Podcasts about joseph jefferson award

Joe Mantegna is an award-winning actor as well as writer, producer and director who's been in the business for 50 + years! He has won a Tony award, been nominated for 3 Primetime Emmy Awards and has over 400 IMDB credits. He is probably best known for his role as Joey Zasa in the Francis Ford Coppola epic The Godfather Part III, in which he stars alongside Al Pacino and Andy Garcia or his long serving role as David Rossi in Criminal Minds which he has appeared in almost 300 episodes! He also plays Fat Tony in the Simpsons and has been in a number of films and shows such as Shooting Gallery, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Joan of Arcadia, National Memorial Day Concert, Elvis and Anabelle, Homicide, Baby's Day Out, The Rat Pack, The Last Don and The Starter Wife. After making his Broadway debut in Stephen Schwartz's musical of Studs Terkel's Working, Joe was awarded the Tony and Joseph Jefferson Award for his acclaimed performance as cynical real-estate agent Richard Roma in David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross.  Closely associated with Mamet's work, Joe starred in the theatrical premiere of A Life in the Theater, The Disappearance of the Jews at the Goodman Theater, and in the Broadway production of Speed the Plow with Ron Silver and Madonna. In addition, Joe directed a critically acclaimed stage production of Mamet's Lakeboat, starring Ed O'Neil and George Wendt, in a successful Los Angeles theatrical run.  Other stand-out roles include Up Close and Personal, Baby's Day Out, Airheads, Queens Logic, Wait Until Spring Bandini, Eye for an Eye, The Runner, and Stephen King's Thinner. In addition to being the featured reader for numerous books-on-tape, Joe has narrated the Oscar-nominated documentary films Crack U.S.A.: Country Under Siege and Death on the Job.  He has also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011. If you're a Criminal Minds fan we've also had AJ Cook (JJ) and Paget Brewster (Emily Prentiss) on the show as well, if you want to check them out as well. We chat about playing Fat Tony on the Simpsons, Criminal Minds, competitive shooting, confidence, David Mamet, being a photographer, raising awareness about autism, being let go from his agent, winning awards, balance plus plenty more! The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Joe out on: Website: https://www.joemantegna.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joemantegna/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joemantegna/ Twitter / X: https://x.com/JoeMantegna

WGN Radio’s Steve Dale chats with WGN’s own “Elton” Jim Turano, a multiple Joseph Jefferson Award nominee for best actor, about his upcoming appearance in Network at the Invictus Theatre of Chicago. Steve and Jim highlight previous performances by Elton Jim and the dedication necessary to perform those roles successfully.

Today on Too Opinionated, we talk with actress Callie Johnson!  With roots in rural Illinois and a drive to pursue acting as a career, she attended Columbia College Chicago earning a Bachelor in Fine Arts in musical theatre. She had an incredibly varied theatre career, stretching from leading ladies in avant-garde cult classic musicals like Stephen King's Carrie, to playing Ophelia and Desdemona. Callie won a Joseph Jefferson Award for her cameo appearance in Porchlight Music Theatre's production of Pal Joey. Not stopping there, she can also be seen as a recurring guest star on NBC's Chicago Med, and featured in Chicago P.D. as well as popular Peacock series A Frend Of The Family! Callie is on a lifelong journey to cultivate meaningful connections with others, and most importantly, herself; she fully believes that striving to be a wholehearted human being in life is a crucial part of effective storytelling in art.  Callie can be seen currently starring in AppleTV+'s new film The Beanie Bubble playing the character Linda alongside actor Zach Galifianakis and Elizabeth Banks, releasing on July 21st, 2023. Callie is thrilled to be in this flash-to-the-past film (being a true Beanie Babies fan in her real-life childhood), in which the storyline uncovers Beanie Babies and its booming phenomena in America. Want to Watch: YouTube Meisterkhan Pod (Please Subscribe)

Actor and professor Cindy Gold remembers her friend and colleague Frank Galati, the Academy Award-nominated and multiple Tony Award-winning writer and director who died last January. At a memorial held at Steppenwolf Theatre last Monday, Galati's friends and artistic colleagues (including Mary Zimmerman, Robert Falls; Lois Smith, and Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty) remembered him as a generous and supportive artist in an event that was an inspiring celebration. Cindy shares her memories of working with Frank on his musical Loving Repeating (for which she won a Joseph Jefferson Award for playing Gertrude Stein); how Frank was a champion of the positive who had the ability to love an actor to a great performance; the joy of experiencing the “full Galati;” her talent to be a muse; and how Frank Galati continues to inspire. (Length 20:04)

Almanya Narula is an award winning international actor, writer, and fight choreographer. She started her career in the entertainment industry at a young age where she was a child actor in various Bollywood films. Previously, she was very involved with the Chicago theatre industry collaborating as an actor and fight choreographer for several acclaimed and award winning productions. In 2019, she became the first woman of color to be nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award in Fight Choreography  Inspired by the life of Noor Inayat Khan - an Indian princess turned British WW2 spy, Almanya recently developed a multi award winning and critically acclaimed solo show based on the aftermath of Noor's attempted escape from Avenue Foch (WW2 Gestapo HQ) leading up to her tragic assassination. 'Noor Inayat Khan: The Forgotten Spy', premiered at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in June 2022 and was met with rave reviews from the audience and critics. It was nominated for 6 awards taking home 2 wins! Almanya holds a B.A. in Theater & Advanced Management with minors in Stage Combat and Voice Over from Columbia College Chicago, an M.A. in New Arts Journalism from School of the Art Institute of Chicago . In 2022 she graduated from the Stella Adler: Art of Acting Professional Conservatory. Social media: @almanyanarula, @noorinayakhan.soloshow Additional Info: 'Noor Inayat Khan: The Forgotten Spy', will have its remount and last performance at Whitefire Theatre Solo Fest on February 25th, 8pm For more info go here: https://whitefire.stagey.net/projects/9472

Desmin Borges is an actor who takes on challenging roles and brings dynamic characters to life. He is perhaps best known for his role as Edgar in five seasons of FX's un-romantic comedy ‘You're the Worst.' The twisted series took a modern look at love and happiness through four people who haven't been successful at either. Desmin can currently be seen in a series regular role in HBO's ‘The Time Traveler's Wife', as well as in a season-long recurring arc on the Fox comedy 'Welcome To Flatch.' Other recent credits include Amazon's series ‘Utopia' opposite John Cusack, the Netflix dramedy series ‘Living with Yourself' as Paul Rudd's nemesis, and the film ‘Private Life' opposite Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn. Upcoming work includes a major role opposite Jennifer Lopez in the film ‘Shotgun Wedding'. He first gained recognition for his breakout performance in “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity”, performed at Chicago's Victory Gardens, New York's Second Stage, and the Geffen Playhouse in LA. He has also received the Joseph Jefferson Award and Theatre World Award, and nominations for the Lucille Lortel and Drama League awards. We chat about why New York is better than LA, food, haters, losing his father at 15 and moving forward, pain, health and happiness and being a “voice to the voiceless”. The video footage of this entire chat is now out as well (one day after release)! So check them out on YouTube under Michael Kahan Check Desmin out on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desminborges/ ------------------------------------------- Follow @Funny in Failure on Instagram and Facebook https://www.instagram.com/funnyinfailure/ https://www.facebook.com/funnyinfailure/ and @Michael_Kahan on Insta & Twitter to keep up to date with the latest info. https://www.instagram.com/michael_kahan/ https://twitter.com/Michael_Kahan

Rachel Dratch recently had her Broadway debut in POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, a play by Selina Fillinger. With three decades of experience in the business, Rachel recalls her SNL days where she worked for seven years and compares the pressure that came along with it and how it differs from doing Broadway. She speaks candidly about her love for comedy, particularly improv and sketch, and whether she'll ever try drama on stage or in movies. Rachel also shares why she prefers sticking to the script and rarely improvises on a film, why she decided to leave SNL, and why you should have fun when you're in a "dip". Rachel Dratch is an actress, comedian, and writer, whose latest stage credits include POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, her Broadway debut. She was a cast member on Saturday Night Live for seven years, where she had memorable characters like Debbie Downer, Boston teen Denise, and the "Lovers" professors with Will Ferrell. She was an alumna of the Second City Theater in Chicago, where she performed in four revues on the main stage, two of which she received the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actress in a Revue. Some of her live comedy credits include ASSSCAT 3000 at the UCB Theater in New York, "Dratch and Fey". Her TV credits include "Frasier," "Ugly Betty," "30 Rock," "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," and "Shameless," and some of her film credits include "Wine Country," "Click," and "Just Go with It." In this episode, we talk about: Having a minor in Psychology and wanting to be a therapist Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Unexpectedly getting pregnant at 44 Living in Chicago for nine years and getting into The Second City Her memoir, Girl Walks into a Bar . . .: Comedy Calamities, Dating Disasters, and a Midlife Miracle Connect with Rachel: Twitter: @TheRealDratch Instagram: @raedratch Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast TikTok: @thetheatrepodcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kathy Voytko made her Broadway debut in the original cast of the 2002 revival of Oklahoma! directed by Trevor Nunn and she was in the Tony Award-winning Nine starring Antonio Banderas and Chita Rivera. She originated the role of Ariadne in Stephen Sondheim's The Frogs opposite Nathan Lane at Lincoln Center and her other Broadway credits include The Pirate Queen, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Next To Normal, the 2014 Tony Award-winner for best musical A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder and the original Broadway cast of Tuck Everlasting. Kathy toured the United States as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera and as Eva Peron in the 25th anniversary tour of Evita, working with legendary director/producer Hal Prince on both projects. She is often a soloist for symphonies and concerts around the world and she has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall in London as well as in Mexico and Canada.    Kathy has also played leading roles at various regional theatres across the country including Clara in Passion, Fantine in Les Miserables, Fiona in Brigadoon, Polly in Crazy For You and Francesca in The Bridges of Madison County.  She is a two-time recipient of Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She received a BFA in Music/Theatre from Shenandoah Conservatory.  She will be appearing next in the upcoming Broadway revival of The Music Man, where she will be performing in the ensemble, and understudying Sutton Foster.

Multiple Award-winning Broadway actor Natascia Diaz has performed professionally since the age of nine. Growing up in New York City, she began her training at The School of American Ballet where she was hand-picked by Jerome Robbins and librettist Arthur Laurents to perform the role of Anita in both the National and International tours of West Side Story garnering Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Award and St. Louis's Kevin Klein Award. Her Broadway credits include Paul Simon's The Capeman, and leading roles in Seussical, and the 2004 revival of Man of La Mancha, in which she also understudied the role of Aldonza, performing the role opposite Brian Stokes Mitchell. She is well known to DC theatre audiences, having won two Helen Hayes awards, and appearing often at the Tony Award winning Signature Theatre, MetroStage and other notable venues. She is also featured in the Broadway Documentary Film, Every Little Step, about the auditions for the 2006 revival of A Chorus Line.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Chicago-based actor & vocal coach, Missy Wise. Missy shares with us her journey in musical theater, from small-town Louisiana to Chicago. “Once you have a ticket, you gotta stay in line,” states Missy, as she discusses the dedication to the audition process and what it takes to move up in the acting world. Missy Wise is also a vocal coach, and owner of Sunburst Vocal Studio, where she guides singers based on their personal goals/aspirations, to set them up for success. She is a two-time Joseph Jefferson Award winner, and has two albums out, available to stream. She has a passion for her craft and emphasizes the importance of knowing yourself so that you can show your unique gifts to the world. To learn more about Missy, you can visit her website at www.sunburstvocalstudio.com and you can find her on Instagram at @sunburstvocals & @missyawiseFollow us for more inspiring stories from women in business at:Instagram: @laythecoursepodcastFacebook: Lay the Course PodcastWebsite: www.laythecoursepodcast.comHost: Kelsey StineProduced by: Vela Creative Co.Credits: Production & Editing by Kelsey Stine, Sarah Miller and Trevor Stine, Artwork by Alyssa Tanner

Jamie Pachino is currently the Co-Executive Producer on The Right Stuff for Disney+. She always thought that she’d be an actor for her career, but she fell in love with writing plays and scripts along the way. Her work has been produced in four countries, honored with numerous awards, and she’s written for major studios like DreamWorks, Disney, Lionsgate and more. Jamie shares how she did it and the lessons she learned along the way. It’s an inspiring story of someone who followed her passion into a career of her dreams, and the script on that career is not even close to finished!Meet the GuestJamie Pachino is an award winning playwright, screenwriter and TV writer. Her plays have been seen in four countries, published and named the winner of the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays production grant, the Laurie Foundation Theatre Visionary Award, Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work, and the Francesca Primus Prize by the American Theatre Critics Association, among many others. Jamie’s plays have been produced, developed and read at Steppenwolf, Long Wharf, Hartford Stage, LCT3 (Lincoln Center), American Conservatory Theatre, Roundabout, Geva, San Jose Rep, Pasadena Playhouse, Northlight, Florida Stage, A Contemporary Theatre, and the Women’s Playwright Conference in Athens, Greece, among many others. Jamie has written on the staffs of TV series for Amazon (SNEAKY PETE, CHARLOTTE WALSH LIKES TO WIN), AMC (HALT AND CATCH FIRE), NBC (CHICAGO PD, THE BRAVE), TNT (FRANKLIN & BASH) and USA (FAIRLY LEGAL). She has written features for DreamWorks, Disney, Lionsgate, Walden Media, Vanguard Films and others, and teleplays for Amazon, the Hallmark Hall of Fame, Lifetime, Up, and the Hallmark Channel. She is currently writing on the staff of THE RIGHT STUFF for Disney+, a pilot for Bad Robot Productions, and her screenplay MASTERPIECE has been optioned. Jamie has served on the faculties of Northwestern University (her alma mater), University of California Irvine, National Louis University, Columbia College and The Chicago Academy of the Arts. She is a proud member of the WGA, The Playwrights Center, and the International Center for Women Playwrights, and is represented by Kaplan Stahler Agency, APA (theatre), Harden Curtis (London), and Cartel Entertainment. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband Lindsay Jones and their two children. LinksMore at www.jamiepachino.com.

Welcome back to intermission! This week, we take you backstage with Henry McGinniss, the voice of Oliver the Platypus in Musical #4, ELENORA AND THE MOUNTAIN OF LOVE. Henry is a Joseph Jefferson Award-winning Chicago based actor who could most recently be seen traveling North America with the National Tour of THE BOOK OF MORMON as a swing and the understudy for Elder McKinley. If you would like to be a part of one of our upcoming productions, you can send your resume and work samples to castme1MM@gmail.com. We are looking for writers, actors, composers, editors, animators and artists of all stripes! We are growing each and every day and we hope you'll share your talent with us. And if you REALLY love our show and want to help support us, you can head to Patreon.com/onemlionmusicals. There, you'll find sneak peaks, bonus behind the scenes episodes, official playbills, and much much more. -- SHOW INFORMATION Instagram: @OneMillionMusicals Facebook: @OneMillionMusicals Patreon: Patreon.com/OneMillionMusicals Email: onemillionmusicals@gmail.com Music: Klintworth Music Services Artwork: @stickadams Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Subscribe: Spotify

Jaymi has been designing around the country for the past twenty years. Some production highlights include: four seasons at Utah Shakespeare Festival where she lit sixteen different productions, Two Trains Running, The Taming of the Shrew and the upcoming Great Expectations at The Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The Wiz and Rocky Horror at Dallas Theater Center, Peter and the Starcatcher and Topdog Underdog at South Coast Repertory, the world premier of The Who and the What at LaJolla Playhouse, Smart Cookie at The Alliance Theater, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune at Hartford Stage, Orlando and Mary Stuart at The Court Theatre, Among the Thugs and Anna in the Tropics at The Goodman, No Place Like Home, Uncle Vanya, The Dazzle, Absolution and The Ordinary Yearnings of Miriam Buddwing at Steppenwolf, Tug of War at The Getty Villa and the national tour of John Astins Once Upon a Midnight. Some theatre companies she has designed for include Denver Theater Center, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, South Coast Repertory, Utah Shakespeare, LaJolla Playhouse, Dallas Theater Center, Pasadena Playhouse, The Alliance Theater, The Clarence Brown, The Pearl Theater, Victory Gardens, Steppenwolf, The Court Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Redmoon, Rivendell, Naked Eye, Lookingglass, Milwaukee Repertory, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Madison Repertory, San Jose Repertory, and Hartford Stage. She was a founding member of Naked Eye Theater Company and an ensemble member of The Next Theater and Rivendell Theater Ensemble, all of them Chicago based companies. Other design work has included the scenic and projection design on dozens on productions. She also acted as Architectural Lighting Consultant on over three hundred and fifty private residences and designed four different restaurants within Chicago. In addition, she has designed over fifty various special events for non-for-profits, red carpet events and private parties. As a production manager, she has held many positions. She acted as Senior Production Manager for KBA Marketing who produced more than 10,000 events a year for companies such as Coca-Cola, RJ Reynolds and Nike. She also managed and initiated the groundbreaking citywide theatre festival in Chicago known as Theatre Fever with more than 80 theatre companies leading free workshops and performances for a two-week period. She spent seven years as the Producer for The League of Chicago Theatres facilitating all galas, media events and community conferences. Other production management credits include Outfest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and Mrs. Ts Triathlon. She received her training from the conservatory program of The Theatre School, DePaul University. In 2003 she was the recipient of the Michael Merrit/ Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award. She also received a 2010 Joseph Jefferson Award for Mary's Wedding with Rivendell Theater Ensemble and was nominated for a Jeff Award for Orlando at The Court Theater, The Incident with The Next Theatre, Terrible Girls with About Face, Yellowman with The Next Theatre and OffSpring of the Cold War with Walkabout Theatre. She was additionally a winner of a Column Award for Rocky Horror at Dallas Theater Center and was nominated for a Henry Award for her work on Animal Crackers at The Denver Center. Previous teaching credits include adjunct faculty at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Associated Colleges of the Midwest and The Theatre School, DePaul University. Her website is available at jaymismith.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/p3-theatre-company/support

Sean Allan Krill is an American actor who has crafted a career on Broadway, off-Broadway, at prestigious regional theaters, and in television. He studied at Wayne State University, where he received the Lily Tomlin Scholarship for Theatre. Sean was nominated for a 2020 Tony Award, Best Performance by a Featured Actor, for his role as Steve Healy in Jagged Little Pill, the acclaimed Broadway musical inspired by Alanis Morissette's groundbreaking 1995 album. He is also a Carbonell Award and Leon Rabin Award nominee, a Joseph Jefferson Award and Craig Noel Award recipient, and lives in New York, NY.

Inspiring award-winning performances from your talent: Crossover applications to business leadership from the theatrical development process with Charles Newell, Artistic Director of Court Theatre in Chicago A CEO’s Virtual Mentor Episode 24   Welcome to Episode 24, Season 5, of the Leadership Lyceum: A CEO's Virtual Mentor®. I'm joined in the program today by Charles Newell, the Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director of the renowned and critically acclaimed Court Theatre in Chicago. This interview was recorded in the summer of 2019 as the Court Theatre's production of the play, The Adventures of Augie March, had completed its record-breaking performance run. We had intended to publish this episode early this year in 2020, but COVID hit and it seemed a little bold to put this out at the early stage of the pandemic. The world had other pressing items that deserved attention. But now, in the middle of the holiday season, we've been without live theater and entertainment for nine months, we thought this interview might be not only informative, but also soothing at this stage of the pandemic.   This interview is timeless and gets deep into a theatrical production's creative process as seen through the mind's eye of the director. In general, we, as an audience of entertainment, be it sports or the performing arts, are often spoiled with the perfection and professionalism of the finished product. But what is involved or required from a leadership perspective to develop and burnish the performance into the form to which we are also accustomed? What goes on in the business of theater has crossover applications to all business leaders. We'll cover a wide range of topics in today's program. We'll outline the organizational form of the Court Theatre, including its governance, funding and management structure. But the majority of our time will be spent stepping through the phases of the creation of a production from script selection to closing night.   Program Guide A CEO’s Virtual Mentor Episode 24 Inspiring award-winning performances from your talent with Charles Newell, Artistic Director of Court Theatre in Chicago 0:00     Introduction to the program and Charles Newell, Artistic Director of the Court Theatre in Chicago 3:20     Court Theatre’s history, governance structure, funding sources and unique structure with the University of Chicago. 5:09     Achieving high caliber of performances on a smaller budget than peers theater companies in Chicago 7:25     Unique mission and social-societal outcomes of Court Theatre in the realm of national theater. 10:39   Break 1 11:19   Phase 1 of the Theatrical Development Process: Finding and developing a script. 17:11   Break 2 17:27   Phase 2 of the Theatrical Development Process: Developing the look and feel of the production. Revealing the collaborative creative process. 25:01   Break 3 25:35   Phase 3 of the Theatrical Development Process: The Casting Process. Dealing with barriers and constraints. 32:45   Break 4 34:51   Phase 4 of the Theatrical Development Process: Production development, rehearsal, and refinement. Inspiring and motivating actors to perform at their best. 39:20   Break 5 39:46   Phase 5 of the Theatrical Development Process: The arc of production and performance evolution from opening night to closing night. Keeping a production evolving and improving in the absence of continuous rehearsals. 49:33   Break 6 50:03   Retrospective self-reflection on the evolution of a theater director. 55:06   Conclusion and coming attractions.   We would like to express our special thanks to the clients of Lyceum Leadership Consulting that enable us to bring you this podcast. Thanks for listening.  We can’t improve without your feedback – write us through our website www.LeadershipLyceum.com and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.  See you next time.   Informative and Helpful Links   https://www.courttheatre.org/ http://manualcinema.com/   Biographies of Guests Mr. Charles Newell Charles Newell is the Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director of Court Theatre. He was awarded the SDCF Zelda Fichandler Award, “which recognizes an outstanding director or choreographer who is transforming the regional arts landscape through singular creativity and artistry in theatre.” Charlie has been Artistic Director at Court Theatre since 1994, where he has directed over 50 productions. He made his Chicago directorial debut in 1993 with The Triumph of Love, which won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production. Charlie’s productions of Man of La Mancha and Caroline, or Change have also won Best Production Jeffs. Other directorial highlights at Court include All My Sons, The Hard Problem,  Man in the Ring; One Man, Two Guvnors; Satchmo at the Waldorf; Agamemnon; The Secret Garden; Iphigenia in Aulis; M. Butterfly; The Misanthrope; Tartuffe; Proof; Angels in America; An Iliad; Porgy and Bess; Three Tall Women; Titus Andronicus; Arcadia; Uncle Vanya; Raisin; The Glass Menagerie; Travesties; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; The Invention of Love; and Hamlet. Charlie has also directed at Goodman Theatre (Rock ‘n’ Roll), Guthrie Theater (The History Cycle, Cymbeline), Arena Stage, John Houseman’s The Acting Company (Staff Repertory Director), the California and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Juilliard, and New York University. He has served on the Board of TCG, as well as on several panels for the NEA. Opera directing credits include Marc Blitzstein’s Regina (Lyric Opera), Rigoletto (Opera Theatre of St. Louis), Don Giovanni and The Jewel Box (Chicago Opera Theater), and Carousel (Glimmerglass). Charlie was the recipient of the 1992 TCG Alan Schneider Director Award, and has been nominated for 16 Joseph Jefferson Director Awards, winning four times. In 2012, Charlie was honored by the League of Chicago Theatres with its Artistic Achievement Award.   Your host Thomas B. Linquist is the Founder and Managing Director of Lyceum Leadership Consulting and Lyceum Leadership Productions. Over his 15 years in management and leadership consulting he has served a wide array of corporate clients.  This includes leadership assessment and search for chief executive officers, chief financial officers, chief operating officers and boards of directors.  He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and over his 30-year career has served in a variety of roles: as an engineer with Shell Oil Company, a banker with ABN AMRO Bank, and as treasurer was the youngest corporate officer in the 150+ year history at Peoples Energy Company in Chicago.  He is an expert on hiring and promotion decisions and leadership development.  Over the course of his search career, he has interviewed thousands of leaders. Thanks for listening.  We can’t improve without your feedback – write us through our website www.LeadershipLyceum.com and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.  Please rate us and spread the word among your fellow executives and board colleagues.   Program Disclaimer The only purpose of the podcast is to educate, inform and entertain. The information shared is based on the collection of experiences of each of the guests interviewed and should not be considered or substituted for professional advice. Guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, experience and conclusions, and neither The Leadership Lyceum LLC nor any company providing financial support endorses or opposes any particular content, recommendation or methodology discussed in this podcast.   Follow Leadership Lyceum on: Our website: www.LeadershipLyceum.com LinkedIn: The Leadership Lyceum LLC Twitter: @LeaderLyceum https://twitter.com/LeaderLyceum Email us: info@LeadershipLyceum.com   Thanks for listening.  We can’t improve without your feedback – write us through our website www.LeadershipLyceum.com and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.  Please rate us and spread the word among your fellow executives and board colleagues.  This podcast Leadership Lyceum: A CEO’s Virtual Mentor has been a production of The Leadership Lyceum LLC. Copyright 2020. All rights reserved.

I'm so excited to bring you this episode. My guests today are Cara Cooper and Jessica Rush. They're both Broadway Moms and they're here to talk about motherhood, parenting, their podcast (MAMAS Talkin' LOUD), balancing career and family, as well as how their lives have been impacted by COVID-19. Cara is a special needs mom and we talk about that journey as well. Cara and Jessica are absolutely hilarious and I encourage you all to check out their podcast, MAMAS Talkin' LOUD. It's a trip.  This is a fantastic conversation and I'm thrilled to bring it to you all. About Cara Cooper:Cara Cooper is an actress most recently on Broadway in the critically acclaimed musical The Prom. Prior to that, she was the longest-running Mary Delgado in the Broadway company of Jersey Boys. During her run in JB, she had not one, but two babies. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, Graham Bowen, and the aforementioned babies, Elin and Finn (who are no longer babies). Before kids, her Broadway career included the original companies of Elf, The Wedding Singer, All Shook Up, Urban Cowboy, replacing in Legally Blonde, and waking up for a matinee at 10 am… She has appeared on Showtime's “City on a Hill” and in the films Adult Beginners and The Great Gilly Hopkins (both of which she shot while pumping in the trailer). As the mother of a child with special needs (her daughter is autistic), she is keenly aware of the specific challenges of raising children of different ‘abilities' and fights for this community of warrior parents to feel seen and supported. She is the co-founder of Broadway Baby Mamas and keeps her sanity with equal parts exercise, wine, and tortilla chips. About Jessica Rush:Jessica Rush is a mom, wife, and award-winning actress currently seen as Rhonda in the original Broadway company of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. She most recently completed a successful run in Broadway's Dear Evan Hansen, where she stood by for both Cynthia Murphy and Heidi Hansen. Last season she originated the role of Joyce Bogart in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. Jessica had the honor of closing the Broadway run of Jersey Boys as the longest-running Lorraine, and prior to that, appeared in Guys and Dolls and was the stand-by for Laura Benanti in Gypsy with Patti LuPone. Television credits include appearances on “Billions”, “White Collar” and the award-winning web series “Then We Got Help”. She was the recipient of the Joseph Jefferson Award for her portrayal of Louise in Gypsy at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and is co-founder of the Broadway Baby Mamas. Ms. Rush enjoys a charcuterie board, rosé, pumpkin spice, and all things basic while raising her voice in the fight for awareness and equality. She is married to actor Eric Anderson, and mom to their daughter, Elliot. About MAMAS Talkin' LOUD:Website: https://broadwaypodcastnetwork.com/podcast/mamas-talkin-loud/ (https://broadwaypodcastnetwork.com/podcast/mamas-talkin-loud/) Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mamastalkinloud/ (@mamastalkinloud ) Twitter: https://twitter.com/mamastalkinpod (@mamastalkinpod  ) Link to the season finale episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rachel-tucker-on-both-sides-of-the-pond/id1483884105?i=1000486769299 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rachel-tucker-on-both-sides-of-the-pond/id1483884105?i=1000486769299) The Podcast Is Available on Apple/iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart, TuneIn, Deezer, http://player.fm/ (Player.FM), Pocket Cast, Podcast Addict and everywhere else you listen to podcasts. https://broadwaypodcastnetwork.com/ (https://broadwaypodcastnetwork.com/) About Me: All my information and relevant links are https://www.liinks.co/theautismdad (here) Sponsors This episode is sponsored by Mightier. Mightier is an amazing program out of Harvard Medical and Boston Children's. It uses video games to teach kids to emotionally self-regulate. Visit...

I’m Stefan Sittig and welcome to AMERICAN THEATRE ARTISTS ONLINE, where we talk with leading contemporary figures in American Theatre.   Gretchen Cryer is most well-known for writing the book and lyrics and starring in “I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road (with music by Nancy Ford) which won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Musical and Best Actress, and received a Grammy nomination for the album.   Gretchen has written numerous other shows with Nancy Ford and they were the first female composer-lyricist team to have their work produced on Broadway and Off-Broadway.    Cryer and Ford’s new show “Still Getting My Act Together” is slated for production in 2021.   Gretchen is on the Dramatist Guild Council and is President Emeritus of the Dramatists Guild Foundation. She also teaches a workshop entitled “Creating Your Own Solo Performance” and has helped dozens of solo artists develop their pieces.   She will be presenting five of her solo artists at the Cherry Lane Theater in May 2021 in a festival entitled “True Stories.”

Alan is highly regarded for his vital, re-imagined versions of classic plays and musicals. His work tends to mine the present-day relevance of a story, challenging people’s memories and expectations, so that they hear and experience the words and ideas anew. His style invites audiences to lean forward and participate rather than just observe, breaking down boundaries between audience and actors, encouraging hearts to flutter and conversation to ensue.His 10-person Oliver! was solicited by Stage Entertainment and had its inaugural production at the Human Race Theatre Company, with choreography by Spencer Liff. He worked in conjunction with the Lerner Estate on his post-modern and highly celebrated Camelot for the Drury Lane Theatre in Chicago, where he also mounted a provocative, madcap, Vegas-themed Joseph…Dreamcoat and a rather progressive and highly stylized take on Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.Alan has directed plays and musicals for Laguna Playhouse, Olney Theatre, Arkansas Repertory, Walnut Street Theatre, The New Theatre, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Virginia Musical Theatre, 3D Theatricals, Texas Shakespeare Festival, and the John W. Engeman Theater at Northport, among others.He has also directed many world-premieres, including The Little Hours (based on the short stories of Dorothy Parker), Exposure Time, and Multiple Family Dwelling for NJ Repertory, Mourning the Living at the Abingdon Theatre in NYC, and Death Valley: A Love Story for the Springfield Contemporary Theatre.He has been nominated for both the Joseph Jefferson Award and Carbonell Award, has received multiple Edgerton Foundation Grants for New Works, and has had his work recorded for the National Theatre Archive.Alan has directed original benefit performances on Broadway, for both the Actors Fund of America and the Christopher Reeve Foundation. He is a frequent Guest Artist at University Drama Programs throughout the country and is a Director and Teaching Artist for the Broadway Dreams Foundation.Based in NYC, Alan is a member of SDC and a Taurus.

Anthony Crivello won a 1993 Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical as the original Valentin in Hal Prince’s Kiss of the Spiderwoman at the Broadhurst Theater. During the show’s pre-Broadway run, Mr. Crivello also received the Canadian stage honor of a 1992 Dora Mavor Moore Nomination. He received a second Dora Mavor Moore Nomination in 1997 for the pre-Broadway production of Jane Eyre at the Royal Alexander Theater in Toronto. Mr. Crivello won the 1996 Joseph Jefferson Award as the Best Leading Actor in a Musical, for the pre-Broadway production of The House of Martin Guerre at the Tony Award winning Goodman Theater in Chicago directed by David Petrarca. Mr. Crivello received his second Joseph Jefferson Nomination in 2005 for his “comic perfection” on stage in the David Ives interpretation of the farce A Flea in Her Ear at the Tony Award winning Chicago Shakespeare Theater, directed by Gary Griffin. He won the 1985 Carbonell Award for Best Supporting Actor in the Broadway Musical The News. https://fundraise.projectals.org/campaign/prosetin-2020

Not much in Chadwick Boseman’s early life would lead you to think he would become an actor. Not his birthplace (Anderson, South Carolina), not his family (his mom was a nurse, his dad an upholstery business owner), not his interests (he was the quiet one who played sports). Not one thing, it seems, except he just decided. A sad incident in his last years of high school prompted him to write and then direct his first play, after which he simply decided that’s what he’d do. He studied at Howard University and later at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, and in short order, commenced writing plays: His 2006 Deep Azure was nominated for a 2006 Joseph Jefferson Award for New Work, and the Chicago Tribune called it “Fascinating…Especially because the 28-year-old Boseman is a fresh talent – a young, sophisticated African-American writer with all of the flaws that flow from youth and inexperience and all of the excitement that draws from those very same places. With a slate of cultural references complex enough to encompass the likes of jazz-speak, Shakespeare, Hebrew, Louis Farrakhan and Spider-Man, Boseman offers a creative, slick and arresting employment of theatrical language and imagery.” But Boseman had also taken some taking acting classes in college. At the time, it was just to learn how to work with actors, but in 2008 he decided he was ready to become one himself. He got a few TV parts here and there (L&O, Lincoln Heights, Persons Unknown), but film parts – many of which he was sure he’d get – eluded him. One of those was in Django Unchained. Boseman wasn’t cast, but after his audition, director Quentin Tarantino told his casting director, “That guy is going to be something.” But what? Those were lean years, and Boseman was on the verge of re-committing to the stage. That’s when he got the call to read for 42, playing Jackie Robinson opposite Harrison Ford. Director Brian Helgeland tells a story of his audition: “[Boseman] came in and said, ‘You’re either going to like me or not, and we’re going to know in five minutes.’ He had to play one of the bravest men who ever lived, so I thought that he came in brave was a great indication.” It was brave, considering Robinson himself had played the role in 1950’s The Jackie Robinson Story. Most reviewers felt Boseman did the better job. His bravery was put to the test again when he was asked to audition for the role of James Brown in 2014’s Get On Up. Boseman hesitated (the moves alone would’ve scared even more flexible men), but director Tate Taylor knew it was about more than the Mashed Potato. He needed to see Boseman play Brown in his 60s. “That was the Achilles heel of the whole project,” Taylor told The Guardian in 2015. “I thought, if this isn’t perfect, we will fail, and the whole tone will be wrecked. I need the best fucking actor I can find... and he nailed it.’” Variety agreed, calling his performance faultless. “Chadwick Boseman plays Brown from age 16 to 60 with a dexterity and invention worthy of his subject. We have a chance to see this remarkable actor in full bloom, whether he’s giving life to Brown’s signature dance moves…or burrowing deep into the performer’s tortured, little-boy-lost soul. He feels Brown from the inside out, the way Brown felt his own distinctive rhythms, and even when the movie itself seems to be on autopilot, Boseman never leaves the captain’s chair.” Suddenly, Boseman seemed the go-to guy for movies about iconic black figures. It’s something he initially resisted, but this month finds him in Marshall, a biographical thriller about the first African-American Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and one of the first cases in his career. Boseman is obviously in possession of a strong will, but like most real artists, he’s powerless when it comes to a great story. His most iconic character yet may actually be fictional. Last year he joined Marvel’s blockbuster Captain America: Civil War as T’Challa/Black Panther, a brilliant scientist and king of the unconquerable African nation of Wakanda, not to mention a shrewd tactician and fighter. As the first in a five-picture deal with Marvel, it’s of no small significance to Boseman’s career. So is the fact that he’ll be the first black superhero starring in his own Marvel film when Black Panther premieres in 2018. NPR said his “regal performance” in Captain America “makes you wish it were arriving sooner.” If “you” means the 90 million people who watched the film’s teaser trailer within four hours of its release, that sounds about right. But back to that decision to write and direct. Boseman has said he’s learned you have to choose a clear point of entry to the business, but once you define yourself, you can go into other arenas. That’s good, because we need artists like him pushing from behind the camera as well. However he decides to tell his stories, we’re listening.

Michael J Gellman now resides in Ontario Canada and is Artistic Director of The Process Theatre. He teaches at Loyalist College as well as Master Workshops for Second City International and Artistic New Directions NYC. He is an alumnus of the Second City mainstage and was a resident director for Second City in Canada and the USA for 25 years. He was Artistic Director of the Second City Toronto where his shows were nominated for 7 Dora Mavor Moore Awards including twice for Outstanding Direction, nominated for Best Director for Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award, and won a Chalmers Award for Best Director. He is a senior faculty and founding member of the Second City Training Center where he was a Program Head and also Director of the NY training Center. Michael was an adjunct faculty member at Columbia College Chicago teaching Acting For Directors in the Film Directing department and designed and taught Improvisation and Acting III for the Comedy Studies department. In addition to Second City and Columbia College he has taught and designed classes and workshops in directing, acting and improvisation since 1976 at such notable institutions as: Actors Centre London, The Audition Centre, Victory Gardens Training Centre, Act One Conservatory and Loyola Law School as well as master workshops for hundreds of Universities, festivals, theatre companies and improv groups around the world. He is credited with originating “Long Form” Improvisation and his book “Process: An Improvisers Journey” (Northwestern University Press) co-authored with Mary Scruggs is a summary of his workshops on improvisational training.

Jane Morris has improvised, written, performed, and directed shows around the world. Beginning in Chicago, where she helped found the Second City ETC with her husband Jeff Michalski, and later from her own theaters in Los Angeles, no one has done more to advance the art of improvisation than Jane. As an actress with over 58 credits to her name she is best known for her roles in Raising Helen, True Lies, Frankie and Johnny and recently in Veep. As a director Jane was nominated for a 1988 Joseph Jefferson Award for Director of a Revue for "Channel This" at the Second City Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. Jane conducts a solo performance workshop that takes original work from idea to staging, to performing. The class works with actors and writers at any level of the process, whether they are just getting started, or almost ready to mount a whole solo show. Her workshop has produced 9 original shows and every participant has finished work. http://scholarsy.blogspot.com/2017/04/jane-morris-explains-improvisation-and.html https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0606623/ http://janemorriswritework.blogspot.com/

We welcome the remarkably talented actress and stage director Cecelia Wingate to Booth One this week. Hailing from Memphis, TN, Cecelia is a driving force in the vibrant theater scene there. Gary recalls seeing her breathtaking performance in Chicago in the marvelous new play by Evan Linder Byhalia, Mississippi directed by Tyrone Phillips a couple of seasons ago, a performance for which Cecelia won a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Supporting Actress. Here is a photo from the triumphant opening night at Steppenwolf, which we were so lucky to get to be part of. Cecelia recounts her upbringing in the South, from Georgia to Mississippi to Tennessee. Frank and Gary comment on her smooth and sexy southern drawl, an accent that Americans find the most appealing, according to a YouGov Poll. In aquatic news this week, a trio of thieves pulled off a "shark-napping" at a Texas aquarium by disguising the stolen horn shark as a baby and wheeling it out in a stroller. Known as Miss Helen, the relatively harmless 1.5 foot creature was eventually found in a mock-up aquarium in a local garage and returned unharmed to her home tank. The two men and one woman heist-ers are being held on charges of theft in a San Antonio jail. Before her tremendously successful career as a director took off, Cecelia was the founder and one of four lead singers in a band called The Bouffants for 21 years. The "Premier Party Band of the South", the group has played throughout the United States, including New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Minneapolis. The troupe started out as a girl-group cover band but has since added R&B, Motown and classic Rock & Roll to their repertoire. There's no current plan for a reunion of the original members, but Cecelia won't rule out a comeback should the circumstances arise. We give a shout out to our friend Christine McHugh, who will perform her one-woman show Parents Must Be Dead at the Greenhouse Theater Center, Chicago, on Thursday, August 30. When her parents died within three years of each other she thought she had weathered this milestone life passage as an adult with some measure of ease and grace. Little did she know that the death of parents comes in many forms and with many reverberations. Some of them seismic. In her solo show, Christine explores this landscape that all of us will eventually navigate with raw humor and tender vulnerability. Click here for tickets and information. Cecelia's Porch is a Memphis institution, where creative types and artists gather for informal dialogue, exchange of ideas and just plain fun. Open 365 days a year, it's a come-as-you-are drop-in destination. BYOB and food but be prepared for anything to happen, including singalongs with the neighbors. Gary, Frank, and Betsy are considering a field trip to Memphis to check out this Bloomsbury Group of the South. The boys and Cecelia play a few rounds of Chat Pack, where we learn about the things that make them happiest, and what they'd like to have delivered to their homes each morning. Listeners are reminded that for a donation of $100 or more to the Booth One non-profit in support of fascinating guests and scintillating conversation, legendary journalist and radio host Rick Kogan (Episode 82 guest) will provide an autographed copy of his true-crime book Everybody Pays. Just click the "Donate" button on our website for a quick and easy contribution. Thank you to those of you who have already donated. Your book is on the way!And it's a thriller. Kiss of Death Kathy Kriger - 'Madame Rick' at her Casablanca Cafe During her stint with the American Diplomatic Service, Ms. Kriger found that Rick's Cafe, the cinematic gin joint from the 1942 movie Casablanca, did not actually exist. So she opened her own Rick's Cafe in a converted house in Casablanca's old city, creating "a sanctuary of tolerance," which she felt the cinematic night club represented. Ms. Kriger said that Rick's had been good for her.

Episode 16: Alexandra Billings Alexandra Billings (www.alexandrabillings.com) is an actress, singer, author, teacher and activist. Currently, Ms Billings plays Davina on Amazon's Emmy and Golden Globe Award winning hit TV show "Transparent". In 2005, Ms. Billings played Donna, opposite Katherine Heigel, in the ABC film “Romy and Michelle: A New Beginning.” It was the second time a transgender actress played a transgender character in the history of television. She's had guest starring roles on "How To Get Away With Murder", “Grey's Anatomy,” “Eli Stone," “E.R.,” “Karen Sisco,” “Nurses” opposite Lynn Redgrave, and playing opposite Dot Jones in the Ryan Murphy pilot “Pretty/Handsome,” co-starring Blythe Danner and Robert Wagner. She finished her first feature film role as a non Trans character in "Valley of Bones" in the spring of 2016. She is the recipient of five After Dark Awards and one Joseph Jefferson Award. Ms. Billings' activism stretches across the continent. She has won the TPA Award and the Rainbow Spirit Award, and she was inducted into the Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in Chicago in 2007. Living with AIDS since 1995. Her life story “From Schoolboy to Showgirl,” produced by Alex Silets for PBS television, was nominated for an Emmy for Best Documentary. In this TAMP episode, Smarthouse Creative's Brad Wilke talks to actress Alexandra Billings about her role on Transparent and her experience communicating with her growing audience. Alexandra discusses how she navigates her personal vs. public persona, how living publicly as a trans actor has informed her career, and what she believes her responsibility is being a part of the Transparent cast. Alexandra’s work is inspired by, “allowing more people to be heard, bringing more people in.” You can check out Alexandra's Facebook page here, bit.ly/AlexandraBillings_Facebook. Visit Alexandra’s current projects "TRANSPARENT" and “VALLEY OF BONES” at these sites; bit.ly/TransparentTVSeries bit.ly/Valley_of_Bones_Movie TAMP music by Dude York.

Actress Linda Reiter received the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Solo Performance in the role of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy in the 2016 Chicago Premiere of ROSE: An Intimate Evening with Mrs. Kennedy. Ms. Reiter, who returns to the Greenhouse Theater Center on January 12th to reprise the role, joined the conversation on January 2nd to talk about her preparation, working with director Steve Scott and playwright Laurence Leamer and how the Kennedy family legacy was influenced by this remarkable woman. Season 3 Episode 1 Originally posted January 4, 2018

Ron Keaton, producer, actor and writer of the acclaimed Churchill one-man show was our first guest for Conversations with Ed Tracy at the Skokie Theatre. Ron discussed his long-time acting career, future goals for SoloChicago and performed a monologue from his 2015 Joseph Jefferson Award-winning performance of Churchill. Season 1 Episode 1 | Originally published July 28, 2016

Booth One welcomes the amazing Rachel Rockwell to our studios amidst her action-packed schedule. Her beautiful production of Shakespeare in Love has just opened at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, and she has about a million other irons in the fire. As a choreographer, Rachel was nominated for Joseph Jefferson Awards for The King & I (2007) and A Chorus Line (2011). As a director, she received Jeff Award nominations for Miss Saigon (2009); The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee—Best Musical (2009); Ragtime (2010) and 42nd Street (2011). For her acclaimed Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre production of Ragtime (11 Jeff nominations and seven awards), she received the Joseph Jefferson Award as Best Director of a musical. As Director, Jeff Award nominations (2012) for Best Director and Best Musical: The Sound of Music and Sweeney Todd at Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre; and Best Play: Enron at Timeline Theatre Company. In 2013, her production of Oliver! received a Jeff nomination for Best Musical. In 2014, she received Jeff Award nominations (Director, Choreography and Best Musical) for the revival of Brigadoon at The Goodman Theatre and Les Miserables at Drury Lane Oakbrook. Her production of Brigadoon was named Best Musical and she was named Best Choreographer for that production. She won the Jeff Award for Best Choreography for her production of Billy Eliot in 2015. In 2016, she won the Jeff Award as Best Director for her production of Ride The Cyclone at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.[22] She has directed notable Children's Theatre productions at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. At CST, she also choreographed productions of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Romeo and Juliet, and Measure For Measure. Since the mid-nineties, Rockwell has directed and choreographed dozens of productions for such theaters as: Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook, Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire, Paramount Theatre, Noble Fool Theatricals, Fox Valley Repertory, Apple Tree, The Little Theatre on the Square, SIU Summer Theatre and McCleod Summer Playhouse. Rachel is also working on writing and developing new musicals. Look out world!!! Booth One has a couple of ideas we may be passing by her desk. Rachel is the third musical genius to come on our show who hails from Indiana. Beckie Menzie and Danni Smith, both past guests and friends of the show, cultivated their talents in the Hoosier State. We're wondering what's in the water over there!? Rachel credits her success to a long line of mentors and teachers, including Buzz Miller, who danced Bob Fosse's brilliant choreography in the seminal "Steam Heat" on Broadway and in the film of The Pajama Game. Rachel was Dance Captain in Mamma Mia on Broadway and the National Tour, and she gives us some backstage insight about what a difficult and important job this is. She choreographs in her car(!) and counter-clockwise in her living room to avoid the coffee table. So yeah, kind of a genius. Deb Acker, the production stage manager at Chicago Shakespeare, says Rachel is the most prepared director she's ever worked with. Rachel tells us why she prepares so thoroughly. Gary and Rachel talk the 2017 Tony Award nominations and Rachel particularly recommends Come From Away. Martha Lavey,  a mentor to us all and a huge force in the Chicago theater community, is our Kiss of Death segment this week. There are no words. But these journalists come close: Hedy Weiss for the Chicago Sun Times Chris Jone for the Chicago Tribune New York Times        

Our guest today on “ADD Comedy with Dave Razowsky” is Alan Wilder. Alan is a Joseph Jefferson Award-nominated ensemble member at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater, and he’s appeared in over 60 Steppenwolf productions all over the world. He’s also appeared on numerous shows on NBC, CBS, HBO, and FOX.  Alan’s hilarious, and smart, and wise, and honest. We chatted in Chicago at Steppenwolf’s rehearsal space located alongside the “el” tracks at Halsted and North. We had a blast and could have talked for a long time. Enjoy!

LaTonya Holmes Debuts her new Hit Single " Things Change "    LaTonya Holmes is a dazzlingly multi-faceted, 360-degree entertainer: singer, songwriter, actress and voice talent. Her most recent stage production was Oprah Winfrey’s “The Color Purple.” She had a powerful co-starring television role on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy.”Excelling in theatrical arts, LaTonya won the prestigious Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role of “Lorrell” in Dreamgirls. Her talent and drive pushed her to earn recurring roles on Hanna Montana and Any Day Now. LaTonya’s lovely face has graced numerous television commercials for Toyota, McDonalds, Tampax, AT&T and KFC. And her elastic voice has brought loving life to the roles of “Flo,” “Vanessa” and “Mrs. Parker” on the PBS animated series Clifford’s Puppy Days. She’s even guest starred on Warner Bros.’ Static Shock, and Nickelodeon’s As Told By Ginger and Rocket Power. 

Rachel Dratch is today’s guest on “ADD Comedy with Dave Razowsky.” Finally! Rachel is a Second City alum, an alum of Saturday Night Live, one of the funniest folks to show up on “30 Rock,” is the author of “A Girl Walks into a Bar…,” a two-time Joseph Jefferson Award winner, was Wanda Jo on “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” and was in “The Awesomes.” Awesome is right. We chatted at a street-side wine bar in Manhattan. Enjoy the ambiance. 

Rob Riley is an alum of The Second City, a Joseph Jefferson Award-nominated actor, and a former writer on Saturday Night Live. Rob’s been in “Groundhog Day,” “Chicago Fire,” the 2010 version of “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” and co-wrote, directed and performed in the legendary show “Wild Men!” at Chicago’s Body Politic and The West Side in New York. Rob has performed at The Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens, Chicago Shakespeare, Northlight, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Written by A. Scott Galloway   LaTonya Holmes is a dazzlingly multi-faceted, 360-degree entertainer: singer, songwriter, actress and voice talent.  Her most recent stage production was Oprah Winfrey's “The Color Purple.”  She had a powerful co-starring television role on ABC's “Grey's Anatomy.”  Among her latest recordings is a dynamic cover of Diana Ross' 1976 smash “Love Hangover.”  And her most recent songwriting collaboration was with A-list legends Narada Michael Walden and Allee Willis on the driving inspirational anthem “Stand Up” – which is precisely what the world will be doing as it pertains to LaTonya…and taking notice.   Excelling in theatrical arts, LaTonya won the prestigious Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role of “Lorrell” in Dreamgirls.  Her talent and drive pushed her to earn recurring roles on Hanna Montana and Any Day Now.  LaTonya's lovely face has graced numerous television commercials for Toyota, McDonalds, Tampax, AT&T and KFC.  And her elastic voice has brought loving life to the roles of “Flo,” “Vanessa” and “Mrs. Parker” on the PBS animated series Clifford's Puppy Days.  She's even guest starred on Warner Bros.' Static Shock, and Nickelodeon's As Told By Ginger and Rocket Power. Written by A. Scott Galloway.