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[0:01] Alan Seales: You're listening to The Theatre Podcast, intimate personal conversations with the industry's biggest names. I'm your host, Alan Seales, and your guest today is Toneisha Harris. She is best known for being the runner-up on last season's The Voice, and is now heading into the North American tour of Hairspray as Motormouth Maybelle. She's an incredible person. She grew up on R&B and gospel and became well known on The Voice for singing classic rock songs and now is going into musical theatre. It seems like she can do pretty much anything she sets her mind to. Case in point, she talked about this several times in the interview, but she thought that she was too old to audition for The Voice and had lost her chance to change her career, to change her life, and she just went out on a whim, auditioned for The Voice, got a four-chair turn, and now is starting the next chapter of her life.

She has no idea what's going to happen, but she's taking everything with a huge smile on her face. Before we get into it, please follow me on Instagram and Twitter at Theatre Underscore Podcast. Follow me on Facebook slash Official Theatre Podcast. Leave a rating, leave a review. And now, everybody, please enjoy this episode with the lovely Toneisha Harris. My guest today may be best known for being the runner-up on the recent 2020 season of The Voice, having received a four-chair turn. Starting in November 2021, she will be joining the forthcoming North American tour of Hairspray in the role of Motormouth Maybelle. Make sure to visit HairsprayTour.com for the latest info on cities and dates, and catch her in a city near you. Toneisha Harris, welcome to The Theatre Podcast.

[2:01] Toneisha Harris: Thank you, Alan. Thank you so much for having me.

[2:05] Alan Seales: It's so nice to see you. I want to dive straight into this moment that I know personally I will never experience. So many people want to know this. What did you feel being on stage of The Voice receiving not one, not two, not three, four fricking chairs turning around of all these iconic music legends that all want you? What was that moment like?

[2:31] Toneisha Harris: Wow. It was breathtaking, to be very honest with you, and a little overwhelming because I remember going up the steps, and I've said this before, but it really is true. I remember going up the steps telling myself, just don't trip. Don't trip up the steps. Just, you can't take that back, so don't trip up the steps because I had these cute heels on, but I just remember thinking, oh my God, okay, I have to get my nerves under control, and people don't know I had a complete meltdown backstage.

[3:01] Alan Seales: Really? Really?

[3:01] Toneisha Harris: Yes, a complete meltdown. I'm not ashamed to say that because it's just very real. It was just, a lot hit me at that moment, going out in front of these icons, as you say, these legends, and singing, and then for some reason, I just felt pressure, like what if they don't think I'm good enough, and what if I don't think I'm good enough? It was just a whole lot, and then I said, oh my God, I'm too old for this. What am I doing here? I'm looking around at all of these younger contestants, and I'm saying, okay, maybe I should not have done this. I literally, for about a good minute, just had this rant in my head before I went out, and then all of a sudden, I just broke down. I was like, oh my God, I'm really here.

This is happening, and I didn't think that it would happen. I didn't think that moment would come back around for me, and the voice coach, the vocal coach, came over to me, and she just kind of rubbed me on my back, and she said, are you okay? I said, no, I'm really not, and it was an ugly cry, Alan. It wasn't just a huge cry. It was like one of those kind of moments, and she just took a moment, and let me rest my nerves, and reminded me why I was there, and that I did deserve to be there, and I needed that, and I went out on stage, and I just said to myself, you only need one chair, Toneisha, just one chair. Just get one chair, and you're good, and John turned around, and I was happy with that, and then Nick turned around, and I was like, wait, wait.

I get to choose between the two of them, and then Blake turns, and then Kelly turns, and I was like, this is unbelievable that they all turned around, and they heard something that they said, I want her on my team, and being able to choose in that moment, yeah, that's a moment I will always, always, always cherish, for real, being a four-chair turn.

[4:47] Alan Seales: Oh, my gosh. You said so much in there that I definitely am going to circle back to, because there's so much to unpack about everything, but staying in The Voice for a second, when you watched the, when you watch back at the clip, right, you watch the episode, and you see the other side of the chair, right, because when you're up there, all you're seeing is the back of chairs, but then you watch the episode, and you get to see what they're saying to each other, the faces they're making to each other, and were you like, oh, my god, you know, what am I doing up here? Just speaking personally about myself, the level of imposter syndrome that would just be escalating when I'm watching these people, just be like, oh, she's amazing, she's amazing, she's awesome, and I mean, well-deserved, right, by the way, you are phenomenal, but when you watch, did you have a different experience watching the episode back again?

[5:40] Toneisha Harris: I did. It was funny. We had a big listening party. I was at my church, and, you know, big crowd of us are there watching, and it was a first for me, too, just like you said, so watching their faces, watching them, you know, kind of go back and forth like, huh, you know, the eyebrow raises, and just the little small innuendos, and I was like, wow, I mean, they really legit did like me, and so I was just, yeah, I was just blessed by that, honestly, and overwhelmed all again, and I was crying watching it, so it doesn't take much to make me cry, so that's a disclaimer. Let me just say that, so I was crying watching it again, and just thinking, wow, this is my reality now. This is life-changing, to say the least.

[6:30] Alan Seales: I love that, and you chose Team Blake, and that's why, because your background is like, not because Blake is bad. I want to stop there. I don't have anything against Blake, but you are R&B. You are soul, like where your background is coming from the church, and so Blake being country, in my mind, does not fit. Why did you choose Blake? In so many people's minds, that didn't fit.

[6:57] Toneisha Harris: That is the million-dollar question that I get all the time. They're like, oh my God, you were on Team Blake? Wait, why did you pick Blake? To be honest with you, for one, Blake has the most wins on the show. Blake is absolutely loved and revered by so many people, so I wanted to be on a team that I thought would give me a longer opportunity to be on the show. Some would call it strategy, but I just really wanted to go in that direction, and I really am a country buff, believe it or not. I had a crush. I said it on the show, but I had a crush on Kenny Rogers growing up for many, many years. Believe it or not, I think it was something about the beard. I don't know what it was, but I was in love with Kenny Rogers.

In addition to that, I also wanted to be somewhere that would show so many different sides of me. I don't want to be an artist that gets boxed in. Yes, gospel and R&B, soul is definitely my foundation. It's my background, but I sing so many other things. I sing rock, pop, country, jazz, and so I wanted to be somewhere that would really give me the opportunity to showcase all of that and not be a one-trick pony, if you will. So that's really why I went there.

[8:06] Alan Seales: I love that most of the songs that I saw you sing were all classic rock. So that, to me, I mean, you're breaking the mold. You're breaking the stereotype.

[8:17] Toneisha Harris: Exactly.

[8:19] Alan Seales: And I love it. I absolutely applaud you for that because it was a brilliant choice.

[8:23] Toneisha Harris: Thank you, Alan. Thank you for that. Thank you for saying that.

[8:26] Alan Seales: Yeah, of course. And you were saying that, I mean, you do want to break the mold. You do want to not be boxed in. And so now we're literally here talking because you're about to be in the national tour, the next national tour of Hairspray, right? So where did this come from? And why all of a sudden, when you've got record deals and The Voice and you can do recording artist career path, where you got to take, I'm not going to say a detour because I don't think it's a detour at all, but why choose this fork in the road right now of going of the musical theater route?

[9:00] Toneisha Harris: Wow, that's a good question. I do think that one of the biggest dreams of mine has been to get back into theater. I've done theater for a number of years. I've done Avenue X in Philadelphia. I did Little Shop of Horrors. I did Gospel at Colonus. So there were a few shows that I had done that kind of just kind of gave me that musical theater fever, and I wanted to get back into it. And I really didn't see what way to do it, to be honest with you. And then I had no clue that this national platform would give me the opportunity to be seen by directors and people that are casting for something like this. And the opportunity came up and I really did have to take a moment and think, do I want to pursue my music right now or do I want to go forward with this opportunity?

And I told myself, okay, if you don't, you're going to always wonder what would have happened if you did and who knows if it'd come back around again. So I think that, you know, music is something that you'll always be able to do. You'll be able to do it even while you're doing this as well. It's kind of a great marriage of both. So you've got to do it. And I just kind of sat on it for a bit and I told him, yes, I jumped at the opportunity. And what a great role and a great message to be able to take to the nation right now. So I think that I will definitely have an opportunity to still saturate the market with some great music for my fans before I go on the road. But this is definitely, I think, the right direction for me.

[10:26] Alan Seales: I think that is brilliant. And the ability to, I mean, you sit down and you're going from city to city on the tour, you will be. And then that's an opportunity to reflect and to write and just to really, you know, find out where you want to go. I think it's great because from what I know about people who kind of get swept up into this industry, the recording artist side of things is just, it's, I mean, musical theater is hard and the independent artist or the recording label artist is that much harder in a different way. And given what you've gone through personally in your past, which I want to get to in a second, it seems like you are just resilient. And you think about strategy. You said strategy, right? You think about what I'm going to do, how I'm going to do it and how I want to be different. And it's apparent to me, you know, in the 10 minutes we've been talking already that you are, you're think you're always thinking four moves ahead.

[11:28] Toneisha Harris: Yes. And this was not, though, the first time you auditioned for The Voice.

[11:34] Alan Seales: That's correct. Right. So you said when you were having you're talking about your breakdown, you said you weren't sure if I was going to come back around for you again. So and let's so can we talk about your son for a little bit?

[11:45] Toneisha Harris: Yeah. I was supposed to audition August the 5th, 2011, and he was diagnosed August the 1st, 2011, diagnosed with A.L.L. acute leukemia lymphoma. And our entire world obviously stopped. My son had gotten down to 86 pounds and I knew that something was wrong for months. For about three or four months, we just kept going back and forth to the doctor and we could not get a correct diagnosis. But I knew something was wrong. We had just really moved to Georgia. It had been maybe less than a year. And then this happens and we didn't have any family, any support. We're just here. So I called back home to the doctor's office in Maryland and asked them, please tell me what I should be asking for, because I can't go back to the hospital and not have the right answer again.

And they told me different tests just to specifically ask for. And we did. And I demanded that I said, we're not leaving until you do all of these tests and come back with what is going on with our son. And sure enough, that was August the 1st. We got the actual diagnosis. And I remember my son looking at me in the hospital and he said, Mom, I still want you to go to your audition. I was I was baffled. Like, how can you even consider that right now? You, how can you think about me and that right now? And I told him absolutely not. The only thing that matters to me right now is you getting you better, walking you through this journey, because we had no idea what to expect, what was going to happen, whether my son was going to be here or not.

We just knew that cancer is an interruption. And it came in and that's exactly what it did. It interrupted our entire lives. And that was a very, very difficult journey for us. And it really was those three and a half years of treatment, that time of just watching him touch and go moments that we almost lost him, just all of that. And I remember we even watched that season of The Voice from his hospital bed and he and he laying in the in the bed with him. And he said, Mom, I really, really hope that one day you get a chance to go back and do that because you should have been on that stage. And I told him, I said, son, if it's meant to be, it'll come back around. Don't worry about that right now.

It'll come back around. And I literally have put it out of my mind. I literally had. And then I get the email that they were coming back to Atlanta all these years later and that they were doing an audition and asked me, hey, do you want to audition? Oh, my gosh. No, that's exactly what I said. I said, no, absolutely not. No, I literally had told myself I was too old. I had told that lie to myself.

[16:35] Toneisha Harris: So, he ended up being my camera and lighting crew. And it's so funny because by the end of the process, they had kind of become on a first-name basis with him. And when they would come in the room, ready to record me, they said, is Trenton with you? I said, yes, yes. He's here. He is here. And they said, oh, okay, well, we know you're going to be good then. We don't have anything to worry about. So, I loved that he was able to be a part of this story that's yet being written, and that he's here, honestly. That is life-changing. Life-changing for him, for him to be able to interface with this high-end production crew, right? Because it's going to open doors. And you were talking about being with your son.

I've got two little boys. And yeah, no question that if anything like that happened, I'm like, nope, I'm giving up the rest of my life to make sure. Exactly. To make sure they're okay. If I could have moved that mountain for him, I would have. And I knew that I couldn't. So, the best I could do was at least walk the journey with him. And here we are on the other side of it.

[17:40] Alan Seales: Well, take me back then to when you were younger. And what got you into singing? Where did you start performing? And we were talking about the R&B and the gospel background and all that. Where does all of that come from?

[17:54] Toneisha Harris: Well, I started singing at a very, very young age, literally at the age of five. I was singing with my family, my cousins. We would all get together and sing. And that was in church. And my mom and her sisters had a singing group, and they would travel up and down the lower eastern shore. And we'd go everywhere, literally all weekend long. It didn't matter. We were in school Monday through Friday. But by Friday night, we knew we were going somewhere that they had to sing. And it would be like that the entire weekend. And that just kind of became the thing for us. It was exciting. It was exhilarating to watch them sing, to watch them perform and what we call minister, and for them to make that connection with the crowd.

And I just remember growing up saying, I want to be able to do that. And I had no idea that my mom would push me the way that she did. But of course, for her, you got to be singing gospel. So that was the caveat, that you have to be singing gospel. There was nothing else. And so my dad would take me on rides, and it would just be the two of us, and he would turn the radio to R&B so that I kind of get some exposure to other music. And I absolutely love, love, love that he would do that for me, because I started to hear other genres. I started to hear other things and think, wow, I even hear the similarities to what we sing in gospel in this other music. And it moved me. It moved me. And I knew then that it was something that I was supposed to do.

I wasn't quite sure what it was, but I just knew then at a very young age, I was tied to music. It's literally, when I sing, it's like breathing to me. And the moments that I would not sing, that I stopped singing, because I did stop singing for quite a while when my son was sick, it felt like something was missing. And so I'm really grateful that he exposed me to that and told me that it was okay, that it was okay to listen to other music, that it was okay to love country. It was okay to love pop. I would run home, get off the bus and run into the house before my parents got home, and I'd turn on the video so that I could listen to the videos and watch them. And that's where I found Ronnie Millsap, and I found Hall & Oates, and I found Kiss, and all of these people that I started to fall in love with, as well as the R&B genre.

And I was like, wow, there's a whole world of music out here. Wait a minute. And I'm falling in love with Tina Turner. And it's just all of these different people that really were intricate in my exposure to music and my love for music.

[20:32] Alan Seales: That is so beautiful. I hear this a lot in the Common Thread, or about why people get into singing and performing. And it's a lot about, well, I was gonna say it's a lot about who they are. But I guess what I mean by that is that they're not whole without it. If that makes sense.

[20:54] Toneisha Harris: Absolutely. I can definitely relate to that. Absolutely. It definitely feels like something is missing if I don't have it. And so that's another reason why I feel so strongly tied to it. And I also want to then now be able to be that same vehicle for somebody else and give them something that they can relate to. Music is so beautiful, because it is the tapestry of our lives. There is a song or a lyric for absolutely every emotion. Good, bad, high, low, it doesn't matter. And I love that there are so many artists that have given that to us. So then now I want the opportunity to use my platform to give that to somebody else, because somebody needs that. They need to be uplifted. They need peace. They need to cry it out. They need to laugh it out, dance it out, whatever it is. And I want to give them a safe space to be able to do that and experience that through my music. So yes, I can identify.

[21:53] Alan Seales: What do you like to write about?

[21:55] Toneisha Harris: Oh, gosh. Well, when I'm writing music, because I write, I journal as well. I journal. I'm writing a book as well, a little bit about me. No kidding.

[22:07] Toneisha Harris: I am. I am. I'm taking it chapter by chapter. I only got a couple chapters left, but I am. I'm kind of diving deep and letting people see a bit more of me. And it's a healing journey. You mentioned mental health earlier, but it is. It's a healing journey. It's important that we are honest about our stories. And sometimes that means embracing the ugliness of it as well, because when you do that, then you're able to really find the beauty. And once you find the beauty and heal, then you can help other people heal as well. You'd be surprised how many people can identify to your story, but we don't know it because we don't tell it. And so that's kind of what I'm doing in my book. But then I also, when I'm writing music, I literally just write from my experiences, whether it's something that's making me feel great at that time, and it's a great happy song, or if it's something that's making me feel sad and I just have to put words to it and get it out.

But that's usually where I pull from. There's a song that I released a few weeks ago called Let's Change the World. And that song literally is just a reflection of what's going on around us. It's talking about how our nation is so divided, but we need to get back to love for humanity. We need to get back to seeing each other as people first, not financial or social status, not color or religion or sexual orientation. A lot of times we see those things first and we judge people and we judge them harshly. And that's unfair. We should just see people as people first. And once we do that, then I think that the element of kindness will return. And that's what we need. So that's what that song is about. Let's change the world. So it just, it's a myriad of everything. What's around me, what's in me, my thoughts, which are many. So I write out of all of those places.

[24:04] Alan Seales: I think if I may suggest a follow up to that song, write something that is about all we need is a good alien invasion to bring us all together as a planet.

[24:09] Toneisha Harris: Would you like me to write a song about that? The alien invasion and aliens are coming?

[24:13] Alan Seales: Yeah. Yes, the aliens are coming. We are all people. Can we please just not care about race anymore and just all be one planet? Thank you. Please. Now let's go make friends with the aliens because we don't want to assume they're bad either.

[24:40] Alan Seales: We're going to take a short break. Stay tuned for more of the episode.

[24:43] Alan Seales: Well, let's, let's dive into, let's dive into the mental health a little bit. Because you were saying, I mean, before you go on stage, before this four chair turn, like the four chair turn is just like the beginning of this life changing experience that is incredible. And up to that, it feels like you've got this massive amount of, maybe stress or anxiety or what's going on in the head? What caused this all of a sudden, this outpouring of emotion to cause the breakdown?

[25:17] Toneisha Harris: You know, the more that I embark on the things that I have dreamt of doing, the more I realize how much I have limited myself. And, and for me, it's, it's, it's, it's so much, I have limited myself. And that's just a truth that, you know, the things that we often say we want to do, we wish we could do if the opportunity really presented itself, more than likely we'd probably talk ourselves out of it and think of a million reasons why we shouldn't know what we can't or this isn't the right time. And so I had one of those moments and I really had to step back and realize, now, wait a minute, you've prayed for this, you've asked for this, you've dreamt for this. And I literally would have concerts in my bedroom when I was a kid.

I would line all up, I literally would, I would line up all of my stuffed animals on the bed and I would do this even into my teen years, it doesn't matter. All my stuffed animals were lined up, that was my crowd, that was my audience and I would have a complete concert right by myself. And so I literally did pray for moments like these and now it's here. And I think that sometimes we dream, but there's still an element of doubt. Sometimes we dream, but there's still an element of fear. And if I would just want to encourage people to just do it anyway, even if you're afraid, do it anyway, because you're worth the try. And I think that I had so many things in my life that made me think I wasn't worth it, that made me think that I wasn't good enough.

And in that moment, I really started to believe those things. Why am I here? Me? Why am I here? And I just had to take that moment and step back and wait, okay, wait, you are good enough to me so you were made for this. You have fought for this. And so now that you're here, don't talk yourself out of this moment. It was really just me. It wasn't even a lot of external resources. That was all me that I had to confront and deal with in that moment. And I'm glad that I did. And I'm glad that I still did it shaking. I still did it afraid. I still did it thinking my voice isn't going to hold out. And I got out there and just let it all go. I used all of those emotions and let it go. And I got four trailers.

[27:31] Toneisha Harris: Oh, my God. Now, here's a truthful moment. That was not the only meltdown that I had on the show.

[27:39] Alan Seales: I love it.

[27:42] Toneisha Harris: I did have another one. Before I sang Diamonds, which was my knockout song, Rihanna, Diamonds, I was with the vocal coach and I was real comfortable. Sometimes when we get pushed out of our comfort zone, we get afraid too. And so I was very, very comfortable in the key that we had chosen and the rendition that I was doing. And I remember the vocal coach said, oh, you're giving me chills. She was like, that's great. And then she stopped and she said, but can we push the key up a bit? I just felt like you were playing it real safe. And I literally looked at her and said, no, no, ma'am. No, thank you. And she said, well, are you sure? Can we just think about it? And I just stood there and I looked at her and I said, OK, if you really want to try, we'll just try.

She said, well, it's just you and me in the room. Let's just try it. And if it doesn't work, then we'll tell the band to change the key. I just want to hear it. And so I said, OK, fine. So we changed the key. We went up higher and I sang the song and it came out. The entire song came out exactly the way that I wanted it to. And when we got done, I looked at her and I broke down crying again, Alan. Oh, my gosh. And she said, what are the tears for? What is that? Where's that coming from? And I just looked at her and I said, because I really realized that there was a large part of me that doubted myself, that doubted that I could do this. And my dad passed away in 2004.

[30:10] Alan Seales: Defining moment for me, a pivotal moment, if you will, for me. That's very, very indicative, I want to say, of I feel like what your performances on stage can be and are going to be. Because if you can get out of your own way, and this is a problem a lot of people have, right? And you're just like, you know what, I'm going to go ahead and try that. And if I fail, it's okay, because I got seven more shows this week to get it right. But the ability to dig into that deep emotional well, and put that out there, is something that you cannot teach. You can't, I mean, people can get in there, and you get these acting coaches for years that are, you know, I've talked to a lot of people, they're like, yeah, acting classes, like therapy, you have to uncover, you have to uncover.

And you're, where you are, all of a sudden, it's like, you're breaking down barriers. These stories you're telling me, it's like, you've got these walls, these multiple layers of these walls up from childhood and from earlier in your adult life. And then all of a sudden, you're like, you know what, screw it, I'm just knocking that one over, I'm gonna step over this one. And then you get to the other side, and the wall wasn't as high as you thought it was. Exactly. It is so liberating. It really is. And then I'm the type of person that I'm like, well, if that was the case for me, I want to take some other people on this journey with me. Listen, that wall is not as big as you think it is. Let's do it.

Let's knock it down together. And I'm glad that you said that. Thank you, Alan. Because I do, when I do concerts, when I do shows, moments, I like to call it an experience, because I really, I tell people that this is a safe space. We're going to cry together, we're going to laugh together, we're going to heal together. And when you walk out of here, you're going to be better. That's literally what I say, because I do, I want them to have an experience, not just with me, but with the words, with the lyrics, with the music, with just the moment. I want them to walk out and feel like they were seen, they were heard, all of the things that I felt like I struggled with in childhood. The truth is that there are so many other people who have struggled with it as well.

So I want people to feel seen and feel heard and feel important. Without the fans, there is no show. Without the fans, there is no one buying my music or buying tickets. So I want to appreciate them when I go on the stage with what I do, and give them my absolute best.

[32:42] Alan Seales: You've got such a wonderful perspective on life, right? You didn't become a child star. So I want to say, you were an accountant before your appearance on The Voice, you mentioned. So someone said to me once that they feel like child stars, even in their adult life, are still sort of frozen in that mentality of where you are when you become successful and famous. Because that's what, as much as you try, everyone else sort of continues to see you like that, right? Like Jaleel White, to me, is always going to be Urkel, but he's not Urkel anymore.

[33:19] Toneisha Harris: Exactly. And he gets right past it.

[33:22] Alan Seales: Right, right. And so you've got these things. So now in your life, you've got an adult son now, you've got this wonderful marriage of decades and all of these life experiences to look back on. And just now in your life, you have become famous and you have become successful in this area of life, right? We'll leave out the spirituality, we'll leave out the other ways you can call yourself successful, right? In the traditional sense of successfulness. But does this give you a bit of perspective? I know that you said this is just the beginning and it's not history yet, because the ending is still being written. But do you have mantras? Do you carry things with you? Your own mental health and your own sanity? I feel like if I was in your shoes, I would have to develop some sort of meditation practice so that I know that I just stop and remember like, oh, yeah, like a year ago, none of this existed. Two years ago, I didn't even want to do this.

[34:30] Toneisha Harris: Yes. Yes, I do. I actually have an affirmation wall in my bedroom. It's also where my vision board sits. So I sit up and that's the first thing I see in the morning. It's the last thing that I see at night. You're probably not surprised. That's why you're laughing at me. But it is so true because I never want to lose sight on the fact that things really can change in a moment. Good, better, and different again. And I also don't want to lose sight on the fact that I have fought as hard as I have to get here and waited for this moment and for it to actually be coming true. I now am not only standing on the shoulders of other people, but there are others who are contacting me and are standing on mine as well saying, you have inspired me to go after my dreams.

You have told me and showed me that no matter what age I am, that I can still do this. And when you put your life on hold for your family or for other things that may come up in your life because life happens, that it really is okay to still pursue whatever it is that you wanted to pursue, that it's still a possibility. And so, yes, I do. I do have to take moments every day to just reflect on where I am, reflect on where I'm going, try to make sure that I always have a plan. But I understand that I have to depend on God and however this is supposed to happen, because this definitely is not at all how I imagined it happening. And the interesting thing is three years, three, maybe four, three or four years ago, I did a vision board.

And one of the first things on my vision board that you look at and see is Broadway. And yes, yes, big red and gold letters, Broadway. And next to that is a television set on a picture of a television set, because I said, I want both of those things. I want TV. I want Broadway. I want theater. I want to be able to go back into that. And there's some other things on there as well that I'm yet waiting on. But to look at that, it kind of gives me a moment to just sit back and be thankful. And I think that we often don't take that time in life to just sit back and be thankful. We're always on 100 thinking about what we have to do, what we don't have. I fall guilty to that as well sometimes. But it's important to just take a moment and stop and say, well, wait, let me be thankful for where I am and how I got here and that I still have more left to do and more left to give. And so, I do. I have to take those moments on a daily basis.

[37:06] Alan Seales: So, is that overwhelming to think about the unknown that's in front of you right now?

[37:12] Toneisha Harris: Oh, my God, yes. Absolutely. Because I know that life happens. I mean, my son is a great testament to that. You're fine one day and then all of a sudden, you're not. So, I definitely understand how that is. And I think that keeping that in the back of my mind also prevents me from taking this moment for granted as well. It always grounds me because it literally can change. And you know this as well as I know in this industry, it is such an industry where you can be hot today and then not tomorrow or within the same 24 hours. Hot and then canceled. I mean, so, that's just the culture that we live in, unfortunately. So, when you're riding the wave, it's best to just take that moment and be appreciative and be thankful and just ride it because trust me, that wave is going to come down one day.

And so, my strategic mind thinks now, okay, I don't know how long this is going to last, but let me figure out how I can create some other residual income and how I can create other connections and avenues so that this thing continues to work for me even when I can't do this anymore. And I think that that's important as well. So, yeah, it can be very overwhelming because you don't know. And then we're in the middle of a pandemic still. It shut down Broadway and it shut down our industry before and we're hoping that we're able to continue even with it still on the rise now. So, it's so uncertain and it's too many variables on a day-to-day basis. So, yeah, it definitely can be overwhelming, but I take it one day at a time as much as I can.

[38:55] Alan Seales: That's beautiful. That's beautiful. All right. So, I want to wrap up this episode with three closing questions, three standard closing questions I ask everyone. The first one, just very simply, is what motivates you?

[39:07] Toneisha Harris: What motivates me? My family, to be honest with you. They are my safe space and my launching pad all at the same time. So, my family. I want better for them.

[39:16] Alan Seales: And then the next question is, what advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening now starting out down a similar path?

[39:23] Toneisha Harris: I would advise them and myself. It's funny that you would even say this, Alan. At the end of each chapter of my book, I'm writing a letter to myself at that age. So, I'm kind of, yeah, this is just real important that you even said that. So, I would say, don't stop believing in yourself. You'll get a million no's, but it only takes one yes. And you are worth it. You're good enough, even though it can be the best you. And that's all you can do.

[39:55] Alan Seales: You will get a million no's and all it takes is one yes. That's the quote of the day right there. I think it's brilliant. All right. Last question then. This is the hardest one. If you could only see one show for the rest of your life, but you can see it as many times as you want, what would you see?

[40:06] Toneisha Harris: Oh, my God. That is a hard question. Oh, gosh.

[40:21] Alan Seales: TV, theater, does it matter? Movie, does it matter?

[40:25] Toneisha Harris: Interpret it however you, I like to leave it open-ended. Interpret it however you want.

[40:29] Alan Seales: Unfair. Oh, gosh, that's a good one, Alan. I usually don't get stumped. I am super stumped here. Oh, my gosh. There's so many. I don't get to choose one. I would have to say this.

[40:56] Toneisha Harris: You're on a desert island with a DVD player and mysterious power to play that DVD. What are you watching?

[41:04] Toneisha Harris: Oh, gosh. For the rest of my life, I'm going to have to say it's going to have to be something that's going to make me laugh. It would have to be either In Living Color or Martin.

[41:16] Alan Seales: I love it. I love it. I love it. Oh, those are wonderful. All right. Everyone, make sure to check out HairsprayTour.com to find latest info on cities and tour dates. Where else can we find you on social media?

[41:31] Toneisha Harris: On Facebook and Twitter, Toneisha Harris. Remember, it's Toneisha Harris. On Instagram, I am Toneisha Harris. You can also go to my website, ToneishaHarrisMusic.com. If that's too convoluted for you, you can go to T. Harris Music and it will direct you to Toneisha Harris Music. I want you to keep up with me. Sign up for my Superheroes Fan Club. We're going to be doing some exclusive stuff for that as well while we're on the road. I just don't want you to miss it. Stay connected. Thank you, Alan.

[42:05] Alan Seales: Oh, yeah. Plug that. I haven't heard about that. What's the Superheroes Fan Club?

[42:11] Toneisha Harris: Back in the day, it was important to be a fan club of the artist. I was a fan club of several artists. I would get posters or you'd get a little knick-knack or merchandise that they might send you. I wanted to go back to that. I think that it's a bit of nostalgia. People like to feel like they're connected to you, not just on social media, but I also want to give them something else. Maybe I might be a poster on somebody's wall one day or exclusive merchandise or come and experience a pop-up with me, whether it's a Q&A or pop-up concert. I want the fans to feel connected to me and to feel my love and appreciation. My Superhero is one of my first songs that I released from the show. It's about my son. I feel like everybody is a superhero in your own right because life is hard. That's why I named my fan club Superheroes. Sign up for the Superhero Fan Club and stay connected with me.

[43:00] Alan Seales: Well, that is wonderful. You're such a beautiful person. Thank you. I agree. Fan clubs are a dying breed, I guess, if you could say that.

[43:08] Toneisha Harris: Yeah, not many people want to do that anymore because you can just hop on Instagram and talk to people, but getting that merch, getting that in-person, sort of behind-the-scenes stuff, oh, I love it. I love it. You can get more of me at thetheaterpodcast.com. I'm on Instagram and Twitter at theater underscore podcast on Facebook slash official theater podcast. Please leave a rating and a review wherever you are listening now. Thank you to Jukebox the Ghost for the intro and outro music, and Tanisha, thank you for this wonderful, wonderful conversation. I have enjoyed this so much. Take a deep breath, make the world a little colorful.