The Play Typer Guy

Singer, dancer, writer, and comedian Leah Sprecher joins me today, though you might not recognize her at first - she’s most well known for her breakout sketch character born on the Groundlings stage, Broadway Barbara Dixon! I first caught wind of her through social media and her hilarious videos on YouTube. You can check those out in the links below. 

You’ll hear:

• How Broadway Barbara came to be Leah’s most popular sketch comedy character
• Clips from Broadway Barbara’s shows
• Leah’s love for singing and dancing are funneled into this comedy show
• How she puts together a show
• And more!

Guest Info: 

Leah Sprecher earned a B.A. in theatre from UCLA and has since performed at some of the nations most prestigious theaters, like the Paper Mill Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House, and REPRISE!  National tours include Radio City Christmas Spectacular, 42nd Street, and Happy Days. More recently, Leah wrote and performed as a member of the renowned Groundlings Sunday Company. Her original one woman show, Old at Heart debuted on the Groundlings’ stage. She is also a founding member of the Transcendence Theatre Company, which earned her a Broadway World "Person to Watch" nomination and the opportunity to open for both Rita Moreno and Ben Vereen in concert. Her TV credits include guest stints on IFC’s Maron, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Blackish. 

Links:  

Leah’s Website: https://groundlings.com/people/leah-sprecher

Barbara Dixon’s Website: https://www.broadwaybarbara.com/

Barbara Dixon’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNEQHkBQ1ITJMk4u0MYdURA

Barbara Dixon’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/broadwaybarbaraofficial/

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

In this episode, I chat with author Alana Best about her memoir, Around The World In Black and White, where she details her experiences traveling the globe as a white mother in a biracial, blended family. Alana did not set out on her travels expecting to write a book, but as they walked through the world, the vast differences between how she was treated versus how her partner was treated could not be ignored.

You will hear:

• Noticing both macro and micro aggressions toward her partner and children
• Experimenting with racial profiling through security while traveling and what made them more or less likely to be pulled aside for extra screenings
• Recognizing that racism is much more prevalent than the white experience tells us - it’s just certain people, places, or points in time, rather than current, everyday things
• Misconceptions about why interracial couples are together
• And more!

Guest Info: 

Alana is a writer, travel enthusiast and mom. She is passionate about being a global citizen and learning about other cultures. She lives to encourage wanderlust and to motivate living a full life. She believes travel creates tolerance, understanding and empathy. Together, one adventure at a time, we can work to make this world a better place for everyone.

 Alana has degrees, certificates, and an accounting designation. None of which are applicable to this novel.  She is a policy strategist by day, and enjoys working on files that will help make a difference to the citizens she serves. This has ranged from helping youth determine future employment demands, implementing regulations on organic foods, and now, modernizing the policing and public safety continuum to address issues such as systemic racism.

 Alana grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan with her two younger sisters and older brother. They are her best friends and some of her favorite travel companions.

She now has the pleasure of calling Victoria, British Columbia her home. Her and her husband, Roland, have three children, and will never stop exploring.

Links:  

Alana’s Website: https://www.alanabestauthor.com/

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

Author and Playwright Laramie Dean joins me in this episode to pay tribute to the wonderful Lara Parker, who passed away last week. Parker played Angelique Collins in the 1960s Dark Shadows series. Laramie and I share our favorite memories of Angelique and discuss the character’s enduring impact.

You’ll hear:

• Challenges with processing the death of your icons
• Favorite moments of Angelique Collins in Dark Shadows
• Favorite moments and characters in the series
• A couple of our favorite scenes from the series
• Laramie and I geek out over spooky movies with Halloween coming soon
• And more!!

Guest Info: 

Laramie Dean was born and raised on a ranch in northeastern Montana. He is the author of Black Forest, a novel from Inkshares, as well as several plays from Theatrefolk, including Frankenstein Among the Dead, Dracula, The Gorgon Sisters, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Finding Jo March. Currently, Laramie enjoys his dream job as the Theatre Director at Hellgate High School in Missoula, Montana.

Links:  

Laramie’s Author Website: https://www.bylaramiedean.com/

Laramie’s Dark Shadows Website: https://shadowsonthewallzine.blogspot.com/

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

This week I have with me Erica C. Barnett, an award-winning journalist and author from Seattle who has spent a great amount of time covering the story from January of Kevin Dave, a Seattle police officer who struck and killed 23 year old grad student Jaahnavi Kandula in a marked crosswalk going 74 mph in a 25 mph zone. Through records requests, the gruesome video has been released. And strangely, that isn’t the worst part of the story. Recently, another video has been released revealing other police officers laughing and joking about the death and the “limited value” this young person had. The audio clip is absolutely disgusting, so trigger warning before listening.

You will also hear:

• Discrepancies in the original story told by police as opposed to what was actually captured on video, many of which blame the victim for not being in a crosswalk or staying on the curb
• Why there is seemingly more outcry over the second video of the police joking about the death than the death itself
• Patterns of behavior within police departments showing blatant disrespect for the public in general and mocking deaths and other serious crimes against people they are sworn to protect
• Erica’s book, Quitter: A Memoir of Drinking, Relapse, and Recovery, which talks about her personal journey with alcoholism, relapse, and recovery, and also reports on the treatment industry as a whole
• What it was like releasing a book during the pandemic
• And more!

Guest Info: 

Erica C. Barnett is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years’ experience covering local news and politics and the author of the memoir Quitter: A Memoir of Drinking, Relapse, and Recovery (Viking, 2020).

Her work has been published in local and national publications, including Seattle magazine, Huffington Post, Sightline, Grist, and many others, as well as at her own website, The C Is for Crank.

Erica started the website The C Is for Crank in 2015 and has run the site as a full-time, financially sustainable operation since 2016 with the help of hundreds of subscribers who support to her work covering the city of Seattle and holding public officials accountable through investigative reporting and analysis.

Links:  

Erica’s Website: https://ericacbarnett.com/

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

Opal Peachey is an incredibly talented writer and performer from Seattle who is bringing her unique brand of joy to the Portland area. Her new show, The Fairy’s Bottom, will play in PDX from October 5 - 8. The comedy is cheeky,  a little dirty, and always a delight.

We talk theater, Shakespeare, and more! 

You will hear:

• The importance of engaging with the audience in these types of entertainment
• The unique style of taking a classic story and modernizing it for the audience, or at least having a character who could step into that role
• Opal’s ability to play, not necessarily the “lead” but more so the important character who kicks things into gear (“the button”)
• The difference between the Seattle and Portland scenes when it comes to the arts and what works best for each
• Leaning in to the bawdier or more subversive aspects of the classics that go beyond just your high school level understanding
• And so much more!

Guest Info: 

Opal Peachey is a founding company member of the immersive dinner theater, Nordo and has originated roles in 12 productions. Opal graces the stage of the Triple Door each January as the ghost of Frederic Chopin in Bohemia (writer, composer) an annual audience favorite. Other companies she has worked with as a performer and producer include ACT Theater, Book-It Repertory Theater, Annex Theater, and The Re-Bar.

Bohemia made its European debut at the Ballhaus Theater in 2022, with Opal performing Chopin to sold-out houses.

Ms. Peachey holds a B.F.A. from Cornish College of the Arts, with an emphasis in original works, playwriting and directing. She worked as a stage manager for several years after graduation, booked out years in advance, before meeting the artistic directors of Nordo and making the leap to onstage performance and producing her own work.

Having a theatrical home means wearing many administrative hats. Since 2016, Opal has led the marketing team at Nordo. She has held the positions of publicist and marketing manager, creating successful launches for three seasons of theatrical productions, while managing graphic designers and photographers to execute stylish campaigns for print and social media. Her passion is for the customer experience – as a copywriter, concept developer and creative team leader. 

In addition to live theater, Peachey is also an accomplished voiceover actor. Her most recent project is “The Curve of Time Podcast”, a serial family friendly adventure story - Opal plays the matriarch and ship captain, Katherine Wells.

Links:  

Opal’s Website: https://www.opalpeachey.com/ 

Opal’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opalpeachey/

Opal’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OpalPeachey

The Fairy’s Bottom: A Shakespeare Burlesque: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-fairys-bottom-a-shakespeare-burlesque-tickets-677717279627

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

My Wonkette colleague Jamie Lynn Crofts joins me to discuss Donald Trump’s mounting indictment collection. It’s gonna be wild! Jamie does policy work in Wisconsin and is going to help walk me through the many, many, many indictments of former president, Donald Trump, beginning with the most recent as of this recording, regarding attempts to overthrow the 2020 election in the state of Georgia.

We will discuss:

• Why this case is not a Free Speech infringement
• How RICO cases can work based on the conspiracy, even if the individual parts of that conspiracy aren’t themselves illegal
• Jamie discusses her concerns and (correct) predictions that Trump would attempt to stay in office whether he won or not using the guise of “voter fraud” before the election results were even announced
• Is the former president even mentally capable of accepting defeat or understanding what he’s doing isn’t the way things are done?
• How the precedent of prosecuting political leaders who have broken the law should defer people from trying this again in the future
• Why the Georgia cases at the state level are so important to keep Trump, should he be elected again, from pardoning himself on all convictions
• And more!

Guest Info: 

Whether lobbying, advocating, writing, or organizing, Jamie Lynn Crofts’ work centers around one goal: making our society better and more equitable. Her background in law, policy, and civil and constitutional rights give her expertise in a number of diverse areas. Her writing and communications experience allow her to break down complex ideas in an accessible way. She also has years of experience leading and participating in coalitions, planning and teaching training sessions, and working on both electoral and issue-based campaigns.

Links:  

Jamie’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamielynncrofts

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

In today’s episode, I am happy to have Laura Bogart, author of Don’t You Know I Love You and essays surrounding pop culture, feminism, and more. Recently. Laura penned a must-read feature for Dame Magazine about her relationship with Barbie and talks with me about her thoughts on the Greta Gerwig/Margot Robie billion dollar movie.

You will hear:

• Laura’s joy at the experience of attending the movie
• Reasons for some of the backlash surrounding the movie
• Resonating with the idea that once something is out of the box, it can’t be shoved back in, and her own personal awakening
• How gender roles are seen in both Barbie’s world and in the real world and how it shows that people can really be what they want to be, not just the performative norm
• Weird Barbie’s role and how even Barbieland wasn’t as perfect as it “should” be
• Queer coding throughout the entertainment industry providing layers and depth that heteronormative films don’t have
• And more! 

Guest Info: 

Laura Bogart is the author of "Don’t You Know I Love You" (Dzanc Books). She is also a non-fiction writer who focuses on personal essays, pop culture, film and TV, feminism, body image and sizeism, and politics (among other topics). Laura is a featured contributor to The Week and DAME magazine; her work has also appeared in The Atlantic, The Guardian, SPIN, The AV Club, Vulture, and Indiewire (among other publications).

Links:  

Laura's Dame article: https://www.damemagazine.com/2023/07/28/that-time-barbie-and-i-had-an-epiphany/

Find Laura Online: @LDBogart 

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

In this episode I am happy to have a very talented guest with me. Gin Hammond is an actress and author, and her book is now out, Returning the Bones. Gin talks about her personal connection to the book and how she ventured to seek out relatives she had never met to learn more about her own background and stories from her family’s history.

You’ll hear:

• What caused Gin to turn her play into a book
• The amount of research that went into making the play and then the book
• Theatre during and after the pandemic
• Connecting with others in shared experiences
• And more!

Guest Info:

Gin Hammond is a Harvard University/Moscow Art Theatre MFA graduate and a certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework™. She has performed nationally at theatres such as The Guthrie, Arena Stage, The Longwharf Theatre, The Pasadena Playhouse, the ART, The Berkshire Theatre Festival and The Studio Theatre in Washington D.C., where she won a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for her performance of The Syringa Tree. Internationally, she has performed in Russia, Germany, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, England, and Belgium.

Ms. Hammond also received a Kathleen Cornell award, and WA state grants from Allied Arts, The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Artist Trust, 4 Culture, as well as from the NEA, and has recently been nominated for a WA State Governor’s Arts & Heritage Award. Hammond teaches voice, voice-over, public speaking, and dialect coaching, and can be heard on commercials, audiobooks, radio plays, and a variety of video games including BattleTech, DotA 2, State of Decay 1 & 2, and Halo 3 ODST.

She is also author of the soon-to-be released novel, Returning the Bones, and cofounder of the MFA: Meditations for Actors mobile app.  

Links:  

Gin Hammond’s Website: https://www.ginhammond.com

Returning the Bones (book): https://www.returningthebones.com

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

This episode, Stephen talks with Meagan Hatcher-Mays, Director of Democracy Policy at Indivisible and founder of the Unrig the Courts Coalition regarding the issues with our current Supreme Court and how no matter the makeup of the executive and legislative branches, they have the power to overturn just about anything. Many of us grew up seeing the Court as a place of neutrality that helped expand the rights of those who had been left behind, but unfortunately, those days are over.

We talk about:

• The politicization of the Court to expand the rights of corporations and other non-marginalized people
• If something isn’t done about how the Court is currently structured, it could take 100 years to see an actual shift in the body of power
• Adding to the Supreme Court is not about just adding additional people who will do whatever Democrats want - it’s about adding people committed to upholding the rule of law and doing what is in the best interest of our people while upholding the Constitution
• And more

Links:  

Meagan’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/importantmeagan

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

This week, Stephen sits down with Jasmine Joshua, a Seattle writer, producer, actor and director to chat about flipping the script in theater! Together, they talk about taking established works like 1776 and reimagining them through the lens of casting, design and queering the cannon. 

You’ll hear:

• When does context break the story
• How Jasmine help produce the first all female full production of 1776
• The surprising backlash they received when trying to mesh Rocky Horror Picture Show and the realm of Harry Potter
• Re-entering the theater post COVID
• And more!

More about Jasmine:
Jasmine Joshua is a Seattle writer, producer, actor, and director. They are the Artistic Director of the award-winning Reboot Theatre Company whose mission is to test new interpretations of established works through nontraditional casting and design. Jasmine founded Reboot in 2014 while pregnant with twins and produced the nation's first ever all-female (at the time) production of 1776. Since its founding, Reboot has grown from a one-person operation to a nonprofit with a working board and has produced five productions, all nominated for Gregory Awards and winning several!

Connect with Jasmine:
Website: https://www.jasminejoshua.com/aboutme

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/executive_enby/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasmine.joshua/

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson