Christina sits down with Alyssa Danielle Jones. Alyssa is an artist, entrepreneur, and over all fun-loving spirit. We talk about everything from theme park work to childhood acting stories to how we can break down the barriers of our industry.
Alyssa's Instagram: @lilalyssadanielle
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Musical Bop by Madge and Graphic by Jeannine
Christina Peña: Hello and Welcome back to Conversations with a Mixed Chick. You know the basics. And if you’re new here. I’m your host and resident mixed chick, Christina Peña. It’s pretty simple every week I get to sit down and have a conversation with humans that I am obsessed with.
This week I get to sit down with Alyssa Danielle Jones. Alyssa is trulyone of the best. She is a working artist who focuses on live entertainment. She is a boss lady who runs her own company. And yet still has so much life in front of her.
We take time this week to talk about a lot of stereotypes in our industry and how we must authentically show up as ourselves to break down barriers.
Madge Dietrich: She's changing minds and conversations. Sharing her appreciation. Taking charge of her creation. This is Conversations with a Mixed Chick.
Christina Peña: Hi.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Hello, Christina Peña.
Christina Peña: Are you ready to start with a big question?
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Absolutely not, but let's go.
Christina Peña: What does it mean to be unapologetically Alyssa?
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Well, I would love to give the disclaimer that I did not receive these questions ahead of time.
Christina Peña: That's fine. I still want honest answers.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Okay. Let's see. I think it would mean.
Doing everything in pursuit of clarity and connection. Those are like my two buzzwords. So, finding clarity, I think that a lot of times, we swim in chaos and I think if you to try to ignore that chaos and be like, it doesn't exist, but when we can be actively swimming in the chaos, that's when we find possibility and that's when we find clarity.
So, leaning into that and really finding the light. In the midst of everything going on and being able to have that one, that one point that gives a little bit of clarity. And then connection to action with other people, connection with music, connection with art, and just trying to find meaning and joy.
Christina Peña: Okay. Wait, that was really good. No, you did really well.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Did I pass mom?
Christina Peña: I feel like this question always trips everyone up because they feel that there must be a right answer, but there's not. There's not our answer, especially when you're answering it about yourself.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Yeah, this is a very hard question. Thank you for the little brain exercise
Christina Peña: Oh, My God you're welcome. Wait, I want to talk about this thing. You said, you said swim in chaos.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Yes.
Christina Peña: Tell me more.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: So, this phrase, this phrase actually came about when I was at Panera with my friend Graham. And it just kind of floated out of my mouth. Sometimes you say things and you're like, wow, that was from some subconscious part of me because there was no way the conscious part of me could have ever said that I am not that put together in my life.
But I looked at him and I said, you know, sometimes you just got to swim in the chaos because that's the birthplace of possibility when you're in the chaos, that's when anything is possible. And that was a huge light bulb moment for me, because as somebody who likes all their neat, nice boxes and likes to keep everything in order.
Sometimes chaos can be really, really scary. Something that I've been working on a lot personally is really leaning into that chaos and leaning into that because when you lean into that, that's when you get that, that clarity, that possibility. Being able to see everything that could be, and then being able to choose.
But if you're not actively in the chaos, you can never find the clarity because you can't see everything that's in front of you and you can't see all the possibilities. And that's actually something that as an artist really has spoken to me as well. I absolutely love, love, love, love, love, doing live entertainment, live entertainment, theme park work.
All that shenanigans is my passion. And I struggled with that for a really long time, because coming from a musical theater background, live entertainment can sometimes be looked on as like, oh, not as good or, oh, amateur. Oh, fill in the blank. Like there are lots of stigmas around doing live entertainment, work theme park, cruise ship work.
But there is a lot of stigma about that in our industry. And I struggled with that for a long time, because coming from that background, I always felt like I should want to go to New York. I should want to be on Broadway. Like these are the things that you should want to do. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely adore musical theater.
Like it is my first love. That is what got me started. I love it. It's such an amazing art form, but I've always felt the most at home and the best about myself and my impact on the world. Whenever I'm doing live entertainment, whether that's band gigs, theme parks, whatever you want to call it. Yeah whatever that is.
I always was so enthralled by the idea that if we can break down the barriers and have this like crazy live entertainment experience where anything is possible, all of a sudden, if you know, I always think of Disney cause they do a great job of excelling at this. Disney does a great job of showing you things that shouldn't be possible, but happened right in front of your eyes.
And when you can break that barrier of possibility, not only do you think, oh, anything is possible and I can see that Tinkerbell is flying, but anything is also possible in my life. And what can I look at in the ways that I can break down barriers in my own life. And so, I've always been just very passionate about that idea of possibility and I see a lot of that in live entertainment.
I think about, you know, concerts, when you go and see a band in concert and there's this like group vibe is the word that's coming to mind, but I don't like that. But like this group vibe of the feeling of the music and everybody's having this collective experience and how moving that can be.
And so that idea of swimming in chaos and finding that possibility almost like sensory overload that you have to get into to be able to do that. Sometimes it takes the sensory overload, the chaos, that being in the middle of it all, to be able to actually find the clarity, because if you're not in the middle of it, you’re never going to be able to see all the possibility.
Christina Peña: Wait, can you say that last thing? And you said if you're not in the middle of it, you're never going to be able to see all the possibility?
Alyssa Danielle Jones: If you're not in the middle of it, you will never be able to see all the possibility.
Christina Peña: Oh shit. Okay. Let me just like pick my job off the floor. I always find when you talk about live entertainment, because we have had this discussion many of times, when I hear you talk about it, you're so excited and I think that you are perfect for everything you do by the way. And there is no right answer.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: I think you are perfect for everything that you do. This is just going to turn into us like complementing back and forth.
Christina Peña: I mean that's Literally the whole reason why I started a podcast was to talk to people that I love and tell them why I really love them. Anyway.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Well, now I want to start a podcast so I can tell everybody how much I love you.
Christina Peña: Okay, wait, wait back to you.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Or we could not.
Christina Peña: No, no, we can. I find when you talk about, so the thing that I'm really curious about, because I have never fit in the live entertainment plus it's like never been my passion. My passion has always been being on Broadway, which I hate saying that. But anyway, that's a different...
Alyssa Danielle Jones: But that's your truth. You got to, you got to own that. I think that there's so many stigmas in our industry about what you should and shouldn't want to do. And I think whenever we look at those stigmas. That is when we end up in jobs where we're unhappy and jobs, where we're not getting to live out our passion.
And I think it's really hard because our industry is such a small industry, but such a big industry. There's so much that we can do. And if you only box yourself into a small thing that you can do, and they were like, this is what I do. And that's it. Think of all the things that you could miss out on.
Like right now I'm on a contract playing piano and singing in a band. And I never thought that I would work as a pianist professionally ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever. Never thought that would be what I would be doing. And I absolutely love it.
Christina Peña: Yes, you do. Okay. I'm trying to think of my original question. Cause you know, I am lost. I always get lost in my own thoughts. Wait. Okay. So, I know that a lot of people have this moment of why they want to do theater. That first thing you saw or that first spark, do you have a spark for live entertainment?
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Yes, so I actually didn't realize the moment until I was the one on stage.
So, I actually saw All I Want for Christmas at Six Flags over Texas, about two years before I turned. 17. I would have been 15. I can do math, but I saw All I Want for Christmas at Six Flags and I jaw on the floor. I didn't even know there were shows at Six Flags. We like walked in, it was cold outside and we went and saw the show and it was so well-produced the lights and the sound and just everything and those huge dance lifts and all sorts of things.
And I remember watching it and being like the production value is so, so, so high and it felt like I was, it was in a small, small, small theater. It felt like I was taken to another world. It literally was like completely putting me in a different. Place. This is so cool. Like I would love to do this. And of course, I was like, I would never be able to do this.
I have no idea what it is. I was like, maybe I could, but it was really hard dancing. And I was like, you know, I couldn't do that. Cut to two years later, I ended up meeting somebody who has connections at Six Flags and they're like, Hey, you should go audition for this show. And I went in and I was 17, still in high school.
And I went in and audition and I got cast in the same show that I had seen. That was the only live entertainment show I had ever seen in my entire life. At that point, actually, that's a lie. I said that that is such a lie. That's not even true. Yes. I’ve seen shows at Disney and literally. Disney World was like, when I went into Disney World for the first time, I was probably, I think it was like 12 or 13.
And I walked in and I saw the castle and I heard the music. It like hit me. Like I was like, I'm in Disney World and like the music and the experience and everything going on. And literally I like put my sunglasses on and like literally with crying. Because I just was like so happy and I was 13 and moody and was like, I am not going to let anybody see my emotion.
You know, like you do at 13.
Christina Peña: Like I do now! What do you mean 13?
Alyssa Danielle Jones: I'm kidding. I bottle my emotions a lot better now.
Christina Peña: We know. We know. Okay.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: We can unpack that on episode two.
Christina Peña: That's like a whole 10-hour episode.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Any who. Is it you that hates it, when I say any who? Because somebody used to say that.
Christina Peña: No that's really funny that someone hates when you say any who.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Okay. Somebody hates it. And I was like, is that you? It's not you apparently though.
Christina Peña: No, I hate no words except for offensive words.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Back to Disney world because the six flags story is not actually probably, that's not what I would consider it. It's like literally being in Disney World and seeing all the shows and having the experience and it was one of those. I always say the difference between live entertainment and musical theater is generally musical theater, the point is to tell a story.
You're telling a story and you're using that story to educate, to empathize, to make people feel a certain way, to have them connect it to their own life. We always talk about as artists we're storytellers. And I also should add that I do think there's a lot of overlap between the two and that it's not one or the other, but generally I think of on the spectrum of things, musical theater is a lot more about storytelling.
Whereas entertainment is a lot more about providing an experience. Kind of like we talked about going to a concert like that is an experience and it evokes this emotion in you, but the emotion is not evoked from a story. The emotion is evoked from an experience. And so that's, I think what I consider the biggest difference between the two is they both can evoke emotion, but one is through storytelling and one is through an experience and something that I always like to just add, when I talk about that, is that the ability to take a story and connect it to your own life.
There's a lot of privilege in that and that if we're talking about breaking down barriers and our industry and the world, I think we also need to make sure that we're talking about what stories are being told to and look at, what can we do?
How can we tell more people's stories? As well as how can we also provide universal experiences?
Christina Peña: That's funny. Cause I was going to say, I don't feel the the opposite way, but I think it's because I have never seen myself reflected in an amusement park. If that makes sense. Like when I go to Disney, I look for Pocahontas because I am part indigenous and she's nowhere to be found and like, same with Tatiana and same with like, I don't know.
I always say like the ugly stepsisters on my favorite part of Disney but they're rarely out.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: But they are.
Christina Peña: They're the best. I think that I've always been afraid to even think about live entertainment as that, because I've been so, not ostracized, but I've been so not welcome in it. Yeah. I'm still curious about it.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: So obviously most of our industry, there is just a lot, a lot, lot, lot of issues.
And I will say there are lots of things that need to be fixed. One thing that. Gives me a little bit of hope with live entertainment is that I have seen a lot of people our age, starting to step up and take leadership positions in live entertainment. And as I've seen that happening, I'm starting to see more inclusive practices in live entertainment..
We still have a long, long, long, long, long, long, long way to go. But I'm seeing conversations starting to happen in ways that I don't see in a musical theater field. And while we still have so much work to do it makes me happy to at least see that from my personal experience and what I only through what I know.
Christina Peña: I think also the thing that I've come to realize is that they're the same industry.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Yes, actually. The United States. Now, if anybody wants to correct me, if this is incorrect, correct me, if this is incorrect. Cool. That is the English we are using today, folks.
Christina Peña: Whatever.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Anyways.
Christina Peña: Anywho.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Anywho. Okay. Yeah. So, correct me if I'm wrong. What I have understood from friends and other parts of the world. Is that the United States is one of the only places where live entertainment and musical theater are separate. And although they're fully separate, there's a lot of cross over here, but they are very, very, very separated. There is lots of stigma on both sides of the spectrum here, whereas most people do both and other places.
And so that's very interesting to see because they are literally the same industry, just for two different purposes to tell stories, versus providing an experience. Both completely valid ways to evoke emotion that use the same skillset. So, the fact that they're different has always been very baffling to me.
I've never really understood it. I've experienced the stigma between the two as somebody who does still crossover and do both at this point in my life, I am much more on the live entertainment side than I am on the musical theater side. But if you would've asked me two years ago, I would've told you a different story, but yeah, it's always just not made any sense whatsoever to me at all.
Christina Peña: I think also, thinking about how the moving forward, especially after the pandemic and how we've been craving entertainment. I think that live entertainment has gotten a lot better at moving forward.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: As somebody who has been able to perform in live entertainment, during the pandemic. And during the second half of the pandemic, I've been able to form in live entertainment.
I have felt very safe. I felt very, very safe, and I feel very fortunate to be able to go to work where I feel safe. And I think it's really hard because I see a lot of my friends that do not have that same experience and that I cannot even begin to imagine how frustrating that is to just not have an industry to go back to at all.
And to just watch, you know, it be a standstill because now more than ever in this time of, I know I talked about connection earlier, now, more than ever, we need to have that connection and we need to tell these stories and provide these experiences. And it feels like this whole avenue has been taken away to be able to do that.
And don't get me wrong. I think we do need to take a good chunk of time and really look at what we're doing and regroup because there are many many, many things in our industry going on that really, we need to hold the magnifying glass up to and say, is this really the industry we want to be working in?
Is this really aligning with our values? However, when it feels like at the standstill, it feels like that work isn't actually being done.
Christina Peña: I think that also moving forward, we're going to see crossover and you're going to see a lot more people do a lot more things. You're going to see people do live entertainment. You're going to see Artists do tv and film. You're going to see artists do musical theater, because I think we're just craving creativity. But also, if you think about it, those make the best artists. Like if you look at Audra McDonald. Audra McDonald is fantastic, first off,
Alyssa Danielle Jones: QUEEN!
Christina Peña: If you ever want to be on this podcast Audra McDonald, like @ me, but... this idea of like, she does musicals and she does plays and she does TV and film and she does concerts and she does all these things really well. And I think when we limit ourselves to only one thing, we're not going to get anywhere. We're not going to improve, especially when we're not allowed to do anything right now.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: And I think it's interesting because I feel like sometimes we grow most in an art form, when we ended up doing another art form. I always think about how, as somebody who grew up singing both classical music, I was a vocal performance major for like a hot second as a double major. That was a time did not graduate with that.
That was not my cup of tea.
Christina Peña: That sounds hard.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: It was hard, but as somebody who has sang classical music, but also thrives, I just want to be Hayley Williams in Paramore when I grow up. As somebody who does a lot of both, I have always found that what I think a ton of classical music, my rock gets a lot better and vice versa. I think sometimes we grow more from doing the thing that isn't the thing that we're growing in.
Christina Peña: We're growing more in the thing that we haven't focused our whole life in.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Yes.
Christina Peña: Yeah. Well then also you could talk about, because you're fabulous. Let me just say this right here.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: You are a fabulous.
Christina Peña: Stop it. Stop it.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Stop it.
Christina Peña: [But you have multiple facets in life. And I think that's what I noticed about you makes you feel like an artist, just because you do other things. Like she runs a business, ladies and gentlemen, Alyssa Danielle Jones runs a business. All my her lonesome. Now hires people, fabulous young pull together woman.
What I'm saying is I think because I've noticed this in allowing myself to do more than one thing is that once you allow the openness and the chance to swim in the chaos, if I may. I can find more things that I'm good at. And then when I miss things, go back to them.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Yes. Also, I would just like to jump in and take a moment to acknowledge that we're talking about swimming in the chaos. Swimming in the chaos is the hardest thing to do. It is absolutely terrifying. And I can talk all I want to about it, but the reality is the reason I talk about it so much is because it's the thing that I really, really struggle with the most. I am a control freak through and through. I like to have control of my life.
I like sticky notes and a spreadsheet. The more organized I can get it the better in my mind. And so that idea of swimming in chaos is actively the hardest thing that I do in my life. So, I also just want to call out the fact that it is the most rewarding thing that I can do in my life. But I don't want to just talk about it and say, oh yeah, just do this. And everything will be great.
Christina Peña: But also as a swimmer. As a, as a former competitive swimmer, let me just tell you, you don't just jump in the pool and swim. It's not how it works. You get in the pool on the ladder. You tread water for a little bit. You learn how to torpedo. Like there are steps to get swimming, so...
Alyssa Danielle Jones: And sometimes you might get a little sunburned.
Christina Peña: Oh, my gosh.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: We could just keep going all day with this analogy. Sometimes you may get a little sunburned. You may get a little pruny fingers. Did I break you?
Christina Peña: You kind of broke me. I was not ready for that.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: You might stare into the sign and get the little spots in your eyes.
Christina Peña: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Yeah, I think that's so interesting. Just like the idea of... here's the thing, I think that I've noticed through generations of theater performers and talking to more and more of us, we all see the entertainment industry very differently.
And it's not wrong. And I think we were taught for so long that it was wrong, that we don't, that's where we come to like not celebrate Tik Tok artists or Instagram create or YouTube creators. Like I think there's, we've stigmatized that if you don't do it the correct way, you're not being an artist, which is not true.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: This! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. So much. Yes. I cannot agree with this more. Yes. And I would also just love to like yes. And that, and jump on and say that I think in our industry, a lot of times we get told that we need to do this, so that people will like you. So that you need to do this because this is what they want you to do. And not because you should do what you want to do.
And I will say that is actually a big part of the reason why I dip my toe so heavily in the live entertainment pool. Is because it is someplace where I actively feel like I can go say, okay, I want to do this. This is who I want to be. And I actually have the opportunity to do that as somebody who is five feet tall and looks like a child.
Christina Peña: She does not look like a child is lying. She does not look a child.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: I will say though. No I went, I took my momma to go get a pedicure for Mother’s Day. And I got asked if I was under 12. If I needed the child's pedicure.
Christina Peña: I would've just taken it because it sounds less expensive.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Honestly, I probably should have. Anyways, but I wanted the margarita. So.
Christina Peña: Facts. Facts. Facts.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Anyways, as somebody who is five feet tall, looks very young, I'm told these are the roles that you showed in cam play. And a lot of times those stories that I don't feel like that's my story to tell. Yes, we as actors, we, you know, we play characters that are different from ourselves, obviously. But if the story at the end of the day is still not, it's not that we aren't the character, but sometimes it's that, it's not our story to tell if you're not passionate about the piece of art that you are putting out there that is only a disservice to the people that that piece of art could be very meaningful for.
And so, I actually think as artists, one of the best things that we can do is say, no. I want to be who I want to be, because I know that whenever I go and I create the art that I want to create, that is going to be so much more meaningful to the people who need it.
Than if I just take whatever job so-and-so told me to take, because it would be good on my resume. And I will say, this is something that is very hard for me. Like it's not something that came super easily. I literally, as a seven-year-old, this is embarrassing. This is like all of this spreadsheet organization, like weird cork that I talked about earlier.
As like a seven-year-old I used to make a spreadsheet of every single summer opportunity that I could do in the arts. And I would make a full spreadsheet and turn it into a PowerPoint presentation for my parents. And I would look at factors such as, you know, how far to drive was it, but mostly what would be the best on my resume at seven years old, I was worried about what was going to be in my theatrical resume.
So that way I could get the next best part in the community theater.
Christina Peña: I can't! Wait, do you want to hear like a really funny story?
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Yes.
Christina Peña: So, in first year grade at my elementary school, they made us, every single person in first grade had to do The Little Red Hen. I think there was probably 40 of us, like 30 or 40 of us. We all had to do that together to learn about teamwork, to learn about all that stuff.
I had the credits. I had been in productions. I had taken classes. I was six. I had all of it and I was not given the little red hen. And to this day it makes me upset, for no reason, but it was just really funny though. Even as young children, we are programmed with this idea. If other industries, if you are the best you get hired.
But when we're in an industry where everyone is just as talented as the next person, I don't know. I just, it's funny that like the idea of the best person on the job is non-existent in all of the entertainment industry, because it's just who they want that day.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: And I, I think that where we can go wrong is when we start focusing on who they want versus who we are.
Christina Peña: Say it again.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: I think that where we go wrong is. Whenever we're focusing on who they want versus who we are.
Christina Peña: That's So good. Oh, my god.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: And there's my little thought nugget for the day.
Christina Peña: Oh, my God. I mean, it's really true though, because I think that we spend so much time, even we both talk about childhood experiences we've had with theater even in that we were trying to fit someone else's mold and not our own. I hate that.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: And I think that like ties into your first question, which is what makes you unapologetically you? And I think in our industry, we get told that we can't be unapologetically ourselves. And I think the best art is made when we are unapologetically ourselves.
And it's the hardest thing that we can do. The thing I was going to say after that was, it's so worth it, but I feel like I can't say that because I'm not sure there yet. None of us are there yet. It's all, we're all working towards that because we have been so, so, so conditioned to be little robots.
Christina Peña: So, no one's brought that up yet. And it's totally what the question was made for is that because we are programmed or not even programmed, we are taught that we can't be special. Yet every single artist I know is extremely special. So, if we forget, we forget, and then we are, we tell ourselves that we're not special anymore. So, when someone asks you, why are you unapologetically yourself?
Or why are you special? Shouldn't we know the answer.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Yes.
Christina Peña: You didn't know the answer when we started this, even though you said you did it. This is also that just come out of you, by the way, I didn't pull that much.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: But even my answer, my initial answer was so textbook. It was textbook me. It was something that I probably said into a voice memo in my phone at some point, but it was still, still prescribed.
Christina Peña: Oh, so good. You're so good.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: You're so good.
Christina Peña: Okay. So, here's my question. What is your ideal project or art or something like that? Because I feel like as a, someone who thrives in live entertainment, I don't know what a live entertainment project, an ideal one would look like.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: I think for me. Okay. I have like a two-part answer to this. So, part one is I just want to create entertainment that defies possibility. I get so much joy from sitting in a room and brainstorming how we can do the impossible. If somebody says that's impossible, that is actively what I want to do. I don't like being told that I can't do something. If you want me to do something the best bet to get me to do it is to tell me that I can't do it.
And I will figure out a way to do it because nothing's impossible. Anything is, anything can happen if you let it. Anyways, I would say. Something that just defies possibility. I don't know what it is yet, but let me just say that I have been brainstorming ways to defy possibility and shows. This was the big aha moment for me.
When I realized, I was such a live entertainment person, is that whenever I was younger and I would listen to music, I didn't really ever think about how do I tell the story the way like musical theater director would. I would always think about the experience. What would the lights be doing? What would the sound be doing?
What, how could we bring the audience into that? That was always what I like. Let me tell you, I have sketches from like me as a kid, I'm going to direct Seussical the musical and it literally was like crazy. I was like, and I was going to be people flying in the air. Crazy. Anyways. That was a tangent. But yeah, I have always wanted to just create these experiences that were larger than life and took people away, gave people break from the craziness that is their life. So that way you could almost use it as a reset button. Because I don't. My goal is not, and this is not with all things. But my goal when I do live entertainment is not for somebody to come in and do the emotional labor of connecting a story to their own life, but to walk in and have that emotional labor lifted from them because that experience is happening all around them, that they can't help, but feel that way. So that would be my first part of the answer.
Part two would be, I think that we have some of the best live entertainment here we look at like these mega corporations like Disney, but there's a huge accessibility barrier there. Like there not everybody can afford to get to Disney. Not everybody can take off work to go to this.
There's a huge accessibility barrier there nor does Disney do everything perfectly. You know, you talked about earlier about the representation within the theme park industry. There are these cruise ships, these theme parks that are not accessible. I want to figure out a way to take this really, really, really high quality live entertainment and bring it to local venues and bring it to regional venues.
So that way, this high, high level of production value entertainment. I know it talked about whenever I saw that first show at Six Flags and just being blown away by the production value of it. That high level of value and that level of entertainment should be accessible for most people.
Christina Peña: I think this is another reason why, I love you, Alyssa. Is because you see the problems within all the places you want to be, and you want to take whatever power you have and help it not fix it, but you want to help it in any way you can possible. And I find that very admirable because not everyone is doing it.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Definitely. Yeah. I liked that you said help and not fix as somebody, who had likes to have lots of control.
My instinct is always, I want to go fix it, but I think that when we're so focused on fixing it, that sometimes we don't realize that we actually do have the power to help make things better and that nothing's ever going to get better because one person fixes it. But if we can all pitch in and start working towards creating this more equitable, more inclusive industry, when we all help just a little bit, that's when we start to see change.
Christina Peña: I think this also ties back to what you said earlier. Oh, my God. I'm not going to say it correctly, but you said this thing about how the hardest thing to do as an artist is to say no, but it's also like the most impactful thing you can do. I think because here's the thing, we all know the artist is going to get blamed no matter what it is.
Whoever is out there doing it is going to get in trouble, not the producers, not the director. So, I think that one thing we can learn with being unapologetically ourselves is where we fit in, where we can say no, where we should say yes, how do we figure it out. Like that is our job. On top of every other skill we have is to figure out where we fit.
Or where we would like to fit and how we can get there and how we can use connection with others around us to help us get there further.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Yes. Very, very, very much that. And I think what you said about, you know, at the end of the day, it's the artist that is going to get, you know, not the producer, not that. And that is a very unfortunate reality in our industry.
And I know as an artist, it is the hardest thing to go up and say, I don't feel comfortable doing this. This is not my story to tell this is not something that is okay for me to do. It is a really hard thing that I've had to do that before. It is, it is really scary. It is really scary because there are people in our industry who can hold so much power over performers.
But I think as performers, if we want to start taking that power back, we have to be willing. To do the hard things. So that way we're doing things that are right and not things that are easy.
Christina Peña: And I just want to say that this is no matter what craft you're doing it, whether it be TV, whether it be film, whether it be live entertainment, whether it be theater, whether it be painting, whether it be photography, we all need to do it together because art. Art is a dying breed, which is very sad to say, art is amazing and art needs more money. If you have money to give it to art, because it needs it.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Please.
Christina Peña: Please.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Please give us your money.
Christina Peña: But I think every time tell me, and listen, everyone. Alyssa is my friend and I love her very dearly. Anytime you tell me a story about when you've said no to something that would offend me or would offend anybody around me, I'm always like, thank you.
Because not everyone will say no, they'll just say yes, especially out of this pandemic, we're going to see a lot of things that probably aren't right. Because people want to work and want to make art and want to do all this stuff. And I'm just grateful that you say no, just saying.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Of course, because it's not your responsibility to say that it's not okay. It's my responsibility. As the actor who's being asked to do something or as the performer that you're being asked to do something like that is my responsibility to have the ethical boundary to say this is not okay.
Christina Peña: So, good. So, good. Well, on this note, I'm going to ask you our final questions. Are you ready?
Alyssa Danielle Jones: I am so ready.
Christina Peña: Well, what is one piece of advice you have for 16-year-old Alyssa?
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Oh gosh. So, my first thing that popped in my head, whenever you asked that question was the song. What the Hell by Avril Levine. Because I think 16-year-old Alyssa, 18-year-old Alyssa, Alyssa now even, sometimes I get caught in the trap of you have to pick the right thing you have to do. Make the correct decision, the smart decision. And sometimes there, that's not, that's not one answer. And I think that going back to swimming in the chaos, if we're so focused on choosing the right answer, we're just going to get stuck swimming in the chaos and be treading water for the rest of our lives. And so, at some point you just have to pick something and follow. Follow the directions.
Christina Peña: That's amazing. And eloquent. And oh yes. Okay. So, last question.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Okay. Let's go.
Christina Peña: What is one help you have for the future?
Alyssa Danielle Jones: You're just really trying to get me to have like an existential crisis right here. Aren't you?
Christina Peña: Yes, no, no.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Just yes, absolutely. I think, okay. This is a hope for the future in the industry or for myself, or yes?
Christina Peña: Yes.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: Okay. I think my hope is that we will start to see an industry that is more equitable and more inclusive and accessible. And my hope for myself is that I can be a part of creating that and creating spaces where people can be free to be unapologetically themselves.
Christina Peña: Look at you tying it all back together.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: With the little bow.
Christina Peña: Alyssa. I think you're fantastic.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: I think you're fantastic.
Christina Peña: Thank You. I'm want to be part of that future with you. So, you know, do you ever like need a friend I'm here.
Alyssa Danielle Jones: I will always need a friend.
Madge Dietrich: It's an obsession. Talking to people. Hearing their stories. Learning new lessons. Telling the truth. Defying categories. Intellectual jam session. Passing the mic. Making voices heard and more. She's changing minds and conversations. Sharing her appreciation. Taking charge of her creation. This is Conversations with a Mixed Chick.