Sumi Yu
Show Notes
Sumi Yu is a full-time professional actress working on stage and in TV/Film. Currently residing in NYC, she is a proud member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA and has performed at many prestigious theaters including Lincoln Center Theater and New York City Center.
In today’s episode, Sumi discusses how she chose a college program that would support not just her resume but her overall wellbeing, what she loved and what she’d change about her training experiences, and the importance of therapy and other tools to support our professional journeys.
She also expresses how her professional jobs can’t be her measure of success and worth, how we can celebrate who we are and let that be our guide through the industry, and even shares the story of her most embarrassing audition for a Broadway show.
Follow along on Sumi’s journey: @sumireyu | https://www.sumi-yu.com/
*And if you're curious about the Lady Gaga reference: "Bus, Club, Another Club"
Transcript
Jessica Altchiler - Intro
Hello and welcome to the story project. Today is our first official interview with Sumi Yu. Sumi is a Japanese-Chinese actress living in New York City. She's originally from Tokyo, Japan and moved to the US when she was 15 years old to study musical theater in boarding school and college. Today Sumi has been working as a professional actress for more than 10 years, both on stage and on TV. On TV, Sumi has played both recurring guest star and recurring co-star roles on major networks such as NBC and Starz. In New York City, she has performed at theaters like Lincoln Center Theater and New York City Center and regionally she has gotten to perform some of her favorite roles including Audrey in Little Shop, Marcy in Spelling Bee, Laurie in Oklahoma, Hamida in House of Joy, for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in St. Louis, and was most recently seen as Gabrielle in Cinderella, which is where I met Sumi. So without further ado, let us get to the interview where we talk about finding your worth as an artist, knowing who you are and why it's important to just be you when you walk into an audition room. Here is Sumi Yu.
Jessica Altchiler
Hey, Sumi.
Sumi Yu
Hi, Jess.
Jessica Altchiler
I'm so happy to have you here having a fun, new conversation about art life and being a human being.
Sumi Yu
Yes, thanks for having me.
Jessica Altchiler
Sumi is an absolutely beautiful human being who is a performing artist and works in theater and TV. And it's just frickin' phenomenal. And I just met Sumi a few months ago. We did a production of Cinderella together. And she was our wonderful Gabrielle, who just brought all the emotion and all the humor and all the beautiful singing and acting and dancing and everything combined. And it was just such a joy. And I was associate director, so we didn't really get to spend too much personal time together, but we just knew that we were on the same wavelength.
Sumi Yu
We knew right away. We knew, we knew.
Jessica Altchiler
So I was wondering if before we got into the like resume of it all. If you could tell me what your human bio is, so the things that we don't usually get to see on a resume or in a bio, like who are you? What do you love and who do you love and all of that?
Sumi Yu
Oh, I love that. So my, I think what's fun to start off with is my full name is Sumire Stephanie Yu. People are always like, whoa, where'd that come from? But I go by Sumi because people, have a hard time pronouncing it. It's Japanese, Sumire is Japanese, it means violet, which I love and I think is beautiful. Cause Sumi in Japanese means ash, so it's not as beautiful.
Jessica Altchiler
That's so interesting.
Sumi Yu
Yeah, but I always, I didn't love the way it interfered with my audition casting process and people were like, wait, they butcher my name right away and then they're like, wait, how do I say it, what does this mean? I always felt like, It's getting in the way of like, I just want to present my work. So I, my stage name is my nickname that I've been going by for like 20 years. But like, I feel like that's something people don't usually know. Like, Sumire, so that's my first name. Stephanie, because I was raised Catholic. My mom's Japanese, my dad's from Hong Kong. I grew up at an international school in Tokyo. I was, I lived there for 13 years. And then my family moved to Singapore. I also love that I'm sharing this with you and you're knowing it for the first time.
Jessica Altchiler
Yeah, it's incredible.
Sumi Yu
So then my family lived in Singapore for about 12 years. Like we moved with my dad's job, but I left Singapore after two and a half years because I had done a summer theater camp for the first time and I did that because my sister did it and I always did what my sister did. She was like, you should try it. I was like, eh, theater, fine, I'll just give it a try. Obviously fell in love with it. And then, so the reason I left Singapore was because I knew I wanted to pursue theater and I didn't think I would get into a theater program, like a college theater program from Singapore. I just felt like I still needed to learn a lot and have the training that I wanted to have. So I signed up for boarding school. So I went to boarding school and I was like 15, 16, like sophomore year till senior year of high school, three years of high school. I went to a performing arts school in Massachusetts called Walnut Hill School of the Arts. And then from there I went to Elon University in North Carolina and then moved to New York City right after. And I've been here eight years. I love that though, human bio, like what you love, who you love too. So sweet, because I love my cat. I was just talking about her before we started recording.
Jessica Altchiler
What's her name?
Sumi Yu
Eight-year-old kitty named Kona. Her full name is Kona Jessica Parker Yu. Needs to be known on this recording.
Jessica Altchiler
It does need to be known. It does need to be known, absolutely.
Sumi Yu
Yeah, she looks nothing like her name, but she's fabulous to me. Ha ha ha.
Jessica Altchiler
And she's eight, you said?
Sumi Yu
She's eight, yeah, I got her the second I moved here. You just got here a week ago. Don't get a cat for at least six months. The following day when they left town, I went to ASPCA and I got her. I was like, I'm just gonna love. That's amazing. Fell in love with her.
Jessica Altchiler
So what was your experience like in your training programs and then what was your college experience like?
Sumi Yu
So at Walnut Hill, it was interesting because we are what teenagers at that age and I would definitely say right off the bat that my friends and I trauma bonded. I could say that about my college experience as well but it was same it was a lot of fun yeah oh a lot of artists for sure it's such an I mean not to jump a couple steps ahead but like you know looking in retrospect it's kind of like whoa I did all that in those young formative years, in those years where I need to be held and taken care of. And no, I just kind of got thrown into it. Or theater can be very almost like trauma exposing. They're like, oh, you see that? You feel that? You see how you're crying and shaking? You're an artist now. It's like, wait, but I don't feel good. So. But it was still super fun and I loved everything about it. I just, anytime I think about theater programs now, I'm like, I hope we can continue with these programs but with a lot more care and accessible support. Bam. Bada bing, bada boom.
Jessica Altchiler
Bam, bingo.
Sumi Yu
Yeah, fully, fully that. Like I am so happy to be where I am now and I have. I literally just ran into some high school friends this past Pride weekend. We were all out. And, you know, we're all like amazing people now. You know, we've all come out of it and we're great. But also, like, when I think back, I'm like, whoa, that was a lot. But basically the way my high school worked was 8 to 2 p.m. was like your academic hours and you would take your like gen eds or like math, science, English, whatever. And then 2 to 6 was your arts major, because this school had five majors. It was creative writing, visual art, music, theater, and dance. What a school. And so from two to six, I would have my theater classes. And they ranged from actually dance was only once a week. We had like, um. acting the song, we had musical theater history, we even had like design and production class where we learned like the tech elements. We had, we learned Meisner. I actually, um, give the most credit for my acting training to my high school years. I actually felt like I learned a lot more in high school. Um, and also one of my fun like culty fun facts about my high school is that we had to wear all blacks in our theater classes. I think because it kept us like neutral, like actors. So we were, we had to wear all black, no logos, no faded blacks.
Jessica Altchiler
Whoa.
Sumi Yu
We're like, 16 years old.
Jessica Altchiler
That's intense.
Sumi Yu
It's intense. It was so funny to me. We're just in blacks seven days a week.
Jessica Altchiler
You only express yourself through your acting. Not through your clothing.
Sumi Yu
It's so interesting. So, so, so interesting.
Jessica Altchiler
Were there other strict rules like hair? Anything like that?
Sumi Yu
Not that I remember. Like we could wear makeup. I feel like people wore jewelry, but it was… We all looked like backstage crew at all times. Just black clothes.
Jessica Altchiler
You were always ready.
Sumi Yu
My wardrobe was just, yeah, I felt like I was like in Adam's family. Like you'd open the closet and just like black clothes. It was wild. Yeah, so that was that. And then, and then it keeps going. And then, so you have like dinner from like six to seven. And then if you were in a show, if you got cast in the show from seven to 10, you had rehearsal. Yeah. And then if you, right? And on the days you didn't have a show, the way the whole school worked is from nine to 10 was, it was either called study hour or quiet hour or something like that. But you had to keep your door open and it just had to be quiet. Like, Everyone's doors are open, but the hallway is just silent. People had to just be doing homework. And another fun fact I want to drop about my school is it was a co-ed school. So they had this rule that if someone of the opposite gender was in your room, you had to have your door open and there had to be at least three feet on the ground. Three.
Jessica Altchiler
What?
Sumi Yu
Isn't that funny? So that you couldn't like have your legs up on the bed, but three feet would mean. One person and another person had at least, one foot down. Isn’t that hilarious?
Jessica Altchiler
That's the funniest rule I've ever heard.
Sumi Yu
It was wild. And we had a thing called a blue card where you had to write down where you were going, sign out, someone had to sign off on it. If you wanted to do an overnight, I think you could only do it as a senior. And the person you were staying with had to call ahead of time, call your dorm parent ahead of time to give permission. It was a whole thing. But luckily I made some of my closest friends ever from that because fully hashtag trauma bonded. But also we loved it. Also we did have such a great magical experience, but also it was a lot for kids, literally think about it, children.
Jessica Altchiler
Yes. Doing such intense work at such a young age.
Sumi Yu
Yeah, exactly.
Jessica Altchiler
And so when you were at that age, were you aware that you're going to pursue it professionally?
Sumi Yu
Uh, yes, I feel like that's why I like signed up and auditioned at that school. I was like, I think this will help me get into college. And it truly did, especially senior year was all basically college audition prep. Yeah. And so it was like lots of training and practice of like your audition package, like your go-to songs and monologue and whatever. And basically once. The audition season started which is like, I guess January till April. Every weekend I was flying off somewhere. But I was, some people had their parents, you know, it was boarding school, but they'd meet up with their parents and go somewhere. But I was just flying by myself to like Michigan, Cincinnati, whatever. And just staying at hotels by myself and just auditioning. I auditioned at 13 programs.
Jessica Altchiler
Wow.
Sumi Yu
Yeah, it's crazy.
Jessica Altchiler
Do you feel like you can identify or remember when performing and your art went from something that was purely recreational and joyful to something that snapped into a professional pursuit?
Sumi Yu
Hmm, pursuit, that's a trigger word from Cinderella. I'm just kidding. There's a scene called, if you don't know, the pursuit in Cinderella where it's, oh, it is.
Boy oh boy is a technical.
Jessica Altchiler
Boy oh boy is that a wild ride.
Sumi Yu
Yeah, it's a wild ride. I wasn't even in it, but I just know, you know, it's still triggering.
Jessica Altchiler
You had residual feels.
Sumi Yu
Yeah, it was, yeah. It was a magical scene, but magic is hard to make.
Jessica Altchiler
This is true.
Sumi Yu
In the life of, in theater life. Oh man. I think, I guess. I even want to say it felt more of a professional pursuit. I want to even say in high school, because that was my first experience of how competitive, I guess it could feel, of like getting cast or not getting cast or so-and-so getting a certain role, but someone didn't. Or now I'm in this scenario where I'm watching other classmates. And it's a learning setting, but it's still kind of, I think, it's still kind of felt in a way competitive. And I, I mean, we can get into this later, but also one of the flaws with theater programs can be teachers having favorites, and that can always feel, you know, not great. So I feel like it was in this program where, I knew I still loved it and wanted to pursue it, but I was starting to feel also like, oh, this is hard. Like I'm feeling like not so great feelings when I don't get cast or I'm not getting the feedback I wanna be getting or why are they, why is so and so getting this, like so why is it coming so easily to them and I'm struggling with this? Yeah, so I think that was like my first experience with, I guess, it felt less recreational. And I was like, oh, I kind of have to think more critically about it. And I just remembered my first year I was a sophomore, but I remember I got put into the freshman level musical theater class. I was fully offended. I was like, wait, what? And I was the only one, I was like, what happened? And I remember in college, the same thing happened with starting your sophomore year of college. You get separated into two different dance levels. It was like the movers and the dancers, essentially. And I remember I got put into the movers and I was like, I thought I was like a little bit more of a dancer. Yeah, but I think that's how these programs are structured, where you're not going to always get what you want. And it's not like I'm going to hold your hand and walk you through this. It's…I feel like the programs are sort of, maybe it's not intentional, but it's made to sort of give you that preview of like the real world of like, it's not always gonna go the way you want it to. And yeah, it's already kind of competitive and selective, and you're gonna start to feel rejections already. So I feel like it was like once I was in a theater program, which feels like the start of it was high school and I continued to feel it through college. Yeah.
Jessica Altchiler
And then what was Elon like, in that program?
Sumi Yu
I loved Elon, my experience at Elon, my friends at Elon. I am so glad I went. But it's funny that now in this age, I guess I graduated, oh gosh, eight years ago now. And I have a lot of friends now several years after they graduated where they were like, Oh, well there were, like, that was a little problematic or like, that wasn't great. Which, and now not just Elon, I've bonded with so many people who've graduated out of especially BFA programs who are like, Whoa, like that was crazy and definitely not okay. And I have friends who are still recovering from like some of the trauma they endured, which is, yeah, which is awful. Like. these programs should not be getting away with this, or I hope they seriously consider restructuring, reformatting their programs, and like readjusting their roster with professors or whatnot, especially if they have problematic ones. So I really did love Elon, and I chose Elon for their dance training, actually. I felt like I was a very strong mover, and I was like, this is the one thing I feel like I really need. like practice with or like more training with. And they, I saw that they had like a pretty rigorous dance training schedule. I also loved the vibe of Elon, like ahead of time, like knowing some of the alumni there, like everyone seems like, like happy and easygoing and fun. And I got like a kind of fun peppy vibe from there. I feel like each school gives kind of like a certain energy. Um, cause I was debating between a couple other schools, but this was the school where I was like, I feel like I'm gonna have a lot of fun here. And that's also important for me for four years of college. Um, I, I like had an opportunity to maybe go to Carnegie Mellon. I was waitlisted, but my school had like some connections with there. And I remember thinking like, of course that would be amazing on my resume, but I'm like having this gut feeling that it sounds like it's gonna be really hard and intense. And I think I still wanna have like a normal college experience. And I think I'm gonna have that in North Carolina and not sure if I'm gonna have it at Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon. Yeah. So that was another reason why I chose Elon. It was a little bit also for my sanity in a way. I was like, I know the other school will probably like maybe be better for my career, maybe like on paper. But kind of like you said, I don't want to be just a bio on paper. I want my human bio to be colorful and lively and fulfilling. So that was like the other reason I chose Elon. I felt like I would be able to have like a human experience for my formative early 20 years.
Jessica Altchiler
That is so important. And I wonder how much having gone to the boarding school and having such a professional experience in high school led to that, because I know so many of my. Colleagues and friends and students are so intense about choosing the best thing on paper. And that's what I did. And I think it was a huge mistake because I don't think it was a right fit for me. And so now, no matter what, when I'm giving people advice and talking to them about their paths, whether it's college or taking a job or not, it's always about what you're saying, having the full human experience, remembering that we are whole artists who are multifaceted and deserve to be able to care for our well-beings and have social lives. And yeah, maybe if you went to the other school, you would have been great. And then you would have burnt out and you would have been miserable and gone down a different path. So I think it's incredible that you chose where your heart was leading.
Sumi Yu
Yes. And like to this day, I thank all my lucky stars that I chose the school I did because of the people I met through it. I feel like those friends of mine are literal soulmates. And in the other school, maybe it would have taken my career other places, whatever. But I wouldn't have the people who I have in my corner now. And that, I couldn't live without them. That would have changed everything. What do you think were some of the best takeaways specifically that the program offered you that maybe other people looking for college programs can think about when they're looking at their own place and what that school offers. And then also perhaps what are some things that you think were not so great and could potentially be improved? I'm going to speak on my experience at Elon when I was there because I believe now, like, it's been a total changeover with professors and people in charge and whatnot. I really loved...Oh, one of the reasons I chose my school is they had a study abroad program. So that was another part of my like being able to just have like the college human experience I want to travel and to do that, especially in a theater program. That was huge because a lot of theater programs don't allow that because they're like, work on your art all four years, never take a break. Yes. So I really love that about Elon.
Jessica Altchiler
Where did you go?
Sumi Yu
Oh my gosh, I did a program called Semester at Sea. I don't know if you've heard of it, but it's a cruise ship. And there's like, I don't know how many different schools we had. I want to say we had like 20 different colleges there. Like a lot of different colleges can sign up for this thing. And it's like, so you're meeting a bunch of other people from other schools, which is also cool. Like I've made lifelong friends from different schools that I would have never met. And we went to 17 countries. It was so cool. And you take four classes, and I purposefully chose four non-theater related classes. Like they had a drama class and stuff. I took like a painting class. I took a religion class. I took like a sociology, like politics class so that it would relate to the countries I was going to. And... It's amazing. It was one of the most like healing semesters of my four years in school. It's so important to take a break from The art as well. So I did that and it was magical. It was so cool. And a lot of people in my program actually didn't study abroad because they were like, I feel like I should be continuing to do this. And I have a lot of friends who are like, I kind of regret it. And, you know, it's not like the biggest regret ever, but I'm very glad I chose that I knew that I wanted to study abroad wherever I went, I knew that I wanted that to be a part of my college experience. Other things about Elon, I mean, something I loved was that we had great weather there. I'm not complaining about North Carolina. The campus is beautiful. That's huge. Yeah, it really is. Like, if you're going to spend four years somewhere, like, you can't be miserable. You got to make sure you're feeling nurtured in other ways other than your theater program. So, yeah, even like the campus being beautiful was healing. The weather. Obviously, the people. And yeah, I really, I loved, I really did like the professors I had and the programs we had, and I just felt like I had a lot of fun. So that was my pros with the school I chose.
Jessica Altchiler
That's crazy. You had what's that called? Fun?
Sumi Yu
What? I don't know if you've ever heard of it.
Jessica Altchiler
In college.
Sumi Yu
Wow, yeah.
Jessica Altchiler
In a BFA program?
Sumi Yu
Right, like what? So that was really fun. I really did. Love that. I really did love school. I... the cons, as every program has cons. I'm lucky to say that I didn't have to face too many of the cons. There were definitely students in the program who went through a much worse experience than I did. And I don't think I'm in a place to speak on their experience, but I will say that what they went through was...like absolutely not okay, problematic, traumatic. And I wish they were able to, I wish the program was able to give them the resources that they needed. I wish certain professors didn't handle it the way they did. Like there were things that are like, have continued to traumatize these people. And it's just sad that it's been like long lasting effects on them. But I will say there were definitely. There were definitely some problematic parts that I was a part of. And one of them was this song, oh wow, this class called performance. And you only take it your sophomore year, which I thought was interesting. But it's basically a class about acting the song. And you get divided into two. Like your musical theater class, it's divided by the movers and the dancers randomly. I don't know why they divided this way. And in each class, it's basically like this like 12 step program on like how to act the song, but it's like very personal. They make you write an essay for each song and it has to correlate with something in your real life. And there were two TAs, teacher assistants in each class, which were people from either the grade above, juniors or seniors. And I don't know if it was them or if it was the teachers, I think a little bit of everything, but they made sure they knew everyone's personal tea, personal stuff they were going through, and they would surely assign songs that correlated to things that were going on in their personal life. Definitely on purpose to get something out of us. And I thought that part was very problematic because it was the assignment was sort of asking people to bring whatever they're going through to the class and talk about it and present it and perform it. And so it was really, it was really, I was, I, it was harmful. It was scary. It was, it just felt like if you weren't doing that, you, you weren't taking risks. You weren't a brave, bold actor. And something that I and a couple others went through is that I was going through a breakup at the time and my partner at the time was in that class. And I remember I had, yeah, and I had to sing a song. Of course, they gave me a breakup song, obviously, to sing. And also you have to, not only do you have to like write an essay and maybe I would think regularly, you have an essay that you can have in your head and like for you to like process and sing, but they make you sit and read this entire essay. It's like, it feels like a diary entry. It's so personal, but they make you sit and read it. And for some of us, these people we're talking about are in our classes. So I have to like read this very personal, like letter essentially to my classmates and teachers and TAs, and, and then I remember having to do the song to a scene partner who wasn't my partner at the time, or my ex partner. But the teacher obviously was like, this isn't working, like this isn't, let's get the real guy up here. And brings my ex up on the stage and made me sing this song to him. And I was like bawling my eyes out, like shaking, crying. And of course at the end they're like, did you feel that? Did you feel that? Yeah, yeah, that was it. Like, no, no. I, ugh, there are some programs and teachers who think that like visceral emotional reaction means that you tapped into this like, like breakthrough, authentic, like part of your actor skill. Like, no, no. That's not it. Like you shouldn't have to, no. Like I was having a reaction, but that doesn't mean that's acting. That doesn't mean that it's my best performance work. I was having a reaction, probably a panic or anxiety attack. Like it was emotional. People saw emotions, but that's not art, especially if I don't want it to be art. I don't want to present that as art.
Jessica Altchiler
Yeah. And what are they going to do? Bring this person up onto the stage every time you go on stage or put him behind the camera?
Sumi Yu
Exactly.
Jessica Altchiler
Every time you're doing anything, that's not how, it doesn't make sense into how you're going to learn how to activate those emotions. And also, it's what we're talking about, we're human beings and we don't need to be suffering in our most traumatic moments to produce good art. And good work.
Sumi Yu
Right. Exactly.
Jessica Altchiler
That's horrible.
Sumi Yu
It was horrifying, horrifying. And yeah, I know so many other people who had similar experiences. And in theater programs, sometimes people date each other. And so other people had to sing to their partners. And some people had to deal with cheating stories and accusations and whatever. And then those people were in the room. It just was so uncomfortable and so unnecessary. And that's not. You don't have to air out your dirty laundry or whatever is personal. Especially if you don't want to, oh my gosh. That's so invasive.
Jessica Altchiler
Yeah. It's really taking advantage of you.
Sumi Yu
Right, right. So that wasn't cool. There was a time when I, I like to say I started the Elon showcase, but because I did actually, because we don't do senior showcases, we bring casting directors and agents to campus. It's like a very interesting thing that we do, but it's kind of cool because it's personal. You get to know them, you get to sing for them, like at your campus, dance for them, whatever. But I was like, we need to be bringing us to New York as well because there are a lot of people we don't bring in. It's expensive to bring in people and a lot of Elon alumni don't get representation right away when they leave school because we don't have a showcase. So my class, my class at Elon was the last class before we did a wait list. We didn't have a wait list program before my, or I guess my year was the last year. So we had 30 kids say yes. We actually had 29 and then we added a 30th person our sophomore year. So we had a giant class, but my goal was to feature everyone. And I wanted to feature everyone in ways where it would highlight their best assets. But since our class was huge, I booked a 54 below slot, but we did like a lot of duets, trios, quartets, because it would be too many of us if we each sang a solo. And basically, right before we went to New York, we presented our final dress rehearsal to people in the program, whoever wanted to come, and we were having sound issues. It was organized by students, so it wasn't the most organized thing, but it didn't go very well, essentially. But we still had a week to polish up. But basically, our professors saw it and then they had to sit us down and they were like, you can't present this. This is not a representation of Elon. Like, I know you already emailed everyone, but you're going to email them and uninvite them. So I had to have my laptop open and the head of the program stood behind me and watched what I wrote and said, right, say this, say, like this is no longer a representation, yeah, representation of Elon and like, you do not have to attend this anymore, essentially that. So we had to uninvite everyone and they cut half, more than half the people, they chose 12 people to sing and they sang their college audition songs. So it wasn't like fun cabaret songs. We had a lot of ballads. And on top of that, they still somehow required everyone to fly to New York and attend the rehearsals there. They now organize their own rehearsals. So 18 people had to sit and watch and attend the three rehearsals at Ripley Grier while 12 people sang their solo numbers. And then everyone had to also attend the performance. It was not okay. And the good…only good thing to come out of that is one agent still came because they were like friends with someone in our class and I signed with them.
Jessica Altchiler
That's great.
Sumi Yu
The rainbow at the end of this horrible yeah just dumpster fire of an event but that was that was crazy. It was just this lack of trust in us and like shame on this thing we made as students. And I thought that was just not cool. So it was just sad. It was just disappointing.
Jessica Altchiler
And that says a lot about you that you saw an issue or you saw a gap in what you were getting and what you knew you needed to do the next step. And you created this thing. And if a school is not going to provide that for you, then it makes sense that you're going to try to build something for yourself.
Sumi Yu
Yeah. And every year after that, now they do a senior showcase at 54 below, so I'm like, okay, first of all, you're welcome.
Jessica Altchiler
Yeah, seriously.
Sumi Yu
Yeah, and it just sucked that more than half the class couldn't perform. It was just so weird, it was unfortunate.
Jessica Altchiler
And that was right at the end?
Sumi Yu
At the very end, yeah.
Jessica Altchiler
And then you moved to New York right after that?
Sumi Yu
Yeah, yeah.
Jessica Altchiler
What was that transition like?
Sumi Yu
I got really lucky and like days after we graduated, I think the day after we graduated, I moved there and my friends were like, let's go to an EPA of Spelling Bee. They're doing Spelling Bee at Bucks County. And we had just done Spelling Bee at Elon and I was Marcy Park. So people were like, oh, like this will be fun. Like I went with two other friends who were also in that production as Coney Bear and Olive. But of course, as New York is when you're non-union, we got there at 7.30 in the morning, already a long list. We're like 60th on the EMC list. And we were waiting all day, like sitting on the floor of Pearl or Ripley, wherever we were. I think it was Pearl. And I was ready to give up around noon. I was like, y'all, like we have been here since 7.30 AM. Like, I don't want to be here. I don't want to wait all day to sing for 30 seconds. And my friends were like, we just graduated like two days ago. Like we have no jobs. We should just sit here, like we can all hang out and play games or whatever. I was like, okay, fine. I get seen at like 5.30, 5.45. The whole thing ends at six. So we got really lucky that we got like just seen before it ended. And I got a call back and then I got it. It was, I got, so I got so lucky. I'm so glad my friends convinced me to stay. That was at Bucks County Playhouse, which is a great theater. But also, I could also go into the whole non-union thing and how people get shafted all the time. Because, well, because I made, so, you know, if people know spelling bee, everyone is a lead in that show. Everyone does just as much. Like every single person in that show is featured. And they of course hired me because I was non-union. And I made like 300 something dollars a week while everyone made like regular Lorde or whatever it was, like 800, $900,000. I did exactly, if not more than some of the other actors. But that's how they get you. They know you're not gonna say no to this like opportunity of a lifetime. Yeah, so I got lucky with like a job right out of the gate. And that helped me sign with my agents. And then, but then after that, I didn't get another job for over a year. It took a whole nother year to get another job, but I was convinced, I was convinced my agents were gonna drop me, because after a year, they check in about whether they're gonna re-sign you or not, and they were dropping some people. I was like, oh gosh, I haven't gotten any jobs. But they kept me, they were like, you're still getting callbacks, and that's what's important. It's not just getting the jobs that makes you this great performer. I'm like, OK, thank you. Great. Thanks, guys.
Jessica Altchiler
That's so hard for people to remember. I want to highlight that.
Sumi Yu
Absolutely. Oh my gosh, that is not the end goal. And that cannot be the end goal. And I tell myself this to this day, because my jobs are always finite. They're short term. So I can't keep chasing job after job after job, or else I'm never going to be happy. Because I'm always going to find times of being unemployed. So yeah, that cannot be the end goal. Like at least for me, that's a huge thing for me as an actor to have as like a life goal. Like that's not what I'm chasing. I am happy with where I'm at, whether I have a job or not. Because this is what I, yeah. Well, this is what I signed up for. I can't, I know I'm gonna be unhappy if I think that when I have a job or if I have a job lined up, that's when I'm feeling satisfied. Cause then I'm not living in the present moment. I worry that I'm gonna tie my worth into having a job.
Jessica Altchiler
I have these conversations with people all the time. Because you're sitting and I always say that no matter where you are, if you just graduated college and you're auditioning for a non-union theater, or if you are on a TV show and you are a lead, you're still at the end of that job going to say, okay, what comes next? You hear so many really famous successful people in this industry talking about how they're always fearful. So what I always try to remind myself and remind my friends who are going through this at different stages and different levels is that how can we find our worth, where we are now, with who we are now, and how can we take some of that ownership back into our own lives and find that empowerment again? And not have it just be someone else handing me a job, now I'm worthy and now I'm fulfilled. So how do you feel like you can stick to that part of your heart center and find that fulfillment in the in-betweens and find consistency in the present?
Sumi Yu
One of my biggest things that I try to work on for myself and I try to encourage other artists to do is to find things that are fulfilling that are outside of what you do, like of your main, whether an actor or whatever it is. Like I, whether it's activities or hobbies or just places to go or things to do with people, but finding joy and peace and fulfillment in. Things that have nothing to do with the arts. Like kind of like when I studied abroad. Moments like that where it's not, I'm not taking an acting class or going to an audition or working on this song for the next audition. Like for me, like it's even just like going out dancing with my friends. Like that is cathartic and healing. Like, or I love to travel. I teach on the side. I teach yoga. I teach fitness. Like that for me is a fun way to still Be creative and active and it's fun. And I love meeting people from other communities and love meeting people who know nothing about what I do and how it works. For me, that's like really healing actually. Cause sometimes if I'm with a group of actor friends and if people like bring up something about the industry, I'll be like, can we take a break guys? Like I don't wanna talk about this. Like this is like my whole life. So like, I'd love it if we just switched subjects. And that happens with most of my close friends. I feel like I surround myself with people who don't talk about the industry 24 seven, because I think we all find it healing from each other. We heal each other by like talking about anything other than that. Yes. So that's, for me, that's my like rock. That's what grounds me is having a life outside of this industry. And I live in New York city. So having a life in New York city that doesn't revolve around just paying the bills and making money and then going to auditions. Like it might just makes me think of the Lady Gaga, like bus, another bus club, like that. Like, that can't be my life. I am not here on this earth to do that.
Jessica Altchiler
That's the best.
Sumi Yu
I wish I was off book with that. I should be. So good.
Jessica Altchiler
Yeah, that's so incredibly important. So what do you do on either a daily basis or weekly, monthly, whatever, that nourishes you and nurtures you. What are your practices that you do for yourself?
Sumi Yu
Yeah, something I'm excited about that I have right after this is I have therapy. Therapy, therapy, therapy. Cannot recommend it enough to anyone and everyone. Everyone is so deserving of therapy. And people, sometimes people are like, oh, I don't know what to talk about, or I haven't been through that much like, bad stuff in my life. I'm like, it's just a place to talk. Just a place to talk. You can talk about whatever. You can literally sometimes, like, it's so healing in that it doesn't have to be anything about something from your childhood or something that you're going through that's really tough. Like it can be, I've talked to my therapist about like, wow, I am so sick of cooking all the time. Like, literally. Anything mundane, but, and, and you don't even realize it, but after the hour you're like, I needed to get that off my chest. It doesn't even matter what it's about. It's just so, so great. Just once a week, even if you do it once every other week, because I know that stuff is expensive and adds up. It allows me to check in with myself, because being in this industry or even being in New York, it feels like we're always onto the next thing or you have to think about what's next. And so. Therapy is a great way to ground yourself and just be aware of what's occupying your head space right now. And to let it out. It's okay if you don't get rid of it, but just to be aware of it. Out of your head, someone else is hearing it. They're just there to listen. Or when you can't do therapy, like I don't do it often enough and I try to, but journaling, it's the same thing. It's as if you're talking to a therapist, but you're just writing it down on paper. That stuff's great. I try to meditate more often and I actually am glad I'm saying that I try because it's just a great example of like, I don't have it all together or I don't have the routine down and it's something I'm working on. And it's hard to add that to the routine, but something I'm working on. But when I do it, it feels great. I like to work out when I can just because it's just a great way to like feel when I'm in a slump. It's just kind of nice. Like just now I just like did like a 20 minute little like bike ride, it's just a little, you know, something, something to get the blood moving. Yeah. I had a good one. What was another good one? Oh yeah, so I really do love dancing with my friends. For me, like absolutely cathartic. It doesn't have, you don't have to live in New York to have this, but there is a thing called What the Float, and it's a silent disco. And they do it in some major cities, but in New York City, they definitely have it. It's where everyone wears these headsets, these glowing headsets, and you dance around the city. You're not just stuck somewhere. They guide you. They have these lights and they tell you where to go. And I just did one this past weekend. It was Pride weekend and it was through the Lower East Side, all around, and then we ended right on the water where the two bridges are. It's magical, it's cathartic, it's healing. Actually, most of the people who do it are actors. And I think it's because we all get it. We're all so stressed and tired and we're like so burnt out from the industry that it's such a great way to like let loose, let go, have fun. And I think a lot of performers gravitate towards it because it's, it's dancing and having fun and, and yeah, being looking like a fool on the streets. People are staring at you. Oh, it's so much fun. It's something I do at least once a month.
Jessica Altchiler
So can I come with you next time?
Sumi Yu
Please, please. Absolutely. Yeah, I think my friend and I are even like guiding one. We're going to like make a playlist and yeah. Oh, yeah. It's so much fun. I've been doing it for five years. It's it's one of the most healing, healing things. And it's a great way to like kind of look at New York from a new lens, because like you're wearing these headsets and you're dancing around and you're seeing the water, you're seeing these buildings, you're seeing New York in a way you don't usually see it. And it's a great way to realize, oh my gosh, I'm in one of the greatest cities in the world. Truly might sound cheesy, but it's like whatever makes you feel good, do it. Lean into it. That's my main motto, I feel like, yeah. So even if it's something silly, going out dancing with my friends. Yeah. That to me is cathartic.
Jessica Altchiler
Yeah. It's about giving yourself permission to carve out that time to find joy and to do what you need to do for yourself, letting that be a priority and trusting that then your art and your craft and your work that you're doing to change the world is going to all be better because you're going to be more fulfilled and have the energy to do your work.
Sumi Yu
100%, absolutely, yes. And one more thing I want to say, because I find it so important, and I started doing this later in my life, and I wish I knew I was deserving of this a little earlier in my life is also days of doing absolutely nothing. Like people need to do that. And this was something I found out in therapy where my therapist was like, you need to schedule downtime. Don't just look at your schedule and think, oh, I have these couple hours to do nothing. So that's when I'm gonna take it. Like things always fill up. You never know when auditions come up or just things pop up. So like make sure you schedule downtime. And not just a day where you have half the day, like make sure you have a day where you have absolutely nothing, nothing on the agenda. It's not even doing emails or whatever, just because it'll change mentally. It's just such a game changer to know you have nothing to do that day. When you know you have something to do, you're still kind of like on the edge of your seat or like, oh, I have to go do that, or I have to go to the grocery store, whatever. But when you have a day when it's nothing, yeah, just like you said just now, we need to recharge. What we do is a lot, it takes up all our energy. So that recharging is so important.
Jessica Altchiler
This is a big question, but is there anything you can think of that we can start either talking about as a community or implementing from both the performance and the creative side that could make it a little easier, make it a little less stressful? I believe art and what we're doing doesn't inherently have to be stressful. It's all these layers that we add. It's important and it's vital and it's changing the world. But why do we need to be exhausted and suffering in some way? We're artists. So if we're not nurturing our artists and yet we're expecting them to heal us and inspire us and make change, it hasn't been working really. So do you have any thoughts for yourself personally or at large, for some way that we could maybe take a step in the right direction?
Sumi Yu
This is a tricky one for sure. Yeah. I think reminding ourselves why we do what we do could be just like a nice reminder. Because sometimes we forget because we're chasing job after job and seeing what other people get and comparing ourselves to them. So I think something that could be a nice reminder is to just think about why we're doing it, how does it make us feel? And can we still feel that feeling even when we're in between jobs, when we're offstage, not doing what we do? Like, I think coming back to the reason, the joy, I think is something we all need. Because I feel like we're forgetting. I think we're thinking more, almost in a materialistic way, like getting a job or getting to this position and finding our worth in that. But I think remembering why we're here, why we're doing it. And if what we're doing now doesn't feel good, what needs to shift? Does something need to shift in your day to day? Do you need to take a step back? Do you need to breather? Are you surrounding yourself with the right people? Is whoever, your team or whoever, are you being supported in the best way? I think saying no to the things that don't feel good or don't feel fulfilling, anything icky, and trying to let that go, so that to create space for the things that can best support you. I don't know, I guess it goes back human bio. And it's okay if things don't feel good right now, but I think working towards like what can I do to adjust? Like maybe it's something small like adding 10 minutes of meditation to your day every other day. Or like maybe I will look into a therapist. And all those things sound more like mental health related than like how can I adjust my actor schedule but I think it's because the two come hand in hand and being, it's just as, like we, we take care of our physical health, especially singers, dancers, and that mental health part is just as important. It's just a different kind of health, but absolutely. Yeah. It's just as important. And especially as artists, we bring so much of our emotions and our energy and like, what we are the product that we're selling, right? Everyone else is selling makeup, advertisers, whatever. But we're in this, like this is ourselves that we're putting out there. So we need to take care of that and nurture that. And remember that we're not just this product.
Jessica Altchiler
Yeah, we're humans, believe it or not.
Sumi Yu
Yeah, exactly, exactly. Yeah.
Jessica Altchiler
Okay, I have three little questions to ask you. The first one is, do you have any embarrassing or funny audition or performance stories?
Sumi Yu
Oh, so many. So many. The one that comes to mind first is my Broadway audition for Great Comet. I play the violin, and so I was like, I got this in the bag. And I grew up with the Suzuki Method, which is this like, I don't know, musical instrument training program where they emphasize learning music by ear and not so much by reading music theory. And so I mostly learned music by ear. I made the mistake of when I got the audition material, I was like, I know this song, I've listened to the Comet soundtrack, or I'm gonna listen to the Comet soundtrack again and learned this by ear. I guess the sheet music was in a totally different key. Not only was the sheet music in a totally different key, it was a cutout from the score. And I was just playing this middle part where there's like this violin solo in common. And lesson here is really look at your sides and see where it says start and end because the start. I think I got the start right, but the end was like a whole couple of other measures that I didn't realize. And it said in tiny letters that there's a repeat in this section. And it said second time, add some flourishes and improvisations. So with that information, I go into this room, I'm feeling good, I'm feeling confident, I'm feeling ballsy. I'm like, hi everyone, great to see you. I sing my own song. Great, they love it. They're like, wow, Sue me, so great. Let's hear the song from the show. I sing it, nail it out of the park. They love it. They're like, okay, well, let's hear the violin. And I was like, okay. And then I'm like putting the sheet music up and they're like, do you want the accompanist, like the piano accompanist to play with you or do you want to do acapella? And I never thought about it, but I was like, oh, I guess the piano can play along with the embellish my little solo. I should have said no here, because then I could have played in my own key, in my own world. Oh, and as I'm setting this all up, they're like, okay, so just a reminder, you're gonna start from here, do the repeat, improvise, and then that last little bit. As they're saying this to me, my mind goes blank. It's just like, I'm like, wait, what? It's all happening at once, all this information that I have learned all the wrong things. And then I hear the first chord of the piano, which is also different. This is all happening in a matter of like 10 seconds. And I'm, I probably look like this with my violin up. No one can see me, but I'm just looking shook, shooketh. And I start playing and as you may have figured, piano is in a totally different key than I am. Piano is correct, I am wrong. And so not only am I playing, I am transposing. As I'm playing, trying to match into this key. Y'all usually I'm an excellent violin player, but when you have transpose on the spot, it sounded insane. It sounded like I picked up the violin for the first time in my life. And then they start the repeat where they want me to improvise as I'm in the wrong key and trying to transpose. So the improv sounds even worse than the first time I played. And then the piano moves on to the second section that I never even laid my eyeballs on and I'm sight reading now and transposing at the same time. Basically what happens is it ends, the 30 seconds from hell ends, and everyone behind the table is jaw open, eyes wide, not disappointed, but just scared, shocked. And my face is the same, and I just go, I am so sorry, and I just leave the room. And then it gets better, it gets better. My friend, my best friend, texts me and says, Oh my gosh, Sue me. There are great comment auditions happening right now and Pearl, like you should be here. The girl who just went in, there was a girl just now with the violin who sounded so bad. And I said, Oh, babe, that was me. That was fully me.
Jessica Altchiler
Oh, ouch.
Sumi Yu
Ouch. Yeah, so that one, but that, but now I just find it hilarious. Like,
It was so bad that I just think that story is absolutely hilarious.
Jessica Altchiler
That is a very good story.
Sumi Yu
Yeah, it's really great. So, yeah, motto of the story is really look at your sides.
Jessica Altchiler
That's great advice and some funny story to go alongside it.
Sumi Yu
Yeah. And you just got to laugh. You just got to laugh. Like mistakes happen. And that is mistake would be an understatement for that story. But still, like life goes on. You know, didn't get that job.
Jessica Altchiler
Yeah. Made me make sure to not look carefully at a side again and to make sure I'm in the right key. Mm-hmm. Yes. That is a good thing to check. The first time I ever auditioned for anything, I had just been a dancer and I did my BFA in dance, knew nothing about musical theater. But if you went to a musical theater audition your senior year, you got to miss class. It was the only way you can miss class. And I was miserable. So I was like, yeah, I'll go with my friends and all. And so I showed up for my first one. This isn't really my most embarrassing story, but I showed up and I was like, I have my resume and I have my headshot. And these older dancers who went to my school and had graduated, they're like, honey, come here. Let me show you how it's done stapled together. Cut it all up. Like you just, you learn on the spot in most of these auditions. And even if you go to school for musical theater, there's still things that are going to just pop up and you have to figure out and then you won't make the mistake the next time.
Sumi Yu
For sure, yeah. I just talked about how I did like seven years of intensive theater training and you mostly learn from just being in the room over and over again. So don't expect perfection. Actually don't have any expectations.
Jessica Altchiler
That's a good one. Most of training is just about the acting of it, the singing of it, the dancing of it. It's not about all of the other things that go into it. I mean, some programs definitely do have that and obviously I was in a dance program so we didn't do. anything musical theater, which I think is a huge mistake, but we'll get into that another time. Because what else were we, I mean, most of us wanted musical theater and we're like, okay, I guess this is what we're doing now. I should take a voice lesson. I remember the first time like, oh, I have to sing? Okay. Like, and then they're telling me how to talk to the pianist and and ask for your note. I'm like, what does that mean? You don't know anything. You're just tumbling into it all. Good times.
Sumi Yu
But that's another thing for anyone who's new to the industry. It's like they've seen it all, casting people, everyone by the table. Like they know you were all starting from somewhere. It's OK to ask questions and be like, I don't know. What do you want? Or like, what am I supposed to do here? It's fine. You know? Especially I would like to think that an audition is a work in progress. You're not in there to bring in a final product.
Jessica Altchiler
Yeah. Correct. And also, I mean, I learned so much from being on the creative team at the Cinderella audition. So it was the first time I'd been behind the table at Ripley and I was like, this is crazy cause I've auditioned here a gazillion times. And I learned so much because we're sitting there for whatever, eight hours, three days in a row, and people are coming in for a minute, maybe, maybe less. And there's so many things that as a performer, I thought that the creative team was thinking about me or whatever it was. And they're just not like, they're there to do their job. They want you to succeed. They want to stop these auditions. Like they want you to come in and make their decision easy. And that's totally, that was something that I recognized immediately with you. And obviously there's this in the callback with you and Alex. So Sumi came in and she blew everyone away and then came back for a dance callback. And they paired her with Alex who ended up being our Jean-Michel. And they had to do a little, what was it? What dance was it? The scene?
Sumi Yu
Oh, oh, we have to do the waltz that we never did on stage. Like we never actually did it in our show.
Jessica Altchiler
Yeah, okay. So that's what I was thinking. Yeah, the scene together was fantastic. And the waltz together, you gave your own spin. You immediately saw the connection between these two characters. Sumi jumped up on Alex and he spun her around. And that was put into the… Oh, I guess that was during the scene, but that was put into the show by the director. Yeah. It was incredible seeing this person walk in, AKA, Sumi, walking in, giving a beautiful performance, being so down to earth and a human being that I immediately thought, oh, I wanna know her. She's a person I wanna chat with and know. It's not just like, oh, she's an incredible performer, which she is. But I was like, this is a human I want to work with. I want to know. Oh. It was amazing getting to see you do that.
Sumi Yu
I love that. Oh, thank you.
Jessica Altchiler
And on that note, what is one huge wild out of this world dream that you have, whether it's in the industry or not in the industry? Maybe it's even such a big dream that it feels kind of weird to voice.
Sumi Yu
Oh, okay, I have one. I want to try stand up.
Jessica Altchiler
You need to.
Sumi Yu
And to me, that's a big, scary dream because it sounds terrifying. I like to think I am a funny person and…
Jessica Altchiler
You are so funny.
Sumi Yu
You know, you know, it's so here's the thing. I do know that I am funny, but stand up feels like a whole other thing because I feel like I can be funny when I'm not trying to impress people. You know, I'm just like, oh, here, like, you know, I'm just like banter with my friends. But stand-up is like, you have to have a set. You have to like, you're coming up with a routine in a sense, and then, and then, we are friends will always kind of laugh at you or be like, oh, that wasn't funny. Like, when you go to a stand-up show, people can choose to not laugh. Like, it's, people don't just like, petty clap or laugh like they do in like, other performances. Like, stand-up is like, the, cause I know as an audience member when I go to stand-up, I'm not gonna laugh if I don't think it's funny. So that to me is terrifying, which is why I want to try it. Like I want to get out of my comfort zone and do something scary like that. So that's one of my like big scary dreams. And we'll see if it happens, but that's one of my, it scares me and excites me.
Jessica Altchiler
Oh my gosh, I would love to see you do that. My friend just started, she started doing standup last year and I saw her class show and I was crying laughing. Seeing someone that you love and that you think is so talented and amazing going into a different medium, because I was in dance school with her, and seeing her do that was unbelievable. And she also was hitting upon how ridiculous and fucked up and hilarious our training was. So it was definitely personal. She was so brilliant at it and it felt like she was coming home to something she was meant to do. And I would love to see you do that.
Sumi Yu
Yes! Oh my God. Well, I'll definitely invite you if I get the chance to do it.
Jessica Altchiler
You will do it.
Sumi Yu
Wait, I want to say one more thing related to that audition story earlier, because it just came to me. And I feel like it's something that could be nice that people hear on this, is that I feel like my first couple years of auditioning felt very like, do you like me? Do you like me? That's how I felt. When I would go into a room trying to impress, impress. And after the pandemic and just because I got older, I feel like now my mentality when I walk into a room is, here I am, take it or leave it, but like, you're welcome. Here's me, here's my performance. And if you want to work with me, you get to work with me. And that mentality for me was an absolute game changer. So I want people to hear that because people get to see you audition, you know? It's a you're welcome moment. Yes. It's like, thanks for having me. But also it's like, take it or leave it. This is who I am. This is what makes me unapologetically me. And you get to work with me if you want to.
Jessica Altchiler
That is completely accurate. And I will also circle back to when I was sitting behind the table. I wrote five pages of notes when I was sitting there throughout the three days. Five pages of notes that I wanted to tell my performer friends about things that I've learned and observed. And that was one of them. Why are you so grateful to be here? It's not mocking anybody. Like I told you, I do the same exact thing, but it's like, I'm grateful you're here. You put in all this work. I just have to sit here and watch you right now. You did your hair, you did your makeup. You got your clothes ready. You prepared your song. You prepared the sides. You have been...training for 25 years. You have had to work a million side jobs just to be here. You had to call off of work and lose money today for coming in. Like thank you for coming in because we are so lucky to have you here. Doesn't matter if you get it or not. And I always want people to know that and remember that and feel it deep in their being. So I appreciate you pointed that out cause it's so, I think it's unusual to walk into a room like that without it being super arrogant. Like, cause you can have super apologetic for walking in, super arrogant walking in, and then you can have just, hey, I'm a human, I've worked my ass off at this, I know I'm right for this. Let's see if we're a good match.
Sumi Yu
Exactly. And I think that everyone who comes into the room is right for it. They're being called in for a reason. And when someone doesn't get it, it doesn't mean they weren't right for it. It's just this particular team has a particular vision and whoever they picked is right for their project…but for any other production of it, like you are right for it. Or you even being here means you're right for it. If you don't get it, it doesn't mean you're wrong for it. It's just a specific vision that they have. And it might not have to do with you at all. Maybe it's about a co-star and how the chemistry is there. There's so much you can't control. So why think that it's something personal about you about something that's negative. It's not worth thinking that. It's so not personal, and that's so hard to remember.
Jessica Altchiler
It could be about a costume, or a height, or anything.
Sumi Yu
Literally, yeah. I was going to say one last advice I have. When I'm in the room and I think about things, the things that are in my head, if anyone's ever giving you attitude, or is catty with you, or whatever, it's like maybe you don't want to work with them. You don't have to impress these people.
Jessica Altchiler
Ding, ding, ding.
Sumi Yu
Yeah. Think about what you want to work on.
Jessica Altchiler
That's what I always think about in terms of artists losing their own empowerment and agency, because we become so desperate for a job, and you're willing to accept crumbs. Like, oh, I'm so grateful for this tiny little thing, and I know I'm not paid right, and I know I'm not treated right, but I get to perform. And If we don't speak about these things and call these things out and say no to those opportunities, then nothing's gonna change because it doesn't have to change. So that's huge.
Sumi Yu
Absolutely. Yeah, I very much feel that.
Jessica Altchiler
Okay, very last thing. What is one final piece of advice that you would have for young artists coming up in this industry or contemplating if they're going to be in this industry? You've given a ton of advice, but if there's any final advice…
Sumi Yu
I'm gonna end it with a quote that I learned, let's circle it back to the beginning, from when I went to high school. My teacher at Walnut Hill once told me, this also relates to the story we just had, told me that you can, like let's say you are a color, let's say purple, and you can be the best purple there ever is, like you are the fiercest of all purple purps. And maybe this production you're going in for is looking for a yellow. And so that's totally out of your control. You're just a different color. And I heard that advice, wow, over 10 years ago, and it has stuck with me because that's something I think about when I'm in auditions or just thinking about the casting process. And it ties back to this is who I am. This is like what you get with me. I am so proud to be me. And I think that you should have a purple in your show. But if that's not what they're looking for in their color palette, then there's nothing you can do about it. I love that advice stuck with me since high school, like in my formative years. And I feel like since it meant so much to me then, I hope it can maybe for someone listening, it means something to them as well. But I want you, whoever's listening, to pick a color and be proud of that color you are and stick with that. And knowing that everyone is all different shades of Crayola, all those, you know, fun names that are on the Crayolas, like pick one and you are that and be proud of that.
Jessica Altchiler
One more thing about that too, the reverse of that is someone could be looking for a purple, but then you come in and you're green and they're like, oh, I didn't even know I wanted green.
Sumi Yu
Yeah, oh, I love that.
Jessica Altchiler
So it's adding on to that because that happens all the time. All the time. So as long as you are your color, if we're going with that, then you can go in and it's exactly what they thought they wanted or exactly not what they thought they wanted. And as long as you are that color, you will find the right place and the right people will see you for who you are, what you have to offer.
Sumi Yu
Exactly. Know your truth, stick to your truth. It's okay if you ever question your truth and your worth and why you're here and why you're doing what you are. We all do it, but just come back to why you're doing what you're doing and just believe in yourself and your craft. And don't tie your worth to this industry. You are your own person.Everyone here who is living and breathing, whether they have a job lined up or no job, or they're on stage or off stage, employed, unemployed, whatever, we're all worthy. We're all artists and that's that. Don't let anything outside of you determine your worth. Don't seek external validation to know that you are a beautiful, brilliant artist and whatever color you are, you're brilliant.
Jessica Altchiler
Thank you so much, Sumi. Where can we follow along with your journey.
Sumi Yu
Hmm, let's think about that. Where? Ha ha ha. I am on Instagram. I am @sumireyu and I'm so glad I talked about my first name because people always think the Re is like my middle name because my stage name is Sumire Yu. They're like Sumire Yu, but that's my one place I can have my first name.
Jessica Altchiler
Beautiful. Well, make sure to follow Sumi on her incredible, beautiful, inspiring, colorful, journey. And that's that. Thank you for listening.
Sumi Yu
Yay.
Jessica Altchiler - Outro
Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It's a dream come true to share these stories with you. And I hope that there's something that you can take away that betters your life. We'll see you next time.