ACT LIKE A MOTHER

Katie and Melanie
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Working actors and mothers Katie MacNichol and Melanie Lora talk with fellow actor moms about balancing career, creativity and parenting. While no two stories are the same, what these women have in common is an ever-deepening relationship to their craft and a profound commitment to raising their kids in a way that feels true to them. Not just for actor moms, this podcast is for creatives parents of all ilks, and anyone wondering what it's like to be an artist and raise a family.

  1. 9 MAR

    Celeste Arias on Ball Gowns, Baby and The Big Bang

    Brand new mama Celeste Arias never could have imagined the expansion she would feel after giving birth to her son - universes of love and enchantment - keeping her afloat during swells of anxiety and extreme fatigue. After her agent dropped her and a frigid NY winter loomed, a fortuitous audition led not only to an escape to warm weather for her young family, but to a juicy role and an opportunity to reclaim her artistic self after the birth of her baby boy. Celeste shares in real time what it’s like to do an out of town gig with a 6 month old and spouse along for the ride: from sleep training an infant in artist housing, to summoning the creative spark in rehearsals, to pumping, pumping and more pumping. Celeste knew that when she stepped into rehearsals to play Thea Elvstead in Hedda Gabler at The Old Globe Theatre, she would meet the challenge from where she was: emotionally raw, deeply fatigued and with more love in her heart than ever before.  More on Celeste: @celestenarias www.theoldglobe.org www.theactorscenter.org www.thealready.org

    1 hr

  2. 23 JAN

    April Matthis Will Show You Something Amazing

    After she was told by someone in the business that she could either have a career or a family, award winning actor April Matthis made it her mission to show the world that it was possible to do both. With intense dedication to her vocation (she went to an audition 2 days after giving birth) and to her child (she nursed him for 22 months), April has created her beautiful career and family with unwavering integrity. April shares the frustrations of fighting for fair wages and the pleasures of being a longtime company member of the groundbreaking experimental theatre collective Elevator Repair Service, where she learned how esteemable it is to ask for what you need and be valued for who you are. Passionately in love with New York, this Texarkana girl has no interest in suburbs or minivans, and she walks Melanie and Katie through what it’s been like raising her son in the city as her career grew from tiny downtown theatres to Broadway and from short films to her recent riveting guest spot on Netflix’s number one show and why these days, she tries to choose roles that allow her to hug her teenage son goodnight instead of checking in on FaceTime from afar. April talks about her latest project, the world premiere of The Dinosaurs at Playwrights Horizons , the mystery and excitement of working on a new character with an incredible cast, and how sometimes holding something back as a performer makes the audience lean in all the more. More on April: @aprilmatthis Elevator Repair Service https://www.elevator.org/ Amadi Comes Home (short film) https://filmshortage.com/dailyshortpicks/amadi-comes-home/ The Dinosaurs - Playwrights Horizons https://www.playwrightshorizons.org/shows/production-history/2020s/2526/dinosaurs?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23350765141&gbraid=0AAAAAoXIt7pV9ei1T82c8LXGDHxuVsyZA Take Me Home - Sundance Film Festival 2026 https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/6932fa301a55353c2091ae2b

    56 min

  3. 22/12/2025

    Shinah Hey Wants More Of This

    As an in-demand Twin Cities actor, singer, dancer and comedienne, Shinah Hey went from one job to the next with barely a break in between. When she was offered a role she’d played 10 years before, she knew she’d hit a creative ceiling. Ready to be seen not as the girl she was when she got started but as the woman she’d become—a seasoned performer, wife and mother of 2—Shinah did her research to find a new home base. She was looking for a place she could pursue fulfilling acting work and where her five-year-old daughter could have access to services that support her autism and Bryant-Li-Bhoj syndrome. That place turned out to be Southern California. Shinah shares her journey to becoming a mom through both IVF and adoption, how her love for acting motivates all areas of her life and keeps her self-taping auditions after the kids go to bed, how she and her actor husband do the work/life juggle and why she’s a better mom when she’s working.  More on Shinah: @shinahhey https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37355440/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_accord_1_unrel_cdt_t_1 Bryant-Li-Bhoj Syndrome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPHQc7oPdgc Fertility Resources https://resolve.org https://www.fertilityclinicarizona.com Adoption https://adoptioncouncil.org

    1 hr

  4. 08/12/2025

    Kelly Lester Is A Mother Of Invention

    Kelly Lester is someone who shakes things up on a regular basis without even meaning to. While taking some time off from acting to raise a vibrant family, Kelly started not one but two super successful businesses. She then discovered, during one of her daughters’ performances, that her own creative fires were burning stronger than ever.  Kelly entered back into acting a little older, a little wiser, and a lot more confident and castable. And when working in LA was no longer fulfilling, she and her actor husband set up shop in NYC a stone’s throw from Broadway to grab hold of a long-held dream.  Kelly’s story is one of ingenuity and the step-by-step processes that lead to great things; it’s one of family—from her actor parents to her 3 daughters, all thriving in the business; and it’s one of jumping in with both feet without looking back. Kelly shares stories of parenting wins, how she’s moving through the acting business at this point in her life, and why an actual person at Amazon picked up the phone and called her. More on Kelly: https://www.kellylester.com @kellylesternyc The YouTube channel! (scroll down for lunchbox videos!) https://www.youtube.com/@lesterworld

    57 min

  5. 27/10/2025

    Rosina Reynolds Says Do It Now

    As a young woman fresh out of drama school in London, Rosina Reynolds’ wanderlust got the best of her. Instead of starting her acting career, she set sail on adventures that took her to the West Indies, Panama and eventually led her to northern Wisconsin where a San Diego magazine appeared with an article about the Old Globe Theatre.  Was it a series of coincidences and right turns made, or was it Rosina’s commitment to live her whole life fully that led her on a wild wonderful path to find herself the leading lady of San Diego theatre? In this episode, Rosina shares what has motivated her for decades, why LA was not the right place for her, what it’s like raising a daughter who is also a theatre creative, all she’s gained and learned from running the children’s theatre she started 38 years ago and the mysteries and joys of being a first-time grandmother.  You won't find Rosina on social media or her own website Her children's theatre is here: https://cctltd.org

    55 min

  6. 23/06/2025

    Purva Bedi Listens For Life's Heartbeat

    Award-winning actor Purva Bedi tried to be practical by double-majoring in Economics and Theatre as an undergrad, but with acting and performing running through her bloodlines, a life on stage and screen was inevitable. In the final episode of Season 2, Purva tells Melanie and Katie incredible stories of her family and how she carries that lineage forward.  She shares about her early career as a bicoastal actor crashing with her parents, the bold declaration she made on her first date with her future husband, and how her biggest challenge as an actor has been saying No. From her own creative projects poking fun at pregnancy and marriage, to her life as a fixture on the New York theatre scene and her many on-screen performances, to the mothering of her two children, Purva brings her heart, humor, and the ability to pivot fast to everything she does. More on Purva: https://www.purvabedi.com @purvabedi I'm Having a Baby video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXdKeBv_cfs&list=RDMXdKeBv_cfs&start_radio=1 https://www.targetmargin.org https://www.facebook.com/shrinkagetheshow/mentions/?_rdr

    54 min

  7. 09/06/2025

    J. Paul Boehmer In His Greatest Role Yet: Daddy

    As a single gay actor going from out of town job to out of town job, J. Paul Boehmer didn’t think having children was in the realm of possibility for him. Then he met his husband, bought a house and, after a fortuitous conversation, began looking for an egg donor and a surrogate.  In this very special Fathers’ Day episode, Paul shares the fatigue of life on the road and the reality of 8-week friendships, how he grew his audiobook side hustle into a full-time gig, and how he and his husband found their way to parenting twin girls at the start of a global pandemic. Paul describes the prejudices they faced as a same-sex couple wanting to have children, how deeply they bonded with their surrogate, what his daughters think of his work, and why they outsourced potty training.  This is an episode honoring all the amazing dads in the business- hats off to you and all you do. More on Paul: a few of his audiobook titles here: https://www.audiobooksnow.com/search/paul%20boehmer/ For any additional questions about the episode please get in touch with us via DM @actlikeamotherpodcast

    54 min

  8. 27/05/2025

    Hilary Ward Knows Who She Actually Is

    Actor, producer, coach, union organizer and mom to a 13-year old boy, Hilary Ward shares with Katie and Melanie her beautiful perspective on life and work. She speaks about acknowledging the “almosts” and the failures as an actor and not just the wins, how her career doesn’t define her worth, and how theatre can be relevant to the community it takes place in. Hilary explains why Primary Trust is the play of the moment and how she negotiated with her family to leave town not once but twice to perform in it. Hilary has built a thriving career in LA and she speaks to the ups and downs of that including what it was like to get dumped by her agent, how the business is determined to teach her that she’s not in control and how running a theatre company is what actually keeps her sane. As a military wife with a husband who spent time on active duty overseas, Hilary had plenty of experience with uncertainty. She shares how she cares for and centers herself, what’s important to her as a mother, and how she sorted out who she is rather than who the business expected her to be.  More on Hilary: https://www.hilarywardofficial.com @imhilaryward https://www.chalkrep.com https://www.sagaftra.org https://www.sagaftra.org/los-angeles/local-programs/los-angeles-conservatory https://theatre.ucsd.edu/academics/graduate/acting-mfa.html https://twhartford.org https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/96908/primary-trust https://www.penguinrandomhouseretail.com/book/?isbn=9780143129257

    54 min
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About

Working actors and mothers Katie MacNichol and Melanie Lora talk with fellow actor moms about balancing career, creativity and parenting. While no two stories are the same, what these women have in common is an ever-deepening relationship to their craft and a profound commitment to raising their kids in a way that feels true to them. Not just for actor moms, this podcast is for creatives parents of all ilks, and anyone wondering what it's like to be an artist and raise a family.

Information

  • Creator
    Katie and Melanie
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Katie and Melanie
  • Show Website
    ACT LIKE A MOTHER

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