ACT LIKE A MOTHER

A Special Mother's Day Episode

Season 4 opens with a pair of conversations very near and dear to our hosts’ hearts. In this episode, Melanie and Katie speak with their own mothers, Francie Lora and Loreen MacNichol, about what it’s like to recognize that your young child is destined to be an actor;  and the unwavering support both women continue to give to their girls as they remain committed to a sometimes fickle, sometimes fulfilling business. Vibrant, creative and still happily devoted to their own work, Francie and Loreen tell stories of their own lives, their relationship to the arts and reflect on the challenges and joys of mothering for many years. Both share a curiosity and drive that keeps them open and engaged with the world.  Katie and Melanie learned some things about each other as well, and discovered  commonalities in their stories they wouldn’t have known if their moms hadn’t spoken them. This is a 2-part episode, with Melanie’s conversation first and Katie’s after that, and listeners should tune into both, as Francie and Loreen are warm, funny, astute women with tremendous wisdom to impart. They have been listening to Act Like a Mother since Day 1, and having them on the show is a true Mothers’ Day gift.

Celeste Arias on Ball Gowns, Baby and The Big Bang

Brand new mama Celeste Arias never could have imagined the expansion she would feel after giving birth to her son - universes of love and enchantment - keeping her afloat during swells of anxiety and extreme fatigue. After her agent dropped her and a frigid NY winter loomed, a fortuitous audition led not only to an escape to warm weather for her young family, but to a juicy role and an opportunity to reclaim her artistic self after the birth of her baby boy. Celeste shares in real time what it’s like to do an out of town gig with a 6 month old and spouse along for the ride: from sleep training an infant in artist housing, to summoning the creative spark in rehearsals, to pumping, pumping and more pumping. Celeste knew that when she stepped into rehearsals to play Thea Elvstead in Hedda Gabler at The Old Globe Theatre, she would meet the challenge from where she was: emotionally raw, deeply fatigued and with more love in her heart than ever before.  More on Celeste: @celestenarias www.theoldglobe.org www.theactorscenter.org www.thealready.org

Cindy Cheung Saw The Signs

Award winning actor Cindy Cheung blames a hot pink flyer stuck to a UCLA campus wall for causing her 180-degree turn away from applied mathematics and towards an acting career. From her days in LA discovering the power of theatre and the importance of representation on stage, to turning down a job helping to build B1 bombers so she could do an acting intensive, to struggling to feel authentic and inspired as a young actor in NY, to the time she quit the business altogether and what ultimately brought her back, Cindy's stories are laced with heart and humor.  She shares the thrill of deciding to have a child with her novelist husband and how they are raising a well-adjusted son who can handle work- related separations and be thoroughly himself. Cindy is a tireless advocate working for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and as a member of the Asian American Performers Action Coalition, she has created noticeable change in the industry and put her math skills to good use. She tells Melanie and Katie about all the fun she’s having in rehearsals for the premier of MEAT SUIT at Second Stage and why Bouffon clowning may just be the absolute best way to express the literal “shit show of motherhood.” More on Cindy: 2st.com aapacnyc.org edlinforpresident.com

April Matthis Will Show You Something Amazing

After she was told by someone in the business that she could either have a career or a family, award winning actor April Matthis made it her mission to show the world that it was possible to do both. With intense dedication to her vocation (she went to an audition 2 days after giving birth) and to her child (she nursed him for 22 months), April has created her beautiful career and family with unwavering integrity. April shares the frustrations of fighting for fair wages and the pleasures of being a longtime company member of the groundbreaking experimental theatre collective Elevator Repair Service, where she learned how esteemable it is to ask for what you need and be valued for who you are. Passionately in love with New York, this Texarkana girl has no interest in suburbs or minivans, and she walks Melanie and Katie through what it’s been like raising her son in the city as her career grew from tiny downtown theatres to Broadway and from short films to her recent riveting guest spot on Netflix’s number one show and why these days, she tries to choose roles that allow her to hug her teenage son goodnight instead of checking in on FaceTime from afar. April talks about her latest project, the world premiere of The Dinosaurs at Playwrights Horizons , the mystery and excitement of working on a new character with an incredible cast, and how sometimes holding something back as a performer makes the audience lean in all the more. More on April: @aprilmatthis Elevator Repair Service https://www.elevator.org/ Amadi Comes Home (short film) https://filmshortage.com/dailyshortpicks/amadi-comes-home/ The Dinosaurs - Playwrights Horizons https://www.playwrightshorizons.org/shows/production-history/2020s/2526/dinosaurs?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23350765141&gbraid=0AAAAAoXIt7pV9ei1T82c8LXGDHxuVsyZA Take Me Home - Sundance Film Festival 2026 https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/6932fa301a55353c2091ae2b

Shinah Hey Wants More Of This

As an in-demand Twin Cities actor, singer, dancer and comedienne, Shinah Hey went from one job to the next with barely a break in between. When she was offered a role she’d played 10 years before, she knew she’d hit a creative ceiling. Ready to be seen not as the girl she was when she got started but as the woman she’d become—a seasoned performer, wife and mother of 2—Shinah did her research to find a new home base. She was looking for a place she could pursue fulfilling acting work and where her five-year-old daughter could have access to services that support her autism and Bryant-Li-Bhoj syndrome. That place turned out to be Southern California. Shinah shares her journey to becoming a mom through both IVF and adoption, how her love for acting motivates all areas of her life and keeps her self-taping auditions after the kids go to bed, how she and her actor husband do the work/life juggle and why she’s a better mom when she’s working.  More on Shinah: @shinahhey https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37355440/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_accord_1_unrel_cdt_t_1 Bryant-Li-Bhoj Syndrome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPHQc7oPdgc Fertility Resources https://resolve.org https://www.fertilityclinicarizona.com Adoption https://adoptioncouncil.org