Why I‘ll Never Make It

From musical theater to opera, from Disney Cruise Line to New York's famed Town Hall venue,Amy Marie Stewart has seen first hand the struggles that singers and actors face. Most of it coming from our own preconceived notions or those expectations heaped on us by others. Her recent blog post "Failing our Singers" went viral as she tried to dispel those do's and don'ts in order to free us up to give our best performance, whether onstage or in the audition room.

Due to a recent illness, which she opens up about in this episode, Amy now focuses on teaching and helping singers be their best. As the founder of TheoryWorks she specializes in distilling down effort, finding a filter-free sound, helping legit singers belt and belters sing legit -- and, most importantly, in being her student's new number-one cheerleader.

She works with musical theatre folks to build a cohesive book. To get a sense of her approach, check out the (free) TheoryWorks online masterclass on putting an audition book together.

Amy is also a published Backstage Expert and distinguished representative of the CU College of Music Alumni in NYC. Her students are currently performing on Broadway, and in Broadway tours, on cruise ships, with the Rockettes, and in theatres across the country.

Learn more about Amy here.

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Today, I'm joined by the wonderfully charming and talented Ilana Levine. She takes a break from her own podcast, LITTLE KNOWN FACTS, to talk with me about her career on Broadway and in TV/film as well as share stories of auditions and her obsession with British royalty. 

From her big Broadway turn as Lucy in YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN to her various appearances in The Nanny Diaries, Law & Order, and the infamous Seinfeld episode "The Contest," she has had a storied career. But Ilana has also directed and produced and her contact list is a veritable who's who of Hollywood and Broadway. It is from this wide array of stars that she brings guests onto her own podcast to talk about the ins and outs of entertainment and performing. 

I'm so honored and proud to add her to my list of guests today. She's an inspiration and motivation to keep striving and reaching for the best from myself and this career. I'm sure she'll inspire you as well!

Listen to her podcast: http://www.littleknownfactspodcast.com

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Happy Promposal Day!

Caitlin Kinnunen may go to THE PROM eight times a week on Broadway as Emma, a high schooler who wants to bring her girlfriend to the big dance. But when she was a teenager herself, she never actually attended prom. On today’s episode, Caitlin opens up about being home schooled and how she could only go to the before and after parties with a friend.

Her home schooling was largely due to being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at a young age, and being at home meant better care of her condition. She stayed active in local theater, though, auditioning and performing in her hometown of Seattle, Washington. But it was when she landed the role of Thea as a replacement in SPRING AWAKENING in 2008 that she finally moved to New York City.

Once that Broadway run ended the following year, it would be another 5 years before her next Broadway show, BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, and almost another 5 years until THE PROM opened at the Longacre Theater. There were times during those in-between years Caitlin wasn’t sure she would “make it” in this business. She even had to go on Medicaid at one point when her Actors Equity health insurance ran out.

So being a part of THE PROM isn’t just making up for her lack of one in high school, it is also giving her wonderfully supportive cast and stage management team, who also help monitor her blood sugar levels throughout the show and make sure she has plenty of fruit snacks hidden around the stage. 

Lastly, Caitlin shares her thoughts on the upcoming Tony Award nominations and what that could mean to the show. But she had even more fun with some fantasy casting of her fellow actors in Sondheim's classic INTO THE WOODS. One giveaway: Beth Leavel would play the Witch, of course.

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For the first Spotlight Series of 2019 I’m joined by Josie Whittlesey, the founder and Executive Director of Drama Club. The organization started in 2013, providing theatre programming to incarcerated and court-involved young people. They bring classes into juvenile detention centers, jails and community centers throughout New York City. 

Currently, Drama Club works with about 500 individual students between the ages of 10-21, using improv as their core curriculum, empowering young people to tell the stories they want to tell, in the ways in which they want to tell them. 

From her previous work with Rehabilitation Through the Arts and Girls Educational & Mentoring Services, Josie has proven to be staunch advocate for those who are underserved and in need of the outlet and experience that theater provide. I caught up with her at the Drama Club office in Long Island City, where she shares how this important organization began and talks about the lives they impact in such positive ways.

Find out more about Drama Club and Josie.

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How would you like to learn 13 different roles for one show, and be ready at a moment's notice to perform anyone of them...or even combine two or three of them in one show? That's exactly what Heather Botts is prepared to do 8 times a week in MY FAIR LADY, currently on Broadway.

In this episode, recorded backstage in the Lincoln Center Theater, she shares her process for gearing up for such a demanding part in cast as well as her journey from regional theaters to the Great White Way.

Born and raised in Walla Walla, WA, Heather started singing at a very young age. She grew up performing all over the Northwest and spent her extra time doing community theatre and competing in singing competitions. In college, she double majored in acting and voice. After earning both of her bachelor degrees, she moved to Seattle, WA to explore all facets of the professional theatre world. She worked at Taproot Theatre and Seattle Children's Theatre performing, teaching and working in the administrative offices. Her time in Seattle also paved the way for her own private voice studio, where she taught aspiring artists. In 2010, Heather went back to school to work on her Master's degree.

She studied at Oklahoma City University under the direction of Professor Florence Birdwell. Mrs. Birdwell taught Broadway veterans Kelli O'Hara and Kristin Chenoweth as well as many others. After receiving her Master's degree in Music Theatre, Heather worked regionally around the United States and has since moved to NYC to pursue her acting career. Favorite credits include: Clara (The Light in the Piazza), Nellie Forbush (South Pacific), Cosette (Les Misérables), The Baker's Wife (Into the Woods), Ellen (Miss Saigon), Sandy (Grease), and many more. When not on stage, she loves to teach voice and inspire the next generation of performers.

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The man who has been in more EVITA productions than Mandy Patinkin joins me on the podcast to talk about his back and forth in show business and finding the balance between "making it" and making a living. 

As founder and owner of Ryan Bailer Support, he's created a thriving company that he enjoys and supports him and his family. But he still dreams of being on the stage and knows that he's not quite complete if he's not pursuing his acting career as well.

He gives the hilarious story of his first audition in 10 years for the EVITA National Tour, which he booked, as well as gives us some tech tips and strategies for our own use of computers and mobile devices. Click here to have Ryan and his team help you with any of your own tech needs.

You can also follow Ryan on Instagram

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Tony Howell is a digital strategist for Emmy, Grammy, Tony, Oscar, and Olivier award-winning artists. His work has been featured by Google, Squarespace, SAG-AFTRA, Actors' Equity Association, and more. On today's episode, he shares his insights of how to match our online presence with our in-person persona.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, he was an actor for 20+ years-performing on Broadway, Off-Broadway, National Tours, and more. In addition to weekly free content and scholarships to his quarterly programs, Tony donates a percentage of profits to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and 100% of all the profits from his book, Artists to Artist to the ACLU.

He gives Patrick a digital branding session and talks about what to work on when creating a social media strategy. That session begins at 26:44, almost midway through the episode.

Learn more at TonyHowell.me.

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We're now about halfway through the 2018-19 Broadway season, and several shows have closed and some still have yet to open. Ryan McPhee, Managing News Editor at PLAYBILL, joins the podcast once again to talk about the notable shows of the 2018-19 Broadway Season. We focus especially on those that are likely to get some Tony Award recognition.

Here's the list of all shows we mention in this episode:

• Andrea McArdle and Donna McKechnie at 54 Below

We also give special shoutouts to Bonnie Milligan and Stephanie J. Block.

Follow Ryan McPhee on Twitter.

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"Hot Swing" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) 

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Maggie graduated from Texas State with a BFA in Musical Theatre just two years ago and has been pounding the NYC pavement ever since. In today's episode she talks about how she holds herself back sometimes from being her best in the audition room and in pursuing this career. She also opens up about what keeps her going and how theater has truly changed her life, enjoying every step of it along the way.

She studied for ten years at Paper Mill Playhouse Summer Theatre Conservatory under the leadership of Mark Hoebee and Patrick Parker. There she was nominated for a Paper Mill Rising Star Award two years in a row for her performances as Lucy in Jekyll & Hyde and Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes. 

Regionally she appeared as Aquata (u/s Ariel) in The Little Mermaid and understudied Christine Daae in Phantom, both at the Fireside Theatre. Also, she struck "the perfect balance of sarcasm, selfishness and underlying heart" (BroadwayWorld) as Lucy Van Pelt in The World According to Snoopy at Theatre Under The Stars choreographed by Adam Cates. Broadway legend and Tony-nominated Terrence Mann directed her in Les Miserables at Connecticut Repertory Theatre, and he also starred in a production of Peter Pan alongside Maggie, who played Wendy.

Follow her on Instagram.

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A good friend of mine and the podcast joins me for the first interview of 2019!

Tovi Wayne opens up about starting dance late in his performing career and how that put him behind other dancers but also motivated him to get better, to learn as much as he could.

He came to NYC with the dream of being in NEWSIES and through a lot of hard work finally did a regional production of the show down in Florida. But he certainly has a long career ahead of him with more shows he wants to do!

So join the conversation as we dig a little deeper into what it takes to make it in this business and why we keep going.

https://www.toviwayne.com/

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