Why I‘ll Never Make It

As we came to the end of Part One of our conversation, Will Swenson and I were talking about the deeper questions of who we are as artists and the absolute importance of bringing our full selves to the stage. In this episode, Will’s performance in the Broadway revival of HAIR back in 2009 and how the show and the character of Berger allowed him a freedom and an energy that he had never gotten the chance to express on stage before. We also continue to explore the more personal side of who we are and Will opens up about the about lessons he and his wife Audra McDonald have learned from each other. We also discuss

I've included the Final Five has been included, although these questions are normally a bonus members-only episode, it's been added here as I try out a slightly different format for the show. What do you think?

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

For the next three weeks I’ll be talking with two Broadway actors and a music director about their careers in New York and their own thoughts on the the theatre world and the Tony Awards. I start today with actor and singer Will Swenson, a Tony nominee for his outstanding work in the revival of the musical HAIR back in 2009. He's someone I’ve known since the late 90s when we were working at Disney World in Orlando, both sharing the role of Gaston in Beauty and the Beast. We are both baritone leading man, who grew up in the church, and both had first marriages that didn’t last.

To be candid, we have shared so much in common that one of my initial reasons for bringing him on the podcast was to figure out what I could’ve done differently, what are the one or two things I could’ve done that would’ve let me mirror his career path, but instead what I came away with was a greater understanding of shared experience, of commonalities we all have, both professional and personal, that go far deeper than who is better than who, or who has a better life or career.

Listen to Part Two of our conversation here!

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

Whether from personal experience or hearing stories from the past two episodes on this podcast, you know that almost anything can happen in an audition room. Sometimes it’s defined by magical moments, while other times it is filled with frustration. Yet even still, the most “perfect“ audition doesn’t always lead to a call back or a contract. It is this uncertainty that can bring both excitement and dismay. Not to mention the fact that auditioning for the stage is slightly different from auditioning for the screen. With me today to discuss these differences is television and film actor Darren Darnborough, CEO of WeAudition.

I first met and got to know Darren when he reached out to me as the CEO of WeAudition.com back in January of this year. He is someone truly dedicated and motivated to helping all actors get better at their craft and reach even greater heights in their career. I’m very proud and grateful that he’s become a big fan of this podcast. You’ll certainly be hearing about more collaborations together in the future, but today, I sit down with Darren to talk about his own journey as an actor, the wonderful opportunities he’s been given, as well as the hard lessons learned along the way. He reveals a lot during our conversation and offered me new perspective not only on auditioning, but the art and business of being an actor as well.

Listen to Part Two of our conversation!

Listeners of this podcast get 25% off a WeAudition Membership by using the promo code WINMI25.

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

For most theater actors, Broadway is the ultimate status to attain in this industry. It’s the highest level any of us can reach and is the utmost definition of making it, but just because an actor has been on a Broadway stage, it doesn’t mean they don’t go through the same frustrations and doubts that we go through. That really gets to the heart of Why I’ll Never Make It and especially today’s episode, which is brought to you by We Audition (get 25% off membership with promo code: WINMI25).

This is part two of my focus on Audition Stories: the good, the bad, and the hysterical. You’ll hear from the following Broadway stars about the trials and tribulations of auditioning, including those pesky self-tapes...

Here's a special gift to you for listening to these stories (and reading these notes) - a bonus video episode with Adrienne Walker sharing her LION KING audition story. Enjoy!

Get access to more 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

Actors have been returning to the stage this summer as some regional theaters have returned to normal with live audiences. That, of course, has brought in a fresh wind of auditions. So, it is with great pleasure and excitement that I welcome you to the third annual Audition Stories here on the podcast. The last time these audition episodes were on the podcast was a month before the Covid shutdown and there have been a lot of guests with worthwhile stories since then. 

Today’s episode, brought to you by We Audition (promo code: WINMI25), is actually part one of these wonderful tales from the room where it happens. Now, we’ve been doing a lot of self tapes lately, but it's time for a need a reminder of the happy and hysterical things that can happen in person and in front of the audition table. At the end of this episode none other than Bryan Cranston has some sage words of wisdom we can all apply to auditions and self-tapes. 

Here's the list of former guests sharing their audition experiences:

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

For the past week I have been doing a deep dive into podcasting at a yearly conference called Podcast Movement. It's a place where podcasters like me can learn how to make better episodes, conduct riveting interviews, sincerely engage with listeners, and figure out ways to make my podcast both sustainable and profitable. The goal is to give you and future listeners even more reasons to come back week after week for another episode. At last year‘s conference I actually met a guest you’ve already heard from earlier this season, Ashley Monique Menard. 

She is energetic, fun, and talented lady who talked about her own creative journey and zeroed in on the idea of patience and what we expect from ourselves. Right after she appeared on WINMI podcast, she invited me on her own podcast called Eff Your Fears. It is a bold and deliberate effort to help artists overcome what holds them back, because as we all know fear is one of the biggest reasons why we’ll never make it. 

So while I’m off learning and growing to be a better host and producer of this show, I wanted to share my conversation with Ashley on her podcast. You’ll certainly learn more of my story and hear it from a unique and quirky perspective that only Ashley can bring. 

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

Last year I started releasing bonus episodes to those who supported this podcast on a monthly basis. Well, this is one of those special episodes with Kristen Hetzel. I brought along the co-hosts of Olympic podcast Keep the Flame Alive. Jill and Allison ask questions which bring a different perspective to my conversation with this silver and bronze medal duathlete. They ask about Team USA, correlations between acting training and athleticism, and even wonder about guys who challenge Kristen to dumb physical contests. It's a wide ranging talk that offers unique insight for us actors. Thank you Jill and Allison!

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

As the Olympics head into their second week, it’s been a great reminder of the lessons we as artists can learn from these Olympians.

Remember the episode with Sally Wilfert? She reminded us singers how we are small muscle athletes. And anyone who’s been through a tech rehearsal process knows what a marathon can feel like and striving to reach the finish line.

Mindset and mental health are also so important. Athletes like Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka are recent examples of how competition and especially expectation can wear down even the best performers.

In November 2020, WINMI did a five-part series called "Bettering Ourselves, Bettering Our Careers" and in the last episode of that series I spoke with Kristen Hetzel. She is a Team USA silver and bronze medalist in the duathlon (which is running and cycling) and she's also an actress, model, personal trainer, motivational speaker, and holds a doctorate in physical therapy.

Today’s episode is a rewind back to my conversation with Kristen. She shares her secret to getting it on the field and how she overcomes what stands in her way. Most importantly, Kristen gives a lot of insight into how the two worlds of sports and acting are similar and why the discipline and lessons of one can help the other.

----------

Why I’ll Never Make It is a Top 25 Theater Podcast on Feedspot, and is also a part of Helium Radio Network and a member of the Broadway Makers Alliance. 

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

When it comes to theater we all know Broadway and the big lights of New York City. There’s also organizations like the public or playwrights horizons that present notable off Broadway productions as well. But for the most part stage work is done by small to midsize theaters across the country some bring in equity Actors but a lot of them don’t. They are simply gathering together actors, directors, and designers to put on a show to entertain and engage local audiences. 

Well, the music industry is much the same way. There are the A-list stars that go on the Tonight Show and sign record deals with Sony or Motown records. But most of the music being produced in America is done by smaller independent artists who simply love the joy of performing and songwriting. Sydney Irving is someone who was born to sing and perform, you can hear it from the moment you press play on any one of her five albums. As a native of Syracuse New York, Sydney’s first album was released when she was only 14 and her latest is an EP that just came out in May. And last year she was twice named artist of the year by two different organizations.

Being a teenage female singer songwriter, it’s probably no surprise that she looks up to Taylor Swift and was inspired by her to pick up the guitar and start writing music. But Sydney‘s influences don’t stop there. She’s into Barnes Courtney, post Malone, and Ryan Adams. But also surprisingly she pulls a lot of influence from older artists Like AC/DC, the doors, and her current favorite Tom Petty. 

We will certainly be talking about those influences and how they’ve impacted her own singing and songwriting. And you’ll even get to hear a song off of her latest EP all I need is you at the end of this episode. But first we talk about the early success that she’s had in her career and the hard work it took to get her there as well as her disregard for social media and why she prefers other ways to connect with friends, family, and her fans. 

After getting a chance to meet and talk with her I certainly count myself among one of her fans, and I’m sure by the end of this conversation you’ll be one too.

Sign up for the monthly WINMI Newsletter. 

----------

Why I’ll Never Make It is a Top 25 Theater Podcast on Feedspot, and is also a part of Helium Radio Network and a member of the Broadway Makers Alliance. 

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

"All I Need Is You" by Sydney Irving is also used with permission.

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

During this past year as Covid wrecked the theater scene, ending so many shows and seasons, Andrew Lloyd Webber was doing his best to bring musicals back to the West End. And in much the same way, although for very different reasons, it was Lloyd Webber in the 1980s who was bringing the modern musical theater to Germany and the rest of Europe with grand spectacles like Cats.

At that time Sabine Kvenberg was a stage actress at the very start of her performing career. So of course when Cats came along, she jumped at the chance to audition for it. And for most of her career, music and musical theater has been at the forefront. She's recorded original music, performed in various touring productions in Europe, and also found plenty of work on screen as well.

Since moving to America, though, she has taken an active role in coaching and mentoring current performers as they navigate their careers, both on stage and on screen. She’s also a public speaker, an author, and even has her own YouTube channel and future podcast. Which is actually how we met, through a podcasters forum led by another former WINMI guest, Dave Jackson. 

In our conversation today, Sabine recounts the lessons she has learned in front of audiences as well as in the audition room. She gives us a deeper understanding of the importance of mindset and preparation when it comes to our professional and personal lives. It is this wealth of creative wisdom that she imparts to her students, and thankfully will be sharing it with us as well. 

Sign up for the monthly WINMI Newsletter. 

----------

Why I’ll Never Make It is a Top 25 Theater Podcast on Feedspot, and is also a part of Helium Radio Network and a member of the Broadway Makers Alliance. 

Music in the episode by Borrtex is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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