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

As an in-demand Twin Cities actor, singer, dancer and comedienne, Shinah Hey went from one job to the next with barely a break in between. When she was offered a role she’d played 10 years before, she knew she’d hit a creative ceiling. Ready to be seen not as the girl she was when she got started but as the woman she’d become—a seasoned performer, wife and mother of 2—Shinah did her research to find a new home base. She was looking for a place she could pursue fulfilling acting work and where her five-year-old daughter could have access to services that support her autism and Bryant-Li-Bhoj syndrome. That place turned out to be Southern California.

Shinah shares her journey to becoming a mom through both IVF and adoption, how her love for acting motivates all areas of her life and keeps her self-taping auditions after the kids go to bed, how she and her actor husband do the work/life juggle and why she’s a better mom when she’s working. 

More on Shinah:

@shinahhey

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37355440/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_accord_1_unrel_cdt_t_1

Bryant-Li-Bhoj Syndrome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPHQc7oPdgc

Fertility Resources

https://resolve.org

https://www.fertilityclinicarizona.com

Adoption

https://adoptioncouncil.org

Kelly Lester is someone who shakes things up on a regular basis without even meaning to. While taking some time off from acting to raise a vibrant family, Kelly started not one but two super successful businesses. She then discovered, during one of her daughters’ performances, that her own creative fires were burning stronger than ever. 

Kelly entered back into acting a little older, a little wiser, and a lot more confident and castable. And when working in LA was no longer fulfilling, she and her actor husband set up shop in NYC a stone’s throw from Broadway to grab hold of a long-held dream. 

Kelly’s story is one of ingenuity and the step-by-step processes that lead to great things; it’s one of family—from her actor parents to her 3 daughters, all thriving in the business; and it’s one of jumping in with both feet without looking back. Kelly shares stories of parenting wins, how she’s moving through the acting business at this point in her life, and why an actual person at Amazon picked up the phone and called her.

More on Kelly:

https://www.kellylester.com

@kellylesternyc

The YouTube channel!

(scroll down for lunchbox videos!)

https://www.youtube.com/@lesterworld

NOTE BEFORE: In this episode we mention suicide ideation and drug use which may be sensitive subjects for some.



Act Like A Mother creator and co-host Katie MacNichol takes her turn in the interview seat to share her beautiful, funny and deeply moving story of acting and mothering. She describes her early days in NYC - on Broadway one day and back to waiting tables the next - her meet-cute moment with her actor husband, and how they raised their two kids while working on stage and on the road.

Katie speaks honestly with Melanie about the creative ways she managed to weather not only the ups and downs of a fickle business and financial strain but also the pain, fear and confusion she faced during her teenage son’s struggle with addiction. She shines light on what that experience taught her about her role as a mom and her relationship to her career, and she reveals how this podcast is the direct result of the gifts that come when we’re willing to tell the truth about how life is.

More about Katie:

https://katiemacnichol.com

@katiemacnichol

https://backyardrenaissance.com

https://www.theoldglobe.org

Growing up in a family of hunters in a town without much art, award-winning actor, writer and director Deborah Puette didn’t have a name for what she yearned to do. After moving to Chicago and stumbling into a breakout role on stage, she set her sights on a career and life that has propelled her ever-forward. Through an unexpected pregnancy, a move to LA, the breakup of a marriage, and seeing her child through cancer treatment, Deborah continued to tend to her artistry and her professional trajectory with focus, clarity and grace. 

Deborah’s ability to listen to the quiet, persistent voice inside, to honor herself as a storyteller, and to hone her natural leadership has landed her not just as a beloved member of the LA theatre community, but now as a writer, director and producer of short and feature films. 

She talks to Katie and Melanie about her path from reluctant new mom to why her 25-year-old daughter is her hero, about breaking up with old beliefs and embracing more dimensions of herself, and why she now is proud to talk about her queer identity.

More about Deborah:

https://www.deborah-puette.com

@lassothemoonxo

https://cashforgoldthefilm.com

https://suchaprettygirlfilm.com

Her resources:

https://www.amazon.com/Playwrights-Guidebook-Insightful-Dramatic-Writing/dp/0571199917

https://www.badpitchwriterslab.com

As a young woman fresh out of drama school in London, Rosina Reynolds’ wanderlust got the best of her. Instead of starting her acting career, she set sail on adventures that took her to the West Indies, Panama and eventually led her to northern Wisconsin where a San Diego magazine appeared with an article about the Old Globe Theatre. 

Was it a series of coincidences and right turns made, or was it Rosina’s commitment to live her whole life fully that led her on a wild wonderful path to find herself the leading lady of San Diego theatre?

In this episode, Rosina shares what has motivated her for decades, why LA was not the right place for her, what it’s like raising a daughter who is also a theatre creative, all she’s gained and learned from running the children’s theatre she started 38 years ago and the mysteries and joys of being a first-time grandmother. 

You won't find Rosina on social media or her own website

Her children's theatre is here:

https://cctltd.org

Welcome to Season 3!

Actor Kim Griffin did not move to LA to further her own career. After her daughter's diagnosis with Prader-Willi syndrome, Kim moved her family of 4 across the country in order to have access to the services (and the sunshine) that would benefit her two children.

Kim shares openly about her high-risk pregnancies, the special needs of her kids, her own mental health, and the daunting financial circumstances she and her actor husband continue to find solutions for.

Kim is an articulate advocate for women and caregivers learning to ask for and receive services that many of us don't even know are available. She is a powerful example of what it is to put her kids' needs first, to release any shame associated with receiving help, and to appreciate life under a different set of metrics.

This is a story of forging a creative path no matter what, paying it forward, and the miracle of a moms' Facebook group.

More on Kim:

thekimgriffin.com

@thekimgriffin

Study with Kim

https://www.iamatheatre.com/classes 

Watch "Dick Bunny"

www.dickbunny.com

Kim's Podcast "Off the F*****g Rails"

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/off-the-f-g-rails-with-kim-griffin/id1530849347

Neve's GoFundMe

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-neves-fight-against-praderwilli-syndrome 

Information on Prader-Willi Syndrome

www.fpwr.org 

Award-winning actor Purva Bedi tried to be practical by double-majoring in Economics and Theatre as an undergrad, but with acting and performing running through her bloodlines, a life on stage and screen was inevitable. In the final episode of Season 2, Purva tells Melanie and Katie incredible stories of her family and how she carries that lineage forward.  She shares about her early career as a bicoastal actor crashing with her parents, the bold declaration she made on her first date with her future husband, and how her biggest challenge as an actor has been saying No. From her own creative projects poking fun at pregnancy and marriage, to her life as a fixture on the New York theatre scene and her many on-screen performances, to the mothering of her two children, Purva brings her heart, humor, and the ability to pivot fast to everything she does.

More on Purva:

https://www.purvabedi.com

@purvabedi

I'm Having a Baby video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXdKeBv_cfs&list=RDMXdKeBv_cfs&start_radio=1

https://www.targetmargin.org

https://www.facebook.com/shrinkagetheshow/mentions/?_rdr

As a single gay actor going from out of town job to out of town job, J. Paul Boehmer didn’t think having children was in the realm of possibility for him. Then he met his husband, bought a house and, after a fortuitous conversation, began looking for an egg donor and a surrogate. 

In this very special Fathers’ Day episode, Paul shares the fatigue of life on the road and the reality of 8-week friendships, how he grew his audiobook side hustle into a full-time gig, and how he and his husband found their way to parenting twin girls at the start of a global pandemic. Paul describes the prejudices they faced as a same-sex couple wanting to have children, how deeply they bonded with their surrogate, what his daughters think of his work, and why they outsourced potty training. 

This is an episode honoring all the amazing dads in the business- hats off to you and all you do.

More on Paul:

a few of his audiobook titles here:

https://www.audiobooksnow.com/search/paul%20boehmer/

For any additional questions about the episode please get in touch with us via DM @actlikeamotherpodcast