Lying Awake: A Theatre Podcast Alex Price & John Arlan Banes

Welcome to Episode 5 of Lying Awake: A Theatre Podcast!

This episode features Pierre Cooks, a theatre artist from South Bend, Indiana who this week embarks on a 12-month creative project called Black Voice. Using his dance and movement background, Pierre will collaborate with local artists, vocalists, dancers, poets, and theatre-makers to create twelve video art pieces leading up to a live cabaret-style performance on his birthday, July 16, 2021. Three of his collaborators, Rebel Noire (Nekisha Alayna Alexis), Michelle Jewell, and Laurisa Lesure, join Pierre and John to talk about how their artistic lives will fuse with Pierr's vision to create Black Voice.

Are you lying awake? It's time to wake up!

Guests: N. Emil Thomas and Karen Kessler

Join John and Alex for Episode 4 of Lying Awake! In this episode, we talk to a panel of directors who discuss the ins and outs of the directing world! 

Bios:

N. Emil Thomas is a director, designer, producer, and playwright based in Georgia where he is the Executive Artistic Director of Marietta's New Theatre in the Square. He holds a degree in directing from Ball State University, where he studied under the leadership of Karen Kessler.
In 2016, Emil was invited to the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for directorial work in Region III. With the support of his family, Emil reopened Marietta’s Theatre in the Square with one goal in mind: to create theatre for the 21st century that is inclusive of all. In the fall of 2016, Emil reached out to graduating colleagues with an opportunity to create their own theatre company, and at last Actors Theatre of Georgia was born. Emil and his team have created seasons that embody theatre for all, from a Gender-Swapped Hamlet to his adaption of O’Henry’s classic tale, The Gift of the Magi 2.0, set in Atlanta during the 1950’s Atlanta streetcar strike. This 2017 production was nominated for 5 Metropolitan Atlanta Theatre Awards. He’s directed the Southeast regional premieres of Carmen Rivera’s La Gringa, Tanya Barfield’s Bright Half Life, and Nambi E. Kelly’s Native Son, which featured an appearance from Nambi herself and won Atlanta’s BroadwayWorld Best Play and Director for 2017. In summer 2018, Emil relocated to Chicago to further develop his craft of directing. He currently studies at The Theatre School at DePaul University to receive his Master’s in Directing. His most recent production, Partners: A Stage Play, is one that he wrote, directed, designed, and produced himself in June 2020. It was a two-person modern romance performed and streamed live each night.

Karen Kessler is has been an ensemble member at A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago since 2007, where she most notably directed the world premiere of Brett Neveu’s The Opponent in 2012 which she later moved to the Off-Broadway theatre, 59E59, in 2014. She also directed numerous other Chicago premieres at Red Orchid such as Jennifer Haley’s The Nether, Zinnie Harris’s Solstice, Paul Mullin’s Louis Slotin Sonata, and the US premiere of Gagarin’s Way by Scottish playwright Gregory Burke. She has directed all around Chicago for venues such as Backstage Theatre Company, Seanachi Theatre Company, the Midwest premiere of Sam Shepherd’s The God of Hell at Next Theatre in Evanston, the Goodman Theatre’s world-renowned New Play Series, and the world premiere of the stage adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace at the theatre company she co-founded, the Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. She is also the former Artistic Director of Famous Door Theatre in Chicago which became defunct in 2005, where she directed several more US and world premieres such as Early and Often, A Going Concern, This Lime Tree Brower, Remembrance, and Mislaid Heaven, which won a Jeff Award for Best New Work. She also has numerous credits all around the country at the Notre Dame and Illinois Shakespeare festivals and even a production of Glengarry Glen Ross for the Northern Stage Ensemble in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. She is a founder of the directorial program at Ball State University where she is a full professor of Directing and Shakespeare.

Are you lying awake? It's time to wake up! 

Join John and Alex for Episode 3 of Lying Awake! In this episode, we talk to a panel of actors who discuss the ins and outs of the acting world! From casting, auditions, their heroes, and more, you won't want to miss this dynamite panel of performers!

Guests include:
Stephen White is a senior at Bethel University studying Theatre Performance, where he made waves as the Region 5 winner of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Musical Theatre Intensive. From that win, he was meant to travel to Washington, D.C. to compete in the national competition this month, however that has been postponed for now. That win also brought him a scholarship to study at the Open Jar Institute in New York City this coming August, which as far as we know today will still be happening. He recently moved from his home in Illinois to Orlando, Florida where he was accepted into the Disney College Program for Entertainment, and where he will complete his degree remotely. 

Kayla Davion is an actress from Chicago who has been seen on Broadway in the ensemble of Waitress, which she booked straight after graduating from Ball State University with her BFA in Musical Theatre. She also understudied the role of Dawn and made history when she went on in March 2018 as the first Black woman to play Dawn on Broadway. She later joined the Original Broadway Cast of King Kong, once again in the ensemble as well as understudying the lead role of Ann Darrow for which she went on many times, and then, while still at King Kong she booked the Original Broadway Cast of Tina the Tina Turner musical where was seen as an Ikette, and again understudied the title role of Tina for which she went on at many performances. She’s also appeared on The Good Fight on CBS. 

Heidi Kettenring is referred to by some as Chicago’s Favorite Leading Lady, Heidi Kettenring has been seen all across the Windy City in houses like the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, the Marriott Lincolnshire, Drury Lane Oakbrook, The Porchlight Theatre and many, many more, including over a thousand performances as Nessa in Broadway in Chicago’s Wicked. She is the recipient of 8 Jeff Award Nominations and 1 Jeff win for her turn as Anna in The King and I at The Marriott, an After Dark Award for her Adelaide in Guys and Dolls at The Court Theatre, the Sarah Siddons Leading Lady Award, the Richard M. Kneeland Award, and two Broadway World Awards. She has toured as Belle in the National Tour of Beauty and the Beast, can be heard on two Disney Audio Books, has appeared on NBC’s Chicago Fire and ABC’s Cupid, and has mounted two concerts at Actors Lounge Live in Chicago featuring the music of Karen Carpenter. 

Episode Disclaimer: 

Lying Awake stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and its activists. Intermittently throughout this episode, we will be highlighting organizations that work to end police brutality and structural racism in the United States. We hope that this will provide resources for our listeners to learn more about what actions they can take to help make this world a more just, informed, and loving place. We will not be doing our usual Artist and Production Spotlights this episode to make room for these highlights. Please consider giving your time and resources to these organizations.

Welcome to Episode 2 of Lying Awake: A Theatre Podcast! Join hosts John Arlan Banes and Alex Price as they discuss the ins and outs of making theatre with an incredible group of special guests! Special guests include Don Hunter of Bethel University, Mark Albin of Art 4 Theatre Company, Bill Jenkins of The Department of Theatre and Dance at Ball State University, and Joel Kirk of Discovering Broadway. Other topics include artist spotlights on director Diane Paulus and actress Audra McDonald, a production spotlight on "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill" and more!

Welcome to Episode 1 of Lying Awake: A Theatre Podcast! Join hosts John Arlan Banes and Alex Price as they discuss the big questions: What is Theatre? And, what isn't theatre? Other topics include artist spotlights on director Casey Nicholaw and playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury, a production spotlight on "Bright Star" and more!