Podcast appearances and mentions of Mary Zimmerman

Chicago actor Christopher Donahue (currently playing Ebenezer Scrooge in the Goodman Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol), discusses playing the role of Gayev in the Goodman's 2023 production of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, directed by Robert Falls. Donahue reveals the challenges and rewards of discovering a character in rehearsal; how he finds humor alongside absurdity; how he takes inspiration from the original Dickens novel of A Christmas Carol; how people can be capable of change; his relationship with Tony-winning director (and friend of the pod) Mary Zimmerman; and finally, how the audience teaches you how to perform the play because the audience is the reason we do this. (Length 20:51) The post Chekhov To Dickens appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

When Mary Zimmerman's adaptation of Ovid's Metamorphoses was on Broadway in 2002, it won a host of awards, including the Drama Desk, Drama League, and Lucille Lortel awards for best play. Zimmerman took home the Tony award for best director. This spring, director Psalmayene 24 and an all-Black cast stage a new production of the play interpreted through the lens of the African diaspora.  Zimmerman joins us on the podcast to talk about the process of adapting Metamorphoses and The Odyssey, directing Shakespeare, and more. She is interviewed by Barbara Bogaev. Beyond Metamorphoses, Zimmerman has adapted other ancient texts for the stage, like The Odyssey, Jason and the Argonauts, and Journey to the West. She has directed many of Shakespeare's plays, as well as operas at the Metropolitan Opera. She co-wrote the libretto for the Phillip Glass opera Galileo Galilei. The Matchbox Magic Flute, her new adaptation of Mozart, plays at DC's Shakespeare Theater Company this month, in association with the Goodman Theatre. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published May 7, 2024. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica, with help from Kendra Hanna. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Ben Lauer is the web producer. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. We had technical help from from Northwestern University and Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

Playwright and director Psalmayene 24 discusses his career trajectory from his unique approach to theater, his recent direction of the world premiere of Tempestuous Rising at Arena Stage and his upcoming projects, including his current direction of Metamorphosis at the Folger Theatre. We talk about his journey from dance to theater, first as an actor and eventually to playwriting and directing in response to the lack of satisfying roles for young Black men. We discuss the collaborative nature of his directing style, involving actors and creative teams in the development of the production, ensuring that every aspect from costume design to choreography reflects the thematic richness of the play. Psalmayene 24 highlights the challenges and strategies of directing in different theater spaces, especially the round configuration of the Fichandler Stage at Arena Stage and the Elizabethan stage at the Folger Theatre. He also shares his vision for Mary Zimmerman's adaptation of Metamorphosis focusing on an all-Black cast and the use of movement to convey the universality of human conditions through the lens of Blackness and Black culture and without the iconic pool used in previous productions. And Psalmayene 24 shares his excitement about upcoming projects, including a musical about John Lewis that he is writing. And as well as being smart and thoughtful, Psalmayene 24 has a truly terrific voice!

Playwright and director Psalmayene 24 discusses his career trajectory from his unique approach to theater, his recent direction of the world premiere of Tempestuous Rising at Arena Stage and his upcoming projects, including his current direction of Metamorphosis at the Folger Theatre. We talk about his journey from dance to theater, first as an actor and eventually to playwriting and directing in response to the lack of satisfying roles for young Black men. We discuss the collaborative nature of his directing style, involving actors and creative teams in the development of the production, ensuring that every aspect from costume design to choreography reflects the thematic richness of the play. Psalmayene 24 highlights the challenges and strategies of directing in different theater spaces, especially the round configuration of the Fichandler Stage at Arena Stage and the Elizabethan stage at the Folger Theatre. He also shares his vision for Mary Zimmerman's adaptation of Metamorphosis focusing on an all-Black cast and the use of movement to convey the universality of human conditions through the lens of Blackness and Black culture and without the iconic pool used in previous productions. And Psalmayene 24 shares his excitement about upcoming projects, including a musical about John Lewis that he is writing. And as well as being smart and thoughtful, Psalmayene 24 has a truly terrific voice!

This week Melissa talks with fellow Wisconsinite Michael Cotey about World Premiere Wisconsin, a first-of-its-kind state-wide festival of new plays and musicals. *The festival currently runs through June 2023, but stay tuned for more on this great project. In this episode, we discuss: What World Premiere Wisconsin is and how it startedWhere Wisconsin stands in terms of state funding for the artsWhat Michael has learned from producing a state-wide theatre festivalMichael's company ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun ViolenceWhy he thinks college Theatre minors should be mandatoryAnd more!Resources MentionedWorld Premiere WisconsinENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence Ten Chimneys2 previous podcast guests are mentioned in this episode! Listen to our interview with Mary Zimmerman here and our two interviews with Nan Barnett here and here.  About Our GuestMichael Cotey is a producer and director based out of Chicago, but was born and raised in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the creator and Joaquin Oliver Artistic Producer behind ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence, a nationwide playwriting initiative that calls on teens to write short plays that confront gun violence. Now in its third year, ENOUGH! has received more than 500 plays, unfolded in over 100 communities involving more than 2,000 artists and reaching nearly 10,000 audience members, and has been featured on PBS NewsHour, NPR, and the BBC. He is also the festival producer for World Premiere Wisconsin, an inaugural and first-of-its-kind statewide new work festival. In addition to directing regionally, Michael has directed in Wisconsin at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Next Act, First Stage, Third AvenuePlayWorks, UW-Madison, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. From 2009-2013 he was the Founding Artistic Director of Youngblood Theatre in Milwaukee, regularly celebrated by the theater community and the press as one of the most exciting new Milwaukee theater ventures in decades. Michael graduatConnect with host Melissa Schmitz***Sign up for the 101 Stage Adaptations Newsletter***101 Stage AdaptationsFollow the Podcast on Facebook & InstagramRead Melissa's plays on New Play ExchangeConnect with Melissa on LinkedInWays to support the show:- Buy Me a Coffee- Tell us your thoughts in our Listener Survey!- Give a 5-Star rating- Write a glowing review on Apple Podcasts - Send this episode to a friend- Share on social media (Tag us so we can thank you!)Creators: Host your podcast through Buzzsprout using my affiliate link & get a $20 credit on your paid account. Let your fans directly support you via Buy Me a Coffee (affiliate link).

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)

On this edition of The Arts Section, host Gary Zidek takes a closer look at a long-running Chicago holiday tradition that's turning 80 this year. The Museum of Science and Industry has been celebrating Christmas Around the World since 1942. The Dueling Critics, Kerry Reid and Jonathan Abarbanel, review Steppenwolf Theatre's world premiere, BALD SISTERS. Later in the show, Gary catches up with acclaimed theater director Mary Zimmerman to talk about her play THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER, which is quickly becoming a holiday tradition. And Gary checks in with Chicago magazine dining editor Amy Cavanaugh to talk about the current state of the local restaurant scene and her favorite menu items from the past year.

'Tis the season for holiday shows! The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Mary Zimmerman is not only an instant Christmas classic, it's also one of the top theatre experiences of Melissa's life. Find out how this short, yet full play has won her heart and how Mary Zimmerman brought this Hans Christian Andersen story to life . . . without using any dialog. This is not just an interview, it's a master class in theatre-making.  In this episode, we discuss:How Mary decided to make The Steadfast Tin Soldier a dialog-less productionThe "Aha" moment when she realized that an Advent calendar was the perfect countdown to curtain Mary's rehearsal and creation process How much she changes with each remounted productionAnd more!Resources MentionedThe Steadfast Tin Soldier is playing at Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre through January 8, 2023. Learn more.  Read MetamorphosesRead The Arabian NightsRead The OdysseyMore plays by Mary ZimmermanAbout Our GuestMary Zimmerman is a playwright and director of theatre and opera based in Chicago. She is the 1998 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the 2002 Tony Award and Obie for Best Director, and many Chicago Joseph Jefferson Awards, including Best Production and Best Director. She is a member of Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago, an Artistic Associate of the Goodman Theatre, and The Jaharis Family Foundation Endowed Chair of Performance Studies at Northwestern University. She specializes in the adaptation of classical texts for the stage. Works that she has adapted and directed include The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Treasure Island, The Jungle Book, The White Snake, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, Arabian Nights, Metamorphoses, The Secret in the Wings, an opera with PhiConnect with host Melissa Schmitz***Sign up for the 101 Stage Adaptations Newsletter***101 Stage AdaptationsFollow the Podcast on Facebook & InstagramRead Melissa's plays on New Play ExchangeConnect with Melissa on LinkedInWays to support the show:- Buy Me a Coffee- Tell us your thoughts in our Listener Survey!- Give a 5-Star rating- Write a glowing review on Apple Podcasts - Send this episode to a friend- Share on social media (Tag us so we can thank you!)Creators: Host your podcast through Buzzsprout using my affiliate link & get a $20 credit on your paid account. Let your fans directly support you via Buy Me a Coffee (affiliate link).

Intro: We are in the Great Unraveling - let's knit a new sweater Let Me Run This By You: Thin is In, ETHS Drama teacher Bruce Siewerth's abuse of students, iCarly's creator Dan Schneider's abuse of actors Interview: We talk to Hamilton's own George Washington - Paul Oakley Stovall about family, touring with Hamilton, being fearless, the magic of solving problems behind the scenes, early-age professionalism, quick changes, University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign, almost being a Chemical Engineer, Gary Mills, Don Ilko's quiet championship, Ric Murphy's vocal championship, when Jim Ostholthoff called Paul a supernova, Dr. Bella Itkin's career advice, playing John Proctor in The Crucible and Starbuck in 110 in the Shade, Working by Studs Terkel, Betsy Hamilton, being in Caryl Churchill's Serious Money with Gillian Anderson, Yolanda Androzzo, Minneapolis, playing Jason in Steven Carter's adaptation of Medea called Pecong, the X Files, getting shot in both legs, Matt Scharf, Amy Pietz, Monica Trombetta, performing in Frank Galati's Goodman Theatre's production of Good Person of Setzuan with Cherry Jones, Mary Zimmerman's The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, Journey to the West, working for the Obama Administration, when Phylicia Rashad directed Paul's play Immediate Family at the Goodman and then Mark Taper Forum, KernoForto Productions, Wolf in Waiting with Danilo Carrera, Frederick Douglass, and finding a second home in Ireland.

It's time again for another visit with Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck, who joins Tom each week with her reviews of Maryland's regional stage. Today, she brings us reviews of two notable DC productions. The first is the revival of esteemed playwright Mary Zimmerman's The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, now on stage at Shakespeare Theatre Company. The highly visual production, directed by the playwright, celebrates the interplay of science, art, and the human spirit as it brings to life the writings of the 15th century Italian artist, engineer and inventor. The Notebooks of Leonardo DaVinci continues at Shakespeare Theatre Company through October 29. Judy's second review today spotlights the classic Tony-Award-winning Broadway musical, Guys and Dolls, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. The popular musical is getting a lavish new production at the Kennedy Center's Broadway Center Stage. It's being directed by Marc Bruni and features an all-star cast, led by Tony Award® winner James Monroe Iglehart as Nathan Detroit, Tony Award® winner Jessie Mueller as Miss Adelaide, Steven Pasquale as Sky Masterson, and Tony Award® nominee and Grammy Award® winner Phillipa Soo as Sarah Brown. Guys and Dolls continues at The Kennedy Center through October 16. Follow the links for more information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's show features Mary Zimmerman, who has been working as an ICU nurse the past few years. A stressful job under any circumstances, the level of stress was multiplied during Covid, for her and all of the primary caregivers of Covid patients. Often, she became the only link between her patients and their families. She'll tell us why she chose to become a nurse, and why an ICU nurse in particular. We'll also talk about how practicing yoga helped her deal with the stress of the job, as well as the stresses of our modern world. Listen as she explains for us what yoga is (and isn't!), about an immersive yoga training she took on in Peru and how she plans to now share the practice with others!Mary will discuss her interest in natural healing and how she believes holistic medicine, combined with modern medicine, can bring extraordinary results to the healing process. She'll tell us one thing that we can do every day that can dramatically improve our overall health! Find her on Twitter: @marflo_zim

July 20, 2022 ~ Mary Zimmerman, Immunization Program Specialist for Spectrum Health, talks with Guy Gordon about the increased hesitancy for childhood vaccines.

July 20, 2022 ~ Full Show. Wendy Block, VP of Business Advocacy and Member Engagement for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce discusses a Michigan Judge's ruling to overturn the 2018 minimum wage increase because it blocked a voter petition drive to put it on the ballot at a higher rate. Former US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Matthew Schneider on UAW officials blocking corruption investigations and the Secret Service only releasing one text message exchange regarding January 6th. Senior News Analyst Chris Renwick with a report that spells trouble for Netflix. Jared Halpern from Fox News breaks down the gay marriage protection bill that passed the house, does it have a chance in the Senate? Mary Zimmerman, Immunization Program Specialist for Spectum Health talks about how opposition to the COVID vaccine has spilled over to opposition against other childhood vaccines.

Hello listeners! This week's guest on the show is STEVEN STRAFFORD! Sarah first met Steven at the Great Plains Theatre Conference where they bonded over playwriting and new plays. We're so excited to have him on the show!!! Steven Strafford is a playwright and actor, Brooklyn-born and New Jersey-raised. His acting credits include Spamalot directed by Mike Nichols, Wonderful Town directed by Mary Zimmerman. He's been on TV, in commercials, and a movie or two. As a writer, his plays include the one man show, Methtacular! along with The Match Game, Mona Quimby: Age 38, Greater Illinois, The Model Congressman, and Small Jokes About Monsters which will be published and licensed by Broadway Licensing this fall. He lives in Athens, Ohio with his husband and ludicrously adorable foster son. To learn more about Steven and his work: Website: https://stevenstrafford.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenStrafford GLISTENS: Cho - Great Plains Theatre Conference Sam - Duolingo Steven - Steven's Musical Theater students and co-teaching Musical Theater class with his husband! ________________________ Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @beckettsbabies And as always, we would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: contact@beckettsbabies.com For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/beckettsbabies/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/beckettsbabies/support

During this episode of Why Change? Jeff interrupts our normal schedule to amplify the work of artists and educators responding to gun violence in the United States. Jeff interviews Michael Cotey, founder of #Enough Plays to End Gun Violence; they discuss the role of our community in joining the movement. In this episode you'll learn: About programs supporting young creatives against gun violence; What youth leaders and the research says about this pandemic; and How to engage in the movement. ABOUT MICHAEL COTEY: A Chicago-based, Milwaukee-bred theatre-maker. He has directed at Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Next Act, First Stage, Northwestern University, UW-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Illinois Wesleyan University and Youngblood Theatre. Michael has also assisted at Goodman Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare, Steppenwolf, and Milwaukee Rep, for prominent directors, like Tony Award-winners Mary Zimmerman and Robert Falls. From 2009-2013 he was the Founding Artistic Director of Youngblood Theatre in Milwaukee. Regularly celebrated by the theater community and the press as one of the most exciting new Milwaukee theater ventures in decades, Youngblood provided professional opportunities to early-career emerging artists, introduced the works of provocative new playwrights, and staged theatre in raw found spaces that invoked Milwaukee's storied industrial past. He's taught at UW-Madison, Roosevelt University, Northwestern, and UW-Milwaukee. He was both the member of Directors Lab Chicago and the FAIR Program at Oregon Shakespeare. Michael graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a BFA in Acting and from Northwestern University with an MFA in Directing. In 2014 he was named UWM's “Graduate of the Last Decade.” Learn more at www.michaelcotey.com This episode was produced by Jeff M. Poulin. The artwork is by Bridget Woodbury. Creative Generation's Digital Media Producer is Daniel Stanley. This podcasts' theme music is by Distant Cousins. For more information on this episode and Creative Generation please visit the episode's webpage and follow us on social media @Campaign4GenC --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/whychange/support

Dino joins Regina to talk about their life as a theatre maker and their current production Cleansed by Sarah Kane.   Dino Dimitriadis (they/them) is an award winning theatre director, creative producer and curator. They have worked widely as a director and founded Apocalypse, an independent engine room for responsive theatre and live art projects.   Recent directing credits include Lady Tabouli, De Profundis with Paul Capsis, Omar and Dawn, multi-award-winning productions of Tony Kushner's Angels in America Parts I & II and Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses, All My Sleep and Waking, Doubt and The Girl / The Woman.   Dino has – Produced across many festival and is the director of CLEANSED by Sarah Kane…playing at the Old Fitz Theatre from the 9th June, 2022.

Intro: Crypto bros, missing the great economic bubbles of the early 2000s. We may as well have cotton candy furniture, Severance on Apple TV, Bad Vegan. Let Me Run This By You: Stage Moms, kindergarten theatre.Interview: We talk to Joe Basile about Long Island accents, NYU Tisch, Bradley Walker, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Liz Lerman's Critical Response Process, Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses, the Neo-Futurists Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind (The Infinite Wrench), perfectionism,  Roundabout Theatre Company,  A Bright Room Called Day, Suzan Lori Parks, Go Humphrey, sock puppet Showgirls, keeping the thread of community after college ends.FULL TRANSCRIPT (unedited):3 (10s):And I'm Gina Kalichi.1 (11s):We went to theater school together. We survived it, but we didn't quite understand it.3 (15s):20 years later, we're digging deep talking to our guests about their experiences and trying to make sense of it all.1 (21s):We survived theater school and you will too. Are we famous yet?2 (32s):Okay. I'm getting, I'm getting it together. I, Yeah, I woke up with this really interesting idea that I wanted to run by you, which was, cause I was really tired when I woke up and I thought, okay, everyone's tired when they wake up. And then I thought, well, and they always say like, Americans, you know, never get enough sleep. We're always tired. But like nobody ever investigates why really? Why that is that our system is really fucked up. So like, I don't know. I just was like, yeah, we always do all these like expos A's on like sleep or wellness. Right? Like Americans are the fattest and the most unhealthy. And I'm only speaking about Americans because that's where we live. I don't know shit about Madrid.2 (1m 13s):You know, I'm sure they're they have their own plethora of fucking problems. But I'm just saying like, we don't actually do the work to like, figure out what is wrong. We're just like, Americans are, this Americans are that nobody's getting enough sleep. And like, there's all these, you know, sort of headlines. Right. And we're not just like, well, why is nobody getting enough sleep? Like what is actually happening? So that was my grand thought upon waking up was like, yeah, like, I don't know. We just never dig deep in this case. We're not big on digging.4 (1m 46s):Probably not. I mean, I think our lifestyle overall is pretty unhealthy and it's because of our economic model.2 (1m 58s):What I was gonna say, it all boils down to see the thing is the more you talk to people, the more I do the angrier I get, especially like in my office, like slash co-working, like I gravitate towards the ladies and a lot of ladies of color. And we end up sitting around talking about how like capitalism and systematic racism and sexism are all tied together and how, and by the end, we're just so angry. We're like, okay, what can we do? And we're like, okay, well we need to stop putting money in the pockets of this old white man who owns the coworking. But like we have nowhere else to go. So we're like, now we're screwed. So anyway, it's interesting. It's like it all, every conversation I have of meaning with you or with my cousin and it all boils down to the same thing.2 (2m 43s):And then you end up thinking, I ended up thinking the really, the only way is mass extinction and starting over with a new species, fresh slate, fresh or revolution, right. Or some kind of bloody revolution, it's going to be bloody because you know, the, the, the, the people in power aren't going to let go as we see. So like, we're not, it's not good is all, but I don't feel necessarily like, and maybe it's because I took MTMA, but like, I don't necessarily feel terrible about it. I feel just like, oh yeah, like we're, we're headed towards this way, unless something drastic happens. And I'm not sure that's a terrible thing. Now I don't have children.2 (3m 23s):So I might feel totally different about my children and my children's children and their children, but I just don't, that's not my frame of mind. So anyway, that's what I was thinking as I was so tired, waking up.4 (3m 35s):Is there any world in which you and the other women in coworking can just put your, just rent and office?2 (3m 44s):So we're starting to organize to like, be like, okay, you know, like who would want to go in on a lease, you know? But the thing is, it's so interesting. It's like, well, maybe it's LA, but it's also the world. Like, people don't really trust it. Like we don't really know each other that well yet. So we'd have to like do credit checks and thank God. My credit is good. Thank God. Now it was terrible. But all this to say is that like also LA so transitory that people are like in and out and, and like my, you know, travel. It's just so it's such a weird existence, but we are talking and there's a guy, a black dude. Who's also like my financial guru guy who like, who works at co-working.2 (4m 28s):I met here, he's a mortgage guy. And he's just been like, talking to me all about fucking crypto bros and like how the crypto bros are like, he's like, it is insane. Now, Gina, did you know, now I'm just learning about this world. And he's like, it's all, make-believe basically we live in the matrix and that fucking, there is something called the virtual real estate. Did you know this? Okay, you can purchase virtual squares of real estate, like Snoop Dogg's house, like, like, and people are doing it. And the people who are, it's like a status thing and it's expensive. And the people who are becoming billionaires are the people who run the apps.2 (5m 9s):Right. Are the people who created the fucking program. We are in the matrix. And I was like, wait, what? And he showed me the site where you can buy any town. If you looked into your town, people are doing it. It is, it is consumerism mixed with people are buying things that don't exist.4 (5m 29s):Okay. Yeah. I feel like this is what happens when people with an unchecked power and privilege, it's like, okay, well, like literally we're just making it up. Let's just have cotton candy, be our furniture now. Like it's. So I tried to get into Bitcoin.2 (5m 50s):Oh yeah.4 (5m 51s):Like about five years ago, somebody that I went to high school with is rich from Bitcoin. And, and she was like one of the founders of one of these companies. And so the first problem I have is you shouldn't invest in anything that you don't understand. Right. So I tried to read about it and I'm just like, but what, I just kept reading and being like, yeah, but what is it? Right. You know, what's an NFT.2 (6m 20s):Oh my God. The NFTs. Oh my God. And his name is Lamont and I love him. And he was trying to teach me about those. And I was like, Lamont. I have to take some kind of drug to understand what you're saying. I don't,4 (6m 31s):I have, I, you know, I've read articles. I've had people explain it to me. I mean, I think what it is, is I do know what it is, but I'm just like, that can't be what people are spending that be that,2 (6m 43s):Yeah, because we're not stupid people. Like we can understand concepts of things.4 (6m 47s):The thing that got me off of cryptocurrency and, and FTS and all that is that it's so bad for the environment, blockchain, the amount of energy that's required to power blockchain is just like so destructive.2 (7m 3s):Okay. So this leads me to, so Lamont was like, you know, what's going on in the coworking row storage room. And I'm like, what? And of course me, I'm like, are there, is there like a torture chamber? That's why Was like, no, he's like one of the side businesses of the CEO of this place is to host these crypto machines that, that it's like credit card terminals, but for crypto. And so all the, all the crypto exchanges that go on need checks and balances, God, he's such a good teacher. He actually explained it to me. He's like, look, you, when you do a crypto exchange with somebody that has to be checked or else, how do you know you're actually getting shit, which is all like theoretical anyway.2 (7m 47s):But he's like, so then you have to create these machines that check the other machines. And those are some of those. And you get paid. It's just like having credit card terminals, right? It's like selling credit cards. You know, people that sell credit card terminals, like they make money off the, the things, the exchanges, the, the transactions, right? Transaction fees. It's like 10, 10 cents of whatever or something 4 cents. So we got machines in the fucking co-working that have nothing to do with coworking. And I re one day it was hotter than fuck over here. They take a lot of energy and Lamont Lamont goes to the guy, the crypto bro. Who's also the CEO of this coworking space who really wants to just be the crypto, bro.2 (8m 27s):He's like, listen, bro. Like, something's going to melt down. You got to have something to cool. These machines. I mean, it's a fucking disaster waiting to happen. We're all going to burn up because this motherfucker wants to do crypto. He's not even dude. He's just doing the terminals. They're called terminals. No wonder my motherfucking internet doesn't work. How much juice do these motherfuckers take? I got pissed. I got Lamont. And I got pissed. I said and Lamont so funny. He goes, yeah, I don't mind all this like virtual crypto shit, but I need some actual motherfucking green tee up in here. You haven't had green tea up in here for days.4 (9m 6s):This is what I'm going to say. This is a, like, when you all of this, when all of this starts swirling in my head and it's all overwhelming, I just go, oh, like, okay. But that's not for me. Like this whole ether, a world that's cotton candy furniture. Like that's not for me. I have to stick with what I know. I like go stick with your, with, with what's in your CTA, what's in your wheelhouse.2 (9m 30s):Right. She taught us. Catherine taught us that, right?4 (9m 33s):No, it was a2 (9m 35s):Catherine's job. Oh,4 (9m 38s):Josh. Yeah. Yeah. He was talking about, the programs are called the, your concentration is called dementia anyway, like in the same way that, you know, people create art that other people criticize. And then you say, well, it's not for you. Like, I just know that none of that is for me. So, you know, because here's the thing we Erin and I have had near misses on like a bunch of bubbles. Right? We lived in California, we lived in the bay area during the, what they used to call the.com. And all of our friends had these hundred thousand dollars a year jobs and worked at Google and places and got Friday night, beer parties and lunch catered, whatever, every single day.4 (10m 23s):And we were just like, oh my God, we're so dumb. We can't, we don't know how to work in tech. We don't, we can't get to me take advantage of this opportunity. Then it was the housing market. And in 2004, it's like, wow, you could get a house. Like we could buy a house. Somebody would give us a mortgage. When we have no money in so much debt, we thought we should buy a house. We looked into buying a house that didn't work out. That turned out to be a good thing. I think the crypto thing is another, like, I'm not saying it's a bubble. Although it probably is. Cause we have to be in a bubble. But I'm saying like, I put myself at ease about not being able to really grasp these things by just saying like, oh, that's not for me.4 (11m 10s):That's not what I'm, that's not what I'm really like here on this planet to eat, to do2 (11m 16s):It interests me. And also, yeah, it's so bad for the environment. And also I just don't give a fuck. Also give me my fuck. Oh, we haven't had creamer up in this bitch for like, and I started, I was like, I don't give a fuck what you do here, but I need creamer. So if you don't like it and they finally got it, you bet your ass when Lamont and I were like, okay, green tea, we need it. And they got it. Cause we were like, fuck you. Like we're not stupid. And then the other thing that I wanted to say about the whole Bitcoin, oh the minimalist movement that these, these kids that are in their thirties are doing okay, listen to this. This is insane.2 (11m 56s):So kids are having and kids. Yeah. They're like 30, right? They're buying Teslas. Okay. But great. They buy a Tesla. Teslas are now equipped with so much shit that you can basically live in it. As long as you have a charging, they fucking park their shit and their parents' house. I'm not kidding you. So a lot of them were living with their parents. Right. And they were like, well, this fucking sucks, but they're saving all this money. Right. Cause it's so expensive. So there's sock away, their money. They buy a Tesla, they park the Tesla in their parents' fucking driveway. And they do experiments where they plug in and then they see if they can live in it. Okay. This is like a real thing.2 (12m 37s):Right? So it has everything you need except a shower and the bed, or like you, your seats go down. It's actually an, a toilet shower and a toilet. And then they get, so they have a Tesla,4 (12m 48s):They get,2 (12m 49s):They get, they get, they get a gym membership. Okay. So they had a Tesla and a gym membership and that's all they need. And they fucking don't own shit except crypto currency in their Tesla and fucking go around to different cities. And there's like all these Airbnb hacks and, and rental car hacks that if they travel, they travel around the country. Like the guy who is the CEO of this place, doesn't live here. He lives kind of an Austin kind of here is a test. It is the weirdest thing.4 (13m 22s):Okay. Well, when the Russians send nuclear missiles and we ended up having hand to hand combat with the Chinese or whatever, well, these fighting people gonna to do nothing.2 (13m 32s):I don't know how to do nothing. There'll be dead. No, no. But you and I are scrappy. Like we could figure it out. They're dead. And that's fine.4 (13m 41s):I always think of, I just said, I think like people used to hunt, you know, like w w where if our world is predicated on so much pretend and like, and like also just like this very thin margin of, well, it's all fine and good until the power grid goes out. It's all fine. And good until like, suddenly for whatever reason, there is just no internet,2 (14m 3s):Like, or they get hacked. Right,4 (14m 6s):Right. Yeah. It's all fine. And good until like everything that we put our hope hopes and dreams and faith into just doesn't work one day, because that's what happens with machines is they just, sometimes they write2 (14m 17s):And Lamont was saying, and I kind of agree with him that like, what he thinks is happening. So frantically the government is scrambling to get into crypto. Right. Frantically our government is like, we're going to have a fucking stake in this. So what he thinks is going to happen and like agree with him is that they're going to figure out a way to sabotage the crypto system and say, we, we now run the cryptosystem. He's like, I know it's a conspiracy theory, that kind of thing. But of course it's money. Right. So they're going to say, okay, okay. Like you guys are going to get screwed because someone's going to hack, you, let the government take over, we'll run crypto. And then of course,4 (14m 54s):Which takes away the main draw of crypto, which is that it's this currency that cannot be traced to everything. So the second there's any type of regulation that, that, and it's like, well, you might as well just be talking about dollars. Right. Because you know,2 (15m 9s):That's what they're going to do. So it's going to be really interesting to see how this plays out. We'll probably be dead, but that's okay.4 (15m 14s):Yeah. We'll probably be done. I'm watching this television show called severance. Oh,2 (15m 19s):Everybody loves severance.4 (15m 21s):Wow. Wow. Wow. It's it's woo. It's really something else. But what I love about it is it's kind of hard to explain, so I won't try to explain it, but there's suffice it to say the company that these people work for, the job that they do is they sit at these computer terminals and they there's just a screen full of numbers. And they have to put these digits into the correct bins at the bottom.2 (15m 53s):Okay.4 (15m 54s):Based on their feeling about the numbers, like these numbers are scary and these numbers are half. Yeah. It's so weird. Right? When I, when I see them, they're putting the numbers into this little bins in the bottom and I go cut. This is like my daughters, you know, like educational games. She has to do something like this. Well, it gets to the end of the season. And the they've, all this little department has leveled. The there's all this pressure on getting a certain quota by the end of the quarter. And it's, we don't, we're not gonna make it and we're not gonna make it.4 (16m 35s):We're not gonna make it at the last minute. They make it. And what making it looks like for them is that a pixelated cartoon character comes on and says like, basically you leveled up. So really it, I dunno if this is the point that they're trying to make, but it really looks like they're just playing a video game.2 (16m 58s):This is insane. I love it. It's the same.4 (17m 2s):It's really, really good. And I, and I reached out to all of the actors on there and seeing if anybody wants to be on our show, I got one person who was like, oh, that sounds interesting. I'm like, is that a yes and no, I never, I never heard anything back from her, but yeah, listen, humans are designed to work. So when you don't have to literally like, grow your own food and cut down your own wood, you have to find something to do. That feels work, work ish. And I feel like a lot of our industries are kind of work adjacent2 (17m 43s):And like, and like a lot of sorting into bins. Yeah.4 (17m 50s):You2 (17m 50s):See fucking bad vegan.4 (17m 55s):No, I was wondering if I should watch it.2 (17m 57s):Okay. Watch it. And we'll talk about it because whoa. It is, the Myles was a very frustrated with this documentary based on,4 (18m 9s):Oh, it's a documentary. Oh, I thought it was a tele. I thought it was a fictional show.2 (18m 13s):Oh, it they'll make a fictional show out of it. But it's a documentary about a woman who started a vegan restaurant and so much more in New York city. And it comes down to what we always said. And I'll wait until you watch it. But I, it just reinforces what we always talk about, which is if you have an unfulfilled, inner need from childhood, that shit will play out. I could trace this, her whole demise, her whole demise. And it's a whole crazy ass fucking story about this woman. Her whole demise comes down to the fact that Alec Baldwin did not pick her to date. Okay. That's it.2 (18m 53s):Okay.4 (18m 54s):Completely plausible. I completely understand that.5 (19m 1s):Let me run this by you.4 (19m 9s):I know my son got this part in a movie. And so the thing we wanted to run by you is I, Hm. So many things I get, I get stage moms. I understand why stage moms is a thing. When my son started getting into acting, he was five years2 (19m 35s):Old. Yeah. It was really young.4 (19m 37s):And my thing was, I don't want to be a stage mom. I don't want to be a stage mom. I don't want to be a stage mum, which was reinforced by every time I've ever been on set. There's always at least one really out of control stage mom. And I think I told the story in the podcast before, but one time we, we were in a, he was doing Gotham that showed Bathum and there was like a gaggle of kids in this scene. And this one boy, I was just, you know, whatever. I was striking up a conversation with him and I said, oh, do you, do you really want to be an actor? And he said, no, my father makes me do this. I want to be at school.4 (20m 17s):And it was just so2 (20m 19s):Like,4 (20m 19s):God, and I met a lot of kids. This was back when he was doing all just all background stuff. I met a lot of that's where you find the most stage moms when the kids are like that, the stakes are just, couldn't be lower. Right. You know, they're just doing background, extra work, which is all just to say, though, I've had to be in dialogue with myself about what my aspirations are about working in film and television and my frustrated aspirations. And I, you know, I've had to just be constantly talking to myself about making sure that this is what he wants and not what I want. And in the classic thing that always happens is when he gets an audition, if he doesn't feel like doing it, it just, it becomes this thing.4 (21m 8s):And I always say, you don't have to be an actor. You don't have to have an agent, but if you're going to be an actor and you're going to have an agent, you have to do the audition.2 (21m 18s):That's true.4 (21m 19s):And you have to work at it and you have, you have to work hard at it. And that thing is actually really hard. And it takes a lot of work that we just kind of overcame this obstacle for the audition for this movie, because I made him put in maximum effort. Usually I don't usually, I'm just like, well, it's his career, you know, it's his life. If he doesn't want to work on it, why am I going to spend, you know, my whole time? But I'm really encouraged him to work on it. And he really did. And he did really well. And so now we're waiting to hear, you know, whether or not he's gotten it, but the first night that this was a thing, I couldn't sleep. I was awake. Like, I mean, part of it is thinking about the logistics.4 (22m 1s):Like how will I live in LA for a month when I have two other kids. Right. But the other part of it is just, what is this going to mean for him to, what's going to be what's next and what's next and what's next. And what's next. So I've talked a lot of shit about stage moms in the past. And I just want to say, if you're listening to this in your stage, mom, I get it. I get, I get, you know, because maybe this was your hope and dream, but also maybe just, you put a lot of effort into when you're the mom of the kid who wants to do this, it's so much work for the mom or the dad was the case may too much. It's, it's scheduling babysitters when you have other kids2 (22m 43s):Driving4 (22m 44s):Into the city for auditions paying for headshots every year, because they change so much every year communicating with doing the cell. I had to learn. This is actually how I learned how to do I moving because I had to, you know, work, learn how to edit his self-tapes and stuff like that. So, but have you encountered stage moms? Oh,2 (23m 7s):That's a great question. Yes. And I feel like I totally understand how moms and dads get and caretakers get to be that way. And I think also to remember for me is that it comes from this genuine usually place to want to help and protect your kid. And, and also, and then you mix that in with your own aspirations, which I would have to, if I had a child that I was shoveling around and also, yeah, I would encounter that. So I think I get it. And I also know that like when I worked at casting and at PR and I loved it, but they would occasionally be like moms that would bring in their kids or dads, but usually it's moms.2 (23m 57s):Right. Of course, who bring in their kids that were desperate to get the kid into the face of the casting directors. So they'd hang around. They didn't want to ingratiate themselves to casting at the audition. They'd come into the office and, and, you know, to their credit of my bosses, PR casting, they were lovely. Like they, but, but they also had work to do so. It was like, these kids are just sort of standing there smiling. And the mom is like pushing them and we all, it was very uncomfortable and it doesn't actually work like what works is being professional on set, doing a great job in the room, being a nice kid and being a nice parent, but it just feels like, and we know this from being actors.2 (24m 45s):It just feels like you have to like, sort of ingratiate and push yourself into the faces of the people with power in order to get anywhere. So then there's like these really uncomfortable moments of like talking about nothing while we're trying to get work done in the office, especially like, yeah, they have a lot of work to do. So it was just, it was just very, and you'll see when we go to PR like it's all glass. So like, you can see what the casting directors are doing in the office. So you want to be in there because it looks really fun.4 (25m 16s):Right. And2 (25m 18s):Actors who are like, quote, special, get to go in there and say, hi, like I'm friends with the, with the casting directors is the, is the idea. I'm not saying I'm like someone is, and then they get to go. It's just like a really weird thing. And it's also, it's very hard to navigate and I get it too. We, we, we want to be liked and loved and picked and chosen. And it is a universal thing.4 (25m 44s):I want the same thing for our kids. Yeah. Yeah. Totally.2 (25m 48s):I don't. I've had never had anyone that has been bonkers, you know, but maybe, yeah. I never, yeah, never.4 (25m 55s):Yeah. I think really they're bonkers behavior. I think actually, probably the kids are the ones who absorbed the brunt of it, which is, you know, and also it's really hard to teach a kid about acting because you're, as we've said many times, you're, you're trying to figure out how to play a character when you don't even know who you are. I mean, that's really true for a kid and trying to teach them, it's supposed to be it's. Yes. It's pretend, but you're supposed to be sincere and no, you're not the character, but yes, you have to be there. It's a lot of mental gymnastics,2 (26m 32s):Impossible. And like, if you don't know how to communicate that to a kid, let alone, the kid know how to do it. It's a mess. And then you're just, it's just kind of a crap shoot. Like, especially when you wouldn't see that were two and three years old.4 (26m 47s):Oh, see, now that I can't2 (26m 51s):Was like, yeah, some kids are, I mean, it's just to me, I thought it was amazing, but I also didn't have an agenda. I'm trying to get shit done. Like the directors and the producers on the, everyone is trying to get shit done in the room. And I have a kid doesn't, you know, whatever the kid is literally three years old. So like, I thought it was amazing, but I, they it's, it's a nightmare.4 (27m 15s):Yeah. Did I ever tell you the story of when I taught drama to kindergarten?2 (27m 21s):I know you did, but I don't know.4 (27m 24s):I had this job at this school called head Royce in the bay area. I got a job teaching after-school drama to kindergartners. It might've been my very first teaching thing. No, but it was early on and I hadn't taught, I certainly hadn't taught like my full-time teaching job that I eventually had at a middle school, but not having children and not having taught. I thought we were just going to do a play, you know, like They were going to memorize their lines. I seriously thought I seriously picked a play.2 (28m 5s):What was it? Do you remember? Was it like fucking, wouldn't it be funny if it was like, you know,4 (28m 10s):Romeo and Juliet2 (28m 11s):Steel Magnolias or something like just like totally amazing.4 (28m 15s):And it was age appropriate because it, it, it turned out to have whatever it was. I can't remember. But it was also a children's book, which I, oh, oh yeah. Oh, sorry. I adapted a children's book.2 (28m 29s):Oh my God. Okay.4 (28m 32s):And the entire time we were working on it, it never occurred to me that they couldn't memorize their lives. I just kept being like, well, maybe by next week, they'll know it. My next week they'll know it until it came time to do the performance and all the parents came and I shit, you not, it didn't occur to me until all the parents were walking in. Every single one of them had a video camera. This is before cell phones that, oh my God, they are expecting a show. And I guess I was too. And they don't know, we don't have a shell.2 (29m 7s):It look like my God, this is brilliant.4 (29m 10s):I got to the point for awhile. I was like doing the knee. I was the narrator. Right. And, and then they was supposed to be saying their lines, but then they would never say their lines. So then basically what it amounts to is I just read the entire book. Would2 (29m 26s):They do4 (29m 27s):Well, the kids just stood there. And the middle of it, when kid in the middle of my, and of course the more anxious and, and terrible, I felt like the more forced and forced, I must have looked crazy. I wish I could say videos. I bet I looked like a complete lunatic and in the middle of it as, and I'm also getting louder and louder. It's like, I would love to, I'm sure those parents are erased, taped over those tapes, but I would love to see just frantic me and I'm getting read By the time it was over, I just went to the headmaster's office.4 (30m 16s):And I was like, I did a terrible job. You should never hire me again. This was a complete disaster. And they were like, yeah, maybe this isn't your thing.3 (30m 39s):Today on the podcast, we were talking to Joe, the seal, Joe is an actor and a writer and a content creator and a former Neo futurist. He has got a going on and he is lovely and charming and personable and a marketing genius. He has his own company. Now. He is all that. And the bag of chips as the kids used to say five years ago. And I hope you really enjoy our conversation with Joseph.4 (31m 21s):You still have that fabulous smile.7 (31m 27s):You were so sweet. It's so good to see both. Oh my goodness.4 (31m 31s):What you, what you don't have. What I remember is big hair. Oh, Well, you're a handsome bald bald man. So you can play.7 (31m 42s):Oh, thank you. Go on. Go on.4 (31m 45s):I will. I will. I will. But I'll start by saying congratulations. JoBeth seal. You survived theater school.7 (31m 51s):I did.4 (31m 52s):Yes. And you survived it with us mostly with bod. You guys are graduated in the same year, I think.2 (31m 58s):Yeah.7 (31m 59s):Yeah, we did. Yeah. Do you remember that year? We were in the same section, Johnny.2 (32m 4s):Here's what I remember about you. We went to a Halloween party together with my roommate with a non theater school, like my best friend, Sasha, who Gina knows Sasha and Carsey. And we went to a freaking Halloween party in the suburbs and you had the best costume ever. It was a robot. And you remember any of this? You look,7 (32m 24s):Oh my God. I don't know2 (32m 25s):Brilliance.8 (32m 27s):It7 (32m 27s):Was like, I was a robot. Wow.2 (32m 29s):Like a whole situation. And it was like, we had the best time, but it was like, we didn't know anybody. It was like in the suburbs. It was my friend.4 (32m 37s):Did he make2 (32m 38s):That? Yeah, it was all made. It was so good. Anyway, that's what I remember. That's the main thing that I remember being like, oh my God. His costume. Brilliant. So anyway, I do remember. I mean, I remember, yeah. I mean, remember bits and pieces. I remember that, like I thought you were like super nice. And also, yeah, that we all just were trying to figure it out. Like nobody knew what the hell was going on.7 (33m 7s):Yeah, no, I remember when you joined our section, we were so excited that like someone new was going to like join and we all knew of you, but we didn't know. And I remember that year, you were just like a breath of fresh air. You were just so direct and funny. And you know, I think at that point we were just getting a little tired and you just brought a lot of really beautiful energy into our sections.2 (33m 36s):Oh, the other thing I want to say before I forget is that I, when I was doing research on you, like just to catch up on you and stuff, there's other people with your name that, that some, some before like wild, like one, one guy, like a couple like therapists, couple has Lisa and Joe have your name and, and are like infomercial kind of P anyway, I just thought it was hilarious. And then there's another actor.7 (34m 3s):Yes. There's another actor in what had actually happened one year. It was, I was put in the DePaul, the theater school, alumni newsletter that I was on six feet under and all of this stuff. So people started reaching out to me and it was the other job.4 (34m 20s):That's funny. That's funny. I wonder about those alumni. So it's just, I mean, I guess you've answered the question is somebody scouring the trains or whatever, looking for names that they2 (34m 32s):Used to be John Bridges. And then I think also people submit themselves, which is so, I mean, I get it, but it's also like, I don't have time for that. I mean, like, I mean, not that I'm doing anything that fancy, but like, I, there's something weird about being like, Hey John Bridges, can you put me in the alumni news? I don't know. I'd rather be4 (34m 55s):Except for like your, but that's what it is. Right. That's what you have to do. That's what it's all about the network. I mean, I haven't ever done it either, but2 (35m 6s):I mean, I did it when I had a solo show because I thought, okay, in Chicago, maybe people will come, so I have done it, but I, I just,7 (35m 14s):Yeah, for promo, I think it might be helpful in some instances, but2 (35m 19s):Whatever it is4 (35m 22s):Actually the beginning you're from long island7 (35m 25s):And you have4 (35m 26s):Zero long island accent. Was that very intentional?7 (35m 30s):Well, it's so funny. You mentioned that because I think that was such a big thing my first year. And it really kind of changed the way I speak, because I felt like I was a fast talking like long island kid. And my speech really slowed down that first and second year. Cause I was so conscious of it. So the, after that first year, I think, you know, yoga between yoga and all the voice and speech stuff, like I was like standing up straight and talking like standard American, like, you know, whatever that was that we learned.4 (36m 5s):Like you had to do that in your, not what, even when you weren't on stage.7 (36m 10s):I mean, that was, that was a thing I think back then, I didn't really understand the distinction. I felt like I, I, I had to speak that way on stage and then it just transferred over to my real life. Also, you know, looking back, I was like, oh, you know, I wish I would have been able to make the distinction in my real life that I don't have to speak like this, but it's hard to learn something and practice it. Like I couldn't just practice that in class. It would have just been too difficult, but I started speaking a lot slower just because I was really conscious of the all sounds I was making, like all the sounds and, and I, it was pretty thick. I don't know. I don't know if you all knew me back then, but it was, there were some words I had never heard pronounced.4 (36m 52s):Well, I don't recall you as, I mean, I was surprised to learn that you were from long island and looking at your history because yeah. It seemed, it seemed like you had erased it. So were you the only person from, from New York in your class?7 (37m 10s):No. There were a cup there. Ed Ryan was also from New York. Yeah, but he was from Scarsdale, I think. And then I w I might've been the only one from long island, at least in my class that I remember.4 (37m 23s):And did you have DePaul as your, I mean, is that, was that the school you wanted to go to or your safety?7 (37m 30s):Oh my God. I was all about NYU. I was all about it. And then even before I went to, you know, before I started applying for colleges, my senior year, I went to a summer program at NYU. And at the time there was something called musical theater, works conservatory. And I spent a whole summer doing like conservatory training and, you know, to earn college credit. And it was such a great program at the time too, because we took classes during the day. And then the evening we saw shows and did all this cultural stuff. So after that experience, I was, I just wanted to go to NYU and I just loved it. I loved the city and then I didn't get, I didn't get in.7 (38m 16s):And then I was deciding between DePaul and Emerson and I visited both schools. And when I went to visit DePaul, I know you all had Bradley Walker. And I stayed, he probably doesn't remember this, but I totally stayed with him in the dorms. And the other weird kind of quirky thing I remember was I, I went to his dorm room and he was eating dog food. Like he was eating out of a box2 (38m 44s):And wait,7 (38m 45s):Wait, yeah, hear me out here. So he's like, do you want some? And I was like, okay, sure. You know, peer pressure. So I ate the dog food, like out of the box, it was like dry dog food. And he's like, yeah, it's just, we like how it tastes and it's cheap. And then like, after he told me it was just like cereal and they just like, say like, they put this cereal in the dog food box anyway,4 (39m 9s):Like7 (39m 11s):Quirky things that I remember about that weekend.2 (39m 15s):So here's the thing as a 46 year old tired ass lady. I'm like, who the fuck has time to be switching foods into different modifiers. I can barely get my shoes on 18 year olds who are in college. Like the good quirky marketing. It reminds me of something they might've done. And say that movie with Janine Gruffalo and Ben Stiller, whatever that movie was that they did about gen X, whatever, like reminds me of something like, Hey, let's switch the food into the, but anyway. Okay. So was he nice to you?7 (39m 54s):Oh my God. He really sold me on the school and not, he wasn't trying to sell me on the school. He's like, this is where we do this. And he took me on a tour of the theater school and, you know, I loved that it was in an elementary school and I visited in June, which is like a beautiful time of being in Chicago. And I mean, after that experience, I was just completely sold and I, it was cool. Cause I went by myself like my mom, just let me just go to all these places to visit and like got off the, you know, I took the train, I took the L to the school and everything and, and it was, it was cool. I felt like it was a really good fit. So it worked out nicely.4 (40m 33s):You did a bunch of things though. After theater school, you moved back to New York and got very involved in theater. So tell us about that epoch.7 (40m 42s):Yeah, I mean, I think I did a couple of shows in Chicago and I had major FOMO of what was going on in New York and I felt like I was missing out. And I think, you know, I had audition for a lot of stuff in Chicago and I just didn't wasn't landing things. And then, you know, when I moved to New York, I wanted to focus more on directing and writing. And I did an intern. I did a couple of internships, but I did want to ensemble studio theater. And that was super helpful because as part of the internship, you were in an actor director writing lab and yeah, and it was, I think the first time I had been in a place where you can kind of cross over and do different things.7 (41m 27s):And also the, we had a, a lab director who really kind of just taught me, like how to like give feedback to myself and how to give feedback to others. Like the big thing that she would always ask is like, after we would present some kind of work, she would just say like, what do you need to know in order to move forward with the work? Like, what is important to you? And we really, you know, we had a small group and we really experimented within that. And then after the internship, some of us kind of like stuck together. And I mean, at the time too, there were, there were a ton of interns. There was like over 20 and they gave us the keys to the theater.7 (42m 7s):And we had like, there were a couple of theaters there. So we would do our shows like on the top floor of, of, of the theater there on 52nd street and, you know, hang out after and drink beer. And like, I mean, something that probably is not happening today, but it was, it was a really co like a good landing pad for me. So just to meet other people.2 (42m 28s):Okay. So if we take it back a little bit, like when you work, cause I'm curious about that. So like, you didn't have FOMO about LA, right? Like moving to LA when everyone moved to LA or did you like when you graduated from DePaul and I asked, because now you're here obviously in Southern California, but also because it sounds like New York to you based on you, the summer program you did and stuff was sort of the, like in your brain, like the utopia Mecca for actors, but you, so you felt a FOMO, but like showcase wise. Cause I love the good showcase story where you focused on New York, like, cause you did we, did we go to, no, we didn't go to New York, but we7 (43m 7s):Did know.2 (43m 8s):So how, how did you make the choice to go? Not to LA? Like how did that go down?7 (43m 13s):Yeah. I mean, we took a, that film class our last year with Gerard. I don't know if you remember him.2 (43m 20s):Fuck.7 (43m 21s):Yeah. We took a film class. Yeah. We all, we all did. I think that's what his name was and that2 (43m 29s):Class.7 (43m 30s):Yeah. We took a film class where we did a scene on camera and I, the it call experience was like horrific.2 (43m 39s):Oh, I remember it was bad for all of them.7 (43m 43s):I have like a little breakdown after, cause I was like, I don't, I just felt very, you know, self-conscious, I mean, we had spent like years doing theater and I never really looked at myself. And then I was not like a theater snob at all. Like I was willing to do anything. I would do voice or do film, but I just didn't feel comfortable with the camera at all. And I think by the last year or two, I really started to get more interested in like experimental theater and performance art. And I felt there was more of that in New York at the time or maybe I was just unaware of it in Chicago and I wanted to lean in that direction.7 (44m 25s):And that's another reason I kind of went to New York also.2 (44m 28s):Yeah.7 (44m 29s):Yeah. I wasn't seeing that as much. Like I remember there were some companies in Chicago that did some really beautiful pieces, like all the Mary Zimmerman pieces I loved. And I was like, Ugh, that was like, all those were like the Northwestern kids who were in those shows.2 (44m 45s):Oh, I remember what metamorphosis happened. And everyone was like, we all want it to be in metamorphosis. And none of us got in because she of course chose Northwestern kids because that's who she taught and that's where she went. Right. And so whatever.7 (44m 59s):Yeah. And I ended up seeing that in New York anyway, when it was there. So it was like anything like that would eventually go to New York to,4 (45m 6s):And you did a lot, you worked a lot in New York theater, you worked at roundabout and you, and you worked for the Neo futurists, which I love that. I mean, I, that show too much light makes the baby go blind, which is now called infinite infinite wrench, wrenches that it's called.7 (45m 23s):Yeah.4 (45m 24s):I love that show. Tell me everything about being a part of that.7 (45m 28s):Yeah. You know, at that I first saw that show in Chicago when I was like right outside of, no, I saw my first year when I was 17 and then someone from DePaul had like a friend of mine had brought me to it and I, I loved it and then kind of forgot about it. And then I auditioned in Chicago for it when I was 21 and I was just not ready for it. And then when I moved to New York, I was there for maybe two or three years. I discovered that they had had started the show there. And I mean, that really kind of shifted so much for me. I, well, for one thing, it was like, it was so great to meet a group of people who were passionate about the same thing, like the aesthetic, you know, passion about being ensemble.7 (46m 19s):And that show is like so challenging and fun and stressful, but also like super rewarding. And also at the same time, you know, it kind of changed the dynamic I had as an actor and artists with the audience, because it's so rare as an actor that you get to just like be yourself on stage. It's like rarely happens at all. So to on a weekly basis, just stand in front of an audience and like be yourself. And then, and then also think about like what you want to say and how you want to say it. And you know, like through movement or puppetry or through humor or through earnestness or do something concise conceptual or abstract or, you know, and I did some like crazy shit,2 (47m 10s):Like what was your, what was your favorite cause like what I'm noticing and what as you're talking, what I'm remembering about you is that yeah. Like literally you, you, my experience of you and when we knew each other back in the day, was that yet you did not, you, you, you wanted to sort of push the envelope and step outside of the bounds of what we were learning at the theater school. Like you just had an experimental, like heart about you. So I guess my question is like onstage. What do you remember about to my, about the Neo futurist that like really sticks to you? Like performance wise? Like what was so special? Like when did she7 (47m 48s):So many things? I mean, I think, well, the craziest thing I did was take a shit on stage with someone2 (47m 57s):I never heard about this.7 (47m 60s):It was actually a very like poignant play about like writing. It was with my mentor who was, and then you have you trust and we have the same name and we both, the play was actually called untitled number two. And we had this thing in common before we would perform, we would always like have to take a pill. So I just wrote this play about that experience. And to me, like he was, you know, offered me so much advice and so many, you know, really kind of mentored me through being a new, a futurist. And so I wrote this play in homage to him and, you know, as a gift and a sense. So at the end we like produced.7 (48m 41s):We like, we were actually, we put in a bucket and then at some point we, you know, we turned the bucket over and then, which was really hard to do. Cause I have to like, hold my poo in all day. And I was like, it was not sure what was going to come out at a certain, but I also did other2 (48m 54s):So. Yeah. Yeah. But I guess because, okay, so like the old summit stage fright I think is about being a failure for me on stage, like being embarrassed, being shamed, being all the things, right? Like that's what makes me panic on stage. Right? So this is an experience where you literally are like showing your insides, like take excrement, like on stage for the sake of art and for the sake of, but like, was it freeing?7 (49m 26s):Yeah. I mean, there was, I really never forget when I first run that I did my good friend, Erica, who I met during the new futurist and who I'm still really good friends with now. She said to me, she's like, if you fuck up, you have to let it go because you'll ruin the moment that you're in. And the next moment. So there are so many times, I mean, it was, we would learn things like the day before, the day of, and it was inevitable that we were going to fuck up. So all of that perfectionism, you had to kind of leave at the door. And, and that moment I remember sometimes like being on stage and being like, I have a line coming up. I don't even know what that line is.7 (50m 9s):And here you are. And then you just kind of like, say whatever comes out of your mouth and it's just becomes part of the show. So it was really freaky for me, who I felt like at school, I was not a perfectionist, but I did do a lot of homework to make things go. Right. I had to just let, I mean, another moment to, I, we did this like dance number where we had, we had these masks, there weren't masks. They were like plastic plates with smiling faces on them. And we didn't get a chance to rehearse the dance number before we went on. So I was beat backstage and someone was telling me like what the dancing2 (50m 48s):Score.7 (50m 52s):So I had my glasses on, like with this plate pressed against me and I hardly could see. And I was just like, all right, I'm just going to like follow the person in front of me and just see what happens. And then I think that's on YouTube somewhere of me like,4 (51m 7s):Oh, well, they wait. So I'm glad that you started to speak to being a perfectionist in undergrad because it wasn't until you use that word about perfectionism that I, that rung a bell. Oh yeah. You were perfectionists or, or maybe you were just one of these people that, you know, like we've talked to before who took theater school rarely, seriously, and maybe didn't care for people who didn't. I don't know if that's true about you or not, but how have you wrestled with your perfectionism as a performer and as a writer?7 (51m 42s):Yeah, I mean, I think what was school? I had like a very different experience. My first two years, compared to the second two years, I was certainly a big nerd my first two years. And I wish I had it cause when I knew this was coming up and I couldn't find it, I think it's at my sister's place someplace, but I have a journal that I kept used to write after every acting class. And I would write like what happened and then I'd give myself some like insights and recommendations for like next time I still have it. It's just, I have to find it. And when I do I'll, I'll, I'll send you. Cause I think I was, it was, I definitely documented everything that happened.7 (52m 25s):Like breakdowns, like being really angry, being really happy, like all that kind of stuff.2 (52m 32s): coffee table book, like, like, like acting notes from a teenager, like, like, or like, I don't know. I think it could be really great, but, and with pictures, cause you're an artist the whole, anyway,7 (52m 49s):I will, I will scan a good journal entry and I'll send it to both of you when I find it. But I think, you know, writing that really helped me, I think thrive the first two years was like the writing aspect of it and reflecting on it. And I think in terms of what I do now, like I need breaks and that's how I handle like dealing with perfectionism. Now I sometimes like I've just kind of started to develop a writing practice the past two years. And I know when it's time to stop. And usually it's when I stop, I know I need to like go for a walk and reflect or just let it go.7 (53m 29s):And then like,2 (53m 30s):'cause, that's what your friend Erica told you. It's like, you have to, we have to just let it go at a certain point in order to not because what happens right. As fear begets, fear, begets perfectionism. So on stage, if something goes awry, since we're all artists, we can relate, like if something goes awry and you stay stuck in the earth, wryness you really miss out on what's coming next. And also you're destined to fuck up. What's coming next. So that letting go for you, it sounds like it's really important in order to move on now, even not on stage. Like, and so you, you say like writing and walking helps you let go and you've realized that like to move on.2 (54m 10s):Yeah.7 (54m 11s):Yeah. And I it's so funny. We were talking about letting go. Cause when I auditioned for the Neos, we had to write a play about our biggest challenge. And to me it was letting go and I wrote this play, well, we didn't say any words, but we, there was a paper shredder on stage. And then I wrote out like a word or two on a piece of paper and then like put it through the shredder. And then we gave like, we held out pens or markers to the audience and then like the audience could come up and write something and then shred it. And it was like very powerful. Cause like some people would write like, you know, my, you know, my ex-boyfriend or like envy or, you know, last seasons, like fashion collection or whatever it is, you know, that they wanted to let go of.7 (54m 59s):But I think to me that is something that's still, you know, resonates of like how, how do I let go? You know, like through meditation, through like the walking for me is a meditation and that's, that's usually like, it's a big part of my process just to take the time, you know, to take the time between creation, I guess.4 (55m 20s):What have you learned that you've had to let go in terms of how you saw yourself as an artist when you started school, versus when you came out, like in the time that you've been able to reflect? What, what I mean? Cause we, we had lots of ideas about our spas and I had lots of ideas about ourselves and who we were as artists and whoever people. And most of those were all completely, they were wrong. So, so this podcast has been a process of letting go of some of those antidotes. What's it been like for you?7 (55m 53s):Yeah, I mean a big thing for me at school I remember was I know I've listened to a ton of episodes and I feel like I was really at war with myself. You know, I, the criticism from the teachers wasn't as big of a deal as the, as the criticism that I gave myself. Like I, I never, there was no self validation at all. Like even when I did something, well, I never told myself I, there was always something wrong. And I think that has been a big part of my adulthood is just learning to give myself a gold star and to self validate and then also to learn, to understand permission, to get feedback.7 (56m 44s):And you know, I think that was something that was always a little challenging at theater school too, was, you know, I like, you know, the, the lab director that I mentioned earlier at EST, who would say like, what do you need to know in order to move forward? So often at school we weren't in control of the feedback that we got. So I think sometimes it was really challenging for me when I was like, I'm not ready for all of this or I don't need to know that. Why are you telling me that now? Or, you know, we couldn't, I couldn't control any of that. And maybe I needed to let go of that. And I did have a little bit of a habit and, and a little reputation for walking out of class.7 (57m 32s):Yeah. And it was, it was something I had to address and something, a lot of teachers talk to me about. And I mean, often it was because I was bored or just like needed a break, or I was like, I didn't want to like watch someone or whatever it was. And2 (57m 46s):I think it's really bold. Like what the fuck, man? I wish the one time I did that, I, I like got in big trouble for it. And like, but like whatever the reason is you were on some level trying to take care of yourself. Right. And so good for you. Like, fuck that. I don't know. I like it. I probably would be like, oh, oh, that's awesome. And secretly I'm like, oh, the audacity, the amazing audacity of Joe to walk out and inside. I'm probably like, I wish I could do that. But anyway, so7 (58m 20s):Yeah, I mean, to me it was, it was self care in a way. And that was before we knew anything about that. And you know, when I think of like what I was going through at the time too, was it was such an emotional time for me, like for so many reasons. And, you know, like, you know, being away from home and coming out of the closet and like, you know, like all the money struggles I had and like, I, you know, it just kind of gave me, I was just learning how to take care of myself. And then on top of all those things, like studying drama, like, okay, this is the perfect time to study drama now, you know, and even like doing all the things that we did, like, especially the movement stuff always had kind of profound effect on me.7 (59m 8s):Cause we were like retraining how to the nervous system, that sense of like freeing our natural voice and doing all these things. So I was really emotional, like the first two years a lot. And I would just leave to kind of like collect my thoughts and not like have a major breakdown in class or dumb about something that yeah.4 (59m 25s):To modulate. Right. Because that's what you, what you definitely have no control over is modulating the flow of feedback because it's not just feedback from your teachers. We're getting feedback from our peers. And sometimes you'd get feedback from peers that you didn't really respect them. So you were like, I'm not sure what to, I'm not sure what to make of this.2 (59m 42s):What's becoming clear. Is that based on what you experienced after that with the lab is that we needed a feedback class. Like we needed a literal class of how to give and receive feedback at the theater school would have been fucking phenomenal.7 (59m 58s):Oh my God. I know it wasn't until years later when I was a Neo that we learn, the, the show was on, I think east fourth street and right next to his New York theater workshop. And they do the Liz Lurman feedback method, which I love. And I'm like, oh my God, that was really a beginning point for me because then it just to follow that structure is brilliant. Like, just start with what you were struck by. I don't need your opinion right away on what to change. Look, just tell me what you were struck by what moments did you enjoy? What, you know, what questions do you have and then, or asking questions yourself. And I mean, maybe the school does that now, but I think that was really, that was really big for me.7 (1h 0m 39s):I, for any artist, whether you're a dancer or2 (1h 0m 41s):No matter whether you're a child getting feedback from your parent or a spouse, getting feedback from your other spouse or whatever, it, it, it works in all levels. And I think that what it does though, is disrupts the hierarchy of the power in an institution. And so nobody likes that. I mean, really like teachers need to feel like they're in control, right. Instead of what struck me, let's stay curious, let's stay open. That's not how conservatories are made. Like that's not the whole goal of them. And then maybe I hope they're changing, but like, yeah. Oh, I just love that you haven't had that experience after school with both the, the, the work in New York and the, the ensemble work you did and the Neo futurists sort of sh it sounds like it's really shaped your work moving forward as an artist, right?7 (1h 1m 34s):Yeah. I mean, it was really, I have to say, I mean, after that moment of being a Neo futurists, I was like, I don't think I can play a character ever again. I don't really know it can happen cause I, it just didn't, I, it really changed the dynamic I had with an audience. And I, I guess I didn't want to go back to what it was before also being a Neo. I had to let go of really all the things I had learned at school, in a sense, I mean, all I could really use was like maybe some of the voice and speech work we had done, but I, I mean, yeah, it really kind of shifted things for me, but being in that ensemble was great.7 (1h 2m 14s):Cause I, I, you know, we really learned how you really need to learn how to give and take and to, and, but also be an advocate for your own work because every week, you know, you had to kind of bring in something and you had to pitch it. You had to sell it to the five or six people who were deciding what was in the show that week. So it was, I think it's an experience that I, they do workshops, but like, I think everyone should do a workshop in that way because the show itself is living newspaper. So you have to think of like, what is relevant right now? What's relevant to this audience what's relevant in this moment, you know? And how can I bring that on stage?4 (1h 2m 55s):So wait, so you had an interest young in musical theater, but did you follow that? Have you remained interested in musical theater?7 (1h 3m 6s):No. You know what? I know you all have talked about the brochure and so I completely read the brochure wrong when I chose DePaul. Well, a couple of things I had for musical theater, I wanted to get a BFA musical theater. And there aren't a lot of schools that offer that. So I, you know, when I didn't get into some NYU, I was like, okay, well, what other school? So I had to be flexible with that. But the brochure I remember for DePaul the last year we took ensemble class. And I actually thought that that meant that we were in a theater company.7 (1h 3m 48s):So I not only thought that the, like, after you graduated, you're part of an ensemble theater company. So I told everyone, I'm like, I'm going to DePaul. And then I'm in a theater company. And then I thought that like, that was one crazy thing. And then also the movement stuff, which was, I actually really loved, like all the movements that we did. Like, I'm a big, like I'm, I was a big fan of moving to music. Like that was my jam at school. So I thought I was going to be getting some dancing training there, but I kind of, I did let it go. Certainly like, as the years of the2 (1h 4m 26s):Rest of the school, were you in any7 (1h 4m 29s):I wasn't and I really wanted to be, I, we did like Peter pan one year. And Were you in that?2 (1h 4m 38s):No, but Eric was saying was Susan Lee and she talks about it on the podcast.7 (1h 4m 45s):I heard that one. Yeah, yeah, Yeah. But yeah, no, I didn't do any musical theater stuff. I did love all the, we learned like period dance, which I was a big fan of, like, that was2 (1h 4m 57s):Me too. There was a fucking structure and it was like slow. And like, there was a way to do it. I remember the Elizabethan situation maybe, or like there was like this dance with Romeo and Juliet situation. And I loved that. I felt like there were actual steps we could take, there was a pacing to it.4 (1h 5m 21s):And you knew if you got it or not. Right. Like it was, it wasn't nebulous. Like you either understood how to do it or you didn't.7 (1h 5m 27s):Yeah. I thought I was like, I love the ritual of it. And it was, it was great to learn about history in that way too. And I liked all the Labon stuff that we did with Betsy, I thought,2 (1h 5m 38s):Is that the buoyancy and the, this and the, that.7 (1h 5m 42s):Yeah. I loved all of that stuff.2 (1h 5m 44s):Yeah.7 (1h 5m 45s):I mean, it was, you know, it was physically challenging too. We, I remember that thing we did with it was called like chaos, where you had to like go crazy. And4 (1h 5m 55s):I don't remember that.7 (1h 5m 57s):Yeah.2 (1h 5m 57s):It was crazy. And I remember I got such a stiff neck. I had to go to the emergency Because we were going crazy. And the next day I was like, I think I broke my neck, but I didn't break my head. So I had to go to that. And they were like, what did you do where he's like at a headbanging concert? I was like, no, it's a theater school now.4 (1h 6m 23s):Oh, we got another one. We got another theater,2 (1h 6m 27s):Chaos lady. I was like, I can't move. Yeah.4 (1h 6m 31s):Okay. But wait, so tell us about Susan Laurie parks, 365 plays and 365 days.7 (1h 6m 39s):Yeah. So that was, we, the Neos were given a handful of S of days for our scripts from that. And then as an ensemble, we were tasked with like interpreting it in any way that we wanted to. So it was cool to like, do a show at the public. And I remember we did one piece called FedEx to my ex where we had, like, we used actual FedEx boxes, like maybe like 50 or 60 of them. And we, we had letters on them or words and like kind of configured them to, to give messages out to the audience on these boxes.7 (1h 7m 24s):So I love that experience just cause we, as an ensemble, get to LA to celebrate this playwright with other like theater companies from, I think it was from, from all over the place. And it felt, again, like another professional experience, something that we didn't really get a chance to do, because the show that we did on a weekly basis was like on knew sports street at like 11 o'clock at night, you know? And this was more of a, like, you know, a different audience for us, which wasn't,2 (1h 7m 53s):When did you stop working with, is it like once a Neil always said, Neil, can you stop pack in and do stuff? Or like, how does it work?7 (1h 8m 1s):You can. Yeah. So the, I was like a regularly scheduled Neo for about two years or so. And then I jumped in to do the show at other times. And like we did a pride show that I would do often, or I would come in and do a run. And then we also had primetime shows. So I was involved in like two or three prime time shows as either a performer or assistant director or a collaborator in some way. And I did that up until I did some marketing for the company. I did that up until I moved to LA. And even my first year in LA, I did a project at here art center with my, one of my theater heroes chucked me that I went back to to, to see.7 (1h 8m 50s):So, but yeah, when I moved here, I kind of just decided to let, let that go.2 (1h 8m 60s):They're always themes that emerged with people's lives when they come on the show. So for you then stop and starting, like ed Ryan's is being interrupted and yours is like letting things go. So when did you arrive in LA?7 (1h 9m 13s):I moved here. It's been five years. So 2017 or so. And you know, I finally feel like now I'm kind of getting settled. I mean, I'd go back to New York a lot just to hang out and spend time there. And I work remotely. So I'm able to like go there and like work for a couple of weeks. I've learned not to stay too, too long. Cause last summer I was there for six weeks and I was like, oh, I feel like I'm in my old life.4 (1h 9m 42s):How do you satisfy? If you still have a craving for performance, how do you set it? Because now you have your own company you're self-employed, which is awesome. How do yo

Jim Esch and Shpresa Ymeraj talk with Rob Reutter, director of the Lone Brick Theatre Company, about the history of the company and their cutting edge performances in and around the Widener University community. Lone Brick's newest production is Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman. It runs March 26, 27, 29, 30 and April 1, 2 at 8:00 pm in Lathem Hall on the Widener campus. Tickets are $12 and seating is limited. Tickets are available HERE. You can follow Lone Brick Theatre on Facebook.

With music by Genius grant recipient Matthew Aucoin, libretto by recipient Sarah Ruhl, and stage direction by recipient Mary Zimmerman, Eurydice is a new examination of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice from Eurydice's point of view. This co-commission and co-production arrives at the Met after a successful premiere at LA Opera in February 2020. On today's episode, professor W. Anthony Sheppard takes us into the underworld and explores our protagonist's tale.

Nuestra invitación desde esta edición es a que crees buenos momentos “si no los hay”, y desde nuestro espacio de reflexión Julia Marquez Arrico nos comparte algunas ideas para tener nuestras propias. Compartimos su texto que se titula “Embellecer momentos, una habilidad al alcance de todos”. Conectamos con Fénix Pérez, y si que hablamos y llamamos a mejores momentos, algo que viene de la energía o intención que le pongamos. Fénix nos habla del experimento emoto y nos dice cómo aplicarlo a nuestras vidas. Se trata de un ejercicio con vasos de arroz con agua. Richard Douglas, productor y actor dominicano nos comparte una nueva edición de “Mi Opinión Personal” espacio que toma para compartir como ve la actuación de los personajes principales de cierta obra cinematográficas, como en “Lupin”, que es la serie de la que nos habla, puntualmente, de la segunda temporada. Recibimos la agradable visita de Evaristy Jiménez, creador de la marca “Lobato Fashion Caribbean”, un emprendimiento multidireccional basado en cultura, moda, deporte y diversión, conocemos mas de ella con detalles. Conectamos con Laura Pernas, cantante lírica del Conservatorio de Boston at Berkley, y a Carlos Martínez director artístico de la obra que conocemos de ellos: “Metamorfosis”, una obra de Mary Zimmerman, basada en los mitos de OVIDIO.

Con el retorno del teatro a los escenarios dominicanos, empezamos con "Metamorfosis" la primera producción de Punto Zeta Productions (@puntozeta.prod). Su director, Carlos Martínez (@cemartinez.director) y como parte de su elenco, Laura Virginia Pernas (@lauravirginiapernas), nos cuentan sobre esta obra teatral de Mary Zimmerman, basada en los mitos de Ovidio. Presentándose los días 18, 19 & 20 de junio en la Sala Manuel Rueda con capacidad limitada. Para información sobre boletas visita www.puntozetaprod.com

[Video below] Floresville High School Theatre Arts department will present its UIL One-Act play, “The Odyssey” by Mary Zimmerman, Thursday and Friday, March 25-26. Members of the public are invited to attend. Performances both nights are at 7 p.m. in the Wiley Seale Auditorium at Floresville High School. Several members of the Floresville company received acting and tech awards. Donations for the Theatre Arts Activity Fund will be accepted at the door.Article Link

Jermaine Hill is a master of all trades. He's a teacher, vocal coach, music director, actor, singer, conductor, pianist... He shares his journey through all of these facets and more. From his 8 years with Royal Caribbean Productions to his teaching at Columbia College Chicago to his music direction of Mary Zimmerman's Music Man, he is having too much fun covering it ALL.

En febrero de 2020, LA Opera Connects y la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México en Los Ángeles (UNAM-LA) organizaron un taller, presentado por Gerardo Kleinburg, sobre Eurydice, una nueva ópera de Matthew Aucoin y Sarah Ruhl. Episodio 6: Oficialmente nombrados genios por la Fundación MacArthur, Matthew Aucoin, Sarah Ruhl, y Mary Zimmerman han creado una ópera lleno de novedades. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In February 2020, LA Opera Connects and the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Los Angeles (UNAM-LA) organized a workshop—presented by Gerardo Kleinburg—on Eurydice, a new opera by Matthew Aucoin and Sarah Ruhl. Episode 6: Officially named geniuses by the MacArthur Foundation, Matthew Aucoin, Sarah Ruhl, and Mary Zimmerman have created an opera full of novelties.

Women write amazing shit today and they wrote amazing shit a long time ago and kids are missing out on these masterworks of literature and drama simply because misogyny and racism are the cornerstones of every public school English curriculum. Let Willz sit on the ‘Choice Books’ shelf for once so students can explore and love these women’s words and perspectives instead:  Murasaki Shikibu * Diary of Lady Murasaki Shikibu * The Tale of Genji Mary Zimmerman * Metamorphosis Emily Wilson * The Odyssey (Translation)

Mary Zimmerman is a playwright, director and producer, whose works are sui generis. Her focus is on adaptations and re-adaptations of classical and pre-classical works, as well as librettos for operas and reorganizing films into stage plays. She was interviewed by Richard Wolinsky for the “Open Book” radio program in late 2012 for a production of “The White Snake” at Berkeley Rep. Sne won a 2002 Tony Award for her direction of Ovid's “Metamorphosis,” on Broadway. More recently she wrote a stage version of Disney's “Tarzan” and directed the world premiere of Matthew Aucoin's Eurydice, with a libretto by Sarah Ruhl, at the Los Angeles Opera in February 2020. The post Playwright Interview: Mary Zimmerman, 2012 appeared first on KPFA.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to this episode. We appreciate that you shared your time with us. If you listened on Apple Podcast, we'd love it if you could share your love in a review. Margo Seibert has proven herself to be a uniquely captivating and versatile performer, writer, and activist. After originating the role of “Jane” in Broadway’s first a cappella musical, IN TRANSIT, she recently co-starred in Dave Malloy’s world premiere OCTET at Signature Theatre in New York and released her debut album “77th Street”on Yellow Sound Label . She is perhaps best known for her critically acclaimed performance as “Adrian” in the Broadway musical ROCKY. After graduating with a degree in International Relations from American University, Margo began her acting career in the D.C. Theatre scene, seamlessly transitioning between plays and musicals at Signature Theatre, Folger Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, Olney Theatre Center and the Shakespeare Theatre. Margo moved to New York after appearing in Mary Zimmerman’s CANDIDE at the Goodman in Chicago, and has continued her multifaceted career performing in plays at Playwright’s Horizons Rattlestick, The Women's Project, and Weston Playhouse, and starring in musicals at The Paper Mill Playhouse, A.C.T, and Two River Theater. She can also been seen on television in “Boardwalk Empire,” “Elementary,” “Instinct,” and “The Good Cop.” Margo is also the co-founder of the organization RACKET, whose goal is to make as much noise about periods as it takes to normalize the conversation and draw attention to under-prioritized menstrual hygiene needs. Since inception, Margo has collected hundreds of thousands of menstrual hygiene products for transient menstruators in need, and helped eliminate the tax on those products in NY State. Keep up with Margo: @margo_seibert & www.margoseibert.com To listen to Margo's album, 77th Street, click here! Want more of Page To Stage?! Follow us on Social! @PageToStage on Instagram and Facebook MARY DINA: Instagram or Twitter BRIAN SEDITA: Instagram or Website BROADWAY PODCAST NETWORK: Website or Instagram #PageToStagePodcast

The Aside Podcasts are a free resource supported by Drama Victoria - Australia's oldest Drama Association This is a Script Tease episode where we talk through some of the world's greatest plays. Jump through the major plot points, give some background and of course, spoil the endings – all in less than 5 minutes. We do the hard work so you can do the easy listening. In this episode we do Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman Please feel free to email asidepodcast@outlook.com to ask a question. We will try answer on a future podcast.

The Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago is remounting Mary Zimmerman's production of The Steadfast Tin Soldier this holiday season, and the Tony-winning director and adapter herself talks to us about how the show came to life. Featuring seeking and finding, bittersweet qualities, being drawn to outsiders, staging an advent calendar, music hall influences, Masterpiece Theatre memories, colonizing the mind, actor contributions, a tribute to longtime collaborator Christopher Donahue, the value of taking a break, kitty sneezes, ending on a pun, toggling back and forth between literary and theatrical storytelling, and the value of beautiful legitimate sentiment. (Length 25:05) (Pictured: Alex Stein in the title role in the Lookingglass Theatre Company production of The Steadfast Tin Soldier, directed and adapted by Mary Zimmerman (left). Photos by Liz Lauren.) The post Steadfast Tin Soldier appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

We were thrilled to have Erica Daniels Strater join us in the Booth, starting our next 100 episodes off in style! She has been an agent, casting director, Associate Artistic Director, president, and now Executive Director. All at top-flight companies. Erica has so many dear friends in the Chicago theatre community. She helped us all out when we were with small companies who needed casting help and couldn't afford our own casting directors. Her email response would come back pronto with a list of really great suggestions for a role. Early in her career, she joined her close friend and mentor, Martha Lavey, in choosing to make the effort to pay attention to smaller companies and emerging talents and to lend a hand up. A graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in Performance Studies, she studied with an amazing group of artists, including Martha Lavey, Frank Galati, Mary Zimmerman and Dwight Conquergood. When she graduated and was planning to start auditioning, Erica broker her foot. While she was recuperating, she thought maybe she could help out in a casting director's office. She worked in Jane Brody's office, then Shirley Hamilton's, two of the best casting people in Chicago. Then, after an exciting stint as the Theatre Department coordinator at William Morris in New York, she went to work for Steppenwolf as their in-house casting director. She was then promoted to Associate Artistic Director and did a wonderful job in that capacity while continuing to do their casting. She is providing great leadership at Victory Gardens, collaborating with her partner, Artistic Director Chay Yew. Erica is eloquent about Victory Gardens' mission to "be a leader in developing and producing new work and cultivating an inclusive theater community." We have seen so many marvelous productions there, most recently, Tiny Beautiful Things. Erica and Chay were listed as #1! in New City Stages' feature: Players 2019: The Fifty People Who Really Perform for Chicago.. Gary talks to Erica about getting her start in the business, what she looks for in an actor, the audition process, working with directors to cast just the right actor for the role, and what challenges an Executive Director of a Tony Award-winning Chicago off-loop theatre faces on a daily basis. You'll find Erica to be eloquent and forthright in her responses. Just a joy to have as a guest in the Booth. Kiss of Death: Franco Zeffirelli, Italian director with a penchant for excess. Renowned for his extravagantly romantic opera productions, immensely popular film versions of Shakespeare and an active and sometimes controversial social life. Wiki tells us he was one of the only living people traceably consanguineous with Leonardo da Vinci. Mr. Zeffirelli was 96.

Mary Zimmerman is known for poetic storytelling and brilliant imagery. Her play "Metamorphoses" (No Script S1 E9) remains one of Jackson' and Jacob's favorites. This week, J&J take on another of Mary Zimmerman's plays: "The Arabian Nights." Listen in as the guys gush about the power of stories.  ------------------------------ Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help to ensure the No Script Podcast can continue.  https://www.patreon.com/noscriptpodcast   We want to keep the conversation going! Have you read this play? Have you seen it? Comment and tell us your favorite themes, characters, plot points, etc. Did we get something wrong? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Find us on social media at:  Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast/ ------------------------------ Our theme song is “Upbeat Soda Pop” by Purple Planet Music. Credit as follows: Music: http://www.purple-planet.com ------------------------------ Logo Text: Paralines designed by Lewis Latham of http://lewislatham.co/ ------------------------------ Thanks so much for listening! We’ll see you next week.

Mark Larson discusses his wonderful new book Ensemble: An Oral History of Chicago Theater, a magnificent (and massive!) collection of first-person narratives from such theatre legends as Alan Arkin, Brian Dennehy, Andre DeShields, Laurie Metcalf, Mary Zimmerman, Michael Shannon, Regina Taylor, RSC alum David Razowsky, David Schwimmer, and literally hundreds more, all explaining both the history and the unique nature of Chicago theatre as they lived and created it. Featuring gratitude to those who came before us; the concept of the Chicago theatre community itself as a massive ensemble; theatre as a civic point of pride; eliminating unnecessary characters (like the author); answering the question of why the concept of ensemble developed such strong roots in this particular city; the biggest surprises from this four-and-a-half year process (and how it relates to podcasting); similarities to Studs Terkel and Tom Wolfe; tales of enormous will and enormous generosity; great white whales who got away; the benefits of being an outsider at the edge of the story; making the reader feel part of the Chicago theatre community; how individuals and institutions assist and mentor others; and ultimately the freedom — the ability, the need — to take risks. (Length 21:45) The post Glory Of ‘Ensemble’ appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Peter Marks, theatre critic of the Washington Post and co-host of American Theatre magazine's Three on the Aisle Podcast, famously loathes the song "Shipoopi" in Meredith Willson's The Music Man and this week we try to convince him just how wrong he is. Featuring strong emotional reactions; unworthy yet sophisticated analysis; unprovoked disdain of garden gnomes; pilgrimages to Mason City, Iowa; reverse snobbery; comparing Act Two openings; anthropomorphizing a month; ideal Harold Hill casting (the less said about Matthew Broderick, the better); and ultimately a celebration of one the American musical theatre’s greatest (give or take a song or two) shows. WARNING: No minds were changed in the recording of this podcast. (Length 20:13) (Pictured: Jonathan Butler-Duplessis as Marcellus Washburn in the Goodman Theatre production of Meredith Willson's The Music Man, directed by Mary Zimmerman. Photo by Liz Lauren.) The post We Debate ‘Shipoopi’ appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Roche Schulfer, the long-serving Executive Director of Chicago's Goodman Theatre, joins the CONVERSATION following the opening of Mary Zimmerman’s revival of “The Music Man”—the Tony Award winning director’s 16th Goodman show in a 25-year association.  Season 4 Episode 8 Originally posted July 15, 2019

Sophia Skiles is a theater performer and theater educator. She has performed in work directed by many including Anne Bogart, Richard Foreman, Mary Zimmerman with strong ties to Ma-Yi Theater and National Asian American Theater Company. With over 20 years of experience in acting and teaching, Sophia taught in public schools through out NYC, pre-college students at Northwestern. “Shakespeare as a dramatist is someone who invites radical remaking of power. He gives language to women, who were considered less than powerful. And gives them a go at power. And sometimes they fail, but you get these moments on stage, where they had claimed the power.” - Sophia Skiles     --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/feisworld/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/feisworld/support

In our "In Conversation" part of Repisodes, we talk to members of the creative team to learn more about their process and the world of the play. An abridged version of the conversation is included in print as part of the show's written program. Here, Tony award-winning artist Mary Zimmerman, the director and adaptor behind Metamorphoses, talks about her creative process and the unique difficulties of adapting a classic text for modern audiences. Metamorphoses runs now through March 24 and tickets are available at berkeleyrep.org. Follow Berkeley Rep on SoundCloud to keep up with the whole series. You can also listen on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Music credit to James Dinneen.

Tony Award-winning director and playwright Mary Zimmerman joins the CONVERSATION to discuss her new work The Steadfast Tin Soldier based on the Hans Christian Andersen children's story presented in pantomime at Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre Company. In an extraordinary career that has spanned the worlds of theater and opera, Zimmerman received the 2002 Tony Award for directing Metamorphoses. Season 3 Episode 21 Originally posted December 17, 2018 

This week on "No Script," Jackson and Jacob talk about Mary Zimmerman's "Metamorphoses." The play is an adaption of Ovid's myths, including such well known stories as Orpheus and Eurydice, Eros and Psyche, and King Midas. And, get this, the whole thing is set in a pool! "Metamorphoses" is one of Jacob's all-time favorite scripts. Listen in as J&J uncover the images, the themes, and the method behind this masterpiece.  ------------------------------ We had so much fun talking about this play, and we’d love to keep the conversation going! What were some of your thoughts if you’ve read or have seen the play? What are you favorite themes? Characters? Plot Points? Or do you disagree with us on any of our thoughts? We’d love to hear from you. Check us out on social media or email at: Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast ------------------------------ Our theme song is “Blessed” by Purple Planet Music. Credit as follows: Music: http://www.purple-planet.com ------------------------------ Logo Design: Jacob Mann Christiansen Logo Text: Paralines designed by Lewis Latham of http://lewislatham.co/ ------------------------------ Thanks so much for listening! We’ll see you next week. ------------------------------

We can’t let this opera season end without spending some time with LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, a Met Opera favorite. Gaetano Donizetti’s 1835 tragic opera returns to the stage in a production by Mary Zimmerman, including all the heart-breaking turns that make for a dramatic night of theatre. On today’s episode, Guild lecturer and podcast co-host Naomi Barrettara brings a fresh approach to talking about one of the most beloved tragic operas of the bel canto period.

Dvořák's Czech masterpiece has opera returned to the Met this season with a new, fantastical production by Mary Zimmerman. Today’s episode features my co-host and Guild lecturer Naomi Barrettara in a pre-performance talk exploring the folklore sources behind the opera plot, as well as the musical fabric that bring this story to life.

Gary and Roscoe romp through a medley of miscellany, joined unexpectedly by friend-of-the-show Paul Stroili of Episode 43 fame. Paul was loitering outside an Edible Arrangements franchise near our studio, shamelessly advertising for his new hit Chicago show Tony n' Tina's Wedding. So Gary invited him in for a visit and a chat on the air. More about Edible Arrangements than you ever wanted to know... Roscoe reviews The Scivvies for our listeners - singer/actor/musicians Nick Cearly and Lauren Molina from New York, who perform in their underwear stripped down arrangements of eclectic covers and eccentric originals. Roscoe "charms" other patrons seated near him at the event, which featured guest appearances by musical artists from Hamilton and Wonderful Town. Roscoe's informed notice? Two big thumbs up! Gary finally sees Wonderful Town at the Goodman Theatre before closing and his take concurs with Roscoe's - a brilliant re-imagining that simply shows what a theatrical genius like Mary Zimmerman and a stellar cast can do with somewhat mediocre musical material. Marvelous performances all, especially by leads Bri Sudia and the aforementioned Lauren Molina. Bri Sudia gives a performance that Gary imagines is reminiscent of a young Fanny Brice or Ethel Merman in her heyday. We can't avoid discussing the unanimous stellar reviews that Paul and his production of Tony n' Tina's Wedding have received in all the Chicago media. The acting, the direction, the venue, the music and the original 1980's theme make this one of the must-see events in the city this season. Despite the Chicago Cubs' World Series run diverting audiences to their TV sets this October, T n' T is playing to large and repeat crowds, offering an actual church wedding ceremony, an interactive reception, loads of great 80's music, full Italian dinner, champagne toast and real wedding cake. Paul discusses the extraordinary work by the cast and their dedication to naturalism and honest improvisation. Go to www.tonylovestina.com for information and to order tickets. Hurry, though, as it only runs through January 14, 2017. Another shout out from Roscoe and Gary about their experience at the famous iO Theatre improvisation space, where they saw the Improvised Shakespeare Company. Smart, funny, sophisticated, inspiring and downright thrilling, this troupe of actors and improvisers create a full 2-hour Shakespearean-style play with just a single suggested title from the audience. Ours was called "Without Handlebars" and was hilarious from start to finish. From mistaken identities to rhyming couplets, from iambic pentameter to mismatched lovers, you'll swear you're watching a fully written and prepared script. But NO! It's being made up on the spot for the first - and last - time ever! This is the perfect date night event, and it's only $16. Worth at least twice that. Enough gushing....GO! Gary, Roscoe and Paul bandy about Broadway's The Cherry Orchard reviews, George Bernard Shaw, War Paint and actress Kate Shindle, appearing in the national tour of Fun Home. Then we revisit Roscoe's grandfather's scrapbooks in our new recurring segment, Remembering Roscoe. And have you heard about the Ruby Slippers at the Smithsonian Institution? Their home for nearly 40 years, the slippers are in dire need of repair and refurbishment. The Smithsonian is trying to raise $300,000 through a Kickstarter campaign for the year-long task. Seems to us like a lot of money...They're a mismatched pair but evidence proves that they were indeed worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. As of this recording, the Smithsonian was over half way to their monetary goal with nearly a month left to go, so it's safe to say they will achieve the necessary amount and we can look forward to seeing a pristine pair of Ruby Slippers on display in the not too distant future. Paul relates a story of finding a pair of shoes, with the heel designed like the Ferris Wheel at the 1893 World Columbian Exhibiti...

Gary and Roscoe greet Autumn in Chicago with anticipation and merriment. While discussing pie fights and pet peeves, Roscoe admits to being officially notified by the Library of Congress about misrepresenting the number of screenings of the newly restored and fully assembled 1927 Laurel and Hardy film The Battle of the Century. Seems he saw the third American screening at Cinecon, not the first. A minor quibble, but worthy of correction. Gary's latest Sourpuss Smithers peeve concerns the use of the helper word "like". As in "Like he heard this woman on like the train using the word 'like' like as every third or fourth like word and couldn't like believe that a seemingly well-educated and like professional person would be caught like dead in a loud conversation in like public with such a debilitating like speech pattern. Like." We know this is not a new problem, but seriously? The sharks are back in town in New Smyrna Beach, Florida with three attacks on surfers in one day! NSB is apparently known as the "shark attack capital of the world." Read more here to learn why. And keep your hands and feet inside the boat at all times. We preview the new season on Broadway with a nod toward those shows closing (Something Rotten, The Humans, An American in Paris, Matilda, Fiddler on the Roof), and a look ahead to upcoming openings. Of particular interest is the revival (again!) of The Glass Menagerie, this time featuring Sally Field. Roscoe is flush with excitement over this and predicts a Tony Award for the former Flying Nun. We like her! We really like her!! Even more exciting is the opening of Hello, Dolly! starring the great one herself, Bette Midler. And featuring David Hyde Pierce as Horace Vandergelder. The first revival in 22 years, this show broke the first day Broadway record for ticket sales, ringing in at $9,082,497! Word on the street has it that Carol Channing, 95, will be in attendance on Opening Night. Oh, to be in the audience that night... Roscoe gives us his thumbnail review of Wonderful Town, now playing at the Goodman Theatre, directed by the great Mary Zimmerman. "It's bright, colorful...with one show stopper after another after another", says Roscoe. 4 Stars out of 4.  Bri Sudia gives what Chris Jones in the Chicago Tribune calls a brilliant, career-making performance. High praise indeed. You heard it here first on Booth One, folks - The People vs OJ Simpson was going to be BIG! A huge winner at this year's Emmy Awards., including Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark and Courtney B. Vance as Johnny Cochran. Also, close friend Jay Martel appeared on stage as Executive Producer when Key and Peele won for Outstanding Variety Sketch Show. Nice photo in the NYTimes the next day, Jay! Way to go. Can't wait to have you on the program. See all the Emmy noms and winners here. Something that we hope will become a recurring segment is Roscoe reading entries from his grandfather Roscoe's scrapbook of letters and reminiscences. Touching, human and revealing, we think you'll find this will become a popular Booth One entry. Gary and Roscoe pay tribute to one of the great influential voices of the American theater, Edward Albee, who passed away this September. The Zoo Story, A Delicate Balance and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf rank among his many masterpieces. Did you know that he came up with the title for Woolf after seeing it randomly scrawled in soap on a mirror in a downstairs bar in Greenwich Village? The film version starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton remains as one of the most indelible cinema experiences of our lifetimes. Read Bruce Weber's full obituary. At our listener's request, Gary & Roscoe play a little Chat Pack. Learn what our hosts think about Stevie Nicks, Barbra Streisand, Dreamgirls, Ramon Novarro and Leni Riefenstahl! Kiss of Death: Charmian Carr, Played Liesl in The Sound of Music. Only 21 at the time, Ms. Carr is perhaps best remembered for singing "Sixteen Going on Sev...

Actors Bri Sudia and Lauren Molina, in collaboration with Tony Award-winning director Mary Zimmerman, set the scene for sisterhood both on and off stage in the Goodman Theatre's production of Leonard Bernstein's classic musical Wonderful Town.

One recently-opened Bay Area stage show takes place under the Sea, where fish creatures dwell, another takes place on the Sea, where dangerous men scheme and battle for buried gold. One show features fish on roller skates; the other presents pirates and parrots. Both have singing and dancing—though only one is a musical. One is in Berkeley. One’s in Rohnert Park. One is Disney’s ‘The little Mermaid.’ The other is a brand new adaptation of ‘Treasure Island.’ Both are well worth a voyage to the theater. First, let’s talk about ‘Treasure Island.’ Writer-director Mary Zimmerman’s richly reimagined action adventure—adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s beloved novel—is visually inventive and surprisingly emotional. And it rocks. Literally. As presented at the Berkeley Repertory Theater, in Berkeley, the show employs a stunningly well-engineered stage that—during scenes where the characters take to the open sea—actually rocks, swinging back-and-forth from side to side like a pirate ship rolling on the ocean. That is just one of many eye-popping delights that await, as director Zimmerman launches a wildly unexpected, subversively psychological adaptation that might skimp a bit on the sword-fighting and swashbuckling, but makes up for it with beauty, pathos and rich human comedy. Now, there’s no doubt that Treasure Island is a good book, but it would be hard to make the case that it is a very deep book—despite the fathomless depths of fondness many, including me, still feel for it. It’s a great story, but not exactly packed with psychological insight. That’s why it’s such a surprise that Zimmerman has so deftly managed to turn the tale into something so humanely perceptive and emotionally rewarding. Packed with poetic touches—including a an odd but effective bit of dreamy piratical ballet—this rollicking interpretation is stirring and fun, achingly lovely, frequently sweet, occasionally a bit weird, and a tad upsetting. Which is to say that, for a story about ships and pirates, with a set that swings into the action, it’s practically perfect. Meanwhile, in Spreckels Theater Company’s splashy new production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, colorful costumed fish on wheels appear to swim across the stage. Seagulls fly and mermaids frolic, huge waves splash and crash, octopus women grow to six times their normal size, while six-foot strands of seaweed bob and wiggle in time to the music, thanks to dancers dressed up in seaweed suits. It is, in a word, dazzling. But of all the special effects unfurled in Spreckels elaborate production, directed with charm and energy by Gene Abravaya, the most impressive is the strong-voiced, agile and energetic cast. Led by Julianne Thompson Bretan as the adventurous title character, Ariel, with memorable turns by Mary Gannon Graham as the villainous sea-witch Ursula and Fernando Sui as Flounder, Ariel’s BFF (that’s “best fish friend”), the show is made colorful and clever by the costumes and set pieces, but succeeds on an emotional level primarily due to the delightfully cartoonish, occasionally quite moving performances. Despite some glaring script flaws, an over-stuffed score and a confusing, undercooked climax, this Mermaid still delivers a level of onstage dazzle-dazzle that is pretty much unmatched in ambition and spectacle by any other local stage musical in recent memory. ‘Treasure Island’ runs Tuesday–Sunday through June 17 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, www.berkeleyrep.org. ‘Disney’s The Little Mermaid’ runs through May 22 at Spreckels Performing Arts Center, www.spreckelsonline.com.

Interview with lead actress Elizabeth Willow UBC Theatre's The Arabian Nights by Mary Zimmerman, reviews of The Arts Club's Pride and Prejudice, and Vancouver International Dance Festival performances of The Longing Courtesan by Sujit Vaidya and Like Smoke Like Ash by Natsu Nakajima. Discussion about upcoming shows The Birdwatcher, UBC Players Centennial, and Brave New Play Rites. Hosted by Ashley Park.

In a program from October of 2010, Andrew Patner talks about Goodman Theatre's production of Leonard Bernstein's Candide with its director and adapter Mary Zimmerman, music director Doug Peck, and cast members from the show [...]

The 1967 animated Disney film "The Jungle Book" — inspired by Rudyard Kipling's book of the same name — springs to life in a new musical that had its world premiere at the Goodman Theater in Chicago. Written and directed by Mary Zimmerman, best known for her stage play based on Ovid's "Metamorphoses," the new show features all the songs from the movie, including the hit tune "The Bare Necessities."  The musical stars Akash Chopra as Mowgli and veteran performer Andre de Shields as King Louie. New York Times theater critic Charles Isherwood tells us about its subtle staging, how it ranks among Disney musicals and where it's headed next.

Mousetalgia was invited to speak at DisneyanaMania 2013, and we have a full report! Joined by representatives from Micechat, we addressed the attendees of this year's Disneyana convention and talked about Disney fandom. We also report on presentations by Dave Avanzino and Disney Legends Marty Sklar and Rolly Crump, and report on the show floor from the Disneyana collectibles show and sale. Next, the weekend becomes an unreal Disney fan's dream trip as Jeff and Kristen report on visiting 1901 at the Carthay Circle; review a brunch at Club 33; and attend Richard Sherman's 85th birthday surprise party. Also, a listener reports from the Chicago premiere of "The Jungle Book," directed by Mary Zimmerman. Plus - Kristen discusses piloting the Mark Twain and the wildlife of the Rivers of America; the team reviews the Garden Grove Sheraton; we take a tour through Kevin and Jody's studio - and more!

Mary Zimmerman discusses her approach to creating a play. 

Mary Zimmerman discusses her approach to creating a play. [30:38]

Mary Zimmerman discusses her approach to creating a play. [30:38]

Mary Zimmerman discusses her approach to creating a play. [30:38]

What's it like to reprise a role you first played 14 years ago? Lookingglass actors Raymond Fox, Doug Hara and Louise Lamson join Anne Nicholson Weber to talk about their long association with Mary Zimmerman's play Metamorphoses, how to keep a performance alive and fresh over a long run, and how their performances have changed over time.

Bob Wilcox and Gerry Kowarsky review (1) THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, by William Shakespeare, at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, (2) NO CHILD . . ., by Nilaja Sun, at The Black Rep, (3) THE INVISIBLE HAND, by Ayad Akhtar, at the Repertory Theatre Studio Theatre, (4) THE GLASS MENAGERIE, by Tennessee Williams, at Insight Theatre Co., (5) THE VALUE OF NAMES, by Jeffrey Sweet, at the New Jewish Theatre, (6) THE ARABIAN NIGHTS, by Mary Zimmerman, at St. Louis Shakespeare, (7) BUG, by Tracy Letts, at Muddy Waters Theatre Co., (8) NANA'S NAUGHTY KNICKERS, by Katherine DiSavino, at Kirkwood Theatre Guild, and (9) PUSS IN BOOTS, by Brian Hohlfeld, at the Imaginary Theatre Co.

Daniel Ostling is a freelance Scenic Designer based in San Francisco with a second residence in NYC. He has worked at numerous regional theaters including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, the Mark Taper Forum, Seattle Repertory, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Goodman, San Francisco Opera Center, Shakespeare Theater (D.C.), and Portland Center Stage among others. Internationally, his work has been seen in at the Barbican and the Donmar Warehouse in London, UK and the Melbourne Theatre Co. in Australia. Mr. Ostling is an ensemble member of Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago since 1997. He works extensively with director Mary Zimmerman having designed numerous production including Metamorphoses for which he was nominated for a 2002 Tony Award. Upcoming projects include Much Ado About Nothing (California Shakespeare), Candide (Goodman/Chgo, Shakespeare Theatre/ DC), Becky Shaw (South Coast Rep), Arabian Nights (Berkeley Repertory).

Daniel Ostling is a freelance Scenic Designer based in San Francisco with a second residence in NYC. He has worked at numerous regional theaters including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, the Mark Taper Forum, Seattle Repertory, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Goodman, San Francisco Opera Center, Shakespeare Theater (D.C.), and Portland Center Stage among others. Internationally, his work has been seen in at the Barbican and the Donmar Warehouse in London, UK and the Melbourne Theatre Co. in Australia. Mr. Ostling is an ensemble member of Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago since 1997. He works extensively with director Mary Zimmerman having designed numerous production including Metamorphoses for which he was nominated for a 2002 Tony Award. Upcoming projects include Much Ado About Nothing (California Shakespeare), Candide (Goodman/Chgo, Shakespeare Theatre/ DC), Becky Shaw (South Coast Rep), Arabian Nights (Berkeley Repertory).

Daniel Ostling is a freelance Scenic Designer based in San Francisco with a second residence in NYC. He has worked at numerous regional theaters including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, the Mark Taper Forum, Seattle Repertory, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Goodman, San Francisco Opera Center, Shakespeare Theater (D.C.), and Portland Center Stage among others. Internationally, his work has been seen in at the Barbican and the Donmar Warehouse in London, UK and the Melbourne Theatre Co. in Australia. Mr. Ostling is an ensemble member of Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago since 1997. He works extensively with director Mary Zimmerman having designed numerous production including Metamorphoses for which he was nominated for a 2002 Tony Award. Upcoming projects include Much Ado About Nothing (California Shakespeare), Candide (Goodman/Chgo, Shakespeare Theatre/ DC), Becky Shaw (South Coast Rep), Arabian Nights (Berkeley Repertory).

On this week's episode of the Talk Theatre In Chicago podcast Tom Williams talks with Mary Zimmerman, the adapter and director of Candide playing at the Goodman Theatre. She talks about the show and her process of bringing it to stage.

Playwrights Jon Robin Baitz (Hedda Gabler), John Guare (Sweet Smell of Success and Tony Winner for the 1972 musical version of Two Gentlemen of Verona), Peter Parnell (Q.E.D.), and directors Gene Saks (Tony Award winner for Best Direction for I Love My Wife, Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues), Tony winning-director Daniel Sullivan (2001 for Best Direction of a Play for Proof), and Mary Zimmerman (Tony Award for Metamorphoses) discuss their approaches to writing, directing, and adaptations; the collaboration process with directors, writers, producers, sets, and actors; reactions to a production's first preview; and the source of ideas for playwrights.

Playwrights Jon Robin Baitz ("Hedda Gabbler"), John Guare ("Sweet Smell of Success"), Peter Parnell ("Q.E.D."), and directors Gene Saks ("Mr. Goldwyn"), Daniel Sullivan ("Proof"), and Mary Zimmerman ("Metamorphoses") discuss their approaches to writing, directing, and adaptations; the collaboration process with directors, writers, producers, sets, and actors; reactions to a production's first preview; and the source of ideas for playwrights.