Why I‘ll Never Make It

By Patrick Oliver JonesTV & Film Arts Music Performing Arts

Why I‘ll Never Make It episodes

December 11, 2019 Mike Isaacson - Artistic Director of the Muny on the Challenges of Producing Broadway Musicals
Mike Isaacson has led the Muny for almost ten years and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. In this episode he shares not only the challenges of producing 7 musicals in 10 weeks each summer, but he also opens up about his Tony Award winning Broadway ventures, Fun Home and Thoroughly Modern Millie. These shows almost didn’t happen, yet their eventual success proved that listening to your heart and to an audience are ultimately more important that listening to critics.
Follow Mike on social media as well as the Muny on Twitter and Instagram.
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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 buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
49 min
December 06, 2019FINAL FIVE: Jenny Stafford
Welcome to another FINAL FIVE Bonus Episode! These are the five questions I'll be asking each guest all season long, as they give concise and and focused insights not covered in our main conversation. The answers given are surprising and revealing, showing another side to Jenny Stafford...
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?
Click here to listen to the previous episode with Grace McLean.
And to learn more about Taylor Mac and his work go to Playbill or the New York Times.
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The time and expense needed to bring these guests and conversations to you each week is both sometimes challenging but always rewarding. 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 the WINMI Community: contact.winmipodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
12 min
December 04, 2019 Jenny Stafford - Lyricist on Writing, Collaboration, and the Day Broadway Called
In the entertainment industry, we are all essentially storytellers. But there is one among us who is the spark and drive of those stories...the writer. Jenny Stafford is a prolific lyricist and book writer with her work featured on and off Broadway as well as regional and children's theaters across the country.
She has a lot to share about her own journey and what led her back home to Denver, Colorado where she found herself at a crossroads, not only in her career but in her life as well. We talk about fate, being our true selves, relationships, and of course writing.
Go to Jenny's website and follow her on Twitter and YouTube.
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The time and expense needed to bring these guests and conversations to you each week is both sometimes challenging but always rewarding. Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
58 min
November 27, 2019 Five Reasons Artists Have to Be Thankful (Bite Size Episode)
Happy Thanksgiving! We’ve all been with our families and gone around the proverbial table to say what we are grateful for. Well, it’s my turn and this episode is dedicated to YOU, who listen and follow and support this podcast. I mention a few listeners by name for their extra dedication to the WINMI community.

Also, I go through 5 reason each of us as artists should be thankful this holiday season…and all year round. There are many reasons that hold us back or get in the way of our dreams, but along the way we do find successes and support from others. This episode is all about recognizing those influences and resources in our lives that keep us going.

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The time and expense needed to bring these episodes to you each week is at times challenging but always rewarding. Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into this podcast.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
19 min
November 22, 2019FINAL FIVE: Misha Osherovich
Welcome to another FINAL FIVE Bonus Episode! These are the five questions I'll be asking each guest all season long, as they give concise and and focused insights not covered in our main conversation. The answers given are surprising and revealing, showing another side to Misha Osherovich...
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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The time and expense needed to bring these guests and conversations to you each week is both sometimes challenging but always rewarding. 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 the WINMI Community: contact.winmipodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
10 min
November 20, 2019 Misha Osherovich - Actor and Filmmaker on Body Image and His Own Battle with an Eating Disorder
Misha Osherovich is a Russian-American actor, filmmaker, and mental health/LGBTQ+ activist.

Misha's latest short film E.VERY D.AY is currently screening at festivals internationally. The film is autobiographical - written and produced by Misha - that gives the audience a look inside the minds of people affected by eating disorders and distorted body image.

You can also catch Misha in AMC's new series NOS4A2. He can also be seen in theaters in Warner Bros' new film THE GOLDFINCH.

Follow Misha on Instagram or Twitter.

Misha aims to use his platform in TV/film and on social media (as well as this podcast) to speak frankly and openly about body image and eating disorder recovery from the perspective of the entertainment industry, as well as the intersection between queerness and mental health.

For more info on recognizing and dealing with eating disorders:
Six Common Types of Eating Disorders
National Eating Disorders Helpline buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.

Also, you should join the WINMI community by following on Instagram or Twitter as well as reaching out to Patrick with any questions or comments: contact.winmipodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
59 min
November 15, 2019FINAL FIVE: Janine DiVita
Welcome to another FINAL FIVE Bonus Episode! These are the five questions I'll be asking each guest all season long, as they give concise and and focused insights not covered in our main conversation. The answers given are surprising and revealing, showing another side to Janine DiVita...
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?
----------
The time and expense needed to bring these guests and conversations to you each week is both sometimes challenging but always rewarding. 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 the WINMI Community: contact.winmipodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
10 min
November 13, 2019 Janine DiVita - Broadway Actress on Maintaining the Voice and Surviving Under Pressure
This is part two of my conversation with Janine DiVita. Last time was a Spotlight episode on her work with the USO Show Troupe. In this episode she and I dig into what drives her as an actor and singer, the choices she’s made in her career, and how she maintains a work/life balance since getting married.
Janine opens up about going to therapy and how it’s helped her focus on what truly matters, especially in auditions. She also shares what is was like filling in for Idena Menzel in the Broadway musical IF/THEN. Janine is a poised and consummate professional, whose singing voice is as angelic as it is powerful. She co-founded Empowered Voices, a company that combines dynamic theatrical techniques with traditional prevention education tactics to combat and prevent Sexual Assault within the U.S. Military and beyond.
Follow Janine on Twitter and Instagram as well as her website.
You can also find out more about the USO Show Troupe.
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Reach out with your own questions or comments about the podcast at contact.winmipodcast.com.
The time and expense needed to bring these guests and conversations to you each week is both sometimes challenging but always rewarding. Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
47 min
November 06, 2019 USO SHOW TROUPE with Janine DiVita for National Military Families Month (Spotlight)
November is National Military Families Month, and in honor of that I have Janine DiVita joining me today to talk about her work with the USO Show Troupe in New York City.
Now when most people think of the USO, the first thing that comes to mind, understandably, is the legendary entertainer Bob Hope, who first performed for U.S. troops in California in May 1941, just a few months before the Pearl Harbor. But the USO is certainly much more then any one celebrity. It’s mission is to strengthen America’s military service members by keeping them connected to family, home and country, throughout their service to the nation.
For over 77 years, the USO has done just that. And the show troops play a vital role in that mission by entertaining service members and conveying the support of the nation through their uplifting shows.
As an actor herself Janine knows firsthand what it takes to reach an audience, and she’ll be joining me next week to talk about work-life balance and how is she maintains her voice and acting chops. In fact, she and I did Bridges of Madison County together this past summer, but during that run she continued to do work for the USO both as an administrator and as a producer. She said down with me recently in the USO offices in New York City to discuss the importance of this organization and what it means to her as well as military service members and their families. She co-founded Empowered Voices, a company that combines dynamic theatrical techniques with traditional prevention education tactics to combat and prevent Sexual Assault within the U.S. Military and beyond, which was an important step in her becoming director of the USO Show Troupe.
See how you can support the efforts of the USO. And if you would like to be a part of the show troupe, click here.
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At the end of this month I'll be celebrating Thanksgiving with your stories of gratitude and appreciation. Go to contact.winmipodcast.com and send me a text or voice message. I’d love to share your stories of thankfulness with all of us in the WINMI community.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
31 min
October 30, 2019 Megan Hoxie - Actress in Norwegian Cruise Line’s FOOTLOOSE on Scene Work and Taking Notes
As I’ve mentioned since the beginning of the season, I’m currently in a production of FOOTLOOSE on Norwegian Cruise lines. And so on today’s episode I’m talk about the show and the process of putting it together now that we’ve opened here on the ship, Also, joining me is fellow actor Megan Hoxie who plays the role of Ariel in the show. After that conversation I answer a listener question about cruise ships and resumes.

Reach out with your own questions or comments at contact.winmipodcast.com.

You can find Megan on Instagram: @foxieehoxiee

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The time and expense needed to bring these guests and conversations to you each week is both sometimes challenging but always rewarding. Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
53 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…