Podcasts about Pasadena Playhouse

Hoy repasaremos la vida del mejor villano salido de un cómic, Lex Luthor, el malo de Superman. Hoy recordaremos la vida de Eugene Allen Hackman, votado en su escuela de actuación como “el menos probable a triunfar”. El pequeño Eugene nació en California, el 30 de enero de 1930, pero el niño tenía antepasados hasta en San Nicolás del Puerto. Pa colmo los padres dieron más vueltas que un revisor de zona azul para buscarse la vida hasta que acabaron donde se acaba siempre, viviendo con la suegra, en Illinois. Allí su padre trabajó de lo mismo que Antonio Alcántara, pero sin defraudar a Hacienda, y como el matrimonio no iba muy bien, tuvieron otro niño, er Richard. Al año siguiente, cuando Gene tenía 13 años, sus padres se divorciaron y él se quedó con su madre y su abuela porque la abuela hacía la tortilla de papa carduita y sin cebolla. En 1946, a los 16 años, se independizó alistándose en la Marina diciendo que tenía 18, porque ya medía 1,88 cm y a nadie le extrañó que estuviera todo el tiempo diciendo “en plan”. Allí sirvió 3 años como operador de radio hasta que se hartó de arreglá walki talki y se volvió a Nueva York. En la Gran Manzana trabajó menos que la novia de Ábalos, así que regresó a Illinois y aprovechó la beca que daba el gobierno a los exmilitares para estudiar TV y periodismo. Gracias a estos estudios empezó a trabajar en la radio. En 1956, con 26 años, se casó con Fay Maltese con quien tuvo 3 hijos y que le acompañó a la premiere de Superman con el mismo peinado que tu abuela fue a tu bautizo. El matrimonio duró 30 años, se divorciaron en 1986 porque Fay decía que lo había visto 3 veces en los dos últimos años. Más allá de los 30 y harto de no poder ir ni al Sushi Panda con el sueldo de la radio ingresó en la escuela de interpretación “Pasadena Playhouse” en Los Angeles donde le dijeron que era más malo que Bob Dylan haciendo playback. En 1962 su madre tuvo un pequeño accidente con el brasero de la mesa camilla y Gene tuvo que regresar a Nueva York pa recogé las cenizas y pa pelearse con los del OCASO que le querían cobrar la incineración. Ya que estaba allí siguió estudiando y dio el salto a Broadway, cosechando tal éxito que le abrió las puertas de la gran pantalla. Su salto a la fama fue con la interpretación del hermano de Clyde en la película Bonnie and Clyde aunque el Óscar llegaría en 1972 con su interpretación en The French Connection (“La Junquera” en español). Y ya tó fue triunfá. En esta época se dejó bigote, competía en carreras de coches y le salía el pelo na má desde la mitad de la cabeza pa'trá, que cuando se quitaba el casco parecía el Drácula de Bram Stoker. En 1984 Gene conoció a Betsy Arakawa, con la que se casó en 1991, 5 años después de su divorcio y tras 7 años de noviazgo. Por desgracia a Betsy le dio un hama y, debido al Alzheimer, Gene no pudo ayudarla ni sobrevivir sin ella, por lo que se cree que el actor nos dejó el 18 de febrero de 2025 a los 95 años, aunque ustedes siempre podrán recordarlo cuando hablen con alguien de San Nicolás del Puerto o vean un video de Bob Dylan haciendo playback.

Jasmine Amy Rogers is an Outer Critics Circle Award Winner and Tony Award Nominee for her Broadway debut as "Betty Boop" in BOOP! The Musical, directed by Jerry Mitchell. She has also graced the stage across the country as "Anita" in JELLY'S LAST JAM at Pasadena Playhouse, in the National Tour of MEAN GIRLS, as "Melody Green" in THE WANDERER at Papermill Playhouse, and in the world premiere of BECOMING NANCY at Alliance Theatre. In this episode, Jasmine shares her childhood moment that revealed she wanted to be a performer, why she trusts the universal plan, and how auditioning for BOOP! taught her how to stand up for herself in her career.  Boop! Tickets William Finns Falsettos Join Stages Mailing list

Today on AirTalk: LA's budget deficit explained (0:15) Are tariffs affecting the win industry (19:55) Embryo and fetus rights (32:42) Latest on deportation Trump's efforts (51:55) Pasadena Playhouse celebrates 100 years (1:10:01) Where is the best place to live in SoCal? (1:26:56)

Actor Brandon Gill from the acclaimed play “Top Dog/ Under Dog”, takes time away from the amazing production at the Pasadena Playhouse to chat with Power 97.5 LA and discuss his longstanding career in film/ tv. How to be seen and deal with the pressure of the industry, and building connects to feed the artistry. Support this amazing creative on Instagram @bboyinc

Top Dog/Underdog…This is the story of two African-American brothers, Lincoln and Booth. Lincoln actually works putting on white-face night after night portraying Abraham Lincoln. Booth is trying to get out of the life of a street hustle.Both are trying to make their way in society, dealing with work, women, racism, as well as a troubled upbringing.KVCR's Champ Chipman recently interviewed Gregg Daniel, directing this Pulitzer Prize winning play at the Pasadena Playhouse, running through March 23.Last week we got a bit of an introduction to Daniel. On this edition of the program we'll hear more about the play, as well as the many opportunities it provides on stage and off.

This week on End Credits, we can't stop doing the monkey! Not the dance, but the movie of the same name that has been winning fans at cinemas all around the country these last couple of weeks. So yes, we're talking about The Monkey, and we're also going to be talking about the life and movies of another Hollywood icon!  This Wednesday, March 5, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss: For Gene. While the circumstances of his passing still has many unanswered questions, there's no doubt that Gene Hackman is one of the greatest actors ever to grace the silver screen. From The French Connection to Unforgiven to The Royal Tenenbaums, Hackman's legacy has been secured, and that's not bad for the guy his classmates at the Pasadena Playhouse called "least likely to succeed". To start this week, we honour Gene. REVIEW: The Monkey (2025). The Monkey represents a horror trifecta: It's based on a story by Stephen King, produced by James Wan, and directed by Longlegs filmmaker Osgood Perkins. Perkins' success last year with Longlegs established himself as cinematic stylist and he brings all his skills to bear on this story about a cursed toy monkey that brings a swift and terrible death to the people around it. But The Monkey is actually a comedy too, which is not always an easy needle to thread, so has Perkins delivered the blood and gut(buster)s? End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

Yesterday afternoon, the bodies of Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog were found at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The County Sheriff's Office did not have reason to suspect foul play this early in the investigation, and there's no official confirmation on the cause of their deaths. Many have suggested it may have been carbon monoxide poisoning. The couple had been married since 1991.Betsy Arakawa, 63, was a retired classical pianist and co-owned Pandora's Box, a home furnishings store in Santa Fe which she launched with her friend Barbara Lenihan. She resolutely avoided the spotlight and cherished her privacy, never giving public interviews and preferring to live a quiet life with her husband.Gene Hackman, 95, was a Marine Corps veteran who had wanted to act since he was ten years old and pursued that dream several years after he left the service. At the Pasadena Playhouse, Mr. Hackman and his friend Dustin Hoffman were voted “The Least Likely to Succeed” and shortly thereafter moved to NYC to prove the doubters wrong and make their way into the industry. They befriended Robert Duvall, and the three struggling actors shared apartments for much of the ‘60s.All three became some of the best actors of their generation and among the greatest of all-time. Mr. Hackman won Oscars for Best Actor (The French Connection, 1971) and Best Supporting Actor (Unforgiven, 1993), along with additional nominations for Best Actor (Mississippi Burning, 1989) and Best Supporting Actor (Bonnie & Clyde, 1968; I Never Sang for My Father, 1971).He also won three Golden Globes (five additional nominations, plus the 2003 Cecil B. DeMille Award), two BAFTAs (five additional nominations), and a Screen Actors Guild Award along with the rest of the cast of The Birdcage (1997).That's all swell, but itemizing accolades doesn't come close to doing justice to the spell cast by Gene Hackman onscreen.The magic of Mr. Hackman is that he somehow played the same person and a completely different person, simultaneously, in every movie, and it always felt exactly right. If you saw his face in a movie when you were flipping channels, you stopped to watch. Because it's Gene Hackman. I mean, Hoosiers (1986). C'mon, now.Every big character Mr. Hackman has done is so individually compelling whilst simultaneously bearing hallmarks that can only be done by Gene Hackman and wouldn't be as good without them, and we completely bought it every time.It never felt like he broke himself down for characters. He seemed to just put on a costume and act his ass off. And it always worked.My favorite performance by Mr. Hackman is Captain Ramsey in Crimson Tide (1995), the commander of a nuclear submarine who is clearly emotionally unstable and paranoid.I've watched that movie so many times, and even when he's not onscreen, Mr. Hackman looms large in every frame, somehow stealing scenes he's not even in. The pettiness and resentment and narcissism of the character is so palpable that the thought still briefly crosses my mind during every rewatch: “Damn, he's gonna get ‘em all killed.”One of the more interesting “what ifs” in the history of film casting is how Mr. Hackman almost played Calvin Jarrett, the father in Ordinary People (1980), but withdrew due to a financial disagreement with the studio.The late, great Donald Sutherland was cast instead and gave a superb performance—which was infamously snubbed for a Best Actor nomination that year—but just for a second, try to imagine Mr. Hackman in that particular role. I want to see that movie, too.Mr. Hackman fully stepped away from acting in 2004 and confirmed his retirement in subsequent years, only making a guest appearance in an episode of “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” in 2008 and lending his voice to two Marine Corps documentaries.Ms. Arakawa and Mr. Hackman remodeled a home in Santa Fe and built a quiet and peaceful life there over the past 35 years, away from all the glitz and glamour and gossip of Hollywood and the film industry, for which neither had much patience.Their idea of a good time was spending every Friday night watching stand-up comedy, Susie Izzard being one of their favorites. Their family and friends are in my thoughts today.What a year, y'all. What a year.Charlotte's Web Thoughts is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Charlotte's Web Thoughts at charlotteclymer.substack.com/subscribe

The movie Brave the Dark is an account between the relationship of Stan Deen and his adopted son Nathaniel ‘Nate’ Deen’. This past January, The New Holland Area Historical Society opened an exhibit so people could learn more about the story behind the movie. For Nate, Mr. Deen provided him with hope and stability. “For me growing up was a really hard and tragic time. I experienced a lot of childhood trauma and so when I was 16, I ran away and ended up meeting a teacher, Mr. Dean, at Garden Spot High School in New Holland, Pennsylvania and he helped me through a really hard time and so I met him as a teacher but he became my father really, the father that I so desperately needed in my life, “said Nate Green. Mr. Deen was a beloved English and drama teacher at Garden Spot High School from 1967-1997. Nate was approached by Steve Lowen to visit the New Holland Area Historical Society Museum, and they decided to dedicate an entire exhibit to Stan. Visitors can expect to see a journey through Mr. Deen’s life and how he impacted so many people through 'The Remarkable Mr. Deen'. “You'll learn about his childhood, going through school, going to Pasadena Playhouse to become an actor. Always wanted to be an actor but things didn't work out and so he became a teacher back in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in New Holland at Garden Spot High School. You'll get to literally walk into his classroom and see the chairs and his old desk and some of the items that were on his desk. You'll get to see photos of him as a teacher over the years. There's even a stand -up cutout of Stan so you can take a picture. There's just so many wonderful things. You'll get to continue through and see all of the memories of Garden Spot performing arts and the shows that he helped perform direct.” Nate hopes that visitors take away the importance of small acts of kindness from the exhibit. “Stan was such a kind person, and he just connected with us and his students and his actors and everyone he encountered. He just truly saw you for who you were and he believed in you probably more than you believed in yourself.” Listen to the podcast to hear the full conversation. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send us a textWelcome back Jam Fam!  You are in for a treat today!  In this episode, we speak to Doriana Sanchez, a legend in the dance world.  So many of you have seen her but didn't know her name.  A creative with an incredible back story, a survivor and warrior, a mentor with a heart of gold, we know you will love todays chat with Doriana!DORIANA SANCHEZ is an Emmy Award and two-time American Choreography Award nominated choreographer and director, and a World Choreography Award recipient. Her love of Dance and Movement has allowed her to create in all areas of stage and media.Ryan Seacrest on E News! Has called her “The Dancing Queen”, and Tu Ciudad Magazine named her one of the 25 “Hip Hot Now” Hispanics in arts and entertainment.As a long time collaborator with Pop Icon Cher, Doriana has Created, Directed and Choreographed the superstars extravaganza performances including; Dancing with The Stars, The Voice, Good Morning America, The Late Show with David Letterman and the associated “Dressed To Kill” Tour” which, met with rave reviews. Doriana has also Conceived, Directed and Choreographed Cher at the Colosseum during its three year, 200-plus sold out performances at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.Her work can also be seen in the Love Hurts, Believe and Living Proof tour, which was honored with four Emmy Awards including Outstanding Musical Variety Special. Over three million people saw the show during its 325 performances. It ranks as one of the most successful tours for a female artist, grossing over 200 million dollars. Doriana was also nominated for an Emmy for Best Choreography for the show's HBO special.Doriana's Stage, Circus and Touring credits include, choreographing the world premiere of Frank Loesser's musical Senor Discretion Himself, at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. for which she received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Best Choreography, Barry Manilow's Copcabana, at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London, which was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best new Musical, The Night is a Child, at Pasadena Playhouse and Blade To The Heat at the Mark Taper Forum.Her great love of circus arts led Doriana to China where she created The Galaxy Stars Circus featuring over 150 international performers. Other circus credits include Circo Fantastico, the all-Latin circus that Doriana wrote, directed and choreographed, as well as Odyssey, the first circus ever presented on a cruise ship, for Princess Cruises.Additional Directing and choreography credits include, Video Games Live, Jane's Addiction's Jubilee Tour, Perry Farrell's Porno for Pyros Tour, Peter Gabriel's Secret World Tour, Dirty Dancing Concert Tour (2 weeks Sold out shows at Radio City Music Hall. Her productions have been seen in nearly every large scale arena in the US and abroad.She has worked with musical legends such as Latin superstar Shakira, Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole, Frankie Valli, and David Foster musical prodigies, Jackie Evancho and Charice, as well as comedy superstar Ellen DeGeneres.She received a TEA award for outstanding achievement, for Resorts World's Crane Dance, in Singapore Harbor, the largest animatronic water and video spectacular in the world and was director and choreographer for Festive Walk's Lake of Dreams also at Resorts World.Corporate clients include, Redken, Target, Toyota, Mattel and CanonDoriana's television credits include the Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, The Voice, Dancing with the Stars,Thank you for listening Jam Fam! Make sure you follow us across social media and don't forget to like and subscribe anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts!Facebook: JAM Joe and Michelle's Dance PodcastInstagram: jam_dance_podcastTwitter: @jamdancepodcastEmail: jamdancepodcast@gmail.com

"Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Careyand special guestDavid Dorfman.In this episode of"Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey interviewsDavid Dorfman, the Artistic Director of the David Dorfman Dance Company. They discuss David's journey into dance, his influences, and the pivotal moments that shaped his career. David shares insights into his teaching philosophy, the importance of improvisation, and the collaborative nature of dance. He emphasizes the significance of presence in performance and the joy of mentorship in his role as a professor at Connecticut College. In this engaging conversation, David Dorfman shares his insights on the art of partner dancing, the themes of surrender and connection in his work, and the intersection of dance and war. He discusses the transformative power of dance, the importance of legacy, and how revisiting old works can be a journey through time. Dorfman emphasizes the role of dance in healing and connection, advocating for a world where everyone dances as a path to peace.Upcoming performance: Downtown to Uptown, Past to Forward.David Dorfman is the Artistic Director and Founder of David Dorfman Dance (1987), has been Professor of Dance at Connecticut College since 2004. Dorfman received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2005 to continue his research and choreography in the topics of power and powerlessness, including activism, dissidence, and underground movements. DD has been honored with four fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, three New York Foundation for the Arts fellowships, an American Choreographer's Award, the first Paul Taylor Fellowship from The Yard, and a New York Dance & Performance “Bessie” Award.David was a 2019 United States Artists Fellow in Dance. His work has been commissioned widely in the U.S. and in Europe, by Dancing Wheels (Cleveland), AXIS Dance Company (Oakland), and Bedlam Dance Company (London). His forays into theater include choreography for the Tony Award-winning play,Indecent, by Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman, for which DD received a Lucille Lortel Award and Chita Rivera Nomination for best choreography for the play's Off-Broadway run. David traveled to London in March 2020 to set choreography forIndecent's UK premiere at the Menier Chocolate Factory. In addition, David has contributed his choreography for the upcomingWhisper House, a new musical by Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow, Ibsen'sAn Enemy of the People at Yale Rep;Our Town, a co-production of Deaf West and Pasadena Playhouse;Assassins at Yale Rep; and the original musicalGreen Violin at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia, for which he won a 2003 Barrymore Award for best choreography. Dorfman tours an evening of solos and duets,Live Sax Acts, with dear friend and collaborator Dan Froot, most recently in New York City and at the Harare International Festival of the Arts in Zimbabwe.  As a performer, he toured internationally with Kei Takei's Moving Earth and Susan Marshall & Co.DD hails from Chicago and holds a BS in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis (1977). He appeared on several episodes of A Chance to Dance, a reality show on OvationTV starring Dorfman's pals, the BalletBoyz .DD continually thanks Martha Myers and the late Daniel Nagrin, for being his dance mom and dad; his late parents, Oscar and Jeanette, for inspiring him to dance to heal and instilling the importance of a good joke; and his in-house “family project”, Lisa and Samson, for sharing with him the practice of unconditional love.Info About Upcoming Performanceshttps://www.daviddorfmandance.org/calendar“Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Careywherever you listen to your podcasts. ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://dancetalkwithjoannecarey.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Joanne on Instagram @westfieldschoolofdance Tune in. Follow. Like us. And Share. Please leave a review! “Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey"Where the Dance World Connects, the Conversations Inspire, and Where We Are Keeping Them Real."

Joe Loesch is one of the truly good guys of Nashville! We had a blast doing this episode. Joe is an acclaimed voice actor and spoken word producer with over thirty years of experience in the VoiceOver industry. As a U.S. Army veteran, he leverages his military training to enrich his strategic VoiceOver coaching. Joe's voice graces national commercials, video games, cartoons, and corporate narrations. He has voiced several cartoon characters for Disney and PBS Kids and produced the Baby Looney Tunes sound books.  Additionally, he has produced hundreds of audiobooks for renowned publishers like Harper Collins, Zondervan Publishing, Thomas Nelson, Mission Audio, Oasis Audio, Toy Box Productions, and Readio Theatre. Joe has also narrated dozens of audiobooks and voiced countless commercials for national brands including Philips/Magnavox, Bridgestone/Firestone, Coca-Cola, Folgers, Sun Sweet Prunes, Ford, Chevy, and Toyota. His on-screen presence extends to several movies and numerous national TV commercials. Joe honed his acting skills at the Pasadena Playhouse and now proudly calls Nashville home. He along with his wife Lori, own and operate Creative License, Inc., an audiobook production company based in Nashville, TN. www.joeloesch.com      

This episode of The Other Side of the Bell, featuring trumpeter Aaron Smith, is brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass.  About Aaron : Aaron Smith is an active freelance trumpet player in Los Angeles, CA. He also writes, arranges, and publishes music through his small business, TrumpetSmith Publishing (ASCAP). In addition, he serves on the Hearing Board for the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 47 and on the Board of Directors for the Recording Musicians Association Los Angeles (RMALA).  Raised in an Army household with musician parents who played jazz and r&b, and later to receive classical conservatory training, Smith thrives on versatility, consistency, and accurate delivery of musical intent. As a trusted freelance musician in Los Angeles, he performs regularly for live orchestral events, musical theatre, films, independent recording projects, streaming, television, and video games.  He has recorded on film/tv projects for celebrated composers including Alan Menken, Bear McCreary, Branford Marsalis, Germaine Franco, Heitor Pereira, Kris Bowers, Rob Simonsen, and Terence Blanchard; on sound recordings for Adrian Younge, Austin Wintory, Charles Gaines, Dr. Dre, Joachim Horsley, John Daversa, and X Ambassadors. He has performed as a sideman in bands on the Academy Awards, Dancing with the Stars, Disney's Encore!, Ellen, the LATE LATE Show, and The Voice. He's also appeared as a sideman onscreen for films including Babylon and Joker: Folie à Deux; and tv commercials for Capital One and Microsoft. He's backed major artists including Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Common, Danny Elfman, Jennifer Holliday, Josh Groban, Kelly Clarkson, Labrinth, Lady Gaga, Sigur Rós, Steve Lacy, and more. He has also performed for contemporary/new music ensembles and series including Alarm Will Sound, the Industry's Hopscotch Opera, Jacaranda, Southwest Chamber Music, wasteLAnd, WildUp, Green Umbrella, Monday Evening concert series, and Noon to Midnight Festival. In the L.A. theater world, Smith performs regularly at the Hollywood Pantages, Dolby, La Mirada Theaters and Pasadena Playhouse. Some notable shows from these theaters with Smith on solo trumpet include Back to the Future, Beetlejuice, Color Purple, Jelly's Last Jam, Les Misérables, Moulin Rouge, Wicked, and the Wiz.  As a composer, Smith strives to curate a top-tier experience for brass players especially. The primary focus is exploring boundaries while expressing a story; both through adapted arrangements structurally sound to the composer's intent and through his own original compositions. His work has been performed internationally. He has also created original chamber music commissioned by Marissa Benedict for University of Minnesota, Jim Self for University of Southern California, also by the Interlochen Center for the Arts, and Stomvi-USA.  Smith's training as a music performance major includes a Master of Fine Arts degree from California Institute of the Arts where he studied with Edward Carroll and John Fumo; and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music with professor James Thompson. He is also a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy with Stanley Friedman.

This Thanksgiving, Dr. Carlton and Dangilo are serving up a feast of laughs, advice, and gratitude in a special holiday episode you won't want to miss. Dr. Carlton kicks things off with his hot take on Gladiator 2—spoiler alert, it's just as ripped and sweaty as you'd hope...maybe? Dangilo dives into the fabulousness of the La Cage production at the Pasadena Playhouse, and the duo ponders the real question on everyone's mind: Is getting stuffed the true spirit of Thanksgiving?In honor of World AIDS Day, the guys take a moment to share valuable information and reflect on community resilience and support—a much-needed reminder of what really matters.Of course, the listener questions are as spicy as ever. One Icelandic listener slides in with a foreskin query that has the guys shedding light on a topic often kept in the dark. Another listener asks for advice on jumping back into the dating pool at 60—because it's never too late to shake things up! And if you've ever wondered about the fine art of gym sauna cruising etiquette, the guys break it down with a mix of sass and sage advice.To wrap things up, Dr. C. and Dangilo share what they're most thankful for this Thanksgiving—proving that even in a podcast packed with hilarity and heat, there's always room for heart. So grab a plate (and maybe a towel), and join the fun for an episode that's as satisfying as your favorite holiday leftovers.

La Cage aux Folles @ Pasadena Playhouse - 9.3 out of 10! Exceptional Show! LA Theatre Bites Recommended! www.latheatrebites.com

Buckle up for a deep dive into Cheyenne's journey from humble beginnings in Washington State to becoming a Broadway star, TV favorite, and proud father. From his breakout role in All Shook Up to his stints on 30 Rock and American Horror Story, Cheyenne reflects on the unexpected twists that shaped his career, like a chance encounter with Tina Fey that landed him a role on 30 Rock. He shares candidly about the challenges of growing up in a religious, conservative environment and coming to terms with his identity, along with his battles with sobriety. Throughout the conversation, Cheyenne reveals his love for storytelling, opening up about tough career choices, including the emotional trade-offs between stage and screen work. With humor and heart, he talks about the joys and demands of being a father to twins, balancing an eight-show week, and why his children still don't quite understand his fame. Wrapping up, he shares advice for aspiring performers: follow your dreams only if it's the first and last thing on your mind every day. Cheyenne Jackson is a multi-talented performer known for his roles across Broadway, film, and TV. His Broadway highlights include All Shook Up, Xanadu, and Into the Woods, while TV fans know him from Glee, 30 Rock, and American Horror Story. Offstage, Cheyenne is a passionate advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and a devoted father. He is currently starring in La Cage aux Folles at Pasadena Playhouse. Social Media Accounts: Instagram: @MrCheyenneJackson Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support the podcast on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast YouTube: YouTube.com/TheTheatrePodcast Threads, Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast TikTok: @thetheatrepodcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com My personal Instagram: @alanseales Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Veteran theater and film actor James Sutorius has performed for the most prestigious regional and repertory theater companies including The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Center Theatre Group, South Coast Repertory, and Pasadena Playhouse. He's also performed at Lincoln Center, Yale Repertory, Long Wharf Theatre, Seattle Repertory, and many more. In 2007, he won two San Diego Theatre Critics Awards for his performance as George in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and for his multiple supporting roles in John Strand's play "Lincolnesque." James made his Broadway debut in 1973 in "The Changing Room." In his very first entrance as a member of a rugby team, he had to walk downstage and strip off all his clothes! Instead of finding the experience terrifying, he actually found it liberating. And he played Laertes opposite Sam Waterston's Hamlet at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, alongside a cast of rising stars including Jane Alexander, Mandy Patinkin, George Hearn and John Heard. Most recently James was seen on Broadway in Aaron Sorkin's play "The Farnsworth Invention" that was directed by Des McAnuff and produced by Steven Spielberg. James was the voice for Ragu Spaghetti Sauce for 17 years, spawning the national catchphrase "Now, THAT'S Italian!" He continues to pitch other products for Coca Cola and Wrangler Jeans. He also lends his distinctive voice to audio books and short story anthologies on tape.On TV, James' break came when he starred as investigative reporter Mike Andros in The Andros Targets. He's also appeared on such well-known TV series as Dynasty, Cannon, Kojak, St. Elsewhere, Family Ties, 21 Jump Street, Murder, She Wrote, L.A. Law, The X Files, Judging Amy, and many others. And he was a regular on Bob Crane's short-lived sitcom, The Bob Crane Show. Additionally, he's appeared in such notable TV movies as: A Death in Canaan, A Question of Love, Skokie, Space, and On Wings of Eagles. In feature films, James can be seen in Dancing as Fast as I Can starring Jill Clayburgh and Windy City with John Shea and Kate Capshaw.

Tune in every Friday for more WOW Report. 10) Hot Flick: My Old Ass @00:44 9) Rest in Perfection: Mary McFadden @05:12 8) Hot Ticket: The Roommate @08:28 7) Cyrano De Bergerac at Pasadena Playhouse @18:40 6) Lemurians Discovered in Colorado @23:24 5) Reflect Orbital: Sun@Night @27:21 4) Rest in Perfection: JD Souther @34:53 3) AI and the Future of Us: An Oprah Winfrey Special @39:37 2) Campbell's in the Soup @44:16 1) Jane Fonda for Kamala Harris @49:02

In this episode, I share some incredible updates on our animated feature film project! We've been working closely with line producers to budget the ideal number for the film, and everything is truly coming together. I also talk about how two of my amazing writing partners spent significant time with me last week going over all the details. Plus, if you're in LA, don't miss us at LA Comic Con on October 5th at 11am, where we'll discuss the animation process for filmmakers! In the second half of the episode, I shift gears to talk about the joy of mentoring and freely sharing knowledge. I reflect on attending Emerson College's ELA'10 celebration, my friend's documentary film festival premiere, and an inspiring play at the Pasadena Playhouse — an experience outside my norm, which got me thinking about the importance of trying new things. Lastly, I wrap things up with some thoughts from my recent therapy session and the value of personal reflection. Thanks for tuning in, and I hope these insights inspire you as much as they've inspired me! Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe! Yours truly, Phil Svitek Filmmaker, author, podcaster & 360 Creative Coach ⁠http://philsvitek.com⁠

More than 50 million viewers begin each new year looking to Pasadena, tuning into the Rose Parade to see flower and seed-coated floats cruise slowly down Colorado Boulevard.  But to nearly 140,000 of those viewers, the “City of Roses” is home, a complex suburb of downtown Los Angeles with a deep history. Internationally known for the Rose Bowl, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena Playhouse, the Arts and Crafts Movement, Jackie Robinson, Julia Child, Octavia Butler, Mildred Pierce, its little old ladies, the Arroyo Seco, and so much more, Pasadena has played a greater role in American and Pacific histories than most of its residents even know.The fourth season of Western Edition — the podcast from the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West (ICW) — digs deep into the “Crown City” of the San Gabriel Valley. Western Edition: Hidden Pasadena shares six little-known Pasadena stories, from Simons brickyard to Vroman's bookstore, St. Barnabas church to the Shoya House at The Huntington. It also considers Pasadenans from the past, from John Brown's children to John Birch's followers.

In this episode, we sit down with Michael Herwitz, the visionary director of Broadway's JOB. Join us as we delve into Michael's fascinating journey from child actor to director, uncover the creative process behind the success of JOB, and explore the themes that resonate with audiences across generations. Michael shares insights on the role of lighting and staging, the challenges of directing a two-person scene, and the open-ended interpretation of the play's conclusion. Discover how JOB bridges generational divides and engages audiences in meaningful conversations.  Follow and connect with all things @HalfHourPodcast on Instagram, and YouTube. Share your thoughts with us on JOB on our podcast cover post on Instagram. MICHAEL HERWITZ is a director, producer, and dramaturg in New York City. He is often found huddled around a new script in development or dreaming up a revival of a favorite musical. His directing work collides fantasy with the mundane, and is often representative of queer and/or Jewish communities. He creates where generosity of spirt and pursuit of excellence go hand-in-hand. Michael is a ferocious advocate for the fourth wall and believes every second act deserves a dream ballet. In Fall 2023, Michael made his directorial Off-Broadway debut with JOB by Max Wolf Friedlich. The twice-extended, sold-out run was a New York Times Critics Pick and hallmarked as "Highbrow and Brilliant" in New York Magazine's Approval Matrix. The commerical transfer at the Connelly Theater in 2024 recouped its investment in five weeks.   Born and raised outside New York City, Michael began his career as a child actor on Broadway. While stage managing his middle school musicals, he developed a deep passion for being behind the scenes. Michael has developed and staged new plays and musicals at HERE, Ensemble Studio Theater, JACK, SoHo Playhouse, Williamstown Theater Festival, IRT Theater, Lifeworld, Martha's Vineyard Playhouse, and the Pasadena Playhouse. As an Assistant, Michael has supported the work of Terry Kinney, Moritz von Stuelpnagel, Leigh Silverman, Jessie Nelson, and Joe Brancato.  In addition to his directing work, Michael has worked as a General Manager and Company Manager Off-Broadway and on tour. He is the Co-Founder of G45 Productions, an artistic collective dedicated to new plays. His education spans Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts to Northwestern University to the Williamstown Theatre Festival to watching countless movie musicals as a kid. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this captivating episode of Life Along the Streetcar, host Tom Heath sits down with Robert Alpaugh, a seasoned performer and dedicated arts advocate, to unravel the rich history of Tucson's iconic Temple of Music and Art. Join us as we explore how this historic venue, originally opened in 1927, has served as a beacon of culture and creativity for nearly a century. Robert Alpaugh shares his unique journey from Broadway to Tucson, shedding light on the Temple's origins, its architectural connections to the Pasadena Playhouse, and the passionate community efforts that saved it from demolition in the 1980s. Through Robert's eyes, we delve into the concept of theaters as sacred spaces—temples where stories are told, lives are examined, and communities come together. Discover how the Temple of Music and Art has evolved from its early days as a hub for musical performances to its revival as the home of the Arizona Theater Company. This episode is a tribute to the individuals who fought to preserve Tucson's cultural legacy and to the enduring power of the arts in our community.

WHO REALLY KILLED SUPERMAN THE STRANGE SAGA AND MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF ACTOR GEORGE REEVES When famous celebrities die suddenly, it is natural for human curiosity to wonder what truly happened. In 1959, George Reeves, who became a star as the original Clark Kent/Superman on television, passed away. It was said that he died by suicide but many people still believe that he was murdered. Although the entire story remains a mystery, let's go over the facts that we do know about his strange death. Just a year after the television series Adventures of Superman ended, Phyllis Coates (who played Lois Lane in the series) received a very strange call. It was from a woman named Toni Mannix (whom Reeves had been having an affair with as she was the wife of MGM general manager Eddie Mannix) and she said, “The boy is dead. He's been murdered.” Turns out, she was referring to Reeves, who had been found dead in his bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head. There was a party going on at the time, and some say that he committed suicide because of depression and his inability to find another gig after playing Superman. After his death was ruled a suicide, his mother could not accept it and asked for the case to be reinvestigated as a homicide. They found no additional evidence that would support his death being a murder and she withdrew her request. Even so, some still believe that he was murdered. Some people believe that it could have been Eddie Mannix who had him killed as he was rumored to have connections with the Mob. However, he was also having affairs and by the time Reeves died, he had been dating another woman named Leonore Lemmon, who was there that night. She reportedly began telling party guests that her lover was going to shoot himself and when they heard a gunshot, she said, “I told you, he's shot himself.” She later said she was “only kidding.” Film Career Reeves's film career began in 1939 when he was cast as Stuart Tarleton (incorrectly listed in the film's credits as Brent Tarleton), one of Scarlett O'Hara's suitors in Gone with the Wind.   It was a minor role, but he and Fred Crane were in the film's opening scene. (Reeves and Crane both dyed their hair red to portray the Tarleton twins.) After Gone with the Wind was filmed, Reeves returned to the Pasadena Playhouse and was given the lead role in the play Pancho.  This part directly led to his being contracted to Warner Brothers. Warner had him change his professional name to George Reeves. His Gone with the Wind screen credit reflects the change.  Between the start of production on Gone With the Wind and its release 12 months later, several films on his Warner contract were made and released, making Gone With the Wind his first film role, but his fifth film release.

On this episode of On the Rocks …it's all about the actor's life as we get deep and personal with actor, singer-songwriter, and poet John Clarence Stewart. We talk about his roles on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and P Valley, we chat about the power of art through grief, his creative process, overcoming societal pressures, allyship to the LGBTQ community, and his current turn as Jelly Roll Morton in Jelly's Last Jam at Pasadena Playhouse. Hosted by Alexander Rodriguez, your favorite host with the sassy most! Raise a glass and let the drinks begin, it's On the Rocks!

On this episode of On the Rocks …it's all about the actor's life as we get deep and personal with actor, singer-songwriter, and poet John Clarence Stewart. We talk about his roles on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and P Valley, we chat about the power of art through grief, his creative process, overcoming societal pressures, allyship to the LGBTQ community, and his current turn as Jelly Roll Morton in Jelly's Last Jam at Pasadena Playhouse. Hosted by Alexander Rodriguez, your favorite host with the sassy most! Raise a glass and let the drinks begin, it's On the Rocks!

Today on What's My Frame I'm joined by Casting Director, Michael Donovan. Michael has cast over one thousand theatre productions, including shows produced at the Ahmanson Theatre, the Hollywood Bowl, Pasadena Playhouse, Mark Taper Forum, Kirk Douglas Theatre, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Geffen Playhouse, International City Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Getty Villa, Ricardo Montalban Theatre, Garry Marshall Theatre, Colony Theatre, Theatre @ Boston Court, 24th St. Theatre, The Soraya, San Francisco Symphony, Arizona Theatre Company, both the Palazzo Theatre and the Paris Theatre in Las Vegas, Arkansas Rep, Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, Indiana Rep, as well as several national tours. Michael is the recipient of nine Artios Awards. Beyond his prolific career in theatre; he's cast over a thousand commercials. He teaches at Pepperdine and USC, is President of the Foundation for New American Musicals, and serves on the Board of Directors for Camp Bravo.  He somehow still finds time to give back teaching at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation and to join us for this very special episode. Now let's get to the conversation! Join Michael on Instagram Michael Donovan Casting --- Hosted by Laura Linda Bradley Join the WMF creative community now! Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whatsmyframe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whatsmyframe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IMDb⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠What's My Frame? official site ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our monthly newsletter!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠What's My Frame? merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whats-my-frame/support

Cat and Pat are joined this week by special guest Kate Berlant. In an episode way past due (like your library books or Pat's VHS video rental from childhood), Kate takes us through the products in her purse, Cat and Pat ask for beauty advice, and they reminisce on the 90s board game "Don't Wake Daddy". They also touch down on Bethenny Frankel videos and Pat WALKS OFF SET!To see Kate's one-woman show in LA, please visit: https://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/event/kate/Watch the full episode on our YouTube and follow below!Show Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seektreatmentpodShow Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@seektreatmentpodCat: https://www.instagram.com/catccohenPat: https://www.instagram.com/patreegsSeek Treatment is a production of Headgum Studios. Our associate producer is Allie Kahan. Our producer is Tavi Kaunitz. Our executive producer is Emma Foley. The show is edited, mixed, and mastered by Richelle Chen. The show art was created by Carly Jean Andrews. Like the show? Rate Seek Treatment on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review.Advertise on Seek Treatment via Gumball.fmSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Look, folks. Kate's in the midst of the final week of her sold out KATE run at the Pasadena Playhouse. Jacqueline's doing rabid press for the Get on Your Knees premiere. So a remix is on offer. The theme is the road to GOYK, featuring Poog clips from the show's touring days, the countdown to the taping aka the “wedding” and Jacqueline and Kate's reflections from the stage. Get pumped and then go watch Get on Your Knees on @netflixisajoke. Can Hag nation send the special to number 1? Edited by Allie Graham.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Katie checks in with actor (13 on Broadway, Sunday in the Park with George at Pasadena Playhouse, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf at the Geffen, The Good Wife, Riverdale, The Little Mermaid Live!), director, and writer (The Mediator, The Bygone, and Rumble Through the Dark), Graham Phillips.

In this week's episode of The Venue Rx Podcast, our host Jonathan Aymin welcomes Vijay Goel, the owner of 440 Elm, a Historic Landmark venue located in Long Beach, California. Bringing a unique blend of expertise from the medical and consulting fields, Vijay shares his unexpected journey into the event space, a path that unfolded through his spouse's catering business. Vijay provides insights into the intricacies of transforming a historic church in Long Beach into a sought-after events venue. The discussion encompasses challenges such as zoning hurdles and the financial impacts of unavoidable delays. Throughout the episode, Vijay highlights the significance of crucial elements like legal support, early business licensing, and a nuanced understanding of market positioning in the competitive landscape of the event industry. Beyond the business aspects, Vijay passionately explores the emotional rewards derived from crafting memorable experiences, touches upon the potential for dynamic pricing strategies, and highlights the people-intensive nature inherent in the industry. About Our Guest:  440 Elm, situated centrally between Los Angeles and Orange Counties in downtown Long Beach, stands as a newly renovated historic venue. Constructed in 1913 by the esteemed local architect Elmer Grey, renowned for iconic structures such as the Beverly Hills Hotel, Pasadena Playhouse, Huntington Library, and Caltech, the venue showcases the grandeur of Renaissance Revival architecture. The opulent ballroom within 440 Elm, one of the largest non-hotel ballrooms in Southern California, boasts impressive features. With 30' coffered ceilings, vibrant multi-story stained glass, original Tiffany-style leaded glass doors, lavish chandeliers, and an adjacent black and white diamond floor in the foyer, the venue exudes an elegant yet neutral ambiance. Its matching outdoor Plaza further enhances the experience, allowing seamless indoor and outdoor weddings for gatherings as large as 450, eliminating the need for a flip. Operated by the esteemed caterer Bite Catering Couture, 440 Elm aligns with Chef Elizabeth Goel's commitment to providing clients with highly personalized and thematic menus, all presented with exquisite detail. Originally erected as the First Church of Christ Scientist in Long Beach, 440 Elm holds historical significance as a landmark church in the Renaissance Revival style. Conceived by Elmer Grey in 1913, this monumental building was designed to convey a scale and size relative to the surrounding neighborhood at that time. It once accommodated 1200 worshippers and 1000 Sunday school participants at its peak, solidifying its place in the local history and architectural heritage. Find Them Here:  Address: 440 Elm Ave Long Beach, CA 90802 Tel:  (562)267-3386 Email: bookings@440elm.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/440elm Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/440Elm/?paipv=0&eav=AfYQc9LVYYql0qrPBgNH-rYrm8xqfOHUikNRSPxcNEd4NTu8c0FZVUwA3KMcqgNvdU8&_rdr

Cheri Pann and Gonzalo Duran have transformed their Venice home into The Mosaic Tile House, a living artistic tapestry reflecting their love story. Kate Berlant wants audiences to know that her semi-autobiographical show, “KATE,” is theater, not stand-up. It begins on Jan. 17 at the Pasadena Playhouse. At Regen Projects in Hollywood, Catherine Opie's exhibition, “harmony is fraught,” features over 60 photographs of LA spanning three decades.

  Marieete Hartley and Jerry Sroka's screenplay tells the slightly fictionalized details of their later-in-life romance and marriage. Directed and executive produced by Don Scardino, executive produced by Hartley and Sroka, co-executive produced Matthew Bennett, produced by Jeff Hardwick and Tim Mann, associate produced by Dana L. Williams. The film will open in limited theatrical release on December 8, 2023 at Theatrikos Theatre Company in Flagstaff and Sedona Film Festival Theatre in Arizona, The Village East Angelika in New York City, Reading Cinemas Town Square in San Diego, CA, and Galaxy Theatres Monroe in WA. Watch the trailer HERE Humor drives the rom-com's themes, including on-line dating, technology use, and Hollywood humiliation especially for aging actors, anchored by poignant and serious life issues derived from For more information, please visit: www.ouralmostcompletelytruestory.com Mariette began acting at the age of ten with the legendary Eva Gallienne and John Houseman. Her numerous theatre appearances, Lion in Winter at the Colony, Cabaret, Broadway, Sylvia, MTC, Ancestral Voices, Lincoln Center, Enchanted April, Pasadena Playhouse, Measure for Measure, King John, Public Theatre. She toured with Copenhagen and The Sisters Rosenzweig for which she earned a Helen Hayes Award and the League of American Theatres National Touring Award. She made her screen debut in Sam Peckinpah's classic western, Ride the Country with Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea. Her best-selling autobiography, Breaking The Silence is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Jerry Sroka  played mostly witches. Short witches. A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he appeared in the film version of Godspell and in the Broadway and Boston stage productions.  He has appeared at the Woodstock Playhouse among many others

On this week's episode, I have actor Chris Gorham, (Out of Practice, The Lincoln Lawyer, NCIS: Los Angeles and many many more) and we dive into the origins of his career. We also discuss the work-life balance he has with his family and some of the things he wishes more actors were aware of while filming. There is so much more, so tune in.Show NotesChris Gorham on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisgorham/Chris Gorham IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0330913/Chris Gorham on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_GorhamMichael's Online Screenwriting Course - https://michaeljamin.com/courseFree Screenwriting Lesson - https://michaeljamin.com/freeJoin My Newsletter - https://michaeljamin.com/newsletterAutogenerated TranscriptChris Gorham:But in getting to know them and talking to them, Almost all of them had day jobs, like worked for the city, Worked, worked for construction crews. They had full-on-day Jobs. Some of them were Entrepreneurs, some of them worked in government. And that was a New idea to me because that hadn't been my experience here. But as the income and equality has increased so dramatically, It feels like that's where our business has been going, where everybody has to have another,Michael Jamin:You are listening to, what the hell is Michael Jamin talking about? I'll tell you what I'm talking about. I'm talking about creativity. I'm talking about writing, and I'm talking about reinventing yourself through the arts.Chris Gorham:Like my backdrop, this is my, oh, I love it. Official SAG after LA delegate backdrop that we used him during the convention.Michael Jamin:I know you're a big show. We're starting already. I'm here with Chris Gorham, and he is an actor I worked with many years ago on a show called Out of Practice. He's one of the stars that was a show with starting Henry Winkler, stocker Channing, Ty Burrell, Chris Gorham, and Paul Marshall. It was a great show on CBS and only lasted a season. But Chris, Chris is about as successful working actors as you can, short of being like someone like Brad Pitt, who's known across the world. You've done a ton of TV shows, and I'm going to blow through them real fast here.Chris Gorham:Okay. You can, I can't talk about them still, but your strike is over so you can,Michael Jamin:Yeah, right, because Chris is, I guess he's in sag and actually you're one of the members, you're one of the, what do you call yourself, the king? SoChris Gorham:I'm the king of SAG aftra. No, I was elected to be on the LA local board and also elected as a delegate. So that's what this background was. Our official LA delegate background forMichael Jamin:The research delegate for for the model. What does that meanChris Gorham:For the convention? Yeah. It's kind of reminiscent of Model un. So it's the convention that happens every two years where all the delegates get together and we elect the executive vice president, and there's certain offices that get elected by the delegate membership.Michael Jamin:I don't think we have that in the Writer's Guild. I think we have a direct democracy. You, I guess have a representative democracy.Chris Gorham:Yeah. Yeah. It's a much bigger union. How bigMichael Jamin:Is it? How big do you know? AboutChris Gorham:160,000 members.Michael Jamin:Wow. Okay. Members, but that's active members. And what do you have to be to be an active member?Chris Gorham:What do you have to be? DoMichael Jamin:You have to sell? You have to work a certain amount or something?Chris Gorham:No, once you're in, you can stay in as long as you pay your duesMichael Jamin:Every year. Oh, okay. But then that doesn't mean you get health. You have to qualify for health insurance and stuff like that. Correct.Chris Gorham:Well, it's a big part of the strike. It's one of our big talking points really is only about 13% and just under 13% earn enough to qualify for our healthcare plan. And I mean, that's only about $26,700 a year to qualify for healthcare.Michael Jamin:That's a big deal. I mean, healthcare, healthcare. So most people don't realize this, and it seems so naive to say this, but I get so many comments when on social media, all these actors are millionaires. Dude, what are you talking about? You can be a working actor and book two gig. You're lucky if you do two gigs a year. AndChris Gorham:Well listen, it goes to the heart of what this strike is about is that it's worse than people even think because just to what's the best way to talk about it? So a big part of our asked during this negotiation is a big increase in the contributions to our health and pension plan by the producers. And the reason is that they haven't increased it in a long, long, long, long time. So for instance, one person could work, let's say you got hired to do an episode and got paid very well, right? For one episode. Let's say you're getting it, it's an anthology show. They're paying the top two people like series regulars, and you're getting a hundred grand for one episode. So you would think a hundred thousand dollars. That is a lot of money for one episode. If I'm doing that, I am clear. Definitely qualify. You do not qualify for healthcare because you've only done one episode and the producers only have to contribute up to a certain amount. So even though you've made a hundred grand in one episode, you still have to book another job, at least one moreMichael Jamin:And clear,Chris Gorham:Not going to qualify for healthcare.Michael Jamin:I've produced a lot of shows. I don't recall ever paying a guest star anywhere close to a hundred thousand an episode. No, not even close.Chris Gorham:No, no. And the minimums have, right now, I think for a drama, the minimum's around $9,000, maybe a little more than that for an episode for top of Show guest start like the top paid guest shows on those shows. Yeah, you can't. And it's become almost impossible to negotiate a rate higher than the minimums.Michael Jamin:You can have a quote and they go, well, that's too bad. This is what we're paying you.Chris Gorham:Correct. This is what we're paying you.Michael Jamin:Let me just run through some of yours so people know who we're talking about because some people are listening to it. So Chris is, I'm going to blow some of his bigger parts, but he works so much. So let's start with Party of Five where you did four episodes, which I love that show. I just had to mention that, but of course, popular. You did a ton of those. Felicity, remember that? Odyssey five, Jake 2.0, which you started in medical investigation out of practice, which I mentioned Harper's Island Ugly Betty, Betty Laa, which I loved, of course, covert Affairs and what else? I'm going through your list here. Full Circle two Broke Girls. You worked with two of the broke girls and insatiable the Lincoln lawyer, and that doesn't include any of your guest chart. So you are incredibly successful actor and you've strung, actually, I want to hit on something. Sure. So this is a little embarrassing on my part. We had a technical, this is our second interview because I had technical errors on my point. I'm not that good with technology, even though I've done well over a hundred episodes of this, and Chris graciously allowed me to do this over. But one of the things that you said, the thing that struck me the most during our last talk, which I found incredibly interesting and humble, I said to you, Chris, how do you choose your roles? And do you remember what you said to me?Chris Gorham:Yeah, yeah, of course. Yeah. I said, I should be so lucky. Yeah. The reality is, it's like actors like me. I've had a lot of conversations with actors like me who star on television shows, multiple television shows, and we all joke about how many times we've been asked in interviews. The questionMichael Jamin:Really,Chris Gorham:Why did you choose this to be your next project?Michael Jamin:Right. Well, I wanted to eat. That's why.Chris Gorham:Yeah, yeah. Because I think journalists sometimes forget, and they think that we're all to use your example, Brad Pitt, and that we're being sent scripts and we get to choose what our next project is, but in reality, that is not at all. What happens, what happens for the vast majority of us is we are sent auditions. Sometimes we get the scripts, sometimes we don't. And we put ourselves now what used to be going to the casting office. Now we put ourselves on tape and we send it off into the void, and we hope that we get hired.Michael Jamin:And you'll work on a part. When you do get the script, how long will you spend preparing for that before you submit your tape?Chris Gorham:Oh, it depends mostly on two things. One, how many pages it is, and then it depends on how well written it's, to be honest. You've heard this before.Michael Jamin:Go ahead. Tell me.Chris Gorham:The better the writing, the easier it is to memorize.Michael Jamin:Right. And explain why that is.Chris Gorham:Well, the reason is is because it makes sense. If it's written like a human being talks, then the next sentence follows from the sentence before. If you understand the emotion of what's going on, then it just makes sense and the dialogue flows and it's just so much easier to memorize. The stuff that's always the hardest is when you're the character that's laying pipe and you're just spewing out exposition and it's not really coming. Listen, the good writers are always trying to tie it down to that emotional reality, but sometimes you got to lay pipe, and that's stuff's always the hardest, particularly if it's a bunch of medical jargon or legal jargon. That kind of stuff is crazy.Michael Jamin:And what people don't also realize, I think, is when you're starting out an actor, oh, I could play everything. I could play a villain. I could play a teacher, I could play a biker, I could play a doctor. That's fine when you're in your high school play, but in Hollywood, you're going to be cast the part that you are closest to because if not, we will cast someone who looks like a biker or who was a biker, and we'll cast someone who looks like a doctor. Right? Yeah. So you have to figure out who you are, basically.Chris Gorham:Yeah. Well, it's one of the, I went to theater school at UCLA and I was very lucky because during my freshman year, they decided to start a conservatory program within the theater program there. So we all auditioned and I got into this conservatory program. So for my last three years, it was conservatory training, and I still got my bachelor of arts degree from UCLA. It was the best of both worlds. One of the things that I felt like a few years out after having it is I wished they had spent a little bit more time helping us learn how to act like ourselves. You spend so much time in theater school, learning how to stretch your creativity, working on your voice, working on your body movement, body awareness, vocal awareness, and then learning how to play all these different kinds of parts and all the plays you're doing. All the parts are filled from college students. So sometimes you're playing an old man, sometimes you're playing a young woman who knows. But the second you start auditioning for roles professionally, you're only going to be seen for roles that you physically look like. And so it's really important to quickly learn if you haven't already, how to be you. Right. How do you do that version of you?Michael Jamin:Where do you begin with that?Chris Gorham:Well, it takes practice. We used to do an exercise. It was in one of the very beginning acting classes. In fact, I didn't even take this acting class. I was observing, I think my senior year, one of the grad students was teaching it. And it was just as simple as everybody got in circle and instead of being crazy and dancing like a tree or whatever, it was literally, it was just walk across. Just walk from point A to point B. Just you just don't do anything. Just walk from what, and you would be surprised how difficult that can be becauseMichael Jamin:You become self-conscious of what you'reChris Gorham:Exactly right. You become and you feel like you should do something mean. And especially for a bunch of theater kids who've kind of grown up in their theater school, all high schools and stuff all over, it's all about being big, and it's all about the jokes and getting attention and to let all of that go and just be in the market is a very difficult thing for a lot of people. But it's super, super important. And that carries through forever. Just being just be there. You don't have to do anything, particularly when you have a camera on you, and particularly when it's time for your closeup, you don't have to do a lot. You just have to be there and be present and alive in the scene.Michael Jamin:But so much, I think some people, they greatly underestimate how difficult acting is because it looks like make-believe and whatever. We're just, you're having fun on the camera, but to be in the moment, especially when the cameras are on you and everyone's watching in, go hurry up and go, because we've set up the scene for half hour and we want you to shoot it now. And it's so hard to stay in the moment, I think. So how do you stay in the moment when you become conscious that you're actingChris Gorham:Now? If I become conscious that I'm acting now, I'll just stop.Michael Jamin:You willChris Gorham:Often I'll just stop and say, can we start over? Can we just go back to the top because for whatever reason, and then go again. Because if I'm conscious, then I'm not in a scene, then it's not going to work and they're not going to be able to use it. So I would just stop and go back. I mean, it's the great advantage of film, right?Michael Jamin:But you do much theater anymore, because that's different when you're on stage.Chris Gorham:I only feel like benefits and things for years. We're rehearsing for one this weekend, we're doing the Girls Benefit to raise money for breast cancer research.Michael Jamin:So it's one show.Chris Gorham:It's one show. I mean, for me, I've been a single income family of five for almost 23 years. So with that, I haven't able to afford to go and do theater, but I miss it. I love it. I did two weeks, 14 years ago, I did two weeks in Spalding Gray Stories left to Tell in New York off Broadway.Michael Jamin:Really? So you were Spalding Gray, I mean, it's a one man show,Chris Gorham:Right? Yeah, yeah. Well, it's a one man show split into five different personalities. So it's different parts of him. And so the business part, they would swap out celebrities every two weeks. And so I came in and did that for two weeks, and it was the best.Michael Jamin:And this was in New York?Chris Gorham:Yeah.Michael Jamin:That's amazing. How did something like that come up? How do you get that?Chris Gorham:I don't know. I don't remember. I don't mean it must've come through my agents or my manager. I don't remember. I don't remember.Michael Jamin:Wow. How interesting.Chris Gorham:Because now, I was just going to say now, it's been so long since I've done, I've become, I'm so out of the loop of LA theater in particular, which is kind of more feasible for me at this point, just because it's close and easy. I don't even really know how to get back in. In fact, one of my youngest was doing a summer theater camp at Annoys Within, and it's close to where we are. So I was trying to figure out, I reached out to my manager, I was like, Hey, is really close. Is there, are they doing anything that would make sense for me to do something with them over there? They were like, yeah, that's a great idea. And they never heard anything. So I just emailed them my photo and resume with a letter, and I never heard anything back. So I literally, I don't even know how to approach getting cast in theater anymore,Michael Jamin:Because your agent, there's not enough money for your agent to work on it.Chris Gorham:They couldn't be less interested.Michael Jamin:I'm always curious how that works. We just saw a show at the Pasadena Playhouse and I was like, well, how do these actors, how do they, yeah, ifChris Gorham:You find out, let me know the Playhouse also write down the street. It'd be amazing.Michael Jamin:Yeah, there's always some, but then again, you would have to commit to something. And during that time period, let's say it was two months, you can't take other work you've committed and something big could come along, who knows? IChris Gorham:Mean, maybe. But also that is, you live with that fear all the time, no matter whatMichael Jamin:Do you mean even if you're on a show, you mean?Chris Gorham:Well, not if you're on a show, then you're working well, then you worry about the show being canceled and then that you're never going to work again. But when you're not working, well, this brings up two thoughts. One is there's a fear of taking something that's not the big thing, because you are afraid that if you do this smaller thing that it's going to conflict with the big thing that might be just around the court. And the other thought that it brings up is I talked with so many actors over the years who are not working and are really struggling and feel paralyzed about going to try and do anything else because there's this intense peer pressure that, well, you can't quit. You can't quit now that your moment, it might be just around the corner, it might be the next audition.Michael Jamin:You mean quit Hollywood and do something for a different career, youChris Gorham:Mean? Yeah, go do something else. You got to hang in. You got to hang in. And I feel like it's a really difficult balancing act because the truth is that this business is really, really hard to go back to the strike. It's gotten increasingly difficult to the point where it's almost impossible with an actor to make a living, to be able to raise a family, to be able to put your kids through college and those kind of life things that are important to so many of us.Michael Jamin:And I know, and that's why you fight and that's why you fight. And that's why it's so people think, well, so what for actors? But the problem is like you're saying, if actors can't make a living in between or you're starring in a show, that's great, but the show will probably get canceled up to one season. But you still need to keep a healthy talent pool of actors who can continue to keep a living, because if they can't, they're going to leave. And then how are you going to cast as writers and producers? How do you cast this part if there's not a healthy talent pool? That'sChris Gorham:It. That's it. We can't continue paying the stars these massive, massive, massive amounts of money and having everybody else working on these tiny minimums because it's unsustainable. The best and the brightest of us that haven't won the lottery are going to go do other things because there's more to life and life. You can be an actor without pursuing it as a career.Michael Jamin:But I haven't heard those notions come up at all. Maybe I'm not just tuned in, but the idea of, well, maybe we're paying the stars too much, or has that been a discussion at all?Chris Gorham:I mean, I have that discussion. Yeah. Oh, really? Well, yeah, because it's not that, well, certainly for me, and not so much from my personal experience, but just from my kind of bleeding heart observations of this business, when you see movies, it's why, like I've said for a long time, the only way now to make a living in this business is if you're a star or a series regular on a TV show.Michael Jamin:Yeah. Yes, I agree with that. It's theChris Gorham:Only way because all of the supporting cast, none of the supporting cast makes enough money to make a consistent living in this business because your stars get massive amounts of money. Everyone else is working scale, and the minimums have not risen nearly enough to make it enough. And the stars, well, this is the excuse the studios use, is that they're paying the stars so much. There's no money left to pay anybody else over scale, so no one else can negotiate over scale. And in tv it's a similar thing. So it just makes it very difficult.Michael Jamin:And not only that, LA has always been an expensive city to live, but now it's crazy. It's like crazy. I can't afford, if I hadn't bought my house when I did it, I couldn't even come close to affording this house and have a middle class house. It's something special about it. So these are the issues that actors are fighting over. Yeah, it's an important, it's so interesting when you hear your friends or colleagues thinking about leaving, do they tell you what they're going to do or what they want to do? It's such a hard thing when you're middle aged, what are you going to do?Chris Gorham:Right. No, it's true. It's true. No, I have some friends that have gone into teaching.Michael Jamin:Okay.Chris Gorham:Yeah. Most of my actor friends are still around. Have one friend who started the business ages ago and still runs that business while she's worked periodically as an actor throughout all of these years. And she still works frequently, but her main income is from this business that she created. Right.Michael Jamin:She's very, so you got to be entrepreneurial, basically. Yeah.Chris Gorham:Yeah. It's funny. I did a movie early in my career where we shot in Tonga and New Zealand, and we had a lot of New Zealand actors were working on this film and in talk, and some of them were quite famous in New Zealand. They were working on this famous New Zealand TV show, like legitimate celebrities. But in getting to know them and talking to them, almost all of them had day jobs, worked for the city, worked, worked in construction crews. They have full on day jobs. Some of them were entrepreneurs, some of them worked in government. And that was a new idea to me because that hadn't been my experience here. But as the income inequality has increased so dramatically, it feels like that's where our business has been going, where everybody has to have another gig.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Chris Gorham:It didn't used to be that way. And I don't think that it has to be that way.Michael Jamin:Yeah, I agree with you. Yeah. I mean, it's definitely, yeah, it seems very unfair. It doesn't seem, well, I mean, I guess all things is fair about being an actor. Being an actor has always been a pursuit of like, well, is there anything else you could do? Then choose that? But true, it seems like now it's like, I don't know. What do you do? What recommend then for people, young kids or kids, whatever, 20 year olds who considering getting into the business?Chris Gorham:Yeah, I mean, that advice I think is evergreen. That if you can go do something else as a career, absolutely do something else as a career. Oftentimes the advice I give is when you're young, spend a lot less time thinking about what you want to be when you grow up and spend a lot more time thinking about what kind of life you want to live when you grow up, what kind of things do you want to do? And then you can find career paths that will allow you to live the kind of life you want to live. And it becomes less obsessed with having a certain job.Michael Jamin:Well, that's something to consider. So for you as a working actor, sometimes you'll be on location, you might be in a different city. Is that something you away from your family, which is hard as you were raised in a family, is that something you considered? Is that something you would reconsider now?Chris Gorham:I had no idea. I grew up in Fresno, California. My mom was a school nurse. My dad was an accountant. They didn't know what to do with me, and I didn't know anything about the business. I wanted to be. Yeah, I didn't know. Yeah. I had no idea. And so my first, and I was very fortunate. I got out of school, I started, I got my union card in 1996, the year I got out of school was booking occasional guest stars on things. My first job was one scene in a movie with two big movie stars, big famous director. It was awesome. And then I booked my first series just three years after school. Cool. And it was shot at Disney. It was like 10 minutes away from our little place we were renting. And then it was canceled and it came out of nowhere. And then I was very fortunate again. I booked another series two weeks later, but that one shot until longMichael Jamin:AndChris Gorham:I had no idea what that meant. And I left to do that pilot six weeks after our first born son, our firstborn was born. So my wife, anal had no idea what no idea we were doing. Suddenly we had a newborn baby, six weeks old, and then I'm gone for five weeks. It was extraordinarily difficult.Michael Jamin:I apologize. Something must be open and I have to shut it down because someone's, I'm sorry.Chris Gorham:Oh, no worries. Okay.Michael Jamin:I thought everything shut. But yeah, so to continue, so that's heartbreaking. You have a brand new baby and you're out of town. You left here.Chris Gorham:Yeah. It was hard. And we didn't, because we didn't grow up here, so we had no experience. I don't know how to do this. And no one was really kind explaining to us, okay, this is how you get through this. These are the different ways you can do it. These are the options. You know what I mean? I didn't have anybody, I didn't have a mentor or somebody guiding me in how to do this thing.Michael Jamin:But at any point in your career, you must, because worked for so many actors, you must have at some point found someone a little older and wiser. Right?Chris Gorham:Well, the closest thing we had was Anelle had Stacey Winkler. It was really sweet. Anelle used to sit next to Stacey Winkler at every taping, and they would just talk and Stacey would give her advice, and it was great. One week, Anelle come to the taping, and the next week Stacey scolded her and was like, you have to be here every week and let everyone know that that is your husband.Michael Jamin:Interesting. I remember she came to, I think every out of practice,Chris Gorham:Everyone.Michael Jamin:So why is it about staking your territory? What was that? Or is this being supportive?Chris Gorham:What was it? No, I think it was both, but I think partly staking your territory. I was the young guy, the young handsome guy on this show, and it's a CVS show, and so she was like, you need to be here. But then it was also she said, but then he's the star here at work. You have to make sure that when you get home, the kids are the star, not him. You have to make it veryMichael Jamin:Clear. Was there a difficulty for you? Is it hard to go home and not be the star? What was that like?Chris Gorham:I had gotten pretty good at it, certainly by then. But I would imagine looking back in the beginning, it's kind of that power corrupt and absolute power. Corrupt absolutely. Of course can go to your head when you are getting a little famous and you're making some money. And when you're at work, you are catered to, you're one of the stars of the show. You're catered to a handed foot. Everything's taken care of. I've described it as series regulars are treated like fancyMichael Jamin:Babies on set.Chris Gorham:Don't upset the babies. You need to keep them safe at all times. You need to keep them comfortable at all times. You don't want them crying. You don't want them cranky. You need to keep them fully regulated because when everything's ready to roll, we need the fancy babies to be able to perform. And as soon as they're done, we want them to go back to their cribs slash trailers so that then the grownups can finish getting everything ready for the next shot.Michael Jamin:And imagine giving this kind of pressure to a child actor. I mean, have you worked with many child actors?Chris Gorham:Yeah, many over the years, and I can say almost all of it. Almost all of it's been a good experience. I haven't had any total nightmares with child doctors. That being said, every parent that's asked us about getting their kid into the business, we have always advised against it. And we didn't encourage any of our kids to get into it.Michael Jamin:It's rough. I haven't worked with many child, I just haven't been on shows with a lot of kids. And I am glad because I have a feeling I would when a kid is messing around on set in between takes or just not being professional because they're acting like children the way they are supposed to act. In my mind I would be thinking, stop fucking around. This is work. I know that's what I would be thinking, which is an awful thing to put on a child. But that's what you're paying them a lot of money to do. It's a hard position. I don't know. I just feel for those kids, I just feel like, yeah, I know. That's where Ill be thinking. Hopefully I wouldn't be saying it. Yeah,Chris Gorham:It's difficult. It's very, I mean, sets are, they're not for kids. They're an adult work environments, which by the way, some adult working actors need to be reminded occasionally that these are adult working environments. This is not your personal playground. But yeah, it's a difficult environment for kids. So I mean, you need them. So I'm grateful that they're there.Michael Jamin:I think that too sometimes. Sometimes I'll see an actor goofing around too much, and we're all, I'm like, dude, let's get out of here. All the crew wants to go home. They've been working 12 hour days for the past week and a half. They want to go home too.Chris Gorham:Well, let me tell you, this is one of the things where with every showrunner that I've become friendly with, I highly encourage them, if at all possible, to bring their series regulars behind the curtain and bring them to at least one production meeting that show them how the sausage really gets made, expose them to all of the other incredibly creative, intelligent, wonderful people who make up this team that makes the TV show or the film. Because then they get to see, because as cast, especially as the stars of the show or the film, you really are treated as if you are the most important cog in this machine. And it's really helpful, I think, and just the team morale, if actors understand that they are a very important cog in that machine, but just one of the cogs in the machine. YouMichael Jamin:Said you learned this, I think when you first were directing, you started directing episodes of the shows, you weren't, right?Chris Gorham:Yeah. I had think a basic actor's understanding of how things work on set. And I'm not to blow my own horn. I'm generally a nice person. So I'm kind to people. I'm nice to everybody on set. I learned people's names. I generally understood what people did, but only when I started directing did I really understand just how incredible the whole ensemble is and how much the rest of the team has to offer and is contributing to the show or the film. It was just a level of respect that I don't think I could really have until I was allowed behind the curtain to see how it was happening. So whatMichael Jamin:Would you recommend? Would you recommend that every week one actor attends a production meeting? Is that what you're saying?Chris Gorham:Listen, that's one way to do it. Right. However it works for that showrunner, for that production, I would just encourage them because I just feel like so often, and I think, I don't know if it's true now, but I've talked to showrunners in the past that have talked about the show and the training program and about the message they got was to keep the cast at arm's length. Really? Yeah. And there certainly can be good reasons for doing that. I can understand why that sometimes makes the job easier, certainly, and sometimes maybe makes it possible. But I just think there's more to gain by bringing them in to letting them see, really meet the whole team and get to know the whole team. And because there's just, I mean, truly, you see what the set designers do, and you see what the customers do, and you see, we get to understand how lighting works. You know what I mean? It's just how hard the ads work on putting together with the schedule and learn why the schedule gets put way put together the way it gets put together. And once you understand it, then maybe you're a little less mad about having to be last in on Friday, two weeks in a row.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Chris Gorham:You see, it's like they're not out to get you. They are trying to accommodate you, and you are not the only factor that is being accommodated.Michael Jamin:You're talking about the writers now?Chris Gorham:No, I was talking about the cast look, in regards to schedule casting,Michael Jamin:Very, very frustratedChris Gorham:About scheduling.Michael Jamin:Oh, I see. Yeah, that's always right. I can see why that would be frustrating. So what happens? You get a call sheet and you're told to come in whatever, 8:00 AM and they don't get to shoot your part until 1:00 PM and you're like, why did they call me in so early? And sometimes it just happens. It works out that wayChris Gorham:Sometimes. Yeah. They're trying. They're trying. And sometimes it just doesn't work out. And with the scripts, with writers, it's a similar kinds of thing. It's like once you understand how many chefs are in the kitchen of getting these scripts, these stories broken, and then these scripts written how many notes the writer has gotten about their script from the studio and then from the network before it ever gets to the cast.Michael Jamin:You're making me anxious just talking about it. No joke.Chris Gorham:Sorry. And then that's why as a cast member, when you then go to the writer and say, Hey, can I ask you about this? Your writer looks like they're dying a little inside.Michael Jamin:Yeah. No, no, I can't do that.Chris Gorham:And it's like, so the best writers that I've worked with have always been very organized about how actors give notes. They're like, if we're doing table reads on a show, they'll be like, look, we're going to do the table read. Everybody's got 24 hours to give whatever notes or feedback you've got about the script. And then after that, we're considering it locked. Please respect that once you're on. The idea being that you don't want to spend a lot of time on the day when you're there waiting to shoot, talking about suddenly having questions about the scene and asking it to be rewritten. That's not the term.Michael Jamin:Yeah, it's not. And because we have to get next week's script and next week's script is a disaster. I'm telling you, it's in terrible shape. That's how it always is.So you want to worry about this. What about the crashing plane out there? That's going to be, I remember, I have to show, I can't remember if I mentioned this last time we spoke, but one of my favorite experiences of working in Hollywood was when I was an out of practice, and I can't remember what I was doing. I think the showrunner, Chris, I think he had me deliver pages up to the actress. It was show night right before the show, and I don't know why it was made, but for some reason, I remember carrying a couple of scripts to the dressing room maybe an hour before the showtime, and you guys were all there, the whole cast, and you're holding hands. And Henry's like, come on, Michael, come on in, come on. And I'm like, what's going on right here? And you're all just holding hands. And he goes, and he invited me in. I'm like, but I'm a writer. What do you mean? No, grab some hands. So I remember taking who, who's hands? I don't know, but I'm in the middle. I'm with a circle. I'm holding hands. I'm like, what is going on here? And then you guys did, I don't know what you would call it, but it was some kind of, it'sChris Gorham:Like a little vocal warmup or something. No,Michael Jamin:It was almost like a blessing. It was like a blessing. It was almost like, what's it, we are here to, I am curious if you've done this since then. It was like, we are here to support each other. We're going to have a wonderful show. We're all together. We're a family. And it was almost spiritual. It was very, I guess you haven't done that. You don't remember this.Chris Gorham:I remember doing that. I don't remember that specific moment. But that was all Henry.Michael Jamin:But it wasn't every week that you guys didChris Gorham:That. Every week we did that.Michael Jamin:Yeah. Okay.Chris Gorham:Yeah. Every week it was our ritual, but Henry started as the ritual before we went down to start the show. We would have this time just with a cast or occasionally with a writer who'd come in.Michael Jamin:I thought it was a beautiful moment. I really did.Chris Gorham:It was really great on dramas. You don't do that because you don't have that moment where you're all together about to go start the show. That's already happened to me on sitcoms.Michael Jamin:So maybe it's a theater thing then. Do you thinkChris Gorham:For sure it's a theater thing. Yes. Yes.Michael Jamin:Yes. So tell me, this happens on other employees always before every show or before every night. Opening night every night. Yeah.Chris Gorham:I mean, of course it depends on the show, right? It depends on who's there and who's, but yeah, thinking back, even when I was a kid in Fresno doing local theater, they would always feed circle up right before Showtime.Michael Jamin:Is that what they call, is there a name for this circle up? What is it?Chris Gorham:No, no. That's just what I'mMichael Jamin:Using. So there's no nameChris Gorham:For you get in the huddle. You get in the huddle.Michael Jamin:But I really thought, I still remember it. I was touched by it that this is something that you guys did to support each other so that you could hold space and feel safe in front of a crowd and know it was a very team thing. And I was like, wow. I felt almost like I was invading it. I felt like I don't belong here because I'm not on stage with you guys. But that's what I remember. It struck me. Something else that always struck me was how well guest stars were greeted by the regular cast. That's a very, very position. You've been on both sides of that,Chris Gorham:Right? Yeah, for sure.Michael Jamin:For sure. What's that on both sides for you?Chris Gorham:I've worked on shows where I have, where series regulators never spoke to me. We were in a scene together, but outside of the scene never spoke to me.Michael Jamin:So action. And this is the first time you're talking to them.Chris Gorham:Correct.Michael Jamin:I suppose that could be good if your characters were just meeting for the first time, but is thereChris Gorham:Sure. I guess. I guessMichael Jamin:I guess.Chris Gorham:But we could, we're professionals. We could pretend. But that was pretty early in my career. Now I don't really have that experience anymore. But also, I took it with me and I made it a point, having had that happen once or twice early in my career, that once I was the series regular, I've always made it a point to never ever do that,Michael Jamin:To always welcome the guest star and just absolutely greet them. It's a hard thing to stay. I mean, think about it's the first day of school for them. Yeah. You're walking into, you don't know anybody. I,Chris Gorham:No, it's difficult enough. Like you said, this is a difficult job. And why make it harder on somebody who is coming in on the bottom of the rung of power at this show? Why would you use the very real power that you wieldMichael Jamin:Show it's It is real.Chris Gorham:Yeah. Why would you wield that to make someone who's on your team, right? Uncomfortable. Why you?Michael Jamin:But we know these actors. I'm the star. I want you. I want to remind you. It's like, dude, we know. We know.Chris Gorham:Yeah. There are people like that. I feel like that's the exception. It happens. Oh, really? But I feel like it's the exception.Michael Jamin:Interesting.Chris Gorham:Yeah.Michael Jamin:Hey, it's Michael Jamin. If you like my content, and I know you do because you're listening to me, I will email it to you for free. Just join my watch list. Every Friday I send out my top three videos of the week. These are for writers, actors, creative types, people like you can unsubscribe whenever you want. I'm not going to spam you, and the price is free. You got no excuse to join. Go to michaeljamin.com/watchlist. And now back to what the hell is Michael Jamin talking about?One thing we also spoke about, which was very interesting to me, was I don't know what they call now, I guess, what do they call? They call it sex coordinators. What is the role for those peopleChris Gorham:Who, oh, intimacyMichael Jamin:Coordinators. Intimacy coordinators. But you mentioned that they have other functions. It is not just when two people are lying in bed, half naked. It's also for,Chris Gorham:So the way that I describe it to people who've never heard of intimacy coordinators is everyone's familiar with stunt coordinators. So stunt coordinators are brought onto a set to keep actors physically safe. Intimacy coordinators are brought onto a set to keep actors emotionally safe.Michael Jamin:And this is relatively new thing. Maybe what, five or 10 years or something? Maybe less,Chris Gorham:Right? Yes. New. And we are pushing to make them required. But one of the hurdles before we can make them a requirement like a stunt coordinator is required. One of the hurdles is actually getting enough intimacy coordinators qualified, trained and qualified to do thisMichael Jamin:Job. Are most of them, are they therapists, counselors? What's their training, do you think? No,Chris Gorham:I think a lot of them come from the acting court. Really? Really? Yeah. Yeah. BecauseMichael Jamin:You mentioned it's not just that. It's also like if you have two characters yelling at each other in a scene, no sex, they're just yelling at each other that an intimacy record will talk to you afterwards, right?Chris Gorham:Yeah. So here's a couple things that we did. I'd worked on a show where we had a scene, it was a sexual assault scene, but there were no clothes, there was no nudity and things stopped before things progressed to the point where we were physically exposed. But that kind of scene, you're very emotionally exposed, right? And this was my first time interviewing with an intimacy coordinator. I didn't really know what to expect. So there was a part of the conversation was, okay, for instance, it's written in the script that the other character is going to reach down and grab your groin. And I talked to the in music coordinator saying, I talked to the director and the director wants to see that. He said, are you comfortable with that? Here's what we have to protect you. We have a piece that's going to go between your pants and your underwear to protect your groin.And so when she grabs you, that's all she's grabbing. It was like, okay, great. That's super helpful actually. Great. I've never had that before. And it seemed like that. And it's nice. It makes me feel more comfortable. Certainly makes her feel more comfortable. Who wants to do that? Nobody. But then after the physical parts of discussion, then the conversation shifted. And she said, another thing that I've done with a lot of actors who've done scenes this, I would recommend that you put together a self-care routine for the end of the day. I was like, well, what do you mean? Like it could be anything. Whatever is going to be comforting to you. Some people, you might make a put things together. So you can draw a bubble bath when you get home. You might put together a playlist of music that makes you feel good.It might be pictures of your kids, could be whatever it is that is going to give comfort if you need it at the end of the day, because you never know what scenes like that might trigger. And that's the thing is you write scenes like this and it's necessary for the story, and you works as appropriate for the characters, but you never know what the actors as people, what their life experience has been. And they may have in their real life, been through an experience like that. And so then reenacting it can be very triggering. And it's the thing about acting when you're doing these emotional scenes, be it anger or big crying emotion, your body doesn't know you're pretending.Michael Jamin:Exactly.Chris Gorham:Exactly. So you mentally, well, this is pretend none of this is real. We're on a set crew numbers and friends, but your body doesn't know the difference. Once you're experiencing those emotions, you are experiencing those emotions and you never know what it's going to bring up. So that kind of care, emotional care, I thought is really great.Michael Jamin:And it's like, you'll do this just so people are aware. If you have a scene where you're screaming and yelling or sexually assaulting someone or whatever, and your adrenaline's pumping and whatever, your, not hormones, but cortisol. Cortisol is racing, whatever. All this stuff is going through your head and your body doesn't know, and you're doing the scene a dozen times and it's very hard. I feel it's must be hard to wash that out of your system.Chris Gorham:Can be. It can be. I mean, that's the thing. And it's different for everybody. I ended up, I was okay at the end of the day. I was exhausted, but I felt okay. But I was glad that I'd put some thought into, if I'm not feeling okay, here's what I'm going to do, it's going to help me feel better. And just having thought about it, I think just helped.Michael Jamin:No, I don't think I've ever worked with an intimacy coordinator because in comedy we don't really do a lot of that. But is it always a sexually charged? Is that what the line is? It's not just drama. There always has to be some kind of sexual element when they're brought in. Is that what itChris Gorham:Is? That's certainly how it started. And I think now it's one of the things, it's still new. We're figuring out when it, certainly on the sexual stuff, I'm trying to think. It was interesting. There was a resolution. I think there was a resolution that's going to be coming up the convention. There's lots of conversation about intimacy coordinators. But there was some conversation that had never crossed my mind. But once I was talking to someone about it, I thought, yeah, you know what that makes a lot of sense is bringing in intimacy coordinators when you're physically with children. Physically with children. So for instance, you are playing a dad and you're working with kids and you're getting in bed and cuddling with the kids at bedtime, or you're putting your daughter on your lap to have, because they had a rough day and you're cuddling and you know what I mean? And you're having physical contact with kids to have an intimacy coordinator there just to make, because again, you don't know what people's experiences been to protect the kids so that there's a conversation and there's somebody there watching. And I thought, you know what? Smart, that's a great idea.Michael Jamin:That is a really smart idea. Because we don't know what these kids have been through. We don't know.Chris Gorham:And again, most actors, most people in the world are caring, kind, certainly empathetic. That's their wholeMichael Jamin:Job. That's the job.Chris Gorham:But just like any other profession, some people need help. Some people don't always have the best intentions, and some people don't always behave well. And so it's important. So yeah, I thought that was just such a good idea.Michael Jamin:I totally agree. We also spoke about how you handle it when you are working with an actor who maybe isn't as professional or prepared as you are in the scene and what you do. I thought it was interesting what you had to say.Chris Gorham:Okay, so huge pet peeve. For me. It's like, no, it really bugs me when you're working with someone who hasn't bothered to learn their dialogue. So that's a huge No-no. But then sometimes you are working with an actor who just isn't great, who just for whatever reason isn't great. So my strategy for dealing with that is I just basically start acting to an X. I just don't, whatever they're giving me is just bad. What I know is that the editor is going to cut around the bad performance and they're going to use me. So it's even more important for me to stay completely engaged in the scene. And it's an extra level of acting challenge because then you're acting. It's like, I don't know. It's working on one of the superhero movies or something where you just start treating them like a tennis ball and you do the scene regardless because you can't let them affect your performance. Your performanceMichael Jamin:PerformanceChris Gorham:Has to be there.Michael Jamin:But let's say you were working with a casting director. I've worked with many, obviously many, and some cast directors, they'll read with you, and some of them are not great actors. NoChris Gorham:Read bad.Michael Jamin:And then you have, as an actor, you were trained to react and to what they give you, but how do you deal with it when they're not giving youChris Gorham:Enough? It is. It's really hard. It's one of the nice things about this whole self take resolution is that's kind of taken out of it because you've got, hopefully you have someone working with you that's going to give you something. And if not, you can do multiple takes and send the best one. It was always one of the most difficult things about auditioning in the room is when you are, and I've heard so many horror stories, I've experienced just a couple, but when you're doing your audition and the person you're reading with is garbage, and so much of it becomes, it's not like how convincing their reading is. For me, it was always a rhythm thing. It was like they just aren't listening. And so the rhythm gets completely screwed up. And it's like,Michael Jamin:I always feel for actors when they have to do this, you have a crappy sketching director. It's like, well, what so hard.Chris Gorham:Or you look up and the casting director's like on the phone,Michael Jamin:That's even worse. EatingChris Gorham:Lunch and not this.Michael Jamin:If you prepared a scene and in this moment you're going to be hot, you're going to be yelling, and the casting director is not giving you enough for you to get angry at. So you're saying you just go ahead and do it the way you prepared, even though if the scene, but then it looks like you're almost looks like you're crazy. You're getting angry and the cast director's at the lunch. It's just something you got to deal withChris Gorham:Because that's the scene. And they're probably, even when you were in the office, usually they were recording it. Right. So all they're going to see is your side.Michael Jamin:Okay.Chris Gorham:So you have to doMichael Jamin:That's good advice.Chris Gorham:Yeah.Michael Jamin:I remember, this is years ago, we did a scene. We had this very famous actress. Actress. She was older, and we booked her and she came for the role and it was exciting to have her on set. She was very famous, but she should not be working. Her agent should not have booked her because I'veChris Gorham:Had an experienceMichael Jamin:Like that too. Really? So maybe she had dementia. I felt terrible because she clearly had dementia or early signs of dementia, so she literally couldn't remember one line. So you'd feed her the line, and even still, she couldn't remember it half a second later. And I just felt she, I didn't know what to do. I was like, she's struggling here. She's probably feels very embarrassed, very lost. Very, why did her agent send her out for this book? Maybe because she needed the insurance. I don't know. But it was a horrible situation. I felt bad all around.Chris Gorham:I've worked with an actress who a very similar situation, and they went to cue cards and they just did it line by line.Michael Jamin:Even with QI wanted to bring in cue cards. The director said, I don't want to bring q. I was like, what are you doing, dude? This is awful. I lost that fight. I thought we needed cue cards. They justChris Gorham:Shot her side line by line, and then I just did my side to an X.Michael Jamin:Yeah. Yeah. It's so interesting. That's one of the realities of being on a TV show.Chris Gorham:Totally. And it's one of the, but also why it's so important to not to get, just to do, at the end of the day, be responsible for your performance and make sure that you're giving the best performance that you can give and you can't control the other stuff that's happening. And then as an actor, then trust your director and your camera operators and your review that they're going to take care of you as best that they can and your editor. But it doesn't behoove anyone to make you look like an idiot unless you're supposed to look like an idiot. Right,Michael Jamin:Right.Chris Gorham:Everyone wants to make the show. Great.Michael Jamin:Are your kids getting into acting or have they expressed any No. You said with relief. No, not in the arts at all.Chris Gorham:No, no, no, not at all.Michael Jamin:Your wife was an actor. I mean, I'm, yeah, I'm surprised that there's not that pull.Chris Gorham:Well, my oldest son is autistic. He finished high school and now he's got a part-time job like pharmacy down the street. He's doing well, and his younger brother is studying business, wants to go into real estate. Oh, good. It's like, okay.Michael Jamin:Yeah, thank God.Chris Gorham:Yeah. And then our youngest loves to sing, has a beautiful singing voice. But yeah, no, he isn't really interestedMichael Jamin:GoingChris Gorham:Into the business, which is fine. We've never put any pressure onMichael Jamin:Them. Well, sure.Chris Gorham:And had they had a passion for it, we would be supportive, but it's just not, their heartsMichael Jamin:Taken them. It's funny. I'm sure they've come to set with you seen you do it. Yeah.Chris Gorham:Yeah. They think it's boring. They're like, this is so boring.Michael Jamin:It is boring. There's a lot of boring on a set. I don't know if,Chris Gorham:Yeah, it's super boring. They've never watching things with me in it because it's weird to see your dad not being your dad. Also, another thing, thinking about it, having just talked about Stacy Linker a little bit ago, I think part of the reason they don't like going to set is because it set. I am the star and not them. SoMichael Jamin:Oh, interesting.Chris Gorham:That doesn't feel great either. It's way better at home.Michael Jamin:What is it like for you though, when you're out in public? And fame to me is, so how do you experience fame when someone comes up to you and they think they know you and they want a piece of you? What does that do to you?Chris Gorham:Well, I've been really lucky, I feel like, because kind of been able to walk the line where I've experienced being famous enough to have the paparazzi jump out and want to take my picture and talk to me.Michael Jamin:That's a lot. That's a level of fame I don't think anybody would want to have,Chris Gorham:But never to the point where it really got in the way. It was just a few. There were some moments in my career where I was famous enough that the paparazzi knew who I was and would take my picture, but never famous enough that it reallyMichael Jamin:BotheredChris Gorham:You, caused problems. Never famous enough where I needed security. Never famous enough where it got really inconvenient.Michael Jamin:But let's just say you're at a restaurant and someone wants to come up, they want to talk to you, they autographed, they want to meet you.Chris Gorham:Most of the time people get it. I'm usually out with my kids and my wife, so they understand if they're coming up and I'm with my wife and kids, that it's a little awkward for them to ask me to stop dinner with my family to talk pictures or take. So that doesn't really happenMichael Jamin:Now. Oh, that's good. I mean, Brad, I could see your family being like, oh God, we're trying to have a night. We're trying to be together.Chris Gorham:There's been moments like that, especially for the kids. Anelle it, it's always been fun. Early in my career, it was weird because we were on a show and we couldn't go to malls because kids would chase us around malls in the very beginning. But then as you get older, that happens less and less. And then it's just been, sometimes it's surprising. My kids forget for a while. We'll go a while without getting recognized at all. And then weirdly, in Chicago, weirdly, I think the last show that I was on must have lots of people watched it in Chicago. And so suddenly, anytime I'm in Chicago, I'm recognized all the time. And so It's like my kids remember. Oh, right. Dad's on tv.Michael Jamin:That's soChris Gorham:Funny. Funny. When Ethan was starting high school was when a very popular show with the high school kids had just premiered. And that was actually really difficult for him. We've talked about it since. He didn't really reveal how hard it was for him, but last year we were talking about it and he was kind of opening up and said, yeah, no, it sucked. It wasn't great.Michael Jamin:Really?Chris Gorham:You were doing that show while I was starting high school and so everyone knew who I was and everyoneMichael Jamin:Knew who all his friends and all the kids. Yeah. It's hard for a kid and itChris Gorham:Was embarrassing.Michael Jamin:Yes, it was. They were embarrassed that you were their dad.Chris Gorham:Yeah. Really? It was super embarrassing. Yeah. Well, because of what that show, because of my character on the show for high school kids, just, it was a lot. I was physically quite exposed on that show and so yeah, it was a lot. It a lot.Michael Jamin:Oh wow. We did a show with these two guys link and these were big YouTubers and they were huge. And I hadn't heard of them. I didn't know them. And then remember we'd go for the meeting and one of them said to me, you wouldn't believe this, but I can't go to Disneyland without being swarmed. That was his crowd. He's like, I know you've never seen me before, but I can't go there without being swarmed.Chris Gorham:Yeah.Michael Jamin:It's so funny. Yeah,Chris Gorham:It's wild. Yeah. That was,Michael Jamin:It's interesting that this, go ahead, please.Chris Gorham:No, no, no, no. It was just a dumb Disneyland story. Go ahead.Michael Jamin:No.Chris Gorham:Well, the dumb Disneyland story was, there was a period in my career where working on a certain show where we could not only go to Disneyland for free, but also were given the guide and the behind we were taking care of at Disneyland, like a celebrity, which was funny because it was so, we did it a couple times, but I think even just the second time we went to Disney Disneyland, that way, it's too much. Honestly. It sounds great, and it's great the first time to be able to skip all the lines, you know what I mean? But after that, it's like, oh, there's actually way less to do at Disneyland than you think when you don't have to wait in line for anything.Michael Jamin:That's so funny. You kindChris Gorham:Of finish it all in four hours and then you're like, oh,Michael Jamin:Now what? Now what?Chris Gorham:Again?Michael Jamin:That's so funny. Yeah.Chris Gorham:Yeah.Michael Jamin:I'm always curious, I am always curious about how people experience I'm around you guys and how you guys experience fame and what is it like that parasocial relationship where people think they know you and they don't. They just know this part of you.Chris Gorham:It's different for everybody.Michael Jamin:Yeah. I always feel like it must be like, am I giving you what? When someone comes up to you, is there that thought in your head? Where am I giving you what you wanted? You just met me. Am I giving you what you wanted? Because I don't know what you wanted and am I who you wanted me to be for five minutes? Oh, that's funny.Chris Gorham:I don't think about it that way. I've just tried to be kind to people just, I just try to be kind. Just be kind. That's all. That's really all I'm thinking about is just because, listen, it could be worse. It's not terrible for people to be happy to see you generally.Michael Jamin:Right.Chris Gorham:That's not terrible. That's kind of nice. Can it be inconvenient? Sorry.Michael Jamin:Well, I saw a clip of Eve who played Jan Brady, right. And she was on the talk show. This clip was probably 30 years old or whatever, and someone in the audience said, can you just do it? Can you just say it? Can you say it right? And she's like, we knew what you wanted. We knew everyone knew. She wanted her to say, Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. And she was like, I'm not going to say it. I won't say it, and why not? And everyone was so disappointed, and I felt for her. I was like, because she doesn't want to be your performing monkey now. And that was when she was 10.Chris Gorham:Well, that's the thing too. It's like is a one you can be kind and say no.Michael Jamin:Yeah,Chris Gorham:Right. Just being kind doesn't mean you're going to say yes to every request,Michael Jamin:But that sounds like something you've maybe had a long conversation with a therapist to come to that conversation. Really? Yeah. That's something I would struggle with. Someone would say, you know, could be kind still say, no, am I allowed to? But you're saying you came to this realization on your own.Chris Gorham:I dunno. I don't know. Listen, I do see a therapist, and so maybe I don't remember having a breakthrough about that specifically, but certainly walking things through with a therapist can only help. Also, I think being a dad helps with that because in parenting, so much of the job is saying no. And that can be really hard sometimes, certainly for some people, but it's an important part of the job.Michael Jamin:Talk about how important do you think it is, and for you to either, okay. As a writer, I think it's very important to spend at least some amount of time in therapy because if you don't know yourself, how could you possibly know another character? And I wonder if you feel the same way. Same thing about acting.Chris Gorham:Oh, I've never thought about it that way.Michael Jamin:Really?Chris Gorham:Yeah. Yeah. No, I never thought about that way. But it certainly can be helpful. I mean, for the same reason. It just, it's spending that time thinking about, and sometimes it's taking that hour just thinking about the whys of things. You spend so much of your days reacting to everything and taking the time to go, okay, why did this lead to this? Why did I do that when this happened to me? And as a person, it's going to help you stay more regulated and be just healthier in life. But also, yeah, for sure. There's going to be moments when you're going to be able to understand a character brother, because you've maybe put some thought into why people doMichael Jamin:These things, why people do. Yeah.Chris Gorham:I been, one of the things I've

Afternoon Teatime December 18th 3 Pm EST, the last one of 2023. Joining to share a T-E-A with you all is Diane Namm, bringing you her latest book on family feast holiday culture and traditions along with all the incredible stories and work she does in many fields of work in the entertainment industry.LIVE STREAMING TO MULTIPLE PLATFORMS AND PODCAST STATIONS AND APPS. LIVE SHOW ON MISS LIZ'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL BELOW. Please give it a quick subscribe and be notified when teatimes are live.https://youtube.com/@misslizsteatimes?si=VhVODhNkY__evnOtDiane Namm is the talented author of over 65 published books, including children', YA, and adult non-fiction books. She is also an award-winning screenwriter, director and producer for film and television; and a successful playwright, director, and producer for stage.Children's newest book, Latkes & Lefse, is about children's different cultures within one's family.A donated literacy advocate of the state's nonprofit, Namm is the founder and Executive Artistic Director of West of Broadway www.westofbroadway.com, formerly a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization and a grant recipient of the LA County Performing Arts Council. Namethe and West of Broadway promote literacy and social and civic responsibility through stage. Past productions have included original adaptations by Namm: Mrs. Scrooge the Musical; Huck; Bunny Tales Episode IV: The Bunny Wars; Red Chief,, Monster and classic productions of Twelve Angry Jurors and Judgment at Nuremberg.Namm's production company, Lady of the Canyon ALL MEDIA, LLC has developed several projects (ladyofthecanyon.com). Film/TV projects include FINDING HOPE, THE SACRIFICE, TELEMAFIA, GREAT AMERICAN PIGEON RACE WE'LLhonoured ALWAWE'LLNamm'sVE DINGLE and SASA.Namm was honored by Reading Is Fundamental of Southern California in 2008 for producing and directing their PSA. She had the original series of PSAs for VoteRiders.org, an organization dedicated to informing each state's citizenry state'soting ID requirements.Namm has served as a writing mentor for CREATE NOW, developing writing workshops for at-risk youth in juvenile detention centers, rehab centers and group homes.She was formerly on the Advisory Boards of the University of Michigan/English Department, HART-US and the Edgemar Center for the Arts; she is a past Artist-in-Residence at the Pasadena Playhouse and is currently a member of the Women in Film, Authors Guild and Dramatists Guild.She resides in Los Angeles, California. Please see www.dianenamm.com for more information.#teatimewithmissliz#misslizteatime#makingadifference#tradition#cultures#screenwriting#bestsellingauthor#director#producer#childrenbooks#films#nonprofit#playwright#livestreaming#podcastshow#likefollowshare#subscribe#youtubechannel ,3 pm

Despite all the angst over the national debt limit, extensions and last-minute compromises aren’t unusual — since 1960, Congress has fought over the debt ceiling 78 times. Although the U.S. has never defaulted, there have been consequences. In this episode, why debt ceiling battles haunt the nation’s credit rating. Plus, the financial strain on regional theaters across the country, as told by Danny Feldman, head of the Pasadena Playhouse.

Despite all the angst over the national debt limit, extensions and last-minute compromises aren’t unusual — since 1960, Congress has fought over the debt ceiling 78 times. Although the U.S. has never defaulted, there have been consequences. In this episode, why debt ceiling battles haunt the nation’s credit rating. Plus, the financial strain on regional theaters across the country, as told by Danny Feldman, head of the Pasadena Playhouse.

Samuel Laird Cregar (1914-1944) was the youngest of six sons of Edward Matthews Cregar, a cricketer and member of a team called the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. They toured internationally in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Laird's mother was the former Elizabeth Smith.Laird Cregar was educated at Winchester College in England, spending his summers as a page boy and bit player with the Stratford-upon-Avon theatrical troupe. Upon completing his schooling, Cregar won a scholarship at California's Pasadena Playhouse, supporting himself as a nightclub bouncer when funds ran out. So broke that at times he had to sleep in his car, Cregar forced Hollywood to pay attention to him by staging his own one-man show, in which he portrayed Oscar Wilde.After a few minor film roles, Cregar was signed to a 20th Century-Fox contract; among his first major roles was the middle-aged Francis Chesney in Charley's Aunt, the first of several showcases for the actor's delightful comic flair. With his sinister portrayal of the psychopathic detective in I Wake Up Screaming, he followed that up with the successful screwball comedy Rings on Her Fingers playing a con artist opposite Gene Tierney. Cregar became one of filmdom's top “heavies” ? both figuratively and literally. Seldom weighing less than 300 pounds throughout his adult life, Cregar became obsessed with his weight.After top billing in The Lodger, who may or may not be Jack the Ripper, the increasingly sensitive Cregar was growing tired of being thought of as merely a hulking villain. ...from: https://walkoffame.com/laird-cregar/(From here the story takes a dramatic and tragic turn)For more information:https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0187284/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

#174: We collected more ghost stories from Angelenos to share with you this Halloween! Join host Brian De Los Santos as we hear about hundred-year-old haunts LAist listeners submitted from all over Los Angeles County, from Long Beach to K-Town to Pasadena. 

To skip straight to our Recap, start at: 5:18 (But you can hear our rave review of Amy Brenneman's production of The Sound Inside at The Pasadena Playhouse starting at 1:47…thats pretty much Private Practice content, right?) To avoid discussion of sexual assault and suicidal ideation, skip 20:57-28:27 To avoid personal discussion of Parental loss, skip 29:55-35:45 A reminder: We are a Private Practice SPOILER-FREE podcast, but we are NOT a Grey's Anatomy spoiler-free podcast. Anything that has aired in current Grey's is something that we will possibly be talking about. Proceed with caution if you are not caught up on that series. RAINN is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, help is available. https://www.rainn.org/resources To support the people who make your favorite shows, please consider donating to the SAG-AFTRA Emergency Financial Assistance Fund, WGA Emergency Assistance Fund, and/or the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actor's Fund) Emergency Fund if you are financially able. You can find Sam online @samanthagharris Follow Katelyn on Instagram You can find Melessie online at @melessieclark and @Melessieee We would love for you to join the BHAB Podcast community on Patreon at www.patreon.com/bhabpodcast (you can receive really cool perks at the different levels!) or support us by leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify! Questions? Comments? Feel free to DM us @bhabpodcast or email us at bhabpodcast@gmail.com We'll be back in two weeks with our next Private Practice recap! Buy friend of the pod Peggy Li's earrings featured in this episode! USA Listeners, Register to vote! Buy Sam's book here! Photography by Chancelor Humphrey Theme Music, Podcast Management, and Graphic Design by SH Creative TGIT!

Pasadena Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Danny Feldman joins The Art of Kindness with Robert Peterpaul to discuss what makes his Tony-winning theatre so special, the power and future of regional theatre, artistic communities and more. Pasadena Playhouse, the official State Theater of California and recipient of the 2023 Regional Theatre Tony Award, is one of the most prolific theaters in the country. The Playhouse has staged thousands of original productions since its founding in 1917 including premieres of works by Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neill, Suzan Lori Parks and hundreds more. For decades, its pioneering School for Theater Arts was a training ground for actors and theatermakers who went on to make significant contributions to the entertainment industry. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Danny Feldman since 2016, Pasadena Playhouse's productions and community programs are centered on its founding idea of being a living force in its community, making theater for everyone. Find out more on Pasadena Playhouse: www.pasadenaplayhouse.org Follow us: @artofkindnesspod / @robpeterpaul Support the show! (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/theaok) Music: "Awake" by Ricky Alvarez & "Sunshine" by Lemon Music Studio. We are supported by the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Artist Exploration, Danny Feldman from Pasadena Playhouse and MTCA Director Charlie Murphy discuss:  Behind the scenes of theater companies  How theaters handle selecting a season  The regional theater movement  “Yes, anding” you into opportunities  Be sure to check out https://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/ and @pasadenaplayhouse If you have any questions about the college audition process, feel free to reach out at mailbag@mappingthecollegeaudition.com. If you're interested in working with MTCA for help with your individualized preparation for your College Audition journey, please check us out at mtcollegeauditions.com, or on Instagram or Facebook.  Follow Us!  Instagram: @mappingthecollegeaudition YouTube: @MTCA (Musical Theater College Auditions)  TikTok: @mtcollegeauditions  Charlie Murphy:@charmur7  Meghan Cordier:@meghanmarie2014 About MTCA:  Musical Theater College Auditions (MTCA) is the leader in coaching acting and musical theater students through the college audition process and beyond with superlative results. MTCA has assembled a roster of expert artist-educators who can guide students artistically, organizationally, strategically, and psychologically through the competitive college audition process. MTCA provides the tools, resources, and expertise along with a vast and strong support system. They train the unique individual, empowering the artist to bring their true, authentic self to their work. MTCA believes that by helping students reveal their potential it allows each school to connect with those who are truly right for their programs, which in turn guides each student toward their best college fit.  About Charlie Murphy:  Charlie is a proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon University's BFA program. As an Actor he has performed with theaters such as: NY Public Theatre's “Shakespeare in the Park”, The Pearl Theatre Company, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Chautauqua Theatre Company, Kinetic Theatre Company, and the Shakespeare Theatre of DC. With MTCA [Musical Theater College Auditions -- mtca.nyc], he has been helping prospective theatre students through the college process for over 15 years. As a Teacher and Director, he is able to do a few of his favorite things in life: help students to find their authentic selves as artists, and then help them find their best fit for their collegiate journey. Through this podcast, he hopes to continue that work as well as help demystify this intricate process. This episode was produced by Meghan Cordier and Charlie Murphy. Episode theme music is created by Will Reynolds.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Pasadena Playhouse it's California's official theater, it offered training to so many in Hollywood and of course home to the spirit/haunting of Gilmor Brown.Promo in the episode by: https://murderandmimosas.buzzsprout.comMisty Mysteries is a Darkcast Network podcast. https://www.darkcastnetwork.com/Head over to social media where you can send a message, get updates and information throughout the week. Misty Mysteries Podcast's Instagram (@misty_mysteries)https://twitter.com/MysteriesM...https://m.facebook.com/MistyMy...Sources:https://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/about/https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasadena_Playhousehttps://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-1031-then-20101031-story.htmlThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5639356/advertisement

Michael Donovan is the recipient of 9 Artios awards. He has cast more than 1,000 shows produced at such venues as the Ahmanson Theatre, the Mark Taper Forum, the Hollywood Bowl, Pasadena Playhouse, the Kirk Douglas Theatre, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Laguna Playhouse, and International City Theatre. He has cast national tours, numerous films, TV series and commercials. Michael is the President of the Board for the Foundation for New American Musicals, teaches at both Pepperdine and USC, and serves on the board for Camp Bravo. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ MICHAEL DONOVAN ⌲ IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0233036/ ⌲ IG: https://www.instagram.com/michaeldonovancasting/?hl=en ⌲ Website: https://michaeldonovancasting.com/ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ The Moving Spotlight Podcast ⌲ iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moving-spotlight/id1597207264 ⌲ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7cjqYAWSFXz2hgCHiAjy27 ⌲ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/themovingspotlight ⌲ ALL: https://linktr.ee/themovingspotlight ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #Musicals #LosAngelesTheatre #NYCTheatre #Broadway #MarkTaperForum #PasadenaPlayhouse #AhmansonTheatre #TheatreCasting #TheatreCastingDirector #SelfTapes #RichieFerris #MichaelDonovanCasting #Emmys #TVTime #iTunes #Actor #ActorsLife #Believe #Success #Inspiration #Netflix #Hulu #Amazon #HBO #AppleTV #Showtime #Acting #Artist #Theatre #Film #YourBestBadActing #Content #CorbinCoyle #JohnRuby #RealFIREacting #TMS_Pod --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-moving-spotlight/support

An award-winning theatrical costume designer who has collaborated with The American Conservatory Theater, Teatro Zinzanni, The Roundabout Theatre Company, Cabaret Zazou, California Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, TheatreWorks, Classic Stage Company, Northlight Theatre, The Papermill Playhouse and The Pasadena Playhouse.  She has created costumes for A Christmas Carol, Comedy of Errors, Test Match, Tales of the City, Scapin, The Government Inspector, The Merry Widow, Crowns, Blue, Everything's Ducky and The Cherry Orchard.  

Buckle up, as Mer-L.A. we roll along down Sondset Boulevard and into the George-ous downtown area! We're going to cruise from the Pasadena Playhouse to the Ahmanson Theatre to the Hollywood Bowl, going bum bum bum, bobby baby bobby bubbi all the way. It's time to discuss the many, many Sondheim-related offerings that were available in the City of Angels in 2023!  Here's the album I just released, in case you want to use it to invalidate any of my opinions you disagree with: https://open.spotify.com/album/1DzLW70QYFzNfuSUtC662R?si=VrO52OMjQO2Bt51TsS50jQ And here's the goddamn Sondheim on Adderall playlist one more time: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1OgyPwCw0JSjfe4oXvIeHL?si=782314657a1f4491

Join us for a riveting dive into the rich history of America's oldest operating theatre, the Pasadena Playhouse. We sit down with the Playhouse's artistic director, Danny Feldman, who shares his fascinating journey from an aspiring pianist to a successful theatre producer, including a thrilling stint with the Pussycat Dolls. We peel back the layers of the Playhouse's architectural beauty and its transformation into an emblem of inclusivity in theatre. Danny gives us a backstage pass into the revival of the much-loved Little Shop of Horrors. Hear about the Playhouse's landmark moment - the 2023 Regional Theatre Tony Award, and how it's shaping their future.We also explore the Playhouse's youth programs, featuring a groundbreaking production of Into the Woods that beautifully blurs the lines between high school and professional theatre. Danny shares his insights on the pandemic's impact on youth and theatre's therapeutic potential. So, tune in for an eye-opening journey into the world of theatre with Danny Feldman - it's a performance you don't want to miss!Support the showIf you liked this episode, don't forget to subscribe to this podcast and leave us a review. Share your thoughts with us on this episode below:On Instagram: @halfhourpodcastOn TikTok: @halfhourpodcastOn our website: www.twoworldsentertainmentllc.com

Pasadena Playhouse, the official State Theater of California, is internationally recognized for its significant role in the development of American theater. One of the most prolific theaters in the country, the Playhouse has staged thousands of original productions since its founding in 1917 including premieres of works by Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neill, Suzan Lori Parks and hundreds more.Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Danny Feldman since 2016, Pasadena Playhouse's productions and community programs are centered on its founding idea of being a living force in its community, making theater for everyone. Today, the Playhouse continues to advance the American theater and serves as a hub for the top theatermakers of our time.In this episode, we chat about the theater's upcoming season, dive into Danny's own creative journey, and dig deeper into important matters of diversity, accessibility, creative living, and more.For more information about Pasadena Playhouse, or to book tickets, visit https://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/ Support the showSo grateful for all the listeners! Check the links below from charities, subscriptions, merch, reading list, and more. Love the show?You can now support the show with a subscription! Click here for all the details.**Want to write a review? Click here for details.** Donate Dachshund Rescue of Houston hereBlog https://tstakaishi.wixsite.com/musicInsta @creative_peacemeal_podcastFB @creativepeacemealpodBonfire Merch https://www.bonfire.com/store/creative-peacemeal/Redbubble Merch CPPodcast.redbubble.comCreative Peacemeal READING list hereInterested in Corrie Legge's content planner? Click here to order!

Today on AirTalk, the future of affirmative action as the Supreme Court makes a decision. Also on the show, how did L.A. residents owe $2.6 billion in medical debt; what is ‘sharenting' and its impact?; and more. SCOTUS Round-Up: Indian Child Welfare Act Gets Upheld & Looming Decision On Affirmative Action's Future (0:15) Center Theatre Group Will Pause Programming At The Mark Taper Forum Amid Budget Shortfalls (17:06) Supreme Court's So-Called ‘Shadow Docket' And Its Impact On American Rule Of Law (35:14) LA County Residents Owe At Least $2.6 Billion In Medical Debt – What's Going On? (51:25) What's The Impact Of Sharing Your Kid's Childhood Online? ‘Social Media Babies' Are Old Enough To Tell Us (1:07:34) Pasadena Playhouse's Producing Artistic Director On What's Next After Its Tony Win (1:24:00)

            Director-producer-author, Sheldon Epps has directed major productions on and off Broadway, in London and at many theatres across America. He's also had an active television career helming numerous classic shows of recent years.                        Sheldon was first drawn to the stage while at Teaneck High School, and later graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in Drama.             He began his career as an actor studying at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Indiana Repertory Company, the Alley Theatre, the Pittsburgh CLO and The Production Company, which he co-founded and for which he directed various plays.             In 1980, Sheldon made his theater directing debut with the Off-Broadway musical Blues in the Night. It was revived in 1982, this time on Broadway. Since then he's directed numerous other stage productions on Broadway and in regional theaters including: Scenes and Revelations, Play On!, Blue, and Purlie.            As well, since 1994, Sheldon has directed many memorable, popular TV shows including: Evening Shade, Smart Guy, Sister, Sister, Frasier, Everybody Loves Raymond, Friends, Girlfriends, and George Lopez.            In 1997, Sheldon became artistic director of the Pasadena Playhouse, serving in that capacity for two decades. In 2020 Sheldon was appointed Senior Artistic Advisor at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC.            Sheldon's best-selling memoir, My Own Directions, was published in September 2022. I've read My Own Directions and can tell you it's a fantastically entertaining and informative look at Sheldon's exceptional career and all of the many hurdles he's overcome and successes he's achieved throughout an outstanding life in the arts. 

George Salazar is best known for his work on Broadway as “Michael” in the cult sensation Be More Chill, a role for which he won a Lucille Lortel Award, two Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards, and garnered nominations for both Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. His act two number, “Michael in the Bathroom” has been streamed over 50 million times. His theater credits also include “Seymour,” opposite Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, in the critically-acclaimed Pasadena Playhouse production of Little Shop of Horrors, his Drama Desk-nominated performance as “Grover” and “Mr. D” in The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, “Michael” in the off-Broadway revival of Jonathan Larson's tick, tick… BOOM!, David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim's Here Lies Love, The Broadway revival of Godspell, and more. He has appeared on television as “George Conway” in American Crime Story: Impeachment and recurred as “Eric Sosa” on NBC's Superstore for two seasons. George is also the voice of “Dad Hatter” in Disney Junior's animated series, Alice's Wonderland Bakery. Philanthropic/Activist Causes: I'm a huge ally and defender of Trans rights. I also care deeply about immigration/deportation, specifically the string of transfers of incarcerated people who finish their sentences for non-violent crimes only to then be transferred to ICE detainment.

Sheldon Epps was artistic director of the renowned Pasadena Playhouse for two decades, and still acts as artistic director emeritus for the playhouse. Previously, he was associate artistic director of the Old Globe Theatre. Sheldon directed numerous plays and musicals at many of the country's major theatres, including the Roundabout, Manhattan Theatre Club, the Guthrie, Playwrights Horizons, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Ford's Theatre and the Goodman Theatre. He conceived and directed the highly acclaimed Broadway musicals “Play On!” and “Blues In the Night,” which both received Tony Award nominations. “Blues in the Night” also was nominated as Best Musical for the prestigious Olivier Award in London. He co-directed the Tony-nominated production of “Baby It's You!” Sheldon has had a busy career as a television director, helming episodes of shows such as “Frasier,” “Friends,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Girlfriends” and many others. He is a longtime board member of the Society of Directors and Choreographers and is the chair of the SDC Foundation Board of Trustees. BUY SHELDON'S BOOK HERE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices