Well, good evening, good afternoon, or good morning
whenever you happen to be listening to this podcast.
My name is Marvinetta Woodley Penn,
and this is all stories matter.
You know, I decided to do this podcast and call it that
because I just don't think that we are as engaged
as we could be with one another's stories.
Everybody has a story.
I don't care how old you are, how young you are,
you have a story, something has happened
to you in this time, that you've been on this earth,
and that thing is worth sharing with everybody.
You know, I was just at home with my grandchildren
and they wanted to know the story about their dad,
and I'm in the car with their dad.
I'm like, how much of this story should I tell?
So we have to have a conversation
because our, his children, my grandchildren wanna know,
and I'm gonna tell them the story, the good, the bad,
the indifferent, the ugly, the beautiful.
They will know the story, then they will know their history.
And there's nothing more beautiful than knowing the who,
the why, the what, the how of your personal story.
So today I have two people here who are going
to share their story.
These are my friends from the Civic
Theater, my Forever Friends.
Now that I have met them,
we have Miss Katie, and we have Mr.
Christopher and you will get to know their story today.
So sit back, relax, get a cup of coffee
or a cocktail depending on the time of day,
and enjoy this story.
So Katie, I'm going to start with you. Yes.
Katie Martin Neck? Yes.
Or Martin Neck, or Martin Neck, or how do you pronounce it?
It's actually, it's Checklist of Volcan. Okay.
So it's Martin Neck.
Martin Neck, yep. Okay, very good. Very good.
I appreciate people's names. Katie, tell me your story,
wherever you wanna begin, because I'm gonna
go back way you are.
Okay. Back up to the prison and then forward. Yeah.
Okay, awesome. I was actually born in St.
Joseph, Michigan. So I'm from around the area. Okay.
And I pretty much lived there my whole life up
until I became 18.
And I went away for college for a little bit.
It didn't work out.
So I came back and did Lake Michigan Community College.
And I actually got involved in the theater program
there. So that was
In college in, Yes, in college.
I actually, though going back, I have been taking
structured, danced since I was three.
So dancing is really
what got me on the stage since I was very young at
three. So, okay.
And how did you like that?
Do you have memories of being, of being in dance class then?
Yes, absolutely. I can remember my first, it was ballet
where we started at three
and we were little chicks, so little yellow chick costumes.
Right. Like just classic. How cute.
And then as I got older, I started taking ballet, tap,
jazz, acrobats.
So it just became a whole thing for me all the way
through until I was 18.
Oh, wow. So being a trained dancer there.
Nice, nice.
So I just heard a little, I overheard a little bit
that you're going to be having those skills on
display very soon.
Yes. And we will talk about that. Yeah.
So it was when you were in college
that you really got into theater
and decided, oh yes. I like this too.
In fact, my first audition
for a musical was when I was 10.
And it was Annie and I forgot the words too tomorrow.
So I had a very big thing when I was little, being a dancer.
It was funny. I still had stage fright.
So I messed up the words to that audition.
And then I was in a group called Sunshine Kids,
and it was a Christian traveling, singing troop.
We wore rainbow colors and St.
Joseph has a bluff
and we sang, make a Grateful Noise unto the Lord
of the Earth, make a joyful noise.
And I messed up those the earth.
So I kind of had these like
misses when I was little, little.
And then once I got to community college, I was like,
you know what, I'm gonna give it a go again.
And Barnum was the first musical
that I ended up auditioning for there.
So. Nice. And you got that. I did ensemble.
I was a lion, tamer, tamer, and a acrobat. So,
So the dancing it, It came kicked
Right in for You?
It kicked right back in. Yeah. Very
Good.
There we go. And you auditioned for Annie
and here it was Annie.
We were all three.
Yeah. And Annie, we were at the Civic
and we just had the best time
Magical show.
I mean, Mrs. Pew, Mrs. Greer, bundles.
Bundles, And the holidays at the Pacific. Always the
Best. Oh, it was so
Magical Always. Oh
Yeah.
Those were some great shows. It was a lot of them.
I know a lot of them it is.
But it was still so much fun. It's
So fun.
I miss it because it is a family unit, you know,
especially around the holidays. Indeed. Yeah, indeed.
So, Chris, what about you? What is your story Begin?
Most definitely. So I grew up in Wheaton, Illinois.
Wheat or Wheaton Warrenville area right outside of Chicago.
Yeah. I was adopted at the age of four.
Brought into foster care at the age of two.
Never lived with another family.
So it was me and my adopted mom.
I grew up, when I was five,
I started taking dance classes at a dance studio
because I had some mobility,
like I was having issues balancing and stuff.
So my mom thought, oh, that'd be great.
She didn't know anything about dance.
She was a sports person. Yeah.
So she never really, she enjoyed theater,
but never really was a theater per like a performer. So
Was it your therapist who said that you should take
Dance?
Yeah. Yep. So the occupational therapist
and the physical therapist both recommended it.
So I ended up taking dance, ended up becoming a part
of like a competitive dance team.
Oh. That was called Minis.
It was a part of a dance studio
called Stephanie's Academy of Dance.
They're actually still in business.
I think they're on their 20th
anniversary this year. It's kind of crazy.
Oh. Have you been back and said, Hey,
I'm gonna give you guys a couple of dollars.
You know, you started me on
My route.
I follow along online
and kind of followed their, what they're up to.
Nice. But kind of grew up doing ballet, tap jazz, modern
competitively until I was in high school.
Or eh, seventh grade is when I stopped competitive dancing.
But I auditioned for the Joffrey Ballet Nutcracker
when I was young as well.
And I was actually in their
children's ensemble for quite a few years. Growing. Nice.
Growing up. So you were driving in,
your parents were driving you into Chicago.
Yep. Yep. And it was just single mom and then Dedicat.
We Usually had up to six foster kids
that she would foster a time too.
What an amazing woman. Yeah. So,
Yeah. Is she still with us?
She is. We don't necessarily have a relationship.
When my grandfather passed away, she was never the same.
And so he passed away when I was in the eighth grade.
And so like, our relationship just always
was kind of rocky from there.
Okay. Unfortunately. Okay. So wonderful human.
Yes. I mean, I don't regret anything in life. Mm.
But growing, not necessarily Either. Growing. Yep.
Growing up there was always a very positive
light and Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. But, and growing up being a
teenager is already difficult.
Oh yeah. Because you're finding your way, you're finding out
who you are, and it's like, oh my God.
And your the parents
or the authority figure, whoever's there, they're struggling
with you going from childhood to going into adulthood.
That can be a, you're like, yes, I got hit. I know
I'm doing it now.
And it's you, you wanna give them grace.
'cause you remember how hard it was at 15.
I have a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old at home.
And obviously the 18-year-old, he's in college.
He, I want him to be as much of adult
as necessary and what he could do.
But I'm still got the reminders going, you know? Indeed.
And then with Oakley, my 15-year-old, I mean,
she is miss Independent.
She knows what she wants,
but there's still guidance that is needed there.
Yes. As a 15-year-old, you know? Yes.
So it's that fine line of, yes, I'm still your parent,
but I almost feel like a, you know,
the buffers in a bowling lane.
Right. You, you gotta bounce off of me.
It's okay to make mistakes and I want you to make mistakes.
I think that's the biggest thing right now. Yeah. Yeah.
Is to learn how to cope.
Learn how to cope and recover. Yes. Yes.
Learn how to get back up, start it off.
Learn the lessons you need to learn. I'm going through that.
Even with my grandchildren who are 11,
they wanna have a girlfriend, they're twins.
And one is very popular. The other one isn't so popular.
He's gonna hear this. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry that I'm telling your story. It's okay.
Because other children are going through this,
so I'm just using you as an example sweetheart.
But they have different personalities. Yeah.
And some one is a, is really in a group.
The other one isn't. So there's some conflict there.
But I'm like, you have your own journey. Yes.
And you have your own journey.
And don't get so into your friends
that you forget your brother.
Yeah. You will always have your brother,
not necessarily your friends.
I am not interviewing myself. I'm interviewing.
Yeah. But it's, it's, it's that connection. It all.
It does. Yep. And I think I really appreciate as a mother
that my kids, they have really bonded.
They've always been pretty close. There's only three years,
but this last year, Jake takes Oakley
to school and picks her up every day.
Thank you, Jake. I love you. But they've really bonded.
Oh, that's awesome. So like, Jake coming into his adulthood
and you know, girls do mature a bit quicker Yeah.
Than males. And in that aspect,
they're almost on the same level.
And it's great to see as a parent where you can just kind
of like, all right, job is mostly done.
I say mostly you got, but yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
That is nice. That is
Awesome.
Awesome. No, you don't have any children, Christopher? No,
No children.
Well, Oakley and Jake, you do
Have side, you have, you know, little adopted children.
I'll send mine him. Okay, cool.
What about your siblings? Were they technically siblings?
The other foster children
Who were up enough?
So when I was in the sixth grade, my half brother
came to, or we found out that he, I was curious about like,
did my birth mother have any more children?
Okay. And so we didn't know.
And so he had been actually brought into foster care.
He's five years younger than I am.
And so he was living with another family.
And that other family we went to visit where like,
he's gonna be adopted by this other family.
So we were all prepared for that.
And then he ended up, the family decided that he needed
to be with like our family because of the sibling.
Or like, they wanted him to have a sibling
that was like blood related.
Yes. So they decided that they weren't gonna adopt him.
And so he came and lived with us.
And then we adopted him as well.
Or, and then I have a brother, his name is Massimo.
I still talked with with him.
He is not related to me at all,
but is four years younger than me.
And so we've always been pretty close and yeah. Nice.
And then I have a sister Annalise,
when I was a junior in high school.
She's a half sister as well. All, all have the same mom.
She ended up moving in with us when I was a junior.
And then she was adopted in 2016, I think.
Okay. So, yep. Wonderful big family. Yes.
Lots of you Guys running around.
Yeah. Always had foster kids as well. And Okay.
Other, sometimes some of those foster children would live
with us for a few days 'cause we,
they needed a respite care. How
Did you, how, how did you,
how did you navigate that? How did you feel
About that issue?
It was always just like, we always just kind
of knew someone might be coming to live with us. Yeah. Wow.
Okay. And you were all just cool with it all.
We got another person here.
I guess when you're a kid, you don't
really know the difference.
Looking back at it now was probably weird, but like
Parents, how did that happen?
Parents. And then the parents just made it seem like,
oh, we got more people.
Yep. That is so awesome.
Yeah. It was really cool. Yeah. When, when
You think about The children in need
know these days, go
Ahead.
Yeah, most definitely. There was like children also
that would have like special needs
or attachment disorders and stuff like that.
And so like, just like seeing people in all their different
walks of life and what
they're, what they were going through.
I feel like as an adult has maybe more empathetic towards
people that might not necessarily fit
in with the normal crowd.
And you are definitely that person.
Yes, he is. Yeah. You feel deeply for people.
I try to, sometimes you have to,
sometimes you have to shut that off too.
Yeah. Yeah. But definitely
because you can wind up taking on people's energies.
Yeah. You can't be taking that home
all the time either. Well,
I'm sure you're empath.
Empath. Yeah. Yeah. And we take on
people's energies. Yeah. Really. Do
I have to shut it down? Yeah. Oh
Yeah.
Oh my God. That's, I, yeah.
I go into like, you know, you have to protect yourself
because you can get drained very easily that way. Yeah.
So did you know that you had this
performance side, this empath?
Because I think that in order to be on stage
and to be effective on stage, you have
to have a little of that, right?
Yes. Did you know as a child that there was something,
did you ever feel like there was something different about
you that you just didn't always fit in?
Yeah. I mean, I don't know if it's necessarily
different or didn't always fit in.
I loved people. I loved going up talking to people.
So I was that kid that would be like, hi, I'm Katie.
You know? And I think it's obviously stuck
with me into my middle age.
I was always that way.
And I would always say I was personable.
I think a word that has been used
to describe me since I was little was bubbly.
Right? Yeah. So I,
and I know that sometimes it's always not good
to have like the big energy.
You know, some people don't perceive that
as a good thing sometimes, you know what I mean?
And, and take it as like, whoa, what's happening?
Like I need to set back. But I have also been
just very true in myself.
So I've just, I, not that I don't have insecurities,
'cause I do, we all do.
But I just kind of try to lead with kindness
and live that way, you know?
And hope that I know sometimes, you know,
I'll put my foot in my mouth or something.
'cause I obviously, I'm a talker. We have to, we'll
Do. Yeah.
Yeah. But it just, I think as a performer, I think
that goes hand in hand.
You know? And you're, and and being able to relate to people
because you have to be able to, you know,
give back in a scene when you're acting to know
that in your personal life already is so good
to bring that to the stage. Yeah.
So you never had an issue being outgoing and,
and awe when you were a kid
With friends?
No, other than the flubs like with my, you know,
make a joyful noise into the Lord.
And then the Annie auditioned those
and I obviously those stuck with me
because like I can, I can remember, you know?
Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.
My kazoo, I was like, just put your kazoo in your mouth.
But other than that, I was always the one
that I feel like if someone is new,
I wanna go up and say hi.
Yeah. You know what I mean?
You're, no, you're no longer new. Right. Good for you.
Because I,
and I think basing it on like a civic level, I came in
to do the workshop for Hunchback
and you know, coming in
as a brand new person, there's a lot.
I mean, it's a family. That
Was your first experience with the Civic
Minus polka dots?
I got called in to help with wigs for that one.
Okay. With Oakley. Oakley
Was that, oh no.
We have to figure out how you, I know
how you navigated this course, but let me just ask you.
Yeah, yeah. Chris, growing up, did you, did you know
that you were, there was something in you
that was pulling you to the stage?
Most definitely kept being pulled back
to the stage time and time again.
Okay. I don't know if I ever thought
that it would lead to where I am now.
Like job wise, yes.
But I didn't know if that was always an option. So yeah.
You don't always have to be an actor on stage.
Now, in my day to day, I plan events
and make the civic look beautiful
and make sure the patrons are happy and
Wonderful.
Yeah. So did you have a group that you fit in with?
I always felt like an outsider, so I'm just trying
to see if anybody, if anybody would like me.
Yeah. I didn't, never really, I just did not fit
in with the other kids.
And I always knew, I knew that I was gonna be on stage.
Oh yeah. You on stage.
Did anybody have, did anybody else have
That Feeling?
I mean, I never really was like at school a lot.
Like I was at school during the day,
but I never did like extracurriculars.
'cause I was always busy doing like, dance related dancing,
going to Chicago, going to the city.
Yeah. And so there were days where, I mean, I just,
I knew kids in my class, but I didn't know them.
It wasn't until high school where I really like made like
friends, I would say.
Cool, cool, cool. All my friends lived in Chicago
or lived in other suburbs.
Whoa. Yeah. That wasn't,
and they were all a part of the dance scene.
Yeah. Okay. So you had your, you had a community? I
Did, yeah.
I just was the outsider, like the school and the normal,
The normal kids.
Yeah. The normal kids. The normies.
See we didn't have, we didn't have dance programs
where I grew up in East St.
Louis. We didn't have theater programs where I grew up.
We just had a high school choir and church choir. Yeah.
And that was about it. So I know I would've been involved
had we had those things.
Right. But we just didn't.
So I was like, oh, well one day it's all good. Look at
You now. Look at you now. Life,
Life has a way
of bringing you whatever it is that you need.
Yeah, you do. You put it out there.
I, on the friend front, I went to Christ Lutheran.
And you were,
You were in a, a Christian School?
I was raised, yes. Very conservative. Christian. Lutheran.
Okay. Since kindergarten through eighth grade.
And our fifth and sixth grade and our seventh
and eighth grade classes
were together 'cause we were so small.
So I grew up very, I always felt way too big for that.
Very tight, you know. Oh,
I can imagine.
Upbringing. So that was good to have different outlets
with dance 'cause it wasn't part of that school
or you know, I hung out with the public kids,
you know, that was another thing.
And then I was lucky enough to go
to Lake Shore High School public school.
But as far as friends, my best friend
that since I was three,
she actually lives in Kalamazoo with her husband.
So like full circle. Just a weird shout out to Mandy.
Weird moment Tuesday.
How did she get to Kalamazoo?
She went to West, well her husband went to Western. Okay.
Then she came up here and they never, they never left.
So it's kind of weird how I ended up here. So many.
How did you end up here?
I mean, my story's crazy.
So after I did community college
at Lake Michigan Community College, I moved to Chicago
to do cosmetology school. So that's
There, here in the makeup part comes in. Okay.
And then I moved to Miami
and lived there for five years. But
Why did you, why Maya?
I hate to say it a guy, it was our guy.
Of course I told my parents it wasn't a guy,
but of course it was a guy.
Obviously that relationship did
not work out and that's fine.
But I also met my best friend, business partner that I, I,
I mean, so it's just like every little avenue
I now in my life have a piece of that.
Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So,
So cool.
It's fun. So wait a minute, wait a minute. Yeah.
You went to Chicago,
Did cosmetology.
Cosmetology at Pivot. Why Cosme at Pivot Born?
I remember Pivot Point. I'm gonna
get to how you game to Oh yeah.
How you love Chicago area. Yeah. And got to Kalamazoo. Yeah.
So just keep all those stories in mind. Gotta
Build it up.
Yeah. So I did cosmetology. Why I always loved doing hair.
So in, in high school, I mean first of all,
all my Barbies dolls.
Yeah. All their hair's cut, you know what I mean?
I always like, I was in there with it.
Makeup, always loved it.
And in high school, I would be
the one doing my friend's hair.
I'd be the one doing Updos.
So I'm like, why not get trained?
And I was looking at Vidal Suun in London. Oh. Ooh.
Don't think I'm not, yeah,
I kick myself every once in a while in this middle age life.
But I ended up in Chicago, which was great.
And at the time my brother lived at the apartment
across the street from me too.
So, you know, again, being that 19-year-old close to 20,
it, it was really good to have that support
and plus hop, skip and jump away from home at the time.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Awesome. And your parents sound phenomenal. No,
I wanna say that you
Were just that kind of kid. I gotta
Do it.
Well I was raised, I have no, I had no want as a kid.
I had no want. No need As a kid, everything was great.
You know, unfortunately my mother
and I did not get along very well.
And coming up work now coming up on six years
that I haven't had a relationship with my parents
or my brother, which is very sad.
But I actually have a very good
relationship with my brother's wife.
Okay. So I'm not completely, you know, away from it.
But I healthy enough for me to have a little touch into it.
But I worked through therapy
and it was the right decision, especially for my husband
and my kids and I, yes.
Yeah. Yes. Yeah. So good for you.
But as far as childhood, I always say like
I wouldn't change anything.
My father, you know, he was loved me unconditionally.
Yeah. Yes. Yep. That's
Awesome.
Awesome. You,
you were just a trailblazer making your way from St.
Joe. I'm going to Chicago
and now I'm going to live in Florida and from Florida.
Aw. Yes. So what I realized
with being a cosmetologist Yeah.
Is you don't get health insurance. Oh.
And I got kidney stones while I was in Florida
and ended up with a, you know,
I was in the hospital like five different times
'cause I was obstructed.
So what I realized, what is important, especially at
that timeframe in my life, 21, 22, I need something
that will pay for health insurance when there's emergency.
So I ended up leaving as artistic director at a salon
and I did the educational and I loved it,
but I really needed a job that would give me the benefits.
Yes. So my leasing office at where I lived was hiring
for a leasing agent and they're like, you talk to anybody?
No. How serendipitous that. Yeah.
So I ended up working with this
leasing office, which is great.
I got health benefits, still did hair on the side. Yeah.
Worked at Carabas. Did like three different jobs.
Then Reef Management, who the leasing company was through,
had accounts payable in Chicago.
And at this time I still had a
relationship like with my family.
So I had to come back for help.
I was about, I wanted to move closer.
So I applied for that job over Christmas.
So I ended up getting that job. This was January, 2005.
I ended up moving back into Chicago. Oh boy. Yeah. Yeah.
Which is a funny story. I know we'll get to it.
But the day, January 22nd, 2005 when I was
moving my stuff in, yeah.
Blizzard, my husband now called me on the
phone and I'm sitting in my apartment.
He had no idea that I had moved back to home.
So I just always remember that date too. Yeah.
You got so many reading. We do that stories my adhd. Oh
No, no, no, no it's not.
It's just your life. Your life. Yeah. Chris.
Yes. How did you get from
after you graduated high school?
I did two years at the local community college
College of DuPage.
Okay. Okay. I know College Illinois Glen of DuPage,
they have their best jazz station there.
They do, yeah. They do have good jazz Station
W dcb.
Yep, they do.
And then was dating someone
and was doing theater in the Chicagoland area.
Non-equity kind of theater. Wait
A minute, how did you get into theater?
You can't skip over that. Okay.
So No. So I was in dance. Yeah.
And then when I was in the fifth grade,
they had local auditions for the Wizard Oz.
Auditioned for the Wizard of Oz was cast as a munchkin
and the Lollipop Guild.
Oh. And then kind of started my theater journey from there.
Yeah. And then kind of when I was in the seventh
and eighth grade, it was like made clear to me
that like you had to choose theater or dance.
You couldn't do both when you got to high school. Yeah.
So I ended up going towards theater.
And so I did theater sophomore through senior year I act,
sorry, freshman year I was in one show.
I was in Jack and the Beanstalk. I was a bean stalker. Oh.
Oh, Nice. See you
Guys had, you had schools that offered those programs.
I know, I know. That's crazy. I hated
you guys, but that's okay.
That's my sophomore. We did not. But that's all so good.
And that's one, one thing I really love
about Kalamazoo. Yeah.
We have so many maca opportunities here.
Yes, yes. Go
Ahead.
So then my sophomore year they were doing Into the Woods
and I did not wanna audition for some reason.
Just decided I didn't wanna be on stage. Yes.
And so I assistant directed the show.
But you were still there. Yep. Still in the media.
And so the director had me do a few scenes
and so she ended up changing my title from assistant
director to student director, which is really cool.
And so I was able to kind of work my way up in
that theater program and direct a few shows
and choreograph a few shows and kind of too.
Yeah. Kind of had that side as well.
And then went to community college,
did some theater in the Chicagoland area.
Which, which groups? I did a show with the,
or a few shows with Oaklawn Park District Theater.
Okay. I did a show with,
oh my god, what are they called?
Is they center? No, Brightside Brightstar Theater. Okay.
And then I did another one
with Jed Laca Performing Arts Center in Cicero.
Okay. And I was in Miss
Saigon there. So that was really cool.
Oh, why Now? It was my fav, one
of my favorite experiences.
I met a friend named Shauna there. Yes.
And they were doing the production of Miss Saigon.
She had been called in to come
to a civic theater in South Bend to play the part of Kim.
And so I went to go see her in the show
and the guy I was dating at the time that we had kind
of broken up, there was some like abuse going on
and it was just, it was not a good situation.
And, and so I ended up finding, like the director
who directed the show, Ms.
Lagon, that she was in, invited me to come
and stay with them for a year to kind of get out
of my situation and kind of spend time.
Oh yeah. What? And so I was like,
well like I would obviously
pay you rent and stuff like that.
And they're like, Nope, we want you to come down
to South Bend and just be here
and you can have a job and all that.
And as long as you're taking care of stuff around the house
and helping us out.
Great whiz.
What are these people? Right. That's what I'm saying.
I know. But you know, they're really all around. They are.
They really are. They really are good people.
Gravity to those people. But
Also like you would pay it forward.
Oh, do you know what I'm saying? Like icy Topher.
Yeah, exactly. Yes.
Like this is exactly what you would do as well. Yeah,
Indeed.
That's your spirit now. Yeah,
For sure.
And so did some stuff at South or in South Bend area?
I was in production of Chicago there at St. Mary's College.
Oh yeah. Right. With
and Notre Dame had,
they had some male students from Notre Dame come over
and do some show or do the show as well.
And yeah. So got to know a lot of the Notre Dame and St.
Mary's group and then did some stuff at their civic theater
there, the South Bend Civic Theater
and a few shows at Premier Arts.
And then met my ex-husband now,
but met, his name is Chucky and we are still friends.
Good. And I worked for the travel agency
that his family Okay.
Owns. And so yeah, we started dating,
I worked at a restaurant in the area.
I worked at a AAA for Diamond Restaurant there as a server.
Really loved my job
and ended up getting married in 2020.
We moved to South
or we moved from South Bend
to Kalamazoo in July of 2020. And
What prompted that move?
You know, the restaurant industry was really
in not in a great spot.
Yes. He was missing his family. Mm.
I had become very close with the family
and so we kind of just made the decision
that it was best to move here.
'cause my job wasn't, it was gonna be,
there was gonna be restaurant jobs,
but it just wasn't something I wanted to do at that point,
either with COVID going on.
So yeah, it was weird. Yeah, it's interesting.
And then that brought me here and then kind of auditioned
for a show or we got married in December.
Yeah. Of 2020. Yeah.
And then we,
or I auditioned for Mama Mia at the Kindle Burger Festival
here in Kalamazoo and was cast in Mama Mia.
And then met some people and led me to the Civic.
Met some people at Kindle Burger.
They were like, you've gotta come to the Civic.
Yep. They sure did. Oh wow. Nice. Yeah.
So I met my friend Carly Stoker
and my friend Maggie used to be Pelo Cho.
Now it's ow wi, I think I said it right this time.
Sna ni. I knew I was close.
You're welcome Maggie Ci. So Skin.
Okay. So, yep. And they both were civic people.
So we all auditioned for Newsies and we were all in Newsies.
And that was my first show at the Civic.
I've heard so much about that show.
It was a great show. It Was Beau, it was so fun. Yeah,
Well the Civic is
amazing. It's
Just, we are so lucky. So
Lucky.
It's family. I mean, it's my family, you know,
touching about, it's your family again
and ex you become family, you know?
So yeah. Yes.
So tell me about
your experiences, some of your best, worst moments
at this place we love called the Civic
Theater of Kalamazoo.
No, you said that there was a civic theater someplace else.
South Bend Civic Theater.
South South. South Bend, civic.
So is the Civic like part of a A group?
So this is what I like to think of it as. Okay.
Community theater is the thing. Okay.
And then I feel like there's Civic theater.
Community theater is very much your Mon Pop. Yes, yes.
Everyone volunteers. Your civic theater has like a staff.
Okay. And established staff.
And then they have volunteers that do the shows
and help around with hair and makeup and costumes
and scenery and stuff like that.
And I feel like they're very,
they're two very different entities
where we have a few community theaters in Kalamazoo
and then we have the Civic theater.
Yes, yes. And then you have the Farmer's Alley
And then you have your Equity, which is equity.
Yes. Yes. The Civic.
I did not even know about the Civic
before I came to Chicago, you know,
and I'm in Chicago, so I know about Stephan Wolf
and I know about the Goodman, then I know about lots
of other smaller theaters.
And those are basically on the north side.
I lived on the south side,
I had my own little performing arts group.
We didn't do professional theater,
but we, I still train them as actors and dancers.
But coming here to Kalamazoo
and then getting involved
with the Civic was a total experience.
A total experience.
And what was it like for you
when you first came to the Civic?
I mean, I was bit by the bug.
I, I had taken time off to get married, have babies.
I invented a beauty tool.
So I had all these like things, you know, that led up to it.
And then Oakley actually auditioned.
Were you doing hair here?
I was doing it on the side. Okay.
So salon wise it was just in Florida.
And then I've done like hair and makeup. All different. Yes.
So yes. But just not at a salon here. Okay. Yeah. Okay.
Yeah. But I definitely did it.
Like all my clients, they would come to my house,
I'd go to theirs, you know. How did you get your
Reputation here?
I think, 'cause again, I'm just a talker
and usually word of mouth.
And then they're like, you do hair
well, duh, duh dah, you know?
So then I started going around
and highlighting colors my specialty.
But Oakley auditioned for Newsies.
She's like, mom, can you teach show? I know.
She's like, can you teach me how to tap dance in an hour?
And I'm like, ha, no, I tried. But that was it.
And then I didn't get that one.
She then went to audition for Polka Dots.
Were you here for that? No. What year was Polka Dots?
Like three years ago, right? Yeah, it was three years ago.
And I got called in.
'cause my reputation as a cosmetologist. Yeah.
And they're like, can you please help us with wigs?
We have 30 wigs that need to be cut and styled.
It was Tuesday of tech wig.
And so that is how I 30 wigs. 30.
30 blue wigs.
One wait, 29 blue wigs, one purple wig, right? Yep.
Because it's the Ruby Bridges story. Okay.
And so there's one girl that is a
Polka dot.
That's a dot. And then the rest are squares. Okay.
So, So it's about race, but it is
Nuts.
At the same time, color and shape was used. And Yes. So Oak,
The drinking fountain is very
Prevalent in the story.
Yes, it is. Yeah. It was such a cute
in the parish. Very interesting.
Oh my God, That was great.
So Oakley and then that was it.
And then I decided to do like audition for Hunchback and,
and I did not get cast, but that's okay.
Actually, Mike Artis, who was directing the show, talked
to Anthony and said, she's a great dancer.
I think she might be a good choreographer.
And then that's how
I ended up on the choreographer
side of things. And And what
Did you choreograph?
So my first show was Forever Plaid.
The Carver. Okay. Okay. It
Was And Cody was In that Cody, yes.
Cody was in that. And so was Matt. So was Matt. So was Matt.
Oh my. And one of the best experience,
literally to this day.
The whole entire company. Everybody. Yeah. It was magical.
Awesome. It was magical.
Awesome. How did you come to the Civic?
So I was in Newsies and kind of got by that theater bug
and really loved the group.
And then they were hiring for a box office associate.
And so I applied for that job
and got that in the February of, oh God, what year was that?
2024. 2024. Just
2024.
No, no, it had to be 2020.
2023. Yeah, 2023. Yeah.
Was when Hunchback was, it was May of 2023. Okay. Now, yeah.
Yeah. It took me a second. Wow.
And so I was working in the box office
and then in January of 2024, the job came available
for the audience engagement manager.
And so that's what my job is now.
So I went from the box office to that.
Nice. And kind of have been there since. Yeah.
And you're still doing shows.
And I'm still doing shows. That is wonderful.
I tried to do at least one a season this year.
Hopefully two. We'll see the producers, he auditioned. Yeah.
The producers auditions happen. So we shall see. Yep. Yeah.
And you auditioned. I did audition. Yep.
So we will see. Yeah. There's supposed
to be a callback list sometime today. So
It's probably today. It
Probably is. It probably is. But
You got the callback.
You got It. We hope. We hope. We hope.
Look at that face. Did you audition?
I did not because I held true.
I said I was gonna take time off member after Annie. Yes.
And you went four shows in a three shows in a row.
Yeah. I mean I, you know,
and then when you do an opener,
you start in the summer, you know, for Kama.
And, but I have held through and I've taken my time off
and I'll be ready to get back into it in May. Good, good.
Yeah. Now I could talk about the Civic forever. Yes.
But, and I will get back to the Civic. Yes. No, no, no.
I'm gonna talk about the Civic a little bit.
What do you really love about this Civic?
I know my experience with the Civic is,
has been really, really good.
For one thing, I get to meet great people like you guys.
And every time I'm in a show, I meet more people
for more relationships and,
and it's always just expanding my world, I think.
And I get the opportunity at my age to get back on stage.
Yes. To do something that I really, really love.
That I feel like I'm connecting with the audience and,
and that energy exchange on the stage,
there's just nothing like it.
I'm messing up, Christopher's looking
at me like, what are you doing?
What happen? That is not the step.
I'm like, oh, you're right. Want me get back on here.
We're tripping upstairs with packages.
Can't turn on the line. Cancer.
Yeah. I can't find the bug.
Nobody knows. But at least I hope nobody knows.
When did you really fall in love?
When I was doing Newsies, I fell in love
and then kind of was volunteering and helping usher shows.
And it's a great way to get meet new volunteers as well.
'cause you'll see people that don't necessarily do things on
stage, but they'll usher every show.
So yeah. Got to meet those people.
And then kind of just kept chugging along
and really loved it since
even working there, I still love it.
Are there days where I'm like, every job?
Yes, of course, of course. Yeah. Every, every place. Yeah.
But it's nice to have a creative space as well,
where you get to do what you love
and then also have people that are also like-minded
and love what they're doing as well.
Katie, I mean, I just wanted to get on that stage.
I do like behind the, the scenes. Yeah. Yeah.
Which is very important.
So the first show I actually made was Big Fish.
The season opener for 20, 24. 23, 3. I don't even,
Because it was after Hunchback.
I mean, yeah. And,
and once you're on that stage, you know, you know,
and it just like, Ugh,
I wanna do it again and again and again.
Oh yeah. Yeah. And it just is the relationships you formed.
Yeah. They're family.
You know, I would say like one
of my closest friends is Sarah Aiello.
And I met her on Big Fish, one of our icebreakers.
It was our first rehearsal.
We had to sit back to back with someone we didn't know.
Yeah. This was Shannon Hill, who was our director, did this.
So it was Aiello and I who sat back to back.
Isn't that funny? So when I look back at that, yeah.
We didn't know each other. Yeah. We knew of
'cause you just kind of do in the community.
Yeah. And to be now
and just how much we progressed or develop.
And then you and I, we would always say hi to each other.
Yeah. Yeah. But to be in a show with you
In a show, there's nothing like
It.
There was nothing like, it was just always magical.
But it was like that much more, you know?
And then, I mean, Topher is family.
He is part of our family.
How far you've been calling him? I've heard you. I know.
Wait, wait a minute. We, we would be backstage
and you say Topher, I'm like,
Who is to, who is it?
Who is this? Topher. I know.
And I finally got it tonight.
Yeah. Just now, Right Christopher? Yes. Yes. Topher.
Well that's so cute. Well, and
I think, does anybody else call you that?
Well now people have, but I know it it,
people always ask me, do you want,
what do you prefer to go by?
Like, Chris, Christopher, what do you like?
And I said, I don't really care.
And then I was telling a story one night at dinner
that I had a teacher, 'cause my mom was very particular
that I had to be Christopher and everything.
And so I had a teacher her,
she could never remember to say Christopher.
She'd always call me Chris. So she
ended up calling me Topher.
Oh, I see. So that's, that's what ended up like ended up.
Yeah. Yeah. Because I used
to call Christopher in high school, Topher.
Oh. And that's the first time I had heard
it when he told me.
And I said, wait a minute. And so it's been to another
One of those moments.
But we were in Cinderella together
where we had a Prince Topher.
So that was funny. That was real fun.
When they're like, which Topher?
And I'm like, obviously this one I would call Peter. Peter.
Yes.
So when did you guys really connect?
We met through Wendy. We did Wendy Wheeler
During, what was that? Big fish.
Oh, it was Big fish. Well, well like we met, we met
Before that.
But like, yeah, it was during Big Fish
And it was instantaneous.
Yeah, for sure. I mean it was just right away.
And I mean, I can't imagine life without you. That's crazy.
That's crazy to even think that there was a time. Yeah.
I mean he is, he's part, like I said, part of our family.
He came to spend the holidays with us.
My in-laws, which is actually funny story. Oh lord. I know.
So he came to Jake's graduation this last May.
And my in-laws were there.
John and Susan And John taught at Wheaton.
Well, Topher went to
Wheaton. He was the gym teacher.
So we're talking about No, no, I
Know this is Okay. And Downers.
Yeah. They live in Downers.
Grove Shields. Yeah.
So there's And and Topher goes, wait,
I was there the time you were a PE teacher.
Like they literally, did you have him as a PE teacher?
I can't remember. I don't know for sure. Okay.
I can't remember. It was a long time ago.
He PE would've been middle. Yeah.
It would've been his middle school years. Wheaton.
And now my nephew goes to Wheaton.
Like went to Wheaton. Yeah. No, yeah, he does. Yeah.
Wheaton. I mean everything is like I know.
That's why I say like, you know, as much as you
wanna create your own path, things are laid out for you.
Things are there.
We were talking before the show started about
there are are the dimensions.
I believe now those are, you don't have to believe it.
I'm not pushing anything on anyone.
But I so believe that there are dimensions beyond
our understanding that exists.
Science might know about it, might not know about it.
They say we have five senses.
I believe we have several additional senses.
And you were telling me about one story. Yeah.
When you were in a car accident.
Can you just say that again because Yes.
I really want people to think outside the box.
Christopher, have you had some experiences like this?
Please share a couple of doors.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean I was 16, my birthday's January 15th.
And so I'm always, you know,
I went right into a blizzard when I drove
and I remember us coming back from
a guy's playoff soccer game for our high school.
A friend was following me home.
I went to turn left and got into a head on collision.
And my friend wasn't in my car, she was behind me
as my friend because there were no cell phones at this time.
Early nineties. My friend went to go use a house phone
to call my parents.
There was a gentleman with a yellow shirt on
who was keeping me calm
and saying everything's gonna be okay.
And really just instead of the freak out and go into shock,
'cause I broke, you know, a couple bones.
He kept me calm until my parents,
who luckily were just down the street.
So we were almost home. And then I was telling my friend,
thank God for that guy in the yellow shirt, you know?
And she goes, what guy in the yellow shirt?
There was no guy in the yellow shirt.
And it's like, you know, it's like that dream
how you can kind of Yeah, I can still picture him.
Yeah. Yeah. But I can't picture a face. Oh,
And energy came to you and I believe an angel
Came to you.
I do too. I do too.
It was an angel that was there right on the spot giving
you exactly what
You needed.
Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
Oh, and then there was something when you were in
Yeah, so then of course I, yeah.
Oh, Savannah. No, no, no. Go go with that one.
I was just gonna finish this one. So then I obviously had
to go, I actually got taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Yes. And I was getting X-rays
and they were like, Cynthia, you have to stay straight.
And I'm like, you know, obviously car accident shock.
And I'm like, wait, my name's not Cynthia.
Come to find out the lady that I hit. Her name is Cynthia.
So it just like, again, with all the alignment with that.
And you know, honestly I was,
I was raised believing in spirituality.
You know, I, if you're Lutheran, if you're, no matter
what religion, you know, you kind of take that spirituality.
So I do believe in like the angel that was there
and spirits and that.
Yes. That leads me to Savannah.
I have, I have a picture of a full body apparition
happened in one of the squares.
Over 200 bodies were buried.
We actually found that out the next day.
We did a segue tour. So we told the guy,
and we showed him the picture of the ghosts
that I showed you, which was a full body apparition
of a soldier.
Yes. The guy confirmed. Oh yeah. That lines right up.
And then we looked at the uniform,
everything lined up with it.
And so the energy is in that type of town where there's
so much tragedy and so much energy. Yeah,
So much energy.
The energy does not die. Yeah.
So when people talk about death, I'm like,
ah, it's a transition.
Yeah, it's transition. Because energies do not die.
Isn't that what the Einstein said?
It's energy cannot be born, does not die,
it just changes form.
Right, right. Oh, I was in, I was in Africa
and we went to the, I was in Ghana, we went down
to Cape Coast and where the slaves were held
until they were taken on the put on the boat.
And we were standing in,
in the ladies holding the women's holding cell.
And the energies were so strong in there, I could feel them
trying to communicate.
And I just started crying and it was like,
Have to get, it became visceral. It was,
Yeah.
It was. Oh my gosh. It was something. But what's your story,
Christopher?
So my ex-husband
and I, he, his really good friend Sarah, when we moved
to Kalamazoo, we, it was great to be with her.
She had been diagnosed with cancer,
breast cancer stage three at the time.
She ended up like beating it and then it came back.
So in 2022 in March,
her mom had passed away and she asked Chucky
and I, I, if we would be interested in living with her.
She was, she was lonely and wanted some people there.
And just also, I think it was good for us.
We were living with his parents still.
And it was probably, we had been there a little too long in
my opinion, at that point it was time to move out.
So we lived with her and she ended up getting cancer again.
So we were there to take care
of her and she became very Right.
We, we became very close as well.
And when she passed away, she did leave us her house.
And so there would be times when I was in the house
that I could smell her hairspray by the front door
where she would be, the cats would go there all the time.
So I knew she was there. Yes.
And then I, there are times now where she,
where I'll be at the Civic
and in places where like I've been with her
and like I just kind
of just know she's there in some way or another.
It's weird. Yeah, I know. Yeah.
It's really, really, it's really bizarre. Yeah.
But she's always kind of still around and Yeah,
She's with you.
She's with you comforting and cheering you on
and letting you know everything is all right. So
Yeah, when you were sharing
that story about just like walking down
to the, like the where the slaves were brought in
to the ships when I was in New York
with my friend Anastasia in May of last year.
She and I, when we crossed the,
the right before where Oh my gosh.
The twin Towers would've been Yeah. Oh my gosh.
Like we just both started crying
and just like, you could just feel that heaviness around it.
It was just Oh, kind of crazy. Yeah.
To think that there were so many people that were there
and now are no longer.
Yeah. And two giant towers that are just no longer there and
Attached to that Yeah.
Area. That's, yeah.
Was there ever a per,
how do I say this there, there needs to be,
well not there needs to be,
but can you see
a healing, a ceremony of some type
to release the spirits?
Yeah. To say it's okay.
I know when my brother passed, I had him,
he was in hospice at my house until he passed.
And sometimes he would be in such pain
that he would just scream and I would just release.
I just wish he could just relax. God just let go.
And finally he did. And it was so beautiful.
All of the family had come up.
My son from, from southern Illinois, my nephews, his, his,
the, the woman that he really loved, he had his son by
and he was there, my son was there
and all of the family was just around him.
And, and he, you could tell by the look on his face
that he had his peace, he had come,
Had come. Yeah,
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And his soul was ready
and that night he made his transition.
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
Yeah.
That peace. And I think like that's something
I know when my grand, I was very close with my grandma
and grandpa o Brian, my dad's parents
and my grandma.
My grandpa passed first
and my grandma had Alzheimer's really bad.
But I came back, I was living in Florida
and I was doing her hair and makeup for the funeral.
And she became lucid.
She looked at me and all
of a sudden like knew why I was doing her hair
and her makeup and everything, and gave me a look
and, and had sadness.
And it was that one second our
eyes met in the mirror, right.
'cause I'm standing. Yeah.
And, and then just like that she was gone again.
And a jovial child.
She was a very happy person with Alzheimer's.
But it was like that, it was like that touch
of reality right there.
And when my grandfather was passing away, he said,
tell Katie not to worry about things.
It will be okay. And at the time I was living in Florida,
I had, you know, some things like young twenties as you do.
And that just message, just as he was passing away to know
that and, and that little Remi like just even talking about
it right now, it's been so long since I thought about that,
you know, but the comfort, yes.
That brings the eye contact I got with my grandma.
That was lucid at that point.
That's the stuff I think you just, you take with you
and you have to remind yourself. Yeah.
Connection. Connection.
We were talking about connections
and you guys were talking about, we have a few minutes left,
but I want to get to the importance
of human connection.
Our children are losing that
with probably not your children. Oh they are.
They're in there with cell
Phones online.
The human connection.
You might have some, but it's just not as important.
You guys were just connecting in New York,
That boy did we connect. I can see
That there were memories.
You guys just looked at each other
and I saw mom is just flashing between you.
I mean, what Was that like?
I think when you're, especially this age
and you're middle aged, not you yet,
but you hang out with the Middle Ages
and you can find a core group that you're able
to leave town with.
You know, it's one thing going to dinners
and doing things here, but be with someone four to five days
and still belly laugh on the last day as you're flying home.
That is something that you need to cherish.
And those are the friendships that you invest in.
And when I say like New York also,
we have our very own travel agent.
I mean we're like, Topher, we're going to New York.
And he is like, okay, big B,
he had everything like planned out, done and done.
We have to show up. He booked our shows.
He's, he's wonderful. I mean that's why we break.
No, I'm just kidding. But, but I mean, it just is,
and again, it's like a family thing, you know, without
the trauma of the family, without the drama.
Yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
Yeah.
Wonderful. We went to see, I saw nine shows when
We were there.
Nine shows How many days?
How many days? We were there for four or five nights.
Thursday ending up
through Tuesday because we had to. Yeah,
We were were there during Snowmageddon. Oh
Boy. Yeah. That was fun.
Or the storm of the century. Storm
Of the century.
We saw rag time when we were there.
We saw, which was phenomenal.
And then we did see the Phantoms masquerade.
And if you have not heard of this,
it is an immersive phantom
and it is the most incredible thing I've ever seen.
Oh my God. So much so We went again. We saw it twice
The most in incredible.
I gotta go to New York. Here's the thing.
Tell every single everything.
Yeah, but have, I mean, when you, here's the thing
with immersion theater,
because we're on stage, we get immersed.
So, so we've, we've done a
show, we've done costume, you know.
Yeah. Being on stage. But when you go watch a
show and you watch it, you're great.
This brought you into the show. You were part of the show.
In fact, they would hand you props.
They would hand you held onto Christine's dress.
At one point, Ashley, our friend, got taken
to the other room, into the phantom's bedroom
and seated next to his bed.
Like it was so intimate. You're wearing masks. Oh my gosh.
Yeah. And you're looking around
And there's a dress code. So
Like there's a dress code.
Yeah. I, if you get the opportunity,
I'm gonna tell everybody, if you have the
opportunity, go see it.
Okay. Roddy. Yeah. My God. That was, yeah. It was amazing.
And then Hades Town. That
Was very good.
I saw Hades Town here,
but I can imagine. I can only imagine.
I mean, there's no per, oh my God. Let's see.
Yeah, that's what I, who said Persephone again?
I'm telling Marvinetta.
Oh, she'd be phenomenal.
Oh, she'd be a phenomenal vicious Hermes as well.
Oh my gosh. Let's, Anthony,
let's do Hades tone. Oh my God. Don't
Tell Anthony.
Anthony.
Okay. Stop. Marvinetta. I'm gonna be
Horrible because Haiti, when I saw Hayestown here,
just the traveling show. I was like,
That, that music, oh, that's that store.
I cleaned the house to that music.
When the chant comes on, I'm like, okay, let's go. You know?
I, I mean, it is beautiful.
So, yeah, you got so that in New York we did.
Well, there's a story. Okay. What a surprise. Yes.
So we realized that we had to cancel our flight.
'cause Delta was basically like, this is Saturday.
This storm is coming
Sunday, all flights are gonna be canceled.
So we decided to cancel our hotel, had our same rooms.
It was, it worked out again, you know,
just Synchron. We'll take it
Ity. That's right.
So toasts like, okay. Should we book another show?
I hadn't seen Book A Mormon
and Ashley hasn't seen Book A Mormon.
Yep. Amy. And you did. Yep.
And we got Book A Mormon tickets. So we go, we show up.
There's a line like, this is weird.
20 minutes before the curtain, we're like,
this is weird. Show
Canceled minutes.
Because all these shows are canceling, show canceled.
We look, here's another serendipitous. Yeah.
We look across the street.
There's Haiti Town, Haiti's Town Theater.
I had literally just said to Amy the night
before, I wish you could, it's such an experience.
I looked, now Boca Mormon starts at two Hades Town,
which had available tickets started at three.
So it's like, we ended up going to Hades Town,
the most amazing experience.
Get outta Haes, Hades town.
Topher bought us and Juliet tickets for Christmas.
And Juliet gets canceled.
I was so sad. So
I said, what are the chances
that they would mark down the phantom tickets?
'cause it's a steeper one. Yeah.
So I go on, they were marked down a tad.
Yeah, they were the
Christmas and I, and they were still having shows.
Everything else is canceled. Everything is canceled.
I said, let's you think we can do it now.
We had to run back, change into our either black, silver
or white, put our masks on.
We went a second time,
but it was just like one
of those moments when something closes, another
Door opens. Let's go.
Oh, let let, Yeah. Oh, wait, okay.
I have, I have less than three minutes.
I know what is on the horizon.
You can't talk about it. No, no, no, no, no.
Not for this today. Oh, for you personally.
What is on your horizon? What's your moonshot?
Hmm. More travel.
Done and done. Where you wanna go?
What's, what's your dream location?
Oh, I would love to see Japan.
I'd also like to go to Vietnam.
Mm Yeah. To see Vietnam. Yes.
Yeah. Nice, Nice. Egypt as well. But it's not safe.
But I would love to go to Egypt as well.
Things are changing. This is true.
So, cool, cool, cool.
And do you see yourself still being at the Civic?
Maybe being the Ed one day
Executive director would be very cool.
I actually would like to be the artistic director
If I Being honest.
But Anthony's not going anywhere,
so I gotta wait a little bit.
No kidding. You'll never know.
He'll be back on Broadway in Sunday. He'll,
He'll be on Broadway when He'll be
directing on Broadway soon.
Yeah. Oh boy. Moonshot speed.
Army. Travel, travel. Travel.
I'm actually, I have a great trip coming up.
I'm going to Marrakesh with two of my besties.
One of my besties is turning 50.
And this is what she wanted to do. Yeah.
So we're gonna go to Marrakesh.
We're gonna do spend one night in Paris, fly to Marakesh,
and then tag back in Paris and fly home.
So I'm excited for that one.
And then Topher, Oakley
and I have a big trip coming up in July.
So we're gonna fly to London first.
Stay about five days in London.
Go see some Joe's. Go see. Oh yes. Paddington.
I mean, I'll see just for you. Well, you're gonna he, yeah.
No, nothing like theater in London.
Oh, west End and the west Side. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And
The tickets are cheaper.
America. We got some issues.
Yeah. The houses are really nice. They are small into get
The AC pumping.
No, but, and then we are,
and then we're gonna do Disneyland.
Paris and Paris. We're gonna do Bastille Day in Paris.
So my best friend was born in France.
She's the one that lives in Miami. Yeah.
I have a couple of best friends. You know everyone. Yeah.
But she will be in Paris the same time we're there too.
So it's just like, yeah. Again, we're staying in
A part of a castle or something.
It's like insane. Yeah. Like it's just gonna
Be Love it, love it, love it.
Yeah. I have to have a conversation with you after.
'cause I'm traveling a lot. And so yes.
This has been an incredible show.
I enjoyed every minute of hearing your stories.
Thank you so much for just opening,
being authentic, sharing,
going there wherever I wanted to go.
Having fun.
Reminding me of the magic, not only
of theater, but the magic.
The magic of life being present in the moment, being open
to whatever.
And just, I like being a blank sheet of paper
and just letting the experience fill it up.
Yes. Thank you for being who you are,
and thank you for tuning in.
Remember, get to know somebody's story and share your story.
The good, the bad there is no bad. It's all good.
Till next time, all stories matter. Bye-bye.
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