Evil Thespian

Max Stewart is a true testament to the actor's journey, showcasing a career defined by unwavering excellence and unparalleled work ethic. Now, he's making his Steppenwolf debut in Noises Off. In this episode, we delve into the highs and lows of Max's journey, and offer an inspiring look into what it takes to succeed as an actor, staying focused, calm and confident in your craft. Topics...

Cael Sullivan is an artist, filmmaker, and playwright joining us to discuss his play, Boutonniere: A Drama On Queer Themes . Characters Max and Josh must practice their first dance as a married couple. As the clock ticks and wine is poured, their impending union brings up old traumas, secrets, and shame. Their last night of unmarried life is made un-easy when their ideas about their gayness and th...

Argia Coppola is an Italian actress, scholar, and playwright currently workshopping her play Cursed. Cursed is an adaptation of the Joyce Carol Oates novel  Love is Blonde . Argia has been developing this play for years, and was so kind to share space with me to talk about its upcoming workshop. Starring Annie Hägg , Cursed  is a bold, breathless, tragic and timely play for an actress and a four-m...

Julia Genoveva is an actor, write, director, and the driving force behind her powerhouse of of a play, ELAINE. This play is extremely personal to Julia and I was honored that the cast of Elaine could join us to discuss these characters in parallel! This play explores complex relationships, particularly between mothers and daughters. Throughout the conversation, we delved into the actor's perso...

Today I am here with producer director, arts manager, and applied theatre practitioner MARENA FAYE. In what seems to be a blossoming Sapphic vibe shift in pop culture, we take this special moment to talk about NYC’s premiere sapphic playwriting competition and play festival, SAPPHEST. Celebrating the works of queer women and sapphic-identifying individuals, Sapphest will feature five 10 minute pla...

Real life licensed therapist, storyteller, and improviser Jude Treder-Wolff joins us to talk about her hit solo show  FASTER.  The limited Off-Broadway engagement plays at Playhouse 46 and is part of the Turn the Lights On! Festival. The play which had its World Premiere at The NYC Fringe Festival in the Spring, runs Saturday, July 6 at 4:30pm and Sunday, July 7 at 3pm.   FASTER  tackles the world...

Today we are joined by actor Katy Shafer and Sivan Raz of Needs More Work Productions! They're here to talk about their upcoming production titled ANTI-GONE, a reimagined, site-specific, immersive take on an old classic. Think Antigone, but extremely meta. And staged outdoors, of course. Actor Katy plays the role of Antigone, strong willed and laser focused. Katy and Sivan, co-director of Need...

We're in the presence of an MFA, people! Today on Evil Thespian we are joined by the ICONIC Rabiah Rowther! Rabiah is a director, screenwriter, and occasional producer currently based in New York City. Additionally, she is also a screening committee member for the Hampton's International Film Festival. Rabiah recently graduated from The Actor's Studio Drama School MFA program's dir...

Today on Evil Thespian we are joined by Jaclyn Bethany and Lin Gathwright, Co-Artistic Directors of The Fire Weeds . As a new female focused theatre company offering bold interpretations, their upcoming production is titled Outraged Hearts . A new immersive take on Tennessee Williams, Outraged Hearts features two early prototypes for The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar named Desire ( Pretty Trap a...

Terry Knickerbocker is the artistic director of the Terry Knickerbocker studio , a prestigious professional acting studio in Brooklyn. Equipped with over 25 years of training and teaching under William Esper, Terry is dedicated to helping ambitious actors express themselves at the highest level of their abilities. In this episode, Terry tells all about his approach to training, and how the use of...

Alida Rose Delaney joins us to talk about ONE WINGED DOVE, skillfully penned and directed by Matthew Gasda, the narrative centers around Sam, a gifted young writer grappling with his inner demons. Alida takes on the role of Lydia, Sam's girlfriend, who delicately maneuvers through her own vulnerabilities, mirroring Sam's struggle with a pattern of self-destruction. Alida gives us a wonderf...

Susannah Yugler is a dancer, artist, and playwright. With a shared love of Greek melodrama, joins us to discuss her original upcoming play, CASSANDRA , which she is also directing. Inspired by Euripides' The Trojan Women , CASSANDRA  is a satyr play –– musing on New York as a Trojan symbol coping with the weight of impending disaster. Susannah talks about her inspiration for this play, and how...

Elliot Schiff is a Chicago-based playwright and comedian. Currently pursuing their MFA at Northwestern University, Elliot joined me on this lovely day to chat and talk about their most recent reality-show inspired play I'm Not Here To Make Friends. Elliot details their intrepid MFA journey, and the virtue they've discovered in embracing their own messiness along the way. Elliot is absolute...

Paige Esterly is a writer, producer, and creator of F*cked Up Play Fest! NYC's best and only play festival that is also a drinking game!!! So this an absolute genius idea. I myself am a loyal steward of creative debauchery, and was keen on learning how this festival originally came to be - Paige tells us how it all began from the initial idea, to forging a community, to watching it grow into t...

We are joined by Nicholas Turturro and Michael Ortiz of SERIALS. Serials is an episodic short-play competition featuring the hottest actors, directors, and playwrights in indie theatre! Nicholas Turturro is an actor, participating artist and marketing director of Serials, and Michael Ortiz is a producer, and host of Serials. Valiantly carrying the Serials torch, we discuss their shared efforts to...

Grace Sallee is a multidisciplinary artist with a contagious, vibrant passion for powerful storytelling. Grace stops by Evil Thespian to discuss her character in FLIGHT RISK (now opening in one week!) detailing her experience playing a character she describes as living on borrowed time. Flight Risk calls into question our collective relationship with unexpected tragedy, and we talk about how paran...

Sophia Englesberg is an actor and a producer, and she is having an incredible year. Winding down Zoomers at The Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research, we catch up on this episode to align on key takeaways from Zoomers discourse, and learn about some exciting projects Sophia has in store for the future. Sophia talks about her background and approach as an actor, having trained in Meisner technique....

Please keep you hands and feet inside the podcast at all times! In this episode, actor Conor Andrew Hall stops by to give us more on FLIGHT RISK , a new play by Dakota Silvey that now opens in less than two weeks! I was lucky to catch Conor moments before rehearsal to talk with him about the bombastic character he's bringing to life. We get to hear about Conor's journey as an actor, and th...

Santiago Mallan is an actor, playwright, and visual artist. Not only is he a classical trained actor, but he's also a very good at drawing! In this episode, Santiago joins us discuss his upcoming play HOMUNCULUS, his writing process, and the environment he pulls his inspiration from. In addition, we also talk about theatre community vibes, the many layers of one's self consciousness, and t...

Shae Sennett is a writer, playwright, journalist, poet, and thespian. Introspective as much as she is ambitious, her heel-turn into playwrighting and theater making has us chewing on some important social observations. We discuss her writing background, inspirations, and her process making Last Night Was a Play. In addition, with our big brains combined, we discover the true of the origins of mumb...

Justin Kline is an actor and high school theatre teacher!!! Justin and I are lifelong friends and I'm so happy to finally have him on the show. In this episode, Justin shares how he originally got into theatre and what drove him towards teaching high school. We also discuss the importance of mentorship, being active in your community, and needing someone to believe in you. Justin is so inspiri...

In this episode, we’re joined by comedic actress and performer, Ruby McCollister, who sits us down and absolutely schools us in theatre history. If you don’t know, now you know. Gracing stages far and wide, Ruby was kind enough to stop by the pod before her fabulous trip to the Czechia where she will perform her one-woman show “Tragedy”. Join us for an enlightening and soul-stirring conversation o...

Meg Spectre is an ICONIC, actress and performance artist!!! Dialing in from her colorful Lower East Side apartment, this New York native details her impressive accomplishments in performance art, character acting, and independent artistry. The culture is about to get ten times more charming with her dynamic, comedic prowess, and magnetic charisma. Her artistry packs a powerful punch - and it's...

Playwright Patrick Vermillion joins us for one of the most philosophical episodes to happen on Evil Thespian. Currently hailing from Chicago, Patrick talks about what drives him to write plays and the ease that comes with writing dialogue. We tackle discussions on popular character dynamics, psychology, dream analysis, religion, and so much more! Listen to us process some serious emotions together...

Terra Layne is an actor, director, writer, model, and athlete. A multi-faceted artist, Terra stops by the pod to talk about the career journey that's shaped who they are today. Fresh off the heels of directing GALLERINA by Roman D'Ambrosio, Terra speaks on what it was like stepping into directing and reaching a new plane of artistic expression. Topic also discussed: Finding yourself, being...