Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Get back.
[00:00:00] Speaker B: Upper body.
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Upper body. Because then it's less effort, and you can tell a story with it.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: Gestures.
Hello, my friend. Welcome to words that move me. I'm Dana. This is wrist roll the dog, aka Riz, and I'm stoked you're here. Are you so glad they're here, my baby, I'm so glad you're here, because today we are talking to a quickly ascending favorite person but a relatively newer friend to me, Hayley Fitzgerald. Comedian, actress, dancer, choreographer, one hell of a podcast guest. And I'm really excited to get into this conversation. But before we do, let's do some wins. Today, I am celebrating, and I am, uh, featuring in my ensemble.
I have little black pug dog socks on.
Yep, there they are. Just little black pugs on my little tiny feet. And here's a little black pug. Little black pug on my little tiny lap. Tiny.
I'm gonna have to do a podcast eventually, but, guys, she's just maximum cute today. Good girl. My baby. Okay, so that's my win. What's going well in your world? Do you have any garments that are making you feel a certain way? Do you just take it away? Just what's going well in your world?
Yay.
Wow.
Congratulations. I'm so glad you're winning. Riz is winning. She's had her three naps today, and it's not even one in the afternoon. Okay. This episode, my friends, not a nap. It is a riot the entire time. I have new smile lines, new insights.
Hailey is very vulnerable in sharing a little bit of her story, her experiences, some big lessons learned, some embarrassing moments on set, as well as y'all. I literally give her the shirt off my back. That should tell you a little bit about this person. She's phenomenally talented. She's phenomenally funny. Please welcome my friends, the one and only Hayley Fitzgerald.
That was arm movements that I just did. I just did some arm movements. They're our favorite. Hayley Fitzgerald, welcome to the podcast. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Thanks.
[00:02:50] Speaker A: That was good.
[00:02:51] Speaker B: That was. I feel strong. How are you feeling, listener viewer?
This has been a long time coming. Thank you so much for being here.
[00:02:58] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:02:58] Speaker B: Really excited.
So you've podcasted before, but this is your first time on our humble little show.
[00:03:04] Speaker A: Ooh la la.
[00:03:06] Speaker B: You, the guest, are bestowed. I bestow upon you, guest. Thank you humbly.
The responsibility of introducing yourself to the listener viewer.
[00:03:17] Speaker A: Oh.
[00:03:17] Speaker B: So let them know whatever it is you want them to know about you.
[00:03:21] Speaker A: Hello, I'm Hayley Fitzgerald. I'm five foot three and a half crazy profiles. Maybe I should available for hire. Yeah. Dancer, actor, choreographer, funny lady. Anna. Good heart.
[00:03:37] Speaker B: Sometimes. Oh, my God.
[00:03:38] Speaker A: Sometimes.
[00:03:39] Speaker B: Unless it's traffic hour on the 405, in which case look out, will say. True. It's true. I actually used to break out in a kind of hive, like where I say dance.
It's the opposite of dance. Hives on the 405. When I first moved to LA, it really triggered me and I had a rash. If ever I had to sit in traffic, like, guess what? I never did.
[00:04:06] Speaker A: She wins.
[00:04:07] Speaker B: Didn't go to do not disturb. We love it. Okay. Where are you from?
[00:04:11] Speaker A: I'm from Wisconsin.
[00:04:12] Speaker B: Okay. And you didn't have a rash when you moved here in San Francisco? I didn't drive.
[00:04:16] Speaker A: But, like, the anxiety. Oh, my God, the six lanes that you have when you just have two in Wisconsin.
[00:04:21] Speaker B: It's pressure. A lot of pressure. Dang, I wish I knew. I have a t shirt that says Wisconsin on it.
[00:04:26] Speaker A: Why?
[00:04:27] Speaker B: Cause I used to love, like, when I was in younger and I was in high school, but then it lasted a very long time. Dates. I would go on dates to thrift stores or vintage stores. And I found this awesome shirt with cows on it that says Wisconsin.
[00:04:43] Speaker A: And that only seems right.
[00:04:45] Speaker B: Right.
[00:04:45] Speaker A: Should I go get it? Yes, absolutely. Please put that on. I love that so much.
[00:04:52] Speaker B: Listen. Yes.
Shut up, cows.
[00:04:57] Speaker A: I want that so bad.
[00:04:59] Speaker B: Have it after today.
[00:05:00] Speaker A: It's yours. Crazy.
[00:05:02] Speaker B: It was maybe $2.99 and I have loved it and cherished it, and it's time to be yours.
You can have the shirt off my back.
[00:05:11] Speaker A: Haley Fitzgerald, literally.
[00:05:12] Speaker B: This is going well.
[00:05:13] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:05:14] Speaker B: Okay, so you didn't have hives when you moved here from Wisconsin? No, but it was overwhelming.
Tell me more about that, about the.
[00:05:21] Speaker A: Driving first, coming here.
[00:05:23] Speaker B: Actually, maybe let's talk about how you met dance and then the decision to pursue it in LA. I'm assuming I was delusional, right?
[00:05:31] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:05:32] Speaker B: Did you meet resistance with that? Was anybody like, no, don't do it, you're crazy.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: No, I, like, I've never really been good at school, so when I was 18, I was like, definitely not gonna thrive in school. I want to dance. No one's holding me back. I'm just gonna fly. Fly.
[00:05:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:49] Speaker A: It was the most random thing. And now that I'm getting older and seeing 18 year olds.
[00:05:53] Speaker B: Yeah, you're babies. Babies.
[00:05:56] Speaker A: Like babies.
[00:05:57] Speaker B: I'm like, why weren't more people trying to stop me when I made that choice? That.
[00:06:01] Speaker A: And I thought I was an adult.
[00:06:03] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Oh, oh, yeah.
I worked at Urban Outfitters, and they transferred me here to Burbank. So I was like, I've got it made, man. I have a job. Nothing. What could go wrong?
[00:06:15] Speaker A: Mm hmm. And then so many things, too.
[00:06:17] Speaker B: So many things, too. You get in car accidents? Do you get in a car accident?
[00:06:20] Speaker A: I just got one.
[00:06:21] Speaker B: Shit. I'm so sorry.
[00:06:22] Speaker A: Last week, and then I found out I had rats in my place.
It's been real good week.
[00:06:27] Speaker B: I'm so sorry. Thank you. Are they. Who's they? Are they gonna handle that for you?
[00:06:33] Speaker A: There's just all they can do is just set up rat trats.
Rat trap. Yeah. Hope for death.
[00:06:40] Speaker B: Fuck, yeah.
[00:06:41] Speaker A: It's really.
[00:06:41] Speaker B: Man, this is going really well.
My bad. Okay, wait. Back up to how you met dance. Are you a studio kid? I don't know much about your background.
[00:06:51] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I started dance when I was three. My mom shoved me in there. Tried other sports. Not good at it. Surprisingly terrible hand eye coordination. Really bad.
[00:07:01] Speaker B: Embarrassing.
[00:07:02] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:03] Speaker B: I used to sweat in gym class. Not from athleticism, but from being nervous. Like, they will see me look uncool. And I'm supposed to be coordinated. Cause I'm a dancer. Yep. People are looking at you, like, expecting for you to be, you know, coordinate. Nope. Not.
[00:07:21] Speaker A: Yeah. No.
[00:07:22] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:07:22] Speaker A: Especially when it comes to dodgeball. I wanted to die.
[00:07:25] Speaker B: Wow. So funny, because when I think about you playing a sport, it's fucking dodgeball.
Or volleyball. I can see you as being in a volleyball scene.
[00:07:35] Speaker A: Don't throw a ball at me.
[00:07:36] Speaker B: What if there was a musical and we're gonna just call it just for balls, for shit sake? Oh, that's a better name.
Balls. A gym class musical. Right. Okay, which number would you look forward to choreographing the most?
Right. The musical's called balls. A gym class musical. Are you excited about anything?
[00:07:59] Speaker A: No, not anything.
[00:08:02] Speaker B: Okay? We did jump rope in my gym class. I would be excited about the jump rope section. I would be excited about the sit up competition because your friend got to hold your feet, and there's not a ton of, like, range of motion there in terms of.
[00:08:17] Speaker A: You know what? I did win the jump roping contest in fourth grade.
[00:08:22] Speaker B: See, we just had to look a little deeper.
[00:08:24] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:25] Speaker B: Okay, cool.
[00:08:25] Speaker A: So I got that going.
[00:08:26] Speaker B: Okay. You got that going. Okay. Dance class number three. Sorry, it really. I.
[00:08:31] Speaker A: No, this is. This is how I work. So I, like, dance at three, and I loved it. Although the first time on stage, cried. Cause I was terrified. Right. Classic. It's a lot. So I grew up in a studio that we went to competitions, maybe twice a year or something like that. Maybe two conventions a year. We weren't a huge competition thing.
We just did the basics. There wasn't really hip hop or anything in it.
[00:09:00] Speaker B: And then I just jazz, tap, ballet.
[00:09:03] Speaker A: Jazz, tap, ballet, baby.
[00:09:04] Speaker B: Maybe lyrical. Oh, did you ever have the leather sandal? The thongs?
[00:09:08] Speaker A: You bet your sweet booty hole I had those.
[00:09:13] Speaker B: Have we talked about my Riz socks yet? I don't know if I mentioned them. It's. So I have Riz on my socks.
[00:09:18] Speaker A: I'm gonna steal that dog.
[00:09:19] Speaker B: Yo, what's the deal? She's, like, in bed right now. She's very at ease with you. She's very comfortable that you're here, so she feels like she can be in bed and accomplished. We're back. Two lyrical sandals and your dance life.
[00:09:32] Speaker A: Stunning. Stunning, right? Yeah. So I did that, and then when I. And then YouTube came out when I was maybe 16 or something, and so I got to watch everyone, and that's when I was like, oh, my God, I just. I love dance. I want to do it. And I was so delusional, and I had nothing going for me. So I thought, hey, why not move to LA when I don't know anyone or anything about dance?
[00:09:54] Speaker B: Wow, okay. So at that point, you'd had, like, hours a week of jazz, tap, ballet, ABC 123. And when you came out here, what was it that drew your attention the most?
[00:10:06] Speaker A: Was it like, it was movement, lifestyle? Honestly, like, that was my whole. That's the reason why I moved out to LA. Cause they were just all so lovely, community based. I just loved all the types of dancing. And I was like, oh, I'm in. And I was a work study there when I first moved out here.
[00:10:24] Speaker B: What year was that?
[00:10:25] Speaker A: 2012. 2013, I think.
[00:10:27] Speaker B: Was I around for that?
[00:10:29] Speaker A: I don't know. Were you?
[00:10:30] Speaker B: I don't remember. I move around a lot, leave town a lot. She's busy. She's busy. She's busy.
[00:10:37] Speaker A: Booked a bless.
[00:10:39] Speaker B: I book myself. Like, I just create work for myself all the time. I'm like, how about a weekly podcast? That'd be fun.
[00:10:44] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:10:44] Speaker B: But I think you are the same way, actually, in that you create. When you're not booked, you're working, you're making things.
I don't even want to call it producing content, but you're pooping out little art babies. I feel better about that. I feel better about that than, say, a content producer. I'm an art baby pooper. And that's what you do in fact, I think you and smack more than anyone and tell me that if this happens to you, people are always dming me viral videos of people and they're like, I think you'd be friends with her. Oh, God. And you show up, you and smack. I get DM's of you all the time. You should know her. Do you know this girl? And I'm like, yes. And they're like, is she great? And I'm like, yes, like, she's terrible. But. Well, actually, I think the first video I saw of you, I was like, she's ridiculously funny. This is a level of funny.
[00:11:38] Speaker A: Stop.
[00:11:39] Speaker B: I had to watch and rewatch and rewatch. And it was after that that I did more digging and I was like, oh, of course she can fucking dance. So there's really the two sides. Do you think that those grew at the same time? Like your funny muscle and your dance muscle?
[00:11:56] Speaker A: I think so. I think they seem very, very much together. I love physical comedy. Like, I grew up loving Jim Carrey Hu, you know, I just love physical comedy. And growing up, I just wanted to be. I wanted to make everyone happy. And so I was joking all the time as a kid, and I used dance to do that, too. Just entertaining in general. It all kind of combines for me. It's all one thing.
[00:12:17] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So is that how acting or how did you meet acting?
[00:12:23] Speaker A: That was when I was in the dance industry for quite some time. And then I was like, I'm kind of bored of this.
And then I was like, I've always wanted to act. I used to do theater when I was a kid and I was like, why not? Just why not?
[00:12:38] Speaker B: How'd you find a class?
[00:12:40] Speaker A: Other dancers, I asked them if they've ever taken any class, and they gave me the one that every dancer takes. I'm pretty sure it's j rs. I don't know if you've been there. Okay.
[00:12:48] Speaker B: No, I haven't been. So not every dancer, not everyone, but I've talked about my acting teacher a thousand times. We'll link to his episode below. I found my class through Tony Testa and I really love can't recommend enough, but J. R s. Yeah, I think.
[00:13:04] Speaker A: It was a great start. It was a great start for everything.
[00:13:07] Speaker B: How long did you, were you in class and are you still.
[00:13:10] Speaker A: I was in class there for, I think two years. I think two years I was there.
[00:13:15] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:13:16] Speaker A: I've also done then, like, I went, you know, UCB and I've done a bunch of stuff like that.
[00:13:21] Speaker B: So I feel a huge lack in my skill set in the improv department. I would love to get better. So scary.
[00:13:28] Speaker A: That's awful. So scary.
[00:13:30] Speaker B: But wait, are you comfortable there now in the improv space?
[00:13:33] Speaker A: I have not been there in a while, and the first time that I did it, this is when I was dancing with Jlo, so I only had a month, so I did the two week intensive, which is every day.
[00:13:42] Speaker B: Whoa. Deep dive.
[00:13:43] Speaker A: Yeah. I went home crying every day. Cause I was like, I'm terrible. I'm not funny. This is awful.
And I haven't really gone back, so.
[00:13:52] Speaker B: Okay.
I was like, here's the twist. Yeah. Nope. What happened next?
[00:13:56] Speaker A: But I think I am gonna try going back. Cause I wanna get better at it.
[00:13:59] Speaker B: I was shooting a little personal project again. We create our own work. I was brought on to kind of coach and creative, direct and choreographically modify some work in an existing show.
I decided that we should create this video package. Like, write a script, have a scene, do a thing. And in the shooting of said scene, I needed to improvise a bit. And I felt like little Bambi. Like, my knees were like. I was like, um, yes. And.
And I was like, shit, I want more training here.
[00:14:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:36] Speaker B: Are you a UCB fan?
[00:14:37] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
[00:14:39] Speaker B: It seems great. Gosh, I always have.
[00:14:40] Speaker A: Great.
[00:14:40] Speaker B: Yeah. I always have so much fun. I should go to shows more, right? Do you go?
[00:14:45] Speaker A: I used to.
[00:14:45] Speaker B: Let's go.
[00:14:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:47] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:14:47] Speaker A: All right, I'm in.
[00:14:48] Speaker B: Good. We have a plan. I wanna circle back to musicals really fast. We talked about balls. The gym class musical classic with songs by Frank Sinatra. Nice.
[00:14:59] Speaker A: Good job.
[00:15:00] Speaker B: That was great improv.
[00:15:01] Speaker A: And so we need to get back into improv for sure.
[00:15:04] Speaker B: Songs by Frank Sinatra. But in the very real world, you did just associate association Kaio Hanagami on mean girls. I loved it. I really loved it. I really loved it. And it was loving seeing your face up there as well.
Tell me a little bit about some of your responsibilities on the gig. What did you find yourself doing most often? And I just. In general, I love learning, and I just want to know what you learned. What were your big takeaways?
[00:15:36] Speaker A: I learned a lot.
[00:15:37] Speaker B: Yo.
[00:15:38] Speaker A: I learned a lot. We. It was definitely. The whole thing was very.
What the hell word am I looking for?
[00:15:45] Speaker B: I don't know. I can't wait, though.
[00:15:46] Speaker A: Perfect hands.
[00:15:49] Speaker B: Collaboratives, long lifelines.
[00:15:52] Speaker A: Oh, my God. Side note, I have one line here, and that says that you're either, like, a genius or a serial killer.
[00:15:59] Speaker B: Well, I hope it's the first.
[00:16:01] Speaker A: We'll wait to find out.
[00:16:02] Speaker B: Cause it raises all the security I have today.
[00:16:05] Speaker A: Very collaborative setting on a set of mean girls. And we went there. Kyle's team went there in January, and we didn't start filming till march, I think.
[00:16:16] Speaker B: Oh, nice.
[00:16:17] Speaker A: So we were there from the prep.
[00:16:18] Speaker B: I love pre production.
[00:16:20] Speaker A: Big, big prep. And we were very hands on with everything, which was really fun. I was wearing a lot of hats. There was, like, one point where I was making shot lists for a scene, and it was just. It was so fun and so much work, and I love it when those.
[00:16:37] Speaker B: Two things come together.
[00:16:38] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:39] Speaker B: Because without the balance of both, you're gonna wind up with a hot mess.
[00:16:44] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:16:45] Speaker B: So much fun and so much work is such a good recipe for.
[00:16:48] Speaker A: Yeah, it's for. It was a lot of learning for budget wise, too, to be on a big thing like that and figure out how budgets work and what you have to cut out and what you have to work with on that was super, super interesting to me, and scheduling was super interesting. Being in charge of the dancers and seeing, you know, when we can bring them in for this week for, like, all the pay stuff, it was just. It's a lot. Yeah, it was a lot of stuff that didn't have to do with dancing.
[00:17:18] Speaker B: Totally.
[00:17:19] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which I'm sure you understand. I do to some extent.
[00:17:24] Speaker B: I do from the outside looking, because I assisted a lot. Like, I went pretty quickly from being, like, a rookie dancer to assisting Marty Koudelka, who's, like, one of the greatest of all time.
[00:17:38] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:38] Speaker B: So in my role as assistant, I got exposed pretty early on, like, I was still a teenager to casting processes and a little bit on the budget side, not quite as much. I didn't get a good look at that until I was working on in the heights, which was 2019, and these were big, big numbers. Like, 75 people, 50 people, and we learned how to scale and start with ten, rehearse with ten people for a day, add 25 the next day, and then only on the day of the shoot will you have all of them, or maybe for one half day before, will you have all of them? And so, yeah, budgeting your dancer dollars becomes really a jigsaw puzzle. I remember borrowing from Carnival, which was acceptable, that it be more.
Not only acceptable, but preferable that it be more raw and personalized. So we don't need as many rehearsal days for that. Let's give that to passencia ife, which requires, you know, we're. We're on site. There's a stairs part we really need time with people for that. It's technical. We've got dancers on point. We've got. Yeah, yeah, that's a lot. So, yeah, you learn to. You learn to budget dancer time dollars, in a way, 100% on that, and work with other people and be a person who's, like, open to saying yes and very much. I really do think that tool, the yes and idea is essential in this business.
[00:19:06] Speaker A: Very much is.
[00:19:07] Speaker B: It's essential.
[00:19:08] Speaker A: Being able to work with people was something I never brag on myself, but that was the first time I was like, oh, I'm good with people, and it works really well in this situation. So I was very proud of myself in that.
[00:19:19] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:19:20] Speaker A: Yeah. Which feel good. Yeah. Pat on the backs. We're learning.
[00:19:23] Speaker B: Yeah, that's good.
[00:19:24] Speaker A: Right.
[00:19:25] Speaker B: Well, I mean, if you don't have experience yet, right, then, okay. That won't be the value you bring, because some people do bring that. Like, there are some people that you're glad to have on set because, you know, they've done this a thousand times, and you're, like, nice. They've got experience. And there are some people on set that you're like, okay, they have no experience. But that's gonna be the best part of my day, is just looking at their face. So, yes, please, please come in. And I think that's something a lot of newcomers are worried about. Or even when you've been here a while, but you've just.
I don't know. I could still have self doubt in first time spaces because I've never choreographed a world tour in space. And so by the time it's time for me to do that, I'm going to have some doubt around that. But my whole thing is that you're allowed to be confident in spaces, even that you've never worked in because of relying on things that you have worked on. Willingness to go with the flow. Like, you seem to be a person who gives sincere, like, where you are at, sincerely to the person.
I know a lot of people that have a hard time. Cause they're so temperature checky, which sometimes.
[00:20:41] Speaker A: Just reads as scared. Nervous.
[00:20:43] Speaker B: Yeah, that makes me nervous. So you feel very in your skin and very sincere in your exchanges. And that is useful on set as well.
[00:20:50] Speaker A: It is. And I think newcomers are people who are trying to get into anything. I think you have to be confident, too, whether you fake it or not. And just. I also think that you can mess up. I don't think that's a bad thing, but, like, as long as you learn from it and kind of a quick learner and everything. Like, anything's possible, man. It really is.
[00:21:10] Speaker B: Okay, so we're gonna lean into that now. Cause I think that you mess up. Or maybe I wouldn't say mess up. You're a really good messer upper. I love watching you mess up.
No, I think that you do awkward.
[00:21:23] Speaker A: Well, no, thanks.
[00:21:24] Speaker B: And that you lean into. I don't think that's a secret. I think that's part of your thing, is the self talk that you do that's leaning into awkward. I would love to hear about your most awkward moments on set. And I'll give you mine. I've got a handful. I love this shit.
Cause why would that happen to you if not so that somebody could ask you about it on a podcast, right, exactly.
This is the moment that that happened for.
[00:21:53] Speaker A: I will say there was one moment where Tina Fey was in the room and I had no idea. And they were talking about. Oh, wait, I don't know if I can.
[00:22:06] Speaker B: Oh, shit.
[00:22:07] Speaker A: They were just talking about an influencer that they wanted. There we go in this, the directors and everyone. I was like, oh, God, no. I just. I don't know how I feel about that. They don't. Blah blah, blah. And then I hear Tina right behind me go, why not? Cause I chose her. I want her. And I was like, hey, you're in the room. And I gave her finger guns. And I was like, no, man, I think she's great. And she's like. It was just really, really bad. It was the fact that I said that she was behind me, and then I gave Tina Fey finger guns to make it better.
[00:22:36] Speaker B: Double whammy. Yeah, man. Also, I didn't know why I made this shape. Cause you really took it away.
So awkward.
Yeah. Okay. Wow, that's a good one.
Maybe that's the moment where. Listen, any strength of overuse can be a weakness.
[00:22:52] Speaker A: Hey.
[00:22:52] Speaker B: So that, like, fully in your selfness, like, your comfort with your voice and your sincerity in your transactions, maybe came to bite you in the bum on that.
[00:23:03] Speaker A: Oh, absolutely. And quickly.
[00:23:05] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, I love instant karma.
[00:23:06] Speaker A: That's best is good.
[00:23:08] Speaker B: I'm trying to think if I have.
[00:23:09] Speaker A: A. Yeah, what's yours?
[00:23:10] Speaker B: If I have a one that I haven't told on the podcast before. Ooh, I've told the la la land Ari one. Right. No shit, Ari. Yeah. So Ari was our steadicam operator. Yeah.
[00:23:24] Speaker A: Did you do mean girls with us? I love him with all my heart and soul. I love Ari.
[00:23:29] Speaker B: We love you. I love you, Ari. Come on. The podcast show us your baby.
[00:23:34] Speaker A: Show us your baby.
[00:23:36] Speaker B: Bring your. Oh, my God. You said, show us your baby. And I almost said, bring your rig.
This is a really responsible, adult, professional podcast.
[00:23:47] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:23:48] Speaker B: So Ari was our steadicam operator on La la land. I was in the opening scene traffic, and it was our first.
One of our first run throughs with camera on. On the actual highway. And Mandy was on the bullhorn and she was like, let's be explicitly clear. This is a safety pass for Ari. It is your job to make sure Ari is safe.
I mean, market. If you have to, like, do not get in his way. Do not be full out around him. Like, this is for Ari.
[00:24:28] Speaker A: Perfect.
[00:24:28] Speaker B: It's another day of sun. I was just like, in his $80,000 rig. Fortunately, it was my arm that hit, like, what is it? Carbon fiber?
[00:24:39] Speaker A: Steel?
[00:24:40] Speaker B: The rig and Ari were fine. But I mean, this is like, we're talking, like, probably the first six, eight counts of this number. And we had to. Mandy was like, cut. She didn't say cut. Mandy was like, back to one. Ari, are you okay?
It was not.
[00:24:58] Speaker A: Dana, are you okay?
[00:24:59] Speaker B: For sure. It was like, are you okay? I really messed up. I was really, really excited.
[00:25:04] Speaker A: I'm proud of you.
[00:25:05] Speaker B: I biffed it. And I was like, I got the note. I got no words necessary. Save your words. I'm fine. Save your words. I understand. And then I got back in my car and I was like, so stupid, so dumb.
[00:25:20] Speaker A: It's for Ari.
[00:25:23] Speaker B: So, yeah, I only did that once.
[00:25:25] Speaker A: Love that.
[00:25:25] Speaker B: And that was a really good learning experience. Cause I thought that the most important thing was to be as full out as possible while trying to keep Ari safe. But no, sometimes you only have to do one thing. The one thing you have to do is it's Ari's life. Like, just fall back. Just fall back. So that was a good one. Ari's life?
Yeah. Do you have another one? I have another one cued up, but I think you should go on.
[00:25:50] Speaker A: I had something that. This happened when I was. I think I was 20 or something. It was one of the first music videos that I did. And this was. Oh, God, this ruined me, by the way. This is why I didn't get into acting for a really long time.
[00:26:06] Speaker B: Oh, no. I'm so excited right now.
[00:26:08] Speaker A: Oh, no, this is great.
Cause there was a part where we were all just, like, just around on the set and whatnot. And the director was like, okay, just give more energy. Like, more energy. And so I gave more energy. And she was like. And in front of everyone, she walks up to me and goes, what are you doing? You look so stupid right now. I don't know what you think you're doing. That's too much energy, and you just look stupid, so you need to calm it down. I was like, well, moving back to Wisconsin now.
[00:26:39] Speaker B: Whoa.
[00:26:39] Speaker A: The cows will love me there.
[00:26:42] Speaker B: No, energy's too big. Energy for a cow.
[00:26:44] Speaker A: Exactly. I belong on the farm, apparently.
[00:26:48] Speaker B: Cows. Musical songs by I always give you the hard part. It's really hard to install.
[00:26:54] Speaker A: No, I like it. I was just gonna say that I.
[00:26:56] Speaker B: Played my chemical romance or something.
[00:26:58] Speaker A: Oh, I like that.
[00:26:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:59] Speaker A: I was gonna play. I played the cow in what's the musical?
Oh, I played the cow in into the woods. I played Malky white.
[00:27:08] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:27:09] Speaker A: It's my debut.
[00:27:10] Speaker B: Great casting.
[00:27:11] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:27:12] Speaker B: Can we circle back to that embarrassing moment and how it's more embarrassing for whoever said that to you than it is for you? Although in the moment, I can't imagine.
I can't imagine a criticism more painful than that.
[00:27:25] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:27:26] Speaker B: Like, you as you are, are too much.
[00:27:29] Speaker A: It was hurtful.
[00:27:30] Speaker B: Although I will say it's easier to scale down a performance, like, from the outside, from a choreographer's or movement coach's perspective, I would way rather ask someone for less than try to get it out of someone. So that's kind of a dream, but that's so rude. I'm sorry for that.
[00:27:45] Speaker A: Thanks.
[00:27:45] Speaker B: You're welcome.
[00:27:46] Speaker A: Thanks, man. Held onto that one for a while.
[00:27:49] Speaker B: What was the music video? Can you say, don't even do it? Do it in pig Latin.
Okay, don't. Fine. You don't have the. You don't have to.
[00:27:56] Speaker A: Ga gia jejo.
[00:28:00] Speaker B: Okay. Okay. I accept this awkward, awkward offering, and I will leave on this one more. I don't think I've shared this on the podcast, but I did. I have talked at great lengths. Gillian Myers choreographed a music video for Hosier called All Things End. The song is all things end. I play a heart surgeon operating on him, which is awkward in general, because I'm pretty sure the instruments they gave us are, like. They're like period piece instruments that are from, like, medieval times. I'm like, what? Even this doesn't. Okay, scalpel. And we just, like, have fake blood on my little gloves and.
[00:28:35] Speaker A: Stunning.
[00:28:35] Speaker B: We're just really trying. I'm so glad we were wearing surgeons masks, because the shit I was saying, I was like, hand me the jingle hopper.
I just didn't know what to say. Again, improv. I really need more practice, but there's a match cut in that video where I pull a sheet. Sorry, I hate to spoil it, but we lose him. He doesn't make it. Pull the sheet up over his head, and then quickly rip it off. And then there's a match cut to a sheet coming off of him, revealing him surrounded by a gospel surgeon choir. It's really beautiful. If you haven't seen it, just take my word for it.
[00:29:19] Speaker A: Do it.
[00:29:19] Speaker B: Yeah, go. We'll link to it in the show notes.
But the first pass, I just really didn't want to. Again, didn't want to mess up. Really wanted to do it right. I pulled that sheet with such gusto that it pulled his entire nightgown up over his head. And he's wearing nude shoes. Shortlets, like little. Just Andrew. Tall man laying fully in character. Dead. Playing dead. He's playing dead. And I flash the entire set.
[00:29:51] Speaker A: I would be unwillingly flash.
[00:29:55] Speaker B: And you know what's funny about that? I hope he doesn't mind that. I'm sure what's really funny about that is that before, like, earlier that same day, I told the Ari story. Cause we were talking about most embarrassing on set moments. I was like, oh, my God. This one's the worst. Nope, not the worst. I just made wait for worst. It was the worst. I love that.
[00:30:15] Speaker A: Thank you.
That's gold coming. Pretty, right?
[00:30:18] Speaker B: Yeah, pretty rich.
[00:30:19] Speaker A: Kept it in pretty rich. To be honest.
[00:30:21] Speaker B: I did ask Jared Asher Harris, who's the director. I told him when my birthday is. And I said, do you have that take? Cause I wanna see that.
[00:30:32] Speaker A: I wanna see that.
[00:30:33] Speaker B: Stay tuned. July 21, everyone. We're really crossing our fingers up to that.
Okay. So.
Didn't think I was gonna ask this question. It's not on my card, but do you consider yourself an influencer?
Sorry.
[00:30:51] Speaker A: That's a toughie. Cause I don't wanna be labeled that. I put a negative connotation on that. Yeah. Which is unfair of me. I shouldn't say.
[00:30:58] Speaker B: Why do you think you do that?
[00:31:01] Speaker A: I think now being an influencer is a little bit more normal. But when influencer kind of started being a thing, it seemed. It's not. But it seemed like lowbrow kind of stuff. So I was like, oh, I don't want to be labeled an influencer. But, yeah, I am, I guess. I don't know.
[00:31:21] Speaker B: I think, well, what is it? What is that? What does it mean?
[00:31:25] Speaker A: You influence people.
[00:31:26] Speaker B: One of the things that I think it is, unfortunately, synonymous with is not having talent, but being popular. And in our history, as human beings in the world, inter mean girls, this is a nice callback. It's been in our nature to secretly hate the popular kids. And so what you get when you call somebody an influencer is this double whammy of thinking that they're just popular and being, like, triggered back into all the popular kids that may or may not have been cool to us. Right? And then also this idea that they don't have talent, which it takes crazy talent to deliver on schedules like that to be able to talk sincerely to fucking strangers. It is a full time job. It takes a lot of dedication and, yes, talent. So, yeah, I think that we should be proud of it or at least restigmatizing whatever it is that we have around that one.
[00:32:24] Speaker A: I think it is changing, though. I think now it's like, now I do take it seriously. I just, so, yeah, I'm an influencer. I'm proud of it.
[00:32:32] Speaker B: There it is. You heard it here first.
And we're gonna call the episode that Hailey Fitzgerald, influencer and proud. Ooh, shit, that's so bad.
[00:32:43] Speaker A: They're like, no, it's, yeah, I'm an influencer. Okay.
[00:32:47] Speaker B: You know, how would you explain your relationship with social media as a whole?
[00:32:53] Speaker A: I really like social media. I do. I think there is a whole toxic side to it. I think there's a light side and a dark side to it. I like it because I get to express myself and I get to make people feel seen and loved and laugh with me, and I love that part about it. I think also there are times where I'm doom scrolling on TikTok and it's, it's just a little bit of a toxic intake. And I don't think we should all be on it all the time. But I think when people hate on social media, I just think that's stupid. I do, because so many people get to share themselves on it and I think it's really special.
[00:33:30] Speaker B: Nice.
What do you think is the coolest thing that's happened to you? Thanks to social media?
[00:33:36] Speaker A: I think the most random thing is that Britney Spears has reposted a couple of my videos and stuff, which is so funny to me because you grew.
[00:33:47] Speaker B: Up watching Britney Spears music videos and.
[00:33:48] Speaker A: You were like, that's it. Yeah. Yes, dude, absolutely.
[00:33:51] Speaker B: Your hero knows who you are.
[00:33:53] Speaker A: It was really, it was really great.
[00:33:55] Speaker B: Hell yeah, dude.
[00:33:56] Speaker A: I was like, Britney Spears.
[00:33:57] Speaker B: What? That's awesome.
[00:33:59] Speaker A: And she posted me, and then she posted me another time and she goes, I have no idea who this is. And I was like, wait, didn't you post me before?
[00:34:06] Speaker B: Okay, nice I think that's. That would be my answer, too. I have met some. Some of my heroes because of social media. It's a very cool thing.
[00:34:14] Speaker A: That is cool.
[00:34:15] Speaker B: Sweet listener viewer. We just had a technical challenge, which was, I'm unprofessional.
I noticed that my computer screen went dark, and I thought that it had just gone to sleep. But what actually had happened was I didn't have my computer plugged in.
Much to my assistant Riley's encouragement that I do that, I said, no, we're at like, 90%. I think we're gonna be fine.
Even if you're at 100%, you're not gonna be fine. You need to plug in your devices. Right. And this is also a metaphor for life.
[00:34:54] Speaker A: That's what I'm saying.
[00:34:55] Speaker B: We can all be more plugged in and not plugged into the devices, but plugged into the power source.
[00:35:00] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:02] Speaker B: What charges you up? This is a friendly reminder. Stay charged, my friends. Yeah.
Especially if you're recording a podcast. Cause we did continue for, like, 30 minutes, and now we're here.
[00:35:16] Speaker A: We're back, baby.
[00:35:18] Speaker B: We're doing this one more time. Okay. But right before we left off, you were talking about being afraid of perfectionism.
[00:35:24] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:35:24] Speaker B: Which is the number one most relatable thing I have ever heard. How do you deal with it? How do you cope with it right now?
[00:35:31] Speaker A: I deal with it in the sense of I'm creating projects now. Right. So it's the whole thing of just doing it instead of sitting around waiting. You're scared that it's not going to be perfect. You're scared that it's not going to be good. You're scared that people are going to make fun of you, or you just look stupid in general, but you're not going to know unless you make it. So that is my lesson right now, is just.
I'm doing it. You just gotta get over it.
[00:36:01] Speaker B: Yo. Nike really knew what was up.
Just do it.
[00:36:05] Speaker A: Just do it.
[00:36:06] Speaker B: I'm now remembering when we had this conversation the first time. I think most of us have wildly imaginative minds and we see a 3.0 version, and when we think that there's no way we could pull off 3.0, we'd never make 1.0. And so I would like to empower and encourage anyone listening to go make your 1.0 or 0.5, just take the first step, because the learning that happens on 0.5, on 1.0, on 2.0, is what makes it possible to 3.0.
[00:36:37] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:36:38] Speaker B: It is highly unlikely you will 3.0 1st time out the gate.
[00:36:42] Speaker A: 100%. Oh, and that's what we were talking about, too, is I'm making that one woman show special for.
[00:36:47] Speaker B: Oh, my God. Which we named.
[00:36:49] Speaker A: What did we name it? Something love in therapy.
[00:36:52] Speaker B: Something love and therapy. Something love and therapy is good.
[00:36:55] Speaker A: Something love and therapy. Honestly, it's more on my brain. It's pretty good.
[00:36:59] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:36:59] Speaker A: But, like, I've been thinking about this project for two years, and I finally was like, screw it. Like, screw it. I'm never gonna learn how to actually work things or how it makes sense. And now that I'm finally doing it.
[00:37:13] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:13] Speaker A: Is it not gonna be perfect? Probably not, but I'm gonna learn.
[00:37:17] Speaker B: But would that be on brand?
[00:37:19] Speaker A: Yes, that's on brand. That it's not perfect.
[00:37:22] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. I was like, perfection. Wait, take it back. Like, okay, I think about the MacBook computer.
[00:37:30] Speaker A: You really caressed that?
[00:37:31] Speaker B: I really did. And you know what I felt when I did it? A rough edge. Cause it dropped the fucker. And here's the thing. I actually, in terms of design, I know some people really get juice off this minimalist aesthetic. And the rounded corners and the, you know, perfectly brushed steel and whatever. Boring to me. That's why I put all my stickers on it, and one of them even fell off.
[00:37:54] Speaker A: No way.
[00:37:54] Speaker B: And I like that weird little. I have a dent. It catches the light. I like the way it catches the light.
[00:38:00] Speaker A: I see it.
[00:38:00] Speaker B: Let's be careful to not close the computer.
I prefer art specifically. I mean, I think it's okay that tech be sleek or whatever. I don't know. But in art, I prefer a visible fingerprint, a smudge, a dripping glue.
In our previous conversation, which you didn't catch, I talk about one of my favorite artists, Tom Sacks. His style, he's notorious for this very handmade aesthetic. And I prefer that. I really do.
[00:38:34] Speaker A: Same. I like messy. I like messy. I like vulnerable. I like, like, oh, I just like when it's grimy. Yeah. Which is so funny, because when I look at something that's really perfect, I'm like, ugh. But then when I make something, I'm like, it has to be perfect. But I'm like, what's that mean?
[00:38:50] Speaker B: Yeah. Why do we hold ourselves to a standard of a thing that we don't even really like?
[00:38:53] Speaker A: Yeah. How weird.
[00:38:55] Speaker B: How like a messy honey, make it.
[00:38:57] Speaker A: Messy, make it stupid, look stupid. I love looking stupid, look dumb. When I get to choose when that moment is right.
[00:39:04] Speaker B: Right. We love to be in control. Right, right. We love to decide when we are looking stupid. We love to decide when we are being vulnerable. We don't love to all of a sudden be vulnerable at someone else's hand.
[00:39:15] Speaker A: But I do like people who don't take themselves seriously and get a little messy and are willing to look stupid.
[00:39:22] Speaker B: You are a great example for that. So if you're hearing this and thinking, ooh, I think I could do better, please watch Hailey's work. Cause I think you do. Exposed, vulnerable, messy, and kind of like, just like I'm spilling. Oh, God, look at, everything's just spilling out, which is what most people who are shy, I think, avoid. I think a lot of, like, we're just keeping a tight lid because if the lid comes off even a little bit, a whole lot of things might spill out. And I love the way you spill. I just think it feels momentous. It feels like I want to try that. I want to be on board with that.
[00:39:59] Speaker A: Thanks.
[00:40:00] Speaker B: I'm sorry I'm shouting into the mic. I got very excited.
Okay. In our previous conversation, I'll stop prefacing everything with that, I swear.
We also talked about another reason why some people don't start is because of this thought, especially women thinking that they have to do it all alone. And I have learned hugely from the podcast. Thank you, Riley. Thank you, Orianna. Thank you. Words that move me community, that you certainly will not achieve anything perfect in a vacuum, all alone by yourself. So for this solo project, you have me. I will be your water girl. I will hand out snacks. I love putting together craft services. Very good. I love that. If you need any support on the snack front, so sweet. Or just extra eyes, but, like, you don't have to do it all alone.
[00:40:48] Speaker A: And I'm learning.
[00:40:52] Speaker B: Yes. To accept that is hard learning.
[00:40:55] Speaker A: It really is hard. It's been really hard for me to learn how to accept help.
[00:40:59] Speaker B: Do you think that's because you've worked alone for so long or what do you think that's from?
[00:41:03] Speaker A: Worked alone? Childhood. Really had to take care of myself. And I've just. I always had this thing where I'm like, okay, well, no one's gonna take care of me, so I'm gonna take care of myself and I'm gonna do it. And, like, I have to do it all myself because no one else cares kind of thing.
[00:41:17] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:41:17] Speaker A: And it's learning to accept that people actually care about me, which is very hard. And to accept that they wanna help or I can even ask for help. It's really huge learning lesson for me for this past year, and it feels good. It's not weak, which is what I learned. It's not weak to ask for help. It's not weak to be vulnerable. Like, weakness is a very.
Yeah, we don't connect it to the right things in the society.
[00:41:45] Speaker B: Yes. Sneaky.
Can you think of anyone who does that? Well, somebody who's good at, like, asking for help, putting out an offer, like, you know, looping people in. And another reason I'm asking because I wanna research them. Cause I do struggle with that sometimes as well. And I think it's attractive to be a one man band.
So I'm still debunking, like, most of the people that I think are one man bands aren't. They have a huge arsenal of, like, you know, a team. Not an arsenal. They have an army of people helping them out. And so that's part one. But part two, shit, I just lost it.
[00:42:28] Speaker A: You were looking into the existence.
[00:42:30] Speaker B: I was so good. No people asking for help. I want to know better what that looks like so I can see how to do that better for myself. There was a part two to that.
I think it.
It also economically, I really champion paying people for their time, and I've seen a lot of people, specifically men, who are not afraid to ask and do not offer compensation.
If. When I am afraid to ask, I'm like, and I will buy you a bottle of wine and take you to dinner and pay for your gas. And I'm sorry, the project isn't paid, but now I'm paying.
[00:43:14] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:43:14] Speaker B: And I feel good about that because I like compensating people. But I would like to have for myself maybe a clearer rubric of how the economic landscape of volunteering actually works. Because if I'm asking somebody to volunteer, then that means no money. So if I'm. I think I should have for myself.
These sort of things can be volunteers. Yes, these sort of things can. Should be paid. And when they are, the payment should be no less than this. And I think in a bigger industry sense, we have dancers alliance rates, we have sag AfTrA rates. There's a lot of good, firm numbers to point to. But so much of our work. I mean, I'm making an Instagram video tomorrow.
[00:44:00] Speaker A: Right.
[00:44:01] Speaker B: Can you help? I'm not going to pay you dancers alliance rates for that.
[00:44:04] Speaker A: No.
[00:44:04] Speaker B: But should I? Now that I say it out loud? It's a funny thing.
[00:44:08] Speaker A: It is.
[00:44:08] Speaker B: It's a funny thing. And the fact that we are still emotionally laboring on this conversation when in the same amount of time I know, people that have just been like, hey, yo, what are you doing tomorrow?
[00:44:17] Speaker A: No, 100%. But it is very much, I think women have from what I have grown up with. It's very much like women help and men kind of ask situation. A lot of them, sorry, but more so is the straight white male in my life is not scared at all to ask for help. And they thrive because they don't feel bad about it. And it's funny because I like people like giving too. People like helping. Like, when you help someone, you're technically helping yourself. Cause we're all connected. That's a whole different topic.
[00:44:55] Speaker B: But yes, philosophy.
[00:44:56] Speaker A: Yeah, but like, even for my special, I have Ryan Parma who's helping me film it for free. And I have my friend Hondo who's project managing it. And like, they want to help. And I've been feeling really guilty about it. And I continuously bring it up where I'm like, I'm sorry, I owe you. Like, I'll do anything. And they're like, shut this hell up. Yeah, like, we want to help. We believe in you, we want to support you kind of thing.
[00:45:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:45:19] Speaker A: And that's been really interesting, too. But I think understanding that people do want to help.
[00:45:25] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:45:26] Speaker A: There's also a line where you're asking for too much sometimes kind of thing.
[00:45:29] Speaker B: But who draws that line.
[00:45:33] Speaker A: Right?
[00:45:34] Speaker B: I mean, I think. I think both people, both parties can. But as you're learning and as we're in the like, self produced work learning space, I think I would empower the helper to also draw the line. I'm really so down to help you for 4 hours this weekend. Can't give you any more time. I'm not comfortable spending my own money on gas, but I would really love to donate my time.
[00:45:57] Speaker A: That's so important. And that's been something that I've learned too. Cause I do not have a good relationship with money at all.
[00:46:03] Speaker B: Interesting. For the longest, you're probably really rare in that case, I think, in the dancer ecosystem. Yeah.
[00:46:11] Speaker A: But it's for the longest time, you know, I would overwork myself for not a lot of money for a really long time, and I didn't understand my worth with money kind of thing. So now I'm learning. What is that line? What am I worth? That is a huge.
Still trying to figure that out, but I think it is really important for people to think about that for themselves. Yeah, yeah, I'm right on board with you.
[00:46:38] Speaker B: I love that.
I coach a lot on worth. Like, what are you worth? Are you worth something different than I'm worth. Am I worth something different when I'm working than when I'm not working? Am I. And I.
[00:46:51] Speaker A: That one. Yo, let's go.
[00:46:54] Speaker B: I have a philosophy I like to talk about.
I use my nieces a lot, but let's use my dog. Wrist roll. So exactly what was that feeling that you just had for wrist roll?
[00:47:05] Speaker A: What was it?
[00:47:06] Speaker B: Happiness and love.
[00:47:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:47:08] Speaker B: She's never worked a day in her life.
Can't tie her shoes. She does have shoes.
[00:47:15] Speaker A: Does she really?
[00:47:16] Speaker B: They're like ballet slippers. It's because she loves to run and will run on concrete, and it messes up her little toe pad.
[00:47:24] Speaker A: So now she's got pal issues.
[00:47:25] Speaker B: She's got paw issues.
Can't even read.
[00:47:29] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:47:30] Speaker B: Shit. With money, poor money management, and 100% worthy of love 100% of the time. Damn right. Damn right. That's a fact. My nieces are human, so that's an easier one. Bat, not great at dance, can barely count. Writing is still an issue. And all of the time, they're fully 100% worthy of my love, my attention, my friendship, my care. So you also are that. All of the time, worthy of your love and your attention and your friendship and care and, like, kind talk and also delivering. Right. Like, just cause my nieces don't know how to dance doesn't mean we're not gonna put on a show tonight.
So you gotta put on your show even if you feel like I've never.
[00:48:17] Speaker A: Thought of it that way. Cause I struggle with worth in all areas of my life. Especially, like, if I have nothing to offer you or give to you, then you hate me and I should, like, stay away, right?
[00:48:29] Speaker B: Let me crawl on this rock.
[00:48:30] Speaker A: If I can't give you any exact. I mean, I'm worth nothing, you know? That's true. And I love thinking of it that way.
[00:48:37] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:48:37] Speaker A: Super interesting.
[00:48:38] Speaker B: Yes, my friend. So if you can show up for yourself at your 100% value, it makes getting the work done a lot easier. Just like you talked about, mean girls, really, really hard and really, really fun. That is how this project can be. And it's possible that the hard part is just remembering your valuable.
[00:48:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:48:59] Speaker B: And that's fine.
[00:49:00] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:49:00] Speaker B: But also, I do that. So if you need any reminders, give me a call. This is what I do.
[00:49:04] Speaker A: You're gonna be getting calls every five minutes.
[00:49:06] Speaker B: Amazing. And also so down to help on the technical front, because it's way easier for me to hand off tasks that I don't think I can do. So I'm better at handing off certain things. But, yeah, I'm still pretty bad at handing off things that I think I'm good at.
[00:49:24] Speaker A: That's also hard because I struggle with that really badly. Cause I'm like, I want it done my way.
[00:49:31] Speaker B: Which is so great for you on this project. Cause it can be your right.
[00:49:34] Speaker A: Right.
[00:49:35] Speaker B: I love that.
[00:49:35] Speaker A: No, it's. So anyways, yeah. Asking for help and finding worthiness.
[00:49:39] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah, no big deal. Just a daily. Just a daily exercise.
[00:49:44] Speaker A: Yeah, we love it.
I think also just allowing myself to create something that I wanna create instead of thinking of other people. And will it make them happy? Does this sell the product?
[00:49:54] Speaker B: Does this move the plot forward? Is this the mean girls brand?
[00:49:57] Speaker A: Well, especially. Even since I was a kid, I've always been like, what can I do to make other people happy? Which I'm not.
[00:50:01] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah, on a big, big, big scale.
[00:50:03] Speaker A: Big scale. What can I do to make people happy? And that's been all forms of my entertainment, pretty much is like, okay, what will make you laugh? What will make you happy? What would you like? And I think this is the first time in my life where I've been like, I don't care. This is more. So for me. This is what I want. And it feels very liberating, and it's just.
I feel like I'm back in my vulnerable child self. And it feels very comforting and exciting. So I love it.
[00:50:32] Speaker B: I'm thrilled for you.
[00:50:34] Speaker A: Thanks. Thanks.
[00:50:35] Speaker B: Oh, that's so exciting.
[00:50:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:50:37] Speaker B: Okay, that's good. I'm gonna leave us off at that point, and we're gonna head into a little rapid fire. Perfect questionnaire, which you crushed first time around.
[00:50:46] Speaker A: Good at, man.
[00:50:47] Speaker B: I'm gonna give different questions, though. I'm gonna issue usher you in the same way, though. Cause this is an easy one.
Cats or dogs?
[00:50:54] Speaker A: Dogs.
[00:50:56] Speaker B: Coffee or tea?
[00:50:57] Speaker A: Coffee.
[00:50:58] Speaker B: Morning or night?
[00:50:59] Speaker A: Morning. And, like, really early in the morning.
[00:51:02] Speaker B: Really?
[00:51:02] Speaker A: Yeah. I like waking up with the earth.
[00:51:04] Speaker B: Nice. So sun comes up and you're up.
[00:51:06] Speaker A: I like. Yeah, I like when it's kind of still dark out in.
[00:51:08] Speaker B: You can babysit riz anytime.
[00:51:10] Speaker A: Perfect.
[00:51:10] Speaker B: Because she's like, it's seven, mom.
[00:51:12] Speaker A: And I'll be like, let's go.
[00:51:14] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:51:14] Speaker A: I don't know what that was, but.
[00:51:15] Speaker B: It was a maraca walka. Yeah, we're going on a maraca walka. She would love a musical walk. Ooh, I'll do it. Okay.
To choreograph or perform?
[00:51:27] Speaker A: Perform.
[00:51:29] Speaker B: I don't remember if this was in the beginning. The part where we talk, hate where we talk about hating to choreograph.
[00:51:37] Speaker A: Was that in the beginning?
[00:51:38] Speaker B: It was. It. Before that.
[00:51:39] Speaker A: It was lost.
[00:51:40] Speaker B: It was lost. Okay. Okay. So we need to talk about this.
I. Oh, this is why we talked about it. Because we talked about it. Okay. We have a surprise coming. We have a surprise.
Okay. Perform. Definitely. Same choreography. Hurts for me most of the time. Hurtful. Circle back to that.
[00:51:58] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:51:59] Speaker B: Movie or game night?
[00:52:04] Speaker A: Both. Same time. I like.
[00:52:06] Speaker B: But a movie you've already seen, so you don't have to fully pay attention to it. The answer is.
[00:52:12] Speaker A: The answer is yes.
[00:52:13] Speaker B: The answer is yes. What's the game, though? What game would you play?
[00:52:16] Speaker A: I love running. Charades is really fun. I don't know what that is. Have you never played that? Oh, it's, um. So you write a list of, you know, movies or films, you know, person.
[00:52:29] Speaker B: What it is, whatever you charade, and.
[00:52:31] Speaker A: Then you have one person that's across, and you have two teams, and one person at a time runs to them. They share the thing on the list, and then you run back, you do charades to the team. Whoever wins that guesses it, they run. Then they get the next one. It's really fun.
[00:52:46] Speaker B: I hate running. Oh, I love charades.
[00:52:49] Speaker A: Closer.
[00:52:50] Speaker B: We kind of strike neutral here. Cause I love charades, and I really don't like running.
Okay.
[00:52:56] Speaker A: There could be a rule. Speed walking. No. Running.
[00:52:59] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Or progressions. Jazz progressions.
[00:53:03] Speaker A: I would live that. Okay.
[00:53:04] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:53:04] Speaker A: Love that.
[00:53:05] Speaker B: What is your favorite movie? Or do you have one?
[00:53:07] Speaker A: I mean right now.
[00:53:09] Speaker B: Right now. What is it?
[00:53:10] Speaker A: Um, I always think of dumb and dumber because my brother and I used to watch it all the time. I know I can.
[00:53:16] Speaker B: Samsonite.
[00:53:16] Speaker A: Literally. Literally everything way up. Yeah. You sold our dead bird to a blind kid. I love that.
[00:53:23] Speaker B: I took care of it. Yeah.
[00:53:26] Speaker A: We're in the Rockies.
[00:53:27] Speaker B: Oh, my God. I could truly. Yeah.
Did you know that I made a dance version of dumb and dumber with my friend Maddie? Love.
[00:53:37] Speaker A: Excuse me. I need to see that. We're gonna get AsAP on Haley's face.
[00:53:41] Speaker B: We're gonna watch it.
This for the record, I'm pretty sure it cost me like.
Like $6,000.
[00:53:49] Speaker A: Holy shit, dude. Holy shit.
[00:53:54] Speaker B: That guy was not a paid extra.
Mmm.
Big gulps, huh? That's good. Well, see you later.
[00:54:14] Speaker A: Love.
[00:54:15] Speaker B: Hey, hair.
[00:54:25] Speaker A: Stop.
Did you rent that for this, too?
You know.
[00:54:35] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:54:37] Speaker A: I love this song so much.
Boom.
Hey.
Yes.
The outfits are perfect.
[00:55:00] Speaker B: Any quick teeth, triple quick.
[00:55:05] Speaker A: Hey.
[00:55:11] Speaker B: The briefcase.
[00:55:12] Speaker A: Dana. I love this so much.
[00:55:20] Speaker B: What in the fuck even is that.
Oh, yeah, I talked to.
[00:55:24] Speaker A: Hey.
Hey.
Oh, is that an actual place?
[00:55:40] Speaker B: And that's our friend holding a bird.
[00:55:44] Speaker A: Pretty bird.
[00:55:48] Speaker B: Yo.
[00:55:48] Speaker A: I'm so jealous that you went to the actual place.
[00:55:50] Speaker B: That's why I had to fly to YouTube.
[00:55:52] Speaker A: I was so jealous.
Yes.
Hey, time said I.
I love you guys.
Hey.
Yo.
Right now. Good. Down.
I love you.
[00:57:01] Speaker B: Who needs a radio right here?
Shut the fuck up.
[00:57:08] Speaker A: I learned.
[00:57:10] Speaker B: Oh, my God.
[00:57:11] Speaker A: Wait, that.
[00:57:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:57:13] Speaker A: Was so perfect, yo.
[00:57:15] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:57:16] Speaker A: And all the songs at the end. That was nostalgic.
[00:57:19] Speaker B: That's. It's my love letter to dumb and dumber.
[00:57:22] Speaker A: That.
[00:57:22] Speaker B: I really love that movie. Yeah, we are aligned, dude. We are very aligned. Yeah, we're very aligned.
[00:57:29] Speaker A: Yeah. That is that.
[00:57:33] Speaker B: You're welcome.
[00:57:33] Speaker A: No, thank you.
[00:57:34] Speaker B: You're welcome. We're so aligned. Is my love letter to dumb and dumber. It is. One of. It is so good.
[00:57:41] Speaker A: I'm obsessed.
[00:57:42] Speaker B: I'm glad you like it.
[00:57:42] Speaker A: I'm obsessed. Oh, my God. Yeah. My favorite movie ever. And that.
[00:57:46] Speaker B: And there it is. A danceicle. Dancicle version.
[00:57:48] Speaker A: A danceicle.
[00:57:49] Speaker B: Okay. Okay. This is a fun one. I know where we're headed with this.
[00:57:54] Speaker A: Oh, God.
[00:57:55] Speaker B: Actually, no. Before we get to that one, I do want to ask if you could collaborate with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
[00:58:01] Speaker A: Bo Burnham.
[00:58:02] Speaker B: Nice. I want to know if you got to have. No, I'm not going to ask this.
[00:58:07] Speaker A: Say it. What?
[00:58:08] Speaker B: Okay. If you got to have dinner with five people there any five people, living or dead, who would it be? I deliberately. I had the chance to not do this again. Cause this is not a fair question. It's not cool to ask somebody the question. But here I am doing it again.
[00:58:23] Speaker A: Hard. Well, I. Kate. Robin Williams for sure. Jim Carrey. Honestly, Jack Black would be great. I love Jack Black very, very much.
[00:58:31] Speaker B: Oh, my God.
[00:58:32] Speaker A: Tenacious D. Whole gang. Bring Kyle Gasson, too.
I.
[00:58:38] Speaker B: You get one more.
One more person at dinner.
[00:58:42] Speaker A: I don't know why I'm doing like all people that I don't know. Cause I don't have.
[00:58:46] Speaker B: Well, you might wanna have one person that you do know.
Otherwise it's just a big deal.
[00:58:51] Speaker A: True. Then I would have to have my friends mijiantini from back home.
[00:58:57] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:58:58] Speaker A: Just to get some fun childhood in there. Cause they love them, too, you know. Back in good old Wisconsin.
[00:59:04] Speaker B: Wisconsin.
[00:59:05] Speaker A: I say it right. Wisconsin.
[00:59:06] Speaker B: Wisconsin.
[00:59:07] Speaker A: There you go.
[00:59:07] Speaker B: Nice. Okay. Love that for you.
[00:59:10] Speaker A: Thanks.
[00:59:11] Speaker B: We did last time talk about your least favorite move. Do you know what is your least favorite move?
[00:59:17] Speaker A: I did say the kip up just because I can't do it correct.
[00:59:20] Speaker B: For me, it's a roll up over the toes. I never learned how to do.
[00:59:24] Speaker A: Oh, my God.
[00:59:24] Speaker B: It's funny that they both are a tool for getting you from the floor to standing.
[00:59:29] Speaker A: I don't like going on the floor.
[00:59:30] Speaker B: Nope. Don't. I prefer to not go down. Same. Because I've got, like, two good moves to get you up. Riley hates one of them, so we don't do that one.
[00:59:37] Speaker A: It's the other one.
[00:59:37] Speaker B: It's a hinge. Slide. Slide.
[00:59:41] Speaker A: I agree with you.
[00:59:42] Speaker B: We can make it, like a montage of how many times I've put that and stuff.
Love it. What is your favorite move?
[00:59:51] Speaker A: My answer to this one before was moving arms. And you know what? I don't take it back.
[00:59:56] Speaker B: Stick with it.
[00:59:57] Speaker A: I don't take it back.
[00:59:58] Speaker B: Upper body.
[00:59:59] Speaker A: Upper body. Because then it's less effort, and you can tell a story with it.
[01:00:05] Speaker B: Gestures and moving legs is harder.
[01:00:07] Speaker A: It is. And I get out of breath pretty quick.
[01:00:10] Speaker B: More effort. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, here's a fun one. Very excited to hear your answer to this question. If you had to compete a solo tomorrow, what would you dance to?
[01:00:23] Speaker A: You know what?
[01:00:24] Speaker B: Let's do.
[01:00:26] Speaker A: Trina, look back at me.
[01:00:28] Speaker B: Trina, look back at me. Yeah. I don't. I've never heard this. Oh.
[01:00:32] Speaker A: It's the most terrible, inappropriate song ever.
[01:00:35] Speaker B: So shock's gonna play, like, 5 seconds of it while this is happening.
That's part of it, right? Is you're preparing for your performance. You're trying to pick a song that's gonna wow the audience.
[01:00:47] Speaker A: Right.
[01:00:47] Speaker B: Or shock them. Make a man that connects with you, maybe get a complaint.
[01:00:52] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:00:53] Speaker B: Okay. Love that. That's very nice.
I don't know how this came upon my feed last night, but the song from mulan, where Mulan is going through training.
I don't know if it's called I'll make a man out of you, but that's the lyric that I keep saying back in my head. I am committed to choreographing to this song, and I'm committed to doing that with you. Hayley, are you down?
[01:01:16] Speaker A: I'm so down, man.
[01:01:18] Speaker B: With all the force of a raging fire and all the strength of a great typhoon banana something. A chorus in river mysterious as the.
[01:01:31] Speaker A: Dark side of the moon yeah. An explosion.
[01:01:36] Speaker B: We'll prism thunder explosion. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so we are going to be choreographing and teaching to the entire song because it's so well made. This song that you can't stop at any point. It's how I felt with zero to hero from Hercules, which became one of my favorite pieces of choreography ever. The music is great. It just flows. Oh, yeah. We did take a side step, and I do think this is important. There is a great video on YouTube that is a clip of side by side. The references for the animators for that zero to hero song. And these women are fantastic. The choreography is fantastic. And I think that video, I've seen watched it a thousand times. Part of the reason why I love doing movement for animators, because it doesn't matter if your clothing isn't quite right. You don't have to, like, have a full face and makeup on. You just have to be a character possessed by that character and then show up and do it. There's no, like, the lighting was wrong. We gotta try. Well, sometimes. I mean, lighting can be wrong, but I love doing that work, and this clip is such a good example of it. So I'm gonna link to it in the show notes, and I'm gonna say, I'm gonna put that in the future for me. I want to choreograph an animated musical and get to hire all my friends, no matter what, high size, shape, color, gender, whatever. I wanna be. Just like. That's the reason why it's great.
[01:02:59] Speaker A: Yes.
[01:02:59] Speaker B: Because when I do movement for an animators, I can portray a single six foot two alien from outer space.
[01:03:04] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[01:03:05] Speaker B: And I can portray Riz the pug.
[01:03:08] Speaker A: I wanna see that one.
[01:03:09] Speaker B: Honestly, there's no, like, I'm not gonna get typecast from anything.
[01:03:13] Speaker A: And I was saying before that, that is why I'm such a fan of you, because you are such a fan.
[01:03:17] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, that's right. That's why we needed to include this part. That's been a really nice compliment, Hayley. Yeah.
[01:03:22] Speaker A: Because you're amazing, and what you show is like an energy that only some people understand, and you understand it to a t. You are a true entertainer, and not a lot of people have that. So thank you. You are a blessing to this earth.
[01:03:35] Speaker B: Thank you so much. Thank you. I really appreciate that. I'm working on receiving compliments.
[01:03:40] Speaker A: Ooh. So there you go.
[01:03:41] Speaker B: Thank you. That's a good one.
[01:03:42] Speaker A: Taken very well.
[01:03:43] Speaker B: We did, actually, just a second ago, also talk about how there is kind of a training void. A lot of young coming up dance types, really good at crushing the moves. But we've already discussed that there's two, eight counts in our upcoming combo. But we've got to take a step to the right side of the room, and then we do a second eight count. We're gonna just do that for two eights. And there are some dancers like, that I know and love that are too cool for school to, like, really sell, to get in just some high knee, sideways walks. And so I am excited to teach this, and I think it will present a fun, awesome challenge.
[01:04:25] Speaker A: Fun and people do need to work on. I feel like people forget that dance isn't just moving your body. It's a. It's a full energy. It's a. It's a universal language. You know, it's like putting everything in there.
[01:04:37] Speaker B: And sometimes that manifests in eight count one and is 100%, but sometimes it's two eight counts of walking.
[01:04:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:04:43] Speaker B: And how interested in yourself can you be to make that interesting for two a's?
[01:04:52] Speaker A: Come to class and find out.
[01:04:55] Speaker B: Okay, last question.
I ask all of my guests this question. What are the words that move you?
[01:05:02] Speaker A: The words that move me? I'm trying to think of anything that I think I'm gonna stick with the I am, the I am just, I am. I can be whatever I want. Like I said, I think that the universe is, is you make it your own. You can do whatever you want. Happiness is a choice. I think it's very easy to choose it. I think it's also very important to sit with yourself when you are going through something and not pushing it away. For sure.
[01:05:29] Speaker B: Thank you for saying that.
[01:05:30] Speaker A: I think it's very, very important you do get to after having your little bit of pity party owning into it, because if you push it away, it gets so much worse. Don't do that. But then you get to go, okay, I choose happiness.
I'm alive. I am. I am worthy. I am happy. I am all the things that I want to be. And I can be whatever I want to be. So I am.
[01:05:51] Speaker B: I am. Fill in the blank. I love that.
[01:05:54] Speaker A: Anything you want.
[01:05:55] Speaker B: Thank you so much for that and for this reminder that happiness is always a choice. I hope you, listener, viewer, are choosing happiness in this moment. I hope you get out into the world. I hope you keep it very funky. But first, smash the likes, click, subscribe, and the bell. Leave a review and a rating, and get out there into the world and keep it funky.
[01:06:15] Speaker A: Foot blast, man.
[01:06:17] Speaker B: Foot sickle. Foot blast. Ooh. Reveal the calf having shaved.
[01:06:21] Speaker A: Ooh. I don't think I have either.
[01:06:23] Speaker B: Whoa.
This podcast was produced by me with the help of many big, big love to our executive assistant and editor, Riley Higgins, our communications manager is Ori Vagadares. Our music is by Max Winnie, logo and brand design by breetz, thumbnails and marketing by fiona Small. You can make your tax deductible donations towards that. Move me thanks to our fiscal sponsor, the dance resource center, and also many thanks to you. I'm so glad you're here. And if you're digging the pod, please share it. Leave a review and rating. And if you want to coach with me and the many marvelous members of the words that move me community, visit wordsthatmoveme.com dot. If you're simply curious to know more about me and the work I do outside of this podcast, visit thedanawilson.com.
