Dear Multi-hyphenate

#37 - Backstage Bazaar: Helping Out The Purple Squirrel

"When someone asks you to do a job - you just say yes and then you figure out how to do it later on." Though that might sound backwards - the lesson is to open the door and at least welcome opportunity - that's what this episode is all about. How did two fabulous women with similar backgrounds begin working on a completely new (and scary!) endeavor? After Erin Slattery Black posted an idea on Facebook, she received an overwhelming response, including a message from Truly Carmichael who offerend help to launch Backstage Bazaar, a virtual marketplace showcasing the amazing art created by the theatre community while their industry is on hold. They came together and with a concoction of a "YouTube and You" and Opening Night mindset - they created an online experience to help artists survive and gain income during CoVid-19. Erin and Truly talk with Michael about blending the identities of artist and CEO - all while thinking about design, tax write offs, and marketing. But the big question is how do we inform other artists that what we are learning during this pandemic is not going away, but it's also not daunting? If you'll take anything away from this awesome episode, it's how to be an expert collaborator - just like Erin and Truly have proven to be.Erin Slattery Black is a costume designer, maker, stylist and entrepreneur. She holds an M.F.A. in Costume Design and Technology from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in Theatre and Education from Marquette University. Erin has costumed such celebrities as Antonio Banderas, Justin Timberlake, Kermit the Frog and Big Bird. Her career has included costuming for theatre, television, film and opera, as well as corporate and commercial styling work. Erin has worked extensively with the Jim Henson Company, where she served as costume designer for Sesame Street and the Netflix original series, Julie’s Greenroom, with Julie Andrews. Her work can be seen in the movie Spy Kids as well as on Broadway in The Lion King and Willy Wonka. Erin lives in New York City with her husband and four children. In addition to her work as a costume designer, Erin is the CEO of Lyla Tov Monsters, a plush toy company she founded with her husband and oldest daughter. Erin has been awarded four daytime Emmy Awards for her work as Costume Designer for Sesame Street and is the recipient of the Zelma Weisfeld Award for Costume Design. Erin has served as an Assistant Arts Professor, Adjunct Instructor, Costume Director, and design mentor for the Tisch Drama Department at New York University. She has also worked with students as a lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University, The University of Texas at Austin, Marquette University, and Ithaca College as well as serving as designer in residence at Marquette University.Truly Carmichael is an award-winning professional costumer and milliner who holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in theatrical costume construction and design. She has worked in various capacities in costume production shops across North America, including a full-time role as painter/dyer/crafts artisan at the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis and Head cutter/Draper at the Alley Theatre in Houston, Tx. Most recently a Tailor/Milliner at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, she also has a thriving couture millinery business (trulycouture.ca) and an eCommerce website that caters to actors and re-enactors who need 16th century hats and jewelry (trulyhats.net)Truly's other career is a Project Manager and Technical Writer for a telephony software company in Seattle.https://linktr.ee/BackstageBazaarConnect with Michael:
@themichaelkushner (IG and TikTok)
@dearmultihyphenate (IG)
www.michaelkushneronline.com
Produced by Alan Seales and the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#36 - Kaisha Huguley: Creating On Tik Tok

Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. And now Tik Tok? After changing her major seven times, Kaisha Huguley went from Government worker to fresh faced artist in NYC. When her co-workers asked her where she'd be working in New York, they expected her to say The United Nations - but Kaisha had other plans... to be an actor. Upon moving to NYC, Kaisha quickly understood that her collegiate experiences could help her identify as an artistic multi-hyphenate. As she discovered the word 'multi-hyphenate' described her best, she wanted to inspire other artists to go on their own artistic journey. So, she got on social media and started to get to work. Now Kaisha has built an incredible network of social media followers who engage with Kaisha and her creative endeavors on Tik Tok. In this episode, we break down the social media scaries and how to stop comparing ourselves to others on our screens - especially when it's thrown directly into our faces. Learn the importance of establishing a dedicated audience that will follow you from social media and into the theatre.Kaisha S. Huguley is a New York based actor, singer, entrepreneur, creative, & educator originally born and raised in Washington, D.C. Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, Kaisha was preparing to take the stage as Mama Euralie in Once on This Island in Concert at 54 Below. She was also preparing to join the ensemble (Pat/Trish U/S) in the cast of Kinky Boots at Arts Center of Coastal Carolina. Most recently, Kaisha performed in Miracle on 34th Street and The Full Monty (Argyle Theatre). Prior to those productions, she made her Off-Broadway Debut in Revelation: The Musical at The Players Theatre.People know Kaisha as the woman who quit her full time job with the federal government to become an actress. She documents her journey to Broadway and all things creative online via her personal brand, “Kaisha Creates”. When Kaisha is not on the stage, she’s creating content for her online fanbase on her Podcast: A Kaisha Story, YouTube Channel, and Blog. She also recently started a podcast with her husband, Quinton called The Happily Huguley Podcast.Additionally, Kaisha is the Manager of Special Programmings & Initiatives and a Faculty Member at The American Musical & Dramatic Academy (AMDA NY) where she teaches courses on business of the arts & entertainment industry and social media/marketing. Kaisha is committed to giving back to and teaching the next generation of artists/creatives.To follow Kaisha’s journey to her dreams, simply follow her on Instagram/TikTok @KaishaCreates to join her Gram Fam & TikTok Fam.Connect with Michael:
@themichaelkushner (IG and TikTok)
@dearmultihyphenate (IG)
www.michaelkushneronline.com
Produced by Alan Seales and the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#35 - Kimberly Faye Greenberg: Multi-tasking vs. Multi-Hyphenating

Used to being looked at like a crazy person, Kimberly Faye Greenberg spins many different plates. She is an actor, an educator, a dresser on Broadway, created her own one woman show based on the life Fanny Brice, and the founder of her business, The Broadway Expert. What's it like leading a life without rules? Learn how Kimberly would be doing TWO Off Broadway shows at once... then run to the Imperial Theatre on Broadway to dress backstage of Billy Elliot, all while still in her show lashes. Kimberly also tells us what it's like to navigate having her one woman show, Fabulous Fanny Brice, throughout quarantine. Some things we address are how to sell a virtual show, how do you sell multiple aspects of yourself at once, who becomes your audience, what's the difference between multi-tasking and multi-hyphenating, and what are the factors that make up our hyphen identities.Kimberly Faye Greenberg is the first and only actress to play leading roles in two Off-Broadway musicals at the same time. In addition, Kimberly’s numerous portrayals of Fanny Brice (4 shows/2 CDs) have been critically acclaimed by the New York Times, Huffington Post, and Associated Press. Her solo show show Fabulous Fanny Brice has been traveling the country for the past 8 years and is now streaming on STELLAR where it has also been named one of the BEST TO STREAM by Time Out NY, American Theatre Magazine, filmedlivemusicals.com, Times Square Chronicles, TDF, Goldstar and more. Kimberly has worked across-the-board in theatre Film and TV for over 20 years! She can currently be seen in the HBO mini-series “THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA”. Offstage, she has worked backstage as a Broadway wardrobe swing dresser on over 20 Broadway shows, including “Mean Girls,” “Something Rotten,” and “The Lion King.” And Kimberly is currently is one of the TOP 10 Performing Arts Coaches in the World (#2 according to Google), as well as known as The Broadway Expert! Kimberly loves to inspire, educate and work with proactive artists to help conquer the New York market. Whether beginners or seasoned professionals Kimberly encourages all to embrace their own uniqueness, find their own niche and follow your own path and passion whether its onstage/onscreen, behind-the-scenes or a mix of everything. Kimberly’s interviews, articles, and Broadway content has been featured and gone viral across a variety of news outlets including Backstage, Theatre Nerds, Theatremania and more!www.kimberlyfayegreenberg.comwww.fabulousfannybriceshow.comwww.thebroadwayexpert.comIG: KfgreenbergConnect with Michael:
@themichaelkushner (IG and TikTok)
@dearmultihyphenate (IG)
www.michaelkushneronline.com
Produced by Alan Seales and the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#34 - Carly Valancy: The Reach Out Party!

This episode, featuring Carly Valancy, focuses on creating a condition in which something might happen. One action, one motion and bam - you're able to tell your story from your perspective. Sounds simple - and it's something that Carly, founder of The Reach Out Party, has mastered. Carly's objective is to be a full time artist, which comes with so many different meanings, perspectives, and forms. Her motive is to bring art into artless spaces and for you to recognize that you, the artist, are magicians and the power that comes with it. Listen to how - by just reaching out once a day to someone now, Carly was able to quit her survival job and become an artist who garnered income by doing just that: art.Connect with Michael:
@themichaelkushner
@thedressingroomproject
dressingroomproject.com
 Produced by Alan Seales and the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#33 - Michael McElroy: It’s Too Easy To Go Back to the Way Things Were

Journeys are filled with lots of hills and valleys, or valleys of preparation. In those valleys, there are moments that are needed because there is something you have to navigate or move through to appreciate when you're standing on the mountaintop again. Michael McElroy joins Dear Multi-Hyphenate in this emotional, thought provoking, and intense conversation with one of the biggest hearts in the Broadway community. Michael and Michael chat about an artist's response to a pandemic, the future of theatre, creating more inclusive spaces, and honoring diverse voices and lived experiences through artistic training. Michael earned his BFA in Theatre from Carnegie Mellon University. He made his Broadway debut in The High Rollers Social and Pleasure Club. He has since appeared in numerous productions, both on and off-Broadway, and in 2004 was nominated for a Tony Honor for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Big River. He has also been nominated for Drama Desk Awards for Violet and Big River. In 1999, McElroy became the founder and director of the Broadway Inspirational Voices (Tony Award for Excellence in the Theatre), a diverse, non-denominational gospel choir made up of Broadway singers. He currently teaches in the New Studio on Broadway at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.Connect with Michael:
@themichaelkushner
@thedressingroomproject
dressingroomproject.com
 Produced by Alan Seales and the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#32– Grace McLean: The Bisy Backson

A multi-hyphenate is usually busy, and that's seen as a compliment - but why? And does it have to be a compliment? Great Comet's Grace McLean has a lot of interests all stemming from the same seed, and in this episode, the ferocious Broadway actor and musician chats about her latest endeavour, In the Green, which played Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3's Claire Tow Theater in 2019. Not only was she a performer in this piece, but she wrote it. Michael and Grace connect over being Bisy Backsons (The Tao of Pooh reference) and discuss Michael's latest article for Backstage, regarding self promotion during the time of CoVid-19.Connect with Michael:
@themichaelkushner
@thedressingroomproject
dressingroomproject.com
 Produced by Alan Seales and the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#31 - Priya Mahendra: The Common Denominator

Priya Mahendra loves show business. After growing up in an Indian household filled with music, she grew up to live the life we see on Entourage, but just recently decided to start performing. She created The Princess Possibility Project, a consciously inclusive video series made during quarantine that brings to life the hopes, constraints, dreams and desires of seven Princesses through their “I Want” songs. Priya comes to Dear Multi-Hyphenate to talk about this incredible project, as well as why she considers herself a 'mega' multi-hyphenate.Connect with Michael:
@themichaelkushner
@thedressingroomproject
dressingroomproject.com
Produced by Alan Seales and the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#30 - Rona Siddiqui: Fortitude: Seeing An Idea Through

Rona Siddiqui is an award-winning composer/lyricist, orchestrator and music director. As well as music directing the Pulitzer Prize winning A Strange Loop (Michael R. Jackson), she is the recipient of the 2020 Jonathan Larson Grant and the 2019 Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award, and was named one of Broadway Women's Fund's Women to Watch. In this episode, we chat all things musical multi-hyphenation: how to get an idea started, seeing that idea through, uniqueness, mimicry, pastiche, and the pitfalls we can fall into while writing about extremely personal occurrences and relationships. You can catch Rona during streamed Broadway Buskers concerts, which are virtual this year on Tuesday evenings at 7pm ET through October 27 at TSQ.org/BroadwayBuskers. While the concerts are still free, audiences are encouraged to donate to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund and the Broadway Advocacy Coalition. Connect with Michael:
@themichaelkushner
@thedressingroomproject
dressingroomproject.com
Produced by Alan Seales and the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#29 - Sophie Thompson: Oddities and Shenanigans

Olivier Award Winning Sophie Thompson has been one of Michael's inspirations since he studied abroad in London and saw her play Mrs. Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer at the National Theatre. Sophie may not think she is a multi-hyphenate, but does Michael have what it takes to convince her? Listen to this absolutely lovely conversations as they talk about the joys of being odd, activism, and a life without social media. Plus, we talk about Sophie's appearance in the virtual play Little Wars, by Steven Carl McCasland which is streaming worldwide from November 3rd - 8th, 2020. Connect with Michael:
@themichaelkushner
@thedressingroomproject
dressingroomproject.com
Produced by Alan Seales and the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#28 - Tia Altinay: Building A Plane As You’re Flying It

When is it time to explore something knew? There is no letter that falls out of the sky telling you it's time to start your next journey - but there are hints, Universal hints, and conversations that lead you in that direction. Tia Altinay (Mary Poppins, Hamilton) began following impulses when a friend asked her if she wanted to produce. With Broadway performance and producing credits under her belt, Tia takes the lesson from Mary Poppins that anything CAN happen if you let it. She began devoting time to Broadway for Biden and is now going back to school to get her Masters. We never stop learning and Tia is a perfect example of that.Connect with Michael:
@themichaelkushner
@thedressingroomproject
dressingroomproject.com
Produced by Alan Seales and the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices