In the Season 5 finale, Tori and Mabelle talk with Lauren Gunderson about finding her playwriting voice, the catalyst for her free online playwriting classes, and why she writes one impossible thing into every play. She also shares how theater helps people practice living and that “theater at its best reminds us how to be good in this world.”

Tori and Mabelle talk with Andy Lowe, the Director of Production and Casting for East West Players, the longest running professional theater of color in the United States. Andy talks about his beginnings as a storyteller towards social change and how his volunteer activism with nonprofits led to his stint as Artistic Director of Asian American Rep Theatre at 19 years old. Other topics include anti-racism, his full-circle journey with the Plays by Young Writers contest, his career journey of building platforms to uplift fellow artists, and his role as a podcaster for Pod Squadron.

In their first episode of 2023, Tori and Mabelle talk with Franky D. Gonzalez about his writing rituals, the importance of community, and how a chance bus ride and kindness led to his writing stint on “13 Reasons Why.” He also shares his shift from writing plays to please others to writing plays for his son and introduces us to the people and stories that shaped his award-winning play, “Even Flowers Bloom in Hell, Sometimes.”

In the final episode of 2022, Tori and Mabelle recap the year and then talk with Jacqueline Goldfinger about their work as a playwright and educator. Jacqueline drops serious knowledge about writing without limits, finding a community that embraces and lifts up your voice, and interrogating your WHY when approaching adaptations.

Tori and Mabelle talk with Sara Guerrero, founding Artistic Director of Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble, about her play, “Have to Believe We Are Magic.” Other topics include the art of archiving, finding your writer identity, and Sara’s multiple roles in theater and community-building.

Tori and Mabelle talk with Jordan Stovall about their role at the Dramatists Guild as Director of Outreach & Institutional Partnerships and the development of the New Visions Fellowship. Other topics include Jordan’s fantastical new play, “Bat Queen!,” the therapeutic emergence of Wanda Whatever, and the societal reckoning around systemic issues in theater.