On The Voice

In this episode of On The Voice, Ben Abraham joins hosts Mackenzie Bykowski, MM, and Jenna Battipaglia, MS, CCC-SLP, PAVA-RV to discuss his experience navigating a cyst on his vocal fold. 

Ben is an Australian singer-songwriter and recording artist based in Los Angeles. His solo album releases include Sirens and Friendly Fire, and his music has been described as “cinematic folk”, with an overall sound that's spacey, atmospheric, and tasteful. As a co-writer, his credits include Kesha's Grammy-nominated hit "Praying," as well as "Grow As We Go" on Ben Platt's debut album Sing to Me Instead, among others. Ben has toured extensively and continues to write and perform for audiences around the world.

Ben walks us through discovering, and ultimately having surgery to remove, a vocal fold cyst. He shares the panic of the diagnosis and why data, not reassurance, is what comforted him. He also describes the unexpected emotion of making his first sounds after vocal rest, and his ongoing rehabilitation with a speech-language pathologist in Los Angeles. Ben explains why, for him, vocal injury in the recording artist world felt less like stigma and more like isolation, with no one to compare notes with. 

Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for general educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional medical, legal, financial, or other advice. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the hosts. Individual experiences and results may vary — always consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.

In this episode of On The Voice, hosts Mackenzie Bykowski, MM, and Jenna Battipaglia, MS, CCC-SLP, PAVA-RV, kick off Season 2 by finally defining a term they've referenced constantly throughout the show: vocal injury stigma. Where it comes from, why it spreads faster than the truth, and why it keeps singers silent exactly when they need help the most.

Drawing on research from Johns Hopkins, McGill University, and ASHA, Mackenzie and Jenna unpack the difference between self-stigma and social stigma, why more than 85% of Broadway singers with a vocal injury never disclose it to their employer or file a workers' comp claim, and how fear of lost income keeps performers pushing through injuries that need rest. They trace the roots of public vocal injury stigma back to two landmark cases: Julie Andrews, whose 1997 vocal cord surgery left her permanently unable to sing and became, in their words, the case that put vocal injury on the public's radar; and Adele, whose 2011 vocal hemorrhage and subsequent tour cancellation offered a more transparent, empowering counterpoint decades later. Along the way, Mackenzie and Jenna share a recent real-world reminder that this stigma is alive and well, and that highlighting individual testimonials of working through vocal injury is the most effective way to combat the spread of stigma.

Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for general educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional medical, legal, financial, or other advice. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the hosts. Individual experiences and results may vary — always consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.

As we prepare to release Season 2, we are revisiting some of our earlier conversations! Please enjoy our talk with Telly Leung from November 2025. Be sure to catch Telly as Ryuk in Frank Wildhorn's Death Note: The Musical, now making its West End debut at London's Barbican - based on the smash-hit manga (and anime) of the same name! 🎉

In this episode of On The Voice, Telly joins hosts Mackenzie Bykowski and Jenna Battipaglia, MS, CCC-SLP, to discuss discovering and treating a vocal pseudocyst, navigating recovery after surgery, and how the experience redefined his relationship to stamina, identity, and the “show must go on” mentality. He reflects on learning to balance artistry with longevity and what it really means to sustain a professional singing career across decades.

Telly Leung is a Chinese-American, New York–born actor, singer, and educator whose career spans Broadway, television, and international stages. You may have recently seen him as The Phantom in Masquerade, the immersive reimagining of The Phantom of the Opera. On Broadway, Telly has appeared in Aladdin, Rent, Godspell, In Transit, Allegiance, Pacific Overtures, and Flower Drum Song, and he originated the role of Boq in the Chicago company of Wicked. His screen credits include Glee, Warrior, among many others. A Carnegie Mellon graduate, Telly is also a director, theatre educator, and producer of the new holiday musical The Nice List.

Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for general educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional medical, legal, financial, or other advice. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the hosts. Individual experiences and results may vary - always consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.

As we prepare to release Season 2, we are revisiting some of our earlier conversations! Please enjoy our talk with George Salazar from October 2025. You can catch George as Eddie/Dr. Scott in the Broadway revival of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW at Studio 54, beginning August 25th! 🎉

In this episode of On The Voice, Mackenzie and Jenna sit down with George Salazar - a half-Filipino, half-Ecuadorian actor, singer, and musician best known for originating Michael Mell in the Broadway hit Be More Chill, a role that earned him a Lucille Lortel Award, two Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards, and nominations from both the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle. His show-stopping act two number, "Michael in the Bathroom," has been streamed over 50 million times worldwide.

George made his Broadway debut in the 2011 revival of Godspell and has since starred in the Off-Broadway productions of Here Lies Love, tick, tick… BOOM!, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, and as Seymour in the Pasadena Playhouse's critically acclaimed production of Little Shop of Horrors opposite MJ Rodriguez and Amber Riley. His television credits include American Crime Story: Impeachment and NBC's Superstore, and he recently voiced "Happy" in Disney's live-action Snow White film.

In this episode, George opens up about his path from the 2nd National Tour of Spring Awakening to Be More Chill, how he artistically crafted the character of Michael Mell, and what a vocal hemorrhage taught him about pressure, identity, and redefining success as a vocal athlete.

Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for general educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional medical, legal, financial, or other advice. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the hosts. Individual experiences and results may vary - always consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.

Season One is a wrap! 🎉 New episodes return Wednesday, September 16th.

In this special finale, Mackenzie and Jenna reflect on an incredible first year - 21 episodes, 5,400+ plays, 800+ hours listened, and over 2,500 unique listeners reached. Thank you to every guest and listener who made this possible

Mackenzie and Jenna share was is to come in Season Two: a new online resource platform, appearances at BroadwayCon and beyond, and some very cool merch.

Have a guest suggestion or a story of your own? We'd love to hear from you. 🎙️

In this episode of On The Voice, Dr. Marita Stryker, DMA, PAVA-RV, and Joanne Bozeman, BM, join hosts Mackenzie Bykowski, MM, and Jenna Battipaglia, MS, CCC-SLP, PAVA-RV, for our first-ever double guest episode. Marita and Joanne are the researchers and educators behind ChronicallySinging.com, a platform dedicated to gathering stories and resources for singers navigating invisible, dynamic chronic conditions.

Marita holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Contemporary Voice Pedagogy from Shenandoah Conservatory, where she was the first graduate of the program, and is an Assistant Professor of Contemporary Voice and Musical Theatre at St. Olaf College and a PAVA-Recognized Vocologist. Her performing background spans musical theatre, opera, and years as a lead singer on Celebrity and Holland America cruise lines. Joanne has taught singing for nearly fifty years, most recently on the faculty of Lawrence University's Conservatory of Music, and is co-author of the ground-breaking book Singing Through Change: Women's Voices in Midlife, Menopause, and Beyond.

Marita and Joanne walk us through the science behind Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS), and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD) — and how each can directly affect vocal production, from breath support and stability to the way collagen and connective tissue changes show up at the level of the vocal folds and larynx. We dig into what the emerging laryngology research says about vocal injury risk in this population, how dramatically these conditions can fluctuate day to day, and what it means to be strong in rehearsal on Monday and struggling by Tuesday. We also talk candidly about stigma - the pressure singers with invisible conditions feel to prove how serious their symptoms are while also downplaying them so they aren't seen as a liability, and what disclosure really looks like as a professional risk calculation.

Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for general educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional medical, legal, financial, or other advice. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the hosts. Individual experiences and results may vary — always consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.

In this episode of On The Voice, Etai Benson joins hosts Mackenzie Bykowski, MM, and Jenna Battipaglia, MS, CCC-SLP, PAVA-RV. Etai is an Israeli-American actor who studied musical theater at the University of Michigan and most recently appeared on Broadway as Paul in the five-time Tony Award-winning, gender-bent revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company alongside Patti LuPone. He originated the role of Papi in the ten-time Tony Award-winning musical The Band's Visit, for which he won a Grammy Award as part of the cast recording. Other credits include Broadway and national tour productions of Wicked as Boq, An American in Paris as Adam Hochberg, and the Off-Broadway production of Wonderful Town at New York City Center Encores.

Etai walks us through navigating a vocal injury during the original Broadway run of The Band's Visit — the panic of losing access to a critical high note mid-run, the physical tension and body alignment patterns tied to his character that contributed to it, and the recovery work he did with speech-language pathologist Christine Estes. We also talk about what it's like to return to the same role, Boq, across multiple productions and years, balancing vocal demands with early parenthood, and his reflections on originating a role versus stepping into an iconic one. Along the way, Etai shares what it's been like building a life and career alongside his wife, actress Alexandra Socha, including playing romantic leads opposite each other on stage.

Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for general educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional medical, legal, financial, or other advice. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the hosts. Individual experiences and results may vary — always consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.

In this episode of On The Voice, Sarah Kervin, MS, CCC-SLP, joins hosts Mackenzie Bykowski, MM, and Jenna Battipaglia, MS, CCC-SLP, PAVA-RV. Sarah is a voice-specialized speech-language pathologist at the Sean Parker Institute for the Voice at Weill Cornell Medicine, currently pursuing her PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences at NYU, and remains an active working musician throughout NYC. Her path to the field wound through opera, jazz studies, and years of gigging and teaching — including a five-year stretch commuting between New York and a faculty position at Berklee — before a vocal fold injury of her own led her into voice therapy and, eventually, into the clinical and research side of voice science.

Sarah walks us through her current research on the known effects that sex hormones have on the voice, including a deeply personal case study in which she scoped and tracked her own voice daily for over 500 days to capture how vocal function shifts across the menstrual cycle. The conversation also covers what's known — and what's still unclear — about how pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and menopause can affect the speaking and singing voice, and why so much of this research is still in its early days. Sarah makes the case for validating what voice users feel in their own bodies, even when the data hasn't fully caught up yet.

Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for general educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional medical, legal, financial, or other advice. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the hosts. Individual experiences and results may vary — always consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.

In this episode of On The Voice, Stephen Mark Lukas joins hosts Mackenzie Bykowski, MM, and Jenna Battipaglia, MS, CCC-SLP, PAVA-RV, to share his story publicly for the first time - a nearly five-year vocal rehabilitation journey navigated entirely while continuing to perform at the highest level of his profession.

Stephen Mark Lukas is a Broadway actor and musical theatre leading man whose career spans some of the most vocally demanding roles in the canon. He made his Broadway debut in The Book of Mormon as the standby for Elder Price, later performing the role in the show's Chicago sit-down production and on tour. He most recently appeared on Broadway in the critically acclaimed revival of Funny Girl, understudying Nick Arnstein opposite Lea Michele before going on to lead the North American tour in the role. He also originated the role of Gaston in Disney's 30th Anniversary production of Beauty and the Beast, currently touring across North America, and has appeared in leading roles at premier regional theatres including Paper Mill Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House, and Ogunquit Playhouse, in productions including Oklahoma!, Camelot, South Pacific, and Damn Yankees.

Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for general educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional medical, legal, financial, or other advice. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the hosts. Individual experiences and results may vary — always consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.

Lucian Sulica, MD is the Sean Parker Professor of Laryngology and the Director of the Sean Parker Institute for the Voice at Weill Cornell Medical College, and Past-President of the American Laryngological Association. His practice is limited to voice disorders, with a special interest in the medical and microsurgical treatment of vocal fold injuries from voice use, particularly in performers. He was awarded the American Laryngological Association's Casselberry Award for distinguished research on the mechanics of vocal fold injury, and has authored more than 110 journal articles, 45 book chapters, and 3 books. His work has been devoted to establishing clear, evidence-driven principles for the treatment of voice conditions.

In this episode of On The Voice, Dr. Sulica joins hosts Mackenzie Bykowski, MM, and Jenna Battipaglia, MS, CCC-SLP, PAVA-RV, for a comprehensive conversation on phonotrauma - the physical stress placed on the vocal folds from voice use itself. He breaks down what phonotrauma is, what kinds of injuries can result from it, and why approaching vocal injury through the same lens as any other repetitive strain injury changes how we understand and treat it. The conversation also explores how different lesions behave and recur in distinct ways, and what the research actually tells us about risk, recovery, and long-term vocal health. Dr. Sulica also discusses his role in advancing office-based procedures for the treatment of voice disorders, reducing the need for general anesthesia and expanding access to care for professional voice users.

Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for general educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional medical, legal, financial, or other advice. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the hosts. Individual experiences and results may vary — always consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.