Ilse Will Say

Intrepida Entertainment

Welcome to My Brain. I'm Ilse, and every Wednesday I sit down with actors, filmmakers, comedians, and storycreators to talk about the stuff that doesn't make the press kit. How they actually got here, the project that almost didn't happen, the festival story they can't believe they're telling me, and whatever weird detour we end up on. Haunted sets, folklore they secretly believe in, the best taco in town. It's part industry real talk, part group chat, and I promise I'm more curious than qualified.

  1. 2d ago ·  Video

    Emma Jo Boyden: Find the reps who see the whole you

    I sat down with my friend Emma Jo Boyden, a Chicago actor, stunt performer, and Call of Duty motion capture performer. We start with me staging a full hoarding intervention (she says she’s a maximalist, I say look at the wall). From there we get into her stunt doubling for a nun while hauling a 50 pound coffin on a kids’ bike, and yes, I had to bring up my own nun era in The Exorcist. She did dance recitals in a Reno casino next to the fight ring girls. An LA manager once told her she’d be a star if she lost 20 pounds and dyed her hair red, so she moved to Chicago instead. Then Hot Cakes casually reveals she’s been lit on fire. Multiple times. On purpose. I’m still not okay. We also cover her manifesting powers that only work for bad things, her haunted childhood home full of mirrors, and Batzee, the beach game she invented when she turned 30. Follow Emma at @em_jo_bo and check out Batzee at @playbatzee. In this episode: 00:00 Hoarder or maximalist?02:00 Stunt doubling a nun on a kids’ bike03:30 Our nun eras05:28 Dance recitals in a Reno casino07:13 Showcasing in New York, LA, and Chicago08:41 How she got into boxing and MMA11:00 Kicked out of a haunted house for punching a performer11:41 Emma, please do stand up14:13 Hot Cakes15:20 Wait, you’ve been on fire?18:30 Manifesting on a women’s stunt team20:46 D&D dice protein ice cream (I have questions)22:00 My theory on manifesting25:09 Her haunted childhood home28:43 Batzee, the game she invented31:36 Breakfast, murder jokes, and copsSend us Fan Mail Love the show? Follow, rate, and share Ilse Will Say. It helps us more than you know. New episodes every Wednesday. 🎧 All the links: https://www.ilsewillsay.com/ 📸 Follow the show on Instagram & Tiktok: @ilsewillsay & @ilsezacharias Ilse Will Say is an Intrepida Entertainment podcast, hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera. Produced and edited by Jacob Cagle. Music by Eric Backus. Photography by Joel Maisonet. The views and opinions expressed on Ilse Will Say are entirely those of the host and guests, and do not reflect the views of any employers, sponsors, or innocent bystanders. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Nothing said here is professional advice. We're here for the laughs, y'all.

  2. Nov 4 ·  Video

    Wendy Medina Herrera: How to find your creative community in LA

    I sat down with Wendy Medina Herrera, a writer, director, and the president of Paella Club, the monthly hang for Latino creatives in LA. She’s quiet, she’s sweet, and she has done a ridiculous amount for someone who calls herself unassuming. Check out Wendy’s brand new website: Here. And if you’re in LA, find Paella Club on Instagram @paellaclubla and get yourself invited. We go from her middle school news class in San Diego (she hung around as a sixth grader until the older kids let her be an extra) to Chapman, internships at MACRO and Blumhouse, and a Facebook post that turned into a job assisting Carlos López Estrada, right as he took on a film for the Sphere in Vegas. We talk about doing the thing that scares you, why horror movies are little time capsules, and her grandma burning a Ouija board (still the mystery of the year). Then we get into how Paella Club grew from house parties into the community that made LA feel like home for me. In this episode 00:00 Googling yourself and being called “unassuming”02:26 What Letterboxd is and why it’s a film diary04:51 Middle school news class and the teacher who pushed her05:47 Science high school, YouTube, and getting into Chapman07:54 Interning at MACRO and Blumhouse08:10 Not getting the job, moving home, and the Facebook post that changed everything10:15 Making a film for the Sphere12:09 Her biggest lesson: do the scary thing13:56 The Artist’s Way and baking her first cake14:52 Hot Cakes17:17 Why she loves horror movies19:35 Grandma burned the Ouija board20:38 Paella Club: invite only, but everyone’s welcome21:58 How Paella Club has grown25:46 Her new website26:52 Writing her first horror shortFollow Wendy: @wendy.medina.h Follow Paella Club: @paellaclubla Send us Fan Mail Love the show? Follow, rate, and share Ilse Will Say. It helps us more than you know. New episodes every Wednesday. 🎧 All the links: https://www.ilsewillsay.com/ 📸 Follow the show on Instagram & Tiktok: @ilsewillsay & @ilsezacharias Ilse Will Say is an Intrepida Entertainment podcast, hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera. Produced and edited by Jacob Cagle. Music by Eric Backus. Photography by Joel Maisonet. The views and opinions expressed on Ilse Will Say are entirely those of the host and guests, and do not reflect the views of any employers, sponsors, or innocent bystanders. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Nothing said here is professional advice. We're here for the laughs, y'all.

  3. Oct 28 ·  Video

    Michele Stine: What the Edinburgh Fringe really costs

    Catch Michele’s show: Always, Sometimes, Maybe has two final performances at Red Twist Theater in Edgewater, Chicago: Wednesday, October 28 and Wednesday, November 4 at 7:30 PM. Go! I sat down with Michele Stine, the puppeteer and clown who literally played my son in Anna Karenina eight years ago. As a puppet. We catch up, get real about the cost of chasing your art, and somewhere in there I get full body chills. Michele takes me from a tiny Illinois town shaped like a pimple (her words) to a political science degree, a corporate HR job, and finally to two runs at the Edinburgh Fringe with Always, Sometimes, Maybe, a solo clown show about a janitor so lonely she builds her friends out of trash, live on stage. We talk about the moment she decided to stop sitting on the idea, why she asks “am I fulfilled?” instead of “am I happy?”, and the honest math behind doing the Fringe as an American. Then Hot Cakes, and a ghost story involving a singing potty training toilet that I will never recover from. In this episode 00:01 Why Michele has one L02:05 Eight years since my puppet son03:20 Illinois and its mispronounced town names04:05 Political science, acting, and what she’d do differently at 1708:00 Leaving a corporate HR job to make art10:17 The Edinburgh Fringe: adult art summer camp (and a show in a sauna)12:47 The friend’s show that made her finally write her own14:13 Always, Sometimes, Maybe and building puppets out of trash live15:31 Puppeteering Seryozha in Anna Karenina17:45 Happiness vs. fulfillment19:56 Advice for little Michele: step back from the puppet21:29 Second guessing and the vulnerability hangover22:23 Hot Cakes24:12 What the Fringe really costs25:53 A ghost story that gave me full body chills30:11 Red Twist’s One on Wednesdays series32:29 Something I forgot to tell MicheleFollow Michele: @michele_joy_stine and @alwayssometimesmaybe on Instagram, and michelejoystine.com Send us Fan Mail Love the show? Follow, rate, and share Ilse Will Say. It helps us more than you know. New episodes every Wednesday. 🎧 All the links: https://www.ilsewillsay.com/ 📸 Follow the show on Instagram & Tiktok: @ilsewillsay & @ilsezacharias Ilse Will Say is an Intrepida Entertainment podcast, hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera. Produced and edited by Jacob Cagle. Music by Eric Backus. Photography by Joel Maisonet. The views and opinions expressed on Ilse Will Say are entirely those of the host and guests, and do not reflect the views of any employers, sponsors, or innocent bystanders. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Nothing said here is professional advice. We're here for the laughs, y'all.

  4. Oct 21 ·  Video

    Jake Myers: How my short film became a feature

    Oh, what an incredible time with Jake Myers! He’s doing the thing that all of us Chicago folks in the film industry want to do: he created a proof of concept that led to a feature film that’s now streaming. Incredible. Watch Kombucha now, streaming free on Tubi. We get into his film Kombucha and all the things that led up to it: some issues with the monster, his pinky problems and privileges, and a whole bunch of other fun stuff. I had no idea we were going to go down that rabbit hole, but I’m so glad we did. Really fun, really great. If you’re in Chicago, please hit him up. He’s great. And he’s not done yet, so please keep an eye out for him. He’s doing amazing things, and he’s very funny, very kind, and very nice. And that’s saying a lot. In this episode: 00:42 Welcome to My Brain01:35 The pinky question02:12 Jake’s log line and Kombucha03:00 Kombucha on tap and office perks03:54 Growing up outside Chicago04:16 UIC and working the film cage05:35 The pinky story: volleyball, a backward reset, and a very hairy doctor09:40 Chest hair talk11:06 My swimming shoulder story12:46 The monster that never showed up16:43 Hot Cakes19:15 Simulations and conspiracy theories21:02 Working on The Telepathy Tapes24:37 Where to watch Kombucha and his next film, SheilaFollow Jake: @johnjacobmyers  Follow the pod: @ilsewillsay Send us Fan Mail Love the show? Follow, rate, and share Ilse Will Say. It helps us more than you know. New episodes every Wednesday. 🎧 All the links: https://www.ilsewillsay.com/ 📸 Follow the show on Instagram & Tiktok: @ilsewillsay & @ilsezacharias Ilse Will Say is an Intrepida Entertainment podcast, hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera. Produced and edited by Jacob Cagle. Music by Eric Backus. Photography by Joel Maisonet. The views and opinions expressed on Ilse Will Say are entirely those of the host and guests, and do not reflect the views of any employers, sponsors, or innocent bystanders. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Nothing said here is professional advice. We're here for the laughs, y'all.

  5. Oct 14 ·  Video

    Barbara Howlin: Can you Reiki a ghost?

    Barbara Howlin is on the pod, and I completely lost track of time. We cover everything from The NeverEnding Story (which I had somehow never seen) to luck dragons to whether you can Reiki a ghost, with real tears of laughter along the way. Barbara’s new book, Can It Be That Easy?, is on the way. Sign up at thehowlinghive.org/book for book news and giveaways. Barbara is an actor, writer, director, producer, Reiki Master, Human Design specialist, and the founder of The Howling Hive. She tells me how she went from Northern Virginia to LA, how chasing a capital P “Purpose” nearly drained the joy out of acting, and how The Artist’s Way opened everything back up. Full disclosure: I took her Artist’s Way class, and I was mad for the first few weeks. Then my life took off. We get into using envy as a compass, why productivity guilt drowns out your intuition, being a screen instead of a sponge, and the lizards, hummingbirds, and one very bold hawk that show up while she writes her morning pages. And yes, the title of her book made me angry the first time I heard it. But I believe it now. My life has gone from creating hardship to an ease and a pace I’m really loving. In this episode: 00:00 Intro02:00 What a luck dragon is, and how I’ve never seen The NeverEnding Story04:20 From Northern Virginia to LA05:45 Capital P Purpose and how The Artist’s Way changed everything10:00 The ant farm theory of your creative path11:53 Artist dates and my toy store era13:10 Play-Doh, flow, and “can it be that easy?”15:00 Envy as a compass (thanks, Brené Brown)17:37 Hot Cakes19:36 Getting weird: tarot, crystals, omnism, and morning pages with the animals22:27 Religious upbringings, Reiki boundaries, and being a screen, not a sponge25:09 How to be a decently happy adult right now28:01 Can It Be That Easy? The bookFind Barbara on Instagram at @thehowlinghive and at thehowlinghive.org. Sign up for her book at thehowlinghive.org/book. I hope you love this one. Like, subscribe, leave a review, and do all that good stuff. Thank you so much! Send us Fan Mail Love the show? Follow, rate, and share Ilse Will Say. It helps us more than you know. New episodes every Wednesday. 🎧 All the links: https://www.ilsewillsay.com/ 📸 Follow the show on Instagram & Tiktok: @ilsewillsay & @ilsezacharias Ilse Will Say is an Intrepida Entertainment podcast, hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera. Produced and edited by Jacob Cagle. Music by Eric Backus. Photography by Joel Maisonet. The views and opinions expressed on Ilse Will Say are entirely those of the host and guests, and do not reflect the views of any employers, sponsors, or innocent bystanders. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Nothing said here is professional advice. We're here for the laughs, y'all.

  6. Oct 7 ·  Video

    Sean Slimak: Don't get trigger happy with festival submissions

    Sean's one-take horror short Intruder premieres on The Longest Take YouTube channel this Halloween! Filmmaker and fellow podcast host Sean Slimak joins me to talk about his love of one-take films, making six shorts while working a full-time day job, and why joy is his secret weapon. Sean grew up in Lombard, Illinois, making movies on an Intel Play movie maker. He skipped film school, went into factory work, and is now an environmental health and safety specialist at a chemical facility, all while writing and directing short films. We get into how he overspent on festival submissions with Connection at the End of the World (Sundance? sure, why not), how he shot the whole film as one walking take through downtown Lombard, and why he leans over in movie theaters to whisper "the camera hasn't cut." Then things get philosophical. Sean opens up about what he calls "defensive joy," gives some great advice on asking for feedback, and walks me through Camus, Sisyphus, and why he identifies as an absurdist (the optimistic cousin of a nihilist, apparently). Plus a kaiju first date in Hot Cakes. Of course. In this episode 00:00 Catching up: two shorts in three days and a book trailer03:35 From Lombard to a chemical plant to filmmaking05:48 Getting trigger happy with festival submissions08:12 Going from idea to set, and finding his composer11:45 Why one takes?14:41 Rehearsing a one take: the dry run and the bench that moved18:20 Defensive joy20:14 Advice: learn from anyone, be patient, take the note not the rewrite24:59 Hot Cakes28:02 Absurdism, Camus, and imagining Sisyphus happy33:13 Where to find SeanFind Sean Instagram: @the_longest_take_podcastThe Longest Take Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTubeWatch Connection at the End of the World on The Longest Take YouTube channel, and Intruder there this HalloweenSend us Fan Mail Love the show? Follow, rate, and share Ilse Will Say. It helps us more than you know. New episodes every Wednesday. 🎧 All the links: https://www.ilsewillsay.com/ 📸 Follow the show on Instagram & Tiktok: @ilsewillsay & @ilsezacharias Ilse Will Say is an Intrepida Entertainment podcast, hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera. Produced and edited by Jacob Cagle. Music by Eric Backus. Photography by Joel Maisonet. The views and opinions expressed on Ilse Will Say are entirely those of the host and guests, and do not reflect the views of any employers, sponsors, or innocent bystanders. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Nothing said here is professional advice. We're here for the laughs, y'all.

  7. Sep 30

    Tommy Martin: He's harmless, we talk to him all the time

    Tommy Martin is a Chicago based actor, filmmaker, and musician who has basically worked every job on a set at some point, and honestly it kind of exhausted me just hearing about it. We start with an unreasonable amount of hair talk (his, not mine) before getting into how a random DIY filmmaker workshop years ago quietly kicked off both our careers, his very unexpected path from a music business degree to Second City to booking his first web series, and what it's like acting in a scene while also being the AD on the same movie (he did this on Haunt Season, insane). Then Hot Cakes happens, and things get weird fast. We're talking two genuinely unsettling ghost stories, a tarot reading that predicted an actual job loss, and a very serious conversation about whether Bigfoot is real (yes). Tommy also gives updates on Grilled Cheese, the horror comedy short he co-directed that's currently making the festival rounds. Follow Tommy at @actortommymartin. In this episode: 00:00 – An unreasonable amount of hair talk02:45 – How we actually met (a DIY filmmaker workshop, years ago)06:03 – Music business major to filmmaker, a whole journey12:10 – Acting in a scene and being the AD on the same movie, at the same time13:05 – Hot Cakes15:06 – Ghost story #1, the haunted house by our high school17:22 – Ghost story #2, the crouched thing in the corner21:15 – The tarot reading that actually came true23:29 – Bigfoot, aliens, and my skinwalker era26:02 – What's next: Grilled Cheese, Morning Moon, Haunt Season, and The Knot Job Mentioned in this episode: Thank you to our sponsor, Joel Maisonet Photography: maisonetphotography.com Send us Fan Mail Love the show? Follow, rate, and share Ilse Will Say. It helps us more than you know. New episodes every Wednesday. 🎧 All the links: https://www.ilsewillsay.com/ 📸 Follow the show on Instagram & Tiktok: @ilsewillsay & @ilsezacharias Ilse Will Say is an Intrepida Entertainment podcast, hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera. Produced and edited by Jacob Cagle. Music by Eric Backus. Photography by Joel Maisonet. The views and opinions expressed on Ilse Will Say are entirely those of the host and guests, and do not reflect the views of any employers, sponsors, or innocent bystanders. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Nothing said here is professional advice. We're here for the laughs, y'all.

    Tommy Martin: He's harmless, we talk to him all the time

  8. Sep 8

    John David Wolfe: The Hansel and Gretel origin of Candy House

    This week, Ilse sits down with John David Wolfe, a DGA member and Chicago based producer whose two decade career as a location scout and manager put him behind the scenes on Spider-Man 2, High Fidelity, Proof, and Rhythm + Flow before he made the leap to producing his own work. John talks through his path from West Des Moines, Iowa to Chicago, landing High Fidelity as his very first studio credit, and what he'd tell someone trying to break into the industry today. The conversation gets delightfully weird during Hot Cakes, including a real ghost sighting at the Uptown Theatre and a detour into Mandela effect conspiracy theories. Then John shares the real story behind Candy House Productions, the company he co-founded with Chloe Koegel, including the surprisingly literal Hansel and Gretel connection behind the name. He also gives an update on Big Spooky House, Candy House's upcoming feature from filmmaker Jerry S. Gonzalez, which is currently in pre-production with a crowdfunding campaign launching this fall. Time sensitive: Big Spooky House is heading into a GoFundMe style campaign launching in early fall 2026, so keep an eye on Candy House's Instagram for updates. In this episode: 03:02 From Iowa to Chicago04:05 Landing High Fidelity as his first credit06:06 Is the PA route still the way into the industry?09:53 Getting your creative work seen today13:34 Hot Cakes17:35 The haunted Uptown Theatre19:05 A Mandela effect rabbit hole22:49 How Candy House Productions came together26:36 Why "Candy House"? The Hansel and Gretel story28:14 Big Spooky House and working with Jerry S. Gonzalez Follow Candy House Productions on Instagram: @candyhouseproductions @wolfejohndavid Hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera. Say hi / follow along here: @ilsezacharias Mentioned in this episode: Thank you to our sponsor, Joel Maisonet Photography: maisonetphotography.com Send us Fan Mail Love the show? Follow, rate, and share Ilse Will Say. It helps us more than you know. New episodes every Wednesday. 🎧 All the links: https://www.ilsewillsay.com/ 📸 Follow the show on Instagram & Tiktok: @ilsewillsay & @ilsezacharias Ilse Will Say is an Intrepida Entertainment podcast, hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera. Produced and edited by Jacob Cagle. Music by Eric Backus. Photography by Joel Maisonet. The views and opinions expressed on Ilse Will Say are entirely those of the host and guests, and do not reflect the views of any employers, sponsors, or innocent bystanders. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Nothing said here is professional advice. We're here for the laughs, y'all.

    John David Wolfe: The Hansel and Gretel origin of Candy House
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About

Welcome to My Brain. I'm Ilse, and every Wednesday I sit down with actors, filmmakers, comedians, and storycreators to talk about the stuff that doesn't make the press kit. How they actually got here, the project that almost didn't happen, the festival story they can't believe they're telling me, and whatever weird detour we end up on. Haunted sets, folklore they secretly believe in, the best taco in town. It's part industry real talk, part group chat, and I promise I'm more curious than qualified.

Information

  • Creator
    Intrepida Entertainment
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    63
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Ilse Will Say
  • Show Website
    Ilse Will Say