales: You don't have a moment before. You just got to go and you do it. And they do it in such a short amount of time. So, it's kind of this urgency thing. So, to have the space to do that with a full scene and everything is pretty cool. And with multiple takes, too.

[29:43] Kathryn Allison: Yeah, that's nice.

[29:44] Alan Seales: Yeah. You're like, well, I didn't like that take. So, actually, let me say it this way.

[29:48] Kathryn Allison: Yeah.

[29:50] Alan Seales: What do you hope that the audience or the listeners take away from Loveville High? Your performance or from the story?

[29:57] Kathryn Allison: I think self-acceptance is okay at any age. And I do hope a lot of high schoolers listen to this, because I would have loved to have something like this when I was in high school to know that I wasn't alone in how I felt. I think it's so easy to feel isolated. And even the internet can feel isolating. And so, the fact that a kid could find this and feel like, oh, my gosh, there's someone out there that knows exactly how I'm feeling is pretty exciting. And so, I hope that's what they take away.

[30:36] Alan Seales: Yeah, I agree. I would agree with that. It's like we were talking about, it's very... Each episode is its own self-contained thing. So, it's kind of a different story of gender identity and relationship identity. And there's something for everybody, but it all plays together in its own whole season arc, if you want to call it that, right? It's all one story in different episodes. But you also do a lot of solo work. And would you call yourself a Broadway singer or a recording artist?

[31:12] Kathryn Allison: I would say both. I love recording. I love, love recording. There's something about trying to achieve the best take possible that I feel like is... The perfectionist in me loves that. But there's so many genres that I get to explore as a recording artist. And I think they're really fun. And Broadway, of course, it just feels so good to sing. For me, I love a big brassy belt song. It just feels so good. And the fact that I get to combine both of those worlds together in one podcast is just... It makes my... It's very exciting. It's so cool.

[32:11] Alan Seales: Yeah. Well, you did your first solo show in a while back in November at Rockwood Music Hall. Do you have any plans for any more shows coming out?

[32:20] Kathryn Allison: Yes, there will be a show soon. I can't say where it's going to be yet. But it's going to be in the spring after I come out with my album on February 8th.

[32:33] Alan Seales: And where can we get your album?

[32:34] Kathryn Allison: You are going to be able to find it on iTunes and Spotify and Tidal and Amazon. Pretty much everywhere.

[32:41] Alan Seales: Everywhere it's sold. Yeah.

[32:43] Kathryn Allison: Wonderful. And then in the future, do you see yourself pursuing more of a solo career or sticking with Broadway? Or again, both, maybe?

[32:52] Kathryn Allison: Probably both. I love both art forms so much. I think there's such a... I love being in rooms with people and sharing an experience. And any way I can do that is what I'm going to do. Yeah. So whether it's on Broadway or if I'm performing at the Boston Pops or something, it's going to be both art forms that I love so much.

[33:20] Alan Seales: As long as you're expressing yourself.

[33:21] Kathryn Allison: Exactly.

[33:23] Alan Seales: And so we've got a few closing questions, but there's a quote I want to actually get into before we wrap up. This came from a fitforbroadway.com article.

[33:33] Kathryn Allison: Oh, yeah.

[33:34] Alan Seales: In a quote, we live in the instant gratification age where we want everything to happen now. I want to achieve everything I have ever hoped for myself in the fastest, most convenient way possible. If I can Amazon Prime everything else, why can't my life be the same way? Patience, patience, patience. That's my mantra, baby. End quote. Let's discuss that.

[33:54] Kathryn Allison: Yeah. I mean, I think as millennials, we're trained that we can get anything we want right now. If I want to look up a video on how to chop up carrots the right way, I can find it and figure it out. So not trying to unlearn those things, I think, can be difficult when you're like, I want everything in my career to happen right now. I want to get all the awards and do all the things and work with all the people that I've ever wanted to do right now. It's like, no, slow down. It's a marathon. It's not a race that you're running. And evidently, it's better that way because the more experiences that you gain, the better performer you're going to be, the better artist you're going to be for the audiences that you want to share it with. And it's just a reminder of patience, patience. It's all going to happen. It's all going to happen in a way that you could have never imagined. And so, yeah, I say that a lot to myself, patience, slow down, Kathryn.

[35:05] Alan Seales: Well, you're getting there. You're doing a great job.

[35:09] Alan Seales: All right. So three final questions here that I ask everybody. Very simply, what motivates you?

[35:17] Kathryn Allison: Ooh. I would say people that are younger than me motivate me in a way to influence them and be able to influence them in a way that I wasn't able to be influenced when I was their age. Does that make sense?

[35:35] Alan Seales: Yes. That's such a unique answer. I really like that.

[35:40] Kathryn Allison: Thanks.

[35:41] Alan Seales: Yeah, that's great. The other thing that came to my mind was family, but I think that's, you know, I want to do them proud and, you know, they struggle a lot to get where they are. And I've learned from that and want to be able to be as excellent as possible for them.

[36:02] Alan Seales: Wonderful. What advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening now starting out down a similar path?

[36:09] Kathryn Allison: Oh, geez.

[36:10] Alan Seales: Don't you know?

[36:11] Kathryn Allison: To my younger self, you're loved more than you can ever imagine and you're worth it. And to all of the young people listening, everything you've ever dreamed or hoped for is totally achievable. Totally achievable. It might not come out the way you thought it was going to come out, but it's going to come out better than you probably envisioned.

[36:47] Alan Seales: Okay. And last question. If you can only see one show for the rest of your life, but you can see it as many times as you want, what show would you see?

[36:56] Kathryn Allison: Oh, my God. Just one?

[36:58] Alan Seales: Just one.

[36:59] Kathryn Allison: That is really difficult. There are so many that just popped into my head. They're like, okay, these are great markers. Geez.

[37:16] Kathryn Allison: I'm going to say, I mean, it's kind of depressing, but Spring Awakening.

[37:24] Alan Seales: Nothing wrong with that.

[37:25] Kathryn Allison: That's a beautiful show.

[37:26] Alan Seales: It's a gorgeous show. It's the one that I was like, I'm going to, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

[37:32] Alan Seales: The original or the remake?

[37:33] Kathryn Allison: The original. Yeah, the original show. I saw it like five times.

[37:36] Alan Seales: Nice.

[37:37] Kathryn Allison: Yeah.

[37:37] Alan Seales: I love that. Yeah. Great. And so we can find you online on Instagram and Twitter at KathrynDAllison. That's Kathryn with a Y, two L's in Allison. On the web, KathrynDAllison. SoundCloud.com slash Kathryn-Allison. And of course, you said you're making your EP, which will come out probably about the same time this episode is coming out.

[38:00] Kathryn Allison: Oh, awesome.

[38:01] Alan Seales: YouTube.com slash user slash M-S-K-A-19.

[38:06] Kathryn Allison: Oh, boy.

[38:08] Alan Seales: Work on that. And then, of course, find your episode. Do you know what episode number you're going to be on Loveville High?

[38:13] Kathryn Allison: Seven.

[38:14] Alan Seales: Seven. Yeah.

[38:15] Kathryn Allison: Yeah.

[38:16] Alan Seales: And then, of course, find your episode. Do you know what episode number you're going to be on Loveville High?

[38:20] Kathryn Allison: Seven.

[38:20] Alan Seales: Seven. Yeah. So LovevilleHigh.com. And you can find that everywhere podcasts are found. You get more of me at theatre underscore podcast on Instagram and Twitter or Facebook.com slash official theatre podcast. Listen and subscribe via thetheatrepodcast.com. Please give an honest review. We read those. We appreciate them. We are produced by Jillian Hockman. And, of course, a big thank you to Jukebox the Ghost for our intro and outro music. One more time, Kathryn Allison, thank you so much for chatting with me. This has been wonderful.

[38:51] Kathryn Allison: Thank you so much for having me.