Podcasts about off broadway

Ronna's star struck this week, excuse me. We've got Off-Broadway's own (Bryan) with us, fresh off his SMASH hit show, and he and Ronna are ready to mingle and give their usual spot-on advice...if they can avoid cyclospora first. This week Ronna (& Bryan) give advice on a trio of problems: planning a long term stay for an American fruit in London, how to deal with a very extroverted employee, and what the etiquette is at a restaurant when your dining companion is running VERY late. (Bryan)'s show ARE YOU MAD AT ME is selling fast, so if you want tickets, and believe us, you do, you better get your grubs on them now! Go to areyoumadatmeshow.com and use code IMSORRY for $10 off your tickets. The show plays at HERE Arts Center in New York through August 15th, but the discount code is good through this week only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cat and Pat reunite in New York City for an extra-special in-person episode of Seek Treatment! They discuss their recent fave meals, interactions that may or may not be sexual, Cat's latest Off Broadway show Broad Strokes, and Pat shares a shocking realization. Watch the full episode on our YouTube and follow below!Show Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seektreatmentpodShow Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@seektreatmentpodCat: https://www.instagram.com/catccohenPat: https://www.instagram.com/patreegsSeek Treatment is a production of Headgum Studios. Our producer is Allie Kahan. The show is engineered and edited by Richelle Chen. The show art was created by Carly Jean Andrews.Like the show? Rate Seek Treatment on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review.Advertise on Seek Treatment via Gumball.fm

Jen Schriever is a Tony Award–nominated lighting designer working across Broadway, the West End, Off-Broadway, regional theatre, and opera.  Most recently, Schriever received the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for The Lost Boys at the Palace Theatre, a 12-time Tony Award–nominated production that earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Lighting Design, shared with co–lighting designer Michael Arden.  She received two Tony nominations for her lighting design of A Strange Loop at the Lyceum Theatre and Death of a Salesman at the Hudson Theatre. She is also an Obie Award-winner for Sustained Excellence in Lighting Design and received an Obie Award Special Citation as part of the creative team and ensemble of A Strange Loop.  On Broadway and in the West End, her work includes Art (Music Box Theatre), Glengarry Glen Ross (Palace Theatre), Eureka Day and Lackawanna Blues (MTC, Samuel J. Friedman Theatre), Death of a Salesman (Hudson Theatre), 1776 and Birthday Candles (American Airlines Theatre), A Strange Loop (Lyceum Theatre, The Barbican), Mother Play; Grand Horizons and What the Constitution Means to Me (Helen Hayes Theater), The Lifespan of a Fact (Studio 54), Eclipsed (Golden Theatre), and John Leguizamo's Ghetto Klown (Lyceum Theatre and HBO).  Off-Broadway and New York credits include Antigone (This Play I Read in High School) and The Other Americans (Public Theater), Strategic Love Play (Audible, Minetta Lane Theatre), Spain (Second Stage, Tony Kiser Theatre), Shhh (Atlantic Theater Company), Power Strip (Lincoln Center Theater, Claire Tow Theater), Usual Girls (Roundabout Theatre Company), Strange Interlude (Irondale Theatre, Transport Group), Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (New Victory Theater), and Selling Kabul (Playwrights Horizons).  Regionally, her work includes Uncle Vanya (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), Highway Patrol (Goodman Theatre), Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical (American Conservatory Theater), A Transparent Musical (Mark Taper Forum), A Strange Loop (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company). She earned a Helen Hayes award for Private Jones at Signature Theatre DC.  In opera, Schriever has designed A Thousand Splendid Suns (Seattle Opera), Iphigenia (tour), The Pearl Fishers and Die Fledermaus (Metropolitan Opera), and La Traviata, Faust, and A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Mariinsky Theatre in Russia, as well as The Pearl Fishers for English National Opera in London.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the world debates if AI will take our jobs, playwright and CTO Doug Clarke is worried about something much quieter: is AI taking our humanity and replacing our friends and therapists?  In this frank chat, we dive into the meaning of our relationship with artificial intelligence through the unique intersection of Hollywood innovation and the Off-Broadway stage.  Doug shares his journey from building high-level tech systems at DTS and IMAX to writing deeply vulnerable plays like Soulmate and Anxious Attachment. We explore the seductive danger of AI companions—tools that never tire, never withdraw, and never ask anything of us—and why that "perfect" consistency is actually a barrier to the healing found in human struggle. If we are relying more and more on Artificial Intelligence as a friend of therapist, Doug - who has been having therapy for years with a real person - offers a wise perspective: set up healthy boundaries! What you will learn from him: The Difference Between Convenience and Growth: Why the "messiness" of human relationships is a requirement for emotional maturity. AI as an Emotional Anesthetic: How those with anxious attachment styles are at risk of using technology to soothe surface-level pain while leaving the underlying wounds unaddressed. The Architecture of "Human Premium" Art: How to lean into live, emotional experiences that digital models can never replicate. Practical Boundaries: How to use AI as a high-efficiency tool without letting it become an emotional escape.   About Doug: Doug serves on the executive committee of the Television Academy's Science and Technology peer group, where he puts together educational programs on the principles of agentic AI in their industry. He is also a playwright. Last year his first play, Soulmate, opened in Los Angeles and then ran off-Broadway in New York. It's a story about grief, depression, and how love can become its own kind of haunting when we don't know how to heal through its loss.  Quotes: AI is becoming, for a lot of people, the most consistent presence in their lives. An AI chatbot is always available to you. It does not get tired of you. It does not get tired at all. It does not withdraw. It does not have its own needs that compete with yours. For a person whose history with other humans may have felt inconsistent, frustrating, or painful, the consistency and presence AI offers can feel like relief.  It can develop into a feeling that can be compared to a kind of love. But what it's doing is quietly keeping us from developing the greater sense of who we are in a world that we share with billions of others. How we need to work hard to truly see, accept, and love others. We are walking into something we are not built for: the slow replacement of the harder, messier, and more honest work of human connection with a simple comfort.  A comfort not found in nature. A comfort that asks nothing of us in return. AI by itself isn't the problem.  The problem is what happens when we start to depend on it to avoid the exact human experiences we need in order to grow, and to stay connected to the people around us. For those with an anxious attachment style, AI is a near perfect anesthetic, because it soothes the surface without ever coming close to the wound underneath.  Topics covered: AI, Anxious Attachment, and the Future of Human Art, is AI good for Therapy, need of human connection, AI friends, emotional growth,    Find Doug here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasaclarke/ Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/5vsP5gg3Oqs   Suggestions: Wondering about the attachment styles Doug mentioned? Grab the definitive guide to understanding human connection, breaking anxious patterns, and building real-world security: Attached by Amir Levine. This best selling book, featuring over 23k reviews,  is found by clicking the link below (Please note this is an *affiliate* link so I earn something like 5 cents if you actually buy it!) https://amzn.to/3SWGTLs   Trade the chatbot for a blank page. Break the habit of venting to an AI therapist and practice true emotional self-reliance by processing your thoughts by hand with a classic Leuchtturm1917 Hardcover Journal. https://amzn.to/4yndhHw (Please note this is also an *affiliate* link so I earn something like 5 cents if you actually buy it!) This notebook opens flat, doesn't bleed through and is offered in many lovely colours. You are worth it!

Bryan is fresh off the first week of his Off-Broadway run and somehow learned the lore behind the Minions franchise. Erin is a working girl living in the phone-obsessed LA culture while becoming a regular at her local Eataly and people watching. Bryan reports on Patti LuPone's gay cruise being blocked AGAIN while attempting a reroute to Egypt and how it should sound alarm bells for countries deciding to piggy-back on each other's discrimination. Erin discusses Graham Planter's failed bid for Senate in Maine after sexual assault allegations, and how problematic men get redemption tours but women with similar backgrounds are kept from opportunities to run for public office. This is the last week to get $10 off tickets to Bryan's one man show Are You Mad At Me?? In New York by using code IMSORRY. Get your tickets here! For this week's bonus Dateline Recap visit patreon.com/attitudes Sign up for our Discord for episode discussions, watch parties and community!

A lesbian with a pregnant wife is confounded and disgruntled at the way Pride celebrations can be a little too sex positive, especially if you have a little kid. Should Pride parades put on a straight-laced appearance, or go full bacchanal? It's an old, old debate. A woman needs her lovers to tell her she's hot and generally praise her during sex. Like, a lot. Is this a kink? On the Magnum, Dan meets his witty, homosexual match in Bryan Safi. The Emmy Award-winning actor, writer, and comedian known for his work on ABC's “9-1-1” as well as his podcasts, Attitudes! and Ask Ronna, is making his Off-Broadway debut this summer with Are You Mad At Me?? They chat about all this, and answer a caller who wonders if she should agree to a man's request on Feeld to be her "foot boy." Safi is magically delightful, and you simply must listen in. And, a woman's butt plug keeps disappearing up her butt. It's not supposed to work like that, right? Right. Call us with your quandaries. 206-302-2064 Record that Q and send it in: Q@Savage.Love. This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. They make it easy to build a website or blog. Give it a whirl at ⁠Squarespace.com/Savage⁠ and if you want to buy it, use the code Savage for a 10% off your first purchase. Foria is an all natural health & sexual wellness company with product lines using the power of plant actives & CBD to effectively enhance intimacy, sexual pleasure, daily wellbeing, and relief from discomfort. Get 30% off sitewide during their National Orgasm Day sale from 7/30-8/2. Just go to ⁠foriawellness.com⁠ to get your 30% off your order! This episode is brought to you by VB Health, Doctor-formulated supplements that work . To learn more about Load Boost, Drive Boost and Soaking Wet and to get 10% off, visit ⁠VB.Health⁠ when you use the code Savage. Dan Savage is a sex-advice columnist, podcaster, author, and creator of the It Gets Better Project. From polyamory, to BDSM, gay rights to sexual health and with a dose of progressive politics, Dan Savage has been cultural force for sex positivity since the 1800s.

Our dear (Bryan)'s Off-Broadway show is officially up and running, and we've got a fabulous episode this week to celebrate! After praising Liza in 'Arthur,' Roger at Wimbledon, and that Viking guy at the World Cup, Ronna (& Bryan) give advice on how to handle a neighbor's noisy baby and who should get the best bedroom in a group Airbnb situation. ARE YOU MAD AT ME is now playing! Go see (Bryan) at the HERE Arts Center in New York now through August 15th. Tickets at areyoumadatmeshow.com and you can still use code IMSORRY to get $10 off your tickets for performances through next week only! Sponsor: How are Ronna and Mr. Cleveland doing in their boudoir? With the help of our new sponsor, Arya, they're doing GREAT, excuse me. Arya is an intimacy membership that turns "we should spice things up" into real experiences. Go to getarya.com/ronna for $10 off your first month! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, SNL's Jane Wickline and comedian Liva Pierce return to Working It Out to discuss the Off-Broadway debut of their two person musical comedy show, Dukes. Mike grills Jane and Liva on the realities of working so closely with another person, and the three of them break apart the existential dread that accompanies most of their creativity. Plus, Jane and Liva work out two new songs from their show and the three of them create a song from a bit Mike is working on. Please Consider Donating To: Survived and Punished NYC  See Jane and Liva Off-Broadway in Dukes. Get tickets here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s episode, Matt Tamanini is in conversation with magician and illusionist Jamie Allan. The Off-Broadway production of his show “Amaze!” will hit its one-year anniversary at New World Stages and is currently on sale into January 2027. In their conversation, Matt and Jamie discuss the importance of bringing a read more

TURING encapsulates the true story of Alan Turing, a man caught between love and logic, who simply longs to be understood. The project features an impressive lineup of talent, including Vincent Jamal Hooper, known for his roles in The Lion King and Hamilton, James Olivas from the West End production of EVITA, and Mason Olshavsky, who is currently in Lost Boys on Broadway and has appeared in EPIC and Off-Broadway's The Baker's Wife. Their participation adds a layer of depth and talent to the project, enhancing the emotional resonance of Turing's narrative. Also joining the TURING EP are talented UK performers Jacob Fowler and Aiden Carson.TURING unfolds through three pivotal stages of Alan Turing's life, exploring his relationships at ages sixteen, twenty-eight, and forty. With book, music, and lyrics crafted by Michuda and Ward, the narrative is presented in a non-linear fashion, skillfully weaving together moments of joy, discovery, love, and despair. This innovative approach allows listeners to engage with Turing's life on multiple levels, highlighting the profound impact of his work against the backdrop of a society that condemns you for being gay, no matter your status or contributions.The TURING EP will be available on all major streaming platforms, making it accessible to a wide audience. The EP will be progressively released over the next few months. Following its release, there are hopes to explore live performances and a full production of the musical 'TURING', which successfully ran at the Greenhouse Theater Center in Chicago as a production of DePaul University's Blue Demon Theatre. TURING was also awarded “Best Musical” and “Best Lyrics” out of 18 musicals featured at the 2024 Theatre on the Verge New Musicals Festival. This exciting project not only highlights Turing's significant contributions to science but also serves as a reminder of the importance of understanding and acceptance in society.

In 2018, Mariana Ramirez walked into the pit at Once On This Island as a sub and made history. She became the first female Mexican percussionist to ever perform on a Broadway show.Nobody handed her that moment. She built it.I first published this conversation in March of 2022, and it remains one of my favorites. Most of you weren't subscribed back then, so I'm bringing it back — the story is too good to leave in the archive.Who is Mariana Ramirez?Mariana is an NYC-based freelance percussionist who began her music studies at the National Conservatory of Mexico in Mexico City before earning her Bachelor of Music in Percussion at Rutgers University.That first Broadway sub gig at Once On This Island opened doors. She went on to sub Head Over Heels and Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations, then hit the road holding the drums/percussion chair on the Once On This Island national tour. Off-Broadway, her credits include Merrily We Roll Along and Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, among many others. Today, she is one of just two female Mexican drummer/percussionists performing on Broadway.But her career stretches far beyond the pit.She has performed across Europe, Asia, and Mexico with Mexican traditional music bands, symphonic ensembles, chamber orchestras, and pop bands. You may have caught her on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, in the series Mozart in the Jungle, or at the NBC Universal Upfronts at Radio City Music Hall.She also founded Percussion Quartet Excelsis, which Jonathan Haas, head of the NYU Percussion Department, praised as one of the most innovative and exciting percussion ensembles of this era of chamber music. Excelsis has performed twice on NPR's From the Top, at the Percussive Arts Society New York Weekend of Percussion, Brooklyn Bound with Sō Percussion, Zeltsman Marimba Festival, and Tippet Rise Music Festival in Montana. The group is endorsed by Sabian Cymbals.As a symphonic percussionist, she has performed with the National Symphony of Mexico, Orquesta de Minería, the first all-women orchestra of Mexico, Dartmouth Symphony, South Florida Symphony, New England Ensemble, Fairfield Orchestra, and most recently with The Dessoff Choir, premiering works for choir and orchestra at Alice Tully Hall.Traditional Mexican music. Broadway pits. Symphony halls. Chamber ensembles. Television. That range is not an accident — it's the career.In this conversation, we talk about:* The Santana concert in Mexico City that made an 11-year-old girl decide, on the spot, what she wanted to do with her life* Her path from the National Conservatory of Mexico to Rutgers to New York* What it took to break into Broadway subbing — and what it meant to be the first* How versatility across genres and settings keeps a freelance career aliveAnd when you're done with this one, keep an eye on your inbox. Up next on the podcast: Spencer Inch. You won't want to miss that conversation.For the complete roadmap to building a career in theater, grab Broadway Bound and Beyond at broadwayboundbook.com.Broadway Bound and Beyond isn't theory. It's twenty-six years on Broadway broken down into what actually works: how auditions really get decided, how reputation gets built or destroyed, how money works in this business, why versatility keeps you employed, and what it takes to last decades instead of one season. If you want the full career picture, the hardcover is at broadwayboundbook.com.If subbing is specifically your way in, the book gets you the mindset and the etiquette, but the Broadway Sub Playbook goes further. It's the actual system: the four-week prep formula, the show-day routine, how to take notes that stick, how to handle a pit you've never sat in before. It's built for one job — getting you ready for that call when it comes — and it's the resource a lot of working subs wish they'd had before their first one.Grab both at signaturebrandworks.com.Clayton Craddock is the drummer for Cats: The Jellicle Ball on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre. He is also the founder of Broadway Drumming 101 and the author of Broadway Bound and Beyond: A Musician's Guide to Building a Theater Career.His Broadway credits include Memphis, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Ain't Too Proud, and Cats: The Jellicle Ball, with additional credits spanning tick, tick…BOOM!, The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical, and subbing on Rent, Motown, Evita, Avenue Q, and the Hadestown tour.Clayton has appeared on The View, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and the Tony Awards. He has performed with artists ranging from Chuck Berry and Ben E. King to Kristin Chenoweth and Norm Lewis.www.claytoncraddock.com Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscribe

Bryan is recovering from a cold and sinus infection on the eve of his Off-Broadway debut but googled Telehealth and isn't sure if he was ripped off, Erin wants to feels tiny and stand next to the large Norwegians playing in the World Cup, and we bond over our shared following of Instagram's @georgesternleadership who shares coworker text responses to after-hours asks from bosses. Erin tells us about former Obama U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance who is sounding the alarm on the fringe TradWife movement of women wanting to give up their right to vote and give up all power to their husbands. Bryan delights in the recent story of Broadway star Patti LuPone's recent gay cruise that was stopped from entering Turkey because of the occupants on board. We are furious, but we are sailing. Bryan's Off-Broadway Debut show Are You Mad At Me?? starts this week and runs through August 15th! Tudes listeners get $10 off with code IMSORRY for the first two weeks of the run. Get your tickets here. Sign up for our Discord for episode discussions, watch parties and community!

My guest is an acclaimed screenwriter and playwright whose screenwriting credits include A Walk on the Moon, which she has now adapted into a new Off-Broadway musical. We discuss the autobiographical inspiration behind the story, the journey from screenplay to stage, overcoming early rejection, and much more.

It's a Carriage House Catch-Up this week, and we cover a LOT of territory, excuse me. From (Bryan)'s New York Times mention to Dyan Cannon to lithosexuals, we've got a lot to talk about. Then, after a mountain of follow-ups, Ronna (& Bryan) give advice on whether it's wise to put a career on pause for a relationship. ARE YOU MAD AT ME, (Bryan)'s Off-Broadway debut, starts performances THIS FRIDAY in New York! Even the New York Times is excited about this show, pardon me. Go to areyoumadatmeshow.com for tickets and use code IMSORRY for $10 off your ticket to the first two weeks of the run. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we're joined by our new bicoastal friend Bryan Safi whose Off-Broadway solo show ARE YOU MAD AT ME? is opening this week! We explore such topics as: What would it be like if you could just show someone your camera roll? Why do sunsets make dads go absolutely crazy? And are salsa classes just a sick and twisted way for men to TOUCH someone else's WIFE?! If only it were that simple... SEE SAM ON TOUR: linktree.com/samtaggart SEE GEORGE ON TOUR: linktree.com/georgeciveris WATCH GEORGE'S SPECIAL ON AMAZON, APPLE, AND MORE: https://www.comedydynamics.com/catalog/george-civeris-a-sense-of-urgency/ CALL US at 385-GAY-GUYS to leave questions and comments for our next surprise call-in show and you just might hear your call on your favorite podcast. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON at patreon.com/straightiolab for bonus episodes twice a month and don't forget to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An unexpected wedding sends Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha into four very different romantic spirals in Sex and the City: Season 2, Episode 7, "The Chicken Dance." The timing couldn't be better. Coming off the heels of Taylor Swift's Manhattan wedding, one of our favorite girls in town and bride-to-be, Cat Cohen, returns to the podcast to break it all down. Cat brings her dog Romeo to join us as we unpack the episode and, naturally, get wildly sidetracked talking about the Botox-to-autism-and-bone-disease pipeline, our deeply Floptropica dating lives, and what Carrie Bradshaw's perfect hair means to us. One quick note: Evan's phone ran out of storage, so there's no video this week. Tragic, but we soldier on. And if you only do one thing this summer, make it seeing Cat Cohen's Off-Broadway show, Broad Strokes, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre: https://www.catcohenbroadstrokes.com Thanks to our sponsors: Use code GIRLSREWATCH at jonesroadbeauty.com to get a Free Gift with your first purchase! #JonesRoadBeauty #ad Join for free at https://www.rakuten.com or download the Rakuten app to start saving money today! Head to https://goodr.com/GIRLSREWATCH to claim $10 off your first order! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Half Hour, we discuss Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody, now playing Off-Broadway at The Club in New York City. Inspired by the hockey romance series and TV adaptation, the show uses a fast-moving parody format, a small cast, and a sharp comic structure to tell a story that works best for audiences familiar with the source material. We talk about the plot, the “Susans,” the performances, the venue, and the audience participation moment that pulled Jeff onstage. We also share our thoughts on the production design, the pacing, and where the show might go next as it continues to build buzz. Follow and connect with all things @HalfHourPodcast on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Share your thoughts on this production in the Spotify comments, and let us know what you would like us to cover next. If you enjoy these post-show discussions, follow Half Hour and leave a rating and review so more theater lovers can find the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Detroit Rock City to the top of the country charts—and now, to the bright lights of Manhattan. With over one billion streams and counting, powerhouse songwriter J.T. Harding is the creative force behind massive number-one hits for country music's biggest stars, including Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Darius Rucker, and Dierks Bentley. He also co-wrote the global smash hit "Smile" with Uncle Kracker. Now, he's bringing a taste of Nashville to the Theater District. Special guest host Dana Perino recently sat down with J.T. Harding on the FOX News Rundown to discuss his journey to music stardom and his latest venture: Music City. Playing at St. Luke's Theatre in Times Square, this acclaimed Off-Broadway musical tells the story of aspiring singers chasing their dreams at the "Wicked Tickle" bar. J.T. shared with Dana what it takes to write a hit, the transition from radio to the stage, and how he's capturing the heartbeat of Nashville in the heart of New York City. He also had some incredible stories about meeting and sometimes working with some of the biggest music stars, including Prince, Keith Urban, and Kevin Chesney. We made some edits for time for our weekday version of the Rundown, but we know you will want to hear more from JT and Dana as the conversation was full of great advice, stories, and laughs. Today on Fox News Rundown Extra, we will share all of Dana Perino's incredible interview with country songwriter JT Harding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Detroit Rock City to the top of the country charts—and now, to the bright lights of Manhattan. With over one billion streams and counting, powerhouse songwriter J.T. Harding is the creative force behind massive number-one hits for country music's biggest stars, including Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Darius Rucker, and Dierks Bentley. He also co-wrote the global smash hit "Smile" with Uncle Kracker. Now, he's bringing a taste of Nashville to the Theater District. Special guest host Dana Perino recently sat down with J.T. Harding on the FOX News Rundown to discuss his journey to music stardom and his latest venture: Music City. Playing at St. Luke's Theatre in Times Square, this acclaimed Off-Broadway musical tells the story of aspiring singers chasing their dreams at the "Wicked Tickle" bar. J.T. shared with Dana what it takes to write a hit, the transition from radio to the stage, and how he's capturing the heartbeat of Nashville in the heart of New York City. He also had some incredible stories about meeting and sometimes working with some of the biggest music stars, including Prince, Keith Urban, and Kevin Chesney. We made some edits for time for our weekday version of the Rundown, but we know you will want to hear more from JT and Dana as the conversation was full of great advice, stories, and laughs. Today on Fox News Rundown Extra, we will share all of Dana Perino's incredible interview with country songwriter JT Harding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Detroit Rock City to the top of the country charts—and now, to the bright lights of Manhattan. With over one billion streams and counting, powerhouse songwriter J.T. Harding is the creative force behind massive number-one hits for country music's biggest stars, including Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Darius Rucker, and Dierks Bentley. He also co-wrote the global smash hit "Smile" with Uncle Kracker. Now, he's bringing a taste of Nashville to the Theater District. Special guest host Dana Perino recently sat down with J.T. Harding on the FOX News Rundown to discuss his journey to music stardom and his latest venture: Music City. Playing at St. Luke's Theatre in Times Square, this acclaimed Off-Broadway musical tells the story of aspiring singers chasing their dreams at the "Wicked Tickle" bar. J.T. shared with Dana what it takes to write a hit, the transition from radio to the stage, and how he's capturing the heartbeat of Nashville in the heart of New York City. He also had some incredible stories about meeting and sometimes working with some of the biggest music stars, including Prince, Keith Urban, and Kevin Chesney. We made some edits for time for our weekday version of the Rundown, but we know you will want to hear more from JT and Dana as the conversation was full of great advice, stories, and laughs. Today on Fox News Rundown Extra, we will share all of Dana Perino's incredible interview with country songwriter JT Harding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode we're sinking our teeth into the 1986 cult classic Little Shop of Horrors directed by the legendary Frank Oz. We break down how this Off-Broadway musical sensation made the leap to the silver screen, delivering one of the most vibrant, darkly hilarious, and visually spectacular movie musicals ever made.Whether you've been singing "Suddenly Seymour" in the shower for decades or you're discovering the magic of a “mean green mother from outer space” for the first time this episode is a front-row seat to movie musical history.And of course we talk a lot about the controversies and differences between the theatrical version and the directors cut that is undoubtably a better version and a version a lot of people haven't seen or don't even know aboutSo sit back, grab your plant food and your gas and enjoy this episode about a classic movie musical with incredible songs, unbelievable practical effects and loads of legendary cameosAnd be sure to check out everything that my guest on this episode James does with the Biscuits and Blu-rays podcast on the Below linkhttps://linktr.ee/BiscuitsnBlurays?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=e11a09c3-7f1a-4f2a-8f00-2c0d87534d74And if you are somebody that prefers to watch video versions of podcasts rather than listening, then you can click the below link to go to our YouTube channel to watch this episode and so many more⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@theletstalkhorrorchannel?si=TGME1PTgfgG0VaL9⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Enjoying the show?Hit that Follow button, please leave us a 5-star review and Go follow us on all the socials and everything else we do on the below links including our patreonhttps://linktr.ee/LetsTalkHorror⁠⁠https://patreon.com/u90665618?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink⁠⁠

When Drew Lachey (98 Degrees) and Lea Lachey (Choreographer) asked their students to anonymously write down the ways they didn't feel seen, they had no idea it would change the course of their lives. Those handwritten stories became the foundation for Label•less, the moving new Off-Broadway theatrical experience encouraging audiences to look beyond labels and reconnect through empathy. In this special The Art of Kindness conversation, Drew and Lea join Robert Peterpaul to discuss how kindness shapes every aspect of their work—from directing and teaching to parenting and creating safe spaces where artists can thrive. This podcast podcast episode covers: How their new show Label•less was born out of classroom Redefining labels from educator to parent to pop star and what they really mean Building rehearsal rooms with love instead of fear How kind leaders are better leaders Why they can't shake an interaction with one random security guard, plus more. Label•less is a groundbreaking new 90-minute musical experience that gets real about the challenges we all face in today's world. Created by Drew Lachey (98 Degrees & “Dancing With the Stars”) and choreographer Lea Lachey, Label•less features a wildly talented cast of young adults sharing real-life experiences and taking audiences on an emotional journey packed with soaring vocals and electric dancing. With an original score spanning rock, pop, and R&B, plus hit songs like “Born This Way” and “Rise Up,” Label•less is on a mission to break down barriers, remind us of our shared humanity, and envision life beyond labels. Learn more: labellessmusical.com DREW LACHEY (Creator, Co-Director, Writer, Producer), a proud Cincinnatian, is best known for his multiplatinum pop group 98 Degrees, selling more than 10 million records worldwide and achieving eight top 40 singles in the United States. He also appeared on ABC's “Dancing with the Stars” and was crowned Season 2 Champion. A Broadway veteran, he starred as Mark Cohen in Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer Prize–winning musical Rent and as King Arthur's right-hand man, Patsy, in Mike Nichols' Tony Award–winning production of Monty Python's Spamalot. Additional onstage work includes Corny Collins in Hairspray, Charlie in Kinky Boots, and Zach in A Chorus Line. Drew also hosted ABC's “Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann,” HGTV's “$250,000 Dollar Challenge,” Design Network's “Date My House,” “America Sings,” “The Price Is Right Live,” “Let's Make a Deal Live,” and the Miss USA Pageant. He currently lives in Cincinnati, where he, along with his wife, Lea, created and run Lachey Arts, a performing arts nonprofit.    LEA LACHEY (Creator, Co-Director, Choreographer, Producer) a native of Cincinnati, has worked professionally in many different areas of the entertainment industry. Whether creating for stage or film, theater or concerts, she believes in the power of storytelling. Over the years, she has worked with organizations and artists including the Radio City Rockettes, 98 Degrees, Missy Elliott, Walt Disney, the NBA, and the NFL. Her work has been seen on “Good Morning America,” the “Today” show, Miss America, Miss Teen USA, MTV, and VH1. Over the last several years, she has had the honor of working as choreographer and dance consultant on multiple films, including Carol, starring Academy Award–winning actress Cate Blanchett and Kyle Chandler; Miles Ahead, starring Golden Globe Award–winning actor Don Cheadle and Emayatzy Corinealdi; and “A Christmas Melody,” directed by and starring Grammy Award winner Mariah Carey and starring Lacey Chabert. Lea is currently the Co-Artistic Director of Lachey Arts, a performing arts nonprofit based in Cincinnati.  Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠@artofkindnesspod⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠@robpeterpaul⁠⁠⁠ Support the show! (⁠⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/theaok⁠⁠⁠) Music: "Awake" by Ricky Alvarez & "Sunshine" by Lemon Music Studio. We are supported by the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a remastered version of episode 4, from 2023, when the podcast was new. It's such a great interview that I remastered it and republished it. Sam Trammell is not only a great actor, but a fascinating person who had a dream, chased it to fruition, and made it happen. He is probably best known for his role as the shapeshifter Sam Merlotte in HBO's "True Blood," and has also been in "The Fault in our Stars," "Homeland," "The Gray House," "Big George Foreman," and many other movies, TV shows, and plays. He is currently in "Euphoria" as the character Ellis. We talk about childhood visions of being a physicist, getting into acting, Brown Summer Theater, Broadway and Off-Broadway jobs, acting classes, working hard, staying focused, luck, persistance, rejection, staying in and getting out of character, doing accents, moving to Los Angeles, avoiding temptations, drugs, food, professional decisions, job choices, auditions, offers, a typical day on a set, dangers, calling up emotions, alligators, advice for young aspiring actors, and more. Links are on the podcast website Support the show theough Patreon

Rhys Payne sees himself more as a reviewer than a critic. In fact, he sees himself more as a supporter of the arts, theatre specifically, than someone there to point out what he likes and doesn't like. And he's been supporting artists of all kinds and types for a long time through his site Rhys Reviews. We talk the good of not being too hard on ourselves, the importance of sharing - and hearing - other people's stories, and why if it's not fun, we not doin' it no more (that's my American English, not his proper British English). There's a place for everyone in and at the theatre and Rhys is here to prove it. This episode is Part 2 of 3 in a series. _______________________ Sunday July 12 - grab your seat to SLIDESHOW: IN COLOR! now playing in London. It's the live storytelling show the Los Angeles Times declares, "Downright magical, uncomfortable and shockingly honest!" and Theatreland Adventures London cheers, "FOUR STARS - This is unlike anything I've seen before, a warm, engaging, and memorable evening!" Tickets & Info: https://www.citizenticket.com/events/etcetera-theatre/slideshow-in-color/ NOW AVAILABLE: CUPID'S CURSE - the fourth book in Steve's series THE DOG WALKING DETECTIVES MYSTERIES and catch up on the rest: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/search?q=Dog%20walking%20detectives%20Steven%20j%20Silverman

CHARLES BUSCH and their play PSYCHO BEACH PARTY is discussed on this fresh from the grave episode of Death By DVD! We head to Malibu, 1962 and jump into the ocean with a dive into the career of the beautiful Charles Busch, their play Psycho Beach Party, the film iteration, your hosts experience seeing Psycho Beach Party live on stage and more! It's a hip and happening episode you don't want to miss! Don't be a square, hit play and let Death into your day! Don't forget, Death By DVD has its very own all original audio drama voiced almost entirely by Death By DVD!DEATH BY DVD PRESENTS : WHO SHOT HANK?The first of its kind, (On this show, at least) an all original narrative audio drama exploring the murder of this shows very host, HANK THE WORLDS GREATEST! Explore WHO SHOT HANK, starting with the MURDER! A Death By DVD New Year Mystery WHO SHOT HANK : PART ONE WHO SHOT HANK : PART TWO WHO SHOT HANK : PART THREE WHO SHOT HANK : PART FOUR WHO SHOT HANK PART 5 : THE BEGINNING OF THE ENDWHO SHOT HANK PART 6 THE FINALE : EXEUNT OMNES  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Rachel Chavkin received the 2019 Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Director of a Musical for Anaïs Mitchell's Hadestown. She is a director, writer, and dramaturg, as well as the founding Artistic Director of Brooklyn-based ensemble the TEAM (theteamplays.org), an internationally renowned experimental company whose consensus-driven collaborative process was the subject of the documentary The TEAM Makes a Play (directed by Emmy winner Paulette Douglas). Additional selected: Dave Malloy's Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812 (Broadway featuring Denée Benton & Josh Groban); Carson Kreitzer and Matt Gould's Lempicka (Williamstown); Caryl Churchill's Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (New York Theatre Workshop), Marco Ramirez's The Royale (Old Globe, Lincoln Center); Bess Wohl's Small Mouth Sounds (Ars Nova, Off-Broadway, National Tour); Sarah Gancher's I'll Get You Back Again (Round House); and multiple collaborations with Taylor Mac, including The Lily's Revenge, Act 2 (HERE). In addition to her awards for Hadestown, Chavkin is a recipient of a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical, three Obie Awards, a Drama Desk Award, multiple Lortel Award nominations, two Doris Duke Impact Award nominations, and the 2017 Smithsonian Award for Ingenuity along with Dave Malloy. Her first film, Remind Me, was an official selection of the Venice and Beverly Hills Film Festivals. Feature film  - Hadestown and Shrew's Nest (Paramount). Proud NYTW Usual Suspect and Member SDC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens when the career you've dedicated your life to no longer feels sustainable? Carey Renee Sharpe details how she went from burnout to Broadway on The Art of Kindness podcast. The creator and star of the Off-Broadway musical Blood Love: A Vampire Opera joins Robert Peterpaul for a moving conversation on how reinvention can help you find your way back to yourself. Before writing musicals, Carey spent years as a pediatric ICU nurse and nurse practitioner caring for critically ill children. When the emotional weight of the work became too much to carry, she made the difficult decision to leave the profession that had defined her for years. What followed was unexpected: restoring a historic theater, writing music during the pandemic, and ultimately creating Blood Love, an original Off-Broadway musical rooted in love, friendship, and the search for light. In this podcast podcast episode, you'll hear: Why Carey left a successful career in pediatric critical care How she pivoted from the ICU to Off-Broadway, creating Blood Love from deeply personal experiences Building a rehearsal room centered on love instead of competition Balancing motherhood, leadership, and creative ambition Why "art is the best form of rebellion" in difficult times, plus more. Together, Robert and Carey discuss the courage to change directions, leading creative teams with vulnerability, motherhood, sustainable theater culture, and why making art can be one of the most powerful acts of hope in a complicated world. Because sometimes kindness means caring for others. And sometimes it means finally caring for yourself. CAREY RENEE SHARPE made her Off-Broadway debut as Valerie in her own original production BLOOD/LOVE, a lifelong dream realized.  Carey spent her childhood steeped in music, with formal violin training beginning at age three, but chose to pursue a career as a critical care pediatric nurse practitioner inspired by her personal history of congenital heart disease.  In 2018 she stepped away from healthcare and restored a historic theater in her hometown, reigniting her love of music. She has spent the past 6 years writing, developing & performing in BLOOD/LOVE. Follow Carey: ⁠⁠@careyreneemusic Follow us: ⁠⁠@artofkindnesspod⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠@robpeterpaul⁠⁠ Support the show! (⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/theaok⁠⁠) Music: "Awake" by Ricky Alvarez & "Sunshine" by Lemon Music Studio. We are supported by the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Bryan's in a bad mood and Erin's back in LA staying at a weird hotel with questionable design and decor as we share gym hacks and review Steven Spielberg's filmography. Erin covers Missouri's abortion restrictions being overturned by Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang removing requirements for a 72 hour waiting period, medical staff licensing and allowing medication abortions to continue for the first time since 2018. Bryan discusses how red states like Indiana and Tennessee are attempting to take focus off of Pride and rebrand June as Nuclear Family Month. For this week's bonus Kim of Queens Recap visit patreon.com/attitudes Join our Discord for watch parties, episode discussions and community! Bryan's making his Off-Broadway debut July 10-August 15th! Attitudes listeners get $10 off tickets for the first two weeks of the run with code IMSORRY. Get tickets here. Shopify: The only thing standing between you and your own income is getting started. Free trial at shopify.com/attitudes

Steven Sater makes a triumphant return to the podcast to catch up on a whirlwind few years that have taken him all over the world. In a wonderfully candid conversation, he opens up about the upcoming, highly anticipated Off-Broadway revival of Spring Awakening with Sea View, helmed by director Danya Taylor and choreographer Celia Robson Hall. Steven shares his deep passion for writing for young performers, discovering new talent through open calls and TikTok, and why he believes it is vital to take the emotional lives of teenagers seriously in musical theatre. He also reflects on how the show continues to deeply impact new generations of fans who were not even born when it first premiered on Broadway. The heart of the chat dives into Steven's newest passion project, the black comic murder mystery musical Murder at the Gates, written alongside collaborator James Bourne. He gives us a thrilling, exclusive sneak peek at the tracks "Fuckin' Scream" and "A Fine Rigor Mortis" from the upcoming concept album, featuring an all star cast including Gaten Matarazzo, Milo Manheim, Mason Alexander Park, Ramin Karimloo, and a whole bunch more. From hilarious memories of a playful debate with Stephen Sondheim over whether a murder mystery musical could actually work, to navigating the heartbreaking collapse of a previous workshop, Steven pulls back the curtain on the grueling, beautiful ten year journey of bringing an entirely original musical score to life. Steven Sater is a Tony, Grammy, and Olivier Award winning playwright, lyricist, and screenwriter. He is best known for his landmark collaboration with composer Duncan Sheik on Spring Awakening, as well as his acclaimed work on Alice by Heart and Nero. His upcoming projects include the new musical Murder at the Gates and a major new revival of Spring Awakening. This episode is powered by WelcomeToTimesSquare.com, the billboard where you can be a star for the day. Connect with Steven: Listen to the entire Fuckin' Scream track Follow @murderatthegates (check the link in bio for the way to get the entire album) Steven on IG: @stevensater Steven on TikTok: @steven_sater Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support the podcast on Patreon and watch video versions of the episodes: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@theatre_podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheTheatrePodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Alan's personal Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@alanseales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 22, 2026 - 8am: Mediators say 'progress has been made ' in talks between the U.S. and Iran VP Vance says talks have created "good foundation" for a permanent deal to end war New book on how to read and understand what's in the U.S. Constitution Actors Bob Odenkirk and Scott Adsit talk about their new Off-Broadway revival highlighting the 'red scare' titled, "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week we find out we're one degree of separation away from Kim Gravel, and Bryan unearths some newspaper clippings from the 70s about how to be a wife, leading to some scintillating anecdotes from housewives trying to achieve climax from their husbands. Bryan discusses last week's San Francisco Giants Pride Night and how players Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker decided to make a statement by writing a bible verse on their rainbow caps instead of just opting not to wear them. Erin details a horrifying story of fertility fraud in Hawaii where retired gynecologist Dr. William McKenzie was found to have inseminated dozens of women with his own semen and faced no consequences due to no state laws prohibiting it. For this week's bonus episode visit patreon.com/attitudes Join our Discord for watch parties, episode discussions and community! Bryan's making his Off-Broadway debut July 10-August 15th! Attitudes listeners get $10 off tickets for the first two weeks of the run with code IMSORRY. Get tickets here.

We just finished 300, and now we're on our way to 400, excuse me! It's a Carriage House Catch-Up this week as Ronna (& Bryan), people pleasers that they are, chat about everything from seed oil to Thanksgiving food to Harry Potter's death spell. Then they answer a trio of listener questions: how to handle a bad B&B experience, whether or not the older person on a date always has to pay, and how to navigate a friendship that might be uneven on meeting each other's needs.  (Bryan) has just one question for you: ARE YOU MAD AT ME? His hit show comes to New York for a month long engagement Off-Broadway this summer July 10 to August 15! Go to areyoumadatmeshow.com and use code IMSORRY for $10 off your ticket to the first two weeks of the run.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us Fan MailAustin Gaule of 1% Productions joins The Mox on the Vulgar Display of Podcast for a deep dive into the world of independent concert promotion, the evolving live music industry, and what it takes to build one of the Midwest's most respected DIY entertainment companies.Founded in 1997, 1% Productions has become a powerhouse in live entertainment, producing hundreds of shows each year across Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and beyond. Known for their independent spirit and commitment to supporting all genres of music, 1% has helped shape the Midwest music scene for nearly three decades, from intimate club shows to massive arena events.Austin talks about the grind behind booking shows, building artist relationships, fan culture, and the importance of keeping heavy music thriving in smaller venues. We also preview several huge upcoming shows hitting Off Broadway in St. Louis presented by 1% Productions:

A magic show that recoups in under a year, wins a Drama Desk Award, and packs a 200-seat New York theater with multi-generational audiences isn't an accident. In this conversation, Jamie Allen and producer Corey Ross break down how they fused tech, storytelling, and smart business strategy to build a magic experience that feels like theater and can scale like a brand.About the Host: Rachel Sandler is a Helen Hayes nominated music director, voice teacher, & producer. Rachel specializes in bringing her profound knowledge of vocal techniques and pedagogy to actors in the musical theatre community. Her students and collaborators have appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, National Tours, American Idol, and more.About the Guests: Jamie Allan is a West End and international technology magician renowned for fusing illusions with cutting-edge tech. He debuted "iMagic" on ITV in 1995 and has since showcased his signature iPad illusion on The BBC One Show, BBC Breakfast, Grand Cabaret Du Monde, and Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Allan won ITV's The Next Great Magician, starred in Impossible, and toured his record-breaking show iMagician from the West End to Chicago. He co-created the multimillion-dollar Illusionarium and Magic Immersive, authored the book Everything, and is currently making his New York debut at New World Stages with his critically acclaimed, The Times Critic's Choice show Amaze.Corey Ross is the trailblazing producer and CEO behind Starvox Entertainment and Lighthouse Immersive, known for breaking global box office records with Immersive Van Gogh and Immersive Disney Animation. His diverse production portfolio features hits like Potted Potter, Evil Dead: The Musical, Wow Variety Spectacular, Extravaganza, and The Art of Banksy exhibition. Ross has presented iconic theatrical shows including Cats, Forever Plaid, Sherlock Holmes (starring David Arquette), Trey Parker's Cannibal: The Musical, and the North American premiere of Bend It Like Beckham, while collaborating with A-list talent from Woody Harrelson to Andrea Bocelli.Connect with Rachel: Website: https://www.rachelsandlermusic.com/ Connect with Jamie and Corey:Website: https://amazemagic.com/new-york/ TurnKey Podcast Productions Important Links:Guest to Gold Video Series: www.TurnkeyPodcast.com/gold The Ultimate Podcast Launch Formula- www.TurnkeyPodcast.com/UPLFplusFREE workshop on how to "Be A Great Guest."Free E-Book 5 Ways to Make Money Podcasting at www.Turnkeypodcast.com/gift Ready to earn 6-figures with your podcast? See if you've got what it takes at TurnkeyPodcast.com/quizSales Training for Podcasters: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sales-training-for-podcasters/id1540644376Nice Guys on Business: http://www.niceguysonbusiness.com/subscribe/The Turnkey Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/turnkey-podcast/id1485077152

This episode we are joined by Tony nominated performer Norm Lewis! Norm is known for his roles in Porgy and Bess, Les Miserables and The Phantom of Opera. Many of his other theater credits include The Who's Tommy, Miss Saigon, Sweeney Todd, Once on This Island, The Little Mermaid, Monte Cristo and Chicken & Biscuits. And let's not also forget Norm was on Scandal! Norm is making his return to 54 Below from June 14th to June 20th for his show Broadway and Beyond! To get your tickets, visit 54below.org.We talk with Norm about how he got his start, his many different roles he's played over the years, working on Scandal, his upcoming concert and 54 Below and much more! Also, Norm did give us some exclusives during our conversation...!

The People's Prince™ Bryan Safi has returned to LA after his Austin convention experience just after Spencer Pratt lost his mayoral primary race. Erin's bundled up at home watching Agatha Christie's Poirot and trying to get past all the subtle 80s racism and spit curls. Erin discusses North Carolina Republicans' latest attempt at anti-abortion legislation that deputizes any citizen to use deadly force if necessary to protect the life of unborn children. Bryan tells us about Canadian adult film star Milo Miles' recent 10 year ban from the United States after being detained in Toronto and questioned over two days by US Border Patrol over his line of work and items in his luggage. For our Kim of Queens Recaps and more visit patreon.com/attitudes Bryan's making his Off-Broadway debut July 10-August 15th! Attitudes listeners get $10 off tickets for the first two weeks of the run with code IMSORRY. Get tickets here. ⁠Join our Discord for watch parties, episode discussions and community! ⁠

EP 32 - "Comedy, Courage, and Creativity" | Francesco Paladino | Classically Trained Actor, Writer, Comedian, and ProducerNicole sits down with multi-hyphenate creative Francesco Paladino to unpack a career that spans Off-Broadway, television, film, and ten years on the comedy circuit. From earning his SAG card to studying with master teachers, to writing for others and eventually creating his own films and live showcases, Francesco shares how craft, courage, and continual reinvention fuel a sustainable arts career. He opens up about embracing comedy (even while pursuing serious drama), the spiritual side of creativity (trust, surrender, alignment), and why building safe, positive sets is a non- negotiable. The conversation serves as a masterclass in resilience, networking, mentorship, and mental health for creatives at all stages.

Send us Fan MailDaryl Roth isn't just a Broadway Producer: She's a force to be reckoned with. She produced her first play when she was in her 40s with no previous producing experience and has since produced over 120 Broadway and Off-Broadway plays and musicals, including August Osage County, Proof, Wit, The Normal Heart, Sunset Boulevard, A Raisin in the Sun, The Year of Magical Thinking, and Kinky Boots. Her productions have won 13 Tony Awards and eight Pulitzer Prizes.Daryl's latest was a Tony for Liberation, awarded Best Play of 2026.In this episode of the Crow's Feet: Life As We Age podcast, Roth pulls back the curtain about her role as a Broadway Producer, how she selects the plays she wants to produce (Spoiler alert: it's not all about commercial success!), risk taking, aging and why the word “regret” has no place in her vocabulary. Hosted by Nancy Franklin.Support the show

Nicole Travolta is the creator and star of the critically acclaimed solo show Nicole Travolta Is Doing Alright, a high-energy blend of stand-up, confessional storytelling, and transformational character work that has toured nationally and internationally. Originally developed in Los Angeles, the show has since played sold-out engagements Off-Broadway and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, earning 4- and 5-star reviews and coverage in Vanity Fair Italia, The LA Times, BroadwayWorld, The Daily Beast, Broadway Baby, and Outloud Culture. Travolta trained at The Groundlings and Upright Citizens Brigade, where she developed her signature character-driven style. Onstage, she seamlessly shifts between raw confession and razor-sharp impressions — including Jennifer Coolidge, Carrie Bradshaw, and Drew Barrymore — creating what critics have described as a singular comedic voice. Her television credits include Anger Management, Two and a Half Men, and The Middle. She is currently developing Nicole Travolta Is Doing Alright for screen adaptation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wait a minute. We have comedy royalty in The Carriage House this week, pardon me. Joining us is none other than Annie Mumolo!  Of course you know her as the Oscar nominated writer of BRIDESMAIDS, but she's just as prolific in front of the camera in hits like BARB AND STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR, THIS IS 40, BAD MOMS, and much more. You can catch her now on the new hit series ROOSTER with Steve Carrell on HBO. This is great television! Annie helps Ronna (& Bryan) give advice on how to deal with a spouse showing a little too much attention to someone else at a birthday party and what to do when your boss stinks...literally. Tickets now available for (Bryan)'s Off-Broadway debut ARE YOU MAD AT ME, playing this summer in New York! Go to areyoumadatmeshow.com for tickets, and use code IMSORRY for $10 off the first two weeks of the run. Sponsor: Take comfort in Born Shoes! They're the prefect mix of stye and comfort, and you can get 15% off and free ground shipping on a full priced pair when you go to bornshoes.com and use the promo code RONNA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt reviews the 2026 Off-Broadway return engagement of ‘Mexodus’ Patreon: BroadwayRadiohttps://www.patreon.com/broadwayradio For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@broadwayradio.com and include the episode name. To purchase tickets to see the show, click here:https://mexodusmusical.com/

What happens when heartbreak becomes the starting point for a whole new purpose? In this episode of Unstoppable Mindset, I sit down with Heather Christie, author, educator, entrepreneur, and founder of Love Notes, a storytelling movement built around real stories of real love. Heather shares how commuting alone to New York City as a teenager shaped her independence, why she walked away from her creative dreams after marrying young, and how writing helped her rediscover herself after the end of a 30-year marriage. We explore storytelling, resilience, creativity, publishing, relationships, and the power of authentic human connection. You will hear how Heather transformed loneliness into hope through Love Notes, an off-Broadway storytelling series that is now expanding across the country and helping people reconnect with the many forms love can take. Highlights: 01:25 - Learn how early independence shaped Heather's confidence and resilience. 16:03 - Discover why staying true to yourself matters in life and relationships. 19:29 - Hear how heartbreak inspired a search for real love stories. 27:21 - Learn how writing helped Heather reconnect with her creativity. 32:35 - Discover the mindset that helped her push through years of rejection. 47:17 - Hear what Heather believes is at the heart of real love. About the Guest: Heather Christie is a speaker, writer-producer, educator, and the creator of LoveNotes! — Real Stories. Real People. Real Love.®—an Off-Broadway storytelling show that's expanding through satellite productions alongside an award-winning anthology. An award-winning YA author, she wrote What The Valley Knows and The Lying Season, which debuted as an Amazon #1 bestseller in Young Adult Soccer Fiction. Her essays have appeared in Salon, NextTribe, Writer's Digest, Baltimore Style, Scary Mommy, Elephant Journal, The Good Men Project, Grown & Flown, Baltimore Child, Parent.co, Her View From Home, the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop, and The Lighter Side of Real Estate. Heather holds a BA in Literary Studies from UT-Dallas and an MFA from Pine Manor College. She is CEO of SocRoc Soccer and an adjunct lecturer at the City University of New York. Ways to connect with Heather: Website: www.LoveNotesWorldwide.com & www.HeatherChristieBooks.com Instagram:@_heatherchristie/lovenotes_worldwideFacebook: @heatherchristiebooks / @LoveNotesWorldwideLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-christie-mfa-4b976049/LoveNotes! AnthologyWhat The Valley Knows (book)The Lying Season (book) About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson  00:06 John, thank you for being here with me on Unstoppable Mindset. I hope today's conversation left you with a fresh perspective, a new insight, or at least something worth thinking about. If you're ready to go deeper into the ideas that shape how we see ourselves and others, I have a free gift for you. Head over to Michael hingson.com and download my free ebook, Blinded by Fear. It explores the invisible beliefs that hold us back and shows you how to reframe them, so you can move forward with clarity and confidence. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast, leave a review, and share this show with someone who can use a reminder that growth starts with mindset. When people think differently, we all move forward together. Thanks again for listening. Keep learning, keep questioning, and keep choosing to live with an unstoppable mindset. Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of Unstoppable Mindset. Today we get the opportunity and the honor of chatting with Heather Christy, and Heather, Heather is an author. She and her brother have formed a company, so she's clearly an entrepreneur. She's acted, she's a keynote speaker, and I don't know what all we're going to find out in the next hour or so, but definitely an exciting person to get a chance to chat with. So, Heather, welcome to Unstoppable Mindset. We're glad you're here. Speaker 1  01:47 Thank you, Michael. I'm so honored that we're going to have a conversation today. Michael Hingson  01:52 And Heather lives in New York City, she lives in Manhattan, or as we all know it, the city. And before we started this, we were talking about the fact that winter is coming everywhere. Ah, well, what do you do as long as you don't get too much snow back there? Speaker 1  02:11 Yeah, the winters have been pretty mild here the last couple years, so see what happens. Michael Hingson  02:16 Yeah, time will tell. Well, why don't we start? Tell us about the early Heather growing up in some of those things. Speaker 1  02:22 Okay, well, as a young person, I, I wanted to be an actress, and I grew up in a really small rural town, about two hours due west of New York City, in Pennsylvania. It's called the Holy Valley. Michael Hingson  02:37 What town? Speaker 1  02:39 Oh, it's called Oli Oley Valley, it's actually a Michael Hingson  02:42 valley. Okay, Speaker 1  02:43 historic site. And so I had a really interesting sort of upbringing, because I, before it was really in vogue, I was on a work-study program, and I would spend half my day in this small Pennsylvania town, and then I would jump on a bus - it was called the Bieber Bus back then - and drive to New York City on the bus, and that was like two to two and a half hours each way, get off in the, you know, huge metropolis of New York City, go on auditions, go sees, or if I had a booking, I'd do the booking, and then I would jump back on the bus and go all the way back to rural Pennsylvania, and that's how I spent like all my high school years was back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, and then I actually graduated early. I graduated halfway through my senior year. I had enough of my credits done that I'd actually, the first half of my senior year, I went to community college, and I took a class in the evenings, so I could be done by Christmas break, and the only requirement I still needed to fulfill was my physical fitness, so I ended up moving to New York City, and then I would take my physical fitness classes at Steps Dance Studio, and then I was still able to graduate with my class in June, but I was living in New York City from January on of what would have been senior year. Yeah, so it was like the early me, and the one thing that was sort of interesting when I was on the work study, my mom was a mathematician, and my dad was a an ER doctor, so they actually tutored me. My mom tutored me in math, and my father tutored me in chemistry. And then, like my history teacher back back in the day, we had Walkmans, and he would record his three lessons on a Walkman, and I would listen to them on the bus back and forth from New York. Michael Hingson  04:43 Yep, Lockmans were the big thing back in time. Sony created a very clever thing, but as with everything, the technology has advanced beyond that. Now Speaker 1  04:58 that's right. Yeah, now my kids. Wouldn't even recognize a Walkman, Michael Hingson  05:02 they wouldn't recognize a cassette either. Speaker 1  05:05 That's right, yeah, it would be like an ancient artifact. Michael Hingson  05:08 What's really strange is there are a lot of people who don't even really know anymore what CDs are. Speaker 1  05:14 That's true, yeah. Michael Hingson  05:16 Much less, well, and DVD is sort of going the same way, it hasn't quite got there, but we, we are new now, moving more into streaming and things like that, but, gee, what a crazy world. Well, so you went through high school, basically commuting to New York. What did your parents think of that? Speaker 1  05:35 Well, I was one of four children, I was the oldest child, and what's remarkable is in the beginning, my mother would go with me, but it was hard to do that, and have you know three other children at home, so by the time I was 15 I was doing it on my own, and when I.. it's just like such a different culture that children are raised in now, there's sort of this idea that we, we can't let them kind of do their own thing, you know, like there's, we're so follow every move and thing they do, but that was like a lot of independence my parents granted me at such a young age, and so they thought, I mean, it was great, and they gave me the support I needed, but at the same time they allowed me to be really independent at a pretty young age. I know when I tell people, "Oh, yeah, I moved to New York City when I was 17 by myself, they're like, "And your parents let you do that? And New York, and this was in the late 80s, early 90s, and New York was like a whole different place, like when I get off the bus at Port Authority back then, like now that whole strip Times Square is kind of sanitized and disified, but back then it was, it was a little rough, Michael Hingson  06:56 it was a lot of X-rated things, and all that, I did some commuting more in the early 90s. I sold products, and I would travel back to New York, because that's where I sold to. I traveled from California, and I remember it was there was a lot of stuff on 42nd Street that was very X-rated, and so on, a lot different than the musical 42nd Street, but that's okay. Speaker 1  07:20 That's right, yeah, Michael Hingson  07:21 but it is a lot, a lot cleaner now than it was, and I remember times I would go out of my hotel and there would be people who would say you really shouldn't be walking around on your own, and why not, and they said, well, because it's pretty dangerous here, and you know, the the angels that that were out there insisted on escorting me everywhere I went, just because they were concerned about me, and I wasn't, although I understand the the situation, but I wasn't going to go in the middle of Central Park at night either, so you know, Speaker 1  07:58 right, and I was a lot the same for me. I remember, though, getting.. I would get off the bus at the Port Authority, for people who know you, New York City, it's on Eighth Avenue, and then I would feel like I wasn't like fully safe until I could get to Lord and Taylor, which was on Sixth Avenue. Yeah, and then it felt like everything got a little bit safer and calmer, the energy changed. Michael Hingson  08:23 Yeah, Speaker 1  08:23 that Michael Hingson  08:24 was a lot different. You could always go to St. Patrick's Cathedral for refuge too. So, but yeah, the Port Authority was an interesting place to go, and I understand. Well, how did.. how did all that affect you, and how did, how does what you did back then kind of affect you in the way you think today, especially with children and so on? Would you give them that same level of independence today? Speaker 1  08:52 That's a really interesting question. And my children are a little older than I was at that time now, but I do think about when they were 15, 1616, years old, and if I'm to answer the question really honestly, I don't know that I would have. I just feel like, and I don't know what's changed about society that makes it that way, that and part of it I think is maybe like the news cycle just is constantly highlighting everything that's wrong and fear based that that's what we see and it's in our faces so much more because we have all this access to it through social media that it it creates sort of this, this like undercurrent in parenting that, that we're, that we're oftentimes afraid, like, what could happen to our children. So, I don't know if I actually would have let them commute like that by themselves, you know? Like, yeah, I don't think I would have. Michael Hingson  09:56 Yeah, it's definitely different now than it was then, and. And I think you're right with especially the news cycle and also in reality there's there's so much gun violence and other stuff going on and I ask people when we talk about it I ask is it really that there's more now or it's just more visible in the news, and I'm not sure that it's just visibility. I think there is more stuff going on, and it's not being stopped nearly as effectively or as aggressively as it should be, and it does make it a scarier world. It's tougher, I think, by far to be a kid now than it was when you were a kid, much less I believe when I was growing up. We just didn't see the kinds of things that we see today, and I don't think it's all just exposure from the news. I think there's there's some truth to the fact that that there are other issues going on, Speaker 1  11:00 right, that it actually is a more dangerous world that we live in. Michael Hingson  11:03 Yeah, and I think that it is something that we do have to think about, and hopefully someday sanity will come back to it all. I agree, I'm of the opinion that eventually it will, but you know, so that's cool. But, but still, we have to do what we do, but I also think that we can't stifle our children, we have to give them the opportunity to grow. It may be that you might, when your children were the age you were, you might have decided, well, one of us just has to go with you all the time, and we're going to just to keep an eye on you, or you have other people that help, but I think being so aggressively smothering that you don't let children grow is a problem too. Speaker 1  11:53 Yeah, I agree. I think that's, I mean, there's that saying, and maybe I'll get it right, or maybe I'll get it wrong here, that we need to give our children roots and wings, Michael Hingson  12:02 yeah, Speaker 1  12:02 and that's the challenge, is to find the balance, Michael Hingson  12:06 yeah. Well, and so for you, you were given a lot of independence. How did that shape kind of your attitude, and how does it shape the way you look at life today? Speaker 1  12:20 Well, that's a really great question, and for all the independence that I had as a young person, and maybe, maybe I was given too much independence in some ways, because I, I ended up marrying very young, and and I often wonder, like, had my parents not given me as much independence, if I would have done that, but yeah, I still think I'm very independent now, and I've tried to instill that in my children as well, and I think they're, they're really great kids, and they've launched really well, which I know is a common problem with today's young adults, is the this sort of inability to to launch, and I, I feel really good. My both my kids have done that and done it well. Michael Hingson  13:15 Well, and all you can do is your best, Speaker 1  13:19 right? Michael Hingson  13:20 I think we don't do this nearly as much as we should, but it ultimately comes down to, you know, kids want all sorts of independence, and so on. Parents are, are.. I'm talking about parents who really think about what they do, they may not want children to have that much independence, but I think the key is that you really need to communicate with your kids and teach them what's going on and why, Speaker 1  13:48 right. I think that's it's to be open and transparent with, with our children is very, and to have like the hard conversations and give them a safe space in which they can speak to Michael Hingson  14:02 the other side of that is that we should hold them to the same standard and say when you have issues and so on, we're here, we're not going to judge you, you need to have the hard conversations with us too. And I don't think we do nearly as much of that. I know when I was growing up, we had a lot of conversations. Of course, I was blind. I've been blind my whole life, and I encountered a lot of different things growing up, and my parents were glad to talk with me about blindness, and glad to talk with me about different things about independence, and it also was true that they allowed me to be independent. I mean, I rode my own bike around the neighborhood, and some other.. I'm not the only blind kid that did that in the world, but in my town I was brand.. and I think that, you know, I'm. Sure, that I was watched, but parents didn't interfere. I mean, I even fell off the bike a couple times until I really learned how to ride it, but they allowed me to have the opportunity to grow, and I think that there is a way to do that without, without, well, without stifling your kids, and that you can, you can let kids grow, and we should really emphasize curiosity a lot more than we do. Speaker 1  15:29 I agree, I think that's really important, is to give kids the space to grow and encourage curiosity. Michael Hingson  15:36 Yeah, we don't probably do that nearly as much as we ought to, well, so you mentioned you got married at 19. Well, I guess that's a little young, but, but you did that, huh? Speaker 1  15:48 I did. Yes, I did. I married young. Michael Hingson  15:54 How did that work out? Speaker 1  15:56 Well, it, it worked out for a little, well, it worked out for a while. I stayed married a really long time, but I eventually divorced 30 years later, and part of that had to do with I was, I did marry young, but my ex-husband also had some addictions that you know in time just became too hard to manage, so that ended the thing, and he Michael Hingson  16:29 wouldn't, and he wouldn't deal with them Speaker 1  16:31 well. At one point, I mean, we'll ask a lot of times in relationship with addicts, you kind of, there are times when they deal with them, and then times when they don't, Michael Hingson  16:39 right? Speaker 1  16:40 Yeah, so ultimately it dissolved. Michael Hingson  16:44 It's too bad when things happen. Speaker 1  16:47 That's right, yeah, but I'm grateful for the the union, because it produced my two great kids. Michael Hingson  16:56 And what, what else did being married for 30 years teach you? Speaker 1  17:01 Well, wow, that's a great question. I think probably it taught me most of all it's a lesson learned, sort of, that you really need to be true to yourself and listen to yourself, because I think deep down we know, and my I was always trying, like, to try harder, if I just try harder, you know, things will get better, but there's part of me deep down that knew I was sort of trying harder for everybody else but myself. And when I left New York, I had given up everything I'd worked on, and in, you know, in hindsight, when I look back, I, it was in a way I sort of abandon all my dreams and hopes, and ultimately I don't think that's a good thing when you give up yourself for someone else. Michael Hingson  17:50 So, after you got married, what did you do? Where did you go? Speaker 1  17:54 Well, my ex-husband was a professional soccer player, so we ended up going around the United States, he played for a couple different teams, and I went to college, and I finished my degree at the University of Texas, and then I, I did a couple things, I was a flight attendant, and I eventually fell into real estate, and worked in real estate for a long, long time, but along the way, I, there was a, there was a point where I kind of really missed that young creative person that I had started out my life as, and I'd always loved books and lacher, and my undergraduate degree was in literary studies, and I started writing stories, and then at midlife went back to graduate school for a master's of fine arts in creative writing, and and started writing. So I was, I was always doing a bunch of things. I was a real estate broker, I was managing a company, and then I was, I was writing, and began writing novels on the side. Michael Hingson  18:58 What was your bachelor's degree in Speaker 1  19:00 literary studies. Michael Hingson  19:02 Oh, okay, Speaker 1  19:03 yeah. Michael Hingson  19:04 So, you never did get degrees in what either of your parents did. Speaker 1  19:09 No, no, no, Michael Hingson  19:10 you weren't that into math. Speaker 1  19:12 No, not at all. No, I always liked words, words. Michael Hingson  19:16 Yeah, I understand. I do pretty well with math, but by the same token, I've been learning more about words, having now written three books, and appreciate it. I also like to collaborate, so when I write, I generally write with someone. I think that the team approach works, at least it does for me, and there are a lot of people who don't use a second person on their team, other than their publishers, editors, and so on, but for me the collaborative way works, which is fine. Speaker 1  19:49 I've had a little bit more experience later now in my creative career, because I've, and maybe we'll talk about this in a little bit, but I've started producing storytelling shows, so I. Work with the storytellers in helping them in their stories, so that's a much more collaborative exercise, and one one I really enjoy. Michael Hingson  20:09 Yeah, well, well, let's, let's, you know, we could talk about it now. What the heck, we don't have to do this in a linear way. Tell me about storytelling. What you think about storytelling. Why is it so important, and so on. Speaker 1  20:25 Well, for me, so the storytelling that I do, I'm working on this project called Love Notes, which real stories by real people about real love, and that came to me during the darkest, loneliest period of my life. It was, you know, after the disillusion of this 30 year marriage, and I was really despondent and, and disillusioned, and thinking, you know, like, does love even exist, and what does it look like, and I just, I just really didn't even believe in love anymore, and being in the storytelling community, I produced some storytelling shows, stories about motherhood. I put out a call to writers and actors and just regular people to share their true love stories, and so from that, people started sending me all these true stories, they had to be 1000 words or fewer, and so to answer your question, like, what does storytelling do in, in this case, I think story, storytelling, it's different than other mediums, like the personal essay or the novel, it's, it's a, it's a testament, it's a first person testament, and what's really great when you see the different storytelling communities around the country is anybody can do it, and so that's part of the beauty of storytelling. Michael Hingson  22:00 I think the key is, though, it has to be a genuine story. Making it up isn't the same thing, Speaker 1  22:06 right? And that's the difference, right? Because people will write a short story or story thing, but in storytelling, you're exactly right, Michael. It needs to be a true story, and that's what makes it so compelling, and I think so relatable, is that people can see themselves in other people's stories, so like in my case it was a way, it was like the evidence, the proof of love, like what it really looks like as it walks around in the world, Michael Hingson  22:36 so that's it, sounds like changed your view of love, and that you believe in love again. I Speaker 1  22:46 do, I do, and it's it, and even like during the first season of Love Notes, because we do an off-Broadway show here in Manhattan, and we have an anthology, a companion anthology. I remember that first year, like some I'd wake up in the morning and just like be not despondent but upset, like, oh, like this doesn't happen. And then literally there was like a little voice in my head that would say, oh well, don't you remember Stacey's story or Sarah's story? And it was like just like the the universe providing this evidence and this this proof and just hearing enough stories and story after story, yeah, it really did fortify my belief in love, and that love is for everyone, and it comes like from all these different angles, and when you least expect it, and it shows up in so many different forms. Michael Hingson  23:43 Yeah, well, and I think there's there's a lot of merit to that. I know when I was writing this last book that I wrote, which is entitled Live Like a Guide Dog: True Stories from a Blind Man and His Dogs, about being brave, overcoming adversity, and moving forward in faith, I spent a lot of time talking about each of the eight guide dogs that I've had and the lessons I learned from them, and also using those lessons in the book to show the importance of different aspects of what happens in our lives, but I have maintained for years I've learned a lot more about life and learned about leadership and teamwork. I've learned a lot more from these dogs than I ever learned from all the experts in the world, and that's primarily because we'll have some interesting observations. One, I allow my dogs to express themselves, but they also learn what the rules are. Because dogs really want to hear from humans, they want humans to set the rules, they want humans to be the pack leaders, by and large, and they want humans to be the ones to say this is what I expect, but when. That relationship forms, and it forms well. There's it's second to none, and you learn so much. Dogs love unconditionally, but they don't trust unconditionally, but they're open to trust, and we're not. And we really should learn to be more open to trust, and just so many different kinds of things. It has really given me a lot of pause to think over the past several years, while we were writing the book, and, and I, and I think about it now. There are a lot of neat stories in there that really ultimately are love stories in one way or another, and I think that makes a lot of sense. Speaker 1  25:36 Oh, that's so.. I'm actually a new dog owner, well, not too new, I.. I'm for the first time in my adult life have a dog, and I just.. it's such a wonderful, like, experience, and it's opened me up to, yeah, like so many different levels of love. Michael Hingson  25:53 Yeah, dogs want to establish a relationship, but as I said, I don't think that they are open to just trusting they do pretty much love unconditionally, unless something just totally traumatizes them. But trusting is a different story, and that's a trust that has to be earned both ways. It's not just us earning their trust, but they're earning our trust, and the people who really take that to heart and develop that relationship and think about it, find that they have a bond that's really second to none. It's as close to knit a team as you could ever find. Speaker 1  26:35 That's beautiful. Michael Hingson  26:37 So, it's a lot of fun. What kind of dog do you have? Speaker 1  26:40 I have, well, because remember I'm in a small New York City. I have a teacup poodle. Michael Hingson  26:46 Oh, so it isn't a Saint Bernard, okay? Speaker 1  26:49 And she's, she's an eye, she's a, she's a character. She, she acts like she's a cross between a teacup and a pit bull when she's in the, when she's out on the street. She does not like she's a scaredy cat on the street. She would prefer to be carried when we're on the street, so she's got sort of a split personality, but she, and she doesn't take too many people. So, just like you were saying, I can identify with that, like the whole trust element, and she's, she only trusts a few people. Michael Hingson  27:25 Yeah, well, trust isn't something that happens overnight. I've maintained for a long time. I think it takes a good year for me when I am meeting a new guide dog. I think it takes a good year for the trust to become so seamless that we really know what each other is thinking, and I think that we really do understand each other. There's a lot of empathy there, Speaker 1  27:52 that's really great. So, Michael Hingson  27:53 I think it's, it is kind of cool. Well, so, but going back to you getting married and all that, so you gave up for a while a lot of your dreams, that that must have, whether it was conscious or not, been a little bit frustrating. Speaker 1  28:08 Yeah, and I didn't realize it at the time. It was only later, like when my younger self sort of came calling, and I had given up a lot for this marriage that didn't really turn out the way I had hoped, and yeah, so writing was a way for me to find myself again, was not only a refuge during that time in my life when I wasn't really happy, but it also really opened up that whole creative part of myself, which felt really good, and it's, you know, it's been something now I've been working on for the last decade and a half, Michael Hingson  28:57 but it sounds like you didn't really, or at least consciously you didn't really know that you were unhappy. Speaker 1  29:03 No, I didn't, and that's a really interesting observation that that you make, because you know, I had my children, I loved my children, and I loved being a mom, and I had a really fulfilling career, but there was something missing, you know, and I wasn't really able to put my finger on that until I started writing, and then it became more and more obvious that, yeah, this is the part that was missing, this, you know, who you had thought you were going to be a creative, you, you had denied that, and you're right, so it wasn't really conscious, but, like, once I sort of, it started to become more noticeable to me, then it sort of came back with a vengeance. Michael Hingson  29:49 How much writing did you do before you got married? Speaker 1  29:53 Before.. well, I really didn't, because I was more in the.. I read a lot. Lot, and, but I was more into that, the acting, so I didn't really, I mean, I would write some really bad poetry, but not anything. I know some writers will say they were writing from the time they were six years old, but I, it didn't come to me till much later. Michael Hingson  30:16 So, what got you started back writing after your marriage ended, what was the trigger that made that happen? Speaker 1  30:25 Writing and the marriage, it was like the last 10 years of, of my marriage, I was writing, and it's, I sort of wrote my, my way out of the marriage in a way, but what was the trigger, and I do remember there wasn't an absolute trigger. I had a friend who had self-published a book. Michael Hingson  30:45 Okay, Speaker 1  30:46 I was like a friend of a friend. And one afternoon, it was a summer afternoon, we were over at her house because she had been hired to go to an elementary school and do a presentation, and so we were brainstorming and about what she could do at this presentation, and I went home from that, and I was like, I felt like so energized again. I was like, wow, well, I could do this, I could write a children's book, and so I sat down, and I wrote this book called Beatrice Bumblebee is busy. I didn't know anything about publishing, and I thought to myself, okay, well, now I'll just write it, and I'll send it to publishers, and I'll get it published. Well, it was promptly rejected by every single publisher, and I knew nothing about the publishing that point, but it was enough of a spark. And then I did start just sort of playing around, and I had this scene in my head of a girl, like a young girl who's been in a car accident, and she's on the side of the road losing consciousness, and she has this terrible secret that she wants to tell her boyfriend, and this, the scene, it was like a dark, wet Pennsylvania night, and it was an autumn, and like, I could see the mist, and so I had written this scene, and I remember giving it to my father, who was a huge reader, and he's like, well, Heather, this is really good. Why don't you keep trying to work on it? And, and so I did, and I love school, so I was like, well, I don't know how to write, like, how can I learn how to write? And then I sort of discovered, oh, well, there's these MFA programs, and so I ended up applying, and and going back to school, and then it was in my MFA program, where I wrote the first draft of my first novel, but yeah, so the actual trigger was a friend who had published a self-published a book, and it really kind of triggered something in me. Michael Hingson  32:38 Whatever happened to Beatrice Bumblebee is busy, Speaker 1  32:41 she is in a drawer, but I do keep.. I have here on my bulletin board. I'll pull it down if we're on camera. I have this little bumblebee, it's like a rhinestone bumblebee that I keep stuck on my bulletin board as just a reminder that the address in my life. Michael Hingson  33:07 Well, are you ever going to publish it? Speaker 1  33:10 Oh, I don't think it's very good, Michael. Michael Hingson  33:12 Okay, well, maybe you should go back and rewrite it, but Speaker 1  33:16 then, and maybe if I have grandchildren someday, maybe I'll, I'll be, yeah, that's kind of interesting that you say that. Maybe I will go back and just look at it. It would be fun to look at it all these years later. Michael Hingson  33:32 Yeah, well, so you got rejected a whole bunch, which is a pretty common story. What did you learn from that? Speaker 1  33:42 Well, and I do, I do talks at different places, and one of the talks I say is I started with the, you know, Calvin Coolidge said most of humanity's problems can be solved with two simple words, press on, and and that's what I learned through the process. My first book was on submission for like 520 weeks before it finally found a publisher, and it was every degree of rejection that you can get when you're publishing, you know, I'm, and for people who understand the publishing hierarchy, you know, the coveted placement is to land a book deal with one of the big five traditional publishers, and then from there it works its way way down, and we had gotten close on some of the big fives and other places where we'd made it to acquisitions, and we finally ended up with a small indie publisher, but it took so long, and it was so soul crushing in a way, and not so much the first book, and the first book I was still like super, super hopeful, and then once it was published, it did go on, and it won the new. National Indy Excellence Award, and I kind of was always thinking of it as a, you know, a stepping stone, a stepping stone, and that the second book would, would land the big publishing deal, and the second book took just as long, and it ended up right back with the same publisher, so the rejection taught me, yeah, that you just need to keep going. I mean, sometimes people hit really easily, or you know, the way the wind's blowing that day, whatever's on trend or top of mind, and, and sometimes it doesn't, but you have to do it because you, you love it, and you're called to do it. Michael Hingson  35:46 When you were getting rejected, did you get any substantive feedback that helped, or do do publishers do much of that? Speaker 1  35:54 Well, actually, I did, especially on my second book, and on the first book, too, it depends how interested they are in the book, and I did have a couple that were pretty interested and gave what's called like an editorial letter, and oftentimes they won't even do that unless you're under contract, but I did have a couple that had liked it enough, so on my second book, especially my agent and I then took that information and did some like hard edits and rewrites, but that's not always the case. I mean, and I have a lot of friends who are also in the business, sometimes you don't get any, any feedback. Michael Hingson  36:39 So now all together, how many books have you written? Speaker 1  36:42 Well, I've written two, and then I've edited and curated the anthology, the Love Notes anthology, Michael Hingson  36:48 right? Speaker 1  36:49 Which, and I've written a small bit of that. Um, yeah, so I'd like to say three books. Michael Hingson  36:54 Are there more books in you? Okay, Speaker 1  36:58 for sure. We have, you know, we'll. well, first, the second, the second Love Notes edition, I'm definitely editing and curating the stories for that, and that's through a small publisher. And then I have been really sort of toying around with, like, what's my next book, and my first two books were young adult romance, mystery, and thriller, and I kind of think I'm done with that genre, so I have talked about an adult, adult fiction, or even a that would go kind of hand in hand with Love Notes, the my story type of book, you know, rebuilding after divorce and being on, you know, what the space that love notes came out of, and going on, you know, hundreds of dates, and what that, that looked like, but that's in a very sort of nebulous state. It Michael Hingson  37:54 will be fun to see what happens. You'll have to keep us all posted, Speaker 1  37:58 yeah, for sure. Michael Hingson  38:00 But you've, you've described your creative journey, your whole creative journey is basically transforming heartbreak into healing. Tell me more about that. Speaker 1  38:14 Yeah, like I touched on earlier, Love Notes came out as sort of this really dark, lonely time in my life. My 30 year marriage had ended. My children had both left for college, and I'd relocated to New York City. So I was living alone for the first time in my adult lifetime. I was 19 years old, and New York can be a really.. for as many people who live here, it can be a really lonely place. I was really, really starting over, and I started dating at midlife, is, you know, it's not for the faint of heart, and I was going on a lot of dates, and just really discouraged by the whole process, and, like, I had sort of mentioned earlier, that's where I kind of was like almost indignant, like you know, I want proof, like show me proof that that love is real, and and that's where this this call to like look for people's love stories came from, so I do say it, it truly came out of a place of of loneliness and darkness, and then hope, though, too. You know, I was hoping I wanted to, I wanted, I wanted the stories to give me proof. I wanted them to be the evidence, and then, and then that sort of became a calling that, well, then I want to share that with other people and give other people hope, and that's been the most gratifying part for me is when somebody like they come to the show and the shows are really great, these storytelling shows, and now I've started to franchise them, so we have them popping up in some other cities, and I've gone around to some of the other cities, in fact, if you have any listeners who. When I produce a love note show, but the audience members, they're like, "Oh, wow, this, this was.. they don't expect it, first of all, coming into it, and everybody walks out feeling good, and that is like so gratifying to me, that, like, you know, in this, in these like divisive times, that they can come to a show, they can recognize part of the human experience, and they can walk out feeling uplifted and Speaker 2  40:25 hopeful, and that some readers, Speaker 1  40:27 you know, in the book do that too, like having read the book, and someone will reach out and say, "Oh, well, that just really gave me hope. So, hope that answers the question a little bit. Michael Hingson  40:40 Does it? Does it? Does get so the two books that you've written are what the Valley Knows and The Lying Season. Tell me more about those. What the interesting titles, to say the least. Speaker 1  40:52 Yeah, okay, so the both books are they're not ones, they're not a sequel and a prequel, but I would call them a series, because they're both in this fictional town of Millington Valley, which is much like the small town I grew up in, the Oley Valley, and it's all set around this high school, so the peripheral characters in the book stay the same, like the English teacher and the principal, but the kids, you know, because kids are only in high school for four years at a time, so different kids kind of like move through both of the books, they're both mysteries or are thrillers, and they both have like a big kind of like moral question at their center, both sent it set in this Millington Valley, which is a small Pennsylvania town, Michael Hingson  41:45 right? And they're, they're for juveniles, primarily. You said, I think, right. Speaker 1  41:52 Well, they are. They'd be considered young adults. What the valley knows, that's told from three point of views: two kids, and then one of the kids' mothers, so it has a lot of crossover appeal. So you and that book originally started at six point of views, and that was when I was in graduate school, and I remember my professor saying to me, Well, Heather, that's that's just too ambitious to try to do for your first book, you need to cut it down, and, and just whoever's story has to be there, that's the point of view you, you include, and so it kind of fell into the young adult category by accident, but I have a lot of adult readers who, who it really resonates as well, Michael Hingson  42:43 yeah. You know, I know a lot of people say, especially the early ones, the Harry Potter books are for more young adults, and so on, but I certainly had no problem enjoying them as a full-fledged, real-life middle-aged adult. So I think there's a lot that we can learn by stretching and not necessarily just falling into the trap of reading one kind or, or one sort of book that's, oh, this is for more adults or this is more for for children. Think there's a lot to be learned all the way around. Speaker 1  43:17 I think you're, you're right, Michael, and that's it's kind of like a modern thing that we do, like classifying books as adult fiction, like when we think about Catcher in the Rye, like what would that be considered now? Because the protagonist is a young adult, would it be considered a young adult book? But yeah, that's a really great point that you're making. Michael Hingson  43:40 Well, so you, you wrote these books, and you said that, so they've been published, and I assume they're out there. Do you know if they're audio books also? Speaker 1  43:52 Well, yes, and but here's the thing, I, because I didn't get to pick the publisher, I mean, the, you know, I didn't get to pick the narrator, so the what they both, okay, so what the bally knows is narrated. Yes, I don't like the narrator's voice. I know that's a terrible thing to say, because I would love for people to go and listen to the audio book, but I don't know, and maybe it's just me. And then the second book the publisher actually used like an AI kind of, I don't know exactly how it works, and I didn't really even know it happened till I went on Amazon one day, I was like, oh, they made an audio book of this, and it was in like an AI voice, so, so the answer is yes. Both of them are on audiobook. Love Notes is not the other bar. Michael Hingson  44:49 It's interesting, I'm on several lists that deal with audio books, and so on, and I hear people talking or. Emailing on the list all the time, and what people have often said is nonfiction books that are not what they're necessarily as much into as fiction books, they don't mind it being an AI voice, but when they're reading good fiction, where they really want to be absorbed, AI and synthetic voices text to speech just doesn't do it, and in fact I buy into that. I agree with that. I don't think that we have yet gotten computer synthesized voices to really take the place of human readers, and I don't know that we ever totally will, because we're so used to what people sound like, but it is an interesting thing that does come up. Speaker 1  45:47 Yeah, I agree with you. Michael Hingson  45:50 So, I prefer human readers in general. I've never been as great a fan of having a synthetic voice. Nothing against computers, but they just don't talk as well as humans do. Speaker 1  46:03 No, I agree with you too. I much prefer the human voice. Michael Hingson  46:09 Well, so you, when did you start writing love notes? When did that really start coming to fruition? Speaker 1  46:17 Well, love notes. We're coming into our third off-Broadway season this Valentine's Day, so it started that would, so it was started in 22 Michael Hingson  46:27 Oh, yeah. Okay, Speaker 1  46:29 so it's a relatively young project. We're going into our third year, but I'm super excited. We just cast the show for this upcoming performance, and that's really exciting. We have, you know, a bunch of local New Yorkers, but then we also have about the cast is 12 members, and six of them are from other parts of the country, so it's, it's got a, you know, flavor from from from all over. Michael Hingson  46:57 Now, is Love Notes available in any way online, or is it strictly just the shows, and they're not recorded and disseminated in any way. The Speaker 1  47:06 the all-star show, which is Valentine's Day at Symphony Space in New York City, the APM show is live streamed. Yeah, so it can be enjoyed from anywhere in the world. Michael Hingson  47:19 Okay, but outside of that one being live streamed, are there recordings of any of the shows that are out there for people to hear? Speaker 1  47:28 There are on my website, actually. Both the 2023 show and the 2024 show are available for resale. I think it's like $15 and you can, you can watch it's like it's a great, like date night kind of thing to watch the Love Notes show. Michael Hingson  47:48 Okay. Well, so from all that you have heard and seen and interacted with in doing Love Notes, how do you define real love today? Speaker 1  48:01 Oh that's it. Oh, Michael Hingson  48:03 that for a question out of left field. Yeah, Speaker 1  48:06 that's a great question. How do I define real love? So, I think real love shows up in a lot of different ways, and it.. and what's interesting in love notes, is I've seen all sorts of examples of it. I've seen the type of real love that ignites people when they're young, you know. Speaker 3  48:31 We'll love Speaker 1  48:31 that's the other thing people will say, "Oh, well, you were too young, that's why it didn't work out. But I don't think that's necessarily true. I think I think a little bit sometimes is luck of the draw, but the I've seen examples of people who met when they were 20 years old, and they've stayed together their entire lives, and that shows up in commitment and the ability to grow up together and to grow and evolve together, so I think real love shows up like that, but I've also seen real love, like the second time around type of love, and that sort of love, where people really need to be able to integrate their past and understand they're both two people carrying bags, and now they're going to carry those bags together, and so that shows up in a different way. Real love, and I've even seen it love showing up for people like in their 80s, third time around, or having never had partnered, and finding a partner very late in life, and that shows up in a whole different way, that's absolutely real too, but I think at the core of all types of real love is one, the ability to both people have to want the relationship, and they have. To be willing to work for the relationship, it's not just like what I want or you want, but it's oftentimes if they can ask the question, like what's the problem, and how is are we a team against the problem, or to be able to solve the problem, and I think that's sort of like the realist type of love that's out there, Michael Hingson  50:26 and I would, would also say it goes back to something we talked about earlier with, with dogs, dogs are are very much open to and do love unconditionally, and when we develop that kind of a relationship, it's as strong as any other kind of relationship that we can develop. When both sides of that relationship sense it and know it, it creates a bond that's, as I said earlier, second to none. Speaker 1  50:58 Yeah, that's a really great way of putting Michael Hingson  51:02 it. I would, I would not want to do anything to betray my guide dog or any of the guide dogs that I've had, but I've learned how to create those teams, and I think that's very important. One thing that that sticks in my mind dealing with dogs is when I lived in Northern California, we were very close to the Marin Humane Society, which is one of the more famous organizations of that type in the world. We were talking to one of the people at the Marin Humane Society one day, and they were talking about the fact that they're growing in class sizes and growing in the number of classes that they have to offer, but what they also point out is that 90% of the training isn't training the dog, it's training the human, which is really true. There's so much that humans don't really work to develop the relationship that they should, and that if they really truly understood it, it would, it would be a whole lot different relationship that they would experience, Speaker 1  52:05 yeah, that's a really nice way of looking at it. Michael Hingson  52:10 Well, so you have love notes that are growing by loops and bounds in a lot of ways, and you have, how many different places are doing the shows now? Speaker 1  52:24 Well, so far we have Indianapolis, Chicago, Redding, Pennsylvania, and then we have another Pennsylvania city, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and we're in talks right now with Atlanta, Georgia, and Tampa, Florida. Michael Hingson  52:42 Wow, so it's growing, Speaker 1  52:45 it's growing, it's starting to spread. We're starting to spread some love. Michael Hingson  52:51 I get it. What do you think about that? Speaker 1  52:54 I think it's great. Like, I hope I'd love to see one in every city. Such a nice event that really brings the community together. Michael Hingson  53:04 So, how often do the shows run? Is it just like on Valentine's Day, or do they go throughout the whole year? Speaker 1  53:10 It can be any time of year, and it's usually just a one-day event. Sometimes there's multiple shows on one day, but yeah, it's just a one day. Oftentimes the local producer will partner with a local charity, so we try to give back in that way too, and they can choose the charity they want, or, or sometimes they're trying to fund like a scholarship fund, or or something like that. I do encourage that, and and we have like a mastermind group among the producers just trying to support each other as creative entrepreneurs. Michael Hingson  53:46 Well, you're you're seeing a lot of success with it. What kind of surprises have you experienced? This must be kind of a thrill, and a lot of, a lot of surprises for you. Speaker 1  53:58 Well, one of the surprises. well, I'm not surprised by it anymore, but I, I can, I'm certain, always surprised when I have a cast member who, at the very last minute, you know, they've gone through all the rehearsals, all the prep work, all the editing, and then at the very last second they pull out of the show, I've had that happen each show, so now I know how to plan for it, and know how to prepare, you know, producers for it. But yeah, that, that's always surprising to me. Michael Hingson  54:34 It's an adventure, isn't it? Speaker 1  54:35 Sure is. Yeah, gotta sing quickly on your feet. Michael Hingson  54:39 Yeah, you definitely have to do that. Tell us a little bit about Socroc, the company you and your brother formed, and what that's all about. Speaker 1  54:47 Sure, well, my brother was a professional soccer player, and he, when he retired, he moved to Manhattan, thinking he was going to be an actor, and as most actors. Oh, they need a second job to support themselves. Yeah, so became a personal trainer, and he was personal training, and some of his clients got word that he'd been a professional soccer player, and they begged him, they're like, can you teach our kids soccer? So it kind of happened by accident, and just a few balls and cones in Central Park, teaching soccer to little kids, and over the years it's grown and grown and grown and grown. We're in our like 20th year, and so during it was like maybe five years ago, he, it just got out of hand, like it was getting too big, and he needed help, and that was when I had gone through the divorce, and I like explained I'd been in business before, and I wanted a change, so he offered me, you know, a position to come and help him and run, so I run the business side of the soccer, and he runs the soccer side, and we're all throughout Manhattan, we, we do public classes in the parks and playgrounds, and then, like, now in the winter time, we rent space all around the city, and then we also partner with private schools and public schools throughout the city, and we do birthday parties and personal training, and we're starting a kids of all abilities program, and that's that's like our new initiative right now, and and then the spring we're expanding into actually into basketball too, BB Rock, we're calling Michael Hingson  56:29 it. Oh, that's cool. Well, you're doing a lot of different things, you speak, you're an author, you're an educator. We haven't talked about, I guess it's you work with Speaker 1  56:39 SUNY. I teach at the City University of New York, which is part of SUNY, and that work I really love. Yeah, Michael Hingson  56:47 tell, tell me about that. Then, Speaker 1  56:49 so they have an initiative, it's through the Manhattan Educational Opportunity Center, and SUNY provides grants for adult students returning who need to get their high school epilepticy, their GED. So I teach writing the writing section of the GED, and this I - these are the students I like the most, and I've taught at all levels, from freshman comp all the way up to graduate level MFA, and it's the GED adult student that I enjoy the most. So, I'll, when I, when I'm done with you, I actually will zoom up to Harlem, and I'll be teaching GED time tonight. Michael Hingson  57:35 Okay. Well, you're doing all of these different things. How do you keep yourself grounded, and how do you keep the creative juices going? Speaker 1  57:44 Well, that can sometimes be a challenge. Michael Hingson  57:46 I bet, Speaker 1  57:47 but I do. I exercise. That's one thing I really, I love to exercise, and I'm getting better at just taking time for myself, but I also feel like what I do isn't work, like I enjoy what I do, so I always try to bring a sense of gratitude to each day in that way. Michael Hingson  58:13 Yeah, well, and taking time for yourself is is important to do, and and now you have a teacup poodle to share it with, and I'll bet you guys have some interesting conversations. Speaker 1  58:26 Yeah, we sure do. She's a cutie, she's just lying on the little chair right over here. Michael Hingson  58:33 Yeah, my, my dog is over here on his bed, so he, he, he monitors me. Speaker 1  58:41 Yeah, she's been really good, because sometimes when I'm on the Zoom like this, she, she'll start to bark. She doesn't like paying attention to somebody else. Michael Hingson  58:48 Well, one of these days we'll have to end up in Manhattan and come and meet her. Speaker 1  58:54 That sounds Michael Hingson  58:55 be kind of fun. Speaker 1  58:57 That sure would. Michael Hingson  58:58 Well, so tell me, what's next for you? What do you envision going forward from here? Speaker 1  59:04 Well, my hope is actually, I would love, because there have so much fodder now, all these different stories, love stories. My hope is to launch a podcast, a Love Notes podcast that would feature the storyteller and their story, and then I would do an interview of the story behind the story, because people always have questions. They'll hear a story, or they'll read the story, and it's really short. It's like 700 or 1000 words, and they'll always want to know, like, well, what happened to them, or how did that end up. So I envisioned this podcast of love notes, real stories by real people about real love, and that would be like the the meat of it, and then they're at the end of each one, there'd be like a love letter, and people could write love letters that would be shared on the podcast, and tell Michael Hingson  59:55 me, Speaker 1  59:56 you know, like, dear Michael, this is why I love you, and then it would be a. Letter, so that's that's I'd like to see more satellite cities. I'd like to get the next edition of the book out, and then launch the podcast by Trifecta. Michael Hingson  1:00:13 Lots going on, needless to say. Well, if people want to reach out to you, talk about creating their own love notes, or as you said, you'd love to find people who want to help produce in various cities. How do they do that? Speaker 1  1:00:27 Well, probably the easiest thing to do is first, if they just want to learn more about the project in general, would just be to check out the website, and that's at www dot Love Notes worldwide.com and from there, then you can, you can get a hold of me, but I'll give my email address also, it's Heather at Heather Christy, C H R I s t i e books.com so either just hit the website or send me an email directly, and I, yeah, I'd love to talk to anybody who's got a story they want to share, or anyone who's thinking like maybe they'd love to bring a love notes to their community. Michael Hingson  1:01:19 Cool. Well, I hope people will reach out and that you'll get lots of interest from our podcast. It's a, it's a fun thing, and I hope that people will respond. So, all of you out there, email Heather. Speaker 1  1:01:34 That sounds great. And my last little plug: if anybody would love to watch the Love Notes show on January, february 14 for Valentine's Day. You can find that information on the website too. Michael Hingson  1:01:48 What I'm trying to remember, what day of the week february 14 is going to be in 2026 Speaker 1  1:01:53 It's a Michael Hingson  1:01:54 Saturday, great day to Speaker 1  1:01:57 do it. So you can watch it, and actually the live stream will stay live for a week, so if you're not able to watch it that night, you can watch it during the week. Michael Hingson  1:02:05 Oh, cool. Well, I hope people will do that, and I want to thank you for being here. But I want to thank all of you out there for being a part of this today. Heather has had a lot of interesting things to say, and I hope that you'll help her and help yourself by helping her to be more successful. I'd love to hear from you. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to email me at Michael H i@accessibe.com that's M I C H A E L H I at Accessi B A C C E S S I B e.com We'd love it and would greatly appreciate it if wherever you are listening or watching the podcast, if you'll give us a five star review, but also, or a rating, but also give us a review. We love reviews, we appreciate reviews, and we really value all the people who have done it so far, and we ask that you do it again, or you do it for the first time. So, please let us know what you think by writing reviews. If you know anyone who ought to be a guest, we'd love it if you'd let us know. Heather, you as well. Anyone that you think ought to be a guest on Unstoppable Mindset, we would really love to be introduced. My belief is everyone has stories to tell, so don't be shy. We'd love to hear from you. But Heather, once again, I want to thank you for being here. This has been absolutely wonderful. Speaker 1  1:03:26 Thank you so much, Michael. It's been so much fun to talk to you this afternoon. Michael Hingson  1:03:32 What if the biggest thing holding you back isn't what's in front of you, but rather what you believe? Welcome to Unstoppable Mindset, where inclusion, diversity, and the unexpected meet. I'm your host, Michael Hingson, speaker, author, and advocate for inclusion and possibilities. This podcast explores how the beliefs we carry shape the way we live, lead, and connect with others each week. I talk with people who challenge assumptions, face adversity head on, and show what's possible when we choose curiosity over fear. Together, we focus on mindset, resilience, and the small shifts that lead to meaningful change. Let's get started, 1:04:24 I.

Matt reviews the 2026 Off-Broadway immersive ‘Phantom of the Opera’ production ‘Masquerade’ Patreon: BroadwayRadiohttps://www.patreon.com/broadwayradio For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@broadwayradio.com and include the episode name. To purchase tickets to see the show, click here:https://masqueradenyc.com/

Matt reviews the 2026 Off-Broadway revival of ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ Patreon: BroadwayRadiohttps://www.patreon.com/broadwayradio For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@broadwayradio.com and include the episode name. To purchase tickets to see the show, click here:https://spellingbeenyc.com/

It's another Carriage House Catch-Up, dybbuks and all! After everything you'd ever need to know about Jewish exorcisms, Ronna (& Bryan) give advice on whether or not it's ok to wear a Jewish head scarf if you're not Jewish, what to do if you're booked on the most infamous cruise line in the world, and how to handle spilling a coworker's secret. (Bryan)'s Off-Broadway debut is coming up in July, and if you're in New York it is NOT to be missed! ARE YOU MAD AT ME, a smash hit at Edinburgh, is coming back to the Big Apple bigger and better than ever. Go to areyoumadatmeshow.com and use code IMSORRY for $10 off your ticket to the first two weeks of the run, available exclusively to listeners of Ask Ronna! Sponsor: Take comfort in Born Shoes! They're the prefect mix of stye and comfort, and you can get 15% off and free ground shipping on a full priced pair when you go to bornshoes.com and use the promo code RONNA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Part revenge thriller, part Greek tragedy, and fully its own thing, Aleshea Harris's directorial debut is an adaptation of her own award-winning Off-Broadway show. We have Geek Girl Riot's Sherin Nicole with us to talk about all the twists, turns, and treacheries. Then we have a fun quiz about “twin” movies. What's Good? Alonso - Farmers markets (even for non-chefs) Drea - Richard Osman's House of Games Sherin - nephew's elementary school graduation Kevin - the gasman came by… ITIDICSweeney/Seyfried Thriller The Housemaid Is Headed to the StageDiscourse Around American Accents in Nolan's The Odyssey Trailer Staff Picks Alonso - The Addiction of Hope Drea - Mile End Kicks Sherin - Nine Days Kevin - Obsession Listen to Sherin's show Geek Girl Riot Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmaxfilm Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or LetterboxdWithKevin AveryDrea ClarkAlonso DuraldeProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producer Laura Swisher

Ronna might be having a hard day, but she's looks amazing, pardon me. As if there were any doubt. We've got a Carriage House Catch-Up this week, with everything you ever needed to know about colonoscopy scandals and how everyone who works on the show is probably trying to sabotage Ronna. Then R (& B) give advice on a wedding dilemma and whether or not to host a SECOND gender reveal party. Thanks to everyone who joined us at last weekend's AR Social Club Spring Kiki! You all gave your best Gina Lollobrigida. arsocialclub.com  Also, our dear (Bryan) is having his Off-Broadway debut this summer, pardon me! His show ARE YOU MAD AT ME will play six weeks only at the HERE Arts Center in SoHo! Tickets on sale today at areyoumadatmeshow.com and, available exclusively to Ask Ronna listeners, you can use code IMSORRY for $10 off your ticket for the first two weeks of the run! Sponsors: Want modern-day makeup that's clean, strategic, and multi-functional for effortless routines? We absolutely love Jones Road Beauty! Go to jonesroadbeauty.com and use code RONNA for a FREE GIFT with your first purchase! Take comfort in Born Shoes! They're the prefect mix of stye and comfort, and you can get 15% off and free ground shipping on a full priced pair when you go to bornshoes.com and use the promo code RONNA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jess is joined by playwright and "male actress" CHARLES BUSCH! Topics include: ROSIE O'DONNELL producing the disastrous Boy George musical 'Taboo,' performing at The Duplex in the late 70s, becoming close with JOAN RIVERS, the chaos of interviewing LIZA, working with NATASHA LYONNE, and how 'Vampire Lesbians of Sodom' became one of the longest-running Off-Broadway plays of all time. ⭐ Night of 1000 Judys: June 1 @Joe's Pub * all donations benefit The Ali Forney Center * ⭐ IG: @jessxnyc ⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island

Formula One Kit Kat heist; French taze Australian DJ making amazing mix; Rasputin privates museum; brave with bees; not enough alliteration; Smash! I.P.; Off Broadway good news bad news for Boney M!Unlock the BONUS SCENE(S) at improv4humans.com and gain access to every episode of i4h, all ad-free, as well as TONS of exclusive new podcasts delving deeper into improv, the history of comedy, music and sci-fi.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On Your World of Creativity, we travel around the world talking with creative practitioners who turn ideas into impact. Today we're stepping into the studio with a guest to explore what it really means to trust yourself, dismantle habits, and make braver, more embodied art. Welcome choreographer, director, educator and author … Alexandra Beller.Alexandra's Website@alexandrabellerdances on InstagramAlexandra on YouTubeAlexandra's Facebook pageLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexandra-beller-0a56a57A former member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, she is now the Artistic Director of Alexandra Beller/Dances, having created more than 40 dance theater works internationally.Her teaching spans Princeton University, the Laban Institute, and residencies around the globe. In theater, she's worked Off-Broadway and regionally, with credits including Lincoln Center and A.R.T.Alexandra is currently writing two books:The Embodied Conductor (Meredith Music, 2025) andThe Anatomy of Art (Bloomsbury, 2026).Her work blends somatic practice, rigorous inquiry, and creative freedom to help artists deepen their process and unlock new possibilities.1 — The Creative Process as a Living PracticeAlexandra, you've spent decades inside the creative process — as performer, choreographer, director, and educator. What inspired you to write a book about the creative process now, and what do you hope artists take away from it?Follow-up:The Anatomy of Art reads like a field guide for creative life — part poetic meditation, part practical workbook — with chapters on Time, Space, Meaning, Relationship, Process, Material, and more. Each section offers inquiry prompts, embodiment exercises, and devising practices that help artists reconnect to their sensory intelligence and personal voice.You also weave in contributions from seminal voices like Anne Bogart and Deborah Hay, folding perspectives from across disciplines and generations into the book.Can you share how you designed The Anatomy of Art to live at that intersection of instinct and analysis — and why it felt important to create something that offers rigorous tools while still honoring the mystery of making?2 — Trust, Doubt, and Creative CourageYou speak often about trusting yourself in the creative process. That sounds simple — but it's incredibly difficult in practice.What does it really mean to trust yourself as an artist — and how do creatives actually begin to do that?Optional follow-up:What role does doubt play? Is it something to eliminate — or something to work with?3 — Structure and FreedomYou work with systems like Laban and Bartenieff — which are rigorous, structured methodologies — yet your approach is also deeply poetic and personal.How do you balance structure and freedom in your work?And more broadly, how can artists use structure without becoming constrained by it?4 — Dismantling Habits & Artistic ReinventionYou talk about dismantling habits — creatively and personally.Why is breaking creative habits so essential for growth?What happens if we don't?Follow-up:Is there a connection between the parts of ourselves we hide and the habits we form in our art?5 — Joy, Burnout & Staying PorousArtists often struggle with burnout, pressure, comparison, and the fear of not being “enough.”How can artists stay porous and brave without becoming overwhelmed?And how do we create conditions for joy — especially in careers that can feel filled with struggle?Key themes:• The body as intelligence• Trust as a practice, not a personality trait• Structure as a container for freedom• Dismantling habits to create braver work• Joy as a discipline