Why I‘ll Never Make It

By Patrick Oliver JonesTV & Film Arts Music Performing Arts

Why I‘ll Never Make It episodes

March 11, 2020 Georgia Stitt - Composer, Lyricist, and Music Director (Women’s History Month)
GEORGIA STITT (georgiastitt.com) is a composer and lyricist whose original musicals include Snow Bird, Big Red Sun, The Water, and Samantha Spade, Ace Detective, which was the National Youth Theatre “Outstanding New Musical” in 2014. She is currently working on the The Big Boom with Hunter Foster and is also preparing to release her third album later this year.

Now I haven’t even gotten to her work as producer, music supervisor, pianist, orchestrator, vocal coach, music director, and conductor. Needless to say she lives and breathes music. Not to mention her role as mother and wife and founding director of Maestra (maestramusic.org), an activist organization for women musicians in theater, which we will talk about more in the next episode.

For more information on the articles and quotes used in this episode follow on Twitter (@winmipodcast).
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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 that follow. You can always reach out to me on the website: contact.winmipodcast.com
Each week there’s audio that doesn't make it into the episode. You'll get these extra nuggets only on Instagram (@winmipodcast) as well as other insights and motivations.
Lastly, this podcast is supported through kind donations of listeners like you by buying me a coffee.

Music:
"Oldie Song" by David Szesztay is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.
"All Will See" by Hyson is licensed under a Attribution License.

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44 min
March 06, 2020FINAL FIVE: Abigail Rose Solomon
After our in-depth discussion on producing in NYC and balancing that with an acting career, Abigail now shares bucket lists and who she looks up to. These final five questions get into topics and insights not covered in our previous conversation.
If you could have any other job outside of the arts what would it be?
What is a bucket list role or show you still hope to do one day?
Who do you look up to? A mentor or someone who inspires you.
Name a lesson or trait that took you awhile to learn or one that you are still learning to this day?
What’s the best advice you’ve received?
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Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.

Do you have questions or stories of your own? Share them with me:
contact.winmipodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
10 min
March 04, 2020 Abigail Rose Solomon - Actress and Broadway Producer of Musicals and Plays (Women’s History Month)
For the first episode of Women's History Month, I'm talking to New York-Los Angeles actress and producer Abigail Rose Solomon, who founded Rosalind Productions in 2005.
We talk about the differences between acting and producing NYC and LA as well as her process of finding shows and working on them with other producers and creatives.
Rosalind Productions' credits include THE PROM, THREE TALL WOMEN, WAR PAINT, THE LAST SEDER, PROOF, and AS YOU LIKE IT.
Also, this week's female Broadway pioneer is Cheryl Crawford, founder of Group Theater and the Actors Studio.
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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 that follow.

For further insights (Twitter) and unreleased audio clips of today's interview (Instagram) be a part of the WINMI community on social media @winmipodcast. And you can always reach out to me on the website: contact.winmipodcast.com
Lastly, this podcast is supported through kind donations of listeners like you by buying me a coffee.

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Music: September by Kai Engel is licensed under a Attribution License.

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1 hr 1 min
February 26, 2020More AUDITION STORIES 2020 with Lauren Kennedy, Justin Guarini and others!
On the second half of AUDITION STORIES we dive into the comparison game with Justin Guarini. This kind of jealousy is so common to actors and affects us in the audition room more than we know.
Former guests share their experiences from onstage to on-camera, from the wonderful to the embarrassing, and everything in-between. (Listen to Part One as well.)
Those featured in this episode:
JUSTIN GUARINI - "Comparison Trap" (Audition Secrets podcast)
LAUREN KENNEDY - Artistic Director of Theatre Raleigh
MEGAN HOXIE - Actor/Singer in FOOTLOOSE
REMY GERMINARIO - Actor and Stand-Up Comedian
MEGAN CARVER - Actor, Writer, Filmmaker
MIATA EDOGA - Actor and Financial Coach
CHARLOTTE COHN - Actor, Director, Producer (Episode coming in March)
MAISIE WILLIAMS - Actor from GAME OF THRONES (TED Talk)
Join The Chain with Megan Carver and Adventuress Films.
NY Actorfest - Casting Directors panel discussion
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I want this podcast to 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 that follow. You can always reach out to me: contact.winmipodcast.com
Also, don't forget Miata Edoga's special financial empowerment offer for WINMI listeners from Abundance Bound.

For further insights and unreleased audio clips of these episodes, you can be a part of the WINMI community on Twitter and Instagram (@winmipodcast).
Lastly, this podcast is supported through kind donations of listeners like you by buying me a coffee.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
46 min
February 19, 2020AUDITION STORIES 2020 with Caroline Bowman, Kelvin Moon Loh and more!
The 2nd Annual Auditions Stories is here! And this is only part one...focusing on the Audition Book and debunking 5 myths about what this book is supposed to be.
The typical audition book has at least 20 songs (or monologues).
It must contain material from every genre and era.
"Show your range" means to hit your highest note.
You don't need the full song in your book.
It doesn't have to have a table of contents.
Here are the former guests featured in this episode with all-new stories from the audition room (click on their name to listen to their episode):
Kelvin Moon Loh - Otho in BEETLEJUICE on Broadway
Sherryl-Lee Secomb - Australian Director and An Idiot on Stage
J. Harrison Ghee - Lola in KINKY BOOTS (Broadway & National Tour)
Caroline Bowman - Elsa in FROZEN National Tour
Janine DiVita - Anne in IF/THEN National Tour, Rizzo in GREASE on Broadway
Joshua Morgan - Shelly Berger in Broadway's AIN'T TOO PROUD
Terri Dollar - Talent Agent in North Carolina & Director of S.T.A.R.
Bret Shuford - Broadway Husbands and Life Coach
Amy Marie Stewart - "Definitive Guide to Building Your Audition Book" on Soundfly and at Theory Works.
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May this podcast be a resource as you discover more ways to pursue a career in this industry and sustain it through the many ups and downs that follow. You can always reach out to me on the website: contact.winmipodcast.com

For insights and unreleased audio clips of today's interview, you can be a part of the WINMI community on Twitter and Instagram (@winmipodcast).

Lastly, this podcast is supported through kind donations of listeners like you by buying me a coffee.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
53 min
February 12, 2020SING FOR YOUR SENIORS with Founder & Producing Artistic Director Jackie Vanderbeck (Spotlight)
Throughout history artists have known that music provides benefits for both the creator and the listener. It can affect individuals in positive ways by inducing both psychological and physiological healing. This is especially true in the senior community.

Sing For Your Seniors is a nonprofit built around the mission of enriching lives through the universal language of music. They bring professional artists to the communities of seniors in need...to entertain them, to foster inter-generational connection, and most especially to create shared joy.

Jackie Vanderbeck is the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of SFYS. From her great grandmother, whom she lovingly called grandma Dee Dee, she realized the enormous therapeutic value of music for seniors, especially those who are showing signs of withdrawal. And so in Grandma Dee Dee’s honor and memory she started SFYS in 2005 as a one-person a cappella hour at the Village Adult Day Center in New York’s West Village. But it has now grown into a much bigger organization, and today Jackie joins me in this Spotlight episode to talk about that journey.

Last summer, she invited me to participate in one of their sessions at the Actors Fund Home in New Jersey. So we also talk about that experience and how SFYS brings hope and joy to a very vulnerable group that is often forgotten by our society.

Discussed in today's episode:
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (Tom Viola)
Alzheimer's Foundation of America
Broadway for the Blind
The PROM's Broadway Session
Donating Pianos
Follow Sing For Your Seniors: Website | Instagram | Twitter
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Contribute your own Audition Story: contact.winmipodcast.com

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For insights and unreleased audio clips of today's interview, you can be a part of the WINMI community on Twitter and Instagram and you can always reach out to me directly: [email protected]

Lastly, this podcast is supported through kind donations of listeners like you: buy me a coffee.

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Music used in this episode:

"Reverie (small theme)" (ft. Pitx), 2010 by _ghost.
Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

"Stardust" by U.S. Army Blues is licensed under a Public Domain Mark 1.0 License.

"Stompin At The Lough" by The Underscore Orkestra is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

"In Your Arms" by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

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1 hr 3 min
February 06, 2020 Getting OVER ... Social Media Content (Special Offer)
So much of how we connect with the world and share our lives and interests is centered around social media. From promoting this podcast to my own acting career, creating social media posts is a must. But often it's time-consuming and frustrating...that was until I discovered OVER.
This free app completely changed my approach to social media engagement, with templates and graphics and fonts all customizable to what I need. I loved it so much I even upgraded to Over Pro and asked them how I could share this app with you. Now, for all WINMI listeners they are offering one month of Over Pro for free!
Just go to over.winmipodcast.com, download the app, and use the promo code "WINMI" to get your free month today.
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Also, don't forget about the offer from previous guest Miata Edoga to join Abundance Bound's Financial Empowerment Program. WINMI listeners get $5 off each month as Miata helps you gain confidence and skills in handling your money.
Go to abundance.winmipodcast.com and use the discount code "WINMI" to take advantage of her offer.
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As more resources are made available, stay on top of all the special offers for the WINMI community at offers.winmipodcast.com.
I don't get any money from these offers, this is just an effort to help us all navigate this business and our own lives a little bit better.
2 min
February 05, 2020American Sign Language for Theater - Providing Access to Deaf Audiences with ASL Interpreters
This podcast mainly focuses on the artist and the creative, the actor or composer or director, etc. But in today’s episode I’m turning the tables and focusing on the audience, specifically those who are deaf and hard of hearing. Their access to what we do onstage is often limited and often times they can’t make it to the theater because there is no way provided for them to understand what is happening. That’s where sign language interpreters come in and provide access for this underserved community of theater-goers.
(Click here for a full transcript of this episode at the WINMI Blog.)
The history of ASL-interpreted shows is actually fairly young. It was not until the early 1980s that the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles would offer the first regularly-scheduled ASL-interpreted performances of theatre in the nation. This was spurred on by its own success with the play Children of a Lesser God in 1979, which went on to a Broadway production and won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1980. (Source: howlround.com, an essay by David Kurs)
In fact, Children of a Lesser God had a Broadway revival a couple of years ago and I was grateful to have one of the actors from that play, John McGinty, on the podcast. (Listen to that conversation here: smarturl.it/johnmcginty) As I was putting together this episode, I contacted John again and asked him about the importance of ASL-interpreted shows:
"It is imperative to show that audiences prefer the personal aspect that a great, certified, sign language interpreter can bring to a theater performance. It helps build a “family” and a sense of belonging in the audience for those who happen to be Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Also, once the audience sees that the show is interpreted, they will be able to leave and say, 'Hey, I saw a show that was interpreted.' This will at least build a foundation and awareness of the Deaf/HoH community in their future."
Recently one of our FOOTLOOSE shows on Norwegian Cruise Lines was ASL-interpreted by two women who travel to many different events and venues to provide sign language interpretation, Heidi Johnson and Mia Engle. In all my contracts aboard ships I’ve never seen ASL done for any show, so it was a real honor to be a part of the night’s presentation and it was an even bigger pleasure to sit down with them and talk about the important work they do. These are some of the people and topics covered in this episode:
Mairéad MacSweeney - Director of the Deafness, Cognition, and Language Research Centre at the University College London
Children of a Lesser God - A play by Mark Medoff based on a story written about deaf characters for deaf actors in the late ‘70s—featuring a deaf woman named Sarah Norman who falls in love with a speech therapist named James Leeds.
John McGinty - Deaf actor and advocate, who also teaches sign language
David Kurs - Artistic Director of Deaf West theater company
Prosody - the rhythmic structure, intonation, and stress in spoken and signed languages
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The time and expense needed to bring these guests and conversations to you each week is sometimes challenging but always rewarding. Please consider donating and supporting the work that goes into each episode. donate.winmipodcast.com

Join the WINMI community by following on Instagram or Twitter as well as reaching out to me with any questions or comments: contact.winmipodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
35 min
January 29, 2020Dave Jackson - Hall of Fame Podcaster on How and Why Actors Should Start a Podcast
This is a special episode where someone I consider to be one of the best in podcasting joins the show to discuss what he's learned about this growing medium and how we as artists can use this as another outlet for our creativity.
Dave Jackson has been podcasting since April of 2005. His School of Podcasting has been downloaded nearly 2 million times, and he has helped hundreds of people launch podcasts. He was also inducted into the Academy of Podcasters Hall of Fame in 2018. And now he's here to help you!
Here are some of the people and items discussed in this episode:
The Audacity to Podcast - Another podcasting guru, Daniel J. Lewis, shares his findings on the state of this medium and the 800,000+ podcasts currently listed by Apple.
Ultimate Guide to Hosting and Guesting Podcast Interviews - More than any episode I've ever listened to, this one by Dave gives a helpful overview of the the nuts and bolts of creating the best interview-style podcast.
Building a Better Dave - The personal diary of Dave Jackson. Each short episode attempts to make you laugh, cry, think, groan, educate, or entertain.
Here's a list of Dave's other podcasts:
podcastreviewshow.com
podcastersroundtable.com
askthepodcastcoach.com
podcastrodeoshow.com
Connect with Dave: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
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I want this podcast (and especially this episode) to 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 that follow.

For insights and unreleased audio clips of today's interview, you can be a part of the WINMI community on Twitter and Instagram and you can always reach out to me directly at [email protected]

Lastly, this podcast is supported through kind donations of listeners like you by buying me a coffee.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
57 min
January 24, 2020FINAL FIVE: Megan Carver
Welcome to the FINAL FIVE Bonus Episode with Megan Carver!
After our in-depth discussion on finding our artistic niche and creating work for ourselves, we then chatted about others job and where inspiration comes from. These final five questions are posed to each guest on topics and insights not covered in our previous conversation. The answers given are surprising and revealing, showing another side to Megan Carver...
If you could have any other job outside of the arts what would it be?
What is a bucket list role or show you still hope to do one day?
Who do you look up to? A mentor or someone who inspires you.
Name a lesson or trait that took you awhile to learn or one that you are still learning to this day?
What’s the best advice you’ve received?
----------
Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.

Do you have questions or stories of your own? Share them with me:
contact.winmipodcast.com

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

About Why I‘ll Never Make It

From the publisher's feed

The actor’s journey is one of occasional highs and frequent lows. It is a path riddled with self-doubt and frustration as we question our career choices, wondering if we’ll ever really ”make it.” But…