CIVIC STORIES: A South Bend Civic Theatre podcast with Alex Peek

In today’s episode, we discuss theater’s most popular Idioms. Like once already, if you see that I have my wife on as a guest, that means things didn’t go as planned with guests for the week. In these circumstances, I bring Lindsey on to discuss a topic. The topic for this show is popular Theater Idioms! Join us as you hear me clumsily read through some definitions and origins of your favorite Theater Idioms. 

In today's episode, we have Josh Napierkowski. We talk a little bit about Josh's role at South Bend Civic and what he has been up to lately at the theater, but we mostly discuss the upcoming Spongebob Musical produced by the Youth Program at SBCT. We discuss the show, some of the hurdles that he and the cast have faced, and what he hopes everyone will get out of seeing the show.

In today’s episode, we have Kyle Chamberlin. Like me, for the past 20 plus years, Kyle has been a long-time presence at the South Bend Civic Theater. He has done everything from performing on stage, producing shows at the theater, and was a board member for six years. In our conversation, we discuss many topics, including how he got started in theater, becoming a percussionist, his time at Notre Dame, and his involvement at SBCT.

Back Story:
“Anyone who has listened to Civic Stories will probably hear me drop Kyle’s name at least once per show. That is due to his presence at the theater, and we have known each other for over 23 years.  We met in High School band, and our SBCT volunteerism has grown concurrently over those years, so our paths cross quite a bit at the theater, thus why he is brought up so much! In the episode, we discuss some of our history and only some of the things we have done together over the years.” - Alex Peek

In today’s episode, we have Sean Leyes. Sean may be in his early 30s, but he is also a 20 year plus veteran of Theater, and in today’s episode, we get to hear his 20-year journey of being on the stage. He has performed on almost all the stages in the area, with most happening at SBCT. After building up his acting chops in Michiana, he decided to take his talents to New York and go for it on Broadway. We discuss that recent adventure and how it has been affected by COVID.

Alex & Seans Backstory: 

Alex first met Sean Leyes in December 2016 when performing “In with the New,” a Cabaret Show that Kyle Chamberlain produced. Sean was one of many talented singers who performed that evening. When Alex learned that Sean had moved to NYC to try his hand on Broadway, he hoped there he would be another example of local talent making it.  When Alex began this podcast, he started a wish list of guests; Sean was one of them. Luckily, because of COVID-19, Alex got a chance to sit down and talk with Sean, who has been back in the area. 

On today’s episode, we have returning guest Grace Lazarz. 

We catch up with Grace on what she has going on, along with what her future holds. Then we get in-depth with all things Fringe Fest. What it is, its origins for SBCT’s production, and how it was organized. 

If you want to see the full schedule of performances and locations, please go to https://southbendfringe.com

On today’s episode, we have Marybeth Saunders. I can confidently say that after this conversation, Marybeth has been doing theater her whole life! We get to hear about how her passion for Theater started in Kansas, which then took her to Broadway. But as you will hear, she didn’t stay there or anywhere permanently until making it to South Bend. She also provides a lot of insight on making theater a career for younger actors and we discuss her upcoming performance in the show, BOOM!

On today’s episode,  we are joined by CIVIC Construction Manager Bill Loring. In addition to learning about Bill's background, we're also treated to a local history lesson.

We discuss Bill’s current life and how he went from repairing bicycles to being an IT Specialist while also being out Construction Manager at SBCT. However, we spend considerable time discussing his high school life which included being a part of the local sketch show Beyond Our Control which aired on WNDU. 

Bill goes into depth talking about his experience with the show and how it formed his life, but it also taught me about some local history that everyone needs to learn about!

On today’s episode we have Janine Felder-Kahn. Janine will be staring in the upcoming show ‘Copenhagen’.  We discuss how Janine started acting and it being a passion for her in High School, but stepping away from it as she studied Law at Notre Dame. But like a lot of people, she ended coming back to theater, with her first show at SBCT being Dracula. We also discuss another passion in life for her: traveling. We exchange travel stories of our various treks across the globe. 

On today’s episode we have Richard Baxter. In the past 20 years, Richard has acted and directed many shows at the CIVIC and has become very well known in the CIVIC community. However, Richard did not begin his life in South Bend, but in Casper, Wyoming. Listen as we talk about Richard’s journey from getting his start as a curtain puller in Casper, then acting in Utah, to Theater Director in Colorado and ultimately coming to St Mary’s in South Bend.

As the South Bend Civic Theatre prepares to broadcast the greatest adventure story of all time (The Odyssey streams Feb. 19-28), Hayden Miller joins us to talk about her experience with the CIVIC's youth ensemble.

Hayden, who is playing several roles within the production, has been designing and drawing virtual backgrounds for the Zoom-based production to bring the show to you in a new way. 

In Episode 11 of CIVIC Stories, Hayden and Odyssey Director Grace Lazarz join Host Alex Peek to talk about the upcoming show and how to get involved with the CIVIC as a student.