CIFA_EP31
AUDIO	VIDEO	
[MUSIC PLAYING] 	Lisa and Steffi appear in different chat windows on screen	
STEFFI D: Hi, everyone. I'm Steffi D. 		
LISA H: And I'm Lisa H. 		
STEFFI D: And welcome to Check In From Away. 		
LISA H: This week we are celebrating our one year anniversary. 		
STEFFI D: Thanks for joining us. 		
[MUSIC PLAYING] 	CREDITS SEQUENCE
TEXT: Check In From Away with Steffi D. and Lisa H.
Steffi and Lisa’s windows slide together and they mime clinking their mugs together.	
		
Hey, Lisa. Guess what? 		
LISA H: What? 		
STEFFI D: Does this couch walk look familiar to you? 		
LISA H: You know what, in fact, it quite does. Let me just go back to May 5th, 2020. 		
STEFFI D: Uh-huh. I was wearing this exact dress, you were wearing that exact outfit, and guess what? They say it's a birthday. Da-da-da-da-da. It's the first year anniversary of Check In From Away, Lisa. 		
LISA H: It's so exciting. It has been an incredible year. We've interviewed 120 guests, we've had over 50,000 views, we've had 17 dogs on the show. 		
STEFFI D: I know. What else do you need, right? And also, today is a very special episode because we are having some of our favorite guests back on the show. And they, twist, are going to be asking us all the questions. 		
LISA H: I'm not going to lie, I'm a little nervous because we've been quite savage, at times, on the episodes. And we told them don't hold back. There's no rules. Just go for it. So we have no idea what they're going to ask us or what they're going to say. So I'm excited but really nervous. 		
STEFFI D: Me too, Lisa. Should we get into it? 		
LISA H: Let's do it. 		
STEFFI D: Happy pandemic birthday party, Check In From Away. 		
JAMES KALL: Hey, happy anniversary, "Check In From Away," and dear Lisa and Steffi. My name is James Kall in the Toronto company. I play Nick and Doug and others. And I'm glad to be back with you all. I was in the very first episode a year ago. And I did the "Who Let The Dogs Out" with my co-star, Harper, who's running around here somewhere. She may make a cameo. And then the holiday extravaganza. 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: Hey, everybody. How are you doing? Gurdeep Ahluwalia in here from CP24 Breakfast. Nice to see you, guys. But most notably, you know me from the halloween episode of Check In From Away as well as Version 1.0 of the Holiday Extravaganza, and Version 2.0 of the Holiday Extravaganza. So it's an honor to be back here for a fourth time. 		
LISA H: Gurdeep-- 		
STEFFI D: So good-- 		
LISA H: --so happy to have you. And also, we have to say, that I think Check In From Away is reaching legit standards because a real reporter is interviewing us in real life. 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: Hi, I'm Hannah. I'm super happy to be back on Check In From Away for the third time. I've been on for two episodes. I was in the Matilda Reunion and the Holiday Extravaganza. And I'm really excited to be back. 		
LISA H: Hannah. 		
STEFFI D: Just Hannah. How does it feel being one of our favorite guests ever on Check In From Away? 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: Oh, my goodness. I'm very honored. I'm very honored. 		
AJ BRIDEL: Hey, friends. AJ Bridel here. So happy to be back for the third time? I was in the Kinky Boots Reunion Special, and I was also in the Over The Rainbow Reunion Special. And I'm very happy to be making this my third appearance. Woo-hoo. 		
[MUSIC PLAYING] 		
JAMES KALL: Would you rather have peanut butter fudge or Oz Fudge? 		
LISA H: What's Oz Fudge? 		
STEFFI D: Oh! 		
[INTERPOSING VOICES] 		
[LAUGHTER] 		
JAMES KALL: Oh, you've been away for a while, haven't you? 		
[LAUGHTER] 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: Best compliment you've ever received. 		
STEFFI D: [LAUGHING] 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: Wow. 		
STEFFI D: This is really hard. This is not a rapid fire. 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: This next one is for Lisa. What was the first concert that you ever attended? 		
LISA H: Celine Dion at the Subtree Arena. 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: Oh. I love Celine Dion. 		
LISA H: Yes! 		
AJ BRIDEL: Name three of your favorite Canadian theater actors. 		
LISA H: Steffi D, AJ Bridel, and James Kall. 		
AJ BRIDEL: Yes! 		
JAMES KALL: Would you rather be mossy or fausty? Mossy or fausty. These are [INAUDIBLE] words. 		
STEFFI D: I don't know what they mean. 		
JAMES KALL: Mossy or fausty? 		
STEFFI D: But I'm going to go with fausty because it sounds like feisty. 		
LISA H: OK. And I'm going to go with mossy just because I want to be different from Steffi. 		
JAMES KALL: OK. So mossy, Lisa. That means you're going to be damp and muggy. But Steffi, fausty means you're going to be musty and off-smelling. 		
LISA H: [LAUGHS] 		
JAMES KALL: So they're both kind of-- 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: Lisa, what are you currently reading? 		
LISA H: I'm currently reading a book called The Lady of Roses. It's historical fiction set in World War I. I'm obsessed with historical fiction books, specifically about the World War. So it's a book in a series of that. 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: Oh, that's-- 		
STEFFI D: Why did you look I'm sure when you said the title? 		
LISA H: Because it might not be called The Lady Of The Roses, it might be The Rose Lady. That's why I was unsure. I was like, it's one of those things, but whatever. 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: Off the top of your head, what do you remember as your most used emoji on your phone? 		
STEFFI D: Oh, for sure, upside down smiley face. 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: That's a good one. 		
STEFFI D: Yeah. 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: I use that one a lot too. 		
STEFFI D: You know what, it's good because it works for everything. 		
AJ BRIDEL: If you could rename yourself anything, what would it be? 		
STEFFI D: That's so hard! Oh, OK, this is going to be crazy. Clementine. Or Cherry. Kind of like, different names, I guess. 		
AJ BRIDEL: [LAUGHING] 		
LISA H: Wow. Cherry D. 		
STEFFI D: Yeah. 		
AJ BRIDEL: I love-- 		
STEFFI D: Isn't that amazing? 		
AJ BRIDEL: I love that. I love a cherry. 		
JAMES KALL: I would love to hear what your favorite memory or experience of Come From Kindness. 		
STEFFI D: For Come From Kindness, we did two cabaret's at the Lula Lounge to raise money for Daffodil Place. And Lisa and I, the second year that we did the cabaret, Lisa and I sang a duet together. And we did "La Vie En Rose." And it was probably one of the biggest highlights of Come From Kindness for me. Just all together. Like, doing the cabaret in general, but also getting to sing with Lisa. And doing this rock and roll version of "La Vie En Rose" was just-- that was probably my best memory. 		
(SINGING) La vie en rose. La vie en rose. La vie en rose. Je vois la vie en rose. 		
LISA H: The most thrilling thing about Come From Kindness with me, was after at the end of the first year, when the company had reached out and said, hey, can you just kind of tally together the Come From Kindness things that you've done? You know, we just want to get an idea of what that's up. And I remember sitting on my computer and going through everything and putting in every event that we did, every dollar that we raised, and sharing with that. And after the first year, we had already raised nearly half a million dollars for charity. And to speak to the audiences that come see the show, to our community, to me, that first year of seeing that, I was like, it was a big moment that's like, wow. One small idea has turned into this thing that is pretty huge. 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: When or where do you do your best thinking? When and where are you most inspired? Like, where you have your most aha moments. 		
STEFFI D: Any time I've traveled and I've been on a beach or at the top of a mountain or like, in a spot where I can see a lot of land. That's probably the time that I feel the most insignificant, but in a really good way. Where I kind of see that the world is so much bigger than whatever goes on in here. You know there's a saying, "I'm going to screw it up." It's like, you are a speck of dust, the world was created for you. It's like, both things can be true at the same time. And I feel like, wow, it's getting super freaking deep here on Check In From Away. But I feel, like, those are the moments where I feel exactly like that. I'm so small, but also, this is all for me also. 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: What is the craziest thing you've ever had happen or witnessed on stage? 		
LISA H: One of my first big musicals I ever did, which was The Sound Of Music at the Prince of Wales Theater, and at the end of the show, when they're trying to evade the Nazis, and they're at the concert with this massive banner that rolled in from the top of the balcony all the way down to the auditorium, it was huge. And it would roll in over the whole audience head. And a couple of times, so what would happen is it had to be tight. The roll of it had to be tight enough so that it didn't lapse down, it was just a piece of fabric. But it also had to be like malleable enough that it could roll all the way in. 		
And there was one time where something snapped and it got loose. So instead of it rolling out, it just started rolling down. And people started screaming as if they were getting attacked by a vicious thing. But it was just a thin piece of cloth. But it was screaming, you would think that the roof was caving in. So that was pretty funny afterwards, thinking about the reaction of how freaked out people were literally for a piece of thin cloth. 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: If someone were to make a movie all about your life, who would you want to play yourself? 		
STEFFI D: That's a really great question, and something I've never, ever, ever thought of in my entire life. 		
[INTERPOSING VOICES] 		
STEFFI D: --playing me as at my age or are they playing me when I'm older and dying? 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: I mean, it can be your choice. You can be the director and have it be your entire life. 		
STEFFI D: I mean, you know what, if we could go back in time, I would obviously get Liza Minnelli to play me. Like, if she was her younger self. Like, I love her vibe. Like, obviously. And she's a big musical theater gal. And I feel like it would be a musical. The movie would definitely be a musical. But that's if I could go back in time, which I can't. You know, the other thing is that I love Lady Gaga so much. I would get Lady Gaga to play me. But I feel like maybe she'd play it too serious. 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: No, that's a good one. I love Lady Gaga too. 		
STEFFI D: Yeah. She's such a great actress too. And she can sing and whatever. And then the other one that comes to mind is I would get Natalie Portman to play me. 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: Ooh. 		
STEFFI D: Yeah. 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: Yeah. What has been your favorite memory over the past year of co-hosting Check In From Away? 		
LISA H: So many. I mean, Check In From Away has saved the pandemic for me. So there's a big bow on that show. I would have to say that my favorite memory was our Summer In The City episode because it was the episode where Steffi and I and our editor Tristane, we went out to some of our favorite places in Toronto. And it was kind of like one of the big first outings after the first wave of the pandemic. And we went to the distillery, and we went to Cherry Beach, and we sang karaoke in the car, and we went and had some food and drinks at the Painted Lady. And so it was really fun to take the show out that way. That's definitely my favorite memory. 		
I really, really, really, really loved the Holiday Extravaganza, both those episodes. We raised over $1,500 for the AFC, and having everybody share their gifts so selflessly, and just to say, hey, yeah, of course I'll sing a song, yeah, I'll do this. To me it was really about community and spirit and how beautiful our entertainment and theater community is in Canada. So that was a real special episode for me as well. 		
AJ BRIDEL: Which role from your resume would you reprise for one well rehearsed performance and why? 		
STEFFI D: Ooh. I love this question. You know, I didn't even have to think about it. I knew right away. Like, you were like, you get one shot at reprising one role, what would it be? I would say Sally Bowles in Cabaret. And you know what, I did it at MTC in Winnipeg like years ago. But honestly, I don't think I have ever really connected to a character as much as I connected with her. And it was honestly-- Lisa just made a face. She was like, really? 		
[LAUGHTER] 		
I don't know what it is. I honestly felt like a kindredship with the way she's written and kind of-- yeah, honestly, it's one of my favorite things I've ever done in my entire career. And I would do that, like, hands down, like, no questions asked. That's it. 		
AJ BRIDEL: Draw me a picture of the best work day you could dream of. Give me the who, the what, the when, the where, and of course, why. 		
LISA H: OK. The best work day is probably a two show day, on a Wednesday, in the summer, when it's really hot and warm, and the show's a hit, the show's sold out, and people are coming in the street. Let's say we're at the Royal Alex Theater. The street is vibrating with so many people, so just walking to work you feel like, oh, there's so many people here, everyone's happy, oh my gosh, we're going to do the show today, two sold out shows to, like, 3,000 people. That's going to be awesome. And I go to work and of course, I'm working with my mentor, John Gray. So him and I are a team. And we're doing the show. 		
Actually, to me, what show are we doing? I would say probably a show like Heart of Robin Hood or Dirty Dancing or, if I had to pick a make-believe show that I haven't worked on yet, like, maybe it's, like, Jagged Little Pill, I'm thinking, Moulin Rouge! Like, the shows I want to do in the future. But definitely a show with big cast, huge dance numbers, lots of beats, lots of sequences, lots of sex and sweat and all that stuff. That's my favorite kind of show to work on. And yeah, so I get to work, I would be drinking my extra large coffee, probably having a little egg bite from Starbucks, that's, like, my go-to morning food, pre-work. Fills me up. I get there, I call [BLEEP] oops. 		
[GASPING] 		
I mean, a perfect show. Like, next level. Like, every single cue that I'd call hits the way like a golf club hits the ball perfectly. Like, when you're golfing and you hear that noise and you're, like, yes, I hit the ball perfectly. Every cue is like that. So I'm like, oh my gosh. And I don't have to think about it so hard. Nothing goes wrong. Everyone's in a good mood. No accidents. That's, to me, a perfect workday. 		
JAMES KALL: Lisa, would you rather go another year without restaurants and bars being open or go another year without a salon visit? [LAUGHING] Because I know you were just talking about that. 		
LISA H: You know what? I'm going to say I would go another year without the salon visit. Because as much as I miss my manicures, my hair gig, getting waxed, getting massages, I definitely miss putting in shifts at the bar, if you know what I mean. 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: Never be able to watch another musical live in person or never be able to be in another musical? 		
STEFFI D: Oh, this one's easy. 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: Is it? 		
STEFFI D: Yeah. I would rather still be able to perform in a show than not see them. 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: Oh, OK, I thought it was going to be a tougher one for you because I know how much you love attending musicals. 		
STEFFI D: I do love attending musicals very much. But nothing beats being in them. 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: Would you rather sit next to someone who is using their phone for an entire show or sit next to someone who is unwrapping candy for an entire show? 		
LISA H: Oh, that's a hard one. 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: Yeah. 		
LISA H: I'm going to go with using their phone, I think. Just because, I mean, the visuals, the lights, would be annoying, but the sound of the candy being unwrapped, I would just-- 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: Yeah. 		
LISA H: --go to jail. Like, the police would come and arrest me for-- 		
AJ BRIDEL: Would you rather be dressed every day by Kristen Peace for the rest of your life or have Kristen Peace do your makeup every day for the rest of your life? 		
STEFFI D: That's an excellent would you rather. 		
AJ BRIDEL: Right. 		
STEFFI D: Also, it's really tough because I want Keke to do both. Like, I want her to do my makeup, I want her to dress me. 		
AJ BRIDEL: As we all do. 		
STEFFI D: OK. But I will say, I'm really good at doing one makeup look, so maybe that's enough for the rest of my life. I would make Keke probably dress me, because she has, honestly, the best sense of style out of anyone I've ever met. 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: Lisa, would you rather have $3,000 to spend on a clothing shopping spree, and whatever you buy is all you can wear for the entire year, or the only clothes you can wear for the entire year are stuff you can pull from Steffi D's closet? 		
[LAUGHING] 		
		
LISA H: Oh, wow. 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: It's a tough question because 3,000 is kind of like that amount where you're like, yeah, it's not bad, but it's also not a ton because clothing is expensive. It's a tricky one. 		
LISA H: It is really tricky, but I will say that Steffi and I do not have the same style at all. 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: Yeah. 		
LISA H: There's a couple items of clothing in her closet that I'm like, oh, I would wear that. And I think Steffi is a great dresser, she always looks good. But like, she makes choices that I would never make. 		
JAMES KALL: Would you rather spend 28 hours on a runway stuck on an airplane, sounds familiar, or spend 28 hours being screeched in over and over and over nonstop? 28 hours of screeching in or 28 hours on an airplane on a runway? 		
STEFFI D: No. I'm going to go ahead and say, for sure, I would rather be on a runway on a plane for 28 hours. 		
JAMES KALL: [LAUGHING] 		
STEFFI D: For sure. 		
AJ BRIDEL: Would you rather have a million dollars right now, tax free, or be able to fly anywhere in the world with three of your favorite people for a month all expenses paid, no risk or COVID involved? 		
LISA H: That's a really hard one. I'm going to go with the million dollars tax free only because if I had that money then I could throw a huge party, I could have my own choices of doing cool fun stuff, like, the travel thing. But it was really hard. Because I mean, does COVID still exist if I have the million dollars? Yeah. I'm going to take the million dollars. 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: Would you rather have your voice crack in every single song of a performance or forget a chunk of lines in every single scene of a performance? 		
STEFFI D: Oh my gosh. That is-- 		
[INTERPOSING VOICES] 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: I, personally, when I was coming up with these, I could not answer this one. 		
STEFFI D: No, you know what, I'm going to go-- my instinct was 		
[INTERPOSING VOICES] 		
STEFFI D: --voice crack. 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: OK. 		
LISA H: You'd take the voice crack? 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: Interesting choice. 		
[INTERPOSING VOICES] 		
LISA H: I know I'm not a performer, but I wouldn't.I would be like, I will take forget the lines and just make them up on the fly. Like, I would not be able to handle the voice crack thing. I'd be like-- 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: Me too. Yeah. 		
STEFFI D: Lisa, let's be honest. Check In From Away, every episode's like wrapped up in a beautiful bow, there's no errors, there's editing involved, et cetera, et cetera. But in the filming of this episode, we had a couple of flubs, right? 		
LISA H: 100%. And every episode has its own kind of organic way to it, but there's always jokes and funny things and stuff that happens so we just don't have enough time to include in the episode. But today, as a special birthday gift to our viewers, we're going to include a one minute reel of some of the most funny uncensored moments of this episode. 		
STEFFI D: Great. Enjoy. 		
[MUSIC PLAYING] 		
Say, it's a birthday. Na-na-na. Well, it's my birthday too, yeah. Ta-da-da. 		
SIRI: Could you try again? 		
STEFFI D: [MUTED] Siri. [BLEEP] Siri. She literally came on and I was, like, why? I didn't say anything. I didn't say anything. OK, let's do it again. I've got this. OK. 		
LISA H: And rolling. 		
STEFFI D: Hey, what the [BLEEP] is wrong with her? I didn't say "Siri." 		
JAMES KALL: Would you rather spend 28 hours on a runway stuck on a plane or spend 28 hours being screeched in over and over-- 		
STEFFI D: [SNEEZE] 		
JAMES KALL: --and over. 		
STEFFI D: Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Can you start over? 		
JAMES KALL: [LAUGHING] I thought you were reacting to the question. 		
STEFFI D: Ah, go on, I'm sorry. It's funny, the whole time I was like, don't sneeze, don't sneeze. 		
LISA H: Steffi has done this a couple of times in interviews, and she always has the most dramatic sneeze. Like, I see it happening and it almost feels fake. Like, she's, like-- 		
STEFFI D: I know. I know. I'm so sorry, James, can you start over? 		
JAMES KALL: Yeah, of course, Steffi. 		
STEFFI D: OK. 		
Wait, am I performing in one show for the rest of my life? 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: You are in Come From Away purgatory forever. 		
STEFFI D: You know what, I'll take it. I love Come From Away. 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: It is a great show. 		
STEFFI D: I'll be the oldest Janice that ever was. 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: [LAUGHS] 		
STEFFI D: Can you sing "Stop The World" for James? 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: I don't have a voice. I'm not talented like you guys, I can't sing. 		
STEFFI D: But you can sing. 		
JAMES KALL: Oh, I heard your great British accent. 		
GURDEEP AHLUWALIA: I only do the first three words. (SINGING) Stop the world. And that's it. 		
STEFFI D: Passive aggressiveness. We back it up here at Check In From Away. [INAUDIBLE] communicating your feelings, definitely just be passive aggressive. 		
LISA H: Well, that's funny because usually I'm all about being aggressive aggressive. I'm like, F passive aggressiveness. But in this case, I think I would be passive aggressive. 		
[LAUGHING] 		
STEFFI D: OK. Yeah. 		
I'm in a high risk postal code. 		
AJ BRIDEL: Hey. 		
[LAUGHING] 		
LISA H: The only thing high risk about you is that dress you're wearing right now, Steffi. 		
[LAUGHTER] 		
		
STEFFI D: High risk for the fashion police. 		
AJ BRIDEL: [LAUGHING] Hello, yes, I have to call in an offense. 		
STEFFI D: AJ had really good questions for us. 		
AJ BRIDEL: I just want to say this you, Hannah, do you know the feeling that when you hit a ball, like, a golf ball, with a perfect angle of the perfect velocity? That feeling, that's what I just experienced. So good luck. I'm coming for your jobs, OK? 		
HANNAH LEVINSON: I'm a little nervous. 		
LISA H: Bye, AJ. 		
AJ BRIDEL: Bye, y'all. 		
LISA H: Say cheers. 		
[LAUGHING] 		
STEFFI D: Funny. 		
LISA H: Funny. 		
STEFFI D: Thanks for joining us on this week's episode of Check In From Away. 	TEXT ON SCREEN: @steffid5 @lisahumber
Small Instagram logos next to each handle.	
LISA H: Happy (MOUTHING) birthday. 		
STEFFI D: Cheers. 		
JAMES KALL: I love your mug. 		
LISA H: Well, thank you. 		
JAMES KALL: Both your mug and your mug. 		
LISA H: Well, you know you can buy your own at mirvish.com/merch for this low-low dollar of what? 15 bucks? You could have this in your-- 		
STEFFI D: I think it's $14.99. 		
LISA H: And it's a special edition mug that's autographed by both Steffi and I. 		
STEFFI D: Yes. Yes. 		
JAMES KALL: I'm getting one then. 		
[MUSIC PLAYING] 	FINAL SLIDE
Check In From Away logo on the screen.
TEXT ON SCREEN: @checkaway @checkinfromaway
Small Twitter and Instagram logo next to each handle.