Relate w/ Patrick McAndrew

In episode 021, we chat with Austin Pendleton, critically acclaimed actor, director, and playwright who has worked with reputable artists such as Meryl Streep, Ethan Hawke, Natalie Portman, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.  Austin shares with us his story of humble beginnings in his small hometown in Ohio, putting up plays with his family and friends, all the way to his Broadway career and what he learned along the way. He teaches us the value that acting can have on a person and, though the lifestyle comes with its fair share of ups and downs, it is exhilarating.

Austin Pendleton is a playwright, actor, director, teacher, and a Steppenwolf ensemble member since 1987. He received critical acclaim in 1964 for his performance as Motel in the original Broadway cast of “Fiddler on the Roof.” He appeared in “The Last Sweet Days of Isaac” (for which he won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance and an Obie Award), “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “Goodtime Charley,” and “Up from Paradise” as well as many other plays. In August 2006, Pendleton played the Chaplain in Bertolt Brecht’s “Mother Courage and Her Children” with Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline in the Public Theater production. As a director, Pendleton has worked extensively on and off-Broadway. His direction of Elizabeth Taylor and Maureen Stapleton in Lillian Hellman’s “The Little Foxes” garnered him a Tony Award nomination. Additional directing credits include “Between Riverside and Crazy,” “Uncle Vanya,” “Three Sisters,” “Ivanov,” and “Hamlet,” all at Classic Stage Company in New York. He has made over 100 appearances in television and film. His film work is as diverse as “A Beautiful Mind,” “Mr. & Mrs. Bridge” and “The Muppet Movie.” In 2007, Austin Pendleton received a Special Award for his contributions to American theater at the 52nd Annual Drama Desk Awards.

Episode 020 of SHIPS is all about The Indifference Plague, and how it can be super tempting to fall into a trap of being indifferent about life. If we are indifferent, we don't accomplish things and then the world doesn't progress. Not only that, but if we decide to be indifferent with our lives, it will leave us feeling incredibly unfulfilled and unhappy.

CEO and President of Business Improv, Bob Kulhan, joins us in episode 019 of SHIPS! The author of 'Getting To Yes And,' Bob talks a lot in this episode about the importance of collaboration and communication. These are the pillars to any successful business. We also discuss how pretty much anyone can benefit from learning improv because it is such an adaptable skill in interacting and relating with our fellow human beings.

To learn more about Bob and Business Improv, please check out https://www.businessimprov.com (where you can also check out his book, 'Getting To Yes And'), https://www.bobkulhan.com, @bizimprov, or on LinkedIn at  https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-kulhan-0226a01/  and  https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-improvisations/.

Bob Kulhan is an Adjunct Professor of Business Administration for The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University as well as an Adjunct Professor of Business for Columbia Business School, Columbia University. He also is the Founder & CEO of Business Improv®. Based out of Chicago, LA & New York City, BI is a world-class leader in developing experiential learning programs for businesses. For 25 years Bob has performed and taught improvisation internationally. His teaching and performing credits include Chicago's famed Second City, Improv Olympic, Columbia College, London TheaterSports, The Banff Centre, The Australian Graduate School of Management, Koç University in Istanbul, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, UCLA Anderson School of Management, Columbia University Business School, and Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. His consulting and teaching work in leadership and managerial improvisation includes emphasis on team skills, fostering a collaborative corporate culture, whole body listening, busting blocks to creativity, conflict management, dyadic relationships, creative and adaptive problem solving, leadership, influence, and fostering creative cultures. Since 1998, his customized Business Improvisations programs have served a large international roster of blue-chip firms such as GOOGLE, PepsiCo, American Express, Capital One, Ford Motor Company, Cushman & Wakefield, SAS, Mazda, Glaxo Smith Kline, DuPont, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Hilton Hotels Worldwide, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai, Neutrogena, Progressive, Colgate-Palmolive, Raytheon, WebMD, Procter & Gamble, R&D University, the US Department of Defense, and the US Naval Academy. Bob has had the fortune of performing improvisation and facilitating Business Improv® workshops in the United States, England, Scotland, Germany, Singapore, Australia, Turkey, Dubai, Mumbai, and Banff, Canada, where he participated as a Faculty Member and Master Artist in both the Creativity Forum on Creative Leadership, and the Thought Leadership Forum on Ethical Governance and Creating a Climate of Corporate Integrity. Bob is the author of ‘GETTING TO YES AND’, by Stanford University Press, January 2017. 

We chat with CEO of the Digital Wellness Collective and Founder of Nourishing Habits, Nina Hersher, in episode 018 of SHIPS.  Nina gives us some great tips for implementing more productive habits into our lives and finding ways to provide self-care for ourselves, specifically in today's digital age. Great habits will allow us to better connect with ourselves as well as others.

To learn more about Nina and the amazing work she is doing at the Digital Wellness Collective and Nourishing Habits, be sure to check out  https://digitalwellnesscollective.com/,  https://nourishinghabits.com/, and  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninahersher/

Nina Claire Hersher is the CEO the Digital Wellness Collective and founder of Nourishing Habits™, a resource center providing digital wellness counseling and educational seminars on best practices in productivity and self-care in the digital age. Hersher holds a Master of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis with a specialization in norms of connectivity and reconceptualizing human development in the 21st century. Hersher is an international speaker, Oasis in the Overwhelm Facilitator, dance, and meditation teacher. Hersher views digital wellness as the intersection of technology and mental health and is dedicated to consulting and coaching on tech/life balance in an era of overstimulation.

In this one-on-one episode, I chat with our great listeners about how to be more intentional with our social media use. In an age where there is so much noise floating around online, it is super easy to go online without an intention and simply as a way to cure boredom. It's more than okay to use social media and to spend a lot of our time online, but if we are to do so we must do so with a purpose.

In Episode 016, we chat with Jonathan Gerhartz, Founder at FieyoMedia, a digital marketing company. We discuss how it is important to engage with your audience by providing value, to gain consistent feedback on our work, and how to use technology to our advantage instead of to our detriment.

To learn more about Jonathan and the great work he is doing at FieyoMedia, be sure to check out https://www.fieyomedia.com, @fieyomedia, or https://www.linkedin.com/company/fieyomedia/.

Founder at Fieyo Media and helping businesses grow with 100% custom tailored and data driven digital marketing strategies, Jon is passionate about educating people and companies with the insights they need to change the world. A life-long learner and community leader, Jon cares deeply about legacy and impacting the lives of others.

Internationally renowned mime, Bill Bowers, joins us on SHIPS for Episode 015. He talks with us about his journey becoming a mime and the performer he is today as well as the key lessons we can all take away from the art of mime. 

Be sure to check out all of the great work Bill is doing at  https://www.bill-bowers.com/ 

Hailed by critics as the most accomplished and renowned mime of his generation, Bill Bowers currently performs and teaches the art of physical storytelling throughout the world. His methods and exploration of universal truths transcend the spoken word to educate and touch audiences in countries as varied as Poland, The Netherlands, China, Thailand, Japan, Macedonia, Romania, Italy, Norway, Germany and Austria. An award-winning actor, Bowers has also performed in all 50 United States and Puerto Rico appearing on the stages of Broadway, The Kennedy Center, The White House, Steppenwolf, LaMaMa, Theatre for a New Audience, St. Anne’s Warehouse, Urban Stages, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Ensemble Studio Theater, Radio City Music Hall, HERE, and the New York International Fringe Festival. His Broadway credits include Zazu in “The Lion King” and Leggett in “The Scarlet Pimpernel.” He has also portrayed the great silent clowns: Charlie Chaplin in the world premiere of “Little Tramp,” Pierrot in the world premiere of “Beethoven N Pierrot,” and Petruchka with “The Colorado Symphony.” A passionate student and educator, Bowers studied with the legendary Marcel Marceau and currently serves on the faculties of New York University, Stella Adler Conservatory, and William Esper Studios. He has recently served as a Visiting Professor at Williams College, Ohio University, and University of Wyoming. He holds an MFA from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, and an Honorary PhD from Rocky Mountain College. 

In this brief episode, I talk with our amazing listeners about the importance of scheduling time for nothing. We live in a society that constantly tells us to work hard, to hustle, and to always be busy. We wear busy on our sleeves as a badge of honor, but it's important to consider setting aside some time to do nothing, so that we can use that time to relax, reflect, and rejuvenate. This way we will be better rested to put our best selves forward when we are working so we can leave a stronger impact in the world in the long run.

Pete Dunlap joins us for Episode 013 of SHIPS! Pete gives us some incredible tips and tricks for regulating our tech use and our tech habits. We also discuss how socialization is one of the main solutions in establishing an environment that will better suit us moving forward.

You can learn more about the great work Pete is doing at  https://www.digitaldetangler.com/ 

Pete Dunlap, founder of Digital Detangler, has spent the last decade immersed in the worlds of education and technology. Armed with a Bachelors in Physics and Masters in Education, Pete taught internationally (UK, USVI, Ecuador). Returning to the States, he became a software engineer (education, healthcare, the gig economy). Concerned about the distractions he and his coworkers were facing, he started helping organizations improve employee engagement through transformed digital environments. He's had the privilege of speaking at corporations (United Way, Vaco, United Methodist Church, 40AU) and universities (Vanderbilt, Belmont, Wake Forest). He was named The Moth's Nashville StorySlam Champion for his storytelling ability. He's been featured in local media and the podcasts. As the creator of ScrollStopper (a Chrome extension) and award-winning author of Digital Detangler: A Guide to Mindful Technology Use, Pete has established himself as a leading voice in the movement for more humane technology.

In this episode, we talk with critically-acclaimed theatre director, Anne Bogart. Anne shares with us her journey as a young director working and finding her way in New York City and we talk a good deal about the importance of creating a theatre company of actors who train together. Through our conversation, it was apparent that the essence of community was a recurring theme.

To find out more about Anne and the amazing work she is doing with SITI Company, be sure to check out  http://siti.org/ 

Anne Bogart is a Co-Artistic Director of the ensemble-based SITI Company, head of the MFA Directing program at Columbia University, and author of five books: “A Director Prepares,” “The Viewpoints Book,” “And Then You Act,” “Conversations With Anne” and “What’s the Story.” With SITI, Bogart has directed more than 30 works in venues around the world, including “The Bacchae,” “Chess Match No. 5,” “Steel Hammer,” “The Theater Is a Blank Page,” “Persians,” “A Rite,” “Café Variations,” “Radio Macbeth,” “American Document,” and “Hotel Cassiopeia.” Recent opera works include Handel’s “Alcina,” Dvorak’s “Dimitrij,” Kurt Weill’s “Lost in the Stars,” Verdi’s “Macbeth,” Bellini’s “Norma” and Bizet’s “Carmen.” Her many awards and fellowships include three honorary doctorates (Cornish School of the Arts, Bard College and Skidmore College), A Duke Artist Fellowship, A United States Artists Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Rockefeller/Bellagio Fellowship and a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Residency Fellowship.