The Voracious Student

Joseph Siravo was born on March 11 and on the day of his birth, we celebrate his life with a re-release of our tribute to him. Thirty people from Joe’s life joined forces for this special episode, originally recorded in 2021. They share their memories of Joe, talk about the influence he had on their lives and, collectively, they tell his story.  A magnificent actor best known for his work in The S...

Conductor Kwamé Ryan is the final guest for Season 2 of the podcast. Mr. Ryan's international career includes holding the position of General Musical Director of Freiburg Opera, Musical and Artistic Director of the National Orchestra of Bordeaux and Musical Director of the National Youth Orchestra of France. As a guest conductor, he has worked with the Paris Opera, Belgian National Opera, Eng...

Kimberly Vaughn is a performance coach, teacher, actress, producer, director and dramaturg. One of the things she focuses on at the Kimberly Vaughn Performance Studio is releasing her students’ need to be perfect and "get it right the first time” so that they can be improvisational beings and bring their own unique humanity to the stories they tell. This episode is centered on that idea. Kimb...

Will Burrard-Lucas is a prolific British wildlife photographer. He is known for developing innovative devices such as the BeetleCam and camera traps. Some of his projects include The Black Leopard, Land of Giants, Ethiopian Wolf and Year in Zambia. Will discusses safety, conservation, commitment, his relationship to Africa, the different purposes of photography and how he found his passion. Denis&...

Darian Sanders is about to step into the role of Simba in the National Tour of The Lion King, make his New York debut in  Songs for a New World at New City Music Theatre on August 26 and he starts work next week on recording his first album. Denis sits down with his friend to discuss his inspiring and unconventional path to being a busy professional performer. Darian started late in life and never...

Joseph Siravo was a magnificent actor who passed on earlier this year. Best known for his work in The Sopranos , Carlito's Way, American Crime Story: The People vs. O. J. Simpson and the original Broadway productions of Oslo and The Light in the Piazza, Joe was also a profoundly gifted teacher and an extraordinary human being. Thirty people from Joe’s life contributed to this special tribute...

Martine Kei Green-Rogers is a freelance dramaturg, theatre educator and author. Her credits include the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Goodman Theatre, Kennedy Center and Court Theatre. She is the Past President of the Literary Managers and Dramturgs of the Americas and is currently the Interim Dean of the Division of Liberal Arts at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Martine obtai...

Stephanie Pope's career as a performer is over 35 years long and includes over 10 Broadway shows. Stephanie worked directly with Bob Fosse on Sweet Charity and Big Deal , in addition to performing his material in many shows after his passing . She now teaches Fosse rep for The Verdon Fosse Legacy as one of their legacy teachers. Stephanie talks about the significance of Fosse's work in h...

David W. Connolly is a Canadian director and educator and the Associate Artistic Director of Drayton Entertainment, where he has helmed over 30 productions. He also happens to be a double below-knee amputee. As an advocate deeply committed to disability inclusion in the arts, David shares his thoughts about the true goal for disabled representation and what he believes needs to happen in order for...

k. Jenny Jones is a fight master, fight director, actress and a professor of acting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). She also served as Board President for the ground breaking organization Intimacy Directors International (IDI) and is a passionate advocate for consent culture. In this episode, she discusses intimacy, the relatively new position of the intimacy d...

Devin Shacket is an on-camera acting coach, actress and casting professional. Devin talks about auditioning for TV and Film, what she focuses on in her on-camera classes and how her experience in casting has influenced her approach as a teacher. Devin shares how and why she created the New York Drama Center and gives insight into the work of some of the acclaimed faculty at the Center, including J...

Enrique Martínez Celaya is an artist, author and former scientist whose work has been exhibited and collected by major institutions worldwide. His work is held in over 50 public collections internationally, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. His book On Art and Mindfulness, based on workshops he taught at the Ander...

Aneesh Sheth, a singer, actress and activist in New York, speaks about visibility and what it means to her. Aneesh and Denis also discuss her journey with Shakespeare, her background in classical music, representation in the theater industry, finding your own path and the significance of some of her career highlights including playing Gillian in the third season of Jessica Jones and Carly in South...

Karl Bury is a New York based actor and the founder of the Karl Bury Studio. Denis sits down with his longtime scene study teacher to ask him about some of the ideas he returns to often in class. They chat about why Karl encourages his students to stay with one role for a long time, what the purpose of his class warm up is, how resistance interferes with progress and why he doesn't pretend to...

Nathaniel J. Hall ( It's a Sin ) is an award-winning theatre-maker, performer, writer and activist based in Manchester. Nathaniel talks about putting his own life onstage in his play First Time and how it helped him confront stigma and shame both in his own life and the lives of people in his audiences. Nathaniel and Denis discuss the unique power of autobiographical storytelling as well as i...

Kimberly Marable, a Hadestown original cast member and one of the co-founders of Broadway Serves, talks about forging a path for herself in the industry. Kimberly tells a story from her time in The Lion King and Denis and her unpack the lessons behind it. Kimberly also talks about how being of service brings her joy and about why it's important to learn how to advocate for yourself and to dev...

Emmy and Tony Award winning set designer Derek McLane ( Moulin Rouge! The Musical, A Soldier's Play) chats with Denis about his design process. Derek reveals a memorable obstacle in his career and breaks down several of his sets in detail. He talks about how he learned to never settle and why he believes a lot of set design is the study of character. Derek McLane: Website: www.derekmclane.com...

Amy Jo Jackson, the recipient of the 2019 Denovan Fellowship in Cabaret, is a popular and brilliant cabaret performer who has performed at every major cabaret venue in New York City. Amy Jo breaks down the process behind some of the shows they have created, talks about what makes cabaret work for them and has a fun discussion with Denis about a sometimes misunderstood art form that they both adore...

Callie Holley is a junior at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and one of the subjects of the Netflix documentary Giving Voice , which follows high school students competing in the annual August Wilson Monologue Competition. Callie and Denis discuss what August Wilson's work means to her, her passion for producing, where she wants to be in 5 and 20 years and why the competition helped give her the...

Jessica Wu is a New York City based writer, director and songwriter whose works include "You, Me, I, We" and the upcoming "Poupelle of Chimney Town". Denis talks to Jessica about how she made the transition from being an accomplished Broadway performer to being a full time creator of new work. Jessica shares why she feels motivated to write and reveals why young people give her...

Jessica Wolf is an internationally recognized teacher of the Alexander Technique, a professor at Yale School of Drama and the founder of the first postgraduate training program for Alexander teachers in "The Art of Breathing". Jessica explains why the Alexander Technique can be so transformative and breaks down the biggest misconceptions about breathing that she teaches. Denis tells Jess...

Bradley Dean has appeared in 12 Broadway shows and most recently in The Phantom of the Opera as Monsieur Andre. Bradley talks about his passion for vocal technique and his career as an actor and a singer. He shares what some of his biggest challenges have been so far, discusses the ups and downs of show business and tells a story that proves why you should never tell a child "you sing too lou...

Finis Jhung is a ballet teaching legend . He has taught many of the world's greatest dancers over his 49 year teaching career. At 83 years old, he still teaches multiple times a week online, now focusing his energy on adult beginners. Finis chats with Denis about his teaching and gives his honest thoughts about the current state of dance and dance training. Finis also shares some stories from...

Actress Aimee Carrero ( She-Ra, Elena of Avalor ) opens up about her relationship to both success and failure. What is success to Aimee? Which of her successes is she most proud of? What big Hollywood movies were her "near misses"? What happened when an Off-Broadway play she was in didn't succeed like she hoped it would? Aimee candidly answers all of these questions and more in this...

Karine Plantadit, a Tony Award nominee, dancer, actress, choreographer, yoga teacher and life coach is this week's guest. Karine and Denis discuss the many ways yoga can benefit performers. Karine talks about pushing her body so far as a dancer that it stopped working for her and shares how discovering yoga allowed her to build a new foundation and open a new door. Karine also explains why we...