Why I‘ll Never Make It
Episodes
Monday Sep 12, 2022
Monday Sep 12, 2022
As noted in the previous episode, auditions are the backbone of this industry. It is the fundamental job of every actor to do as many jobs as we can and do each one to the best of our ability. But there is an important gatekeeper when it comes to submitting our self tapes or actually getting in the audition room, and that is the casting Director. You’ve heard from Actors and their experiences in front of the audition table. Well, now it’s time to hear from the other side of that proverbial table and what goes in to casting, and the vital role they play in the production for the stage or screen.
Daryl Eisenberg, along with fellow casting director Ally Beans, works to create a comfortable space for actors, so they can take risks and really show their full potential as artists. You’ll hear Daryl’s thoughts on how actors can make their mark in the audition room or on a self-tape, and then you’ll get an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at how she uses her position and expertise to make the audition process enjoyable and inclusive for artists on both sides of the table.
Learn more about WINMI Podcast at whyillnevermakeit.com
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Why I’ll Never Make It is an award-winning, top 25 theater podcast and is hosted by Off-Broadway actor and singer Patrick Oliver Jones. It is a production of WINMI Media, LLC. and is also a part of Helium Radio Network and a member of the Broadway Makers Alliance.
Background music in the episode is by John Bartmann (Public Domain) and Blue Dot Sessions (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License).
Audition Stories of Diversity and Inclusion
Covid certainly has changed the way we now audition, with self-tapes and Zoom auditions becoming the norm. But the summer of 2020 also changed the way we think about who is coming to the auditions and what that creative team looks like. In this week’s bonus episode, Daryl shares a few of her own experiences as she advocates for more diversity on both sides of the table. You’ll also hear how she works with fellow casting director Ally Beans, who is both partner and collaborator in the casting process.
Bonus episodes like these are only available to monthly supporters of Why I’ll Never Make It. So if you’d like to help this podcast as well, then please consider a monthly subscription and get access to bonus episodes like the Audition Stories.
CASTING OFFICES IN NYC
Some of the biggest casting offices for stage and screen (like Eisenberg/Beans) reside in New York City, and at the top of the list is...
The Telsey Office
Formerly known as Telsey + Company, The Telsey Office is perhaps the best known casting office for commercials, film, television, and course, theatre. The company has bases in both New York City and Los Angeles.
Recent Broadway: Waitress, MJ the Musical, Flying Over Sunset, Mrs. Doubtfire, Diana, West Side Story, Tina, The Sound Inside, Beetlejuice, Gary, Oklahoma!, Be More Chill, To Kill a Mockingbird, Network, The Cher Show, The Prom.
Website: www.thetelseyoffice.com
Contact: info@thetelseyoffice.com | 917-277-7520
Tara Rubin Casting
Rubin began her company in 2001 after working for 15 years as a Casting Director at Johnson-Liff Associates. She is a graduate of Boston University and serves on the board of the Casting Society of America.
Recent Broadway: Six, Ain't Too Proud, Summer, The Band's Visit, Prince of Broadway, Bandstand, Indecent, Miss Saigon, Dear Evan Hansen, A Bronx Tale, Cats, Disaster!
Website: www.tararubincasting.com
Contact: tararubincasting.info@gmail.com | 212-302-3011
Binder Casting
Binder Casting was founded nearly 40 years ago by Jay Binder, who passed away in April 2022, and has been a part of RWS Entertainment Group since 2016. The office has cast 150+ Broadway, Off-Broadway, and National Touring productions, in addition to countless national and international projects spanning both stage and screen.
Recent Broadway: The Lion King, In Transit, Dames at Sea, It Shoulda Been You, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Nice Work if You Can Get It, Born Yesterday, White Christmas, Finian's Rainbow.
Website: bindercasting.com
Contact: info@bindercasting.com | 212-586-6777
Stewart/Whitley
An award-winning office in New York City that delivers excellence and innovation in casting. Respect for the creative process: the artistic teams, actors and all who collaborate in it is paramount. Connecting creativity is at the cornerstone of what they do.
Recent Broadway: Hadestown, The Lightning Thief, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Pippin, Chicago
Website: www.stewartwhitley.com
Contact: info@stewartwhitley.com | 212-635-2153
Wojcik Casting Team
Wojcik/Seay Casting opened its doors in January of 2009 with the national non-union tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and has also been featured in Season 2 of the podcast. But Gayle Seay has since gone to become Artistic Director of Stages St. Louis, while Scott Wojcik continues to cast shows in and out of New York.
Recent Broadway: Jesus Christ Superstar, Motown
Website: wscasting.com
Contact: info@wscasting.com
Jim Carnahan, CSA
Recent Broadway: Moulin Rouge!, Kiss Me, Kate, Tootsie, Burn This, The Ferryman, Head Over Heels, Travesties, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Angels in America, Farinelli and the King, Time and the Conways, 1984, Groundhog Day, The Price, The Cherry Orchard, Long Day's Journey Into Night, She Loves Me, Noises Off, Fun Home.
Stephen Kopel, CSA
Recent Broadway: Moulin Rouge!, Jagged Little Pill; Kiss Me, Kate; The Play That Goes Wrong; Beautiful; Sunday in the Park with George; Amélie; She Loves Me; Noises Off; Violet; The Glass Menagerie; Harvey; Once; Anything Goes
Caparelliotis Casting
Recent Broadway: The Minutes, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, In the Height of the Storm, Ink, Hillary and Clinton, King Lear, The Waverly Gallery, The Nap, The Boys in the Band, Saint Joan.
Daniel Swee, CSA
Recent Broadway: Pass Over, The Great Society, To Kill a Mockingbird, Six Degrees of Separation, Oslo, The Present, The Heidi Chronicles, The Audience
Cindy Tolan, CSA
Recent Broadway: Company, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Betrayal, Macbeth, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella.
Other standouts on the theatre scene:
Bass/Valle CastingBob Cline CastingFranck CastingHBD CastingJamibeth Margolis CastingKlapper CastingLaura Stanczyk CastingMichael Cassara Casting
Monday Sep 05, 2022
Monday Sep 05, 2022
As much as we actors wish it wasn’t so, auditioning really is our job. Performing it’s just an added perk, if we do that job really well. That being said though, there are times when we mail an audition and simply couldn’t have done any better, yet we still don’t book the part. Such is the life and labor of an actor.
Welcome to the annual episode of Audition Stories…the good, the bad, and the hysterical. And today you’ll be getting a sampling of the bonus episodes available to monthly supporters of this podcast. You’ll hear from the following actors, directors, and choreographers as they share their most memorable auditions:
Barton Cowperthwaite - actor and dancer from Tiny Pretty Things
Misty Rosas - actress, singer and performance artist from The Mandalorian
Carmen Cusack - actress and singer from Bright Star and Flying Over Sunset
Jerry Mitchell - director and choreographer of Kinky Boots and Pretty Woman
Al Blackstone - director and choreographer from So You Think You Can Dance
Michael Learned - famed actress from The Waltons
Kathryn Allison - actress and singer from Company and Aladdin
Briana Packen - actress and coach from Movement 4 Everybody
The Prom Tony Nominees - Caitlin Kinnunen, Beth Leavel, and
Brooks Ashmanskas
I love sharing these stories and episodes, but it does take time and resources to do it. Currently, about 90% of podcast production costs come out of my own pocket. So I would greatly appreciate if you would consider joining Why I’ll Never Make It and support the ongoing efforts of this podcast:
monthly subscriptions with access to bonus episodes and more
yearly subscriptions at a $20 discount off the monthly options
one-time donations to help the ongoing production of this podcast
Learn more about WINMI Podcast at whyillnevermakeit.com
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Why I’ll Never Make It is hosted by Off-Broadway actor and singer Patrick Oliver Jones and is a production of WINMI Media, LLC. It's an award winning Top 25 Theater Podcast on Feedspot and is also a part of Helium Radio Network and a member of the Broadway Makers Alliance.
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Monday Aug 29, 2022
Monday Aug 29, 2022
When it comes to “making it” as a performer onstage or on screen, it’s usually as an actor, singer, or dancer. Most people tend to gravitate toward the one(s) they’re most comfortable with and can truly express their artistry. Barton Cowperthwaite is a dancer first and foremost, with performances ranging from the opera La Traviata to Travis Wall’s Shaping Sound dance tour. The esteemed choreographer Lar Lubovitch describes Barton as a “movement poet” and credits him with having what he calls musical visualization. “Rather than hearing the music, this kind of dancer has the impression of being the music.”
But Barton has also been singing the music as well in productions at City Center Encores and in the national tour of American in Paris. He’s also been exercising his acting chops in a few movies and of course in his breakout role of Oren in the Netflix series Tiny Pretty Things. Through all of it, Barton has proven he’s much more than just a good mover and a pretty face.
In this conversation, he shares both the joys and disappointments of working on a hit TV show that ended up being canceled, he opens up about realizing his own weaknesses as a performer and needing to constantly work at improving his abilities, and he talks about the time he went on for the lead role in An American in Paris with just 15 minutes notice.
Learn more about WINMI Podcast at whyillnevermakeit.com
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Ljósið (The Light) from Cylan Shaffer
Before there was American in Paris, before Tiny Pretty Things, Barton was cast as the lead dancer in a wordless and moving piece from filmmaker Cylan Shaffer. It tells the story of a man who desires to overcome the restraint of his fears and then embarks on a journey towards discovery. Ljósið is an extraordinary performance piece of stunning emotion as two dancers (including Brandon Coleman) explore the boundaries of loss, love, denial, and acceptance. Watch it here.
Tiny Pretty Things Explores Sexuality on Netflix
Fans of this show were ravenous in their love and affection for these characters. One such fan created a compilation video which highlights one of Barton's more vulnerable and intimate storylines in the show -- his character's relationship with Shane (Brennan Clost). Watch it here.
Final Five with Barton Cowperthwaite
After our conversation on the joys of dancing and the struggles of being seen as more than just a dancer, Barton answers five final questions on the inspirations and advice he's received throughout his time onstage and onscreen. You'll find his answers and more on the WINMI Blog.
Follow Barton: Website | Instagram | IMDb
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Monday Aug 22, 2022
Monday Aug 22, 2022
Back in the summer of 2020, the lockdowns were in full swing, there was so much uncertainty around Covid and what the pandemic would mean for the arts, and there was a new Netflix docuseries everyone was talking about, a little show called Tiger King. Well, in the midst of all that I sat down with composer and lyricist Andrew Lippa. He talked about a few of his bigger profile shows like The Addams Family, Big Fish, and of course The Wild Party as well as a Tiger King parody he did with Kristin Chenoweth.
We discuss the years of writing and rewriting he's put into his various shows as well as the challenges and big budgets that come with creating a Broadway musical—something that I have seen firsthand this summer with Anne of Green Gables and its continuing creative journey. So join me as I take a look back at this insightful and honest conversation with my friend and fellow artist Andrew Lippa. (Recorded April 8, 2020)
Website - https://andrewlippa.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/lippaofficial
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lippaandrew
Recent shows: The Man in the Ceiling, I Am Harvey Milk, Unbreakable
Join Why I’ll Never Make It as a monthly supporterto get access to Bonus Episodes and also check out WINMI's YouTube Channel.
Thank you for your continued understanding through Anne of Green Gables rehearsals and performances here at Goodspeed in Connecticut. Due to limited time and resources I'm not able to to get out a new episode each week, but I hope you're enjoying the smaller bonus episodes and encore interviews like this one.
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Monday Aug 15, 2022
Gina Harris Finds Magic in the Ordinary Things of Life and Theater
Monday Aug 15, 2022
Monday Aug 15, 2022
In the previous episode, I spoke with a musical writing team about their process of writing a full show for the stage with a cast and creative team bringing their story to life. But in today’s episode I’m speaking with a singular artist about her one-woman show and the long journey it took to go from thoughts and ideas in her head to an actual production and a dramatic podcast as well.
Gina Harris has performed in theaters and jazz clubs in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. She’s a veteran of the famous improv group The Groundlings and had a leading role in the Broadway and national touring productions of Beethoven’s Tenth. A show that you’ve probably never heard of, and Gina will share with us why that is.
But she also talks about dealing with the loss of her parents and mentor, what led her to write a one-woman musical called The Magic of Ordinary Things, even though she’d never written a song before in her life, and how she went through 10 different directors before finally finding the right person to guide her creative efforts.
Learn more about Why I’ll Never Make It at whyillnevermakeit.com
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Get a free copy of WINMI’s collection of Creative Wisdom
The Magic of Ordinary Things (stage show and podcast)
How do you go on when the people you love die? If you could see them one more time, what would you say? What would you want to hear?
Well, Gina Harris got the chance. The Magic of Ordinary Things is a musical memoir — a theatre piece, a dream, a Sufi Tale with original music. It tells the story of how moments missed and things once taken for granted become the stepping stones to a new life. It reminds us that it's never too late.
Written and performed by Gina Harris • Directed by Michael French
Final Five Questions with Gina Harris
After our conversation on the inspirations and struggles of creating her one-woman show, Gina answered five final questions on the inspirations and advice he's received throughout her time in theater. You'll find her answers and more on the WINMI Blog.
Follow Gina: Website | Instagram | YouTube
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Monday Aug 08, 2022
FINAL FIVE: Composer Matt Vinson & Book Writer and Lyricist Matte O’Brien
Monday Aug 08, 2022
Monday Aug 08, 2022
In the last episode, I spoke with composer Matt Vinson and writer Matte O'Brien about their new musical Anne of Green Gables. It was the first time I’ve spoken with a musical writing team here on Why I’ll Never Make It, and so for the two of them I thought I would bring back a bonus episode I haven’t done in a while: The Final Five.
After that main interview they answered five final questions about what “making it” means to them, lessons they’ve learned both as individuals and as a writing team, as well as useful advice that has helped them creatively and personally.
Learn more about WINMI Podcast at whyillnevermakeit.com
Subscribe to WINMI and get access to Bonus Episodes on Supercast
Donate to the production of making this podcast
Follow Why I’ll Never Make It on Instagram or Twitter
Get a free copy of WINMI’s collection of Creative Wisdom
Monday Aug 01, 2022
Monday Aug 01, 2022
Writing a musical is a long process, and once the writers are have finished that last page…that’s really only the beginning of their journey. By the time an actor comes along to audition for it, there’s usually been years of drafts, workshops, and revisions.
Listeners of this podcast know that this summer has been a welcome return to the stage for me in a new theatrical adaptation of Anne of Green Gables, my first musical since the covid shutdown. And it all started with a self-tape audition back in February of this year that then culminated in several callbacks with the creative team a few weeks later. Well today, I’m joined by two of the people who were in that audition room: composer Matt Vinson and writer Matte O'Brien.
A transcript of this interview can be found here.
While there have been individual writers and composers on previous episodes, this is the first time welcoming a musical writing team to the show. Matt and Matte have done several musicals together, but for this conversation we focus on the many years it has taken for Anne of Green Gables to get to Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut, and how they are preparing for its potential future. Matt and Matte share three stories of its humble beginnings, learning to take (and not take) feedback from others, and how actors influence the rewriting and editing process.
Learn more about Why I’ll Never Make It at whyillnevermakeit.com
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Anne of Green Gables Concept Album
As this musical has gone through various readings and workshops, there have been a number of people taking on these characters and singing these songs. And throughout this episode you’ll hear samples of music from Anne of Green Gables, taken from a Concept Album and subsequent recordings. Those featured in this episode include:
Oh, My Diana - Chris McCarrell
Different Kind of Girl - Michelle Veintimilla
The Asylum - Jenna Rubaii
I Wanna Know You - Chris McCarrell
Make a Move - Aurelia Williams
Different Kind of Girl (Reprise) - Juliette Redden
Listen as Matt and Matte answer the Final Five questions and read their Writer's Notes on Anne of Green Gables.
The Queer Life of L.M. Montgomery
Her 1908 novel about a red-headed orphan girl has sold more than 50 million copies and made her known throughout the world with generations of fans. But what is really known about L.M. Montgomery, who was called ‘Maud’ by close friends and family. She started out as a single schoolteacher, but went on to marry a minister, gave birth to two sons, and wrote many more books.
But in 1985, publication began of a journal Montgomery had been keeping for fifty-three years. It was quite a shocking exposé of a woman who was often depressed, dealt with a horrible marriage, yet found her greatest happiness from deep, intimate and meaningful relationships with female friends.
And so for decades an undercurrent of Lesbianism has been debated not only for the central character of Anne Shirley but also the author herself. This came to a head in 2000 when professor Laura Robinson published a paper named “Bosom Friends: Lesbian Desire in L. M. Montgomery’s Anne Books,” where she argued that Anne had more passionate relationships with her female friends than her male love interest. This has not sat well with those who view Anne’s female friendships as both innocent and platonic.
Read more about this ongoing debate…
Bosom Friends Affair
Professor suggests Anne of Green Gables was Lesbian
The Gay Anne of Green Gables Scandal
Netflix is at It Again…Homosexuality in Anne of Green Gables
The Queer Life of L.M. Montgomery
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Why I’ll Never Make It is hosted and produced by Off-Broadway actor and singer Patrick Oliver Jones in association with WINMI Media, LLC. It received the Communicator Award of Distinction in 2022 and is a Top 25 Theater Podcast on Feedspot. WINMI is also a part of Helium Radio Network and a member of the Broadway Makers Alliance.
The songs clips in this episode from the musical Anne of Green Gables are written by Matt Vinson and Matte O'Brien and used with their express permission. Outro Music is by Blue Dot Sessions and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Monday Jul 25, 2022
Adam Stocker and the Theater Interview That Went All Wrong
Monday Jul 25, 2022
Monday Jul 25, 2022
Just like actors show off their skills in the audition room, other artists and creatives have their own ways of showcasing talents to prospective theaters, directors, or employers. And these interviews can be just as anxious and nerve-racking as what we actors face, especially if you aren’t as prepared as you could be.
Adam Stocker is a Broadway costumer and returns for this bonus episode to share a story from his junior year at Western Michigan University. He recounts an interview he had for what would’ve been his first internship. However, from the moment the phone interview began, Adam was caught off-guard and just trying to keep up…
Follow Adam: Website | Instagram
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A transcript of this interview can be found on the WINMI Blog and is available thanks to financial supporters of this podcast. You'll also find Adam's Final Five questions on the blog as well.
Welcome back to Why I’ll Never Make It and this special episode which is very different from the usual Audition Stories that are normally reserved for monthly supporters of this podcast. But I wanted to offer this conversation with Adam to all listeners like you as an invitation to subscribe to bonus content on Supercast, the Patreon alternative for podcasters.
With your subscription, you’ll be helping this podcast continue to produce important and insightful interviews with a wide range of creative artists and actors. So become a supporter of WINMI today, and you’ll have my utmost appreciation and a lot of bonus episodes to listen to.