Dear Multi-hyphenate

“Being a multi-hyphenate is not a disability – it’s an ability. It’s an advantage.” Jared Grimes is a Tony Nominated actor currently starring in Funny Girl on Broadway. His effervescent energy lights up the stage every night at The August Wilson Theatre. In this episode, his energy continues into our conversation as we discuss what being a “bag of tricks” in this industry actually means.  In this...

“Visibility equals donors. The more work you do, the more you’re out there, the more people come to see the shows, the more you continue to maintain your lists of who is coming to see the work – the more easy fundraising becomes.” What is the future of theater making? How has creating theater in rehearsal rooms helped cultivate the multi-hyphenate, an economically friendly hiring option for produc...

“Birth is art. Birth is theatrical. Birth is a nothing to a something. Birth is a ceremony. Birth is a transformation. So, my art – my writing, my blog writing, my performing, my acting – has gotten so much wider ever since I’ve witnessed birth. Because, isn’t that what we do as actors? We breathe life into people. Isn’t that what we do as writers? We breathe life into characters that never existe...

“When I was younger I tended to think that I was an artist, and now I tend to think I’m more of an artistic collaborator… at least in my job. I’m certainly and artist at heart but when it’s for work, it’s not about me.” Calling all artists who are collaborators! Roman Molino Dunn is one of the leading music producers and film scorers in our industry. Not only is a multi-hyphenate himself, he works...

“For myself, I think for a long time I was worried that if I got my mental health and spiritual health in check… then I would lose the things that made me a really good artist.” Dani Stoller is unapologetic. An actor who takes risks, it bleeds into her other hyphens of being a writer and producer. She approaches her art by forming her own figurative rep companies – and while based in the “DMV” are...

“To see your heroes fail,” continues Loud, “is to learn something really important at the beginning of someone’s career. Anybody can have a bomb. Anybody can flop. And to start out your career with a monumental flop, the way I did, boy do I appreciate a show that goes well and hits now!” We’re speaking with a multi-hyphenate legend, here.  “That need to be in the theatre, that yearning to be in a...

“I think with mistakes and failure, you really learn who the other person is. Sometimes failure and mistakes are more informative to who your people are because then you really see who you’re working with – the real people – and how they handle high stakes, handle drama, and handle problem solving.” Ry Myers is a brilliant, accessible and adorable host and producer who somehow appears to be in mor...

“Art and business… we’ve tried to blend it but it’s very difficult because art lacks boundaries sometimes.” - Sarah Hamaty Buckle your seatbelts because Sarah Hamaty is a rollercoaster of emotion, insight, and spirit. She revitalizes any room she walks into and invites a heady, complicated conversation about life! To be a multi-hyphenate during a pandemic and a reshaping of the industry is everyth...

“I think collaboration is the birthplace for brilliance.” - Brian Jordan Jr.  Isn’t it amazing how in our industry you can move to one place just to get relocated in a new town? Brian Jordan Jr., had that exact experience. He moved from Atlanta to LA… only to go back to Atlanta.  “Atlanta is a place where the cost of living is significantly cheaper than LA or New York,” says Jordan Jr., “I think w...

“I just love the warmth of being in a cabaret. It’s my favorite place to be next to a Broadway theatre. Maybe more so because you get food.” Multi-hyphenates don’t always start as actors. Theatre multi-hyphenates find their way through multiple avenues and for Christine Pedi, The Lady of 1000 Voices, it started when she stumbled upon the radio station when she attended Fordham University studying...

“It is, I think in the funhouse of this time, a very, very hard thing to feel like the job that you do and the way that you do it, and the life that you’ve chose as your north star is not there… and not only a thing you always felt was essential, but you really start to understand the word essential and you understand it differently and you understand it doesn’t include you.” - Leigh Silverman. We...

“You’re only the new kid in town once. I disagree with that. You’re the new kid in town every six months because everyone has a short memory.” - Josh Johnston.  Happy 2022, everyone! Born into a theatre family, Josh Johnston has a perspective on the industry fresh enough to start the new year right. One of the best things Josh promotes is his use of boundaries, something we all can implement more,...

“You run the high risk of something suffering,” says Peppermint about multi-hyphenating on an Executive level.  Peppermint is Broadway and television royalty. As coming in second place on her season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Peppermint is the first queen to enter as an openly trans woman. Her hyphens include actor - singer - Drag entertainer - Producer - Recording Artist. She includes activism in her...

“For years I was referring to myself as a Swiss Army Knife of talent,” says Jennica McCleary. Artists often say, “and then one thing led to another,” but what does that mean? Jennica McCleary is a Bette Midler impersonator based in Orland, Florida. Her incredible story of how she became Walt Disney World’s go-to Winnifred Sanderson is an inspirational one for the ages. Also getting the blessing fr...

What’s it like to open the first new musical post Broadway shut down? Ben Fankhauser and Alex Wyse have come together to create A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet, a new musical playing Off-Broadway at the DR2 Theatre in NYC.  “The amount of time that you have is the correct amount of time,” Fankhauser says. “That idea that like, ‘Ugh -- if I only had another week’ it’s like that took me a long...

“Wow, first of all I love that word. When I first saw it in an email, I was like, ‘It’s gotta be the cousin to multi-faceted’ because that’s the word I carry with me.” Jason tried for the conservatory. He tried for Macbeth. He tried to be the Latinx Carrie Bradshaw. He couldn’t be just one -- he had to find a way to access all of these proficiencies. “When you come from a place without privilege o...

“Child, I said dust mites of opportunity -- Lord help us, Jesus.” Roger Q. Mason (they/them) is an energy like no other. When they were twelve years old, Mason felt the most free when standing on stage -- which was taken away by queer shaming and gener policing. After spending years, reclaiming what they lost, Mason became versed in writing, though they kept performing and writing separate. “At th...

“As multi-hyphenates, we are living boldly and loudly. We’re putting a lot on the line, right? In a world that’s full of judgement -- you’re allowing a lot of people in a lot of different ways to be like, “I wonder how this turns out.” Andrew Levitt attributes his lengthy stay at Drag Race to the many years he’s dedicated to building his career. He always knew he was a creative person -- but at th...

According to Alex, a multi-hyphenate is someone who sees the world and wants to offer their own prism.  All her friends think she’s crazy -- with her crystals adorning her dressing room at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on Broadway. But Alex brings up The Saturn Return, which is a personal change that happens in a human’s life around every 30 years. Connecting it to the theatre, she looks at it like...

Carlie Craig (MadTV) and host Michael Kushner started their journey into the theatre industry together when they were young kids. Growing up doing theatre in a facility that houses national tours, music performances, comedians, fine art and more - it allowed us to be exposed to a plethora of different kinds of art.  The pandemic has caused many artists to revisit the things they know are true. And...

Happy Pride! "Ultimately, I think our job as artists is to share the secrets of our heart so that others may be set free... saving our own lives so that others can save theirs." Erik Liberman soothes the soul, simple as that. Whether or not it’s his voice, his charm, his talent, or his point of view, Erik makes the world better for other people.  “It’s not enough to want to make it, you’ve got to...

Happy Pride! “The type of multi-hyphenate I am is I need to really clearly be able to compartmentalize what version of myself is being put into what thing. In terms of photography, if I have not been doing freeform things - I feel like I’m being worked to the bone.”  L Morgan Lee (A Strange Loop) is an artist who sees herself through her photography. And if anyone wants to know anything about her,...

“I am a believer in the ‘Why’. Once I owned that purpose, once I identified that that was my purpose… all my hyphens made sense. Instead of feeling like a jack of all trades, master of none - I was finally under this umbrella of ‘Why’. I’m a healer.”  Mary Jo McConnell’s purpose is simple: to heal. Not only is this incredible artist a part of the theatre industry for 35+ years as an actor, but her...

“I think there needs to be a new wave of producers who lead from the heart. Producing can be an artistic, beautiful process if you choose to make it that way.” Vasthy Mompoint has frequented Broadway in shows such as The Prom, Spongebob, Mary Poppins, and more. Most recently, Vasthy played Tameka in the Ryan Murphy Netflix film version of The Prom. She is also the creator of Vasthy’s Friends, a ch...

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on him not understanding it.”  If we looked at the industry like a cell, Jen Waldman would be the mitochondria, or the powerhouse. With a lustrous career on stage, Jen began to venture into other facets in the industry breaking down barrier after barrier as an acting teacher - acting coach - leadership coach - podcaster...