SallyPAL

Today’s episode features the coolest guy on the planet, my husband, George Nelson. We talk about getting performing arts experience at the local level. We mention Hank the Cowdog, Heller Theatre, and community theatre in general. Tomorrow, I’ll add some links to the blog and these show notes if you want to dive a little deeper.

Actor-Director-Playwright Michael Wright and I explore risky venues as well as finding your creative voice. We talk about taking a chance with your writing and staging your original work to draw an audience into your world.

University of Tulsa professor Michael Wright is a theatre director, actor, teacher, and playwright. Michael’s theatrical work plays with form, audience interaction, and uncommon theatrical venues. He is the author of Playwriting in Process, Playwriting Master Class, and Sensory Writing for Stage and Screen. Michael received awards for his work as a teacher of playwriting from the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and the Kennedy Center.

During the podcast, you’ll hear us mention the Tulsa Artists' Coalition Gallery and Playwright David Blakely, the playwright in residence for Tulsa’s Heller Theatre who’ll be featured in a later interview.

We also talked about Sam Shepherd and his play True West. Michael mentioned the WomenWorks program for female playwrights in graduate school but there are no links as that is a by-nomination program. If you are a women in grad school, talk to your playwriting professor about the University of Tulsa's playwriting competition, WomenWorks.

Be sure to listen until the end of the interview for Concise Advice from the Interview, and Words of Wisdom from George. SallyPAL can now be found on Acast, Blubrry, GooglePlay, iTunes, Overcast, PlayerFM, Pocketcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, and, of course, my host platform, Podbean. Be sure to check out Podbean the week of November 27 when the SallyPAL podcast will be a featured show!  

If you sign up for the mailing list on SallyPAL.com, you’ll get a free insert for your creator’s notebook. It’s a list of people you’ll need to help you produce your show along with some great links to more in-depth information.

 

Today’s episode is an interview with Angie Mitchell. Angie is a teacher, a mom, and an improv comedy performer. Angie teaches and performs every week and can be heard online on Stories of The Century, an improvisational old timey sounding radio serial that takes place in The fictional Century Building. She’s created dozens of characters and performed with The Spontaniacs! for nearly 10 years.

If you’re in the Tulsa area you can see The Spontaniacs! live at the pH House at 306 Phoenix. For show dates check out Spontaniacsimprov.com.

Be sure to listen until the end of the interview for Concise Advice from the Interview, and Words of Wisdom from George.

In Episode 13 of SallyPAL, I interview Sheila Black. Sheila is a published poet and writing professor. She’s been teaching creative writing in college classrooms and writing workshops for over 20 years. She encourages students to cdevelop their voice by writing and performing their own work.

If you’re in the Tulsa area you can sign up for Sheila Black’s writing intensive: Writing from the Heart. This 5-week creative writing workshop runs from 6-7:30pm every Thursday evening starting September 21. To find out more contact Sheila at semanticsblack@yahoo.com.

Be sure to listen until the end of the interview for Concise Advice from the Interview, and Words of Wisdom from George.

In Episode 12 of SallyPAL I enlist my husband, George (the coolest guy on the planet), to ask questions about directing for the stage. I covers how to approach work when you are a beginning director, how to collaborate without giving away your job to enthusiastic performers and staff, and how a director can make an impact on an audience. At the end of the interview you get "Concise Advice from the Interview," and "Words of Wisdom from George." Listen to the podcast, read the blog, and sign up for the SallyPAL community!

Episode 11 is an interview with Florida choreographer and dance teacher, Nicole Perry. Nicole holds degrees in Dance and Music and is currently pursuing a PhD in Spirituality and the Arts. Nicole has choreographed for Miami Children’s Theatre, Center City Opera Theater, and was the resident choreographer with Hedgerow Theatre in Philadelphia for two seasons before becoming a full-time dance teacher in Florida. Learn more about Nicole at her website: nicoleperry.org, where you can also learn about audition coaching when you add /audition-coaching to nicoleperry.org. Be sure to listen until the end for Concise Advice from the Interview, and Words of Wisdom from George.

Episode 10 is an interview with Jana Hunter. Jana has written or produced The Drew Carey Show, According to Jim, Roommates, Gary Unmarried, Notes From the Underbelly, and for the last nine years, she and her husband Mitch have been executive producers for The Middle on ABC. Jana has also been a member of Groundlings Improv Troupe in Los Angeles. We talk about making it as a TV comedy writer, what she loves about The Middle, and gives some good writerly advice. Be sure to listen until the end for Concise Advice from the Interview, and Words of Wisdom from George.

Episode 9 features playwright, actor, and advocate for casting people with disabilities, Nicole Zimmerer. Nicole has been writing and producing plays most of her young life and now studies playwriting as a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon. Nicole and I talk about her start as a playwright, the Kennedy Center performance of her one act play, "Falling with Grace", her recent full-length play, "Thicker Than Honey", and her fight to represent artists in wheelchairs. Be sure to listen until the end for Concise Advice from the Interview to hear 5 great bits of advice from the beautiful, fiery, and talented, Nicole Zimmerer, and Words of Wisdom from George.

Episode 8 is an interview with actor, director, educator, and acting coach, Lisa Stefanic. If you’re a fan of Weird Al Yankovich, you may remember her as Phyllis, the Wheel of Fish contestant in his feature length movie, “UHF”. Lisa has performed in or directed more shows than could fit on a resume. She has starred in several original shows, and teams up with her husband, Vern Stefanic, to help students create new works. We talk about teaching, developing new talent, making old shows new again, and a variety of rehearsal techniques. Be sure to listen until the end for Concise Advice from the Interview and Words of Wisdom from George.

In Episode 7, I interview actor, director, playwright, and University of Tulsa Women’s Studies professor, Lisa Wilson. Lisa is a recipient of the prestigious Jingle Feldman Individual Artist Award for her original one-woman show, “Only Four People Know About This.” Birthing the Crone is the second in a series she has titled, “The Crone Chronicles”. We talk about her show, how women’s voices need to be heard, and the effect of aging and loss on the artistic process.