Writer
-
Interview with Sheilah Rae receiving a Lifetime Award from the NY theater Barn
4/29/19 On May 6 2019 “The New York Theatre Barn is honoring co-founder and board member Sheilah Rae with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her exceptional contributions to musical theatre as a writer, composer, lyricist and performer for over 50-years, and her outstanding service and vision for New York Theatre Barn for more than a decade”. Sheilah found her life path very young. During the performance of “South Pacific” 5 year old Sheilah told her mother that she was “going to do that.” Her parents arranged for her to study dance with the renowned Edna McRae. Since Ms McRae also required that her students know music, 6 year old Sheilah began piano lessons. She was soon studying dance, piano, music theory and violin at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. She got her first role on Broadway in “Fiddler on the Roof” right out of college and never stopped adding to her arsenal of talents and accomplishments. Listen to this multi-talented, effervescent woman talk about a career in which she has done everything. And hear a song from one of her musicals (“I Married Wyatt Earp,” now called The Belle of Tombstone) lyrics by Sheilah and music by Michele Brourman.
continue reading -
Introduction to the When You Can You Will audio book by Lynne Bernfield
4/1/19 On Sunday April 14th at 2:00 at Bookstore1 (12 S Palm Ave, Sarasota, FL 34236) Lynne Bernfield will discuss concepts in her book When You Can You Will which explain what stops people from changing. She says “When you can’t do what you want to do there is always a good reason.” Come discover the reason you haven’t been able to do what you want to do. Listen to the introduction to the When You Can You Will audiobook and call Bookstore1 at 941-365-7900 for reservations.
continue reading -
Interview with Jazz trumpet and guitar player Randy Sandke
Jazz trumpeter and guitarist. Randy Sandke was playing in local cover bands by the time he was 13. Never expecting to make a living as a jazz musician, he nevertheless continued to play, just because he loved it. And although he had to deal with many twists and turns on the way to his goal, he did in fact make a living as a player and arranger. He played with Michael Brecker, Ken Peplowski, Kenny Barron, Marty Ehrlich, Bill Charlap, Uri Caine. Dan Barrett, Marvin Smith, Ted Rosenthal, and done arrangements for the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra. He was a member of Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks Orchestra , Bob Wilber’s, Bechet’s Legacy, the Widespread Depression Jazz Orchestra, and Benny Goodman’s last band. He recorded on Stash, Jazzology, Concord Jazz, Nagel-Heyer, Arbors and played on the scores for The Cotton Club, Bullets over Broadway, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion. Listen to this thoughtful, gentle man describe a life dedicated to the music he loves and knows so much about and listen to cuts from two of his CD’s and come see/hear him play in this year’s Sarasota jazz Festival
continue reading -
Interview with Glenn Schudel
1-14-19, a scholar, rhetoric and Shakespeare specialist Glenn Schudel is a multi-faceted, multi-talented man. Although he didn’t take a straight path, over time Glenn discovered his interest in and passion for acting, writing, directing, and teaching. Disciplined and conscientious he studied and became all of them and more. Listen to this thoughtful, articulate man describe his circuitous route to become all that he is. And come see him perform his one man show based on one of his delightful, if arduous experiences at 1:00 on Jan 26th at this year’s Sarasolo festival.
continue reading -
Interview with Andrei Maleav Babel
Andrei Maleav-Babel is a Russian Immigrant. The son and grandson of writers and artists, Andrei wrote musicals and directed his parent’s friends in his plays, by the time he was 10 or 12. Luckily coming of age as Perestroika was occurring in Russia, Andrei was able to start his own theater as a very young man. Barely able to speak English, he met, courted and married an American sociology student and became a Professor of Acting at the prestigious FSU Conservatory for Actor Training, one of the top ten actor training companies in the United States. Listen to him tell his amazing story and talk about his direction of the Conservatory’s production of Ibsen’s’Ghosts opening on Jan 4th
continue reading -
Interview with Journalist, poet, bookstore owner Georgia Court
12/3/18 Georgia Court’s parents loved the spoken and written word, were concerned about politics and believed in the importance of honesty and integrity. Although Georgia made several different career choice: she was a systems engineer at IBM, Marketing Manager at WCET, owned her own PR firm, taught writing in the English Dept at the University of Cincinnati, is a passionate poet, and created Bookstore1, the through line in her life and her work has been her unwavering concern about truth and integrity. Currently she is shepherding Bookstore1 in Sarasota where she is dedicated to creating a place where the community can get what it needs, and so can she. Listen to her talk about the unique opportunities Bookstore1 offers and come to the culmination of their Bridge to Japan Celebration on December 9th at 11:00 to see author Jay Rubin, who is one of the main translators of Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, talk about translating Japanese into English.
continue reading -
Interview with entrepreneur, consultant, author and public speaker and Sensei George Schofield
10/22/18 George Schofield is an entrepreneur, consultant, author and public speaker, but that is not all. As a single parent he raised his small sons, and has zealously studied Sogetsu Ikebana, the ancient art of Japanese flower arranging. Listen to him describe his realization that he had spent his life learning those things knew he didn’t know, and now wanted to discover “what he didn’t know he didn’t know” Always attracted to the beautiful and elegant George joined The Sarasota Chapter of Ikebana International where he studies with Sensei, Patricia Bonarek. Typically he progressed quickly through the rankings, is now an accredited Sogetsu Ikebana Instructor (Sensei), and has achieved a Japanese name. On Thursday Nov 11th at 11:00 AM, as part of Bookstore1’s Bridge to Japan: A Celebration of Japanese Culture, George will perform a ceremony, creating a Sogetsu Ikebana flower arrangement for the store window. Listen to this atypical, thoughtful, interesting man talk about a life dedicated to pursuing personal growth as well as helping others achieve their best possible life. And come to Bookstore1 12 South Palm Ave, (365-7900) to see George demonstrate this ancient art 7900
continue reading -
Part 3 – Interview with actor, author, lecturer, editor, reggae archivist, photographer and, producer Roger Steffens
9/17/18 Part 3 of my interview with Roger Steffins begins with his description of how he discovered Bob Marley and Reggae Music and how this discovery became a lifelong obsession. Today his collection of records, posters and other memorabilia, is the largest in the world. Hear about his frustrating campaign to establish an archive of this collection as the Museum of Reggae Music in Jamaica. Then he describes his years of doing a radio show on MPR, the creation of the Reggae/African Music newsletter which lasted 28 years and had as many as 60,000 subscribers, his relationships with film greats Waldo Salt, Bill Link and John Ritter which led to his career as an actor and narrator of film, audio books and documentaries.
continue reading -
Part 2 – Interview with actor, author, lecturer, editor, reggae archivist, photographer and, producer Roger Steffens
9/10/18 The radicalization of Roger Steffins. Part 2 of my 3 Part interview with Roger takes him through his service in the army during the Vietnam War. Listen to Roger describe his extraordinary experiences, including; training in Psyops, having had the Tet Offensive happen all around him, and being responsible for tons of food and clothing delivered to displaced refugees. Listen to him talk about the impact his war-time experience had on his beliefs, the life he then chose to lead as a result, and the work it spawned. This segment ends with my asking Roger about his relationship with the legendary Bob Marley.
continue reading -
Interview with actor, author, lecturer, editor, reggae archivist, photographer and, producer Roger Steffins Part 1
9/3/18 This is the first of a 3 part interview with the indescribable Roger Steffins. It seems impossible that one person would have had the time, energy or talent to care about and/or do all the things that Roger has both cared about and done. Truly Roger demonstrates what we humans are capable of, but which few achieve. In this segment Roger describes his early love of, interest in, passion for all things visual which begins at the age of 5 with stamp collecting, all things written, beginning with newspapers, he wrote his first newspaper at seven both the copy and the editorial cartoon, and the serendipitous way in which he created his one man show “Poetry for people who hate poetry”’ which took him all over the world. This segment ends with my asking Roger if he was drafted during the Viet Nam war.
continue reading -
Interview with writer, a painter, a musician, an actor, a singer, a dancer; light and sound designer Eliza Ladd
Many artists describe themselves and their work with one or a few adjectives, they’re a writer, a painter, a musician, an actor, a singer, a dancer; they work with light or sound or design. Eliza Ladd uses all these adjectives and more to describe herself and her art. She has spent her life exploring every possible way a person can express themselves creatively. Although she didn’t know how she was going to use all the skills she pursued, Eliza followed her curiosity and instinct and has created an art which synthesizes all of the skills she studied, trained in and developed. Listen to this spontaneous, guileless, breathless woman describe a journey for which there was no roadmap, a life in which she had to be her own guide and in which she created an Art which is uniquely her own
continue reading -
Interview with Arthur Keyser – Before Steepletop
8/2018 Arthur Keyser is a playwright but he didn’t know it until he was eighty years old. Born to deaf parents who were unable to guide their children, Arthur and his brother had to find their own way. Arthur discovered and fell in love with theater “by accident” when he was fourteen, but never thought of writing for it. A voracious reader and naturally gifted writer he decided on the law as a career. In retirement he volunteered for a senior citizen acting company at the Players Theater. A director, having read something Arthur wrote, suggested that he write a play. With the diligence and attention to detail that made him a successful attorney, he “read every book he could find on the art of play writing.” And it paid off. Some 30- 50 plays later he is being performed all over the country. Now, as he approaches ninety, his play “Before Steepletop,” which won last year’s new play reading festival at the Players Theater, is running there from 8/21- 8/26.
continue reading -
Interview with Actor, Dancer, Singer, Writer, Educator Marie Thomas-Foster
5-14-18 Interview
continue reading
5-14-18 Marie Thomas-Foster knew by the time she was twelve years old that she didn’t want to follow in her families tradition – and become a teacher – she wanted to perform. She began taking dance lessons as soon as she could and convinced her friends to create “shows” in which they sang and danced. She misled her mother into thinking she was majoring in Education when she was actually studying Theater. And her determination paid off as her career has taken her to roles on Stage and Screen (big and little). But apparently the power of her early training never quite left her as she also taught theater at the City College of New York and created Theater Workshop where she gave hundreds of youngsters and opportunity to learn to sing and dance and act. Today she is staring in Having Her Say at the Goodman Theater in Chicago directed by Chuck Smith. -
Interview with Actor Joe Casey
4-2-18 Actor, singer, dancer, musician Joe Casey brings his talents once again to Florida Studio theater’s cabaret, this time in Blue Suede Shoes where he gets a chance to play guitars and sing Elvis’s songs. In this interview Joe tells us that he was interested in everything; he wanted to be a scientist and a detective, he picked up the piano and the guitar, he painted in oils, and wrote music. Finally unable to choose amongst his interests Joe decided that as an actor to he could be all of these things. Listen to this charming, clever man tell the story of his path and come see him do justice to Elvis and all the other early Rock and Roller’s, in FST’s Blue Suede Shoes.
continue reading -
Interview with Dancer, Singer, Director, Writer Carole Schweid
2-17-18 The multi-talented Carole Schweid began taking dance classes at six and continued studying through the grueling program at Julliard. But by then she had already discovered her interest in and talent for acting and singing, and her passion for plays. Listen to the delightful story of how she got her first Broadway show – Minnie’s Boys, and the life changing experience of being part of the company of the iconic show A Chorus Line. But performing was not enough for Carole and in addition to raising her two sons, Carole and her partner Nancy Diamond created the hugely-successful Play with Your Food, a truly unique theater experience, and the basis for her newly published book Staged Readings – Magic. Listen to Carole’s funny, charming, disarming story, hear her describe how she went from someone who was “dancing from the minute she could walk,” to the singer, actor, writer, director, choreographer, producer, and author she became and see the flyer below describing a book everyone in or interested in theater should own. #chorusline #playwithyourfood #stagedreadings
continue reading -
Interview with story teller Dan Leary
1-29-18 From the time he was “smaller than a pickle,” Dan Leary’s mother told him stories of the amazing Sir Dan and his adventures. So is it any wonder that he grew up to love, invent and tell stories himself. Listen to Dan describe a childhood full of stories and poetry and come and see the result of all that training and love of stories when Dan presents The Sleeping Child a one man performance of his own invention at the SaraSolo Festival on Sunday Feb 3rd at 3:00 at Crocker Memorial Church
continue reading -
Interview with Actor, Writer, Director George Tynan Crowley
1-22-18 3-9-16 George Tynan Crowley had a mystical experience at the age of 7 when he spontaneously volunteered to read the prayer at communion and knew that he was meant to “speak out.” From then on he followed this path to speak out by becoming an actor, director, writer, and producer. Listen to this charming, articulate man talk about his work in theater and film, his belief in the power of theater to transform lives and his personal philosophy of life. And come see him Heisenberg the current production at Florida Studio Theater
continue reading -
Interview with Novelist Elizabeth Sims
8-29-17 Interview
continue reading
Elizabeth Sims was born to be a writer, but it took her a long time to embrace it. Beginning with the stories her beloved Dad told her as she sat on his knee, Elizabeth was drawn to and excited by words and stories. Having bought the conventional wisdom that it is “almost impossible for a writer to get published, get any recognition or make a living,” she pursued many other occupations. But while selling books at a Borders Bookstore she realized that she “could write as well as the authors she was selling,” and she was right. She took the risk and wrote her first novel – which was published. Since then she’s published nine books from two crime fiction series. She is member of the Mystery Writers of America, Novelists, Inc. She was a correspondent for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, is a contributing editor at Writer’s Digest magazine and a keynote speaker and workshop presenter at writer’s conferences and retreats around North America. Hoping to help others who have been dissuaded from pursing their dream of being a writer by the conventional wisdom, she wrote You’ve Got a Book in You: A Stress-Free Guide to Writing the Book of Your Dreams, and is a mentor and a coach to new and aspiring writers. Listen to her story and be inspired. . -
Interview with Bill Oser
8-2-16 Interview
continue reading
2-25-17 Jack of many trades and master of each Bill Oser is very difficult to characterize. Having fallen in love with show tunes as a toddler, been cast in professional productions at nine and scored his equity card at sixteen, Bill spent much of his life “treading the boards.” But one identity would never be enough for Bill. Listen to this exuberant, eclectic man describe a very unusual life and read his theater reviews on talkin Broadway -
Interview with writer, director, educator, Brad Battersby Part 1
5-30-17 Part 1
continue reading
Emulating his architect father, Bradley Battersby began drawing as a very small child but it was his 7th grade art teacher who showed him the potential magic of film. Listen to this dedicated, passionate man talk about how he and his father communicated with blocks, and describe the innovative, out of the box experience his art teacher provided for her class – the experience which turned Brad into a film maker. In the first part of our two part interview follow the twists and turns of his career as he pursued his dream of becoming a film maker and making the perfect film.