call and response podcast

For the season five finale of call and response, we celebrate FREEDOM. In a time where fear and scarcity feel wide-spread, how can we claim freedom, abundance, and liberation for ourselves? We talk with five artist-creators about what artistic freedom means to them. Hear from actor and multidimensional storyteller Ja'Michael De'Shawn, director Miranda Haymon, actor, musician, and singer-songwriter...

For season 5's penultimate episode, we talk with artivist Britton Smith, who you’ve seen on Broadway in Be More Chill, Shuffle Along, and After Midnight, about how he learned to embrace his authentic self, what he’s learned from his work with Broadway Advocacy Coalition, and why he started his funk liberation band, Britton & The Sting.

We are so hype, so thrilled, and so excited that call and response podcast has hit of 100 episodes! To celebrate the milestone, we’re looking back at the previous 99 episodes, highlighting and reliving some of the best moments—the joy, the tears, and the thought-provoking conversations on what it means to exist at the intersection of Blackness and performing arts.

We talk with Gerald Caesar, soon to be seen in the Dear Evan Hansen movie adaptation, about making his Broadway debut in A Bronx Tale , performing with Choir Boy on the Tony Awards, and navigating social media pressures and nuances.

We talk with Tony winner Tonya Pinkins about what she learned from starring in Caroline, or Change, why she initially didn’t want to move to New York City, and how she grew from her experience as the writer-director-star of the award-winning socio-political horror film Red Pill.

We chat with Ain’t Too Proud star Jawan M. Jackson about how his support system encouraged him to pursue music, what his journey to New York City was like, and why he is committed to giving back.

We talk with the leadership team of the Obie-winning The Fire This Time Festival—executive director and founder Kelley Girod, producer Julienne Hairston, associate producer and director of TFTT New Works Lab A.J. Muhammad, and artistic director Cezar Williams—about how the festival has cultivated the feeling of family, why freedom of voice is essential for Black playwrights, and what has changed f...

We chat with Broadway performer Zurin Villanueva about what she gained from attending Howard University, how she felt performing in the musical adaptations of the iconic movies Clueless and Mean Girls, and why learning from Savion Glover in Shuffle Along changed her dance game.

We talk with The Lion King and Kiss Me, Kate star Adrienne Walker about studying vocal performance at Spelman College, fighting assumptions as a Black soprano, and launching her multimedia series 32 Bar Cut.

We chat with Ty Jones, the Producing Artistic Director of Classical Theatre of Harlem and an award-winning stage actor (NAACP, OBIE) about rebuilding the organization to make an uptown impact, finding inspiration for programming, and creating theatre that is all about the people.

We talk with Tony-nominated producer and recently named Global Producer of the Year Brian Moreland about the producer contributions to diversifying audiences, the need to break free of hamster-wheel conversations, and the necessity of rediscovering the North Star of Theatre.

We talk with The Muny’s Director of Education Tali Allen about when she fell in love with music education, what her Gen Z students have taught her, and why being “the only” can feel both exhausting, yet rewarding.

We chat with actor-musician and Howard University’s BFA Musical Theatre Coordinator Marty Austin Lamar about the dare that led him to musical theatre, the power of education in the pursuit of equity, and the lessons he brings from his acting career to the classroom.

We talk with award-winning playwright, author, and University of Texas professor Dr. Lisa B. Thompson about why theatre is like a postcard, the importance of intergenerational connections, and how her work in academia and the theatre world inform each other.

We chat with marketing executive and entrepreneur Khalilah Elliott about finding mentorship as Black women in the performing arts space, working at iconic institutions like the Apollo Theater and Disney Theatrical, and forming her own company, Gafford Communications.

We talk with talent manager and entrepreneur ChiChi Anyanwu about her game-changing experience at the McCarter Theatre, the origin story of creating her own management company, and the important three C-words that inform her work with her clients.

Welcome to the land of Kyle Taylor Parker! We talk about his liberating experience in Kinky Boots, infusing his truth into his work, and producing his solo album Broadway Soul, Vol. 2 during the time of the ‘Rona.

We chat with Jhanaë Bonnick about her journey to and life as a Broadway stage manager— the lighting cue that made her fall in love with it, three skills she recommends for success, and the important foundation she considered when building Slave Play 's stage management team.

We talk with Memphis Symphony’s assistant conductor Kalena Bovell about finding her love of music by accident, inspiring the next generation of classical musicians, and collaborating with Rob McClure on the Ragtime-themed Conductor Cam music video.

After a tumultuous and unpredictable year that completely shook up the world, we’re back at the mic and looking to the future! The season five premiere episode kicks off with Nick Daly, a musical theatre and playwriting student at the University of Michigan and the winner of Playbill’s Search for a Star contest. We discuss his experience of performing in the first high school production of The Sco...

It’s call and response’s season four finale and we want the world to know! Kick off the final Friday of Black History Month with Candice Marie Woods. We chat about immersing themselves in queer culture, addressing misconceptions about trans and nonbinary folx, and navigating crossover appeal like their onstage counterpart in Ain’t Too Proud , Diana Ross.

Episode 81, go! In season four’s penultimate episode, we talk with Broadway production stage manager Cody Renard Richard all about stage management life—from his favorite part of putting up a show to what skills will help you succeed to what myth about the job he’d like to bust.

We talk with director-choreographer Raja Feather Kelly about why he started the feath3r theory, what he finds rewarding about his work at the intersection of theatre and dance, and what he’s accomplishing with We’re Gonna Die, currently playing at Second Stage Theater.

We chat with Stevie Coleman, an account executive at SpotCo! She breaks down what it’s like to work at a Broadway advertising agency, how she merged her two passions of theatre and marketing, and her most memorable opening night experience.

We’re kicking off Black History Month a day early with a THREEPEAT! For Call and Response’s third live show at BroadwayCon, we chat about the intersection of blackness and Broadway with Tina Turner Musical’s Destinee Rea, We’re Gonna Die’s Janelle McDermoth, Ain’t Too Proud’s Jelani Remy, Head Over Heels’ Taylor Iman Jones, and SURPRISE GUEST: Frozen’s Aisha Jackson!