The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales Alan Seales

This week we speak with 2018 Tony nominee Ariana DeDose. She discusses how her early childhood as a competitive dancer led her to So You Think You Can Dance. She eventually moved to New York to land her first job on her first day in the city. Ariana tells us about the importance of legacy, what it was like to be part of the Hamilton theatrical revolution, how she feels staring in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, her thoughts on pride and sexuality, and the need to keep moving forward without getting too comfortable. 
UPDATE Jan 14, 2019: Ariana will also star as Anita in the upcoming remake of “West Side Story,” being recreated by Steven Spielberg.
Connect with Ariana on social:Twitter: @ArianaDeBoseInstagram: @arianadeboseFacebook.com/ArianaNDeBoseConnect with The Theatre Podcast:Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcastFacebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcastTheTheatrePodcast.comAlan’s personal Instagram: @alansealesJillian’s personal Instagram: @jillianhochmanEmail us at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. We want to know what you think.Thank you to our friends Jukebox The Ghost for our intro and outro music. You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @jukeboxtheghost or via the web via jukeboxtheghost.com.

It’s first incarnation may have been 10 years ago, but in a surreal case of art mirroring life, their show which takes place in a world where it's too dangerous to go outside is more relevant than ever. 
Harris Doran, Jason Schafer, and Arthur Bacon are well known individually for their own bodies of work. But their most recent collaboration, Bleeding Love (a brand new original musical podcast radio play on The Broadway Podcast Network) is truly one of a kind. Recorded completely during quarantine, the World Premiere Podcast production of Bleeding Love is directed by Harris Doran, based on a story by Jason Schafer, suggested by Oscar Wilde’s fairy tale “The Nightingale and the Rose” with a book by Jason Schafer, music by Arthur Lafrentz Bacon, and lyrics by Harris Doran. Not only does the show feature an all-star cast of Broadway veterans, it is the same cast of performers who participated in the original demo recordings for Bleeding Love 10 years ago.
Jason Schafer’s inspiration for Bleeding Love started as a small idea while he was an undergrad. He shares that it was not a quick process, as the show evolved over a number of years. “It was a back-burner project” through many of his other projects. Eventually Schafer came to know Harris Doran, who started his career as an actor, and performed in some of Schafer’s work. Doran later met Arthur Bacon at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, a prestigious workshop in New York for musical theatre composers, lyricists and librettists. The trio began working together on Bleeding Love in 2010, and after recording demos, Bleeding Love had its premiere at NAMT (National Alliance for Musical Theatre) in 2012. It went on to have a successful world-premiere run in 2015, live on stage in Denmark at the Fredericia Teater. A few years passed and the fate of Bleeding Love was unclear. After being approached by The Broadway Podcast Network early this year, they questioned how they felt about revamping the show to be an audio-only experience. But less than a week later, COVID-19 changed everything. And a week after that, they began recording. 

Make sure to listen to all of Bleeding Love via bpn.fm/bleedinglove

In this episode, we talk about: 

What inspired Jason Schafer to write this story, and how he did it 

How Harris Doran and Arthur Bacon met, and what their writing process looks like 

What it’s like collaborating on a new musical 

The ways in which the script had to be altered in order to suit a podcast production 

Harris Doran’s experience editing the final product 

What inspired them each to become involved in the performing arts in the first place


Connect with The Theatre Podcast:

Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast


Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast


Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast

TheTheatrePodcast.com

Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales


Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think.


A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible!
Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales

This episode is released in a time of crisis and mass awakening. Black Lives Matter. Please consider donating to any of the following:

George Floyd Memorial Fund

Minnesota Freedom Fund

Reclaim The Block

National Bail Out

Black Lives Matter

The Bail Project

Black Visions Collective

Campaign Zero

National Bail Fund Network

The Innocence Project

Run with Maud

Justice for Breonna

Tony Vincent is a recording artist, actor and producer, widely known for his appearance as a finalist on the second season of NBC’s The Voice. While in college, he started his own record company, Adobe Flats, writing and producing the EP Love Falling Down. And made his Broadway debut in 1998 playing Roger in Rent, after playing the same role on the first national tour. Tony originated the role of St. Jimmy in the Green Day Rock Opera American Idiot, appeared as Judas Iscariot in Jesus Christ Superstar, and was most recently seen on Broadway in Rocktopia. He originated the role of Galileo Figaro in the rock band Queen’s We Will Rock You on London’s West End and has also fronted the band multiple times, including a performance of “Bohemian Rhapsody” for Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee. He has independently released two albums, A Better Way, produced by Adam Anders (Glee, Rock of Ages), and the self-produced In My Head, following his appearance on The Voice. Tony can currently be heard as Puppy in Bleeding Love, a brand new original musical podcast radio play on The Broadway Podcast Network.
In this episode, we talk about: 

His enthusiasm for becoming a drummer 

What he thought about Van Halen as a kid 

Why he’s always been a solo artist 

The impact David Bowie has had on his life

The thrill of originating roles onstage 

His enthusiasm for recording records 

His experience on NBC’s The Voice


Connect with Tony:

IG: @theofficialtonyvincent


Listen to Bleeding Love


www.tonyvincent.com


Connect with The Theatre Podcast:

Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast


Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast


Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast

TheTheatrePodcast.com

Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales


Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think.


A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible!
Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales

This episode is released in a time of crisis and mass awakening. Black Lives Matter. Please consider donating to any of the following:

George Floyd Memorial Fund

Minnesota Freedom Fund

Reclaim The Block

National Bail Out

Black Lives Matter

The Bail Project

Black Visions Collective

Campaign Zero

National Bail Fund Network

The Innocence Project

Run with Maud

Justice for Breonna

Rebecca Naomi Jones is an actress and a singer who made her Broadway debut in 2008 when Passing Strange transferred from it’s Off-Broadway run. She went on to create the role of Whatshername in the Green Day Rock Opera American Idiot, which opened on Broadway in 2010. In 2012 Rebecca played the Narrator in Manhattan Theatre Club's Off-Broadway musical Murder Ballad, for which she received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress. Her other Broadway credits include replacing Lena Hall as Yitzhak in Hedwig and the Angry Inch in 2015, a starring role in Significant Other in 2017, and Laurey Williams in Daniel Fish’s revival of Oklahoma!, a role for which she earned a Drama Desk Nomination after appearing in the original production at St. Ann's Warehouse. Rebecca has also appeared in National Tours of Rent and Caroline, or Change, and starred in the film adaptation of Passing Strange. In 2014, she was awarded the Lilly Award, a prize designed to honor women in theater. Rebecca can currently be heard as Lolli in Bleeding Love, a brand new original musical podcast radio play on The Broadway Podcast Network. 
Rebecca was born in New York City to bi-racial parents, her mother Jewish, and her father African-American. She shares that growing up in NYC and “being mixed is a different thing than growing up in other places and being mixed,” and wasn’t made aware of how unique that was or how complicated it can be for people until much later. Rebecca is no stranger to the New York Stage. But doesn’t mean she is immune to performance anxiety. In our conversation, Rebecca opens up about her first encounters with anxiety and panic attacks in 2015, attacks that would linger even as she was performing on stage during Hedwig and the Angry Inch. She shares that during the run of Oklahoma! she kept up a regular meditation routine so she could prepare herself “for the fear”.
In this episode, we talk about: 

Her inner demons that come out when she is gaining recognition or awards for her work

Her memory of the first time she experienced a panic attack 

How performing to a house full of people with the lights on during Oklahoma! tested her 

Her experiences practicing and performing opera with the children's choir at The Met 

The trial and error of recording Bleeding Love 

Some of the film and TV work she has done, and why she finds this work so exciting and thrilling


Connect with Rebecca:

IG: @onerebeccajones


Twitter: @rebeccasername


Listen to Bleeding Love



Connect with The Theatre Podcast:

Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast


Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast


Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast

TheTheatrePodcast.com

Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales


Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think.


A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible!
Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales

This episode is released in a time of crisis and mass awakening. Black Lives Matter. Please consider donating to any of the following:

George Floyd Memorial Fund

Minnesota Freedom Fund

Reclaim The Block

National Bail Out

Black Lives Matter

The Bail Project

Black Visions Collective

Campaign Zero

National Bail Fund Network

The Innocence Project

Run with Maud

Justice for Breonna

Taylor Trensch has been a familiar face on Broadway since 2012, when he made his Broadway debut in Wicked as Boq. He originated roles in the Broadway debut productions of Matilda The Musical, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time. Some of his more recent roles include Barnaby Tucker in the revival of Hello Dolly!, the title role in Dear Evan Hansen, and starring next to Ed Harris as Dill Harris in To Kill A Mockingbird. Taylor can currently be heard as Sweet William in Bleeding Love, a brand new original musical podcast radio play on The Broadway Podcast Network.
Taylor has been spending his time in quarantine in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, but was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. He shares that he grew up in the same house his dad grew up in - had the same childhood bedroom, as well as the same seat at the family dinner table. When Taylor was 5 years old he performed in his first community theater show - The Wizard of Oz. He loved the movie as a child and begged his parents to take him to the audition. He says he peed his pants opening night, and “from then on I couldn’t be stopped.” Growing up, Taylor had severe allergies and asthma, which deterred him from spending a lot of time outside. When he discovered theater, the immediacy of a group of people being in a room together, getting laughs and applause, he was hooked. He shares that by the time he was in middle school, he knew he was gay. And by doing community theater, he started to become aware of the gay and queer adults who were also there, and began to see himself in them. 
Playing Sweet William in Bleeding Love is a bit of a throwback for him, as Taylor took part in the original demo recordings that took place in 2016. But the main difference, due to the current coronavirus pandemic, is that no one in the cast can actually be together. Taylor records his songs, and one off lines from the bathroom in his apartment. He describes what a unique challenge it is, calling it “bizarre to try to make a specific, honest choice” as an actor, with sort of no context or ability to play off his fellow actors. There is inherent energy between cast members when they are performing together, they fuel one another. Taylor shares that part of this experience is creating that energy for yourself. Bleeding Love is a show about being in quarantine, but it was written years prior to our current pandemic. And it seems it was rediscovered at precisely the right time. 

In this episode, we talk about: 

His failed attempt to escape NYC during quarantine 

The personal catharsis he experienced while playing the lead in Dear Evan Hansen 

The two versions of self he believes are inside every theater artist

Grounding himself in his life, while having Ben Platt on speed-dial and being buddies with Ed Harris 

Performing with his boyfriend in Dear Evan Hansen 

The end of the recent CATS film 

His idea of what the theater may look like when quarantine is over


Connect with Taylor:

IG @knucklesandwich


Listen to Bleeding Love



Connect with The Theatre Podcast:

Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast


Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast


Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast

TheTheatrePodcast.com

Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales


Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think.


A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible!
Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales

This episode is released in a time of crisis and mass awakening. Black Lives Matter. Please consider donating to any of the following:

George Floyd Memorial Fund

Minnesota Freedom Fund

Reclaim The Block

National Bail Out

Black Lives Matter

The Bail Project

Black Visions Collective

Campaign Zero

National Bail Fund Network

The Innocence Project

Run with Maud

Justice for Breonna

Marc Kudisch stars off the Bleeding Love musical podcast takeover, a brand new completely original musical podcast set in a post-apocalyptic future where it's not safe to go outside.
Marc is a 3-time Tony Award nominee for his work in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and 9 to 5. He is a Drama Desk Award winner and two-time Outer Critics Circle Award Nominee. Some other Broadway highlights include Finding Neverland, Hand to God, Assassins, the Scarlet Pimpernel, and Beauty and the Beast. You also might recognize him from TV and film credits such as The Tick, Billions, Mindhunter, Limitless, House of Cards, Unforgettable, Person of Interest, Gossip Girl, Blue Bloods, SMASH, and even Sex and the City. He recently starred in the off-Broadway production of Girl from the North Country and is now reprising the same role -- once Broadway returns, of course! However you can catch him right now in a brand new way as both the Super and the narrator in the original musical podcast Bleeding Love.

Connect with Marc:

IG: @marckuds


Twitter: @marckuds



Connect with The Theatre Podcast:

Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast


Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast


Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast

TheTheatrePodcast.com

Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales


Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think.


A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible!
Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales

This episode is released in a time of crisis and mass awakening. Black Lives Matter. Please consider donating to any of the following:

George Floyd Memorial Fund

Minnesota Freedom Fund

Reclaim The Block

National Bail Out

Black Lives Matter

The Bail Project

Black Visions Collective

Campaign Zero

National Bail Fund Network

The Innocence Project

Run with Maud

Justice for Breonna