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Despite being eliminated from The Masked Singer on Wednesday, Alicia Witt had the time of her life on the show.
"The experience was a lifetime high," the actress, 47, tells PEOPLE. "I remember the moment I got the invitation, I thought, it's not only going to be fun, this could be one of the most profound experiences I've ever had. And it truly was."
That invitation to go on the competition series came at a noteworthy time.
"I had just come out of breast reconstruction surgery that very day," reveals Witt, who opened up last summer about her private breast cancer journey. "I was coming out of my anesthesia, and I was so groggy I wasn't even quite sure if I had seen the email right. The next day I was a little bit more coherent. I was like, did I get an email from The Masked Singer last night? It felt like divine timing."
Witt says she "didn't have to think very hard at all" about accepting the offer and proceeded to compete as Dandelion on season 9. All while also filming in Vancouver.
"With my schedule, the way it was while we were filming it, not knowing which episode I would get to be a part of or which episodes I'd be available to be a part of, we had songs prepared for New York Night, ABBA and Sesame Street," the "Witness" singer says. "They filled my time working on this movie with so much joy."
After being eliminated on Wednesday, Witt talks about being unable to see as Dandelion, being guessed by Ken Jeong and her upcoming tour.
PEOPLE: Why were you so eager to say yes to coming on The Masked Singer?
ALICIA WITT: No matter who a person is, whether they're a recognizable actor and you have those preconceived notions when you see them about to sing, or any human being that there is, we all look at a person and we make snap judgments about who that person must be before they open their mouth. This show is not only entertaining and fun to watch, but it's really profound because it strips all of that away. It makes me so emotional just thinking about the feeling of connecting with that audience without being able to see them and without them being able to see me. [It] was utterly magical for me. It wouldn't be the same if I were just myself. It was a very emotional experience for me.
You've been singing for years, but do you feel like people know you more as an actress?
On one hand, the fact that people knew me already as an actor when I started being brave enough to put my own music out into the world, without question, that helped a whole lot because it brought people to my shows when I was a brand new recording artist. Most brand new recording artists don't have that luxury. But I still get the sense that there's that preconceived notion of, Oh, it's an actor. When I was under that mask, I knew that I was just a voice connecting to the people. I feel as though this experience perhaps has shifted in some way any sense that I'm more one than the other. I feel like it's all together now.
What was it like performing as Dandelion?
It was extremely different. There's the physical aspect of the difference, which is it's really heavy. The headpiece was really heavy. The headpiece was about five times smaller when I first put it on my head. But we got it to where it was weirdly comfortable. It wasn't pulling or heavy in a painful way. It was just very pronounced. You had to keep your neck very straight. And I was grateful for my yoga practice because it kept me walking straight. It's also kind of difficult to see out of it. I couldn't really see where the marks on the floor were unless I really focused on them. Even finding my way back to Nick [Cannon] at the end of those two performances, I would think I was next to him, and then I would look over and realize he was four feet away from me and have to walk over.
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Has doing the show changed how you approach performing?
Being about to go on a little mini tour for my new EP, I was going to be connecting with people in a different way than I did before because of having had this experience on The Masked Singer. It kind of changed me in a way. I can't explain how much I loved getting to do this. It was really profound for me specifically.
What did it mean for you to be able to do the show, be back to work filming and touring after going through chemotherapy for breast cancer?
It's a really scary diagnosis, and one in eight women receive it. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Katie Couric were also open about their experience with this recently, and they're both out there thriving and working. When I chose to share it, I thought, I really want to let other women know, all of the women who are going to hear that news, just let them know: don't go to the worst-case scenario in your head. The truth is, most of the time, you're going to be all right. There's some things you can do to help give you the best odds possible that that will be your outcome.
How have you changed your life since receiving the diagnosis?
You don't just beat it and then go back to living your life the way you did before. I'm not a drinker anymore. I didn't consider that I had a problem with it, per se. I live in Nashville. It's a part of the culture. And I haven't had a drink since the day that I got that phone call. And that's a big thing that is a risk factor for getting a diagnosis like this. So that's a choice I've made. I'm honored to be able to help share this a little bit so that women hearing this know what you can do to make yourself even healthier and support your body years after you've completed the treatment and you get the all-clear.
You are such proof that there is not only life, but a full life, after that treatment.
I'm very grateful that this is the version of it for me. I was 100 percent healed by the time that I taped these episodes. That was amazing, to celebrate my reconstruction in that way, because it was kind of a tight-fitting costume. And I did have this sense when the unmasking happened and I got to take it off, I was sad because I also was having such a good time. And I knew I'll never have that experience of connecting with voice without this mask on, without my appearance being seen again. But I also felt like, now I get to show my smile to everyone. I wanted more than anything to jump into the crowd and crowd-surf over to Ken. I wanted to give him a huge hug. He's the only one that guessed me, so I was like, "Wow, I want to hug you!"
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The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
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Alicia Witt Says Her Time on The Masked Singer After Recovering from Breast Cancer Was 'Really Profound' - PEOPLE
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