8-2-16 Interview

11-29-16 Lauryn Sasso discovered her passion for theater at 3 years old when she saw Peter Pan and believed she would pursue her love of theater as an actor. But luckily someone suggested she consider a career in Dramaturgy. Listen to Lauryn describe how she felt when she realized that being a dramaturg was the perfect job for her. Having received her BA in Theatre Studies from Wellesley College and her MFA in Dramaturgy from UMass Amherst, she is now in her 11th season as dramaturg for the Asolo Rep theatre’s mainstage productions and New Stages education tours. Lauryn has many and varied responsibilities. She works as a casting associate, moderates the discussion series Inside Asolo Rep and was Festival Curator for Asolo Rep’s Unplugged Festival of New Work. And she co-adapted 2013’s New Stages Romeo & Juliet with director Dmitry Troyanovsky.

3-29-16 Audio Interview

Multi-talented actor, singer, dance, writer, producer and advocate Annie Morrison’s, career includes standout Broadway and Cabaret performances. She won The 2010 John Ringling Towers Fund Award and the Best Actress Award at the 2012 United Solo Festival for her one woman show which inspired her to join with Blake Walton and David Coyle to create Sarasolo – a one person solo festival in Sarasota FL. She has also won the Theatre World Award©, a Drama Desk Award© Nomination, the Drama-Logue, SAMMY, HANDY and Sarasota Magazine Awards and a Best Plays Citation. Listen to this one of a kind talent talk about her early life, her commitment to creativity in all of its forms, collaboration instead of competition and encouraging creative humans wherever she finds them. And come see her in the Freefall theatre production of Sondheim on Sondheim. Also hear her singing a cut from the original cast album of Sondheim’s Broadway musical; Merrily We Roll Along in which she originated the role of Mary Flynn.

March 8 Audio Interview

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 a versatile, talented 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. Come see his powerful performance in the meaningful and beautiful play, Outside Mullingar, currently running at Florida Studio Theater and listen to Sharon Leslie’s review of the play.

Sept 1, 2015 – Audio Interview with Kathryn Parks and Allen Kretchmar

Dancer, singer, actor, writer Kathryn Parks is part of the stand out cast in Tennessee Williams ground-breaking play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Players Theater. Listen to this talented, articulate woman talk about her life, her work and her role as Maggie the Cat, in which she gets to express aspects of herself which she might otherwise keep under wraps. And find out more about her at her website http://kathrynparks.com. Then Allen Kretchmar, who will be playing the patriarch, ‘Big Daddy,’ in the same production, talks the Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and the roller coaster ride he’s taken to finally wind up back where he started and always wanted to be – on stage.

4-21-15 Audio Interview

Mike and Bonnie Hartley, alias Thomas Maurin, have written their first novel, a thrilling thriller called Broken Trust, the first of a trilogy. In her interview Bonnie describes her unusual life, her many careers and the circuitous route she took to becoming a novelist. Although I didn’t record most of my interview with Mike, I did get him to read from Broken Trust and describe the prequel to the trilogy which they are also creating. If you read fiction. especially if you like mystery or thriller fiction you will adore Broken Trust and look forward eagerly, as I do to the next books. You can purchase Broken Trust at Amazon.com – but as Bonnie cautions there are a number of books with this title so be sure to specify Broken Trust (a 3 Musketeers book) by Thomas Maurin.

2-3-15 Audio interview with Jimmy Hoskins

There will be a celebration of Jimmy’s extraordinary life at 4:00 on Mon 2/9 2015 at the Mertz Theater in the Asolo Repertory Theatre complex.

Dancer, choreographer, movement coach, director, painter, writer, storyteller, teacher, cook, Jimmy Hoskins was member on the of the Penn State University theater faculty for 10 years, professor emeritus of theater at Florida State University, staff choreographer for the Asolo Repertory Theatre for 45 years, visiting choreographer at Florida Studio Theater, The Golden Apple, the Sarasota Opera, the Banyan Theater, the Venice Theatre and the Players Theatre and adjunct faculty member of the Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, following his long and distinguished career in New York, California, Texas, Mexico and Paris.

He wrote three books. “The Dances of Shakespeare,” for which he also did the illustrations;. And his two book irreverent and delightful memoir “Our Hearts were Khaki and Gay,” and “No Fairies, No Magic.” which can be purchased at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Greg Leaming of The Asolo Conservatory says “He very strongly connected to his students as a friend, mentor and teacher. What he brought into the room was an infectious spirit and a love of the art form.”Richard Hopkins of Florida Studio Theater says “In an age before political correctness, in a society that all too frequently rejected people who were different, Jimmy was proud to be gay. He was adept at teaching us straight guys how to relax with the gay guys, how to revel in our differences, and how to appreciate the depth of our similarities.

He was, as Carl Meyer his beloved partner of 19 years says, a “Renaissance man.” But for me the most enduring memories of Jimmy will be of his sweetness and his generosity. Jimmy was always giving – even when he was suffering he never burdened others with his distress. I was lucky enough to be one of the legions of people who benefited directly from his talent and his willingness to give it selflessly and joyfully. My life is changed forever by both what I learned from Jimmy and how he taught it.

In 2011 the Asolo established the Jimmy Hoskins Visiting Artist Chair for Stage Movement and Dance, an endowed fund that brings guest artists in to work with conservatory students. Contributions to the Jimmy Hoskins Visiting Artists Chair in Stage Movement and Dance are welcomed by sending a check, payable to FSU Foundation (reference Jimmy Hoskins Fund in note section) to the Florida State University Foundation, Suite 300, 2101 Levy Ave., Tallahassee, FL 32310, or by giving online at one.fsu.edu/community/.

12-30-14 Memorial to Jimmy Hoskins – Audio Interview

Dancer, choreographer, movement coach, director, painter, writer, storyteller, teacher, cook, Jimmy Hoskins was member on the of the Penn State University theater faculty for 10 years, professor emeritus of theater at Florida State University, staff choreographer for the Asolo Repertory Theatre for 45 years, visiting choreographer at Florida Studio Theater, The Golden Apple, the Sarasota Opera, the Banyan Theater, the Venice Theatre and the Players Theatre and adjunct faculty member of the Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, following his long and distinguished career in New York, California, Texas, Mexico and Paris.

He wrote three books. “The Dances of Shakespeare,” for which he also did the illustrations; intended for dancer’s, choreographers and directors but which could also be understood by a lay audience. And his two book irreverent and delightful memoir “Our Hearts were Khaki and Gay,” and “No Fairies, No Magic.”
Greg Leaming of The Asolo Conservatory says “He very strongly connected to his students as a friend, mentor and teacher. What he brought into the room was an infectious spirit and a love of the art form.” Richard Hopkins of Florida Studio Theater says “In an age before political correctness, in a society that all too frequently rejected people who were different, Jimmy was proud to be gay. He was adept at teaching us straight guys how to relax with the gay guys, how to revel in our differences, and how to appreciate the depth of our similarities.

He was, as Carl Meyer his beloved partner of 19 years says, a “Renaissance man.” But for me the most enduring memories of Jimmy will be of his sweetness and his generosity. Jimmy was always giving – even when he was suffering he never burdened others with his distress. I was lucky enough to be one of the legions of people who benefited directly from his talent and his willingness to give it selflessly and joyfully. My life is changed forever by both what I learned from Jimmy and how he taught it.

In 2011 the Asolo established the Jimmy Hoskins Visiting Artist Chair for Stage Movement and Dance, an endowed fund that brings guest artists in to work with conservatory students.

9-9-14– Audio Interview

Jeffrey Kin is a sextuple threat! He sings, he dances, he acts, he writes, he directs, and he produces with talent, skill and joy. Luckily for us he brings all of this knowledge and skill to his position as the Artistic Director of Sarasota’s community theater – The Players. A farm boy who discovered as a small child that he was a performer, listen to him talk about how he discovered that, and pursued his chosen field with a vengeance. Listen to this charming, dedicated, funny man talk about his life, his work and the recreation of the hilarious, back by popular demand production of Lend Me A Tenor which opens on Sept 10th.

4-8-14 – Audio Interview

Writer Kevin Peraino is one of the lucky ones; when he was in kindergarten – he wrote a little essay and the school principal told him and his parents that little Kevin was a good writer. Kevin never looked back. From then on he knew that he would be a writer and that is what he is. Kevin has written for Newsweek magazine. He has reported from Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Yemen, Israel, Sudan, Iraq, and other countries, and was a finalist for the Livingston Award for his foreign-affairs writing. He has also written for Foreign Policy, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications, and has appeared on Morning Joe, PBS NewsHour, and elsewhere. His first book which has recently been published is Lincoln in the World: The Making of a Statesman and the Dawn of American Power. Listen to this knowledgeable man talk about Lincoln, and the joy of being a writer.

2-11-14 – Interview

Bob Devin Jones seemed to luck into the career to which he has given his life – theater. He followed in his big sister Renee’s footsteps by enrolling in a theater arts program in Jr High School; then he saw his friend on stage in a play and thought “I can do that,” so he auditioned for and got a role as a black Santa in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and the audience’s response to his appearance sealed his fate. He studied at Loyola Marymount University, the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. After graduating, he traveled the country as an actor and director. Bob has written more than a dozen plays including Uncle Bend’s: A Home-Cooked Negro Narrative, Manhattan Casino and Further Down the Road. He has made his living acting and directing. Bob and Dave Ellis created Studio@620 a creative space. Currently he has directed a wonderful production of August Wilson’s Two Trains Running for the American Stage Theater in St. Petersburg Florida. Listen to this thoughtful men describe his very special approach to directing, and hear Pam Wiley’s review of the play.

1-7-14 Audio Interview

Howard Giordano wrote his first book when he was fifty years old, after retiring from his career as an advertising account manager. It took him two years to finish the book and five years to get it published, which he did without the aid of an agent. This book Tracking Terror won the bronze award in the prestigious Readers International Favorite contest. Since he was a boy Howard knew that he was interested in stories, books, writing, but never thought he could be a writer, so he pursued his career in advertising. After retiring, he took a short story class and has never looked back. Listen to the charming story he tells of having gotten up the nerve to show a “published writer” the beginning of a short story, and her response. Having gotten an agent who is shopping his second book, he is currently working on his third. And although he is delighted by his success and looking forward to whatever money he might earn, Howard has committed himself to writing for the “joy of writing.”

8-27-13—Audio Interview

Actor, writer, singer, dancer, storyteller, philanthropist and Druid Goddess, Annie Morrison is impossible to categorize. Like the Celtic Spirit she embodies Annie is a force for artistic creation. Raised in an artistic hothouse with a family dedicated to artistic collaboration Annie was trained to create, but not to compete. Listen to this charming, ebullient, creativity machine tell the story of how she became who she is and come to New York to see just some of her prodigious artistic expression; on Labor Day (Sept 2nd), at 54 Below where she will be performing NOW YOU KNOW An evening Steve, Lenny –and Annie (the work of Sondheim and Bernstein) and on Nov 14th at 4:00 PM at theUnited Solo of Theatre Row in New York to see her new one woman show Word Painting: Soliloquies around an Easel.

6-25-13 – Audio Interview

Gale Fulton-Ross is a phenomenon, she is impossible to categorize as she creates art in every possible visual form, she draws, paints and sculpts, she works in both the literal and the abstract, she’s turned her graphic designs into textiles; clothing, pocketbooks, pillow cases, bed spreads anything that requires a fabric now has a Gale Fulton-Ross design. And finally she is getting back to her first love, she is writing a book. But Gale is more than an artist – she is a deeply spiritual person who imbues all of her work with her honesty, courage and love. She says “I work hard to create the world I want to live in – my figures have dignity because I think that is what all human beings should have.” Gale has dignity as you will certain hear in this interview.

5-21-13 Audio Interview

When he was just three years old Noah Racey’s Dad gave him a snare drum and was stunned to hear, within the first week, his infant drummer playing an entire John Phillip Souza album. Discovering a place to put his excessive energy and deriving a feeling of belonging and pride at being allowed – by age six – to play with his father’s drum circle, Noah put his foot on the path that would define his life; a life that has grown to include dancing, singing, acting, writing and the creation of his own extraordinary company of triple threat performers. Come see Noah and his troupe perform the premier production of his very own creation; Noah Racey’s Pulse, at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota Fl, and listen to the thoroughly delightful, spontaneous, joy-filled man talk about his love of the work to which he is giving his life.

Noah has danced in or choreographed for Fine and Dandy, Curtains with David Hyde Pierce, Busker Alley, Where’s Charley?, Babes in Arms, Do Re Mi, Never Gonna Dance, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Baby and Johnny Project, and Look Ma, I’m Dancin’!

Audio Interview

4-30-12 – Raised in an environment in which jobs, not careers, were considered appropriate and neither acting nor writing was taken seriously as a way of life Tyla Abercrombie nonetheless discovered early that she was a poet and that she was attracted to, and intrigued by performances of all kinds. Exposure to the classic movies she watched on TV to keep from being scared till her mother came home from work; a performance by the Alvin Ailey dance company at her grammar school; and a production of Sweeney Todd, captivated her. These experience plus the impact she realized she had on others when she read her poetry, stayed with Tyla and although she’d planned to study accounting thinking that it would enable her to “make some money,” she was finally able to honor herself and do “what she wanted;” which was to study writing and acting. And anyone who has seen Tyla on stage as we in Sarasota have been lucky enough to do (she is appearing in You Can’t Take it With You and Clybourne Park at the Asolo Repertory Theatre) is glad that she made that choice. Listen to the forthright, delightful woman tell how she did it her way.

11/27/12 – Audio Interview

Everyone in Berry Ayers family sang; his preacher grandfather sang to the congregation, his mother was a soloist in several professional gospel groups and aunt had a record deal. When Berry was 2 Mom and Aunt taught him and his six year old brother a song to sing in church and Berry performed 3 or 4 times a month from then on, learning along the way how to “work an audience;” how the little smile or wink would cause the audience to “go crazy.” To correct a foot deformity he was born with the doctor prescribed ballet or braces, Berry’s mother chose ballet (even though their Baptist religion frowned on it) and Berry has been singing, dancing, writing, acting, choreographing and directing ever since.

8-21-12 –Interview

There is no way to categorize Vivien Kalvaria. Born and raised in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe and having lived on three continents, Vivien has had too many careers to enumerate here. As a young woman she was the weekend news director for a television station where, because of sanctions, many things had to be done undercover. She majored in theater at Trinity College in London and opened several drama studios in several countries where she taught acting for 15 years. She wrote her first book about the things she observed “off the court” as she traveled the world with her tennis star daughter. And her current book “ i Built – the House the Internet Built” is the result of her experience remodeling her entire house spectacularly using only materials purchased on the internet. Listen to the charming, delightful and funny Vivien Kalvaria and go to my website to see the video in which she tells you how you too can redecorate or remodel your home without ever leaving it.

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7-17-12 Interview

Joanna McClelland Glass is a writer. Her play “Play Memory” directed by the legendary Hal Prince was nominated for a Tony Award. Both of her novels were published and optioned for film and she adapted both of the screenplays. Woman Wanted was directed by and starred Kiefer Sutherland, Holly Hunter and Michael Moriarty. But Joanna’s heart is in the theatre and her playwriting credits are much too extensive to include here. With all this talent and skill one might assume that Joanna had a privileged childhood and lots of training. No! Joanna’s childhood included an illiterate mother and an alcoholic father, who sold everything not nailed down to pay for his liquor. True to the culture of her time Joanna married young, worked to send her husband to graduate school, had three children very close in age and settled into the role of traditional wife and mother. It was not until, approaching 40; as the divorced mother of 3 young children, that she seriously turned her attention to her writing. Having announced that she was going to “try to support this whole thing with her writing,” Joanna says she simply had to “get kids on the bus and sit at the desk and do something.” And without any training – she had to learn the rules of her trade on the job – that is exactly what she did. And the quantity and quality of what her work is quite extraordinary. Listen to this woman’s inspiring story.

5-15-12 – Interview

Playwright Leah Napolin is a multi talented, thoughtful and courageous woman who was singing, dancing, drawing and reciting the poetry and stories she’d written was by the time she was 4 or 5. In college she was bitten by the “acting bug” and discovered her interest in writing plays. Still she was to teach music in Venezuela (until the revolution closed the school), get married, have children and lead a “bourgeois life,” before getting her chance to become the writer she always was. Her friend Robert Kalfin who’d started The Chelsea Theatre Center in Brooklyn suggested that she read Isaac Bashevis Singer’s Yentl the Yeshiva Boy.. And after being “thunderstruck,” Leah found away to dramatize the folk tale. The production was very successful but she didn’t reap much of the financial benefit because of the roadblocks put up by Barbara Streisand (listen to that interesting story). Finally she was able to hold on to the copy write for her work and the play has found many homes most recently having finished a successful run at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota Florida (in which Hilary Clemens -see above- played the role of Yentl). Listen to Leah talk about her journey towards finding her voice as a playwright and a person.

4-3-12 –Interview

Actor, Director, Singer, Writer, Producer Corey Brunish, says that he became all that he is in defiance of those who actively discouraged him. This is a remarkable story of a man who refused to listen when others told him who he could or could not be. A soft-spoken, gentle man Corey exudes a quiet strength that says I will decide who I am and what I can do and his life is the proof of that pudding. Listen to his remarkable journey, hear songs from one of his many CD’s and also a cut from the cast album of  Bonnie and Clyde The Musical which he produced.