Was It Chance?

Amber Trueblood traveled across the country supporting her two oldest sons as they starred in the hit musical The School of Rock and along the way she picked up some lessons, while traveling and homeschooling, that eventually made their way into her new book The Unflustered Mom. This book teaches moms (and all parents) practical and achievable strategies for reducing anxiety and overwhelm.   She’s...

Creative success comes in many many different formats and we’re sharing something totally new to Was It Chance today! Meet Julie Civiello Polier - she is, literally, the aesthetician to the stars.  Julie is a licensed aesthetician – specializing in gua sha and reflexology – Reiki Master, an intuitive guide, and a celebrity facialist. Julie also specializes in facial mapping because Our skin is a m...

Tune in to hear how The Avengers lead to this week's guest accepting his claim to fame as “The Broadway Trainer.” We even get a few off-the-cuff renditions of Shut the Eff Up Alan! Joe Rosko is the founder of Built For The Stage, Broadway’s #1 online fitness training platform, and its accompanying podcast on Broadway Podcast Network (with over 200 episodes to date!). In the past six years, Built F...

Joanne Lipman knew she wanted to be a journalist at the age of 7. What happened next was a combination of hard work and embracing chance and opportunity and perhaps a little luck in working with folks who truly wanted to see her succeed and believed in her. Joanne is a bestselling author and pioneering journalist who began her career reporting for the Wall Street Journal, rising to the position of...

Alex Donnelly grew up a theater lover but believed had to pursue a “real career” and decided to get a finance degree. Although the voice inside his head told him to fully walk away from theater, he simply couldn’t do it. Fast forward years later and Alex is producing the Corkscrew Theater Festival. While securing in-kind donations for the festival, Alex is offered an unexpected turn (some may call...

Anthony Norman takes the stage by storm in the lead role of Evan Hansen for the touring cast of Dear Evan Hansen. But he’s also an incredibly nice guy with a great sense of humor. In fact, Anthony and our co-host, Alan, are two peas in a pod. Heather had her hands full for sure ;) A talented musician who plays multiple instruments, Anthony thought his career would be in Jazz and then he started ge...

Grab your popcorn and get ready to hear some amazing stories from Reality TV wedding planner, Donnie Brown.  Donnie starred in the very first wedding planning reality TV show, “Who’s wedding is it anyway” on The Style Network and then went on to start in 10 of the show's 11 seasons and its spin-off!  Co-host, Heather Vickery had the opportunity to share the virtual stage with Donnie at a celebrati...

Do you remember when our collective hearts broke watching “Connor's mom” breakdown in Dear Evan Hansen? Yeah, that was traumatic! And Lili Thomas does it every single night on stage as she performs the beautiful and devastating role of Cynthia Murphy for the North American touring company of Dear Evan Hansen. The child of two world-renowned classical musicians, Lili made her own path in the arts....

MANIFESTATION, BABY! This week Heather and Alan talk with Manifestation expert, Sami Moog, about how we can all create the future we desire. We are, in fact, constantly creating our futures whether we’re aware of it or not. This was such a fun, eye-opening and exciting conversation. You’re going to want to soak up every moment of it. Sami discovered manifestation in 2007 when The Secret came out a...

Most of you have heard of MacGyver … Not only was it an internationally successful television show, but it’s also become a full-on verb for many (especially us Gen Xers) “Hold on, let me go MacGyver that!” In this episode, Alan and Heather got to chat with Lee Zlotoff brainchild behind the world-renowned MacGyver franchise. Lee is an award-winning writer, producer, and director of film and televis...

Mikayla Petrilla realized early on in her career that there was a “side door” to nearly everything. Although she hadn’t been a serious actor in school, Mikayla knew acting was her desired career. So she took all of her other skills and went to work supporting theatre companies, shows, and other theater-adjacent businesses. Eventually, she grew her acting resume and now has an impressive resume inc...

Like it or hate it, 2022 is over! Alan and Heather chat about all of the incredible guests from the past year while sharing some of their favorite moments. Good times were had by all. Make sure to follow this podcast everywhere you find podcasts, leave a rating and a review, and slip into our Instagram DMs at @wasitchance. More about Heather via @heather_ vickeryandco on Instagram and Threads, @Br...

Follow that leading man energy and never lose sight of the goal! Mauricio Martínez is a major international star of both stage and screen most recently seen in Paper Mill Playhouse’s production of Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. In addition to playing Emilio Estefan in Broadway's On Your Feet!, He is an International Emmy Winner and tells novella superstar and was a household name in L...

Nicole is one half of a sister/sister duo that co-founded a high-end jewelry brand called Sorllina. Nicole and her sister Nicole grew up on the north shore of Long Island, NY, where they were raised with a deep appreciation for the arts and shared a love of design. After graduating with a Fine Arts degree from USC, Nicole studied Jewelry Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York Ci...

Critically acclaimed, award-winning writer/director/producer Steve Silverman’s work has been called ‘Sly’ by the Los Angeles Times, which is his all-time favorite single-word review. Theatre includes All About Steve, not a one-man show but a twist on the classic film All About Eve, his horror comedy 666 Westbourne Drive, and his musical mashups Jesus Christ Super Star Wars & The King and I Know Wh...

You probably know Justin from the very first season of American Idol in 2002 - or you may know him from his appearances on the Broadway stage, including Wicked, American Idiot, Romeo & Juliet, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and In Transit. He’s Lil Sweet in the Diet Dr. Pepper commercials, the host of the Audition Secrets Podcast, was just seen down in Washington DC in the out-of-town...

Jesse McAnally is a mega nerd – and therefore one of our absolute favorite people. He’s a film director, actor, YouTuber, songwriter, podcaster, and a Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast. He has been making movies since he was 5, acting out elaborate plots with dolls, and forcing his family to watch. After graduating from Wayne State with a degree in Media Arts and Studies, he decided to return to his...

A comedian, a theater nerd, and a coach walk into a room … Ok, this sounds like a bad dad joke set up but it’s actually what happened when Heather and Alan welcomed Ben Ptashinsky-Skinner to the podcast. Listen close because in between jokes and hilarity is some serious content.  Ben is a stay-at-home dad, husband, and part-time performer. Voted Orlando’s best comedian in 2021 & 2022 as well as Or...

Jay Clouse helps people become professional creators. He is the writer of Creator Science and the host of Creative Elements, a narrative-interview podcast exploring how today’s top creators make a living with their art and creativity. He previously led the Community Experience team for Pat Flynn and Smart Passive Income, designing their paid membership community and cohort-based course programs. J...

“You only have to make a few of the right decisions to line up your career and your life for fulfillment. And then it’s just work. You’re going in the right direction. Keep going.” This week’s guest, Lindsay McMahon, joined hosts, Aland and Heather LIVE from Podcast Movement ‘22 in Dallas. Lindsay’s innovative approach to marketing and teaching English as a second language has made Lindsay and the...

For Ian Eisendrath, being an artist is like coming home. So many kids, Ian shares, don’t feel like they fit or belong until they find their creative outlet. By embracing chance, trusting his gut and putting himself out there in big ways, Ian has done just that. The University of Michigan School of Music graduate could never have predicted the path he would forge that has included various roles on...

Digital projection has changed the face of theater and other immersive, creative experiences. No one does this work better than Nicholas Hussong. Nicholas is an artist, designer, and creative producer who was recently nominated for a Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Play for his work as Projection Designer on the recent Broadway production of Skeleton Crew. With an impressive resume includin...

Mary Rutt is a podcaster who has spent the majority of her career in radio and television production. She’s the co-host of two LGBTQ-focused podcasts: Latter-Day Lesbian and Queer Life Crisis Which, of course, you can access anywhere you find podcasts. Mary decided to use her production talents to offer a voice to marginalized folks within the queer community and unexpectedly created a safe space...

For the first time ever, we have two amazing guests on the show. Dori Berinstein and Sammi Cannold directed and produced the Apple TV Documentary, The Show Must Go On which chronicles the race against time to save live theater in the wake of a global pandemic. The film focuses on some of the theater-makers determined to win the race.  In March of 2020 and for the first time in history, the perform...

This week we welcome the brilliant Morgan James to the show. Morgan is a singer/songwriter with a set of pipes that can blow the roof off of any house she’s performing in. She made her Broadway debut in The Addams Family, nabbed a few other Broadway credits including Godspell and Motown the Musical, and signed with Epic Records before deciding to take her creative destiny into her own creative han...