Why I‘ll Never Make It

In 1987, HBO had a comedy special called Women of the Night. It featured four women who were known regionally and at certain comedy clubs, but had yet to really reach a national audience. They were Ellen DeGeneres, Paula Poundstone, Rita Rudner, and today’s guest Judy Tenuta. In fact, for the next four years each one of these women would be named Best Female Stand-up Comic at the American Comedy Awards, with Tenuta being the first in 1988.

Throughout the 1980s and 90s Judy was a part of a big boom for women in comedy. She branded herself as The Love Goddess and starred in national commercials, published her first book, and received Grammy nominations for her comedy albums. If you’ve seen the movie Waiting for Guffman, one of my all-time favorite films, you’ll notice a certain Judy Tenuta T-shirt worn by Corky St. Clair.

However, her introduction to the stage was when she majored in theater in college. In this interview we’ll talk about Judy Tenuta's transition from plays and musicals to stand-up comedy, her long-standing connection with the LGBTQ community, and the cancer diagnosis she received during the height of the Covid pandemic. As the Aphrodite of the Accordion, though, she hasn’t let that stop her, releasing a a music video called “Kicking Cancer’s Ass" on New Year’s Eve that is in perfect keeping with her campy and offbeat persona that has made her one of the most unique comedians and performers of her generation.

NOTE: Tenuta passed away on October 6, 2022 at her home in Los Angeles after a long battle against ovarian cancer.

Producing this podcast is rewarding in its own way, but I’m essentially a one-man operation. So it is both costly and time-intensive to put together each episode. By subscribing you’ll be supporting these podcasting efforts, and have access to extended conversations and other bonus content. Your financial support of this podcast is greatly appreciated!

Follow WINMI: Website | Instagram | YouTube

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Why I’ll Never Make It is an award-winning, Top Theater Podcast hosted by actor and singer Patrick Oliver Jones and is a production of WINMI Media. Background music is by John Bartmann and Blue Dot Sessions is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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

In the final episode of Season Five, I spoke with a talented and passionate actress and producer Debra Ann Byrd. In our conversation, she mentioned Elizabeth Swain as one of the professors who had a significant impact on her own training and understanding theater. She spoke so highly of this mentor that I looked her up and decided to ask her to come on his podcast as well.

What I came to learn is that Elizabeth Swain is so much more than just a professor of theater—she is a Broadway actress with national tours, television credits, and quite the prolific director as well, with a specialty in classics of Shakespeare and the Greek tragedies. Elizabeth is also a member of the prestigious Antaeus theater company in Los Angeles. As you’ll hear today, Elizabeth is the perfect guest for Women’s History Month as she provides such a unique and wide perspective through her decades of work both on stage and off.

In today’s episode you’ll be hearing three stories from her life:

This Week's Spotlight: Antaeus Theater Company

Antaeus began in 1991 as a project of the prestigious Center Theatre Group. Founding Artistic Directors Dakin Matthews and Lillian Groag believed there could be a world-class classical ensemble in a city driven by the TV and film industry. They brought together a remarkable group of 30 members in Los Angeles to embark on this ambitious project, and committed to meeting every Monday night to read, study and rehearse great classical plays.

The Final Five Questions

Though studying economics first, Elizabeth Swain eventually found a place in theater and has gone onto to acting, directing, and teaching. She has guided so many students through the Classics, and continually inspires a new generation of artists. You can find her Final Five on the WINMI Blog.

Get access to Audition Stories, the Final Five questions, and other bonus content by becoming a monthly or yearly subscriber to Why I’ll Never Make It. Producing this podcast is rewarding in its own way, but I’m essentially a one-man operation. So it is both costly and time-intensive to put together each episode. By subscribing you’ll be supporting these podcasting efforts, and have access to extended conversations and other bonus content. Your financial support of this podcast is greatly appreciated!

Follow WINMI: Website | Instagram | YouTube

———-

Why I’ll Never Make It is an award-winning, Top Theater Podcast hosted by actor and singer Patrick Oliver Jones and is a production of WINMI Media. Background music is by John Bartmann and Blue Dot Sessions is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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

The art of performing is certainly filled with joy and passion and can offer a creative fulfillment not found another professions, but as this podcast highlights with each episode, there are also underlying bouts of stress, anxiety, and frustration that come with being an artist and the choice to offer our creativity to the world. Last year I sat down with Mostafa Ashraf and his co-host Yara to talk about performance anxiety on their podcast Mental Talk. I wanted to share with you this candid discussion with Mo and Yara about my own struggles with doubt and worry and what I do to push through that. Learn more about Mental Talk here!

Their show is produced by a nonprofit organization called Advice Seekers, which aims to provide help in the areas of mental health and online anti-bullying campaigns. 

Background music is by John Bartmann and Blue Dot Sessions is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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

Just letting you know that the 2021 Listener Survey isn't going quite as I had hoped. And a schedule change to the podcast is coming up next month.

Please be an actual response to the survey by going to: survey.whyillnevermakeit.com

Stay up to date on these and other WINMI happenings by subscribing to the monthly newsletter. 

Back in 2014, I met Terron Brooks as we were both working on a workshop of a new musical based on the hit movie FIRST WIVES CLUB. We both continued on with the show as it traveled to Chicago for its out of town pre-Broadway tryout. The musical never made it to New York, but as you’ll hear in my conversation today with today's guest, the journey of most performers is never a straight line and certainly there are many more failures and disappointments than successes.

Terron certainly knows something about success: he's a two time NAACP award nominee and widely recognized for his critically acclaimed role as the great Eddie Kendricks in the Emmy award-winning NBC miniseries The Temptations, not to mention his Broadway shows and concerts around the country). Through music, acting, writing, and speaking, Terron wants to encourage everyone to reach their highest potential, including himself! Today he's brought us three stories on how he's had to learn that lesson the hard way:

This Week's Artist Resource

Honest Answers with Terron Brooks invites listeners to reconnect to the soul. Everybody in the world asked the same questions, but the answers are never the same. Terron takes you behind the scenes as his guests reveal honest parts of their story you’ve never heard before. Experience and unrehearsed, open and candid conversation with creative forces like Leon, Shoshana Bean, Sheila E, Stephanie J. Block, and more. You’ll hear transparency and vulnerability from the most inspiring sources. 

Final Five Questions

Terron has traveled many roads in his life and career. On his journey there have been plenty of lessons, but the greatest has been discovering his authentic self and using his gifts to serve humanity. And in these five final questions, he addresses topics we didn't get to in this conversation and provides extra insight into the importance of grace and living authentically. You can find his Final Five on the WINMI Blog. 

Get access to Audition Stories and other bonus content by becoming a monthly or yearly subscriber to Why I’ll Never Make It. Producing this podcast is rewarding in its own way, but I’m essentially a one-man operation. So it is both costly and time-intensive to put together each episode. By subscribing you’ll be supporting these podcasting efforts, and have access to extended conversations and other bonus content. Your financial support of this podcast is greatly appreciated!

Follow WINMI: Website | Instagram | YouTube

———-

Why I’ll Never Make It is an award-winning, Top Theater Podcast hosted by actor and singer Patrick Oliver Jones and is a production of WINMI Media. Background music is by John Bartmann and Blue Dot Sessions is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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

In honor of Black History Month, this episode is an encore presentation of two pioneering Black artists and the legacy they left in the performing arts.

Vinnette Justine Carroll’s professionalism in theatrical arts paved way for black professionals in the industry. She was an actress and playwright who expressed herself through gospel music. In a 1979 interview, Carroll told The Times, “I decided my salvation was to create something for myself, a theater for myself and others where your main worry wasn’t getting a TV series. When I first heard gospel -- I’d grown up in the Anglican church -- I just flipped. You mean religion can be like this?”

When it comes to the performing arts and certainly to dance, there are few people more worthy of admiration, of inspiration and imitation than Alvin Ailey. He was both uniquely gifted and qualified to tell the African-American experience which he lived and saw and reacted to through the art of dance.   

Get access to Audition Stories, the Final Five questions, and other bonus content by becoming a monthly or yearly subscriber to Why I’ll Never Make It. Producing this podcast is rewarding in its own way, but I’m essentially a one-man operation. So it is both costly and time-intensive to put together each episode. By subscribing you’ll be supporting these podcasting efforts, and have access to extended conversations and other bonus content. Your financial support of this podcast is greatly appreciated!

Follow WINMI: Website | Instagram | YouTube

———-

Why I’ll Never Make It is an award-winning, Top Theater Podcast hosted by actor and singer Patrick Oliver Jones and is a production of WINMI Media. Background music is by John Bartmann and Blue Dot Sessions is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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

No matter what profession you’re in, setting goals is an important part of finding the best path to get you there, but just because you know your goals, does that mean you also have a clear picture of your mission as an artist or the purpose of your life?

My guest today is Gina Morgano, a fellow singer and podcaster who also teaches voice and she’s brought along three stories that highlight that distinction between what we do as an artist and who we are as individuals. One story deals with an illness and losing her voice, while another talks about her big move to New York yet not getting cast in any shows. Since then Gina has found her joy in concerts rather than musicals, and in this episode she helps us understand that self-awareness is key to both reaching our goals and finding our purpose even as they may change direction.

This week's Artist Resource

Vocal Mentorship is a powerful voice is about much more than how you sound. As we talked about in this episode, it’s about being secure in who you are and wholeheartedly offering your creativity to the world so that you can make a difference in people’s lives. Gina's dream for singers is for them to understand the value of their own voice. That’s why these are not your normal voice lessons. These are life lessons - training for your inner voice as well as your outer one - so that you can embody freedom, ease and expansion while serving audiences to your highest capacity. Learn more here and discover a new facet of your voice and yourself

Final Five Questions with Gina Morgano

As a voice teacher as well, Gina Morgano brings an important perspective to her work as a performer. And in this episode she shares the wisdom and experience she’s gathered from her own performing and the work she’s done with her students. In these five final questions, she addresses topics we didn't get to in this conversation and provides extra insight into the work and practice she puts into being a performer. You can find her Final Five on the WINMI Blog.

Get access to Audition Stories and other bonus content by becoming a monthly or yearly subscriber to Why I’ll Never Make It. Producing this podcast is rewarding in its own way, but I’m essentially a one-man operation. So it is both costly and time-intensive to put together each episode. By subscribing you’ll be supporting these podcasting efforts, and have access to extended conversations and other bonus content. Your financial support of this podcast is greatly appreciated!

Follow WINMI: Website | Instagram | YouTube

———-

Why I’ll Never Make It is an award-winning, Top Theater Podcast hosted by actor and singer Patrick Oliver Jones and is a production of WINMI Media. Background music is by John Bartmann and Blue Dot Sessions is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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

With live theater happening once again here in New York, one of the joys has been seeing friends back on stage doing what they do best. I certainly hope to be joining them soon, but in the meantime, it’s wonderful to reconnect with today’s guest. Kathryn Allison is a singer and actress who I got to know at The Muny in St. Louis just as she was really beginning her professional career. 

Since meeting her, she’s gone on to perform in Wicked, Aladdin and is currently in the revival of Company (she seems to have a thing for Broadway shows with one-word titles.) In this episode, Kathryn shares the importance she places on her mental health, embarrassing auditions where she didn’t book the show, and how she continues to push for the inclusion of strong, diverse voices.

This Week's Artist's Resource

Find a Reader for Your Next Self-Tape: WeAudition

And as self-tapes are now the norm, WeAudition has been a great help to me this past year and provides a wonderfully creative, safe space to create the best video submissions possible. I just recently used them in a TV self-tape for Uncoupling and got a callback! Join today using the promo code WINMI25, which not only saves you money but it also helps support WINMI through this affiliate link. So join me and thousands of actors helping each other rehearse auditions and make better self-tapes.

The Final Five Questions

In these five final questions Kathryn addresses topics not covered in that episode, providing extra insight into her work and experiences in the performing arts. You can find her Final Five on the WINMI Blog.

Bonus Episode: Kathryn recalls another audition for Waitress and performing for Sara Bareilles.

Get access to Audition Stories and other bonus content by becoming a monthly or yearly subscriber to Why I’ll Never Make It. Producing this podcast is rewarding in its own way, but I’m essentially a one-man operation. So it is both costly and time-intensive to put together each episode. By subscribing you’ll be supporting these podcasting efforts, and have access to extended conversations and other bonus content. Your financial support of this podcast is greatly appreciated!

Follow WINMI: Website | Instagram | YouTube

———-

Why I’ll Never Make It is an award-winning, Top Theater Podcast hosted by actor and singer Patrick Oliver Jones and is a production of WINMI Media. Background music is by John Bartmann and Blue Dot Sessions is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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

The act of creating is both a testament to and a full embodiment of its creator. An actor gives so much of themselves to the role that they’re playing; a dancer utilizes every muscle to express an emotion; a writer pulls from their own life and experiences to create other worlds and powerful stories. So, it is only natural that we often tie our own self-worth and meaning to the success or failure of that creation. 

In this episode, I’m having a conversation with Emmy-winning director/choreographer Al Blackstone, who I had the pleasure of working with a few years back. He brings us three stories of doubt and uncertainty and aloneness, when his own talent as a dancer was questioned and his value as a director was dismissed. This is an honest conversation on who we really are beyond the labels of actor or artist and how the idea of “making it” comes more from ourselves than from the acceptance or validation of others.  

This Week's Artist Spotlight

MOMEN NYC was born out the pandemic to meet the needs of dancers, who just needed the time and space to move again. Al co-founded MOMEN NYC as a way to bring adult dancers together so they could focus on their craft and make lasting connections with other dancers. He truly believes deeply in the power of dance, community, and kindness to express what is more true about ourselves and help bring us all closer together. Follow MOMEN on Instagram for the latest updates.

The Final Five Questions

For the past few seasons, the Final Five has been a bonus episode to this podcast, but for Season 6 it’s in the form of a blog post where guests answer the five final questions. You can find Al's Final Five on the WINMI Blog.

Bonus Episode: Al talks about when he was at a dancer call years ago for the revival national tour of Sweet Charity and how he created Freddie Falls in Love that the NY Times thought it was"frothy" and "meandering production".

Get access to Audition Stories and other bonus content by becoming a monthly or yearly subscriber to Why I’ll Never Make It. Producing this podcast is rewarding in its own way, but I’m essentially a one-man operation. So it is both costly and time-intensive to put together each episode. By subscribing you’ll be supporting these podcasting efforts, and have access to extended conversations and other bonus content. Your financial support of this podcast is greatly appreciated!

Follow WINMI: Website | Instagram | YouTube

———-

Why I’ll Never Make It is an award-winning, Top Theater Podcast hosted by actor and singer Patrick Oliver Jones and is a production of WINMI Media. Background music is by John Bartmann and Blue Dot Sessions is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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

Sometimes the biggest obstacle standing in our way as actors is ourselves. Whether it’s self-doubt and a disbelief in our own abilities or maybe it’s giving too much weight to the criticism or expectations of others, or maybe a shift in priorities comes along and we have to make life decisions that go against our creative ambitions.

To kick off season six, I’m talking with actor and coach Briana Packen about ways we can stop getting in our own way. She brought three stories with her today: one about the importance of training and mastering our craft, a second one how the me too movement still has ramifications today for her as a mother and teacher, and finally, the need for balance and stability as an actor and an individual.

This Month's Artist Resource

Movement 4 Everybody

For about a decade now, Briana and her colleague Julia Crockett have been teaching movement to actors at conservatory programs and are thrilled to finally offer their classes to people not currently enrolled in an acting or university program. Strengthen your artistic physical practice, crack open your creativity, become more present in your body, or simply have a good time. Whatever your reason for going, you will leave feeling stronger, more connected, more creative, and with a richer connection to your body and others. Contact them for the latest class schedule or follow them on Instagram.

The Final Five Questions

For the past few seasons, the Final Five has been a bonus episode to this podcast, but for Season 6 it’s going to be in the form of a blog post where guests will answer five final questions. Briana starts it off by talking about learning from her mistakes and the ability we have as actors to grow and change throughout our life and career. You can find her Final Five on the WINMI Blog.

Get access to Audition Stories and other bonus content by becoming a monthly or yearly subscriber to Why I’ll Never Make It. Producing this podcast is rewarding in its own way, but I’m essentially a one-man operation. So it is both costly and time-intensive to put together each episode. By subscribing you’ll be supporting these podcasting efforts, and have access to extended conversations and other bonus content. Your financial support of this podcast is greatly appreciated!

Help WINMI Transcribe Every Episode!

One of my goals this season is to help Deaf/hard-of-hearing actors like John McGinty access the Why I’ll Never Make It podcast by offering transcriptions of each and every episode (I actually did it once). However, this is both time-consuming and would add a major cost to the production of this podcast (approximately $5000 per season). Regardless, I think the effort is worth it, don't you? So I’ll definitely need your financial help to make this a reality.

Please consider a one-time donation (via PayPal) or a monthly subscription to bonus episodes (via Supercast), which will help offset the cost of this important service. Whichever way you choose to contribute, your help is so very much appreciated!

Follow WINMI: Website | Instagram | YouTube

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Why I’ll Never Make It is an award-winning, Top Theater Podcast hosted by actor and singer Patrick Oliver Jones and is a production of WINMI Media. Background music is by John Bartmann and Blue Dot Sessions is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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