S4E2: Skye Cone Ivey
In this episode, Hayley and Amy talk with arts administrator and producer Skye Cone Ivey about values-first producing, making space for people who have been excluded, advocating for mental health and women’s health, and more. Scroll down for episode notes and transcript!
Episode Notes
Hosts: Hayley Goldenberg and Amy Andrews
Guest: Skye Cone Ivey
Music: Chloe Geller
Episode Resources:
National Alliance for Musical Theatre
More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth
Period Power: Harness Your Hormones and Get Your Cycle Working For You by Maisie Hill
National Alliance on Mental Illness Support Groups
Guest Bio:
Skye Cone Ivey (she/ella) is a Latina, feminist and changemaker based in NYC. She is the New Works Associate and a Festival Producer for the Annual Festival of New Musicals at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. Skye is originally from St. Petersburg, Florida and has been living in NYC since receiving a BFA in Stage Management from the University of Cincinnati College - Conservatory of Music (CCM). Selected regional stage management credits include: Cincinnati Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Theatre Now New York and the Prototype Festival. Skye also works as a wedding planner and a mental health advocate with the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Find Skye Online:
Thanks for listening!
Who do you want to hear from next on the Women & Theatre Podcast? Nominate someone here.
The Women & Theatre Podcast is created and produced by Hayley Goldenberg and Amy Andrews. Please like, comment, subscribe, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and consider making a donation to support our work. Thank you for listening!
Episode Transcript
(Music)
Hayley: Hello beautiful people, and welcome back to the Women & Theatre Podcast! We’re your hosts, Hayley Goldenberg…
Amy: …and Amy Andrews. Grab a cozy beverage and join us as we talk to women and gender-expansive folks about their experiences at the intersection of womanhood and theatre.
Hayley: On the pod, we cultivate open conversations across identities and professional roles…
Amy: We look for opportunities to support one another in growing our careers…
Hayley: And we pool our collective wisdom to build the equitable theatrical spaces of the future.
(Music)
Hayley: Hello beautiful people! Before we get rolling, Amy and I are having a little chit-chat and hanging out. So, Amy, how are you?
Amy: I'm doing okay. I want to acknowledge that it is a gray rainy day here in New York City, and that brings my energy down, but we're gonna have a super fun call anyway. How are you doing today?
Hayley: I'm good. I'm recovering from illness, as you know. I have been down for the count this week and sounding like I smoked several packs of cigarettes. But I'm doing better today.
Amy: Shall we do some roses and thorns before we get started?
Hayley: Yes. Summer camp girl hour.
Amy: (laughs) Summer camp girl hour. Hayley, give me your rose and your thorn for this week.
Hayley: My thorn was definitely being ill. I hate being sick and like, just having such low energy was a bummer. Especially because it's the summer.
Amy: Yeah, summer sick is the worst sick.
Hayley: It's so annoying and it's like, it's just, it's, it's a thing. So that was my thorn for this week. But my rose actually hasn't happened yet. I'm going to see Lizzy McAlpine tonight with my BFF Emma for her birthday. Her birthday's actually not for a couple more weeks, but we both love Lizzy, and so I bought these tickets forever ago. And so we're gonna go out to dinner tonight, and we're gonna go see the concert - yeah, so those are my roses and thorns.
Amy, can you tell me about your roses and thorns?
Amy: Yeah, so my rose is I went to ballet class this morning, and it was fabulous. This summer has been my rediscovery of ballet. I last did ballet regularly probably 12 or 13 years ago. And this summer, I started going to ballet class twice a week at Steps in the city. And it is fabulous. Like, I just love it so much. And I'm just like, “What have I been doing for the last 12 years not doing ballet?” But it's back in my life, and it's here to stay, and I'm psyched about it. And that's my rose for today.
My thorn for the week, it's just some J-O-B nonsense. It's just people treating people not great and me just having to watch it from the side and see it all unfold and say, “Hmm, you probably shouldn't be treating people that way.” And also, here I am to make money. You know, these are the things we come across as adults, and it’s no fun.
Hayley: No, no fun at all. Well, we're gonna have some fun now with Skye. We're so excited to be interviewing Skye Cone Ivy, who's one of my fave gals in the theatre industry.
Amy: I'm very excited for this interview today. I've been hearing from you a lot of great things about Skye, and I've met her in passing, but I'm really excited to spend some quality time with her today.
Amy: Skye Cone Ivey (she/ella) is a Latina, feminist and changemaker based in NYC. She is the New Works Associate and a Festival Producer for the Annual Festival of New Musicals at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. Skye is originally from St. Petersburg, Florida and has been living in NYC since receiving a BFA in Stage Management from the University of Cincinnati College - Conservatory of Music (CCM). Selected regional stage management credits include: Cincinnati Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Theatre Now New York and the Prototype Festival. Skye also works as a wedding planner and a mental health advocate with the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Hayley: Hello, hello, beautiful people. I'm sure you can hear it in my voice, but I'm so excited for this interview, because today we have Skye Cone Ivey on the podcast. So, Skye, welcome to Women & Theatre. We're so, so grateful to have you. Before we get rolling, could you share your pronouns and tell us a little bit about what you do in theatre?
Skye: Yeah. Hi everyone. I’m Skye Cone Ivey. I use she y ella pronouns. And I work in arts administration and I'm a producer.
Amy: Can you tell us something that's inspiring you right now in your life?
Skye: Ooh. I feel like I have a few specific things. I think…sort of this girly pop moment we're living in and how that is spanning from pop music, like Chappell Roan, and then sort of like moving into politics and going across pop culture. Kamala Harris is an exciting politician, but also like…this pop culture moment, all of that has been very fun and is inspiring me sort of in this idea of like being a girly-girl and being yourself and bringing all of your feminine energy to something, and I think we're having an exciting moment for that right now for girlhood in general. Yeah.
Amy: Yes! And the power in that.
Skye: Yeah. It’s exciting and inspiring.
Hayley: So one of our new segments this season, which is really fun, is our little flash round of questions. So this is like…you just say the first thing that comes to your mind. It is not like an overthink-y thing. So I'm gonna start you off with: If you were an animal, what would you be?
Skye: Flamingo is the first that comes to mind.
Amy: Yes!
Hayley: I love it.
Amy: What's your weirdest hobby?
Skye: Oh, I watch so much TV. I don't know how weird that is. I watch a lot of TV. I love TV.
Hayley: What quote or mantra is speaking to you right now?
Skye: Okay, I actually have one that I specifically had saved that I wanted to bring up. So it was Meghan Markle's birthday this week, and I saw this quote I shared on my Instagram story: “Women don't need to find their voice. They need to feel empowered to use it, and people need to be encouraged to listen.”
Hayley: That's a good one.
Amy: Here's a little one, what's your favorite musical?
Skye: My favorite musical…I think like going back, always and forever, will be Wicked. That was sort of what gave me the first bug.
Hayley: She said girlhood with that answer and I love it.
Skye: (Laughing) I did say girlhood.
Hayley: What's your song of the moment, Skye?
Skye: Well, Chappell Roan forever, but “My Days” from The Notebook, Joy Woods. It's like, on repeat all the time.
Hayley: Okay, thank you for playing along with our flash round!
Amy: Let’s get started. So, Skye, can you just tell us a bit about your journey? How did you come to theatre and the work that you do in theatre?
Skye: Yeah, so I grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, and have loved theatre from an early age. My mom took me to see everything. We would always see the Broadway seasons at whatever touring space. I saw Les Mis, I think, when I was five. I grew up playing the piano. I was always interested in all of it.
I said my favorite musical, always and forever, will be Wicked. I remember seeing Elphaba fly and being like, “I need to be her” or “I need to be the person that makes her fly”, or… I gotta be a part of this. So I grew up in Florida, moved to Las Vegas right before high school. My family moved. And I went to a performing arts high school there.
And then [it was] sort of like the classic story. I was performing. I auditioned for the first group of shows for the season, did not get cast and was like… ”Well, I'm here to learn. I want to be a part of it. I have to work on this in some way.”
So I was able to work props and wardrobe and do different things and kind of started to see like…”Oh, what are the stage managers doing over there? I see what they're doing. I'm very interested.”
So I started doing work as a production assistant. [And I] started doing stage management in high school – calling musicals and dance recitals and things at 16 years old, which like…blows my mind to think about now.
Then I got my BFA in stage management from CCM. [I] really loved being there. It was a super hands-on program and I got to work with a lot of amazing people and learn a lot. And then [I] worked as an ASM in opera for several years. So while I was in school, I interned for Cincinnati Opera and then they gave me my first professional stage management contract after I graduated, which was really exciting. So I was an ASM there for several seasons.
And then around the time of the pandemic, a little bit before, I was looking for something else, searching for something else. I love stage management, and I think it's always something I could go back to. But I'm happy that that is sort of a closed chapter for me at this moment. It was something I really loved for a long time. And then just started kinda not working for me anymore. I was just searching for something different. So I kind of stepped away from theatre a little bit. I worked for a wedding planner for a while, I worked in fashion, I worked in other, you know, areas– kind of trying to find how I could use all of these skills that I had and apply them to different things.
I also wanted a job where I wasn't gonna be a freelance stage manager anymore. [I] really wanted to like…go into the office every day and just feel a little more stable. So that is sort of how I ended up at NAMT. I was a stage manager for two presentations in the NAMT festival in 2021, and then soon after that, a full-time position on the team opened up. So I kind of jumped at the chance. And then a lot of my role has changed quite a bit in the last like two-ish years that I've been at NAMT. But it was like the perfect timing for where I was. Yeah.
Hayley: For our listeners who might not know about what NAMT is, do you mind just telling them a little bit about what it is?
Skye: Yeah. So I am currently the New Works Associate at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, or NAMT, as we call it. So NAMT is a membership services organization, and our primary mission is to further musical theatre. And our main way that we do this is through programs that are connecting writers and producers. So our largest new works program each year is the Festival of New Musicals, where we present 45-minute cuts of eight new musicals to a large industry audience, and then start making connections between writers and regional theatres, commercial producers, etc., to have their shows continue to be developed.
Hayley: Could you tell us a little bit about the creative work that you're doing right now?
Skye: Yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah. So right now at NAMT, we are gearing up for the Festival of New Musicals. So a lot of the work I'm doing is in preparation for that - forming creative teams, talking to writers as they build their 45-minute cut, being supportive in all ways, as all of the humans that are going to make the festival happen…as all of those humans are coming together. Just supporting them and facilitating that process is kind of my main focus at the moment. Other creative projects outside of NAMT...I worked on a concert called Hot Girls Write Musicals with Hayley Goldenberg & Julia Sonya Koyfman.
Hayley: (Laughing) Who’s that??
Skye: (Laughing) Yeah, who's that?
Amy: I was there. It was fabulous!
Hayley: Thank you, Amy.
Skye: Hot Girls Write Musicals was at Green Room 42 this May, and it was a collection of work by the words duo, Hayley and Julia. It was such an incredible experience for me. It was my first solo producing experience, and I had a fabulous time. It was very much the [idea of] doing it scared and taking the next step and being sure in my decisions and being strong and wrong and just going for it.
Hayley: More like strong and right most times, listeners.
Skye: I was going to say– yeah, that's fair. I don't know that I got things wrong, but sort of doing it, being scared and being like, “if it's going to be wrong, I'm going to make a choice and it's going to be wrong and I'm going to stick to my decision.” And being unafraid to kind of make mistakes.
Amy: Good for you. That's hard.
Skye: Thanks! Yeah, there are things that I learned that I would do differently next time…but I think overall, like, really learning to trust my instincts and be like, “Yeah, I have been working on these skills for a long time.” And to feel confident in, like…this is a scary thing because I've never done it before, but I know I can do it. I had people there to support me. That was such a huge part of this experience…was the way that Hayley, Julia, and I could support each other through all of it. It was a new experience for all of us.
Finding collaborators that you're like…unafraid to be vulnerable with… [Who you can be] like, “I'm doing this for the first time. This is what I think we should do. I could be wrong, I could get it wrong, you know.” And knowing that if I had ever led us astray, that you all would be there to sort of help me along the way…and I think we helped each other a lot. That was pretty cool.
Hayley: I agree. Skye is just such a dream to work with in this capacity. I think our team worked really well together. But to be with a guiding light as a producer who really understands what is needed creatively…and like, her values come first, which for me is so important and like I feel like it's really special to find. She is delivering super, super high quality in terms of the product, like her standards are really high. She has a high standard for excellence, which I really, really respect. And also simultaneously would never sacrifice her values to achieve that. The values are also at a very, very high standard. And I just love that so much about her.
She really walks the walk when it comes to intersectional feminism and supporting women. I just can't say that enough, so, because you're on my podcast, I'm taking the opportunity to tell everyone how much I love you and how great you are.
Skye: (Laughing) Thank you.
Amy: Yay.
Skye: Love you.
Amy: Love that.
Hayley: Love all around.
Amy: Love all around.
Skye: For sure.
(Musical transition)
Amy: Skye, I want to hear more about your values as a producer and how they inform your work and whether they perhaps play into a creative mission overarching of what you're trying to do with your work.
Skye: Yeah, definitely. I think my values are like, women-focused, people of color-focused, being intersectional and inclusive. Currently, in the capacity that I'm working in as a producer now, so much of that is like supporting the artist's vision and creating the space for people that maybe haven't always been given that space to take the space and be able to speak about their art and showcase their art in an excellent way. That's really important to me. I am a values-first person in life, and so that extends into my art and the way that I want to make art and collaborate with people. Yeah.
Hayley: Yeah, Skye, you talked about your work being women-forward. Could you talk a little bit more about how your identity and womanhood in general fit into your theatrical work?
Skye: Good question. It's so much of who I am. Being a woman, being a Latina, being a feminist is just so ingrained in my everyday, how I move through the world, that I sort of don't know any other way. So I think like…I am passionate about making good and exciting theatre. And I'm also passionate about including people in spaces that are usually excluded. And I just kind of can't think about it any other way.
Hayley: Yeah, it shows.
Amy: Can tell us a little bit about intersectional feminism and what it means to you in your work?
Skye: Yeah! I think to me, intersectional feminism is the idea that everybody deserves the same equal rights and equality and equity. And equality and equity are two different things. In the spaces I’m in, I think creating more space for those that have not been given that chance before. That, to me, is an equity piece of it. So, it's giving more time and more energy and more space because certain people have not been given that time and energy and space before. So then putting resources to that, I think is important.
Another big part with intersectional feminism is not just, like– we've spoken a lot about women, I think, in general – but then it's also making sure to be clear and direct that, for me, that means trans women, that means gender-expansive people, that means Black women, that means people of color, that means everyone. [That] is also very important to me. And so then also with that, like, sometimes my intersectional feminism will choose to create more space for a man of color before it would a woman, because that too is part of this intersectional feminism to me, of creating space for people that have been excluded before.
I think that is really what it comes down to for me. That is what I feel like, in the position I am in at this moment in my life and my career, that is sort of how I can actively do that.
Hayley: I want to ask you: Could you talk about mental health? Because I know you're such a big mental health advocate. Why you're passionate about it and what you hope to bring to the table as an arts administrator and producer with that mental health advocate hat as well.
Skye: Yeah, definitely. I've been on a long journey with my own mental health. So it's something that has always been very important to me personally. And then very quickly, that sort of turned to advocacy. Mental illnesses in general can be so isolating. And for me, it was always about, if I could make just one person feel less alone in what they were going through, that would be enough for me.
So anytime I'm able to speak about my journey to make someone else feel that they are not alone in their journey…it’s really important for me. I've been very lucky. When I first started dealing with mental health issues–with depression and anxiety–I was in high school. And [I] started…really feeling different.
And I remember going to my parents and saying, “I think I need to see somebody. I think I need to talk to somebody about this.” And they said okay, and they took me to a therapist and we started talking about it. And that was - like, when I asked for help, they said, “Okay, we'll get you help.” And that was huge. I think I've always known that I can ask for help. And that is really a testament to my parents being so willing to listen to me when I asked for it.
Hayley: Yeah, that's huge for sure.
Skye: It was huge.
Amy: Well, and teaching you how to ask for it. ‘Cause that's hard!
Skye: Yes,
Amy: A lot of kids can't do that.
Skye: It is. Because it's scary. I think I knew that would be my parents’ reaction, so it wasn't as scary for me. But again, so much of it is you're thinking, “I must be the only person that's ever felt this way, and so how can I communicate to somebody else what I'm feeling if they've never felt this way?”
Knowing that that's not actually the case, more people than you think are dealing with this at any given moment…My parents are incredible and always told me to use my voice and ask for what I needed and speak up for myself. And they raised a very confident girl and I've always been that way. And so I knew I could ask them for help when I needed it. And so I was given access to therapy from an early age. I've been in therapy, on and off, for over a decade.
I think access to therapy is so huge. I think it's one of the biggest downfalls of our society that every human on this planet does not get to go to therapy. That there are people that I love and care about that don't have access to therapy that would like to have that - that really makes me upset. So, like, if you have access to therapy and you're not using it, even if you don't think you're dealing with big mental health stuff, like, you absolutely should go. It is so life-changing. It will only do good things for you. So, if you have access to therapy, you should absolutely go because not everybody is that lucky.
Amy: Yeah...listeners, go find a therapist, go to therapy! We'll drop some resources in the show notes about it.
Skye: Do you think I should talk about PMDD, Hayley?
Hayley: I think it would be really inspiring if you're open to talking about it.
Skye: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I have something called PMDD, which is premenstrual dysphoric disorder. It basically is sort of an exacerbated PMS. So everybody that menstruates experiences some form of premenstrual symptoms, whether it's–you start feeling down, or you feel depressed, or cramps are technically part of PMS symptoms, right?
So PMDD is all of those, but it is much more exacerbated. The 10 to 12 days before your period can be absolutely debilitating with depression and anxiety. So that is what I have. That is a diagnosis that took me a long time to find. PMDD only affects people that menstruate, and because of that, there is less medical research about it. There are fewer treatment options. People seem to care less about an issue that only affects people with uteruses, right? So women's health issues and mental health issues are two categories that do not get as much attention in the medical community as they deserve.
Hayley: Oh yeah. I mean, I was gonna ask you too, Skye, to have a career in theatre, as we all know on this call, to navigate any kind of health issue, it can be really challenging with the long hours and the demands of the business. So I'm curious to hear you chat about the ways in which you manage these things. Cause I think it would be helpful and inspiring to our listeners. Yeah.
Skye: So I would say, the thing that really changed the game for me was knowledge. So once I received my diagnosis… Unfortunately, I had to do a lot of research on my own. I didn't have doctors that were able to guide me in this. So there are other resources I'd be happy to share, but I really had to take it into my own hands and figure it out myself.
So the biggest thing with PMDD is tracking your cycle. A lot of people know you have your menstrual cycle, you have your period. But your cycle is actually what happens to your body all month long, not just during your period. So learning how to track my luteal phase – that is when my PMDD symptoms occur – knowing when that's happening allowed me to really start to change what I do during that time and what I do at other times of the month. They call it cycle syncing – from the food that you eat during certain parts of your cycle to the workouts you're doing – knowing, “Oh, I'm going to be tired during this week.”
One of my physical symptoms with PMDD is major fatigue. So I don't make a lot of plans to see friends. I don't make a lot of plans to go see shows during that time. I make sure I'm at home, in bed at a reasonable hour, and I don't push myself more during that time. So that's an example of one of the things I do.
But learning about all of this led me to be able to actually ask for accommodations at work. So PMDD under the ADA is a disability, and I believe it should be classified as such, I think that's accurate. So I was able to ask for accommodations through work where I have something that we call flex days, where I'm able to take the morning off [or] the afternoon off [or] able to take days off. We have some flexibility to be able to work remotely anyway. But to be able to work from home when I'm not feeling well has really made a huge difference for me overall.
That was not an easy process. There were definitely some bumps in the road. There were some people that were supportive from the get-go and happy to accommodate me in this way and happy to figure out a way to make it work. There were some people that were not as supportive, and that was hard.
Again, I talked about before, mental illnesses are really isolating. I think PMDD is very specifically isolating in a couple of different ways. And it's also just like, a weird disorder to have to speak to people about, because if you think about it, technically, my supervisors know my menstrual cycle, right? So, like, the people in my life that I tell about my menstrual cycle are my bosses and my husband. And that's, like, a little weird, you know? So, being able to, like, not be ashamed of that, though, was huge.
Hayley: Yeah. There's so much stigma around periods and like, talking about this thing that's just a bodily function for us, but there's so much stuff around it. You're really brave for speaking up about it. And also like…I wish that that was not the case, that it wasn't like a brave thing to do. Yeah. Holding space for both of those things - you know, you inspire me, you’re brave, and also you shouldn't have to be brave to talk about this.
Skye: Thank you.
Amy: Yeah. I just want to underline, Skye, that you are really, really, really good at identifying what you need and asking for it. And that sounds like that's something that you've been good at since you were a teenager, which really blows my mind about you, and I just want to celebrate that.
Skye: Yeah, I think it's important. Thank you.
Amy: Yeah! That's like, that's good stuff.
Hayley: Yeah. I think it's important for everyone to know how to ask for what they need, but then also, I wish systemically that you didn't have to go through something like people not responding well, that there was a sort of standard in place that–
Skye: That it was easier.
Amy: Well, right.
Skye: That it’s not something we have to be so loud about.
Amy: Right, because a lot of the time women are socialized to accommodate other people's needs and not to ask for our own needs or expect our own needs to be met. And as you said, in medical spaces a lot of the time, women's needs are ignored or not listened to or like…you're told you're crazy because you have a uterus.
Skye: Right.
Amy: So, yeah, it's both. It's both - this is a skill set you have that's worth celebrating, and also we deserve a society where that's the norm.
Skye: For sure.
Hayley: Thank you for sharing all of that.
Skye: Yeah, absolutely.
(Musical transition)
Hayley: I want to shift gears just a little bit and talk about the theatre industry more broadly. Could you talk about a change that you want to see in the industry?
Skye: I mean, the biggest change I think I want to see is spaces being more inclusive. I would like the theatre industry to change so that I don't feel alone in spaces, I'll say. So as a woman and as a Latina, I often find I'm the only woman and only Latina in spaces. I'm the only queer woman in spaces. And I would like to have more of my people in spaces with me. That's what I would like to see change.
Hayley: I love that. I think you're doing that, so I think that you're being the change you want to see.
Skye: I'm trying. Yeah, I'll brag on this for a minute. A thing about Hot Girls - one of my favorite things, that I'm most proud about, is that we hired all women and gender-expansive people across the board. So everybody that we worked with creatively - our band was all women. We had a girl band for our girl show, and it was all about girl power, and that was something I was really proud of. I think that that is sort of the “talking the talk and walking the walk”. And when I got my first chance to do it, I did it. I'm very proud of Hot Girls Write Musicals. I was very proud to create a space that felt open and fun. We had so much fun. That was important to me.
Hayley: Yeah, that rehearsal day where we had the band and the full cast before we got into the space was actually on fire. So much queer feminine energy, and it just made me so happy, yeah.
Skye: Same. I've been producing and I've been working as an associate, and [I’ve] been able to give input and feedback, but I've not been responsible for hiring teams alone. And so again, that I had the chance to do that for the first time myself and to bring on artists like… I’ll name drop Rose Van Dyne, who's an incredible music director–
Hayley: She’s also on this season!
Skye: Yay. Yay. We love Rose.
To be able to work with somebody like her…to be able to, you know, work with Hayley and Julia…I'm very, very proud of the work that we did on that show. And I think it was fun, because theatre is supposed to be fun. That is something we often forget. Yeah. So I'm very proud of that.
Hayley: Skye, I want to ask you, can you talk a little bit about balancing your creative work with the rest of your life?
Skye: My husband is also in this business. Kyle’s an actor, a musical theatre performer. I think we have always known there's a separation of church and state a little bit. There's knowing when we're going to talk about work stuff and when we're not. And I think we've always known how to do that, and that's always been good. I think it's allowed us to be each other's biggest cheerleaders and to also give each other space to do our own things. I think that's so important.
It's hard though. It's really hard. I think something like working at NAMT full-time and that transition…it was easier as a freelance stage manager: “Okay, I'm going to be all in on this project for the next six weeks that it's happening, right? And then I'll put it away because it'll be done.”
But this idea of always having ongoing projects - I had to learn how to, “Okay, we're leaving work at work and now we're going home. And when we open the laptop, it's not going to be to work.” Because I am excited about the work that I'm doing, and I love the work that I'm doing, so I want to always be working. And sort of finding the balance of, “We're going to spend time doing other things.” I think that's what really helps me.
Most of my friends work in theatre, but I really feel like the majority of the conversations I have with friends are not about theatre. So just finding other things to spend our time on, I think, is another thing.
Hayley: You were just highlighting something that I think is so important to speak about, which is that we, as theatre people, are so passionate about what we do. And I think for a lot of people, it's so hard to take that hat off, and that's also how burnout occurs. I'll sometimes start – it's like 8pm, and I'll find myself dream-directing a show that like…is gonna happen in maybe in a year or two. And I'm like, flipping through my libretto and writing notes and I'm like, “This isn't a break, this isn't…like, I'm having so much fun and–
Skye: Right.
Hayley: I need to like, put it over here for a sec.
Amy: Yeah it's hard to turn it off.
Skye: It is hard, yeah. Well, and I think people don't speak about it in that way. It is what we're passionate about, it is what we dream about, right? So then it's hard to turn it off. Yeah.
Hayley: Yeah, totally.
Amy: Yeah. Skye, can you tell us a little bit about what your vision of success is in your life, in your career? What's your big dream?
Skye: That is a good question. I don't know that I have a specific…I don't know that I have a career bucket list sort of idea for success. I think I am - right now especially… very much excited to be riding this wave. I'm excited to have found something that feels like the right fit for me, that is bringing my skillset and my values together.
There's an author, Elaine Welteroth, that talks about your zone of genius. So where your values and your skills meet in the middle is your zone of genius. I think right now, I am working on creating an excellent zone of genius.
Hayley: That's so good.
Skye: Did you like that?
Hayley: I love it.
Skye: I think that's what success looks like for me right now, is continuing to work on my skills. I don't know that I have a super forward-facing idea of what's next or what those goals are.
Hayley: No, I actually love that it's very internal. Like, I'm obsessed with that, because I think that many of us fall into – I certainly do this a lot, where I get into this mindset of like, “When I achieve XYZ, then I will feel this.” And while that can be motivating - and I'm really in my ambitious era, listeners, so just wait, cause I’m about to pop off –
Skye: (Laughing) Watch out!
Hayley: But I fall into that trap sometimes of like, “Oh, when?”
As opposed to like…what about now? I saw this quote recently: “Remember the version of you that really wanted what you have now.”
Skye: That's a good one.
Hayley: And that's something that I'm sitting with and I think you identified so beautifully. Letting there be an internal version of it that has nothing to do with how it looks, but it's very much about how it feels and what it's about in terms of your why. I'm going to aspire to think about it that way. I also just think that's a healthier mindset. We talk about this all the time, that there's so much in theatre that's so far outside of our control in terms of, like, what we can achieve. And I think that that varies across, like, different hats more, but I think having that zone of genius, having that internal thing, it's so profound. Because then you get to kind of control whether you're winning at that, not everyone else.
Skye: True. That's a good way to think about it.
Hayley: Yeah.
Amy: So good. Oh my gosh. Skye, thank you so much. This has been such a great conversation. So another cute new segment that we're working on is our Trailblazer of the Week. So we're going to take a moment to uplift the people who inspire us and who we see as being in their zone of genius. It can be someone in your immediate circle or someone you admire from afar. So Hayley, do you want to go first? Who's your Trailblazer of the Week?
Hayley: Yeah I want to highlight my friend, and it's Skye's friend also, so I thought it would be apt…Mackenzie Lesser-Roy. She's rehearsing right now for the national tour of Cursed Child. She hasn't had a big gig like this in a while, and she's just, like, bringing her whole entire being to it. And I couldn't be more proud of her. It's so exciting to see someone who's so deserving, so talented, so kind and hardworking, get this awesome opportunity and then ride it to the fullest. I'm really proud of her. So, Mackenzie's my trailblazer of the week.
Skye: Mackenzie’s always my trailblazer, of every moment, always.
Hayley: Amy, do you want to give yours?
Amy: Sure. Yeah, I'm feeling really proud of a friend of mine, Jacque Carnahan, who is a fantastic performer and producer and just a wonderful person. And Jacque is working on her first show as a writer, and I got to go to a reading of it on the weekend. And she's like, never written songs before, and the reading was so cute. The show is incredible, and I was just so, so proud of her for like, taking that step outside of her comfort zone, and finding this whole new skillset that she has that she can use to make art. I think that's real cool. I love that.
Skye: I do have mine.
Hayley: Yay.
Amy: Go for it!
Skye: So my Trailblazer of the Week is somebody you all have actually had on the podcast already. But I would like to uplift Mayah Lourdes Burke, who was a directing observer with us at NAMT and has accepted a position with NAMT as a line producer. I'm so excited. I'm so proud of her.
Amy: That’s awesome!
Skye: I'm very, very excited to get to work with her in this capacity. And a little story I wanted to share: I remember Mayah’s first day of rehearsal for the festival in 2022. She was the directing observer for Get Out Alive. She was so nervous. And I think she was experiencing something that so many of us do, she was having imposter syndrome.
I remember meeting with her beforehand. We walked over to rehearsal together, and I kind of told her, I was like, “You’re supposed to be in this room because actually it was me that said so. And I think you should be here. And I think you're amazing. And let's walk over together and I'll introduce you to everybody.”
And she was so nervous, and just like to see her now, to see the growth and the confidence that she has gained in two years, and she's gonna like, be a line producer for the festival and work with the amazing producing team that we have, and I'm so excited.
Amy: That's so good!
Hayley: Oh my gosh. Everyone go give Mayah props.
Amy: Go check out Mayah! Go back and listen to her interview. We'll post it in the show notes.
Hayley: You took the words from my mouth. I love it. I love it!
Amy: I love it! Oh my gosh. Incredible.
Hayley: This has been amazing, Skye. Thank you so much for being here. Before we run away, can you tell the listeners who want to hear more about the future of Hot Girl-related things, you with NAMT, your other projects - where can they find you?
Skye: I'm on Instagram @skyeconeivey – that is where I will share most things Hot Girls and NAMT-related and otherwise, so follow me there.
Hayley: Yay.
(Musical transition)
Amy: Oh my gosh, that was such a fun conversation with Skye. Thank you for bringing her in here.
Hayley: I just love her so much.
Amy: Yeah, she's delightful. I really love - I mean, like you said, just how she leads with her values. She's so clear on who she is and what her values are and what she wants and needs. And like, unafraid to just go for it and speak that into the world. I love that about her.
Hayley: Yeah, and she's a really amazing community builder. Like, just having been in spaces with her both for Hot Girls and then also working with her at NAMT - she's ready to take on challenges and like, show up for people. She's one of my favorite people in life and in this business, so it's really nice to be able to share her with this community.
Also, love hearing her talk about her mental health journey. It's really inspiring to hear her talking so openly about it. Something I was thinking about during the interview is like, it's such a prevalent issue - obviously, in our society in general - but specifically in theatre, I think a lot of people really struggle with their mental health in a variety of different way. And so, to talk to somebody who has such a specific journey with it, but then like, that has done such a great job of managing that and then advocating for others is beautiful.
Amy: Yeah. Like with everything, the more we talk about it, the less it's stigmatized and the less scary it becomes to talk about it. So we gotta talk about it. So I love that Skye is starting those conversations, I love that we're having them on Women & Theatre. It's great.
Hayley: Yeah, for sure. So, I'm gonna hype you up, Amy, because you came into this and you were like, “I'm not having a good day.” You still showed up so beautifully and like, you were very present and here with us all. I think that's a beautiful thing to be able to, like, show up and be present even when you're struggling and, like, to put your energy into somebody else and, like, be there for them. And I think that that's something that you did really beautifully today.
Amy: Thank you, I wanna hype you up, the way that you light up when you talk to and about the people you love, it's just the best. Your love for other people, your appreciation for the things that make them unique and special, the warmth that emanates off of you when you're talking to people you love and talking about them. How you lift them up, the fun that you have in doing that. It's so great. It's one of the things I really love most about you.
Hayley: Thank you. Speaking of people that I love, I love you. And you deserve a nap. And you deserve to rest and take good care of yourself. I hope you get yourself a treat. Just for, like, showing up, being present, being open, even though you're not feeling amazing. You deserve a treat. And you deserve a treat, listeners.
Amy: You do!
Hayley: Thank you for being here with us too. We love you.
Amy: Go get yourself a treat, listeners.
Hayley: Get a treat.
Amy: We'll see you next time.
(Music)
Hayley: Join us for our upcoming Women & Theatre community events! Join us on October 16 at 10am for our virtual coworking space.
Amy: Visit our community events page on our website to learn more and RSVP, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook so you never miss an event.
Hayley: Thank you for listening to the Women & Theatre Podcast. We’re your hosts, Hayley Goldenberg…
Amy: …and Amy Andrews! If you like what you heard, subscribe and give us a 5-star review wherever you listen.
Hayley: You can also follow us on social @womenandtheatreproject to make sure you never miss an episode.
Amy: The music for this show was written by talented Women & Theatre community member Chloe Geller.
Hayley: Thanks again for listening, everyone. See you next time!
Amy: Bye!
