The Alliance Theatre Podcast

Episode Notes On this episode, author Rick Elice and director Jessica Stone share a hilariously authentic conversation on collaboration, creativity and how Water for Elephants came to be. Rick Elice (Book) Jersey Boys, Rick’s first Broadway credit, co-authored with Marshall Brickman, won the Tony Award, the Grammy Award and the Olivier Award for Best Musical, and has entered the record books as the twelfth longest-running show in Broadway history. With Marshall Brickman and Andrew Lippa, he wrote The Addams Family, starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. For the past eight years, The Addams Family has topped the list of the most-licensed musicals in North America. Rick’s first play, Peter and the Starcatcher, received nine Tony Award nominations, and won five 2012 Tony Awards. For the past seven years, the play has been among the top ten most-produced plays in North America. Rick also wrote The Cher Show for Broadway, directed by Jason Moore; the world premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse of a new musical, My Very Own British Invasion, directed by Jerry Mitchell; the world premiere at The Old Globe. Jessica Stone (Director) worked as an actress on and off-Broadway, in television and in film for decades before transitioning to directing. Broadway credits included Anything Goes, Butley, The Odd Couple, The Smell of the Kill, Design for Living, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Grease. Her directing career began in earnest with her all-male 2010 production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for the Williamstown Theatre Festival. She has since been directing all over the country at such theaters as The Old Globe, A.C.T, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Huntington Theatre Company, Two River Theatre Company, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival among others. Productions include As You Like It, Kate Hamill’s Vanity Fair, Barefoot in the Park, Dancing at Lughnasa, Bad Dates, Ken Ludwig’s Robin Hood! (world premiere), Ripcord, Bad Jews, Arms and the Man, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Charlotte’s Web, June Moon, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Absurd Person Singular, Kimberly Akimbo (off-Broadway premiere at the Atlantic). Most recently, Stone directed the original Broadway musical Kimberly Akimbo, which opened in November 2022. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two sons. Learn more about the Alliance Theatre Podcast. Find out more at https://the-alliance-theatre-podcast.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Alliance Theatre Allyship Training: https://www.alliancetheatre.org/content/allyship-training The Hot Wing King: alliancetheatre.org/hotwingking The Many Wondrous Realities of Jasmine Starr-Kidd: https://www.alliancetheatre.org/production/2022-23/the-many-wondrous-realities-of-jasmine-starr-kidd Find out more at https://the-alliance-theatre-podcast.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Margarita Kompelmakher, Director of Community Partnerships and Engagement, and Trent Anderson, Director of Development are two members of the Alliance Theatre family most connected to our work as a nonprofit organization centered on community enrichment and development. On this episode of the Alliance Theatre Podcast, we chat about our gratitude for those that make our work possible, the community we are dedicated to and the ways in which our audiences and patrons are crucial to the work we do at the Alliance Theatre. Find out more at https://the-alliance-theatre-podcast.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes In our second Artist Talk of season we are joined by Lex Liang and Tinashe Kajese-Bolden. Two parts of the Everybody creative team, Lex and Tinashe share a playful and soulful conversation on maneuvering a post-pandemic theatre world as artist of color and how their own personal experience has enabled them to learn new things about everybody and themselves. Hosted by Margarita Kompelmakher. Lex Liang has designed scenery for Carapace, and costumes for Into the Woods, What I Learned in Paris, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Troubadour, Candide, and others at the Alliance Theatre. Regional: Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, The Asolo, Cleveland Playhouse, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Dallas Theatre Center, Denver Center, Geva Theatre, The Guthrie, La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, Playmaker’s Rep, Portland Center Stage, St. Louis Rep, Syracuse Stage, Woolly Mammoth, and many others. NYC/Off-Broadway: 50+ productions—recent work includes Penelope, Or How The Odyssey Was Really Written, and The Bacchae. Upcoming: The Acting Company’s Romeo & Juliet. Lex is the founder and principal of LDC Design Associates, an experiential event design and production company in NYC. Recent projects include Ubuntu Pathways: Fight For Good, Operation Smile’s 35th Anniversary Gala, The Tony Awards Gala, and BCBG’s 30 Year Retrospective, NYFW. www.LexLiang.com Tinashe Kajese-Bolden is an award-winning director, actor, and producer. She is the BOLD Artistic Director Fellow at the Alliance Theater and driven to create stories that celebrate our differences while building community. Tinashe is a Princess Grace 2019 Award Winner for Directing, and Map Fund Award recipient to develop her devised new work ALL SMILES for Theater for the Very Young, centering the experience of children on the Autism Spectrum. Recent theatre directing productions include School Girls (Or the African Mean Girls Play) at Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre, Ghost at The Alliance Theater, Native Gardens (Virginia Stage Company), Pipeline(Horizon Theater), Nick’s Flamingo Grill (World Premiere at The Alliance Theatre, Hertz Stage), Eclipsed (Synchronicity Theatre, Best Director Suzi Bass Award). Upcoming projects: Lydia Diamond’s ‘Toni Stone’ at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre and The Alliance Theatre, and Candrice Jone’s ‘Flex’ at Theatrical Outfit for their 2021-22 Season. As a director and actor, she has worked On + Off Broadway, including The Imperial Theatre, Primary Stages, 59E59 Theatre, Classical Theatre of Harlem; and regionally at Yale Rep, Woolly Mammoth Theater Co, Cincinnati Playhouse, The Geva Theatre, CTG’s Kirk Douglas Theatre, among others, as well as recurring roles on TV/Film (Suicide Squad, Marvel’s Hawkeye, CW’s Valor, Dynasty, HBO’s Henrietta Lacks and currently filming Season 2 of Ava Duverney’s Cherish the Day.) She proudly serves on the ARTS-ATL Artist Advisory Council “My mission is the pursuit of what connects our different communities and how we create art that serves that.” Margarita Kompelmakher, PhD serves as Director of Community Partnerships and Engagement for the Alliance Theatre. Learn more about the Alliance Theatre Podcast. Find out more at https://the-alliance-theatre-podcast.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes As our lead Patron Services and Memberships manager and a Director of the IDEA-LGBTQIA Sub-Committee, Corey Smith is one of our most “audience facing” reps. Not only does that give him insight on what our audiences want, but a clear view on the steps we are taking as an organization to develop inclusivity from the inside out. With a new season upon us, we chat about what our loyal and new audiences can expect our commitment to creating a comfortable and enjoyable experience for our patrons and so much more. Aniska Tonge is the social media manager and content producer at the Alliance Theatre, where she offers audiences an inside look at the who, how and why of the stories we tell. An artist at heart, her writing and photography highlights her endless love of the arts. And as she continues to fall in love with the culture created by the city of Atlanta she hopes that theatre is a way to highlight the inspiring people behind it. Learn more about the Alliance Theatre Podcast. Find out more at https://the-alliance-theatre-podcast.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes In our very first show of the season director Jamil Jude speaks on his work outside of the theatre, what he hopes audiences will take from the story of Henry and the evolution of theatre for the very young. Plus get a glimpse at what's to come this season at the Alliance Theatre and the AT Podcast. Jamil Jude is a highly accomplished director, producer, playwright, and dramaturg focusing on bringing socially relevant art to the community. Jamil is the Artistic Director at Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company in Atlanta, Georgia, where he previously severed as Associate Artistic Director. Additionally, he is the Co-Founder of The New Griots Festival, which is dedicated to celebrating, advocating, and advancing the careers of emerging Black artists in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area in Minnesota. Prior to joining the staff at True Colors, Jamil served as the Artistic Programming Associate at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, a Producer in Residence at Minneapolis’ Mixed Blood Theatre, a New Play Producing Fellow at Arena Stage in Washington, DC and co-founded the Colored People’s Theatre. Among his many awards, Jamil has been named the recipient of the Turn The Spotlight Fellowship (18/19), Andrew W. Mellon/TCG Leadership U Fellowship (2015/17), Nautilus Music Theater Management Fellowship (2014/15), NNPN Producer Residency (2011/12; 2012/13), Jerome Foundation/The Playwrights’ Center Many Voices Mentorship (2013/14) and the Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship at Arena Stage (2009/10; 2010/11). Jamil received his Bachelors of Arts from Colgate University. Aniska Tonge is the social media manager and content producer at the Alliance Theatre, where she offers audiences an inside look at the who, how and why of the stories we tell. An artist at heart, her writing and photography highlights her endless love of the arts. And as she continues to fall in love with the culture created by the city of Atlanta she hopes that theatre is a way to highlight the inspiring people behind it. The Incredible Book Eating Boy Henry loves books. But he hates reading them. Because books are so full of... words! Annoying, complicated, indecipherable words! Then one day he discovers the most amazing alternative to reading - eating the books whole. By chowing down, chomping, and literally digesting the contents of whole libraries, Henry gets smarter, and smarter and smarter... until his tummy doesn't feel so good. A story about literally biting off more than you can chew, this new musical celebrates the joy of reading and the insatiable appetite for knowledge. Inspired by award-winning children's book author Oliver Jeffers' hilarious book, The Incredible Book Eating Boy promises to leave you full! Get tickets and learn more about The Incredible Book Eating Boy. Learn more about the Alliance Theatre Podcast. Find out more at https://the-alliance-theatre-podcast.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Tomi Martin has worked with musicians including Madonna, Justin Bieber, T-Pain, and more. With Martin set to man the guitar for DARLIN' CORY – the time seemed more than opportune to discuss his love of music and art, how that love can influence what matters, and what it means to be the cool guy. Tomi Martin is a native of Louisville, KY, and grew up as a preacher’s kid listening to the radio and developing a love for the music as well as the artists. His exposure to gospel, rock, soul, and jazz made a lasting impression and made him certain that he wanted to be a professional musician. Tomi transitions easily from studio to stage, which helped develop his reputation as both a session guitarist and musical director for concert tours, television specials, and feature film projects. As a music director, Tomi blends rock, pop, R&B, and hard funk into solid tracks with musical hooks that help make hit records. His unique guitar work and creative support have been a huge part of successful records and world tours for such artists as: John Legend, OutKast, Justin Bieber, Madonna, TLC, Stevie Nicks, Miley Cyrus, and The Indigo Girls. Aniska Tonge is the social media manager and content producer at the Alliance Theatre, where she offers audiences an inside look at the who, how and why of the stories we tell. An artist at heart, her writing and photography highlights her endless love of the arts. And as she continues to fall in love with the culture created by the city of Atlanta she hopes that theatre is a way to highlight the inspiring people behind it. Set against the backdrop of 1920s Appalachia, DARLIN’ CORY is a haunting new musical by playwright & novelist Phillip DePoy (EDWARD FOOTE) and Sugarland's Grammy-Award winning front man, Kristian Bush (TROUBADOUR). In a tiny mountain town with no road in – and no road out – a community carries secrets of all sizes. But when a young woman with ambition and intelligence collides with a pastor deeply committed to preserving the status quo, cracks begin to appear in the town’s well-constructed façade. And when a stranger appears with a mysterious backstory and the best moonshine anyone’s ever tasted – some of those secrets threaten to spill. With an original folk-country score, this modern-day myth inspired by local lore promises to leave audiences on the edge of their seats. For tickets and more info: alliancetheatre.org/cory Find out more at https://the-alliance-theatre-podcast.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Learn more about WORKING: A Musical at the Alliance Theatre. For more information about the Alliance Theatre Podcast please click here. MARGARITA KOMPELMAKHER, PhD, is a Mellon/ACLS Public Fellow and Community Engagement Manager at the Alliance Theatre, where she runs programs that connect theatre to issues that matter most to communities across Atlanta. She is a regular contributor to the Alliance Theatre blog and her writing also appears in Modern Drama and various scholarly anthologies. She believes theatre is a "rehearsal" for realizing the society we want to live in! DEBORAH SCOTT, CEO of Georgia STAND-UP, a “think and act tank” for working families, and a 2012 “White House Champion of Change,” is an accomplished advocate of economic inclusion, community empowerment, and progressive civic engagement. A master organizer, strategist, and highly skilled trainer, she has been on the front lines of progressive social transformation for more than 25 years. Deborah has shaped and molded a generation of social activists. https://www.georgiastandup.org/about-us ERIC RICHARDSON is the President of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, a fiercely independent voice of black workers within the trade union movement, challenging organized labor to be more relevant to the needs and aspirations of Black and poor workers. https://cbtu.nationbuilder.com/ ALEXIS WOODARD is an Atlanta-based Director, proud Spelman College Alumna and current Spelman Leadership Fellow at the Alliance Theatre. Her Directing Credits include: Romeo + Juliet, Eurydice (Spelman College), Finished What We Started (Morehouse College), Hamlet (The Tiny Theatre Company), as well as assistant directing for the Suzi Award winning play, Hands of Color (Synchronicity Theatre), A Kids Play About Racism (Bay Area Children’s Theatre), and Associate Director for A Christmas Carol: The Live Radio Play (Alliance Theatre). Upcoming Credits include: Co-Director for Hands Up (Alliance Theatre), and Co-Director for Othello (The Tiny Theatre Company). She has also worked backstage on several productions such as Holler If You Hear Me (True Colors Theatre) and Hospice + Pointing At The Moon (Alliance Theatre). Film Credits include: Hands Up Teasers (Co-Director) and When Morning Comes (Writer). She also wrote and shot her first short film, When Morning Comes, which discusses sexual assault on college campuses. Find out more at https://the-alliance-theatre-podcast.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes TAMILLA WOODARD is the co-Artistic Director of Working Theater, former BOLD Associate Artistic Director at WP Theater, and the co-founder of PopUP Theatrics. She also served as the associate director of Hadestown _on Broadway. This very digital season, her work includes _American Dreams by Leila Buck for Working Theater, Theater for One’s Here We Are series with plays by Nikole Salter and Delanna Studdi, PopUP Theatrics Long Distance Affair, Parsnip Ship and MCC’s This Is Where We Go and the Lucille Lortel nominated, Where We Stand by Donnetta Lavinia Grays for WP Theater, Baltimore Center Stage and Steppenwolf. Recently named one of 50 Women to Watch on Broadway, Tamilla is a graduate of Yale School of Drama, where she currently teaches. She is also a recipient of the Josephine Abady Award from the League of Professional Theatre Women. ALEXIS WOODARD is an Atlanta-based Director, proud Spelman College Alumna and current Spelman Leadership Fellow at the Alliance Theatre. Her Directing Credits include: Romeo + Juliet, Eurydice (Spelman College), Finished What We Started (Morehouse College), Hamlet (The Tiny Theatre Company), as well as assistant directing for the Suzi Award winning play, Hands of Color (Synchronicity Theatre), A Kids Play About Racism (Bay Area Children’s Theatre), and Associate Director for A Christmas Carol: The Live Radio Play (Alliance Theatre). Upcoming Credits include: Co-Director for Hands Up (Alliance Theatre), and Co-Director for Othello (The Tiny Theatre Company). She has also worked backstage on several productions such as Holler If You Hear Me (True Colors Theatre) and Hospice + Pointing At The Moon (Alliance Theatre). Film Credits include: Hands Up Teasers (Co-Director) and When Morning Comes (Writer). She also wrote and shot her first short film, When Morning Comes, which discusses sexual assault on college campuses. Find out more at https://the-alliance-theatre-podcast.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes How does one manage a theatre? How does one manage a theatre during a pandemic when audiences can’t gather in traditional spaces? How does one manage a theatre while meeting the demands of the WeSeeYouWAT document in order to create a more equitable theatre-making practice for BIPOC artists and beyond? Find out from two of the country’s finest in this episode of the Alliance Theatre Podcast: Managing Director Edition. Join Daviorr Snipes, Alliance’s Director of Diversity, Inclusion, & Engagement as he dives into conversation with Emika Abe, Managing Director of the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington DC, followed by Mike Schleifer, Managing Director of the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. EMIKA ABE (Managing Director; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company) comes to Woolly after three years as the Associate Managing Director of the Alliance Theatre (Atlanta, GA), the largest regional theatre in the Southeast. At the Alliance, Emika led a portfolio of projects that guided the theatre's organizational strategy, culture, and general management. These included stewarding the 70-person Advisory Board, co-chairing the Alliance's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, and defining the theatre's mission, vision, and values. Emika is on the Advisory Board of Found Stages, she served as Mentorship Co-Chair of LORT's EDI Initiative, and she is an alum of LEAD Atlanta, Arts Leaders of Metro Atlanta, and Theatre Communications Group's Young Leaders of Color. Emika holds an MFA in Theater Management from Yale School of Drama, an MBA from Yale School of Management, and a BA in Theater from UCLA. At Yale, she was the recipient of the Morris J. Kaplan Award for Theater Management and Co-Chair of the Internship Fund. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Emika has previously held positions at Yale Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and the Palo Alto Children's Theatre, as well as fellowships at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Center Theatre Group, and Artists Repertory Theatre. Emika is passionate about the intersection of art and business, and the essential role that theatre can play in activating individuals and strengthening communities. MIKE SCHLEIFER (Managing Director; Alliance Theatre) joined the Alliance Theatre in 2014 as General Manager, and in 2016 became Managing Director. While at the Alliance, Schleifer has led the administrative team on more than 50 productions and was one of the architects of the “On the Road” season, in which the Alliance produced 12 shows at 12 venues. He is proud to have started the Alliance’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and to serve on the League of Resident Theatre’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative. Previously, he spent 13 years at Baltimore’s Center Stage, working as Associate Producer, Production Manager and Resident Stage Manager. While in Baltimore, he spent seven years as an adjunct faculty member at Towson University and guest lectured all over the East Coast. Schleifer began his career as a Stage Manager and has dozens of stage-management credits in New York and regionally. He is married to theater director and educator Laura Hackman and is the proud father of two boys, Jack and Ben. DAVIORR SNIPES (Director of Diversity, Inclusion, & Engagement; Alliance Theatre) is Theatre graduate from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He is also a member of Actor's Equity Association. He currently serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity & Engagement for the Alliance Theatre. As a professional actor he as appeared Off-Broadway with the Ensemble Studio Theatre and has toured nationally with Theaterworks USA. He is a Peabody Award winner for his work on the NPR Podcast, Buried Truths, and has also appeared in the BET tv series, American Soul. In addition to his work at the Alliance he regular performs around Atlanta with companies such as Vanguard Repertory Theatre and Working Title Playwrights. Find out more at...

Episode Notes Maya Lawrence is a NYC born- Atlanta based multidisciplinary artist and activist, specializing in theater, performance, and poetry. As an actor, teaching artist, and facilitator with an audience range from newborns to as long as one can be alive, she uses her superpowers of creativity, curiosity, and compassion to facilitate theatre-based experiences rooted in Anti-Bias work for youth, families, individuals, corporations, and organizations in pursuit of becoming the most authentic & empathetic versions of themselves. As a proud Spelman College alumna, she uses theater to build alliances as a Resident Artist and the Allyship Program Director at the Tony Award winning Alliance Theatre. Maya is on a mission to liberate the world through art using Love to light the path. Patrick Myers is a freelance writer and playwright who also serves as the Education Process Manager for the Alliance Theatre at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where he manages the Press Play digital theater initiative. A graduate with honors of the Savannah College of Art and Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performing Arts, his work has encompassed a variety of disciplines, including but not limited to writing, producing, criticism, and teaching. He is a proud facilitator for the Alliance Theatre’s Allyship Training, an introductory two-hour course on cultivating anti-bias thought, and specializes in developing strategies for increasing access to the arts through virtual spaces. His work has appeared in American Theatre, HowlRound Theatre Commons, and ARTS ATL, and in his free time he writes and records for Ghost Light: The Serialized Horror Podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts. Find out more at https://the-alliance-theatre-podcast.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes SUSAN V. BOOTH (Jennings Hertz Artistic Director) joined the Alliance Theatre in 2001 and has initiated the Palefsky Collision Project for teens, the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab, local producing partnerships and regional collaborative productions, as well as commercial partnerships on projects such as The Prom; Tuck Everlasting; Ghost Brothers of Darkland County; The Color Purple; Bring It On: The Musical; Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away; Sister Act: The Musical; Bring in ’da Noise, Bring in ’da Funk; and _Jesus Christ Superstar GOSPEL, and has directed world premieres by writers including Pearl Cleage, Janece Shaffer, National Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, Stephen King, John Mellencamp, and Kristian Bush. As a director, she has worked at such theatres as the Goodman, La Jolla Playhouse, New York Stage and Film, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Northlight Theatre, Victory Gardens, Court Theatre and many others. She holds degrees from Denison and Northwestern universities and was a fellow of the National Critics Institute and the Kemper Foundation. She has held teaching positions at Northwestern, DePaul, and Emory universities. She is a past president of the board of directors for the Theatre Communications Group, the national service organization for the field, is a trustee of Denison University, and a member of the Carter Center’s Board of Councilors. Susan’s leadership is underwritten by the BOLD Theater Women’s Leadership Circle, an initiative to support and promote women’s theater leadership funded by The Pussycat Foundation. Susan is married to Max Leventhal and is the proud mother of Moira Rose Leventhal._ Find out more at https://the-alliance-theatre-podcast.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Step through the stage door and gather around the GHOST LIGHT, the new Alliance Theatre podcast dedicated to the weird, the paranormal, and the downright spooky things that can happen in the world of the theater. GHOST LIGHT is the first project to stem from the Alliance Theatre’s Press Play initiative. Join hosts Patrick Myers and Elliott Folds as they dive into two creepy stories: the first, a group of actors sneak into a cemetery after a late-night rehearsal; the second, a backstage curse threatens to turn a missed entrance into something darker. Find out more at https://the-alliance-theatre-podcast.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.