Empowered Artist Collective Podcast - for actors, singers, dancers, writers, creators and performers

In this episode, Jennifer talks to Nicole Ferguson about life as a performer on tour. They discuss the various experiences of touring Non-Union or Production to SETA, contracts, housing, transportation, negotiating, auditioning on the road… If you are someone who is curious about what it means to be an actor on tour, this episode is for you!

About Nicole: Nicole is an actor currently on the My Fair Lady 1st National Tour.  She spent the pandemic working for an accounting firm, while also honing her skills as a vocal coach and novice milk bread baker.  She is a proud Asian American, with cultural roots in the ways of the Boston Red Sox and Japanese-Hawaiian o'hana.  She got the theater bug while growing up in Hong Kong, and spent her college years at OCU.  Always down for an adventure and to learn something new, Nicole looks forward to new opportunities to spread her wings and carve out new dreams to add to the pile. 

Nicole’s IG: @nikki_fergie

Nicole’s Website: www.nicoleferguson.net

Want to coach with Jennifer? Schedule a session here! https://appt.link/jenniferapple

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In this episode, Jennifer talks to Heidi Dean about all things social media, from content creation to using it as a “networking” resource to discovering the various types of material you may want to share with your community. They reframe social media as a way to really connect with others authentically and comfortably. Heidi shares an unbelievable amount of helpful tools for embracing the various platforms, using them in ways that feel in alignment for you, and encouraging the desire to embrace it all with gratitude. If you are someone who has a complicated relationship with social media or someone who simply wants to learn more ways to use it, this episode is for you!

About Heidi: 

Heidi Dean is known as the industry’s top social media expert for actors. She's a social media writer for Backstage Magazine and a frequent speaker at film festivals, conferences, SAG-AFTRA, AEA, podcasts, and universities across the country. Her clients include Emmy Award-winners, Broadway stars, series regulars, directors, producers, filmmakers AND actors just like you. Heidi turns social media rookies into ROCKSTARS!

Heidi’s IG: @marketing4actors

Heidi’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeidiDean

Heidi’s website:www.Marketing4actors.com

Tech Savy Actors: www.techsavvyactors.com

Post Like A Boss: www.PostLikeABoss.com

Want to coach with Jennifer? Schedule a session here! https://appt.link/jenniferapple

Monologue Sourcing Promo Link! https://empoweredartistcollective.com/podcastpromo

Learn more: https://www.empoweredartistcollective.com/podcast

EAC IG: @EmpoweredArtistCollective 

EAC TikTok: @EmpowerArtistCollective

EAC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredartistcollective/

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In this episode, Jennifer talks to Isabel Pask about starting, specifically with writing and creating one’s own work from scratch. They talk about various ways to give yourself structure, accountability, and grace. Isabel shares tons of resources for ways to dive on in, look deeper, and expand. She shares insights into projects she worked on previously and is currently working on now. Whether you already consider yourself a writer or have a ton of ideas and don’t know where to begin (especially putting *metaphorical or literal* pen to paper) this episode is full of tools & tricks and is definitely for you!

About Isabel: Isabel Pask (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based, Texan-born actor, writer, and producer with Puerto Rican roots. Isabel is a contributing artist for the femme-millennial production company CNT Productions, for which she wrote, starred in, and co-produced the short film This is Not a Love Letter. She is also on the producing team for the Sol Project and a member of the theatrical ensemble The Bellwether Project, where she writes for the series (in)alienable. Isabel has written two feature-length scripts and is starting production on a short film based on her feature script BEA & SOFIA, shooting this month. Her work as a writer, producer, and actor has been recognized by Ms. Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, and numerous international film festivals, including Madrid International Film Festival, Toronto Indie Filmmakers Festival, and Women’s Voices Now Film Festival.

Isabel’s IG: @ipask

Isabel’s website: www.isabelpask.com

This Is Not A Love Letter: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEWZyo-h99k

Want to coach with Jennifer? Schedule a session here! https://appt.link/jenniferapple

Monologue Sourcing Promo Link! https://empoweredartistcollective.com/podcastpromo

Learn more: https://www.empoweredartistcollective.com/podcast

EAC IG: @EmpoweredArtistCollective 

EAC TikTok: @EmpowerArtistCollective

EAC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredartistcollective/

Check Out Our Merch! https://www.empoweredartistcollective.threadless.com/

Any thoughts you'd like to share? Email us at [email protected]

Want to coach with Jennifer? Schedule a session here! https://appt.link/jenniferapple

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In this episode, Jennifer talks to Marisa Corcoran about her journey from being an MFA-trained actor to creating a 6-figure business in helping creatives and coaches craft uncopyable messaging. They talk about how the best role to play is yourself, how you can uncover what makes you wonderful, and ways to lean into & use these discoveries. Marisa shares tools for figuring out who you are, how you communicate with others on social, your website, & emails and strategies to share your stories with your community. They also talk about “failing” forward, the power of surrounding yourself with people who know more than you, and what it means to get out of your own way. 

About Marisa: Ready for the relationship-based approach to owning your message, building powerhouse connections, and becoming the rising tide that lifts all boats in your industry? Then you need Marisa Corcoran in your corner… Marisa's magic lies in creating intentional icons, whether it's supporting 300+ coaches and creatives to craft their uncopyable message inside of her course The Copy Confidence Society. Or helping business owners create their stage with a signature summit - that grows their community (500- 2K+ new leads in WEEKS!) and builds rockstar connections with intention + inclusivity at the center -  inside of her program, Limelight. She's also the creator of the wildly popular summit series, The Copy Chat (6 seasons and counting!) which has given over $100K to charities like The Headstrong Project, Soul Fire Farm, and Sage USA. When not click-clacking on her laptop in the Atlanta sun, you can find this Harvard grad analyzing a Real Housewives episode like it’s government policy and consuming inappropriate amounts of those fancy Ritter sport candy bars.

Marisa’s IG: @mtoni

Marisa’s website: www.marisacorcoran.com

The Copy Chat Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/groups/thecopychat

Marisa Corcoran Copy Facebook: www.facebook.com/MarisaCorcoranCopy

Want to coach with Jennifer? Schedule a session here! https://appt.link/jenniferapple

Monologue Sourcing Promo Link! https://empoweredartistcollective.com/podcastpromo

Learn more: https://www.empoweredartistcollective.com/podcast

EAC IG: @EmpoweredArtistCollective 

EAC TikTok: @EmpowerArtistCollective

EAC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredartistcollective/

Check Out Our Merch! https://www.empoweredartistcollective.threadless.com/

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In this episode, Jennifer talks to Rachel Sussman about her various creative identities, specifically through the producing lens. Rachel shares her experience of what led her to choose this particular path within the arts, the history and creation of the new musical about women’s suffrage called “Suffs,” and why she co-founded The Business of Broadway.  She talks about her guiding 3 P’s, clarifies what producing is and can be, and shares wonderful tools & resources specifically (but not exclusively!) for those interested in producing.  

About Rachel: Rachel Sussman (she/her) is a Tony Award-nominated producer, educator, and entrepreneur committed to cultivating collaborative theatrical work built on trust and transparency. A producer with Plate Spinner Productions, she is also a co-founder of The MITTEN Lab, an emerging theatre artist residency program in her native state of Michigan and The Business of Broadway, an educational initiative to democratize knowledge about the commercial theatre industry. Broadway and national tour: Co-producer on Heidi Schreck's Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony Award-nominated play, What the Constitution Means to Me. Other producing credits include the Obie Award-winning production of The Woodsman (New World Stages/59E59), Saturday Night Seder (Story Course), The Peculiar Patriot (Audible Theater at The Minetta Lane), and Eh Dah? Questions for My Father (Next Door at NYTW). In development: Suffs by Shaina Taub, now premiering at The Public Theater. A past Women's Project Lab Time Warner Foundation Fellow, Rachel was the recipient of the 2018-2019 Prince Fellowship in Creative Producing. She is a graduate of the Commercial Theater Institute and a University Honors Scholar alumna of NYU Tisch. She is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s School of the Arts and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Rachel’s IG: @rachsuss

Rachel’s website: www.rachel-sussman.com

The Buisness of Broadway: www.thebusinessofbroadway.com

Want to coach with Jennifer? Schedule a session here! https://appt.link/jenniferapple

Monologue Sourcing Promo Link! https://empoweredartistcollective.com/podcastpromo

Learn more: https://www.empoweredartistcollective.com/podcast

EAC IG: @EmpoweredArtistCollective 

EAC TikTok: @EmpowerArtistCollective

EAC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredartistcollective/

Check Out Our Merch! https://www.empoweredartistcollective.threadless.com/

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In this episode, Jennifer talks to Teniece Divya Johnson about boundaries. They define & unpack the language used around the topic, the word “no”, what it means to take up space, the importance of having a support system, and consent. They share tools about hypothetical situations specifically for artists and helpful phrases for feeling more empowered to advocate for yourself. This episode is deeply important (a note taker!) and is one that is core to the ethos of EAC.

CW: This episode touches on aspects that come up when discussing boundaries. Some mentioned: systemic racism, consent, white supremacy, systems, and intimacy. 

About Teneice: ​​ Teniece Divya Johnson, MA (Lehigh University, Sociology), MFA (University of Florida), is a student of life, stunt performer and certified intimacy coordinator, and intimacy director for television, film and stage. Some credits include HBO’s Emmy-winning Succession, Lovecraft Country, RAMY, HULU's Wu-Tang: An American Saga, FX's POSE, STARZ Run The World, The Hunters on Amazon, Modern Love Season 2, West Side Story directed by Steven Spielberg, and the limited series The Underground Railroad written and directed by Barry Jenkins on Amazon. Teniece was the assistant intimacy /fight director for the 2019 critically acclaimed and Tony-nominated production of Slave Play and the first Black, Queer and Non-Binary person to hold the position. Teniece was also a part of the Slave Play team at NYTW. In addition to working as an industry leader in the field of entertainment, Teniece has cultivated a research-based expertise in several areas: boundaries, empathy, Black intimacy and Queer intimacy. They engage colleges, universities, corporations and other organizations to promote healthy community practices. Teaching and performing for over a decade, Teniece uses a multidisciplinary approach to cultivating self-healing and creative wellness practices. Driven to keep actors safe but the story dangerous Teniece’s devised theater experience, movement training and spoken word poetry lends for a natural curiosity and commitment to honoring and dissecting what is on the page in order to develop a captivating movement dialogue of action and reaction. They are also an outspoken advocate for inclusivity, restorative justice, anti-racism, collective healing and consent culture. And an accomplished stunt performer with over 60 credits including a nomination for 2018 Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by a stunt ensemble for Avengers: Infinity War.

Teniece’s IG: @Tenievedivyajohnson

Teniece’s IMDB: www.imdb.me/teniecedivyajohnson

Teniece’s LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/TenieceDivyaJohnson

Want to coach with Jennifer? Schedule a session here! https://appt.link/jenniferapple

Monologue Sourcing Promo Link! https://empoweredartistcollective.com/podcastpromo

Learn more: https://www.empoweredartistcollective.com/podcast

EAC IG: @EmpoweredArtistCollective 

EAC TikTok: @EmpowerArtistCollective

EAC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredartistcollective/

Check Out Our Merch! https://www.empoweredartistcollective.threadless.com/

Any thoughts you'd like to share? Email us at [email protected]

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In this episode, Jennifer talks to Analisa Leaming about learning to separate your emotions from your thoughts, being willing to examine what is on the other side of fear, and using our bodies as the vessel through which feelings can pass. They both discuss what creativity means to them & the notion of embracing possibility over probability. Plus, Analisa shares tools from her work with the Paradox Process.

About Analisa: ​​Analisa Leaming is an actor/singer/coach/speaker/storyteller/risker-taker + perspective expander. (Not necessarily in that order.) She has appeared in the Broadway productions of School of Rock, Hello, Dolly!, The King and I, and On the Twentieth Century. Additionally, she has been seen regionally at the MUNY, KC Starlight, North Shore Music Theatre, Ogunquit Playhouse and Barrington Stage, to name a few. When not on stage you’ll find her unraveling the query “How do we live the big, rich, beautiful life we desire independent of our résumé, bank account and society’s definition of success?” As a coach + speaker she uses the Paradox Process to free artists from limiting beliefs and return to their power, wisdom and creativity. Analisa is also the creator and host of the podcast A Balancing Act. Her proudest creation yet, though, is her 2-year-old son, Gabey.

Analisa’s IG: @Analisaleaming

Want to coach with Jennifer? Schedule a session here! https://appt.link/jenniferapple

Monologue Sourcing Promo Link! https://empoweredartistcollective.com/podcastpromo

Learn more: https://www.empoweredartistcollective.com/podcast

EAC IG: @EmpoweredArtistCollective 

EAC TikTok: @EmpowerArtistCollective

EAC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredartistcollective/

Check Out Our Merch! https://www.empoweredartistcollective.threadless.com/

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In this episode, Jennifer talks to Amy Jo Jackson about creating your own work, leaning into your gifts, and affirming the good things. Amy Jo discusses their original musical “Hatchetation,” their solo show “The Brass Menagerie,” and their work as a dialect coach & creative. They share tools for creating your own content cabarets, embracing your unique perspective, and resources for dialect work. If you are someone who is curious as to where to start when it comes to developing and creating — this episode is for you!

About Amy Jo: Amy Jo Jackson (they/she) is a writer, performer and glitter alien based in New York City. Their original musical Hatchetation was a 2021 selection for the National Music Theater Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, and has also been developed through She-Collective and Fresh Ground Pepper’s PAL program. Their Tennessee Williams  solo show “The Brass Menagerie” was commissioned in 2019 by the Denovan Fellowship in Cabaret. As an actor, Amy Jo has performed with Company XIV, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Exit Pursued by a Bear, Prospect, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and many more. Their greatest accomplishment on The American Stage was making a child vomit from fear when they played Ursula in The Little Mermaid (sorry, kid). As a dialect coach, they’ve worked extensively in NYC and regionally, most notably on Broadway’s Kinky Boots. With their partner Jeff Ronan, Amy Jo co-hosts a weekly podcast called And Almost Starring, which is available wherever you source your pods.

Amy Jo’s IG: @amyjojackson

Amy Jo’s Website: https://www.amyjojackson.com

Want to coach with Jennifer? Schedule a session here! https://appt.link/jenniferapple

Monologue Sourcing Promo Link! https://empoweredartistcollective.com/podcastpromo

Learn more: https://www.empoweredartistcollective.com/podcast

EAC IG: @EmpoweredArtistCollective 

EAC TikTok: @EmpowerArtistCollective

EAC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredartistcollective/

Check Out Our Merch! https://www.empoweredartistcollective.threadless.com/

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In this episode, Jennifer talks to Maggie Bera about how she started Actor Aesthetic (as a blog, podcast, and coaching business) & how she balances her hats as an entrepreneur, actress, & marketing manager. They get into the weeds about buzz words like “type” and “brand” when it comes to marketing and the way in which language can be an entryway into feeling more comfortable to lean in. They share tools about being curious to know who you are & some helpful ways to prioritize. As Jennifer is a monologue coach for Actor Aesthetic, it is a fun listen to hear them get to know each other better!

About Maggie: ​​Maggie Bera is a professional actress and entrepreneur based in NYC. Off-Broadway: The Baker's Wife, Helen on 86th Street. Regional: The Little Mermaid, Phantom (Fireside Theatre), The World According To Snoopy (TUTS), Peter Pan, Les Miserables (Connecticut Rep) and Grease (Count Basie). TV: “The Big C” with Laura Linney. Maggie can be heard voicing the role of Jane in Lady Jane’s Radio Takeover on the musical podcast, One Million Musicals. BFA Musical Theatre from Texas State University. Maggie is also the founder of Actor Aesthetic - the actor lifestyle blog, podcast and online learning community.

 Maggie’s IG: @maggiebera

Actor Aesthetic IG: @actoraesthetic

Actor Aesthetic Website: www.actoraesthetic.com

Maggie’s Email: [email protected]

Want to coach with Jennifer? Schedule a session here! https://appt.link/jenniferapple

Monologue Sourcing Promo Link! https://empoweredartistcollective.com/podcastpromo

Learn more: https://www.empoweredartistcollective.com/podcast

EAC IG: @EmpoweredArtistCollective 

EAC TikTok: @EmpowerArtistCollective

EAC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredartistcollective/

Check Out Our Merch! https://www.empoweredartistcollective.threadless.com/

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In this episode, Jennifer chats with Jaz Hall about some lofty, yet pervasive topics like success, regret, & imposter syndrome. They offer how naming these things can actually be a connector rather than throwing us further into isolation, how success is something only you can define for yourself, and how community is something to come back to especially when you want to see yourself reflected back. This is a conversation they both wish they had 20 years ago and know there is much to glean from this particular episode, no matter where you are on your journey.

About Jaz: Jaz Hall (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, interdisciplinary artist. They simultaneously wear the hats of director, performer, casting associate, producer, curator, mentor and advocate. Jaz believes in the development of new work and art with marginalized and minority groups at the forefront. Works for and by these communities are the forward momentum of necessary change in the arts and in our world. Based in DC, Jaz previously served on the Artistic Producing team at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), where they began as a FAIR Assistant Director in 2019. Jaz is also the creator of an independent QTPOC artist platform, WOMB, the creation space, debuted on OSF’s digital platform, O!. Currently, Jaz is assistant directing and understudying ONCE ON THIS ISLAND at OSF and recently associate directed THE GRADIENT at the St. Louis Repertory. They are excited about their collaborations with the Empowered Artist Collective and Viterbo University working with burgeoning artists, their work as a producing member of the In The Margin Collective, and their work with JZ Casting. Jaz is a proud graduate of Howard University; BFA, Musical Theatre.

Jaz’s IG: @thejazhall

Womb IG: @womb.thecreationspace

In the Margin IG: @inthemargin_itm

In the Margin website: https://www.inthemargin.org/ 

Want to coach with Jennifer? Schedule a session here! https://appt.link/jenniferapple

Monologue Sourcing Promo Link! https://empoweredartistcollective.com/podcastpromo

Learn more: https://www.empoweredartistcollective.com/podcast

EAC IG: @EmpoweredArtistCollective 

EAC TikTok: @EmpowerArtistCollective

EAC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredartistcollective/

Check Out Our Merch! https://www.empoweredartistcollective.threadless.com/

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