The Doyenne

Episode 5: Yvette Baltazar aka Millie May Named after her beloved grandmother but powered by pure chaos, Millie May has been shaking her shimmy all over Chicago since 2010.Taking campy bump-and-grind to a full comedic frenzy, she puts the oooh in buffoonery. With high-energy tassel twirling, fearless physical comedy, and a sparkly stage presence that refuses to behave, Millie May has become an ico...

Episode 4: Victoria Libertore Performer, Actress, Writer, Improv Artist "Victoria Libertore is one of the most original and subversive solo performers that I have ever met. She is the lovechild of Bert Williams and Marlene Dietrich."Rebecca Feldman, Creator & Tony Nominee, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee & writer for Transparent "The world she creates is slightly askew, sometimes eerie,...

Episode 3: Elizabeth Hertiz Cortés Elizabeth Herlitz Cortés is an opera singer, producer, and strategist known online as “Soprano Big Sister.” With over 25 years in the arts and 15 years in fundraising and policy-adjacent work, she translates complex systems—power, money, and policy—into plain English for everyday audiences. Her work sits at the intersection of art and civic life, grounded in the...

Episode 2: Ronit Bezalel Ronit Bezalel is a writer, photographer, and filmmaker based in Chicago, Illinois. Her work focuses on the underdog, the marginalized, and those living outside the mainstream. Bezalel began her career at the National Film Board of Canada, where she directed the documentary When Shirley Met Florence . After moving to Chicago in 1994 to study film at Columbia College Chicago...

The Doyenne is a podcast by, for, and about women/trans/nonbinary/afab artists over 40. Episode 1: Cristal Sabbagh Bio:  Cristal Sabbagh is a 54-year-old Chicago-based interdisciplinary performer, dancer, art educator, and mom. She is the founder and curator of Freedom From and Freedom To, an improvisational jam with dance and movement artists and live musicians paired by chance. She is also a mem...