The Leading Man

Welcome back to The Leading Man Podcast! Today's guest is star of stage and screen turned behind-the-camera artist Alex Strimel. Join us as we talk about his journey from performing to producing and how his theatrical experience informs what he's doing now, plus discussions on creativity and storytelling, behind-the-scenes movie magic, and more. If you consider yourself a creative person i...

Welcome back to The Leading Man Podcast! Today I'm delighted to chat with fellow DC-based theatre maker Madeleine Smith about her successful recent project, Only Love: A Fresh Cut of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet , which was produced through the 2023 Capital Fringe Festival. Wondering what a fringe festival is? Listen to find out! We dive deep into aspects of the process of bringing Onl...

Welcome back to The Leading Man Podcast! Today's guest is Toni Carosella, whose first words to me were, "Hi, um, I think I'm your wife?". We proceeded to play opposite each other in The Arsonists, which of course was my good old first college theatre experience that I talk about...too frequently? It was wonderful to reconnect with Toni over topics like being in an exploratory part of your career,...

Welcome back to The Leading Man Podcast! In today's special upload, I'm joining you all by myself to reflect on the first half of 2023 and how I feel it's been going personally, artistically, and as far as this podcast is concerned, as well as to pose some questions to YOU - the audience - about where you'd like to see the journey go next. You'll find the big questions below: What kinds of episode...

Welcome back to The Leading Man Podcast! Today I had the pleasure of catching up with Mora V. Harris, a playwright whose work I helped develop in a workshop last year.  We'll talk about that experience and that wonderful play, as well as all kinds of strategies and advice when it comes to approaching your writing and your artistry in general. As a hopeful soon-to-be playwright myself, I was ea...

Welcome back to The Leading Man Podcast! Today, I'm very excited to share with you the first episode recorded in-person in over a year! Join me in the apartment of Brandon Ferguson, where we discuss his new job at a prominent DC theatre and how he decided it was time to come back to the industry, and we dive deep into some of the productions that he and I were involved in - sometimes together...

Welcome back to The Leading Man Podcast! Today's conversation was long-anticipated for me, as I had the pleasure to catch up with multi-hyphenate artist KC MacMillan. I got some perspectives on John Proctor is the Villain, the play which she directed at my university and the way we met, and our conversation ranged from the connection and community that Theatre provides, thinking of your life a...

Welcome back to The Leading Man Podcast! In today's back-to-back update episode, I sit down with one of my closest friends, Russell Shelton, to hear about how he has learned about himself as an artist over the past two years and what his aspirations are for the future as he prepares to graduate. We'll talk about his play, Dark Clouds , finding inspiration in the likes of George Lucas and S...

Welcome back to The Leading Man Podcast! We are in exciting times, as today marks the very first time I welcomed a guest BACK on the show! I'm delighted to bring Emily Shaffer's return to you all. Join us for some updates on Emily's recent work (including things we discussed in our first episode together such as a play she has been writing and recently produced), as well as discussions...

Welcome back to The Leading Man Podcast! By the time you've finished listening, you will likely want to work with today's guest, Dr. Carrie Winship. In this episode, Carrie and Noah discuss what a love of process does to the overall product, incorporating a "multi-modal" approach to virtual theatre making in order to not just survive, but thrive in the height of the pandemic, and...

Composing! Storytelling! Opera! What an exciting and engaging conversation this was. I (host Noah Eisengrein) feel that I approach talking about theatre in such an intellectual way, and today's guest Matthew R. Brown speaks about his work in a way that I really resonate with. Join us as we discuss his recent Master's thesis project of Abel , a brand new opera that Matthew composed and wrot...

What do the willing suspension of disbelief, a love for Anne Hathaway, and making bold choices all have in common? They're all part of today's theatrical discussion between Olivia Ward and host Noah Eisengrein! Enjoy this fun conversation full of laughs, and don't forget to leave us a review and check out the links below! Socials The Leading Man Instagram - @theleadingmanpod The Leading Man Twitte...

Why return to school after starting a career in theatre? How do you approach a character that is no longer living, or even the character of Death itself? And are you ready for another ghost story on the pod?? All this and more is discussed between host Noah Eisengrein and today's guest, Lydia Hannibal. Join us for a lovely conversation about the journey Lydia's career has taken her, from acting to...

In this episode of The Leading Man, host Noah Eisengrein sits down with Eliana Tate for an in-depth conversation about their time spent adapting and performing Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (and the trials and rewards that came with it), the magic of theatre, failing gracefully, and the importance of being an artist advocate. As always, please leave us a review and check out the links be...

Welcome to this episode of The Leading Man Podcast, in which host Noah Eisengrein is joined by his "mini-me", Matthew Hogeland, for a discussion that spans from being generous to yourself to theatrical multiverses, and all the ways in which the two artists are accidentally alike. Enjoy the conversation, and don't forget to leave us a review and check out the links below! Socials/Links The Leading...

What do Rick Astley and a play from 1895 have in common? How do you stage a Danse Macabre based on a single sentence in a script? How in the world do you connect with fellow actors through a computer screen? All this and more is discussed in this episode of The Leading Man, featuring long-awaited guest David A. Miller. As I’ve said, I’ve wanted to have David on for a conversation from the very beg...

Welcome to 2023, and a new era of The Leading Man Podcast! As the host, I felt it was long overdue to sit down and tell you all a little bit about myself, my journey and my artistry. Who is Noah Eisengrein? Why is he doing this? And why can’t he stop talking about that time he was in Shrek the Musical??? I sincerely hope you enjoy listening, and that you are as excited for this new stage in this p...

Thanks for listening!  It's been a while, huh?  Life has been pretty ridiculously crazy in the last few months, to say the least.  This episode was recorded at the end of the summer, which is why you'll hear us talk about some "future" things that have actually already happened, so it's taken a couple months but I'm happy to finally get it out into the world!  In this final epi...

In today's episode of the Leading Man Podcast, I talk with actor and illustrator Olivia Spory.  Join us as we discuss some productions we have been in together, including a virtual production that challenged us with the highs and lows of creating non-face-to-face theatre in the height of the pandemic, as well as how Olivia's fine art provides another necessary creative outlet and carries the...

Welcome back to PART 2 of my conversation with Abby Golden!  Here, we continue our conversation into her college theatrical career so far, and in this episode we focus on two productions that brought her to some extremely demanding roles.  Listen as we discover a lingering passion for a role that saw the craziest audience that Abby and I have ever performed for, and discuss exploring the wonderful...

On this week's episode of the Leading Man Podcast, join me in PART 1 of my conversation with Abby Golden!  We discuss the similar starts of our journeys and how we landed on the decision to pursue a creative life for ourselves, and get into some of her early work in college theatre, including going into a performance not knowing which role she would play that night, and the experience that brought...

Welcome!  In this episode I talk with actor, playwright and director (and future stage manager and potentially even theatre company owner?) Emily Shaffer!  A much more casual and less structured conversation, I hope you enjoy listening to us get candid about elements of our own artistic journeys.  Listen as Emily tells us about her years-long break from theatre and how she returned...

Welcome!  Join me for today's episode as I share an energetic conversation with my friend, designer/director/playwright/dancer/singer/etc. Olivia Hershey.  We walk through some milestones throughout our years of working together, and I get to hear some stories from past projects we've shared from her perspective that I had never heard before.  As I say in the intro, stick around for...

Welcome!  On today's episode of The Leading Man Podcast I talk with my good friend Reagan Venturi about the production that made us friends, being a Shakespeare stan (is that still something people say?), and a lot of things we wish we knew about theatre a few years ago, including the fact that there is no one true path to success, it's okay not to be ready, and of course, The Importance of T...

Welcome back to The Leading Man Podcast!  In this episode, I have a conversation with actress, singer, dancer, and rising musical theatre student (and my girlfriend!), Alexis Griess.  Join us as we discuss surpassing self-induced pressures to follow your dreams, how theatre brought us together, and the exciting new chapter Alexis is about to begin and her journey to get there. Alexis: In...