Exploring the Intersection of Art and Spirituality with Deborah Hazlett

Lynn Shematek: 00:00:01

Hello, friends.

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Today we meet Deborah Hazlett for whom

acting is more than just a performance.

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It's part of a personal,

spiritual journey.

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Deborah talks with Good News team

about how her varied experiences

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on stage connect with the Divine

Mystery within herself and the

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collective soul of the audience.

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Join us as we explore this

interplay between art and spirit.

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Jon Shematek: Deborah Hazlett,

welcome to our podcast.

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We're thrilled to have you here today.

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Deborah Hazlett: Thank you.

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I am delighted to be here.

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Jon Shematek: So Deborah, you

are a professional actress.

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You've been part of the Every man theater,

resident acting company for a couple

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of decades plus, you are a teacher of

something that I don't know anything

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about called the Alexander Technique.

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we'd really love to hear about you

your career and the Alexander technique

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Deborah Hazlett: I've been at

Everyman for, this is my 28th year.

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it's been pivotal for my development

as an artist because a lot of people

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in this country, at least people I

run into, don't know that being a

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regional theater actor a full-time job.

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they know a lot about film and

television actors and Broadway,

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but they don't know a lot about

what we call being in the regions.

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I lived in New York for years and

have had an agent there for years and.

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have worked outside of Baltimore and,

had wonderful, wonderful experiences, but

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it's been so important to have an artistic

home where I feel that I have a voice as

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an artist where I feel my opinion and my

journey is important to the folks around

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me who I consider my theater family.

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So it's been my artistic

home now for a long time.

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And the gift of that is that I have,

some agency as an artist, I can

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talk about what's important to me.

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I work with people.

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I consider my family, whether it's

the stage managers the shop, the

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crew, the wonderful administrative

staff, the front of house folks.

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often when you are hired and go

to work in a theater, you just

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don't get to know those people.

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everyone's kind, but you aren't

exposed as an actor to those folks.

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so those people are my theater family.

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but I've also enjoyed, auditioning

in New York and working in theaters

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where I don't know anyone at all,

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Opportunity to start over and recreate

yourself every time you go into a

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new rehearsal hall where you may

only have met the director in New

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York at an audition and a callback.

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some of that is virtual these days

since COVID, a lot of that has changed.

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and then there you are and you show

up and you have an intense eight to 10

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weeks with folks and then you go home.

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So the consistency at Everyman

has really, helped me.

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Develop myself as an artist, artist in

a place where I felt safe and welcomed.

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We talk at every man a lot

about the rehearsal hall.

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I actually like rehearsal

better than I like performance.

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in the rehearsal hall, you get

to risk and fall down and make

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mistakes and we try something and

then we say, oh, that didn't work.

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But then we get to try

again It's great fun.

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It's work too.

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people still ask me after all

these years, what do I actually do?

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the rehearsal week is seven days

a week, eight to 10 hours a day.

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and then you have eight shows

a week, Tuesday, Wednesday,

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Thursday, Friday nights, two shows.

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Saturday, two shows Sunday,

sometimes a matinee during the week.

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So it's an intense process

that requires, a full-time job.

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And this is when you are working

in a union house, which Everyman

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is, it's hard to have another

kind of job when you're working.

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You're not always working.

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So there's lots of in-betweens

and that's where I found my

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teaching to really sustain me.

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I have an MFA, which is a three

year, terminal program for actors.

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It's a funny word, it sounds

like, we die at the end of it, but

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they called it terminal degree.

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It's the last one you can get as

an actor, and that is what you need

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to teach at the university level.

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But also I teach for

theaters when I work there.

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And, but during COVID, as you

know, all the theaters shut down.

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Everything went dark.

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I had just started my, teacher

training for a certificate

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in the Alexander technique.

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There happened to be at

Mid-Atlantic here in Baltimore.

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Happened to be run by a

brilliant woman, Nancy Bermuda.

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And we were able to keep that going.

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And I spent, it's a 1600 hour

certification, so I spent a lot of the one

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and a half years of COVID where theaters

were shut down and then completed my

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training once we started working again.

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This time through studying it has

really transformed my work, but

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also my life in a lot of ways.

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So it's been pretty spectacular.

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Jon Shematek: Wow.

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Well, we sure wanna hear about that.

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I think it's probably a good

time to just tell us a bit more

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about, Alexander Technique.

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And I do wanna loop back, to hear a

bit more about, your acting career

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and the impact that's had on your

life, particularly on your inner

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self, your spiritual life, you were

talking about that wonderful sense

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of family, at Everyman that, that

you've had and, which is awesome.

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I'm also interested in the audience

component of that and the impact?

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I know you've been in a

huge variety of roles.

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I've seen you in several very

different roles and, mm-hmm.

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So, I don't know, you want, you, you

wanna talk about Alexander or talk

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a little bit more about, Everyman

and what, what goes on there?

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Deborah Hazlett: Let's, talk about

every man just to keep a through line.

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so often in this business

you can be, typecast.

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when you don't know folks very well in

New York you're meeting a director, and

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they take one look at you and they believe

this is the type of role you can play

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the gift of being a company member at

every man is that that doesn't happen.

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So I've played everything from, I mean,

I'm a pretty, waspy looking gal, right?

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the focus of my MFA was in, the classics

in Shakespeare That is something I'm very

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passionate about, but at every man I play,

everything from, from Ipsen to, to doing

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Frankie and Johnny at the Clair balloon,

to, playing Tracy and Sweat, which was

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a, a very complicated, difficult play.

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beautiful play.

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I get to play in the classics

in a way that I really love and

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that I'm very passionate about.

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the gift is that the artistic director,

Vince Lancisi, who's just a terrific

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friend and a very talented man,

he's the founding artistic director.

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So he started this theater more

than 30 years ago, I think 35.

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he doesn't look at me

and just see one thing.

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when you work with someone for this

many years, they get to know how

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you can transform and then they

provide a space to make that happen.

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as an artist, it was my dream when

I was in the third grade and my mom,

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we were on a trip from, my dad was

stationed at Shaw Air Force Base.

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We took a family trip to Washington DC.

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We went to all the monuments.

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It was like, fourth row center,

last minute, fourth row center

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tickets at the Ford's Theater.

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We saw Godspell.

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it blew my mind and I said to my mom,

how old are you in the third grade?

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I said,

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That's what I'm doing.

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And she enrolled me in classes

at the Sumter Little theater.

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Where I happened to be taught by Katie

Damron and Jan Taylor, brilliant,

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talented artists who had landed

in Sumter formed this theater.

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And I learned so much about the

real work of a life as an actor.

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and I tried not to do it for a while.

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I worked for Congress for a while.

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I was gonna go to law school.

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But I was afraid.

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So I got my MFA instead,

and I graduated in 94.

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And have been working steadily since.

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my mom says, don't say you're lucky

'cause it's hard work, but stay grateful.

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I'm very grateful to have had

the work that I've had and played

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the roles that I've played.

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Lauren Welch: Deborah did

you have a favorite role that

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you'd like to share with us?

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Deborah Hazlett: You know,

people ask me that a lot.

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One of the gifts too, of every man is

the subscribers that are so, involved.

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they see me do many different things.

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They see all of us do

many different things.

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As a matter of fact, when I first

came to the Cathedral in: 2016

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were a lot of subscribers there, and

I remember being startled by that.

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it was lovely.

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They feel a bit like children these

roles and it's hard to pick a favorite.

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I've had roles that have

changed me certainly.

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Hedda Gabler.

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It's an Ipsen play.

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she's a complicated woman.

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She's trapped and she's a complicated

woman, but she does this thing in

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the middle of the play where this

manuscript that this person's been

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working on forever, and it's a play

that takes place a long time ago.

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So it was a handwritten manuscript.

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There would've only been one of them.

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She burns it, she throws it

in the oven and burns it.

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somebody in the audience literally

stood up and said, you are a psycho.

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so that kind of relationship with

the audience is something that

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you only get in live theater.

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Hedda was important to me.

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she was very difficult, character.

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But I always make the argument

that I can't judge these people.

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I have to love these people because

when people are behaving badly.

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They rarely think they're behaving badly.

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That's just not how it works.

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So I don't think these are bad people.

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I can't, as an, as I'm playing the

role, I have to find what motivates

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them and why they do what they do.

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sometimes the more difficult

characters the more challenging it

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is, the more satisfying it may be.

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But then, I recently did a Midsummer

Night's Dream, which was nothing

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but delightful the whole time.

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And then I said, I'm never

doing another drama again.

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I only do comedy.

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it was fun and playful and I love

the language people often say to me,

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How do you play these intense roles

and not let it affect your life?

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Well, it does affect your life.

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I always say, I come off stage,

all my sons, for example, beautiful

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play, and the man who plays my

husband commits suicide at the end.

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That's the last scene.

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There's a gunshot and that's it.

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death of a Salesman, where Willie.

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kills himself in the

car at the end, right?

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So I always say, you know, you go off

stage you have the curtain call and

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you go to the dressing room and you

take your wig off, but your body has

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taken a physical emotional journey.

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it's real important to have the tools

and skills to manage that in a way that

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enhances your life thank God my life

is not as dramatic all the time as my

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characters' lives, when we all have times

in our lives where it's terribly dramatic

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either terribly difficult or very joyful,

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Not eight shows a week.

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So it's very important to learn

the discipline of releasing.

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what the journey has

been, if that makes sense.

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Jon Shematek: It does.

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it's making me, think about how

these roles and, have affected you

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personally is the impact that it must

have and does have on audience members.

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we all need the experience of joy, that

you were talking about with midsummer.

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and we need to be thoughtful and provoked.

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As watching Hedda Gabler would

certainly make people think it was

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written a long time ago, but the

themes are so timeless and current.

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Deborah Hazlett: The.

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Theme of a woman feeling trapped

in a marriage and in a system

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where she doesn't have agency.

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And she is expected to behave, and live a

life based on the expectations mostly of

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men in Heda, gobbler, Ibsen writes about

this with Nora and Doll's House with Mrs.

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And Ghosts the themes resonate

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People whether you're a man

or a woman the feeling of not

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having agency in your own life is

something that people can recognize.

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the catharsis between anyone on stage and

the audience is the reason I do the work.

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the audience is another

character in the play.

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We feel you.

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We feel you breathe.

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We hear you laugh.

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We can tell if you're bored.

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We can tell if we're just

not funny that night.

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Sometimes we're just not funny.

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it's tremendous that sort of connectivity.

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I always tell people if you go to a movie

theater and there's nobody in the movie

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theater, you're always really happy.

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'cause you, oh good, I

can just watch the movie.

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If you go into a live performance

theater and there's nobody

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there, it's very disconcerting.

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People want to have that

communal experience.

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It's like being at church when the church

is full and you can just feel all that

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connectivity and shared experience.

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It's the same way, in the theater.

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So I don't think AI can ever replace that.

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Lauren Welch: Deborah, as you're speaking

the connection, the joy that you share,

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how has this experience of acting and

interacting with the audience, how

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has that, helped your spirit, or how

has that affected your spiritual life?

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Deborah Hazlett: I was away

from church for a long time.

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I was raised in the Episcopal church.

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My grandpa was an Episcopal bishop.

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like many folks in my late twenties,

I moved away from the church.

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I struggled with some of the concepts.

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and I found.

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Real spirituality in the theater.

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it feels similar, the shared experience

but also the mystery of the transformation

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that happens in the room is, Something

that I can't explain to anyone, but

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I know it when I am in church, I

often have the same experience of.

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What is actually what, in my mind,

the Holy Spirit, just the work

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of the Holy Spirit in the room.

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And I have a little prayer I say

before I go on stage every night and I

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invite the Holy Spirit to travel with

me to help me be, a vessel for truth.

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that's a phrase I got from

a dear friend of mine.

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as to how it.

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Helps my continued work on

my own connectivity to God

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and my own spirituality.

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It's a strong reminder of staying

present and listening and staying

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open to what is before you.

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as an actor, you have to listen.

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pay attention to the beauty

and the miracles that are

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happening all around you.

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The courage of the people

around you to do what they do.

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I think more than anything, it's helped

me to be open to what's possible.

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And when I came back to church in

: 2016

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ex-musical theater actor from New York.

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I was like, oh, I found

my place, I found my home.

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I feel very grateful to organize the

reader's ministry and do those trainings

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because I hope I can bring some of

these gifts to that ministry, and

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invite other people to use themselves.

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To tell the story even in a shorter way.

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bringing who you are as a

reader to tell the story.

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'cause that's what's important.

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It's important because you are

the person telling the story.

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So it's been a real, gift

for me to integrate that.

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I hope that was clear.

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Jon Shematek: It absolutely was.

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it's great to see that, integration.

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I just find this whole

discussion so irresistible.

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I do wanna get to Alexander

technique, honest, but I did wanna,

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Deborah Hazlett: we could

do another one about at, we,

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Jon Shematek: this might be long enough

to split into two, right, Lauren?

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anyway.

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the thing I'm, I'm, thinking about,

you know, the theater and Everyman

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in particular, I'm so grateful

that it survived COVID 'cause that

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certainly killed a lot of art, and

live performance venues and so on.

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these days, the theater and all

arts, are really under, additional

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threats, in terms of funding.

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Yeah.

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and so on.

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And I assume that Everyman theater

has, is being affected, by all that.

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And I don't know if you wanna

comment on that, but I certainly

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want to let our viewers and listeners

know how they can be supportive.

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of the work that Everyman's

doing and that, that you and

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your actor colleagues are doing.

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Deborah Hazlett: Go to the theater,

buy a ticket, People have stopped.

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It really took a hit during COVID

and for some reason, I don't know

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if people just wanna stay home

and watch TV at night 'cause they

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came to know what that feels like.

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But.

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The only way we can tell the story

is if there are people in the

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theater to tell the story too.

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And, the ticket sales are they're so

important to keeping theaters alive,

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but it's a ti it'd be surprised at what

a small portion it is of the actual

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money that keeps the theaters going.

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Resources right now are not as available

as they have been in the past for

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all kinds of complicated reasons.

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So go to the theater, bring

a friend to the theater.

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The other thing is, one of the nice things

about the subscription model is that you

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can pick the plays you want to go to.

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this subscription model is great because

you are not gonna, like every play that

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you see But you're gonna learn something.

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my favorite, theater goers and subscribers

are people that go to see a new play.

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Maybe they don't like it, but

there's something about it that

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touched them or moved them, or

we can talk about it afterwards.

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I don't like every play I'm in, but,

taking the risk on a new play, exposing

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yourself to something unexpected.

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: 00:18:06

we actually talk in the Alexander

technique, although it's not, it's

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: 00:18:09

not, only from the Alexander technique

is coming with a beginner's mind.

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I.

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So that whatever is in front of

you, you're able to stay open to

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and see what you can discover.

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I say to people, go to the theater.

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: 00:18:23

Go to the the go.

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To Everyman.

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Subscribe to Everyman.

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: 00:18:28

But there's wonderful

community theater in this city.

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the DIY theaters, these young artists

that are doing extraordinary work.

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: 00:18:37

So just leave home, go to the

theater at Everyman, for example,

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and this is a national trend.

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: 00:18:42

we've moved the evening curtains from

seven to eight and the matinees on

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Saturdays and Sundays from two to one.

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: 00:18:50

Now people like the seven o'clock,

but they like the two o'clock.

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: 00:18:54

But the union has a rule that there has

to be a certain amount of time between

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shows so the actors can eat and rest.

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: 00:19:00

So if we're gonna move it to

seven, we can't do the two o'clock.

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: 00:19:03

seven o'clock and you can be home and

in bed by nine 30 if you want to be.

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: 00:19:07

lots of theaters are doing

that 'cause people just don't

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: 00:19:09

stay out like they used to.

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: 00:19:10

I have a friend who runs a restaurant

and they're dealing with the same thing.

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: 00:19:13

people don't go out to

eat at 10 o'clock anymore.

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: 00:19:16

so go to the theater, take classes.

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: 00:19:19

There's a wonderful education

department at Everyman.

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: 00:19:21

I just taught a new class for, the

Alexander Technique and actors, I'm

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: 00:19:26

still so excited about it because I was

working on this particular syllabus and

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: 00:19:30

curriculum to see if I could integrate

these two passions in a way that,

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: 00:19:36

would help expand what's possible for

the actors in the class, and their

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: 00:19:42

agency around their performances

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: 00:19:44

How they can use their bodies to

tell the story they want to tell.

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: 00:19:48

And after six weeks with this

glorious group of students, worked.

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It was so exciting.

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: 00:19:54

most theaters have an education component.

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: 00:19:56

We have, summer classes all

summer for young kids to get

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: 00:19:59

them interested in theater.

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: 00:20:01

the education department is a

great way to help support, how

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: 00:20:05

we bring money into the theater.

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: 00:20:07

You can just go online

and donate if you want to.

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: 00:20:10

Jon Shematek: Great.

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: 00:20:10

Deborah Hazlett: gonna stay

alive if audiences don't go.

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: 00:20:12

That we know for sure that

we learned during COVID.

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: 00:20:15

We knew it anyway, but

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: 00:20:16

Jon Shematek: yeah.

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: 00:20:17

So, Debra, we will have the

everyman, website in our show

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: 00:20:21

notes so people can find it easily.

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: 00:20:23

Great.

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: 00:20:24

and buy tickets, subscribe.

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: 00:20:26

Look at the educational offerings.

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: 00:20:28

I'm sure there's a donate

button on that site.

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: 00:20:30

And I know, Lauren, you're just itching

to ask about Alexander techniques,

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: 00:20:34

so I'll be quiet it's been a teaser.

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: 00:20:36

It's come in like four times already.

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: 00:20:38

And you alluded to it

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: 00:20:39

Lauren Welch: certainly has.

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: 00:20:41

and, Deborah, I'm like, Jon,

I don't know much about it.

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: 00:20:43

I had a friend who did, practice it,

but, tell us what Alexandra technique

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: 00:20:50

is and, how you use it in your own life.

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: 00:20:55

Deborah Hazlett: It's basically

a reeducation process for

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: 00:20:58

change, but for the body, right?

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: 00:21:00

a lot of people know about,

mindfulness these days.

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: 00:21:03

A lot of us meditate, and AT

is mindfulness for the body

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: 00:21:08

because we often leave our bodies

out that mindfulness journey.

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: 00:21:12

and it was, we study it as actors.

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: 00:21:15

It was developed by a man named

Frederick Matthias Alexander.

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: 00:21:19

He, in the late 18 hundreds into

the early 19 hundreds, he was an

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: 00:21:23

Australian actor in a time where the,

performance style was very declarative.

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: 00:21:30

They would come down to the

edge of the stage and sort of.

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: 00:21:33

Declare.

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: 00:21:34

he found he kept losing his voice

and he was an actor in demand, but

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: 00:21:38

he would lose his voice all the time.

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: 00:21:40

So he finally quit for a year, he studied

himself in the mirror and found that he

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: 00:21:47

didn't lose his voice in life, but every

time he would perform, he would throw

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: 00:21:52

his head back and expand his chest he

was putting so much compression in the

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: 00:21:58

back of his neck and on his vocal cords

that he would, he would lose his voice.

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: 00:22:03

So he came to discover the

importance of the head, neck, spine,

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: 00:22:06

relationship, and performance.

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: 00:22:08

We studied as actors because

we have to do eight shows a

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: 00:22:12

week without losing our voices.

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: 00:22:14

it's become a practice For the

whole body and its basic idea

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: 00:22:20

is that it helps through we say

it's not a do, it's a think.

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: 00:22:25

it's a gentle practice of

non-judgmental noticing of habituated

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: 00:22:30

physical response to stimulus.

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: 00:22:32

developing your sensory awareness

so that you are noticing physical

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: 00:22:36

habit and learning to inhibit

that habituated response.

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: 00:22:41

in that moment of pause is where

you have the agency to direct, and

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: 00:22:46

that's where you direct yourself

in the way that you would like.

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: 00:22:50

To respond so that you are in

your best use, we talk about.

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: 00:22:57

the means whereby we do something.

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: 00:22:59

We forget that part.

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: 00:23:00

The means whereby we get from the

first floor to the second floor.

403

: 00:23:04

At my age anyway, I shouldn't be doing

anything else on the stairs except

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: 00:23:08

thinking about being on the stairs,

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: 00:23:10

But we're so busy with all these other

things that we make mistakes, we trip and

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: 00:23:16

so it's an example of the being mindful

of the means whereby we move through life.

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: 00:23:22

And it can help enormously with habituated

patterns of tension back trouble.

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: 00:23:30

For me, my jaw, I, I have to, I think I

have to clench my jaw to pick up a pen.

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: 00:23:36

I think I have to clench my jaw to pull a

coffee cup off the cupboard shelf, so it's

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: 00:23:42

about identifying where you habituate.

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: 00:23:45

Tension and holding through

a hands-on somatic practice.

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: 00:23:50

I work with a massage table with

clients, and help people learn to

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: 00:23:54

create and maintain ease in the body.

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: 00:23:57

The biggest thing that I have found in

my work is that component of inhibition,

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: 00:24:06

the pause that allows for choice,

the pause that allows for change.

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: 00:24:12

it turns into, a thought that

affects, not just your body,

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: 00:24:15

but also your emotional state.

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: 00:24:17

If you allow yourself to pause, then I

can be much more open to what is coming.

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: 00:24:23

my instrument is very fluttery and

unless I'm in a wig in a costume, I can

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: 00:24:28

get quite nervous and uncomfortable,

and then I talk really fast and get

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: 00:24:32

distracted and don't finish sentences

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: 00:24:33

And AT has helped me.

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: 00:24:37

It's slow.

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: 00:24:38

Change is slow, but it is, it's

helping me just learn to go through

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: 00:24:44

my basic directions and to find ease.

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: 00:24:49

the basic Alexander, the directions

he came up with were free the neck

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: 00:24:57

to allow the spine to lengthen,

to allow the torso to widen.

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: 00:25:01

Directions for the body that create ease,

the head and neck spine relationship.

429

: 00:25:06

This is really cool.

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: 00:25:08

do you have an idea of where your

head actually meets your spine?

431

: 00:25:11

If you do, put your hand where

you think your head attaches

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: 00:25:16

to the top of your spine.

433

: 00:25:18

I can't see Jon, but Lauren is here.

434

: 00:25:20

It actually attaches to the spine

at the Atlantic occipital joint.

435

: 00:25:23

Don't have to worry about that.

436

: 00:25:25

But if you put your fingers, like

you're gonna plug your ears and

437

: 00:25:29

you nod here, that's how high up.

438

: 00:25:32

That is where the skull sits

at the top of the spine, almost

439

: 00:25:37

like a mortar and pestle.

440

: 00:25:39

So we think that we have to

involve the, we compress the

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: 00:25:42

backs of our necks like this.

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: 00:25:45

That is 60 pounds of pressure on

the spine when you tilt your head

443

: 00:25:50

like this and look at your phone.

444

: 00:25:52

So the head, neck, spine relationship

is really about learning to get

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: 00:25:58

that head to sit on the spine

in a way that creates space.

446

: 00:26:03

And when we say free the neck,

it's releasing all those muscles

447

: 00:26:07

in the neck that allow the spine

to lengthen and the torso to widen.

448

: 00:26:11

That is basically what it's about.

449

: 00:26:14

Then there's many other things

that we learn, but it's an approach

450

: 00:26:20

that for me, has invited change

in my body that has been profe.

451

: 00:26:25

I haven't thrown my back out

since I finished my studying.

452

: 00:26:29

it's great for chronic pain because you

identify the use of your body that is

453

: 00:26:36

maybe contributing to that chronic pain.

454

: 00:26:39

It's a teacher student model because

I'm not a medical practitioner

455

: 00:26:43

and we don't pretend to be.

456

: 00:26:44

So we call it a lesson, which

I think is really, important

457

: 00:26:49

because I can help a lot with use.

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: 00:26:55

there's structural injury that a

doctor would have to deal with.

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: 00:27:00

But teachers can usually help

because there's a release of

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: 00:27:03

muscle that can happen with this

work that might give you some help

461

: 00:27:06

around a structural injury as well.

462

: 00:27:08

But we don't pretend to

be medical practitioners.

463

: 00:27:11

, That's sort of it in a nutshell, but

it's so much cooler than that nutshell.

464

: 00:27:16

Jon Shematek: That's, it sounds

very, intriguing and promising.

465

: 00:27:19

Like it really, could be helpful.

466

: 00:27:21

Now, you mentioned you've been teaching

this in classes to actors, but you

467

: 00:27:26

also, have one-on-one instruction,

how do people find out about that?

468

: 00:27:32

Deborah Hazlett: so far people are finding

me through the theater at Everyman.

469

: 00:27:35

But they are not responsible for my pro.

470

: 00:27:37

That's if you want coaching or

want to take a class at Everyman.

471

: 00:27:41

Okay.

472

: 00:27:41

I'm in the process of getting

a website up and running.

473

: 00:27:44

So people will be able to

find me through my name.

474

: 00:27:46

but right now Everyman does

not, I have anything to do with

475

: 00:27:49

scheduling, my private work.

476

: 00:27:51

but for coaching, for audition and

things like that I, we go through

477

: 00:27:56

the education department there.

478

: 00:27:58

Jon Shematek: so what I'd say is when you

get your website, let us know and we will

479

: 00:28:02

attach that to this podcast, as well.

480

: 00:28:06

Lauren, did you have any other, questions

for Deborah about, or anything else?

481

: 00:28:13

Lauren Welch: Deborah.

482

: 00:28:14

Yes.

483

: 00:28:14

I mean, you have shared

so much with us today.

484

: 00:28:18

your joy and passion for acting

and, finding the mystery, the divine

485

: 00:28:23

mystery in acting as well as in church.

486

: 00:28:27

and How it has enhanced your spiritual

life, and you've just shared with

487

: 00:28:32

us, how, the Alexander technique

can help us embody mind and spirit.

488

: 00:28:39

What other advice would you

like to share with those who

489

: 00:28:43

are watching and listing now?

490

: 00:28:45

Deborah Hazlett: It is an interesting

time in my life, to be getting

491

: 00:28:49

older in this business and, to

coming out of COVID, getting

492

: 00:28:54

older, and the Alexander technique.

493

: 00:28:57

All of those things have helped me

develop an agency for myself in how.

494

: 00:29:04

I want to experience this

next part of my life.

495

: 00:29:07

as actors, we often feel

we don't have any agency.

496

: 00:29:10

we audition for a director.

497

: 00:29:11

We don't get to pick the plays.

498

: 00:29:13

But we do have agency about what

we say yes to and what we say no

499

: 00:29:17

to about how we are in the room

about how we treat our colleagues.

500

: 00:29:22

And this is really

interesting to me, Lauren.

501

: 00:29:24

I've been thinking so much lately

about the intersection of my spiritual

502

: 00:29:28

life and my work and my acting work,

503

: 00:29:32

I think that we can all find agency in

ways that we possibly haven't thought

504

: 00:29:37

possible, and it all just has to do

with how we choose to be in community

505

: 00:29:43

and how we choose to respond with

hopefully grace and kindness and a

506

: 00:29:48

beginner's mind, we don't have to think.

507

: 00:29:50

We know everything.

508

: 00:29:51

We know the things we know, but there's

so much else out there and at a time where

509

: 00:29:56

people are really not listening very well.

510

: 00:30:01

I think that if we just.

511

: 00:30:03

Take a pause and allow for breath and

let go of the holding and the fear and

512

: 00:30:11

the tension so that we can stay present.

513

: 00:30:14

Then maybe we can help affect change

and create a loving community.

514

: 00:30:19

So I'm still working on this intersection.

515

: 00:30:24

I've been thinking a lot about it.

516

: 00:30:26

I'm experiencing it into pretty

profound places in my life, the

517

: 00:30:30

church and, and the theater.

518

: 00:30:33

I don't know if that's advice, but

that's what I'm thinking about.

519

: 00:30:36

Jon Shematek: It sounded like

great advice to me, Deborah.

520

: 00:30:38

So Deborah Hazlett, thank you so much

for being with us on our podcast.

521

: 00:30:43

We have enjoyed spending this time

with you, your wisdom, your presence.

522

: 00:30:48

Thanks.

523

: 00:30:49

Deborah Hazlett: Well, I am

delighted to be with both of you

524

: 00:30:52

and I'm sure I'll see you soon,

525

: 00:30:54

Lauren Welch: Jon and I want to thank

all who are watching and listening for

526

: 00:30:58

the gift of your time with us today.

527

: 00:31:01

Until next time, peace and blessings.

528

: 00:31:04

Lynn Shematek: This episode

of Good News has been brought

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: 00:31:06

to you by Listening for Clues.

530

: 00:31:09

For more podcasts, check out

our YouTube channel or our

531

: 00:31:14

website listening for clues.com.