ACT LIKE A MOTHER

Award -winning actor, director, writer and educator Annie Torsiglieri talks to Melanie and Katie about raising her twin boys while holding onto her artistic life after one of her children received an early autism diagnosis. As life's trajectory continued to unfold in unexpected ways, Annie’s humor, curiosity and fierce mama mojo led her family through the darkness and into the light. For 21 years, Annie has worked to understand, celebrate and advocate for her kids while all the time digging deeper into her creative self. 

You’ll hear a Zen parable, laugh-til-you-cry song lyrics, and a few artfully used F-bombs in an unforgettable story about the life-changing power of theatre. And spoiler alert: you’ll never think of strawberries the same way. 

More on Annie:

@annietorsi

https://www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu/people/anne-torsiglieri

https://www.atraintheplay.com

https://the-art-of-autism.com

https://52project.org

NOTE BEFORE: In this episode there is a brief reference to suicide which may be a sensitive subject for some.

Actor, writer, producer, educator and single mom Vivia Font speaks with Katie and Melanie about all things single parenting. From freezing her eggs to shopping for a sperm donor to the ins and outs of insemination and beyond, Vivia's zest for life and figure-it-out-as-you-go attitude infuses everything she does. After the unexpected death of a dear friend, Vivia turned to her creativity to process her grief and pain. The result: a beautiful film that fell into place one piece at a time. Hear how the resilience she's gained through motherhood has helped her move through tough times, what she holds as her greatest hope for her son, and why she feels she's at a new peak in her creative power and artistic strength.

More on Vivia, her film and high quality sperm:

@vivia_font

www.viviafont.co

http://www.viviafont.com/honk-the-film.html

https://www.cryobank.com

@cryobank

Alysia Reiner is an actor, producer, activist, volunteer firefighter, foster parent, mother of a teenager, and a force to be reckoned with. In this episode, she speaks with Melanie and Katie about how she manages her multi-hyphenate life, the long and winding road to motherhood, and why she believes storytelling can save the world. Whether it's FaceTime dinners with her family while on location or opening her arms and home to those in need, Alysia's commitment to bridging divides began long before her star turn as Natalie "Fig" Figueroa on Orange Is The New Black. This woman is a powerhouse who refuses to sit around waiting for the phone to ring.

More on Alysia, her projects and passions

https://www.alysiareiner.com

@alysiareiner

https://www.scr.org/plays/productions/24-25-season/you-are-cordially-invited-to-the-end-of-the-world/

https://www.earthdayinitiative.org

https://www.theturnawayplay.com

https://wearemama.org

https://www.ineedana.com

Brand new mom Jacque Wilke speaks with Katie and Melanie about what it's like taking on the tour de force lead in What the Constitution Means to Me while figuring out parenting for the first time. Jacque shares the pressure she put on herself to be a supermom and the liberation she found when she embraced how motherhood had rearranged her. From learning her lines during stroller walks to allowing herself to be less than perfect and a bit exhausted, Jacque digs deep into an incredible role which means even more to her now that she's mother to a daughter. With effervescent humor, Jacque takes us from the rehearsal room to story time at the library and reminds us why coffee is the best thing that's ever happened to working moms.

More on Jacque:

https://www.jacquewilke.com

Info on her show at North Coast Repertory Theatre

https://northcoastrep.org/production/what-the-constitution-means-to-me/

The play:

What the Constitution Means to Me by Heidi Schreck

In the first episode of Season 2, Katie talks with Melanie about the realities of staying committed to her career while growing a big family. They discuss what Melanie has to consider before even auditioning for a job, how she keeps her energy up while rehearsing/performing and how she stays grounded in the face of life's inevitable curve balls. Currently playing Brooke in Other Desert Cities, Melanie shares how much fun it is to turn off her empathetic mama brain in order to play a character who is single, childless and entirely self-focused.

For more on Melanie and her recommendations:

melanielora.com

@missmelanielora

cygnettheatre.org

Yoga Nidra: allyboothroyd.com (also available on youtube)

Cold Plunge: breathedegrees.com (at home or in studio)

Breathwork: revelationbreathwork.com

Ursula Meyer, head of Graduate Acting at UC San Diego, recounts the gifts of life with a creative mother and the clear path to teaching that opened before her. When she and her husband found themselves on the path to adoption, a conversation with a theatre friend led them to their child. Through years of teaching and single parenting while her actor husband was on the road to the moment her child came out as transgender, Ursula's story affirms, as Shakespeare said, "There is no jewel in the world so prized as a mother's love".

Ursula's Ted Talk: Shakespeare Plays With Words

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eseWDHXkvPw

UCSD Department of Theatre and Dance

https://theatre.ucsd.edu/

Adoption Support Resources:

https://resolve.org/

Trans Family Support

https://thecentersd.org/

https://transfamilysos.org/

Ursula's Book Recs:

The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Parents and Professionals by Stephanie Brill and Rachel Pepper

The Transgender Teen by Stephanie Brill and Lisa Kenney

This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel

Found in Transition by Paria Hassouri

She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan

Conundrum by Jan Morris

Actor, educator and single mom Mercedes Herrero shares her story of suddenly and unexpectedly wanting a child in her early 40s, and the creative way she solved that as a single woman. (Hint: in any company of actors, there is usually one gent willing to help a lady out...) After several years of taking her baby with her to auditions, spending most of her Broadway paycheck on childcare, and surrounding herself with loving actor friends willing to help, Mercedes' single-parenting life took a bittersweet turn. When her aging parents needed care, she left New York at the height of her career and returned home. This is a beautiful episode just in time for the holidays that includes the miracle birth of an extraordinary child, a family's love and acceptance, and one woman's unwavering faith to live life fully, fiercely and unapologetically.

For more on Mercedes:

www.mercedesherrero.com

To find amazing female playwrights over 40:

www.honorrollplaywrights.org

Kate Rose Reynolds is an actor, director, producer and about to be a mama. At 8 months pregnant, she feels she's in tech week all the time, and shares how being an actor has prepared her for the bittersweet ephemerality of pregnancy and new motherhood. She gets honest about her fears of finding the work/mothering balance, even though she herself is a child of the theatre, and her wishes for her child as s/he grows up in this world. She vows to read Shakespeare's entire canon to the baby and teach the little one some excellent Elizabethan playground insults.

More about Kate:

katerosereynolds.com

@krred

loudfridge.com

@loudfridgetheatre

Actor, director, producer and educator Tracy Hill Williams takes us back to the 80s. She talks about what it was like as a pregnant grad student loosening her corset in As You Like It, being uncast from a big production, and finding a way to come out on top despite the sexism and misogyny of the time. From her days as a young mother of three balancing acting jobs and a marriage on the rocks, to her current incarnation as an inspiring educator and department chair, Tracy tells it like it is with grace, humor and her trademark charm.

Info about Tracy's program :

https://www.miracosta.edu/academics/degree-and-certificate-programs/creative-and-applied-arts/dramatic-arts/index.html

A few of the poems living in Tracy's head:

"I'm Nobody" by Emily Dickinson

"Her Story" by Naomi Long Madgett

"Patterns" by Amy Lowell

"Eldorado" by Edgar Allen Poe

"The Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll

Sonnets 18, 27 and 29 by William Shakespeare

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss

Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne

Chicken Soup With Rice by Maurice Sendak

Crescent City Stage co-founder Elizabeth Newcomer speaks with Katie and Melanie about building a theatre and a well-rounded life in New Orleans. Through her work as an Enneagram coach, Liz digs deep into what motivates the characters she plays and directs. Hear what her #1 concern was while filming Black Panther with Chadwick Boseman, and how inspired leadership and a family-first approach guide her theatre company and nurture her as a mama and an artist.

Liz's links:

elizabethnewcomer.com

@liz.newcomer

crescentcitystage.com

LOVE liz podcast

Parent Artist Advocacy League:

paaltheatre.com