Brand new mama Celeste Arias never could have imagined the expansion she would feel after giving birth to her son - universes of love and enchantment - keeping her afloat during swells of anxiety and extreme fatigue.

After her agent dropped her and a frigid NY winter loomed, a fortuitous audition led not only to an escape to warm weather for her young family, but to a juicy role and an opportunity to reclaim her artistic self after the birth of her baby boy.

Celeste shares in real time what it’s like to do an out of town gig with a 6 month old and spouse along for the ride: from sleep training an infant in artist housing, to summoning the creative spark in rehearsals, to pumping, pumping and more pumping. Celeste knew that when she stepped into rehearsals to play Thea Elvstead in Hedda Gabler at The Old Globe Theatre, she would meet the challenge from where she was: emotionally raw, deeply fatigued and with more love in her heart than ever before.

More on Celeste:

@celestenarias

www.theoldglobe.org

www.theactorscenter.org

www.thealready.org

Award winning actor Cindy Cheung blames a hot pink flyer stuck to a UCLA campus wall for causing her 180-degree turn away from applied mathematics and towards an acting career.

From her days in LA discovering the power of theatre and the importance of representation on stage, to turning down a job helping to build B1 bombers so she could do an acting intensive, to struggling to feel authentic and inspired as a young actor in NY, to the time she quit the business altogether and what ultimately brought her back, Cindy's stories are laced with heart and humor.

She shares the thrill of deciding to have a child with her novelist husband and how they are raising a well-adjusted son who can handle work- related separations and be thoroughly himself.

Cindy is a tireless advocate working for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and as a member of the Asian American Performers Action Coalition, she has created noticeable change in the industry and put her math skills to good use.

She tells Melanie and Katie about all the fun she’s having in rehearsals for the premier of MEAT SUIT at Second Stage and why Bouffon clowning may just be the absolute best way to express the literal “shit show of motherhood.”

More on Cindy:

2st.com

aapacnyc.org

edlinforpresident.com

After she was told by someone in the business that she could either have a career or a family, award winning actor April Matthis made it her mission to show the world that it was possible to do both. With intense dedication to her vocation (she went to an audition 2 days after giving birth) and to her child (she nursed him for 22 months), April has created her beautiful career and family with unwavering integrity.

April shares the frustrations of fighting for fair wages and the pleasures of being a longtime company member of the groundbreaking experimental theatre collective Elevator Repair Service, where she learned how esteemable it is to ask for what you need and be valued for who you are.

Passionately in love with New York, this Texarkana girl has no interest in suburbs or minivans, and she walks Melanie and Katie through what it’s been like raising her son in the city as her career grew from tiny downtown theatres to Broadway and from short films to her recent riveting guest spot on Netflix’s number one show and why these days, she tries to choose roles that allow her to hug her teenage son goodnight instead of checking in on FaceTime from afar.

April talks about her latest project, the world premiere of The Dinosaurs at Playwrights Horizons , the mystery and excitement of working on a new character with an incredible cast, and how sometimes holding something back as a performer makes the audience lean in all the more.

More on April:

@aprilmatthis

Elevator Repair Service

https://www.elevator.org/

Amadi Comes Home (short film)

https://filmshortage.com/dailyshortpicks/amadi-comes-home/

The Dinosaurs - Playwrights Horizons

https://www.playwrightshorizons.org/shows/production-history/2020s/2526/dinosaurs?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23350765141&gbraid=0AAAAAoXIt7pV9ei1T82c8LXGDHxuVsyZA

Take Me Home - Sundance Film Festival 2026

https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/6932fa301a55353c2091ae2b