Jen Ash is a phenomenal stage manager who has worked extensively as a Stage Manager in New York, on Tour, and beyond. She talks openly with us about the professional world, friendships, and how to balance business and pleasure.   

Bio: Broadway: A  Wonderful World, Days of Wine and Roses, SIX, POTUS, Dear Evan Hansen, Wicked  Tours: Come From Away, Hadestown, Wicked, IF/THEN, Off-Broadway: CATS: The Jellicle Ball, Everything’s Fine, FuerzaBrutaWAYRA, Peter and the Starcatcher, Satchmo at the Waldorf, Bill W. And Dr. Bob. Regional: Goodspeed, Paper Mill Playhouse. Originally from El Paso, TX.

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Instagram: @jendashash

Kyra Bowie is a performer turned amazing stage manager who has worked extensively in the new york city theatre world. She talks with us about her journey to being “behind the table" and  

Kyra Bowie is a NY based Stage Manager and co-founder of Transcend Streaming. Projects that excite Kyra are new works, technically challenging productions, and stories that bring up questions that might not always be something easy to grapple with. Select credits: SEE WHAT I WANNA SEE (PSM | Out of the Box Theatrics), OUR CLASS (PSM | MART Foundation), BASEMENT, IL (PSM | NYSAF), HOUSE OF TELESCOPES (PSM | Pipeline Theatre Co), BABY FOOT (PSM | Walkerspace), JUST TELL NO ONE (SM | Lincoln Center), THE ORCHARD with Jessica Hecht & Mikhail Baryshnikov (BA-RISH-NIH-KOF) (PSM | Arlekin Players Theatre) HAPPY LIFE (PSM | Walkerspace). www.KyraBowie.com

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Instagram: @kyrabowie

Amanda Spooner is an accomplished stage manager and educator.  Amanda talks with us about all things backstage.  She is now working on Purple Rain The Musical, a dream come-true that she manifested years before.  

Amanda Spooner is an AEA Stage Manager and Educator, who came to Ithaca from New York City. She has worked on and off-Broadway, regionally, on tour, in events, on immersive experiences, on opera, dance, countless readings and workshops, and in television. Her specialty is in the development of new works and their world premieres, including Rebecca Tyke-min and Paula Vogel's Indecent as well as the musical Sing Street. Amanda has stage-managed for Producer Daryl Roth, Lincoln Center Theater, Berkeley Rep, Playwrights Horizons, Signature Theatre, Soho Rep, BAM, Ars Nova, Sundance Theatre Lab, The Public Theatre, American Repertory Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Yale Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and Westport Country Playhouse among others. She is the founder of both the Year of the Stage Manager campaign and Tandem, a peer-to-peer education program for theatre makers, in addition to serving on the Board of Directors for the Stage Managers' Association. Amanda is a former TONY voter and works closely with Actors’ Equity Association -- she was recently the youngest stage management AEA councillor in the nation. She advocates for economic equality in professional theatre, for families in the arts, and for greater visibility for Stage Managers and spends a great deal of time on research and in discussion regarding these topics. Amanda was named an American Theatre Magazine “Person to Watch” and was featured on the cover of Equity News with her son, among countless other articles and interviews. She received her MFA from the Yale School of Drama, her BA from San Francisco State University, and her AA from Las Positas College. 

Backstage Breakdown answers those big questions like:

@spoonforbetter on Instagram

@sminsta2020 on Instagram  

Theme music by Barrett Riggins.

BARRETT RIGGINS is a composer and lyricist based in Brooklyn. He won the 2025 Richard Rodgers Award for HELSINKI (Upcoming; The New Group, Selection; NAMT). He is represented by UTA and the Hybrid Agency.

Rian talks to us about their life on and off-broadway and breaks down what a child guardian actually does. Rian explains how hard young artists work and the trials and tribulations of advocating for them. 

Rian Buksbazen is a multi-hyphenate creative and theatrical specialist. Their work as a child guardian can be seen on shows like Leopoldstadt, Trevor the Musical off-Broadway and on Disney+, Into the Woods at Encores!, American Ballet Theater, EVIL on CBS, and many many more. They are the only transgender child guardian working on Broadway, and are a proud member of IATSE Local 764 TWU. 

Backstage Breakdown answers those big questions like:

Instagram: @rbuksbazen

Theme music by Barrett Riggins.

BARRETT RIGGINS is a composer and lyricist based in Brooklyn. He won the 2025 Richard Rodgers Award for HELSINKI (Upcoming; The New Group, Selection; NAMT). He is represented by UTA and the Hybrid Agency.

Tyler Crow talks to us about his college experience studying Stage Management, getting in the room as a Stage Manager, his love of new works, and the work life balance of it all. 

Broadway: The Notebook, The Cottage. Off-Broadway: What Became of Us (Atlantic Theater Company), Good Enemy (Audible Theater), Breathless; we were promised honey! (59E59), Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (New Vic). National Tours: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Kite Runner, The Prom. Regional: Barrington Stage Company, George Street Playhouse, Alliance Theatre, Theatre Aspen, and Boston Ballet. Love to my people and theatre educators everywhere. 

Backstage Breakdown answers those big questions like:

Instagram: @TCROW62

Theme music by Barrett Riggins.

BARRETT RIGGINS is a composer and lyricist based in Brooklyn. He won the 2025 Richard Rodgers Award for HELSINKI (Upcoming; The New Group, Selection; NAMT). He is represented by UTA and the Hybrid Agency. 

Aldora Neal talks to us about how she got into Stage Management, touring as the Assistant Stage Manager on the Hamilton Phillip tour, working on Broadway and how she manages it all. 

ALDORA NEAL is a Brooklyn native who blends her duality of stage management and dance. Her love for Hiphop, dance, and bringing people together naturally makes her an "Organized Creative". These passions have landed her in rooms with inspirational humans for which she is grateful to collaborate with and learn from daily. She is currently the Assistant Stage Manager on Hadestown (Broadway). Aldora wishes for everyone to share their personal magic to contribute to making the world a better place. Some of her credits: (National Tour) Hamilton: An American Musical (Philip Tour); (Broadway) Frozen, Caroline, or Change, Freestyle Love Supreme, The Cher Show, Once on This Island. Dance: Project D Dance Company: 1st Place- Elements XV & XVI, Prelude New York, and Defining Rhythm 2015 & 2016. SUNY Purchase alumna. 

Backstage Breakdown answers the hard hitting question:

Theme music by Barrett Riggins.

BARRETT RIGGINS is a composer and lyricist based in Brooklyn. He won the 2025 Richard Rodgers Award for HELSINKI (Upcoming; The New Group, Selection; NAMT). He is represented by UTA and the Hybrid Agency. 

Rachael Ellis talks to us about the various levels of theatre and her time working for City Theatre in Pittsburgh. 

RACHAEL ELLIS (she/they) is honored to serve as the Company Manager for City Theatre in Pittsburgh, and also loves being a part of the Patron Services team as a Box Office Associate. Over the years, Rachael has worked in various production, managerial, and patron-based positions. Highlights include Contemporary American Theater Festival (Associate Company Manager 2022, 2023, & 2024), Pittsburgh CLO (Props Intern 2018), Pittsburgh New Works Festival (Stage Manager for I Forgot to Worry, 2018), USITT (Stage Management Mentor Project, Mentee Class of 2019), New Hazlett Theater (Stage Manager), Kelly-Strayhorn Theatre (House Manager), a member of the inaugural class of Beth Morris Projects: Producer Academy, and The Walt Disney Company (Character Attendant, Walt Disney World). She is certified in Mental Health First Aid and Psychological First Aid. A cum laude graduate of Allegheny 

College (2019), her senior thesis focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion within theatrical management. 

Rachel Ellis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-ellis-63a77b106/

Backstage Breakdown answers those big questions like:

Theme music by Barrett Riggins.

BARRETT RIGGINS is a composer and lyricist based in Brooklyn. He won the 2025 Richard Rodgers Award for HELSINKI (Upcoming; The New Group, Selection; NAMT). He is represented by UTA and the Hybrid Agency. 

Matthew Stern talks to us about his career and life on Broadway and what it means for a Stage Manager to make the transition to the world of events. We talk about management, finances, the collegiate world, and what it means to dedicate your life to the world of theatre.  

MATTHEW AARON STERN has extensive credits on both Broadway and in corporate events. Broadway stage management credits on 20+ productions, including: Finding Neverland, On The Town, Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark, Hands On A Hardbody, Death Of A Salesman, The Little Mermaid, Wicked, The Phantom Of The Opera, and The Full Monty. Matt has toured with: Mandy Patinkin, Patti LuPone, John Lithgow, Billy Crystal, and spent two years on the road with Les Miserables. Other theatre credits include: The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Blue Man Group at the Hollywood Bowl, and The Lord Of The Rings Symphony Concerts around the world. He spent a year as the resident stage manager at Ballet Iowa, and has stage managed many readings and workshops in NYC. Matthew has been a show caller or deck manager for numerous corporate event clients in a wide variety of industries from technology (Google, Facebook, Samsung, AOL, Intel...), travel (Volkswagen, Toyota, Boating Industry Magazine, Caterpillar…), Pharma (Abbvie, GSK, Novartis, DSI…), financial (Mastercard, FC Stone, Bank of China, New Mountain Capital…) and non-profits (American Theatre Wing, Endeavor, amFAR, GLAAD Awards...). Matt is a board member of the Stage Managers’ Association USA, as well as a member of AEA & AGVA. Matt is the founder of the Broadway Stage Management Symposium, an annual conference for stage managers, where Broadway pros share their insights and experience about the art and craft of stage management. www.broadwaysymposium.com.

https://www.broadwaysymposium.com/

https://www.eventtrainingacademy.com/

Instagram: @broadwaysymposium 

TikTok: @broadwaysymposium

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/broadwaysymposium?mibextid=LQQJ4d 

Backstage Breakdown answers those big questions like:

Theme music by Barrett Riggins.

BARRETT RIGGINS is a composer and lyricist based in Brooklyn. He won the 2025 Richard Rodgers Award for HELSINKI (Upcoming; The New Group, Selection; NAMT). He is represented by UTA and the Hybrid Agency. 

Welcome to Backstage Breakdown, a podcast dedicated to shedding light on the backstage world of theater and the humans who make it all happen. Join Allison Leah Hohman and Elizabeth Hathaway Emond as they interview Stage Managers and Creatives in the arts community about the magic happening backstage.