#17 Musical Theater, Travel, and Chappell Roan: A Candid Convo with Tianna Cohen

This week is our SEASON FINALE and we're sitting down with actor, singer, and producer Tiana Cohen! We talk about her musical theater roots, the ups and downs of the entertainment industry, and the thrill of her upcoming travels to London and Ireland. She dishes on audition challenges, the LA housing hunt, Chappell Roan, and guilty pleasure fantasy books. Plus, we wrap up with a game of Heads Up!

Tianna Website: Here
Tianna Insta: @tiannalouisecohen

Shayla - @shaylatharp_
shaylatharp.com

Having a Laugh - Instagram

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:50 The Importance of Being Selective
• 7:00 Navigating the Challenges of the Musical Theater Industry
• 9:54 The Evolution of Auditioning and Self-Tapes
• 12:33 Exploring Different Styles of Acting
• 15:31 London and Ireland
• 20:40 Ensuring Personal Safety While Traveling
• 23:32 Challenges and Triumphs in the Entertainment Industry
• 30:04 Living in LA: Celebrity Encounters / Sean Hayes / Molly Shannon and Jay Leno
• 36:53 Indulging in Guilty Pleasure TV Shows
• 38:00 Rapid Fire and Heads Up!

Transcript

Shay (00:00)
Hey, everyone, this is Shayla Tharp. You're listening to Having a Laugh. Today we have Tiana Cohen, who's an actor, host, producer. Some of her credits are Mamma Mia, Sophie in Mamma Mia, of course, Carrie in Carrie, Eleven in the Stranger Things LA Experience, and your associate producer for

Broadway at the Bourbon Room, which I've actually seen tons of about and I've had a few friends be a part of it. I just love you. But also you went to Cal State Northridge, which is where we met right on. See, son. So how are you? It's been like seven million years.

Tianan Cohen (00:32)

Yes, I am so good. Thank you again for having me. This was such a when you reached out. I was so honored and so excited. I've been talking about it all week. I was like, I'm gonna be on a podcast. Cool. It's like on my agenda. But thank you for that beautiful introduction. That's what makes me sound way cooler than I actually am, you know.

Shay (00:49)
Aww. Aww. Yes, it's thrilling. Yes.

Well, I look at all your Instas and I'm like, you are way cooler than me.

Tianan Cohen (01:08)
No, you know, I really appreciate you saying that because I work so hard to look really cool online. But it's funny. It makes me think like, you know, when we're, you know, have our head down grinding and we don't feel like we are reaching that success or it's paying off. It's so interesting to hear how others perceive you. Right. Because to others, you could be like doing it all. And but to yourself, you feel like, I'm not doing enough. You know.

Shay (01:13)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Mm -hmm. Yeah, I'm have that. My friends are like, my God, good job. And I'm like, yeah. Yeah, that was a good job. I am loving how you, I mean, even if it's faking it till you make it, you are just doing the most. You are always auditioning for something. You're always hosting and always doing, like I see you on stage so much and it's just about doing it. And I'm like, wow, good for you.

Tianan Cohen (01:41)
Mmm, yeah, I am doing stuff. Yeah, I'm working.

Hahaha

Wow, thank you. know, it's, again, and what I just said, like it doesn't feel like that sometimes. My partner, Frankie and I, always call him peaks and valleys. You know, you can be in a nice peak and you can be in a long valley. But I, yeah, a couple of years ago, I just really started being very selective about what I put my time and energy to. And I think that really helps. I like, I don't.

Shay (02:10)
Mm.

Yeah.

Hmm.

Tianan Cohen (02:32)
I don't want to pursue something that doesn't make me happy. And so I think by, because I'm putting out this really positive energy towards work, I'm being met with really great positive work that then I love to do and then I'm having fun with and then work gets work. And so then you build up momentum and then yeah, you crush it apparently.

Shay (02:42)
Mm

Yeah.

Yeah, it's kind of like that thing where you have to spend money to make money. I hate it, but it's kind of true. Yeah, I spent a lot of money. Yeah, I feel like it's working. How have you been since school? We both graduated with acting degrees. I guess I don't really know too much about

Tianan Cohen (02:55)
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm. Yeah, I spend a lot of money. Don't make a lot, but I do spend it. I got the first part down. Yeah, I spend a lot of money.

Shay (03:17)
how you started. Did you always want to do acting or be a singer? You're phenomenal singer.

Tianan Cohen (03:22)
Yeah. thank you. Yeah, so my childhood, like my background with performance and stuff is like, I was one of those kids that was like, mom, I wanna be on the Disney channel. And then she of course goes, I'm gonna put you in community theater. Same thing. So then, you know, I do community theater and it's actually really interesting. I started doing theater for the first time when my parents got divorced. I was like 12.

Shay (03:36)
Mm -hmm.

Same thing.

Tianan Cohen (03:51)
and it was like the outlet to distract me and keep me, you know, off the streets and on the straight and narrow. And then obviously we all fall in love with it. I feel like any kid who does theater in their adolescence, they fall in love with it. And then, you know, there's a fine line between the people who know like I can make this out of a career and the people who are like, I don't know what else I would do. And I feel like I kind of fell into that. Like, I don't know what else.

Shay (03:57)
Mm -hmm.

Yes.

Tianan Cohen (04:18)
to do, so I'm gonna go to college for this thing. also, I'm not a girl's girl, I followed a boy to college, and that was mistake number one. And so then, you know, I've always said this about CSUN. I think CSUN is an incredible school. I think the theater department is incredible. I think college is what you make of it. if you're willing to, it's same thing, if you're willing to spend the money, you make money with college if you're willing to.

Shay (04:25)
Hahaha!

I loved it.

Tianan Cohen (04:47)
put yourself out there, you're gonna get a lot out of it. And so with CSUN, I was in the theater department, but then was also super involved in other areas. And it was like, during my time in college, I realized, like I have other skill sets. I love theater and I love acting and I love singing, I love performing, but even in college, I always had this crippling anxiety with it. And I hated auditioning and I still hate auditioning and I never got over that.

Shay (04:50)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Tianan Cohen (05:17)
fear and I talk about it a lot with Frankie because he has a BFA. He went to a very strict school where, you know, every year you have to basically re -audition and you're on the chopping block. And so it's a little bit more cutthroat, but then I do think the benefit of that kind of school is like it helps you get over those fears and anxieties or at least learn coping mechanisms and how to work through them because you have to do it all the time where CSUN was softer because you think

Shay (05:29)
UGH

We were in it, yeah.

Tianan Cohen (05:47)
Yeah, you didn't get kicked out and there was a lot of opportunities. Also, CSUN really, what I love about that program specifically is it forces you to do other things. Like, yeah, you're an acting major or a singing major, but if you're not in the musical, then guess what? You're doing costumes or, you're staying, yeah, you're building a set with a hammer and a drill. you, you learn and appreciate all the other jobs that go into putting on theater. And I,

Shay (05:57)
Mm -hmm.

Yep, you're doing tech, you're, yeah.

Tianan Cohen (06:16)
think it makes you a more well -rounded performer. I have a lot of respect for all those jobs. And then as I've gotten older and now I produce, I understand more. And so it's it's easier to talk to people. But all this to say, I never really knew what to do with my theater degree, especially by the time I was ending college. I was very lost and I actually didn't do anything. I graduated and then for two years didn't

audition for anything. I just got a job to pay the bills and I kind of lived in this weird limbo. And again, not a girl's girl, so a high school boyfriend, no more. And then I got a college boyfriend and those are the dangerous ones. Yeah, so I was in a weird limbo of like, don't know what I wanna do. I don't feel like I'm confident enough to do it.

Shay (06:55)
Mm -hmm.

Remember, yeah.

Tianan Cohen (07:15)
So it was around, it was 2018 that I had this really pivotal moment. I taught dance and mommy and me classes and things to kids and I loved it. was like, I can make a career out of working with kids. I love kids. And then one day, I met in one of these mommy and me classes, I met a vocal coach and we were singing, I think we were literally singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to her seven month old son and she goes.

hey, you have a good voice. And I was like, thanks, I paid thousands of dollars for it. And she was like, I'm a vocal coach for musical theater, blah, blah, blah. So long story short, I like started going to see her and over the few months of working with her, kind of like built back this confidence. And then one day I walked into work, I swear to God, I walked into work and I just quit. I was like, I'm out of here. And they were like, what? It was kind of, had to formally give two weeks, cause I worked with children.

Shay (07:45)
Hahaha!

Yessss!

Yeah.

Tianan Cohen (08:09)
children and I wasn't gonna like abandon all my students, but I was like, I'm gonna go be an actor. I finally can do it. So then that was at like the end of 2018. So then 2019 was when I started doing, like that's when I did Mamma Mia, that's when I did Carrie and I really started building up this thing. It's when I met Frankie and he's an actor and you I always say that you are a reflection of the people you spend the most time with. So we, you know.

Shay (08:13)
Bye.

Yeah

Tianan Cohen (08:37)
we were doing shows together constantly and we were in this like little love bubble and 2018 was, or 2019, I'm sorry, was an incredible year. We started 2020 strong and then of course the pandemic happened and everything just came crashing to a halt. So then it was like, it was such a bummer because I felt like I finally got back into it. But then it was really great because I also had all these other skills that I had put a lot of time and energy into to fall back on during that time. So.

I had, you know, yeah, that's like my journey to where I am today of like career and like how I got to CSUN and all these things. yeah, coming out of 2020, was like, that was where I think I made the shift of being selective of what I'm gonna put my time and energy to. Cause we think we all learned how to value ourselves better during that time. Also, I feel like I look so stupid cause I keep looking at my camera cause I'm a performer at heart. And then I keep looking at you.

Shay (09:24)
Mm

Yeah. Yeah.

What?

Tianan Cohen (09:38)
So I probably look insane. Sorry, everybody.

Shay (09:40)
No, you do not. You're so adorable. What was I just going to say about that? I had something so smart to say. God, what did you just say? 2020? Yes, more selective. My value. Speaking of being selective, it took me a while to also become selective because you don't think that

Tianan Cohen (09:44)
Bye!

I'm sorry.

I know you did. 2020, 2020 more selective, my value worth a lot.

Shay (10:09)
You're like, there's millions of actors and if I don't do it, someone else is going to do it. But when you do start just putting your time and effort into that like special project here and there, it becomes better. You do better. And then something better comes along. And I think that being selective is something that many actors don't do and they should start doing.

Tianan Cohen (10:35)
I think that where it really comes to being selective, I think is in the world of self tapes. Because it's like, there's a lot of cool, great jobs. And there's also jobs that you just like have to do because you're like, I need to pay my bills and I want to do it through acting and that's great too. when you're getting slammed with like a ton of, and like commercial and TV auditions are obviously different than like musical theater auditions. Musical theater auditions, you get these packets where it's like a ton of sides.

Shay (10:42)
Yes.

Tianan Cohen (11:05)
multiple songs. Well, don't feel bad for me because I've, I jokingly have been saying this year that I'm retiring from musical theater because I haven't, I actually haven't done musical theater in a really long time, like an actual musical. And I just, even though I am very, I feel like I've really overcome a lot of confidence and stuff, there's still just something so crippling to me about auditioning for musical theater. And I just, this year I was like, I,

Shay (11:06)
I feel bad for y 'all. That's too much.

Ugh.

Tianan Cohen (11:34)
don't want to feel this way anymore. I don't want to wake up on a Wednesday, get all ready, vocalize, put on my cute little dress and drive down to frickin' Screenland Studios and be nervous for 10 hours and then not do a good job singing a song. I just, that's not, currently that's not fulfilling me. So I'm taking a break. Yeah.

Shay (11:42)
Yeah.

There is something so cutthroat about the musical theater industry, I worked at a talent agency and we had a whole department for musical theater talent. And God, just the stuff that they had to do compared to just our commercial clients, where it was like, you know, a few lines here and there, but it was like, you're memorizing dance numbers, songs, scripts, and then like four rounds of callbacks. like, I was like, no.

No, thank you. No.

Tianan Cohen (12:20)
Yeah, it's not for the faint of heart. I would love to see somebody like John Cena, know, pull his weight in a musical theater, round four callback at McCoy Rigby Entertainment. it's hard, it's really hard. And I think that you, to do musical theater, you have to really, like your end goal has to be, like is Broadway or, you know, being.

Shay (12:26)
Give it a go. Yeah.

Mm -hmm.

is... yeah.

Tianan Cohen (12:45)
that being on a national tour, like whatever your end goal is for it needs to be so great and you have to want it so, so bad to put up with the like nonsense of the day to day of it. And I just, realized this year like, that's not, I don't, that's not my end goal. And why am I putting all this energy into something that's not my end goal? And so reevaluating that has been so liberating. I appreciate musical theater way more because I was like starting to hate it and

Anytime Frankie had an auditioning, it would be singing or something. I'd like, go away, go on another room. I can't listen to you sing the same 16 bars of Jersey Boys again and again and again. But yeah, so I do think that the world of self -tapes though is like what has made the selective process a little bit easier because...

Shay (13:18)
Yeah.

Tianan Cohen (13:38)
depending on how do we weigh our value, right? What is, it based on the, how much it's paying you? Is it based on what the role is? Is it based on what the studio is? How could this further your career? Who's directing it? Like I weigh a lot of pros and cons. I'm not somebody who doesn't do a job because it doesn't pay that well because I think because I have a musical theater background, like a theater, like.

Shay (13:57)
Mm -hmm.

Tianan Cohen (14:06)
Unless you are on Broadway, we're used to not being paid, which is actually so funny. I did this show. Or no. No, what was I, I was doing something and I can't remember what it was now, but it, everyone was, everybody was from a TV and film background. I was the only one with a theater background. And the pay was like, to me, I was like, I'm making bank. this girl's buying a new pair of shoes when she gets home.

Shay (14:07)
We're used to not being paid well.

Woo! Yeah.

Tianan Cohen (14:35)
And everyone was like, my God, can you believe it? It's nothing. And I was like, this is so funny. So I think it's, I do think if you're gonna be an actor beyond musical theater, like if you wanna be an actor, you should definitely work like a non -union theater gig. It's almost like how everyone should work, be a waitress, because it teaches you how to appreciate customer service. Like everyone should work like a children's non -union theater gig.

Shay (14:38)
How dare they bring us here for this?

Yes.

Tianan Cohen (15:03)
to just appreciate the world of acting and pay, I think a little bit more. Yeah.

Shay (15:05)
Mm -hmm. Very fair. It's just, it's so hard. It's so hard. And the differences between all of our different styles of acting, even though it's all acting, is insanely different. Insanely different.

Tianan Cohen (15:13)
Mm -hmm.

Yeah. Yeah. Even just the difference between like non -union and union and like, cause I know you do a lot of voiceover work and I've been starting to dabble.

Shay (15:28)
and sag.

Mm -hmm.

I was gonna say you have a fabulous voice over voice. It's very raspy, yet you could be very cutesy and very like, yeah, I don't know. That's the count.

Tianan Cohen (15:38)
I actually just...

Thank you. I actually just got to do the coolest thing ever for voiceover. And because it's wasn't a union gig, it's, I was like, I did leave going, I should have been paid more for that. But that's, I digress, but I actually got to be the official voice. Six Flags Magic Mountain just did a DC universe show. And so I am, I was the official recorded voice of Harley Quinn, which was

Shay (15:57)
Mm -hmm.

that's so cool!

Tianan Cohen (16:13)
so cool so I like got to go into a booth and it was a script and I'm like you know being her in the booth and doing all these things and then got to like hear it played throughout the park like during the show and stuff and I was like that was really cool yeah well it's like because it's

Shay (16:19)
of so jealous.

I'm so jealous and that certainly should have been a union gig. But you know what I'm finding is everything lately because of the strikes and all that stuff, a lot of union stuff that should be union is now being non -union. like I did a show in New York recently and I was like, this, this should be union. And everyone's like, we're all like aware. But I mean, it's either we bring stuff into non -union and

Tianan Cohen (16:41)
Yeah.

Mmm... Yeah...

Shay (16:56)
in work or I don't know. just I don't know.

Tianan Cohen (16:59)
Yeah, I wonder if there will ever be a world where there is no non -union. Like, will we re Yeah, like why can't - Yeah, my god. Wait, okay, this is like so sidebar -ing really quick. I'm literally traveling to London tomorrow, and so, I know. I need you to send - I was like, my god, I cannot forget to ask her. Like, what to do? Where should I go? What should I do?

Shay (17:06)
Well, in England, I'm used to nothing. It's all the same.

You know, take me! What?

everywhere. Yes, I absolutely love it. I love London so much and I would still be there if I could. But I mean, they need to figure out a few things as well. Like their health care system is a bit of a struggle. They've got a whole host of issues as well. No country is perfect, but they got to do some things before I go back over. But I absolutely

Tianan Cohen (17:29)
because you lived there for so long.

and

Yeah.

Shay (17:56)
Love it. And the theater scene there is just, it's phenomenal. Top notch. Any show you see is gonna be, is it gonna be great? I think they still have Mamma Mia going if you wanna see that.

Tianan Cohen (18:03)
I'm excited.

Yeah, we're -

I think we're gonna see, I really want to see, because I was in the Stranger Things experience, they're making a Stranger Things show that's now on the West End and it's currently in the process of going to transition to Broadway. So I'm like, I have to see it. Stranger Things was a part of my life for almost a year. And so I feel like I am a part of the Stranger Things universe. So I really want to see that. And then we really want to check out potentially the immersive.

Shay (18:16)
yeah. Mm -hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah!

Tianan Cohen (18:37)
Guys and Dolls, have you heard of this? Where you like stand and... Ugh, okay. So I'm... I'm excited. Me and neither Frankie and I have ever been to Europe and he's never been out of the country before. So this is gonna be a... Yeah, and then we're going to Ireland. We're having a whole thing. it's gonna be crazy. Yeah, tell me.

Shay (18:39)
Yes, my friends loved it. You would love it. I was so jealous that I didn't get to go.

really? You'll love it.

It's, one thing about London, do not, do not, I repeat, do not stand on the left side of the escalator. If you do, you will be punched in the face and as you should, you stand on the right and you walk on the left. And if,

Tianan Cohen (19:15)
my God.

well isn't that nor isn't that what you do here? Like on the moving sidewalks at the airport? Yeah.

Shay (19:25)
Yes, on the moving ones, but like, you know, I'll get, I remember coming back here into the airport and like people would just stand on the left side and I was like, my God, if you don't fricking move, I'm gonna lose it. And they immediately know you're American if you don't stand on the right and move on the left. Yeah, you do not wanna stand out as an American tourist. You will be bullied and hated and.

Tianan Cohen (19:34)
You rude mother. Alright, that's a good note. Good note.

hated.

Shay (19:50)
Yeah, they're not gonna like you. So just really blend in as much as possible, you know? But I just love it. It's just such a freeing, beautiful place. You're gonna love it. And the theater is just phenomenal.

Tianan Cohen (19:52)
Okay. All right.

I'm so excited. Yeah. I'm so excited. yeah, I've had so much anxiety this whole week leading up to it. have like, literally, I have my checklist right here for when we get off our call of like, I gotta, you I'm gonna go get my nails done, doing laundry, going to Target. Yeah, my girly things, you know? But, but no, I'm really excited. think it's gonna be, I'm excited that we get to do it together for the first time too. think that it's gonna be really nice.

Shay (20:14)
aww

The importance stuff.

Yes. And Ireland is phenomenal. What part Ireland are you going to?

Tianan Cohen (20:35)
So we're going for a wedding. Frankie's actually in a wedding in Ireland. It's his best friend from high school and it's in Clongle. They're getting married, this beautiful old church and then their reception's at a castle. It's all in O. Yeah, of course. So we're gonna go to lots of pubs. I'm very excited. yeah.

Shay (20:37)
lovely.

Okay.

of course. But of course. Where else?

Yeah.

That's amazing and I'm really excited to see the pictures because I know they're going to be everywhere is photographic photographic photogra...photogenic? Yeah everything there.

Tianan Cohen (21:04)
I know, except I -

Yeah, photogenic? No, that's for people. I don't know. But I am nervous because I did, I watched videos about London and stuff and they're like, people will steal your phone out of your hand, pit pocketers. And so like, I'm taking no photos in London. They're mental pictures, mental pictures.

Shay (21:19)
They will.

No, you're definitely fine. You're definitely fine. It's, if you just have it like, you can take photos and stuff. I wouldn't worry about it. Just don't have like, there you go. Yes. Have it, have it strapped to you around your neck, something. and like, I always had like a little, they don't say fanny pack, they say bum bag because fanny means vagina in England. So you gotta get with the lingo. Yeah. And they'll be like,

Tianan Cohen (21:31)
Yeah, I bought a strap to like strap to my phone. Yeah.

Yeah.

yeah, I'm gonna say fanny. This is my fanny pack. Keep my tampons in it. Get it? But what else? It is. Yeah. Okay. Yes.

Shay (21:53)
Exactly, they'll be like, hmm, you're a vagina bag. So yeah, just keep something very close to you. Don't have an open bag. It's very much kind of New York -esque, but I feel safer there. I feel much safer in London than anywhere in the world, really. So yeah.

Tianan Cohen (22:06)
Yeah. Yeah.

Okay, so let's get them out. This was definitely that we were supposed to talk before my trip because then like, I gonna get my phone, my identity is gonna get stolen, my phone, what if they take me? Like I'm getting all scared. I they're gonna take me. My luggage getting lost. Everyone's like, your luggage is gonna get lost. Like everyone's so confident that I'm gonna lose my luggage. And so I bought an excessive amount of air tags. Like not on my watch.

Shay (22:16)
Exactly. Exactly.

They're taking me? No. You're fine.

no.

Good, okay, yeah, see? Yeah, no, it will be absolutely fine. It's a long journey, but it's gonna be well worth it. That's so awesome. Yay! I'm so excited for you. Well, speaking of just like all the positiveness that you've got going and all that, have you had any moments in this industry that have been...

Tianan Cohen (22:45)
Yes, I'm excited. Well, I will definitely share pics with you and tell you all the things that I did.

Yeah.

Shay (23:03)
quite negative that where you've wanted to leave, like obviously you started teaching and doing the mommy and me classes. But were you was that a point where you were like, I'm done with this industry. Like, I'm done with it.

Tianan Cohen (23:18)
Not at that point, because I really feel like I hadn't started, but recently, so since things have kind of come back in the last few years, I've definitely had my moments. It's really hard. always, love, Frankie is the love of my life and I hope one day you get to meet him because he is literally the best. But I tell everybody if you don't have to date an actor, don't. You could date anybody else. Do it, because it is really...

Shay (23:42)
Don't. Don't do it. Yep. Yeah.

Tianan Cohen (23:48)
hard to, we've been together now five years and one of those years was COVID. And so that was like a, I almost wonder how, yeah, the trauma bonding, also like how, if we would have just like jumped right into being in this relationship and work never stopped, I don't know if we would have been able to have the tools to work through.

Shay (23:58)
trauma bonding.

Tianan Cohen (24:14)
the struggles that just come along with that because we had basically had a year and a half of neither of us working until all that time was just spent together. We got to really like learn more about each other and be this cohesive team. And so when work came back and one of us, why sugarcoat it, when he started working and I didn't, it was really hard for me because it was one, he's getting to do this thing that we both love to do that pre -COVID we were doing together and

Shay (24:35)
yeah.

Tianan Cohen (24:43)
We just went spending all this time together and now I never see you. So it was really hard and I had to learn a lot. I learned a lot about myself. And there were a lot of moments in there where I was like, don't want to do this. This makes me feel bad. And then the worst part is that I was like bringing him down with me instead of like championing him and celebrating like, you're doing this show that's incredible. Like I'm so happy for you. Like my time will come. I felt like I was always bringing it down.

Shay (25:03)
No.

Tianan Cohen (25:13)
Working through that at that time was really hard, but I do think now, like zooming out and looking at it, it's like, feel like I almost needed to go through that because now that's kind of where our peaks and valleys turn really came from is we joke like he's always in a peak when I'm in a valley and I'm always at a peak when he's in the valley. And so was like, you know what, maybe this is a positive thing and let's look at it that way. Like we are so balanced. we can help each other while I'm out.

Shay (25:40)
and you can help each other.

Tianan Cohen (25:43)
working a gig until 2 a you know, you're at home, you're the one doing the laundry and going to the grocery store and feeding us dinner. And then when he's doing a show, it switches and I'm the one taking care of the things at home. And I was like, you know, maybe we're just setting ourselves up for success when we maybe one day have kids. Like we'll already have this down to a science. So I would say that's the hardest part is like, and I mean, we live in a box, like we rent a room. And so we spend like for the last five.

Shay (25:49)
home.

Yeah.

Tianan Cohen (26:11)
four years we have been like just staring at each other in this box. And so I think, yes, this is my most trauma. And I think this is like, the thing I hate the most about my life is this. But we have a really nice setup for how much we both travel and are not home. And like, we live with great people. We live with one of Frankie's like childhood friends.

Shay (26:14)
my goodness. You rent a room in a house with other people?

Yeah.

Tianan Cohen (26:40)
and his brother. like, are people, the people in the house are great, but I'm like so ready to like just move on and just be the us. But then it's like, you know, he went on the Rudolph tour for like almost three months and like, I travel every weekend for Monster Jam. It's like, it doesn't make sense to then go spend more money when neither of us are really home that much. But when we are home, it's like, hey, like look here, you can see that's like, this is our bed, our wall.

Shay (26:42)
that's not bad. Yeah.

Yeah.

Tianan Cohen (27:10)
And then there's like a little sati and then that's it. That's the box. That's our self tape wall. It's terracotta from Lowe's. It's very nice. I took a lot of convincing because well, we lived here for so long and all the walls were white. And I was like, Frankie, I need to paint the wall. I need to paint the wall. I was like, I feel like I'm in a insane asylum. And if you don't let me paint the wall, I'm going to become crazy. So that was the compromise.

Shay (27:14)
I love the color of the wall though. I love it. I'm big fan.

So I need one.

Yeah, it's gonna happen.

Tianan Cohen (27:40)
But yeah, it looks good. But anywho, eat.

Shay (27:42)
That's crazy. I mean, I'm looking right now for apartments in LA. I'm trying to get back there by November. And I have just basically, just I've accepted, I will have to pay like two grand a month to live alone. But I can't do it anymore. I can't, I can't. I need to be alone in my own space. I'm almost 32. I can't do it anymore.

Tianan Cohen (27:56)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Shay (28:11)
I don't care how nice the people are, you can be so freaking nice. I just get out.

Tianan Cohen (28:17)
Yeah, no, I'm on that. I gave us a hard deadline. We had a nice little chit chat and was like, this is the deadline and if you're not coming with me, I'll see you around. Yeah, I'll go live with you. I'm like, I, because it is and I think it's different for, I hate to say this, but I do think it's different for women because I think I naturally nest. I like, I want to be cozy and decorate and I wanna.

Shay (28:30)
Well, I need a roomie, so... Yeah.

Yes. Yes.

Yeah!

Tianan Cohen (28:46)
I'm a baker, I wanna bake and I'm like, I don't wanna bake and then 45 people are like, what are you making? I'm like, it's not for you, it's not for you. Yeah.

Shay (28:52)
Yeah. Hurry up, clean the dishes, because I need the kitchen. It's like, I just, we're getting to that, that age. I'm there, baby. I know. I, I'm even struggling with like the thought of moving back. Like I'm really, I want to be back there by November, but I'm like, God, I'm just an old lady now. It sounds like so much effort and, ugh, what part do you live in, if I can ask?

Tianan Cohen (29:00)
Yeah, I'm there. I'm an old lady.

Yeah.

I live in a really so that's the that's the the other. No, we live in a really nice neighborhood like the house is in a really nice neighborhood. So that's like the other it's really hard to leave because it's like we don't want to then go live in a little yeah like yeah, but I live like near Larchmont Village. So it's Wilshire I live like Wilshire and like

Shay (29:24)
but part of town. Are you downtown LA?

Okay. Nice.

a yeah.

Where the hell's that?

Okay, yes, gotcha. So yeah, nice. Okay. Yeah.

Tianan Cohen (29:49)
Like right next to K -Town. So it's perfect. Yeah. But it's really nice. It's beautiful. It's very walkable. we were on a walk one day and we saw Sean Hayes and he lives in our neighborhood. so Sean Hayes is from Chicago. my God. It was the coolest experience because Sean Hayes is from Chicago and so is Frankie. Yeah. And he was wearing a Chicago like a high school hat.

Shay (29:56)
I love that.

no way!

my god, I love him.

What he? Legend.

Mm -hmm.

Tianan Cohen (30:19)
And Frankie was like, hey, Sean? And Sean was like, yeah, what's up? Frankie was like, I'm so sorry to bother you. I'm from Chicago. Frankie knows somebody in Chicago that claims that they know Sean Hayes. They went to high school together. And so Frankie was like, do you know so -and -so? And Sean was like, do I? It was so funny. But we chatted with him. He was so nice to us.

Shay (30:22)
you

Okay.

Tianan Cohen (30:46)
He was like, do you guys live here? Isn't this neighborhood great? Like we took a picture with him. It was the sweetest. I'm like, it's actually in the same year, Frankie did a commercial with Will Arnett. And then, and then like a month later we met Sean Hayes and I'm like, we've like, we just need to meet the third. And then we have the trifecta of smartless Jason Bateman. my God, my brain. So we just, it's Jason Bateman. Yeah.

Shay (30:47)
aww

I love him.

sick.

You know, yeah. There you go. Who is it? Yeah, yeah, Jace.

Tianan Cohen (31:15)
So I'm like, okay, we've like, we've almost checked all the boxes. Yeah. I'm like, we need to meet Jason Bateman and then, and then we can be like, we know your friends. And then we're perfect. We're in. But yeah.

Shay (31:19)
We're almost there. We're almost booked.

Yeah. And then we're in. see, that just makes me miss LA because of just the weird stuff you see. Last time I was there, I was just there a few months ago and I was pulling up like there was a big car in front of me and it was so fancy and I was like, my God, get out of the way, Jay Leno. And I pull up next to him and it's freaking Jay Leno. I was just like, this, this is ridiculous. This place.

Tianan Cohen (31:36)
yeah, I speak a lot.

Shay (31:56)
is absurd. What were the opps, like, chances of that? Like, LA is just such a weird place. I love it. I love it. Random slabs, yeah.

Tianan Cohen (32:04)
Yeah, I see we see a lot of celebrities. Yeah, I mean, random like at coffee shops. I've seen Molly Shannon like a whole bunch and then but then I I don't I think it's where I live. I think you should live over here. Yeah, I'll send you I'll send you actually there are I'll send you like a link to like listings that I look at often because there's some that are like, they're reasonable.

Shay (32:15)
Why are you seeing the coolest of people? I freaking love Molly Shannon. Okay, well I can't afford it.

please do. I'm looking at, I mean, I lived in the Burbank area before I moved out and I absolutely loved it. Of course everyone does. But now I'm looking there where I used to live and I'm like, I can't even afford a room anymore where I used to live.

Tianan Cohen (32:40)
Mm -hmm.

excuse me, my secretary's here. look at this, a coffee delivery. Thank you. You want to say hi? His bucket, bucket hat and all his midway. Yes, very LA. So Frankie's brother was a barista at this Pete's coffee and.

Shay (32:49)
hi. Are you here to dictate? my God. Yeah. Hi. And a piece coffee at that very LA.

I was a barista at Pete's Coffee. Yes, in Santa Clarita. Next to the Six Flags. Get back to Pete's.

Tianan Cohen (33:10)
Were you? Okay, so here you go. You come, you come move over here. I hook you up at this Pete's. and then you'll see Molly Shannon. Like, yeah, but no, he would give us free coffee all the time. Because I guess they just like cold brew at the end of the day, you know, gets tossed and he'd bring home all the pastries. And then he randomly took a job to go be a salmon fisherman in Alaska for the season.

Shay (33:22)
It's all coming together.

Ugh.

Mm -hmm.

Tianan Cohen (33:40)
And so now we have to pay for our coffee. know. That's the kind of people that are in LA. And that's why you have to come here. You have to come back.

Shay (33:40)
That's absurd. That's absurd. Yeah. Honestly, I miss it a lot. I've tried living. I've moved back to my mom's house here in Iowa for the last year. I was like, I'm gonna try the Midwestern life. We gonna give it a go. I don't wanna, I'm done. I'm over it. I'm over it. I need the weird.

Tianan Cohen (34:03)
Yeah.

And yeah, it's hard.

Shay (34:11)
I mean, yeah, for someone that's creative and is used to that running into Jay Leno and it's just too boring here. It's too, I can't do anything creative because there is no creative outlet. So it's like, it sucks that I have to go to LA. Like we only in the States only have like LA, New York and like Atlanta and Chicago, but

Tianan Cohen (34:20)
Yeah.

Yeah, you lived in Chicago, didn't you? Yeah.

Shay (34:38)
I did, but I did not like it. I really didn't like it. I felt very unsafe and the, was very cliquey in the theater programs and yeah, always, but like it felt even extra cliquey or like even smaller as well. So it just, it wasn't for me and I felt very unsafe living there. So I was like, well, I'm going to try a whole new country. Surely that's fine.

Tianan Cohen (34:44)
Yeah, mhm.

Always. Yeah.

Yeah. That'll be better. Yeah, I would rather have London pit pocketers than anything in Chicago.

Shay (35:08)
I'll be better.

Yeah. I mean, they'll just, in London, they'll just stab you because there's no, there's no guns. No one has a gun. Like exactly. The craziest, the craziest thing I saw or heard there was this guy got hit with a crossbow because like people get creative over there because they don't have guns. So it's like, you could run. I know, right? It's so.

Tianan Cohen (35:18)
Yeah, and I feel like I could survive a stabbed wound. I don't wanna get too cocky, but I think I could. I've seen some things.

What a world, even with guns.

Shay (35:40)
It's so completely different. I felt safe to, you know, get on the tube at one in the morning. I didn't, you know, it's a very freeing place. You're going to love it. Well, I'm going to ask you, sometimes I usually go into like more mental health things and stuff like that, but I've really just like, enjoyed chatting with you about almost everything else. So I'm going to do, I'm going to have you back and we're going to do another one.

Tianan Cohen (35:45)
Yeah.

I'm excited.

We can talk mental health if you want. I have a lot. great. Okay.

Shay (36:10)
I'm gonna do rapid fire questions now for you because I want to. What's something people get wrong about you?

Tianan Cohen (36:13)
Okay, fun.

Ready.

My name. No, no, I actually don't think you did. So my name's Tiana, because it's T -I -A -N -N -A. And my whole life I've been called Tiana. Yeah, I, yeah, Tiana. And my mom's justification has always been my older sister's name is Hannah. More Hannah and Tiana, they rhyme. It also is two N's, and so like.

Shay (36:21)
I'm sorry, did I say it wrong? I probably said it wrong.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, I remember that in college that being a thing like people were like it's Tiana Tiana

Tianan Cohen (36:49)
Princess Tiana, it's one N, T -I -A -N -A, and that's Tiana, Tiana. But yeah, as I've transitioned into this more hosting world too, I've really learned how important my name is. And so I now correct people a lot better with my name. Some people at Zyckhard, if you have a very certain dialect or accent, you're not gonna say it right, and that's fine, but.

Shay (36:52)
-huh.

Mm.

Mm

Yeah.

Tianan Cohen (37:18)
I always know if someone's really interested in talking to me and like listening, like when I meet somebody because of how they all say my name back. But yeah, my name, it's the main event of my existence. My name.

Shay (37:28)
My name! What is your guilty pleasure TV show? That was so fast!

Tianan Cohen (37:34)
The Vampire Diaries and the whole, the whole Vampire Diaries and the whole, every spin off the originals, legacies. I even went to the town in Georgia where it's all filmed because I love it. That's my guilty.

Shay (37:47)
Wow.

That's fair. I saw only like one season of it when I was in college and I was like, that's pretty good. But I just never picked it up. I didn't know that it had such a fan base. You might be the one up keeping it.

Tianan Cohen (37:55)
Yeah.

yeah, for the diehards. No, there, I, TikTok really validated my love of the show because there's a lot of people on TikTok that love it too. I like every.

Shay (38:10)
I believe that. When did it stop, the show?

Tianan Cohen (38:14)
gosh, a long time ago, the original one stopped more than 10 years ago. And then there's a spinoff. There was like the spinoff, which is the originals, which then ended a few years later. And then just like a few years ago, they made like a third spinoff of the show. But yeah, I love Nina Dobrev. I like, I love everything about her. I follow her, like her journey in life. Yeah, she's just, she's hilarious. She's

Shay (38:21)
I didn't know that.

She's gorgeous.

Tianan Cohen (38:41)
Excuse me, she's so funny and like I love Sean White and her and their dynamic. Like I just, I'm obsessed. They're perfect. They're the perfect odd.

Shay (38:46)
what an odd... couple

I've, I know, I never would have put that together. Like when I read that, was like, Sean White? What? Such an odd, odd group, but I like it. I like it a lot. What was your favorite childhood movie?

Tianan Cohen (38:57)
Yeah. Yeah.

101 Dalmatians. I loved it. You know, I liked both, but I think the animation more. But yeah, I love dogs. I love dogs. I had a Dalmatian named Purdy because I loved 101 Dalmatians so much,

Shay (39:08)
Well, the animation or the...

Yeah.

Aww.

Aww, that's a good one. I like that answer. Everyone I've asked has so far said either Lion King or... eh, mostly just Lion King.

Tianan Cohen (39:30)
like these 90 babies.

Shay (39:32)
Yeah, 90s babies and the animals. What was your last Google search?

Tianan Cohen (39:37)
And here, let me pull it up, let me look.

Shay (39:40)
I love this question, because I just want to, I'm so nosy.

Tianan Cohen (39:44)
My last Google search was European Wax Center Hours because I'm getting ready for my trip, you know, my girly things.

Shay (39:53)
That's so funny. I love that. Yeah, no, get that done. What's your go -to karaoke song?

Tianan Cohen (39:56)
Well, now you know how the rest of my day is going.

I Kissed a Girl by Katy Perry. It's so easy because it's like, it's in four, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's great. It's a crowd, it's also like a crowd favorite. If you do it at the right, the right drunk hour, everyone's like, yeah!

Shay (40:10)
yes!

Yeah, fun. that's a good one. I'm gonna steal that. It is. -huh. Yeah, it's interesting how you really gotta time that stuff out because if you do it too early, they're not gonna hype you up for it. Yeah, you gotta wait to put it in the set list a little later. Any regrets? Really?

Tianan Cohen (40:30)
Yeah.

No, it flops. They're like, yeah, exactly. So many. Yeah, I do have a lot of regrets. But things that I work through, I think, I mean, I have a lot of like boy, my following boys to college and in college, you know, those are big regrets of mine, maybe not taking like the time to really

know what I wanted to do earlier, being a little too like lofty, I guess. Yeah, some regrets. I do think that like I'm fine now. They always say like your 30s are your new 20s. And like I do feel like now like this year me, I really have no regrets with like I'm here. I'm in a really good place. But like a year ago, I used to really hold those other things like

Shay (41:16)
Yeah.

Tianan Cohen (41:29)
wow, I could be so much further in life. But I do think that if I wouldn't have gone through all those things, then I wouldn't be where I am today. So yeah, it's a yes and no. I do regret some of the decisions I've made, but I also maybe wouldn't have met Frankie or I wouldn't be hosting the things that I'm hosting if I hadn't gone through those things. So, but yeah, we all have a little bit of regrets.

Shay (41:44)
Yeah.

yeah, absolutely. no doubt. Favorite celebrity you've ever encountered.

Tianan Cohen (41:57)
Ooh, Wayne Brady. Yes, such a legend. And this one's actually really cool is so I produce a cabaret at the Bourbon Room, which we're actually changing venues. We're still gonna be doing our show, but we're gonna be doing it at a different spot in LA. But we were, it was like, it was a Sondheim celebration. And we were partnered with the Pasadena Playhouse and doing it was like a huge queer celebration and showcasing

Shay (42:00)
really? What a legend.

Mm

Tianan Cohen (42:26)
Sondheim characters sung and performed by people who might not actually get to be those characters. I, part of my producing duties, it I was handing out these little QR codes to all the tables and I'm like squeezing through and I'm like, hi here, blah, blah, blah. Learn more info about the show and the cast. And then I go to do it and I put my, the thing out, I'm like, hi, like here's more info about the show. And I look and it was Wayne Brady and he was wearing a hat. So like, I didn't know who it was at first. And I was like,

Hey, hot, thanks for coming. why? Wayne Brady is at my show? Like, this is insane. So then I like host, co -host the show and he was sitting in the front row and so me and my co -producer, Marissa, were like on stage and stuff and we're like, you know, doing little funny bits and like the show was incredible. It was gorgeous and funny and flirty and Wayne Brady's right there. And then just afterwards him coming up to us and like.

Shay (42:59)
Whose line is it anyway?

Tianan Cohen (43:24)
congratulating us and saying like, what you're doing here is so great. It was really cool because like when you meet a celebrity, it's like, they're so cool, right? And you're like glorifying them. And that was the first time where someone who I hold in such high regard was giving me praise. And so I'll remember that moment forever probably. Yeah.

Shay (43:34)
Mm.

That's so sweet. mean, I've never met him or really know too much about him, but I know he's pansexual. He's got an interesting life and he's just funny and can sing the doors off. It's just, what an absolute talent and apparently nice guy. So, yeah, I love that. What is your favorite hobby?

Tianan Cohen (43:57)
Mm -hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, a sweetheart. He was so sweet. So sweet. Yeah.

reading. I yeah I recently become a fantasy smut girly it's so funny I started my god all of them I so fourth wing is my favorite fantasy book and then obviously all the Akitar books but fourth wing holds a special place in my heart but yeah my

Shay (44:17)
Hmm, good one.

Yes, give us a book. I'll link it down below.

What?

Tianan Cohen (44:43)
Sister had started reading them like over a year ago and was like, have to read, you have to read this little book called A of Thorn of Roses. And I was like, I don't read, I don't want to. And she, I don't read. I was like, I don't have time to read. She was like, just read it, trust me. So it's actually so fun. When I had my call back for Monster Jam, I bought A Court of Thorn of Roses. And I was like, I've had to fly to Florida.

Shay (44:53)
I don't read. Yeah.

Tianan Cohen (45:10)
which from LA is a crazy long flight. So I was like, okay, I will read this book on this plane to make my sister shut up. And so I started A Court of Thunder Roses on my way to Monster Jam. And by then I got Monster Jam, like on my callback, that was like in August. And then I got Monster Jam and I had to go to a training in November. So like August, September, October, November, it like three months, four months. And I was already on the last book.

Shay (45:35)
Two, three, yeah.

Tianan Cohen (45:40)
I plowed through them and I read all the book. There's like a whole multiverse. So yeah, that's my

Shay (45:40)
DANG!

you're making me want to get into it.

Tianan Cohen (45:49)
It's so good.

Shay (45:49)
I'm usually, I'm a big like autobiography person. I love reading other people's lives. But I really want to try and get into something different, like a fantasy. I want to be pulled in. What's so special about these? What is the storyline, I guess?

Tianan Cohen (45:55)
Mm -hmm.

Yeah.

I think what's so special about these for me is that because I'm, think for general public, like someone like my sister, it's a fan. She's older, she's 30, she's gonna be 35 this year. Yeah, but she's so different because she's a wife and a mother of two and has a nine to five, like, and I'm over here, you know, living my Bohemian creative life.

Shay (46:17)
How old is she by the way? Is she younger or older? Older.

Okay, so it's in our realm. We should like this. Okay.

Okay, yep.

Yeah.

Tianan Cohen (46:35)
So I feel like for her, these books are so great because it's always about a female main character who either has this hidden strength, like they're like an assassin or a warrior or like a lost princess with a super magical power. And I think it's really empowering. But I also think it's like too many degrees separated from reality that it allows you to escape. And that's like for me.

Shay (46:47)
yeah.

Tianan Cohen (47:03)
I have a, Frankie and I have our time like watching shows and stuff for like, I don't know if you have this as like, as an actor, it can be sometimes hard to like fully escape and watch and enjoy.

Shay (47:13)
I have this issue and I don't know why this is but I struggle so hard to watch stuff and I used to not be this way but as I mean I got older and I was just like I can't I don't know what it is I need something really ridiculous to watch or just so out there I don't know why that is why is that

Tianan Cohen (47:21)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

I think it's because we studied this and so we're always constantly like...

Shay (47:41)
It's not fun to watch. Yes.

Tianan Cohen (47:42)
Yeah, it's like work. It's like research. It would be like a doctor watching like someone do a surgery. Yeah, it's like so I and obviously I have my show and maybe that's why I like the vampire diaries because it's so it's so fantasy that it's like for me I can really Remove myself and that's how I feel about these books. Like there's nothing in this book I mean, there are some things I guess that are like quote -unquote Relatable, but like they take this magical potion. So like they never have to worry about

Shay (47:48)
surgery. Yeah.

It's so out there.

Tianan Cohen (48:10)
you know, getting pregnant, it's all fake. Like that would never happen in real life. Yeah. All these women are like having the best sex ever, you know, fantasy. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. But that's why I think it's really great escapism. And it's something that's so for me, like I do a lot of things. I feel like I do a lot for, you know, for my jobs and like, you know, for my partner and my friends, like I'm always, this is like,

Shay (48:12)
love that.

wow. Yeah.

Mm.

other people.

You. That's yours. Yeah.

Tianan Cohen (48:41)
This is me. And this is mine. Nobody can read it. It's just for me.

Shay (48:45)
I love that. I'm gonna look into it. I'm very curious, because I'm a lot like that. really struggle watching anything that my mom wants to watch, because I'm just like, I don't want to watch actors act. I just can't, because I cannot get out of it. I will just sit there and dissect every little thing they're doing, and it's not fun. I want fun. Fourth wing. Cool. I will.

Tianan Cohen (48:49)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Mm -hmm. Yeah, well read, read fourth wing. That's my recommendation. It's so good.

Shay (49:15)
Finally, what song do you have on repeat lately or like a playlist? Give it to me!

Tianan Cohen (49:19)
You want to guess? Because I feel like it's so obvious. For me, I'm... It's so girly. It's chapel. Yeah. I am at the Pink Pony Club every day.

Shay (49:24)
hmm. It's gonna be girly. Is it chapel? It's chapel! Me too. Me too. Every day. I thought you logged on and I was singing Hot to Go just full blast and like, I was like, my God, is she on? Is she on? I was like, God. Yep.

Tianan Cohen (49:42)
Hell yeah. I literally, make every year I like to make a playlist that's like titled the year right on Spotify. So it's 2024 and I add songs that I hear or like, or like that I think encompass the year. And it's all Chapel Roan. So a little bit of Sabrina Carpenter, know, a little bit of Charlie XCX like I'm, I'm so I love a good, I love a good pop moment. It's so good.

Shay (49:52)
huh.

Just travel.

I love her. I've not been this excited about some artist in a very long time. Like she is just bringing me life and everything. I love the music. I love how it's a little 80s, a little, it's fun. It's just like, it's bringing the fun back. I love her.

Tianan Cohen (50:17)
Yeah.

Yeah.

It really, it's so good. It's, well, I love the, I love the eighties. I love eighties music. I think it was because of my time in Stranger Things, was like all we had to listen to. But I hear so many other eighties songs in her music, which I think is so artistically is so beautiful to pay tribute in that way. Cause it's not the same, you know, but like there's, I don't know this is real, this is my theory, but in Pink Pony Club, there's a guitar solo.

Shay (50:38)
yes.

Mm -hmm.

Yeah.

That's my favorite song.

Tianan Cohen (50:57)
It's so good. There's a guitar solo that sounds like the guitar solo from Don't Stop Believing that comes right after Just a Small Town Girl. And I'm like, that's what this song is about. This song is like if that small town girl went out and wrote a song and I feel like that's how she lets the music that she loves influence her music. And I'm like, it's so beautiful. It's so good.

Shay (51:10)
Mm

It is. It's beautiful. I've loved watching the journey. just yeah, Pink Pony Club is definitely my favorite. Then maybe Hot to Go. I don't know. I don't know. They're also there. That's another thing is like I've never seen an artist just pop out with like eight hits, just eight bops and like back to back. She fed us. We are fed. We are full.

Tianan Cohen (51:27)
Fun. Yeah.

I know there's so many good ones.

bops yeah back to back yeah yeah yeah we are full but i have room for dessert chapel if you're listening keep it coming we support you

Shay (51:54)
Yeah, same. Keep it coming. I also want to play a game of heads up. I don't even know how it's going to work. You're going to be my first my tester. Yeah, I got to get coffee. You're going to my tester. So if it goes horribly wrong, we'll cut it. We'll cut it. That's the best part about having my own podcast is I do what I want. I do what I want and I cut what I want.

Tianan Cohen (52:01)
Okay, I love games. Also, look at me. I two coffees.

I have so many. Okay. We'll cut it. Yeah. We'll cut it out.

Yeah.

Shay (52:22)
Okay, let me find... maybe Broadway Baby would be a good category for you.

Tianan Cohen (52:27)
Me neither.

Shay (52:29)
That's so 90s. We've got totally 80s. We've got Pride, animated characters, pop culture, movie buff, adult supervision, name that brand, superstars, animals go wild, blockbuster movies, acted out, Hey Mr. DJ, icons, legends, and stars, and Broadway baby. Do any of those sound...

Tianan Cohen (52:54)
Well, because I wanna win, I'm like, do animals. I, let's do, we can do Broadway Baby, we can try.

Shay (52:57)
Ha

Okay, we'll try it. And if it sucks, we can do it differently.

Tianan Cohen (53:03)
Well, if it sucks, we'll cut it and... If it sucks, it validates why I had to retire from musical theater.

Shay (53:05)
and pretend we did something else.

That do. Alright, give me a second. I haven't used this in like two years. I know, I was like, why don't I? I'm nervous. Okay, wait, I can fucking see it. It's gonna be backwards, innit? Hold up.

Tianan Cohen (53:15)
This is so fun. I'm so nervous.

wait yeah, you can see it. Can you turn off?

Shay (53:25)
I can't. I'm gonna look... Wait, hold on. Bad idea. Hold on. How can I make it not backwards? Because you probably see it backwards, don't you? you do? Okay. Well, then it's just my fault. Okay.

Tianan Cohen (53:30)
Okay, it's time.

No, I see it regular. Yeah. So you have to close your eyes, I guess.

Shay (53:42)
I will, I'm gonna look. I'm gonna move my camera so I can't see it. That's what I'm gonna do. I'm blocking me. Okay, great. Take two. God. See, this might be bad because I'm not even really good at Broadway stuff. So, wait, can you see it? Okay.

Tianan Cohen (53:48)
Or like, you, yeah, block your screen? Yeah. There we go. All right, take two.

Yes, it's perfect. All right, here we go. It's about an ogre who lives in a swamp. Yes. He is a composer. He wrote The Phantom of the Opera.

Shay (54:10)
Shrek? Nope.

Steven... no, the other one. The other one! Andrew Lloyd Webber!

Tianan Cohen (54:19)
The other one, he's British. Yeah, three names. Yes, nice. This was a movie, I think, with John Travolta, disco. No, no, it's about, yes. This is another composing duo, it's two names. No, the other one, the other group. I think they're called Camelot.

Shay (54:29)
Grease? Hairspray? Saturday Night Fever? Yes!

Hammerstein and whatever.

Fuck, I can't remember. I can't remember!

Tianan Cohen (54:48)
Okay, this is a musical that I think, I think Christian Chenoweth was in. Maybe it's Megan Halsey, but it's when you propose to someone you're making a, you're like vowing to, okay, time's up, time's up. That was really good though, yeah.

Shay (55:02)
Proposal?

Yeah, I see the problem is I don't know Broadway Yeah, Promises promises I Think it was Chris and Chena with and Sean Hayes. I think they did it together. That was fun, would you like to play another one that was fun you're good at it, okay, I'm gonna do

Tianan Cohen (55:15)
but I did. So that's what we need to... Yeah. Is it naked, healthy, or is it chris and jenna with? Or is it neither of them? Yeah.

Damn, missed opportunity there.

Sure, yeah, was fun. thanks.

Yeah, why don't you pick the category?

Shay (55:38)
Yes, maybe something I'm good at. That's fair. I want to do that so 90s, but I feel like I'll know everything right away, but that'll make me look smart, so.

Tianan Cohen (55:40)
I just might not be good at explaining it.

All right. Well, you're gonna be really embarrassed if you know none of it. Okay, here we go. This is where you went to rent movies. Yep. Woo. This is a band, three names. shoot, what's their song? It's not one, it's not two. And then not your nose, but your... Yeah.

Shay (55:54)
Exactly.

Blockbuster. Hell yeah.

Three.

Third eye blind!

Tianan Cohen (56:20)
Okay, so you wear them on your feet and when you walk they would illuminate.

Shay (56:25)
Flip -flops? Crocs?

light up shoes. Okay.

Tianan Cohen (56:30)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll give it to you. now see, this is where I'm gonna look stupid. How do I explain this? You learn about this in school, I think. No, I'm past this one. I'm sorry, I'm stupid. Skip it, I don't know how to explain that one either. Okay, this was a drink like orange juice. I was so excited about that one.

Shay (56:42)
the birds and the bees.

Okay.

dang it! okay, we'll say it anyway. I'm gonna guess it.

Tianan Cohen (57:02)
Okay.

Shay (57:03)
Orange juice?

Tianan Cohen (57:03)
it were, yeah, like, but it's a brand, a 90s brand of orange. Yeah, I don't know how to explain the organ trail. And then 98 Degrees, 98 Degrees is a band, right, or a group.

Shay (57:07)
Sunny Delight! UGH!

well I wouldn't have got that anyway.

Yeah, I think that was with Nick Lusche. I think. damn. Well, that was fun. Thank you for playing with me. I haven't played that in so long.

Tianan Cohen (57:21)
Yeah, I see,

That's right. Yeah, we did it. my God. That game is so funny when you play with like a lot of people because as the person, yeah, as the person guessing, everyone's screaming at you and you're like trying to lock in on one voice. You're like, what's going

Shay (57:33)
They're screaming.

You're like, I, I, what? And someone's like, it's an ogre. And someone's like, no, it's not, it's a cat.

Tianan Cohen (57:42)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They're like just screaming nonsense at you.

Shay (57:49)
Yeah. Well, thank you so much for being here. You survived. We played games and I would love for you to come back and definitely share more about what you do, your life, mental health, all them things. But I think this was a good fun one for before you leave for London.

Tianan Cohen (57:52)
Yay! We did it!

I'm honored.

Yeah.

Yes, I know. We really had the positive vibes going. Yeah.

Shay (58:11)
I know, I love it, I love it. Well, thank you so, so much.