Everything Theater Podcast

Heelllooo! We're chatting with Bianca Rivera-Irions, who is the female ensemble swing and social media captain for the national tour of Mrs. Doubtfire. Hear about life on the road, mastering how to cover multiple tracks, fun skills to put on a resume, and the social media element of promoting a show.

Company is touring the nation, and starting right here in Schenectady at Proctors. We chat with Britney Coleman, who plays Bobbie, about the gender flip in this production, life on tour, and tackling Sondheim music. Company runs at Proctors from Oct 8th - Oct 14th 2023.

Heidi Schreck's groundbreaking play "What the Constitution Means to Me" is currently playing at Capital Repertory Theatre, starring the incredibly talented Kim Stauffer. Kim joins us to discuss the process of rehearsing and performing such a powerful play that affects the audience in so many varying ways.

The post-show blues. It's a real thing. How do you cope after a show closes? Do you immediately look for your next project? Are you grateful for a break? What's the end of a run look like for you? We read our listeners' comments on how they handle a show closing.

"We always want to do things that have not been done before." iTheatre Saratoga is rich with productions of new work, adaptations of old work, and staged readings from up and coming playwrights. Will Severin and Mary Jane Hansen join us to talk about exciting things happening in our own backyard. https://www.itheatresaratoga.org

Audience interaction/reactions can be crazy unpredictable! We asked our listeners : What are your funny/interesting stories involving audiences? Do you like audience interaction and breaking the fourth wall as an actor or audience member? Have you ever had any interesting or unexpected audience reactions? Ellen and Benita read our listeners' comments.

Barefoot Shakespeare Company provides free outdoor theater in Manhattan's Central Park to make Shakespeare accessible for everyone. Artistic Director, Emily Gallagher, joins us to talk about Barefoot Shakespeare, running a theater company, all things related to the bard, and "Shakespeare Unrehearsed," their super fun summer fundraiser show. https://barefootshakespeare.org/

RP McLaughlin, Interim Programs Director at the National New Play Network , discusses the essential collaboration between theaters the NNPN provides to develop, produce, and extend the life of new plays. We chat about the challenges and rewards of producing new work, the abundance of resources available through the New Play Exchange (for $10 a year!), and wonderful opportunities for theater compan...

Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill, Producing Artistic Director at Capital Repertory Theatre, joins us to chat about the current production of "Honky Tonk Angels", a musical celebration of the female stars of country. She also discusses changes at the Rep, from their new performance space to adding understudies to the mix.

Liv Cummins is a playwright, director, actor, teacher, and singer/songwriter. Her work uses comedy to critique social and cultural ills and focuses on historical women characters, whose lives of adventure and passion arouse and inspire. We chat with Liv about her shows, including "Ladies, How Dare You!" which takes place during the1913 Women's Suffrage Parade in Washington, DC.

A Tony Awards with no writers?! Was it a mess, or a huge success? What were some of the surprises and highlights of the night? With non-binary winners, how should the Tony categories of "Best Actor/Actress" be re-imagined for future awards? What exciting shows are coming in the 2023-2024 season? Adam Deremer joins us to debrief about the 2023 Tony Awards.

It's that time of year again, and we are joined by our dear friend Adam Prado-Deremer to chat about the Tony Awards! It's a year where many categories seemingly could go a lot of different ways. We share our thoughts on our Tony picks!

There has been a lot in the news lately about schools/companies requesting script edits due to the personal issues with specific content in the script. Then there are changes in approach to older material (such as the recent revival of Oklahoma). How much change is too much to the original source material? Should shows be changed to accommodate audiences or explore new themes, or is that a bridge...

Michael Andreaus plays Otis Williams in the National Tour of "Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations." Ellen and Benita chat with him about the show, the real lives of the men behind the Temptations, auditioning, and performing on the road.

The Park Theater Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in the Glens Falls community by providing a venue for quality and affordable entertainment and educational opportunities in the performing arts. We chat with executive director, Chris Ristau, about all the events at Park Theater, including their summer series, their regular season offerings, and the launch of their first edu...

We last spoke to Bridge Street Theatre during the pandemic, and were excited to check in with them to hear about all the wonderful plays they have coming up this season! John Sowle and Steven Patterson join us to talk about all the upcoming events at Bridge Street.

Rebecca Weiss is a casting director with McCorkle Casting, Ltd. in NYC. She discusses the role of the casting director, the relationship between casting directors with actors and theater companies, and what to keep in mind when auditioning. https://www.mccorklecasting.com/ This episode is sponsored by Harbinger Theater's production of "Dig" by Theresa Rebeck playing at Sand Lake Center for the Art...

Sets are essentially their own character on stage, and a strong design can elevate even the best production. Adam Coons has designed a great number of sets for community theaters in the Capital Region, and we chat with him about what goes into the design process and how to keep a set functional and safe. This episode is sponsored by Harbinger Theater's production of "Dig" by Theresa Rebeck playing...

What are some of the best props you've had onstage? How about prop malfunctions? Benita and Ellen chat about their experiences with props and the importance of not getting pulled out of the show because of a prop.

Kimberly Kilby and Katherine Ambrosio have teamed up to write a musical! We chat with them to discuss the process of writing a musical while getting a glimpse into their work-in-progress, "Care."

Broadway actress Happy McPartlin joins us to talk about her work with "Come From Away" and "Hands on a Hard Body," balancing acting with raising a family, and being ready to cover a performance track at a moment's notice.

Benita and Ellen attended the Proctors 2023-2024 Season Announcement Bash to find out what's coming to Proctors and Capital Rep next year! Listen to what's in store, and catch snippets of songs from the upcoming season.

We take our annual break from theater to discuss our sister industry, film. Jackson Murphy ( Lights Camera Jackson ) is back to chat all things #Oscars with us! Will some of our more theater-themed nominees, like Martin McDonagh, take home a win? Will the academy honor actors playing iconic roles like Elvis over fictional characters? We'll have to see. In the meantime, Jackson has his thoughts and...

Are audiences getting ruder, or are audiences changing in a world full of technology and instant gratification? Benita and Ellen join psychotherapist Tom Templeton to share thoughts about audience engagement, cell phones, and eating in the theater. Do audiences need to learn a lesson in respect, or do we need to adapt?  

Edward Miskie is an actor, singer, composer, author, entrepreneur, producer, cancer survivor, and tall person. We chat with Edward about his published book "Cancer, Musical Theatre, and Other Chronic Illnesses," the impact his cancer journey had on his life as an artist, and his plans to turn his book into a TV series. https://www.edwardmiskie.com/ And for a copy of his book, you can find it onlin...