The Firecracker Department with Naomi Snieckus

Kay inspired and impressed the pants off our team in her episode. We talk about moving from acting to writing, Kay's philosophy of "jokes & songs" on set, self-care in quarantine, beautiful oops/happy accidents, and what the team's up to lately! 🧨💥 Catch up with firecracker core members Naomi @snieckus Emily @emchurchill AJ @atotheje and Sarah Deakins @sarahdeakins on the newest Firecracker Afte...

Our guest on the podcast today is writer, producer, director KAY CANNON! Kay is the writer of the Pitch Perfect franchise, a writer on 30 Rock and New Girl AND the creator of Netflix's Girlboss. Her newest gig has her writing AND directing the upcoming musical comedy, a feature film reimagining of CINDERELLA, starring Camila Cabello, Idina Menzel, Billy Porter, Missy Elliot, and a cast that will b...

Jerrica shared so many goals, writing and career advice, and our team fell in love! We talk about all her wisdom, how you live affects your art, and coming out to yourself. 🧨💥 Catch up with Naomi  @snieckus  Emily  @emchurchill  AJ  @atotheje and Rebecca @rebeccaloops on the newest Firecracker Aftershow now!

Our guest this week is writer, actor, comedian JERRICA LONG! She's called herself a 'recovering Hollywood assistant,' and has worked in writers rooms on Veep, Black-ish, Diary of a Future President, Love & Hip Hop: New York, and we talk about all of them and more! We get into her journey in stand up comedy so far, coming out onstage, being treated and feeling like the diversity hire, the burden of...

Our guest on the podcast this week is Writer, Producer, Director, LESLI LINKA GLATTER! You may know her as the Executive Producer of a little show wrapping up its 8th and FINAL season, called HOMELAND! She's directed episodes of Freaks and Geeks, ER, Weeds, The Walking Dead, Mad Men, The Newsroom, The Leftovers, and so many more! Her directorial debut, NOW AND THEN, is celebrating its 25 year anni...

Trigger Warning: This episode contains some sensitive talk about sexual assault. Our guest this week is a literal revolutionary, CARMEN AGUIRRE. Carmen is an author, actor, playwright, and activist. She was born in Santiago, Chile and has lived a life that most people may never experience even a slice of. We talk about her journey to Vancouver from the revolution in Chile, building community pocke...

Helen Zukerman is the Artist Director and Co-Founder of one of Toronto's best festivals, the Toronto Jewish Film Festival (TJFF). She leant Naomi her wisdom on leadership, being okay with the answer "no" and never taking less than best. We loved her episode! Catch up with Naomi @snieckus Emily @emchurchill AJ @atotheje and Camille Adams @camilleadamsfilm on the newest Firecracker Aftershow now! 🧨...

Our guest on the podcast today is HELEN ZUKERMAN! Helen is the Artist Director and Co-founder of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival (TJFF).   Helen also runs the Zukerman Family Foundation with her daughters Aviva and Yona and she just has so many funny, awesome stories we're able to get into this episode!  The online festival goes live this SATURDAY MAY 30th, and runs until SUNDAY JUNE 7th! Make su...

Our guest on the pod this week is writer, producer ANDRA GORDON! We go through Andra's journey from academia to festivals to Head of Development and Production at AEI! We dig into so many different aspects of the film industry, from developing to pitching to finance and everything in between.   You can watch her newly released film CASTLE IN THE GROUND starring Neve Campbell and Imogen Poots on di...

Marie has been changing the world with her stories for decades and this week her new film Red Snow is being released! We loved listening to her interview and chatting about the incredible viewpoints she offers the world. Join us! Catch up with Naomi @snieckus Emily @emchurchill AJ @atotheje and Camille Adams @camilleadamsfilm on the newest Firecracker Aftershow now! 🧨💥

Our guest this week is writer/director Marie Clements! Marie's first dramatic feature RED SNOW comes out digitally THIS FRIDAY! That's right, Friday May 15th you can find RED SNOW on Apple TV. I had a chance to watch the film … which, by the way, is shot in FOUR languages! Truly incredible. Follow her on Instagram @marie.clements   Red Snow I Trailer https://vimeo.com/313876027 Facebook: https://w...

Catch up with Naomi  @snieckus  Emily  @ emchurchill  AJ  @atotheje  and Anna  @tooconvoluted  on the newest Firecracker Aftershow now!    You know her from Carter, Deathproof, and Chicago PD - Sydney Poitier Heartsong is a gem and we loved chatting about her episode on this weeks After Show!

Our guest this week is a beautiful soul I've been blessed to work with…. SYDNEY POITIER HEARTSONG! You know her from Carter, Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, Chicago PD, Veronica Mars, being one of two famous Sydney Poitiers (her father is the legendary Sidney Poitier) and more. I worked with her on the CTV series CARTER, with Jerry O'Connell, and this is officially our first shelter-at-home inter...

Catch up with our firecracker core team members Naomi  @snieckus  Emily  @emchurchill  Anna  @tooconvoluted  and Avelyn  @avelyn.graye  and what they thought of the  @JessSalgueiro  episode! Jess Salguerio is a Canadian wonder, appearing on multiple television shows and giving back to her community. Avelyn, Anna, Naomi and Emily all loved her episode and are thrilled to share their thoughts. Let u...

Catch up with our firecracker core team members Naomi @snieckus  Emily  @emchurchill  AJ  @atotheje  and Anna  @tooconvoluted , and what they thought of the  @OphiraE  episode! Let us know what resonated with you too! Reach out anytime  @firecrackerdept  and find this awesome Aftershow and more over on our Youtube channel! Come say hey!

Catch up with our firecracker core team members Naomi  @snieckus  Emily  @emchurchill  AJ  @atotheje  and Chelsey  @chelseymackenzie   as we talk about the Jenna Ricker episode. She's sharp and focused, filled with wisdom and endless ideas! Let us know what resonated with you too! Reach out anytime  @firecrackerdept , and find this awesome Aftershow in FULL over on our Youtube channel! Come say he...

Catch up with our firecracker core team members Naomi @snieckus  Emily  @emchurchill  AJ  @atotheje  and Veronica Martin  @veronicaannemartin  as we talk about the Sarah McVie episode! Let us know what resonated with you too! Reach out anytime  @firecrackerdept , and find this awesome Aftershow in video form over on our Youtube channel! Come say hey!  Find Sarah on social media @sarahmcvie .

Every first Sunday of the month, I talk to a past guest about what's going on with them now! For the February Spark Chat, I caught up with actor KAT BARRELL, from Workin' Moms and Wynonna Earp! We talk about the new season of Wynonna Earp, getting into character, bullying, The Artist's Way, morning pages, and more!  Look out for April's Spark Chat with Sarah McVie to be released as a podcast episo...

Our guests this week are a special combination of cast and crew from the same film, Raf ! Producers Sara Blake and Charlie Wells are up first, followed by actor Jesse Stanley. We talked about the filmmaking process, features vs shorts, working with friends, producing as a team, seeing all the pieces of a puzzle, budgeting, taking ownership, improv onscreen, and more! It's an indie film mini-master...

Our guest this week is director RENUKA JEYAPALAN! She's directed award-winning shorts and films, episodes of Kim's Convenience, Workin' Moms, Murdoch Mysteries, The 410, and more! She's also directing the upcoming GINNY & GEORGIA tv series which features another firecracker, Schitt's Creek's Jennifer Robertson! We talked about filmmaking, The Godfather, moving from film to TV, the CFC, their simil...

Our guests on the podcast next week are Jess and Eman, aka The El-Salomons! These hilarious ladies are a married comedy duo and we chatted at the YYComedy Festival! We talked about Betty White, working with your partner, moving from law to comedy, the Canadian TV boom, political conversations in comedy, reading the comments, True Lies, and more!  Follow Jess and Eman solo, and together @TheElSalom...

This week's guest on the pod is actor JESS SALGUEIRO! Jess is everywhere lately - Letterkenny, The Expanse, The Boys, Workin' Moms, Canadian Strain. Later this year you'll see her starring in Tiny Pretty Things and in Jupiter's Legacy on Netflix. We got to chat in LA a few weeks ago, and TODAY, the film we worked together on, CANADIAN STRAIN, is available on iTunes in Canada!  Follow @jesssalgueir...

This week's guest on the pod is comic, writer, host, OPHIRA EISENBERG! 😍 Ophira hosts NPR's comedy trivia show Ask Me Another, she's a regular host and teller with The Moth, she's a published author, and you can find her comedy special and albums on Amazon and iTunes! We talk about moving to NYC, mentorship, going for it onstage, victory bombs, comedy's evolution, humorous uteruses, mentors, the...

Every first Sunday of the month, I talk to a past guest about what's going on with them now! For the January Spark Chat, I caught up with actor ASTRID VAN WIEREN, currently of Come From Away on Broadway! We talk about how you can do anything for 6 weeks, being a friend to yourself, being terrified of the gym, accountability, dodging people as a sport, fitbits, falling off a routine, and more.   Fo...

This week's guest is actor, writer, producer, director, JENNA RICKER! Meeting Jenna ( Ben's Plan, The American Side) was such a lucky catch with both our schedules - but we had our share of struggles to get to the start, let alone the finish line. We met up in NYC at a restaurant, and by the time we finally found a quiet spot... the restaurant staff decided to have their meal right next to us! Tec...