male announcer: "Theatre Corner" is brought to you by Amazing Grace Conservatory.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ announcer: And by Central San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce, the Mental Bar, Jones, Del Cerro Tax, the Westgate Hotel, La Jolla Playhouse, and viewers like you.

Thank you.

Michael Taylor: Hi, welcome to "Theatre Corner."

I'm your host, Michael Taylor.

As a lifelong theater enthusiast and a board member for one of the top theaters in the country, I've seen firsthand the positive effects that diversity and inclusion can have on the stage and the theater seats.

This interview series was created to share my passion for theater and promote diverse voices throughout the national theater scene.

We sit down with some of the top professionals in the entertainment industry to discuss training, careers, advice for young actors, and how to make theater matter to more people.

♪♪♪ Michael: We all know what it's like having a jam-packed schedule.

It can be extremely overwhelming, yet Faith Nibbe is just 15 years old and probably has a schedule more grueling than most adults you know.

She shares with us how she balances the business with school and her favorite homework hack with her sisters.

So, silence your cell phones, folks.

You're entering "Theatre Corner."

Faith Nibbe: This is the story of the creepy cat.

Don't turn out the lights.

It all started one rainy night when Catherine heard a scratching at her window.

She peeked out to see a coal-gray cat with yellow eyes sitting on her second-story windowpane.

"How'd you get all the way up here," she thought, as she opened the window and took the cat in her arms.

As she dried the cat, she noticed a collar that said "Ashes."

"Ashes, where's your owner?"

Catherine asked.

The cat just looks back at her, almost like he was smiling.

Michael: Faith Nibbe, welcome to Theatre Corner.

Michael: Hi, thank you for having me.

Michael: You're 15 years old.

Faith: Yes.

Michael: And so, the natural question would be, how old were you when you started this track of performance?

Faith: Yeah, I started performing when I was four years old, and I started doing dance recitals, and school plays, like that.

Michael: Is there a certain incident, or a certain performance, or something that just kind of hit you over the head and said, "Hey, I want to do this"?

Faith: Yeah, so I was four years old, and I wanted to go see "Peter Pan" at the Civic Theater, where Cathy Rigby was playing Peter Pan, and at the end of the show, Cathy Rigby flies out into the audience and says "Hello" to the audience.

And she came over, and she was flying, and she gave me a high five.

And from that moment, I said, "I really want to do that.

I don't know how, I don't know where, I don't when.

I want to do that."

Michael: Wow, that's amazing.

Faith: Yeah.

Michael: And so, I understand you had an encounter with her after that, actually.

Faith: Yes, I was dong "Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat," and it was, I believe, opening night.

And we were doing the meet and greet, and then from the corner of my eyes, I saw Cathy Rigby.

And I said, "Oh, wait a minute.

Is that Peter Pan?"

And my mom said, "Yes, that's Peter Pan."

So, I ran over to her and gave her a big hug, and I told her this story.

Michael: Wow, that's just amazing.

And so, you also do voiceover.

Faith: Yes, yes, so, my very first voiceover anything started in South Park.

I was singing with a choir, and we were singing the song, "Put It Down," basically telling Donald Trump to put down his phone from tweeting on Twitter.

And that actually got nominated for an Emmy about a year later.

Michael: Congratulations.

Faith: Thank you.

Michael: You performed with a choir on that episode.

What was it like being in that space?

Faith: Everybody was very professional, but we all had a great time.

We were telling jokes and stuff like that, but we were all very focused, and we learned the song pretty fast, and they were actually animating while we were singing the song.

So, they animated based off of our facial features.

So, there's a character that actually looks like me in the choir that you see.

Michael: You also performed with a regular choir group.

Tell me about this choir group.

Faith: Yes, so I sing with Voices of Hope Children's Choir, which is based out of a church, and we made it to "America's Got Talent," and we made it to the semifinals.

And the quarter finals and the semifinals were done in the Dolby Theater.

Michael: That had to be a pretty amazing experience.

I mean, you squeezed quite a bit into a short 15 years.

Faith: Oh, yes.

Michael: Congratulations, you were signed by NBC's Universal.

Faith: Yes.

Michael: And so, you're the host of the "Spine Chilling Stories."

Faith: Yes, I am.

Michael: That's really quite an exciting show, I mean, I've watched a few episodes, and I followed your advice.

I didn't turn off the lights.

So, but tell me how that came about and tell me about the show in general.

Faith: Yeah, so I came in to audition for a game show, and I thought just gonna audition for a game show.

If I don't get it, that's all right.

And then the same director from the game show emailed my mom and said, "Hey, I actually have another show I'd like your daughter to audition for.

It's about scary stories.

And scary stories are scary, and I was iffy on auditioning, but my mom insisted that I audition, and I said, "All right."

So, I auditioned, and I eventually got it.

We did two seasons.

This is my second season doing "Spine Chilling Stories."

Michael: Wow.

Faith: Yeah, and I'm the narrator, so you'll see my face from time to time, but it's mostly animated.

So, everything is original.

Everything is original animations, original stories, and it's also very scary.

Michael: And so you're--again, to add to your list of talents, so you're also a musician.

Faith: Yes.

Michael: Tell me about your musician career.

Faith: Yeah, so, I play the flute in the San Diego Youth Symphony, and I am playing with a bunch of other people who are my age.

This is my second year performing.

And because of the whole coronavirus pandemic--we were actually going to put on a big end-of-the-year concert, but then, that got canceled.

So, the concert is now, I believe, on the San Diego Youth Symphony website or their YouTube channel, but we did a really big performance.

And it was sad that we couldn't do it in person, but at least we were still able to be together.

And I also realized that Zoom is not good when it comes to playing instruments.

You can't hear anybody.

Michael: Wow, and so, how long have you been playing the flute?

Faith: I've been playing the flute since fifth grade.

So, that's five years.

Michael: You are sort of what some people would describe as an old soul, and you're very comfortable, extremely comfortable in front of the camera; I mean, some of the most seasoned professionals get nervous.

How do you manage that, perhaps, you know, as you're getting started and then, you know, before the nervousness goes away, how do you approach that?

Faith: So, I do still get nervous when I'm in front of a camera, but I know that I'm going to do the best I can.

I sometimes can't control what happens, so I just have to take a deep breath and just move on, do the best that I can while I'm there, and what happens, happens.

Michael: Very good.

You've also had an opportunity to meet countless actors, celebrities; is there any particular encounter that sort of sticks out in your mind more than any of the others?

Some that, you know, just kind of really captured you?

Faith: Yeah, I'm thinking of two right now.

Really, the work of Vanessa Williams and the work of Debbie Allen is incredible.

I met Vanessa Williams at a concert.

And when we were talking, she told me one thing that I'm going to keep forever.

And she said, "Life is not always going to go your way, but that's all right.

You've just got to take a deep breath and do the best you can while you are in your event, and then just move on.

What happens, happens.

Michael: Wow.

And Debbie Allen?

Faith: Yeah, so her work is just incredible, and she's such an icon.

She's really done it all.

And she really likes excellence.

She really brings out the excellence in a person, and that's what I felt when I was around her.

She loved excellence, and she could pull the excellence from anybody she was around.

Michael: A lot of these opportunities that you have, as a performer, are carried in Los Angeles and not San Diego.

How do you manage that, you know, going back and forth?

And, you know, also at school.

Faith: Mm-hm, so I am homeschooled.

I was taken out of public school to do "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," actually, because I really wanted to focus on the show; and doing school work and doing the show at the same time, it's not--it's kind of hard.

So, I decided to move to homeschool, and I thought, "Oh, you know what, this will just be a year thing.

I'll just go back to public school."

I loved it so much, I'm still in it right now.

So, I find it works a lot better in my lifestyle.

I have a much more flexible schedule.

I'm not confined to being in school for like seven to nine hours.

So, I can do my school work basically whenever.

I can do it on the way to an audition in Los Angeles.

I could do it when I get home.

Sometimes I'm tired, but I can do it when I get home.

And on those car rides, my sisters, we all like to do our homework.

Michael: How many auditions do you think you do every year?

Faith: Hm, over 100 a year.

Michael: Over 100?

Faith: Over 100 a year, I think.

Michael: Wow.

Faith: Yeah.

Michael: That's quite a grueling schedule.

Faith: Yeah.

Michael: My goodness, my hat is off to you.

On behalf of the Old Globe, I want to thank you for performing in "The Grinch Stole Christmas," our annual Christmas show, been doing for over 20 years now.

Faith: Yeah.

Michael: And so, but you had a very special role.

Tell me about this.

Faith: Yes, so I played Cindy Lou Who's sister, Betty Lou Who, and I was able to be with such an incredible cast.

I had such a great experience there, it's magical.

Everybody says, "Whoville is amazing."

And I think some people are thinking it's probably not all, like, candy and rainbows, but it really is, it's amazing.

The professionalism is amazing, but we have a balance between fun and professionalism.

And I find that it's amazing.

It's just, it's amazing, and I am so privileged that I was able to be a part of such an amazing organization and cast.

Michael: Years from now, ten years from now, what do you think would be like the ideal balance in terms of proportion of perhaps doing--do you see yourself doing theater in 10, 20 years from now or mostly film?

Faith: Um, I think I'll probably be doing a little bit more film when I'm older.

Of course, I would love to do some more theater, as well, and I also see my--I'm interested in medicine, so I would also like to become a doctor and maybe working with children, so maybe going the pediatric route.

Michael: Not in a film.

You're talking actual career.

Faith: Right, actual career.

Michael: What is it that's grabbing you about the medical field?

Faith: I love that you're working with medicine and that you're able to help kids or helping anybody.

And maybe while you're there, you could discover a new cure to a disease or something.

So, that would be amazing--maybe even a cure to COVID-19, if it's still around by then; I hope it isn't--but yeah.

Michael: Yeah, yeah, that's incredible.

What kind of advice would you give to--now that you have a great deal of experience, what advice would you give to a young actor that's just embarking on this same journey that you've already started?

Faith: Yeah, I would tell them that they should embrace their childhood, because it's really gonna go by like that.

It's gonna go by really fast.

So, embrace being young.

Embrace not having to go through adult problems, like paying bills and stuff like that.

Love that you're free to do whatever you want, for the most part, and just love your childhood.

Michael: Right, and so, a child that may be, you know, on the borderline, thinking, you know, "Should I pursue acting, should I not," what would you say to that child?

Faith: I would say, if they really want to do it, and they're ready to put the work in, and they're ready to just be an actor, I'd say go ahead--of course, if your parents are okay with it.

If they're not, then negotiate some things.

But I'd say if you're ready, and you feel like you're ready to put in the work, you're ready to spend maybe a little bit of extra money on some acting classes and stuff like that, maybe getting some more advice from other professionals, then go right ahead.

Michael: Can you imagine being only four years old and knowing your passion?

Well, this is a story of Viviana Peji, a young actor that has already made an impression in the theater right here in San Diego.

She shares with us how she developed an early interest in acting and dancing and how she dreams to be part of a huge project within the next ten years.

So much to learn from a young and talented Viviana Peji.

Michael: Welcome to "Theatre Corner," so very happy to have you here.

Viviana Peji: Thank you for having me.

This is truly a great space.

Michael: Fancy for the fancy.

And so, you are a teenage actor.

Viviana: I am.

Michael: And when did you get bitten by the bug of being an artist?

Viviana: Well, it started when I was really young at about four years old, when my mom went to Zumba classes and she would always take me with her.

And I guess that artistic spark kind of came up inside of me when I started dancing, and then I started singing around in my house, but I wasn't in my first real production until I was in junior theater's "Mary Poppins" when I was about ten years old, and then it kind of progressed, and I started doing more theater.

But the turning point of my career was really The Old Globe when I was in "The Grinch" for three years.

Michael: You are what we would call a triple threat.

Viviana: Thank you, I appreciate that.

Michael: You know, you're a talented actor, singer, and dancer; where do you see yourself?

Kind of more in the theater space, kind of a Broadway kind of career, or film?

Viviana: Well, I'm currently a high school student at Coronado School of the Arts.

So, in the future, I definitely plan on going to college.

Ideally, I'd love to study in New York.

I recently traveled there in April, and there's just such an electric feel to the city, and I really felt like I fit in there.

Ever since I was young, I really wanted to go on Broadway, just like every other theater kid.

And that dream still lives inside of me, but now I've really, really focused on, more on the backstage part of theater, and I just got my first job as an administrative assistant with Marai Performing Arts on this site-specific tour that they're doing, and it feels really nice to be sitting behind the table for once.

Michael: Right, right.

Viviana: And giving directions instead of taking them.

Yeah, I definitely feel like I fit in to both places.

So, the future definitely has a lot of paths that I could go down.

Michael: What other special training have you had, you know, during your career?

Viviana: Since I was super young, I've been taking voice lessons and, of course, dancing lessons.

I've pretty much had a bunch of classes in all sort of genres of dance like ballet, and hip hop, and jazz, and modern.

I've never had a specific acting coach.

It's always been my vocal coach kind of taking part of that side and helping me with auditions, and that's part of the reason why the La Jolla Playhouse Young Performers Conservatory was such a life-changing experience for me, because I had never focused so thoroughly on my acting before.

And now the methods that I'm using make me feel like, as Jeffrey Ingman would like to put it, like I'm telling the truth as an actor.

Michael: All right, it helps you become more of a authentic character.

Viviana: Exactly.

Michael: You have your own approach to kind of reaching that authenticity as a character, which involves actually getting the actor out of the way.

The actor doesn't need to be in the room.

Do you have your own approach?

Viviana: I used to be very focused on myself when I used--when I approached acting.

But now I feel like the most important thing, especially when you're in a scene with someone else, is recognizing that the actor that you're working with is infinitely fascinating and more valuable than you are, and developing that trust, and really experiencing them as a human being, and not just a coworker, or another actor that you get to play with.

It's taking time and investing your own time into who they are.

Because even though I do try to separate myself from who I'm playing, as a character, and who I am as an actor, there always will be something in me that relates to the character I'm playing.

So, trying to figure out what that is in your fellow actor makes the scene and the project that much more interesting.

Michael: Who inspires you?

Viviana: Well, the-- Michael: As an artist, who inspires you?

Viviana: The list goes on, and on, and on, and on.

I have plenty of mentors and plenty of idols.

I would have to say Anne Hathaway is one of my biggest idols, because she is a triple threat, as well, and she has not only made it in the film industry, but in the theater industry, as well, and I think that is so spectacular, because they're both such--even though they both involve acting, they're both such different industries.

And trying to merge your way between the two can be confusing, especially for me when my--I'm kind of at the point where I'm deciding, "Should I go into film, or should I continue to pursue my journey in theater, and I think it's people like that, that show me that you can do both, and the possibilities of being an "artist" are limitless.

Michael: Right, right, right, when you performed at The Old Globe, you had a special experience there.

Tell me about this experience.

Viviana: My special experience was the fact that I got to be in three separate roles within three years, and that within itself was, was just kind of--it gave me a different sense of what I could do for the rest of the cast.

And when you're in a role, you're kind of stuck in it, and you can't imagine yourself doing anything else because you do your research, and you see the life of the character that you're playing.

So, getting to play three different characters in one musical was almost like I was staring at myself acting 'cause I would be Betty Lou Who the first year, and then the next year when I played Annie, I looked at the girl who was playing Betty, and I almost, like, saw myself in that costume.

Then when I got to Teen Who, it almost helped me connect even more with the kids because I understand the character in a lot of ways.

And so, it helped me just almost see myself in them even more so.

Michael: Was there someone famous that played any of those characters?

Viviana: Yes, Vanessa Hudgens was the first Cindy Lou Who, 20-some years ago at The Old Globe when the Grinch had a completely different costume, and the show had a completely different director.

But yeah, it's a huge part of the heritage there, and you see the history backstage every time you go.

You see the original drawings of the costumes and then, of course, the iconic wall in the dressing room when you first get fitted, and you see all of the names of every single kid, who's played every single role, ever.

Michael: Oh, wow.

Viviana: And you see a little scribble below a line that says Vanessa Hudgens.

Michael: Oh, and it's still there.

Viviana: Yeah, it's still there to this day, which is amazing, and that's one of my favorite parts of The Old Globe.

It never loses its own identity, and it knows-- they know who they are.

Michael: Where do you see yourself as an artist ten years from now?

Viviana: Oh, ten years is a long time.

I've barely worked ten years.

Michael: Certainly, but let's put it out in the universe.

After you've won an Oscar, ten years, where do you see yourself as an artist?

Viviana: I see myself doing something on a major scale.

I see myself being the director of something, a producer of something, but mainly I see myself striving to make a space for other actors of color and helping other young actors who may not have gotten opportunities with the world that we currently live in, who will get opportunities in the future to express themselves artistically because of people like who I will hopefully grow up to be, who makes space for them, and who makes sure that their voices are seen and heard and experienced, just as much as any other actor who is not of color.

Michael: You're actually Filipina, Mexican, American actress.

How does that help you as an artist?

Does it inform your performance in any way, any particular way?

Viviana: Mm-hm, I definitely take a lot of pride in my culture.

When you walk into those spaces, you see--a lot of the times you don't see yourself represented.

Michael: There you go.

Viviana: So, bringing your own stories and experiences helps representation for the people behind you and diversifies the space, which is of the utmost importance to me, personally.

And a lot of the times, I feel like I'm not Mexican enough, or I'm not Filipino enough, especially when you grow up in the U.S., but you are multi-ethnic, you have to be more American than the Americans, you have to be more Mexican than the Mexicans, and you have to be more Filipina than the Filipinos, just to prove that you are who you are.

Michael: "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black," a song by the legendary Nina Simone.

She wrote that song for young folks like Faith and Viviana.

They are our future, and we have an abundance of greatness to look forward to.

I'm Michael Taylor, and thank you for watching "Theater Corner."

♪♪♪ female announcer: Support for this program comes from the KPBS Explore Local Content Fund, supporting new ideas and programs for San Diego.

♪♪♪ CC by Aberdeen Captioning www.aberdeen.io 1-800-688-6621