There’s No Business Like...

Ep. 96 Randy Cohen: Make the Arts Unavoidable  This week Kevin sits down with his Arts Hero, Randy Cohen to talk about how the arts impact our lives with a heavy focus on the economic impact. Randy shares how he got started in the arts and helps our listeners to advocate for the arts. Our hosts share arts moments along with some exciting news, that we are coming to the Western Arts Alliance Confer...

Ep. 95 Stephanie Mayers: Leave Space for What’s Possible This week our hosts kick off the conversation talking about the great, boring, or weird PR they’ve gotten in the past, probably because they didn’t have Stephanie Mayers as their publicist. Stephanie talks with Danielle about being a part of the emergence and growth of the contemporary family music scene, running her own business, and gives...

Ep. 94 Heather Augustine: Bother Me    Katie and Josh sit down with Heather Augustine, the head audio technician on the Tony Award-winning musical, The Outsiders. Heather gives insight into the audio side of the performing arts, shares her story of being a female in a largely male dominated role, how to take care of yourself on tour, and much more! Our hosts talk about women working backstage and...

Ep. 93 Eleanor and Ian Carney: Copy That, Thank You The Pod Squad is back! Our hosts share what they have been up to for the past six weeks before Bryan shares his conversation with husband-and-wife team, Eleanor and Ian Carney. They share their journey to creating Lightwire Theater, working together as a couple, and the importance of learning other skills in the industry. Eleanor and Ian Carney j...

Ep. 92:  How to Mentor with Ally Haynes-Hamblin and Larry Kosson As conference season fast approaches, the NBL team has another episode to help prepare you. Mentorship may not feel like a conference prep episode, but the NBL team would like to encourage more people to participate in conference mentorship whether as a mentor (for our experienced conference attendees) or a mentee (for those new to a...

NBL UPDATE: How We Conference! Volume 2  This year we wanted to give our listeners more time to plan for their conference season, so this one is coming at you earlier in the year. We have also included a representative from the Western Arts Alliance, Heartland Performing Arts, Inc. (Midwest Arts Xpo), and the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, to tell you why you should attend conferenc...

NBL Rewind: Michael Mushalla: Be Curious. Don’t Be Afraid.  Bryan takes us back to his and Kevin’s conversation with Michael Mushalla. Bryan reflects on how the summit created by Michael brought the hosts together, and how it encouraged him to show his true self and to think differently.  This week's episode is another special one! It highlights Michael Mushalla who introduced our hosts, and helpe...

NBL Rewind: Sara Morgulis: Accessibility Isn’t a Checklist Danielle takes us back to Sara Morgulis this week, because this is an episode she revisits to remind herself to keep going in this work, and because Sara gives tangible ways to normalize access, embed trauma-informed training, and lead with respect. Danielle and Katie take time this week to talk with Sara Morgulis about theatre for young a...

NBL Rewind:  Dominic Moore-Dunson: Defining Success This week, Josh takes us back to Danielle’s interview with Dominic Moore-Dunson. Josh chose this episode because it brought to light problematic areas in our industry. On this episode, our hosts talk about safety leading into Danielle’s engaging conversation with Dominic Moore-Dunson. Dominic shares his creative process, including his perspective...

NBL Rewind: Bill Blagg: An Overnight Success   On this week’s NBL Rewind, host Kevin Maynard re-shares his conversation with Bill Blagg. Kevin chose this conversation for the great content on the business of show business and for all of the laughs. He believes this episode is a great reminder of all the friendships we build in this industry. This week Kevin sits down with his friend and magician,...

NBL Rewind: Sarah McCarthy: Trust Your Intuition On this week's NBL Rewind, host Katie Miller shares her conversation with Sarah McCarthy. Katie chose this conversation because it inspired her and asks you to listen and reflect on Sarah’s advice of trusting your intuition, taking chances, and following what feels right to you.  On this episode, Katie sits down with Sarah McCarthy to talk about the...

Ep. 85 Pod Squad: Time for Mental Health  This week’s episode is short, but very honest. The Pod Squad is opening up about their mental health and taking some time off. Don’t worry though! We are re-releasing some episodes that made us laugh and made us think. You can listen to those, or get caught up on our extensive back catalogue.  Take care friends! We will be back with new episodes on mid-Jul...

Ep. 84 Jorge Casco: From Handcuffs to Cufflinks  This week Kevin plays a game of Gen-Z Slang with his fellow hosts before he shares his in-depth conversation with Jorge Casco. Jorge shares his turbulent start in the arts, how the arts can save lives, the power of an individual, and reminds us that we are all loved. Jorge Casco is the Executive Director of FLY Dance Company ( https://www.flydanceco...

Ep. 83 Lauren Jelencovich: Stay Present and Be Yourself Bryan sits down with Lauren Jelencovich to talk about her impressive career. Lauren shares her journey from winning Star Search to attending the Manhattan School of Music to touring with Yanni as his featured vocalist for 13 years. Our hosts share phone calls that changed their lives and the importance of being present and saying yes. Lauren...

Ep. 82 David Alpert: Find the Solution Katie sits down with a former fellow Michigander, David Alpert, to talk all things Broadway. David shares his journey from wanting to be a theatre director in 5th grade to directing on Broadway. Katie and David talk about the impact of their local theatre scene growing up, the different roles on a Broadway directing team, and the importance of “showing up.” D...

Ep. 81 Mark Morris and Nancy Umanoff: Dance. Music. Community.   Our hosts spend this week thinking about what they thought they would be when they grew up. Josh and Kevin share their conversation with Mark Morris, who the New York Times called, “the most successful and influential choreographer alive, and indisputably the most musical” and Nancy Umanoff, the masterful executive director whose wor...

Ep. 80 Merrill Miller: Be a Sponge  This week we start with video games that taught us something before Bryan and Josh sit down with fellow presenter, Merrill Miller. Merrill shares his journey from booking his high school band gigs to booking bands at the North Shore Center. He talks about the challenges of booking a venue so close to Chicago, what a performing arts center can be, the importance...

Ep. 79 Jeeyoon Kim: A Degree Doesn’t Guarantee Anything Our hosts start this week’s episode talking about changing traditions. Bryan shares his conversation with award-winning performer, Jeeyoon Kim. Jeeyoon shares how and why she is challenging the traditions of classical music, her unique start in Korea with playing the piano, and the challenges of being a classical music performer after univers...

Ep. 78 Sarah Saltwick: Bring Your Whole Self   This week, Danielle and Katie share their conversation with the powerhouse that is Sarah Saltwick. They dig into taking ownership of Holden & Arts, managing the agency with three leaders, and what running an agency entails. Sarah also shares how she got started in the industry, how she continues to get involved and learn more, and attempting to ba...

Ep. 77 John Ernesto: Take Care of the Artist, Take Care of the Fans To start this episode our hosts discuss the artist they presented that created that surreal moment of “I can’t believe this is happening”.  Bryan and John discuss the origin of the Berks Jazz Fest and its subsequent development.  His theory on taking care of the artist and the fans and the rest will take care of itself.  We learn...

Ep. 76 Jenny Sirota and Didi Perez: Be Confident, Stay Educated, and Stay Flexible Our hosts share their choices for “live on stage” adaptations before Josh shares his conversation with Jenny and Didi. They share their incredible journey in starting RoadCo in collaboration with Sony Music Entertainment. This honest conversation shares the ins and outs of this relationship, what it takes to put a s...

Ep. 75 Joshua Heim: Embed Art in Your Community This week Katie and Kevin sit down with Joshua Heim to talk equity, Western Arts Alliance, the state of the arts and more. Josh shares his journey in the arts, Hula as a lifestyle, working with and for constituents, and the role of the arts in communities. Our hosts this week share awkward meetings and interesting meeting locations. Joshua Heim is th...

Ep. 74 Ally Haynes-Hamblin: Trust Yourself and Go with the Flow Our hosts share just some of the many influential women in their lives. Danielle sits down with another influential woman in our lives, Ally Haynes-Hamblin. Ally shares her lineage in the arts, the challenging role of being a "fixer,” her leadership style and philosophy, and how to get involved in a community.  Ally Haynes-Hamblin is...

Ep. 73 Jim Lenz: Transparency Leads to Trust Our hosts share their dreams on what they would do with an abandoned mall before our guest Jim Lenz joins Josh for a conversation. Jim shares his love for live music, booking artists into venues in high school, importance of artists taking control of their marketing, and changes in PAC rock shows over the years.  Jim Lenz is with TKO Booking Agency (htt...

Ep. 72 David Rowell: Inspiring the Next Generation Our hosts talk about times they said, “never again,” and then totally did again. This week Bryan sits down with David Rowell, an amazing educator and mentor in the industry. David shares his introduction to the arts, clown ministry, his incredible career, opening performance venues, and teaching the future of the industry. He is joined by two of h...