Real Talk with Mason Bray

Alice Brooks is the genius cinematographer behind the films “In The Heights” and “tick, tick…BOOM” and the Apple TV series “Home Before Dark”! But that’s not all! She is also the Director of Photography for the upcoming “WICKED” movie starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, directed by Jon Chu! I sat down with her earlier this week and we discussed how she got into the industry and working with...

Bailey Ford is the amazing social media manager behind Joe Iconis and a founding member of the Be More Chill team going all the way to Broadway! She has also worked on several other Joe Iconic shows as the Social Media Manager and Intern. Before any of that, she started as a programming intern at Feinstein’s 54 Below during her college years! This week, I sat down with her to discuss her pathway t...

Mason sits down with the twin brothers from the awesome Drama Podcast, Connor and Dylan MacDowell!  Real Talk is back to connect you to Broadway and the Theatre community! As a welcome back, I wanted to sit down with my friends Dylan and Connor and talk about all things theatre, podcasting, and everything in between! I like to think of this episode as a “roadmap” and “FAQ” about podcasting to answ...

Alan is a fellow podcast host on the Broadway Podcast Network with his show The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales. Not only does Alan have a podcast on the network but he is also the Chief Technical Officer and a Co-Founder for the BPN! He also works for Talks at Google where he conducts interviews with A-list celebrities! I am so excited to have him join my line-up for Season 5 and I am SO excited...

Matt DeAngelis is a Broadway actor who is in the ensemble for Waitress the Musical (which just opened on Broadway on September 4th)! Before that, Matt made his Broadway debut in Diane Paulus’s revival of HAIR! Other productions Matt has worked on include the 1st national tour of American Idiot, 1st National Tour of Once, and Matt came back to Broadway with another Diane Paulus show- alongside Jess...

Sammi Cannold is a director for theatre and film! She directed the recent documentary “The Show Must Go On” about the South Korean Theatre industry during the height of the pandemic. She has also been featured on Forbes 30 under 30 in Hollywood and Entertainment. You can watch her Ted-X Talk on YouTube where she discusses her research trip for the New York City Center’s production of Evita. Some o...

After almost a year and a half of no Broadway! The Great BRIGHT Way is starting to re-open!! Antoinette Nwandu’s Pass Over began it’s previews a few weeks ago and is set to open before the end of the month! On this episode we get up to date with theatre news and the progress of Broadway coming back, listen to audio from the opening of Pass Over on Broadway, discuss new casting announcements! On to...

Matt DiCarlo has been the stage manager for Broadway shows like Beetlejuice, The Play That Goes Wrong, The Color Purple, Rock Of Ages, and Honeymoon in Vegas. He has also been the Associate Director for The Play That Goes Wrong, The Color Purple, Rock Of Ages, and Moulin Rouge! He recently spent a few weeks in Seoul as the Restaging Director for the South Korean production of Beetlejuice! Matt is...

Courtney Kochuba is the current Director of Marketing at Concord Theatricals. Before that, Courtney was also on the team at Samuel French before it merged with Concord back in 2018. In the interview, we discuss licensing for theatre and how the administration side of theatre works, her schedule for a day at Concord, as well as some of her favorite titles in the Concord catalog. Join us to hear abo...

Ken Posner is a lighting designer for Broadway shows such as Wicked, Hairspray, Legally Blonde, Grease, Kinky Boots, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, War Paint, Finding Neverland, Mean Girls, Beetlejuice, and several other ICONIC Broadway shows! As some might know, I am obsessed with lighting design, so I am so excited to have Ken here this week! Join us as we discuss coming back to London theatre...

Bradley King is a Tony Award-winning Lighting Designer who has worked on amazing shows like Hadestown and The Great Comet. Bradley has also worked on several corporate events with Samsung, Microsoft, Target, and several other huge brands! In this episode, we discuss how Bradley approaches modern set and theatre concepts, how he moves from scene to scene with light, and how he got started in lighti...

Nick is the Senior Vice-President of Late Night Programming at CBS. If you frequent the Late Late Show with James Corden, he has been featured heavily the past few months and I think he has made an amazing show that continues to please audiences!  Join us on this episode to hear what made Nick start in comedy and late-night television, what his schedule looks like at CBS Television City, as well a...

Ken Davenport is a Tony-Award Winning Producer who has worked on shows like Once On This Island, The Play That Goes Wrong, Groundhog Day, Kinky Boots, Godspell, Macbeth, and so many other amazing works of art we have all come to know and love! Ken also hosts "The Producer's Perspective". A podcast where you get all the information about producing Broadway shows from the eyes of a Producer. Join us...

Lauren Greenberg is the Head Writer at the Late Late Show with James Corden. Among other credits are; she has written several special segments for the 70 and 73rd annual Tony Awards. She also did special segments for the Grammy’s in 2017 and 2018. She is absolutely hilarious and AMAZING at her job! In this episode, we discuss how to send good packets to get hired and how she got on the BEST late-n...

The BHS Thespian Troupe #950 is in the midst of rehearsals for their annual spring musical. This year is High School Musical. This Troupe is where several people got their start in theatre, including your host, Mason Bray, in 2014! Another person I have interviewed who came from this program is Kathryn Mayer, an actress featured on this podcast and on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel! Join us in this epi...

Philip Lawrence is an 8-time Grammy-winning songwriter. Philip has worked with singers like Bruno Mars, Adele, Flo Rida, CeeLo Green, and so many more! In the 2020 holiday season the film "Jingle Jangle", for which he wrote the music, was released! He also made an appearance in the movie in the song “Miles and Miles” Another movie he has worked on is Rio 2 where he played Felipe! He is also one of...

Kathryn is an actress who has appeared in television shows such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Evil Lies Here on Investigation Discovery. She graduated from the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts in May 2020! When she started college, her goal was to do theatre, but with the pandemic raging on as she graduated, she began to look at jobs in movies and TV! On top of all of that, Kathryn went...

Mike is an author in Nebraska! He has written hit novels such as Fantasticland, which is about kids trapped in a theme park after Hurricane Sandy had devastated the coasts of Florida. He also wrote the book Pack about a small town in Nebraska where this man transforms into a werewolf! In this interview, Mike and I discuss his writing process, how long writing a book takes, how to find inspiration...

Pat is a casting director in New York City! He has cast Broadway shows such as Waitress, The Cher Show, Tina, Annie, Finding Neverland, and Chaplin. He has also cast movies and broadcasts such as Jesus Christ Superstar Live and The Spongebob Musical. And finally, Pat was a casting associate for The Greatest Showman and The Wiz Live!  In this episode, you can hear advice from an amazing casting dir...

Benjamin Bradley is an interior designer in New York City! He recently got his own Netflix show to help people design their home for the holidays! A fun fact, Ben actually grew up in the same city I live in! Join us as we discuss the holidays in 2020 compared to other years and what he did to get where he is in the industry! You can keep up to date with our upcoming interviews on our Instagram pag...

SEASON 4, EPISODE 2 JJ Niemann is an actor who was on Broadway in Book of Morman as a swing! You may have also seen him in Ratatouille the TikTok Musical on January 1st as an Ensemble-member! Speaking of TikTok, he is widely known for his "Actors with their mic on vs. off" Series where he lets out the secrets shared on Broadway stages! This episode was recorded in October 2020, before Ratatouille....

Welcome back to season 4 of Real Talk with Mason Bray!  Now before we get rolling with interviews, I want to take time to reflect on 2020 and look at what positives happened in that crazy, jam-packed year. Thank you for listening! Keep up to date on my episodes and guests on my Instagram, which is @_RealTalk_Pod, or my Facebook page, which is Real Talk with Mason Bray. Or you can find all my strea...

Alex Lacamoire is a music supervisor, composer, and music director on Broadway! Alex has worked side-by-side with popular composers like Lin-Manuel Miranda on Hamilton. A few other shows he has been a part of are Dear Evan Hansen, In The Heights, Wicked, Legally Blonde, 9 to 5, Annie, and several others! He has also won 3 Tony’s for his work on Hamilton, In The Heights, and Dear Evan Hansen! Join...

Scott Pask is a Set Designer for Broadway Shows such as Mean Girls, Waitress, The Bands Visit, The Prom, Who’s Afraid of the Virginia Wolf, Something Rotten, Finding Neverland, and so many more! Join us as we talk about his experience with the shutdown and how he got involved in scenic design! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eric Whitacre is a choral composer and musical director. He is famous for his virtual choirs, where he has thousands of people all over the world sing his songs to make a beautiful music video. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices