ROH & RPAC On Air with Sam Bennett

Join two of Disney’s The Little Mermaid stars, Ben Hanley (Scuttle) and Marcus Provost (King Triton), for a chat about their experiences over the years on the Rochester Opera House stage and the greater seacoast as well as performing with your favorite podcast host, Sam Bennett. These professionals talk about the process from script to stage while learning the entirety of this musical in less than 12 days. You’ll hear about the int...

Welcome Rochester Opera House Sound Engineer, Nick Donlin, as he breaks his silence from behind the "ROH & RPAC On Air" podcast recording board.  Nick and Sam chat about the inner workings of sound tech at Rochester Opera House and discuss what challenges arise for the variety of productions we produce at ROH.  Contracted with ROH since reopening after COVID, Nick is in charge of mixing, designing, and staging the sou...

Guests: Chris Bradley & Eloise Ellis

Eloise tells us how reprising her role as Ariel in ROH’s production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid is just what she needs this summer to help reclaim her passions for theatre. Chris is excited and ready to perform as Ursula, a role he’s eyed since 6th grade. Our guests chat about just singing songs versus putting passion and heart behind the music and where these efforts make the difference f...

Guest: Grady Savage

Grady Savage joins Sam Bennett to talk shop about stage managing.  Stage managers run all aspects of the performance from before the start of rehearsals until strike. We hear how she keeps things in order, on time, and how she brings the show back to order after technical malfunctions and missed cues. Starring in theatre since the early age of 8, Grady started working the technical side of theatre in her teens an...

Guests: Sam McLaughlin & Kyra Anthony

Join guests Sam McLaughlin and Kyra Anthony as they chat about their ensemble roles in Rochester Opera House’s production of Annie. Sam talks about initially emerging as a musician but how that transformed into a dynamic ability to transfer from stage to pit to coaching fellow actors.  Kyra shares the exciting chaos of transitioning into understudy roles at the last minute.  Each gives posit...

Guest: Jennifer Towle

Associate Artistic Director & Director of Education at RPAC, Jennifer “Jenry” Towle, talks about going into her fifth year of teaching kids' theater camp at Rochester Performance & Arts Center.  She mentions how teaching, inspiring, and empowering students helps shape and encourage positive culture in our community. A Pennsylvania native, Jenry toured the country with Hampstead Stage Company where ...

Guest: Anthony Ejarque

Join Sam Bennett as he introduces us to Rochester Opera House’s Executive Director, Anthony Ejarque. Listen to how the Rochester Opera House and Rochester Performance & Arts Center stay involved in our vibrant little city from the 60’s through today. We discuss adapting to recent arts funding cuts, engaging 1,000s of youth at our arts & education programming, HRCU $10 kid’s tickets, and an upcoming bas...