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A show that's all about music and how it affects us!
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(Speaker 12)
This is a KUNV Studios original program.
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(Speaker 3)
The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz & More, the University of Nevada Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
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(Speaker 1)
Hey, it's Michelle-a, and you're listening to Music and Mayhem, a podcast where we're
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(Speaker 10)
on the road to learning more about music.
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(Speaker 11)
Get it?
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(Speaker 10)
Because it's a talking head song.
0:00:29
(Speaker 1)
Hey, it's Michelle and thanks for tuning in to Music and Mayhem, a podcast where I talk to some of my favorite people about music and more. So today, my guest is my special, wonderful cousin, Jessica. She is a film major at Cal State. She's an avid music and film lover and she has been performing in theater for a couple of
0:00:49
(Speaker 1)
years now, right? Like how many, how long has it been? Since high school? Since high school. Nice. I haven't performed since then though. But you still like are very active in like theater and performance and even in film. Yes, and in the
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(Speaker 2)
community I really love. I work on campus in the theater department, so I get to see all the sets being built and actors coming in for rehearsal.
0:01:13
(Speaker 1)
Nice. See, like I always, that to me has always seemed so fun, is like performing in theater. Like my boyfriend and I had a whole conversation about that the other day. And I was like explaining to him about how,
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(Speaker 1)
like I used to perform in theater a lot too. So that's something that you and I have in common a lot is like our love for like theater and the performing arts.
0:01:33
(Speaker 2)
Yes, and then you used to dance a lot too. And when I was in the musicals and stuff, we do a lot of dancing, which was really fun.
0:01:42
(Speaker 1)
Yeah, like performing, dancing, like being a performer dance-wise and also being a performer theater-wise, I feel like the acting is on the same level. The only thing is that there's like a difference between like what you're memorizing, I guess, right? But in a way, like as an actor,
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(Speaker 1)
you're also like working on like remembering body movements and like where your placement is and like your facial features.
0:02:04
(Speaker 2)
Yes, they're really important because if you are not in the right spot at the right time an injury can happen or somebody can trip you know so we have to be really careful with knowing where you have to be at the exact time that
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(Speaker 1)
you have to be. Right I mean we're kind of we're kind of getting a little off topic because this is a this is a music show. But hey, right? Shout out to all the aspiring theater performers, right, tuning in. I mean, so what we're really here for, right, is to like, what we, our goal together today
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(Speaker 1)
is to do a deep dive into like musicals and like how just they can affect us like on an emotional level. As somebody who not only like watches musicals but has performed in them, like do you feel emotionally tied to the musicals
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(Speaker 1)
or is it just something like fun for you to do?
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(Speaker 2)
No, I definitely feel emotionally tied to them. I remember being in the Wizard of Oz musical and recently I went into the Halloween stores and they were playing one of the songs and it just gave me like this whole flashback of like I was a part of the ensemble so I was one of the munchkins and just going through that song like I still remember
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(Speaker 2)
the dances and the whole song so it was kind of it's incredible how you feel really attached to the the musicals that you're was kind of, it's incredible how you feel really attached to the musicals that you're a part of. They definitely have a lasting impact on you. I still like listen to the music and just remember being with my peers
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(Speaker 2)
and during rehearsals, that's one of the most fun parts is during rehearsals because you're kind of, everybody's getting to know their characters and start building off each other. And's just all this energy and it's a very great lasting experience.
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(Speaker 1)
No that like I mean I can relate to that right on a way just because of like my relationship to dance and performing and like how long I was performing for but I was like to, I'm doing this deep dive for a whole different other class about nostalgia and nostalgia in media and the idea of nostalgia. I said it 500 times.
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(Speaker 1)
Drink every time you hear the word nostalgia. Just kidding.
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(Speaker 8)
Um.
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(Speaker 1)
But the whole thing of it is very positive for the soul, I guess, in a way, because it helps create that community and it does help with self-orientation and fitting in. So not only the way that music can affect us and what musicals can provide when exploring the human experience. It's also how performing in theater and performing these songs kind of creates that nostalgic vibe, I guess, when you really go back
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(Speaker 1)
and you think about it, the way you're explaining and how, you know, just how...
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(Speaker 2)
Yes, it brings you back to, you can connect to something, relate to a character or something they said or did, and brings you back to like you can connect to something, relate to a character or something they said or did and then you just think about your past and like you remember oh like I've been through that I felt that so it impacts
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(Speaker 1)
you on an emotional level you know. Yeah and then like in a way you kind of put yourself you put a little bit of yourself like in the character you know so like even performing those songs, at a level of performance, it's very, I don't know, I guess more authentic, right?
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(Speaker 2)
Yes, and it becomes part of you, like that specific character you played in that play, nobody else can replace that. That was your performance, so everybody else, if they have that same character you're playing in a different play, they're gonna play it differently.
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(Speaker 2)
So it's all original and creative.
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(Speaker 1)
Right, there'll always be a little bit of you in that munchkin.
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(Speaker 2)
Yes.
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(Speaker 5)
Every time you see a munchkin.
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(Speaker 1)
That's actually so funny. I don't, I mean, I feel like, I guess when I did party scene, like in the Nutcracker, I guess you could call me a munchkin, because I was like, what, 14, 15, 16, playing like the 10-year-olds at the party, because I was the only short one in the cast.
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(Speaker 2)
Yeah.
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(Speaker 1)
So in a way, I also have a munchkin story.
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(Speaker 2)
You can relate too.
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(Speaker 1)
I can relate, but have you heard about like the narrative persuasion theory, like in media?
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(Speaker 2)
Yes, I have.
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(Speaker 1)
Yeah, I kind of want to go over it just a little bit.
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(Speaker 2)
Yeah, because it's a really interesting topic.
0:06:32
(Speaker 1)
Yeah, it really is. Because it's this idea that through narrative, it can help influence the viewer's real world, like, ideas and beliefs and behaviors. And there's also, like, this element of transportation, right, where it takes the viewer into this cognitive process,
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(Speaker 1)
and, like, they're kind of inside the events of the narrative, in a way. And there's, like, a little bit of, like, identification theory mixed into all of it, which can help lead viewers to, like, relate to like
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(Speaker 1)
the personality traits of the characters to help understand like experiences that they would never really understand, right? And so when I was like exploring this theory in class, I kind of did more of like a, what is it, I kind of looked into postmodern literature and so I kind of, yeah, so I kind of looked at like Kurt Vonnegut's like Slaughterhouse-FiveFive right where he kind of uses like sci-fi in a way to explain it's not it's it's a lot deeper than that right but it's just
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(Speaker 1)
this idea of like using literature and like I guess sci-fi type themes like his character Billy Pilgrim goes like back in time. He lives in space, on an alien planet. He is jumping all around space, I guess, space and time. And it really helps, the whole goal of it, right, is to kind of depict what soldiers were living through with PTSD.
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(Speaker 1)
And yeah, and I feel like that's the power of literature. And then it got me thinking, I was like, well, I feel like musicals, in a way, kind of explore that. And I kind of wanted to talk to you about that more because you've been deeper in theater than I have. All I did was dance.
0:08:15
(Speaker 2)
Yeah, I get what you're saying. With theater, especially, the stories are very immersive. You can feel like you're walking in that character's shoes as a performer and as an audience member because the stories are so vivid like the the song and the dance like you see everything you're hearing everything there's times when i'm in the audience where i feel like
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(Speaker 2)
a performer because you just get so zoned into the story being told and there's so many different aspects that you're seeing like the the lights and the dance and the singing and it's really great when it's an ensemble you know because it's you get to see multiple people and their choreography all together you know because
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(Speaker 1)
they're all synced in a way. I do agree like there's an element like sure books are very immersive right where you watch a movie it's very immersive but there's an element, like sure books are very immersive, right? Or you watch a movie, it's very immersive. But there's just something about musicals where you kind of just like leave the seats and you enter that world. And I do feel like it has a lot to do with like the songs, you know, like they're able to discuss like a lot of, I guess like heavier themes and topics and like
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(Speaker 1)
life experiences.
0:09:23
(Speaker 2)
Yes, I agree. There's so many different like when you really look and watch a musical you each song kind of has a deeper meaning behind it. You know normally we're all just belting out a song and stuff, but if you really listen to it, there's something there's an actual meaning behind the song like for Wicked, you know Elphaba was like left out.
0:09:46
(Speaker 2)
Like she's herself, she's independent, but because she looks different than everybody else, it's easy to villainize her, even though she was very kind and a strong woman.
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(Speaker 1)
Yeah, which, you know, like that is a tale like as old as time, especially like as like mine like as a minority like you can relate to Elphaba's story a lot because
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(Speaker 2)
Oh yes, 100%
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(Speaker 9)
Yeah, it's
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(Speaker 2)
I related to her more than I could the characters that we would consider good, you know?
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(Speaker 5)
Mm-hmm
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(Speaker 1)
Because it's that it's that feeling of being othered right and you, as somebody who isn't really like in like the minority or somebody who hasn't really ever had to experience being othered, like it's really, I don't know, it's like seeing Elphaba's story and like hearing like, you know, hearing Defying Gravity, you know, watching her like get on that broom and like fly up in the air, like it's it's more than just like a theatrical work or now a cinematic work of art air, it's more than just a theatrical work
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(Speaker 1)
or now a cinematic work of art, it's more, it's like an exploration on what other humans can experience, right? I mean, or like, maybe I am thinking.
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(Speaker 2)
It's experience that live is something different because you're there, you're in that emotion because the performer has to evoke this certain emotion to really portray that, you know? And you feel that when you're in person live, you know?
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(Speaker 8)
Mm-hmm.
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(Speaker 1)
And I feel like once you, I don't know, once you're able to tap into those real human emotions, you can make any theatrical emotion feel Shakespearean in a way. This is the thing that we always say in my undergrad as an English major is Shakespeare is transcendent
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(Speaker 1)
throughout time, right? Because he's able to connect to those human experiences. And that's kind of what my biggest theory right now with this 20 minute podcast is right is that through narrative persuasion in musicals we can get to that um to like that transcendent like
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(Speaker 2)
human experience in a way. Yeah and I mean that's why Defying Gravity is so popular it's so iconic because it literally is the song of her, Defying Gravity, like going against everything to be herself and not caring about what others think of her, you know?
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(Speaker 1)
Yeah, that's so true. And another musical that I really love that kind of explores similar themes of the other and even segregation, right, is Hairspray. that kind of explores like similar themes of like the other and like being like and even like segregation right is like hairspray like that's one of the biggest ones.
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(Speaker 2)
Yes, it definitely is.
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(Speaker 1)
Yeah, and like a lot of the songs too like if you I don't know like not only does it explore like segregation and like these heavier themes and kind of helps like tell the audience the story of like being in love with somebody who isn't really accepted right cuz what Link is in love with Tracy and she's she's kind of outcasted for her size and like Penny you know she's in love with I want to say seaweed seaweed okay right okay right and and he's black there's like a line about calling like the double it double n
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(Speaker 1)
CPA right on You know cuz they won't let them be on TV because they're different and that's like a huge huge part of that play Not only that but also like exploring like womanhood and like growth, right?
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(Speaker 2)
They definitely covered a lot of topics and and they did it really beautifully too because you know it's mainly for like kids and young adults and they have like beautiful music and everything but they're still educating you and discussing these hard topics so good time
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(Speaker 1)
with it you know? Yeah, yeah it's transcendent in that way but you know like you said that it's for little kids and like it reminded me of this really funny story, if I can go on a side tangent real quick. So, what is it? In elementary school, like for one of the fall festivals,
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(Speaker 1)
the music teacher gave away all these like hairspray CDs and I got one, Yvonne and I got one. And I was so obsessed with like, Mom, I'm a Big Girl Now. And I sang it for like talent show audition and she told me that it was inappropriate for school.
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(Speaker 2)
Oh wow, yeah, no, that song, it is inappropriate. But it's a really good song.
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(Speaker 7)
It's such a good song.
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(Speaker 2)
And catchy tune and why would she give up the CD? No, literally, literally. If you guys weren't allowed to sing it at school. No, literally.
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(Speaker 1)
Like, that's one of the, like, I think about that all the time. It's like, okay, if you didn't want me to listen, like, if you're gonna come and tell me that this musical is inappropriate for me and my, like, second grade, you know, like my second grade self, like, then why even give me the CD in the first place if you're not going to let me sing the songs, music teacher. Yes, that actually reminds me of when I was auditioning in high school.
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(Speaker 2)
I was obsessed with Greece, so we had to prepare a song. And I really like the Sandra D song from Greece. But it's it is a little inappropriate to talk about her, you know, being a virgin. And and it's a little sexual. So I remember speaking to my professor and be like, is it okay for me to sing it? And I can't remember what they responded, but I know I ended up switching the song just
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(Speaker 2)
to be safe.
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(Speaker 6)
Yeah.
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(Speaker 5)
Oh, what a bummer.
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(Speaker 2)
Yeah. I mean, it was another Grease song, so it's okay. But I was really into the Sandra Day song at the time.
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(Speaker 1)
I mean, on that note, too, I also have a Greece story no for um for dance like we used to do this black and white ball it's like pretty it's like a it's it's like a pretty I guess well-known I don't know maybe I'm like patting myself on the back too much but it's like a charity ball here in Las Vegas right and um every year like because I I had a scholarship for dance right you know this but um every year we would do this black and white ball and like that's how we would get the like a lot of the funds right and we would give away an award right a woman of
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(Speaker 1)
dance award and one year it was olivia newton john no way yeah did i not exciting have i never told you this story no i haven't heard this oh my god no like we we danced for Olivia Newton-John and I like some girl like she left the program And I just so happened to know her part and she was like one of the Sandys and so I got to do that in front of Olivia Newton-John and I fell out of my Double turn pirouette, but it was okay And we all gathered around her and we all took a picture with her at the end. I'll send it to you. It was pretty... It was crazy.
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(Speaker 2)
Yes, please. Oh my God, that's so incredible.
0:16:30
(Speaker 1)
Yeah, it was... I don't know, because I also grew up in love with Greece. Like, it was... I would make Bélon watch it with me all the time.
0:16:39
(Speaker 2)
I know, right? We all grew up with some really good old school movies, yeah?
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(Speaker 1)
We did, We did. But yeah, like it was, it was so crazy like getting to see her and stuff and like actually knowing that she paid for like a year of my dance at one point. And it was very, very sad.
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(Speaker 1)
Like when she passed away, like that hit me.
0:16:58
(Speaker 2)
Yeah. It was heartbreaking.
0:17:00
(Speaker 1)
Yeah. It was very, it was, it was very emotional, but now I feel like we're getting a little off topic. Rip the goat Olivia Newton-John.
0:17:09
(Speaker 4)
Just a little.
0:17:10
(Speaker 1)
Just a little. A moment of silence though for Olivia Newton-John. But I guess, I mean we're talking a lot about these themes and these heavy topics, right? Rent is a whole entire musical about the AIDS epidemic, right? And Beetlejuice kind of explores this, you know, she wants to escape.
0:17:30
(Speaker 1)
Cats kind of has this underlying tone, like this underlying exploration of feminism and living in a world of misogyny. And Shrek is really about, I guess, self-acceptance and discrimination. So what are some of your favorite themes to explore like in musicals?
0:17:49
(Speaker 2)
Well for me personally, I've grown up with anxiety and I remember for high school we had a field trip and we got to fundraise to go watch Dear Evan Hansen and that one, you know, it talks about like suicide and social anxiety and like accepting yourself and that one I remember when we went to go watch it as a as a class it was really beautiful I actually bought the cd because it was it's just such an amazing musical where it really opened my eyes because all my peers related to it just like I did. And I always grew up thinking like,
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(Speaker 2)
I'm the only person here with anxiety and it's so difficult to handle, but everybody has their own thing that they're dealing with. We just, I think we need to be more expressive like we are with theater.
0:18:39
(Speaker 2)
Theater, it's a beautiful and therapeutic way of like being yourself through a character, you know? Like you can be anything, perform anything anyway with theater.
0:18:52
(Speaker 1)
Yeah, I really love what you just said. Like that is powerful, like all in itself. Like I didn't even really, but it's not something that I thought about until like right now, especially when I was like trying
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(Speaker 1)
to come up with like questions and like things that we can talk about. But it's also the idea about like how musicals can help open up like conversations that we wouldn't normally have like on our own.
0:19:16
(Speaker 2)
Definitely.
0:19:17
(Speaker 1)
Did like you, like after that experience, did like you and your friends like talk to each other about like, and you don't have to answer it if you're like uncomfortable but like is that like did it help you and your friends like start to have like these conversations about like What you're going through and like your your own like struggle with depression and anxiety and things like that
0:19:37
(Speaker 2)
Well that that night I remember we all kind of just talked about relating to it and how much we loved it because the musical Was really it was just incredible um it was more like because it was the same kind of group of us who would perform together and go to these events together it really helped us throughout i think it was about two years i'm sorry no it was my my four years actually the full four years we were able to kind of like get closer together like as the years went on like if somebody was going through something they'd like reach out and be like you know what I'm I'm feeling this way and
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(Speaker 2)
they'd actually feel comfortable to go and talk to you you know and we would sit as a group and just hear each other out so that was really it was really
0:20:21
(Speaker 1)
great. Wow that's that so powerful. I love that. I love that for you because these conversations are so important to have. And I feel like if it wasn't for media in general, it doesn't have to be only music. It doesn't have to be only Evan singing about his depression.
0:20:40
(Speaker 1)
If it wasn't for media at all, we wouldn't be able to connect to each other in such a way. And yeah, I guess like that's where I'm going with that idea, right? Is that these musicals allow us to connect, right?
0:20:55
(Speaker 2)
Yeah, it definitely opens the door and lets you be vulnerable. Cause like performing, you kind of have to be vulnerable to get into character and and it definitely helps
0:21:06
(Speaker 1)
Yeah on and off stage. No for sure like being a like like even acting in these plays, right? You have to be vulnerable enough to let people Into your own experience into your own character or yeah into your own experience, even if it is your own Character because there's so much of you in it. And then throughout that, like it kind of creates this whole, like this whole exploration of like human experiences. Right.
0:21:33
(Speaker 1)
Like, do you would you say like performing in musical theater, like has that shaped you to be more empathetic to like what other people are like feeling and like their situations and becoming like a more understanding person.
0:21:47
(Speaker 2)
Theater like you really learn how to step into somebody else's shoes and understand that we have all grown up differently we all have experienced things differently you know because you do like character analysis and you look you research it and then you can kind of put that into your personal life and see like Somebody can be going through the same thing as you but they're handling it differently because of their past or or what they're Going through, you know, it's not gonna be the same as yours
0:22:18
(Speaker 2)
And definitely like my professor for theater. She always said, you know when you come here You gotta let everything go just focus on on the performance focus on you and it was really beautiful because you can we're all going through stuff. You know we're all high schoolers and we have stuff at home. We have responsibilities too, but when you're there, it was a safe
0:22:41
(Speaker 2)
place to just let everything go and focus on ourselvesselves and each other and in making the beautiful performance Mm-hmm, you know just having a safe space
0:22:51
(Speaker 1)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, and it's really I feel like even being able to sing those songs throughout the day Right kind of like helps you to feel like less alone right like music can be powerful
0:23:02
(Speaker 2)
Yes music it draws emotion from you and it's really beautiful I know most people that I've like my friends and family like music is therapy you know like when you're feeling down or happy it just helps you like cope and like brighten up your mood or relax you you know mm-hmm
0:23:22
(Speaker 1)
for sure so I guess before we leave, right, well, my last question that I wanna ask you, what are some, okay, I want three of your favorite musicals, and maybe like your top song from that musical.
0:23:39
(Speaker 2)
The top song for me?
0:23:41
(Speaker 1)
Yeah, from each of those musicals.
0:23:43
(Speaker 2)
Oh, the first one would be in the Heights. I really love the song breathe by Nina. I related to that song so much. It was just so beautiful. I actually am planning to get a tattoo like that because it is so beautiful. The other one I'd say is Moulin Rouge, which is such a great musical. Ah, that's hard to pick the top song.
0:24:08
(Speaker 2)
Ooh, I'm blinking on the name, but it would be the one.
0:24:14
(Speaker 1)
But I mean, with those two, right, it's already...
0:24:17
(Speaker 2)
Yes, it's so good.
0:24:19
(Speaker 1)
Yeah, I mean, those, right, like, what is it? In the Heights is already a story about like the minority experience and like Moulin Rouge is about like the feminine like the feminine experience, right? Yes. Oh
0:24:33
(Speaker 2)
I really like the what's it called the love beauty. Oh It's like a weird name. I'll just say the tingle Roxanne one cuz I love them all They're all so good. And the third one would be... I would say Rent. Rent is really good.
0:24:52
(Speaker 1)
Rent is good.
0:24:54
(Speaker 2)
Yeah.
0:24:55
(Speaker 1)
Is there like one of your top songs?
0:24:58
(Speaker 2)
Oh, I like the Light Your Candle with Mimi.
0:25:03
(Speaker 1)
Well, thank you for sharing. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and your knowledge on musical theater. And thank you for coming on my podcast. I really appreciate it. And so unfortunately, that is all the time that we have. But thank you for coming on my podcast, Jessica.
0:25:23
(Speaker 1)
Thank you to my boyfriend and my one professor Thank you to my boyfriend and my one professor that is listening to this podcast and yeah that's it that's it for me. I hope