Everything's Coming Up Desi Oakley!

Written By: Chelsea & Cynthia 

Featuring: Desi Oakley 

"I really feel like I had two choices in that moment. And the first choice is to, you know, just panic and run off stage. And the second option is to just roll with it and realize you've already shown up."

This is what Broadway, National Tour, and West End star Desi Oakley thought to herself just before the curtain went up on her West End debut, only hours after landing in London and finding out she'd be leading the cast of Waitress that evening.

A self-proclaimed "Jane of all Trades," Desi is an actor, singer-songwriter, recording artist, composer, and coach. We are so thankful for the opportunity to sit down with Desi and discuss creating a life as a working artist through reaching out in the business, how she shows up authentically online, and the experience that forever changed the way she speaks to herself.

Q: You have performed on some of the world's biggest stages - you write, you compose, you teach, and you're a recording artist. How did you get started doing all of these things?

A: A big thing to credit, besides the fact that I've always wanted to be a performer, was the 14 years of classical piano that I studied. I really feel that that discipline taught me musicality and the value of hard work. 

And then that lead to my work at the Music Theater of Wichita, where I grew up. So my knowledge of the piano is really what I credit for the branch of my career that falls under learning new music, doing workshops, and readings, being someone who records demos, being a recording artist, writing, composing, and learning audition material quickly.

Q: Tell us a little bit about your whirlwind experience performing as Jenna in Waitress on the West End? 

A: My experience with Waitress originated with the first national tour, and I was insanely honored to be one of the women trusted with this beautiful role and show I toured for about a year with the show and then left naturally. But about six to eight months later, I returned to fill in for Christine Dwyer, who had replaced me but was taking a break to get married.

And then, in January 2020, I woke up one particular day at 3:30 AM to take a quick flight over to Buffalo to teach a masterclass, and while I'm there I get a call from a number that I didn't recognize. It goes to voicemail, and upon playing it back, the recording is just cutting in and out. I thought to myself, "I don't have any idea who this is, I don't need to call them back" But (thankfully) I decided to text the number. I just decided to text the number letting them know I was unable to understand their message. Quickly, they respond asking me to call my manager, as they had an urgent situation that we needed to resolve. 

So I step away from the class I'm teaching to speak with my manager. Turns out Lucy Jones, (A West End actor who is such a star) was, unfortunately, having some vocal issues and they needed someone out there, just in case.

This all happened on Saturday, and by Monday, I was making my West End debut.

I remember being on the plane, flipping through my script and panicking because it had been years since I had actually looked the script - even when I went back into the show to fill in for those couple weeks, I wasn't reading a script. So, I decided to put the script away, ordered a glass of wine, slept, and woke up in London on their day off.

On that Saturday they had done two concert versions of the show without a Jenna, and they had Sunday off. But then by Monday, I'm thrown right into rehearsal, just by running me through the show for a couple of hours in the lobby of the theatre. I'm still just thinking they're just taking me through the show so I remember it. After a couple of hours, they showed me to the Jenna dressing room and the stage manager came in and I asked, "Hey, I have a question for you. Am I going on, like right now? Am I going on for the tonight's show?"  And the company manager and five other people from the team come spewing into the room, all saying, "Yes, you're going on. I'm so sorry we didn't tell you. You're absolutely going on - are you ready? I'm so sorry. We just didn't even think about it..." all at once. 

At this point, I'm so delirious, I'm 100% just putting one foot in front of the other. I remember I called my best friend and I called my mom, and they both had the best advice. My best friend, Caroline Bownam, said to just be where your feet are. And then my mom said, I know you are overwhelmed, but try to take as many mental snapshots as you can. You are going to want to remember this. So I did both of those things as best I could.

I will never forget the curtain being down right before Jenna sings and I really felt like I had two choices at that moment. And the first choice was to just panic and run off stage. And the second was to just roll with it, you've already shown up, just go for it.

And when the curtain rose, I was Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden, the audience was so thrilled that the show was going to happen. It wasn't about me, they were just thrilled to enjoy the show. I thought to myself, "Girl, you've already won. You've shown up and they're already thrilled. Ride the wave. Be where your feet are."

I ended up playing the role for two weeks, but every day not knowing if I would be on or not. So I would wake up, took care of my body and voice, and waited until I would get a text from the company manager right around three or four in the afternoon that I would be on again.

The experience changed my life because for the first time, I spoke to myself the way that I speak to the people that I love, and I literally said like, "Baby girl, you can do very hard things and I'm so freaking proud of you and I have your back."

Q: Long before your time in the West End, you've been passionate about mental health, and you recently wrote this amazing project called The Light Effect. Could you tell us a little bit about that? 

A: Yes, I created and composed a brand new original musical called The Light Effect, and it's this beautiful story of our protagonist who is the Seer, she can see when people are struggling with mental health. To her, they are illuminated folks who are the window between suicidal ideation or deep depression and then suicidal action. Suicide is a huge issue in our country among so many demographics, and I was personally affected by suicide, which led me to create this. So, for the seer, these folks are in the light, and she doesn't really know what to do when she sees them. She moves to New York from a small town and it's there that we meet the Knower, who is the sommelier of the wine bar that she lives above, and he has the gift as well. He's able to celebrate the gift with her, teach her how to use it, and warns her that her gift is not to save them, it's to see them. But she starts to abuse her gift, goes searching for them, and starts to lose herself. Act two is about her using her gift to save herself, and, recognizing that even when we have a gift, we can't pour from an empty cup. 

It's this story about raising awareness, but there's a lot of levity and lightness to it. I'm in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. They're the folks that are endorsing and making sure that the language is appropriate and it's unbelievable to have them on my side.

Q: From an actor's perspective, what's life like between jobs and maybe how has that changed from the first time you were in between jobs 10 years ago, the start of your career to now?

A: The one thing I was rooting for between shows or contracts, was being really cognizant about that between time not being too draining emotionally and physically. I would think of environments where I thrive and would spend my time there. When I first got to the city, that space for me was nannying. It was something that came naturally to me and I knew that I would be able to do well.

The way that I got started in such a competitive field, was I just reached out to anyone I came across, I reached out to be the backup for someone I knew was nannying. And I started to fill in for folks and then occasionally got bumped to more of a consistent schedule, all of whom understood off the bat that I was an actor first, I would make sure that I am covered if I need to be gone. I did that for several years, and I learned to get excited about the potential.

Waitress was then a launchpad for me to start searching for other endeavors where I did the exact same thing. But instead of nannying, I just was taking any voice performance opportunity, artistic opportunity, I would reach out, shoot my shot, ask to be a backup, and continue to sort of unfold those things. Now I sort of identify as a freelance artist, as eventually, those lists became more permanent opportunities.

It does require patience, bravery, and more than a fair amount of hard work, which I just have always been willing to put in. 

Q: What's it like to build a thriving presence on social media? A lot of actors wonder how to show up online in ways that A: They're comfortable with B: They feel authentic and C: That work for them. Can you talk about that? 

A: Over the years I've heard so many different answers to this, so I want to start by saying that everything I say isn't right -it's just my experience. Which, I feel like social media does come naturally for me because in life I am a sharer. I think acknowledging that is important and I have worked to find the balance for I feel comfortable with. If I don't feel like posting, I don't post. If I want to share something, I will. I don't hold myself to a schedule, I try very hard not to feel like the app is making decisions for me. So in that way, it's been a phenomenal tool for me.

I understand the downsides of it, but I've really worked hard to experience unbelievable connections, conversations, dialogues, friendships, and business opportunities.

But what I tell young people all the time, is that I really don't think it will make or break you. Just do you. And as long as it's showing the side of you that is kind. Some people would say it has to look perfect, but I just feel like it needs to be you. Find that balance and embrace authenticity.

Q: What is it like to balance your work and your personal life?

A: I feel that I have always valued human connection over my work. So success isn't exclusively defined for me in signing a contract. I entered this business because it's a people business and I got in this industry because I'm absolutely obsessed with connecting with people.

But then, the business side of this has always been a struggle for me because I see it all as my personal life, which is a blessing and a curse. So I'm like, "Oh, these are my colleagues and they're my best friends." and I have always had to fight against that innate thought process. Even though it's come easier for me to find that work-life balance, it's more so the difficulty of separating the relationships from the work.

But I've always thought at the end of the day, the curtain comes down, and then like, who are you? You lay your head on the pillow as only yourself. You're not the part you played and or the followers you have, and that for me has always been bigger than the contract or the role. It's about being okay with yourself and your close loved ones.

Find Desi Oakley at www.desioakley.com and on Instagram @desioakley

If you're interested in diving deeper into this interview or exploring other interesting musical theatre conversations - check out the Broadway Vocal Coach podcast! Or check us out on Instagram, and get involved in the conversation! 

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