A talk with leading ladies

Amber Schoop
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  • Performing Arts
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A Talk With Leading Ladies is the podcast about women in theater, 40+. Amber opens the conversation about the things we don't discuss openly enough: career, motherhood, perimenopause, ageism, feminism. Where do we find support — in the industry, in family and friends? Or are we still internalizing it: making a collective problem a personal one? Time to break the stigmas — one conversation at a time.

Episodes

  1. Oct 11

    #7 -Jacqueline Macaulay - ACTRESS - PART 2

    In this second part of our talk with Jacqueline, we discuss motherhood and a career in theatre: the pressures, shared parenting and freedom of choice. We also talk openly about perimenopause and menopause, from stigma and hormones to strength and aging well.Jacqueline MacaulayBorn in 1967, Jacqueline Macaulay is the daughter of a Scottish army officer and a Hungarian mother. She spent her early childhood in England and grew up in the Netherlands, where she finished school in 1985, and has lived in Germany since 1986. She is married to the actor Hans-Werner Meyer, and they have two children.In 1994, her portrayal of Luise in Schiller’s Intrigue and Love, directed by András Fricsay, earned her the title of best young actress in North Rhine-Westphalia. Just one year later, the magazine Theater heute named her Young Actress of the Year for her double role in Oleanna/Musik (directed by Harald Clemen).In 1996, Der große Knall was invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen and won the ensemble prize at the NRW Theatertreffen. She trained at the State Drama School in Stuttgart.From 1998 to 2006 she was a permanent ensemble member at the Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin. Since 2006 she has worked freelance, at Hans Otto Theater Potsdam, Staatstheater Dresden, Staatstheater Hannover, Berliner Ensemble and Schauspiel Frankfurt, among others, and from 2007 onward regularly at the Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen and Théâtre National du Luxembourg.Macaulay has also appeared in musical productions, including La Cage aux Folles at Bar jeder Vernunft and Fräulein Kost in Cabaret at Tipi am Kanzleramt. Later roles include Admissions and Phyllis in Follies at Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, and King Lear and Happy End at Renaissance Theater Berlin. Alongside her stage career, she is equally in demand for film, television and audio drama.

  2. Oct 9

    #6 -Jacqueline Macaulay - ACTRESS - PART 1

    In this first talk with Jacqueline we talk about the road into acting, power dynamics, boundaries and female leadership in the arts. We also look at aging and representation, and imagine roles that give women visibility and creative freedom. Jacqueline Macaulay Born in 1967, Jacqueline Macaulay is the daughter of a Scottish army officer and a Hungarian mother. She spent her early childhood in England and grew up in the Netherlands, where she finished school in 1985, and has lived in Germany since 1986. She is married to the actor Hans-Werner Meyer, and they have two children. In 1994, her portrayal of Luise in Schiller's Intrigue and Love, directed by András Fricsay, earned her the title of best young actress in North Rhine-Westphalia. Just one year later, the magazine Theater heute named her Young Actress of the Year for her double role in Oleanna/Musik (directed by Harald Clemen). In 1996, Der große Knall was invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen and won the ensemble prize at the NRW Theatertreffen. She trained at the State Drama School in Stuttgart. From 1998 to 2006 she was a permanent ensemble member at the Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin. Since 2006 she has worked freelance, at Hans Otto Theater Potsdam, Staatstheater Dresden, Staatstheater Hannover, Berliner Ensemble and Schauspiel Frankfurt, among others, and from 2007 onward regularly at the Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen and Théâtre National du Luxembourg. Macaulay has also appeared in musical productions, including La Cage aux Folles at Bar jeder Vernunft and Fräulein Kost in Cabaret at Tipi am Kanzleramt. Later roles include Admissions and Phyllis in Follies at Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, and King Lear and Happy End at Renaissance Theater Berlin. Alongside her stage career, she is equally in demand for film, television and audio drama.

  3. Sep 17

    #5 Annemieke van Dam - Musicalperformer - PART 2

    In this second part of the podcast with Annemieke, we will openly discuss Theatre & PerimenopauseAnnemieke van Dam (44) is a Dutch actress and singer, born in Rotterdam and now based in Austria. She's one of musical theatre's most celebrated Elisabeth performers, having played the title role in over 22 cities across six countries since her breakthrough in Berlin in 2008 — including the anniversary production at the Raimund Theatre and, most recently, a tour through China.Beyond Elisabeth, her recent work spans Florence in CHESS (Graz Opera), Eva Perón in EVITA (Klagenfurt, Bern), Louise in GYPSY, and both Beatrice and Mrs. Danvers in REBECCA at the Raimund Theatre. In 2024, she took on Cynthia in DEAR EVAN HANSEN (Gmunden) and returned to Elisabeth once more in the concert version at Schönbrunn.Alongside her performing career, Annemieke is an authorised Complete Vocal Technique Teacher (since 2018) and certified in CVT voice rehabilitation (NCFE & CACHE).

  4. Sep 15

    #4 - Annemieke van Dam - Musicalperformer PART 1

    In this first part of the podcast with Annemieke, we talk openly about her career, the world of musical theater as a woman and motherhood.I In the next episode we will discuss Theatre & Perimenopause About Annemieke.. Annemieke van Dam (44) is a Dutch actress and singer, born in Rotterdam and now based in Austria. She's one of musical theatre's most celebrated Elisabeth performers, having played the title role in over 22 cities across six countries since her breakthrough in Berlin in 2008 — including the anniversary production at the Raimund Theatre and, most recently, a tour through China. Beyond Elisabeth, her recent work spans Florence in CHESS (Graz Opera), Eva Perón in EVITA (Klagenfurt, Bern), Louise in GYPSY, and both Beatrice and Mrs. Danvers in REBECCA at the Raimund Theatre. In 2024, she took on Cynthia in DEAR EVAN HANSEN (Gmunden) and returned to Elisabeth once more in the concert version at Schönbrunn.Alongside her performing career, Annemieke is an authorised Complete Vocal Technique Teacher (since 2018) and certified in CVT voice rehabilitation (NCFE & CACHE).

  5. Sep 4

    #3 - Ana Milva Gomes - Musicalperformer PART 2

    In second first part of the podcast with Ana Milva, we openly discuss Theatre & Perimenopause About Ana.. After living abroad for more than twenty years (mainly in Vienna), Ana Milva has moved back to the Netherlands with her young daughter, Isabella Rose, to be closer to her family. Current work: She balances her life as a performer with a down-to-earth, “normal” life. Ana Milva Gomes (The Hague, 1980) is an internationally acclaimed musical theater actress who plays a prominent role on stages in the Netherlands and Austria. Career and Roles Gomes gained widespread recognition for her versatile performances in major productions: Austria & Germany: She lived in Vienna for many years and was the first Black actress worldwide to play the role of Donna in *Mamma Mia!*. Other major roles included Grizabella in *Cats*, Baroness von Waldstätten in *Mozart!*, and Killer Queen in *We Will Rock You*. Netherlands: In 2026, she plays Deloris van Cartier in the Dutch tour of Sister Act, a role she shares with April Darby. Previously, she has performed in the Netherlands in productions including The Color Purple (Shug Avery) and Aida. She wrote a book in which, as a Black woman on stage, she made a passionate appeal to society for greater openness and conscious intercultural coexistence. Title: Look at Me: Ein schwarzes Mädchen in einer weißen Welt

  6. Sep 2

    #2 - Ana Milva Gomes - Musicalperformer PART 1

    In this first part of the podcast with Ana Milva, we talk openly about her career, the world of musical theater as a woman. In the next episode we will openly discuss Theatre & Perimenopause About Ana.. After living abroad for more than twenty years (mainly in Vienna), Ana Milva has moved back to the Netherlands with her young daughter, Isabella Rose, to be closer to her family. Current work: She balances her life as a performer with a down-to-earth, “normal” life. Ana Milva Gomes (The Hague, 1980) is an internationally acclaimed musical theater actress who plays a prominent role on stages in the Netherlands and Austria. Career and Roles Gomes gained widespread recognition for her versatile performances in major productions: Austria & Germany: She lived in Vienna for many years and was the first Black actress worldwide to play the role of Donna in *Mamma Mia!*. Other major roles included Grizabella in *Cats*, Baroness von Waldstätten in *Mozart!*, and Killer Queen in *We Will Rock You*. Netherlands: In 2026, she plays Deloris van Cartier in the Dutch tour of Sister Act, a role she shares with April Darby. Previously, she has performed in the Netherlands in productions including The Color Purple (Shug Avery) and Aida. She wrote a book in which, as a Black woman on stage, she made a passionate appeal to society for greater openness and conscious intercultural coexistence. Title: Look at Me: Ein schwarzes Mädchen in einer weißen Welt

  7. Jul 13

    #1 - Nicole Piccolomini, mezzo-soprano

    In this first episode, Amber talks with mezzo-soprano Nicole Piccolomini. Originally from Long Island and trained at The Juilliard School, Nicole has built a career of more than twenty years on Europe's great stages — from the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Oper Leipzig to La Scala, Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Santa Fe Opera. Based in Berlin, she is known for her rich, dark mezzo in roles from Verdi to Wagner. We talk openly about a life in opera: career, the body as instrument, health, and what changes for a woman on stage over the years. A conversation about the things we don't discuss openly enough.

  • 7 Episodes

About

A Talk With Leading Ladies is the podcast about women in theater, 40+. Amber opens the conversation about the things we don't discuss openly enough: career, motherhood, perimenopause, ageism, feminism. Where do we find support — in the industry, in family and friends? Or are we still internalizing it: making a collective problem a personal one? Time to break the stigmas — one conversation at a time.

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