PAAL Podcast (Parent Artist Advocacy League for the Performing Arts)

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A podcast for parents and caregivers in the performing arts. Interviews, essays, obstacles, solutions, humor, art, parenting, creating, staging, advocating, and more. Visit and like our Facebook page: Facebook.com/paalperformingarts 🔥

06/07/2021

S2E2: BMP & Producing for PAAL with Guest Garlia Cornelia Jones

PAAL podcast host Nicole Stodard talks with PAAL Executive Team Member and Producing Director, Garlia Cornelia Jones about how she discovered and became a part of PAAL and her current PAAL project, BMP: Black Motherhood & Parenting New Play Festival, streaming thru June 17, 2021. Get your tickets! Have questions about this podcast or suggestions for topics you'd like to hear us explore in this forum in the future? Email Nicole at nicole@thinkingcaptheatre.org. Thanks for listening! Please stay tuned! About Guest Garlia Cornelia Jones Garlia is a writer, producer, photographer and mother from Detroit, MI. In 2008, Garlia founded Blackboard Plays, a monthly series devoted to Black Playwrights. She is one of the founding producers of Harlem9 and an OBIE Award winner for “48Hours in…Harlem.” Her Essays and articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Salon.com, and American Theatre. Her work as a playwright has been supported by the cell, The Fire This Time Festival, and #24viralmonologues. She is currently a guest artist at Wayne State University. She worked on an MA in African American and African Diaspora studies at Indiana University before coming to New York to complete an MFA in Playwrighting at The New School for Drama. Garlia is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and the Producing Director of PAAL, where she received one of their first childcare grants in 2019. Finally, Garlia is a Line Producer at The Public Theater (“Socrates”, “Much Ado About Nothing”, which was filmed for Great Performances on PBS, “Mojada”, “for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enough” and “Coal Country”). Garlia was the Co-Creative Producer of #ToBeBlack, released on Juneteenth and Co-Producer of “Forward Together,” a virtual event in support of The Public. Most recently, Garlia was the co-developer and curator of the #Saytheirnames projection installation. She is the Executive Producer of the Black Motherhood and Parenting New Play Festival. About Host Nicole Stodard Nicole is the founding artistic director of Thinking Cap Theatre (TCT), a Fort Lauderdale based, professional non-profit theatre company with a ten-year history of programming plays that experiment with form and depict a range of identities reflective of society's wonderful diversity. Nicole has directed and designed more than 30 main stage productions; learn more about her directing and design work at NicoleStodard.com. Nicole holds a Master's degree in Theatre from Trinity College, Dublin, and a Doctorate in English from the University of South Florida. She teaches in the Departments of Fine Arts and English at Barry University in Miami Shores, FL. Her current book project investigates the origins and history of the glass curtain in professional theatre from Aphra Behn in the seventeenth century to the present day.

26 min
04/09/2021

S2E1: Getting Parent Support Started

PAAL podcast host Nicole Stodard talks with PAAL founder Rachel Spencer-Hewitt about the inspiration behind the organization and its vision for 2021. Have questions about this podcast or suggestions for topics you'd like to hear us explore in this forum in the future? Email Nicole at nicole@thinkingcaptheatre.org. Thanks for listening! Please stay tuned! About Rachel Spencer-Hewitt RACHEL SPENCER HEWITT is an equity actor with an MFA in Acting from the Yale School of Drama. During her time at the Yale School of Drama, she received the Pierre-André Salim Award, awarded to third-year students at the Yale School of Drama whose artistry, professionalism, collaborative energy, and commitment to the community have inspired their colleagues, and who show distinct promise of raising the standard of practice in the field. PAAL created the first all-discipline, all-gender PAAL National Childcare Grant program for individuals and institutions that were distributed this year. Rachel’s professional acting work and contact can be found at RachelSpencerHewitt.com and her advocacy organization at PAALtheatre.com. About Nicole Stodard Nicole is the founding artistic director of Thinking Cap Theatre (TCT), a Fort Lauderdale based, professional theatre company with a ten-year history of programming plays that experiment with form and depict a range of identities reflective of society's diversity. She has directed and designed more than 30 main stage productions; learn more about her work at NicoleStodard.com. Nicole holds a Master's degree in Theatre from Trinity College, Dublin, and a Doctorate in English from the University of South Florida. She teaches in the Department of Fine Arts at Barry University in Miami Shores, FL. Her research investigates the origins and history of the glass curtain in professional theatre.

12 min
03/11/2020

Empowering Nashville Parent Artists | Ep. 5 PAAL

Guest host and parent artist Tamara Kissane (Artist Soapbox) interviews Erica Lee Haines, PAAL Chief Rep of Nashville, TN. Erica shares her experiences with what changed after baby, the importance of defying arbitrary barriers, and advocating for parent artists in Nashville. (Learn more about Erica Lee Haines, Nashville artist.) She talks about the fear that many parent artists feel when engaging with the work because first impressions are everything. Erica joined PAAL because she wanted to "start a bigger conversation that it’s not just for me...it’s for the other parent artists working..." As she puts it answering Tamara's inquiry, for parent artists, "[Our]needs don’t have to make us unemployable." Citing the Parents in Chicago Theatre Study (PICT) from PAAL Chief Rep of Chicago, Lydia Milman Schmidt, 90% of artists have turned down work due to childcare costs or scheduling. Without support and better opportunities for dialogue, Erica notes that "companies are mission out on fantastic parent artists" and "artists are missing out…on doing what they were meant to do." Citing her biggest heartbreak, Erica has seen many parent artists decide to do something else with their life due to the obstacles. As a goal for her community, Erica hopes to lead Nashville's PAAL chapter by gathering resources and "creating a community to feel safe and ask for help from your community of members." In one of their big initiatives, Erica and the Nashville PAAL chapter are are sponsoring audition days and caregiving for some of the Nashville springtime auditions. One of her favorite resources are the PAAL provisions that helps parents advocate for themselves, such as the sample riders to use in your contracts with companies, etc. PAAL Nashville is also committed to creating "more opportunities for parent artists to create and work with each other." In terms of opportunities to create and work, host Tamara Kissane notes that it "transformed [her] life when I was able to step back in [to theatre]." When Tamara asks Erica for a pro tip to offer a new parent artist, Erica answers, "Learn how to advocate for yourself...a lot of people are willing to help." In her daily life, Erica works as a teacher for her day job. One of her creative solutions has been to barter. She offers lessons to her student in exchange for babysitting hours. She notes, "We are creative people in a creative field. We can find creative solutions…PAAL helps us navigate that and find those creative solutions." In her own values, Erica hopes to communicate with the PAAL chapter that the community they can create and staying engaged is so important. Her favorite provisions from theatres have included receiving a babysitter list with her resource packet and a box of batteries, which she explains has a beautiful reason that left her feeling seen and supported. She notes that theatres should look into the childcare grants that PAAL offers to theatre companies. "If a theatre finds out that their theatre staff, 20% need childcare, [providing a fund] is something that they can do." Erica gives a beautiful and empowering answer when Tamara asks her what her greatest professional accomplishment has been since becoming a parent. Listen to the whole interview to hear and get to know this exciting PAAL chapter happening in Nashville, TN. Interesting idea that we can show our whole selves to our family and show our whole selves to our industry. - Tamara Kissane

24 min
09/14/2019

Off-Bway Says Yes to Mothers | Ep. 4 PAAL

Off-Broadway producer Roberta Pereira talks RPI Project with PAAL founder Rachel Spencer Hewitt to engage with the work Roberta has established, how the women worked together to generate solutions, and where we go from here. LINKS AND RESOURCES: paaltheatre.com | https://www.playwrightsrealm.org/rpi | broadwaybabysitters.com

27 min
06/01/2019

Childcare for Plays | Ep. 3 PAAL

PAAL Chief Rep in Chicago Lydia Milman Schmidt sits down with Artistic Director Alice da Cunha of Physical Theatre Festival in Chicago to talk about motherhood, running a festival, and the impact on childcare for events and performances. Listen up! It’s rad.

16 min
07/31/2018

Celebrating Mothers | Ep. 2 PAAL

With a MOTHERHOOD READING SERIES as their festival feature and CHILDCARE ON-SITE via a kids' show in the next room, Philadelphia Women's Theatre Festival co-founders Polly Edelstein and Christine Petrini talk about the philosophy behind creating a theatre model that is both unconventional and accessible. Their mission words are Celebrate and Inclusion - check out why PAAL is thrilled to collaborate with them on this project and ensure that it's replicated! Listen in and learn more at PhillyWomensTheatreFest.org - and check out the MOTHERHOOD READING SERIES Aug 2-5 in Philadelphia by visiting the events on our Facebook page, Facebook.com/paalperformingarts

39 min
07/11/2018

I Will Hold Your Baby | Ep. 1 PAAL

Ep. 1 - I WILL HOLD YOUR BABY: PAAL founder Rachel Spencer Hewitt interviews Director and PICT founder Lydia Milman Schmidt on babies in the UK vs US, Research on Parent Artists, and Lydia empowering mothers to bring babies into the room. Lydia is also the PAAL Chief Rep in Chicago and PICT - Parents in Chicago Theatre - is the PAAL hub in Chicago. Resources mentioned in the interview: PAALtheatre.com ParentsInChicagoTheatre.org ErasingTheDistance.org DirectorsProgram.YoungVic.org/directors-program

37 min

7 Episodes

Creator

PAAL Podcast (Parent Artist Advocacy League for the Performing Arts)
Years Active

2018 - 2021
Episodes

7
Rating

Clean
Show Website

PAAL Podcast (Parent Artist Advocacy League for the Performing Arts)

PAAL Podcast (Parent Artist Advocacy League for the Performing Arts)

Episodes

S2E2: BMP & Producing for PAAL with Guest Garlia Cornelia Jones

S2E1: Getting Parent Support Started

Empowering Nashville Parent Artists | Ep. 5 PAAL

Off-Bway Says Yes to Mothers | Ep. 4 PAAL

Childcare for Plays | Ep. 3 PAAL

Celebrating Mothers | Ep. 2 PAAL

I Will Hold Your Baby | Ep. 1 PAAL

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