Writer

Dorothy Fields and Broadway Collaborations Over Five Decades (Part 2) with Kristin Stultz Pressley

Fifty years ago this month 10 people were inducted into the songwriters Hall of Fame. Included on that list are well-known names like duke Ellington, Ira Gershwin, and Alan J Lerner. The only woman in that group was Dorothy Fields. But despite her talents for lyrics and storytelling, her journey to becoming a songwriter wasn’t easy. In fact, there were some pretty big roadblocks in her way.
This episode Is presented in conjunction with Maestra Music.
Women's History Month continues wirth part two of my conversation with musical theater historian Kristin Stultz Pressley. We dig a little deeper into her Dorothy Fields biography: I can’t give you anything but love baby. We discuss what it was like for a woman writer in a man’s world, how Fields transitioned from one decade to the next, from one musical genre to another, and we get into this idea of fame and success and what that meant to Dorothy Fields. Listen to part one of our conversation. 
Kristin's biography of Fields at Amazon - https://amzn.to/38sPxXQ
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Season 5 offers new ways to connect with me and the guests as well as new opportunities to learn and grow as an artist:
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Why I’ll Never Make It is a Top 25 Theater Podcast on Feedspot and a member of Broadway Makers Alliance.
Music in the episode by Chad Crouch, Bortexx, Kevin Macleod, and Latch Swing is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Dorothy Fields and Her Impact on Broadway Musical Theater (Part 1) with Kristin Stultz Pressley

This week for Women’s History Month, I’m sharing a special conversation with Dr. Broadway about prolific lyricist and librettist Dorothy Fields, who collaborated with some of the most iconic and legendary composers in Broadway history. For much of the Golden Age of the American musical, Fields was one of the only women writing for the Broadway theatre.
This episode is presented in conjunction with Maestra Music.
Even if the name Dorothy Fields isn't completely familiar to you, her songs and musicals are some of the most well-known words in the Great American Songbook:
On the Sunny Side of the Street
A Fine Romance
The Way You Look Tonight
Hey, Big Spender
It's Not Where You Start
Kristin Stultz Pressley first appeared in Season Two, talking about the Tony awards and musical theater history in general. Well, she is back and talking about her new book, I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby, chronicling the remarkable life and career of one of the most successful female songwriters of all time. Listen to part two of our conversation. 
Follow Kristin - Website / Instagram / Twitter / PhD Dissertation on Fields
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Season 5 offers new ways to connect with me and the guests as well as new opportunities to learn and grow as an artist:
Members-Only Episodes on Supercast, only $5-10/month
Coachings and Consultations
Ask questions to upcoming guests
Monthly WINMI Newsletter
Artist Resources and Offers
Instagram and Twitter 
Why I’ll Never Make It is a Top 25 Theater Podcast on Feedspot 
Music in the episode by Crowander and Latch Swing is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Ashley Monique Menard (Part 2) - Writer and Comedian Who Knows What She’s Capable Of

I think it’s fair to say that artist are an emotional bunch in general. We feel things deeply and react with conviction. And that goes for the wonderful and exciting emotions but also goes for the heavy and worrisome emotions as well. In part two of my conversation with Ashley Monique Menard, she reveals the yen and yang of her confidence and her self-doubt, she compares her dating life to Broadway, and has a few choice words for perfectionism. 
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Don't forget to check out EGCC.edu for free college course and degree programs.
Thank you for joining me for part one of my conversation with Ashley. Come back next week when I talk to Cosby Show actor and theater coach Geoffrey Owens.
Follow Ashley: Website / Instagram / Twitter 
Why I’ll Never Make It is a Top 20 Theater Podcast on Feedspot 
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Season 5 brings with it a new ways connect with me and the guests and new opportunities to learn and grow as an artist:
Members-Only Episodes and videos
Coachings and Consultations
Ask questions to upcoming guests
Monthly WINMI Newsletter
Artist Resources and Offers
All this and more can be found at the website: whyillnevermakeit.com 
Music used in the episode by Blue Dot Sessions and Borrtex is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
 

WINMI Recommends: ”The Politics of Culture” on Left, Right & Center

When it comes to the arts, I aim to give as wide a field of experience and opinion as possible here on the podcast. Yet for the most part I steer clear of politics. This is for a few reasons, but the main two are that I don’t want to add to the already divisive nature of some political activism and I want the content of this podcast to be as relevant today as it will be a year or more from now. Causes come and go, elected officials also change regularly (as does their rhetoric and positions on key issues). 
The closest I’ve come to venturing into the political realm is when I had on two of the founders of Be An Arts Hero, highlighting their efforts to lobby Congress for more funding and attention given to the arts here in America. So there is no doubt a relationship between the arts and politics, throughout history they have been both supporters and adversaries of one another. 
And recently there was a podcast that veered from its normal format to highlight the Politics of Culture that is inherent with so many works of art. The podcast is called Left, Right, and Center. And as the name implies they bring on guests and pundits from all sides to discuss the issues of the day. However, in this recent episode their guests are a television writer, a pop music songwriter, and a stage playwright. The discussions are led by Keli Goff, who is a journalist as well as a playwright and screenwriter herself. 
Of the four guests in this episode, I was particularly struck by the conversations with Stan Zimmerman, who wrote for the classic TV show The Golden Girls, and award-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau, who wrote the book for the hit Broadway musical Ain't Too Proud. They both share how their own writings have contributed to social conversations and have addressed important issues.
Like with any episode of Left, Right, and Center there will opinions you agree with and those you may not, but the discussions are nonetheless thoughtful and in-depth.
Stay tuned for the next recommendation, which will be my year-end pick for the best podcast to take us into the new year. Until then take care, and subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen to audio.
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FINAL FIVE: Jaime Lozano, Voting Member of the Grammys and Latin Grammys

After our conversation on the previous episode, Jaime talks about the process of voting on songs and albums for the Grammys, and then he answers the Final Five. He shares his love of Law & Order and his dream to work with Lin-Manuel Miranda as well as what he learns from those who are humble.
The time and expense needed to bring these guests and conversations to you each week is sometimes challenging but always rewarding. Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.
For further insights on the topics covered in Jaime's episodes: twitter.com/winmipodcast/ 
Quotes and unreleased audio clips: instagram.com/winmipodcast/ 

Hispanic Heritage Month - Jaime Lozano, Musical Theater Composer

For the next few weeks WINMI is going to be highlighting some amazing Hispanic artists, ranging from composers and dancers to actors and singers. And it's all in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month. 
In addition to these interviews I’ll be showcasing important creatives in Hispanic history. It’ll be a chance for us to learn about the wonderful artists who have made such an impact not only in Hispanic communities but to our nation as a whole. 
And so we begin Hispanic Heritage Month with Jaime Lozano, a native of Monterey, Mexico. As a composer his works have been produced Off-Broadway, regionally here in the US, and internationally in France, Germany, England, and of course his home country of Mexico. Jaime has also taken on the roles of arranger, music director, and orchestrator, in addition to adapting, producing, and directing the Spanish world premiere of Jason Robert Brown’s THE LAST FIVE YEARS in 2006 and SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD in 2005.
And it was around that time that Jaime came to New York to study at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He's been on quite the journey and it's a fascinating story of an immigrant artist here in America.
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Donate to the podcast: https://ko-fi.com/winmipodcast 
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WINMI is a Top 20 Theater Podcast thanks to you!  https://blog.feedspot.com/theatre_podcasts/  
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Music in this episode:
"Yellow Light District" by Lobo Loco."Kitty in the Window" by Podington Bear."Basketliner" by Blue Dot Sessions.Savage, a musical by Tommy Newman and Jaime Lozano, performed and recorded at University of Alabama in Birmingham."Una Historia sin Final Concierto" by Jaime Lozano."Smooth Actor" by Podington Bear."Night Emotions" by Lobo Loco."Ayer" by Gloria and Emilio Estefan (Karaoke Track).

Alex Pires - Actor and Writer of the Comedy Web Series P’s in a Pod

The process of getting an idea, a story from conception to production to finally being onstage or onscreen can be a rather lengthy process. Hamilton took seven years and La La Land was almost nine. Alex Pires is another one of those with plenty of ideas. He’s an actor who came to NYC with a mission to not only act but to write as well. But as we know having the idea is just the first step on a long journey towards actually seeing it come to life.
His comedy web series P's in a Pod released its Pilot Episode in January 2019, but the rest of the seven-episode season didn't come out till April 2020. He talks about that long journey as well as some of the serious subjects addressed on this funny show: stereotypes, racism, depression, and even germaphobia.
 
Follow Alex: Website / Instagram / Twitter 
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Donate to the podcast: https://ko-fi.com/winmipodcast 
Don't forget to check out all the helpful offers available to you through WINMI guests and partners: resources.winmipodcast.com 
WINMI is a Top 20 Theater Podcast thanks to you! https://blog.feedspot.com/theatre_podcasts/  

FINAL FIVE: Jason Odell Williams

Thanks for coming back to join me and Jason Odell Williams for the final five! This is a bonus episode to the conversation we had previously, covering topics and five specific questions we didn’t address on the last episode. Today, Jason talks about how his teachers inspired him and how he's still learning to process and handle criticism and feedback. 
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The time and expense needed to bring these guests and conversations to you each week is sometimes challenging but always rewarding. Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.
For further insights on the topics covered in this episode: twitter.com/winmipodcast/ 
Quotes and unreleased audio clips: instagram.com/winmipodcast/