2-18-19 Interview
2-18-19 Syreeeta Banks was born with a to die for voice, but her natural shyness and commitment to “adulting´ caused her to major in Electrical Engineering in college and spend several years pursuing her determination to be an adult; working at straight jobs, buying a condo, being self-supporting. Luckily she has now turned her talent and energy to pursing what she should always have been – a performer. Come see her star in The Amen Corner currently running at the West Coast Black Theater Troupe

1-24-19 Interview

1-28-19 Florida Studio Theater Associate Artist Catherine Randazzo bounded into life. She decided to play the piano at two, by four she was demanding that her family listen while she described and acted out her dreams, but that was just the beginning. A good student, she was also an actor, a singer, a dancer, a volleyball star, president of school government, member of the chorus/choir, accompanist to same. There isn’t room on the page for all of her skills and accomplishments, all of which was achieved with a positive, open, self-deprecating, warm energy. Listen to this, talented, charming, remarkable woman talk about a life in which everything is possible

1-14-19 Interview

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.

1—17 Interview

Synia Carroll knew she could sing. Although delighted when, in the 2nd grade, the Nuns picked her to sing Silent Night in the Christmas pageant– she didn’t think it was anything special – she thought everyone could sing. It wasn’t until her “first grown up boyfriend,” an up and coming rock musician, told her she was a singer that she began to take it seriously. While working as a teacher she found time to sing in a variety of formats – including developing a storytelling career which included movement as well as music. But it was just in the last two years that Synia “found her voice,” and that voice sings Jazz. Listen to Synia talk about her various attempts to define herself as a singer and describe and the challenges she faced when finding herself as the only woman of color amongst a sea of white faces. Listen to cuts from her first CD – in which she is accompanied by the Billy Marcus (named the best musician in So FL) on piano, Don Mopsik (the sage) on Bass and blazing drummer Steve Bucholtz., and come see her perform her first one woman show “Finding Sassy” on Sat Jan 26th 7PM at this year’s Sarasolo Festival

10-15-18 Interview

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

12-17-18 Interview

2/1718 Michael Donald Edwards is in his thirteenth season as producing artistic director of Asolo Repertory Theatre. As a boy he attended Catholic schools where he was steeped in theology and philosophy and thought of becoming a priest or a teacher. He didn’t see a play until college, where he discovered what he was really meant to do with his life. But having given up religion for theater he none the less maintained his passion for philosophy and the life of the spirit. Listen to this articulate, passionate, sometimes outrageous man talk about his belief in the “golden rule” and how it informs his work. Then hear him describe Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” which he is directing for this season at the Asolo.

10-15-18 Interview

12/10/18 Press agent Susan L. Schulman has done publicity for all kinds of artists; authors, performers, etc. But her first love was the theater was and that is where she spent most of her career. She worked on Dream, Dancin’, Sly Fox, State Fair, Applause, Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named Desire, Scapino, Death and the Maiden, and Requiem for a Heavyweight, with Mary Martin, George C. Scott, Lauren Bacall, Yul Brynner, Robert Redford, David Merrick, Bob Fosse, Raul Julia, Zero Mostel, Vanessa Redgrave, Henry Winkler, Lesley Ann Warren, Katharine Hepburn, Glenn Close, and Mike Nichols, to name a few Her first book “Backstage Pass to Broadway: True Tales from a Theatre Press Agent” was so successful that she just released a second edition subtitled “MORE True Tales from a Theatre Press Agent.” Listen to Susan tell the serendipitous story of how she became what she was clearly always meant to be, and grab a copy of Backstage Pass to Broadway – a great choice as a holiday gift for anyone interested in theater or insider stories.

11-26-18 Interview

11-25-18 – By popular demand Sheldon Rhoden is reprising his role as the iconic performer Marvin Gaye in the Westcoast Black Theater Troupe’s next production, Marvin Gaye – Prince of Soul. Sheldon clearly remembers the very first time he sang in public. He was six years old and singing in front of his church congregation. He sang with his eyes closed, simply concentrating on the song. When he opened his eyes he was surprised to see the reaction of the congregation – they were smiling. Sheldon can still remember the delicious feeling of bringing a smile to the faces of his audience. Today he is still motivated by his desire to use his gift to make people smile. Listen to this thoughtful young man talk about his intention to bring pleasure and joy wherever he can, and to strive always to be better. And come to see Marvin Gaye – Prince of Soul and let Sheldon put a smile on your face.

11-12-18 Interview

11/12/18 Director James Dean Palmer’s life is proof that miracles can still happen. James’ miracle was not metaphysical – it was human. Born into circumstances which almost certainly would have doomed him to an unpleasant and perhaps short life, James was lucky enough to have many people intervene. These interventions allowed him to recognize, utilize and benefit from abilities and skills he might otherwise never have known he had. Listen to this delightful, passionate man tell his moving story and describe his remarkable journey. And come down to the Asolo Conservatory to see him use those skill in his direction of Tom Stoppard’s powerful play Arcadia.

10-1-18 Interview

10/15/18 Sandra Musicante is a theater person, she has done and loved all the jobs it takes to get a show on. She discovered very young that she loved to sing. And in middle school found that she also loved, and was good at, acting. She had her heart set on becoming a performer but her father, who had old school ideas, forbid it. But although she took many jobs, married and had a child, she never stopped being involved with theater. She acted in Community Theater and synagogue productions, she made sets, did lights, stage managed and was an assistant director. And currently she is part of the ensemble cast of the delightful musical version of the movie Calendar Girls which is open’s on 10/18 in the Kiwanis Theater at The Manatee Preforming Arts Center.

7-9-18 Interview

10/1/18 In Part 2 of our interview, musician, composer, educator and philosopher Stephen Miles describes the “accident” which caused him to explore new ways for audiences to experience music and led to the creation of New Music New College, which is celebrating its 20th year. He describes innovations, like Club Sudakoff, which provides a Cabaret atmosphere instead of the conventional, static setting in which music is usually heard. Listen to Stephen describe his belief that music can actually affect behavior. Many of his compositions are intended to achieve that goal and in this interview he describes one which does just that. Come out on Thursday Oct. 4, to hear this season’s first New Music New College Artist Conversation and on Sat Oct 6th to experience So Percussion.

9-1718 Interview –

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.

9-10-18 Interview

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.

9-3-18 Interview

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.

2-11-19 Interview

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

8-13-18-23-8/13/18 Memorial to Jimmy Clark.

This is an interview I did in 2011 when Jimmy was part of the ensemble company of 12 Angry Men. In it he recounts his life from his five year old memory of seeing Jimmy Cagney in Midsummer Night’s Dream and telling his mother that he wanted to “live there,” through his eccentric education and rapid success. He is candid, spontaneous, outrageous, self-deprecating, funny and serious by turns. He is quintessential Jimmy Clark and all the reasons that he is missed.18 Interview

7-23-18 Interview

8/6/18 Monica Cross’s mother loved to sew and she passed her love of creating costumes on to her daughter. But that was just the beginning of a life dedicated to all things theater for Monica. Today, as the Production Manager and Technical Director of the black box theater at Sarasota’s New College, she acts, directs, costumes, creates lights, sound and scenery and teaches. In her spare time she writes. Her first full-length play The Wonder of Our Stage, recently won the competition at the new play reading festival at the Players Theater and will be fully produced next season. Listen to Monica talk about her discovery that theater was where she belonged and her infectious passion for all the things she does there.

7-30-18 Interview

Actor, singer, dancer, musician, educator Kyle Blanzel realized that he was performer when his 2nd grade costar, Mrs. Claus, sang his line instead of hers and he went on with the show, just like a professional. Years of training and understudying Joe Kinosian, one of the writers of Murder for Two, in the National Tour of the show, made him the absolutely best choice to portray the role/s (12) he is currently playing in the Florida Studio Theater production. Don’t miss this!

7-23-18 Interview

7/23/18 Pianist, singer, director, actor, musical director Paul Helm was lucky. From the elderly babysitter who convinced his parents to give four year old Paul piano lessons, to the choir teacher who “saw something in him,” to the agent who having seen Paul on stage, pursued him until Paul agreed to leave his beloved Wisconsin and make the leap to New York City, Paul has been led to the career which he “loves” and which although often difficult, he “wouldn’t have it any other way.” Listen to this enthusiastic young man talk about his work and don’t miss his delightful performance in the wacky and wonderful musical “Murder for Two” at Florida Studio Theater.

7-16-18 Interview

When he was five years old and had never taken a piano lesson Mark Kroll could play by ear the pieces his eight year old brother was studying. His brother was so embarrassed by his baby brother’s ability that he gave up the piano, but Mark never did. Dreaming of being a concert pianist Mark filled his life with music, studying, practicing and listening to his favorite works, by his favorite pianists and composers. At seventeen he fell in love with “early music,” but thought it didn’t sound quite right played on the piano. Then he heard Harpsichordist Ralph Kirkpatrick play and his fate was sealed. Listen to Mark tell the story of his parents moving his bed out of the bedroom to make room for his harpsichord. And get a taste of Mark playing.