Dear Multi-hyphenate

#63 - Dani Stoller: Jewish Representation & Washington D.C. Multi-Hyphenation

“For myself, I think for a long time I was worried that if I got my mental health and spiritual health in check… then I would lose the things that made me a really good artist.”Dani Stoller is unapologetic. An actor who takes risks, it bleeds into her other hyphens of being a writer and producer. She approaches her art by forming her own figurative rep companies – and while based in the “DMV” area (D.C., Maryland, and Virginia) she has found that those communities create their own community, much like a rep company. Following Dani on social media also reflects her unapologetic-ness… especially when it comes to Jewish advocacy. We dive deep into Jewish representation in the media – including non-Jews playing Jews, what we think Jews are ‘supposed’ to look like, and where they’re ‘supposed’ to be from. “Throughout all conversations about Jewishness,” says Stoller, “Jews of color get written out of the conversation so quickly in terms of what does a Jew look like? Where is a Jew from? What is a Jew’s connection to anything – and so there’s this write out of that. What’s exciting is to see plays being written by Jews of color which shines a light on the incredible expanse of Jewish people. People think of Jews and they think of White, Ashkenazi Jew… they don’t think of Sefardi or Mizrahi or Swana or Beta Israel, or Igbo. We don’t think of it that way. Those stories are just as important.” And speaking of these stories, Stoller explores how her next play, The Joy That Carries You, co-written with Awa Sal Secka, came to fruition and will have it’s debut at The Olney Theatre Center for the Arts. And how is this experience a reflection on socially responsible artistry? “The thing I really admire about certain theatres in the ‘DMV’”, continues Stoller, “is their commitment to bringing in local talent. I think that we have a beautiful group of people there. Of course sometimes you have to bring in people from out of town. But I really do admire theatres who make a really diligent effort to utilize the people of that area to tell the stories of that area.”While this podcast has lessons applicable to all artists in all locations, Dani shares her stories which have happened in the Washington D.C. theatre scene. Multi-hyphenating happens everywhere – and even if you’re in NYC, LA, or London – this episode is applicable to YOU! Other topics found in this episode are becoming a good apologizer, casting director relationships, and using the things that make us unique to tell our stories. Dani Stoller is an actor, playwright, podcaster & Jewish advocate in Maryland by way of Brooklyn, New York. She has performed all across the DMV from the Folger Shakespeare Theater to the Kennedy Center. Her play, Easy Women Smoking Loose Cigarettes, had its premiere at the Tony Award winning Signature Theater in Shirlington, VA, and was featured in the New York Times at the beginning of the pandemic. Her upcoming play, The Joy That Carries You, co-written with Awa Sal Secka is opening this May at the Olney Theatre Center. When she’s not writing she hosts the podcast Zen & Sugar, which is centered on intuitive eating, balance, and healing disordered food and body relationships. Follow her on instagram @danidangerstoller or her website www.Danistoller.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#62 - David Loud: Sometimes You Have to Learn the Hard Way

“To see your heroes fail,” continues Loud, “is to learn something really important at the beginning of someone’s career. Anybody can have a bomb. Anybody can flop. And to start out your career with a monumental flop, the way I did, boy do I appreciate a show that goes well and hits now!”We’re speaking with a multi-hyphenate legend, here. “That need to be in the theatre, that yearning to be in a musical or to work on a musical and have that be your life is so powerful,” says Loud. “And it bites us at different times in our lives. I knew for six years old what I wanted to do with my life and I never waivered.”While Mr. Loud knew what he wanted, he still had to figure out how and where he belonged in the industry – which took him a few tried to make sure he was going down the right road. After his first Broadway musical, the legendary Merrily We Roll Along, flopped – he had to pivot. And now, in 2022, Mr. Loud continues to work with Parkinson's disease, still figuring out ways to pivot and continue to tell his stories. David Loud, famed Broadway music director, arranger, performer, and teacher continues the multi-hyphenate theatre artist legacy by adding author to his hyphens. His new book, Facing the Music, is now available for purchase. “I have always been a multi-hyphenate, I think,” says Loud. “I always found this niche for myself of the pianist who can say a few lines on stage. I’ve never quite fit into only one category. I love doing lots of different things in the theatre. I’ve always wanted to do everything in the theatre.”And now, theatre lovers everywhere can read about Mr. Loud’s fantastic journey in show business. One can begin to understand what a multi-hyphenate’s life was life before the word multi-hyphenate grew in popularity. “When we moved to New York to go into showbusiness – we were not graduates of musical theatre academies,” continues Loud. “We learned by doing and we learned from our friends and we learned by imitating and we went to auditions and we figured out what worked and what didn’t work. We had to be self-starters in that way.”In this episode, we speak about our love for musical theatre, what it was really like to work with Stephen Sondheim, how multi-hyphenating stems out of need to be a part of any aspect of the theatre, his experience working on Merrily We Roll Along, casting choices that have excited us throughout the years, and the importance of failure. David Loud occupies a unique place in Broadway history. In addition to his distinguished career as one of Broadway’s most respected music directors and arrangers, he originated three Broadway roles as an actor, including his appearance in the original cast of Stephen Sondheim’s legendary failure (and cult classic) Merrily We Roll Along, directed by Harold Prince. In a career spanning several decades, he served as music director for the original Broadway productions of Ragtime, Curtains, Sondheim on Sondheim, The Visit, The Scottsboro Boys, A Class Act, The Look of Love, and Steel Pier, as well as revivals of She Loves Me, Company, and Sweeney Todd. He also appeared alongside Zoe Caldwell and Audra McDonald in Terrence McNally’s Tony-winning play, Master Class.About Facing the Music – Musical Director and arranger David Loud, a legendary Broadway talent, recounts his wildly entertaining and deeply poignant trek through the wilderness of his childhood and the edge-of-your-seat drama of a career on, in, under, and around Broadway for decades. He reveals his struggle against the ravages of Parkinson's and triumphs repeatedly. This memoir is also a remarkable love letter to music. Loud is the 'Ted Lasso' of the theater business, ever the optimist. An inspiration to all! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#61 - Rye Myers: Hey Listen! Marketing, Producing, and Sponsorships in the Theatre

“I think with mistakes and failure, you really learn who the other person is. Sometimes failure and mistakes are more informative to who your people are because then you really see who you’re working with – the real people – and how they handle high stakes, handle drama, and handle problem solving.”Ry Myers is a brilliant, accessible and adorable host and producer who somehow appears to be in more than one place in the industry at once. His brain moves a mile a minute, as do his words, and his effervescent energy is enough to lasso you in. This episode is all about opportunities and creating your own path, which is the basis of multi-hyphenating. Plus, get sneak peak insight of the new musical Paradise Square, coming to Broadway starting March 15th. Myers is a graduate of Multi-Hype, Michael’s Multi-Hyphenate workshop (also created and led by Ashley Kate Adams and Kimberly Faye Greenberg) which he attributes to opening up his mind to anything being possible in this industry. He has a very optimistic outlook about this industry, which is needed – and his point of view regarding mistakes is also positive. Could the industry benefit from more forgiveness? Possibly so. Mistakes can be made, and they are informative – acknowledgement and moving forward is key to growth in this industry. Myers has his own show in Manhattan called Live with Rye & Friends on Broadway. Many fans and listeners of Dear Multi-Hyphenate often ask HOW do you start something? In this episode, Rye is chock full of knowledge on HOW to start a project. We cover finances, marketing, sponsorship, audience sizes, negative voices in our heads, and of course WHY he is producing and hosting this show. “How I’ve set it up – I say the internet is a beautiful thing – I wanted shows to sponsor me,” says Myers. “I asked who works on X Broadway show and what is the marketing or advertising person for this show? And then it was just an email.”Rye Myers is a talk show Host, Producer, and “Your Broadway & Entertainment BFF!”. He is the Founder of Rye Entertainment, LLC and RyeTheNewsGuy.com, the latter of which he has run for over six years. Rye’s infectious, energetic, and compassionate style to connect with people has landed him interviews with OSCAR, GRAMMY, EMMY, and TONY Award winners and big names in the industry, including Nathan Lane, Billy Porter, Susan Stroman, George Takei, David Hyde Pierce, Laura Benanti, Matthew Broderick, and many others! Rye has produced and hosted numerous video interviews, behind-the-scenes segments, award show round-ups, red carpet coverage, live events, and cabarets. Rye also works with other creatives in helping them interview celebrities, produce their dream projects, discover their passions, build their networks, and more. He is also the Host and Exec Producer of Live with Rye & Friends on Broadway; the popular FREE Broadway-themed variety talk show at BAR 9 on Thursdays at 7:30 pm. The new talk show has taken the theater district by storm and is THE place to be on Thursday nights! Rye also Hosts and Producers “Live with Rye!” his digital streaming talk show series on YouTube that premieres new episodes every Tuesday at 6 pm. You can see all of his Hosting and Producing endeavors at www.RyeTheNewsGuy.com and www.RyeEntertainment.com. He also has an active social media presence so be sure to follow @rye_myers on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok and LIKE /OfficialRyeMyers on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#60 - Sarah Hamaty: Everything and Nothing

“Art and business… we’ve tried to blend it but it’s very difficult because art lacks boundaries sometimes.” - Sarah HamatyBuckle your seatbelts because Sarah Hamaty is a rollercoaster of emotion, insight, and spirit. She revitalizes any room she walks into and invites a heady, complicated conversation about life! To be a multi-hyphenate during a pandemic and a reshaping of the industry is everything and nothing. It begs the question, “is anyone okay?”In this funny and vibrant episode, we talk about everything and nothing – weaponizing the multi-hyphenate, deconstructing the way the industry has conditioned us, professional redos, beginning things for the first time, and the enjoyment of failure.“I enjoy failing,” says Hamaty. “Maybe this goes back to the Libra everything and nothing. It doesn’t mean anything AND it means something. It tells you what you’re good at, what you’re not good at obviously – it tells you how to be better or what you can change. But being a multi-hyphenate – just the act of trying new things makes you better at trying new things.”Sarah is also one of my make-up artists in my photoshoot studio and I often defer to her to support or challenge the choices I make in a photo – is it the right outfit? Is it the right lighting? Is it the right background color? Sarah ties it into psychology and the joy of getting to know people.“Expressing myself externally was so important,” Hamaty continues. “My mom was like you’re really good at this – let’s now apply practice and expertise. And so I just did that – and what I love about it is the same reason I love acting, the same reason I love singing, the same reason I love connecting with people, the same reason I love psychology, and the same reason I love spirituality. It is all the same to me and it is all getting to know someone, sharing, receiving, and growing. All of those things – make up is just the tool along the way.” Why is hair and make up extremely important and specific to the headshot session? This episode is chock full of information on how to prepare for a headshot session, especially when it comes to styling choices like hair, make up, and clothing. If you’re prepping for a headshot session – this episode has all the information for you!“I always find myself using visual metaphors,” continues Hamaty. “And it makes me think about cooking. The ingredients have to be fresh and then of course you have a chef, and you won’t catch a chef without a sous chef.” Sarah Hamaty is a born and bred Jersey girl who made her way to NYC to get a BFA in theater and pursue her Acting career. A proud multi-hyphenate, Sarah has been an MUA since the age of 15. Artistic expression with makeup has always been a way she has loved connecting with people, while building confidence and joy. She looks forward to seeing you in the studio! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#59 - Brian Jordan Jr.: People See Me As Revolutionary

“I think collaboration is the birthplace for brilliance.” - Brian Jordan Jr. 
Isn’t it amazing how in our industry you can move to one place just to get relocated in a new town? Brian Jordan Jr., had that exact experience. He moved from Atlanta to LA… only to go back to Atlanta. 
“Atlanta is a place where the cost of living is significantly cheaper than LA or New York,” says Jordan Jr., “I think when you are at the beginning of your career and trying to figure out things: where you belong and how to market yourself and where you fit and learning the people and learning the casting offices – especially in this time of virtual everything – I think that Atlanta is the place to be… because it’s still growing which means you won’t spend all your money – but it is growing rapidly, which means that there is opportunity.” 
We also discuss the importance and the stigma of quitting. Brian and Michael have both had experience having to quit an experience. What does that do to someone? How does one control the narrative? Let’s face it – people talk, but if your self worth and self care is at stake – why force it to make it work… no matter what people say. 
“People see me as revolutionary because I am the one who is going to stand up and say things,” continues Jordan Jr. “I am the one who is like, “No!” Like I am that guy. I think that in the beginning of my career – it looked, in the short form, that it would affect me.”
You know what’s a recipe for disaster? Trying to get everyone to be pleased with what you do. That being said, self care is probably the most important thing one can do for themselves in this industry. 
In this episode – we talk about control, collaboration, ego, and the deficit of Black stories… which is a huge impetus to Jordan Jr. writing his own projects. 
“We’re seeing more shows with Black subject matter, but the care that is taken isn’t at the place where it needs to be,” continues Jordan Jr. “We see them but they’re closing in six weeks. Or it’s a limited engagement to start because they know that people aren’t going to see it. My goal is for people to really understand that the same marketing that you use for Broadway, with the audiences that have been welcomed to Broadway forever – white audiences – you cannot use. When it comes to cultivating the Black audience to a place where it has felt elitist to us and there was nothing to see for so long – you can’t just say, “Oh we have a Black show, and we know it’s the pandemic, but come and see it because Black Lives Matter just happened and we want to make money. That’ll never happen – it’s not going to work. And so what needs to happen on Broadway is the right people who understand the insides of the Black community to come and bring the shows there. I believe I have been blessed and privileged with an opportunity to be on both sides. If you really want the people to come to the shows, you have to give them the show that they feel represented and they feel welcomed to see. My leadership, my control, my creation literally comes from necessity.”
Take a listen to this incredible episode and learn more about the projects Brian Jordan Jr. has created such as the film Georgia Sky and the musical Riley.
Brian Jordan Jr. is a classically trained actor, singer, and dancer who studied at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and The Debbie Allen Dance Academy, he has performed in Broadway national tours, Off-Broadway, and in many of the country’s most prestigious regional theaters before turning to television and film. He recently released a new, upbeat, motivational R&B track that encourages listeners to believe in themselves.
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#58 - Christine Pedi: Drop Your Pants And Go

“I just love the warmth of being in a cabaret. It’s my favorite place to be next to a Broadway theatre. Maybe more so because you get food.”Multi-hyphenates don’t always start as actors. Theatre multi-hyphenates find their way through multiple avenues and for Christine Pedi, The Lady of 1000 Voices, it started when she stumbled upon the radio station when she attended Fordham University studying communications. After focusing on a radio career, she started in community theatre, eventually landing her turn at Forbidden Broadway. Then through a connection from Fordham, she was asked to interview at SiriusXM Radio. And now – Pedi is one of the pillars of our community connecting listeners of the radio to the insight of Broadway.Post pandemic, Pedi is also continuing her in person cabaret acts, with a massively funny new show at The Green Room 42, called The Pedi Party, which had a wonderfully successful first show on January. She will be appearing at TGR42 on February 20th and March 31st both at 9:30pm. In this amazing episode, Pedi lets us in to great stories regarding Howard Stern, Joan Rivers, while dissecting the changes and fads of cabaret and sketch comedy, such as how it’s moved from live performance to YouTube, and what forms a successful cabaret – or the “Drop Your Pants and Go” mentality. Pedi is also open about losing her eyesight over the years and shares what that means regarding performance and work opportunities. We also discuss the importance of taking care of yourself, a sense of belonging, and hustle. “A lot of people your age don’t think about taking care of themselves until they are my age and then you got a lot of catching up to do. But to be forced to really address things now will probably serve you better and probably save you aggravation on other fronts.” Christine the “Lady of 1000 Voices" first discovered her talent for multiple personalities (Merman, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters etc) through her long association with the legendary off Broadway revue FORBIDDEN BROADWAY. She received a Drama Desk nomination for her work in FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD (Liza, Rosie Perez, Judi Dench, Sharon Stone etc) as well as an LA Ovation & NAACP Award.She also brought her collection of Divas to off B'ways long running NEWSICAL the Musical and recently starred in and co-produced SPAMILTON: An American Parody written by Forbidden Broadway's creator Gerard Allessandrini. Broadway: Mama Morton (yes just one character...all night) in the 2nd longest running musical of all time CHICAGO, LITTLE ME with Martin Short & Faith Prince, directed by Rob Marshall, and opposite Liev Schreiber in Eric Bogosians TALK RADIO directed by Robert Falls.SIRIUS XM RADIO On Broadway host. On Saturday she and the "aMAHzing" Seth Rudetsky co-host the DUELING DIVAS. Her cabaret show GREAT DAMES has won the New York Bistro & Nitelife Awards and has played NYC, Los Angeles, London, South Africa & beyond. THERE’S NO BIZNESS LIKE SNOW BIZNESS her holiday show has been a seasonal staple in NYC since 2008. She’s performed in that “cutie patootie” John McD’s Cabaret Corner on the Rosie O’Donnell Show and sung in many major NYC venues & cruiseships including Birdland, Feinsteins/54 Below, The Iridium, The Metropolitan Room, The Algonquin, The Laurie Beechman, Avery Fisher Hall, Don’t Tell Mamas...and the QE2...AND she's performed for President & Mrs Clinton (playing a singing HIllary!). Fans of THE SOPRANOS may recognize her as Mrs Bobby Baccala. Other TV: DR DEATH on NBC PEACOCK. She has many popular comic videos on Youtube including many SHIT LIZA SAYS videos including LIZA :At This Performance and LIZA: HELLO DOLLY AUDITIONS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#57 - Leigh Silverman: What is Essential?

“It is, I think in the funhouse of this time, a very, very hard thing to feel like the job that you do and the way that you do it, and the life that you’ve chose as your north star is not there… and not only a thing you always felt was essential, but you really start to understand the word essential and you understand it differently and you understand it doesn’t include you.” - Leigh Silverman.We’re trying, right? As we emerge from the rubble of this pandemic, lifting the theatre up has been a Herculean feat. In the middle of all this, we as individuals are experiencing existential dread and asking ourselves – as we essential?Sure, we might not be essential workers, but we do have purpose. That’s one of the reasons Tony Nominated Director Leigh Silverman chose to direct Jane Wagner’s revival of The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe starring Saturday Night Live’s Cecily Strong. “It is a play that deals with people who are searching for meaning at a time that feels meaningless,” continues Silverman. It does it through humor and it does it through pathos and it does it through a celebration of community and live theatre. It’s the reason why I wanted to do the play. I couldn’t imagine coming back to the theatre and doing any other play because this play articulates and recognizes the power of being together in a room full of strangers in the dark laughing and crying about the same things. And I just quoted the play.”In this episode, Leigh and Michael ask the tough questions. What is essential? What is our worth within the industry? But these are the questions that need to be asked. Plus, Leigh keys us into what it’s like to direct a revival, the things that needed to be changed / rewritten, fangirling over Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner, and the brilliance of Cecily Strong. And of course – how does the multi-hyphenate help the director? Straight from the director’s mouth – learn how the multi-hyphenate identity helps strengthen a theatrical experience by approaching work from different perspectives. Leigh Silverman has directed on Broadway Violet (Tony nomination); Chinglish; Well; The Lifespan of a Fact, and Grand Horizons. Off-Broadway: American Hero (2ST); Kung Fu (Signature Theatre); The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence (Playwrights Horizons); The Call (Playwrights Horizons); The Madrid (MTC); Golden Child (Signature Theatre); No Place to Go (Public Theater; Two River Theatre); In the Wake (Center Theatre Group/Berkeley Repertory Theatre and The Public Theater, Obie Award, Lortel nomination); Go Back to Where You Are (Playwrights Horizons, Obie Award); From Up Here (MTC, Drama Desk nomination); Yellow Face (Center Theatre Group/The Public Theater); Coraline (MCC/True Love); Blue Door (Playwrights Horizons); Well (The Public Theater; Huntington Theatre; ACT); Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Second Stage Theatre). Recent regional: The Heidi Chronicles (The Guthrie); American Hero (WTF); Chinglish (Goodman Theater, Jeff nomination; West Coast/Hong Kong tour). Upcoming: SUFFS at The Public Theatre.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#56 - Josh Johnston: Wiping My Feet at the Door

“You’re only the new kid in town once. I disagree with that. You’re the new kid in town every six months because everyone has a short memory.” - Josh Johnston. Happy 2022, everyone! Born into a theatre family, Josh Johnston has a perspective on the industry fresh enough to start the new year right. One of the best things Josh promotes is his use of boundaries, something we all can implement more, especially since we’ve been so available thanks to the use of social media and Zoom. “Sometimes I think we all need that space to decompress or find out Zen,” says Johnston. “I don’t do yoga and I don’t meditate. So, mine is just getting away from the phone and popping back into people’s lives when I’m around. And it’s a big ask for a friend to just be cool with that. I like wiping my feet at the door. I don’t like constantly being ‘on’ and having to go to sleep and wake up with my thoughts on what I need to do to survive and be creative everyday.”Josh is a self proclaimed superfan of Dear Multi-Hyphenate and can quote many of the guests in previous episodes. He has a factual brain full of memories, facts, and statistics. I’ve tried to get him on the podcast before, but he’s declined until now, thanks to him entering a part of his career where he is actively producing, writing, and performing – especially now that his Radio Play Revival featuring Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Chastain, Boyd Gaines, and more has been released. On this episode, we follow the themes of doing what you know, understanding who you are, establishing boundaries to protect yourself and your art, making an art out of a trade, studying and applying craft, moving from coast to coast, and Josh’s wild relationships with for now jobs – like working the National Hot Dog Eating Championship. And students of the theatre listening to this episode? There are a lot of good nuggets to take away! “I cannot sing Golden Age musical theatre eight times a week,” says Johnston. “I would be putting hundreds of people at risk. I’m wasting their time and their money and resources. There are better people for that job than me… and I know that. There are other things I can do.” Josh Johnston’s Radio Play Revival features great American actors performing great American works of literature. Performed by both established and new-and-emerging performers, musicians, and writers, Radio Play Revival pays homage to the golden age of radio, in the now-second golden age of audio.Josh Johnston is an actor and a writer, and now producer and director. Onstage, Josh toured with The Acting Company in their 40th season (Hamlet; Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (directed by John Rando)), and has worked regionally; selected regional works include: The Merchant of Venice & Henry VIII at Valley Shakespeare Festival in Connecticut, The Cradle Will Rock in NYC (The Acting Company benefit at The Jacobs Theatre), and 5 shows at The Ravinia Festival in Illinois, including Passion, A Little Night Music (professional stage debut back in 2001!), and Annie Get Your Gun, all 5 Ravinia shows directed by Lonny Price. Josh is also a musician, playing bass at various Duplex Cabaret Theatre shows downtown, and subbing in for Billy Magnussen on guitar and vocals in Billy’s former band, Reserved For Rondee, at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC. During the pandemic, Josh moved to LA where he began pursuing work in TV and film; he most recently played a supporting role in the film TO LESLIE (post-production), directed by Michael Morris, and in the past, has worked on Season 1 of the show Benders, on IFC. Josh writes screenplays and TV scripts when he is not acting, because he cannot dance or coach singers or wait tables. He’s bad at all 3 of those things. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#55 - Peppermint: Different Hands on Different Balls

“You run the high risk of something suffering,” says Peppermint about multi-hyphenating on an Executive level. Peppermint is Broadway and television royalty. As coming in second place on her season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Peppermint is the first queen to enter as an openly trans woman. Her hyphens include actor - singer - Drag entertainer - Producer - Recording Artist. She includes activism in her hyphens, but usually leaves it off because it’s implied in the work that she does. “It’s important that we as citizens are involved in a certain type of activism because of the space that we occupy,” says Peppermint. “It is so much more than it would have been ten, twenty, thirty, forty years ago as public figures.”According to Peppermint, her identity puts her in the box of having to perform everyday activism. In this episode, we discuss different aspects of activism as well as cancel culture. How is cancel culture helpful? How is it harmful?“I don’t even use the word cancel, cancel culture,” she says. “I don’t think there is anyone who is above or immune to criticism. That’s not judgement… that’s criticism. But by the same token, I am 100% in favor of people having options to learn and demonstrate what they’ve done and experienced.”In this very candid and honest conversation about the ways in which artists navigate responsibilities, we also chat about Peppermint’s upcoming reality competition television show, Call Me Mother. On the show, she is an Executive Producer, Drag Mother, and judge. What are the lessons learned by multi-hyphenating in an environment like this? How does Peppermint juggle it all? And what are the expectations that others have for Drag artists that aren’t expected of others? And what are the ways producers can make spaces better for Drag artists?“It is extremely difficult to do it and be on camera because some of the times we had to stop,” says Peppermint. “I had to stop what was happening on stage to put on a different hat… or sometimes I wouldn't stop and I would just start talking like a producer which is obviously not what the audience wants to see. I was like, I don’t care… you’re going to have to edit this out but we need to fix this!”Call Me Mother premieres Oct. 25 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on OUTtv, OUTtv.com, the OUTtv Apple TV channel, and the OUTtv Amazon Prime Channel, wherever available. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#54 - Jennica McCleary: Disney’s Own Winnie Sanderson

“For years I was referring to myself as a Swiss Army Knife of talent,” says Jennica McCleary.Artists often say, “and then one thing led to another,” but what does that mean? Jennica McCleary is a Bette Midler impersonator based in Orland, Florida. Her incredible story of how she became Walt Disney World’s go-to Winnifred Sanderson is an inspirational one for the ages. Also getting the blessing from the bombastic, austentatious, and Divine Miss M ain’t so bad either. “Honey, if you sing -- you’ll make money. Good luck,” says Midler to McCleary. McCleary is an actress, burlesque performer, producer, and Bette Midler impersonator who also happened to survive Breast Cancer. A hard worker, McCleary found herself more upset at having to cancel or reschedule gigs in order to get treatment. What are the lessons in this? How does this help an artist take time for themselves and discover what’s important? What are the expectations we put on ourselves? Her Winnie Sanderson is the gift that keeps on giving -- and it’s all because McCleary showed up to an audition she knew she was perfect for. In this episode, we hear an UNHEARD story of how the casting process with Disney works. We also unpack the importance of being specific with one’s career, even with choosing which auditions to attend. Plus, we dish on rumors regarding Hocus Pocus 2!“Being a mimic is hard,” says McCleary. “There’s expectations that people have. There’s expectations that people have with Winifred. And you’ve got to find the way to make who you are as a performer work in that while still giving them those nuances that they want.”That’s not it -- McCleary is bringing her show Winnie’s Rock Cauldron Cabaret to The Green Room 42 in NYC for an incredible and highly anticipated Halloween celebration on October 31st at 7pm and 9:30pm. This performance is going to be epic, so make sure you buy tickets at https://thegreenroom42.venuetix.com/show/details/NZG2rfezEBrSrVmMKxTm/1635721200000A classically trained Singer/Dancer/Actor who also dabbles in Burlesque, Wig Design, and Choreography, Jennica McCleary is best known for her work as a Bette Midler Tribute artist. In addition to her self-produced shows Divine Deception and Winnie’s Rock Cauldron Cabaret, Jennica originated Winifred Sanderson at Disney’s Magic Kingdom production ‘Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular’ 2015. Her Regional Theatre credits include Fun Home, Jekyll & Hyde, Sweeney Todd, and Cabaret. Jennica has also worked with Legends in Concert and Pattycake Productions, and been seen on The Freeform Network, MTV, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and Comedy Central’s Upright Citizen’s Brigade. Bette Midler Tribute Artist, Jennica McCleary, originated Winifred Sanderson at Disney’s Magic Kingdom production ‘Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular’ 2015 (a now viral video) in Orlando, FL. She has worked with Legends in Concert and Pattycake Productions and has been featured MTV, VH1, Entertainment Tonight. She was also featured in The Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary Bash on Freeform as well as Freeform’s Halloween Road. She is thrilled to have conjured Winnie’s Rock Cauldron Cabaret, a fan-fiction style concert, while battling breast cancer, to celebrate everyone's inner magical badass witch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices