The Chicago Theater-Makers Podcast

Today’s guest is a writer and performer known for his intelligent, darkly funny style.

His diverse career includes over a decade of national stand-up touring and writing for A-list talent such as Jason Sudeikus, Mindy Kaling, and Ellen Degeneres. He has also written for BBC Radio’s The Treatment, and worked as a story consultant for Pixar Animation.

His one man show Therapist Zero chronicles his journey as a parent naviga...

Thanks for tuning in to part 2 of our National Wellness Month finale as we continue our conversation on mental wellness.

Our guest in part 2 is former musical theater performer and director in New York City, who is now a Licensed Professional Counselor based in Kansas City, KS.

She utilizes her past skills of exploring emotions, making creative connections and listening with openness and curiosity to help people get out of their head...

Today’s episode is the finale of our series on National Wellness Month. And for that we are releasing a two part episode discussing mental health.  

Our guest in part 1 is a Chicago born actor, singer dancer, director and choreographer who is also a licensed social worker.

Shortly after graduating from Illinois Wesleyan University, he was cast in the Chicago company of Hal Prince’s Showboat. Upon that show’s cl...

Today’s episode continues our series on National Wellness Month where each week we’re interviewing a wellness practitioner aligned with the theater-making community. 

And with that, today’s guest came to the performing arts early and never really left. She toured nationally and internationally as a musical theatre performer in such shows as 42nd Street, The Wizard of Oz, Sweeney Todd, Evita, and A Chorus Line.

...

As we continue our series on National Wellness Month, this week’s episode focuses on financial wellness. And with that, today’s guest is one of Chicago’s top certified financial planners. 

He began his early career path as a professional poker player. You could say it was there where he learned patience, steady handedness, and when to make the right moves.

Leveraging his success, and earnings, he launched Zen W...

As we continue our National Wellness Month series, today's episode we're talking all about vocal health with someone you might call "ENT to the stars of Chicago (and those performers passing through)”. He is the division head for laryngology at Rush University, Medical Center.

Singing since a very young age, his fascination with the power of the human voice peaked his interest early on and he considers his passion for helping ...

August is National Wellness Month and today’s episode kicks off our month long series, where each week we will interview a wellness practitioner aligned with the theater-making community. 

And with that, today’s guest is a former Broadway dancer turned yoga, instructor, who has become one of the most well respected teachers in the North Shore of Chicago.

Originally from Maplewood, New Jersey, she received her BFA fro...

Today’s guest is the founder of Rose Theatrics, a theatre company dedicated to creating meaningful and diverse opportunities for performers across the Chicagoland area while providing high-caliber and accessible theatre to the surrounding communities.

She is a theatre educator, director, producer, and speech coach based in the south suburbs of Chicago and serves as the Director of Speech & Theatre at Marian Catholic High S...

Today’s guests is are part of Highland Park Players’ current production of Beautiful running through July 26th at the McGrath Performing Arts Center in Wilmette.

Anna Marie Abbate plays Carole King in the production.

An actress and teacher who grew up in Park Ridge, IL she received her Bachelors in theater and dance from Milliken University. Like many other artists, during the downturn of the Covid 19 pandemic she returne...

Today’s guest is a Chicago-based cellist and theatre artist, who graduated with Honors from Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts with a Bachelor of Musical Arts Degree in Cello Performance and Arts & Public Policy.

As an actor, he has appeared in such varied shows as High Fidelity, bare: a pop opera, Fun Home, Triassic Parq, Godspell, The Addams Family, Les Misérables, and Urinetown.

As a cellist, he ha...

I am so excited to bring you this episode with today’s guest, who is currently the Co-Artistic director for Chicago’s famed Steppenwolf Theatre.

Part of the company’s ensemble since 2017, she has directed their productions of You Will Get Sick during the 2024/25 season and POTUS in their 2023/24 season.

On stage there she has been seen in Noises Off, The Thanksgiving Play, The Herd, Between Riverside and Crazy, The ...

Our pride month concludes with clips of guests within the LGBTQ community, whom we were honored to have on the podcast during our first season. 

We’re including these clips of previous guests because when we launched the podcast last July, we had just missed Pride Month and therefore they weren’t included in such an acknowledgement.

And with that, let’s go, to the top of the show and our first look back to our ...

Our pride month celebration continues with today’s guests the director and a one of the cast members of the current local tour of ‘The Revolutionists’.

Iris Sowlat holds an MFA in Theatre Directing from University of Massachusetts Amherst.

In 2018, Iris was named one of Windy City Times’ “30 Under 30" LGBT Chicagoans making a difference, and in 2019 founded Violet Surprise Theatre, with Allison Fradkin.

I...

Today’s episode continues our Pride Month Celebration with today’s guest known here in the Chicagoland area as a cast member and understudy to the title role of Alexander Hamilton in the Chicago production of Hamilton, which he toured with for six years. 

Born in Long Island, New York he received his BFA in acting from Marymount Manhattan College and shortly thereafter, made his Broadway debut as Angel in Rent and f...

Today episode continues our Celebration of Pride Month and today’s guest is a trans actor from the southwest suburbs of Chicago, now living in the Edgewater neighborhood. 

He has been working professionally in Chicago and the surrounding areas ever since graduating with a degree in Musical Theatre from Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in 2021. He was recently seen in "Fiddler on the Roof”, ...

Todays’ guests kick off our series celebrating Pride Month. They are a couple here in town who have been part of the Chicagoland theater scene for over 10 years.

Devin DeSantis is a Jeff Award nominated artist who is regarded as one of Chicago’s leading theatrical vocalists, who has been honored to work with theatre companies and symphonies around the country and the world.

A graduate of Northwestern University’s Sc...

Hi everyone!

I hope you’re enjoying a restful and reflective Memorial Day Holiday.

I just wanted to take a few moments to first thank all of our fans and followers for all of your support over the last 2 seasons! 

Next week we Launch Season 3 by celebrating “Pride Month”, where each episode the month we’ll feature members of the LGBTQ Theater-Making community.

In July we’re back to our regular weekly ...

Today’s guest was born and raised in suburban Detroit where he attended the Creative and performing Arts magnet program at Churchill High School. Moving on from there, he received his BA in Theatre Performance from Western Michigan University, and then his MFA in Acting from UC San Diego. 

He spent 13 years in Los Angeles in guest starring roles in such shows as Modern Family, New Girl, Vegas and The Young and the Restles...

Today’s guest grew up in Milwaukee got his first training in theater and visual art at Milwaukee High School of the Arts.

Moving to NYC in 2004, he worked as an art department assistant for TV shows and rehearsal accompanist on the original Broadway production of The Color Purple before getting a taste of writing and composing.

Upon joining the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop, he met Kellen Blair, and their first professional...