Take Your Cat on a Walk (Ebony Madry)

All These Pieces (Venus Tyané)

Venus-Tyanéstudied Musical Theater in Berlin, Germany. She has worked as a performer for many US productions, including Nickelodeon and Stories that Soar! She has performed in various large productions internationally, from Friedrichstadtpalast to Jazzclub Neukölln. Venus-Tyané worked as theMusical Director for the performing arts school JMEM Berlin, and the subsequent touring production. She has toured throughout Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Estonia, Czech Republic, India, South Korea and Japan. She has a passion for the arts and people's stories as expressed through their various cultures and is dedicated to making a positive impact that has a world ripple effect.

Host: Emily Stamets

[email protected]

@theEmilyStamets on every social channel

This Moment Will Fuel Us (Kate Buselle)

Dr. Kate Busselle is Founder of Heartland Intimacy Design & Training, which offers academic, accessible, and affordable intimacy training entirely online through self-paced asynchronous modules. She is also Assistant Professor of Movement and Stage Combat at the University of Oklahoma and is an Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors. As a researcher, Kate is an expert in de-roling and debriefing techniques, staging sexual violence, intimacy in new play development, and theatrical intimacy pedagogy. Heartland Intimacy Design & Training Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/heartlandintimacydesign Heartland Intimacy Design & Training Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartlandintimacydesign/ Heartland Intimacy Design & Training Twitter: https://twitter.com/Heartland_ID Heartland Intimacy Design & Training Website: https://www.heartlandintimacydesign.com/ My website: https://www.katebusselle.com/ Your host is Emily Stamets. Find me on all the socials @theEmilyStamets, or email me: [email protected]

Take Your Cat on a Walk (Ebony Madry)

Ebony Madry currently works for Brite Ideas CTS as a Lighting Designers and Project Manager. Prior to COVID-19, Ebony oversaw the installation of audio, video, and lighting for corporate and exclusive events. Ebony has been blessed to make the shift to virtual and hybrid events with Brite Ideas CTS.

Ebony Madry is a graduate from the University of California, Irvine with a MFA in Lighting Design. Ebony also received a BFA in Design from Texas Tech University. Additionally, Ebony worked as an electrics assistant for The Arkansas Repertory Theater for their 2013-2014 season. Ebony began working in theater during high school, after falling in love with Broadway Tours like The Wiz, The Color Purple, and The Lion King. ​ Most importantly, Ebony Madry understands that the representation of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) is invaluable. Therefore, she loves to dedicate her energy and work to collaborate with artists, designers, and productions that feature and uplift those populations. In addition to her dedication to diverse projects, Ebony actively mentors other female BIPOC students. She has served on several diversity panels including the “Queer People of Color Festival” at UC, Irvine and USITT/Live Design “A Conversation on Diversity and Anti-Racism in Entertainment”. ​ Ebony Madry has worked with several notable artists including Matthew Morrison, Michael Franti, Brandi Carlisle, Melissa Etheridge, Christian Vincent, Leslie Ishii, and Paul Barnes.

A Better Theatre and a Better World (Cindy Cooper)

Cindy Cooper (who also writes as Cynthia L. Cooper) often addresses topic of justice, women and human rights in lightly stylized plays that use a blend of drama and comedy. Her plays have been produced in New York at Primary Stages, The Women’s Project, Wings, Lincoln Center’s Clark Studio, MultiStages, New Circle Theatre Co, WOW Café, Museum of Tolerance, and many other venues, as well as in Chicago, Minneapolis, DC, Philadelphia, Boston, L.A., Montreal, Budapest and Jerusalem. A two-time Jerome Fellow, her plays are in 17 volumes and she has won awards from Pen & Brush, Samuel French, the Malibu International Festival, Quixote Foundation, and others. She is the founder of ReproFreedomArts.org, a theater group that has travelled to 20 states to open up conversations about reproductive rights, and she is one of four artistic instigators of StatueFest, a new theater project about women who deserve statues. Cindy is also a journalist and an author; her book, ‘Mockery of Justice,’ was made into a CBS-TV movie. Prior to becoming a playwright, she worked as a lawyer for underserved clients. She is on the Executive Committee of Honor Roll Playwrights and lives in New York City.

FIND HER HERE:

www.cyncooperwriter.net

FB: Cynthia L. Cooper

TW/Insta @cyncooperwrtr

Also: www.ReproFreedomArts.org

Host: Emily Stamets (@theemilystamets)

Original music: Jaclyn S. O'Connor

Graphics: Tiffany Spence

A Little Personality (Laura McGhee)

In this conversation with improv artist and commercial airline pilot Laura McGhee (she/her), we talk about staying calm under pressure, the power of resilience, and how bringing a little humor to the table can save lives.

In addition to being a proud alumna of The Second City Theater Toronto, Laura has an Honors Bachelor of Arts Degree from The University of Western Ontario. In Canada, Laura has written and performed on CBC RADIO and at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. In 2002, Laura became the first person ever to script an entire show for The Second City. It was called Students Rule and toured public and secondary schools across Canada. She has also written and performed in 8 shows of her own. Her one-act play, entitled Joyride, won the Special Merit Award in the 7th Annual National Playwriting Competition. It has been performed in Vancouver, Orlando and Chicago. Another international credit for Laura was an all-female stage version of Reservoir Dogs entitled, Reservoir Bitches. Reservoir Bitches premiered in Toronto and then played at the DR2 Theater in New York City. Reservoir Bitches received a Canadian Comedy Award Nomination for Best Play and has since been produced by theater companies in Halifax and Minneapolis.

Laura’s television writing credits include the 2001 Canadian Comedy Awards – which aired on THE COMEDY NETWORK and CTV. She was nominated for a Gemini Award for this project. She has also written for the show, Eleven Cameras, which was developed by the CBC. And her screenplay, Breadwinners, made it through to the quarter-finals – out of thousands of entries - in the Scriptapalooza Writing Competition here in the U.S. She has also appeared in Canadian and American television commercials, on numerous shows for THE COMEDY NETWORK and CTV as well as the critically-acclaimed SHOWTIME film, Common Ground, with Brittany Murphy.

Several years ago, Laura decided to begin a second career in aviation. She took some time away from entertainment to train to become a pilot. Laura became an Instrument and Multi-Engine-Rated Commercial Pilot as well as a Certified Flight Instructor. This past year, she acquired her Airline Transport Pilot certification and is type-rated in an Embraer 175 and presently flies for United ExpressJet Airlines.

In Los Angeles, Laura was accepted into the PlayGround –LA Writers Pool at the Zephyr Theater for their 2015/2016 season. Her play, A-Types, premiered at The Second City Hollywood the next year. Laura has also taught and directed improv and sketch comedy at The Second City Hollywood for the past 5 years. And she created and hosts a monthly improv show there called HIT Show – Historical Improv Theater.

Laura’s latest creative endeavor is an amalgamation of her two loves – writing and flying. She has a Web series about her flying experiences as a flight instructor, entitled Lady Pilot – www.lady-pilot.com … “We’re not lady pilots. We’re just pilots”.

Host: Emily Stamets