It's All Groovy

Part chemist, part technician and part special effects designer, Lillis sure has a few tricks up their sleeve.

You've ever wondered where the rain goes on stage after the show? Or how the wand in HP & the Cursed Child spits out a blue fiery hue? Well Lillis knows and explains it all in this wonderful conversation we had in New York.

Sit back, make yourself a warm tea and have a pen & paper in case you want to take some notes to impress your friends at the next bingo night.

To read more about Lillis and his incredible adventures:

https://www.broadwaynews.com/little-known-theater-jobs-special-effects-supervisor/

I knew upon reading Anya's (lengthy) profile, many many projects and interviews that this would be a special one. And it did not fail to be.

Not only can Anya recite almost every single Shakespeare line, but she truly has the kindest soul, which is no wonder theatre and film actors (such as Felicity Huffman and Zach Woods) go to her for acting classes and coaching.

I am confident that you will revel in Anya’s incredible knowledge and soothing words of wisdom and be completely bewitched by her, as I was.

Happy listening!

To follow’s Anya’s work and fantastic interviews:

https://www.anya-saffir.com

I did not think when reading a brilliant essay in the New York Times that I would end up 1 year later in an office in Times Square with said author.

We are all moved by articles we read, but rarely do we dive deeper into the subject, let alone reach out to interview the writer. Williamstown Theatre Festival was unbeknownst to me up until then but something about the magic beneath the words piqued my interest. A few months and km later, I am delighted to present you with this episode in which you will discover an incredible festival nestled in the Berkshires in West Massachusetts. Managing Director of Strategy and Transformation Raph Picciarelli takes us through his rocambolesque career, a blend of creative and corporate roles, leading him to this role and describes his first few weeks at the reins of such an institution.  

Whether you are in the creative industry or not, I am confident you will find yourselves in Raph’s experiences, challenges, doubts, and I hope his words of wisdom and humility will push you too to dare to take on new challenges.
Stay tuned for more details on the next Williamstown Theatre Festival on the below website link and happy listening!

A few links:

Williamstown Theatre Festival

⁠Raph's NYT article⁠

⁠Raph's Instagram account⁠

What I absolutely love about the performance arts industry is that you never cease to learn. Not only are there heaps of sectors, but each artist has their own way of doing things, their way of bringing their magic into this world. I was fortunate enough to discover artist Evie Gurney in an article in The Stage, discussing the links between the fashion industry & costume design and after some intensive googling I was determined to have Evie as my next guest so I reached out!

A few weeks later, I present to you an absolutely wonderful episode covering Evie's wild, risk-taking and not at all linear career path all the way to her current role of Costume Designer.

From her formative years at Central St Martins, to working at prestigious fashion houses, to finally arriving into costume designing where she worked in some of of the world's most renowned theatres, Evie takes us through her incredible journey where her innate and absolute confidence in herself and her abilities led her from one step to the other.

So pop your headphones in, sit back in a relaxing sofa with a warm tea and let yourself be transported to the wonderful world of costume designing and the art of storytelling.

You can follow Evie's projects on her:

Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/evieonfire/

& her website: https://eviegurney.com/

The National Theatre Natural Dye and Wellbeing Green garden we discuss: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/your-visit/things-to-do/natural-dye-wellbeing-garden/

Evie's favourite costume book recommendations if you want a collection of works detailing workwear, uniforms, traditional folk and carnival costumes from around the world: https://www.charlesfreger.com/books/

To introduce this episode, I shall try not to say too much, as the magic truly lies in it (pun intended). Before I met JeanLuc, I had a conception and reservations about this craft. After our encounter, I was gobsmacked and couldn’t shake the feeling of “wowness” I felt. And that is exactly why JeanLuc does this job. Throughout this episode, I hope you too will let yourself enter this incredible world, thanks to Jean Luc’s stories and see the immense hard work that lies beneath it.

Happy listening!

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Pour introduire cet épisode, je vais tenter de ne pas trop en dire, car la magie réside vraiment à l'écoute (petit clin d'oeil). Avant de rencontrer JeanLuc, j'avais mes préconceptions et de cet art, qui ont très rapidement été remplacées par de l'ébahissement. A travers cet épisode, j'espère que vous aussi vous vous laisserez emporter dans ce monde merveilleux, grace aux histoires incroyables de JeanLuc et l'immense travail derrière qui rend ce spectacle possible.

JeanLuc's Instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/jeanlucbertrand_magic_story/

 JeanLuc's Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/JeanLucBertrand-MagicBoxShow/null

James Pearson is not someone you easily forget; whether it's his mesmerising fingers dancing across the piano, his 'indefatigable' energy (as quoted by The Times) or the wealth of stories he has to share about all the great musicians that ever existed, you will.

Artistic Director, composer, pianist, musician in residence... it seems unconceivable he is able to fit it all in a day, yet he does with a huge smile. In this episode, we will delve into his career that's brought him to travel globally, his arrival and ascension at Ronnie Scott's and the evolution of Jazz music, the whole interspersed with live piano tunes, ranging from Gershwin to bebop. You can absolutely stand up and dance along. Happy listening!

James's website: http://www.jamespearsonmusic.com/

Some of the few great musicians he collaborated with:

- Dame Cleo Lane

- Elvin Jones

- Gregory Porter

His favourite musicians:

- Fats Waller

- Oscar Peterson

- Vladimir Horowitz

And his go to film, with Dudley Moore, his contagious laughter (and a scene where you see his great piano skills) and Liza Minnelli: Arthur

Cela ne m'était encore jamais arrivé : rencontrer quelqu'un à travers ses mots écrits, en découvrant les détails les plus durs et parfois nauséeux de sa vie intime, avant de la voir en personne pour l'interviewer.

Parue début octobre, sa biographie, 'Moi, Fabienne B., mauvaise fille', s'ouvre sur le récit d'une enfance catastrophique et terrible. Pourtant, malgré tous ces traumas , Fabienne s'est relevée, est arrivée à Paris et s'est frayé son propre chemin. Commençant en tant qu'hôtesse au 24 Heures du Mans, elle a su tisser des liens avec des personnes influentes et gravir ardemment les marches du monde du cinéma jusqu'à devenir Directrice de Casting.

Plongée dans cet univers, Fabienne nous confie ses amitiés nouées, les tournages rocambolesques, les coulisses parfois cruelles mais surtout la magie du cinéma.

Dans cet épisode, vous découvrirez une femme forte, sensible, passionnée et profondément touchante. Une femme dont le parcours, je l'espère, vous invitera à changer de perspective sur vos blessures et à y reconnaître, une source de force.

Vous pouvez acheter son livre à la ⁠⁠Fnac⁠⁠ et chez ⁠⁠Payot⁠⁠ en France ou en Suisse.

Cet épisode sera en français.

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Never had I met someone through their words, discovering all the intricate and harsh details about their inner life, before seeing them in person, to interview them.

Published beginning of October, Fabienne's biography "Moi, Fabienne B., mauvaise fille", opens with a raw telling of her terrible childhood. She nevertheless picked herself up, came to Paris and decided to forge her own path. Starting as a hostess at the 24 Heures du Mans, Fabienne befriended influential people and arduously climbed the ranks of the film industry to become Casting Director.

In this episode, Fabienne shares her wonderful on set experiences, the sometimes cruel behind the scenes of the industry, the friendships she forged and above all the magic of cinema. You will discover a woman who is strong, passionate and deeply touching.

This episode will be in French.

Fabienne's top film picks:

- ⁠Chariots of Fire ⁠

- ⁠All That Jazz⁠

- ⁠Mon nom est Personne⁠

Thank you as always to my friend Mory at Pars Studio for the sound engineering.

You’ve got people who squeeze every hour of the day till it’s reduced to pulp, and you’ve got Xhloé and Natasha.

To call them a ‘tour de force’ would be mundane and not representative enough of their mind-boggling grandeur. Having managed to squeeze into one of their sold out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, I spent the following 50 minutes realising what staggering talent and energy looks like on stage.

Throughout this episode, you’ll realise how assiduous, audacious and completely ingenious these two New York based performers are and what it truly takes to make it (and succeed!) in this crazy industry of the performing arts.

Remember their names as you’ll be seeing them again soon. Happy listening !

You can follow their amazing feats on their website: https://www.xhloeandnatasha.com

Or follow them on their social media: @xhloeandnatasha

There are people you meet who you instantly forget, and others who leave such an impression you just have to learn more about them. Following a very serendipitous and rocambolesque bump-in at the Edinburgh Fringe last year, I got to see Amy and Claudio’s fantastically ludicrous and clownesque show which to this day has left quite a mark. Delving into her years at Philippe Gaulier’s famous clown school, Amy explains (in her wonderful Suffolk accent) what clowning really is, what it feels to have the dreaded “flop” happen on stage and shows us how we can all benefit from the lessons learnt.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Happy listening!

To see the trailer of her show: 'Beryl and Clive (their musical)'

Amy's clowning workshop recommendations:

- Ecole Philippe Gaulier

- Mick Barnfather - Clown & Comedy courses

- Spy Monkey - Theatre of the Funny

- Angela de Castro's The Why Not Institute

- John Wright The Wright School with the amazing Tedx talk "Rediscovering playfulness" on the link and his two books:

• Why is that so funny
• Playing the Mask: Acting Without Bullshit.

Thank you to my dear friend Mory at Pars Studio as always for the great sound engineering!

Met by happenstance on a student film set and after chatting for 5 minutes, I quickly realised Lionel had quite a story to share.

To say he had a busy career would be an understatement. Starting as 3rd AD and making his way up to 1st AD and eventually director, Lionel's work has taken him across the globe, working with some of the greatest directors in the world. Seizing every opportunity with one suitcase and the phrase "worst case, if it doesn't work out, they fire me", Lionel has managed to pave an uninterrupted career spanning over 30 years, stopping only when the pandemic hit, when he finally rested and decided to become a teacher at a film school in Paris.

This episode will be in French, but hopefully, my English friends, you'll be able to whip out your textbooks and catch glimpses of his fantastic life.

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Rencontré par cas fortuit sur le set d'un film d'étudiant à Paris, j'ai très vite compris que j'avais face à moi quelqu'un qui n'avait pas eu le temps de niaiser pendant ces 40 dernières années.

Commençant en tant que 3ème AR, Lionel a vite su se faire connaître parmi les meilleurs directeurs du monde, ce qui lui a valu une carrière internationale ininterrompue pendant plus de 30 ans, pendant laquelle il gravi les échelons jusqu'à 1er AR et éventuellement réalisateur. Ne refusant jamais un projet et suivant sa phrase clé "au pire, on me vire", Lionel nous partage sa carrière tant surprenante que rocambolesque, qui, je l'espère, vous inspira à prendre vos propres risques.

A selection of the films Lionel worked on/ Une sélection de film sur lesquels Lionel a travaillé:

- Animal Farm

- Hotel Rwanda

- There's Only One Sun

- Pub Cartier: L'odyssée de Cartier

- Case Départ

Lionel's top picks /ses films favoris:

- Apocalypse Now

- Taxi Driver

- Jaws

Thank you to my dear friend Mory at Pars Studio for the great sound engineering.