The Performers Podcast

Chris Patterson plays bass with Canada's most popular musical comedy trio The Arrogant Worms, who have sold over 150,000 CDs We talk about how the band managed to survive 20 years together, longer than most marriages in America. After 20 years on the road The 'Worms aren't touring as much as they once did, and we discuss how Chris is using his musical and performance skills in his job as a high school English teacher. Finally we also talk about our failed attempt at creating a game show we pitched to the Comedy Network with the line "What if Michael Moore had a game show?"

Louise has been nominated for a Tony Award and is the winner of four Dora Mavor Moore Awards. Louise talks about growing up as the daughter of an accountant, the highschool music teacher that changed her life, being discovered by Don Fleckser at Western University Canada and what it's like auditioning for the world-renowned director Gary Griffin.

John Wing is a very funny person. His ease with a comedic turn of phrase belies the hard work behind his success. In this episode, John talks about his writing regime. He shares the story of the two years he spent perfecting jokes to appear on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and how diligent he was about making the Tonight Show talent coordinator, Jim McCauley, laugh. His diligence paid off: he's appeared on the Tonight Show six times!

John was a semi-finalist on America's Got Talent.

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Ins Choi's playwrighting debut, Kim's Convenience, won the New Play Award and the Patron's Pick Award at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival. The show went on to open Soulpepper's 2012 year, where it played to sold-out houses. We talk about what it was like growing up with a pastor for a father and how he drew from his personal experience to write his play, Kim's Convenience, which is set in the world of a Korean convenience store owner.

Lee Siegel, currently acting at The Stratford Festival, North America's largest classical repertory theatre, joins me for a candid chat about how he went from highschool drama classes to Broadway. We also discuss the inspiration behind his new CD "Where is the Orchestra?" and the creative way he raised the money to produce it.

Chilina Kennedy is one of Canada's most successful and sought after actresses. Chilina talks about her experiences working with top directors Des McAnuff and Gary Griffin. She also told me about the time she lost her voice in the middle of a performance. We discuss more personal issues like the impact of growing up as an army brat, the support of her parents and a health crisis that led her to abandon her vegetarian diet.

Steve Cohen is one of the most respected contemporary magicians in the world. He performs regularly at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. Steve talks about his show Chamber Magic, which recreates the intimacy of popular 19th century parlor magic. Cohen, who is known as the Millionaires' Magician, has made a fortune performing tricks for some of the richest people in America. But his success didn't come without risks, both personal and financial.

Kenneth Brown is one of Canada's most prolific writers for the theatre. Kenneth and his work have traveled the world. Kenneth has also spent 30 years teaching theatre at Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton. In our conversation Kenneth refers to himself as a "mountebank insane poet." His passion for theatre is infectious and he discusses the things that continue to drive his desire to create art that moves people. We discuss Fringe Festivals and theatre as a creative spontaneous act. We also cover world travel, studying theatre with Cole Feore, Ann-Marie MacDonald and Judith Thompson, and the problematic relationships we have with our fathers.

We talk about his path to becoming an arts journalist and how social media has changed the relationship between artists, their audience and theatre critics. We talk about growing up in the politically charged city of Montreal and studying theatre at McGill University.

As Artistic Director of Drayton Entertainment, Alex Mustakas manages a multimillion dollar theatre empire, the third-largest professional summer theatre company in Canada, just after Stratford and Shaw. Alex talks about some of the folks who inspired him during his high school days, at Kitchener's Eastwood Collegiate institute, including John Kerr and George Joyce. Alex's father encouraged Alex to study business, but theatre was in Alex's blood. His uncle Sotiris Moustakas, was one of the most celebrated Cypriot / Greek actors, breaking into the acting scene in the 1964 Oscar winning film "Zorba the Greek." Alex talks about squaring his love of theatre with his father's wishes, Drayton's philosophical approach to growing the business and the value of community theatre.