Podcasts about outstanding production

Send us a textIn this episode, we talk about the winners and nominees of the 10th Academy Awards. The Life of Emile Zola won for Outstanding Production. Was it the right choice? We also talk about the Best Actor and Best Actress Awards for 1937. Luise Rainer and Spencer Tracy won those awards. Click and listen!

This week on Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby welcomes Javier Vilalta, a Mexican-Canadian interdisciplinary artist, stage director, movement coordinator, translator, and co-founder of 8ROJO Theatre. Based in Calgary, Javier shares his journey through performance, directing, and devising unique and often non-verbal theatre experiences. He reflects on his early challenges as an immigrant artist, the evolution of his creative voice, and his mission to help shape Calgary's cultural identity. This episode explores: Javier's early artistic influences and his pivot from acting to directing The founding and philosophy behind Ocho Rojo Theatre Creating intimate, high-concept work for small audiences His experience directing across Canada and internationally Thoughts on diversity, representation, and creative freedom in Canadian theatre His recent production of Mary Stuart and the upcoming queer retelling of Romeo and Juliet with The Shakespeare Company Guest:

This week on Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby welcomes Amanda Lin and Julia Dickson, the co-leadership team behind the Paprika Theatre Festival, now celebrating its 24th season. Amanda and Julia share the story of Paprika's evolution, recent strategic programming changes to prioritize artist and staff well-being, and the organization's commitment to supporting emerging artists. They dive into how the Paprika Festival fosters professional development, provides paid opportunities, and creates space for experimentation and growth — a vital contribution to the Canadian theatre community. Amanda and Julia also talk about their own journeys into arts administration, their long-standing collaboration, and what's coming up at this year's festival. This episode explores: How the Paprika Theatre Festival empowers emerging artists and administrators Why Paprika shifted its programming to prevent burnout and better support artists The importance of paid training opportunities in building a more inclusive theatre industry Amanda and Julia's creative and leadership journeys Highlights and exciting events for this year's Paprika Festival (May 13–17, 2025, at Aki Studio in Toronto) How community programming, including a neighbourhood lemonade stand and a pre-prom dance, builds lasting local connections Guests:

(Episode recorded October 25, 2024)It's our eighth review of the season, but only our fifth nominee for Outstanding Production at the Sixth Academy Awards. In fact, She Done Him Wrong is the shortest film nominated for the top prize...and the top prize was it's only nomination. The film was adapted from the successful 1928 Broadway play Diamond Lil, penned by and starring Mae West. Despite it's success on the stage, the play was actually banned, which led to multiple issues once production on the film began. Fun fact: this is our first official encounter with Cary Grant for this project!Our song of the day is a surprise treat, and our history timeline includes veering off into a 1933 true crime segment...related to the death of Knute Rockne?Books mentioned by Dad:Boller, Paul. Hollywood Anecdotes. William Morrow & Company, 1987.Thomson, David. The New Biographical Dictionary of Film. Penguin Random House, 2004.Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

Rachel PeakeOriginally hailing from Saskatchewan, Rachel is a director and dramaturge of theatre and opera. She is currently the Artistic Director of the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario.​From 2021 to 2023 Rachel was the Associate Artistic Director of the Arts Club Theatre Company in Vancouver. There she oversaw the running of the Artistic Department from 2021-2022 during the Artistic Director's maternity leave. From 2017 to 2020 she was the Associate Artistic Director of the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, where she led the Citadel's New Play Development initiatives. In January 2023 she won the Ovation Award for Outstanding Direction for her work on Something Rotten!, produced by Theatre Under the Stars.​Rachel recently directed Macbeth for Calgary Opera (Betty Mitchell Award nominee - Outstanding Production of a Musical) , Sense and Sensibility for the Arts Club, 9 to 5: the Musical for the Citadel Theatre, Something Rotten! for Theatre Under the Stars, and The Pearl Fishers for Vancouver Opera. Rachel directed and dramaturged Hyperlink for the elbow, which was nominated for a Critic's Choice in Innovation. Recent directorial credits also include The Garneau Block for the Citadel, La Cenerentola for Vancouver Opera, and Phaedra/ Serenade for Pacific Opera Victoria.​Some additional career highlights include directing and dramaturging the world première opera, Stickboy, for Vancouver Opera; directing the première of The Contest of the Winds for Caravan Farm Theatre; helming SexyVoices, a community-based creation piece about love and sex in the disability community for Realwheels Theatre; directing Angels in America: Part One at Studio 58, and directing and co-conceiving the interactive project Sustainability in an Imaginary World at UBC.​Rachel was the co-Artistic Director of Solo Collective Theatre from 2008-2013 for whom she directed Cool Beans, Play With Monsters, After Jerusalem, The Project, and The Trolley Car.  She also spent four years as Resident Stage Director of Dark by Five at Gros Morne Summer Music where she directed and co-created fifteen new interdisciplinary works. ​Rachel interned at the Komische Oper in Berlin, at Stratford's Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction, and in the Shaw Festival's Neil Munro Directing Internship. She also studied extensively with her mentor, James Fagan Tait. Rachel is a graduate of the University of Alberta and Studio 58.Grand TheatreThe Grand Theatre is known for world-class theatre created and built in London, Ontario. As southwestern Ontario's premiere producing theatre and one of the most beautiful theatre spaces in Canada, the company has deep ties to the community and to its artists, artisans, and technicians. As a vibrant cultural hub and not-for-profit professional theatre, the Grand serves to gather, inspire, and entertain audiences in London and beyond. At our home in downtown London, we create productions on two stages: the Spriet Stage (839 seats) and the Auburn Developments Stage (144 seats). The Grand season of theatrical offerings runs from September to May, and we collaborate with companies and artists across the country through our co-productions that see London-made artistic and creative work travel to audiences nation-wide. Through our successful New Play Development Program, the Grand is committed to developing and premiering new, original works and supporting the growth and reach of theatre writers and creators. Our recently renovated venue offers a contemporary and welcoming environment that is also home to several successful music series', community arts rentals, and cultural and special events. 

(Episode recorded October 19, 2024)It's been three months since our last episode, but it's been even longer since we recorded this one!In our seventh review of the season, we are exploring the actual winner of the Oscar for Outstanding Production at the Sixth Academy Awards, Frank Lloyd's Cavalcade, based on Noel Coward's play.This smash hit was nominated for four Oscars, and won three. The film covers 30 years, following two British families starting from the Boer War, through several other massive historical events, all the way into the current era of the 1930s. We discuss the film's historical context, character dynamics (or lack thereof), the challenges of censorship and adaptation (the Hays office took special exception to the language in the film), and the themes of love, war, and loss. Oh yeah, and Sara keeps referencing Forrest Gump.As always, we have our history timeline, top song of the day, and an interesting legal follow-up to I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang.Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

Before we announce the winners of our 2024 Critics' Pick Awards, we're proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series.   One of the most refreshing and memorable theatre pieces of 2024, Circlesnake Productions' 13 Plays About ADHD All At the Same Time is nominated for Outstanding New Work, Outstanding Ensemble, and Outstanding Production. We caught […] The post Nominee Interview Series: The Ensemble of 13 Plays About ADHD All At the Same Time appeared first on My Entertainment World.

WE ARE BACK!In our sixth review of the season, we are back on track with an actual Outstanding Production nomination. We dive into A Farewell to Arms, based on Ernest Hemingway's 1929 novel (which supposedly had 47 different endings!)We discuss the film's historical context, character dynamics, the challenges of censorship and adaptation, and the themes of love and war. Did you know Hemingway had a tiny feud with Mussolini? We also speculate that this might be the most sexually explicit film we've watched so far...As always, we have our history timeline, top song of the day, and perhaps a few disagreements along the way.Books mentioned by Dad:Boller, Paul. Hollywood Anecdotes. William Morrow & Company, 1987.McKuen, Rod. Stanyan Street & Other Sorrows. Random House, 1966.Thomson, David. The New Biographical Dictionary of Film. Penguin Random House, 2004.Wilson, Edmund. “Ernest Hemingway: Bourdon Gauge of Morale.” Edmund Wilson: Literary Essays and Reviews of the 1920s & 30s, edited by Lewis M. Dabney, Library of America, 2007.Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

Welcome to our Season 6 Premiere! We took a two-month break, and we never want to be away for that long again! (Please scroll to the bottom for chapter timestamps.)Sara and Dad cover the 6th Academy Awards ceremony. This is the longest eligibility period to date: honoring the best in films released in the United States between August 1, 1932 and December 31, 1933. We discuss the context of these films being made during the pre-code era, and what the implications are for filmmaking moving forward. (Frank Capra has a very interesting influence on the structure of the Academy and voting moving forward.)Last season we had eight nominees for Outstanding Production. This season we have even MORE with ten nominees. In addition, we are also going to be covering a record number of bonus episodes (movies that were not nominated for Outstanding Production but still fall on our historical timeline). Of course, we give an overview of the ten films nominated for the top honor, and speculate on our interests.The Movies:Smilin' Through  (1932) I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)A Farewell to Arms (1932)Cavalcade* (1933)She Done Him Wrong (1933)State Fair (1933)42nd Street (1933)Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)Lady for a Day (1933)The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)Little Women (1933)Books mentioned by Dad:Capra, Frank. The Name Above the Title: An Autobiography. MacMillan, 1971.Schulman, Michael. Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears. HarperCollins, 2023Chapters00:00 Introduction to Shea Cinema and the Oscars02:23 The Sixth Academy Awards Overview08:02 Will Rogers, Frank Capra, and the Ceremony18:34 Category Capers and Changes in the Academy28:21 Exploring the Nominees: Smilin' Through to Little Women1:15:24 Dreading/Looking Forward To1:18:16 Historical Context, the Pre-Code Era, the Impact of the Hays Code, and Labor Strikes1:29:27 Looking Ahead: Bonus Episodes and Future DiscussionsAdditionally, Sara created Top-Song-of-the-Day Playlists for each season on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@SheaCinema/playlistsPlease leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

In the second of four special episodes recorded live on August 1 at the American Society of Cinematographers Clubhouse in Los Angeles, Jeannine Oppewall — a four-time Oscar nominee for art direction on films including L.A. Confidential and The Good Shepherd — sits down with two of this year's Emmy contenders in production design: Glenda Rovello is nominated for her work on Frasier, from Paramount+ and CBS Studios, and Gianna Costa got the nod for the MTV reality series RuPaul's Drag Race. Costa describes the “seat-of-your-pants thinking” that powers a fast-moving competition show, and Rovello recalls how the innovative set design of the original Frasier informed her decisions on the reboot. They also share how playing with color and making room for movement help set the stage for great TV storytelling.

Send us a Text Message.Tom Jacobson swung into the Playwright's Spotlight in the midst of his coinciding plays The Bauhaus Project and Crevasse to discuss the correlation to both of the pieces and the subject matter of fascism and anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany. While discussing the historical influence of the Bauhaus, we explore previews and changes within coinciding pieces, writing trilogies and their process and presentation, standalones within trilogies, jumping timelines in historical works, balancing historic events and relationships, and taking creative license. We also discuss research, outlining, and when to start writing, breaking down structure, layering characters with and for the actor, table work and the role of the playwright, doubling and tripling up actors, writing complex sets with simplicity, stage magic on the play, and the benefits of academia as well as relationships and how they can help land productions. It's a wonderful conversation with a few technical hiccups that you might find entertaining, but you'll walk away with some education in history in addition to some insight in the craft of playwriting. As always... Enjoy!Tom Jacobson has penned more than 50 plays and has had more than 100 productions of his works performed around the world. His play The Twentieth-Century Way premiered at The Theatre @ Boston Court and the New York International Fringe Festival garnering five Ovation Award nominations, four Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle nominations, one GLAAD Award nomination, a Fringe Festival Award for Outstanding Production of a Play, a PEN Center Award for Drama and then moved Off Broadway to Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre. He has been a co-literary manager of The Theatre @ Boston Court, a founding member of Playwrights Ink, and a board member of Cornerstone Theater Company and The Theatre @ Boston Court. His most recent play The Bauhaus Project opened at the Atwater Village Theatre and will be running simultaneously with his play Crevasse at the The Victory Theatre here in the Los Angeles area. Both pieces focus on the relationship of art and artists to the rise of fascism, anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany.For tickets for The Bauhaus Project and Crevasse through August 18th, 2024 -https://glamgical.com/the-bauhaus-project-and-crevasse/For the video format of this episode, visit -https://youtu.be/sNg7rH8QzQELinks to resources mentioned in this episode -Dramatists Guild -https://www.dramatistsguild.comMoving Arts - https://movingarts.orgWebsite and Socials for Tom Jacobson -www.tomjacobsonplaywright.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/tom.jacobson3Websites and socials for James Elden, PMP, and Playwright's Spotlight -Punk Monkey Productions - www.punkmonkeyproductions.comPLAY Noir -www.playnoir.comPLAY Noir Anthology –www.punkmonkeyproductions.com/contact.htmlJames Elden -Twitter - @jameseldensauerIG - @alakardrakeFB - fb.com/jameseldensauerPunk Monkey Productions and PLAY Noir - Twitter - @punkmonkeyprods                  - @playnoirla IG - @punkmonkeyprods       - @playnoir_la FB - fb.com/playnoir        - fb.com/punkmonkeyproductionsPlaywright's Spotlight -Twitter - @wrightlightpod IG - @playwrights_spotlightPlaywriting services through Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festivalwww.losangelescollegiateplaywrightsfestival.com/services.htmlSupport the Show.

In this episode we wrap up the 5th Academy Awards, giving a quick rundown of all 8 films nominated for the top award, Outstanding Production.Walt Disney's Parade of the Award Nominees short:https://youtu.be/6PoSjUf1j7k?si=cWueX5ngKIiGbW58Including our bonus film, we give our personal favorites and personal worsts. We also view the nominees as Oscar Bridesmaids, and bestow runner-up awards. Alternate Ending review of Grand Hotel:https://www.alternateending.com/2015/05/people-come-people-go-nothing-ever-happens.htmlAdditional insights:Patterns we noticed this seasonFavorite Top Song of the DayMovie Event Statistics over 5 Academy Awards (weddings, deaths, etc.)Bimbo AwardSara asks Dad questions to reflect on relating to doing this projectYou don't want to miss it!Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

This is our last film review of the season, and we cover Outstanding Production winner, Grand Hotel. This movie is unique in that, while it did win the top prize at the 5th Academy Awards, it did not receive a nomination in any other category, a feat that has never been repeated. This is our most star-studded cast to date,  featuring Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, John AND Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery, and Lewis Stone. Oh, and it also  features an adorable dog named Adolphus. Tune in to find out how Grand Hotel might have a connection to outer space, a deep dive into the Lindbergh kidnapping, and top song of the day.Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

Here is our second film review for the season! Frank Borzage, who won Best Director at the first Academy Awards for Seventh Heaven, is back, with ANOTHER win for Best Director of this film, Bad Girl. Newcomer James Dunn dominates the screen in this Academy Award-winning adaptation of the novel of the same name. That's right, this pre-code gem won two out of three nominations, losing out only on Outstanding Production. We try to figure out why. Give a listen as we dive into sexual harassment, walks of shame, marriage, and tenement living during the Great Depression.Of course we have our history timeline, top song of the day, and, as always, baseball!Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

Welcome to our Season 5 Premiere! Sara and Dad cover the 5th Academy Awards ceremony (honoring the best in films - screened in Los Angeles -  between August 1, 1931 and July 31, 1932).  We discuss (again) the context of these films being made during the pre-code era, and what the implications are for filmmaking moving forward. This season ups the ante with eight nominees instead of five, and we consider the possibilities of doing some more bonus episodes (movies that were not nominated for Outstanding Production but still fall on our historical timeline). Oddly enough, this season has some funky components to the competition--including a tie for Best Actor, and a director with two Best Picture nominees.Of course, we give an overview of the eight films nominated for the top honor, and speculate on our interests.The Movies:The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)Bad Girl (1931)Five Star Final (1931)The Champ (1931)Arrowsmith (1931)Shanghai Express (1932)One Hour With You (1932)Grand Hotel (1932)Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

In this episode we wrap up the 4th Academy Awards, giving a quick rundown of all 5 films nominated for the top award, Outstanding Production. Including our two bonus films, we give our personal favorites and personal worsts. And finally, we view the nominees as Oscar Bridesmaids, and bestow runner-up awards. You don't want to miss it!Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

That's right! Today we have ANOTHER special BONUS episode, covering William Wellman's The Public Enemy. This "gangster" classic was released on April 23, 1931, so  it fits right in with our regular Oscar timeline, but this movie wasn't nominated for Outstanding Production (but it was nominated for Best Original Story--although it didn't win).  So why are we discussing it? Because, once again, a film made at the same time as our nominees this season has managed to grapple its way into our collective consciousness, especially regarding criminals.This is a “full-length” episode. We still have: history timeline, top song of the day, day-of headlines, plot examination, personal reactions, and contemporary and modern reviews. Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

Today we are covering Skippy, which was adapted from a hugely popular comic strip. This is our first "kids' movie," and features Jackie Cooper in the title role. His performance in this film (at nine years old) garnered him a nomination for Best Actor. What might seem like a frivolous premise actually carries some significant emotional weight. Unexpected connections we make during our examination of this Outstanding Production nominee:Sir Lawrence OlivierTreasure IslandSupermanBatmanStar Trekwomen in baseballsongs referencing drug use/addictionBut the most important question we explore is...Does Skippy deserve to be on THE LIST?Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

ContemporaryPerformance.com and the Sarah Lawrence College MFA Theatre Program produce the SLC Performance Lab. During the year, visiting artists to the MFA Theatre Program's Performance Lab are interviewed after leading a workshop with the students. Performance Lab is one of the program's core components, where graduate students work with guest artists and develop performance experiments. Sibyl Kempson is interviewed and produced by Julia Duffy (SLC'25) Kempson's plays have been presented in the United States, Germany, and Norway. As a performer she toured internationally from 2000-2011 with Nature Theater of Oklahoma, New York City Players, and Elevator Repair Service. Her own work has received support from the Jerome Foundation, the Greenwall Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and Dixon Place. She was given four Mondo Cane! commissions from 2002-2011 for The Wytche of Problymm Plantation, Crime or Emergency, Potatoes of August, and The Secret Death of Puppets). She received an MAP Fund grant for her collaboration with Elevator Repair Service (Fondly, Collette Richland) at New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW), a 2018 PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award for American Playwright at Mid-Career (specifically honoring “her fine craft, intertextual approach, and her body of work, including Crime or Emergency and Let Us Now Praise Susan Sontag”), and a 2014 USA Artists Rockefeller fellowship with NYTW and director Sarah Benson. She received a 2013 Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation commission for Kyckling and Screaming (a translation/adaptation of Ibsen's The Wild Duck), a 2013-14 McKnight National residency and commission for a new play (The Securely Conferred, Vouchsafed Keepsakes of Maery S.), a New Dramatists/Full Stage USA commission for a devised piece (From the Pig Pile: The Requisite Gesture(s) of Narrow Approach), and a National Presenters Network Creation Fund Award for the same project. Her second collaboration with David Neumann/Advanced Beginner Group, I Understand Everything Better, received a Bessie Award for Outstanding Production in 2015; the first was Restless Eye at New York Live Arts in 2012. Current and upcoming projects include a new opera with David Lang for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston for 2018, Sasquatch Rituals at The Kitchen in April 2018, and The Securely Conferred, Vouchsafed Keepsakes of Maery S. Kempson is a MacDowell Colony fellow; a member of New Dramatists; a USA Artists Rockefeller fellow; an artist-in-residence at the Abrons Arts Center; a 2014 nominee for the Doris Duke Impact Award, the Laurents Hatcher Award, and the Herb Alpert Award; and a New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect. Her plays are published by 53rd State Press, PLAY: Journal of Plays, and Performance & Art Journal (PAJ). Kempson launched the 7 Daughters of Eve Theater & Performance Co. in April 2015 at the Martin E. Segal Center at the City University of New York. The company's inaugural production, Let Us Now Praise Susan Sontag, premiered at Abrons Arts Center in New York City. A new piece, Public People's Enemy, was presented in October 2018 at the Ibsen Awards and Conference in Ibsen's hometown of Skien, Norway. 12 Shouts to the Ten Forgotten Heavens, a three-year cycle of rituals for the Whitney Museum of American Art in the Meatpacking District of New York City, began on the vernal equinox in March 2016 to recur on each solstice and equinox through December 2018

It's another (Lewis) Milestone milestone film! In this episode we take a look at Outstanding Production nominee The Front Page, which was famously adapted into the screwball comedy classic His Girl Friday. Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

In our second film review for Season 4, we take a look at Outstanding Production nominee East Lynne, based on Ellen Wood's best-selling 1861 novel. This is nearly a lost film, since the single copy in existence is only available for viewing via appointment at UCLA. We had to resort to watching a low-quality pirated version on YouTube. You're going to have to listen to find out what we think!Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

That's right! Today we have a special BONUS episode, covering Tod Browning's Dracula. This horror classic actually had its general release on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1931…93 years ago today! It fits right in with our regular Oscar timeline, but this movie is different…it wasn't nominated for Outstanding Production, and, in fact, wasn't nominated for any Academy Awards at all. So why are we discussing it? Because Dracula, made at the same time as our nominees this season, has managed to outshine all of them in the annals of history, and has a staying power in our cultural consciousness that defies subjective awards shows.We had intended this to be a “mini-episode”--but the movie is so good it blossomed into a regular “full-length” episode. We have all of our usuals: history timeline, top song of the day, day-of headlines, plot examination, personal reactions, and contemporary and modern reviews (shout out to Roger Ebert). We also have a special guest star: Sara's daughter Keely is back to offer her thoughts–who knew you wanted to know what an 11-year-old thinks about a super old movie? (And you do, her insights might be rather unexpected.)Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

In our first film review for Season 4, we take a look at Outstanding Production winner Cimarron, based on Edna Ferber's best-selling novel. For modern audiences, this polarizing film often jockeys for position with other notorious Best Oscar winner The Broadway Melody as potentially the worst awarded movie. What do Sara and Dad think? You'll have to listen to find out!Our history timeline introduces a new episode feature: Top Song on the day of the film's release. We also have a special announcement at the end of the episode about what is coming next week: a special surprise!Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

Episode 191 of the FULL VOICE Podcast features musical theatre repertoire for young(ish) performers with Nicky Phillips, co-creator of the Tweens n' Teens Songbook. Nicky discusses the inspiration and creative process behind this project. Nicky shares details about her successful online voice studio and gives FULL VOICE Podcast listeners a preview of the exciting new music from the upcoming Tweens 'n Teens Volume Two. The Tweens 'n Teens Songbook https://www.nickyphillips.com/tweensnteenssongbook Nicky's online voice studio www.nickyphillipsvocalstudio.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickyphillips_music/ Songs by Nicky Phillips and Sarah Ziegler featured in this podcast: Julia, You're Fired! featuring Elena Holder Julia for Justice featuring Sophia Manicone (From the upcoming Volume 2) It's Just Not My Thing featuring Sarah Bock Dino Kid featuring Layla Capers About our Guest Nicky Phillips is an award-winning composer, lyricist, and teacher. She is currently a member of the BMI-Lehman Engel Advanced Musical Theatre Workshop, where she was awarded the Jean Banks Award for outstanding achievement in Musical Theatre. An alumnus of the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project, Nicky was mentored by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Craig Carnelia. Her work has been showcased at Lincoln Center, 54 Below, Don't Tell Mama, The Laurie Beechman Theatre, and The New York Theatre Barn. She has had writing residencies at CAP21, the Human Race Theatre Company and was awarded the artist in residence at the Margret and H.A.Rey Center. She was honored to have written an original song for Colm Wilkinson that was featured in Music of the Night-a tribute to Colm Wilkinson. As a musical theatre writer, Nicky's musical works include: The Last Party (Toronto Fringe Festival); Rey Of Light (ASCAP Stephen Schwartz Workshop, Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals, CMTP); In Between (Bravo Academy); Stagefright (Prospect Theatre Musical Theatre Lab); Becoming Tussaud (In Development); Bus Trip (BMI); contributed material to Touch Me: Songs for a (dis)Connected Age (Forte Musical Theatre Guild); In Flanders Fields (First commissioned and produced by Smile Theatre Company,  additional productions at Golden Apple Theatre and Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary where it was nominated for a Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Production). As a composer for the theatre, Nicky has written music for the following plays: The Snow Queen (Theatre New Brunswick); Buyer and Cellar (Alberta Theatre Projects); Old Man And The River (Theatre Direct); Jane Eyre, The Penelopiad and The 39 Steps, (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre). She is a proud member of ASCAP where she was awarded a 2018 ASCAP Plus Award. When not writing, Nicky is teaching private voice lessons to singers around the county in her online studio!

In this episode we wrap up the 3rd Academy Awards, giving a quick rundown of all 5 films nominated for the top award, Outstanding Production.In addition to revisiting some of the historical context of the time, Sara provides insight into the novel Ex-Wife, on which nominee The Divorcee was based. We give our personal favorites and personal worsts, which might surprise you considering our effusive praise of Oscar winner All Quiet on the Western Front. And finally, we view the nominees as Oscar Bridesmaids, and bestow runner-up awards. You don't want to miss it!Book mentioned by Dad:Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies, editor Mark Carnes (a Society of American Historians book)Please leave us a review wherever you are listening!Email us rants as well as raves: sheacinema@gmail.comYou can also find us on Instagram (and now Twitter/X): @sheacinema

In our third official movie review episode Sara and Dad watch and analyze the winner of the first Academy Award for Outstanding Production, Wings. Released on August 12, 1927 (just a few months after7th Heaven), Wings astounded audiences with its stunning engineering effects and matter-of-fact look at the tragedies of war.All of the flying in the film is REAL (the actors are flying the planes--just like Tom Cruise!), and what quietly happens while the characters face death is quite real too. CONTENT WARNING: Sara and Dad talk about their own personal experiences of losing a loved one in combat. Find us on Instagram! @sheacinema

Back to the 30's we go, this time talking Cavalcade, the Outstanding Production of the 1934 Oscar Ceremony

Genevieve Adam is a graduate of the George Brown Theatre School in Toronto and holds an MFA from the East15 Acting School in the UK.Selected acting credits include Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (CBS), The Big Cigar (AppleTV), Mrs. America (FX), The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu), Stag&Doe (Capitol Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Theatre By the Bay), Annabel (BBC4), Measure for Measure (Thought for Food) and Recall (Toronto Fringe) - for which she was nominated as Outstanding Actress in the 2017 MyEntWorld Critics' Pick Awards. Her first play Deceitful Above All Things premiered at SummerWorks in 2015 and won several accolades including Outstanding New Play, Outstanding Production, and Best Emerging Artist. It was remounted at the Factory in association with The Storefront Theatre in February 2017.Subsequent plays include Bedsport (Newmarket National Play Festival), New World (Future Theatre Festival), Anatomy of A Dancer (Next Stage 2019), The Boat Show (Lost Souls' Collective), and If The Shoe Fits, which won second place in the Toronto Fringe 2019 New Writing Contest.Her most recent play Dark Heart was named one of the top theatrical productions of 2018 by the Toronto Star.Genevieve is part of the 2023 Creator's Units at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope and the Guild Festival Theatre in Toronto.She is also the poet behind the whimsical #haikusofthepandemic series. www.genevieveadam.com Twitter: @FavourZeeBrave Support Stageworthy Donate: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy

Welcome to our first episode of the new year, which is also our first episode of Season 5. Thank you for continuing to join us on this amazing journey. On today's episode, we head back to Christmas of 1980, when pop music superstar Neil Diamond would be making his feature acting debut in a new version of The Jazz Singer. ----more---- EPISODE TRANSCRIPT From Los Angeles, California, the entertainment capital of the world, this is The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today.   It's 2023, which means we are starting our fifth season. And for our first episode of this new season, we're going back to the end of 1980, to take a look back at what was supposed to be the launch of a new phase in the career of one of music's biggest stars. That musical star was Neil Diamond, and this would end up becoming his one and only attempt to act in a motion picture.   We're talking about The Jazz Singer.   As I have said time and time again, I don't really have a plan for this show. I talk about the movies and subjects I talk about often on a whim. I'll hear about something and I'll be reminded of something, and a few days later, I've got an episode researched, written, recorded, edited and out there in the world. As I was working on the previous episode, about The War of the Roses just before my trip to Thailand, I saw a video of Neil Diamond singing Sweet Caroline on opening night of A Beautiful Noise, a new Broadway musical about the life and music of Mr. Diamond. I hadn't noticed Diamond had stopped performing live five years earlier due to a diagnosis of Parkinson's, and it was very touching to watch a thousand people joyously singing along with the man.   But as I was watching that video, I was reminded of The Jazz Singer, a movie we previously covered very lightly three years ago as part of our episode on the distribution company Associated Film Distribution. I was reminded that I haven't seen the movie in over forty years, even though I remember rather enjoying it when it opened in theatres in December 1980. I think I saw it four or five times over the course of a month, and I even went out and bought the soundtrack album, which I easily listened to a hundred times before the start of summer.   But we're getting ahead of ourselves yet again.   The Jazz Singer began its life in 1917, when Samson Raphaelson, a twenty-three year old undergraduate at the University of Illinois, attended a performance of Robinson Crusoe, Jr., in Champaign, IL. The star of that show was thirty-year-old Al Jolson, a Russian-born Jew who had been a popular performer on Broadway stages for fifteen years by this point, regularly performing in blackface. After graduation, Raphaelson would become an advertising executive in New York City, but on the side, he would write stories. One short story, called “The Day of Atonement,” would be a thinly fictionalized account of Al Jolson's life. It would be published in Everybody's Magazine in January 1922.   At the encouragement of his secretary at the advertising firm, Raphaelson would adapted his story into a play, which would be produced on Broadway in September 1925 with a new title…   The Jazz Singer.   Ironically, for a Broadway show based on the early life of Al Jolson, Jolson was not a part of the production. The part of Jake Rabinowitz, the son of a cantor who finds success on Broadway with the Anglicized named Jack Robin, would be played by George Jessel. The play would be a minor hit, running for 303 performances on Broadway before closing in June 1926, and Warner Brothers would buy the movie rights the same week the show closed. George Jessel would be signed to play his stage role in the movie version. The film was scheduled to go into production in May 1927.   There are a number of reasons why Jessel would not end up making the movie. After the success of two Warner movies in 1926 using Vitaphone, a sound-on-disc system that could play music synchronized to a motion picture, Warner Brothers reconcieved The Jazz Singer as a sound movie, but not just a movie with music synchronized to the images on screen, but a “talkie,” where, for the first time for a motion picture, actual dialogue and vocal songs would be synchronized to the pictures on screen. When he learned about this development, Jessel demanded more money.    The Warner Brothers refused.   Then Jessel had some concerns about the solvency of the studio. These would be valid concerns, as Harry Warner, the eldest of the four eponymous brothers who ran the studio, had sold nearly $4m worth of his personal stock to keep the company afloat just a few months earlier.   But what ended up driving Jessel away was a major change screenwriter Alfred A. Cohen made when adapting the original story and the play into the screenplay. Instead of leaving the theatre and becoming a cantor like his father, as it was written for the stage, the movie would end with Jack Robin performing on Broadway in blackface while his mom cheers him on from one of the box seats.   With Jessel off the project, Warner would naturally turn to… Eddie Cantor. Like Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor was a Jew of Russian descent, although, unlike Jolson, he had been born in New York City. Like Jolson, he had been a star on Broadway for years, regularly performing in and writing songs for Florenz Ziegfeld' annual Follies shows. And like Jolson, Cantor would regularly appear on stage in blackface. But Cantor, a friend of Jessel's, instead offered to help the studio get Jessel back on the movie. The studio instead went to their third choice…   Al Jolson.   You know. The guy whose life inspired the darn story to begin with.   Many years later, film historian Robert Carringer would note that, in 1927, George Jessel was a vaudeville comedian with one successful play and one modestly successful movie to his credit, while Jolson was one of the biggest stars in America. In fact, when The Vitaphone Company was trying to convince American studios to try their sound-on-disc system for movies, they would hire Jolson in the fall of 1926 for a ten minute test film. It would be the success of the short film, titled A Plantation Act and featuring Jolson in blackface singing three songs, that would convince Warners to take a chance with The Jazz Singer as the first quote unquote talkie film.   I'll have a link to A Plantation Act on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, if you're interested in seeing it.   Al Jolson signed on to play the character inspired by himself for $75,000 in May 1927, the equivalent to $1.28m today. Filming would be pushed back to June 1927, in part due to Jolson still being on tour with another show until the end of the month. Warners would begin production on the film in New York City in late June, starting with second unit shots of the Lower East Side and The Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway, shooting as much as they could until Jolson arrived on set on July 11th.   Now, while the film has been regularly touted for nearly a century now as the first talking motion picture, the truth is, there's very little verbal dialogue in the film. The vast majority of dialogue in the movie was still handled with the traditional silent movie use of caption cards, and the very few scenes featuring what would be synchronized dialogue were saved for the end of production, due to the complexity of how those scenes would be captured. But the film would finish shooting in mid-September.   The $422k movie would have its world premiere at the Warner Brothers theatre in New York City not three weeks later, on October 6th, 1927, where the film would become a sensation. Sadly, none of the Warner Brothers would attend the premiere, as Sam Warner, the strongest advocate for Vitaphone at the studio, had died of pneumonia the night before the premiere, and his remaining brothers stayed in Los Angeles for the funeral. The reviews were outstanding, and the film would bring more than $2.5m in rental fees back to the studio.   At the first Academy Awards, held in May 1929 to honor the films released between August 1927 and July 1928, The Jazz Singer was deemed ineligible for the two highest awards, Outstanding Production, now known as Best Picture, and Unique and Artistic Production, which would only be awarded this one time, on the grounds that it would have been unfair to a sound picture compete against all the other silent films. Ironically, by the time the second Academy Awards were handed out, in April 1930, silent films would practically be a thing of the past. The success of The Jazz Singer had been that much a tectonic shift in the industry. The film would receive one Oscar nomination, for Alfred Cohn's screenplay adaptation, while the Warner Brothers would be given a special award for producing The Jazz Singer, the “pioneer outstanding talking picture which has revolutionized the industry,” as the inscription on the award read.   There would be a remake of The Jazz Singer produced in 1952, starring Danny Thomas as Korean War veteran who, thankfully, leaves the blackface in the past, and a one-hour television adaptation of the story in 1959, starring Jerry Lewis. And if that sounds strange to you, Jerry Lewis, at the height of his post-Lewis and Martin success, playing a man torn between his desire to be a successful performer and his shattered relationship with his cantor father… well, you can see it for yourself, if you desire, on the page for this episode on our website. It is as strange as it sounds.   At this point, we're going to fast forward a number of years in our story.   In the 1970s, Neil Diamond became one of the biggest musical stars in America. While he wanted to be a singer, Diamond would get his first big success in music in the 1960s as a songwriter, including writing two songs that would become big hits for The Monkees: I'm a Believer and A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You.   And really quickly, let me throw out a weird coincidence here… Bob Rafelson, the creator of The Monkees who would go on to produce and/or direct such films as Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces, was the nephew of Samson Raphaelson, the man who wrote the original story on which The Jazz Singer is based.   Anyway, after finding success as a songwriter, Diamond would become a major singing star with hits like Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon, Sweet Caroline, and Song Sung Blue. And in another weird coincidence, by 1972, Neil Diamond would become the first performer since Al Jolson to stage a one-man show at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway.   By 1976, Neil Diamond is hosting specials on television, and one person who would see one of Diamond's television specials was a guy named Jerry Leider, an executive at Warner Brothers in charge of foreign feature production. Leider sees something in Diamond that just night be suited for the movies, not unlike Elvis Presley or Barbra Streisand, who in 1976 just happens to be the star of a remake of A Star Is Born for Warner Brothers that is cleaning up at the box office and at records stores nationwide. Leider is so convinced Neil Diamond has that X Factor, that unquantifiable thing that turns mere mortals into superstars, that Leider quits his job at Warners to start his own movie production company, wrestling the story rights to The Jazz Singer from Warner Brothers and United Artists, both of whom claimed ownership of the story, so he can make his own version with Diamond as the star.   So, naturally, a former Warners Brothers executive wanting to remake one of the most iconic movies in the Warner Brothers library is going to set it up at Warner Brothers, right?   Nope!   In the fall of 1977, Leider makes a deal with MGM to make the movie. Diamond signs on to play the lead, even before a script is written, and screenwriter Stephen H. Foreman is brought in to update the vaudeville-based original story into the modern day while incorporating Diamond's strengths as a songwriter to inform the story. But just before the film was set to shoot in September 1978, MGM would drop the movie, as some executives were worried the film would be perceived as being, and I am quoting Mr. Foreman here, “too Jewish.”   American Film Distribution, the American distribution arm of British production companies ITC and EMI, would pick the film up in turnaround, and set a May 1979 production start date. Sidney J. Furie, the Canadian filmmaker who had directed Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues, would be hired to direct, and Jacqueline Bisset was pursued to play the lead female role, but her agent priced their client out of the running. Deborah Raffin would be cast instead. And to help bring the kids in, the producers would sign Sir Laurence Olivier to play Diamond's father, Cantor Rabinovitch. Sir Larry would get a cool million dollars for ten weeks of work.   There would, as always is with the case of making movies, be setbacks that would further delay the start of production. First, Diamond would hurt his back at the end of 1978, and needed to go in for surgery in early January 1979. Although Diamond had already written and recorded all the music that was going to be used in the movie, AFD considered replacing Diamond with Barry Manilow, who had also never starred in a movie before, but they would stick with their original star.   After nearly a year of rest, Diamond was ready to begin, and cameras would roll on the $10m production on January 7th, 1980. And, as always is with the case of making movies, there would be more setbacks as soon as production began. Diamond, uniquely aware of just how little training he had as an actor, struggled to find his place on set, especially when working with an actor of Sir Laurence Olivier's stature. Director Furie, who was never satisfied with the screenplay, ordered writer Foreman to come up with new scenes that would help lessen the burden Diamond was placing on himself and the production. The writer would balk at almost every single suggestion, and eventually walked off the film.   Herbert Baker, an old school screenwriter who had worked on several of the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis movies, was brought in to punch up the script, but he would end up completely rewriting the film, even though the movie had been in production for a few weeks. Baker and Furie would spend every moment the director wasn't actively working on set reworking the story, changing the Deborah Raffin character so much she would leave the production. Her friend Lucie Arnaz, the daughter of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, would take over the role, after Cher, Liza Minnelli and Donna Summer were considered.   Sensing an out of control production, Sir Lew Grade, the British media titan owner of AFD, decided a change was needed. He would shut the production down on March 3rd, 1980, and fire director Furie. While Baker continued to work on the script, Sir Grade would find a new director in Richard Fleischer, the journeyman filmmaker whose credits in the 1950s and 1960s included such films as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Compulsion, Fantastic Voyage and Doctor Doolittle, but had fallen out of favor with most studios after a string of flops. In fact, this would be the second film in a year where Fleischer was hired to replace another director during the middle of production, having replaced Richard C. Sarafian on the action-adventure film Ashanti in 1979.   With Fleischer aboard, production on The Jazz Singer would resume in late March, and there was an immediate noticeable difference on set. Where Furie and many members of the crew would regularly defer to Diamond due to his stature as an entertainer, letting the singer spiral out of control if things weren't working right, Fleischer would calm the actor down and help work him back into the scene. Except for one scene, set in a recording studio, where Diamond's character needed to explode into anger. After a few takes that didn't go as well as he hoped, Diamond went into the recording booth where his movie band was stationed while Fleischer was resetting the shot, when the director noticed Diamond working himself into a rage. The director called “action,” and Diamond nailed the take as needed. When the director asked Diamond how he got to that moment, the singer said he was frustrated with himself that he wasn't hitting the scene right, and asked the band to play something that would make him angry. The band obliged.    What did they play?   A Barry Manilow song.   Despite the recasting of the leading female role, a change of director and a number of rewrites by two different writers during the production, the film was able to finish shooting at the end of April with only $3m added to the budget.   Associated Film would set a December 19th, 1980 release date for the film, while Capitol Records, owned at the time by EMI, would release the first single from the soundtrack, a soft-rock ballad called Love on the Rocks, in October, with the full soundtrack album arriving in stores a month later.   As expected for a new Neil Diamond song, Love on the Rocks was an immediate hit, climbing the charts all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.   Several days before the film opened in 241 theatres on December 19th, there was a huge, star-studded premiere at the Plitt Century Plaza Cinemas in Los Angeles. Peter Falk, Harvey Korman, Ed McMahon, Gregory Peck, Cesar Romero and Jon Voight were just a handful of the Hollywood community who came out to attend what was one of the biggest Hollywood premieres in years. That would seem to project a confidence in the movie from the distributor's standpoint.   Or so you'd think.   But as it turned out, The Jazz Singer was one of three movies Associated Film would release that day. Along with The Jazz Singer, they would release the British mystery film The Mirror Crack'd starring Angela Lansbury and Elizabeth Taylor, and the Richard Donner drama Inside Moves. Of the three movies, The Jazz Singer would gross the most that weekend, pulling in a modest $1.167m, versus The Mirror Crack'd's $608k from 340 screens, and Inside Moves's $201k from 67 screens.   But compared to Clint Eastwood's Any Which Way You Can, the Richard Pryor/Gene Wilder comedy Stir Crazy, and Dolly Parton/Lily Tomlin/Jane Fonda comedy 9 to 5, it wasn't the best opening they could hope for.   But the film would continue to play… well, if not exceptional, at least it would hold on to its intended audience for a while. Sensing the film needed some help, Capitol Records released a second single from the soundtrack, another power ballad called Hello Again, in January 1981, which would become yet another top ten hit for Diamond. A third single, the pro-immigration power-pop song America, would arrive in April 1981 and go to number eight on the charts, but by then, the film was out of theatres with a respectable $27.12m in tickets sold.   Contemporary reviews of the film were rather negative, especially towards Diamond as an actor. Roger Ebert noted in his review that there were so many things wrong in the film that the review was threatening to become a list of cinematic atrocities. His review buddy Gene Siskel did praise Lucie Arnaz's performance, while pointing out how out of touch the new story was with the immigrant story told by the original film. Many critics would also point out the cringe-worthy homage to the original film, where Diamond unnecessarily performs in blackface, as well as Olivier's overacting.   I recently watched the film for the first time since 1981, and it's not a great movie by any measurable metric. Diamond isn't as bad an actor as the reviews make him out to be, especially considering he's essentially playing an altered version of himself, a successful pop singer, and Lucie Arnaz is fairly good. The single best performance in the film comes from Caitlin Adams, playing Jess's wife Rivka, who, for me, is the emotional center of the film. And yes, Olivier really goes all-in on the scenery chewing. At times, it's truly painful to watch this great actor spin out of control.   There would be a few awards nominations for the film, including acting nominations for Diamond and Arnaz at the 1981 Golden Globes, and a Grammy nomination for Best Soundtrack Album, but most of its quote unquote awards would come from the atrocious Golden Raspberry organization, which would name Diamond the Worst Actor of the year and Olivier the Worst Supporting Actor during its first quote unquote ceremony, which was held in some guy's living room.   Ironically but not so surprisingly, while the film would be vaguely profitable for its producers, it would be the soundtrack to the movie that would bring in the lion's share of the profits. On top of three hit singles, the soundtrack album would sell more than five million copies just in the United States in 1980 and 1981, and would also go platinum in Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. While he would earn less than half a million dollars from the film, Diamond's cut of the soundtrack would net him a dollar per unit sold, earning him more than ten times his salary as an actor.   And although I fancied myself a punk and new wave kid at the end of 1980, I bought the soundtrack to The Jazz Singer, ostensibly as a gift for my mom, who loved Neil Diamond, but I easily wore out the grooves of the album listening to it over and over again. Of the ten new songs he wrote for the soundtrack, there's a good two or three additional tracks that weren't released as singles, including a short little ragtime-inspired ditty called On the Robert E. Lee, but America is the one song from the soundtrack I am still drawn to today. It's a weirdly uplifting song with its rhythmic “today” chants that end the song that just makes me feel good despite its inherent cheesiness.   After The Jazz Singer, Neil Diamond would only appear as himself in a film. Lucie Arnaz would never quite have much of a career after the film, although she would work quote regularly in television during the 80s and 90s, including a short stint as the star of The Lucie Arnaz Show, which lasted six episodes in 1985 before being cancelled. Laurence Olivier would continue to play supporting roles in a series of not so great motion pictures and television movies and miniseries for several more years, until his passing in 1989. And director Richard Fleischer would make several bad movies, including Red Sonja and Million Dollar Mystery, until he retired from filmmaking in 1987.   As we noted in our February 2020 episode about AFD, the act of releasing three movies on the same day was a last, desperate move in order to pump some much needed capital into the company. And while The Jazz Singer would bring some money in, that wasn't enough to cover the losses from the other two movies released the same day, or several other underperforming films released earlier in the year such as the infamous Village People movie Can't Stop the Music and Raise the Titanic. Sir Lew Grade would close AFD down in early 1981, and sell several movies that were completed, in production or in pre-production to Universal Studios. Ironically, those movies might have saved the company had they been able to hang on a little longer, as they included such films as The Dark Crystal, Frances, On Golden Pond, Sophie's Choice and Tender Mercies.   Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again soon, when Episode 99 is released.   Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about Neil Diamond and The Jazz Singer.   The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment.   Thank you again.   Good night.

Welcome to our first episode of the new year, which is also our first episode of Season 5. Thank you for continuing to join us on this amazing journey. On today's episode, we head back to Christmas of 1980, when pop music superstar Neil Diamond would be making his feature acting debut in a new version of The Jazz Singer. ----more---- EPISODE TRANSCRIPT From Los Angeles, California, the entertainment capital of the world, this is The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today.   It's 2023, which means we are starting our fifth season. And for our first episode of this new season, we're going back to the end of 1980, to take a look back at what was supposed to be the launch of a new phase in the career of one of music's biggest stars. That musical star was Neil Diamond, and this would end up becoming his one and only attempt to act in a motion picture.   We're talking about The Jazz Singer.   As I have said time and time again, I don't really have a plan for this show. I talk about the movies and subjects I talk about often on a whim. I'll hear about something and I'll be reminded of something, and a few days later, I've got an episode researched, written, recorded, edited and out there in the world. As I was working on the previous episode, about The War of the Roses just before my trip to Thailand, I saw a video of Neil Diamond singing Sweet Caroline on opening night of A Beautiful Noise, a new Broadway musical about the life and music of Mr. Diamond. I hadn't noticed Diamond had stopped performing live five years earlier due to a diagnosis of Parkinson's, and it was very touching to watch a thousand people joyously singing along with the man.   But as I was watching that video, I was reminded of The Jazz Singer, a movie we previously covered very lightly three years ago as part of our episode on the distribution company Associated Film Distribution. I was reminded that I haven't seen the movie in over forty years, even though I remember rather enjoying it when it opened in theatres in December 1980. I think I saw it four or five times over the course of a month, and I even went out and bought the soundtrack album, which I easily listened to a hundred times before the start of summer.   But we're getting ahead of ourselves yet again.   The Jazz Singer began its life in 1917, when Samson Raphaelson, a twenty-three year old undergraduate at the University of Illinois, attended a performance of Robinson Crusoe, Jr., in Champaign, IL. The star of that show was thirty-year-old Al Jolson, a Russian-born Jew who had been a popular performer on Broadway stages for fifteen years by this point, regularly performing in blackface. After graduation, Raphaelson would become an advertising executive in New York City, but on the side, he would write stories. One short story, called “The Day of Atonement,” would be a thinly fictionalized account of Al Jolson's life. It would be published in Everybody's Magazine in January 1922.   At the encouragement of his secretary at the advertising firm, Raphaelson would adapted his story into a play, which would be produced on Broadway in September 1925 with a new title…   The Jazz Singer.   Ironically, for a Broadway show based on the early life of Al Jolson, Jolson was not a part of the production. The part of Jake Rabinowitz, the son of a cantor who finds success on Broadway with the Anglicized named Jack Robin, would be played by George Jessel. The play would be a minor hit, running for 303 performances on Broadway before closing in June 1926, and Warner Brothers would buy the movie rights the same week the show closed. George Jessel would be signed to play his stage role in the movie version. The film was scheduled to go into production in May 1927.   There are a number of reasons why Jessel would not end up making the movie. After the success of two Warner movies in 1926 using Vitaphone, a sound-on-disc system that could play music synchronized to a motion picture, Warner Brothers reconcieved The Jazz Singer as a sound movie, but not just a movie with music synchronized to the images on screen, but a “talkie,” where, for the first time for a motion picture, actual dialogue and vocal songs would be synchronized to the pictures on screen. When he learned about this development, Jessel demanded more money.    The Warner Brothers refused.   Then Jessel had some concerns about the solvency of the studio. These would be valid concerns, as Harry Warner, the eldest of the four eponymous brothers who ran the studio, had sold nearly $4m worth of his personal stock to keep the company afloat just a few months earlier.   But what ended up driving Jessel away was a major change screenwriter Alfred A. Cohen made when adapting the original story and the play into the screenplay. Instead of leaving the theatre and becoming a cantor like his father, as it was written for the stage, the movie would end with Jack Robin performing on Broadway in blackface while his mom cheers him on from one of the box seats.   With Jessel off the project, Warner would naturally turn to… Eddie Cantor. Like Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor was a Jew of Russian descent, although, unlike Jolson, he had been born in New York City. Like Jolson, he had been a star on Broadway for years, regularly performing in and writing songs for Florenz Ziegfeld' annual Follies shows. And like Jolson, Cantor would regularly appear on stage in blackface. But Cantor, a friend of Jessel's, instead offered to help the studio get Jessel back on the movie. The studio instead went to their third choice…   Al Jolson.   You know. The guy whose life inspired the darn story to begin with.   Many years later, film historian Robert Carringer would note that, in 1927, George Jessel was a vaudeville comedian with one successful play and one modestly successful movie to his credit, while Jolson was one of the biggest stars in America. In fact, when The Vitaphone Company was trying to convince American studios to try their sound-on-disc system for movies, they would hire Jolson in the fall of 1926 for a ten minute test film. It would be the success of the short film, titled A Plantation Act and featuring Jolson in blackface singing three songs, that would convince Warners to take a chance with The Jazz Singer as the first quote unquote talkie film.   I'll have a link to A Plantation Act on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, if you're interested in seeing it.   Al Jolson signed on to play the character inspired by himself for $75,000 in May 1927, the equivalent to $1.28m today. Filming would be pushed back to June 1927, in part due to Jolson still being on tour with another show until the end of the month. Warners would begin production on the film in New York City in late June, starting with second unit shots of the Lower East Side and The Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway, shooting as much as they could until Jolson arrived on set on July 11th.   Now, while the film has been regularly touted for nearly a century now as the first talking motion picture, the truth is, there's very little verbal dialogue in the film. The vast majority of dialogue in the movie was still handled with the traditional silent movie use of caption cards, and the very few scenes featuring what would be synchronized dialogue were saved for the end of production, due to the complexity of how those scenes would be captured. But the film would finish shooting in mid-September.   The $422k movie would have its world premiere at the Warner Brothers theatre in New York City not three weeks later, on October 6th, 1927, where the film would become a sensation. Sadly, none of the Warner Brothers would attend the premiere, as Sam Warner, the strongest advocate for Vitaphone at the studio, had died of pneumonia the night before the premiere, and his remaining brothers stayed in Los Angeles for the funeral. The reviews were outstanding, and the film would bring more than $2.5m in rental fees back to the studio.   At the first Academy Awards, held in May 1929 to honor the films released between August 1927 and July 1928, The Jazz Singer was deemed ineligible for the two highest awards, Outstanding Production, now known as Best Picture, and Unique and Artistic Production, which would only be awarded this one time, on the grounds that it would have been unfair to a sound picture compete against all the other silent films. Ironically, by the time the second Academy Awards were handed out, in April 1930, silent films would practically be a thing of the past. The success of The Jazz Singer had been that much a tectonic shift in the industry. The film would receive one Oscar nomination, for Alfred Cohn's screenplay adaptation, while the Warner Brothers would be given a special award for producing The Jazz Singer, the “pioneer outstanding talking picture which has revolutionized the industry,” as the inscription on the award read.   There would be a remake of The Jazz Singer produced in 1952, starring Danny Thomas as Korean War veteran who, thankfully, leaves the blackface in the past, and a one-hour television adaptation of the story in 1959, starring Jerry Lewis. And if that sounds strange to you, Jerry Lewis, at the height of his post-Lewis and Martin success, playing a man torn between his desire to be a successful performer and his shattered relationship with his cantor father… well, you can see it for yourself, if you desire, on the page for this episode on our website. It is as strange as it sounds.   At this point, we're going to fast forward a number of years in our story.   In the 1970s, Neil Diamond became one of the biggest musical stars in America. While he wanted to be a singer, Diamond would get his first big success in music in the 1960s as a songwriter, including writing two songs that would become big hits for The Monkees: I'm a Believer and A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You.   And really quickly, let me throw out a weird coincidence here… Bob Rafelson, the creator of The Monkees who would go on to produce and/or direct such films as Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces, was the nephew of Samson Raphaelson, the man who wrote the original story on which The Jazz Singer is based.   Anyway, after finding success as a songwriter, Diamond would become a major singing star with hits like Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon, Sweet Caroline, and Song Sung Blue. And in another weird coincidence, by 1972, Neil Diamond would become the first performer since Al Jolson to stage a one-man show at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway.   By 1976, Neil Diamond is hosting specials on television, and one person who would see one of Diamond's television specials was a guy named Jerry Leider, an executive at Warner Brothers in charge of foreign feature production. Leider sees something in Diamond that just night be suited for the movies, not unlike Elvis Presley or Barbra Streisand, who in 1976 just happens to be the star of a remake of A Star Is Born for Warner Brothers that is cleaning up at the box office and at records stores nationwide. Leider is so convinced Neil Diamond has that X Factor, that unquantifiable thing that turns mere mortals into superstars, that Leider quits his job at Warners to start his own movie production company, wrestling the story rights to The Jazz Singer from Warner Brothers and United Artists, both of whom claimed ownership of the story, so he can make his own version with Diamond as the star.   So, naturally, a former Warners Brothers executive wanting to remake one of the most iconic movies in the Warner Brothers library is going to set it up at Warner Brothers, right?   Nope!   In the fall of 1977, Leider makes a deal with MGM to make the movie. Diamond signs on to play the lead, even before a script is written, and screenwriter Stephen H. Foreman is brought in to update the vaudeville-based original story into the modern day while incorporating Diamond's strengths as a songwriter to inform the story. But just before the film was set to shoot in September 1978, MGM would drop the movie, as some executives were worried the film would be perceived as being, and I am quoting Mr. Foreman here, “too Jewish.”   American Film Distribution, the American distribution arm of British production companies ITC and EMI, would pick the film up in turnaround, and set a May 1979 production start date. Sidney J. Furie, the Canadian filmmaker who had directed Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues, would be hired to direct, and Jacqueline Bisset was pursued to play the lead female role, but her agent priced their client out of the running. Deborah Raffin would be cast instead. And to help bring the kids in, the producers would sign Sir Laurence Olivier to play Diamond's father, Cantor Rabinovitch. Sir Larry would get a cool million dollars for ten weeks of work.   There would, as always is with the case of making movies, be setbacks that would further delay the start of production. First, Diamond would hurt his back at the end of 1978, and needed to go in for surgery in early January 1979. Although Diamond had already written and recorded all the music that was going to be used in the movie, AFD considered replacing Diamond with Barry Manilow, who had also never starred in a movie before, but they would stick with their original star.   After nearly a year of rest, Diamond was ready to begin, and cameras would roll on the $10m production on January 7th, 1980. And, as always is with the case of making movies, there would be more setbacks as soon as production began. Diamond, uniquely aware of just how little training he had as an actor, struggled to find his place on set, especially when working with an actor of Sir Laurence Olivier's stature. Director Furie, who was never satisfied with the screenplay, ordered writer Foreman to come up with new scenes that would help lessen the burden Diamond was placing on himself and the production. The writer would balk at almost every single suggestion, and eventually walked off the film.   Herbert Baker, an old school screenwriter who had worked on several of the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis movies, was brought in to punch up the script, but he would end up completely rewriting the film, even though the movie had been in production for a few weeks. Baker and Furie would spend every moment the director wasn't actively working on set reworking the story, changing the Deborah Raffin character so much she would leave the production. Her friend Lucie Arnaz, the daughter of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, would take over the role, after Cher, Liza Minnelli and Donna Summer were considered.   Sensing an out of control production, Sir Lew Grade, the British media titan owner of AFD, decided a change was needed. He would shut the production down on March 3rd, 1980, and fire director Furie. While Baker continued to work on the script, Sir Grade would find a new director in Richard Fleischer, the journeyman filmmaker whose credits in the 1950s and 1960s included such films as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Compulsion, Fantastic Voyage and Doctor Doolittle, but had fallen out of favor with most studios after a string of flops. In fact, this would be the second film in a year where Fleischer was hired to replace another director during the middle of production, having replaced Richard C. Sarafian on the action-adventure film Ashanti in 1979.   With Fleischer aboard, production on The Jazz Singer would resume in late March, and there was an immediate noticeable difference on set. Where Furie and many members of the crew would regularly defer to Diamond due to his stature as an entertainer, letting the singer spiral out of control if things weren't working right, Fleischer would calm the actor down and help work him back into the scene. Except for one scene, set in a recording studio, where Diamond's character needed to explode into anger. After a few takes that didn't go as well as he hoped, Diamond went into the recording booth where his movie band was stationed while Fleischer was resetting the shot, when the director noticed Diamond working himself into a rage. The director called “action,” and Diamond nailed the take as needed. When the director asked Diamond how he got to that moment, the singer said he was frustrated with himself that he wasn't hitting the scene right, and asked the band to play something that would make him angry. The band obliged.    What did they play?   A Barry Manilow song.   Despite the recasting of the leading female role, a change of director and a number of rewrites by two different writers during the production, the film was able to finish shooting at the end of April with only $3m added to the budget.   Associated Film would set a December 19th, 1980 release date for the film, while Capitol Records, owned at the time by EMI, would release the first single from the soundtrack, a soft-rock ballad called Love on the Rocks, in October, with the full soundtrack album arriving in stores a month later.   As expected for a new Neil Diamond song, Love on the Rocks was an immediate hit, climbing the charts all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.   Several days before the film opened in 241 theatres on December 19th, there was a huge, star-studded premiere at the Plitt Century Plaza Cinemas in Los Angeles. Peter Falk, Harvey Korman, Ed McMahon, Gregory Peck, Cesar Romero and Jon Voight were just a handful of the Hollywood community who came out to attend what was one of the biggest Hollywood premieres in years. That would seem to project a confidence in the movie from the distributor's standpoint.   Or so you'd think.   But as it turned out, The Jazz Singer was one of three movies Associated Film would release that day. Along with The Jazz Singer, they would release the British mystery film The Mirror Crack'd starring Angela Lansbury and Elizabeth Taylor, and the Richard Donner drama Inside Moves. Of the three movies, The Jazz Singer would gross the most that weekend, pulling in a modest $1.167m, versus The Mirror Crack'd's $608k from 340 screens, and Inside Moves's $201k from 67 screens.   But compared to Clint Eastwood's Any Which Way You Can, the Richard Pryor/Gene Wilder comedy Stir Crazy, and Dolly Parton/Lily Tomlin/Jane Fonda comedy 9 to 5, it wasn't the best opening they could hope for.   But the film would continue to play… well, if not exceptional, at least it would hold on to its intended audience for a while. Sensing the film needed some help, Capitol Records released a second single from the soundtrack, another power ballad called Hello Again, in January 1981, which would become yet another top ten hit for Diamond. A third single, the pro-immigration power-pop song America, would arrive in April 1981 and go to number eight on the charts, but by then, the film was out of theatres with a respectable $27.12m in tickets sold.   Contemporary reviews of the film were rather negative, especially towards Diamond as an actor. Roger Ebert noted in his review that there were so many things wrong in the film that the review was threatening to become a list of cinematic atrocities. His review buddy Gene Siskel did praise Lucie Arnaz's performance, while pointing out how out of touch the new story was with the immigrant story told by the original film. Many critics would also point out the cringe-worthy homage to the original film, where Diamond unnecessarily performs in blackface, as well as Olivier's overacting.   I recently watched the film for the first time since 1981, and it's not a great movie by any measurable metric. Diamond isn't as bad an actor as the reviews make him out to be, especially considering he's essentially playing an altered version of himself, a successful pop singer, and Lucie Arnaz is fairly good. The single best performance in the film comes from Caitlin Adams, playing Jess's wife Rivka, who, for me, is the emotional center of the film. And yes, Olivier really goes all-in on the scenery chewing. At times, it's truly painful to watch this great actor spin out of control.   There would be a few awards nominations for the film, including acting nominations for Diamond and Arnaz at the 1981 Golden Globes, and a Grammy nomination for Best Soundtrack Album, but most of its quote unquote awards would come from the atrocious Golden Raspberry organization, which would name Diamond the Worst Actor of the year and Olivier the Worst Supporting Actor during its first quote unquote ceremony, which was held in some guy's living room.   Ironically but not so surprisingly, while the film would be vaguely profitable for its producers, it would be the soundtrack to the movie that would bring in the lion's share of the profits. On top of three hit singles, the soundtrack album would sell more than five million copies just in the United States in 1980 and 1981, and would also go platinum in Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. While he would earn less than half a million dollars from the film, Diamond's cut of the soundtrack would net him a dollar per unit sold, earning him more than ten times his salary as an actor.   And although I fancied myself a punk and new wave kid at the end of 1980, I bought the soundtrack to The Jazz Singer, ostensibly as a gift for my mom, who loved Neil Diamond, but I easily wore out the grooves of the album listening to it over and over again. Of the ten new songs he wrote for the soundtrack, there's a good two or three additional tracks that weren't released as singles, including a short little ragtime-inspired ditty called On the Robert E. Lee, but America is the one song from the soundtrack I am still drawn to today. It's a weirdly uplifting song with its rhythmic “today” chants that end the song that just makes me feel good despite its inherent cheesiness.   After The Jazz Singer, Neil Diamond would only appear as himself in a film. Lucie Arnaz would never quite have much of a career after the film, although she would work quote regularly in television during the 80s and 90s, including a short stint as the star of The Lucie Arnaz Show, which lasted six episodes in 1985 before being cancelled. Laurence Olivier would continue to play supporting roles in a series of not so great motion pictures and television movies and miniseries for several more years, until his passing in 1989. And director Richard Fleischer would make several bad movies, including Red Sonja and Million Dollar Mystery, until he retired from filmmaking in 1987.   As we noted in our February 2020 episode about AFD, the act of releasing three movies on the same day was a last, desperate move in order to pump some much needed capital into the company. And while The Jazz Singer would bring some money in, that wasn't enough to cover the losses from the other two movies released the same day, or several other underperforming films released earlier in the year such as the infamous Village People movie Can't Stop the Music and Raise the Titanic. Sir Lew Grade would close AFD down in early 1981, and sell several movies that were completed, in production or in pre-production to Universal Studios. Ironically, those movies might have saved the company had they been able to hang on a little longer, as they included such films as The Dark Crystal, Frances, On Golden Pond, Sophie's Choice and Tender Mercies.   Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again soon, when Episode 99 is released.   Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about Neil Diamond and The Jazz Singer.   The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment.   Thank you again.   Good night.

It's Mia's 5th pick: The Grapes of Wrath, the 1940 film directed by John Ford. The film is based on John Steinbeck's Pulitzer-prize winning novel, which was also the best-selling novel of that year and was cited as a major part of the basis on which Steinbeck was awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. The politics and story of the book were potentially thorny enough that Daryl F. Zanuck, the famed producer at 20th Century Fox, sent investigators to witness just how bad the situation in Oklahoma actually was so he'd know whether he'd feel equipped to defend the film against any criticism for being potentially pro-Communist. That said, the aforementioned politics and story were still softened somewhat as compared to the book. Ford was coming off a banner year, having directed 3 films in 1939: Stagecoach, Young Mr. Lincoln, and Drums Along the Mohawk – the latter two both with Henry Fonda, who himself had additionally been in 3 other movies in 1939. The film received plenty of rave reviews and accolades including this incredibly laudatory one from Frank Nugent for the New York Times: In the vast library where the celluloid literature of the screen is stored there is one small, uncrowded shelf devoted to the cinema's masterworks, to those films which by dignity of theme and excellence of treatment seem to be of enduring artistry, seem destined to be recalled not merely at the end of their particular year but whenever great motion pictures are mentioned. To that shelf of screen classics Twentieth Century-Fox yesterday added its version of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath… John Ford won a Best Director Oscar for the film, while Jane Darwell won Best Supporting Actress. It was also nominated for Outstanding Production (or what is today called Best Picture), Best Actor (Henry Fonda), Best Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Recording. In more recent years, The Grapes of Wrath was on AFI's 100 Years… 100 Movies list, ranked at #21 in 1998 and then at #23 in 2007. As for our purposes, the movie has never actually appeared in the top 10 of Sight & Sound's critics or directors surveys, but it was a runner up on the very first list back in 1952. In the 2012 polling, it was ranked #183 by critics and #174 by directors – and among the filmmakers who had it on their top 10 lists that year was Lawrence Kasdan. Produced by Stereoactive Media

Today on the podcast, our summer series collaboration with Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance's “RE-START Initiative”, continues with Tiny Dynamite where we explore how the organization has fared during the pandemic. Here is my interview with KC MacMillan, Producing Artistic Director of Tiny Dynamite.It is the mission of Tiny Dynamite to offer audiences new ways to experience theater and artists new ways to create it. We present high-quality plays at modest ticket prices, in an environment that is intimate, social, joyful, and welcoming.Our principal project is A Play, a Pie and a Pint®, a form of theater that breaks down perceptions that the arts are only for special occasions: we offer inventive short plays, in unexpected spaces, served with food and beverages.KC MacMillanPRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTORKathryn MacMillan (she/her) is a Philadelphia-based theater director and arts leader who has led Tiny Dynamite since 2017. KC has directed nearly 50 productions in the Philadelphia area and beyond; recent productions include Unraveled (off-Broadway: Theatre Row), Romeo and Juliet (Commonwealth Classic Theatre Company); The Comedy of Errors (Dram Tree Shakespeare, Wilmington, NC); Grounded (InterAct); Mrs. Warren's Profession at Lantern Theater Company, where she was the Associate Artistic Director for eight seasons; and The Revolutionists at Theatre Horizon, where she served as Guest Artistic Director for the 2017/18 season.KC's notable productions include recent Barrymore Award nominations for directing (Jane Austen, Abridged, Tiny Dynamite, also co-writer; The Revolutionists, Theatre Horizon); and the critically acclaimed The Beauty Queen of Leenane (named Best Production of the 2012/13 season & Best Director by Philadelphia Weekly, who called her “sensationally gifted”), The Liar (Best Production Honorable Mention that same season), Arcadia (Runner up, Best Overall Production & Best Director by Phindie Independent Critic Awards), Doubt (named one of the Best Plays of 2015 by the Philadelphia Daily News), The Breath of Life (Barrymore Award nomination: Outstanding Overall Production of a Play), The Hothouse (Barrymore nominations for Outstanding Direction & Outstanding Production of a Play), and I Am My Own Wife (Barrymore nominations for Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Production of a Play and winner of the Virginia Brown Martin Philadelphia Award). In 2015, KC was named one of Billy Penn's Who's Next: 16 Young Philadelphians Shaping the Arts Scene.Email: kc@tinydynamite.orgFOR MORE INFORMATION: https://tinydynamite.org

An introverted actors roundtable discussion featuring actor and playwright, Stephen Near; actor & Singer-Songwriter Carolyn Fe; writer, composer & and performer, Kristen Zaza; playwright & performer, Genevieve Adam; writer & actor Michael Ripley, and writer & theatre maker, Jess McAuley. Stephen Near is an actor & writer working in Hamilton. His plays have been performed across Canada at various theatres and festivals including the Ottawa Fringe, the Toronto Fringe, the Hamilton Fringe, New Ideas, and Summerworks. He is a graduate of York University (BFA), the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (B. Ed) and the MFA Creative Writing program at the University of Guelph. He is a member of the Playwright's Guild of Canada, the Theatre Aquarius Creator's Junction and Playwright's Unit and an alumnus of the Sage Hill Writing Experience and the Banff Centre. Stephen is co-founder and playwright-in-residence of Same Boat Theatre in Hamilton. Stephen was named one of the inaugural Writers-in-Residence at Hamilton's Cotton Factory and is a staff writer for the Hamilton arts and culture blog Beyond James.   stephennear.com Twitter: @SNear23 Instagram: @stephenisnear   Carolyn Fe is a late-blooming Filipino-Canadian, tri-lingual Actress (English/French/Tagalog), Singer-Songwriter and former contemporary Dancer-Choreographer. Some Theatre credits include: Calpurnia (Nightwood/Sulong), Hilot Means Healer (Cahoots), Through the Bamboo (Uwi Collective) and Three Women of Swatow (Tarragon). At an age when her peers have long established themselves, Carolyn's continuous pursuit of artistic evolution adds a new instrument to her art as an Emerging Playwright and Writer supported by Montreal's Teesri Duniya Theatre's Fireworks Playwrights' Programme, The Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, and, Toronto's Nightwood Theatre, Factory Theatre's Foundry Programme for Playwrights, Cahoots Theatre. Some TV/streaming credits include Lola (Grandma) in the Nickelodeon children's show “Blue's Clues & You!” and Madame Z in the award winning French webseries “Meilleur Avant” and the upcoming sketch comedy series "Abroad" on Omni Channel in Spring 2022. Carolyn-fe.com Twitter: @TheCarolynFe Instagram: @thecarolynfe Kristen Zaza is a writer, composer, and performer based in Toronto, Canada. She is currently producing the second season of her award-winning audio drama podcast, On a Dark, Cold Night. www.kristenzaza.com Twitter: @kristen_zaza Instagram: @kristen_zaza Genevieve Adam is a graduate of the George Brown Theatre School in Toronto and the East15 Acting School in the UK. Her first play Deceitful Above All Things premiered at SummerWorks in 2015 and won several accolades including Outstanding New Play, Outstanding Production, and Best Emerging Artist. It was remounted at the Factory in association with The Storefront Theatre in February 2017. Subsequent plays include Bedsport (Newmarket National Play Festival), New World (Future Theatre Festival), Anatomy of A Dancer (Next Stage 2019), The Boat Show (Lost Souls' Collective), and If The Shoe Fits, which won second place in the Toronto Fringe 2019 New Play Writing Contest.Her most recent play Dark Heart was named one of the top theatrical productions of 2018 by the Toronto Star. Genevieve is also the poet behind the whimsical #haikusoflockdown series on Twitter. Twitter: @FavourZeeBrave Michael Ripley, 54, was born in Alberta but has spent most of his adult life in Ontario. He currently lives in Whitby with his wife and two sons. When Michael isn't writing, performing or designing he spends inordinate amounts of time typing and immediately deleting long responses (which he never posts) to mean people on social media. He also eats far too many wine gums and watches not nearly enough basketball. www.talentedmr.ca Twitter: @TalentedMr Instagram: @talentedmr Jess McAuley is a Brock University graduate (theatre studies, honours) with a passion for devised theatre, writing, and pushing the bounds of adventure on stage. She is also one of the co-hosts of The Introvert's Guide To… Twitter: @mcauleyjes Instagram: @itsjessmcauley Support Stageworthy Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthypod Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy

Patrick Byas is a man of many talents. He is an actor, producer, director, and writer. He was born and raised in the South Bronx before moving to New Jersey to attend high school. After graduating from Hightstown High School he continued his studies at Rutgers University where he obtained his B.A. in Theatre Arts. Recently Patrick appeared in the highly anticipated, up-and-coming Spike Lee-produced feature film, Mania Days. In this Paul Dalio-directed film, Byas plays the role of Demonic and shares a pivotal scene with the lead character. He also appeared in several popular TV shows like Law and Order SVU and Celebrity Close Calls (Lou Gossett Jr. Story). Byas also played a lead role in Sammy Gets Mugged, a play featured in the 2011 New York International Fringe Festival for which he won the “Best Performance” award. He also toured playing the role of Chad Deity in a Pulitzer Prize finalist play titled, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, which was produced by the Curious Theatre Company and Theatre Works. The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity was also nominated in 2012 for “Best Comedy” for the True West Award and “Outstanding Production of a Play” for the 2013 Henry Awards. Patrick Byas was also nominated for “Best Actor in a Play” for the 2013 Broadway World Denver Awards for his performance in The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. With his production company ThirteenE., Patrick shot film projects for influential people in the industry such as NBA star Shaquille O'Neil, rappers Rick Ross, Rockie Fresh & Wale, and singer Ed Sheeran. Byas was the executive producer and assistant director for a feature film/web series titled Bad to the Jones, an action/comedy zombie film that has over 500,000 views on YouTube.

Hey film buds,ever hear about a movie winning Best Picture and think, "That wasn't the Best Picture! Look at what else was nominated," or seen a Best Picture Winning movie years later and though, "That didn't age well".The Academy Awards, or The Oscars, are America's most widely recognized award show, and has been for almost 100 years. Though Oscar, and award shows in general, have gotten somewhat tarnished in recent decades, they still serve as an interesting window into film history and can be a useful tool to introduce viewers to older film.Our first film is the first ever Best Picture Winner Wings, though the award was then known as "Outstanding Picture". Directed by William A. Wellman, a former fighter-pilot, Wings tells the story of two young men from the same town who enlist in World War I as pilots. The film is a technical marvel, and we discuss whether it still works today.On the same idea of relevance to today is the play adaptation You Can't Take it With You. The story is a Class-Conflict narrative with two young lovers caught in the middle, and causing some of the friction. It won both "Outstanding Production" and Best Director at the 11th Academy Awards, ten years after Wings. It highlights not only the difference between silent movies and "talkies", but also the difference between early sound and now.Beyond our look back we also talk about the recently announced BAFTA Nominations, Roger Deakins' recent knighthood, What We're Watching, and more. We hope y'all enjoy.If you haven't already, check out last week's episode.Thanks y'all,The BudsEpisode GuideIntro & Academy Award History - 00:00Wings Clip - 21:28Wings Review - 21:59You Can't Take it With You Clip - 01:02:50You Can't Take it With You Review - 01:03:33BAFTA Nominations, Roger Deakins Knighthood, What We're Watching, and Outro - 01:44:57Total Runtime - 01:34:06Be a Friend to the Film Buds:thefilmbuds.comthefilmbudspodcast@gmail.compatreon.com/thebudsthefilmbuds.bandcamp.com@filmbuds on Twitter@thefilmbudspodcast on Instagram

Hey film buds,ever hear about a movie winning Best Picture and think, "That wasn't the Best Picture! Look at what else was nominated," or seen a Best Picture Winning movie years later and though, "That didn't age well".The Academy Awards, or The Oscars, are America's most widely recognized award show, and has been for almost 100 years. Though Oscar, and award shows in general, have gotten somewhat tarnished in recent decades, they still serve as an interesting window into film history and can be a useful tool to introduce viewers to older film.Our first film is the first ever Best Picture Winner Wings, though the award was then known as "Outstanding Picture". Directed by William A. Wellman, a former fighter-pilot, Wings tells the story of two young men from the same town who enlist in World War I as pilots. The film is a technical marvel, and we discuss whether it still works today.On the same idea of relevance to today is the play adaptation You Can't Take it With You. The story is a Class-Conflict narrative with two young lovers caught in the middle, and causing some of the friction. It won both "Outstanding Production" and Best Director at the 11th Academy Awards, ten years after Wings. It highlights not only the difference between silent movies and "talkies", but also the difference between early sound and now.Beyond our look back we also talk about the recently announced BAFTA Nominations, Roger Deakins' recent knighthood, What We're Watching, and more. We hope y'all enjoy.If you haven't already, check out last week's episode.Thanks y'all,The BudsEpisode GuideIntro & Academy Award History - 00:00Wings Clip - 21:28Wings Review - 21:59You Can't Take it With You Clip - 01:02:50You Can't Take it With You Review - 01:03:33BAFTA Nominations, Roger Deakins Knighthood, What We're Watching, and Outro - 01:44:57Total Runtime - 01:34:06Be a Friend to the Film Buds:thefilmbuds.comthefilmbudspodcast@gmail.compatreon.com/thebudsthefilmbuds.bandcamp.com@filmbuds on Twitter@thefilmbudspodcast on Instagram

Hey film buds,ever hear about a movie winging Best Picture and think, "That wasn't the Best Picture! Look at what else was nominated," or seen a Best Picture Winning movie years later and though, "That didn't age well".The Academy Awards, or The Oscars, are America's most widely recognized award show, and has been for almost 100 years. Though Oscar, and award shows in general, have gotten somewhat tarnished in recent decades, they still serve as an interesting window into film history and can be a useful tool to introduce viewers to older film.Our first film is the first ever Best Picture Winner Wings, though the award was then known as "Outstanding Picture". Directed by William A. Wellman, a former fighter-pilot, Wings tells the story of two young men from the same town who enlist in World War I as pilots. The film is a technical marvel, and we discuss whether it still works today.On the same idea of relevance to today is the play adaptation You Can't Take it With You. The story is a Class-Conflict narrative with two young lovers caught in the middle, and causing some of the friction. It won both "Outstanding Production" and Best Director at the 11th Academy Awards, ten years after Wings. It highlights not only the difference between silent movies and "talkies", but also the difference between early sound and now.Beyond our look back we also talk about the recently announced BAFTA Nominations, Roger Deakins' recent knighthood, What We're Watching, and more. We hope y'all enjoy.If you haven't already, check out last week's episode.Thanks y'all,The BudsEpisode GuideIntro & Academy Award History - 00:00Wings Clip - 21:28Wings Review - 21:59You Can't Take it With You Clip - 01:02:50You Can't Take it With You Review - 01:03:33BAFTA Nominations, Roger Deakins Knighthood, What We're Watching, and Outro - 01:44:57Total Runtime - 01:34:06Be a Friend to the Film Buds:thefilmbuds.comthefilmbudspodcast@gmail.compatreon.com/thebudsthefilmbuds.bandcamp.com@filmbuds on Twitter@thefilmbudspodcast on Instagram

On this episode of Finding Your Bliss, we have a show devoted to music and visual arts. This week, Bliss expert and Life Coach Judy Librach is joined Nicky Phillips who is an award-winning composer and lyricist. Nicky is currently a member of the BMI-Lehman Engel Advanced Musical Theatre Workshop where she was awarded the Jean Banks Award for outstanding achievement in Musical Theatre. An alumnus of the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project, Nicky was mentored by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Craig Carnelia. Her work has been showcased at Lincoln Center, 54 Below, Don't Tell Mama, The Laurie Beechman Theatre and The New York Theatre Barn. She has had writing residencies at CAP21, the Human Race Theatre Company and she was awarded the artist in residence at the Margret and H.A.Rey Center. Her work with the Musical Stage Company in Toronto includes being a music supervisor on Launchpad 2020 and a participant in Noteworthy. As a musical theatre writer, Nicky's musical works include: In Between (available for licensing); The Last Party (Toronto Fringe Festival); The Curious Journey (ASCAP Stephen Schwartz Workshop, Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals, CMTP); Stagefright (Prospect Theatre Musical Theatre Lab); Becoming Tussaud (In Development); she has contributed material to Touch Me: Songs for a (dis)Connected Age (Forte Musical Theatre Guild); In Flanders Fields (First commissioned and produced by Smile Theatre Company, additional productions at Golden Apple Theatre and Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary where it was nominated for a Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Production). Nicky is proud to have two songs featured on the Wellsongs Project CD, available for purchase through Broadway Records. Most recently, Nicky has released a musical theatre songbook entitled "The Tweens

No-till Producer Grant Sims is a sixth generation farmer running the family farm with his wife Naomi and 4 children in North central Victoria Australia. The farm is 8,500 acres of dryland and some irrigation. The Sims farm has been utilizing no-till farming practices since the early 80's thanks to Grant's father and uncle. When Grant came back full time on the farm he started looking at ways to improve the life and function of the soil through biology. In 2008 he stopped using granular synthetic fertilizers and started using a biologically made liquid fertilizer. Also at that time stop using seed dressing, insecticides and fungicides, unless absolutely necessary. The Sims have a strong focus on diversity and grow many different crops. They use companion crops, cover crops and have expanded their cow calf numbers to integrate through the system. They have seen many positive changes in the health or their soils and plants. They perform on-farm trials to learn and share methods about how to solve problems, be more profitable and improve the soil for the next generation. Grant and Naomi have recently started up a multi-species seed business, Down Under Covers, where they use their own experience and consult with world leading experts to design and put together multi species blends to help improve the soils and provide live weight gains to livestock to help farmers become more profitable. In 2015 Grant was awarded the Coles Weekly Times Farmer of the Year. Grant is the former president of the Victorian No Till Farmers Association. Find out more at downundercovers.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bobby Del Rio is a critically acclaimed, published playwright and produced screenwriter. Most recently, Bobby wrote/directed the feature film The Market - signing a distribution deal with Parallel Universe Pictures during quarantine. The film is currently available on Amazon Prime in the United States and United Kingdom, Vimeo on Demand in Canada.  Bobby's play Professionally Ethnic was a critical success at the 2017 SummerWorks festival - with NOW Magazine including the play on lists for: Outstanding Play and Outstanding Production. The play was previously published in the prestigious academic journal Canadian Theatre Review. Bobby served as Creator & Showrunner of IRL the Series - sold to Bell Media for television broadcast. Bobby also directed the short film Dusk - nominated for a 2020 Leo Award. Bobby has been the subject of 2 documentaries: 1 for Bravo that aired across Canada on television, and 1 for CBC Arts (directed by Karena Evans).  Bobby is now based in Los Angeles. 

Bobby Del Rio is a critically acclaimed, published playwright and produced screenwriter.Most recently, Bobby wrote/directed the feature film The Market - signing a distribution deal with Parallel Universe Pictures during quarantine. The film is currently available on Amazon Prime in the United States and United Kingdom, Vimeo on Demand in Canada. Bobby’s play Professionally Ethnic was a critical success at the 2017 SummerWorks festival - with NOW Magazine including the play on lists for: Outstanding Play and Outstanding Production. The play was previously published in the prestigious academic journal Canadian Theatre Review.Bobby served as Creator & Showrunner of IRL the Series - sold to Bell Media for television broadcast. Bobby also directed the short film Dusk - nominated for a 2020 Leo Award.Bobby has been the subject of 2 documentaries: 1 for Bravo that aired across Canada on television, and 1 for CBC Arts (directed by Karena Evans). Bobby is now based in Los Angeles. 

Don Reed joins Maija DiGiorgio, Heather McConnell, Felicia Chappelle, Pamela Green and Masavia Greer.Don Reed (HBO, Snap Judgment, East 14th) is a multi-hyphenate, comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, solo performer described as a "solo show powerhouse" and a comedic molotov-cocktail of storytelling, characters, sound-fx, impersonations and improvisation. His performance on an Robert Townsend HBO Special of up and coming comedians years ago caught the attention a few Hollywood players that led to the creation of many recurring and guest starring roles for him on "A Different World", "The Cosby Show" and others. Around this time, Don received some invaluable advice that spurred him to dive into the NACA college circuit, performing standup at over 300 colleges.During the same window, Don began doing audience warm-up for several sitcoms, which led to writing and creative consulting on several of those shows. Reed spent the next several years behind the camera successfully writing, producing and doing voice-over work (credits include "Spiderman", "The Flintstones", "Johnny Quest" etc.) He wrote and directed several short films for HBO, once casting himself, inadvertently sparking the revival of his on camera and performing career. His HBO shorts garnered the attention of Paramount Television who cast him as a series regular and writer on the sketch comedy show "Off Limits." His performances on that show caught the eyes of "MAD TV" executives who were producing NBC's "The RERUN Show" where he was cast as a series regular. (credits include - Comedy Central, Showtime Aspen Comedy Festival, Co-Executive Producer of "Celebrity Home Videos."Over time, Don transitioned into what many publications (The New Yorker, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times) have referred to as the aforementioned "solo show powerhouse", writing, performing, directing and producing 5 solo shows running Off Broadway NYC, San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley (Marsh Theaters). His flagship show the award winning "East 14th" was the 2016 WINNER of the TBA: Theater Bay Area Award for Outstanding Production of a Solo Show and an NAACP Double Nominee for Best Actor & Best Playwright. His second show "The Kipling Hotel: The 80's went on to be a nominee in the playwright category in 2017. Don has shared a number of hilarious and heartbreaking stories on NPR/WNYC hit broadcast Snap Judgment - aired in over 380 cities across the country and downloaded over 2 million times a month. He has traveled extensively with the national tour and performed for thousands and in 2016 was honored with Snap Judgment Performance of the Year for his groundbreaking story "I Miss Toni." It garnered hundreds of thousands of views and has been utilized as a tool from high schools to American University's Fine Arts Masters Program in D.C. --- as a broadly humorous and deeply tragic look at supporting and loving a trans family member.Additionally, Don was a promo producer/executive at NBC for 2years (Will & Grace, SNL, Golden Globes, Frasier, Friends, Scrubs, Law & Order ) -- and later founded his own advertising & promotion entity - an entertainment copywriting company that serviced movie trailers, promos and video games for many Fortune 500 entertainment companies (work includes creative for Columbia/Sony, ABC, NBC, FOX, HBO, TBS, FX, MLB, NFL, "Chappelle's Show", "The "The Simpsons", "The Shield", X-Box, PlayStation, "Ultimate Spiderman", "Shrek, SuperSlam", "Call of Duty" "Halo" and many more.   

Mumbi is an acclaimed theatre creator and director raised in Kenya and Victoria, BC and based in Toronto. She recently won a Dora Award for her Outstanding Direction of The Brothers Size, which also won for Outstanding Production. Mumbi is the Artistic Director of Obsidian Theatre. She is the Founder/Artistic Director of the experimental theatre company IFT (It’s A Freedom Thing Theatre) Theatre and also recently directed the critically acclaimed plays: Trout Stanley (Factory Theatre), Here are the Fragments (The Theatre Centre/The ECT Collective), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Soulpepper) and Oraltorio: A Theatrical Mixtape (Obsidian/Soulpepper). Mumbi is also the recipient of a Toronto Theatre Critics Award, an Artistic Director’s Award (Soulpepper), a Pauline McGibbon Award , a Mallory Gilbert Protege Award, a Harold Award, and has been twice nominated for the John Hirsch Directing Award. She is a graduate of Soulpepper Academy, York University and University of Toronto as well as Obsidian Theatre’s Mentor/Apprenticeship Program. Twitter: @mumbitindyebwa Support Stageworthy: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy

Chris Tolley is a writer, director and producer, and the Co-Artistic Director of Expect Theatre. After graduating from York University he teamed up with Laura Mullin, and together they have created award-winning multi-disciplinary productions that have toured across Canada and the US.Chris’ work has been nominated for five Dora Awards in the General Theatre category, and has been shortlisted twice for the Toronto Arts Foundation Awards. In 2006 both Chis and Laura won Harbourfront Centre’s inaugural FreshGround commissioning award.His most notable works include Romeo/Juliet REMIXED (Toronto and Philadelphia), STATIC (World Stage Festival) and AWAKE (Next Stage Festival). Other work with Mullin include the CBC Radio drama, The Tunnel Runners, and the short film, AWAKE.He sits on the Board of the Playwrights Guild of Canada and serves as the Contracts Chair. He is also on a number of other theatre boards.Outside of theatre, Chris is also very active in national politics. In 2015, Chris ran in the federal election as the Green Party’s candidate in Toronto-Danforth, advocating for the cultural issues he is passionate about. His campaign resulted in the best showing for the Green Party in the GTA and surrounding area, and was recognized as one of the strongest campaigns run nationally.Twitter: @christolleyLaura Mullin is a playwright, director and producer, and the Co-Artistic Director of Expect Theatre and The Spark Collective. She graduated from York University with a bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre before forming Expect and Spark with Chris Tolley. She has created and produced several highly acclaimed productions with Tolley that have toured nationally and internationally.Selected writing and directing credits: Romeo/Juliet Remixed (5 Dora award nominations, winner of Outstanding Choreography), EXPECT/ Spark; Tunnel Runners, CBC Radio; STATIC, Harbourfront Centre’s World Stage Festival; AWAKE, Next Stage Festival; AWAKE The Short Film; Rapid Eye Movement & To The Kid That I was, Nuit Blanche; One Sleepless Night, International Festival of Authors; Allowance (in development); Burusera, Watermark Theatre (national 21 city tour & to be published in the Playwright’s Guild Short Play Anthology); History of Visual Sources (short story).Awards & Commissions: Toronto Arts Foundation Award (short listed 2009 & 2013); Harbourfront Centre’s inaugural Fresh Ground Commissioning Award; Dora Award nomination for Outstanding Production for Romeo / Juliet Remixed (General Theatre category), Ontario Arts Council’s Creator’s Reserve from Nightwood Theatre (2013) and Crow’s Theatre (2015) for Allowance, Watermark Theatre Commission of Burusera for Canada 300’s national tour (2015).Twitter: @expectlauraPlayMEExpect Theatre has created an exciting new initiative that celebrates the best of Canadian Indie Theatre on a national and international scale. The project helps raise the profile of Canadian playwrights by highlighting new works through a series of podcasts, making it accessible to audiences worldwide.PlayME is transforming the way we experience Canadian theatre, by taking a bold and innovative approach to disseminating plays. The podcast features distinguished actors, and focuses on current and relevant scripts geared to the growing “on-demand” audience.Expect’s Artistic Directors, Laura Mullin and Chris Tolley are spearheading this project, in partnership with organizations such as The Toronto Fringe Festival and the Playwrights Guild of Canada.http://www.playmepodcast.com/ https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcasts/arts-culture/playme/ http://expect.org/ Twitter: @expecttheatre

BIO   Pete Barry is a co-creator of the audio comedy Mission: Rejected. He is an award-winning screenwriter, playwright, actor, director and musician. He was named a 2013 Young and Hungry List writer, and Sony Pictures is currently developing his screenplay Marian.  His short plays have been published in numerous collections, and his production of Accidents Happen won the 2009 NJACT Perry Award for Outstanding Production of an Original Play. His short play Drop was a winner in the 34th Annual Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival.   He is a cofounder of the Porch Room, a film and theater production company, with whom he has produced numerous shows in the Philadelphia and New York International Fringe Festivals.  Part 1 The Sage: Kobold theatre presents...The river stole the gods. Kobold Priest: The river stole the gods. Kobold Acolyte: You mean, the little statues? Kobold Priest: THE GODS! Kobold Acolyte: You mean, you dropped them in the river? Kobold Priest: We will say...they run away. Kobold Acolyte: Nobody believe that. Kobold Priest: We will say...they swim away. Kobold Acolyte: They made of wood. Kobold Priest: Right, so that means they swim. Kobold Acolyte: You mean float? Kobold Priest: Swim. Kobold Acolyte: Float. Kobold Priest: Swim. Kobold Acolyte: Float. Kobold Priest: Same difference. Kobold Acolyte: Maybe WE ought to swim away. Kobold Priest: I not able to swim. Kobold Acolyte: Me neither. ... Kobold Acolyte: We in in big trouble. Created by: Pete Barry River by: cagancelik

Good morning theater fans! This is Caryn Robbins with The Broadway Scoop for Thursday, March 12th. Broadway star Kelli O'Hara will take on the role of 'Mother' in The Actors Fund's upcoming benefit concert of RAGTIME. The Tony Award winner joins previously announced cast members Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Peter Friedman. Taking place on April 27th at the Minskoff Theatre, the event will be dedicated to late Broadway star Marin Mazzie.BEETLEJUICE stars Alex Brightman and Leslie Kritzer will announce the nominations for the 2020 Drama League Awards, in a live broadcast from Sardi’s on April 16th. The duo will reveal the nominees for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the coveted Distinguished Performance Award. Winners will be announced at a ceremony to be held on May 15 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square.And a happy opening to the new musical SIX, officially opening tonight at Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre following a preview period which began on February 13. Showcasing the six wives of Henry VIII, the show originated at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival before going on to a West End run, and earning five Olivier Award nominations. SIX made its critically-acclaimed U.S. premiere last July in Chicago.And that's The Broadway Scoop for Thursday, March 12th

When the planet is topsy-turvy and it seems like there's very little good in the world, Dropbear and Panda are on the case to find the fun with news, reviews, and ways to save the world that might actually work. We've been nominated for ‘Outstanding Production in a Series’ by the Canadian Podcast Awards, we discover a strange military tradition in Canada at the handle of a shovel, review both the Underwater movie and 1917, and we're still on a tear to help Australia in whatever way we can. LINKS FOUND IN THIS PODCAST Friday Sock Company Canada is Number 2 Australian Koala Foundation Koala Kid Camo in Space MUSIC SAMPLES FOUND IN THIS PODCAST James Bond Stinger Monster Sound Effects Children Yay No Diggity Canadian National Anthem Fart Sound Effect Alanis Morrisette - You Oughta Know The Life Aquatic Badum tss Nosferatu That's Not a Knife SPECIAL THANKS TO Our sponsors The Friday Sock Company and Make More Creative; Emre Cords for our amazing theme music; and Rob Mitchelson for the insane jingles and Unofficial Space Force theme song. Support Dropbear and Panda and become a Patron of the Arts at Patreon for as low as $1 /month! CLICK HERE>> Dropbear and Panda on Patreon

Episode 45 - It Happened One Night Movie ReviewIn this episode, David and John escape their controlling fathers to have a discussion about the original romantic comedy, It Happened One Night, winner of the 1934 Oscar for Outstanding Production. Cast Your Award Wiener BallotCheck our Facebook Page to vote on the next movie Award Wieners reviews.Up next: Million Dollar Baby.

Michael Ross Albert is the author of several plays including Miss (FringeNYC; Unit 102 Actors Company); The Farmers Lit the Fields on Fire (Edinburgh Fringe Festival); The Grass is Greenest at the Houston Astrodome (FringeNYC, published by Applause in Best American Short Plays 2014-2015); and Karenin’s Anna (Toronto Fringe Festival, “Outstanding New Play,” — NOW Magazine), as well as the 2018 Toronto Fringe hit, Anywhere.Along with the Storefront Theatre, Michael produced the sold-out world premiere production of his play Tough Jews in the heart of Toronto’s Kensington Market. The production was nominated for 6 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, including Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Production.His play Starfishes opened Off-Broadway at the Theatre at Dance New Amsterdam and is included in Best American Short Plays 2010-2011. It has since been performed across the United States and Canada.Michael received an MFA in Playwriting from the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. Michael is an associate member of the Dramatists Guild of America, and a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada.The Huns The morning after a break-in at a tech company, three co-workers assemble for a conference call to discuss the burglary. What starts as a civilized, professional meeting swiftly devolves into a brutal showdown that puts everyone's careers-- and their hopes for future happiness-- in jeopardy.STREETCAR CROWSNEST: GULOIEN THEATRE 345 Carlaw Ave.Friday July 5, 9:30pm Saturday July 6, 6:15pm Sunday July 7, 8:30pm Tuesday July 9, 7:30pm Thursday July 11, 5:30pm Friday July 12, 10:15pm Sunday July 14, 4:00pmInstagram:OneFourOneCollectiveTwitter:@OneFourOneCoFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/onefourone/Tickets:https://fringetoronto.com/fringe/show/huns

Lianna is a second generation Ukrainian Canadian theatre artist. Lianna has enjoyed a diverse career working as an actor, creator, instructor, and artistic producer. Her main artistic ventures have been as an Artistic Associate and Producer with Pyretic Productions. Lianna has managed audience outreach and communications for several Edmonton arts festivals. And she co-founded, manages, and teaches at a children’s summer theatre camp, Spark! Youth Camp, which provides affordable arts education to youth in Edmonton’s Alberta Avenue Community. She is the playwright and principle performer in Blood of Our Soil, which won the ACUA-URDC Award (2018), the inaugural Rena Hanchuk & Yaroslav Kitynskyy Artist Award (2018), and was nominated for four Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards (Edmonton's premiere theatre awards), including Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Production. Lianna was recognized as a Top 30 Under 30 Artist by the Alberta Council for Ukrainian Arts. Lianna is a graduate of the BFA Acting Program at the University of Alberta.Twitter: @liannamakuchBlood of Our Soil Blood of Our Soil is the story of Hania, a Canadian woman, who often reflects on fond memories of summers spent with her beloved Baba. After a chance discovery allows her to gain new insights about her Baba’s struggles during WWII, Hania is compelled to gain a deeper understanding of both her personal and cultural history. Hania’s search for answers brings her to the edge of the ongoing war in Eastern Ukraine. Here she meets the people and sees the places touched by war, and finally confronts the truths of her Baba’s past. Blood of our Soil was nominated for four Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards, gives voice to the people whose lives have been affected by the frozen conflict in Eastern Ukraine, Europe’s current “forgotten war,” where current Russian aggression has killed more than 10,000 people, and displaced millions. The play is inspired by the experiences of the playwright’s grandparents who fled Ukraine during WWII, and the true accounts of people interviewed in conflict zones in Eastern Ukraine.Pyretic Productionswww.pyreticproductions.ca Twitter: @Pyretic_Prod Instagram: pyretic.theatre Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PyreticProductions/ Tickets: http://www.tarragontheatre.com/show/blood-of-our-soil/

FWOAC travels forward and backward in time to predict next years Oscars as well as review the Outstanding Production nominees of the 10th Academy Awards in 1938.

For Nightwood:Grace by Jane Doe,Lo (or Dear Mr. Wells) by Rose Napoli - Dora Nominations Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Performance, Quiver by Anna Chatterton - Dora Nomination Outstanding Sound Design, and currently in fifth season as the Program Director for Write From the Hip,Elsewhere:TomorrowLove (UW), A Beautiful View (FPPEC), The Taming of the Shrew (SLSF), Snowman (Soulpepper Academy), Love and Information (RCPA), Sequence (Tarragon), These Peaceable Kingdoms (NTS), Romeo & Juliet (Ruff), Janet Wilson Meets the Queen (GCTC), Soliciting Temptation (Tarragon), Beautiful Man (Summerworks), CLEAVE (NTS), Tyumen Then (Fringe/Revolver), Within the Glass - Governor General Award Nomination (Tarragon), Mistatim (Red Sky – International Tour), The Atomic Weight of Happiness (Theatre Direct), Montparnasse (TPM), Offensive Fouls (Theatre Direct), The Unfortunate Misadventures of Masha Galinski (National tour). Andrea was Tarragon Theatre’s Assistant/Associate Artistic Director for four seasons, and is a regular guest artist at the National Theatre School.Awards: Stratford Festival’s Jean Gascon Award for Direction, Best Director -International Youth Drama - Shenzhen, China, twice nominated for the Pauline McGibbon & John Hirsch Directing Awards. Her projects have received over a dozen Dora nominations and awarded Outstanding Performance (Ensemble) & Outstanding Production for And By the Way, Miss (Theatre Direct). Upcoming:Beautiful Man by Governor General Award winning playwright Erin Shields at Factory TheatreNightwood Theatrewww.nightwoodtheatre.net Twitter: @nightwoodtheat Instagram: nightwoodtheat Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nightwoodtheatre/ Tickets for Grace: https://tickets.crowstheatre.com/TheatreManager/1/login?event=167

Michael Ross Albert is the author of several plays including Miss (FringeNYC; Unit 102 Actors Company); The Farmers Lit the Fields on Fire (Edinburgh Fringe Festival); The Grass is Greenest at the Houston Astrodome (FringeNYC, published by Applause in Best American Short Plays 2014-2015); and Karenin’s Anna (Toronto Fringe Festival, “Outstanding New Play,” — NOW Magazine).Along with the Storefront Theatre, Michael produced the sold-out world premiere production of his play Tough Jews in the heart of Toronto’s Kensington Market. The production was nominated for 6 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, including Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Production.His play Starfishes opened Off-Broadway at the Theatre at Dance New Amsterdam and is included in Best American Short Plays 2010-2011. It has since been performed across the United States and Canada.Michael received an MFA in Playwriting from the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. Michael is an associate member of the Dramatists Guild of America, and a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada.Michael is the playwright of two shows in the 2018 Toronto Fringe: Anywhere and The Grass is Greenest at the Houston Astrodome.

Films can bring to life war's battles, leaders, examples of strategic decisions, and examples of less successful strategic decisions. As Mark Gagnon and Jacqueline E. Whitt show in this presentation, there are many ways that films can be used in professional military education. From learning about strategic decisions and their impacts to broadening the world views and perspectives, films help viewers visualize the dynamics and complexity of strategic environments better than other media. For example, the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Art Film Program provides a terrific forum for students and faculty to view a film and discuss both its context and lessons learned for today's military. Also on WAR ROOM is an article about the classic film Tunes of Glory, an example of such a film with important insights and lessons for today's leaders.   https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/18-043-Gagnon-Whitt-Film-and-Strategy-RLS-v3.mp3   You can also download a copy of the podcast here.   Mark Gagnon is a colonel in the U.S. Army and Professor of German in the Department of Foreign Languages at the U.S. Military Academy. Jacqueline E. Whitt is Professor of Strategy at the U.S. Army War College and the WAR ROOM Podcast Editor. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense. Image: Still from All's Quiet on the Western Front, an anti-war film from 1930 that won the Academy Awards for Outstanding Production and Best Director (Lewis Milestone). Film is now in the public domain.

Episode 17 - All Quiet on the Western Front In episode 17, David and John discuss the futility of war while watching All Quiet on the Western Front, 1930’s Academy Award winner for Outstanding Production. On the Red Carpet How our hot dogs were dressed: David's dog - image you are living in a trench in World War I...which means there are no hot dogs!John's dog - Currywurst - it’s the best! We’re going to make a sweet and spicy sauce that goes well with a brat (no bun). To do this - sauté the onion in a bit of oil until it is transparent. Then add paprika and curry powder to onions, continuing to saute until aromatic. Add the ketchup and water. Boil uncovered until the sauce is thick. Cast Your Award Wiener BallotCheck our Facebook Page in the near future for the next Award Wieners ballot. Up next: 2008's Slumdog Millionaire.

Episode 20 - CimarronIn episode 20, David and John shoot it out as they discuss Cimarron, 1931’s Academy Award winner for Outstanding Production. On the Red CarpetHow our hot dogs were dressed: David's dog - Onion Dog, because you’re probably going to cry from how bad this movie is. To make an Onion Dog, you caramelize some onions and them mix those with ketchup, cinnamon, chili powder, garlic powder, hot pepper sauce & salt. Then add water and simmer until the sauce thickens. Slather it on your favorite hot dog.John's dog - Grilled Western hot dog- bacon, American cheese, BBQ sauce - the sweet kind!Mentioned in this EpisodeTemple Lea Houston - the historical figure that inspired this movie.In The 1920s, A Community Conspired To Kill Native Americans For Their Oil Money (NPR) Cast Your Award Wiener BallotCheck our Facebook Page in the near future for the next Award Wieners ballot. Up next: Unforgiven.

Chris Tolley is a writer, director and producer, and the Co-Artistic Director of Expect Theatre. After graduating from York University he teamed up with Laura Mullin, and together they have created award-winning multi-disciplinary productions that have toured across Canada and the US.Chris’ work has been nominated for five Dora Awards in the General Theatre category, and has been shortlisted twice for the Toronto Arts Foundation Awards. In 2006 both Chis and Laura won Harbourfront Centre’s inaugural FreshGround commissioning award.His most notable works include Romeo/Juliet REMIXED (Toronto and Philadelphia), STATIC (World Stage Festival) and AWAKE (Next Stage Festival). Other work with Mullin include the CBC Radio drama, The Tunnel Runners, and the short film, AWAKE.Most recently, Chris and Laura launched PlayME, a national digital theatre dedicated to producing Canada’s most innovative theatre works distributed globally via podcasts.He sits on the Board of the Playwrights Guild of Canada and serves as the Contracts Chair. He is also on a number of other theatre boards.Outside of theatre, Chris is also very active in national politics. In 2015, Chris ran in the federal election as the Green Party’s candidate in Toronto-Danforth, advocating for the cultural issues he is passionate about. His campaign resulted in the best showing for the Green Party in the GTA and surrounding area, and was recognized as one of the strongest campaigns run nationally.Twitter: @christolleyLaura Mullin is a playwright, director and producer, and the Co-Artistic Director of Expect Theatre and The Spark Collective. She graduated from York University with a bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre before forming Expect and Spark with Chris Tolley. She has created and produced several highly acclaimed productions with Tolley that have toured nationally and internationally.Selected writing and directing credits: Romeo/Juliet Remixed (5 Dora award nominations, winner of Outstanding Choreography), EXPECT/ Spark; Tunnel Runners, CBC Radio; STATIC, Harbourfront Centre’s World Stage Festival; AWAKE, Next Stage Festival; AWAKE The Short Film; Rapid Eye Movement & To The Kid That I was, Nuit Blanche; One Sleepless Night, International Festival of Authors; Allowance (in development); Burusera, Watermark Theatre (national 21 city tour & to be published in the Playwright’s Guild Short Play Anthology); History of Visual Sources (short story).Awards & Commissions: Toronto Arts Foundation Award (short listed 2009 & 2013); Harbourfront Centre’s inaugural Fresh Ground Commissioning Award; Dora Award nomination for Outstanding Production for Romeo / Juliet Remixed (General Theatre category), Ontario Arts Council’s Creator’s Reserve from Nightwood Theatre (2013) and Crow’s Theatre (2015) for Allowance, Watermark Theatre Commission of Burusera for Canada 300’s national tour (2015).Twitter: @expectlauraPlayMEExpect Theatre has created an exciting new initiative that celebrates the best of Canadian Indie Theatre on a national and international scale. The project helps raise the profile of Canadian playwrights by highlighting new works through a series of podcasts, making it accessible to audiences worldwide.PlayME is transforming the way we experience Canadian theatre, by taking a bold and innovative approach to disseminating plays. The podcast features distinguished actors, and focuses on current and relevant scripts geared to the growing “on-demand” audience.Expect’s Artistic Directors, Laura Mullin and Chris Tolley are spearheading this project, in partnership with organizations such as The Toronto Fringe Festival and the Playwrights Guild of Canada.http://www.playmepodcast.com/http://expect.org/ Twitter: @expecttheatreStageworthy:http://www.stageworthypodcast.com Twitter @stageworthyPod Facebook: http://facebook.com/stageworthyPod

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 2: All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Released 7 February 2018 For our second episode, we watched All Quiet on the Western Front, based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, directed by Lewis Milestone and produced by Carl Laemmle, Jr. ("Uncle Carl Laemmle has a very large faemmle.") As well as Best Picture (then known as “Outstanding Production”), Milestone won for Best Director and it was also nominated for Best Writing and Best Cinematography. Next time we will be discussing Gladiator. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes UK or iTunes USA. To send in your questions, comments, thoughts and ideas, you can join our Facebook group, Tweet us on @bestpickpod or email us on bestpickpod@gmail.com. You can also Tweet us individually, @MrJohnDorney, @ItsJessRegan or @TomSalinsky. You should also sign up to our mailing list to get notified as soon as a new episode is released. Just follow this link: http://eepurl.com/dbHO3n

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 2: All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Released 7 February 2018 For our second episode, we watched All Quiet on the Western Front, based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, directed by Lewis Milestone and produced by Carl Laemmle, Jr. ("Uncle Carl Laemmle has a very large faemmle.") As well as Best Picture (then known as “Outstanding Production”), Milestone won for Best Director and it was also nominated for Best Writing and Best Cinematography. Next time we will be discussing Gladiator. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes UK or iTunes USA. To send in your questions, comments, thoughts and ideas, you can join our Facebook group, Tweet us on @bestpickpod or email us on bestpickpod@gmail.com. You can also Tweet us individually, @MrJohnDorney, @ItsJessRegan or @TomSalinsky. You should also sign up to our mailing list to get notified as soon as a new episode is released. Just follow this link: http://eepurl.com/dbHO3n

Michael Ross Albert is the author of several plays including Miss (FringeNYC; upcoming: Unit 102 Actors Company); The Farmers Lit the Fields on Fire (Edinburgh Fringe Festival); The Grass is Greenest at the Houston Astrodome (FringeNYC, published by Applause in Best American Short Plays 2014-2015); and Karenin’s Anna (Toronto Fringe Festival, “Outstanding New Play,” -- NOW Magazine).Along with the Storefront Theatre, Michael produced the sold-out world premiere production of his play Tough Jews in the heart of Toronto’s Kensington Market. The production was nominated for 6 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, including Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Production.His play Starfishes opened Off-Broadway at the Theatre at Dance New Amsterdam and is included in Best American Short Plays 2010-2011. It has since been performed across the United States and Canada.Michael received an MFA in Playwriting from the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. Michael is an associate member of the Dramatists Guild of America, and a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada.

Alec Toller is a playwright, actor, director, and Artistic Director of Circle Snake Productions. Circlesnake Productions uses collaborative creation to produce new work with a cinematic approach to storytelling. Circlesnake uses genres that are rarely put on stage to explore new approaches to theatre. Circlesnake grounds heightened theatricality through the understated realism of filmic performance. Circlesnake explores the intersection between theatre and film to find powerful new stories.Circlesnake presents Slip, March 23 - April 2, at the Tarragon Workspace.Slip follows Detective Lynne Barrett as she tries to piece together a mysterious death: a woman is found dead on the floor of an abandoned apartment with debris strewn everywhere, and a symbol carved into her arm. Her attempts to uncover the truth are disrupted by the overwhelming complexity of the case, and Lynne must untangle a mystery that escapes the simplicity of a single story. A play about crime, memory, and storytelling.Slip is nominated for 3 My Entertainment World awards: Outstanding Production, Outstanding New Work, and Outstanding Actress - Alex Paxton-Beesley.Alec Toller Twitter: @alec_tollerCirclesnake Productionswww.circlesnake.com Twitter: @circlesnakeStageworthy:http://www.stageworthypodcast.com Twitter @stageworthyPod Facebook: http://facebook.com/stageworthyPod

  Del Shores – Writer/Director/Producer Del Shores has written, directed and produced successfully across studio and independent film, network and cable television and regional and national touring theatre. Shores’ career began with the play Daddy’s Dyin’ (Who’s Got The Will?) in 1987. The play has been produced in over 2,500 theatres worldwide. A movie version was released in 1990 starring Beau Bridges, Tess Harper, Judge Reinhold, Keith Carradine and Beverly D’Angelo. Shores wrote the screenplay and executive produced the film. Sordid Lives the play opened in 1996, and in 1999 Shores wrote and directed the film version starring Beau Bridges, Delta Burke, Olivia Newton-John, Bonnie Bedelia, Leslie Jordan and Beth Grant. The film took in nearly two million dollars in its eight theatre limited release and became the longest running film in the history of Palm Springs with a record ninety-six weeks. The movie won six Best Feature and thirteen Audience Awards at film festivals. The DVD has now sold over 300,000 units and the 2014 re-release recently became a top-seller for Wolfe Video. His play Southern Baptist Sissies followed, with a ten-month, sold-out run in 2000 and 2002. Shores received multiple Best Direction and Best Writing awards, and the play won the GLAAD Award for Outstanding Production of the Year. In 2003, The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle’s Ted Schmitt Award for Best World Premiere of an Outstanding New Play and five Back Stage West Garland Awards, two NAACP Awards, an LA Stage Alliance Ovation and three LA Weekly Awards. In 2006, Shores revived Sordid Lives, Southern Baptist Sissies and The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife in Los Angeles before a successful six city national tour, starring Delta Burke and Leslie Jordan, which played in 1000-1700 seat houses. Sordid Lives: The Series premiered on Viacom’s LOGO network in 2008 starring Olivia Newton-John, Rue McClanahan, Leslie Jordan, Bonnie Bedelia and Caroline Rhea. Shores created, wrote, directed and executive produced all twelve episodes. The series was distributed internationally in syndication in seventeen countries. Shores has written and produced in television including Dharma and Greg and Queer as Folk. He also wrote, directed and produced the Showtime movie The Wilde Girls. In 2010, Shores’ newest play Yellow opened winning various Los Angeles theatre awards including Best World Premiere, Best Production, Best Direction for Del Shores himself (Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, Backstage Garland, LA Weekly, Broadway World.) In 2011, Shores wrote, directed and produced the screen adaptation of his play The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife entitled Blues For Willadean with the entire original stage cast: Beth Grant, Octavia Spencer, Dale Dickey, David Steen and Debby Holiday. In 2013, Shores directed and produced the film adaptation of his play Southern Baptist Sissies, which played 29 film festivals, winning 15 awards including one for Best Screenplay and nine Audience Awards. The film opened theatrically in twelve cities and is available on Amazon, iTunes and DVD released by Breaking Glass Pictures. Shores has played over 150 cities with his three one-man shows Del Shores: My Sordid Life, Del Shores: Sordid Confessions, both available on DVD, and Del Shores: Naked.Sordid.Reality. Emerson Collins – Producer/“Billy Joe Dobson” Emerson Collins is an actor, producer and TV personality. Emerson starred for four seasons on BRAVO’s The People’s Couch. He produced and starred in Southern Baptist Sissies and won Best Actor in a Feature Film from the Red Dirt International Film Festival. In 2015, Emerson starred in the regional theatre premiere of the one-man show “Buyer & Cellar” in Palm Springs, winning the Desert Theatre League Award for Best Actor in a Comedy. He reprised the role with the acclaimed Laguna Beach Playhouse in 2016. With Del Shores, Emerson co-hosted “The Del & Emerson Show,” UBN Radio’s number one podcast for two years. Emerson co-produced Sordid Lives: The Series for LOGO and produced the New York City, Los Angeles and Palm Springs premieres of the series in conjunction with The Trevor Project, Cinema Diverse and Outfest. Emerson produced Blues For Willadean, the independent film adaptation of the NAACP award-winning play The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife starring Beth Grant, Dale Dickey and Octavia Spencer. The film won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Birmingham SHOUT Film Festival. Emerson joined Del Shores Productions as Vice-President of Development and began as a producer on the revivals three plays running in repertory as A Season of Shores. At the end of the successful eight-month run, he produced the national tour of Sordid Lives and Southern Baptist Sissies. In 2010, Emerson also produced the world premiere production of Del Shores’ Yellow, selected as Critic’s Choice by the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly and Backstage and winner of the LA Drama Critic’s Circle Award for Best Production. Emerson also directed and produced the DVD live tapings of Del Shores’ one man shows Del Shores: My Sordid Life, Del Shores: Sordid Confessions and Del Shores: Naked. Sordid. Reality. Beard Collins Shores Productions Beard Collins Shores Productions was founded in 2012 by Del Shores, Emerson Collins and Louise H. Beard with a dedicated focus on producing low and ultra-low budget films with a direct route to profitability. The company’s first film project was the hybrid film of Del Shores’ GLAAD Award-winning play Southern Baptist Sissies. The film was crowdsource-financed, raising $140,000 with Indiegogo. Southern Baptist Sissies played 28 film festivals, winning 15 awards including nine Audience Awards. It was released theatrically in independent theaters in twelve cities including Palm Springs, Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale, Phoenix, Detroit, Portland and Los Angeles. The film is now a top-selling DVD for Breaking Glass Pictures and available for streaming and download from Amazon and iTunes. A Very Sordid Wedding Theatrical World Premiere Sequel to Del Shores’ Hit Play, Movie & TV Series Sordid Lives Reunites All-Star Cast of Iconic Characters to Explore the Acceptance, Conflict and Bigotry Following the Supreme Court Marriage Equality Decision Two-Week Exclusive Engagement Starts March 10, 2017, at Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs, Calif., expanding via The Film Collaborative to Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, San Francisco, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale and other cities/dates to be announced Bonnie Bedelia, Leslie Jordan, Rue McClanahan (portrait), Dale Dickey and Ann Walker in Del Shores’ A Very Sordid Wedding. Photo credit: Steven K. Johnson. Palm Springs, Calif. – Award-winning writer/director Del Shores (“Blues For Willadean,” “Southern Baptist Sissies,” “Queer A Folk”) releases his latest film, A Very Sordid Wedding, the outrageously funny sequel to his play, movie and TV series Sordid Lives. The film brings back an all-star ensemble cast of characters, rooted in the Southern Baptist world of Winters, Texas, in the weeks following the U.S. Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage equality ruling where not everyone there is ready to accept it. On March 10, 2017, the film will make its World Premiere and have an exclusive two-week theatrical release at Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs, where the original film ran for 96 weeks. It will be followed by a national limited theatrical run by The Film Collaborative, expanding to Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, San Francisco, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale and other cities and dates to be announced. For ticket information and further updates on the film’s theatrical release, visit http://www.averysordidwedding.com/. The ensemble cast of 32 actors is led by Bonnie Bedelia (“Parenthood”), Caroline Rhea (“Sabrina, the Teenage Witch”), Dale Dickey (Independent Spirit Award winner “Winter’s Bone”), Leslie Jordan (Emmy winner “Will & Grace”) with cast members from the original Sordid Lives film Newell Alexander (“August: Osage County”), Rosemary Alexander, Kirk Geiger, Sarah Hunley, Lorna Scott (“Wanted”) and Ann Walker. New additions to the Sordid Lives world include Emerson Collins (“The People’s Couch”), Levi Kreis (Tony winner “MillionDollar Quartet”), Carole Cook (“Sixteen Candles”), Alec Mapa (“Ugly Betty”), Aleks Paunovic (“Van Helsing”), Katherine Bailess (“Hit The Floor”) and a cameo from Whoopi Goldberg. Sordid Lives, Del Shores’ fourth play, opened in Los Angeles in 1996, and ran for 13 sold-out months. It received 13 “Critic’s Choice” honors and 14 Drama-Logue Theatre Awards. In 1999, Shores wrote and directed the film adaption of Sordid Lives starring Beau Bridges, Delta Burke, Olivia Newton-John, Bonnie Bedelia, Leslie Jordan and Beth Grant, along with most of the cast from the play. The movie became a cult phenomenon taking in nearly $2 million in its eighttheatre limited release. The movie won six Best Feature and 13 Audience Awards at film festivals. In 2002, Twentieth Century Fox released the DVD/Video, which has now sold over 300,000 units. The film was re-released by Wolfe Video in 2014. Sordid Lives: The Series, a 12episode TV series prequel to the Sordid Lives film, premiered on MTV’s LOGO network in 2008. “Not a day goes by where someone doesn’t write me asking me for more Sordid Lives. So many of my LGBTQ fans, of all ages, have come out to their folks by showing them Sordid Lives because the humor helped them share their own story,” explains writer, director and producer Del Shores. “I am excited to bring my characters up to July 2015 where they are hit with the reality of Texas having full equality. I wanted to contrast affirming churches and organizations like Faith In America with the hypocritical bigotry that is still being spewed from pulpits represented by the ‘Anti-Equality Rally’ in the film.” “With the victory of marriage equality and the resulting backlash disguised as ‘religious freedom’ bills, our film exploring the impact of religious bigotry couldn’t come at a more timely moment in our history,” continues producer and star Emerson Collins. “Hard-fought LGBTQ rights won over the past eight years now hang in the balance with the new presidential administration and conservative state legislatures across the country preparing to target the LGBTQ community.” As the original film dealt with coming out in a conservative Southern world, A Very Sordid Wedding explores the questions, bigotry and the fallout of what happens when gay marriage comes to communities and families that are not quite ready to accept it. Bigoted “religious freedom,” marriage equality and cultural acceptance are all explored with Del Shores’ trademark approach to using comedy and his much beloved Sordid Lives characters to deal with these important current social issues and the very real process of accepting your family for who they are instead of who you want them to be. Synopsis: A VERY SORDID WEDDING It’s 2015, seventeen years after Peggy tripped over G.W.’s wooden legs and died in Sordid Lives, and life has moved into the present for the residents of Winters, Texas. Sissy Hickey (Dale Dickey) is reading the Bible, cover to cover, trying to make some kind of sense out of what it really says about gay people. Her niece Latrelle Williamson (Bonnie Bedelia) has divorced her husband Wilson (Michael MacRae) who has taken up with a hot young gold digger. Latrelle’s now out and proud gay son Ty (Kirk Geiger) is on his way back to town with his black man and news of their own. Her sister LaVonda (Ann Walker) is still cussin’ and drankin’ and is being blackmailed to sit with the sick and afflicted. LaVonda’s best friend Noleta (Caroline Rhea) meets a hot younger man while visiting her awful mama in the hospital. G.W. (David Steen), sporting new fiberglass legs after Noleta burned his old ones, is still feeling guilty and mourning Peggy. Nearly incoherent barfly Juanita (Sarah Hunley) has moved from her obsession with Vacation Bible School roosters to the royal family while Wardell (Newell Alexander) and Odell (David Cowgill) still bicker at the bar. Tammy Wynette champion Brother Boy (Leslie Jordan) hasn’t been back to Winters since Peggy’s funeral, and he’s working at a tragic little gay bar in  Longview, having added Loretta and Dolly to his new medley act “We Three Queens of Oper-y Are” till a chance meeting with a dangerous criminal forces him out on the run. As the sordid saga continues, an anniversary memorial service is being planned in honor of Peggy at Bubba’s Bar while the Southside Baptist Church is planning an “Anti-Equality Rally” to protest the advancement of same-sex marriage, spearheaded by Vera Lisso (Lorna Scott) and Mrs. Barnes (Sharon Garrison). Both events are to take place on the same night, so the cast of colorful characters are all on a collision course for shenanigans and fireworks, and a surprise wedding! Credits Beard Collins Shores Productions presents A VERY SORDID WEDDING In association with Buffalo Gal Pictures Supporting sponsor: Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Written and directed by Del Shores Produced by Emerson Collins, Del Shores Executive Producers: Louise H. Beard, Phyllis Laing, Jeff Beesley, Camelot Theatres, Rozene & Ric Supple  Co-Producers: Donna Mathewson, Anthony Gore, Stuart Howell Bell, Carl Foster Miller & Karl H. Christianson, Craig & Scott Caulfield-Seidner Director of Photography: Paul Suderman Production Designer: Chad Giesbrecht Editor: Donna Matthewson Costume Designer: Sandy Soke Music by Joe Patrick Ward Total running time: 109 minutes Official Website: http://www.averysordidwedding.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/averysordidwedding/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sordidwedding

In this exhilaratingly original, multimedia one-man show, actor / comedian / radio broadcaster Tetsuro Shigematsu tells the dynamic story of an emotionally distant father whose legacy is felt beyond his lifetime. From the ashes of Hiroshima to swinging 1960s London, Akira's incredible personal history continues to influence two generations. Separated by language, culture and history, what truly keeps father and son apart are their similarities. Empire of the Son is a funny, emotional and deeply thoughtful portrayal of parent/ child relationships. Empire of the Son was recently nominated for five Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards, including Outstanding Production, Actor and Direction. “I couldn't help but hear the incredible amount of talk this work generated after its sold out debut in Vancouver last year. West of the Rockies, it was on the top of the reviewers' year-end lists and when you see it, you'll know why. In Empire of the Son, the personal becomes magic.” – Jillian Keiley, Artistic director, NAC English Theatre

Bruce Lazarus is an entertainment attorney and theatrical producer notable for his work on Broadway and off-Broadway. He received a 2003 Tony Award for Best Play nomination for the Broadway production of Say Goodnight Gracie by Rupert Holmes and won the 2004 National Broadway Theatre Award for the national tour. His other Broadway producing credits include The Gathering by Arje Shaw. He also produced several notable off-Broadway productions including Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet adapted by Joe Calarco for which he won the 1998 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Production, and Only Kidding by Jim Geoghan for which he won the 1989 Drama Desk Award Outstanding New Play nomination. As a theatrical attorney he has represented over 20 Broadway and off-Broadway shows including: Blueman Group:Tubes, The Lion King, Aida, and Beauty and the Beast in his capacity as Director of Business and Legal Affairs for Walt Disney Theatrical Productions. We discussed licensing (a very important factor for Broadway Producers and for those investing in Broadway shows to consider before signing up for a show) and a whole lot more including: How his career as a Producer, a Lawyer for Disney, an Artist’s Agent and more prepared him for his job at Samuel French. Which market (regional, community, etc.) he would work with if he had to pick just one. How licensing theater is like playing video games. Is the success of Broadway trickling down to the stock and amateur market? How Samuel French is fighting online piracy. Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway www.theproducersperspective.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This special The Bellows episode features carpenter Kevin Hutson, our moderator, joining writer/director Kat Sandler, technical director Dean Johnson, independent producer Aislinn Rose, technician and stage manager Pip Bradford, and designer and technician Rebecca Vandevelde discussing how to work with your friends while remaining professional. It was recorded live at Theatre Passe Muraille on January 18th. The first 10 minutes of the introductions was lost because SOMEone forgot to hit record: it happens. This audio starts with with Rebecca Vandevelde introducing herself. As well, the audio has been panned in order to facilitate the identification of the speaker with the audio field being layed out as they presented: Kevin, Kat (who joins later), Dean, Aislinn, Pip, and Rebecca. KEVIN HUTSON Kevin is the head carpenter at The Tarragon Theatre in Toronto and one of the founders of The Bellows. Kevin has also performed as a production manager, technical director, lighting designer and general technician in Toronto for may years. DEAN JOHNSON A technician and technical director in Toronto. KAT SANDLER Kat is a writer/actor/director working in Toronto. She is the Artistic Director of Theatre Brouhaha, and has staged six or her original plays; LOVESEXMONEY (Next Stage Festival), Help Yourself (Best of Fringe, winner of the Fringe New Play Contest), Delicacy (Summerworks), Rock (Storefront Theatre), We Are the Bomb (Toronto Fringe, Sucker (Storefront Theatre) and directed Twenty-Seven Wagons Full of Cotton, and The Unseen Hand (Playwrights Project). As an actor she has appeared onstage with Theatre Gargantua in the world premieres of FiBBer and Imprints. She is a graduate of Queen’s University. Kat will be writing Retreat while in Tarragon’s Playwrights Unit. AISLINN ROSE Aislinn is an independent producer, theatre maker, member of the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts’ Board of Directors, and Co-Chair of TAPA’s Indie Caucus. She recently joined the producing team for Luminato’s 2013 festival as Associate Producer, and produced the festival’s L’Allegro by the Mark Morris Dance Group, Feng Yi Ting directed by Atom Egoyan, and Ronnie Burkett’s The Daisy Theatre. This year she will be guest curating Harbourfront Centre’s HATCH 2014 season along with her Praxis Theatre colleague, Michael Wheeler. As the Artistic Producer of Praxis Theatre & Co-Editor of praxistheatre.com, she led the Open Source Theatre Project for Section 98 at Harbourfront Centre, created the experimental Dungeons & Dragons (not) The Musical, was Artistic Producer of You Should Have Stayed Home, and Producer for Jesus Chrysler in Association with Theatre Passe Muraille. She will be producing their upcoming cross Canada tour of You Should Have Stayed Home in Whitehorse, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. She and Michael Wheeler were named Theatre VIPs for 2012 by Toronto paper, The Grid, after having been named “People to watch” that year by Torontoist. Last year she produced Aluna Theatre’s inaugural PANAMERICAN ROUTES Festival of Theatre for Human Rights, and was Co-Producer with Fides Krucker on the electroacoustic opera Julie Sits Waiting (nominated for 5 Dora Awards including Outstanding Production – Opera/Musical). Other recent projects include producing The Lesson For Modern Times Stage Company (nominated for 8 Dora Awards, including Outstanding Production). Social media experiments include working as a consultant & online creator for the sold-out run of Michael Healey’s Proud and developing “The Brain”, the online counterpart for Liza Balkan’s Out The Window for The Theatre Centre’s biennial Free Fall Festival. Aislinn is the recent recipient of a Canada Council for the Arts Professional Development grant as an Independent Theatre Producer. SARAH ‘PIP’ BRADFORD Pip has lived and worked in the Toronto theatre community for the past five years. She freelances as a technician and stage manager for many companies in Toronto, inclu

…NOTHING BUTT GOOD FOOD.Have you ever woken up in the morning, headed straight to the kitchen and made breakfast naked? I know someone who has…THE BEAR-NAKED CHEF is a sexy and innovative cooking show hosted by its creator, home-chef Adrian De Berardinis. We watch Adrian cook accessible and delicious food while connecting with his viewers by delivering elegant and enticing visuals. His experience combined with his sex-appeal make for an engaging, educational, and unforgettable cooking experience.What is a “Bear”?Often a larger, hairier man who projects an image of rugged masculinity.Why naked?Why not? Adrian believes food is sexy and so is the process of cooking it.What is THE BEAR-NAKED CHEF series?Cooking shows are ordinary and all the same. This provocative short-form web-series offers something different and exciting. We follow Adrian on his naked culinary journey of making simple-to-make, yet sophisticated dishes while using his “smoldering charm” to elevate the experience. Sexualizing food? Maybe. Remember 9 ½ weeks? Adrian believes food and cooking is a very seductive process, so why not feel so while experiencing it? It’s “food-porn” combined with mild nudity. Nudity may be the hook, but his food is legit! And his viewers get a feast for the eyes while learning to cook something uniquely delicious. His approach is simple recipes, fresh ingredients and no carb or calorie counting here!Huffington Post-http://huff.to/1nBF3LOhttp://huff.to/23hUDgiTowleroad-http://bit.ly/1VcjDjhttp://bit.ly/1RX9KIuLogo-http://logo.to/1QoJBABhttp://logo.to/1No0uEYQueerty-http://bit.ly/1OACEKnhttp://bit.ly/1SAue9wOut Magazinehttp://bit.ly/1Uf8FJwDNA Magazine-http://bit.ly/1RvhFfBWho Is THE BEAR-NAKED CHEF?Growing up in a foodie household in Toronto, Canada, Adrian cultivated his passion for authentic Italian cuisine, learning from the caring hands of his mother and grandmother. By age 11, he had the privilege of working in family owned restaurants and pizzerias which honed his kitchen and cooking skills. He specializes in uncomplicated, regional Italian dishes, but his exploration and ability don’t stop there. He experiments with other tastes from around the globe. His experience in New York’s famous east-village restaurant Frank won him an award for “Best focaccia in NYC”.Facebook: Adrian De BerardinisCreated By: Adrian De Berardinis Instagram: @dbear97Produced By: Brandon Roberts Twitter: @ChefbarenakedWWW.BEARNAKEDCHEF.COM Del Shores Del Shores has written, directed and produced successfully across studio and independent film, network and cable television as well as theatre.  Shores’ career took off with the play Daddy’s Dyin’ (Who’s Got The Will?) in 1987, which ran two years, winning many Los Angeles theatre awards, including LA Weekly’s Best Production and Best Writing. The play has subsequently been produced in over 2,500 theatres worldwide. A movie version of Daddy’s Dyin’ was released in 1990 by MGM starring Beau Bridges, Tess Harper, Judge Reinhold, Keith Carradine and Beverly D’Angelo. Shores wrote the screenplay and executive produced the film. Sordid Lives, his fourth play, opened in Los Angeles in 1996 and ran 13 sold-out months. The play went on to win 14 Drama-Logue Theatre Awards, including three for Shores for writing, directing and producing. There have since been over 300 additional stage productions of the play. In 1999, Shores wrote and directed the film version of Sordid Lives starring Beau Bridges, Delta Burke, Olivia Newton-John, Bonnie Bedelia, Leslie Jordan and Beth Grant along with most of the original cast from the play. Opening in only eight theatres across the country, the little film that could took in nearly two million dollars in its limited release. The movie became a cult phenomenon and became the longest running film in the history of Palm Springs with a record ninety-six weeks.The movie won many festival awards including Best Film at the New York Independent Film & Video Festival, Atlanta Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival, Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival, South Beach Film Festival, Memphis International Film Festival and the San Diego International Film Festival and won a total of thirteen “Audience Awards.” In 2002 Twentieth Century Fox released the DVD/Video, which has now sold over 300,000 units. His play Southern Baptist Sissies followed, and it enjoyed a ten-month sold-out run in Los Angeles in 2000. Revived in 2002, Sissies had another six month sold-out run. Shores received the LA Weekly, Robby and Maddy for Best Direction and the Backstage West Garland, Robby and Maddy for Best Writing. The play was also awarded the prestigious GLAAD Award for Outstanding Production of the Year.In 2003, The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife became Shores’ most critically acclaimed play. After a six-month sold-out run in Los Angeles, Shores won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle’s Ted Schmitt Award for Best World Premiere of an Outstanding New Play. The Circle also awarded the play Best Production and Best Lead Performance to Beth Grant. Trials also won five Back Stage West Garland Awards, two NAACP Awards, an LA Stage Alliance Ovation and three LA Weekly Awards.In 2006, Shores revived three of his plays (Sordid Lives, Southern Baptist Sissies, The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife) in Los Angeles before taking to the road for asuccessful six city national tour, starring Delta Burke and Leslie Jordan, which played in 1000- 1700 seat houses.Sordid Lives: The Series, a television series prequel to the film, premiered on Viacom’s LOGO network in 2008 starring Olivia Newton-John, Rue McClanahan, Leslie Jordan, Beth Grant, Caroline Rhea and many of the original stage and film cast. Shores created, wrote, directed and executive produced all twelve episodes. The series became LOGO’s biggest hit to date, and was distributed internationally through IMG worldwide in syndication in seventeen countries. In addition to Sordid Lives: The Series, in television Shores has written and produced for many shows including Dharma and Greg and the last three seasons of the ground-breaking Showtime series Queer as Folk. He also wrote, directed and produced the Showtime movie The Wilde Girls, starring Olivia Newton-John and Swoosie Kurtz.In 2009, Shores hit the road and played 34 cities to sold-out houses with his one-man show Del Shores: My Sordid Life. The DVD was filmed and released in 2012 by Breaking Glass Pictures. He also performed stand-up with various Sordid Lives stars including Rue McClanahan, Caroline Rhea and Leslie Jordan in A Sordid Affair, playing large theatres in Dallas, Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale and Raleigh as well as four nights at Comix in New York City.The world premiere of Shores’ newest play, Yellow, opened June 11, 2010 to rave reviews and ran six sold-out months. Yellow followed in the unmatched footsteps of Shores’ six previousworld premiere productions that have run collectively for over eight years and won over one hundred Los Angeles theatre awards. The production swept various Los Angeles theatreawards including Best World Premiere, Best Production, Best Direction for Del Shores himself (Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, Backstage Garland, LA Weekly, Broadway World.) The play became Shores’ seventh Samuel French published play and played to sold-out houses for Uptown Players in Dallas at the historic Kalita Humpheys Theater. He also directed the Dallas production.Shores wrote, directed and produced the film version of his play The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife with the entire original stage cast: Beth Grant (Sordid Lives, Little Miss Sunshine, No Country For Old Men) Octavia Spencer (Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG Award Winner “Minnie” in The Help), Dale Dickey (Spirit Award Winner, Best Supporting Actress Winter’s Bone), David Steen (Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained) and top 10 Billboard dance artist Debby Holiday. The film adaption is entitled Blues For Willadean and was released in select theatres in late 2012. It is now available on iTunes and DVD.In the summer of 2011, Shores took to the road again, selling out his new stand-up show Del Shores: Sordid Confessions in 40 cities. Shores returned to his home state of Texas in January of 2012 to film the show at the famous Rose Room in Dallas. Breaking Glass Pictures released the DVD to rave reviews. His stand-up career continued to explode and he launched his third national tour in 2012 with Del Shores: Naked.Sordid.Reality. The tour became his most successful, playing over 50 dates. He returned to the Rose Room to film the show in March 2013, which will be released in the fall of 2014. He continues to tour with his “best of” stand-up called Del Shores: My Sordid Best.Shores filmed his play Southern Baptist Sissies in January 2013. The film played the film festival circuit and won fifteen festival awards, nine of them Audience Awards. Sissies stars Emerson Collins, Willam Belli, Matthew Scott Montgomery, Luke Stratte-McClure, Dale Dickey, Leslie Jordan, Newell Alexander, Rosemary Alexander, Bobbie Eakes and Ann Walker. Del has also won or been nominated for GLAAD, NAACP, Ovation, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, LA Weekly and Backstage Garland awards for writing, directing and producing. He has Lifetime Achievement awards from LA Weekly and FilmOut San Diego and is the 2013 recipient of The Stanley Kramer Emerging Filmmaker Award.Del also recently returned to acting and completed principal photography, co-starring in the independent feature Cry, now playing in film festivals. FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER AT @DELSHORESVISIT HIS FAN PAGE AT HTTP://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/DELSHORESFANCLUB.“DEL SHORES IS THE GRAND MASTER OF SOUTHERN LOWLIFE SENSIBILITIES.” DAILY VARIETY

Nature Theater of Oklahoma talks to American dancer/choreographer Eleanor Bauer about dance, theater, tanztheater, performance art, Broadway show and all the many contexts and categories in between - up to and including her recent nomination for a Bessie award in the complicated and controversial category of “Outstanding Production of a work not technically considered dance but happening in and influencing dance in New York” 

This episode features a discussion about NJACT's 2008 Perry Awards. Guests include M. Kitty Getlik (Hamilton, NJ), who is the Artistic Director of Kelsey Theatre and a 3-time Perry nominee for Outstanding Lighting Design. Kyrus Westcott (Hamilton, NJ), producer of "NKD: Sex, Lies, Life," who has been nominated this year for Outstanding Production of an Original Play. And John Maurer (Ewing, NJ), co-founder of the theatre company Maurer Productions OnStage. John is a 6-time Perry Award nominee himself, and executive producer of last season's "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Singin’ in the Rain," which have received a total of 17 nominations.