While The Applause Is Paused: Conversations With Regional Theater Makers

Meet Julia Brothers, a prolific actor who has worked all over the country. She was commissioned to write her first play during the pandemic, then starred in a streaming production of it. Join us for Julia's wisdom and her pandemic experience.San Francisco Playhouse websiteTarget Margin Theatre websiteACT (American Conservatory Theater) websiteTheaterworks Silicon Valley websiteMarin Theater Company websiteGulfshore Playhouse websiteMerrimack Repertory Theater websiteB Street Theatre websiteArthur Miller wikipediaDeath of a Salesman wikipediaPodcast websiteLacey's InstagramEpisode transcriptGet in touch at whiletheapplauseispaused@gmail.comMusic by: Drew WutkeDrew's websiteLogo design by Sarah Kleist, Kleist CreativeSarah's websitePhoto by Billy Bustamante, Billy B PhotographyBilly's website

This week Lacey chats with Bryce McDonald, Producing Director of the Cumberland County Playhouse in Crossville, TN. Join in the conversation with one of the only theaters in the series so far that has been producing shows inside, and hear about their slow climb back to full houses. Hear about their unique small town in Tennessee where the theater nonetheless attracted nearly 90,000 visitors a year pre-COVID. Get curious about the realities of producing theater in a socially conservative environment and hear some really great stories about CCP's productions of A Chorus Line and Sweeney Todd.________________Show NotesBryce's InstagramCumberland County Playhouse websiteCumberland Plateau wikipediaSavannah Sipping Society teaserClue On Stage teaserEdward Villella and football articleBright Star wikipediaSweeney Todd wikipediaA Chorus Line wikipediaAlabama Story by Kenneth Jones websitePodcast websiteLacey's InstagramEpisode transcriptGet in touch at whiletheapplauseispaused@gmail.comMusic by: Drew WutkeDrew's websiteLogo design by Sarah Kleist, Kleist CreativeSarah's websitePhoto by Billy Bustamante, Billy B PhotographyBilly's website

This week Lacey chats with Ginger Poole, Producing Artistic Director of Mill Mountain Theatre in Roanoke, VA. Despite having spent 8 weeks working at Mill Mountain, Lacey did not know the story of its 10-year journey to reduce debt and rebuild its relationship with the actor's union.Join the conversation to hear the theater's amazing survival story and how it was poised to complete its comeback just as the pandemic hit. Get curious about how Ginger remade the theater's business model. Follow her careful plans for the next several productions leading to a full mainstage show in the Fall. Show Notes-------------------Mill Mountain Theatre websiteThe Mill Mountain star at night photoEquity EMC program webpageMillion Dollar Quartet Tony Awards performanceEquity COVID-19 safety documents webpageMeet Me At Mill Mountain podcastPodcast websiteLacey's InstagramEpisode transcriptGet in touch at whiletheapplauseispaused@gmail.comMusic by: Drew WutkeDrew's websiteLogo design by Sarah Kleist, Kleist CreativeSarah's websitePhoto by Billy Bustamante, Billy B PhotographyBilly's website

This week Lacey chats with Sean Daniels, Artistic Director of the Arizona Theatre Company in Tucson and Phoenix. Sean is also an award-winning director and a playwright.Join the conversation to hear about what may be the only theatre company in America with two hometowns, and how that was further complicated in the pandemic. Get curious about how Our Town influenced Sean at a young age and how he imagines the first live show back at the theatre will go.____________________________________Show NotesArizona Theatre Company's websiteSean's emailSean's twitterOur Town by Thornton Wilder wikipediaPrivate Lives by Noel Coward wikipediaMerrimack Repertory Theater websiteMy 80 Year Old Boyfriend by Charissa Bertels, Christian Duhamel and Ed Bell websiteLORT Theaters websiteNative Gardens by Karen Zacarias articlePodcast websiteLacey's InstagramEpisode transcriptGet in touch at whiletheapplauseispaused@gmail.comMusic by: Drew WutkeDrew's websiteLogo design by Sarah Kleist, Kleist CreativeSarah's websitePhoto by Billy Bustamante, Billy B PhotographyBilly's website

This week Lacey chats with Kate Galvin, Artistic Director of Cardinal Stage and Barrymore Award-winning director. She recently directed Cardinal Stage's virtual production of Adam Gwon's Ordinary Days.Join the conversation to hear about Cardinal Stage's challenging relationship with its subscribers in the pandemic, its site-specific, walking audio plays, and the flash mob choreography at its Social DisDance Party.______________________Show NotesCardinal Stage's websiteKate Galvin's website11th Hour Theatre Company's websiteAda and the Engine by Lauren Gunderson webpageOrdinary Days by Adam Gwon wikipediaNational Alliance of Musical Theater (NAMT) websitePodcast websiteLacey's InstagramEpisode transcriptGet in touch at whiletheapplauseispaused@gmail.comCo-Editor: Kelly Gabrielle MurphyKelly's websiteMusic by: Drew WutkeDrew's websiteLogo design by Sarah Kleist, Kleist CreativeSarah's websitePhoto by Billy Bustamante, Billy B PhotographyBilly's website

Lacey chats with Dina Janis, Artistic Director of the Dorset Theatre Festival in Dorset, VT. Dina has led the Festival for the past 11 years, turning it into a powerhouse of new works development for diverse voices.Take a listen to why Breaking Bad is proof that regional audiences are ready for more than we used to think they were. Hear about Dina's preference for audio plays over Zoom theatre. Get curious about Dina's reaction to the social justice protests and why it matters in Vermont, the second whitest state in the union.___________________________________Dorset Theatre Festival website Joe Papp and the Public Theater wikipediaSteppenwolf Theatre websiteLabyrinth Theater websiteTheresa Rebeck websiteHeidi Armbruster interviewThe Whipping Man by Matthew LopezAlan Ayckbourn wikipediaMerrily We Roll Along at Menier Chocolate Factory, London 2013Podcast websiteLacey's InstagramEpisode transcriptGet in touch at whiletheapplauseispaused@gmail.comCo-Editor: Kelly Gabrielle MurphyKelly's websiteMusic by: Drew WutkeDrew's websiteLogo design by Sarah Kleist, Kleist CreativeSarah's websitePhoto by Billy Bustamante, Billy B PhotographyBilly's website

This week Lacey chats with Mark Fleischer, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (CLO), a 75-year old institution devoted to the preservation and development of musical theater. Join us as Mark describes the development process of the CLO's pandemic Google Doc Musical, Jagoff The Musical. Hear about the $6 million revenue loss of a $12 million institution and what Mark has done to keep the CLO relevant during this time. And get curious about why Mark puts aside an hour a day to dream about the ideal post-pandemic theatrical landscape. PCLO websiteCLOse Ups webpageGoogle Doc musical webpageSongs For A New Year webpageJason Robert Brown, Songs for a New WorldNational Alliance of Musical Theater (NAMT) website___________Get in touch at whiletheapplauseispaused@gmail.comPodcast websiteLacey's InstagramEpisode transcriptCo-Editor: Kelly Gabrielle MurphyKelly's websiteMusic by: Drew WutkeDrew's websiteLogo design by Sarah Kleist, Kleist CreativeSarah's websitePhoto by Billy Bustamante, Billy B PhotographyBilly's website

Lacey chats with Mary Kate Burke, Artistic Director of Cape Fear Regional Theatre in Fayetteville, NC. Mary Kate arrived at CFRT 4 years ago and is only the 3rd Artistic Director in the theatre's 59 year history. CFRT is an integral part of its community and wants its friends and neighbors to “think harder, laugh deeper, share experiences, and grow as a community.”Join the conversation about a very special production of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grille in a gas station parking lot, an on-line education program called Edutainment, and Mary Kate's thoughts on current funding in the arts and the importance of not losing time. And thanks to my new Co-Editor, Kelly Gabrielle Murphy!Show notesMary Kate's websiteCape Fear Regional Theatre's websiteLangston Hughes WikipediaFort Bragg WikipediaJelly's Last Jam 1992 Tony Awards performanceMurder For Two WikipediaShrek the Musical pre-Broadway Seattle production You TubeLady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grille Tony Awards performanceArts North Carolina website————————-Podcast websiteLacey's InstagramEpisode transcriptGet in touch at whiletheapplauseispaused@gmail.comCo-Editor: Kelly Gabrielle MurphyKelly's websiteMusic by: Drew WutkeDrew's websiteLogo design by Sarah Kleist, Kleist CreativeSarah's websitePhoto by Billy Bustamante, Billy B PhotographyBilly's website

Join the conversation with Dawn Meredith Simmons and Maurice Emmanuel Parent, co-founders of The Front Porch Arts Collective, a young but mighty theatre company in Boston, MA. Dawn is a director, playwright and arts administrator. Maurice is an actor, director, educator, and mentor. Together they represent decades of experience in the Boston market, having worked at many of Boston's oldest and most prestigious institutions.Their company's mission is dedicated to stories of the Black diaspora, with Black creatives represented not only as actors but at every level, from creative teams to management.So, want to know how they did it in only 4 years? Who supported and nurtured their idea and helped them grow? What they mean by being a theatrical family? How they responded to the pandemic shutdown? Tune in.Podcast websiteLacey's InstagramEpisode transcriptGet in touch at whiletheapplauseispaused@gmail.comMusic by: Drew WutkeDrew's websiteLogo design by Sarah Kleist, Kleist CreativeSarah's websiteLogo photo by Billy Bustamante, Billy B PhotographyBilly's websiteThis Episode:The Front Porch Arts Collective websiteFederal Theater Project WikipediaNile Scott, Photographer's websiteCentral Square Theater websiteNora Theater Co website Underground Railway Theater website The Porch's God's Closet Reading Series webpageFiscal sponsorship for nonprofits informationViolet the musical Wikipedia and Roundabout Theatre NY Times reviewLyric Stage Company websiteGreater Boston Stage websiteStagesource websiteStarlight Square website

Join the conversation with Ethan Paulini, Artistic Director of the Weathervane Theater & Out Of The Box Theatrics, and also an actor, director, choreographer, educator, writer, arts administrator, and acting coach. Ethan and I talk about all the things pandemic, re-opening, social justice, anti-racism, losses in 2020, and hope in 2021. Want to know how the Weathervane was able to have an in-person Fall 2020 season? Ethan's anti-racist intention in how he combines roles in the audition packets for the repertory season? Patrons reactions to the theater's statement on social justice? Take a listen.Podcast websiteLacey's InstagramEpisode transcriptGet in touch at whiletheapplauseispaused@gmail.comEthan's websiteEthan's actor coaching websiteWeathervane Theater's websiteOut Of The Box Theatrics websiteActors Equity Association website

Are you mighty curious about what's going on at our regional theaters in these pandemic times? They're the artistic heart of many a community, not to mention many an artist. I was. If you're a theater artist or passionate theater patron, you probably are too. So I made While The Applause Is Paused for all of us.In this trailer, I introduce myself and tell you more about my intentions for this podcast and what to expect in future episodes. With the help of incredible artistic directors and other leaders all over the country, I'm creating a conversation that addresses: what's challenging and constricting, or maybe a silver lining, or everything at once, at their unique organization. We're turning the spotlight on the essential role of regional theaters to get insight into the pandemic, the shutdown, social justice, and the changes wrought by 2020.For more info, episodes, and transcripts go to my websiteFollow me on InstagramTo get in touch, send an email to:whiletheapplauseispaused@gmail.comIt takes a village! Thanks to these amazing humans for their creativity, advice, and encouragement:Drew Wutke, intro musicDrew's websiteSarah Kleist, web and logo design:Sarah's websitePeter Shepherd, co-host of The Long and The Short Of It podcast and creative and business coachPeter's website and podcast websiteLili Torre, host of The Dreaded Question podcast, storyteller, coachLili's websiteRyan Lind, host of No Reservations podcast & author of Catrina Loves TrentRyan's InstagramMichael Bulger, Associate Artistic Director of Clubbed ThumbClubbed Thumb's websiteJenny Hoofnagle, star member of my Square Squad (& great pilates instructor!)Jenny's website and her pilates studio's website