Game of Life Podcast

Dan is joined by actress, dancer, singer, and the woman behind Rita in Groundhog Day, Elise McCann! That's right, I'm continuing my podcast within a podcast as I talk to as many of the creatives from the show as I possibly can throughout the rest of the year. It goes without saying that we talk about Groundhog Day. We also talk about Elise's work on Matilda, shifting perspective through anxiety, b...

Dan is joined by comedian and actor Firdi Billimoria in a very honest and open conversation about comedy. This was an enthralling chat. We talk about why some people need to quit, the importance of self awareness, standing out in the crowd, flyering, writing, drinking at gigs, the challenging landscape of work, working on Thank God You're Here, an audience encounter with former guests of the show...

Dan is joined by Davey Willett (Host of Treksperts Quiz) and Ben Russell (Comedian, Thank God You're Here, Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe). This episode is a little different.... I indulge in my love for all things Star Trek, so I invited two people on the podcast I know love the franchise. We talk about the first time we discovered Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, Discov...

Dan is joined by the one and only Blake Bowden! Blake's stage credits include Book of Mormon, Phantom of the Opera, and Rocky Horror Picture Show to name a few. Blake's outlook on career aspirations and life really stuck with me long after the podcast ended. This one was such a treat! We talk about the Rocky Horror Picture Show, alternating between Brad & Frank N Furter, taking on new challeng...

Dan is joined by comedian, writer, director, actor, and magic nerd, Lawrence Leung. Strap in for a very magic heavy conversation! We talk about Lawrence's love for magic, the fascinating world of mentalism, hypnotism, pickpocketing, Apollo Robbins, studying psychology, filming Lawrence Leung's Unbelievable, being driven around by a blindfolded Banachek, a call to the ABC lawyers, fooling Tim Ellis...

Dan is joined by actor, author, and national treasure, Stephen Hall. This was a wonderful conversation and I absolutely soaked up Stephen's collections of experiences he was generous to relay from a very impressive career. We cover Stephen's work as Basil Fawlty in the Fawlty Towers stage show, meeting & performing for John Cleese, missing a good farce, physical comedy, doing stand up, confide...

Dan is joined by actor, singer, writer, musician, comedian, Gillian Cosgriff. This one took about a year to coordinate schedules, and I'm so glad it finally worked out! This was a wonderful conversation about musical theatre, performing, and creating. We chat about a childhood love for musical theatre, improvised songs, an unbelievable casting story, finding yourself again after a big run of worki...

Dan is joined by the wonderfully talented artist, singer, actor, dancer, Euan Fistrovic Doidge. Some of Euan's stage credits include Les Misérables, Kinky Boots, Pippin, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, and many, many more! We talk about the impressive breadth of Euan's work, Candide, what he gets up to in between shows on matinee days, balancing work & a social life, getting bullied as a...

Dan is joined by Andy Karl, an actor, singer, and currently starring as Phil Connors (again) in the musical Groundhog Day. I was thrilled to kick off the "podcast within a podcast" where I talk to as many of the creatives from the show as I possibly can throughout the remainder of the year. We talk about the brilliance of Groundhog Day, returning to the role in an all Australian cast, the quick ch...

Dan is joined by YouTuber, Film & TV Reviewer, Costumer, and Prop Builder, Christopher Stanley! The sound isn't great on my end with this one due to issues with navigating the fancy studio equipment by myself to successfully pull off a ZOOM recording. However, this is still a wonderful conversation about film & television and the sound quality on Christopher's end is outstanding. We talk a...

Dan and Harman are joined by comedian, Mike Goldstein and we're all very hungover (well, maybe Mike and Dan). It certainly adds a 'unique' layer to the podcast. Very funny episode to end the week! We talk about the jarring nature of hearing the Aussie accent, American comedians in Australia, getting out of Kansas, moving to Australia, Harman's lack of pop culture knowledge, working as a lawyer, wh...

Dan is joined by one of the most talented comedians working today, Oliver Coleman! First episode I've ever recorded in the evening, so there you go! We talk about the time I went along to Oliver's show, Neon and felt terrified (in a good way), meta comedy, figuring out a show, looking back on past works, stress, becoming lighter, getting to know a show over the course of a month, drama school, Dr....

Dan is joined by Jack Chambers! This was such a vibrant and fun chat. Jack's love for what he does shines through very loudly throughout this episode, and he is one of the most expressive people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Jack is a dancer, singer, choreographer, performer, winner of So You Think of You Can Dance AND has even been on tour with Hugh Jackman! This was a very animated co...

Dan and Harman are joined by comedian, Tom Ballard! We get a little bit political, everybody! We talk about a day in Tom's life, rich people, what Tom would do if he were Elon Musk, how we would spend five billion dollars, stopping fossil fuels, universal basic income, what makes Australia special, socialist politics, how we fix the world, understanding why things are the way they are, the Green P...

Dan is joined by comedian and actor, Ash Williams! We start the show off by talking about a day in the life of the great man. We then go on to talk about being a jack of all trades, Ash's love for tennis, being comfortable in front of crowds, working in radio, going all in on showbiz, gambles, moving to Los Angeles, working with Martin & Charlie Sheen, taking the time to be observant, thriving...

Dan is joined by actor, comedian, producer, writer, Riley Nottingham. This was a tremendous conversation which covered a lot of ground but certainly worthy of a follow up one day. The hour or so absolutely flew by! We talk about Riley's work as an ensemble member on Thank God You're Here, being a kid actor at 10 years old, finding your personality through acting, love for the films A Night to Reme...

Dan is joined by a burst of pure joy in the form of comedian, Kirsty Webeck. We start by talking about the time I summoned up the courage to approach her during the Melbourne Comedy Festival to say I loved her work. We go on to discuss living in Canberra & Taiwan, knowing she was funny, speaking Mandarin, teaching English, working at a call centre, being ignorant about how people start out in...

This week Dan is joined by comedian, Daniel Connell. We reminisce about the time we both competed in an open mic stand up competition in Canberra well over a decade ago called Green Faces. Daniel went on to win that heat by the way... We also cover Daniel's troubles with gambling, the lack of awareness around gambling, first gigs, facing silence on stage, confidence, going to the Melbourne Comedy...

Dan is joined by the super talented, and comedy performer extraordinaire, Michelle Brasier! This was a very delightful chat. We open the show by nerding out on Australian Epic (one of the best musicals put to television), the love of musical theatre, performing her award winning show, Average Bear, having audiences unload their lived experiences of grief & loss after her shows, risk, entry poi...

Dan is joined by Joel Harris, as somewhat of a part two from the previous episode with Mikey D. Joel is the other half of The Sharehouse Podcast, a filmmaker, and content creator. This was a wonderful conversation about the pursuit of creativity. This is another really fun chat, and a nice follow up from last week's episode. We discuss self criticism, trying to switch off the creative side of the...

Dan is joined by DJ, content creator, and one half of The Sharehouse Podcast, Mikey D. This episode is up there as being an all time favourite conversation I've had on the podcast. The hour flew by and we could've easily talked for another hour. Settle in as we discuss quitting the corporate life, pursuit of creativity, becoming a professional full time DJ, self imposed poverty, sacrificing income...

Dan and Harman welcome Max Miller into the studio. Max has directed for Australian television series including Australian Epic and Aunty Donna's Coffee Café. He is also an unsung member of Aunty Donna, often working behind the scenes and directing for various projects. It was a privilege to have Max on the podcast. We talk about the ins and outs of directing, the decisions a director has to make,...

Dan is joined by weather presenter, meteorologist, oceanographer, science communicator, and all round nerd, Nate Byrne. We talk about Nate's time in the navy, becoming a meteorologist & oceanographer, applying for a position as a ABC News Weather presenter on a whim, waking up at 3:30am, the similarities in structure & discipline in the Navy & the ABC, gaining fame, communicating &...

Dan and Harman welcome in the head brewer from Stomping Ground Brewing, Ashur Hall. This was a fascinating and educational discussion all about beer! Ashur tells us how he fell into the world of brewing. We also talk about the creativity in craft beer brewing, recipe design, the science behind brewing, an insight into different styles of beer, hops, what makes a good beer, the history of brewing,...

Welcome to the first episode in which Dan hosts the show without Harman while he takes some time off the podcast. We'll still intersperse episodes recorded from the last year so Harman is still around in spirit. This was also the first recorded episode of 2024 and I couldn't think of a better guest to start off the new year of podcasting than comedian, Joe White. We talk about the four languages J...