40. pivoting from ballet to Broadway and what faith has to do with it with Deanna Cudjoe

Years before she ever thought she'd actually play her, Deanna Cudjoe performed Cassie's monologue in a college acting class and texted her old teacher the day she booked the real thing.Deanna is the middle of five kids born to Ghanaian immigrant parents, found ballet through a random beginner book she pulled out of her basement at ten years old, trained for eight years at Still Point Ballet, studied at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, toured Europe in West Side Story, and made her Broadway debut in Smash after booking it a full year before rehearsals even started. Now she's stepping into A Chorus Line as her first principal role.We get into the YouTube rabbit hole that basically taught her ballet before she ever set foot in a real studio, an old Anaheim Ballet channel and one Misty Copeland video she watched on repeat as a kid. We talk about what it actually felt like to sit on the Smash news for a year before it started, knowing her life was about to change and not being able to tell anyone yet. We talk about the exact moment she realized a Broadway credit and actually feeling fed by her work were two completely different things. And then we get into her faith, and how she stopped needing a role to tell her who she is.If you've ever built your whole identity around a title only to find out it was never actually the point, this one is for you.Stay in the loop with me 👇🏼🤍Instagram: @kickingitrealpod @potentiallygabbyTikTok: @potentiallygabbyFind Deanna here👇🏼Instagram: @deannacudjoe