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In terms of my own experience, my dad is first-generation, so his parents were from China, and my mom was born and raised in southern Illinois, and she was involved in the arts. My dad's a doctor.
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I've prioritized taking care of my mind, having fun, and doing things that make me laugh. And eating well - as in, really good food, like steak or pasta or fresh vegetables or an amazing dessert. You know, 'treat yo'self.'
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I learn something new about love every day. For example, loving yourself is just as important as loving other people.
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I like that Amelie is strange, just like me. I'm happy I've gotten to be on this journey following my 'Hamilton' journey because they're so different.
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I took dance from a very early age, although my first recital, I remember refusing to go onstage. I think I was three. It's funny because that stage was also my high school theater stage.
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During the winter of 2013, we were running 'Comet' up in midtown - as opposed to downtown - and across the street in the Standard, and that was, like, our third time going at it, from Ars Nova to downtown to near Broadway. We weren't on Broadway. We were near Broadway, as we said.
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I really love being in a room and developing work.: being at the table, looking at the script for the first time, and putting a story on its feet.
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I think as a young person, leaving high school or college, you're like, 'All right, all right, enough already.' But now there's a part of me that would like to go back and relish those moments when you could sit down and just... read a book.
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I'm half-Chinese and half-Caucasian. My grandparents came here from China. My father was born in New Jersey.
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My mom always told me to follow my bliss. And I remember specifically with my father, when I was out of school and not knowing how I'd get a job or make money - should I take some classes? What do I do? He said as long as I was working - to enrich myself in some way - that I was on the right path.
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Now, when building a show, I ask myself the question - like, 'Jumping off this table will be really cool, but can I do that eight times a week?'.
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I eat a light but sustaining dinner before the show: a bunch of greens and some non-gluten quinoa or rice. I'll have a snack at intermission. I'm trying so hard not to have meals after the show because it's so late, but sometimes I just want a big bowl of pasta.
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At night, I'll do coconut oil or almond oil on my face as a mask to replenish my skin. I've found those are so simple but work better than any other product. Coconut oil is so good, but if you don't want to smell like a cookie, sweet almond oil isn't as pungent.
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I think I've learned, really, just how to let go - if an idea doesn't work, or it's not perfect, that's O.K.
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I wake up around nine, drink a cup of coffee, answer some emails, and ease myself into the day.
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On long car rides, we would always listen to the 'Blues Brothers' soundtrack and try to emulate everything that Aretha Franklin was doing. There was soul and grit in it that I think a kid from the suburbs really needed.
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I've been very lucky. I made a choice, getting out of school, to follow the work and the people that really struck my heartstrings; 'Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812' was one of those - maybe it was an accident.
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'Hamilton' is, of course, closely tied to the Obamas because Lin first performed the opening number at a White House poetry jam.
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We did a student-initiated project of 'A Little Night Music', which was the first time that all of the divisions - music, dance, drama, opera - came together and put on a piece. It was a black box kind of feel. We had to get costumes that were pieced together. We had our own lighting that we finagled.
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There's a very old tradition of theater actors doing their own makeup. It's like putting on your mask. There's an element of storytelling involved in it - you put on your character when you put on your makeup. At least, that's how I like to look at it.
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I think in general, people are baffled by love and what it does to them and how far they'll go to have love and be loved.
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Doing something out of town is so beautiful because it really becomes about the process, and the product will be a result of it, but process is what is the goal - to really see what works and create the best story possible.
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There's the cool factor, right? You see your face on a sign or your name on something, like, 'Ahh! Here I am!' And then there's a huge responsibility and the scary part of it, which is like, 'Now what happens?' And then you realize, 'Oh, yeah, this is my job.'
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Doing a show eight times a week is kind of like doing yoga or tai chi. A vinyasa is the same every single time you do it, but depending on how you're feeling, it tells you a lot about what's happening in your life.