There’s No Business Like...

Ep. 156 Norbert Leo Butz: From Busking to Broadway

Josh had an opportunity to sit down with Broadway legend Norbert Leo Butz at the Midwest Arts Xpo, and we share that conversation here. Norbert shares how he got started in the industry and the stories behind some of the roles he is known best for. Our hosts do their best to play it cool and also share their first named rol...

Ep. 155 Bill Stanczykiewicz: The State of Philanthropy

This week Kevin sits down with Bill Stanczykiewicz from Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Bill shares incredible insights into philanthropy including what philanthropy is, what the data is telling us about giving, and breaks down the changes to the tax code.

Bill Stan...

Ep. 154 Live From MAX – a Conversation on Ticketing

This week our hosts Josh, Katie, Danielle, and Kevin are coming to you LIVE from the Expo Hall at Midwest Arts Expo 2025. Our four hosts discuss ticketing.  They touch on On Sale and announce schedules, ticket pricing, third party ticketing, and dynamic pricing. 

Follow us on social media and le...

Ep. 153 Empire Training Center for the Arts: Creating a New Pipeline to the Field

This week Bryan introduces us to Trish Santini and Frank Butler, co-founders of the new Empire Training Center for the Arts in Poughkeepsie, NY. We learn about Trish and Frank’s extensive and winding careers and what inspired them to create a vocational arts training center that provides access...

Ep. 152 The Values of Next Gen Patrons This week the team and guest Kiersten Birondo talk about a recent study examining Gen Z and Millennials’ perceived cost and value of attending theater, and how we can apply the findings to marketing and audience engagement efforts in venues across the country.

You can read the Broadway News article and find the link to the study, “Unve...

Ep. 151 Selling Out or Showing Up?

The team follows up on Josh’s recent Tuesday Talk with the Ohio Arts Professionals Network (OAPN) about the value of commercial programming - how it can serve your community, support other programming financially, and broaden our industry.

You can check out Josh’s Tuesday Talk with OAPN (https://oapn.org/) at ht...

Ep. 150 There's No Business Like - Hot Headlines

This week Katie, Josh, and Bryan round up and discuss some the industry headlines from the week and the implications for the field. It’s not all bad, though! We do get to chat about a certain musician whose name rhymes with Taylor and everyone’s favorite 90s uncle.

Have opinions on the week’s top s...

Ep 149 Mary Jennings: Ballet is Frickin’ Amazing

This week the team learns about the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and talk about big transitions leading into Katie’s conversation with Mary Jennings, the Executive Director of the Grand Rapids Ballet. Mary and Katie talk about how to build staff and organizational culture, the impact of resident companies on a community, budget...

Ep. 148 Kara Hettinger: Teaching Artists are Invaluable

The team is back from summer break and this week Danielle sits down with colleague Kara Hettinger, and they discuss more ways of building the future of our industry: innovations in reaching teen audiences and training and support for teaching artists. Kara is one of the founding collaborators of the Midwest Teaching Art...

NBL Rewind: Wone Vang: Never Give Up on Your Stupid Stupid Dreams This week we wrap our July 20205 Rewind Series as we revisit one of Danielle’s favorite conversations from Season 2, Episode 65 with Wone Vang!

Kevin tries out his old-timey radio voice before sitting down with Wone Vang. Wone shares the struggle of being a full-time artist and full-time employee, the Guarante...

NBL Rewind: Tara Bailey: Take Less Crap from People This week Bryan ensures we feature our friends from the north as we rewind to Danielle’s Season 1 conversation with Canadian agent and Friend of the Pod, Tara Bailey! On this episode Danielle sits down with agent Tara Bailey. We learn how the Grateful Dead and planning underground parties led to a career in the arts. Through Tara’s story we learn abo...

NBL Rewind: Bob Bennett: Quality Takes Time

This week Kevin rewinds us all the way back to Episode 32 to revisit the lessons and great advice offered by Bob Bennett in May 2023. This is also one of Katie’s favorites!

Bob Bennett, and his impressive beard, join Josh for a conversation about Jazz, Jazz St. Louis, and all of the options of being pa...

NBL Rewind: The State of Development with Lori L. Jacobwith This week Katie is rewinding to earlier this year and gasp! recommends you sit still and listen deeply to this one! So grab your earbuds, a pen, and comfy chair and adult beverage of choice and enjoy!

This week, Kevin sits down with fundraising professional Lori L. Jacobwith to talk about the changing development l...

NBL Rewind: Micah Christian: A Process Unfolding It’s summer vacation! The Pod Squad is taking a break and sharing some of their favorite conversations from the beach for the month of July. This week Josh rewinds to Ep. 64 with musician Micah Christian.

This week Bryan sits down with the lead vocalist of Sons of Serendip, Micah Christian. Micah opens up about his journey ...

Ep 142: Investing in Our Future This week guests Paige Hernandez, Daniel Hahn, and Karoline Myers stop by the pod to talk about the importance of and creative ways of commissioning new work from both the artist and venue perspectives. Daniel and Karoline also share about a new commissioning funding model, the TYA Tour Development Collective, which just completed its pilot year and is connecting artists ...

Ep. 141 NBL Summer Check-In

Join Josh, Katie, and Kevin this week as they talk about what they are thinking about in our industry – the good and the bad. We would love to hear what you are thinking about- send us an email or reach out through socials.

Follow us on social media and let us know your thoughts and questions – https://linktr.ee/nobusi...

Ep. 140 Finding the Future Together

This week Danielle recaps the 2025 TYA/USA National Festival and Conference with guests Brian Fahey, Ashli St. Armant, and Sarah McCarthy. They dig into some of the best professional development sessions, major takeaways around audience investment, pay what you wish models, meeting student needs as teaching artists, seeing new work, advoca...

Ep. 139 Broadway’s Biggest Night – Voting for the Tonys The lights are bright on Broadway as Katie and Josh learn all about the Tony Awards from Broadway producer Rashad Chambers and the Wharton Center’s Eric Olmscheid, who both serve as Tonys voters. We discuss seeing 42 shows in a season, the voting process, Tonys marketing and press, the role the Tonys play in the larger theater industry landscape, ...

Ep. 138 Christopher Kendrick-Castanho: Full Circle Moment

We’re headed to Broadway this week as Danielle and Bryan talk about the Broadway League’s 2025 Spring Road Conference and arts marketing with guest Christopher Kendrick-Castanho. Christopher shares about social media and influencer marketing, some of the rising challenges in the Broadway touring industry, and turns th...