Podcasts about ado annie

Ali Stroker is a trailblazing actor and advocate who joined the Little Kids, Big Hearts podcast as a guest Qook-a-lacka on our episode focused on inclusion. Today, Ali is back — out of character, as her amazing self — to talk with LKBH Host Todd Loyd about her own experiences with disability and inclusion. ❤️ She reflects on what Scarlett and Zach said on the episode: "When I hear Scarlett talking about horseback riding: It felt like she was explaining something that was so normal. And that, to me, is progress."❤️ She shares her own personal motto — Turning Limitations into Opportunities: "It can apply to somebody with a disability or not because as human beings, we have limitations. It's part of existing in the world."  ❤️ She talks about being a mom with a disability — and how being a mom in a wheelchair affects her parenting and her son's independence. ❤️ She talks about the power of "inclusive playgrounds." "I never had one inclusive playground growing up, and to this day, I still go to the playground and I have this like funny feeling in my stomach because it was a place of confusion and shame and frustration for me as a child ... Every kid deserves that freedom and that ability to play in an outdoor space with their friends."❤️ She talks about a moment when she was in 1st grade and her PE teachers included her in a lesson on "how to skip," which changed her life. "Thirty-one years later, I still remember it because it felt like I was included and someone had taken a little bit of time to get creative and make me feel like I was learning a new school too, and that I could be a part of the group in moving...And that meant everything to me, everything!" ❤️ She talked about her children's book "Ali and the Sea Stars," which was based on her own experience as a six year old being introduced to musical theater by her neighbor on the Jersey Shore. "It basically set my entire life journey of  becoming a musical theater and actress and everything that I do now." ❤️ She shares advice for kids with disabilities who want to try something new that hasn't been done before. Ali Stroker is a Tony Award winner for her role as ‘Ado Annie' in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! She made history as the first actor in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway in Deaf West's acclaimed revival of Spring Awakening and the first actor in a wheelchair to win a Tony. She was a series regular on the Netflix series, Echoes, and starred in the Lifetime holiday film, Christmas Ever After. Ali recurred in the final season of Netflix's Ozark and in Hulu's Only Murders in the Building. She co-wrote the novel, The Chance to Fly and its sequel, Cut Loose!; and she wrote the children's book, Ali and the Sea Stars. She was recently seen opposite Matthew Broderick in Babbitt at Shakespeare Theatre Company in DC and played 'Lady Anne' in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Richard III. She's performed her one woman show all over the country. Her mission to improve the lives of others through the arts is captured in her motto: “Turning Your Limitations Into Your Opportunities.”Learn more on our episode webpage: https://playsparkler.org/inclusion/Watch on our Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/@LittleKidsBigHearts

On this kidventure episode, two kids — Scarlett and Zach — talk about their disabilities and share their experiences with inclusion (on inclusive playgrounds and in other contexts). As Scarlett explains, inclusion "means that everybody can play, no matter your disability or how you walk or how you roll or anything like that."After a chat on Earth, the kids and Todd travel on the colors of the rainbow to the Land of Qook-a-lackas, where they meet a Qook-a-lacka friend, Quinnly, who is trying to figure out how the Qook-a-lackas and their new neighbors, the Link-a-doos, can play TOGETHER. The Qook-a-lacka's favorite sport, Quibble, is played on the ground with a big ball — while the Link-a-doos' favorite sport, Loop-a-launch, is played in the sky with a little bouncy ball. The kids and Todd help Quinnly to brainstorm a whole new game (Quibble Launch!), which has special rules and a two tier playing field that is perfect for the new neighbors to play together!Little Kids, Big Hearts was THRILLED to be joined on this episode by guest star Ali Stroker, who plays the role of Quinnly. Ali Stroker is a Tony Award winner for her role as ‘Ado Annie' in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! She made history as the first actor in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway in Deaf West's acclaimed revival of Spring Awakening and the first actor in a wheelchair to win a Tony. She was a series regular on the Netflix series, Echoes, and starred in the Lifetime holiday film, Christmas Ever After. Ali recurred in the final season of Netflix's Ozark and in Hulu's Only Murders in the Building. She co-wrote the novel, The Chance to Fly and its sequel, Cut Loose!; and she wrote the children's book, Ali and the Sea Stars. She was recently seen opposite Matthew Broderick in Babbitt at Shakespeare Theatre Company in DC and played 'Lady Anne' in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Richard III. She's performed her one woman show all over the country. Her mission to improve the lives of others through the arts is captured in her motto: “Turning Your Limitations Into Your Opportunities.”Sound design and mixing is by Ryan Marth, and the ukulele music you hear is by actor and composer Bill English.The Little Kids, Big Hearts team wants to say a big, public "THANK YOU" to Inclusion Matters by Shane's Inspiration, the amazing organization that helped us find the brilliant, insightful kids who appear on this episode, Scarlett and Zach. Inclusion Matters by Shane's Inspiration is an international non-profit organization that creates play, dignity and social equity for children with disabilities through inclusive playgrounds and education programs that unite children of all abilities. Scarlett and Zach played — and met "buddies" — on inclusive playgrounds created by this organization, which has built these sensory- and literacy-rich playgrounds in the US, as well as Mexico, Israel, Canada, Ecuador, Russia, Argentina, South Africa, Armenia, the Dominican Republic, and beyond. THANK YOU!!! Learn more about Inclusion Matters on its website: https://inclusionmatters.org/Please learn more about the episode online at https://playsparkler.org/inclusion/Also...Little Kids, Big Hearts now has a YouTube channel. Please join our growing community on YouTube! Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/@LittleKidsBigHearts

Today's crossword was, to borrow an answer from earlier in the week, absolutely fabulous, with an ocean of great clues. [A small ocean, to be sure: the grid was its normal 15x15 size, but somehow "large pond of great clues" doesn't have quite the stirring effect we are aiming for, so we are sticking with ocean.] For example, we have the terrific 5D, Toon whose last name is Nahasapeemapetilon, APU; the all too true 54A, Like the topic of politics in a job interview, TABOO; and the fascinating 13D, Youngest artist to debut at # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, OLIVIARODRIGO. There are definitely more, so for all the deets, as well as a Fine Fun Fact Friday segment, download and listen up to today's episode.Show note imagery: OLIVIARODRIGO, in concertWe love feedback! Send us a text...Contact Info:We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com.Also, we're on FaceBook, so feel free to drop by there and strike up a conversation!

For over a decade, Jennifer Dunne Keeney has razzle dazzled audiences in Chicago The Musical on Broadway. U Guys, this week's BroadwayWorld Recap has some very exciting Bway news, brought to you by BroadwayWorld.com. Then I am joined by Broadway veteran Jennifer Dunne Keeney to talk about her incredible 13-year run as a swing in Chicago The Musical on Broadway. Before joining Chicago, Jenn started her career doing national tours, eventually making her Broadway debut in the ensemble of Susan Stroman and Trevor Nunn's revival of Oklahoma!, understudying the role of Ado Annie. She then went on to join the original Broadway company of Curtains, understudying the role of Bambi. Jenn shares about her incredible work as a swing in Chicago, having performed thousands of times in more than six different roles. We also talk about her experience as a mother of two working on Broadway, and what it takes to keep a long running show fresh every single night. Jenn is truly the best, U don't wanna miss this episode! Follow the pod on Instagram: @ohmypoduguys Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Saturday, May 4, 2024 Running May 3rd through May 12th at the Swamp Donkey Theatre in Bragg Creek, Kyle reviews Swamp Donkey's production of Oklahoma! and his enjoyment of the trip out to Bragg Creek and getting to go for dinner there too. Tickets: https://www.showpass.com/s/events/all/?q=oklahoma+swamp About the Show: Rodgers & Hammerstein's first collaboration remains, in many ways, their most innovative, setting the standards and rules of modern musical theatre. In a western territory just after the turn of the 20th century, a high-spirited rivalry between local farmers and cowboys provides a colorful background for Curly, a charming cowboy, and Laurey, a feisty farm girl, to play out their love story. Their romantic journey, as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road, contrasts with the comic exploits of brazen Ado Annie and hapless Will Parker in a musical adventure embracing hope, determination, and the promise of a new land. Join our Patreon: www.patreon.com/onstagingpodcast

In classic American musicals, there's usually a supporting--other--couple. Here's a tribute to Nathan and Adelaide, Ado Annie and Will Parker, Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz, and many more.

Oklahoma! Discussion Opening May 3rd and running through May 12th at Swamp Donkey's Theatre in Bragg Creek, Swamp Donkey presents Rogers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, co-directed by Trisha Gizen and Melanie Baux. Kyle sits down with Melanie, also the musical director, and Trisha, also the set designer and both performers in the production, to discuss wearing all of these hats and how to bring this elder musical, one of the progenitors of the modern musical, to stage. Tickets: https://www.showpass.com/s/events/all/?q=oklahoma+swamp About the Show: Rodgers & Hammerstein's first collaboration remains, in many ways, their most innovative, setting the standards and rules of modern musical theatre. In a western territory just after the turn of the 20th century, a high-spirited rivalry between local farmers and cowboys provides a colorful background for Curly, a charming cowboy, and Laurey, a feisty farm girl, to play out their love story. Their romantic journey, as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road, contrasts with the comic exploits of brazen Ado Annie and hapless Will Parker in a musical adventure embracing hope, determination, and the promise of a new land. Join our Patreon: www.patreon.com/onstagingpodcast

Join us for an inspiring episode as we sit down with Caroline Twells, founder of Caroline Green Dance and Theatre Arts. Caroline shares her dance journey, studio's offerings, and the transformative power of AcroDance exams. From fostering individual strengths to building life skills, this episode is a must-listen for dancers, teachers, and studio owners. Tune in now for a dose of dance wisdom and motivation!About Caroline TwellsMiss Caroline started her dancing career at the age of 5. At the age of just 20, she opened the school in a small village hall on the outskirts of Derby.33 years later the school is one of Derby's biggest, most unique and thriving schools. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dance where she gained the Certificate in Ballet Teaching studies and became a RAD registered teacher and mentor. She is a Licentiate and Associate of the NATD & ISTD and holds both Module 1 & 2 with Acrobatic Arts for which she is also an examiner. Miss Caroline has extensive experience in Teaching, Coaching, Performing, Choreographing & Directing spanning more than 28 years.Miss Caroline is the Head Coach and Programme Director of our Cheer programme also based at the studio called Derby Diamonds Cheer. Other qualifications include a Module 1 Alixa Flexibity, Diploma in Contemporary Dance, Zumba Qualified, BGU & NCSSE Cheerleading Coach, RSA Exercise to Music & LAMDA Grade 8. She also has an enhanced DRB and First Aid qualifications.Caroline has performed with leading companies for more than 20 years. Roles include ‘Nancy' in Oliver, ‘Irene' in Crazy for You, ‘Charity' in Sweet Charity, ‘Ado Annie' in Oklahoma, ‘Lilly' in Annie to name but a few. Other shows include West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar, Barnum, 42nd Street, Jekyll & Hyde, Kiss me Kate, Mame & Annie get your Gun and Singing in the Rain. She is also Founder and Director and Choreographer of Derby Youth Musical Theatre which was formed in 2013 and who have produced sell out productions of Our House, Grease, Phantom of the Opera & Guys & Dolls, West Side Story & Legally Blonde. Caroline recently trained as a DDMIX teacher with Darcey Bussell and is incredibly excited to introduce these new lessons to her studio! Caroline Green Dance & Theatre Arts: https://www.cgdta.co.uk/ CGDTA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cgdta CGDTA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cgdta/ Derby Diamonds Cheerleaders on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dd_cheerleaders/ Derby Youth Musical Theatre on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/derbyyouthmusicaltheatre/ If you'd like more amazing content more tips and ideas check out our Acrobatic Arts Channel on YouTube. Subscribe Now! Connect with Acrobatic Arts on your favourite social media platform: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acrobaticarts/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Acroarts Twitter: https://twitter.com/acrobatic_arts/ Learn more and register for our programs at AcrobaticArts.com

Lucy May Barker is playing Rebekah Vardy in Vardy V Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial which is running in the West End at the Ambassadors Theatre from 6th April before heading off on tour.Lucy is reprising her performance, having starred in the play's premiere performances at the Wyndham's Theatre last year. The trial that gripped the nation has been adapted from seven days of High Court transcripts by Liv Hennessy and directed by Lisa Spirling. From sting operations to sensational headlines, this verbatim production reveals what went on behind closed doors in the case that turned social media sleuthing into high drama. Audiences can see first-hand, and in the words of Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney, how the extraordinary week in court played out.Lucy was last In The Frame whilst playing Sophie in the West End production of Mamma Mia!, a role she has previously played in the show's UK and international tour. Just as she was preparing to say goodbye to Sophie, the pandemic hit and her run was cut short. However, when theatres reopened Lucy reprised her performance as Sophie in the first ever open air production of Mamma Mia! before joining the tour for a limited time. Lucy has also played Ado Annie in the UK tour of Oklahoma! and Johanna in Sweeney Todd in the West End and at the Chichester Festival Theatre. Some of her other credits include Earthquakes in London (National Theatre), The Crucible (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre) and Thark (Park Theatre).Vardy V Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial runs at the Ambassadors Theatre 6th April – 20th May 2023 and then tours until 17th June, visitng Woking, Liverpool, Southend, Dublin, Salford and Brighton. Hosted by Andrew Tomlins  @AndrewTomlins32  Thanks for listening! Email: andrew@westendframe.co.uk Visit westendframe.co.uk for more info about our podcasts.  

Of the many, many, many brilliant things in the new Wyndham's Theatre production of Oklahoma!, Georgina Onuorah's performance as Ado Annie is an undeniable highlight. She was kind enough to invite us into her backstage dressing room to talk about this amazing show, her other work on musicals such as The Wizard of Oz and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella, and the other musicals she loves most. Which show would Georgina order run forever if she was The Mayor of Musical Theatre? Listen now and see if you agree!For Oklahoma! tickets, visit: https://www.oklahomawestend.comFollow Georgina on twitter and instagram.Produced by Ian Bowkett (twitter: @ianbowkett) in association with https://musicaltheatrereview.com (twitter: @musicaltheatrer)Follow the podcast:Twitter: @MusicalMayorPodInstagram: @MusicalMayorPodTikTok: @MusicalMayorPodHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Artist, Activist, and Self-Proclaimed Sister to thee people Sis joins us from the road as she wrapped up playing Ado Annie in the National tour of Oklahoma! We talk about how Ado Annie has been with her for years, execution and expectations when it comes to revivals, and theatre as a mirror to realize the world that we've created. We find out why now is the time for Sis to be Elle Woods, discuss the challenges of creating your own work as a marginalized creator, not being OK with the state of theater, the lasting effects of the Trans March on Broadway, and the dangers of conflating experiences of trans folx. Sis is hands down the most excited we've ever had a guest get for Queer Culture Recs - let's just say we should all have the best of both worlds. SIS: Instagram | Twitter  The Next Generation Project: Website | Instagram | Twitter  Our Offering The Open House Project Queer Culture Recs: Hannah Montana Queer Gives: Next Generation Project - Donate Episode Credits: Edited by Meghan Dixon Thesis on Joan: Follow Thesis on Joan on Instagram & Twitter  Leave us a voicemail at (845) 445-9251‬ Email us at thesisonjoan at gmail dot com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back! To another BRAND NEW season of Things Are Going Great For Me: The Podcast. In our first episode of Season 3 J. Claude Deering (Twitter/Instagram) chats with author and Tony Award-winning actor Ali Stroker (Only Murders In The Building/Hulu). Ali is a Tony Award-winning actor for her role as ‘Ado Annie' in the 2019 revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! She made history as the first actor in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway in Deaf West's acclaimed 2015 revival of Spring Awakening. She can be seen as a series regular on Netflix's number one show of 2022, “Echoes”, as well as on Hulu's highest rated series, “Only Murders in the Building." She also recurred on Netflix in “Ozark” and on ABC's “Ten Days in the Valley”. The past summer Ali starred in Shakespeare in the Park's production of Richard III as Anne. She's also performed concerts around the country in venues including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and Carnegie Hall. In 2022, Audible Originals released her one-woman show, "An Evening With Ali Stroker". Ali is the proud author of the acclaimed 2021 novel, The Chance to Fly, while 2022 saw the publication of her children's book, Ali and the Sea Stars. Followed by a second interview with Assistant Director Ru Kazi (Welcome to Chippendales/Hulu). A multi-talented artist, and our first ever Assistant Director on the podcast. Ru is currently completing the Directors Guild Producer Training Program, with a specialization in Assistant Directing. They are currently working on various hit streaming series including Freeform's Good Trouble and the upcoming Hulu series Welcome to Chippendales, starring Kumail Nanjiani. Also a graduate of the Stella Adler Conservatory Ru has acted in both contemporary and classical plays, they've also directed plays, and they've made numerous television appearances in shows such as 2 BROKE GIRLS, NCIS and a recurring role on NBC's THE GOOD PLACE. Ru also made several award-winning short films, including LAST TO REPEAT, nominated for 12 awards. Ru regularly performs improv comedy as a main-stage player at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and The Second City's Hollywood branch. In Ru's free time, they plays drums in a social justice punk rock band that regularly plays at famed Sunset Strip venues such as Whiskey-a-Go-Go and The Rainbow Room. Stick around for Ru's interview, we promise you, you're not gonna want to miss it. J. Claude is also joined by his producer and co-host Winston Carter (Twitter/Instagram) to chat the funniest celebrity to pass on this season of the podcast. It's "inconceivable!" If you like any of what you hear today, do us a BIG kindness - subscribe to the show. Leave us a nice comment. Tell your aunt about us! Give us those five stars wherever you're getting your podcasts from today. And subscribe to our Patreon for all our extras! We've got NEW episodes now premiering every Wednesday! Featuring interviews with John Clarence Stewart, Zibby Allen, Alyssa Limperis, Leonard Robinson, Claybourne Elder, Beth Riesgraf and Susie Abromeit, and more! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thingsaregoinggreatforme/support

ABOUT LEE GRANT (FROM TCM.COM)An attractive brunette with angular features, Lee Grant began her career as a child performer with NYC's Metropolitan Opera. By age 11, she had become a member of the American Ballet Theatre. After music studies at Juilliard, she won a scholarship to attend the Neighborhood Playhouse and switched her focus to acting. Grant understudied the role of Ado Annie in a touring production of "Oklahoma!" before landing her breakthrough stage role as a young shoplifter in Sidney Kingsley's "Detective Story" in 1949. Hollywood soon beckoned and she recreated the role in William Wyler's 1951 superb film version. Grant won the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress prize and earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for the role. Seemingly on the verge of a brilliant career, the actress found herself the victim of the blacklist when her husband, playwright Arnold Manoff was named before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Grant herself refused to testify and the film offers over the next decade were sporadic.Returning to Manhattan, Grant found work in TV (e.g., the daytime soap "Search for Tomorrow") and on stage (i.e., "A Hole in the Head" 1957; "Two for the Seesaw" 1959). After earning an OBIE Award for her work in Genet's "The Maids" in 1963, her small screen career began to pick up. In 1965, Grant joined the cast of the primetime soap "Peyton Place" as Stella Chernak and picked up an Emmy for her work. She earned a second statuette for her performance as a runaway wife and mother who ends up at a truck stop in California in "The Neon Ceiling" (NBC, 1971).By the time she had earned her second Emmy, Grant's feature career had been rejuvenated with her stellar work as the widow of a murder victim in Norman Jewison's Oscar-winning "In the Heat of the Night" (1967). That same year, she essayed a neurotic in the campy "Valley of the Dolls." In "The Landlord" (1970), she was the society matron mother of Beau Bridges and her comic portrayal earned her a second Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Grant then played the mother of all Jewish mothers, Sophie Portnoy, in Ernest Lehman's film version of Philip Roth's novel "Portnoy's Complaint" (1972). Hal Ashby's "Shampoo" (1975) finally brought her a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award as a Beverly Hills matron having an affair with her hairdresser. The following year, Grant received a fourth nomination for her deeply moving portrayal of a Jewish refugee in "Voyage of the Damned."Her subsequent screen roles have been of varying quality, although Grant always brings a professionalism and degree of excellence to even the smallest role. After striking out as a sitcom lead in the underrated "Fay" (NBC, 1975), she delivered a fine portrayal of First Lady Grace Coolidge in "Backstairs at the White House" (NBC, 1979), was the domineering mother of actress Frances Farmer in "Will There Really Be a Morning?" (CBS, 1983) and excelled as Dora Cohn, mother of "Roy Cohn" (HBO, 1992). On the big screen, Grant lent her substantial abilities to "Teachers" (1984) as a hard-nosed school superintendent, "Defending Your Life" (1991), as an elegant prosecutor sparring with adversary Rip Torn, and "It's My Party" (1996), as the mother of man suffering from complications from AIDS.While Grant has continued to act in features and on TV, she has concentrated more on her directing career since the 80s. After studying at the American Film Institute, she made the short "The Stronger" (1976) which eventually aired on Arts & Entertainment's "Shortstories" in 1988. Grant made her feature debut with "Tell Me a Riddle" (1980), an earnest, well-acted story of an elderly couple facing death. She has excelled in the documentary format, beginning with "The Wilmar 8" (1981), about strike by female bank employees in the Midwest. (Grant later directed a fictionalized account entitled "A Matter of Sex" for NBC in 1984). She steered Marlo Thomas to an Emmy in the fact-based "Nobody's Child" (CBS, 1986) and earned praise for helming "No Place Like Home" (CBS, 1989), a stark look at the effects of unemployment. A number of her documentaries have been screened as part of HBO's "America Undercover" series, including the Oscar-winning "Down and Out in America" (1985), about the unemployed, "What Sex Am I?" (1985), about transsexuals and transvestites, "Battered" (1989), about victims of domestic violence, and "Women on Trial" (1992), about mothers who turn to the courts to protect their children. In 1997, she produced, directed and hosted the well-received "Say It, Fight It, Cure It" (Lifetime) which focused on breast cancer survivors and their families.ABOUT KILLIAN AND THE COMEBACK KIDSIn August, film distributor Hope Runs High will release its latest feature film across VOD platforms - bringing the much-lauded "Killian & the Comeback Kids" to a national audience outside of its 30 city theatrical release. For composer-writer-director Taylor A. Purdee, "Killian & the Comeback Kids" is a passion project that has united a dynamic team of creatives both onscreen and off. Concurrently with digital release, the film's screenplay will be preserved by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' permanent archive.With the film's initial theatrical releases, Purdee became the youngest director in 2020 and 2021 to have a film playing in major American exhibition circuits. He is also the first bi-racial director-star of African American descent to have a film theatrically released in the United States in the 21st century.'Killian' is the story of a young mixed-race musician forced to return to his rural hometown, burdened by the expense of his college degree. A chance encounter with a childhood acquaintance takes his summer in a new direction as the pair enlist a rag-tag band of other struggling locals to play a music festival coming to their once-prosperous steel town. With youthful ambition and an unflagging passion for folk-rock, Killian and the band take a shot at uniting their divided community and setting the stage for their futures.Purdee discusses the film's resonance in the current moment. "Folk music has always represented three things: a lot of self-determination, social responsibility, and a DIY spirit that happens to run through most younger generations. In a moment where the culture seems increasingly divided, when higher education could be viewed as more of a corporate scheme than a ticket to prosperity, and when one-third of our young people remain suspended in an elongated adolescence, our view of professional and personal identity is worth reimagining."The film's music by Purdee and his The Cumberland Kids bandmate Liam Higgins garnered Oscar buzz, and Purdee's original screenplay will be preserved in The Academy's permanent archive. The film stars Taylor A. Purdee, Kassie DePaiva, Nathan Purdee, John Donchak, Shannon O'Boyle, Shane Andries, Emily Mest, Yael Elisheva, and Andrew O'Shanick, and features Maddi Jane and Academy Award-winner Lee Grant."With a cast built of new faces, street musicians, Broadway mainstays, daytime superstars, new media darlings, and a living legend of classic Hollywood, our disruptive star power is the perfect mixture for an unconventional film in unconventional times."SYNOPSIS: Killian & the Comeback Kids is the story of a young mixed race musician forced to return to his rural hometown after an expensive college degree. A chance encounter with a childhood acquaintance gives the summer new direction. Together they throw together a rag-tag band of other struggling locals for one shot to play a music festival coming to their once prosperous steel town. Armed with only folk-rock, Killian and the band hope to unite the community - - if just for one night. A little musical at the cross roads of small town America and a burgeoning youth culture only just beginning to find its voice.Here's the trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI6n2nkk8V0

John Newman is the savvy entrepreneur who pioneered the glory of theatre restaurant in Australia, with the establishment of the iconic Tikki & John's in Melbourne. The venue fast became an institution in the city and a haven for a stellar cast of performers. With wife Tikki Taylor, he founded an entertainment dynasty spawning further theatre dining experiences such as Dracula's, Cafe Crypt and Crazyhouse.John Newman is a Geelong boy whose parents were publicans. He was born to perform and garnered early experiences entertaining hotel guests. He joined the Geelong Musical Comedy Company, a flourishing amateur group whose members also included John's brother Bill, Ernie Bourne and Barry Crocker. His success in comic and singing roles with that company, prompted him to embark on show business as a profession.He joined an outfit calling itself, rather ambitiously The South Pacific Film and Television Company, which planned to hit the high spots with a grand tour of Victorian country areas. The variety show, in which John did comedy, magic and his impressions of Groucho Marx and other stars of the day, played Geelong, Colac and Camperdown. He was next a member of the Blind Institute Concert Party, which performed everywhere in Victoria in one - and - two night stands, raising money for the institute. John stayed with the unit for two years, and then he left to go into the chorus of the J. C. Williamson Song of Norway.The run of Song of Norway was followed by a revival of Annie Get Your Gun, with Evie Hayes and Hayes Gordon, and John then went into the chorus of South Pacific, where he met Joyce Taylor (Tikki),Tikki Taylor had studied dancing at the Jenny Brennan Academy and appeared on stage for the first time in a juvenile role in Blue Mountain Melody, an Australian musical which starred Cyril Ritchard and Madge Elliott. After pursuing a classical ballet career she joined J.C. Williamsons as a show dancer, her first show being The Desert Song with Max Oldaker. Then followed Rose Marie, White Horse Inn, No, No, Nanette, The Girl Friend, Follow The Girls and Oklahoma, in which she understudied three roles, eventually playing the lead comedienne, Ado Annie.John and Tikki combined both their professional and private lives working in the same shows. They formed an act and toured it through the U.K. for eighteen months with top Australian magician The Great Levant covering England, Scotland and Wales. After that, they toured the U.S. Army bases in Europe.Back in London they saw the latest American musical hit The Pajama Game, and John knew that Tikki would be perfect for the comedy-dancing role of Gladys Hotchkiss. They rushed back to Australia and with the support of choreographer Betty Pounder and stage director Ian Roberts, Tikki managed to persuade the JCW management that it was not necessary to import an American actress for the role. This seminal production embraced an all-Australian company including Toni Lamond, Jill Perryman and John's brother Bill Newman.John worked in the chorus of The Pajama Game and joined Tikki in subsequent productions of Can-Can, For Amusement Only and Grab Me A Gondola. Tikki and John raised a family, pursued television appearances and then Tikki made a comeback to the stage as Minnie Fay in Hello Dolly.Television claimed John for a while guided by the famous American entrepreneur Larry K. Nixon; then a stint as Victorian manager for NLT Productions, and producer of The Ray Taylor Show on ATV0 in its early days. John was later Company manager for the Moscow Circus before he and Tikki made their decision to go into the restaurant business.Tikki Taylor and John Newman had show business in their blood. Both were already entertaining as children. When they met and married, they changed the course of theatre history in Melbourne. It is indeed an entertaining life!The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Whooshkaa, Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Recipient of Best New Podcast at 2019 Australian Podcast Awards. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au

Book Vs. Movie “Musicals in March” The 1931 Play Green Grow the Lilacs Vs the 1955 Musical Oklahoma!It's “Musicals in March” time here at Book Vs Movie The Margos are very excited to start our annual look at famous musicals and the inspiration for them. This episode is dedicated to one of the most successful Broadway shows of all time and the play Green Grow the Lilacs (1931) written by Oklahoma native Lynn Riggs. Riggs came up with the story of Oklahomans Curly, Laurey, and Ado Annie who live in a part of the world that will change dramatically in just a few short years. (Oklahoma became a state in 1907.) Curly is a cowboy (portrayed on Broadway by Franchot Tone) who is in love with Laurey Williams (June Walker) and the path to their relationship takes twists and turns. In this production, which takes place in 1900, American folk songs are used and sung by Tex Ritter on stage. Soon-to-be revered acting teacher Lee Strasberg played a Syrian “peddler” and just as in the musical, Curley is on trial for accidentally killing a farmhand (here his name is Jeeter.) In the early 1940s, Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein took the original play and infused it with more romance, intrigue, dance, ballet, and some of the most memorable songs in Broadway history. When Oklahoma! originally opened on Broadway (March 31, 1943), it became a massive hit that ran for over 2200 performances and won a special Pulitzer Prize in 1944. Some of the actors who played in the original show include John Raitt, Florence Henderson, Alfred Molina, Celeste Holmes, and Jamie Farr. The story is funnier and more robust than the play and the history-making ballet sequence left people breathless. The 15-minuter performance was choreographed by Agnes de Mille (her first Broadway gig!) and represented the desire Laurey has between Curley and Jud Fry. After running for five years and several revivals for the last 80 years, the funny thing about Oklahoma!--because the TONY Awards did not exist until 1947, it never won any major theatrical awards for the original run. The 1955 film stars Shirley Jones, Gordon McRae, Rod Steiger, and Gloria Grahame and was directed by Fred Zinnemann in 70-mm widescreen (available on Disney+) with most of the outdoor shooting taking place in Arizona. It would go on to become a classic with several Academy Award nominations and was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2007. So, between the original play and the musical adaptation--which did we prefer? In this ep the Margos discuss:The story behind the original play and the theater world of the 1930s The impact on the culture of the musical in the 1940sThe differences between the film and stageStarring: Gordon MacRae (Curly McLain,) Shirley Jones (Laurey Willaims,) Gene Nelson (Will Parker,) Gloria Grahame (Ado Anni Cames,) Charlotte Greenwood (Aunt Eller,) Rod Steiger (Jud Fry,) Eddie Albert (Ali Hakim,) James Whitmore (Andrew Carnes,) and Barbara Lawrence as Gertie Cummings. Clips used:Oklahoma! themeOklahoma! original trailer“The Persian Goodbye” “Kansas City” Curley kisses LaureyAli Stroker “I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say No” (2019 TONY Music by Richard RogersBook Vs. Movie is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find more podcasts you will love Frolic.Media/podcasts. Join our Patreon page to help support the show! https://www.patreon.com/bookversusmovie Book Vs. Movie podcast https://www.facebook.com/bookversusmovie/Twitter @bookversusmovie www.bookversusmovie.comEmail us at bookversusmoviepodcast@gmail.com Margo D. @BrooklynFitChik www.brooklynfitchick.com brooklynfitchick@gmail.comMargo P. @ShesNachoMama https://coloniabook.weebly.com/ Our logo was designed by Madeleine Gainey/Studio 39 Marketing Follow on Instagram @Studio39Marketing & @musicalmadeleine

Book Vs. Movie “Musicals in March” The 1931 Play Green Grow the Lilacs Vs the 1955 Musical Oklahoma!It's “Musicals in March” time here at Book Vs Movie The Margos are very excited to start our annual look at famous musicals and the inspiration for them. This episode is dedicated to one of the most successful Broadway shows of all time and the play Green Grow the Lilacs (1931) written by Oklahoma native Lynn Riggs. Riggs came up with the story of Oklahomans Curly, Laurey, and Ado Annie who live in a part of the world that will change dramatically in just a few short years. (Oklahoma became a state in 1907.) Curly is a cowboy (portrayed on Broadway by Franchot Tone) who is in love with Laurey Williams (June Walker) and the path to their relationship takes twists and turns. In this production, which takes place in 1900, American folk songs are used and sung by Tex Ritter on stage. Soon-to-be revered acting teacher Lee Strasberg played a Syrian “peddler” and just as in the musical, Curley is on trial for accidentally killing a farmhand (here his name is Jeeter.) In the early 1940s, Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein took the original play and infused it with more romance, intrigue, dance, ballet, and some of the most memorable songs in Broadway history. When Oklahoma! originally opened on Broadway (March 31, 1943), it became a massive hit that ran for over 2200 performances and won a special Pulitzer Prize in 1944. Some of the actors who played in the original show include John Raitt, Florence Henderson, Alfred Molina, Celeste Holmes, and Jamie Farr. The story is funnier and more robust than the play and the history-making ballet sequence left people breathless. The 15-minuter performance was choreographed by Agnes de Mille (her first Broadway gig!) and represented the desire Laurey has between Curley and Jud Fry. After running for five years and several revivals for the last 80 years, the funny thing about Oklahoma!--because the TONY Awards did not exist until 1947, it never won any major theatrical awards for the original run. The 1955 film stars Shirley Jones, Gordon McRae, Rod Steiger, and Gloria Grahame and was directed by Fred Zinnemann in 70-mm widescreen (available on Disney+) with most of the outdoor shooting taking place in Arizona. It would go on to become a classic with several Academy Award nominations and was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2007. So, between the original play and the musical adaptation--which did we prefer? In this ep the Margos discuss:The story behind the original play and the theater world of the 1930s The impact on the culture of the musical in the 1940sThe differences between the film and stageStarring: Gordon MacRae (Curly McLain,) Shirley Jones (Laurey Willaims,) Gene Nelson (Will Parker,) Gloria Grahame (Ado Anni Cames,) Charlotte Greenwood (Aunt Eller,) Rod Steiger (Jud Fry,) Eddie Albert (Ali Hakim,) James Whitmore (Andrew Carnes,) and Barbara Lawrence as Gertie Cummings. Clips used:Oklahoma! themeOklahoma! original trailer“The Persian Goodbye” “Kansas City” Curley kisses LaureyAli Stroker “I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say No” (2019 TONY Music by Richard RogersBook Vs. Movie is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find more podcasts you will love Frolic.Media/podcasts. Join our Patreon page to help support the show! https://www.patreon.com/bookversusmovie Book Vs. Movie podcast https://www.facebook.com/bookversusmovie/Twitter @bookversusmovie www.bookversusmovie.comEmail us at bookversusmoviepodcast@gmail.com Margo D. @BrooklynFitChik www.brooklynfitchick.com brooklynfitchick@gmail.comMargo P. @ShesNachoMama https://coloniabook.weebly.com/ Our logo was designed by Madeleine Gainey/Studio 39 Marketing Follow on Instagram @Studio39Marketing & @musicalmadeleine

Welcome back to the BodPod! Today, we are thrilled to have Ali Stroker on the show! Ali is a New York-based actor, singer, and author who won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Ado Annie in Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma. She has also appeared in a number of series including The Glee Project, Ozark, Only Murders in the Building, Ten Days in the Valley, and will be appearing as a series regular in Netflix's upcoming limited series Echoes. Ali made history as the first actor who uses a wheelchair to appear on Broadway in the 2015 revival of Spring Awakening and continues to delight audiences through her soloing and theatrical performances. She recently co-wrote a novel, The Chance to Fly, and is gearing up to release her debut picture book, Ali and the Sea Stars, later this spring. In this episode, Ali will share with us her back story, her experience growing up, and how she discovered her passion for theatre. Ali will also discuss her body confidence journey including her relationship with her body, clothes and food, as well as being in a body that you can't feel. Besides this, we'll chat about being othered, looking in the mirror for fun versus to be critical, and how our feelings about our bodies change when we want to be desired. Last but not least, Ali will talk about how external messages have shaped how she thought about her body and what being the first actor to use a wheelchair to appear on Broadway has taught her. Keep listening to hear how Ali is working to improve the lives of others through the arts, disabled or not. Instagram: @alistrokerWebsite: https://www.alistroker.com/Book: The Chance to Fly

We bring our lived experience into everything we do.

We bring our lived experience into everything we do.

With over 230 episodes in the STAGES archive, it's time to revisit conversations featured in previous seasons. STAGES spotlights such episodes, in case you missed them first time ‘round - or so you can simply savour a second listen. Either way, you'll be accessing precious oral histories from the people who were there, on and around our stages.Donna Lee comes from a long line of performers. Show business is the family business. Donna belongs to the fifth generation of her family, to embrace performance as a career. As a child she travelled the country and performed with her parents. Her father Frank Cleary, was a juggler and variety performer; and her mother Gloria Dawn, was one of Australia's most versatile actors on the legitimate stage and musical theatre.Donna has been acknowledged with a Green Room Award for her role as Ado Annie in Oklahoma, and garnered a swag of Mo Awards for her cabaret work.Extensive work in musical theatre has seen Donna feature in shows such as Les Miserables, Summer Rain, Fiddler on the Roof and Dames at Sea. Television work has seen her reside in Summer Bay, Ramsay street and Wandin Valley.Donna is a font of knowledge and an exuberant guest. She loves a chat and a laugh, and celebrating a rich arts heritage.The Stages podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify, Whooshkaa and where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

The actress who won the Tony for Oklahoma! is Ali Stroker, who played Ado Annie, a role originated by... that's right, Celeste Holm.

Elise is most well known for originating the role of Miss Honey in the Australian production of the Royal Shakespeare Company's adaptation of Roald Dahl's Matilda for which she won the 2016 Helpmann Award and the 2015 Sydney Theatre Award, and was nominated for the 2016 Green Room Award for her portrayal of Miss Honey. After over 650 shows and two years in the role, Elise left Matilda in Perth with her final performance on Sunday March 19th 2017. She is also featured in the Channel Seven miniseries Peter Allen – Not The Boy Next Door, playing Peter's sister Lynne Woolnough. Not The Boy Next Door won 7 AACTA's at the 2015 AACTA Awards including Best Miniseries, was nominated for Best Drama at the 2016 Logie Awards and was nominated for Best Television Drama at the 2016 Monte Carlo Television and Film Festival. A graduate of NIDA, Elise's theatrical credits include: Cathy in The Last Five Years (Ensemble Theatre), Ado Annie in Oklahoma and Meg Brockie in Brigadoon (The Production Company), Lucille Ball in the critically acclaimed one woman show Everybody Loves Lucy (Luckiest Productions) for which she was nominated in the 2015 Sydney Theatre Awards. Ali in the 10th Anniversary Australian Tour of MAMMA MIA! (Littlestar); Janet McGregor in the Australian tour of South Pacific (Opera Australia/Gordon Frost Organisation); The World Premier/Australian Tour of Doctor Zhivago (Gordon Frost Organisation); Fruma Sarah in the Australian Tour of Fiddler on the Roof (TML Enterprises); Cordelia in Falsettos (Darlinghurst Theatre Company); Florinda in Into The Woods (Victorian Arts Opera); Little Women (Kookaburra Australian National Theatre Company); My Fair Lady (Opera Australia); Camelot (The Production Company); Side By Side By Sondheim (Enda Markey Presents). Elise is about to appear as Mary Flynn in a strictly limited season of the Stephen Sondheim classic Merrily We Roll Along at the Hayes Theatre.

In honor of season 3's recent release, Abby lists all the wonderful things about Shrill! Then she is joined by actor, social media manager, and branding coach Jenna Leigh Miller to discuss self-limitation, brand v. type, rock musicals, Ado Annie, looking for the fattest dancer in every Broadway show, and Jenna's experience playing Tracy Turnblad twice.Jenna's web site: https://www.jennaleighmiller.comJenna's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennaleighmiller/Problem Solved: https://www.problemsolvedbyjenna.comAbby's web site: http://abbyrosemorris.com Abby's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abbyrosemorrishttp://www.morethantracyturnblad.com Follow @morethantracyt on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok!Produced by Abby Rose Morris and Maxwell Kagan Logo design by Abby Martino

Java, Ruby, PHP, Go. These are web applications that dynamically generate code then interpreted as a file by a web browser. That file is rarely static these days and the power of the web is that an app or browser can reach out and obtain some data, get back some xml or json or yaml, and provide an experience to a computer, mobile device, or even embedded system. The web is arguably the most powerful, transformational technology in the history of technology. But the story of the web begins in philosophies that far predate its inception. It goes back to a file, which we can think of as a document, on a computer that another computer reaches out to and interprets. A file comprised of hypertext. Ted Nelson coined the term hypertext. Plenty of others put the concepts of linking objects into the mainstream of computing. But he coined the term that he's barely connected to in the minds of many.  Why is that? Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989. Elizabeth Feinler developed a registry of names that would evolve into DNS so we could find computers online and so access those web sites without typing in impossible to remember numbers. Bob Kahn and Leonard Kleinrock were instrumental in the Internet Protocol, which allowed all those computers to be connected together, providing the schemes for those numbers. Some will know these names; most will not.  But a name that probably doesn't come up enough is Ted Nelson. His tale is one of brilliance and the early days of computing and the spread of BASIC and an urge to do more. It's a tale of the hacker ethic. And yet, it's also a tale of irreverence - to be used as a warning for those with aspirations to be remembered for something great. Or is it? Steve Jobs famously said “real artists ship.” Ted Nelson did ship. Until he didn't. Let's go all the way back to 1960, when he started Project Xanadu. Actually, let's go a little further back first.  Nelson was born to TV directory Ralph Nelson and Celeste Holm, who won an Academy Award for her role in Gentleman's Agreement in 1947 and took home another pair of nominations through her career, and for being the original Ado Annie in Oklahoma. His dad worked on The Twilight Zone - so of course he majored in philosophy at Swarthmore College and then went off to the University of Chicago and then Harvard for graduate school, taking a stab at film after he graduated. But he was meant for an industry that didn't exist yet but would some day eclipse the film industry: software.  While in school he got exposed to computers and started to think about this idea of a repository of all the world's knowledge. And it's easy to imagine a group of computing aficionados sitting in a drum circle, smoking whatever they were smoking, and having their minds blown by that very concept. And yet, it's hard to imagine anyone in that context doing much more. And yet he did. Nelson created Project Xanadu in 1960. As we'll cover, he did a lot of projects during the remainder of his career. The Journey is what is so important, even if we never get to the destination. Because sometimes we influence the people who get there. And the history of technology is as much about failed or incomplete evolutions as it is about those that become ubiquitous.  It began with a project while he was enrolled in Harvard grad school. Other word processors were at the dawn of their existence. But he began thinking through and influencing how they would handle information storage and retrieval.  Xanadu was supposed to be a computer network that connected humans to one another. It was supposed to be simple and a scheme for world-wide electronic publishing. Unlike the web, which would come nearly three decades later, it was supposed to be bilateral, with broken links self-repairing, much as nodes on the ARPAnet did. His initial proposal was a program in machine language that could store and display documents. Being before the advent of Markdown, ePub, XML, PDF, RTF, or any of the other common open formats we use today, it was rudimentary and would evolve over time. Keep in mind. It was for documents and as Nelson would say later, the web - which began as a document tool, was a fork of the project.  The term Xanadu was borrowed from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Kubla Khan, itself written after some opium fueled dreams about a garden in Kublai Khan's Shangdu, or Xanadu.In his biography, Coleridge explained the rivers in the poem supply “a natural connection to the parts and unity to the whole” and he said a “stream, traced from its source in the hills among the yellow-red moss and conical glass-shaped tufts of bent, to the first break or fall, where its drops become audible, and it begins to form a channel.”  Connecting all the things was the goal and so Xanadu was the name. He gave a talk and presented a paper called “A File Structure for the Complex, the Changing and the Indeterminate” at the Association for Computing Machinery in 1965 that laid out his vision. This was the dawn of interactivity in computing. Digital Equipment had launched just a few years earlier and brought the PDP-8 to market that same year. The smell of change was in the air and Nelson was right there.  After that, he started to see all these developments around the world. He worked on a project at Brown University to develop a word processor with many of his ideas in it. But the output of that project, as with most word processors since - was to get things printed. He believed content was meant to be created and live its entire lifecycle in the digital form. This would provide perfect forward and reverse citations, text enrichment, and change management. And maybe if we all stand on the shoulders of giants, it would allow us the ability to avoid rewriting or paraphrasing the works of others to include them in own own writings. We could do more without that tedious regurgitation.  He furthered his counter-culture credentials by going to Woodstock in 1969. Probably not for that reason, but it happened nonetheless. And he traveled and worked with more and more people and companies, learning and engaging and enriching his ideas. And then he shared them.  Computer Lib/Dream Machines was a paperback book. Or two. It had a cover on each side. Originally published in 1974, it was one of the most important texts of the computer revolution. Steven Levy called it an epic. It's rare to find it for less than a hundred bucks on eBay at this point because of how influential it was and what an amazing snapshot in time it represents.  Xanadu was to be a hypertext publishing system in the form of Xanadocs, or files that could be linked to from other files. A Xanadoc used Xanalinks to embed content from other documents into a given document. These spans of text would become transclusions and change in the document that included the content when they changed in the live document. The iterations towards working code were slow and the years ticked by. That talk in 1965 gave way to the 1970s, then 80s. Some thought him brilliant. Others didn't know what to make of it all. But many knew of his ideas for hypertext and once known it became deterministic. Byte Magazine published many of his thoughts in 1988 called “Managing Immense Storage” and by then the personal computer revolution had come in full force. Tim Berners-Lee put the first node of the World Wide Web online the next year, using a protocol they called Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or http. Yes, the hypertext philosophy was almost a means of paying homage to the hard work and deep thinking Nelson had put in over the decades. But not everyone saw it as though Nelson had made great contributions to computing.  “The Curse of Xanadu” was an article published in Wired Magazine in 1995. In the article, the author points out the fact that the web had come along using many of the ideas Nelson and his teams had worked on over the years but actually shipped - whereas Nelson hadn't. Once shipped, the web rose in popularity becoming the ubiquitous technology it is today. The article looked at Xanadu as vaporware. But there is a deeper, much more important meaning to Xanadu in the history of computing.  Perhaps inspired by the Wired article, the group released an incomplete version of Xanadu in 1998. But by then, other formats - including PDF which was invented in 1993 and .doc for Microsoft Word, were the primary mechanisms we stored documents and first gopher and then the web were spreading to interconnect humans with content. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72M5kcnAL-4 The Xanadu story isn't a tragedy. Would we have had hypertext as a part of Douglas Engelbart's oNLine System without it? Would we have object-oriented programming or later the World Wide Web without it? The very word hypertext is almost an homage, even if they don't know it, to Nelson's work. And the look and feel of his work lives on in places like GitHub, whether directly influenced or not, where we can see changes in code side-by-side with actual production code, changes that are stored and perhaps rolled back forever. Larry Tessler coined the term Cut and Paste. While Nelson calls him a friend in Werner Herzog's Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World, he also points out that Tessler's term is flawed. And I think this is where we as technologists have to sometimes trim down our expectations of how fast evolutions occur. We take tiny steps because as humans we can't keep pace with the rapid rate of technological change. We can look back and see a two steps forward and one step back approach since the dawn of written history. Nelson still doesn't think the metaphors that harken back to paper have any place in the online written word.  Here's another important trend in the history of computing. As we've transitioned to more and more content living online exclusively, the content has become diluted. One publisher I wrote online pieces for asked that they all be +/- 700 words and asked that paragraphs be no more than 4 sentences long (preferably 3) and the sentences should be written at about a 5th or 6th grade level. Maybe Nelson would claim that this de-evolution of writing is due to search engine optimization gamifying the entirety of human knowledge and that a tool like Xanadu would have been the fix. After all, if we could borrow the great works of others we wouldn't have to paraphrase them. But I think as with most things, it's much more nuanced than that.  Our always online, always connected brains can only accept smaller snippets. So that's what we gravitate towards. Actually, we have plenty of capacity for whatever we actually choose to immerse ourselves into. But we have more options than ever before and we of course immerse ourselves into video games or other less literary pursuits. Or are they more literary? Some generations thought books to be dangerous. As do all oppressors. So who am I to judge where people choose to acquire knowledge or what kind they indulge themselves in. Knowledge is power and I'm just happy they have it. And they have it in part because others were willing to water own the concepts to ship a product. Because the history of technology is about evolutions, not revolutions. And those often take generations. And Nelson is responsible for some of the evolutions that brought us the ht in http or html. And for that we are truly grateful! As with the great journey from Lord of the Rings, rarely is greatness found alone. The Xanadu adventuring party included Cal Daniels, Roger Gregory, Mark Miller, Stuart Greene, Dean Tribble, Ravi Pandya, became a part of Autodesk in the 80s, got rewritten in Smalltalk, was considered a rival to the web, but really is more of an evolutionary step on that journey. If anything it's a divergence then convergence to and from Vannevar Bush's Memex. So let me ask this as a parting thought? Are the places you are not willing to sacrifice any of your core designs or beliefs worth the price being paid? Are they worth someone else ending up with a place in the history books where (like with this podcast) we oversimplify complex topics to make them digestible? Sometimes it's worth it. In no way am I in a place to judge the choices of others. Only history can really do that - but when it happens it's usually an oversimplification anyways… So the building blocks of the web lie in irreverence - in hypertext. And while some grew out of irreverence and diluted their vision after an event like Woodstock, others like Nelson and his friend Douglas Englebart forged on. And their visions didn't come with commercial success. But as an integral building block to the modern connected world today they represent as great a mind as practically anyone else in computing. 

Sophie Matthews - Sophie has been involved with the theatre since she played one of the King's children in the king and I, way back in 2006. Since then she has taken on a number of roles including Ado Annie in Oklahoma (2012), Gretchen in Boeing Boeing (2013), Gary Coleman in Avenue Q (2016), Logainne SchwartzandGrubenierre (2017) and is currently rehearsing to play Mrs Potts in Beauty in Beauty and the Beast. Sophie has been on stage as well as playing in the orchestra and behind the scenes producing shows. She is very excited to be back in the Orange theatre scene. She also has a past history with one of our hosts....tune into tomorrow's episode from 6am on podcast providers to find out!!

“We know we belong to the land, and the land we belong to is—“ well, it’s just okay... That’s right, it’s OKLAHOMA! Amanda and Sam bring on their two college classmates and friends Rachel Pantazis and Andrew Burton Kelley to discuss Rodgers and Hammerstein’s premiere collaboration. Pantazis and Kelley starred in the MacHaydn Theatre’s production of OKLAHOMA as Ado Annie and Will Parker in the summer of 2019. The group discusses how the show holds up almost 70 years after its debut, life aboard cruise ships, and just how well Rachel and Andrew really know each other... Rachel Pantazis and Andrew Burton Kelley are New England-based actors who have performed regionally around the country. They recently celebrated their 8-year anniversary and were engaged to be married on February 14, 2018. The two have been performing professionally both on individual contracts and as a couple and were most recently lead vocalists aboard the Carnival Victory cruise ship during its final voyage. Follow @repantz & @kelleyandrew12 “Buzzed Broadway” is Broadway’s drunkest podcast. Conceived and hosted by Amanda Harrington and Sam St. Jean, the two attempt to out-drink each other each week while discussing one of Broadway’s best musicals. Amanda and Sam are lifelong best friends so once the liquor gets flowing, the jokes get going! Drink along from the comfort of your own home or laugh at the absurdity on your way to work. Buzzed Broadway is packed with comedy, trivia, showtunes, and of course: booze! @buzzedbroadwaypodcast [A Broadway Podcast Network production]. @broadwaypodcastnetwork www.bpn.fm/buzzedbroadway Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Friday! It's our first official Bachelorette recap! We are joined by the witty, handsome, and wait for it . . . straight, Aaron Albert (Mine'd)! We get a hetero's perspective on the appeal of Bachelor Nation, if Clare is more of a Millie or Ado Annie, how we wish Chris Harrison would deliver all Covid test results, and when push comes to shove . . . which contestant's most likely to download Grindr. For the time being, expect recaps of Housewives on Wednesday's, and Bachelorette on Friday's! Bachelorette Recap: 21:26 - 1:07:15 Rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and everywhere podcasts are streamed! Aaron Albert Insta: @asalbert Mine'd Insta: @doyoumined Tom Hamlett Insta: @thetomhamlett Dumpster Dive Insta: @dumpsterdivepod --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dumpsterdivepod/support

Patricia O’Connell interviews Joe Strechay, an entertainment media consultant for blindness and disability employment initiatives. They discuss Joe’s childhood, his interest in representation and inclusivity for persons with blindness, low vision, and disabilities, his career, and the opportunities in entertainment today for persons with low vision, blindness, or disabilities. The door is open but we have further to go.   Listen in to learn what your company can do to foster representation and inclusivity in your hiring practices and your products and services. Remember all your audience. Key Takeaways: [:21] Patricia O’Connell welcomes Joe Strechay to CEO Stories on This is Capitalism. [:50] Joe is in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in quarantine, preparing to get back to Season 2 of Apple TV+’s See. Joe was an associate producer on Season 1. He was in-charge of the blindness-related aspects of the show. He has been promoted to Producer. [1:15] See is a science fiction show set hundreds of years in the future, in a world with a small population and universal blindness caused by a viral apocalypse. It tells the story of a family with a set of twin children born with vision. [2:51] Joe grew up in New Jersey. Joe and his mother were both diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a degenerative eye condition. At 19, Joe was legally blind. Joe did not have the services that most people have in preparation for school, education, and life.[3:27] On leaving college, Joe sought help and was taught orientation and mobility (O&M), which is traveling with a white cane or with a guide dog, daily living skills, technology, and all the things that help you become a successful and independent individual who is blind. [4:13] As a child, Joe had an IEP for school, but his vision deteriorated gradually from the outer edge, eventually narrowing to a small spot, but within that spot, he could see clearly. By his first semester in college, he had lost most of his vision. He tried to get help, but no one was available to help him. [5:29] Joe did get some assistance from the Disability Student Services at East Carolina University where he was a college student. [6:10] At age 19, Joe had low vision, and was legally blind. It was like looking through a straw. When he was 18, a doctor told him off-handedly at the end of an appointment, “Yeah, you’ll probably be totally blind by the time you’re 25. Pay at the front. Have a good day.” [7:56] Joe’s career plan was to go into public relations and professional sports marketing. He had played a lot of sports growing up. Joe got involved in public relations with the East Carolina communications organization doing PR and marketing work for nonprofits in North Carolina. He enjoyed it. He sought internships and jobs. [8:35] Joe went to New Jersey and New York City to intern and finish his degree. He interviewed with pro hockey and basketball teams. He interned for a marketing firm that worked with the NFL, racing, pro golf, and more. Then, there was 9/11 and the economy dropped into a recession. There was no opportunity to be hired by the company. [9:27] Joe started to face the fact that he was visually impaired as he went on interviews. He was still learning the skills to become independent. He searched for any job to pay the bills. [9:44] He went in for a substitute teaching job at the Calais School. They offered him a teacher’s assistant position in physical education. Joe did that for two years. There were two students with visual impairments. Joe started working with them, which started him thinking about working with visually impaired individuals. [10:08] Joe was already getting services from the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. They talked to Joe about fields in education and rehabilitation of disabilities. Joe wanted to give people the opportunity for services that he hadn’t had. [10:29] Joe went to Florida State University in Tallahassee and studied visual disabilities and teaching people who are blind or low-vision how to travel, how to access their education, and to transition from school to employment. He wanted to make an impact for individuals. Employment became a passion for him.[11:14] With his media background, he started looking at portrayals of minority characters and blindness and disability in movies and on television. He did a study about minority and gender portrayals on the Disney Channel. Joe had always been obsessed with movies and television but hadn’t imagined working in the industry. [13:23] Joe found a job working in the U.S. and abroad advising around employment and services for people who are blind. As a hobby, Joe started writing about the portrayal of blindness and critiquing it in blog posts and articles. [13:55] Some media companies started contacting Joe’s employer for casting assistance for commercials and documentaries. Joe helped the writers’ room for three episodes of the USANetwork show Royal Pains, regarding a character who was blind. [14:35] Next, Netflix called about an anonymous project, Marvel’s Daredevil, for consulting around the main character. Most consultants around blindness issues for television or film are people who are sighted. Netflix interviewed and hired him for Season 1 as a show advisor. He advised on scripts and props and helped actors. [16:44] Joe teaches people on a show how to identify individuals. The first method is to put the person before the disability: a person who is blind (or low-vision) or a person who has a disability. The second method is for someone who chooses to identify as a blind person or a disabled person. Allow them to say how they choose to be presented. [17:55] Joe is a person who is blind. He is more than just his blindness. It just means he does things in a different way. He is not offended if you call him a blind person. [18:58] Joe found working on Daredevil very enlightening. After Season 1, he continued on his work with professionals serving the blind community. He became Director of the Bureau of Blindness & Vision Services for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Thursday before he started he got a call to help with Netflix’s The OA. Because of his new job, he commuted to work every weekend with them. [21:02] Joe enjoyed consulting but he had a full-time job. He kept getting offers that he turned down because they weren’t the right opportunity for him. He wasn’t looking for another job. [21:17] Joe got calls from the executives, directors, and creators of Peaky Blinders, Hunger Games, and other shows, about an opportunity they were developing with Apple. Joe started consulting and eventually chose to leave his employment running services for Pennsylvania and moved to British Columbia to start working and prepping. [22:15] The opportunity was for See. Joe started as a blindness consultant and the role grew. The executives believed in Joe and the work he did. He advised choreographers and actors. He had an assistant who audio-described for him what was going on. That is a personal assistant who helps with the organization, and describes the sets for Joe. [23:40] By Episode 3, Joe stood near the director. For Episodes 4 and 5, there was a new director, who told Joe to be next to him for every shot. He helped block every scene, figuring out what the actors might be paying attention to in the environment and thinking about things that should be included. [24:20] From the beginning, Apple was committed to hiring people who were blind or low-vision as actors and background performers. Joe became responsible for accessibility and assistive technology, including Braille labeling and signage for the employment office and accessible scripts. [25:42] Actors who are blind or low-vision bring authenticity. They have to be authentic to the world of See. A civilization built without vision for hundreds of years does not have eye contact. Personal space is different. There was a team of people working together to develop this world. [27:06] Apple is committed to making sure that persons who are blind are represented responsibly. Blindness is not all one flavor. It comes in shades and sizes. [28:37] There is a process from representation to inclusion. Joe studied that in his undergraduate work at ECU with Dr. Linda Kean in the communications department. First, Persons with blindness, low vision, or disabilities are presented as characters in the show. Then, they are provided professions of legitimacy and authority. Then they move into general character roles. [29:40] Joe would see himself represented in the media most often as a person with blindness lying in a bed in a hospital or walking by on the street. He wondered when he would be represented as a character. Apple TV+’s See is a story of a world almost entirely of people with blindness, as villains, heroes, warriors, lovers, parents, etc. [30:30] People with blindness are in the world doing great things. Joe’s friend, Erik Weihenmayer, summited Mount Everest, climbed an ice peak, and kayaked the Colorado River — totally blind. Joe has friends who are blind who work as mechanics, carpenters, and in all kinds of professions. [31:47] There are more portrayals of blindness and visual impairment and other disabilities in the media now than there used to be. Actors who are blind or low-vision are getting opportunities, and they are now being cast for their talents as well as their physical traits. [32:40] People who work on See move on to other shows and give more opportunities to persons with disabilities. Joe gives an example.[34:09] Allie Strucker played Ado Annie in a wheelchair in Oklahoma on Broadway and won a Tony Award for it. [36:29] Persons with disabilities are still under-represented in television and movies. Joe says “We don’t see ourselves as often, getting those opportunities within those portrayals.” The numbers are growing thanks to the work of a lot of people. [37:45] Meaningful representation in media matters, such as showing people who are blind or low-vision doing different types of professions, not just lying in a bed or walking by. There is a lot of disbelief and misconception about what persons with disabilities can do. Media changes perceptions.[38:48] The production of See has zero tolerance for disrespect for persons with blindness or disability. They have built an inclusive environment to make sure all cast members can get to difficult locations with the accommodations they need. [41:22] If you have a business, you want to have a company environment where people are comfortable to disclose their disabilities because they might need accommodations and tools to do their job successfully. 20% or more of your customers are persons with disabilities. Consider the whole population with your products or services. [44:53] If you’re not sure if your website is accessible, it’s probably not. You need testers who are blind or low-vision. Joe recommends working with Disability:IN and the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation. [47:28] When you hire a person with disabilities, accommodations are not a huge cost. Persons with disabilities stay longer in a job and get there on time. They put in the work. They make sure the quality of the work is up to specifications. They appreciate the opportunity. [48:19] Disability touches everyone in the world. October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). [50:59] Patricia thanks Joe Strechay for being on the podcast, This Is Capitalism.   Mentioned in This Episode: Joe Strechay See Retinitis Pigmentosa Orientation and Mobility SkillsWhite CaneGuide Dogs IEP East Carolina University The Calais School New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired Florida State University Disney Channel Royal Pains USANetwork Marvel’s Daredevil The OA Apple TV+ Peaky Blinders Hunger Games Movies Dr. Linda Kean, East Carolina University Erik Weihenmayer mountain climber This is Us The Politician Away Fox Corporation Netflix The Old Man Ali Stroker Oklahoma! Revival Glee Paralympics Disability:IN Disability Equality Index Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) American Printing House for the Blind

Yow! This week we go in depth on the beloved classic Oklahoma! We thoroughly examine Judd, celebrate everything Ado Annie, and discuss the importance of casting a show in a way the represents the people it’s trying to celebrate.Performances/Articles DiscussedEssay on 2019 Revival - https://howlround.com/sympathy-incel Ali Stroker - https://youtu.be/FxFS8okUqKkGertie - https://youtu.be/mQ5e0WLVUzAFollow us on Social Media!! @thispodwontrunaweek on instagram @thispodwontrun on twitter Hosts: Katlyn Shaw, @katlynwithak on all platforms Savannah-Lee Mumford @dntcallmesavannah on instagram and @dntclmesavannah on twitter This episode was edited by Sam Yeager.You can follow him @violentgarden on instagram

Grab those surreys with the fringe on top, because this month's episode is all about the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic OKLAHOMA! Enjoy our Shirley Jones stanning, our mixed feelings on Ado Annie, and the brand sponsorship of poppers to help you induce your own dream ballet! Facebook.com/showgays Twitter.com/showgays Next month -Into the Woods

How we use words today to describe actors and characters is drastically different than in the past.In this episode of Breaking the Fourth Wall, Tim and Ashlee Espinosa discuss the importance of discovering your authentic self and how we need to move away from the idea of type. We can no longer use the word "slut" to describe Ado Annie in Oklahoma! the musical. We can no longer rely on the outdated idea that type and archetype define a character. How can we move forward and encourage others to realize that words matter.Visit our podcast website for a transcription of this episode and all previous episodes of Breaking the Fourth Wall.Visit our online homes:AshleeEspinosa.comTimEspinosa.comInstagram:@ashleelynnespinosa@timespinosaofficialTwitter:@AshleeLEspinosa@TheTimEspinosaEmail us at: team@AshleeEspinosa.com

How we use words today to describe actors and characters is drastically different than in the past.In this episode of Breaking the Fourth Wall, Tim and Ashlee Espinosa discuss the importance of discovering your authentic self and how we need to move away from the idea of type. We can no longer use the word "slut" to describe Ado Annie in Oklahoma! the musical. We can no longer rely on the outdated idea that type and archetype define a character. How can we move forward and encourage others to realize that words matter.Visit our podcast website for a transcription of this episode and all previous episodes of Breaking the Fourth Wall.Visit our online homes:AshleeEspinosa.comTimEspinosa.comInstagram:@ashleelynnespinosa@timespinosaofficialTwitter:@AshleeLEspinosa@TheTimEspinosaEmail us at: team@AshleeEspinosa.com

Ali Stroker just made history as the first person in a wheelchair to win a Tony Award, and is currently starring in the Broadway production of Oklahoma! as Ado Annie. She first broke onto the scene in the Glee Project in 2012 which got her a guest starring role on Glee itself. In 2015, she made history by becoming the first ever actress in a wheelchair to appear on a Broadway stage in the revival of Spring Awakening produced by Deaf West Theatre, with a company that featured many prominent deaf actors as well. She is a co-chair of Women Who Care as well as a co-founding member of Be More Heroic, an anti-bullying campaign. Produced by Alan Seales and Dori Berinstein. A proud member of the Broadway Podcast Network.

Alex talks with his guest (and twin brother) Tyler about the Broadway production of Oklahoma! playing at the Circle in the Square Theatre through January 19, 2020. We discuss why it's called sexy/horny/dark Oklahoma!, Ado Annie seducing audience members, an audience member trying to undress Curly with her eyes, and why Tyler really should have seen it twice when he had the chance. Links to things mentioned in the show... Tickets and info: https://oklahomabroadway.com/ Listen to the 2019 Broadway Cast Recording on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3JctweW8WZzHbU8gw0J8NP?si=1xR0ALqET9--QKG-2HCI7A Something Wonderful by Todd Purdum: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/something-wonderful-todd-s-purdum/1126272819#/ Cast and creative team Talks at Google interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5e0bZcHdWw Ali Stroker on The Tonight Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTnnLaIvtk8 Get in touch with Alex and One Fan Show: Instagram: @AlexLauer Twitter: @AlexLauer https://onefanshow.tumblr.com/ This week's guest: Tyler    

Groundbreaking performer Ali Stroker won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as ‘Ado Annie’ in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! She made history as the first actor in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway when she originated the role of ‘Anna' in Deaf West's acclaimed 2015 revival of Spring Awakening. Ali's also the first actress in a wheelchair to graduate from NYU's Tisch drama program. She starred in 12 episodes of the talent competition, The Glee Project, which led to a guest role on Fox's Glee. She then recurred in the Kyra Sedgwick ABC series, Ten Days in the Valley, and she guest-starred on Fox’s Lethal Weapon, CBS’ Instinct, and Comedy Central's Drunk History. Ali earned a Barrymore Award nomination for starring as Olive in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. In addition to her work on and off-Broadway, she's soloed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, New York's Town Hall, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Stroker has been a co-chair of Women Who Care, which supports United Cerebral Palsy of New York City. She co-founded Be More Heroic, an anti-bullying campaign that tours the country connecting with thousands of students each year. She’s lead theater workshops for South African women and children affected by HIV and AIDS with the group, ARTS InsideOut.  Ali’s dedication to improving lives through the arts, disabled or not, is captured in her motto: “Making Your Limitations Your Opportunities.” This week’s #SongWriterOfTheWeek is Carmel Dean. Featuring the song "The BeanStalk" from the musical Renascence and written by Edna St. Vincent Millay and Dick Scanlan. The full album is available on iTunes and Spotify.  This episode is sponsored by Curtain Call! Curtain Call is the platform for all theatre professionals; onstage or backstage, creative or cast, producer or theatre. You can network easily AND look for work. You can view and apply for jobs directly through the platform. Just go to curtaincallonline.com to sign up. They also have an awesome Instagram page - with incredible photography @curtaincall.  Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway This podcast was edited by Stanley Wiercinski.  www.theproducersperspective.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode Jessica opens up about how her ego got her something she really wanted; the lead in a Show but it wasn't what she actually wanted. She challenges you to look at your own gifts and get real with using them instead of just aiming for goals because they look good on a resume or are admired by your culture or community. 

Fresh out of drama school, actor Isaac Gryn is currently starring in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first hit musical Oklahoma! in the all-singing all-dancing role of Will Parker, rodeo lassoing champ and ardent suitor of flirty Ado Annie, the ‘Girl Who Can’t Say No’. As you might guess from his surname, Isaac is the grandson of the late, great Rabbi Hugo Gryn, Holocaust survivor and for decades the go-to media rabbi, with regular appearances on BBC Radio and deservedly much loved by folk of all faiths and none. Gryn has clearly inherited his grandfather’s warmth and charisma. It comes over in his terrific high energy performance, though whether Rabbi Gryn counted lassoing among his skills remains a secret. Here Gryn speaks to JR’s Arts Editor Judi Herman about the show, its creators and learning to lasso, as well as his faith, family and the legacy of his grandfather.Oklahoma! runs until Saturday 7 September. 7.30pm, 2.30pm (Wed & Sat only, plus some Thu). £10-£55. Chichester Festival Theatre, West Sussex, PO19 7LY. 01243 781 312. www.cft.org.ukRead our review of Oklahoma! on the JR blog.

ALI STROKER has garnered a Tony nomination for her turn as Ado Annie in Daniel Fish's revival of Oklahoma! She made a historic debut in the Deaf West revival of Spring Awakening in 2015 as the first Broadway performer who uses a wheelchair. The Tony nominee is drumming up a lot of buzz for her performance at the Circle in the Square Theatre as the girl who "cain't say no." Having been paralyzed from the chest down since the age of two, "no" is a word Stroker also rises up to combat in her own life. She recently stopped by Show People with Paul Wontorek to discuss her positivity, adding her own flair to a classic character, which celebs she'd love to see the show and more.

Donna Lee comes from a long line of performers. Showbusiness is indeed the family business; with Donna being the fifth generation in her family, to embrace performance as a career.As a child she travelled the country and performed with her parents: her father Frank Cleary, a juggler and variety performer; and her mother Gloria Dawn, one of Australia’s foremost actors in music theatre and drama.She has been acknowledged with a Green Room Award for her role as Ado Annie in Oklahoma and garnered several Mo Awards for her cabaret work.Extensive work in musical theatre has seen Donna feature in shows such as Les Miserables, Summer Rain, Fiddler on the Roof and Dames at Sea. Television work has seen her reside in Summer Bay, Ramsay Street and Wandin Valley.Donna is a font of knowledge and an exuberant guest. 

Heather Ballentine is a charming, talented, and down-to-earth Southern belle. She is also an entrepreneur, singer/songwriter, pin-up model, and actress. Her life long pursuit of excellence began in Arkansas where she was born. She grew up with passion for performing, and always knew what she was meant to do. Her mother was named after Marilyn Monroe, which sparked Heather’s interest in pin up fashion, culture and lifestyle. Her father, a musician with a fondness for retro music, encouraged her to listen to artists such as Elvis, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, The Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, Wanda Jackson, and Buddy Holly, all of whom became Heather’s musical influences. During University, Heather began modelling and was selected for the Catalina Swimwear campaign which featured her in advertisements and on the runway. However, she soon realized that her curvy figure would not be embraced by mainstream agencies. Rather than be discouraged, she embraced her own pin up style and it became her mission to send a message that curves are cool. She placed top-ten in the Miss Arkansas Pageant, and was the overall swimsuit winner, which assisted in paying for her education. After graduation, Heather was cast to star as “Ado Annie” in Discoveryland USA’s production of “Oklahoma”.   In 2011, Heather moved to Canada and happily adopted it as her new home. Based in Toronto, she is actively building her pin up brand. She and her co-writer Larry Bartley, recently recorded with Grammy-Winning Producer Pete Anderson to create her album, “The Cat’s Meow”. The current single is "Kiss Me". Heather's signature sound appeals to big band, swing, country, and rockabilly audiences alike.  

HEATHER BALLENTINE is a country girl right down to her roots. Raised in Arkansas, she has been singing and writing songs her entire life. Thanks to her father’s love of retro music, her early influences included Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Elvis, Roy Orbison, and Buddy Holly. During University, Heather began modelling and was selected for the Catalina Swimwear campaign, which featured her in advertisements and on the runway. She placed top-ten in the Miss Arkansas Pageant, andwas the overall swimsuit winner, which assisted in paying for her education. After graduation, Heather was cast to star as “Ado Annie” in Discoveryland USA’s production of “Oklahoma”. Performing 6 nights a week, for 3 straight months in a sold-out amphitheatre, gave Heather a taste of stardom. She packed up a U-Haul and moved to LA to pursue her music, acting, and modelling career.In LA, Heather met musicians with whom she collaborated. The band toured 10 countries while opening for major acts. They were featured in The Wall Street Journal and noted as “Artist to Watch”. As an actress Heather has had speaking roles on General Hospital, independent films, and network television shows. She has also starred in National and Regional commercials. As a songwriter, she has had her music placed in numerous television shows and films. In 2011, Heather moved to Canada and happily adopted it as her new home. Now based in Toronto, she recently recorded with Grammy Winning Producer, Pete Anderson. Heather and Pete have created her own signature sound that appeals to country, swing, and big band audiences alike. To see her live show is to fall in love with her retro charm. Her style is fresh, unique, and unforgettable. Her debut single is called Needle In A Haystack.