Regardless of what you do, there are times we all lose sight of why we do it. In those moments – what gets you back on track and gives you perspective? I had a chance to sit down with my friend Sandra Joseph to talk about this dilemma and she has an interesting perspective as well as an incredible idea.
Ty: Hi, I’m here with my good friend Sandra Joseph and Sandra has an amazing story. Sandra was Christine in Phantom of the Opera for more than ten years, the longest running Christine in their history. Obviously, Sandra has an incredible voice, but to me, you have an amazing story too. One of my favorite parts of your story is this idea of the perspective box. It’s just a cool concept and I think it’s so helpful for people to understand, to think about in their own life and what they do. So would you mind sharing with us this idea of a perspective box, where it came from for you?
Sandra: Sure. You know, one of the questions that I am often asked when people find out I played Christine for more than 1000 performances in 10 years is how do you keep it fresh night after night? And it was not always easy, there were times I really struggled, especially getting towards the end of the run, night after night, trying to get out there and have that energy that makes the audience feel as thought this is all happening for the very first time. And about my seventh, eighth, ninth year, that because a real struggle. So I reached out to a friend of mine who is also an actor and I shared with him that I was really struggling and he said, “Let’s meet for coffee next week.” So the following week, I’m sitting across from him in this cute coffee shop in New York and he hands me one of the most amazing gifts I’ve ever been given. It was a purple box and on top of the box he had stenciled the word “Perspective.” Inside the box were clippings he had scoured the Internet to find from people talking about what seeing Phantom meant to them, how the show had impacted them. And I just sat there crying into my cappuccino as I read these stories from individual people talking about how it was a dad who saved up for a year to take his family on a trip New York to see the show and how he watched his daughter’s face light up as she watched the show unfold before her eyes. There was a woman who took her mother to the show before she passed away. She was saying how she would always cherish that memory. So I think for all of us when it gets to be difficult, we always want to show up and give what we have to give. But sometimes, over the long term, that can become a challenge. And I think for all of us, it helps to remember that what we do really does impact other people. What we do makes a difference and keeping that perspective, really keeping your mind on why you do what you do can be incredibly motivating. It certainly was for me.