Why I‘ll Never Make It

A look back at the year that was unlike anything we hoped for or would ever imagine. Still, this podcast had its good moments and a plethora of fantastic guests. Here's just some of what you'll get in this end-of-the-year episode:

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Merry Christmas! :)

In honor of the recent release of THE PROM movie on Netflix, here is a special combo episode of my conversations with star of the Broadway production, Caitlin Kinnunen (starts at 1:58), and one of the co-producers, Abigail Rose Solomon (starts at 35:18).

Also, this holiday season don't miss the 12 Days of Auditions, available at donate.winmipodcast.com. Become a WINMI Producer and listen to former guests share their most memorable audition stories.

Listen to Caitlin's full second season episode and audition story here.

And Abigail's full conversation and Final Five from season four is here.

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Today’s episode is part two of my conversation with the final guest of Season 4.

Sammi Cannold is a remarkable artist and director. She was even named to the 2019 Forbes List of 30 under 30 in entertainment for her innovative and unique approach to directing for the stage. And today’s conversation is going to be focusing on a few of those productions: her remarkable staging of the musical Violet on an actual bus AND her 2019 New York City Center Gala production of Evita.

I have my own personal connection to Evita having done the national tour of the latest Broadway revival. Even our music supervisor Kristen Blodgette worked with Sammi in her production. In fact, It was that revival production that inspired Sammi to become a director in the first place.

Follow Sammi: Website / Instagram / Twitter 

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Producing this podcast is a rewarding experience, but it's also costly and time-consuming as I’m essentially a one-man operation. By subscribing you’ll be supporting these podcasting efforts, and have access to extended conversations and other bonus content. Whether you subscribe or donate, your financial support of this podcast is greatly appreciated!

Follow WINMI: Website | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

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Why I’ll Never Make It is an award-winning, Top Theater Podcast with 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.

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Here we are at the final guest of Season Four...

In part one of my conversation with New York director, Sammi Cannold shares the details of an article she wrote for The Stage, detailing how South Korean producers have made theater safe and possible for both creatives and audiences.

While Sammi remains more diplomatic, I am not gentle in my rebuke of the Broadway League and Actors Equity, who have either kept silent for much of this pandemic or have actually been a hindrance to getting theater up and running again. We highlight the leading efforts by Andrew Lloyd Webber and how there is no equivalent here in the US.

Part two discusses her directorial projects in New York and regionally as well as her affinity for all things Andrew Lloyd Webber. She was also on the 2019 Forbes List 30 Under 30 in Entertainment.

Follow Sammi: Website / Instagram / Twitter 

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Producing this podcast is a rewarding experience, but it's also costly and time-consuming as I’m essentially a one-man operation. By subscribing you’ll be supporting these podcasting efforts, and have access to extended conversations and other bonus content. Whether you subscribe or donate, your financial support of this podcast is greatly appreciated!

Follow WINMI: Website | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

----------

Why I’ll Never Make It is an award-winning, Top Theater Podcast with 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 part one of my conversation with Christophe Zajac-Denek, he talked about growing up with dwarfism, his love of music and drumming, and how he just kind of fell into the world of acting on camera. For part two, we continue that journey with the movie and experience that had a profound impact on his life. 

As we start this episode Christophe has moved back to Michigan to go to music school and return to his first love of drumming, but life had other ideas for what Christophe needed to be doing.

Follow Christophe: IMDB / Demo Reel / Website 

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If I’m being honest, I have never really met a little person. Maybe in passing, but never actually sat down and had a conversation with one. But once we got on Zoom, Christophe Zajac-Denek and I chatted for more than two hours and even then we still could’ve kept on talking. There were so many areas of his life and experience that were not only interesting but also inspiring. So this is actually just part one of that conversation.

His fascinating story is such a departure from most conversations I’ve had on this podcast. He answers questions about dwarfism was and the day-to-day life of someone living with this condition. Christophe also shares his love of music and how he found acting...or rather how it found him.

Follow Christophe: Website / Instagram / Podcast 

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It's been one heck of a year, yet one arts group wanted to come together and make something to celebrate this season. They asked me to be a part of the event by hosting their Virtual Red Carpet. These interviews with the actors and creative team behind BroadwayMania's Holiday Special were first shown Thanksgiving weekend and led up to the hour-long Christmas program.

To watch these Red Carpet interviews on YouTube as well as the Holiday Special, go to: https://youtu.be/OyK_xT3tY98 

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The instrumental music in this episode: "Christmas" by AShamaluevMusic 

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This past summer, as we were in the midst of massive theater shutdowns and summer season cancellations, I found BroadwayMania on Instagram. It was mostly videos of singers belting out show tunes, well-produced performances that were earnest and passionate.

As I found out more about this organization and their mission to provide opportunities to performers around the world, I was truly captivated by their love of theater. While there are some professional artists in the group, many others come from a variety of backgrounds, from technology and teaching to advertising and the military. 

And Cecy Treviño is the force behind it all, founding the group in 2018 as a hodge podge group of people on a singing app to now a theater company that has just released a YouTube Christmas Special and Holiday album. Cecy shares this journey and the many lessons she learned to make this dream a reality.

Follow Cecy & BroadwayMania: Website / Instagram / YouTube 

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May this podcast be a resource for you as you discover more ways to pursue a career in this industry and sustain it through the many ups and downs we all face. 

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When it comes to the arts, I aim to give as wide a field of experience and opinion as possible here on the podcast. Yet for the most part I steer clear of politics. This is for a few reasons, but the main two are that I don’t want to add to the already divisive nature of some political activism and I want the content of this podcast to be as relevant today as it will be a year or more from now. Causes come and go, elected officials also change regularly (as does their rhetoric and positions on key issues). 

The closest I’ve come to venturing into the political realm is when I had on two of the founders of Be An Arts Hero, highlighting their efforts to lobby Congress for more funding and attention given to the arts here in America. So there is no doubt a relationship between the arts and politics, throughout history they have been both supporters and adversaries of one another. 

And recently there was a podcast that veered from its normal format to highlight the Politics of Culture that is inherent with so many works of art. The podcast is called Left, Right, and Center. And as the name implies they bring on guests and pundits from all sides to discuss the issues of the day. However, in this recent episode their guests are a television writer, a pop music songwriter, and a stage playwright. The discussions are led by Keli Goff, who is a journalist as well as a playwright and screenwriter herself. 

Of the four guests in this episode, I was particularly struck by the conversations with Stan Zimmerman, who wrote for the classic TV show The Golden Girls, and award-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau, who wrote the book for the hit Broadway musical Ain't Too Proud. They both share how their own writings have contributed to social conversations and have addressed important issues.

Like with any episode of Left, Right, and Center there will opinions you agree with and those you may not, but the discussions are nonetheless thoughtful and in-depth.

Stay tuned for the next recommendation, which will be my year-end pick for the best podcast to take us into the new year. Until then take care, and subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen to audio.

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