Playdate

Katie is joined by an extra special guest host to kick off season 4, please welcome to the stage-Bailey Gleason! Bailey (they/she) is an international performer and music educator, a stage manager mostly based in the northeast, a director, intimacy director, choreographer, and scenic designer. If it should like they've done it all, it's because they probably have! Katie and Bailey sit down to discuss Sarah Treem's A Feminine Ending and discuss what the process would look like from the perspective of a variety of theatre makers. Enjoy :)

Kait introduces Act IV and its new format as Julia Marie Black takes her final bow. I look forward to chatting with Bailey Gleason and telling the various aspects of theatre through multiple lenses. Tune in as we sit down to discuss A Feminine Ending by Sarah Treem in Act IV, Scene I on April 22, 2024. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween! In this week's spooky episode of Playdate, Julia and Kait discuss viewing John Proctor through a 2023 lens, fanaticism, and what Milo and Twix the cats have to say about it! Enjoy- and thanks for joining us for season 3!

On this week's episode of Playdate, Julia and Kait are joined by actor and musician David Bays to discuss Annie Baker's play The Aliens. The talk of the importance of men's mental health, the struggles of addiction, and the familiarity of artists talking in a coffee shop. Enjoy!

Kait and Julia sit down this week to discuss Lobby Hero by Kenneth Lonergan. They discuss the difficulties of the workplace, the difficulties of moral ambiguity, and of course, Elton John! Enjoy!

On this episode of Playdate, Julia and Kait discuss the intricacies of face and Commedia, dinnertime shenanigans, and what makes One Man, Two Guvnors such a unique farce. Enjoy!

Julia and Kait sit down to discuss one of the funniest plays that has been on Broadway in 2023, Peter Pan Goes Wrong. From the writers of The Play Goes Wrong, Julia and Kait discuss the hilarious mash up of a beloved story, with a community theatre struggling to perform it. They talk about the challenges of farcical comedy, this particular take on the story of Peter Pan, and what kinds of productions they want to see. Enjoy!

Julia and Kait are joined by a very special guest for this week's episode: Playdate's very own Social Media Manager (performer & educator), Noelle Elise Crites! In this episode, the 3 friends do an extremely deep dive on one of Shakespeare's more famous and beloved work, Hamlet. They talk about Hamlet's grief vs. narcissism, modern adaptations of this work, and why some argue this is one of his most infamous plays. Please enjoy!

On this week's episode of Playdate, Julia and Kait sit down and discuss John Logan's Peter and Alice. they discuss the vast array of plays and entertainment on Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, their personal connections to the respective stories, and the beautiful way Logan takes these classic stories and attributes them to the complications of real adult life. Enjoy!

Kait and Julia are joined by Clevland based playwright, actor, and director David Hansen to discuss his beautiful and tragic play I Hate This. David takes Julia and Kait on a deep dive of his writing process, his decision to write this particular play, and this play's significance in his life and the lives of others. Please enjoy!

Julia and Kait finish off pride month by discussing Larry Kramer's semi autobiographical 1980's hit play, The Normal Heart. They talk about the issues within the LGBTQIA+ community that still persist, the impact of the AIDS epidemic and its effect 40 years later, and Larry Kramer's incredible life. Enjoy!

Julia and Kait kick off Pride Month sitting down with playwright Hayley St. James and their play For Leonora, or, Companions. Julia and Kait learn about Hayley's inspiration for the play, the influence of dragons in Hayley's work, and, of course, Boston Creme Pie! Please enjoy and happy Pride!

Kait and Julia switch things up on this episode of Playdate! They discuss the style of Theater of the Absurd, provide a background on what to expect from absurdist plays, and their opinions on absurdist plays from the perspective of a playwright and a director. Enjoy!

Julia and Kait tackle another one of Paula Vogel's iconic and award winning plays, How I Learned to Drive. They discuss the importance of sex education in the school system, the importance of the order in which the play occurs, and the importance of speaking up against domestic abuse and child endangerment. Enjoy!

Julia and Kait are joined this week by multi-disciplinary performing artist Avery LaMar Pope to discuss his play Stand Trial. This incredibly honest interview dives into Avery's history as a playwright, his inspiration for this show, and why it is so important to tell this story right here, right now. Enjoy!

Julia and Kait sit down this week to discuss the modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard III: Teenage Dick. They discuss the translation into a modern story and compare and contrast the original with this very clever reimagining. Enjoy!

Julia and Kait do a deep dive of one of Shakespeare’s beloved history plays: Richard III. Both Kait and Julia watched different versions of this play and take this episode to compare and contrast each version, while breaking it down with the script. Enjoy!

On this week’s episode of Playdate, Julia and Kait are joined by Jack Levenberg to discuss Paula Vogel’s award winning play Indecent. They discuss the relevance this play still holds in our world today. Jack’s history with this play helps shed some light on why this story is still important to be told. Enjoy!

Kait and Julia are back for a brand new season of Playdate! They are joined for their first episode of 2023 by actor and producer Ben Williamson to discuss Lewis Black's romantic comedy One Slight Hitch. In this episode we discuss the weight this show holds in Julia and Ben's separate theatre making journeys, the importance of well written dialogue in plays, and the important changes we would want to make before seeing this show produced. Please enjoy a hilarious start to Act III with us here at Playdate!

Happy Halloween! For this very spooky episode of Playdate, Julia and Kait wrap up Season 2 by discussing one of the Bard's creepiest works, The Scottish Play. They talk about the history behind the theatrical curse of Macbeth, the differences between this work and some of his more romantic works, and why Macbeth and Lady M are the sexiest couple in history. Enjoy, and we will see you back here for season 3!