Women & Theatre Podcast

The Women & Theatre RISE Series presents mini-interviews conducted at the Inaugural RISE Summit with network partners of RISE Theatre, all of which are organizations working to increase equity in the theatre industry. In this episode, Hayley and Amy talk with RISE Theatre Program Manager Victoria Detres. Click here for a transcript of the episode! Episode Notes: Hosts: Hayley Goldenberg and Amy AndrewsGuest: Victoria Detres, RISE TheatreMusic: Chloe Geller Many thanks to RISE Theatre, Maestra Music, Playbill, and all the amazing organizations working to increase equity in theatre! Episode Resources: RISE Theatre website RISE Theatre network partners About RISE Theatre: RISE (Representation, Inclusion, & Support for Employment) Theatre seeks to build a more equitable and inclusive theatre industry by centralizing DEIA tools and resources through a network of partners and a national personnel directory that focuses on folks from underrepresented backgrounds, including but not limited to people of color, women, trans, nonbinary, deaf, and disabled theatre professionals. Thanks for listening! Who do you want to hear from next on the Women & Theatre Podcast? Nominate someone here. The Women & Theatre Podcast is created and produced by Hayley Goldenberg and Amy Andrews. Please like, comment, subscribe, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and consider making a donation to support our work. Thank you for listening!

abs wilson, a celebrated playwright and lyricist from NYC, teams up with Veronica Mansour, a talented composer and lyricist, as they dive into their successful musical 'Lighthouse.' They discuss the importance of collaboration among women in the arts, bringing nuanced women-forward stories to the stage. Their conversation touches on the themes of mental health and Midwestern identity within the musical, highlighting challenges faced by emerging writers. Plus, they share their personal journeys and the role of gratitude in their creative lives.

In this episode, Hayley and Amy spill the tea on what’s new this fall with Women & Theatre: A shiny new vision and mission statement, virtual and in-person community events, bonus podcast content, and lots of ways for you to get involved! Click here for a transcript of the episode! Episode Notes Hosts: Hayley Goldenberg and Amy AndrewsMusic: Chloe Geller Episode Resources: Community Events Get Involved RISE Theatre Thanks for listening! Who do you want to hear from next on the Women & Theatre Podcast? Nominate someone here. The Women & Theatre Podcast is created and produced by Hayley Goldenberg and Amy Andrews. Please like, comment, subscribe, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and consider making a donation to support our work. Thank you for listening!

Anna K. Jacobs, an award-winning composer and educator known for her musical 'Teeth,' dives into her inspiring journey from Sydney to New York's theater scene. She shares insights on creativity, emphasizing the balance of health and artistry. The conversation touches on her commitment to accessibility in the arts, the importance of education, and the challenges women face in the industry. Jacobs also discusses resilience in navigating personal and professional ambitions while raising a family, leaving listeners inspired by her dedication to fostering community through theater.

In this episode, Hayley and Amy chat about the value of artist-driven feedback that centers the project goals, ways to create theatrical spaces in which people feel empowered to give and receive feedback, the importance of naming the type of feedback that’s needed, and more. Click here for a transcript of the episode! Episode Notes Hosts: Hayley Goldenberg and Amy AndrewsMusic: Chloe Geller Episode Resources Liz Lerman: Critical response process Stephen Sondheim: Content dictates form (explainer by our friend Musical Theatre Writer Guy) Daring Greatly by Brené Brown Thanks for listening! Who do you want to hear from next on the Women & Theatre Podcast? Nominate someone here. The Women & Theatre Podcast is created and produced by Hayley Goldenberg and Amy Andrews. Please like, comment, subscribe, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and consider making a donation to support our work. Thank you for listening!

In this episode, Hayley and Amy talk with Chickasaw playwright, producer, and performer Nicolette Blount about her musical Savage, lifting up authentic female voices and stories, increasing accessibility and opportunity for writers of new musicals, parenting as a spiritual practice, and more. Click here for a transcript of the episode! Episode Notes Hosts: Hayley Goldenberg and Amy AndrewsGuest: Nicolette BlountMusic: Chloe Geller Episode Resources: Native Theatre Artists Savage the Musical Museum of Broadway Oklahoma Native Alliance Against Violence Learn more about the Chickasaw Nation Guest Bio: Nicolette Blount (she/her) is a member of the Chickasaw tribe, a playwright, producer, and performer who is currently a fellow for the Dramatist Guild Foundation’s National Musical Theatre Fellowship. She is the co-writer, composer and lyricist for Savage: The Unconquerable Wanda Savage. Savage is currently a semifinalist for NMTC O’Neil 2024. Savage received Honorable Mention in the 2022 American Playwriting Foundation's Relentless Award. Nicolette produced an EP and singles for Savage (Savage the Musical Original Cast) that have garnered 43K streams. Through her LLC, Take My Shot Productions, Nicolette co-produced Off Broadway's A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet and is currently co-producing In Pieces (in development). Nicolette started nativetheatreartists.com to help highlight Natives in the Broadway industry. Nicolette’s music has been featured at Laurie Beechman Theatre (NYMF 2019), 54 Below at Women of the Wings, and at the Ring of Keys Gala at Joe’s Pub. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild, ASCAP, Society of Composers and Lyricists, Songwriters Guild of America, TRU, MUSE, RISE, and Maestra. Find Nicolette Online: Website: nicoletteblount.com  Savage the Musical Take My Shot Productions Instagram TikTok Facebook Thanks for listening! Who do you want to hear from next on the Women & Theatre Podcast? Nominate someone here. The Women & Theatre Podcast is created and produced by Hayley Goldenberg and Amy Andrews. Please like, comment, subscribe, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and consider making a donation to support our work. Thank you for listening!

In this episode, Hayley and Amy chat with multi-hyphenate Mayah Lourdes Burke about creating equitable rehearsal spaces as an artivist, juggling hats as a multi-hyphenate, and building and nurturing community in theatrical work! Click here for a ⁠transcript⁠ of the episode! Episode Notes Hosts: Hayley Goldenberg and Amy Andrews Guest: Mayah Lourdes Burke Music: Chloe Geller Episode Resources: IlluminArt Productions Question Generator Guest Bio: Mayah “My” Lourdes Burke (she/her) is a director, producer, vocalist, playwright, poet, and actor from NYC. Credits: 54 Below Sings Jessie J (Producer), 54 Below Celebrates Curvy Queens, 54 Below Goes to the Library, and A Year With Frog and Toad (Toad). Mayah was a Directing Observer for SDCF for the revival of The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window. Her recent directing credits include The Pitfalls of Exaggerated Swagger by Cris Eli Blak, Motherless… by Cherise Kimoy, Good Grief: A Best Friend Play by Ngozi Anyanwu, We are Proud to Present… by Jackie Sibblies Drury, and Funnyhouse of a Negro by Adrienne Kennedy. Her original play, 4SZNS, had its first fully staged production at 2022 Frenzy Fest at El Barrio's Artspace in East Harlem, NYC. She is a Touring Company Member and Teaching Artist with IlluminArt Productions, an Artistic Coach with MTEAF, and a proud member of the Makers Ensemble. In 2022, Mayah received a Staten Island Youth Award for community contribution to Arts and Culture. She has a passion for encouraging and molding young minds through the power of Artivism and is a huge celebrator of the world of new works. Mayah is exceptionally grateful for the opportunity to be here and would love to give thanks to God and all the people who have supported her along the way. Find Mayah Online: Mayah's Website Instagram Email Mayah Thanks for listening! Who do you want to hear from next on the Women & Theatre Podcast? Nominate someone ⁠here⁠. The Women & Theatre Podcast is created and produced by Hayley Goldenberg and Amy Andrews. Please like, comment, subscribe, follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Facebook⁠, and consider ⁠making a donation⁠ to support our work. Thank you for listening!

In this episode, Hayley and Amy chat with playwright and producer Kelley Girod, the founder of The Fire This Time Festival and Director of New Works at the Apollo, about the vital importance of building community, uplifting the visibility of people and stories and voices we have not yet experienced, stepping into discomfort to create sustainable practices in theatre, and more! Click here for a transcript of the episode! Episode Notes Hosts: Hayley Goldenberg and Amy AndrewsGuest: Kelley GirodMusic: Chloe Geller Episode Resources: The Fire This Time Festival The Apollo and the Apollo’s Victoria Theater Frigid NYC Parity Productions - This Stretch of Montpelier National Black Theatre Guest Bio: Kelley Nicole Girod (she/her) is a playwright and producer, as well as Director of New Work at the world-famous theater The Apollo. In addition, Kelley continues to serve as Executive Director of OBIE award-winning The Fire This Time Festival, a platform for early-career Black playwrights, which she founded in 2009. Kelley is also an award-winning playwright (Parity Productions Commission, Sundance IDP Grant Recipient, Atlantic Launch New Play Commission, Sheen Center Fellow, Stein and Liberace Fellow, John Golden Fellow ) whose work has been developed/presented at Atlantic Theater Company, Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, The Fire This Time Festival, Harlem 9, Primary Stages, Project Y, Poetic Theater Productions, Classical Theater of Harlem, Frigid NYC, Planet Connections Theater Festival, The Field, Dixon Place, and Stanford University’s TAPS Program. She was recently named the recipient of 2023 New York Innovative Theater’s prestigious Ellen Steward Award. She was also a 2020 nominee of the prestigious Paul Robeson Award. Kelley has served as a guest lecturer at Yale School for Drama, Stanford University’s Theater Department, and Cal State-Fullerton. Kelley has also held the positions of Programming Associate at The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture and Producing Director at The Billie Holiday Theater. In addition, Kelley is editor of The Fire This Time Festival’s first anthology of plays, published with Bloomsbury UK/Methuen Drama and titled 25 Plays from The Fire This Time Festival, A Decade of Recognition, Resistance, Rebirth and Black Theater. Kelley is a 2008 graduate of Columbia’s MFA Playwriting program. Find Kelley Online: The ApolloThe Fire This Time FestivalFacebookLinkedIn Thanks for listening! Who do you want to hear from next on the Women & Theatre Podcast? Nominate someone here. The Women & Theatre Podcast is created and produced by Hayley Goldenberg and Amy Andrews. Please like, comment, subscribe, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and consider making a donation to support our work. Thank you for listening!

In this episode, Hayley and Amy chat with performer and writer Jerusha Cavazos about cultivating equitable and supportive theatrical spaces, the boundless complexity of womanhood, the need for nuanced Black women characters, the virtues of showering, and more! Click here for a transcript of the episode! Episode Notes Hosts: Hayley Goldenberg and Amy AndrewsGuest: Jerusha CavazosMusic: Chloe Geller Episode Resources: Check out Jerusha’s music on Spotify! Guest Bio: Jerusha Cavazos (she/her) has appeared on Broadway in The Prom and Off-Broadway in Between The Lines. Regional (select): The Muny, Dr. Phillips Center, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Chicago Lyric Opera, Barrington Stage Company, Gateway Playhouse. TV: Atlanta on FX & FBI on CBS. Jerusha’s original music is streaming on all platforms. @jerushacavazos Find Jerusha Online: Website: www.jerushacavazos.comInstagram: @jerushacavazos Thanks for listening! Who do you want to hear from next on the Women & Theatre Podcast? Nominate someone here. The Women & Theatre Podcast is created and produced by Hayley Goldenberg and Amy Andrews. Please like, comment, subscribe, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and consider making a donation to support our work. Thank you for listening!

In this episode, Hayley and Amy chat with Broadway performer and healing practitioner, Aléna Watters about practical tools to have a sustainable career in the theatre, how to unlearn societal programming around competition, and so much more! Click here for a transcript of the episode! Episode Notes: Hosts: Hayley Goldenberg and Amy AndrewsGuest: Aléna WattersMusic: Chloe Geller Episode Resources: Bobbie Cronin: DaybreakDJ Salisbury and Andrew Gerle: Whisper Darkly Dr. Bessel van der Kolk: The Body Keeps the ScorePamela Madsen: ShamelessEmily Fletcher: Stress Less, Accomplish MoreRegena Tomashauer: Pussy: A ReclamationKasia Urbaniak: Unbound: A Woman’s Guide To Power & TED Talk about reclaiming power Layla Martin: VITA Coaching InfoAnnie Huntley: Death & Grief Processing GuideLouise Hay: You Can Heal Your LifeDr. Emily Nagoski: Come As You AreStella Resnick: The Pleasure Zone: Why We Resist Good Feelings and How to Let Go and Be HappyAmy Kebernik: Meditation Teacher & Somatic Educator - InfoSing For Your Seniors Guest Bio:Broadway (OBC = Original Broadway Cast): West Side Story, The Addams Family (OBC), Sister Act (OBC), The Cher Show (OBC), Mrs. Doubtfire (OBC), Bad Cinderella (OBC). Off-Broadway: NEWSical, Boobs! The Musical. Touring/Regional: The Prom, Pippin, Ever After, Turn of the Century, Fairy Tale Christmas, Brooklyn, Chicago, Cinderella, 5 years with the USO Show Troupe (performing for our military families). "Harlette" for Bette Midler. Featured in critically acclaimed documentary The Standbys. BA Musical Theatre, UNC. Yoga/Breathwork/Healing Facilitator. IG: @sassballchange | www.alenawatters.com Find Aléna Online: Website: www.alenawatters.com Healing practice website: Healing Watters Instagram: @sassballchange Thanks for listening! Who do you want to hear from next on the Women & Theatre Podcast? Nominate someone here. The Women & Theatre Podcast is created and produced by Hayley Goldenberg and Amy Andrews. Please like, comment, subscribe, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and consider making a donation to support our work. Thank you for listening!