The Performers Podcast

Stratford Festival favourite, and Sheridan College musical theatre program grad Chillina Kennedy stars in "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical." Previously she starred in "Jesus Christ Superstar." We talk about how Chilina's previous Broadway roles had an impact on her creative process for playing Carole King in "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical." Chilina has a young son and we discussed what it's like to be backstage with a baby. Chilina is also a singer and songwriter, her most recent CD is "What You Find in a Bottle." It's a compilation of intimate songs she wrote during, and after, a relationship breaking up.

At the age of 12 Krista knew she was destined for a life in the theatre. She left her Winnipeg home in her teens to study acting in Toronto, but after she found herself auditioning, with a dozen other young actresses, for a "Tide" laundry detergent commercial, she quit that scene and returned the theatre community in Winnipeg. Today she's one of the busiest people in the business. In this episode we trace her path from actress to director and artistic director.

Comedian, writer, Jeff Rothpan is originally from Montreal. His comedy career began when he was just 16 years old. Soon after an appearance at The Just For Laughs Comedy Festival he moved to L.A., but despite his success at the Festival he struggled in L.A. But by the time he hit age 23 he hit his stride and he appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. We talk about his path to success. These days Jeff is one of the busiest comedy writers in LA, working on TV shows, films and providing material for Jeff Dunham, whom Forbes magazine consistently ranks as one of the top grossing comedians in the United States.

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In his youth Dan Mailer was in band that performed widely and recorded an album in Nashville. He was on his way to a career in music, but decided instead to pursue a career in law. These days Dan is a trial lawyer in London, Ontario. I met him at his home to talk about how he uses his love of music and lyrics to help charitable organizations here in town. Dan has inspired lawyers and judges to record music and perform live concerts that have helped raise over $300,000 for charitable organizations here in London. He's a progressive thinker who uses his creative skills to give back to the community. We talk about his law practice, his love of creativity and how he gives back to the community.

David Ben is a Canadian stage magician, sleight of hand artist, author, magic historian, creative consultant and former tax lawyer. David was educated at the University of Toronto (BA), the University of Western Ontario (LLB), and the London School of Economics (LLM). We talk about his decision to leave his law practice to practice magic. David is the rare magician who, like Ricky Jay or Teller, of the duo "Penn and Teller," has an innovative, approach to magic that at once respects the historic traditions of magic but pushes the art form forward. David's stage show "The Conjuror," had its world premiere at the Shaw Festival in 1996. The show had outstanding box office and critical reviews and has been mounted several time since then. His path to success was never easy, and he talks candidly about the time he seriously considered quitting the Arts because of the financial strain it put on his young family. If you saw "Possible Worlds" during the 2015 Stratford Festival season, you saw David's magic integrated into the show thanks to director Mitchell Cushman.

Ron James is one of the most successful comedians in Canada.

With a comedian's eye for satire and a poet's ear for language, Ron cuts a wide swath through contemporary culture making him a stand out amongst stand-ups.

His path to success includes improvising with Second City, a stint on a TV show in the U.S., and his own shows "Blackfly" and "The Ron James Show" in Canada. His annual New Year's Eve special on CBC is a comedy tradition with over a million viewers from coast to coast.

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Kate has almost three decades of experience in theatre. She's just directed a play in a prison with the William Head on Stage Prison Theatre Company and the Prison Arts Collective. It's the only inmate-run prison theatre company in Canada and they invite the public into the prison to experience their shows. Kate also works as a dramaturge, most recently with Karen Lee Pickett on on "Slick" which was presented at Intrepid Theatre's "Uno Fest" which has the distinction of being North America's longest-running festival of one-person shows.

Greenblatt co-wrote, and starred in, "Two Pianos Four Hands" one of Canada's most successful theatre productions ever. It's played in over 175 different theatres around the world. He talks about the creative process behind the show as well as the business behind such a successful play, which is celebrating it's 20th anniversary with productions in London, Kingston and Halifax. As well as discussing "Two Pianos Four Hands" we talked about his work developing Sarah Farb's critically acclaimed one-woman show.

While Stephanie was studying at New York University's Tisch school of Arts' she auditioned for the ensemble of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" on Broadway starring Daniel Radcliffe. She discusses the lucky break that led to her moving from the ensemble to the leading role of Rosemary who falls in love with Finch, played by Daniel Radcliffe. Today Stephanie is receiving rave reviews as Maria in the Stratford Festival's production of "The Sound of Music." We talk about how she got the role and the challenges of the production.

John Miller is the Artistic Producer of The Stratford Summer Music Festival. John is one of Canada's most respected cultural administrators. His background includes being the National Director of The Canadian Music Centre and Executive Director of the Glenn Gould Foundation. 2015 marks the fifteenth season of Stratford Summer Music. The respected British music journal, Gramophone, named Stratford Summer Music one of the top festivals on the continent and the only Canadian festival to make the distinguished designation of being in its top twelve summer music sites. We discuss John's background with the Salvation Army, his career as a cultural administrator and the upcoming season at The Stratford Summer Music Festival.