Podcasts about Williamstown Theatre Festival

Chapters00:00Introduction and Connection02:26Real Estate Dreams and Retirement Plans04:48Adoption Story and Family Background07:27Understanding Sexuality and Identity09:54Coming Out and Family Dynamics12:35Spiritual Experiences and Past Lives15:07Reflections on Family Relationships17:59Life Lessons and Personal Growth21:52Adapting to New Environments23:34Pets and Their Needs24:21Relationships and Love25:22Career Transitions and Playwriting28:51The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Relationships31:55The Journey to Becoming a Playwright35:25Navigating the Film Industry38:35Upcoming Projects and Aspirations40:42Life Lessons and Philosophies43:42Reflections on Society and PoliticsSummary:In this episode, Stephen Druckman shares his personal journey from his early life in Boston to his successful career as a playwright. He discusses his family dynamics, coming out as gay, and the challenges he faced in his identity. Stephen reflects on his artistic philosophy, the importance of kindness, and his current projects, including a new play. The conversation touches on themes of love, acceptance, and the complexities of navigating life as an artist in today's world.Takeaways:Stephen's early life was marked by family challenges and adoption.He always knew he was different and gay from a young age.His journey into playwriting began as a way to express his identity.Stephen emphasizes the importance of kindness in life and art.He believes love is the core reason for our existence.His experiences in the theater have shaped his artistic philosophy.Stephen's new play explores themes of love and aging.He reflects on the impact of the AIDS crisis on his generation.The conversation highlights the importance of authenticity in art.Stephen's insights on the current political climate reveal his concerns for the future.Bio:STEVEN DRUKMAN was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for his play Another Fine Mess (Portland Center Stage). His plays include Pru Payne (Arizona Theatre Company, SpeakEasy Stage in Boston, MA); Going to See the Kid (Merrimack Rep); Death of the Author (Geffen Playhouse, starring Austin Butler in his first stage role); The Prince of Atlantis (South Coast Rep); The Innocents (Asolo Rep); The Bullet Round (Arena Stage, Portland, OR); In this Corner (The Old Globe, winner of the San Diego Circle Best New Play Award); Going Native (Long Wharf Theatre); Flattery Will Get You (Connecticut Rep); and more. Drukman's work has been developed by the Mark Taper Forum, Manhattan Theatre Club, Intiman Theatre, Sundance Theatre Lab, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, and many others.  As a journalist, Drukman wrote for The New York Times for many years, as well as The Nation, The Village Voice, and International Herald Tribune.  He also served as the theatre reviewer for Artforum and WNYC-FM. As an actor, Drukman has been directed by Richard Foreman, Anne Bogart, Maria Irene Fornes and Arnold Wesker, and was a member of the Organic Theater Company in Chicago, where he won a Jeff Award. He received his Ph.D. from NYU, where he is an Associate Professor of playwriting.To contact Steven:To contact Wilkinson:  BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com

Pamela Weiler GraysonPam's musical, Urban Momfare (composer/lyricist/co-book writer), won a Best Musical award, at the New York International Fringe Festival, garnered four stars and a Critics Pick from Time Out, and also played at the Fringe Encore Series. Pam's award-winning plays and musicals have been seen on stages throughout New York and nationally, including Primary Stages, Naked Angels, Theatre Now New York, The Group Rep/Lonny Chapman Theatre (North Hollywood, CA), Southwest Theatre Productions (Austin, TX - Blue Ribbon Winner of their Rising Artists Series), Arts on the Lake (Kent Lakes, NY), Cincinnati Lab Theatre, Emerging Artists Theatre (NYC - multiple works), and The Chain Theatre (NYC). Her play Observant was the recipient of a 2024 grant from The New York State Council on the Arts and a SemiFinalist in the Jewish Plays Project's 12th National Jewish Playwriting Contest. Her play The Club was one of three prize-winning plays of the Word Wave Lake Tahoe One Act Play Competition. She is the co-writer, with Alice Jankell, of Cicadas, The Musical, featured on Season 2 of the top-rated Amazon streaming series, The Other F Word. Pam's songs have been performed at The Metropolitan Room, The Laurie Beechman Theatre, The Duplex, and Don't Tell Mama. She has written for The New York Times and The New York Observer, among others. Pam is a member of Kate Moira Ryan's advanced playwriting workshop and a board member of Emerging Artists Theatre. She was a writer-in-residence at Kervigo Ensemble Theatre (NY), for the 2020–2021 season and is an inaugural member of Theatre Now New York's International Musical Writers Lab. Dramatists Guild member. Education: Brown University, Fordham Law School, New York Theatre Workshop, and The BMI Musical Theatre Workshop. Pam is on the New Play Exchange. See her page at newplayexchange.org/user.Alice JankellAlice is a director, writer actress as well as the Artistic Director of The Philipstown Depot Theatre.​For Disney, Alice helped to create and develop new Broadway musicals.  As Associate Artistic Director of The Williamstown Theatre Festival, her directing work included AS YOU LIKE IT,  DINAH WAS, and ENOUGH ROPE, the special event on Dorothy Parker starring Elaine Stritch.  Alice has worked and learned in venues as varied as the Mark Taper, the L.A. Opera, The Public Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, La Mama, and City Theater, among many others, as well as in film and TV.  Alice was the Creative Director of F.A.B. Women (For, About, and By Women) under The Barrow Group's Off-Broadway umbrella, helming the company of 125 professional female writers, actors and directors.  During her tenure, F.A.B. Women generated and produced 48 new plays.With Putnam Theatre Alliance, Alice co-created Freedom Project, directed and filmed MORE BEAUTIFUL, a brand new play by Craig Lucas, and co-created and directed DIRT.  Alice is currently preparing to direct Martha Pichey's new play, ASHES & INK, Off-Broadway this fall.Alice's own scripts have appeared across the country, and a collection of her plays has been published by Leicester Bay Theatricals.  Her play, THE SWEET SPOT, opened at Off-Broadway's 59E59 Theaters last winter, and her musical (with Pam Weiler Grayson) about urban motherhood (Director/Co-Writer), won a Best Musical Award from the NY International Fringe Festival, was a Critic's Choice, and garnered 4 stars from Time Out. Her many favorite acting roles include a solo performance, backed by the L.A. Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and a lead in the Off-Broadway premier of Arlene Hutton's LETTERS TO SALA.   Alice has taught acting at Carnegie Mellon.Alice is a founding member of Putnam Theatre Alliance, a New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect, member of The Actors Studio PDW and PDU, and The National Musical Theatre Workshop, founding member Putnam Theatre Alliance.

Today we have a wonderful guest whose career spans the gamut of amazing theatre, television and film. Joe first started in the industry doing an apprenticeship and worked his first professional job at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. In 2015, he made his Broadway debut as Bait Boy in Airline Highway. That same year, he played Earl Hunterson in the American Repertory Theater production of Waitress. Two years later, Tippett played the leading man in the Off-Broadway production of All the Fine Boys. In 2021 Joe reprised his role as Earl Hunterson in the Broadway return engagement of Waitress. Joe's TV credits include starring as Coach Strickland on NBC's Rise , Doolittle Lynn in the TV movie Patsy & Loretta, as well as playing was cast as Lucius King in NBC's Prism. Most recently he had major roles in Mare of Easttown where he played John Ross as well as a stint on the highly acclaimed The Morning Show. You can currently catch him in A Complete Unknown opposite Timothy Chalamet.In this episode we discuss...How he ended up getting into acting after a short stint in college then to crashing on a friends couch in NYCHis theatre route and how he transitioned into tv/filmWorkshoping plays and the experience of being through the Waitress workshop all the way on the Broadway stageWhat it's like to age into your type as an actorHow do theatre actors remember all those lines (haha).. inquiring minds- mainly Jenn's - want to know!What his favorite theater & screen projects has beenHow he tackles having confidence as an actorWhat are some of his comfort re-watch showsWe wrap up with Joe's questions for casting!Make sure to rate, review and subscribe to all things Tipsy Casting!Resources:Joe Tippett IMDBJoe Tippett InstagramJoe Tippett X────────────────────────────⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stay Tuned with Tipsy Casting on IG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tipsy Casting YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Jessica ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Jenn ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn More About ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jess ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠& ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jenn's⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Casting

Tony Nominee Ethan Slater can most recently be seen in the feature film Wicked, where he portrays the role of Boq. The film will be followed up by Wicked: Part 2, where Slater will reprise his role, and will be released by Universal Pictures in November of 2025. In another recent film, Slater also stars in the drama film Lost on a Mountain in Maine, based on the novel. He is currently in production on the indie feature The Designer, alongside Gina Gershon and Katherine Waddell. Slater is best known for his Broadway debut as SpongeBob in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, and won the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Theatre World and Broadway Beacon Award. He recently starred in Spamalot on Broadway as The Historian / Not Dead Fred / Prince Herbert. His additional theater credits include an Off-Broadway revival of Assassins, and a Williamstown Theatre Festival performance of Marcel on the Train. In television, Slater has starred in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and as Joel Grey in FX's Fosse/Verdon. Slater's musical achievements include the concept album Edge of the World with Nick Blaemire in 2021, featuring Norbert Leo Butz and Lilli Cooper. He additionally released two EPs “Life is Weird” in 2020, and “Wanderer” in 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

During the most recent adventure of Little Kids, Big Hearts, "Fairness with Vella Lovell and Meredith Holzman," three kids — Bodhi, Aubrey, and Will — travel with LKBH host Todd Loyd to the Land of Qook-a-lackas to help two Qook-a-lacka friends "qook-a-late" to retsore fairness to the Land. Today, we're back to challenge our listeners to go on their own FAIRNESS QUEST, inspired by the episode and the words/actions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. — whose legacy of justice, equality, and human rights we celebrated this week. Todd and LKBH Producer Christy Pusz Decatur issue our first-ever challenge our listeners to (1) notice something that seems unfair, (2) think about ways to help, and then (3) take action to help someone else feel included, valued, or supported. This is our first-ever challenge episode, and we'd be overjoyed if our listeners could take a moment to share how their families interpreted the fairness quest with a few words or a picture! You can share on instagram (@little_kids_big_hearts_podcast), facebook (@LittleKidsBigHeartsPodcast), or just email us: podcast@playsparkler.org.  Following the MISSION, turn up the volume and sing/dance along to a brand-new Little Kids, Big Hearts original song: When Something's Unfair. It's written by amazing educator/composer Benjamin Weiner and performed with Benjamin PLUS Vella Lovell, who played Principal Quella in our fairness episode. Vella currently appears on the Fox comedy Animal Control alongside Joel McHale as “Emily.” Other credits include Mr. Mayor, Crazy Ex Girlfriend, Accused, A Clüsterfünke Christmas, She Ra And the Princesses of Power, Kiff, The Big Sick, Dollface, Girls, Younger, Grace and Frankie, As We See It, Your Place or Mine. On the stage, Vella has appeared in plays at The Geffen Playhouse, Yale Rep, The Public Theater and Williamstown Theatre Festival. She graduated from @nyutisch and @juilliardschool.Learn more online at: https://playsparkler.org/fairness/

Scott Killian has composed scores for Zvi Gotheiner (over 30 works), Shapiro & Smith Dance, Cherylyn Lavagnino, David Dorfman, Susan Marshall, Ralph Lemon, Bebe Miller, Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis. His works have been performed with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Limon Dance Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, PACT Dance (South Africa), et al. Venues include The Joyce Theater, Lincoln Center, New York City Center, New York Live Arts, Jacob's Pillow, The Annenberg Center and many regional venues. As a dance musician, he is a regular accompanist at NYC's Gibney 890 Studios and NYU Tisch School of the Arts. As a composer and sound designer for theater, Scott has created works for over 120 professional productions in NYC and at many regional theaters. NYC theatrical venues include Manhattan Theatre Club, The Public Theater, New York Theater Workshop, MCC, Red Bull Theatre, Primary Stages and Rattlestick Theatre. Regional theatres include George Street Playhouse (over 25 productions); Berkshire Theatre Group (Resident Composer--over 50 productions), Alley Theatre (Houston), Shakespeare Theatre (DC), Seattle Repertory Theatre, A.C.T. (San Francisco). Cleveland Playhouse, Shakespeare and Company, Cincinnati Playhouse, Huntington Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Check out this podcast replay of the SDCF Panel: Art of Collaboration with Shana Carroll, Jesse Robb, and Jessica Stone that we hosted at the Museum of Broadway. They discuss the ins and outs of their creative processes as they collaborated on Water for Elephants, both the finer details as well as overarching ideas about what goes into a productive collaboration on a show. This was a moderated panel with dedicated time for a Q & A. We hosted this panel in August 2024. This video and audio was recorded by Michael Weir supported by the Maria Torres Emerging Artists Foundation. Transcript available upon request. Shana Carroll is Co-Founding Artistic Director of the Montreal based circus company The 7 Fingers. Since its founding in 2002, Carroll has written, directed and choreographed 12 of their touring and/or resident shows, 3 of which (Passengers, Duel Reality, Dear San Francisco) are currently running, and which also includes Sequence 8 at NY City Center and Traces off- Broadway run at Union Square Theatre. Carroll received a Drama Desk Nomination for Choreography and Best Theatrical Experience for their show Traces. Outside The 7 Fingers, Carroll directed Cirque du Soleil's first- ever ice show Crystal, in addition to their performance at the Academy Awards in 2012. Also, for Cirque du Soleil, Carroll was circus choreographer and designer for their shows Iris (Los Angeles) and Paramour (Broadway). Other credits include: Queen of the Night (Drama Desk Recipient); Soul of the Ocean (Moment Factory); Cité Mémoire (Lemieux-Pilon); and the Sochi Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies (medieval segment). Prior to directing and choreography, Carroll was herself a trapeze artist, performing for over 20 years in the air with circuses and dance companies around the world, most notably as the original solo trapeze artist for Cirque du Soleil's Saltimbanco. She also appeared in Cirque du Soleil produced television and film. Now based in Montreal, where she relocated in 1991 to attend l'École Nationale de Cirque, Carroll is originally from Berkeley, California. In 2023, Carroll was inducted into the Ordre of Arts and Letters of Quebec, a distinction honoring those who have contributed to artistic and cultural development in the province of Quebec. Most recently, Carroll was Circus Designer and Co-choreographer of the musical Water For Elephants, first at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta and now in its Broadway run at the Imperial Theatre, for which she received a Suzi Bass Award and the Chita Rivera Award for Best Choreography, as well as Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics' Circle nominations in the same category. Jesse Robb's work spans Broadway, Cirque Du Soleil, Momix, Les Ballet Jazz de Montréal, Mirvish Productions, Disney, Cameron Mackintosh, Prime Video, Opera Philadelphia, and more. He is the co-choreographer (alongside Shana Carroll) for the Broadway production of Water For Elephants, which was nominated for seven Tony Awards including Best Musical. Jesse and Shana were nominated for Tony, Drama Desk, and OCC Awards and received the 2024 Chita Rivera award for Outstanding Choreography. Jesse is the Movement Director for the North American Touring, South Korean, and Japanese productions of the international hit Les Misérables. He was also the Associate Choreographer for the Broadway, North American Touring, and Austrian companies of the 2017 Revival of Miss Saigon. Regionally, Jesse has choreographed at The MUNY, The Alliance Theater (Suzi Bass Award for Outstanding Choreography), The Stratford Festival of Canada, Theatre Calgary, and Ogunquit Playhouse among others. Jessica Stone: Most recently, Stone was nominated for a Tony Award for directing the original Broadway musical Kimberly Akimbo, which won 5 Tony Awards including Best Musical. Stone worked as an actress on and off-Broadway, in television and in film for decades before transitioning to directing. Broadway credits included Anything Goes, Butley, The Odd Couple, The Smell of the Kill, Design for Living, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Grease. Her directing career began in earnest with her all-male 2010 production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for the Williamstown Theatre Festival. She has since been directing all over the country at such theaters as The Old Globe, A.C.T, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Huntington Theatre Company,  Two River Theatre Company, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival among others. Productions include As You Like It, Kate Hamill's Vanity Fair, Barefoot in the Park, Dancing at Lughnasa, Bad Dates, Ken Ludwig's Robin Hood! (World premiere), Ripcord, Bad Jews, Arms and the Man, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Charlotte's Web, June Moon, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Absurd Person Singular, and Kimberly Akimbo (off-Broadway premiere at the Atlantic). She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two sons.

A true multi-hyphenate, Blair Underwood is enjoying success in film, television and theatre, as an actor, director and producer. Underwood returned to Broadway starring opposite David Alan Grier in the Pulitzer Prize winning drama "A Solider's Play" for director Kenny Leon and the Roundabout Theatre Company. He also co-stars in Justin Simien's "Bad Hair" which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Underwood also starred opposite Octavia Spencer & Tiffany Haddish in Netflix's limited series "Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker" . Underwood appeared in the Netflix Emmy-Award winning limited series "When They See Us." He also had a recurring role on the Netflix comedy series, "Dear White People" and can be seen in Clark Johnson's "Juanita," opposite Alfre Woodard, also for Netflix. He spent two years as a series regular on the ABC drama series "Quantico," while also recurring on another hit ABC drama "MARVEL AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. " He also had a co-starring role in "The After Party," from writer/director Ian Edelman, which Netflix released late in 2018. Past television credits include series regular roles on "Dirty Sexy Money," "The New Adventures of Old Christine," "In Treatment," "The Event" and "L.A. Law". Film credits include "Deep Impact," "Set It Off," "Rules of Engagement," "Just Cause," "Madea's Family Reunion" and Steven Soderbergh's "Full Frontal." Underwood co-starred opposite Cicely Tyson in the Lifetime telefilm & theatre production of "A Trip to Bountiful," based on the Tony Award-winning play. In 2012 he made his acclaimed Broadway debut in the iconic role of Stanley in Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire," for which he earned a 2012 Drama League Distinguished Performance Award nomination. He also starred in "Paradise Blue" at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and "Othello" at the Old Globe Theatre. In 2010 he made his feature film directing debut with "The Bridge to Nowhere," which starred Ving Rhames, Danny Masterson, Bijou Phillips and Alex Breckenridge. Underwood is an Emmy Award-winner (as producer of the philanthropy-centered NBC Saturday morning series "Give"), a two-time Golden Globe Award nominee, and has been nominated for 17 NAACP Image Awards (seven wins). He won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word as co-narrator of Al Gore's audiobook, An Inconvenient Truth. A newly minted member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he is also active in several philanthropic endeavors.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.

Gratitude can be a big, abstract idea for most young children — but it is important! Feeling grateful can help to foster emotional wellbeing and resilience; it can reduce stress and anxiety, improve relationships, and promote a sense of belonging.Welcome to Season 4 of Little Kids, Big Hearts! We are SO excited to spend more time with you exploring important themes related to children's social and emotional development. In this new episode of Little Kids, Big Hearts, three children (Charlie, Roxy, and Everly) discuss gratitude and what gratitude feels like. They then journey to the Land of Qook-a-lackas aboard magical hoverboards and help a Qook-a-lacka friend, Kwi-loh (played by Lauren Blumenfeld), power up the Gratitude Power Plant in the Land of Qook-a-lackas.Our guest star is Lauren Blumenfeld, an actor, writer, and filmmaker, who has a long list of credits on stage and in movies and TV. Lauren's favorite theatre credits include POTUS (The Geffen Playhouse), The Assembled Parties (Broadway), We Are Proud To Present...(Soho Rep), Sailor Man (NYC Fringe Award) and numerous productions at Ars Nova. Lauren has performed abroad at The Old Vic (London) and regionally at The Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Old Globe (San Diego), The Pittsburgh Public, and The Virginia Stage Company. She was a series regular on the satirical comedy Nightcap and has played recurring roles on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, Limitless, Unforgettable, Doubt, Deadbeat, and Archibald's Next Big Thing (Netflix). Lauren's shorts have played in festivals worldwide, including SXSW and SIFF. Learn more online.Sound design and mixing is by Ryan Marth, and the ukulele music you hear is by actor and composer Bill English.Please learn more about the episode online at playsparkler.org/gratitude-powerup-with-lauren-blumenfeld/

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

We will learn about the current Williamstown Theatre Festival production of "Pamela Palmer" by David Ives and directed by Walter Bobbie.

After a wildly successful run of "Just For Us" on Broadway and on HBO, for which he received a Special Tony Award, Alex Edelman returns to Williamstown Theatre Festival this weekend with a fresh batch of all new comedy with three shows – two Saturday, one Sunday.

This week on Embrace the Squiggle Colleen and Kristine speak with Rachel Lerner-Ley about how being interesting and authentic landed her the job she wanted! We dig into who you shouldn't conform in interviews and how your unique perspectives and experiences are what will land you the right gig for you. Rachel Lerner-Ley is the Merkin Prize & New Directions Scholars Program Manager at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Prior to the Broad, she worked in the artistic department at Cleveland Play House (recipient of the 2015 Regional Theatre Tony Award), first as the artistic associate and then as the literary manager and resident dramaturg. Other theatre credits include: Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Civilians, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Barrington Stage Company, WildWind Performance Lab at Texas Tech University, and Girl Be Head. Over the course of her theatre career, she read & reported on hundreds of new play submissions and dramaturged 30+ productions & workshops ranging from world premieres to musicals and classics. She is a graduate of Smith College and a member of the LMDA (Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas).Connect with Rachel at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rlernerley/ Connect with Colleen at www.maxady.comand on Linkedin at www.linkedin.com/in/comaraConnect with Krsitine at https://www.kristinethody.comand on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinethodySubscribe to the podcast Embrace the Squiggle and listen every week for a new career adventure!

It is a pleasure to welcome actress Chantal Nchako to The Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.Chantal Nchako's journey from her hometown in Cameroon to the University of Southern California (USC) on a full scholarship is a testament to her determination and talent. Her graduation was marked by the prestigious Ava Greenwald Memorial Scholarship for outstanding MFA Actor at USC. Chantal's success continued as she became the first USC MFA student to be accepted into Williamstown Theatre Festival's Professional Training Program, where she played the lead role of Ella in Sam Shepard's Curse of a Starving Class.  Chantal Nchako's talent and versatility have impressed casting directors, leading to roles in Madame Secretary and major roles in films including Distant Tales and Our Deadly Vows, both of which are streaming on Amazon Prime Video.   Chantal starred as the lead in the short film Beast, which won the South by Southwest Film Festival Grand Jury Prize. She also won the Best Actress Award at the Queen Palm International Film Festival.Chantal guest stars on BET+'s Diarra from Detroit and is starring in Netflix's highly anticipated film Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F with Eddie Murphy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The highly anticipated sequel is expected to premiere on July 3.   Chantal Nchako is also the founder and designer of Choobiz, a luxury, handcrafted, vegan, and cruelty-free shoe line made in Italy. She is also a resident faculty member at the Silva Arte e Danza, a musical theatre academy in Siracusa, Italy. In her free time, Chantal enjoys skiing, equestrian, writing, traveling (especially to Italy, where she splits her time), and spending time with her adorable cat, Lucky.  On this episode of The Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Chantal Nchako discussed how she secured her part in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F and her creative process when developing shoes for Choobiz.Let's connect on social media! Follow me on:A) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JacobElyacharB) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacobelyachar/C) Threads: https://www.threads.net/@JacobElyacharD) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@therealjacobelyacE) Twitter: https://x.com/JacobElyacharF) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JacobElyacharBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jake-s-take-with-jacob-elyachar--4112003/support.

Eden Espinosa - After developing Lempicka at The Williamstown Theatre Festival and The Jolla Playhouse, Eden is thrilled to return to Broadway and originate her second titular role. Broadway: Wicked (Elphaba), Rent (Maureen), Brooklyn the Musical (Broadway). Tour: Falsettos (Trina, National Tour). Off-Broadway: Gardens of Anuncia (Mami, Lincoln Center), Rain (The Old Globe), In The Heights (Kennedy Center), Lizzie (Emma, Signature), and Merrily We Roll Along (Mary, Huntington). Eden's original albums are available on all streaming platforms. @edenespinosa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 2024 Williamstown Theatre Festival season is interim Artistic Director Jenny Gersten's final season at the helm of WTF. We welcome Jenny Gersten and Raphael Picciarelli - WTF's Managing Director, Strategy & Transformation with a preview.

Bonus Episode Alert! Survival Jobs Co-Host Samantha Tuozzolo is live on the red carpet of "Lempicka" from Sunday, April 14, 2024! Featuring interviews with the stars and production team of the show including Amber Iman, Eden Espinosa, Andrew Samonsky, and Beth Leavel among others! ABOUT THE SHOW One of the world's greatest artists deserves the world's biggest stage: LEMPICKA comes to Broadway, following critically acclaimed, sold-out runs at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and the La Jolla Playhouse. From the Tony Award®-winning director of HADESTOWN and starring Eden Espinosa, this New York Times Critic's Pick is a sweeping musical portrait of a woman who changed art and culture forever. Spanning decades of political and personal turmoil and told through a thrilling, pop-infused score, LEMPICKA boldly explores the contradictions of a world in crisis, a woman ahead of her era, and an artist whose time has finally come. You can support the podcast and the hosts at www.buymeacoffee.com/SurvivalJobsPod and on Instagram at @surivaljobspod | @SammyTutz | @JasonACoombs.  Info on Your Hosts:  Broadway World Article on our Season 3 Launch Party Follow Samantha: Instagram  |  Samantha's Official Website here Follow Jason on Instagram  | Twitter. Check out Jason's Official Website here Check out and support The Bridgeport Film Fest Important Links: Support the citizens of Gaza Native Land Map US Interior Indian Affairs NPR: "How To Help Puerto Rico" Article How to Help the People of Florida Article Abortion Funds Website Plan C Pills Website National Write Your Congressman Link How to help Uvalde families NPR Article Where to Donate to Support Access to Abortions Right Now Support Us... Please!  If you're feeling generous, Buy Us A Coffee HERE! Please don't become complacent: Support the Black Mamas Matter Alliance Support Families Detained and Separated at the Border.  Support the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund. Support Black Trans Folx here Donate to the Community League of the Heights (CLOTH) Support the People of Palestine How to be an Ally to the AAPI Community 168 Ways to Donate in Support of Black Lives and Communities of Color The New York Times: On Mexico's Border With U.S., Desperation as Migrant Traffic Piles Up PBS: How to help India during its COVID surge — 12 places you can donate Covid quarantine didn't stop antisemitic attacks from rising to near-historic highs Opening and Closing Theme Music: "One Love" by Beats by Danny | Game Music: "Wake Up" by MBB.  If you enjoy Survival Jobs: A Podcast be sure to subscribe and follow us on your preferred podcast listening app! Also, feel free to follow us on Instagram and Twitter! Thank you!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out our conversation with actress Cindy Marinangel as we learn about her one woman show Dietrich and more about her journey to become an actress. Cindy Marinangel is an international actress, a Lifetime Member of The Actors Studio (having studied under Mark Rydell, the late Martin Landau, Ellen Burstyn and Alec Baldwin) as well as a Chicago Second City Conservatory graduate (Stephen Colbert, Nia Vardalos, etc.). She was in UPtv's holiday special BEVERLY HILLS CHRISTMAS with Dean Cain and has had leading roles on stage since kindergarten when she played her first queen. Cindy continued the boards in Chicago, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Berlin, Los Angeles and New York in straight plays, dance shows as well as musicals. She has originated over twelve roles in new plays to rave reviews, most recently playing Misti in NY's New Circle Theatre's workshop production of FRACTURED. During Covid, Cindy purchased the rights to DIETRICH, the acclaimed, 75-minute, solo show - with - music that she produces and stars in. She has sung as Marlene Dietrich in Times Square for International Peace Day and performs an hour-long cabaret show as the international icon, having performed nine shows over three days at the Mid Atlantic Air Show's World War II weekend in their Officer's Club. Cindy is also a voice over artist. Her uniquely deep voice was personally chosen by Beyonce's family to narrate her international half - hour special for E! Entertainment. Cindy voiced two characters in the number one video game BRUTAL LEGENDS with Jack Black, Ozzie Osbourne and other rock legends. Cindy is the owner of Angel Baker Productions and with her international, creative team wrote, produced, and starred in an award-winning short film about a soul connection through lifetimes called ETERNAL WALTZ. The film was sponsored in part by the Johann Strauss Foundation of Germany and has garnered thirteen awards to date. Among those, she and her cast won “Best Acting Ensemble- Short” in the Culver City Film Festival, “Best Director” in the Amsterdam Around International Festival, “Best Female Film- Mini Movie”, as well as “Best Cinematography- Mini Movie” in the iHollywood Film Festival. ETERNAL WALTZ was screened in the Action On Festival in Las Vegas. Cindy is a competitive ballroom dancer with a passion for Latin dancing. She graduated Cum Laude from Purdue University and is an avid cat rescuer who maintains an animal-free diet. Mitch Levine (Director) is a film and stage director and actor, led the Directors Unit of the legendary Actors Studio, was a Juilliard Fellow and the first James Cameron Directing Fellow at the AFI. His film, SHADOWS, a story of love and loss during the Holocaust, Mitch directed GOD HELP US! starring the late, great Ed Asner, the documentaries HUNGRY IS THE TIGER and MORPHING GRAVITY and the drama INCONFIDENCE (Cannes 2015). He directed the epic Bicentennial Celebration of the University of Virginia, was Artistic Supervisor of the Philip Glass/Robert Wilson opera, EINSTEIN ON THE BEACH, collaborated with Peter Gabriel and Moses Pendleton on PASSION, directed A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM for PRT, Jean Anouilh's ANTIGONE for the Williamstown Theatre Festival and Arthur Kopit's WINGS. In New York, he directed SORRY! at Circle Rep, AMORPHOUS GEORGE for MCC and the revival of Lyle Kessler'sORPHANS. Mitch was the host of AFI's GREAT FILMMAKERS series and of REFUGEE VOICES IN FILM in Cannes. He runs The Film Festival Group, consults with filmmakers around the world and served as a Special Representative to the United Nations. The late Willard Manus was a playwright, journalist and novelist who was a member of the Playwright/Director unit of The Actors Studio. His most recent plays were JOE AND MARILYN: A LOVE STORY, FRANK, AND AVA (now a motion picture) and WHO KILLED COMRADE RABBIT? His best-known novel was Mott the Hopple from which the 1970's British rock band took its name. CINDY MARINANGEL is DIETRICH for three nights at A Guest Production in The Other Space at Santa Monica Playhouse April 2, 9, 16 TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE @ EVENT BRITE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dietrich... #dietrich #cindymarinangel #onewomanshow #broadway #offbroadway #podcast #interview #conversation #actor #actress

In this episode, we sit down with playwright Mona Pirnot to discuss her current play, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I COULD DIE. Please note that this episode may contain spoilers about the show. If you haven't seen the play yet, you can catch I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I COULD DIE playing at the New York Theatre Workshop until March 7th. Follow and connect with all things @HalfHourPodcast on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Share your thoughts with us on I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I COULD DIE on our podcast cover post. MONA PIRNOT (Playwright) is an NYC-based playwright and songwriter. She is a current member of EST/Youngblood. Her work has been produced by or developed with Playwright's Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Mosaic Theatre, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company, Mirrorbox Theatre, Premiere Stages, and Mile Square Theatre. She was the 2014-15 Literary Fellow at Center Theatre Group and Williamstown Theatre Festival's 2019 Playwright in Residence. She is the winner of the 2022 Berwin Lee & Brown Playwrights Award and is currently nominated for the 2023 Helen Hayes / Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical for her play, Private (2023 SFBATCO, 2022 Mosaic Theater, 2022 Mirrorbox Theatre, 2019 Kilroys List.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The extraordinary Craig Carnelia has had four shows produced on Broadway. Working with composer Marvin Hamlisch, he wrote the lyrics for “Sweet Smell of Success,” with book by John Guare, and “Imaginary Friends” with Nora Ephron.   As both composer and lyricist, Craig wrote the score for “Is There Life After High School” and contributed songs to “Working.”  Off-Broadway, he wrote the score for “Three Postcards at Playwrights Horizons,” with book by Craig Lucas, and contributed to the review “Diamonds,” directed by Hal Prince. Regionally, he wrote the score for “Poster Boy” at Williamstown Theatre Festival.  Awards include two Tony Award nominations, two Drama Desk nominations, two "Best Plays" citations, the Kleban Award, and the Johnny Mercer Award.   As a teacher of "acting through song," Craig taught renowned ongoing classes in New York for the Broadway community for close to three decades.  His book, The Reason to Sing: A Guide to Acting While Singing, is used at numerous universities and conservatories nationwide, including Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. ON THE KNOWS with Randall Kenneth Jones is a podcast featuring host Randall Kenneth Jones (bestselling author, speaker & creative communications consultant) and Susan C. Bennett (the original voice of Siri). ON THE KNOWS is produced and edited by Kevin Randall Jones. ON THE KNOWS Online:    Join us in the Podcast Lounge on Facebook. X (Randy): https://twitter.com/randallkjones  Instagram (Randy): https://www.instagram.com/randallkennethjones/ Facebook (Randy): https://www.facebook.com/mindzoo/ Web:  RandallKennethJones.com X (Susan): https://twitter.com/SiriouslySusan Instagram (Susan): https://www.instagram.com/siriouslysusan/ Facebook (Susan): https://www.facebook.com/siriouslysusan/ Web: SusanCBennett.com LinkedIn (Kevin): https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-randall-jones/  Web: KevinRandallJones.com   www.OnTheKnows.com

It's been a while since true crime writer Ellison Oswalt had a bestseller, and the strain is starting to show on Ellison, his wife Tracy, and their kids Trevor and Ashley.  Local law enforcement isn't keen on him, either, as his last few books didn't cast them in too fond a light. So Ellison and his family take up residence in a modest Pennsylvania ranch house with something of a history – something we learn when we watch as a family is lynched in the house's back yard.  Unfortunately, this may be his last chance at the big time, so Ellison neglects to inform Tracy of this, and when things start going bump in the night, and the home movies left behind reveal ominous clues about a killer's identity, Ellison finds himself turning from the hunter to the hunted.  A helpful deputy steps in to assist, as well as a professor of the occult, but by the time they reveal their own information, the situation has devolved from strange… to sinister. Intro, Math Club, Debate Society, Hot for Teacher (spoiler-free): 00:00-28:47Honor Roll and Detention (spoiler-heavy): 28:48-1:00:57Superlatives (spoiler-heavier): 1:00:58-1:23:12 Director Scott DerricksonScreenplay C. Robert Cargill & Scott DerricksonFeaturing Michael Hall D'Addario, Vincent D'Onofrio, Clare Foley, Ethan Hawke, James Ransone, Juliet Rylance, Fred Dalton Thompson Hannah Cabell is a New York-based actor, director, and writer. She wrote, directed, and starred in the short film Lost Nation, which won Best NH Short at the 2023 New Hampshire Film Festival. As well as the feature version of Lost Nation, she has written The Hills and the Sky, about an archivist's obsession with Betty and Barney Hill's 1961 alien abduction, and the comedy television pilot Brother Husbandry. Hannah's acting credits include “The Black List,” “The Good Fight,” “Madam Secretary,” “Mr. Robot,” and “The Leftovers,” and she currently plays Judge Renee Gittens on “Law & Order.” Film work includes The Surrogate, Luce, and Thine Ears Shall Bleed (upcoming). She has been nominated for Lortel and Drama Desk awards for her stage performances. MFA, NYU. Ryan King is a screenwriter, playwright, and actor who grew up in Central Texas and now lives in New York with his wife and daughter. He wrote the screenplay for Black Flies, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year, starring Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan, after being selected for the 2018 Black List of Hollywood's favorite unproduced screenplays. His original thriller screenplay, The Tutor, starring Garrett Hedlund and Noah Schnapp. HAs a playwright, he's been a member of the Ars Nova Playgroup, the Primary Stages Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, the Working Farm @ SPACE on Ryder Farm, and the Clubbed Thumb Early Career Writers Group. His plays have been developed by Cape Cod Theatre Project (twice), Williamstown Theatre Festival, Naked Angels, Rattlestick Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, Colt Coeur, Primary Stages, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Ars Nova, Theater of NOTE, Tofte Lake Emerging Artists Program, and Ground Up Productions, and his short play Antares Returning was produced as part of Fit Club's 2017 Spring Fling festival and nominated for Best Short Play by the NY Innovative Theatre Awards. As an actor, he has appeared regionally and Off-Broadway. Our theme music is by Sir Cubworth, with embellishments by Edward Elgar.  Music from Sinister by Christopher Young. For more information on this film (including why the Professor chose it, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), the pod, essays from your hosts, and other assorted bric-a-brac, visit our website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠scareupod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please subscribe to this podcast via Apple or Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave us a 5-star rating. Join our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ group. Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Meg walks in the footsteps of Caroline Rose Isenberg on the night of her Upper West Side attack. Jessica visits Morgan Fairchild at her favorite haunts: Flamingo Road, Falcon Crest, Dallas, and all the best nightime soaps.Please check out our website, follow us on Instagram, on Facebook, and...WRITE US A REVIEW HEREWe'd LOVE to hear from you! Let us know if you have any ideas for stories HEREThank you for listening!Love,Meg and Jessica

Jane Kaczmarek may be a three-time Golden Globe nominee for playing Lois in the television series “Malcolm in the Middle,” but she considers theatre home. Over the past few years, she starred in "Long Day's Journey Into Night" at the Geffen Playhouse and "The Roommate" and "Tell Me I'm Not Crazy" at Williamstown Theatre Festival. This month, she'll play the Stage Manager in "Our Town" at Sharon Playhouse in Sharon, Connecticut through September 24.

Marcia Cross stars with Ron Canada and Bryan Batt in Pay the Writer. Written Tawni O'Dell and directed by Karen Carpenter, Pay the Writer is now playing at The Pershing Square Signature Center. Cross, who starred as Bree Van de Kamp on Desperate Housewives and was on the series Everwood and Monarch, is a graduate of the Juilliard School. She has performed at Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Hardford Stage Company and the Old Globe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“A New Brain” was produced off-Broadway in 1998 and an incredible production is currently running on Barrington Stage Company's Boyd-Quinson Mainstage in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, presented in association with the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Broadway stars Adam Chanler-Berat and Mary Testa play Gordon Schwinn and The Mother.

Liz Carlson (elizabethjcarlson.com) is an NYC-based creative producer and director committed to the development of new stories. Prior to stepping in as Interim Artistic Director, Liz produced and directed with NYSAF in various capacities over the past 15 years, notably as the full-time Artistic Producer for the past seven, supporting artists such as César Alvarez, Jaki Bradley, Lyndsey Bourne, Lily Houghton, Keelay Gipson, Jessica Huang, Melissa Li & Kit Yan, Don Nguyen, Brian Quijada & Nygel D. Robinson, Kirya Traber, Lauren Yee, and hundreds more. Liz also served as the Artistic Director for the new works incubator Naked Angels from 2013-2016. As a director, Liz has developed plays and musicals with Ars Nova, The Dramatists' Guild, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Flea, Keen Company, Manhattan School of Music, Manhattan Theatre Club, The New Group, Playwrights Horizons, The Playwrights Realm, Signature Theatre Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and more. Upcoming directing projects include a new-play workshop with Minita Gandhi at Berkeley Rep's The Ground Floor, and the final installment of a musical podcast with the Drama Desk-nominated folk band The Lobbyists. MFA The New School for the Performing Arts, Drama. Recipient of The Drama League Fellowship. 

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY  Book by Marsha Norman | Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown  |  Based on the novel by Robert James WallerWorks Consulted & Reference :The Bridges of Madison County (Licensing Script) by  Marsha Norman & Jason Robert Brown"Tony Award Winning Duo Marsha Norman and Jason Robert Brown Discuss ‘Bridges of Madison County'" in American Theatre by Suzy Evans"Opening the Bridges Vault, Vol. 1" by Jason Robert BrownMusic Credits:"Overture" from Dear World (Original Broadway Cast Recording)  | Music by Jerry Herman | Performed by Dear World Orchestra & Donald Pippin"The Speed Test" from Thoroughly Modern Millie  (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | Music by Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics by Dick Scanlan | Performed by Marc Kudisch, Sutton Foster, Anne L. Nathan & Ensemble"Why God Why" from Miss Saigon: The Definitive Live Recording  (Original Cast Recording  / Deluxe)  | Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Lyrics by Alain Boublil & Richard Maltby Jr.  | Performed by Alistair Brammer"Back to Before" from Ragtime: The Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)  | Music by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens | Performed by Marin Mazzie"Chromolume #7 / Putting It Together" from Sunday in the Park with George (Original Broadway Cast Recording)  | Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim | Performed by Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Judith Moore, Cris Groenendaal, Charles Kimbrough, William Parry, Nancy Opel, Robert Westenberg, Dana Ivey, Kurt Knudson, Barbara Bryne"What's Inside" from Waitress (Original Broadway Cast Recording)  | Music & Lyrics by Sara Bareilles | Performed by Jessie Mueller & Ensemble"Wondering" from The Bridges of Madison County (Original Broadway Cast Recording)  | Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown | Performed by  Steven Pasquale"Maria" from The Sound of Music (Original Soundtrack Recording)  | Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II | Performed by Evadne Baker, Anna Lee, Portia Nelson, Marni Nixon"My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music (Original Soundtrack Recording) | Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II | Performed by Julie Andrews"Corner of the Sky" from Pippin (New Broadway Cast Recording) | Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz | Performed by Matthew James Thomas“What Comes Next?” from Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | Music & Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda | Performed by Jonathan Groff

Micaela Diamond starred as Lucille Frank in the Tony Award winning revival of Parade in 2023. She made her Broadway debut as ‘Babe' – the youngest Cher – in The Cher Show. She recently appeared in both The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical and Leanord Bernstein's opera Mass at the Kennedy Center, Williamstown Theatre Festival's Row, and Ethan Coen's A Play Is A Poem in Los Angeles. Television and film: NBC's “Jesus Christ Superstar Live,” Peggy in Tick, Tick… Boom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For seven decades, the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Massachusetts, has brought emerging and professional theater artists together in the Berkshires to create a thrilling summer festival of diverse, world premiere plays and musicals, bold new revivals, and a rich array of accompanying cultural events.Williamstown Theatre Festival Interim Artistic Director Jenny Gersten joins us this morning to tell us about the season – which includes the return of the WTF Cabaret: a cabaret series curated in partnership with Tony Award nominee and Festival mainstay Christopher Fitzgerald. The WTF Cabaret will take place over three successive weekends and Cabaret All-Stars (Eden Espinosa, Asmeret Ghebremichael, and Jon-Michael Reese) will be a part of all three weeks with guest artists and hosts rotating each week.

In this episode, Jennifer talks to Kati Schwartz about channeling challenging personal experience into art and more specifically, playwriting. They delve into large themes of gaslighting, the importance of trusting one's gut, and the complexities of culpability and complicity. They explore what it means to rewire memories, experience betrayal, and to trust the wrong people. They address the bystander effect, one's responsibility to respond to harm, and the gray areas of human judgment. Plus, they discuss finding joy amidst the overwhelming and relentless nature of these topics and the importance of authentic self-care. CW: #MeToo-related topics around sexual assault, grooming, parasocial relationships, & abuse. About Kati: Kati Schwartz is a New York City based playwright and actor. Kati's audio play, Bad People, is currently available on Audible and in paperback and was an Amazon bestseller for four months straight. Her play, The Coward, won the 2017 New York New Works Festival and was a semi-finalist for the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, in 2017. Her play She Got Off The Couch premiered at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2016 where it received the Producers Encore Award and was extended twice. Other plays, including The Whale Play and Caring for The Dead featuring original music by For You The Moon, have been produced Off-Broadway (The Duke Theater), as well as at theaters such as Dixon Place, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Arena Stage (DC), Ugly Rhino Theatre Company, Next Stage Arts Project and Alchemical Theatre Lab. Excerpts of The Coward have been published by Smith and Kraus in December 2017 as a part of their Best Stage Monologues collections. Favorite acting credits: The Wolves (Studio Theatre – Helen Hayes Award), August: Osage County (The Fulton Theatre), “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”; Season 5. Kati's IG: @katischwartzie Kati's Website: www.katischwartz.com www.badpeopleaudioplay.com    Want to coach with Jennifer? Schedule a session here! https://appt.link/jenniferapple Monologue Sourcing Promo Link! https://empoweredartistcollective.com/podcastpromo Learn more: https://www.empoweredartistcollective.com/podcast EAC IG: @EmpoweredArtistCollective  EAC TikTok: @EmpowerArtistCollective EAC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredartistcollective/ Sign up for our newsletter! https://mailchi.mp/8e72e8dcb662/stay-in-touch Check Out Our Merch! https://www.empoweredartistcollective.threadless.com/ Any thoughts you'd like to share? Email us at EmpoweredArtistCollective@gmail.com

Luke Yankee Has written, directed, produced, taught, lectured and acted throughout the country and abroad. He has run two regional theatres, serving as Producing Artistic Director of the Long Beach Civic Light Opera  and the Struthers Library theatre.Luke's published plays include THE LAST LIFEBOAT and A PLACE AT FOREST LAWN, both published by Dramatists Play Service.   His other plays include THE JESUS HICKEY (which premiered in Los Angeles starring Harry Hamlin) and THE MAN WHO KILLED THE CURE, which had  it's world premiere in Southern California in February 2017. He has also written numerous TV spec scripts and pilots.His book, JUST OUTSIDE THE SPOTLIGHT:  GROWING UP WITH EILEEN HECKART is published by Random House (under the imprint of Back Stage Books), with a foreword by Mary Tyler Moore. Critics have praised it as “One of the most compassionate, illuminating showbiz books ever written.” (Musto, The Village Voice)  It was recently cited by PaperMag as “One of the Ten Best Celebrity Memoirs of All Time.”He has taught and guest directed extensively at colleges, universities and conservatories throughout the U.S. and abroad, including five years at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Northwestern, Ohio State, AMDA, Denison, University of New Mexico, the Folkwang Hochschule (in Essen, Germany) and three years on the faculty of Columbia College-Hollywood. He has been a panelist and guest instructor at the William Inge Theatre Festival, where he has performed with Marybeth Hurt, Holland Taylor and George Grizzard. He is also a member of their Advisory Board. He is currently on the faculty of The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), teaching advanced acting and scene study.His theatre acting credits include “Our Town” at the American Shakespesare Theatre with Fred Gwynne, the U.S. premiere of “The Greeks” at The Williamstown Theatre Festival with Gwyneth Paltrow, Blythe Danner, Christopher Reeve and Celeste Holm and “The Dream Watcher” with Eva LeGallienne. In film and television, he has appeared in “The Hiding Place” with Julie Harris, “Ragtime” with Elizabeth McGovern, “Evergreen” with Armand Assante and “The Equalizer” with Jim Dale.Luke has studied at the Juilliard School of Drama, New York University, University of California – Riverside, Northwestern University, Circle in the Square and the Herbert Berghof Studio.He is the son of the late Eileen Heckart, who won an Academy Award for “Butterflies Are Free” and appeared in over 15 feature films, 20 Broadway plays, and countless television programs. Ms. Heckart is a member of the Theatre Hall of Fame and a multiple Emmy and Tony Award winner. In her honor, Luke created the Eileen Heckart Memorial Scholarship Fund at Ohio State University, her alma mater.Luke toured internationally for more than ten years with  DIVA DISH, his one-man show about the golden age of Broadway and Hollywood.  There was such demand for a sequel, he  created DIVA DISH: THE SECOND HELPING, which he premiered at the Desert Rose Theatre in Palm Springs.Luke and his husband Don Hill spend time at their homes in Long Beach, CA and Palm Springs, CA.For more info ( including his full Bio) or to contact Luke:  https://yankeehillproductions.comLuke's email is: luke@lukeyankee.net Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2022Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com

In this podcast episode, Jennifer talks to Sarah Harris who shares her journey of becoming a stage manager for theater and Broadway. They discuss the different roles and responsibilities within stage management, the dynamics of building a diverse and supportive stage management team, and the importance of adaptability and communication throughout the process. They highlight the evolving accessibility of stage management as a profession, emphasize the significance of treating people with care and respect, and encourage embracing one's own unique strengths and interests. About Sarah: Sarah G. Harris (she/her) is a stage manager, producer, and educator dedicated to creating safe collaborative spaces built on care, trust, and generosity. She strives to bring love and joy into every room she's a part of. Her credits include... Broadway: Parade, A Christmas Carol, POTUS, Come From Away, Once On This Island, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and The Crucible. National Tour: Hamilton (Philip & Angelica Companies). Off-Broadway: Second Stage, Audible Theatre, and others. Regional: Alliance Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Berkshire Theatre Group. Corporate Events: Paramount Upfront (Paramount Global), Big Holiday Show (Target), Goalkeepers (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), Skittles: The Broadway Musical, and more. Sarah also worked on the Live Captures of A Christmas Carol and Come From Away. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor for Columbia University's M.F.A. Stage Management Program. Sarah's IG: @sarah.g.harris Sarah's Website: www.sarahgharris.me Sarah's SM Book Recommendations: https://kit.co/sarah.g.harris/sm-books Fun things for your SM Tool Kit: https://kit.co/sarah.g.harris/sm-tool-kit Want to coach with Jennifer? Schedule a session here! https://appt.link/jenniferapple Monologue Sourcing Promo Link! https://empoweredartistcollective.com/podcastpromo Learn more: https://www.empoweredartistcollective.com/podcast EAC IG: @EmpoweredArtistCollective  EAC TikTok: @EmpowerArtistCollective EAC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredartistcollective/ Sign up for our newsletter! https://mailchi.mp/8e72e8dcb662/stay-in-touch Check Out Our Merch! https://www.empoweredartistcollective.threadless.com/ Any thoughts you'd like to share? Email us at EmpoweredArtistCollective@gmail.com  

It's a passion project that has been brewing since the mid-1990s for Gina Coleman, whose encounter with the legendary Odetta left a powerful impression. The moment when Gina and Odetta connected, sang side-by-side and locked together in harmony was a seminal moment in her career. This inspiration will come full circle in the form of a live album to be recorded May 12th and 13th in Studio 9 at the Porches Inn. The switch to acoustic and performing folk standards will be a switch for the Misty Blues. But pushing to the edges of the blues genre is nothing new for the band. And anyway, as Gina explains in this episode, African-American folk music is most certainly blues in her book. This performance and upcoming album comes on the heels of Misty Blues' most recent album "Outside the Lines," which includes a rich array of familiar voices and performers from the Berkshires and beyond. Gina and her band have not skipped a beat, not even during the pandemic, when they remarkably released three albums with the band members recording virtually. The beat goes on for Gina, and as someone who admits she basically doesn't sleep, there is surely more to come. We love it! Also in this episode we cover: the story of meeting Odetta at the Bottomline club in New York City as a guest of Arlo Guthrie, the decision to make this tribute a live album, growing up on the Bronx as hip hop and rap came on the scene, musical influences, including Motown and salsa, the earlier band Cole Connection and their acoustic funk style, a part in a Williamstown Theatre Festival production as a gospel singer that led to a transformative transition to blues, the rich variety of blues music, Gina's songwriting process and how much of it comes while she is driving, why she once utilized answering machines in her songwriting process, her son Diego choosing music as a major at Williams College, the evolution of Misty Blues from a blues tribute band to producing original music, the story of Charles Neville performing on an album, Gina's 27 years coaching rugby at Williams College and why the sport inspires her, performing at Firefly in Lenox and more. I hope you'll enjoy my conversation with Gina Coleman. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/john-krol/support

Welcome to The "For the Makers" Podcast where we interview artists on their journeys, inspirations, and processes and encourage you, the makers, to listen well and tell stories. Today's guest is Jonathan Hogue. Jonathan Hogue is a theatrical producer, writer, and director with a passion for new work development and creative branding. He carries 4+ years of experience in Executive, Administrative, Marketing, and Production Assistant positions on Broadway as well as with Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Joffrey Ballet School, Bartle Bogle Hegarty, and Production Glue, and is currently completing his MFA in Theatre Management & Producing at Columbia University. He is also the writer (book/score) and lead producer of Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical (Winner - 2021 BroadwayWorld Off-Broadway Award for Best New Musical) now playing a hit extended run off-Broadway, with international productions running concurrently in the UK and Australia. Other projects in development include Camp Nightmare, a jukebox parody musical riffing on 1980's slasher films; and The Nations, a drama loosely based on his experiences as an aid worker across three continents, which received its virtual world-premiere in Spring 2021. He has also produced the NY Premiere of Jay Stull's The Singularity Play (Columbia University New Play Festival 2022) as well as a series of virtual one-acts for Theatrical Resources Unlimited's 2021 TRUSpeak Benefit (featuring Ann Harada, Brenda Braxton, and Robert Cuccioli), and has served as a reader for the TRU Voices and Williamstown Theatre Festival Weissberger New Play awards. Jonathan's socials: IG and Twitter: @jthogue Strager Sings's socials: IG and TikTok: @strangersingsmusical Twitter: @strangersings Seeded Productions, LLC: Visit our website to support us on Patreon: www.seededproductions.com And follow us on Instagram: @seeded_productions

I dreamt of being a pilot as a child and grew up watching The A-Team and my favourite character was 'Howling Mad Murdock' played by Dwight Schultz. I was obsessed with aircraft so he was the one I wanted to be as his character could fly any plane or helicopter that he had to. Years later I saw him with Jamie Glazov and Anni Cyrus on 'The Glazov Gang' and was intrigued at his strong Conservative Christian stance while delivering common sense commentary. This is the first interview he has done for many years so it truly is an honour to have Dwight join Hearts of Oak on this audio only discussion. (he is the voice king) We talk about those early days treading the boards in the theatre and as a star in Hollywood, working on the biggest TV programme in the world and Dwight shares some stories of how his strong conservative stance got him into much hot water. He truly is a breath of fresh air in an increasingly demonic industry that opposes truth at every turn and mocks all who have a Christian Faith or Conservative Values. (*Peter takes to the skies regularly and has held a pilots licence for many years) A respected performer on Broadway, Dwight Schultz found everlasting fame by playing the certifiable "Howling Mad" Murdock on the action series "The A-Team" (1983-86). A living, breathing cartoon with a seemingly endless selection of voices and accents at his command, Murdock provided the air power for the A-Team's clandestine adventures, provided that his compatriots could break him out of the mental hospital where he resided. One of the show's most popular and memorable figures, Murdock ensured Schultz steady work on television and on the big screen playing Reginald Barclay in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" An accomplished voice actor, Dwight can be heard in numerous hit computer games and in countless animated shows. Interview recorded 21.3.23 *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art https://theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com/ and follow him on GETTR https://gettr.com/user/BoschFawstin and Twitter https://twitter.com/TheBoschFawstin?s=20  To sign up for our weekly email, find our social media, podcasts, video, livestreaming platforms and more... https://heartsofoak.org/connect/ Please subscribe, like and share! TRANSCRIPT [0:22] Hello Hearts of Oak, and welcome to another interview coming up with Dwight Schultz, Howling Mad Murdock from the A-Team. He came in on a audio. Dwight hasn't done interviews for years. I was absolutely delighted to have him on when you talk to one of your childhood heroes who you grew up watching him in A-Team. And he was my favourite simply because he was a pilot. And I always wanted to grow up and that's what I wanted to grow up to be. But I'm talking to him about being a conservative, being a Christian in the industry, in Hollywood, in the movie industry. And actually we delve more deeply into his Christian faith, Roman Catholic background, and what it means for him to be a Christian in that industry where you're pulled every way and where your faith is ridiculed, mocked, and everything stands against that. So great conversation about some of his experiences and what it is to be a Christian and to be a conservative in the industry. We talk about his voiceovers, I mean his voice is legendary. Talk about that and why he stepped away from doing kind of in front of a camera in 2001, why that was, and all the voiceover and then I think 100 video games, his voice is in a whole other world, a whole other industry. So, I know you will enjoy listening to Dwight as much as I enjoyed speaking with him. [1:48] It is wonderful to have Dwight Schultz with us today. Dwight, thank you so much for joining us. [1:54] Oh, it's my pleasure, Peter, for my reintroduction to the world of podcasting, radio, television.   Well, this is something I've only been doing three years, So I know you have much more experience back in the day, but we'll get into some of that. And obviously I... Remember you fondly growing up. I think I was six when The A Team first came out, which is now 40 years ago. I'm sure I didn't want it when I was six. But your role obviously is as Howling Mad Murdock. So we can take just a little bit memory lane before we go into and talk about actually being a conservative in the industry and what that is like. But I mean, it ran for five seasons, 83 to think 87. Do you just want to let us know how you actually ended up in that role? Well, actually, it actually only went four seasons, real seasons, so it's not technically considered a success. That's true. I ended up in that role because I made a comedy tape at the Williamstown Theatre Festival around 1979, 1980. [3:18] Somewhere in there. And the comedy tape, and for two years, I didn't hear anything. And then suddenly I started getting calls from my agent to audition and to go to Los Angeles to audition. and it was because of this comedy tape. And I found out it had been making the rounds for two years and eventually Steve Cannell and Frank Lupo, his co-writer saw it and requested me to come. Joel Thurm, who was the vice president of NBC at the time, however, he had different ideas about this character. And anyway, I went in and they flew me out to Los Angeles. [4:03] And my wife was out here. She wasn't my wife at the time, but I had been dating her since 79. And she was out here living in Los Angeles, which was difficult. I mean, I was glad to come out here for any reason. And I had never. It was a joy, but I came in and I auditioned and it was a total flop. It was a bomb. I mean, you walk into a small room with 25 people, 30 people, and there was not a single laugh. There was nothing. There was no... And then they sent me out and they sent the director, Rod Holcomb, out with me to talk to me. I came back in, I did the same audition, And everybody was laughing and I had no idea why they were laughing now. And they weren't laughing before, unless someone said laugh when he comes back. You know, that's the way it was. It was just an astonishing thing. And they said, you got the part. [5:02] And then, uh, and this is the, really, this is the nub, right? So, uh, I, they shoot in Mexico and I went down to Mexico. And when we were down there, I was fired. I was fired. I was fired. Rod Holcomb came into my little room and he said, I'm afraid it's not going to work out. And I said, oh, what? He said, it's not Steven. It's not Frank. It's the would-be's at NBC. They just don't think you're quite right for it. And so they took me out of my little room and they put me in with a stuntman who I loved. I just loved him. I mean, it was incredible to work with these guys. And so there I was with the stuntmen for the rest of the shoot down in Mexico. And when we came back to the States, they were editing it and putting it together as we were shooting it, right? [5:58] I got a call from my agent said your dials were great. I said, what are you talking about? I had no idea what they were talking about. This is 82, right? This is 1980. I don't know what you're talking about. He said the dials, the dials, the testing. The audience loved you. You're the best dials that anybody had. So I was written back in. I was rehired before I was fired. And so you can't make this stuff up in life. You can't. So it just turns out that they had a different view of what this character should be like. And I had another view. And Stephen Cannell and Frank Lupo were in my camp. And so they had to write me back into the first five episodes, which they had kind of written me out of. And that's the way it started. And I was, [7:04] as anybody would be, you know, I got to work with some of the finest old actors [7:12] that I had grown up with in the 50s and 60s. And it was a thrill. The four years were a thrill. I mean, it was an absolute thrill. And I got along beautifully with everybody. And Stephen J. Cannell [7:24] was a conservative. I mean, I'm lucky. I'm fortunate there. I was fortunate because some of my other experiences were not so fortunate, working with people who knew I was a conservative and weren't going to have a conservative on their show. That was the way it started back then. But anyway, so it was four years of, we didn't really have a studio. We were working on locations and I got along famously with everybody. And it was a joy. It was four, believe me, it changed my life completely and totally. I never thought I would end up in Los Angeles and never leave. Well, what was I mean, it's intense, I guess, that you're living and breathing it. And most people, I have no idea what that's like. Most people go to a job and they go home, but you're there nonstop. What's that kind of intensity, especially for years with it's the same people? It's the same people. But listen, as an actor, I mean, I've been working I've been working professionally since nineteen sixty nine. This gig, it's over 50 years. Right. So I had, I have before the 18, I never knew what my next job was ever. I never knew what I was doing next. And after the 18, I never have known [8:50] what I'm going to do next. I've never had a consistent job other than those four years. And I thank God for them every night. I hoped it would go longer, but this was not the intention, nor the background of Stephen J Cannell. His shows were two years, three years. And then they name of every single writer that we had in the first year moved on to their own series. They all became producers. And this is not the way you have a successful series for an, actor, which is selfish, right? You want to go at least five years, seven years. But they all, you have to have somebody there who is consistently behind it, pushing it, making sure everything is the way it's supposed to be. But that was not the way it was. But I did everything that you can possibly imagine, I think, on that show. And as the 14-hour days, 15-hour day, I loved it because I knew that there was going to be an ending. I knew the day I started that there was going to be a last day. And so and I think that's the way life is, actually. [10:02] And so take advantage of what you have and enjoy it and hope for the best. But I savour it every minute and I look back very fondly. When you say it wasn't a success, I remember thinking this is the biggest thing ever. This is phenomenal. I watched it as a kid growing up. So it did seem to be the kind of TV show that you would watch. I mean, the only other one I remember at the same time was I think Knight Rider at the same time, but they were the shows to watch.   Yes, they were. But you see, we were on NBC, Grant Tinker and Brandon Tartikoff, and their moniker was quality programming. And Grant Tinker, and well, Tartikoff gave an interview for the New York Times, right? This is not an example of our quality program, right? Really, this is it. That's what he said. You know, their ideas was Hill Street Blues, which they had on. This was their idea of quality programming, not this schlock that's number one. [11:12] This is not it. And I sent Grant Tinker a telegram and George Peppard said, don't do it, pal. Don't do it. Don't do it, Peppard said to me. I sent it to him and I said, this is third rate executive ship. I said, we do the best work we can and we're number one, why are you doing this to us? And then he sent me a telegram back, which I have kept, saying, well, you're assuming that that was true, what you read. And I said, well, I checked with the writer, the journalist, quote unquote, who he said, he talked to you and this is what you said. And indeed he did. And this is a tag to all of this. He, after the show was over, it was cancelled, several years afterwards, I have received a phone call from his assistant saying [12:13] Brandon wants to talk to you. And I said, sure, I'll talk to him. And I met with him in this basement office, 20th Century Fox. And I walked in and there was nobody there but Brandon Tartikoff sitting at a table and he apologized to me. [12:31] His daughter had been in a very serious accident and it changed his life. It was one of these things. And he apologized to me. I'll never forget it. And this does not happen in show business. It does not happen. And I said, thank you. Thank you so much for that. I said, and then I went into my spiel about being an actor. And that I, you know, you do the best job you can, whether you're doing Shakespeare, whether you're doing a show, or whether you're doing The A-Team. You do the best job you can. It is the same job if you're good and you love your work. It doesn't matter. You do the best thing, the best you put. You're not walking through it. I said, that's what we were doing. And we happened to be number one. And why did you rain on the parade? You know, I asked him and he gave me some explanations as to the the exigencies at the top of a TV network. And I, so at any rate, that that that's the experience. That's the beginning and end of that experience, really.[13:43] And I carry with me.   How did you cope with that fame? And you were what, 30, 32, so you weren't young, young. But still, when you're thrust into that level of publicity, how did that affect you personally and how did you cope with that? Well, you know, I was fortunate that I was working since I had been working since 69. I spent 13 years in regional theatre. I spent years in New York, three Broadway plays. I had a lot of experience. [14:17] Really, they walk in the boards, doing all the grunt work, getting there. And I, fame was not a, I was known and all my interests in theatre were to be, this is a joke actually, but never the same actor twice. I mean, that's it. You didn't want to do the same thing. And here I was, and I forced the idea that this actor, this character would be different in each episode, which the vice president of NBC said, that's the way you comb your hair differently. You should be the same. We want you to be polite on this. And I said, no, no, no, no, no, I don't wanna do that. I wanna be different in every show. And so I maintained, I think, because of the work that I had had. When you do the classics, when you're in, and I don't mean this, when you have the great opportunity to play a Shakespearean role. [15:22] You understand something about talent, about what goes into writing, brilliant writing, and then schlock writing. I mean, you see it all. And when you've been given that opportunity, There's a humility that hits you. So fame was never something that I wanted. I wanted to be able to – and I've had this ability. I've been able to go to a department store or take my daughter to a mall and not be recognized, which is – I'm telling you, I have worked with – I mean, I worked with Paul Newman and Paul Newman was, it was not a, he, he told me he couldn't go anywhere. He was a prisoner of his fame. [16:12] George Peppard was a prisoner of his fame. I mean, the closest I think I've ever gotten was somebody said, your voice sounds familiar, do you know my brother? I'll say, no, I don't know your brother. Then every once in a while, somebody recognizes you, but it's a curse. [16:33] It is a curse, really. If you have a family, if you want a family life, if you want privacy, which I think is necessary for survival in this business. I mean, I've seen a lot of actors drop to their knees and open cardboard tubes and pull drugs out. You know, and that's fame. And you ask them, that's it, it's driven. You know, you gotta have that fame, you gotta have that fame, you gotta. And it's not what I wanted. I really am a repertory actor, that's it. I'm a repertory actor. I spent one year in Houston, at the Alley Theatre in Houston, and it was one of the greatest years I've ever had. And I never wanted to leave. And someone told me, that's why you have to leave. I would have stayed there. I could have stayed there. But my agents all told me, you have to leave. You can't stay here, or your career will be over. And I said, but I love this. And they said, you won't love it when it dries up there. You know, you have to go to a bigger, a bigger yard in essence. But I'm really a repertory actor. That's it. [17:47] Your last I think your last TV role was 2001. I will get into the voice side later, but your last 2001. Why did, why did it end there? Was a personal experience? Was it just choice? Oh, yeah. No, it was a really a personal experience. It was CIA. 2001 was... [18:17] I went in for wardrobe fitting, and we were at the Memorial Cemetery, Veterans Cemetery down in Wilshire Boulevard, and that's where it was being shot. And I walked in, and this is nothing, I won't mention the name, I shouldn't have even said what the show was. Just someone in the wardrobe room. We were talking about 9-11. We were talking about what had happened in New York. I had a lot of friends in New York, of course, obviously. And she said, I don't have any connection to that. I don't know why everybody – I just don't have any connection to it, you know? She still connects? And she rubbed it off, you know? And I said, I mean, life was – rules were at that point not easy to come by, actually. And I said I can't do this, you know, I can't work. This to me was a sign, a sign from God. I'm not joking. You look for these things. This was a sign that this was the wave of the future. There was going to be a lot of denial and there was going to be, and it's complicated. I mean, I'm not judging anybody. [19:43] But for me, I had an opportunity to move into another direction, and I decided to do the other direction because I could be anybody, anything in voiceover work. Video games were just becoming big at the time, and the whole business was very big. And voice work was something that, as an actor in the theatre, I always did. If I couldn't find the voice of the character, I couldn't find the character. And so that was it. I mean, the fates came together at that time. And I was doing radio at the time on a fairly regular basis with a friend named Don Ecker. And I just moved in that direction. [20:36] I mean, there were opportunities there, but I knew things had changed at that point. Yeah, well, we'll get into that. I want to pick on being a conservative in the, the movie and TV industry, and that seems to be opposites. We've seen more and more, and I think it probably gets worse. And you're Roman Catholic, you're conservative. And what has been your experiences having a faith and also having a conservative belief? How does that fit into the showbiz industry? What has it been like for you? Well, going back, if you look at, [21:23] if you look at the world that we're in today, the Judeo-Christian world, which is, and I have to say if I have one criticism of modern Christianity prior to today, and I mean going back, because there's a lot of things I could say about today, which we will, I'm sure. But one of the things which always struck me me was about Christians, was their antipathy for the Old Testament, the Torah. It is Judeo-Christianity, and if a Christian doesn't understand that the Old Testament is their testament, there's, a problem. And they don't, indeed. In Bible study, the number of times that I heard Christians say oh, that's not my God. I want to get out of this. I want to get to my God. Well, that's two gods. [22:24] I mean, there is the Trinity, which is three gods in one, right? I mean, we do have that mystery, but we are monotheistic. And Christ's Old Testament was his Old Testament. He was here to fulfil the Old Testament. This is what he said, that it is the Father. You're speaking of your father. This is Christ's father and the Torah, the law as it was laid down is your law. It went on to the New Testament. [22:58] You know, and Catholics, I mean, I was raised a Catholic, and when I found out that it wasn't, thou shalt not kill, but thou shalt not murder, you know, the wheels begin to turn, and you try to think as best you can about these things. But there was a disconnect between the Old Testament in the New Testament. But that has to do with my criticism of my own faith. In motion pictures in the film industry, it was under attack, as it is today. Christianity is—and Judeo-Christian ethic, the West, everything that has been built through the Judeo-Christian ethic is under attack and they want to destroy it. [23:55] And basically at the very front of that is the communist wagon, and it always has been. And you can go back to 1918 or whatever and read about it, and they tried every which way from Sunday to do it, and they always failed, and now they've found another way of doing it. And they have succeeded by going after our children when we didn't know they were going after our children. But as Christians, we're pretending that it wasn't important to be mothers and fathers and the nuclear family really wasn't that important. Well, then why were they trying to destroy it? And why has it been number one? [24:35] Because and I'm going to say something else here in a second, which I'm pointing to, there's a quote. This is the technique that they have used, and you didn't know it, but you felt it all along. You felt this, but you didn't know it. [24:57] A quote by, it's attributed to Oscar Wilde. And I think it is his, I don't think, I don't think, I think it is his quote. And it is pithy and accurate and brilliant and beyond belief descriptive of everything. Everything in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power. And boy, when I read that, I said, is this, did he really say this? Is it? And it hit me from every direction. The entertainment business in every which way is about sex. Novels, books, television, commercials, life itself, clothes, it's all about sex. And it goes back to God's edict to humanity. [25:56] Go forth and multiply. This is the power of procreation, is sharing in the power of creation. That power was given to all of us. We don't know, I mean, people have talked about it, but you don't, we don't know where that came from, except from God. And it is something to, what do we do with these gifts? Do we throw them away? Or do we say these are precious? [26:30] And you see by the people that you meet, those who recognize the gift and those who don't recognize the gift. And you are asked not to recognize it on a daily basis. And as a child, if you think back to your childhood when sexual urges, whether you're—and of course, I can't tell you what a woman goes through, but I can only tell you what a kid goes through—boy, when you're going through puberty, the whistles and gongs are going off, and you're you're having dreams at night and you can't stop it. [27:03] Everything is at the wrong moment and you're not purposefully thinking about it, but it's a force to be reckoned with. And you understand it as you grow older that this force is to bring you to someone else, to love, to have a family and to create the next generation and then everything changes after that. If you can contemplate that greatness, that extraordinary thing, and realize that the world seems to want to distort it, well, you realize the powers that are set up against Judeo-Christianity. And who say, we don't want the Ten Commandments, we don't want that Old Testament rag, we want freedom, free, and of course I went through that in the 60s and 70s in school, and I saw it. I mean, I was part of it in that it bounced off of me at every moment. And being a Christian, you stay in it. [28:10] I stayed in my Christianity. This is another tale. When I got to school, to college, I mean, I had 12 years of Christian education, right? I wanted to be an actor and I went to Towson University, which had a great theatre program. And it was the first time that I was in a purely secular environment. The thing that killed me was that everybody hated their parents. Everybody hated their parents. I mean, nobody wanted to, nobody had a good thing, I loved my parents. And I used to say, I used to have a long bus ride home and I used to sit in the bus looking out the window saying, why do I love my parents and I can't find somebody who loves their parents? What is that? Well, I can't say that I answered the question, but the answer was in the destruction of the family. [29:10] It was in the destruction, and it had started then. Not my mother and father. And then here's the next aspect, and I think that this plays a very big part in all the trouble we're having today. I never wanted to do something that shamed my parents, that they would be ashamed of. I felt shame. I still do. I feel shame. It was given to me by my mother and my father. Now, none of us are perfect. I know my mother wasn't perfect, my father wasn't perfect. I'm not perfect, but I feel shame and shame is rare. Now, look, I was listening to your podcast [29:58] with Father Calvin Robinson. Right.   Goodness, you make me blush. No, no. And no, but he said something. He said he said something about drag queens in the sanctuary. [30:19] I mean, we're talking about there's no shame if you do that. Before, shortly after, I guess we communicated, I went to here in Los Angeles, I went to the Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, and I saw two, I don't know if you know these individuals, Dennis Prager, do you know Dennis Prager? Dennis is a Jewish scholar. I've been following him since since 1982, when I came to Los Angeles. He had a program called Religion on the Line, one of the great minds and thinkers of all time. In fact, many times after listening to him, I would say to myself, I'm a Jew. That's what I am, I'm a Jew. [31:05] And then there's Eric Metaxas, who is a Christian writer, thinker, and these two were in a program, an evening called ask a Gentile, Ask a Jew. And it was a great evening, two hours of just two brilliant people talking about the state of religion. What was the final outcome, sad outcome of the evening? Metaxas and Prager both came to the conclusion that we, organized religion, has failed us. It has failed us. The churches and the synagogues have failed us. They have not stepped up to defend their own dogma, their own beliefs. And we are left flailing, individuals almost. And we are struggling to connect, which is what you and I are doing right now. [32:08] I was dumbfounded by that, but at the same time, that's what I'm thinking. That's what I've been thinking for quite some time. And all of these things, you know, we are under attack from every direction. And in your own mind, what do you do? Do you throw it away? Do you say, well maybe I'm thinking the wrong thing. No, no, no, that is not the case. Because when you think about why our children, [32:47] and if you've seen this now, why our children are being told that they don't know what their sex is, Metaxas brought this up in the evening that this is one of those key cardinal points. You can see. This is a perversion of reality, because you know what the truth is. If you have a Supreme Court justice, as we do in the United States, who says, I can't define a woman, and that children, 10 year old children, 11 and 12 year old children, secretly, don't tell your parents the hallmark of a lie. Keep it secret. Don't tell anybody. Don't even tell yourself. [33:26] You know the hallmark of concealment, consciousness of guilt, everything that you know is, they are trying to tell you you know nothing and everything you know is not to be believed, but they are to be believed. That children, there are not boys and girls, that men can give birth, that there are, you know, these things that we, it's incomprehensible what's going on and it's all to destroy right from wrong. Well, that's because it's kind of, I look at it a different way. One is the difficulty of living in a society where evil is slightly different, where it's a slippery slope and it may be difficult to distinguish what you believe with something that's slightly different. But we see such a chasm now between what is true, what is right, and the collapse and degradation of society. So in theory, that means it is easier to be a Christian because it's easy to be distinct, because what you face is the opposite of what you believe. And and that's why it's curious and interesting to see churches going down this line whenever there's, [34:38] there's no question of what we see is the opposite of what is written in scripture. Oh, there's no question. You know what you're saying? You can be crushed. You know, you can be crushed at the same time. You have to deny so many things to accept what's going on. And yet you say to yourself, how do I stop it? The war that's going on in Europe at this moment. And this is why I love Bannon. I mean, I just, I adore him. I never got to, I would not, and I'll say this, Andrew Breitbart brought me out of the closet politically, really politically. I was doing a lot of things, but saying a lot of things that were in the basket, but he truly brought me out.   When was this? When was this? . This is a through also through Gary Sinise and friends of Abe. [35:48] Boy, this is this is in the, I have to say nine. I'd say 2000 to 2005, 2006. By 2008, yeah, I have to say around 2005, 2006. [36:09] I was like a Jew wandering in the desert alone and wondering where God was. And a friend of mine who I worked with on Fat Man and Little Boy, a film about making the atomic bomb, called me up, his wife was a casting director, and he said, you know there are conservatives just like yourself who get together on a regular basis. I said, no, I did not know that. He said, would you like to go to a meeting? I said, I would love to go to a meeting of other people. I went and it was Gary Sinise and Andrew Breitbart, and a lot of other extraordinary people who were all, and this is it, seeking, trying to make connections. And so Andrew said, you have to become public. He had big Hollywood and big, you know, all of, he had all of these big websites. And he asked me to write an article. [37:09] He heard me in private describe a situation that I was in, in which I was at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. I had just come back from working with Charlton Heston and I had a long discussion, which was just a wonderful discussion in the hallway at the Amundsen Theatre about Ronald Reagan becoming president, right? And this individual who was a big producer in Hollywood overheard me talking about Ronald Reagan, and he said, Oh, so you're a Reagan a-hole, you know? [37:58] And yeah, that's right. That's right. And I was, I got to tell you, I mean, this was a big guy at the theatre too, that I was working, and I went cold. I went cold. I said, yes. I said, you know, not as a, you know, and I pulled back. I was, you know, he was attacking me, obviously, with his language. And I was shocked. I was totally numbed. And I didn't want to continue with this discussion, because otherwise there would have been a blowout. But that was how in 78, 80, I understood that there was this chasm there. And [38:51] it only got worse as time went on. As I said, fortunate, it is not a zero-sum game. Fortunate there was for me, and I did have an audition for this producer. There was a writer there and a brilliant writer. We had a fallout, but he's just an extraordinary writer. His name is Tom Fontana. He wrote some very, it was St. Elsewhere, producer, writer for St. Elsewhere, The Wire, many wonderful programs. And he did not know about this problem that I had and invited me to read for a part called Fiscus in St. Elsewhere. And I walked in and there was this producer [39:37] who has passed away since now. And Breitbart wanted me to write about him. And I did, and I regretted it, but I don't regret it. But anyway, so I walked in and he was there and he said, oh, what are you doing here? And to this audition, and I said, I'm here to read for the part of Fiskars. He said, it's not gonna be a Reagan blank hole on my show. So you know what that audition was like, right? You know, I mean, and I walked out and I just, I said, God, is this going to be it? You know, is this the way it's gonna be? And at any rate, so, but I finally did write this article about him and I lost a lot of friends for writing it. And then at the same time, and I was one of the first actors for Breitbart to use my name. This was what he wanted because a lot of pseudonyms, writing for Big Hollywood, And which I understand, please, I did not do this, I did this [40:40] for personal reasons, but not because I'm brave or anything of that nature. I just was at the point where I was going to tell the truth. This is the way it's done. And you are excluded on a cocktail napkin. And that cocktail napkin is sent around to other producers and you're excluded. It is not a zero sum game because there was Stephen J Cannell and he hired me. [41:03] But the majority of people will not, unless, of course, you bring in 30 or 40 million dollars over a weekend. And then they'll hire you. But the attack on Judeo-Christianity, the attack on conservatism, which is a hallmark of Judeo-Christianity, is now at its height. It's never been greater than it is today. Well can I, you're obviously being a Christian, being a conservative within an industry within the workplace, but then you had your podcast, then you're doing, you mentioned Breitbart on the Glazov Gang, that's something different. You're stepping outside and actually you're much more public. I mean was that a conscious decision to actually begin to use radio, use the internet, use TV and speak of these issues as a Christian and conservative. Yes, absolutely. And the reason for that was I, you know, if you're, [42:13] make a point, like I would not, as Murdock from The A-Team, go out and evangelize. I wouldn't go out as Murdock from The A-Team, vote for. Right? [42:34] You're taking something that is not related and you're trying to use it to get somewhere. Where it's not as, to me, as honest as separating yourself out, creating a podcast, creating another world. This is where I talk politics. This is where I talk my personal life, my personal beliefs. This is where I do it. And so you come to me and then we go out from there. And I associate with people who talk about religion, and I associate with people who talk about politics, and I talk it there in that realm. [43:19] There's obviously a mixture. You can't divorce yourself from who you are and what you've done, and I don't. But I've never hidden my religion. I've never hidden my Christianity, as some people do. That's not the way to do it either. Yes, I am a Christian. I'm a Judeo-Christian. I believe in the Old Testament and the New Testament. And it's, for me, not a contradiction in terms. And so I express it that way. I express it here on my own podcast when I had it. And if ever anybody wanted to talk about it, I was willing to do it. And I attended every event, and with Jamie and [44:10] the lovely Anni Cyrus, that was just wonderful. That was absolutely wonderful. I went to a David Horowitz retreat, where I met Jamie. I had the great fortune, an opportunity to speak at a Freedom Concert event. Many of my public heroes were there from various political websites. And I got to meet them. And that's where I met Jamie. And he invited me on to engage with him on his program, the Glazov Gang. It's so funny. But, you know, and I met just so many fabulous people. And there are so many things right now, which I see things now and can talk about things that I couldn't prior to coming out with Andrew. And that, of course, is Bannon's big thing, Andrew. Andrew, I mean, he's – and Andrew changed – just brought the world together. I mean, his vision, his understanding of what was really going on was unique. And he was right into – he was dead on about everything. And I still don't agree with most of his friends. [45:38] I have very dark feelings about what happened to Andrew, even though I know he had a heart problem. But when the, I mean, you know what I'm talking about. I don't want to get into that aside, but I know the darkness that's out there and a voice like his had to be stopped. And they don't stop at anything. They don't. And we have now been witness to it in the United States for five or six years. Nothing stops them. Nothing. And they will lie to your face. They do not care because they are the voice of something that is dark. [46:20] That's not a knife you feel in your back. That's me scratching it. Oh, but I feel blood. No, that's not blood. You know, that's it. That's it. Can I finish off with your voice? Now, it is always wonderful to have a guest coming on and the sound is absolutely beautiful, crystal clear. You're coming through. Obviously, your voice is your how you make your your living now. And you've you've moved away from being kind of front of the camera to doing voice. Tell us what that is like, because it means you talked about fame and that means you're not recognized. It is your voice. And I remember watching, you were the one who, again, using your voice in all different ways, even back as in The A Team. But tell us about, how that works in the industry.   Well, in the industry, it doesn't. You have to be very fortunate. One of the first casting directors I ever met was Sylvia Gold, was her name. And she met with me, my first agent introduced me to her, and she said. [47:36] Oh, darling, she said, you don't understand. No one wants to hear that stuff. That's in the theatre. They want to hear you. They want to hear your voice. It's your voice that's important. And I said, no, it's not. I said, that's not what it's not. You know, I'm a vampire. I'm a thief. I listen to other people. I'm a mathematical idiot. And God gave me this ability to hear people's voices. And I said, I remember being seven years old. I was about seven years old, and I remember the first impression I ever did, which was, James Mason in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, he had a line, it was, I am dying now, and the Nautilus is dying with me, present as him. And I said this out loud to myself, I am dying now, and the Nautilus is dying with me. And the more I did it, the closer I got. And I would spend time, and I became an Anglophile, and I started listening to Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole, and I found that if I put headphones on, their voice came from the middle of my head, and I could steal from them. I could do impressions of their voice, and even if it wasn't perfect. [48:52] It became another voice, another character. And I began to identify with my relatives that way. I started doing impressions of my relatives and they did not like it. And I started doing impressions of my teachers at school and the kids liked it, but the teachers didn't like it if they heard it. And that's how it started. And I just had an ear for people's voices and dialects in the United States. And that's it. And in terms of, well, if I'm coming across crystal clear, That's because somebody recommended this microphone, the Heil PR-40, which is a dynamic microphone. Most people are wedded to very expensive condenser mics. But this is a rejection, it's a cardioid. People can open the door and come into the room and you won't hear it, you'll just hear me. Art Bell used this mic and he was always extolling the virtues of this mic, and I listened to him. And so, you know, and it's inexpensive, comparatively speaking, so it's available. [50:04] And so I, but I have spent years studying and recording people's voices and listening to them and trying to reproduce them. And one of the great thrills in my life was, I was, I knew somebody who was intimately involved with Laurence Olivier. [50:29] Peter Shaffer, and he wrote Amadeus, right? And he was just an absolutely spectacular man. And he gave me the play Amadeus to read before it was on Broadway and in Great Britain. And he was just a sweetheart of all sweethearts anyway. So I went into a bathroom and I did my impression of Olivier doing the Othello chamber scene. And I gave it to someone who was with Peter and asked them to listen to it to see if I caught any of it. And he said, this friend said, Shaffer listened to it and said, well, he said if Larry was very, very sick. But it was, you know, it was one of those, I, God, to have, you know, I, I, I think I listened, I don't know, I can't, I can't repeat anything that I've ever done myself, but I, I think I listened to the chamber scene from Othello, Olivier's Othello a thousand times. And that's how you learn when you're a young kid. That's how you learn. And you say, oh, my God, every comma. I followed it along, and he followed the text. [51:49] Amazingly, he followed the text and was dead on. And those are the kinds of things that I became very attuned to people's voices, and recorded them. And I have a lot of recordings and sometimes I still listen to Burton's Hamlet. And Gielgud, of course, directed it. [52:21] And it was considered a disaster on Broadway, but there's some great, there's just to capture, it is a miracle that I can sit here and listen to people who have passed away as if they're in my room. It is, it is a miracle, a technical miracle, but a miracle, or listening to the great choruses, motion picture choruses from 1958 and 60, and I listen to these grand voices, and I say, most of these people are not here now, But I'm listening to them and I get emotional about it. So anyway...   You've also embraced just finally about. I think I looked through and you've done the voice for like 100 video games. Well, yeah, I guess that's just if you're you're good at something, then that can be used across different, different industries. Oh, exactly. and video games are bigger than motion pictures now. And the hardest thing I was ever asked to do, and we were asked to do this periodically, you know, these great actors, right? [53:31] Sir Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, right? Those two individuals. Do impressions of both of them, to do them in the same thing. They were in X-Men, right? So I can't do them because they're so close. And you just do. You're asked to do it. They can't make it to do a pickup, right? So they ask an actor to come in and do a line, half a line. That's it. I can't do Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart at the same time. But I can't. I can't do it because they're too close. And yet they're different. But I have not been able to. I mean, you know, you in Ian McKellen with Bilbo Baggins, you know, he's called the essence. [54:19] Patrick is done it. Patrick is down there, too. But I can't do them together. I cannot do them together. I have to do them separately. And Patrick is he was a delight, by the way. Very liberal, very liberal. But one of the great things about Star Trek is my greatest experience that I've had in Hollywood, because there was little to no politics on that set, and everybody was a delight to work with. Everyone, absolutely everyone. And walking around on the great Paramount lot was a thrill. Anyway, sorry, I'm getting side-lined. I loved all those people. I did. I really did. Dwight, I so appreciate you coming on. It's absolutely wonderful to speak with you and hear about your experiences in the industry. So we really do appreciate your time today.   Well, it's my pleasure and I am very grateful. It's been a long time since I've done anything like this.   Oh, maybe it'll become more regular. Well, thank you, Peter.   Thank you so much, Dwight. Thank you.   Bye-bye.

When she's not not behind her computer or visiting the shops in Florida and Houston, our CEO and Founder Jennifer Wheeler Kahn is probably chasing her two boys #InternHudson and #InternJudah around the house, park, library, or museum. Kahn was a professional Stage Manager for 17 years getting to work on such shows as: The Deaf West Revival of Spring Awakening (Broadway), In the Heights (National Tour), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (La Jolla Playhouse and Paper Mill Playhouse), Hold Onto me Darling (Off-Broadway at the Atlantic), Kinship (starring Cynthia Nixon and Christopher Lowell at Williamstown Theatre Festival), and many productions at The Old Globe Theatre and La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego. Over her last 4 years as a Stage Manager she also ran a blog on giveback and ethical style. SCENERY was born as the love child of these two parts of her heart. Ethical style, Theatre, and giving back to make theatre more accessible for others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jessica Stone worked as an actress on and off-Broadway, in television and in film for decades before transitioning to directing. Broadway credits included Anything Goes, Butley, The Odd Couple, The Smell of the Kill, Design for Living, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Grease. Her directing career began in earnest with her all-male 2010 production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for the Williamstown Theatre Festival. She has since been directing all over the country at such theaters as The Old Globe, A.C.T, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Huntington Theatre Company, Two River Theatre Company, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival among others. Productions include As You Like It, Kate Hamill's Vanity Fair, Barefoot in the Park, Dancing at Lughnasa, Bad Dates, Ken Ludwig's Robin Hood! (world premiere), Ripcord, Bad Jews, Arms and the Man, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Charlotte's Web, June Moon, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Absurd Person Singular, Kimberly Akimbo (off-Broadway premiere at the Atlantic). Most recently, Stone directed the original Broadway musical Kimberly Akimbo, which opened in November 2022. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two sons. Jessica Stone went from working actress to one of the most in-demand Broadway directors. Listen as she describes how she manages a thriving career, marriage and motherhood and… who were the directors in her life that helped shape how she runs a rehearsal room and why now that she has found directing she really doesn't miss being an actress - plus a deep deep dive Into the journey of Kimberly Akimbo how it went from workshop to Broadway - all that and more this week on the Little Known Facts with Ilana Levine podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tori Murden McClure is no stranger to trail blazing.  Tori Murden McClure is the President of Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. Tori may be best known as the first woman and first American to row solo and unassisted across the Atlantic Ocean. Also she was the first woman and first American to travel over land to the geographic South Pole skiing 750-miles from the ice-shelf to the pole. Tori has worked as chaplain of Boston City Hospital, as policy assistant to the Mayor of Louisville, director of a shelter for homeless women, and has worked with the boxer and humanitarian Muhammad Ali.   Tori is an accomplished mountaineer and has completed major climbs on several continents. Tori is a graduate of Smith College. She holds a Masters in Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, a Juris Doctorate from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, and a Masters of Fine Arts in Writing from Spalding University.   Though many titles fit — athlete, adventurer, chaplain, lawyer, university administrator — it's hard to put just one to her name. Her diverse career accomplishments include working as a chaplain at a Boston hospital, as the director of a Kentucky-based women's shelter, as a policy assistant in the Louisville Mayor's Office, and as the first full-time employee of the Muhammad Ali Center, a nonprofit cultural hub dedicated to celebrating the boxer.  Her memoir, “A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Ocean,” published in 2009, became the basis of the stage musical, “Row.” The musical premiered in the summer of 2021 at the prestigious Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts.  More on Tori: President Mclure of Spalding University   Womens History Month | Adventurer Tori Murden Mclure (video)   Womens History Month | Adventurer Tori Murden Mclure (article & photos)

Synopsis: Ben finds himself in 2012 in the midst of the Mendéz family as they help their transgender daughter, Gia, who dreams of playing on her high school basketball team. Magic and Jenn discover another piece of the puzzle of why Ben leapt in the first place. We are excited to be joined by episode writer, actor and director, Shakina, for the discussion of this episode! (@Shakeenz on Twitter and Instagram; Shakina.nyc on the web) Shakina is a celebrated actress and activist. She initially made television history on NBC’s “Connecting” as the first transgender person to play a series regular on a network comedy. She can also be seen in Amazon’s GLAAD Award Winning “Transparent Musicale Finale,” which she helped write and produce, and Hulu’s “Difficult People” as the iconic trans truther, Lola. Her play “Chonburi International Hotel and Butterfly Club” premiered on Audible in 2020 in collaboration with Williamstown Theatre Festival and was recognized with a 2021 Drama League Award for Best Audio Theatre Production. She is the Founding Artistic Director of Musical Theatre Factory, where she helped to develop hundreds of new musicals including Michael R. Jackson’s Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning “A Strange Loop,” along with her own autobiographical glam rock odyssey, “Manifest Pussy.” Recognitions include The Lilly Award for Working Miracles, Theatre Resources Unlimited Humanitarian Award, The Kilroys List, Logo 30, two-time Drama League fellow and two-time OUT 100 honoree We have updated merch, including tees, mugs, stickers and more! Fate’s Wide Wheel TeePublic Store Thank you, Patrons! Al’s Place Leap Fan Site, Bourbon and Boardgames, Carolyn, Cosplay Dad, Joanne Bartlett, Dana Bius, Rich Bourque, Kevin, Kevin Butcher, Carol Davis, Deckslower, Dermot Devlin, Barry Donovan, Brian Dreadful, Troy Evers, Larry Ganni, Jason Geis, Michelle Hoffman, Amy Holtcamp, Laurie Johnson, Bess A Korey, Lady Eternal, Robb Nunn, Oddly Specific with Audra, Christopher Redmon, Adrian Sal, Karyn Saxon, Jerry Seward, Mike Stoufer, Heather Strbiak, Damon Sugameli, Larry Trujillo, Stuart Williams, Jill Wilson, Our Anonymous Patrons And as always, a special shout out to Jessica Conger and Betsy Frymire, our spouses who provide vital childcare while we record our show. Become a patron or donor yourself: Monthly: Fate’s Wide Wheel on Patreon One-Time: Fate’s Wide Wheel on Buy Me a Coffee Feedback? Send us an email: fateswidewheelpodcast@gmail.com We Frequently Use These Resources: Beyond the Mirror Image: The Observer’s Guide to Quantum Leap, by Matt Dale Al’s Place by Brian Greene The Quantum Leap Podcast

In this episode, Adam and Budi speak with the Head of the Drama Division at Juilliard, Evan Yionoulis.Evan Yionoulis, an Obie award-winning director and nationally-recognized teacher of acting, is  Richard Rodgers dean and director of Juilliard's Drama Division.  Before that, she served twenty years on the faculty of Yale School of Drama, where she was a professor in the practice of acting and directing and a resident director at Yale Repertory Theatre, as well as Lloyd Richards chair of the department of acting from 1998 to 2003. She has directed new plays and classics in New York and across the U.S., enjoying collaborations with major American playwrights, including Adrienne Kennedy and Richard Greenberg. She directed the critically acclaimed world premiere of Kennedy's He Brought Her Heart Back in a Box for Theatre for a New Audience, where she previously directed her Ohio State Murders (Lortel Award for Best Revival) and the Off-Broadway premiere of Howard Brenton's Sore Throats.  She opened Manhattan Theatre Club's Biltmore Theatre (Broadway) with Greenberg's The Violet Hour, directed his Everett Beekin at Lincoln Center Theater, and received an Obie Award for her direction of his Three Days of Rain at Manhattan Theatre Club, having directed the premieres of all three at South Coast Repertory.   At Yale Repertory Theatre, she directed Cymbeline, Richard II, The Master Builder, George F. Walker's Heaven, Brecht's Galileo, Gozzi's The King Stag (which she adapted with her brother, composer Mike Yionoulis and Catherine Sheehy), Caryl Churchill's Owners, the world premiere of Kirsten Greenidge's Bossa Nova, and numerous other productions including Kiss, by Guillermo Calderón. Other credits include productions at the Mark Taper Forum, the Huntington, NY Shakespeare Festival, the Vineyard, Second Stage, Primary Stages, Dallas Theatre Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Denver Center, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and many others.  She directed Seven, a documentary theatre piece about extraordinary women from across the globe who work for human rights, in New York, Boston, Washington, Aspen, London, Deauville, and New Delhi. Her short film, Lost and Found, made with Mike Yionoulis, premiered at Cleveland International Film Festival.  Their most recent collaborations are the multi-platform project Redhand Guitar, about five generations of musicians across an American century, and The Dread Pirate Project, about the malleability of identity between the digital and natural worlds.She has received a Princess Grace Foundation Fellowship, Works-in-Progress Grant, and the foundation's prestigious Statuette. She serves as president of the executive board of SDC, the labor union representing stage directors and choreographers. Support the showIf you enjoyed this week´s podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. To submit a question: Voice- http://www.speakpipe.com/theatreofothers Email- podcast@theatreofothers.com Support the Theatre of Others - Check out our Merch!Show Credits Co-Hosts: Adam Marple & Budi MillerProducer: Jack BurmeisterMusic: https://www.purple-planet.comAdditional compositions by @jack_burmeister

Jenny Gersten serves as Line Producer for Beetlejuice on Broadway and National Tour, Executive Producer for the musical Born for This, Producer of Musical Theater for New York City Center, and Interim Artistic Director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival. She sometimes produces commercially, including the award -winning Off Broadway “pie shop” production of Sweeney Todd. She works with Jessica Hecht on The Campfire Project, an arts program that primarily serves Syrian and Ukrainian refugees overseas. Previously, Jenny served as Executive Director of Friends of the High Line and as the Associate Producer of The Public Theater in New York City. At sea, she is the Creative Producer of Virgin Voyages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The transcript for this episode is available here. Ryan J. Haddad is an actor, playwright, and autobiographical performer based in New York. His acclaimed solo play Hi, Are You Single? was presented in The Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival and continues to tour the country. Other New York credits include My Straighties (Ars Nova/ANT Fest), Noor and Hadi Go to Hogwarts (Theater Breaking Through Barriers), and the cabaret Falling for Make Believe (Joe's Pub/Under the Radar). Regional theatre: The Maids, Lucy Thurber's Orpheus in the Berkshires (Williamstown Theatre Festival), and Hi, Are You Single? (Guthrie Theater, Cleveland Play House, Williamstown Theatre Festival). He has a recurring role on the Netflix series "The Politician." Additional television: "Bull," "Madam Secretary," and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." Haddad is a recipient of IAMA Theatre Company's Shonda Rhimes Unsung Voices Playwriting Commission and Rising Phoenix Repertory's Cornelia Street American Playwriting Award. His work has been developed with The Public Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York Theatre Workshop, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Noor Theatre, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Primary Stages, and Pride Plays. His writing has been published in the New York Times, Out Magazine, and American Theatre. Ryan is an alum of The Public Theater's Emerging Writers Group and a former Queer|Art Performance and Playwriting Fellow, under the mentorship of Moe Angelos. @ryanjhaddad and ryanjhaddad.com. Related Links: Ryan's Website Dark Disabled Stories at The Public Theater Tickets and Information Hi, Are You Single? Woolly Mammoth Theatre Trailer The Politician on Netflix For 2023, we're inviting our listeners to participate in Ask Judy in a new way. We want you to send us voice memos with messages and questions for Judy that we'll feature in an episode of The Heumann Perspective. If interested, please send yours to media@judithheumann.com Check out the video version of this episode on Judy's YouTube channel.  Intro music by Lachi. Outro music by Gaelynn Lea.

Jessica Stone (Director) worked as an actress on and Off-Broadway, in television, and in film before transitioning to directing. Her directing career began in earnest with her all-male 2010 production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for the Williamstown Theatre Festival. She has since been directing all over the country at such theaters as The Old Globe, A.C.T, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Huntington Theatre Company, Two River Theatre Company, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival, among others. Productions include As You Like It, Kate Hamill's Vanity Fair, Barefoot in the Park, Dancing at Lughnasa, Bad Dates, Ken Ludwig's Robin Hood! (world premiere), Ripcord, Bad Jews, Arms and the Man, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Charlotte's Web, June Moon, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Absurd Person Singular. Philanthropic/Activist Causes: Mentoring young theater artists, gun safety, and helping unregistered and low propensity voters to participate in our democracy.

 Leah Lamb teaches how to think in the language of stories. I've been taking classes with her for the better part of a year, and I can say it works. In this interview she steps back and looks over two huge stories of our time, the story of climate change, and the story of initiation.A bit about Leah:Leah learned about how stories could be allies and friends when she was a child wandering the fields, creeks, and ponds of a rural farm in Vermont. Her first loves were writing and theater. Leah experienced first-hand how stories can unite when her play about suicide, “Berries,” was produced by VA Young Writers for The Theater. She went on to study the Eric Morris technique and the Meisner Technique at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City and interned at Williamstown Theatre Festival.Her love of the environment led her to study at Prescott College, where she earned a double major in outdoor experiential education and environmental education through performance. After she worked with youth at risk for many years as a wilderness guide with Outward Bound and other programs, her commitment to social justice led her to earn a master's degree in social work from Virginia Commonwealth University.To explore Leah's upcoming classes, go here: https://leahlamb.com/upcoming-classes/To support the podcast and get goodies, go on over to Patreon.The podcast Instragram is here. To be notified about upcoming creative writing and art workshops, sign up for the Story Paths mailing list here.  CreditsMusic and SFX by JeffSpeed68Theodore LowryMwiccube3LuckylittleravenpostproddogL. Subramaniam

Actor, writer and director, Erin Roth shares her methods in teaching artists and non-artists the techniques of master voice and Shakespeare teacher, Patsy Rodenburg. Learn to breathe with the most ease and to support your body in releasing stress and tension to pursue your purpose. Join me in this episode of Someone Gets Me ▶️ How To Find Your Gifted Voice with Erin Roth. Key point covered in this episode:  ✔️ Gifted people hold themselves back. Often, people we find with a tight jaw are those who grew up being told not to say something and trying to hold their truth in. It's incredible what happens when you learn to break that energetic pattern and find safety in expressing yourself. ✔️ Free your gift by freeing your voice. As an actor, Erin trains by working with her body, breath, and voice. She has improved through these methods on herself and by also teaching others. "There's just no separation between the two. I always start on a very practical level, working physically with people on their breath system and freeing their voices. And when I say free your voice, it's freeing it from extra tensions, extra habits that make it hard to communicate or speak…” ✔️ Learn how to be OK taking up the space you take up in the world. Fear will always shut you down. Erin reminds us to learn to be OK with taking up the space you take up in the world. That's a physical, mental, emotional, and energetic thing we must learn to fulfill our purpose. ✔️ If you want to talk to your audience and the people you serve with the most impact, you've got to learn to be present, connect beyond words, and reach their hearts. As a gifted thespian, Erin delights in how live theater delivers so much impact for the actors and the audience. Presence plays a huge part in breaking through invisible walls and inviting people into an incredible connection where we can all contemplate our shared humanity together.  ✔️ Mindfulness has become a fad lately, but it's something that will never go away. Numerous studies show tangible benefits, such as relieving pain and addressing anxiety and depression. People are waking up to the power of presence and being in that moment.  How do you include mindfulness in your daily life? ———————————————————————————————— Erin Roth is a New York City-based Registered Rodenburg Teacher (RRT), trained and certified by master voice and Shakespeare teacher Patsy Rodenburg. She coaches and teaches in-person and online Shakespeare classes and was one of the first 30 people in the world certified to teach Patsy Rodenburg's method. Erin is a regular contributor to Backstage Experts. Erin is also an actor, writer, director, and producer. Currently, she can be seen playing Lady Macbeth in Macbeth with the Hudson Classical Theater Company. Most recently, she played Jane Bennet in Pride and Prejudice and Elinor Dashwood in Sense & Sensibility. Other theater credits include Back of the Throat with the Flea Theater, On the Razzle at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Love of Three Oranges at the Santa Fe Theatre Festival, and Old School Sketch Show at the PIT. As a producer, past film and TV projects have gone to the Raindance International Film Festival and iTV Fest (Now Catalyst). Erin also recently co-directed A Midsummer Night's Dream. Erin is passionate about making Shakespeare accessible, giving actors the tools to do great Shakespeare, and helping actors reconnect to their authentic voice and presence. Erin recently expanded to coaching non-actors in presence, communication, and connection and is launching her first public speaking course this fall. ———————————————————————————————— Connect with Erin: www.erinrothcoaching.com www.erinroth.com www.backstage.com/magazine/author/erin-roth/ ———————————————————————————————— How to Connect with Dianne A. Allen You have a vision inside to create something bigger than you. What you need is a community and a mentor. The Someone Gets Me Experience could be that perfect solution to bringing your heart's desire into reality. You will grow, transform and connect. https://msdianneallen.com/someone-gets-me-experience/ Join our Facebook Group Someone Gets Me: https://www.facebook.com/groups/someonegetsme. Follow Dianne's Facebook Page: Dianne A. Allen: https://www.facebook.com/msdianneallen. Email contact: dianne@visionsapplied.com Dianne's Mentoring Services: https://msdianneallen.com Website: https://www.visionsapplied.com Be sure to take a second and subscribe to the show and share it with anyone you think will benefit. Until next time, remember the world needs your unique gift, let your light shine.

Simon and his mother, Ora, have always been close. She's been his champion, his defender, and his friend. But when a life-changing secret comes to light, can their bond survive? 2020 WTF Foeller Fellow Tyler Thomas directs "we are continuous" - a WTF-commissioned play by Harrison David Rivers (Where Storms Are Born) that explores how people can change and how love can evolve."we are continuous" runs on the Nikos Stage August 2-14.

Tori is perhaps best-known as the first woman and first American to row a boat solo across the Atlantic Ocean, having accomplished the feat in 1999 after 81 days at sea.    A decade earlier, she became the first woman and first American to ski to the geographic South Pole during a 50-day, 750-mile expedition.   Tori is author of the memoir, A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Ocean, which details her life and journey across the Atlantic.    The book is the basis of a stage musical, called, Row, which made its world premiere at the prestigious Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts in the summer of 2021.   New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don't miss out.    Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast and subscribe - super quick and easy to do and it makes a massive difference. Thank you.   Show notes Who is Tori Growing up all over the east coast of the United States Spending a lot of time outside as a kid Having an intellectually disabled brother Bullying that she and her brother experienced in the past Going to Smith Collage and playing basketball Meeting Rita Benson who had been at Smith since World War II Learning to row and to ski Skiing to the South Pole a few years later Getting a degree in psychology Working in the National Outdoor Leadership School in Alaska Ending up at Harvard Divinity School More details about her skiing journey Falling in love with travelling in a very remote country Applying for the expedition team to the South Pole at the age of 24 The 750-mile journey across Antarctica Psychological challenges she experienced Being the first woman and the first American to reach the Geographic South Pole Having a cassette recorder and cassette tapes Solitude as the biggest challenge for them Talking more about Harvard Divinity School Wholeness in seeing nature Changes to her after the challenges and adventures Finishing Divinity School and returning to Louisville, Kentucky, Working with homeless people in Boston Going to law school Working for the mayor of Louisville Training rowing for the Olympic team Being too slow to make the Olympic team Signing up to do the Atlantic rowing race Being asked by a sponsor if she would consider rowing solo across the Atlantic Ocean Getting into more detail about the sponsorship in 1998 Being hit by the hurricane Danielle Hurricanes Dania and Earl Having an overwhelming sense of failure Spending almost a year working for Muhammad Ali Creating the Muhammad Ali Center Being lifted up by Muhammad when she was broken The difference between having a growth mindset and a fixed mindset “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Roosevelt Her fears on her second journey Hurricane Lenny - first hurricane in recorded history to travel 1000 miles west-east Getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere for weeks Her book: A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Ocean Meeting and falling in love with her husband, Mac McClure Adventures in her life at the moment Final words of advice   Social Media   Website: https://spalding.edu/president/   Instagram: @torimurden   Facebook: www.facebook.com/torimurden Twitter: @toriposu   Book -  A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Ocean   

Jenny Gersten, who helmed the Williamstown Theatre Festival from 2011 to 2014, has again stepped into the role of Artistic Director on an interim basis. Gersten, the first woman to hold the job of artistic director at Williamstown joins us this morning to share a preview of the 2022 season.The 2022 season promises laughs, singing, and introspection, including a thrilling new suspense comedy, a disarmingly personal and intimate WTF-commissioned world premiere play, and a musical concert event celebrating Frank Loesser's magnificent score from "The Most Happy Fella," retold with dazzling new orchestrations.

On today's episode, I talk to TV writer and actor Andrew Farmer. Originally from Florida, Andrew is a recipient of the 2018 Jonathan Larson Grant, and his work has been produced at The Museum of Modern Art, Ars Nova, Playwrights Horizons Downtown, Joe's Pub, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Walker Space, Theater Aspen and The Yale School of Drama. As a podcaster, he hosted the long-running Forever Dog podcast Scary Stories to Tell On the Pod, and as a TV writer, he's written for Miracle Workers and the forthcoming animated show Praise Petey. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

Adrienne shares her process building a container for her collaborators work to live and breathe. Thank you for taking the time to listen to our chat with Adrienne Campbell-Holt! If you are listening to this on Apple Podcast, we'd love it if you could share your love in a review! About Adrienne Campbell-Holt: Adrienne is a NY-based director and choreographer and the Founding Artistic Director of Colt Coeur. She is the recipient of the 2018 Lucille Lortel Visionary Director Award. Click here to watch video of Adrienne's March 2018 acceptance speech. Adrienne was recently profiled in Women in Hollywood - read on here and featured in American Theatre magazine, click here to read. Current/Upcoming: world premiere: Other World, by Hunter Bell, Jeff Bowen & Ann McNamee, choreography by Karla Puno Garcia (Delaware Theater Center),world premiere of Afterwords, music and lyrics by Zoe Sarnak, book by Emily Kaczmarek, choreography by Ebony Williams (5th Avenue Theater, Seattle). Adrienne was a Time Warner/Women's Project Lab 2014-2016 Fellow, a recipient of the Bill Foeller Fellowship at Williamstown Theatre Festival, a Jerome Foundation/Tofte Lake Fellowship, the EST/Sloan grant, an alum of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and a New Georges Affiliated Artist and Audrey Resident. She has developed work with La Jolla Playhouse, the Roundabout, Playwrights Horizons, Clubbed Thumb, Rattlestick, Women's Project Theater, IAMA, New Georges, Playwrights' Center, Portland Center Stage, and the Ensemble Studio Theater. Resources from this episode: adriennecampbellholt.com @adriennech @coltcoeur Afterwards at 5thavenue --- Come say hi to us! Facebook: @PageToStagePodcast @BroadwayPodcastNetwork Instagram: @PageToStagePodcast @TheMaryDina @BrianSedita @BroadwayPodcastNetwork Twitter: @TheMaryDina @BwayPodNetwork Youtube: @PageToStagePodcast @BroadwayPodcastNetwork #PageToStagePodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices