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

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

10-29-18 Interview

10/29/18 In the first part of my interview musician, composer, lyricist, cabaret performer, coach and teacher Steven Lutvak, he says that his life’s work is song; “writing them, teaching people to write them, helping people sing them, helping people sing them better, helping people choose them, helping people understand what a song is, and of course writing them, which means music, lyrics and collaborating.” Steven was blessed with a talent that made all things music come easily to him. From his first piano lesson music simply “made sense” to him. With such talent his journey should have been effortless but Steven had to overcome numerous hindrances which would have derailed many others. Luckily Steven seems to be un-derail-able. Listen to this charming, thoughtful, intelligent, man describe the bumpy early part of his journey.

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.

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

7-2-18 Interview

7/2/18 Justin Cowan is the Musical Director for Always Patsy Cline which is currently playing to several times extended audiences at Florida Studio Theater. Although he never planned to be a musical director people continually urged him to join the choir, audition for a Community Theater production and finally made it possible for him to get the education he wanted, but could not afford. Whether chance, fate or coincidence someone was always there pointing him in the direction he is delighted to have gone. Listen to this gregarious, charming man talk about how he was “led” to where he was meant to go, how that experience informs his commitment to teaching, and made him the perfect person to bring out the Patsy in Meredith. Also listen to one of the songs for the show

5-14-18 Interview
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.

1-2-18 Interview

1-2-18 Without having taking a tennis lesson in his life Nick Bollettieri became an icon in the tennis and sports worlds. Because he has the “gift” of seeing people as they are, his unique teaching style which capitalized on the players’ natural abilities instead of trying to turn them into clones, resulted in 10 becoming #1 in the World – Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Venus and Serena Williams, Boris Becker Brad Gilbert, Monica Seles and Maria Sharapova. In 1978 he founded the Bollettieri Tennis Academy, now known as IMG Academy, the first full-time tennis boarding school. He has been inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and received the United States Olympic Committee National Coach of the Year award and the ITF Lifetime Achievement Award. At 86 he is still teaching and still going strong. In this interview listen to this extraordinary man tell his story and come see him live and in person on stage at the Venice Institute for the Performing Arts (1 Indian Ave,, Venice FL 34285 – 941-218-3779) on January 24th

12-12-17 Interview

12-12-17 Part – 2 In this second part of my interview, Wayne Adams continues to relate his remarkable life. Listen to him describe his delightful meeting with legendary acting teacher Maggie Flannigan; and how his production of Ralph Pape’s Say Goodnight, Gracie directed by Austin Pendleton, resulted in his determination to bring Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company to Broadway; first in the production of True West with John Malkovich and Gary Sinise and then in the Lincoln Center production of And a Nightingale Sang with , Joan Allen. Wayne says “I’m interested in being the human being that I am,” and he reminds us that “life is taking chances, not doing what someone else thinks you should do but doing from yourself honestly according to your own instincts.” Listen and be inspired.

12-5-17 Interview

12-5-17 – Part 1 – Actor, Director, Broadway Producer, Lighting Designer, Art Gallery Owner waiter, server in an upscale tie store and more, octogenarian Wayne Adams did everything with passion, commitment and panache. Adopted by an extraordinary couple who wanted him to experience everything and encouraged him to “be himself, and to take responsibility for everything he attempted,” Wayne has done just that. A musician, an artist and an actor.As a boy, Wayne majored in commercial design and minored in history of architecture at Ohio University, and although he never took a “theater course” he was in 11 productions during his four years at school with the result that when he graduated he knew that after his mandated stint in the air force he would go off to NY to pursue a career as an actor. Listen to the remarkable diverse jobs he tackled – all with the same commitment to excellence and hear how he discovered “what it really means to be an actor.”

8-11-2015 Audio Interview

Multi-genred, very talented pianist/entertainer Eddie Tobin just always loved music. He didn’t take piano lessons until he was in college, he just began to “mess around with it” very early – learning to play the songs he liked. Although a serious jock, he played virtually every sport, he just always loved music. In college he tried to major in Business but soon discovered that he didn’t like it. He did finally major in Music at Miami State but even then he hadn’t decided to make his life as a musician. He just always loved music. Listen to the sweet way he talks about music and his haphazard journey to becoming a professional musician, and hear a cut from his CD Cheek to Cheek. And come to hear him play and sing Sun afternoon at the American Legion 2000 5th ST. W., in Bradenton and Sun evenings at the Surf Shack on St Armand’s Circle, and Mon and Tues at Euphemia Haye, 5540 Gulf of Mexico Dr. Longboat Key, 941-383-3633, Wed and Friday at Amore also on Longboat Key and on Thursday at Madison’s with the Ventura’s.

December 7, 2010

Discussion – In this show I am recapping the concepts of Cover Story and Undercover. I explain that it can be dangerous to begin to recover denied parts of ourselves and I describe The Growing Edge, off of which we must leap whenever we attempt new behavior.

Interview – David Brunetti says he was “just musical.” When their church gave David’s family the piano they were replacing, he simply sat down and began to “pick out songs.” His musical ability came easily and naturally but he majored in acting in university. And although he wanted to be “Al Pacino,” David just kept getting jobs a musical director. Finally realizing that he could combine his two talents, David created his coaching practice called Acting Songs. He wrote a book about his technique and while he is based in New York, David now teaches all over the world. In addition every year here is invited to teach a master class in “acting songs” at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota FL.

August’s shows included interviews with people who came in with their destiny clear in their minds, all four musicians were playing the piano by the time they were three years old.

August 03, 2020 Dotti Anita Taylor Re-Run Interview – see March 30, 2010

Dotti Anita Taylor was a true prodigy. At three years old Dottie would play the music she’d heard her seven year old sister play. Not surprisingly her sister’s piano teacher didn’t believe it until she saw tiny Dottie play what she heard. Cleverly the teacher insisted that Dottie not hear any of the music she was learning so she would not be able to cheat – but had to learn to read music. The result is a consummate musician who plays not only piano but flute exquisitely. A soft-spoken gentle woman Dottie is a powerhouse when connected to one of her instruments.