Why I‘ll Never Make It

Welcome to the first annual Auditions episode! I’ll be sharing stories from those in the audition room as well as some tidbits of wisdom along the way. For the past few months during my conversations with guests I've asked them about their own audition stories. I saved those tales of wonder and woe, so I could bring them to you now for the first time. And that’s what today is going to be all about...

Welcome to your favorite holiday: Tax Day! One of the most difficult but important issues we face in the arts is our finances. How to make more of it and how to spend (and save) it in the best way possible. Rebecca Selkowe, head of the Financial Wellness Program at The Actors Fund, covers some of the challenges people working in performing arts and entertainment face when trying to balance variabl...

Kelly and I talk about the mindset needed to get through the ups and downs of this business, and as founder of Triple Threat Therapy she even gives me a bit of therapy, asking questions and giving insights into my own thinking when it comes to auditions and making decisions for my career.  But it all started the ripe old age of 4, when Kelly stepped on stage for the first time during a kindergarte...

Fellow actor and podcaster, Clayton Howe, riffs on the business of auditioning as well as creating new work and making a difference in the world...whether that world is our own theater community or a larger presence influencing millions. He even brings up one influencer, Casey Neistat, who is a filmmaker and was ticketed here in NYC for not riding his bike in the bike lane. Through his videos and...

From musical theater to opera, from Disney Cruise Line to New York's famed Town Hall venue,Amy Marie Stewart has seen first hand the struggles that singers and actors face. Most of it coming from our own preconceived notions or those expectations heaped on us by others. Her recent blog post "Failing our Singers" went viral as she tried to dispel those do's and don'ts in order to free us up to give...

Today, I'm joined by the wonderfully charming and talented Ilana Levine. She takes a break from her own podcast, LITTLE KNOWN FACTS, to talk with me about her career on Broadway and in TV/film as well as share stories of auditions and her obsession with British royalty.  From her big Broadway turn as Lucy in YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN to her various appearances in The Nanny Diaries, Law & Or...

Happy Promposal Day! Caitlin Kinnunen may go to THE PROM eight times a week on Broadway as Emma, a high schooler who wants to bring her girlfriend to the big dance. But when she was a teenager herself, she never actually attended prom. On today’s episode, Caitlin opens up about being home schooled and how she could only go to the before and after parties with a friend. Her home schooling was large...

For the first Spotlight Series of 2019 I’m joined by Josie Whittlesey, the founder and Executive Director of Drama Club. The organization started in 2013, providing theatre programming to incarcerated and court-involved young people. They bring classes into juvenile detention centers, jails and community centers throughout New York City.  Currently, Drama Club works with about 500 individual stude...

How would you like to learn 13 different roles for one show, and be ready at a moment's notice to perform anyone of them...or even combine two or three of them in one show? That's exactly what Heather Botts is prepared to do 8 times a week in MY FAIR LADY, currently on Broadway. In this episode, recorded backstage in the Lincoln Center Theater, she shares her process for gearing up for such a dema...

The man who has been in more EVITA productions than Mandy Patinkin joins me on the podcast to talk about his back and forth in show business and finding the balance between "making it" and making a living.  As founder and owner of Ryan Bailer Support, he's created a thriving company that he enjoys and supports him and his family. But he still dreams of being on the stage and knows that he's not qu...

Tony Howell is a digital strategist for Emmy, Grammy, Tony, Oscar, and Olivier award-winning artists. His work has been featured by Google, Squarespace, SAG-AFTRA, Actors' Equity Association, and more. On today's episode, he shares his insights of how to match our online presence with our in-person persona. Before becoming an entrepreneur, he was an actor for 20+ years-performing on Broadway, Off-...

We're now about halfway through the 2018-19 Broadway season, and several shows have closed and some still have yet to open. Ryan McPhee, Managing News Editor at PLAYBILL, joins the podcast once again to talk about the notable shows of the 2018-19 Broadway Season. We focus especially on those that are likely to get some Tony Award recognition. Here's the list of all shows we mention in this episode...

Maggie graduated from Texas State with a BFA in Musical Theatre just two years ago and has been pounding the NYC pavement ever since. In today's episode she talks about how she holds herself back sometimes from being her best in the audition room and in pursuing this career. She also opens up about what keeps her going and how theater has truly changed her life, enjoying every step of it along the...

A good friend of mine and the podcast joins me for the first interview of 2019! Tovi Wayne opens up about starting dance late in his performing career and how that put him behind other dancers but also motivated him to get better, to learn as much as he could. He came to NYC with the dream of being in NEWSIES and through a lot of hard work finally did a regional production of the show down in Flor...

The first episode of the year has me chatting about my failed attempt to make Red Velvet Cupcakes...and I mean utter failure. I hurried through the prep and ended up with inedible red mushy hockey pucks. Such wasted time and effort and ingredients.  What wasn't a waste of my time, though, was a recent chat I had with Marc Kudisch. I met him at the Only Make Believe Gala after-party, and he graciou...

It's been a wonderful ride despite some growing pains and losses along the way. My first year of podcasting has nonetheless taught me a great deal, and I hope you've learned a thing or two as well. I honestly do this for you and try my best to give you interviews and insights as well as some fun along the way. A lot of effort goes into these episodes and sometimes they hit the mark and other times...

In this episode, Patrick shares one thing that has kept him from auditioning and finding work lately...and that's jury duty. That civic obligation that many try to get out of has become yet another obstacle to making it.  But Patrick diligently fulfilled his duty and rendered a verdict on an attempted murder case involving a babysitter. This is certainly a different kind of episode for the podcast...

As the school year winds down, a Ph. D joins the podcast once again, this time to talk about fiction writing and The Promise of Failure. The most recent book from John Mcnally is a collection of lectures and essays he's given to writing students about the certainty of rejection and how best to handle it and move on from it.  I mean, what better guest and topic are there for the Why I'll Never Make...

Andy Clausen is a New York-based composer, trombonist, bandleader, and graduate of The Juilliard School. Hailing from Seattle, Clausen relocated to NYC in 2010 where he enjoys a diverse schedule collaborating with filmmakers, folk and blues artists, classical composers, as well as New York's jazz elite. An active educator, Clausen has taught workshops across the United States and currently serves...

These two writers and actors join the podcast to talk about their new show...WE NEED THIS MUSICAL TO KEEP US FROM KILLING OURSELVES: THE MUSICAL. (Oh yes, it's a mouthful.) But Lyman Glasgow is more than just a writer, by day he works as a licensed therapist, applying the work of Dr. John Sarno to patients with chronic pain and TMS. Before that he was a farmer, shepherd, and set decorator for Play...

In this episode, we delve into the captivating world of the New York Youth Symphony's Musical Theater Composition program under the direction of the talented Anna Jacobs. As an accomplished composer and lyricist, she has an impressive portfolio that includes musicals such as POP! with book and lyrics by Maggie-Kate Coleman, ANYTOWN with a book by Jim Jack, TEETH with co-book and lyrics by Michael...

Michael Wartella spent ten years in the city before landing his dream role and first major New York production, RENT at the Off-Broadway venue New World Stages. Since then he's reached even greater heights on Broadway with WICKED, TUCK EVERLASTING, and CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. But there's also been some pauses and setbacks along the way, both personal and professional, from divorce and s...

For the next couple of weeks will be talking to directors of the New York Youth Symphony. Founded in 1963 as an orchestra to showcase the metropolitan area’s most gifted musicians ages 12-22, its activities have since grown to encompass programs in chamber music, conducting, composition, and jazz, with performances at world class venues including Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Today’s g...

John McGinty lost his hearing at a young age and for years headed toward a career in Finance. But theater kept calling him, and he finally answered by moving to New York to see if he could make it. On this episode he shares the twists and turns of that journey and what keeps him motivated and focused. John also opens up about lessons he learned, and that we all can learn, from his Broadway debut i...

The first ever mini-episode with Patrick, focusing on why he'll never make it as well as why he's still here. Patrick talks about the wonderful camaraderie within theater and gives a loving tribute to Marin Mazzie, who passed away last month from ovarian cancer. (Read about Marin's remarkable joy and positivity as she confronted cancer.) A career that spans 30 years, she was always a consummate pr...