Host 0:03

Hello, welcome to Her Canuck Voice, where we are talking all things performing arts and the power of connection. My name is Lindsay -Anne Dow. I am the Her in Her Canuck Voice, and this season I'm taking you behind the scenes of my first ever professional production, Dear Evan Hansen. This is a multi-tony award-winning musical debuting for the first time in Kelowna, BC, Canada this spring. So, ladies and gentlemen, take your seats and enjoy the show. As I do in every episode, I want to briefly call out a trigger warning off the top here. Since this season of the podcast centers around Dear Evan Hansen, the main theme of this show is teen mental health and suicide. So if this is not for you right now, please just honor where you're at. It's all good. Move along. Let's remember everyone has a story and to lead with love and kindness and acceptance. We're all on this together. This is episode four. What you were listening to is some background sound from our first rehearsal last week. Some of us meeting for the first time. One of the voices you hear is Spencer Bach, music director. Because this first phase of rehearsals is all about the music. We have quite a few songs to learn, many of them in four or five part harmony, andor jumping all over the place between singers. So starting music early is paramount to the process. I'm learning. Again, this is my first go-round, so I've come to expect everything at this point. Spencer is awesome, so kind. He's a music teacher at Canyon Falls Middle School in town. So obviously comfortable with kids grade six to eight. Kudos to you, Spencer. And so wonderful with our little team of eight, which hopefully feels like a bit of a holiday for him. Randy Leslie was also in attendance, artistic managing director at Kelowna Actors Studio. You'll hear some words from him later in this episode. Randy is directing and choreographing, Dear Evan Hansen, so was on hand to offer some more insight into each of our roles to help us emotionally connect to our characters. With only eight members of this cast, each of us has to understand and embrace our character's unique situation so we can bring it to the stage in maximum authenticity. We don't have the benefit of large ensembles or dance numbers for emphasis. It's just us. I will say each character is also incredibly nuanced. There are no cookie-cutter roles. And part of why I love this show so much. There are no bad guys. We are all just real people navigating an incredibly difficult situation the best we know how. And so at this first rehearsal, the ten of us, along with stage manager Abi, sat around the piano and sang. It became quite clear this early on that each of us is connected to the show beyond it just being a job. We were all prepared and already started bringing our characters to life within the song, not just getting the notes right. We're still new and a bit nervous around one another, or at least I can speak for myself, uh, since I am the most out of practice when it comes to performing. But with a show like this, I can only imagine the relationships that will form, and I'm really excited.

Host 4:03

Which brings me to this episode, as it's my first interview and an absolute, total delight to sit down with Skylar Naaman, who plays the role of Zoe Murphy. Sky and I go back a couple years due to her involvement with two shows my daughter was in: Matilda the Musical from 2024 and Joseph and the amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in 2025. She worked backstage for both shows, so I actually had no idea she was a performer until this past year, where it seems she's been everywhere, from playing Violet Beauregard in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this past Christmas to ensemble roles in Pretty Woman and Guys and Dolls, where she absolutely shines. And I swear she's worn 10 plus wigs between those two shows. Now she's dialing it back a bit, appearing in Dear Evan Hansen as Zoe Murphy, daughter to Cynthia Murphy, my character, and brother to Connor Murphy. Now talk about a nuanced role. Zoe, her character, has a tumultuous relationship with her brother. So when he commits suicide, tragically, near the beginning of the show, she feels very conflicted. She doesn't know how to feel. He was a quote-unquote monster to her. And being a natural introvert now has to shoulder the weight of everyone's expectations for how she should be mourning him. She's thrust into popularity as and I quote, the dead guy's sister. And then Evan Hansen comes into her life, exposing a side of Connor she never saw, doesn't quite believe, but as she watches her parents' relief as this Evan is really helping them to grieve a much better version of Connor than any of them knew, she can't help but fall for the story too. She falls in love. What a tremendous arc for a character to play, and I can't think of a more deserving or fitting person to play this role. As you will hear, Skylar brings her own very recent experience navigating relationships in high school, the struggle kids can face under the pressures of popularity, living within the confines of the social media era. Sky is exactly what I needed for my first interview. She's an open book and she wears her lived experience like a badge of honor. She's exactly the type of young person who will make this world a better place. And I'm so honored to play her mom. So without further ado, I give you our Zoe Murphy, Skylar Naiman.

Host 6:52

Hi Sky. Hi. Sky or Skylar?

Skylar Naiman 6:54

Sky's great.

Host 6:55

Really? Y But does it feel like I'm your mom if I call you Skylar?

Skylar Naiman 7:00

Um, like I feel like everyone in my family calls me Sky. O

Host 7:05

Well, I'm I am your mom. Yeah. In this play. Yes. Which is so exciting. Um, I am like, obviously, we don't know each other very well. Our time together has been with you backstage. Y With my daughters, but in a couple shows, and you were stage manager. Yeah. And I didn't even know you did this. Like that you did the stage thing.

Skylar Naiman 7:36

Yeah, I took I took about a year off from performing and just focused on theater tech. So yeah, that was definitely a big change. But yeah.

Host 7:43

And then now you're just like in every how. Sky is currently in Guys and Dolls. Yes. Which is running through we close on May 10th. Okay. Yeah. May 10th, which is one full month before Dear Evan Hansen opens. So some downtime just to rehearse for your next one. Okay. Before we get to the deep questions, let's start with some icebreakers. Okay. Just to like lighten things up. Not that we totally need that, but okay, first question. Favorite live music experience?

Skylar Naiman 8:24

Um, definitely a Broadway show. Um, I got the experience to go to New York City with the Young Performance Company a few years ago. And that was like my first Broadway show experience with all of my friends. And I remember our first show we saw, which we actually ended up doing later on, was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. And I'm a big Harry Potter fan. I always have been. So I remember like when the curtain came up, like I was like tearing up. It was just like it's such a surreal experience to actually like be in a Broadway theater in New York City. Like, especially after growing up and like surrounding myself with musical theater. It's just like it was an unforgettable experience.

Host 9:32

Okay, next question. Triple threat. Triple threat is acting, singing, dancing. Which is your strongest and your weakest?

Skylar Naiman 9:40

Um, I would definitely say singing is probably my strongest. Um, my weakest is definitely dance um this next year. I really want to take like a few more like proper like dance classes. I used to dance a little bit when I was younger, but then I completely like pretty much lost it. But then like obviously regained like a few skills like doing a bunch of shows back to back, but I would definitely love to like improve my dancing and like my technique.

Host 10:06

Okay, my weakest is dance too. But if your weakest is dance, that is saying a lot. Cause you she's like up on stage, like with the ensembles doing all the jigs, and yeah.

Skylar Naiman 10:21

Yeah, it definitely takes me some time to get there though. Like, I truly do go home and practice so consistently just because like I want to be, I want to be at my best. But yeah, no, dancing is definitely my weakest.

Host 10:33

Okay, well, maybe you can teach me a thing or two. Not that we really need dance for this show, which is kind of great. Yeah, it's a different one. Um, okay, last question. You just landed the gig of your life. What is it?

Skylar Naiman 10:46

Um, playing Eurydice on Hades Town in Hades Town on Broadway, 100%. I have played that role, luckily. Hades Town is my favorite show ever, Eurydice is my favorite role ever, and I did get the amazing opportunity to play it on the Kelowna Actor Studio stage last year. Um, but definitely the dream would be to one day play it on Broadway, maybe.

Host 11:11

But I have not seen that show. I did not get to see you guys doing it. I feel like it was right in the middle of it.

Skylar Naiman 11:18

It was in the middle of some craziness. But they actually just filmed the Pro Shot in the UK, I think, and it's coming to Netflix. So you can watch it. It's amazing. And I think it's the original Broadway cast that they filmed it with.

Host 11:33

So I love that this is becoming, and I don't know if it's just like this era of like people are more interested in watching these things, but it's like since COVID, if we can take like a positive that came from COVID, yeah, is these shows are being filmed on stage, like the stage version, and then given to us in our homes to watch, which it's never gonna be exactly the same. Okay, so let's get into the nitty-gritty. This podcast is all about connection. So my goal with it is to kind of like break down barriers and break down walls because Dear Evan Hansen is such a emotional ride. And we kind of have to, as as actors in it, have to go pretty deep, I think, to get into character. Let's do it here as well. So I want to know about you, not your character. Um, born and raised.

Skylar Naiman 12:40

Um, I was born and raised in Kelowna, BC. Um, I've lived in West Kelowna my whole entire life. Um, I just recently graduated from Kelowna Secondary School last year, but I went to middle school and elementary school in West Kelowna.

Host 12:53

Nice. Born and raised Kelowna person.

Skylar Naiman 12:55

Yep.

Host 12:55

You know, I when I first moved here, I didn't meet many of you. And I feel like lately it's like all the people who come into my life are like OG Kelowna people, and they're all great. Yeah. They're all like down to earth, good, good people. And so, do you have music in your family?

Skylar Naiman 13:12

Um, kind of. So my mom lived in New York City for five years. She um was a big Broadway fanatic. She loved seeing Broadway shows, but there's not really any like performing in my family. My dad and my uncle I know did some like high school theater. My dad has a really beautiful singing voice. He actually wanted to audition for a Little Shop of Horrors this year. It's his favorite show ever. But other than that, there's not really like performing in my family, but there's definitely music. Like my dad, he loves music, he plays the guitar, he sings. Um, singing with him was always like a big part of my childhood. So yeah, that's that. But other than that, like not really performing, but definitely some arts in there. Um, no, my brother's played soccer pretty much that sports, yeah, no arts, sports, no arts.

Host 14:01

Yeah, fair enough. I have one of those too. Yeah. My 10-year-old. He likes to be here. He loves like being behind everything, yeah, working a spotlight.

Skylar Naiman 14:13

Absolutely. He loves, he's never done anything like backstage, but I'm sure he would love that. But he comes and supports all of my shows and he loves them. So good. Yeah.

Host 14:22

I, in one of my earlier podcast episodes, I referred to that like desire to be on stage as the bug or the itch. Do you remember when you first caught it?

Skylar Naiman 14:34

Oh, I do. So I actually did my first kids' class here um at the Kelowna Actor Studio in 2014. I was six. It was a production of The Snow Queen. I'm pretty sure I played the Northern Lights. And then ever since then, I like came back and did some theater. But in the summer of 2019, I was in my first summer theater class here. It was called Freaky Friday. And me and Kate, who was actually also in the show playing Alana, um, we got to play Catherine and Ellie, the mom and the daughter in Freaky Friday. And ever since that, I started doing kids' classes consistently. Um, it was, I loved it. Theater, that class is definitely what sparked like my my theater bug. And then after like keeping consistent in kids' classes and learning more, I um got an offer to be in, it was called State at the time. It is now what is YPC? And we did a show called Once on This Island Junior. Um, and there was about 12 of us, and that's kind of when things started to get really real in like my theater life, and I kind of decided like that this is what I wanted to do full time. I kind of gave up like any other hobbies I had. I did some skiing when I was a kid. Um, I played ringette, and um, it was that year that I did state that was kind of like okay, it's theater now, and that's kind of when like the theater bug really like came full circle.

Host 16:00

And so you were how old? Oh, I was 2019, so that's seven years ago going on. So you were in your like early teens, your new, new, new little baby teenager. Yeah, that's a big time in one's life. Um, what was high school like?

Skylar Naiman 16:19

High school definitely was a bit of a struggle. I actually ended up moving from a high school in West Kelowna, it was called MBSS in grade nine, and I switched to KSS in grade 10 to be with some friends who I met through the Kelowna Actor Studio, and that was a really big change. I kind of had like my two very tight-knit friends, and that was it. And grade 10 and 11 were okay, but I went through a a hard time in grade 12. I had some big adjustments to make. I had like a few mental health struggles of my own. I struggled with anxiety and depression, and things got pretty dark for a while, but I ended up graduating with my closest friends, and everything did work out. And even though it doesn't all feel okay, it will all be okay. And that is my biggest takeaway from high school is that everything everything will always work out, even though it doesn't always feel like it.

Host 17:18

And high school, thank you for sharing that by the way. High school is like, you know, I'm able to look back with a lot of hindsight because it's been so long. Yeah. It's just such a I still have dreams about it. Yeah. Like I still I'll dream about teachers, I'll dream about kids I went to school with that I haven't seen in 20 odd years plus years. It's such a weird time. Like, no, at no other time in your life are you placed in a room or a building, yeah. All the same people for year after year after year. Yeah. And then expected to like it coexist and add on hormones, puberty, like people trying to find their way and find their place. So question did was theater like part of your treatment in a way?

Skylar Naiman 18:10

Absolutely. Um, theater definitely kept me going in a lot of ways. Um, I know in grade 12, um, there was a time where I took a pretty big step back from theater actually. I was cast in a few shows um last season, and I took a step back for a few months to try and find myself and work on myself because like things did get pretty bad at a certain point. But I think that time I used to reflect. I was still doing like rehearsals for Hades Town, and I was doing a few school theater things, so like theater was still a very prominent thing in my life. That being said, like those two theater experiences definitely did keep me going because I wasn't like at the point of burnout because I was doing so much, but I had like, oh, I have two hours that I go get to sing and dance with my friends. That like that's that definitely kept me going. I've always said this theater has always been my escape. My escape if I need out of my house or just like I just need to forget about everything for a little bit. Like you step on stage and you forget about everything. You try you forget about everything. So definitely theater is definitely a great escape for me, at least.

Host 19:15

It's crazy that because so many people would say, Wow, you step on stage, you're in front of people, there's lights, like, doesn't that make you so nervous? And yeah, I I can totally understand where you're coming from in that it's such like a tonic for your soul.

Skylar Naiman 19:29

Like it's just you just the lights hit you, and all you're thinking about is performing for all the people in front of you, but it's not like a scary feeling, it's just like wow, I'm doing art that people are enjoying.

Host 19:42

Describe it as like you're kind of like this medium in between the art and the people. Exactly. And it's like you get to be the vessel that they are able to witness and like take part in this art from with with no matter what they're bringing in the door. Like they're they're probably bringing in the door stuff from their day, yeah, their lives.

Skylar Naiman 20:03

Yeah.

Host 20:03

Life is complicated and messy. Yep. And you are learning that at a very young age, but and this is what I say with my kids a lot, is like the more you can learn that when you're young, the the less um shocked you are when you're 25, 30, and you're just kind of it's hitting you then. Um I know that that probably wouldn't have sounded great to hear to you a couple years ago when you were really in it. But um yeah. Anyways, thank you for sharing that. Do you do you feel like you relate to because there's five teens in this play? Do you relate to any one of them more than the other?

Skylar Naiman 20:53

I mean, I think I kind of relate to all of them a little bit. Like, I was very anxious in high school. I ended up um losing a lot of friends, but then regaining a few really like just tight-knit friendships in like my senior year that I held very close. So I was definitely like kind of an Evan in that um scenario. Zoe, after like learning about this role and being like a fan of the show for so long, Zoe tends to keep her guard up. She doesn't really let a lot of people into her lives because she holds herself to such a standard that she has to be, she has to be perfect because of all the like things that are happening at home. She holds herself to a standard that she has to be perfect. So I definitely relate to that. I very much hold myself to that standard still, even though it can be unhealthy at times. Alana and Jared, they're very confident and outgoing. Um, definitely. I also relate to that aspect in theater. Like, you have to be confident and outgoing, obviously, a little bit. And then Connor, obviously, pretty deep mental health struggles and. Like I touching on that earlier, um, I definitely do relate to that. But I think the girl I do relate most to is Zoe. Convenient that I'm playing the role, but um, yeah, definitely, definitely mostly Zoe for sure.

Host 22:14

I think, well, and this will be interesting to figure out as I talk to each of the characters. I feel like we all relate to our character. I know, speaking for myself, I can totally relate to the mom character that I'm playing. Yeah. Having a kid and and having a kid go through struggles, it if you've never experienced that before, it would just feel like completely foreign, which I think is what we're dealing with with Connor's family. Like they just are like, we don't know what we're doing. We're just like chucking everything we can at it. We're we're doing what we think is right, and and and that's the great thing about this play is it's so nuanced. There's no bad guy here. Yeah, there's no good guy, there's no bad guy. I mean, I think maybe everyone's good. Everyone's just trying their best to do what they know how to do in a situation that they're not ready for. They have like they're not equipped to handle this situation, they've never handled it before, and they're just doing their best.

Skylar Naiman 23:15

Yep, exactly.

Host 23:16

What made you audition?

Skylar Naiman 23:18

Um, so Dear Evan Hansen was actually the first show I ever saw. So I've always been a fan of Dear Evan Hansen. It's been one of my favorite Broadway shows. Um, for my 16th birthday, my mom bought me tickets to go see the Broadway across Canada or you've seen it. I'd have seen it. I saw it in Seattle, and it was my first like real theater experience. And I remember sitting there during You Will Be Found, just bawling my eyes out. It's such a different experience listening to the music and seeing the show live. Like the impact of this show, seeing it, seeing it live, it's compl it's a completely different animal. It's such a good impact, and I truly think that everyone needs to see this show because I guarantee by the time you walk out of those doors after the lights go down, you will have learned something. Absolutely. You will be found. You will be found. And I do think that like teenage mental health struggles aren't touched on as much as they should be. Um, I know like I did a lot of research for youth mental health in high school and things like that. And obviously, like things are taught very well now in high school, but overall, like things do get really hard, and I think the show does a really good job at like representing like how hard things can get and how alone people can feel. So I truly do think that this show is a must see for everyone. If you're a parent with a teenager who is struggling with mental health, or if you're a teenager yourself struggling at all, this is definitely a must-y show.

Host 24:49

How does technology play a role in teen mental health?

Skylar Naiman 24:55

Oh my gosh. Okay. Do you have 45 minutes? This is, yeah, this is definitely a big one. Um, honestly, personally, like, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. Social media has had kind of a negative impact, I think, on a lot of teenagers. Obviously, you can get caught in three-way group chats and Instagram, you can you're gonna get negative comments, you're gonna get DMs from people, people aren't gonna like what they see, especially even like musical theater. There's such a stigma around musical theater. I was in high school, I kept like musical theater completely hidden because I was scared that I was gonna get I was I was scared I was gonna get bullied for it. So I kept that very on the down low. And I do think social media has such a great, like, not a not a great impact, but the information is it's overload.

Host 25:43

Like and and any if you want to find any sort of message that's gonna resonate with you, it's there. So in in some ways you can find yourself and you can feel less alone.

Skylar Naiman 25:54

Yes, absolutely. Like, I do think there's like there is quite a good like impact from social media. Like, I've gained quite a following from posting like my theater now, but um, I know like when I didn't, like I would get negative comments, I would get DMs, I would get things like that, even like Facebook and like people trying to hack you and take all of your information and things like that, even too. It's just like it takes a toll on you. Um, social media really does take a toll on you, even like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram. There's so many different forms of it now that like even like TikTok reposts. If you repost the wrong thing thing, one of your friends is gonna be like, oh, like is this about me? Blah blah blah blah blah. And then it can cause this like huge blow up. Social media, it's it's a risky, it's a risky road to take, and you have to be careful about how you present yourself on there and how you show show yourself on there because of the wide community. Like there's things you never know what's gonna go viral, like anything can reach anyone, really.

Host 26:56

So would you say you're now more held back as to what you put out there?

Skylar Naiman 27:02

Absolutely, yeah. Yes, very much so.

Host 27:06

Does doing something like this kind of freak you out a bit?

Skylar Naiman 27:09

Or I think if you asked me to do this a year ago, it would definitely freak me out. But after graduation, and like I've worked on myself a lot in the past few months, and I still do like struggle with like mental health things, obviously. But after putting myself out there, working on myself, I'm now just think this is the coolest idea ever. Like, I want I'm proud of doing theater. I want people to know that I'm a performer, this is what I do for work. Like, I get paid to perform because I love to perform.

Host 27:38

I so I think I knew you, and and now this is so interesting because I knew you when you were probably going through some stuff. Yeah. And then I saw you more recently in the last year on stage, and I'm just like, I don't even understand how this is the same person. Like, I can't compute you. Were a shell of a person. Like, I much feel like I could get in there. Yeah. Not that we had any time together, but like, you know, some people are like a lot of theater people are quite bubbly and outgoing, and you were not that. And so, but I was like, it's okay, she's just a background, she's just in the on the crew, she's not outgoing, she's not bubbly, that's totally just her personality. And then you came on stage, and I was like, who the heck is this person? Yeah, and I've messaged you a few times, and I'm not just saying it because I'm in a show with you. You glow. Your every moment that you're on the stage, your face is exactly in the right position. You are always on. You are on, on, on, and you glow, and I can't take my eyes off of you. And I'm not just making this up.

Skylar Naiman 28:48

Thank you. I uh I do pride myself in my stage presence. I do. I always try and keep like a big smile on my face and energy, energy, energy.

Host 28:57

But it feels real. It doesn't feel like I've seen the faces that are like just put on. Yeah. It's authentic.

Skylar Naiman 29:05

Yeah, it's and it's because I love it. Um, performing truly like fuels me so much that I feel like I can always do that just because of like you forget about everything when you're up there. I've said that before, but it's I wish I could explain this to a non-theater person, but you can't. It's an unexplainable thing. You just you have to get up there and be under the spotlight, and you just forget about everything and everyone, and you're just you're happy. Like, I'm so happy when I'm performing. And I wasn't for a while, but now I've just I found myself and I can confidently say that I just I love it. I love it all. I've always loved it all, but even just so like especially right now, I just I love it all.

Host 29:47

What would you say to me and the other parents who are out there navigating? Like, I have two kids, they're 12 and 10, they're coming up into a world that you kind of started to experience some harder times. What would you say about social media? Like, what advice do you have? I guess.

Skylar Naiman 30:07

Oh, this is a tricky one. I know that like I felt like I couldn't talk to my parents for a while about it just because I didn't want to let my guard down. I didn't want to be like, listen, I'm not okay. So I tried to like I fake my grad quote was literally fake it till you make it. So I really I really did try and just like keep my walls built up. I'm so blessed. I have such an amazing family. My dad also struggles with depression, so he gets it. I have an amazing mom and I have an amazing brother. And um, I remember like when I eventually did tell them, they ended up being so supportive about it, and like they uh they pushed me in all of the right directions that I needed to be pushed in to get better. But I think like I guess this is kind of advice for like people my age, but like just don't be afraid to reach out about it. But it a lot of times like it can be hidden. Like my parents would have never known that I was struggling, so like that's another thing is just like check up on check up on your friends, check up on your kids, um, keep the communication open. Yes, very much so. And then social media, I definitely when I have kids eventually, they are not allowed social media until they are mature enough to handle it. That's that's what I will say. But um, like my parents really didn't, I feel like people aren't educated enough on social media because like obviously my parents didn't have Snapchat when they were my age. Like my parents didn't have TikTok, like things social media has taken so many like advancements now. But now that I've experienced it, I'm like, wow, like I know the dangers of like how this can be used against people.

Host 31:45

Me and your parents were kind of navigating this world. We're like, we're going in blind. We did not experience this. Yeah, we experienced a very different childhood. I myself didn't really use the internet until after high school. Yeah. So it was so different. And now we're having to parent through this time that we have nothing to base it on. Social media and and online connection or lack of connection is a big theme in Dear Evan Hansen. That's very much so. You know, it's it's funny how many thought themes or how many little touch points and storylines there are in this show. But that uh and obviously I've said from the beginning, the can the theme of connection or lack of connection is kind of the central theme. But social media and being connected online is one of the major ways that it shows up. Yes. Both in terms of you know, Evan D being totally connected online, sharing a very different version of himself online, right, and then being totally disconnected at school and at home kind of too. That's right. So and then also how the social media comes into play with Connor's death and yeah, very much so, yeah. Kids, you know, feeling like they need to relate to him, and maybe they never gave him the time of day before, he was kind of uh an outcast. Yes, very much so. So kids didn't they kind of were scared of him, they didn't know him, he seemed mean, scary, so they stayed away. But then after he commits suicide, they're kind of coming out of the woodwork to like know him.

Skylar Naiman 33:40

And then, like, actually on that topic, one thing I will say is I think that like the way that Connor was acting was a cry for help, and no one really necessarily saw that. And I know I I had a friend in high school, and there was like a pretty big situation that happened, and I know that a lot of things that did happen were a cry for help, and it's it's crazy how much your mental health can take a toll on the things that you say to people and how you treat people. A quote that I'll always live by hurt people, hurt people. Um but it's such yeah, you never you never know until it's too late, kind of thing. It's just like a cry for help and then Connor's gone.

Host 34:28

So our generation, most of us, a lot of us, were raised to be good, yeah, to have good behavior, yeah, absolutely, to do the right things at the right times. And if we acted out, we were being bad. But there is this wonderful shift happening right now in that we're starting to recognize, just like you said, these this acting out is actually a cry for help. Yeah, and it's and we're we need to listen. It can be the hardest thing in the world because the acting out can be very hurtful. Yeah, absolutely. It's very triggering for many of us. Um, so we just want to look away or like write it off as that person's crazy. It's like almost always a sign.

Skylar Naiman 35:20

It's yeah.

Host 35:22

So good. Okay. Wow. I have something to play you. This is from the other night I took a bit of audio from our rehearsal. Oh my gosh. So it was like a tiny, it's like little tiny clips. Okay. And then something that Randy said at the end, and I just want to get your reaction to it. Oh my gosh.

Clip from Rehearsal 35:42

So we're gonna jump into the Requiem song. Uh, first run through. We'll just sort of see what happens, right? Let's just sort of see. Yeah. All right, all right. So we'll just push play, let it go, and then I'm gonna take notes and watch it. Yeah, I love it so much. I thought it was gonna make it even the odds were like harmonized perfectly easily. That's good. I got tingly. I got tingly. It's like came in and like three-part harmony, just like that. Uh get musical theater out of you for this show. Okay. Go for the honesty of the piece. Don't worry about projection. I mean, just really go with the emotion of the song and think of it more like a film than like a Broadway performance.

Skylar Naiman 36:46

Wow. Yeah. I remember him saying that actually. This show is so different than all of the other shows that I've been in. I've always loved Dear Evan Hanson. Zoe Murphy has always been a role that I would dream of playing, but it is like an ingenue one an ingenue role. It's it's a love. Like she falls, she falls for Evan, and then I've never really I've never really played that like softer role before. But this show is so contemporary, it's so real, and it's so heavy that it's not really musical theater. There's no big dance numbers, there's no bright colors, it's not really like a spectacle like that. It is it's real and it's raw, and it's a story that I think needs to be shared and heard by everyone because of how different it is compared to other musical theater experiences, I guess.

Host 37:42

Requiem, the song that we heard you sing a little bit of, and then he talked about afterwards, is by mainly you, and then supported by me, your mom, and uh Larry, your dad, played by Mac. And it's kind of how we're all trying to come to terms with Connor's death. The grief, yeah. But not wanting to actually, yeah, and finding ways around it. So for my character, it's that you know, I believe that in some way I'm I'm you you're living on. Or sorry, he Connor is living on through through Evan in a way, and through this this person that I'm being introduced to by Evan, who I never knew. So it's almost like I'm meeting him again. Yeah, his dad is just in denial about all of this and feeling probably extreme guilt, pressure, and and responsibility for what happened, and just not wanting to handle it. He's he's almost angry, I think. Yeah. Like I gave you everything, yeah, I agree. And you threw it away. Yeah. Zoe, where's Zoe at?

Skylar Naiman 38:49

So Zoe, I think, feels she feels bad that she's not upset that Connor's gone, and she has a lot of resentment towards herself for feeling like that. But mostly she has a lot of resentment towards her brother. Her brother was horrible to her, they never had a connection. So she feels bad for not being able to like she feels bad for feeling like she's not able to grieve Connor's loss like everyone else is because she's hearing all these new things from Evan that he was this good person and that he would say all of these good things about her, but why didn't he say it to her? She has like no, she really has no form of like belief towards this. She has no reason to believe it because Connor's always been horrible to her. So she is really caught in this like crossroad of confusion. She doesn't know how to feel, but she doesn't want to let her guard down and stop being perfect because she doesn't want to fall apart in front of her family. It's a heavy one. It's a heavy one.

Host 39:50

Very much so. And and then you know what happens with Evan coming in and kind of introducing all of us to this story, but who Connor was that like we all fall for. Exactly. Because we're all trying in our own way to like come to terms with this.

Skylar Naiman 40:07

Yeah, and Evan makes it so real and like and attractive. He makes Connor so attractive to us.

Host 40:13

Yeah, it's so easy to it's so easy to believe it.

Skylar Naiman 40:17

Yeah.

Host 40:18

That and there's little, like I've I've actually read up because I'm a total Dear Evan Hansen nerd, there's little hints along the way, like little things that don't add up, timing-wise, when he's you know, he tells the story about how they went to the orchard, the timing doesn't add up. There's a couple things along the way that you can spot if you're a nerd like me that give away the fact that that it's not he's lying, he's lying. But we all fall for it. Yeah, just because we it's easy, we want to, yeah.

Skylar Naiman 40:43

It's the easy way to go. It's the truth is like there's so much that's not known about Connor when he dies, like no one really his family didn't really know him, he didn't really let anyone in his family know him, like he didn't really let anyone in his family love him. So I think that there's just so much that the Murphys don't know about Connor that when Evan does come in and gives them this fantasy that everyone goes along with it because it means that Connor was a part of their lives, even when he wasn't really. So that's yeah, heavy. Wow.

Host 41:22

So cast of eight, me, you, plus six others who we are just about to go rehearse with tonight. Yay!

Skylar Naiman 41:30

Can't wait.

Host 41:31

18 shows over three weeks. Wow. How am I gonna do it, Sky? Yeah. Are we drinking energy drinks or what?

Skylar Naiman 41:40

Oh, yeah. I have a 28-pack of Alani for every show. The Costco variety pack.

Host 41:46

I'll be on stage jittering. Yeah. Like, no, I'm upset. No, I'm shaking. Uh, June 10th to 28th, Wednesday through Sunday, two matinees on the weekend, if that's your thing. Tickets are selling. Yeah. Kelowna Actorstudio.com for your tickets. Join us. Okay, my last question is Yeah, please sing with me.

Skylar Naiman 42:06

Yeah, please. Oh my gosh, you have such a beautiful voice. I'll never go over it.

Host 43:00

So do you. Amazing. I'm so excited for the show. Oh my gosh. I went through You Will Be Found. I was like, woof.

Skylar Naiman 43:13

Oh yeah. This is gonna be fun. I uh sang, I like practiced You Will Be Found for the first time. I've had that song on lock for a long time. Like I've I sang that for two variety shows. Like I've oh you've got it on lock today. Yeah. But I haven't listened to it like since we got cast and I was practicing it today. I don't know how I'm getting through this. I honestly don't.

Host 43:33

Like, like physically, you'll be able to sing it. Yeah. But emotionally I'm gonna be, yeah, gonna be a hot mess. I always say that's where I'm winning because my character should cry. Yeah. She's the mom. So if I'm crying, who cares? You know what? It makes sense. I get to just cry when I'm actually crying. Yeah.

Skylar Naiman 43:51

I feel for you guys that have to just luckily you will be found is my one that I can let my guard down. Thank the Lord.

Host 43:58

Yes, you can. Yes. Everyone. Yeah, kinda like. Everyone kind of everyone kind of feels even Mac Gary can just really give her