Talking Theater

Isaac Butler is a writer and theater director, recently of The Trump Card, about the rise of Donald Trump with solo performer Mike Daisey. Isaac also wrote and directed Real Enemies, which was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music and named one of the top ten live events of 2015 by The New York Times. Along with Dan Kois, he is the co-author of the critically-acclaimed The World Only Spins Forward, a history of Angels in America which was just released this year. And, most recently, Isaac hosts a new podcast miniseries for Slate called Lend Me Your Ears, about Shakespeare’s plays and our modern views on politics. Isaac holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of Minnesota, and his writing has appeared in the Guardian, Slate, American Theatre, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and other publications. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Idris Goodwin is an award-winning playwright, poet, performer, and essayist. This summer, he will become the Producing Artistic Director of StageOne Family Theater in Louisville, KY. For StageOne, Idris penned American Tales and the widely produced And In This Corner: Cassius Clay. Other plays include: How We Got On, Bars and Measures, The Raid, Hype Man: a break beat play, Blackademics, The Way the Mountain Moved, commissioned as part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s American Revolutions Series, and will world premiere this summer, and This Is Modern Art co-written with Kevin Coval (which is getting a Blessed Unrest production in June 2018, in New York City). Just a few of the accolades Idris has earned include awards from the Hip Hop Theater Festival, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ford Foundation, the Blue Ink Playwriting Award, and the InterAct Theater’s 20/20 Prize. These Are the Breaks, Idris’s debut collection of essays and poetry, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and his poetry has been featured on HBO, The Discovery Channel, Sesame Street and National Public Radio. 

Ken Urban is a playwright, screenwriter, and musician based in New York. His plays include Sense of an Ending, The Correspondent, A Future Perfect, The Awake, The Happy Sad, Nibbler, A Guide for the Homesick which recently premiered just a few months ago at the Huntington Theater in Boston, and his newest work, a darkly-comic play called The Remains, which opens in May 2018 at Studio Theatre in Washington D.C. His work has been produced Off-Broadway at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 59E59 Theatres, The Summer Play Festival at The Public, and Studio 42. Ken's work has also been produced in London and at theaters all across the States. Just a few of Ken’s awards include the Weissberger Playwriting Award, New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship for Playwriting, and the Dramatist Guild Fellowship. He is a member playwright at New Dramatists in New York, and an Affiliated Writer at the Playwrights’ Center in my city of Minneapolis.  And, he’s also an accomplished musician playing with his band Occurrence. Ken earned his BA with Honors from Bucknell University and his Ph.D. in English Literature from Rutgers. And he is currently the Senior Lecturer at MIT leading the Playwriting track.

Jessica Burr is the artistic director of Blessed Unrest, an ensemble-based experimental theatre company in New York City, co-founded with Matt Opatrny. In 2011, Jessica received the Lucille Lortel Award from the League of Professional Theatre Women, in recognition of her work as a director and the body of work that Blessed Unrest has created under her leadership. With Blessed Unrest, just a few of the productions she has directed include Body: Anatomies of Being, Eurydice’s Dream (for which she and Sonia Villani received the 2013 NY Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Choreography/Movement), ArtCamp SexyTime FootBall, 365 Days/365 Plays Festival, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Measure for Measure, and The Sworn Virgin and Doruntine (both with Florent Mehmeti of Teatri Oda of Kosovo). And most recently, The Snow Queen, developed in residency at the New Victory Theater, and now running, Platonov – an adaptation and translation of Chekhov’s play by Laura Wickens. Jessica talks with Marc about starting Blessed Unrest after traveling and teaching abroad, her study with Anne Bogart, creating a culture of love, support, and trust in the rehearsal room for dangerous things to happen, her commitment to diversity on stage and in the audience, and the need for actors to always work and train!

Dámaso Rodriguez is a Cuban American director based in Portland, Oregon, where he serves as artistic director of Artists Repertory Theatre, Portland's longest-running professional theatre company, which became a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) under his leadership. Prior to joining Artists Rep, Dámaso served as the associate artistic director of the Pasadena Playhouse and co-founder and co-artistic director of the Furious Theatre in Los Angeles. And upcoming projects include work for Artists Rep, Actors Theater of Louisville and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Dámaso talks with Marc about his decision to leave Los Angeles and take over the leadership of Artists Rep, how he chooses a season for his audiences, his commitment to diversity and an Equity Diversity Inclusion Statement, and lots of details about his directing process and working with actors!

Julia Sirna-Frest is an actor and singer based in New York. She was most recently seen as Margit in Seder at Hartford Stage.   And in the title role of: [Porto] which played at The Bushwick Starr last year where it was an NYT Critics Pick and The Times review said it was quote: “an excellent cast led by the wonderful Ms. Sirna-Frest”  Porto makes its Off-Broadway premiere at the WP Theater.  Other productions include: A Tunnel Year (The Chocolate Factory), and The Offending Gesture  (The Connelly);   Julia is also a Founding member of the Obie award-winning Half Straddle Company, where just a few of her shows include: Ghost Rings, Ancient Lives; Seagull (Thinking of you), and In the Pony Palace Football. Julia also fronts Doll Parts, Brooklyn's premiere Dolly Parton cover band, and composes music with Shane Chapman for productions such as Welcome to the Gun Show (Ars Nova) and IceBand (HERE Arts Center). Julia talks with Marc about creating wild, inventive theater, devising works by composing rock music with the dialogue of playwrights like O'Neill and Chekhov, her upcoming Broadway run of [Porto], audition stories, and gaining more control over her career by creating many artistic outlets - like her Dolly Parton cover band!

Jose Solís, as a theater critic, has been writing about film and theater since 2003, and his work has appeared in major film and theater publications including (links are reviews or articles): The New York Times, American Theatre, and Backstage.   Jose is a member of the Drama Desk, the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, and the Online Film Critics Society. Jose is putting together a panel called Being a Critic of Color for BroadwayCon 2018.  And, when he's not at a show, a screening or writing about all the art he loves, you can find him singing along to any cast recording featuring Kelli O'Hara. Jose talks with Marc about his passion for all theater and the arts, the distinction between a review versus an interpretation, racial disparity on stage and in theater criticism, and his newest projects to address inclusion and diversity among theater critics.

Jamil Jude is a director, producer, playwright, and dramaturg. Self-identifying as an "Artist Plus", Jamil feels most at home bringing socially relevant art to the community. Jamil is the Associate Artistic Director at Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company in Atlanta, GA as well as the Co-Founder of The New Griots Festival. He was a participant in the Leadership U: One-on-One program, funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by Theatre Communications Group. The program provided him a residency at  Park Square Theatre, in St. Paul, MN, where he worked as Artistic Programming Associate. Prior to that, he served as the National New Play Network (NNPN) Producer-in-Residence at Mixed Blood Theatre Company. Jamil has helmed productions for companies such as the Olney Theatre, Forum Theatre, and Curious Theatre, as well as various Twin Cities’ theatre companies, including Park Square Theatre, History Theatre, Freshwater Theatre, Stages Theatre Company, and Daleko Arts. Jamil's next directing project is KING HEDLEY II at True Colors, running 2/13 through 3/11/2018. Jamil talks with Marc about sharing the African Diaspora experience through his work, his new role with True Colors Theatre, his vision for 21st century theater with more community conversations around the art, his deep appreciation for the plays of August Wilson, and his desire and hope for more diversity and opportunities for people of color in theater communities.

Brendan Hines is a versatile actor and singer-songwriter. He currently stars in Amazon's The Tick as Superian.  The show is based on Ben Edlund's comic book of the same name, with new episodes in February 2018. Brendan is also performing Histrionics, a one-man show at New York's Theater for the New City through mid-December of this year. Brendan has also appeared in fan-favorite shows including Suits, Scandal, and Lie To Me, as well as a number of other films and television shows.  Recently on stage, Brendan played Pip and Theo in the South Coast Repertory production of Richard Greenberg's Three Days of Rain.  Outside of acting, Brendan focuses on his music career. He released his third album, QUALMS, in October, offering a lyrically urgent collection of songs written in the immediate aftermath of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Brendan shares with Marc about acting in a one-man show, the latest about Season One of The Tick, his music career, auditioning in Los Angeles, and building a career as an actor.

Rachel Grossman is the Ensemble Director and a co-founder of dog & pony dc where audience integration is their guiding artistic principle. She is also a theater artist and engagement strategist. She likes to explore the triangulation between art, artist, and audience. Rachel is a member of HowlRound’s National Advisory Committee and is a regular presenter with National Arts Market Project on audience engagement and empowering staff to serve as change-agents. Rachel is responsible for launching Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s “connectivity” initiative and served as the first Connectivity Director. She has also facilitated sessions and workshops at Theatre Communications Group conferences, as well as the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. She is a two-time recipient of a DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities’ Artist Fellowship grant. And, quite importantly, Rachel likes such as beets, brussels sprouts, bourbon, infographics, action movies, and well-facilitated discussions. Rachel shares with Marc about dog & pony dc, the process and steps of devising new work, audience integration, her work with the deaf and hard of hearing community, and her commitment to diversity as a tool and inclusivity as a practice.

Ilana Levine is an acclaimed actor on Broadway, TV  and film. She’s also a producer, and the amazing host of one of my favorite podcasts, Little Known Facts. Ilana is probably best known to Broadway fans for her comedic turn as "Lucy Van Pelt" in the Broadway revival of You're A Good Man Charlie Brown with Kristen Chenoweth, Anthony Rapp, B.D. Wong, Roger Bart, Stanley Wayne Mathis (directed by Michael Mayer, Choreography by Jerry Mitchell). And she also starred in the Broadway productions of Jake's Women, Wrong Mountain and The Last Night of Ballyhoo. What you should also know about Ilana is that she’s also appeared in film and TV including Tanner ’88 directed by Robert Altman, Seinfeld, Law and Order, Tanner on Tanner, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Kissing Jessica Stein, Failure to Launch, The Nanny Diaries, Friends with Kids and Five Flights Up. Ilana lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, actor Dominic Fumusa, her two children, and their dog, Lola. Ilana shares with Marc about her experiences with You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and other Broadway shows, what the best directors do to get the best performance from her, her love for improvisation, and why she started and hosts her hit podcast, Little Known Facts.

Andrew Rosendorf is a playwright based in Minneapolis. He is a 2016-2017 McKnight Fellow in Playwriting at The Playwrights’ Center. His work has been produced or developed at La Jolla Playhouse, MCC, Luna Stage, American Theater Company, Nashville Rep, City Theatre, Geva Theatre, Actor’s Express, Palm Beach Dramaworks, UglyRhino, and Toftee Lake Center.  Andrew is an alum of terraNOVA Collective’s Groundbreakers Playwrights Group, the Ingram New Works program, National New Plays Network Playwright-in-Residence program, and has been a SPACE on Ryder Farm, VCCA, and MacDowell Colony Fellow.  He was a 2015-2016 Jerome Fellow at The Playwrights’ Center.  Andrew earned his MFA from The New School for Drama in Playwriting.   Andrew shares with Marc about his newest play that he just started researching, writing about sexuality, gender, and identity, the importance of theatricality and emotion in play, his writing process, and how he's learned to write with risk and vulnerability.

Seth Bockley is a playwright and theater director, specializing in literary adaptation, physical and object theater as well as multimedia works. As a director, Seth has led productions throughout the United States and around the world, including Mexico, Colombia, and Ireland. Just a few of the theatres where he has recently directed include The Goodman Theater, Victory Gardens, Redmoon Theater, Foundry Theater, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. As a playwright, his works include 2666, adapted with Robert Falls from the novel by Roberto Bolaño; which won the 2016 Equity Jeff Award for New Adaptation, Wilderness with En Garde Arts, The Death and Life of Billy The Kid with Cabinet of Curiosity Events, February House, a collaboration with lyricist and composer Gabriel Kahane, and directed by Davis McCallum, which premiered off-Broadway at The Public Theater, Ask Aunt Susan which premiered at The Goodman Theatre, and Jon, an adaptation of a George Saunders short story, which won the 2009 Equity Jeff Citation for Best New Adaptation, Fun facts: Seth once dressed up as a skeleton for the Obamas’ first Halloween party. He made a clown show with a theatre troupe in Mexico that toured a maximum-security prison, and Seth has recently written for A Prairie Home Companion in Saint Paul Minnesota, where he currently lives with his family. Seth shares with Marc about his love for collaboration, his newest projects, his appreciation for many types of Chicago theater, his process for writing literary adaptations, and how he creates theater that is of image, that is poetic, and that is lyrical.

Guillermo Reyes has produced and published a variety of plays including Men on the Verge of a His-Panic Breakdown and Mother Lolita as off-Broadway productions with Urban Stages, Chilean Holiday and Saints at the Rave at the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville, and many others. Men on the Verge debuted in Los Angeles at the Celebration Theater and won the L.A. Ovation Award for Best World Premiere Play which went on to win the New York Outer Critics’ Circle Award for Best Solo Performance for Felix Pire during its off-Broadway run. Recently, Guillermo published Madre and I: A Memoir of our Immigrant Lives with the University of Wisconsin Press. He’s also published short stories in various journals such as Label Me Latina/o, The Americas Review, The New Mexico Humanities Review, Puerto del Sol, among others. Guillermo earned a Bachelor's in Italian from UCLA, an MFA in Playwriting at UCSD, and he’s currently a professor and the head of dramatic writing at Arizona State University in the School of Film, Dance, and Theater.

Deborah Yarchun is a New York City playwright from Austin, Texas. Her honors include two Jerome Fellowships, an EST/Sloan Commission, The Kennedy Center’s Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award for The Man in the Sukkah, the Kernodle New Play Award for Tectonic Mélange, the Richard Maibaum Playwriting Award, and the Iowa Art Fellowship. Deborah's plays have been developed at places including Ensemble Studio Theatre, The New Harmony Project, Jewish Plays Project, The Great Plains Theatre Conference, Jewish Ensemble Theatre, TheatreSquared, and Williams Street Rep, where her new play, Bombers Moon will be produced next summer in July and August 2018. She is a 2017-2018 Dramatists Guild Fellow and the Fall 2017 Playwright-in-Residence at the William Inge Center for the Arts. Deborah earned her Bachelor’s degree in screenwriting and playwriting at Drexel University and her MFA in playwriting at the University of Iowa.   Deborah shares with Marc about spinning stories wildly out of various starting points and ideas, her writing process and attraction to intimate dramas, how aspiring writers can improve their craft, and her newest plays developed at the William Inge Center for the Arts and as a Dramatists Guild Fellow.

Lauren Gunderson is the most-produced living playwright in America for both 2016 and 2017.   Her work has been commissioned, produced and developed at companies across the US including South Coast Rep (Emilie, Silent Sky), The Kennedy Center (The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful and Her Dog!), The O’Neill, San Francisco Playhouse, Marin Theatre, Synchronicity, Olney Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Shotgun Players, TheatreWorks, Crowded Fire and others.  And, her play, The Book of Will, was recently produced at The Denver Center and the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. You’ll find Lauren’s published plays at Playscripts (I and You, Exit Pursued By A Bear, The Taming, and Toil And Trouble), Dramatists Play Service (Silent Sky, Bauer, Miss Bennet, The Book of Will) and Samuel French (Emilie). Lauren studied Southern Literature and Drama at Emory University, and Dramatic Writing at NYU’s Tisch School where she was a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. Lauren shares with Marc about writing women characters with fascinating stories to tell, how growing up in Georgia influences her work, how she approaches the writing process, why her interests in Shakespeare and in Science appear in many of her plays, and her commitment to impacting society through writing, business, and other creative decisions as an activist and a theater artist.

Kate Hamill is a playwright and actor based in New York City.  In 2014, her adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility premiered off-Broadway where it was named in the "Top 10 Theater of 2014" by both Ben Brantley of the NY Times and by the Huffington Post, which called it “the greatest stage adaptation of this novel in history.”  Sense and Sensibility was remounted off-Broadway in 2016, and it was nominated for Best Revival by the Drama League, it also received 2 Lortel nominations, and it won the Off-Bway Alliance Award for Best Unique Theatrical Performance.  Recently, American Theatre listed Kate in the Top 20 most-produced playwrights for 2017-18 and Sense and Sensibility is also listed in the Top 10 most-produced plays. Kate's other plays include Vanity Fair (nominated for an Off-Bway Alliance award), Pride and Prejudice (which just completed its premiere at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and will move off-Broadway in November 2018), The Little Fellow (an O’Neil semi-finalist), Love Poem, Little Women, In the Mines (a folk musical and Sundance Lab semi-finalist), and EMMA (a Red Bull New Play finalist). Kate has also acted in theatres in New York and across the country, including the Bedlam, the Youngblood, Cherry Lane, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, and Theatreworks. As a writer, Kate specializes in stories about people who struggle to reconcile the demands of society with the dictates of their consciences. Kate earned her BFA in Acting from Ithaca College.

Adam Szymkowicz is a playwright based in New York City. His plays have been produced throughout the U.S., Canada, England, and around the world. Adam’s plays include The Wooden Heart, Deflowering Waldo, Pretty Theft, Food For Fish, Hearts Like Fists, Kodachrome, Marian (or the True Tale of Robin Hood), Rare Birds, Incendiary, Clown Bar, The Adventures of Super Margaret, The Why Overhead, and many others. Adam received a Playwright’s Diploma from Juilliard, an MFA from Columbia University. He has written articles for Howlround, New York Theatre Magazine, and The Brooklyn Rail and has interviewed 1000 playwrights on the Adam Szymkowicz blog. Adam shares with Marc about his inspiration for writing plays, lessons learned from his mentors and teachers including Marsha Norman and Christopher Durang, the questions he always asks before starting a new play, how he likes to work with directors and actors, and his theater heroes and the contemporary playwrights whose work he admires. This post Adam Szymkowicz - Playwright Spotlight appeared first on Talking Theater. Also, please click here to Subscribe. Thanks so much for listening!                    

Davis McCallum is the Artistic Director of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, where he’s also directing The Book of Will, which is now playing.  His recent productions in New York include Fashions for Men, which received Drama Desk, Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Nominations for Best Revival; The Whale, winner of the Lortel Award for Best Play, and Davis received a Calloway Nomination for Best Director, Water by the Spoonful, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, February House, nominated for Best Musical by the Outer Critics Circle; and London Wall with both Drama Desk and Lortel Nominations for Best Revival. Davis has also directed productions at Playwrights Horizons, Mint Theater, Second Stage, Signature Theater Company, 13P, Clubbed Thumb, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, and the New Victory Theater, in addition to many theaters and festivals across the country. Davis is a graduate of Princeton where he studied Shakespeare at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and trained as a director at LAMDA.  Davis shares with Marc about leading the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, its impressive lineup of plays and directors for this summer, what it means to stage American Shakespeare, his collaboration with Samuel D. Hunter, his approach to working with actors and directing Shakespeare, and what it means to put the story and core of the play over concept. This post Leading the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival appeared first on Talking Theater. Also, please click here to Subscribe. Thanks so much for listening!

Mark Armstrong is a Brooklyn-based theater director and the Executive Director for The 24 Hour Plays, where he recently oversaw the 16th annual The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway.  Mark spent four years as the Director of New Work for off-Broadway’s Keen Company, where he created the Keen Playwrights Lab for mid-career playwrights and led Keen Teens. Mark spent three years as the Literary Director for Playscripts, Inc. His writing has appeared in American Theatre, HowlRound and the Brooklyn Rail. And, as Artistic Director of The Production Company, he directed premiere productions of Dan O’Brien’s The Angel in the Trees, Blair Singer’s Meg’s New Friend and The Most Damaging Wound, Alan Berks’ Goats, and many more. Mark is a proud member of Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and Lincoln bCenter Theater Directors Lab. This post Bringing Together Artists to Create 24 Hour Plays appeared first on Talking Theater. Also, please click here to Subscribe. Thanks so much for listening!    

Jared Zeigler is an Equity stage manager, arts administrator, and theatre artist based in Minneapolis. As a stage manager, Jared has worked with many of the leading professional theaters in Minneapolis, including Dark & Stormy Productions, Frank Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Sod House Theatre, Workhaus Collective, Playwrights' Center, and Theatre Novi Most. He is also the Managing Director of Theatre Novi Most. Jared earned his degree in theatre at the University of Minnesota. Jared shares with Marc about his directing project for Urinetown:The musical, the keys of a successful stage manager, including how to work with directors and actors, calling a show, working tech, and the role safety, support, collaboration, and creating a safe space play in the life of a professional stage manger. Jared also talks about his new administrator role at Theatre Novi Most. This post Creating a Supportive and Safe Space as an Equity Stage Manager appeared first on Talking Theater. To help out this show, please click here to Subscribe. Thanks so much for listening!  

Annie Enneking is an actor, songwriter, musician, teaching artist, and fight director. She started performing at the age of 14, and has acted on or created fights for almost every stage in the Twin Cities. Annie is an associate instructor with Dueling Arts International and teaches the art of stage combat at the University of Minnesota. Annie fronts and founded the rock band, Annie and the Bang Bang, and also has an acoustic singer-songwriter project. She was a 2010 Playwrights’ Center McKnight Theater Artist Fellow, and has received support from the Jerome Foundation and the Minnesota State Arts Board for her work as a music theater maker. Annie shares with Marc about the tools she needs in order to live a creative life, how physicality and body inform all her work, what she does with action and commitment in order to direct violence on stage, and the latest news about her band and solo acoustic projects. This post Body, Connection, and Collaboration appeared first on Talking Theater. You can help out this show by leaving an honest review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you hear the podcast. Your ratings and reviews really make a difference. Also, please click here to Subscribe. Thanks so much for listening!

Annalisa Stahler is a production stage manager with Disney based in Orange County, California, and she also works with Disney Studios. Some of the shows she manages or oversees include Fantasmic and Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple. She earned her degree in theatre with an emphasis in stage management at Arizona State University. Annalisa shares with Marc about the role and responsibilities of a stage manager at Disney and how it compares to traditional professional theater, what it takes to work at Disney, what being a stage manager means to her, and how positivity, kindness, and hope have helped her get to where she’s at today. This post Managing Shows at Disney appeared first on Talking Theater. To help out this show, please leave and honest review on Apple Podcasts. Your ratings and reviews really make a difference. Also, please click here to Subscribe. Thanks so much for listening!

Kevin Harris is the Managing Artistic Director of the San Luis Obispo Little Theatre, soon to be San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre. He spent three years at the Atlantic Theatre Company studying acting under David Mamet, William H. Macy, and Felicity Huffman; he also spent a year at CAP 21 learning the finer intricacies of “jazz hands”. In 2005, Kevin traveled to the West Bank and Gaza Strip to co-write and direct an original play with Ashtar Theatre, Palestine’s only professional theatre company. He has taught at the University of Iowa and has led dozens of workshops on A Practical Handbook for the Actor across the country.   Kevin received his MFA in Directing from the University of Iowa, and his BFA in Acting from New York University. He is very happy to be back on the California Central Coast with his two beautiful children, Dominick and Ella. This post Growing a Community Theater Into a Professional Repertory Company appeared first on Talking Theater. To help out this show, please leave and honest review on Apple Podcasts. Your ratings and reviews really make a difference. Also, please click here to Subscribe. Thanks so much for listening!

Erin Cronican is an actor, producer and an acting career coach. She belongs to both SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity with many credits performing in film, TV, plays, and musicals across the country. Erin is the lead producer and managing director of The Seeing Place Theater, an exciting, independent actor-driven ensemble in New York. She’s the founder and coach of The Actors’ Enterprise, a one-on-one coaching service that provides affordable career-coaching to actors who want to feel more fulfilled and in control of their careers. Listen as Erin shares with Marc the philosophy behind her theater company, the announcement of their new season, her approach to type and actor branding, and how she likes to tell messy, intimate, exciting stories on stage. And, as always, we finish our talk with a fun, Spot-Lightning round! This post Theater as Messy, Exciting, Organic Storytelling appeared first on Talking Theater. To help out this show, please leave and honest review on Apple Podcasts. Your ratings and reviews really make a difference. Also, please click here to Subscribe. Thanks so much for listening!

Marc Ensign is a musician who played bass guitar for the hit Broadway musical, RENT. Marc is also a marketing specialist. Those outside the world of theatre may not be able to grasp just how far one is willing to go to get the gig or job one really wants. For Marc Ensign, it meant collecting Broadway Playbills and stealing a phone book from a Manhattan bus station to get leads, and, then disguising himself as a journalist so that he could interview other Broadway musicians in his field. Regardless of what it took for Marc, it worked in his favor for some serious returns. It's a fascinating, and often funny story. Listen as Marc Smith interviews Marc Ensign: a bass player, an author, and an entrepreneur who went the extra mile just to prove to others and himself, that he can go after his dreams, determine his mission, and to connect the world with those who want to change it. This post Musician for RENT (Getting the Broadway Musical Gig) appeared first on Talking Theater. To help out this show, please leave and honest review on Apple Podcasts. Your ratings and reviews really make a difference. Also, please click here to Subscribe. Thanks so much for listening!

Bernard Bunye is a New York talent manager with over 10 years experience in the business. Bernard joined SirenSong Entertainment to work alongside Donna DeStefano in August 2016. He began his career in talent management working for manager/producer Lillian LaSalle at Sweet 180 Talent Management and Production. After three years of learning the business from Ms. LaSalle, Bernard co-created Intrepid Talent Management with Jen Namoff. Building on the success of ITM, Bernard launched Brownstone Entertainment Management in January 2012. Bernard and Marc talk about the mindset needed to be a successful actor, what a talent manager does for actors, how actors can build stronger careers , what motivates Bernard with his clients, and two mistakes actors should avoid at auditions, and much more! This post Advice for Actors from a New York Talent Manager appeared first on Talking Theater. To help out this show, please leave and honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really make a difference. Also, please click here to Subscribe. Thanks so much for listening!  

Joseph Megel focuses on developing and directing new plays and works for theatre, film and video. He is an artist in residence in Performance Studies at the University of North Carolina’s Department of Communication. Joseph is the founder and Artistic Director of the Process Series: New Works in Development, now in its ninth year. He is also Artistic Director of StreetSigns Center for Literature and Performance. His most recent directing credits include: Howard L. Craft’s Freight:  The Five Incarnations of Abel Green for StreetSigns Center at HERE Arts Center in New York City and in Chapel Hill, which received a critics' pick distinction in the New York Times and year-end rave reviews, Joseph holds an MFA from the University of Southern California, an M.A. from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelors degree from Northwestern University. Joseph talks about his dedication to diversity and social justice, collaborating with playwrights on directing new plays, the thrills and letdowns of bringing new plays to off-broadway, and best tips for presenting staged readings! This post Directing New Plays of Diversity and Social Justice appeared first on Talking Theater. To help out this show, please leave and honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really make a difference. Also, please click here to Subscribe. Thanks so much for listening!        

Suzy Newman resides in San Luis Obispo, California where she is an actor, director, and teacher & coach. She now works frequently on the “Central Coast” for The Great American Melodrama & Vaudeville and the San Luis Obispo Little Theatre, and recently with the Central Coast Shakespeare Festival, Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) and Oregon Cabaret Theatre. Some of her favorite shows include The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, House of Blue Leaves, Always, Patsy Cline, 9 to 5, and The Foreigner. Suzy completed her MFA in acting at the University of Alabama. Suzy is also the singer with Up in the Air, a rock/world beat band. Suzy and Marc talk about the benefits of her MFA acting program, the decision to begin a career in theater after college, her rehearsal process in a one-person play, and how doing what you love keeps you doing your best work on stage, and much more! This post Doing Your Best Work On Stage appeared first on Talking Theater. To help out this show, please leave and honest review on Apple Podcasts. Your ratings and reviews really make a difference. Also, please click here to Subscribe. Thanks so much for listening!

Nikki Kaplan is the Associate Director of Education at Imagination Stage, one of the largest and most respected theatre arts organizations for young people in the country. Nikki began her career as a performer, studying as an actor, singer, and dancer. After graduating with a B.A. in Acting, she moved to New York and earned her M.A. in Educational Theater from NYU (focusing on Theater for Young Audiences and Directing). She’s also studied at A.C.T. in San Francisco. Nikki has directed over 15 shows at Imagination Stage, working with students ranging from 4th grade through high school. Nikki and Marc talk about the vision and mission of Imagination Stage, working for a theater for young audiences (TYA) organization, her rehearsal process with high school students, and how parents can introduce their kids to theater performances, and much more! This post Directing for Young Audiences at Imagination Stage appeared first on Talking Theater. To help out this show, please leave and honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really make a difference. Also, please click here to Subscribe. Thanks so much for listening!

David Vining has been working professionally in theater, since 1972. He has Bachelor of Arts in Theater and Speech Pathology from the University of Redlands and an MFA in Acting from the University of Minnesota. David shares with Marc some amazing lessons in theater from his experiences as an actor, director, and theatre professor. For most of his life, David has maintained dual careers as an actor and director in the professional theater and as a professor of theater at the University of Iowa, Arizona State University, and the University of London. His teaching specialty has been acting and all aspects of voice, speech, and heightened language. David has directed over 60 productions for Arizona theatre, including Phoenix Theatre, Southwest Shakespeare Company, and Actors Theater. This post Amazing Lessons in Theater appeared first on Talking Theater. To help out this show, please leave and honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really make a difference. Also, Subscribe on iTunes. Thanks so much for listening!

Jason Kuykendall performs in regional theaters all across the country and has had various roles in television and film. He has been with Cincinnati Playhouse, St. Louis Repertory Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre and is currently a member of the B Street Theatre in Sacramento, California. B Street Theater is one of the leading theater companies in Northern California where he has performed in more than 50 shows. Some of these productions include Last Train to Nibroc, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Ugly One, Detroit, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and The Hound of Baskervilles. In addition to being a working actor, Jason is also the company owner, along with his wife Elisabeth Nunziato, of NK Media - an award-winning entertainment media solutions company. This post Working Film by Day and Theater by Night appeared first on Talking Theater. To help out this show, please leave and honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really make a difference. Also, Subscribe on iTunes. Thanks so much for listening!

D Scott Withers is an award-winning actor and director who began his professional acting career with Childsplay in Tempe, Arizona, where he eventually became an associate artist – a relationship that has lasted 25 years. Scott was the Founder and Managing Director for In Mixed Company. In addition, he served as the interim Artistic Director at the Stagebrush Theatre, and the Artistic Director of Greasepaint Youth Theater. As a playwright, Scott’s original play, Big Dreams, was selected for the Hormel New Works Festival at Phoenix Theatre. Scott has performed or directed with almost all the major theater companies in Phoenix. Across the country, Scott has performed with several regional theaters including Seattle Children’s Theatre, Fulton Opera House, Quisisana, Geva Center Theatre and Arkansas Repertory Theater. Most recently, Scott has plunged into the New York City talent pool and has been in the Broadway national tours of Catch Me If You Can, Memphis, and Elf the Musical. Scott is currently performing in the national tour of Dirty Dancing.

Trista Baldwin is a playwright and currently a member of the Writers Group at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. She is also the recipient of Jerome Fellowships, a McKnight Advancement Grant, and a new play development grant from the Saison Foundation International Artist Residency. She is an alum of the Core Writer program at the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis. Trista’s work has been produced in the States and internationally, and a few of her plays include Eye of the Lamb, American Sexy, Sand, Patty Red Pants, and Chicks with Dicks. Trista is a former associate professor of Dramatic Writing at St. Cloud University and currently, she teaches playwriting for youth in Washington State. Listen in as Trista walks Marc through many of her plays, and how she is connecting to people with theater and making an impact on today’s society.

Talking Theater is really a simple idea. It’s about theater professionals talking theater. Each week I’ll talk with actors, directors, playwrights, designers, stage managers, teachers, and many more theater artists and professionals, and I’ll ask them to talk about their career, their craft, and their community. I want this podcast to be for you, a theater lover – either as an artist or a fan – who enjoys hearing stories about the lives of theater artists making a living in theater working across the country in local and regional professional theater. Maybe that’s someone like you, or someone you know in your city. Each week you’ll hear from a theater professional who makes a living sharing their talent in the theater world. In addition to listening to their amazing stories, you’ll also hear their answers to the Spot-Lightning Round. It’s 5 questions at the end of each episode that I’ll ask every guest. It’s a lot of fun to hear their answers! Thanks for listening to this episode and show! I appreciate it so much! Before you go to listen to the next episode, I’ll leave you with these words: Support your local theater. Go see a play. And, keep Talking Theater!