🎭 In this heartfelt and powerful episode of Vocal Tips in 10, I’m joined by Broadway actor, coach, and all-around inspiring human Analisa Leaming to talk about what it really means to show up fully and authentically in your creative life.
We dive into the inner work behind bold performance—specifically how to recognize and navigate the “characters” within you, like your inner critic, protector, or perfectionist, and how to reconnect with your true, aligned self. Analisa shares practical and soulful strategies to help you embrace your main character energy, quiet self-doubt, and take center stage in your life, art, and career.
Whether you're preparing for a big audition, sharing your voice online, or simply trying to live and create more freely, this episode will help you move toward your dreams with clarity and confidence.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
00:00 – The Importance of Inner Work
02:35 – Identifying Inner Fragments
05:00 – The Role of the Inner Critic
06:15 – Embracing Main Character Energy
08:47 – Practical Tips for Self-Discovery
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Hello, Analisa! I am so happy that you are here.
Analisa Leaming (she/her) (00:03)
Thanks for having me, Amber.
amber cathey (00:05)
I so appreciate your time. And I just was talking about your bio and just all of the impressive work that you've done. But I know that now so much of your work is about the inner focus, the inner work that can be so much harder. So I really wanted to have you on today just to talk about some of that inner work and tips and tactics maybe that could be effective for our listeners in starting that part of the process as they're pursuing
their passions and their dreams.
Analisa Leaming (she/her) (00:35)
Okay. So obviously in 10 minutes, it's like, it'll, it, it, is an idea, a seed to plant. And then hopefully it'll energize someone listening. Like, Ooh, I want to dive deeper into that or become more aware of that. And so, be broad strokes, but I was thinking about this. Like I used to teach voice. I enjoyed it, but I would just be so interested in like, what, but what's going on? Why?
amber cathey (00:43)
Yes.
Analisa Leaming (she/her) (00:59)
why is it so much easier for some people to be so present and almost like a channel when they're singing? know, it's like this thing's coming through them versus the other that is maybe constantly micromanaging or struggling more. one that I love talking about is these different aspects of ourselves, these different fragments of ourselves. We all have.
different pieces within us but if it's helpful to think about like inside out and all those different right there's fear and anxiety and joy and all these parts but they each have their own yeah well it and it also just helps because i think it helps once we can start to identify these different pieces within us as opposed to identify as them we can identify them as a piece of us and a fragment of us and then it
amber cathey (01:28)
I'm obsessed with that movie. Total side note, I love it so much. Sorry.
Yes.
Analisa Leaming (she/her) (01:46)
suddenly it doesn't have as much control over us. It doesn't have to be in the driver's seat. if I notice okay, my inner critic of the things that's really blocking me just singing for the joy of singing and telling a story and enjoying the sounds body's making and a wonder that my vocal folds just were shaped in this way and my resonators are here and my timbres like it's
It's wondrous and miraculous, but we have these protectors within us, you know, that are, that are on high alert that are like, but be safe and don't make a fool of yourself and make sure you get it right. And so I think one thing to look out for is when, when your other focused, when, when your primary sort of like thought loop is
Well, how do they want or will people want this or if you're going to an audition, it's like, well, I think they want this. And so how do I sound like that person? All that is other focus has nothing to do with your authentic sound, your authentic of the material. think that's like a, that's a flag, right? That's like a, Ooh, maybe that's not where I want to approach us from. Maybe that's also not the true me. That's a fragment of me that's here to protect me and keep me safe.
The other thing is like, if you're to record or do a YouTube channel, it's like, what gets the most likes and followers? And I'm to post this clip on Instagram and it's this constant other focus. And I get it. I'm right there with you this world of likes and subscribes. It can be really hard not to focus on those vanity metrics. But I just think it's such a recipe for not actually enjoying doing what we do.
art and the creativity. I used to be terrified to look at this aspect of myself because I used to be the train of like well if I think these thoughts and say them out loud gonna manifest more of it and I'm gonna create more and self-doubt.
And I want to tell you that is not the truth, you got to do it consciously. So if you get out your journal and you're like, okay, let me see what my inner critic is doing or what my protector is doing you can give them a name. You can, decided one day mine was Vanessa. ⁓ I know somebody else. I know she just sounds like the mean girl, right? Though she's the mean girl in my head. Right. ⁓ Jack Plotnik is a really great,
amber cathey (04:00)
That is hilarious. She does. She does. Yeah. Sorry, Vanessa. Yeah.
Analisa Leaming (she/her) (04:09)
teacher and he talks, he calls his the vulture. And so it's always like the vulture is squawking on my shoulder. And this is what it tells me. Like every time he's going to go into an audition, like you're bad at auditioning, you're a bad actor. starting to actually on your paper, what are the kind of 10 top hits that it always says? we can wake up to, wait, what if this isn't me? And what if this isn't even true? What if this is like, right?
10 year old self 12 year voice teacher, whatever it is. that's where you might need to get some help from an outside source, right? Like a therapist or coach or something like that. When you're like, okay, I'm really identifying as this. But you start to realize, okay, my neural pathways have been firing like this for a long time. This might even be comfortable, right? Because I'm protecting myself operate in such a doubt or fear or self deprecation.
that's a fragment of you. And there's another part of you. You could say it's a fragment. You could say it's also your true essence. But a really fun way to think about this is like your main character energy. And so if you're at a point where main character in your novel and you're facing adversity and you have this gift that you want to share with the world and you have these dreams, but you're doubting yourself and you're like, I don't know if I should do it and you're ready to give up.
What would you want your main character to do? Dig deep. do you need? do you need to cultivate? your neural pathways in a way of self-belief and joy and surrounding yourself with that will cheerlead you and advocate for you in that way as well because we need each other. You need wonderful teachers like Amber.
amber cathey (05:42)
Yes.
Thank you.
Analisa Leaming (she/her) (05:46)
and
coaches and all of that. But you know, you can practice just like you practiced in some way. And you could say it's your default mode, some of the inner critic and all of that, but it's practiced behavior that becomes ingrained and habitual. And so if you start approaching this as your main character energy, like there's gonna be a part of you that's like, I'm just faking it. It's not real. And it's like, yeah, we're making it all up anyway. Cue Jason Mraz making it up.
amber cathey (06:13)
Yeah.
Analisa Leaming (she/her) (06:13)
But why
not choose your own adventure, play, have fun. Beyonce has Sasha Fierce that she puts on before she goes on stage, right? Waddingham from Ted Lasso these power poses before she on talk shows and does these things and this big lion's breath to feel powerful. And before I used to go into audition or even on stage, on a Broadway stage, I would do this thing where I would say, star power, act.
amber cathey (06:22)
Yes, yeah.
Yes.
Analisa Leaming (she/her) (06:41)
And I would just feel my body like filled with light and emanating this light for others that it's not about me. That's part of my main character energy is is just being this vessel that my stories and songs come through. So you can play with it in whatever way you want. But coming into this idea of how am I approaching this today? Where am I coming from today as I'm practicing or as I'm getting ready to post or going on stage?
amber cathey (06:42)
I love it.
Analisa Leaming (she/her) (07:08)
and just becoming more aware. Is that my main character or is that my protector? And how can we love on both because we'll never get rid of it and it's part of our human, our messy human. But that's my tip for sharing your gifts with the world.
amber cathey (07:25)
I mean, that is a, I don't know how you did that, that succinctly. It's such massive work. one thing you said is like, you when people start to lean into that main character and start to feel the positives and the joy and get that back. And they're like, well, I'm just making this up. What I thought of is the critic is just making it up too.
When you start to journal all of that out, how much of it is actually true? Like you said, you can find instances, but what's that, is it confirmation bias when they do that study where they have somebody search the room and find everything red. and now close your eyes. And then they say, okay, what did you see that's yellow? And of course people are like, I have no clue what you're talking about.
because all they were looking for is red. So it's kind of like what you said, what you look for, you're going to find evidence to back it up. So if we're going to make one up, quote unquote, why not lean that other direction? It's far more effective. It's far more fun.
Analisa Leaming (she/her) (08:16)
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, and
there is this thing called synaptic sensitivity. So when you start to do the new, feels uncomfortable. It's like meeting a stranger in a room and you're like, I don't know how to, we've never danced before, we've never talked before. when you're aware that that's gonna happen, a lot of people throw in the towel then though, and they're like, this doesn't work, or it doesn't feel good to me. it's like, but if you can suspend your disbelief and put on a character, because we all know how to do that when we sing a song or,
a role, it's easy, we play make believe. So what if we just play and make it more playful? what if I, that's a great thing. What if, ask what if questions. What if I did believe in myself? What if I did love the sound of my voice today? What if I just love it? What if I, you know, what if I, what if I affect somebody with my gift today? So what if questions can help you ease into the main character energy too?
amber cathey (09:13)
Yeah,
I love this so much and this is when I wish my podcast was so much longer than it is. Can you, and well, and I should also point out in the introduction, said, you you're a social ambition coach, you work with big dreamers to do this inner work all day every day. And I'm so privileged to say I've gotten to work with you for the last year. And very truly, I think you know this, but for just listeners knowing this, it sounds like hyperbole, but it...
Analisa Leaming (she/her) (09:18)
No.
Mm-hmm.
amber cathey (09:41)
It genuinely has been life changing for me. it's really been so important and impactful So can you share with the listeners and I'll put that info in the show notes as well, but kind of where they can get more tips and if they're inspired by this and they wanna do more where they can find that from you.
Analisa Leaming (she/her) (09:52)
Yeah.
Yeah, well thank you for saying that. I've loved working with you too. It's been a complete joy. So my website, analisalemming.com, which you can find the link for, it's all there. But there is, I do offer my main character energy practices. And get a couple emails with all of those in there, journal prompts, some embodiment movement activities to kind of like to start take on this character. And then you'll get an embodiment.
of your main character energy. So I have you like walk around the room, like what does it feel like and what are the thoughts that you think as this character? And it's like 10 minutes long. So it's a great practice. And that's just a great way to get introduced to me more and my work. If you're like, what would working with Analisa be like? And it's all there. I have a group, I do one-on-one, I have a podcast as well. So it's resonating, I'd love to hear from you.
amber cathey (10:46)
Yay, it will be down in the show notes. Thank you so much. Thanks everybody for listening. And I'll see you guys in the next episode and I'll see you, Analisa, very soon. Bye.
Analisa Leaming (she/her) (10:54)
Thank you so much, bye.
