#211- Between Acts: When Listening Led Me Somewhere I Never Expected

This week, Salisha reflects on what it means to live and create in the space between acts. As a Broadway performer, life is often defined by auditions, rehearsals, and curtain calls. But there are moments when the show pauses and something quieter begins to unfold.

Salisha shares how stepping back from auditions, honoring her body, and navigating her new pregnancy journey opened the door to opportunities she never could have planned. What began as a season of rest became a reminder that when artists listen closely, life has a way of placing them exactly where they are meant to be.

She reflects on
• What it means to honor an intermission without fearing the end
• How stepping back can create room for unexpected opportunities
• Trusting timing even when the path looks different
• Balancing ambition, artistry, and real life
• Recognizing when a moment arrives that feels both surprising and familiar

This episode is a reminder that some of the most meaningful moments in an artist’s life do not come from chasing the stage, but from being ready when the stage appears again.

CHAPTERS

01:37 Gratitude and listening to the pause
03:32 Stepping away from auditions and Broadway burnout
05:20 Trusting timing during a new season of life
09:07 An unexpected opportunity appears
16:29 Returning to the stage in a way she never planned

@salishathomas @thesalishashow, www.thesalishashow.com

Many thanks to Gotham Network in NYC, TyNia Brandon for writing and laying vocals down for the updated theme song and Big Red Studios for the intro video wherever you watch the latest season of The Salisha Show!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

That you want to know bring you and your favorite rose.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

Hello and welcome to the new wave of the Salation Show. I am so excited. I'm your host, Selicia Thomas, and I'm recording here at the beautiful Gotham Production Studios in Midtown Manhattan, and I am officially, I'm so proud to say this. I'm officially a part of the Gotham Network. So I am so, so happy to be a part of this family and have a home to record. I'm also super pregnant. And so probably by the time you see this new season, hopefully we've met Baby Boy, which I'm calling him Baby Alien right now, because I don't think my family's gonna like the name that we're actually picking, but I feel like they're gonna like it better than Alien. Like so, Baby Alien will be here, God knows when. But I'm getting ready, I'm getting excited. And so I want to start this episode, and I think I want to start starting my episodes with what we're grateful for today. Like, let's take a minute wherever you are right now. Maybe you're in your car, maybe you're at home, maybe you're having dinner with your family. Just take a minute and reflect on literally the world might be burning down in this very moment. But there is always something. There is something, even if it's it, even if it's as small as my patients being pregnant. There's always something to be grateful for. And so I'll go first. Um, something that I'm grateful for today is to be, I'm grateful for being eight months pregnant and still having enough energy to get out and do some things. I just performed last weekend with Hugh Jackman at Radio City. And it has been such a dream. I just never thought that when I got knocked up, I would even have a job. So that is something that I'm grateful for today. What are you grateful for? There's also something new that I've added to my website. You can go to thsilicia show.com and there's a speak pipe on there. So if you like scroll down, there's a place for you to leave like a 90-second voice message to me. So I would, I've never used it. Maybe you'll be the first one to use it. Um, I would love for you to like try it out and let's see how it goes. Let me know what you're grateful for. Let me hear about you or what you think about this episode. No matter what you like, I just want to try it out. Let's see what happens. But today, what is on the docket today? Let's see. I just mentioned some, like a little something about the Radio City Red residency that I've been doing this year. So maybe let's back it up. Let's start from the very beginning. That's a very good place to start. Um, let's talk about the audition that changed my life. A couple of years ago, I did a show. It kicked me in the butt on Broadway. It stressed me out, and it was a very different experience than my first Broadway show, which was like smoke break. It was so dreamy and perfect and easy. Easy. The second show was still a dream. It was a dream come true. It was not easy. And so after I finished that experience, I my agents were sending me out for a lot of different things. And I realized like I just kept passing on good appointments that they were getting me. And at a certain point, I was like, um, are they gonna drop me for passing on these great appointments? And so I scheduled a meeting with them and I was like Dustin and Mark at Daniel Hoff Agency. I love them. I've been with them since 2017. I was like, you guys, I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't know if I'm broken, I don't know what's going on. I'm I just wanted to tell you why I've been passing on all these auditions. And and they were so understanding. They're like, take, take a break, went away with us for the summer. No. Um, they were like, live your life. We just got back from vacation. Like, do your thing. Like, you don't, it doesn't have to be go, go, go. We're not going anywhere. And I took that to heart. I stopped auditioning for quite some time, like many, many months, almost a year. No on stage performance opportunities. Just don't, like, I never even went in for gypsy. I didn't even go in for gypsy. I just was like, I don't want to be on stage right now. So fast forward a few months when I got called in to audition for this, what I thought was random, this random Hugh Jackman show at Radio City. Like, the pay looked wild, but it wasn't accurate. But I was like, wild as in, like, I'm not gonna do that for nine months. It doesn't make any sense for me. And I don't wanna be on stage. I don't want to be stressed out. So, long story long, I passed. And I don't know exactly how it got communicated, but it sounded like casting thought, I passed because I didn't have a voice. So they said, Oh, that's okay. We'll reschedule her for when her voice is a hundred percent. We want her voice to be a hundred percent. Okay, let me just stop right there for a second. I've been in New York City for 11 years. I no longer feel green, but I am no Autra McDonald or Keisha Lewis. I'm sorry, you're res you're gonna reschedule me for when I'm feeling good. Like, what is my life right now? That was the first thing, but I was like, they'll probably forget. But that was really nice of them to say. And for context, I am friends with the casting director. We became friends after the last gig. Like he was a casting director and then he became my friend. Some time passes, maybe a few weeks pass. I don't hear anything. I'm chilling. I've seen the music supervisor since then, and he never said anything. So I'm like, uh, well, he said hi, like we're friends, but he didn't mention the project at all. So I'm like, I'm sure they found who they needed to. We've all moved on. Cool, works for me. Cause I don't need to be, I don't even want to be on stage right now. Well, I get an I get a message one day saying, hey, can you come by Patrick's apartment and sing for him on Monday for the for the same project? I'm like, okay, so they did not forget. Um and also, what? Okay, so I know Patrick. Patrick Vaccriello is literally a genius. He is so incredible. He's music supervised and directed like the music man and everything that Hugh Jackman does and the Kennedy Center honors every every year. Like he's just as incredible. And I worked with him on Once Upon a One More Time. The Britney Spears musical. I love him. Everybody who meets him loves him. And we're friends. So hearing to like go to his apartment was like, I've just never been to his apartment, but like I love him. I'm like, um, yeah, okay. And so I've gone from I'm not auditioning for anything to I'm passing on this audition, to they're rescheduling me, but they didn't reschedule me for like Pearl Studios or Ripley Greer or all the places where we all do these public auditions. I was at the music supervisor's home. So I'm like, yeah. I had just recorded a commercial voiceover for Dell that morning, which is what's been paying the bills. Thank you, voiceover and commercials, um, when I'm not on stage. And I got to his place and it was so beautiful. Oh my God, I cannot even believe how gorgeous his apartment was. And we're just hanging out and catching up. And then he's like, why don't you come over to the piano? Let's sing a little bit. I'm like, sure. And I'm getting ready, like, I have my papers, I'm ready to like stand and sing. He's like, girlby, sit down. So I'm sitting down next to him at the piano. It's so casual. It's like we're at um don't tell mamas and we're just like vibing or something. In fact, maybe way less casual than don't tell mamas. And we're just singing through my book, and it feels good, it feels relaxed. I'm like, I've never been at an audition that I felt this much myself, where I don't have to overthink anything. I'm just hanging out and singing songs. The songs I want to sing. And after a while, Patrick was like, You sound great. And he starts texting, furiously texting. He's like, Can you hang out for 20 minutes? I'm like, Yeah, sure. He's still texting. He's like, he was gonna come by. Is that okay? I was like, I'm sorry, what? What? But I didn't say that. I was like, yeah, that's cool. I'm literally having a full on stroke. Like I am officially in a coma. And then he starts talking about man, when Hugh Jackman would stop by the auditions, girls would lose their minds and they'd get so nervous and in their heads. And I'm thinking, I'm also losing my mind. I am also it like freaking out right now. And I have to pretend like I'm a cool girl. I've never been the cool girl in my life. Ever, ever. Okay, but I kept my cool, you guys. 20 minutes pass. I hear a knock on the door, and I am like, I'm like, did you hear that? I was like, there's a knock on the door, like trying to not be a crazy woman. I was a crazy woman. Um, but I I kept it chill. In Walks, this movie star, he had to have been at least six three, six, four at least. Just like, it looks like he just walked out of a Wolverine movie. The only difference being he just walked out of a storm because it was storming that day in New York City. So he's sobbing wet. He's flinging his hair. You can see all of his teeth. He's smiling so big. And when he comes into the living room, he's like, Salat, it's so great to make you. I'm like, what is happening right now? And he comes in for the biggest hug. And I just, I of course I hugged him back and I'm standing there, and all I could say was, You're sobbing, what? And he laughs. He laughs like he's Santa Claus and he's like, uh. And we just start talking, and I was able to actually be a human being, like, and have a conversation with him. And eventually Patrick's like, why don't we all go to the piano? You want to sing a little bit? I'm like, yeah, okay. And what was once the most casual pre-audition with me sitting next to Patrick at the piano, it has now turned into Patrick's at the piano. Hugh Jackman is sitting in a chair in front of floor-to-ceiling windows with the Manhattan skyline behind him. And now I'm standing singing for an audience of one. And I'd had this moment of what is happening right now? How did we get here? How did we get from I am not auditioning for a year to this feels like a final callback? A final callback that I did not ask for. But I'm so grateful for. Do you know what I mean? And I'm singing and I decide to just have fun because I don't have anything to lose. I literally have nothing to lose. And so I'm singing my favorite songs out of my book, and after each song, I sang two songs. Hugh jumps to his feet, gives me the biggest hug, and tells me how great I am. Like he's so complimentary that I think he's full of shit. That I'm like, there's no way on earth this man is this nice. There's no way. There's just no way. And he was so kind. He was like, you're so connected. You sound so great. I'm like, I don't have an Australian accent, but like that's kind of what it sounded like to me. And he just made me feel like a million bucks. I'm like, well, of course, because he never has to see me again. I'm probably not gonna get this job, but it doesn't hurt him to be kind. So that's what he's doing. That's what I'm thinking. And then they were like, Can you sing Never Enough? And I didn't really know. Of course, I've heard it. It's from the movie The Greatest Showman, which I love that movie. Um, and that's the song that the soloist in his show will be singing. And so I was like, Yes, I just learned it, but I so I had the papers in my hand, but I sang it and while I was singing, he like starts recording. I'm like, oh my gosh, like, what is happening right now? And then after that, they were all like Patrick and Hugh Jackman were so kind and so nice, and I was escorted out of the apartment immediately. I'm like, did that really just happen? Have I actually understood? Like, I'm just like, what just happened? I'm in the lobby getting my things together and about to go out into the storm. And I'm just I I just felt I remember feeling like that's the story. It's not if I get the job, it's what what the heck was that audition out of a movie? Like, and I just felt grateful and I knew I didn't get it, even though it felt like the best audition I'd ever had. And three hours later, casting calls me and they say, Paul says, you know, he already has three backup singers, but he wants to make you the fourth. He really liked you. I was like, okay. And the pay was a lot different than what I initially thought it was. I was like, okay, I can do that. And the schedule was so flexible and great. I'm like, uh yeah, once a month for nine months? That sounds great. Like three shows a month, one weekend a month. At Radio City, it has always been my dream to perform at Radio City. Like it has been my dream. I have prayed to God so many times. God, I I'm praying that I'm one day I want to be highly featured at Radio City Music Hall. And I thought I was praying for the Tony Awards, that I would be like up for an award or something. But it's funny how life can unfold if when you let it. I said yes to that contract. Two hours later, um, no, two weeks later, I had started rehearsals for this Radio City res residency. One week into rehearsals, Patrick and Hugh asked the backup singers if we would each be the soloist for one show in October. And my spirit has is like stopped dead in its tracks because I knew my husband was trying. We were trying. Wow, it was really Andrew. But I was like, I I probably we're gonna get knocked up this year. And um I said out loud after they asked, I was like, I literally cannot get pregnant. Like, I was so honored to have been asked to be a soloist in this show, singing Never Enough. I was like, I can't get pregnant. And they both said, Yes, you can. As long as you can walk out on that stage and sing the song, you can sing this song. It's okay if you're pregnant. If you need a chair, we'll get you a chair. I'm like, what? And then three days later, I found out I was pregnant. And I remember walking into Radio City for my first time ever and being so taken aback by like, how am I on the stage right now? It was 2014, 11 years ago, when I had first walked into this building and had the most magical experience of getting to watch the 2014 Tony Awards hosted by Hugh Jackman, and I spent hundreds of dollars for the top-tier balcony all the way in the back. I could barely afford it, and I just was so in awe that I was even there. And now I'm gonna be on the stage with the person who hosted that first show that I ever saw in there, and and now I just found out that I'm pregnant. It was so many emotions. And then two days after that, I told him, Hugh Jackman, and Patrick and the team like, hey, you guys, I'm gonna look a little bit different the next time we come back. Um, because we had two months off, and it was wild and crazy. But that was the audition that changed my life, that has changed my outlook on being pregnant while being in the entertainment industry. And I've seen other women do it, but this is the first time that I've gotten to feel like it's possible for me to still work while starting a family, for it to feel like there's enough flexibility for me to do what I need to do as well. And you guys, it's possible. The things that we want are possible, and I've been wasting so much time praying for what I think is logical and possible when really if you ask for what you actually want and what you actually need, God can deliver it in a way that you never imagined or thought possible. Anything is possible. And so I just want to leave you with that thought today that what like what is it that you really want that you're not even wasting time asking for because it doesn't look possible for you? What is that for you? And what's holding you back for writing it down and saying what it is that you actually want, not what you think is available, not what you think the options available to you actually are, but what you actually want, what would actually work for your schedule or your family or your work-life balance or your peace of mind, your sanity. Like, what is it that you actually want? And so, yeah, that's all I got. And with that, we're wrapping this episode of the Salicia Show. If you're watching this on YouTube, subscribe. If you are listening to this on Apple or Spotify or iHeart, subscribe. Um, hit that subscribe button, share with a friend, tell a friend, and also hit my speakpipe on thesia show.com and let me know what you think. Any stories that you'd like to hear about or who you'd like to hear from if you want me to interview someone specific um in the Broadway community or in a different industry, let me know. And with that, thanks for tuning in. I'll see you next week.