Carefully Taught: Teaching Musical Theatre with Matty and Kikau

Matty and Kikau began the podcast August 15th, 2021. The past four years have been a total blast, but the time has come to move on to other projects...for the time being. Thank you for being a part of our MT educator community and audience. Our recommendations include going back to check out some of our previous episodes and the Apple TV+ show, The Studio . Carefully Taught: Teaching MT with Matty...

Matty and Kikau chat with Steven Gross who is currently the program head of The Abbott MFA in Musical Theater Collaboration Program at Temple University. Steven is the founder and CEO of MusicalTheatreSongs.com. His recommendation for today is the television show Hacks . --- Steven Gross has worked on Broadway, Off-Broadway, the West End and internationally as a music director, conductor, pianist,...

Matty and Kikau connect with Josh Grisetti (Cal State Fullerton) about the question he posed on TikTok...Are there too many MT BFAs? They all weigh in on the conversation and it makes for a great episode! Let us know what you think about this topic! Josh recommends some of his favorite TikTokkers to follow: Michael Reilly Burke (@michaelreillyburke), Sam Stiglitz (@auditionprola), and The Musical...

Kikau, Matty, and special guest Shorey Walker talk all things SENIOR SHOWCASE! We have been talking about showcases for the last couple years and Shorey is a true expert. In this episode, we talk about how to prepare for a New York showcase experience and what you might look for when talking about showcasing with a prospective program. Shorey’s recommendation is the website UpToDateActor.com and f...

Matty and Kikau interview the Musical Theatre Educators’ Alliance (MTEA) nominees for the office of the president. If you are a member in good standing you are eligible to vote right now! The deadline to vote is Monday, April 28th @ 11:59pm EST. If you are not a member, you can follow this LINK to get more information about joining. MTEA is an amazing organization and we are both excited about the...

Today Kikau talks to Kelly Todd from Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. We have a fantastic conversation about her program, how her and her students survived two fires in the past few months, and hard work! Her recommendation is Brené Brown's podcast Dare to Lead . Kelly Todd received her MEd in mathematics education from UCLA in 1999 and her BA in theater arts also from UCLA in 1997. She ha...

Matty and Kikau discuss hanging out in New York for the Chico State Showcase, seeing some Broadway shows, Disney cruises, and moving to California! Please like, comment, and subscribe. Your comments will help others find our podcast!

Kikau and Matty chat with Aaron Galligan-Stierle, who is an Assistant Professor and Head of Musical Theatre at Slippery Rock University. This episode has some great gems! Hear about this up and coming program and how Aaron goes above and beyond! Aaron has a request from YOU: He is looking for recommendations on two topics: How do I become a better fund raiser? and Can we find a better way to recru...

Kikau and Matty chat with the remarkable Valeria Accetta, who is the Head of Musical Theatre at The University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her recommendation is an app called the Healthy Minds App and a book called Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer . Valerie is a member of Actor’s Equity Association, an Associate Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers, and an Estill Master Traine...

Matty and Kikau discuss all things A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) related when it comes to teaching MT with Lisa Hermanson who is an Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre in the New Mexico State Department of Theatre. At the end of the episode, Lisa recommends a podcast called Normal Gossip , which "delivers juicy, strange, funny, and utterly banal gossip about people you’ll never know and n...

Kikau and Matty speak with the amazing Adam Moxness on today's episode. Kikau was inspired to bring Adam on after his incredible presentation at the Musical Theater Educators' Alliance annual conference in New York City. They discuss Universal Design for Voice and Theatre Teaching (UDVTT). Adam's recommendations include CAST.org, which is the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) website, Think Prot...

Matty and Kikau discuss what they have been up to on this break. Spoiler Alert: We talk Hawaii and the Musical Theater Educator's Alliance Conference in New York. At the end of the episode, they discuss two very different documentary recommendations. Cheers to 2025!

Matty and Kikau talk about some of their favorite episodes of 2024. It has been quite a ride. Go back and take a listen to some of these great moments. Happy Holidays! We will see you soon with all new episodes and fun in 2025!

Kikau interviews RJ Magee who is a professional educator, actor, director, talent manager, and casting director. In addition to serving as the Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, RJ is currently an Associate Talent Manager for Baker Management in NYC where some of his recent client bookings include many of the nation's top regional theate...

Matty put together a fantastic episode that includes interviews with Vicky Bussert (Oberlin College), Josh Grisetti (California State University, Fullerton), Jacob Brent (Elon University), Michael E. Mckelvey (Carnegie Mellon University), and Aaron Brown (Texas State University).  This is one of those episodes that you are going to want to listen to and then share with your colleagues as it is a c...

Matty and Kikau reconnect about our Thanksgiving holiday and talk all things WICKED. We have a couple more episodes before 2024 ends so be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends. We really love doing this. If you are interested in a particular topic or would like to be a guest on the show feel free to reach out to us at carefullytaughtpodcast@gmail.com. Enjoy.

In this very special episode, Ben Lundy interviews Matty and Kikau. Ben is working on an article about the MT Podcast scene for the upcoming MTEA Journal. Take a listen because this was super fun! --- Ben Lundy is the chair of theatre at Wallace Community College and teaches theatre and speech courses while directing productions. Lundy is a Musical Theatre Educators' Alliance member and has presen...

In our series interviewing folks who are transitioning to a new institution, Matty and Kikau chat with André Garner who recently joined the Department of Musical Theatre as an assistant professor in the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. We talk about the strong UMICH alum community, how we nurture curiosity and rigor, and so much more!  Andre’s recommendation is The Morn...

Jacob Brent joins Matty and Kikau in their series on MT educators who are transitioning to new institutions. Jacob is now an Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre at Elon University. Jacob's recommendations are the Netflix show The Perfect Couple and Jeffrey Kaplan Videos . --- Jacob Brent is a 10 year veteran Broadway performer with an MFA in Musical Theatre. With extensive experience performing...

In our series of folks who are transitioning to new positions, Matty and Kikau chat with the incredible Lauren Haughton Gillis, who is the new Director for the BFA Musical Theatre Program at Florida State University. We talk about all of the amazing things that the program has to offer, serving the needs of the students, and the importance of work/life balance. Lauren's recommendation is the F...

In our series about folks who are transitioning from one institution to another, we invited the amazing Scott Susong to the podcast. Scott is now Visiting Professor of Musical Theatre for the 2024-25 school year at Ohio Northern University! His recommendations include The Great Lillian Hall , a film on HBO Max starring Jessica Lange and The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. ---- Scott Susong is...

Kikau and Matty are back with a brand new episode. They catch up after an eventful summer and talk about what is coming up for them for the new school year. Feel free to reach out to us at carefullytaughtpodcast@gmail.com. We would love to hear from you!

This episode was recorded on Monday, June 10th. University of the Arts officially closed on Friday, June 7th with only 7 days notice. Kikau shares his particular experience with this situation and this institution. We are still awaiting information, but Middle States Commision on Higher Education has approved teach-out agreements with the following MSCHE institutions: Drexel University , Philadelp...

In this episode, Matty and Kikau have a follow up conversation with Aaron Brown about his recent recommendation Cowboy Carter. The blending of genres and exploring of styles that Queen B does with this album is surprisingly connected to conversations Matty has been having with his musical theatre students.

Matty and Kikau chat with Aaron Brown, Cassie Abate, and Tom Delbello, the co-heads of the Musical Theatre program at Texas State University. Their recommendations include Cowboy Carter , The Art and Practice of Musical Theatre , and Director/Choreographer, Tuan Malinowski . -------- Aaron currently serves as a Co-Head of Musical Theatre: Director of Student Relations, Production and New Work at T...