Built For The Stage Podcast

Paloma Garcia-Lee / @palomagarcialee Paloma Garcia-Lee is an established actress who gained notoriety for her standout performances on the Broadway stage and now is making an outstanding leap to television and film. Paloma’s career is on a meteoric trajectory, and there’s no chance of slowing down anytime soon. Dynamic and versatile, Garcia-Lee has captured the essence of what it is to be a singul...

Spencer LaRue / @spencer_larue Spencer LaRue is currently a swing in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. Spencer is a Florida native and will graduate from The University of Michigan in May of 2019 with a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre. Throughout his four years at Michigan, he has performed in five main stage productions including the World premiere of One Hit Wonder directed by Hunter Fost...

Nicole Benoit / @nicolbenoitonline From Washington State's "Apple Capitol of the World" to New York's "Big Apple", Nicole Benoit has graced the stages of theaters worldwide from North America to Asia and even atop the waves of the Caribbean. A triple-threat chameleon, Nicole has portrayed such diverse iconic leading ladies from the starry-eyed-yet-sinister Roxie Hart in CHICAGO, to the charmingly...

Davon Williams / @daywilling Davon Williams is an international performer, delegate for the Actors' Equity Association, and a TED Talk alum. Davon is committed to using his talents to bring about substantive social change. As a performing artist, Davon has been blessed to star in several national and international productions, working on multiple television shows and playing the lead in independen...

Eleri Ward / @eleriward Eleri Ward is a musical theatre performer who has recently burst onto the scene as a singer-songwriter. She recently released her album of Stephen Sondheim covers, A PERFECT LITTLE DEATH. Hear us chat about how she channels her inner-bravery to chase this passion that she has had since five years old. Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/2tDDozfRiM8hb85ptdVKUt?si=rnVOk...

Michaeljon Slinger / @double_windsor Michaeljon is a Broadway vet who shares with us how to establish a career in the biz from either side of the table. Enjoy our conversation! CHOREOGRAPHY: MRS. DOUBTFIRE ALMOST FAMOUS THE ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT ​LA TRAVIATA (World Premiere) MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG MYTHIC (World Premiere) CHASING R...

Olivia Valli / @oliviafvalli Olivia is set to hit the road as the lead, Vivian Ward, in Pretty Woman the musical! Olivia previously has toured with Wicked as the Elphaba understudy and played Mary Delgado in the Off-Broadway production of Jersey Boys. Olivia shares her career-long mantra of letting the work speak for itself. She certainly has put the work in and it certainly is paying off. We talk...

Miracle Chance / @miraclechance Miracle is currently on West End as Christine Canigula in Be More Chill. She grew up in a very artistic home with her parents, which igniter her love and passion for music and performing arts. Miracle loves folk music and is a very talented folk singer. Miracle shares how she finds inspiration in her writing from the simplest things like the magazine on her coffee t...

Andrew Norlen / @anorlen It began as an artist’s desperate desire to express himself inside a worldwide pandemic, but in one year’s time it has grown into a theater industry and country-wide outlet for healing, grief, justice, and hope in the theater community—and beyond! When The Lights Are Bright Again immortalizes the stories, struggles, and successes of an industry that was first to be shut do...

T. Oliver Reid / @toliverreid A true Broadway veteran, T. Oliver Reid has performed in over 10 Broadway shows and is currently in Hamilton. He shares insight and wisdom from his many years of experience on and off the stage in the theatre industry. Reid encourages other artists to focus on doing the work and keeping things simple and focused, wether its always showing up early, being very attentiv...

Kimberly Marable / @misskimizzo Kimberly is making waves in the Broadway community, not only as an actress, but also as a social activist as a co-founder of Broadway Serves, a service organization created and operated by Broadway professionals who are looking to "be the change we want to see in the world." Their mission is to provide opportunities for community service to Broadway and theater prof...

Malcolm Armwood / @marmwood214 Malcolm is making his Broadway debut as a swing in Hadestown, and shares parts of his journey with us. He believes in staying ready and continuing to show up, because many times he thought he would book and didn’t but kept at it and booked Broadway. Persistence is the key ingredient to Malcolm’s success. www.builtforthestage.com - free trial sign up www.broadwaypodc...

Shawn W. Smith / @shawnwsmith Shawn is a true well-rounded artist who is in a band called “Stray and the Soundtrack” while also touring with the national tour of Waitress in the role of Earl. Shawn shares his passion for 80’s rock and how he always wanted to be a musician who is also an actor, which has led him to booking a lot of musical theatre work, as he uses his multiple passions and skill se...

Karla Puno Garcia / @karlapunogarcia Karla has performed on several television programs, films, National Tours, and Broadway shows - the most recent being Hamilton: An American Musical, in which she was a swing for four years. She is now making huge name for herself as a choreographer, teaches at Steps and Broadway Dance Center regularly and has several upcoming projects she will be working on. Ka...

Ariel Reid / @arieljreid Ariel joins us as a current cast member of Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway, and she is also the Dance Captain for the captivating musical. But, what we learn about Ariel is not only is she and incredibly talented dancer, she’s also a mom! She is a prime example how much of a superhero moms on broadway really are. Not only does she juggle an entire cast but also home-life, and...

Stanley Martin / @stanleymartinthethird Joining us this week is the energetic and fun Stanley Martin! Stanley has been performing since the age of ten and is currently a cast member of Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway. He has also been involved in the international tour of West Side Story. He produces his own work, and he truly believes that he can just do something and figure things out as he goes. H...

April Holloway / @april_r_holloway April Holloway is a dancer, singer, choreographer and all around performer. After graduating from Elon University with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Sport Science, April spent a summer at The Ailey School on a full scholarship. While studying dance in New York, she discovered her true love for Musical Theater. Her current role...

Juwan Crawley / @juwancrawley Juwan made his New York debut in the original cast of Spamilton, an award-winning, off-Broadway musical revue that spoofed Hamilton and earned him a nomination for the Clive Barnes award. At the age of 22, Casey Nicholaw created a role on Broadway for Juwan in Aladdin where he is a standby for the Genie, and where he debuted as the youngest person to ever play the rol...

Adam Filipe / @filipe_navidad After going into quarantine and being unsure of what the future holds, Adam Filipe recognized one of his true loves was more than performing, which was self defense practice. He started as a kickboxer in martial arts at the age of four years old, and in the pandemic, it came back to the surface as something that he wanted to focus on. He is the fight captain for The P...

Sophie Salvesani / @sophie_salvesani This week, we are joined by a young but shining star, Sophie Salvesani. Sophie has been intently studying music and performance since she was a young girl growing up in Ipswich and Brisbane. She then went to perfrom multiple leading roles in community theatres around the Queensland area, such as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera, Cosette in Les Misérables a...

Abbie-Lee Lewis / @abbieleelewis All the way from Australia, Abbie-Lee Lewis joins us to share her experience as she plays Hermia in Bell Shakespeare's production of Midsummer Night's Dream. Abbie-Lee is an actor and Arts Educator for Bell Shakespeare in Australia and we are thrilled to hear her story. www.builtforthestage.com - Schedule your one week trial today! www.broadwaypodcastnetwork.com Le...

Nicole-Lily Baisden / @nicolelily1 Nicole-Lily joins us as she prepares to take the West End stage in Anything Goes as Hope Harcourt at the Barbican, starring alongside the Broadway legend, Sutton Foster. Nicole-Lily has only recently graduated from Arts Education Schools in 2019, but is already becoming a seasoned theatre professional. She went directly to the UK and International tour of Book of...

Michael Mott / @michael_mott Michael Mott grew up in New York, studied Musical Theatre in college and then went on to have a successful career as a performer Off-Broadway, in Regional theatre and National Tours. He then chose to redirect his focus on writing and has since found himself in some really incredible spots with some of Broadway's biggest talent. Michael was even named Playbill's "Contem...

Jack Sippel / @jackjsippel When talking to Jack Sippel, you are truly speaking with a theatre industry professional. From a very young age, Jack has been actively involved in professional theatre. He started at The Muny as a kid and was then asked to audition for their equity ensemble, which he booked and received his equity card at age 15! He then went on to land the Memphis National Tour as a se...

Tanisha L. Spring / @tanishalspring Following her most recent opening night in West End's Prince of Egypt, Tanisha Spring joins us to share what the journey has been for her finding her way to the West End stage. Some productions she has previously appeared in include Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Caroline or Change and Hairspray.   Tanisha took on a new experience throughout the pandemic in...