call and response podcast

We chat with Ain’t Too Proud star Jawan M. Jackson about how his support system encouraged him to pursue music, what his journey to New York City was like, and why he is committed to giving back.

We talk with the leadership team of the Obie-winning The Fire This Time Festival—executive director and founder Kelley Girod, producer Julienne Hairston, associate producer and director of TFTT New Works Lab A.J. Muhammad, and artistic director Cezar Williams—about how the festival has cultivated the feeling of family, why freedom of voice is essential for Black playwrights, and what has changed for them as an organization and as individuals in 2020.

We chat with Broadway performer Zurin Villanueva about what she gained from attending Howard University, how she felt performing in the musical adaptations of the iconic movies Clueless and Mean Girls, and why learning from Savion Glover in Shuffle Along changed her dance game.

We talk with The Lion King and Kiss Me, Kate star Adrienne Walker about studying vocal performance at Spelman College, fighting assumptions as a Black soprano, and launching her multimedia series 32 Bar Cut.

We chat with Ty Jones, the Producing Artistic Director of Classical Theatre of Harlem and an award-winning stage actor (NAACP, OBIE) about rebuilding the organization to make an uptown impact, finding inspiration for programming, and creating theatre that is all about the people.

We talk with Tony-nominated producer and recently named Global Producer of the Year Brian Moreland about the producer contributions to diversifying audiences, the need to break free of hamster-wheel conversations, and the necessity of rediscovering the North Star of Theatre.

We talk with The Muny’s Director of Education Tali Allen about when she fell in love with music education, what her Gen Z students have taught her, and why being “the only” can feel both exhausting, yet rewarding.

We chat with actor-musician and Howard University’s BFA Musical Theatre Coordinator Marty Austin Lamar about the dare that led him to musical theatre, the power of education in the pursuit of equity, and the lessons he brings from his acting career to the classroom.

We talk with award-winning playwright, author, and University of Texas professor Dr. Lisa B. Thompson about why theatre is like a postcard, the importance of intergenerational connections, and how her work in academia and the theatre world inform each other.

We chat with marketing executive and entrepreneur Khalilah Elliott about finding mentorship as Black women in the performing arts space, working at iconic institutions like the Apollo Theater and Disney Theatrical, and forming her own company, Gafford Communications.