I've prioritized taking care of my mind, having fun, and doing things that make me laugh. And eating well - as in, really good food, like steak or pasta or fresh vegetables or an amazing dessert. You know, 'treat yo'self.'Collection: Amazing
Exposing yourself to many kinds of art can only lead to amazing things. It helps you learn about your own art, your own taste, what kind of art you want to create for yourself.Collection: Amazing
There's no map for you to follow and take your journey. You are Lewis and Clark. You are the mapmaker.
I'm definitely not as good as people who consider themselves beatboxers.
There's a very old tradition of theater actors doing their own makeup. It's like putting on your mask. There's an element of storytelling involved in it - you put on your character when you put on your makeup. At least, that's how I like to look at it.
In terms of my own experience, my dad is first-generation, so his parents were from China, and my mom was born and raised in southern Illinois, and she was involved in the arts. My dad's a doctor.
I took dance from a very early age, although my first recital, I remember refusing to go onstage. I think I was three. It's funny because that stage was also my high school theater stage.
I feel more like an American citizen now than I ever had, and it's artistically fulfilling.
I'm half-Chinese and half-Caucasian. My grandparents came here from China. My father was born in New Jersey.
During the winter of 2013, we were running 'Comet' up in midtown - as opposed to downtown - and across the street in the Standard, and that was, like, our third time going at it, from Ars Nova to downtown to near Broadway. We weren't on Broadway. We were near Broadway, as we said.
Beyond just the respect that you want to have, people just miss out on being in the moment when they have a screen in front of their face. I just don't know to tell people. I feel it's like, you know, 'Turn off your phone and go to the theater.'
My mother took my brother and I to a production of 'The Tempest', and it was in this very small - it could have been the basement of a church or a black box. The space was vast, but there were maybe 15 seats in the middle. Ariel came out wearing a nude sparkly thong and spike heels, and the muses had these gossamer see-through gowns on.
We did a student-initiated project of 'A Little Night Music', which was the first time that all of the divisions - music, dance, drama, opera - came together and put on a piece. It was a black box kind of feel. We had to get costumes that were pieced together. We had our own lighting that we finagled.
There's the cool factor, right? You see your face on a sign or your name on something, like, 'Ahh! Here I am!' And then there's a huge responsibility and the scary part of it, which is like, 'Now what happens?' And then you realize, 'Oh, yeah, this is my job.'
On long car rides, we would always listen to the 'Blues Brothers' soundtrack and try to emulate everything that Aretha Franklin was doing. There was soul and grit in it that I think a kid from the suburbs really needed.
Doing a show eight times a week is kind of like doing yoga or tai chi. A vinyasa is the same every single time you do it, but depending on how you're feeling, it tells you a lot about what's happening in your life.
When I go into a theater, I'm very excited to turn off my phone. But then, of course, I get anxiety.
Everyone has a different interpretation of characters we know and love from Shakespeare, from 'Miller'. There's specific things about them that are written that are kind of the fingerprints of the first person who played that role, and so I like to think of it as a road map.
There's a huge shift in the way we connect with people as humans in the technology age versus right before that, when we still had a little bit of mystery.
Doing something out of town is so beautiful because it really becomes about the process, and the product will be a result of it, but process is what is the goal - to really see what works and create the best story possible.
It doesn't matter where you are: theater brings people together.
'Hamilton' is, of course, closely tied to the Obamas because Lin first performed the opening number at a White House poetry jam.
I didn't know anything about Eliza when I first got the call about 'Hamilton.' Tommy Kail, the director, asked me if I wanted to be a part of it. I knew what he was talking about because I'd seen the video of Lin performing it at the White House for Barack and Michelle Obama.
My grandmother was a classical pianist, so I grew up with Schubert, Mozart, Beethoven. I studied piano as a kid. My musical background and upbringing was very much a mix.
Right out of school, I did this show called 'Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.' It is based on a classical text with new music - not necessarily confined by a certain genre. It was a diverse, interesting group of musicians, actors, nonactors, and singers all creating this thing that is bigger than all of us.
Now, when building a show, I ask myself the question - like, 'Jumping off this table will be really cool, but can I do that eight times a week?'.
I think I've learned, really, just how to let go - if an idea doesn't work, or it's not perfect, that's O.K.
I will say, I can definitely throw down a sick beat once in a while and provide an amazing backup track for somebody who can really, actually freestyle.
That's kind of just the nature of our business, is that you're really putting a lot of energy and time and care into something that isn't necessarily going to last forever.
It's the coolest job to be on Broadway.
I read 'Backstage' a lot when I first was unleashed into the world from drama school. And what was great about it was that if I was using it or not, it was just nice to know what was happening in my community.
You can't avoid the conversation of diversity and remembering that diversity goes beyond race and culture. It goes into gender and sexual orientation and all sorts of things.
I really love being in a room and developing work.: being at the table, looking at the script for the first time, and putting a story on its feet.
We try to find the information, the clues, to unlock the play or the story or our characters, especially when they're based on real people that live and breathe.
The way theater can bring people together is so powerful.
I've been very lucky. I made a choice, getting out of school, to follow the work and the people that really struck my heartstrings; 'Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812' was one of those - maybe it was an accident.
It wasn't until 'Hamilton' that I began to be considered an actor of color, and I really don't know what to make of it.
The only musicals I've really worked on in New York are new musicals, and I like the idea that my job as an actor is also that of a detective, archaeologist, and mystery solver.
I'm trying to look into each character and try to realize her as someone who is also me.
I definitely have been approached and reached out to by a lot of young Asian American and Asian women, which has been really cool for me.
I actually grew up seeing a lot of classical theater - a lot of Shakespeare - but I have such a passion for music and find that way of telling a story to be really compelling as well.
I love the collaborative process. Getting to meet new people and really building something with them is such a wonderful way to get to know someone.
You get to crack the code of the play. You get to really pick at it and see, 'What is the story that we're telling?' 'What are the clues in the text that I can find that will help inform what story we're telling?' It's almost like a detective mystery.
I think in general, people are baffled by love and what it does to them and how far they'll go to have love and be loved.
I think it's just amazing to be in a group of women, in a group of people that you can spend enough time with them to really get to know people and be inspired by them and learn something new about them every day.
All I wanted to do was create theater for us, for our generation, for the people of this planet. And it's so rare that the art that you are making is reaching a huge mass of people.
I learn something new about love every day. For example, loving yourself is just as important as loving other people.
I wake up around nine, drink a cup of coffee, answer some emails, and ease myself into the day.
I eat a light but sustaining dinner before the show: a bunch of greens and some non-gluten quinoa or rice. I'll have a snack at intermission. I'm trying so hard not to have meals after the show because it's so late, but sometimes I just want a big bowl of pasta.
When you're on a show schedule, everything is heightened. You're always aware of what works and what doesn't so you can be at your best.