The Ensemblist

This month’s topic took host Christine Shepard on a full quest. She felt like Harriet the Spy gathering info this time around. Half this episode was honestly for her. She learned a lot about stuff she should have years ago, but luckily her learning experience can be somebody else’s. Today we are talking about union membership, specifically AEA or Actors' Equity Association. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 47th Annual Tony Awards were hosted by Liza Minnelli on June 6, 1993. Presented at the Gershwin Theatre, the theme of the ceremony was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of theatre in Times Square. Heading into the ceremony, Kiss of the Spider Woman and The Who’s Tommy led the pack with 11 nominations each, followed by Blood Brothers with six and The Goodbye Girl with five. This season there were no musicals nominated for Best Revival.

Well, Mo, the 1992-93 season saw the inauguration of the US’s 42nd president, President Bill Jefferson Clinton and the installation of the nation’s first female attorney general, Janet Reno. Outside of those momentous occasions, the country was mainly dealing with ongoing issues, both abroad and domestically: The United States was still dealing with the aftermath of the Gulf War, waged by the previous administration, and with the nation finally acknowledging HIV/AIDS within the last few years as a nationwide epidemic, the US found itself playing catch-up to dealing with a plague that was ravaging its citizens.

In New York, the Broadway industry and community were heavily laden by the effects of the AIDS epidemic, as we see in the telecast. Red ribbons everywhere; emotion overtaking hosts, presenters, and recipients alike; a nominated performance directly addressing the disease AND its stigma; and even an honorary Tony being given to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for its leadership in the industry’s fight against the disease... we ultimately find a community in mourning, even in this celebratory ceremony of the last hundred years of Broadway.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So many of us theatre artists are missing the experience of creating with others. Those who have the opportunity to be in a room making theatre seem to have won a golden ticket for making it through this pandemic. Even those who have traveled halfway around the world to do so.

Fredric Odgaard is an original cast member and Assistant Dance Captain of Broadway’s newest juggernaut, Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Fred spent eight weeks running auditions alongside two of his Broadway colleagues: associate choreographer Katie Spelman and dance captain Karli DiNardo. Upon his return to the States, Fred chatted with me about his long-standing relationship with the show’s choreographer Sonya Tayeh and what it felt like to create across the globe when theatre at home is at a standstill.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There has been no seismic shift in the number of actors of color performing on Broadway. Yes, systematic change often comes with incremental progress. However, the recent crop of Broadway musicals seem to provide few examples of such change. I’ve been curious what that feels like for artists of color, so I asked a few into the studio to share their experiences with racial representation in the theatre industry.

Today's conversation is with Ann Sanders. Having made her Broadway debut in Beauty and the Beast, she has played a variety of iconic roles including Queen Iduna in Frozen, Anna in The King and I and Christmas Eve in Avenue Q. Here's our conversation...

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 47th Annual Tony Awards were hosted by Liza Minnelli on June 6, 1993. Presented at the Gershwin Theatre, the theme of the ceremony was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of theatre in Times Square. Heading into the ceremony, Kiss of the Spider Woman and The Who’s Tommy led the pack with 11 nominations each, followed by Blood Brothers with six and The Goodbye Girl with five. This season there were no musicals nominated for Best Revival.

Well, Mo, the 1992-93 season saw the inauguration of the US’s 42nd president, President Bill Jefferson Clinton and the installation of the nation’s first female attorney general, Janet Reno. Outside of those momentous occasions, the country was mainly dealing with ongoing issues, both abroad and domestically: The United States was still dealing with the aftermath of the Gulf War, waged by the previous administration, and with the nation finally acknowledging HIV/AIDS within the last few years as a nationwide epidemic, the US found itself playing catch-up to dealing with a plague that was ravaging its citizens.

In New York, the Broadway industry and community were heavily laden by the effects of the AIDS epidemic, as we see in the telecast. Red ribbons everywhere; emotion overtaking hosts, presenters, and recipients alike; a nominated performance directly addressing the disease AND its stigma; and even an honorary Tony being given to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for its leadership in the industry’s fight against the disease... we ultimately find a community in mourning, even in this celebratory ceremony of the last hundred years of Broadway.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, we are collaborating with Broadway performer Shaye B. Hopkins and her new creation: Podcast Portraits. In this new podcast, Hopkins invites guests to share some of life's hairy and hilarious moments and thoughtfully reflect on how those experiences shaped who they are today. This Spring, we will share some of our favorite moments from her interviews, as well as speaking to Shaye herself about the creation of Podcast Portraits.

On today’s episode, Shaye chats with Andre Jordan, her colleague on the upcoming Broadway mounting of Diana: A True Musical Story, Andre shares his audition process for the show, the experience of first preview and staying creative in a pandemic. Here’s their conversation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve all heard the age old question when a new revival is announced is…why now? Why this show? The revival of Oklahoma in 2019 took a show that so many people know and truly opened eyes to new themes and new thoughts through a really unique production “sans the frills”. Cast member Will Mann shared about how it was created and why some major choices were made. Here’s our conversation!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Broadway shutdown due to the Coronovirus outbreak passes its catastrophic year anniversary, Megan Ort reflects on being one of the world’s few employed Ensemblists in 2020. As the female swing and Christine Daaé understudy in the World Tour of The Phantom of the Opera, Ort had the distinctly rare experience of being on stage in 2020, navigating international travel, and abiding by strenuous health-code practices in order to perform for sold-out audiences throughout Asia. An experience unlike any other, Ort explains what it was like to perform amidst pandemic fears while watching her home country become devastated by the disease from afar.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, I got to speak to one of my favorite people in the theatre industry. Historian Jennifer Ashley Tepper wrote the book of the history of Broadway theatres. In fact, she’s written four of them: her fourth volume of The Untold Stories of Broadway comes out this week. She joined me recently to tell me about why choosing a theatre is as important as casting your leading lady, to talk through some her favorite stories of the book and about writing a book in a pandemic when the artform she is writing about is on pause. Here’s our conversation...

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, we are collaborating with Broadway performer Shaye B. Hopkins and her new creation: Podcast Portraits. In this new podcast, Hopkins invites guests to share some of life's hairy and hilarious moments and thoughtfully reflect on how those experiences shaped who they are today. This Spring, we will share some of our favorite moments from her interviews, as well as speaking to Shaye herself about the creation of Podcast Portraits.

On today’s episode, Shaye chats with Austen Danielle Bohmer. Her colleague on the upcoming Broadway mounting of Diana: A True Musical Story, Austen shares her education, both formal through university, and experiential teaching in India. Here’s their conversation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices