Description

Juli Auclair talks to Emily Hsu, who dances in the Broadway Show 'Spamela', about being a Mom and a performer on Broadway.

Transcript

Juli Auclair: Every working mom knows the dilemma of finding enough time to balance work and family lives, and if your job happens to be in theater, you have the added stress of performing 6 nights a week before a live audience. Well, we found out what it takes to juggle it all during our visit with working mom Emily Hsu. She performs in Spamalot on Broadway. We'll visit her at home and backstage as she gets ready for performance of the hit show. By day, Emily Hsu is every bit a mother, building block towers. Emily Hsu: Can you count in Spanish? Cassidy: Uno. Emily Hsu: Uno. Juli Auclair: Making snacks. Emily Hsu: You want a big apple, like this? Juli Auclair: And reading books. Emily and her 22-month-old daughter Cassidy spend every second together. Emily Hsu: You're doing a handstand. Juli Auclair: But by night, Emily Hsu the actress is performing before a live audience in the hit show Spamalot on Broadway. Emily Hsu: It's so gratifying because you just feel this energy and it's, you know, sometimes late at night I get there and I'm like so tired or I haven't gotten enough sleep and I have to remember like these people, they've never seen the show. They paid, you know, over a hundred dollars. This is like their special evening. I always wanted to do musical ever since I was a little girl with my sister, we did little shows in the backyard and, you know, put together song to Grease in the basement and I always loved to sing and dance and act and be on stage. Juli Auclair: And she's made a career of it. This isn't the first time Emily's been on Broadway. She's performed in many shows including Cats, Boy from Oz, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Annie Get Your Gun, and Flower Drum Song. Emily Hsu: What does mommy do at the show? Cassidy: Dance. Emily Hsu: Dance. With who? Juli Auclair: Emily's career had taken off but soon, she'd need to take time off. She and her husband, Eric, discovered they were having a baby and in 2006 along came Cassidy Lynn. Emily Hsu: I never knew like how much love I could have in my heart, you know, and when they say, like, you love someone so much it hurts, it's like that because I just-- I love her so much. Juli Auclair: Emily spent one year at home, six months during her pregnancy and another six after Cassidy was born. Emily Hsu: Being a mom is definitely just the hardest thing I've ever done because you just don't really have a moment to yourself. Juli Auclair: So when you're mom, you're sort of juggling family and career and your baby and yourself but do you ever feel like the only bottle you can drop is you? Emily Hsu: Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, I do. I do drop myself. I called a friend the other day and I was like, I can't do it all anymore. Like I feel like, and she said, you know what, you have to do something for yourself. Juli Auclair: That's when Emily made the difficult decision to go back to work. The theater was calling. Emily Hsu: I missed my friends and I missed-- I remember calling a friend and I said I feel like I've lost Emily. I lost who I was because all I am is a mom right now so, for me, I needed to go back and just have something for me and I do believe that that makes me a better mother. Juli Auclair: But going back wasn't easy. Even though her mother-in-law helped out with Cassidy in the afternoons and her husband was with her every night. Emily Hsu: And I would always text him at the show, Did she drink? Two ounces? Three ounces? How many ounces did she have? The first night I drove in to the show, I remember, I just cried the whole way in and I called somebody who'd been through the same thing and I was like, I can't do it, I can't do it. She said, Yes, you can. It's gonna get easier day by day. Juli Auclair: Now, Emily has the best of both worlds, back on stage but still spending everyday with Cassidy. Emily Hsu: It's kind of a double edged sword. It's great because I get to spend all day with her and then, you know, I'm gone at night but she does go to sleep but at the same time, my sister said to me because sometimes I get so overwhelmed, she's like, Well, you're a full time stay-at-home mom and you're a full time working mom. It is good but then sometimes I feel like I don't ever have a day off. Juli Auclair: We're backstage at Spamalot. Very exciting. We're gonna go see Emily in the dressing room. Let's check it out. Emily? Hi. Emily Hsu: Hello. Welcome to the dressing room. Juli Auclair: What's it like performing before a live audience every night, six nights a week? Emily Hsu: You know, it's really exciting. You know, sometimes, I forget because I do it every night but then when I think about it, I'm like, I'm performing on Broadway. You know-- Juli Auclair: It's huge. Emily Hsu: Like everyone's dream, it's so hard to do. It's really exciting and with the live orchestra and like the best of the best of everyone so it's fun. It's fun to just get on stage and be somebody totally different for two hours. Juli Auclair: After spending a total of five minutes putting on her makeup. Emily Hsu: We just learn to just whip it on. It's like muscle memory, just kind of and go. Juli Auclair: Emily takes me on a backstage tour before the rest of the cast arrives to get ready for the show. What's it normally like in here? Emily Hsu: It's usually pretty chaotic. There's nine girls in here. Juli Auclair: Okay. Emily Hsu: So, you know, the space is tight and we've got all our costumes and all our shoes and our headpieces, our hats, and like this section is my section of stuff. Juli Auclair: Here's your name. Favorite costume in here. Emily Hsu: Favorite costume in here, maybe my wedding dress. This little wedding dress-- Juli Auclair: Oh, that's beautiful-- Emily Hsu: With the lace and the little bussel. Juli Auclair: Next we saw the pit, the wig room, and the wardrobe room. So, have you ever taken Cassidy here? Emily Hsu: She has been here. She's come to visit me sometimes after a show and she's been down there, she's been to the hair room. She's been on stage. She loves to be on stage and-- Juli Auclair: I bet. Emily Hsu: Yeah. Juli Auclair: One of the things Emily says she likes most about returning to work, being back with the girls again. Emily Hsu: The women in the dressing room, they're like my sisters and that's what I really love about going there right now, is feeling like I have a family away from my family and I can kind of just laugh and I'm not a mom anymore and I could just gossip and be silly. Juli Auclair: But at the same time, I see Cassidy everywhere. Emily Hsu: Yes, she is here. Yeah, Cassidy's here because I do miss her, especially on the two-show-a-day. Juli Auclair: Speaking of the show, it's about to start. Emily Hsu: Yes. Juli Auclair: So we're gonna let you go but what do you do, any superstitions, anything you do before you go on? Emily Hsu: I eat. Juli Auclair: You do? Emily Hsu: I eat my dinner. Juli Auclair: You have your dinner with you-- Emily Hsu: That's my ritual. Juli Auclair: Alright, break a leg. Emily, you are such an inspiration. Thank you so much for showing us how a Broadway mom juggles it all and be sure to stay tuned to www.parents.tv for more Broadway moms that we'll have coming your way very soon. Thank you so much for watching Parents TV.