Kahnversations Podcast 2.0 Actor Benjamin Schrader from Broadway's THE BOOK OF MORMON, HBO'S TRUE DETECTIVE, ABC's REVENGE and THE MAGIC CASTLE!!!!
In this episode of "Kahnversations," we interview Benjamin Schrader.
A Seattle native, Benjamin attended Cornish College of the Arts and began his professional acting career at The Village Theatre and Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre. In New York, he was part of the original 2007 workshopping team for Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s Broadway mega-hit THE BOOK OF MORMON, and went on to be a member of the original TONY winning Broadway cast. Benjamin received a Grammy nod for THE BOOK OF MORMON Grammy Award-winning cast album.
Schrader also starred on Broadway in AVENUE Q, the 2009 revival of RAGTIME, the 2004 Broadway revival of Deaf West’s BIG RIVER, and was instrumental in the development of the character Gabe in the Pulitzer Prize winning musical NEXT TO NORMAL. In 2013, Benjamin toured the country with the TONY Award-winning Broadway production of PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, directed by the legendary actor/director Roger Rees. In Los Angeles, Benjamin recently won the Stage Scene LA award for the role of Freddy in Musical Theatre West’s DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS.
Other recent highlights include the Walt Disney Academy Award-winning animated feature FROZEN, where he can be heard as Brother Troll, and appearances on television in HBO’s TRUE DETECTIVE and ABC’s REVENGE, among many others.
For three years, Benjamin served as the Executive Producer and Host of THE STAGE DOOR SUPPER CLUB, a nationally broadcast in-depth Broadway educational series for the “On Broadway” channel on SiriusXM Satellite Radio.
Benjamin is a prolific director having helmed PETER AND THE STARCATCHER for Raw Sills Productions at the Whitmore-Lindley, and the SiriusXM concert series at Rockwell Table and Stage. He is also a headlining magician at the world famous Magic Castle in Los Angeles, where he recently completed his one man magic play LESSONS IN DISHONESTY by magic legend Jim Steinmeyer. He also freelances as a director for other professional magicians.
Outside of performing, for the past few years Benjamin has been a creative consultant for various high end bars and speakeasies in California. He designed the tiki cocktail program for Clifton’s Pacific Seas Room in downtown LA, Encino’s famed Sushi|Bar for celeb chef Philip Frankland Lee, and most recently he designed Magic|Bar, San Fernando Valley’s only magic and cocktail saloon.
Benjamin lives in Los Angeles.
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There are so many inspiring podcasts with fabulous stars out there. But their careers feel light years away from ours, don’t they? Wouldn’t it be great to hear from the guy who just booked his first pilot? Or the kid finally doing a studio pic after a bunch of low budget indies? Or the woman who’s been a series regular a few times but is only now becoming a name? What about the guy who’s been on a show for years and you know his face but what’shisnameagain? Or that actress who is now a freakin’ showrunner???? How’d THEY do it, right? How did they transition from relative obscurity, bartending and bottle service, to buying that house in Brentwood? We’re producing “Kahnversations,” a podcast that provides access to THOSE people -- your immediate predecessors -- so that you can learn from them while their battle scars are still fresh.
In “Kahnversations,” our own Ryan Bailey interviews some of Lesly Kahn & Company’s working actors, directors, and writers in order to learn how they got started in Hollywood, the challenges and hurdles they faced, and how they overcame the odds. (They also dish out some crazy stories!) Listen in and enjoy as these entertainers speak candidly about their paths, processes, and experiences. You might even hear a bit about how Lesly and the Kahnstitute have influenced and shaped their careers.