October 19, 2025 • 9 mins
Mindy and Mikaela speak with Eleni and Jeanine from The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The end of our show, and we hope you're still listening.
We know you are because you like free things and
we love to give away free things. We gave away
free sessions today with Art Psychic Medium.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Wait, we did, and now we're going to give away
tickets to a show. We love the arts, both Mindy
and I do, and are so appreciative to have the
contemporary theater on from time to time. And we'll have
a couple of tickets to give away to this show,
which is The Roommate. We have two guests joining us
today and I'm gonna Elene I. I'm going to have
you pronounce your name first because I don't want to
(00:32):
get it wrong.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
It's Aleni, Papa Leonardo.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Thank you have to be Italian, right, Greek? Oh?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Greek?
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Okay? That name said, Papa just sounded Italian to me.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
ELENNI, though, is your first name? That's that's right, okay, great?
And then Janine Thompson.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
That one's a little lazier.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Janine.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Hi, Hi, Janine, you're American right now?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (00:57):
I am so now. Eleni, you are the director of
the show.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Janine, you play Sharon. Thank you for joining us. I'm
going to go first to you, Lennie, tell us a
little bit about the Roommate. I know it just came
off Broadway and a really great run. What can you
tell us about the show and how did the contemporary
get it?
Speaker 5 (01:16):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Yeah, it is a fabulous two person show. And as
we all know, women of a certain age just don't
get seen very much. Right, we have like a certain
age where like it's there we see Augenu's young women,
but once we hit about forty fifty sixty, sometimes it
(01:39):
feels like women of that age become a little more invisible.
And this play is for two women in their fifties
and sixties. It is a stellar play where these women
get to have just full, such excellent, full characters. And
so it is ninety minutes of these two captivating, incredible
(02:03):
complex women kind of figuring out their lives and each other.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
So I take it their roommates correct?
Speaker 5 (02:11):
They are?
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Indeed, so are they at.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
A point in their lives where they're both divorced or
a widow?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Well, I mean there's like lots of reasons why we
typically think of when we have a roommate. We think
it's like college or when we're younger, and so certainly
for one of them. The idea that in their sixties,
no longer you know, divorced, and no longer with children
at home. Seeing the idea of having a roommate feels
(02:39):
like a failure at that point of life. But it
is not a failure. Roommates community is important to us,
and so having another person in her life actually becomes
quite wonderful.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
I just read an article recently about nine women living
together with their.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Dogs and it works out well. I mean, gosh, how
big is the place.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
I mean they're living on like ad But I mean
it's they're all divorced or widowed, right, I think there's
right dogs and just your girlfriends. The Golden Girls, Well exactly,
that is a perfect thought. So Sharon, not Sharon, but
I should say Janine, who plays Sharon.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
When we think about the Golden Girls, that's that's so interesting.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Tell us a little bit about Sharon and who she is,
and maybe which Golden Girl she would be if she
was a Golden Girl.
Speaker 5 (03:27):
Wow, that's a great question and how fun to consider
that in So, Sharon is divorced, and she's in her sixties,
and she needs to have a roommate, not only to
help make, you know, financial ends meet, but also to
maybe help bring a little more healthiness and happiness into
(03:49):
her life. A lot of us, when we're living alone,
we can become very isolated, and having a roommate eventually
really starts to open her up to new considerations, new
possibilities of looking at life and things to do in life.
And the show is full of very surprising and hilarious
(04:11):
twists and turns up to the very final moments.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Janine, how hard is it to be in a ninety
minute show where there's just two people? I would think
there's a lot of lines, a lot of movement on
stage to remember, and I just think that's a lot
of work too, people in the entire show, and you're
one of them.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
So I've been performing my entire life, and this is
one of the most difficult things I've ever done. Not
only are the lines immense, you know, yes, it's two people,
it's realistic, it's constant dialogue, a number of monologues. But
I think even more difficult than that it is to
(04:57):
be open and vulnerable to the emotion old roller coaster
that this play demands the actors to do. And what
is great is not only working with Elenni as the director,
but also my partner Michelle Schroeder. It is wonderful to
be able to meet a fellow actor on the stage
(05:18):
who you know you can trust to go on this
wild ride with.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
M I feel like Sharon might be a Dorothy. She's
definitely not a Rose or a Blanche. She's been through
some things and needs to find her joy. It sounds
like a bit is that accurate?
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Somewhat?
Speaker 5 (05:36):
But I think she's also a little bit of a
Rose that she's naive about a lot of things. However,
she's open to considering possibilities.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
So Eleni bring it back to you because you're directing this.
Is it easier to direct a production where there's just
two cast members or is it harder?
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Oh my gosh, you know they both come with their
different challenges and wonderful things. I think it's whatever I'm
not working on, I think it's easier. Like if I'm
working on a two person show, I'm like, oh, big
ensembled easier than this, And what if I work on
a big ensemble, like a two person shows easier than this?
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (06:18):
But something that makes this play so engaging and easy
to direct? Easy who compelling to direct is first of all,
Jen Silverman is an incredible play right, uh, And these
characters are so complex, and then we get these two
(06:39):
fantastic actors, Janine Thompson and Michelle Schroeder Lowry. Who oh,
they are so up to the challenge. I was saying,
like a couple of days ago in rehearsal, we could
just bring an audience in now to watch you rehearse and.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
It would be enough.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
They are so compelling. They work off each other the minute,
little gestures, facial expression size, and they're reacting to everything.
It is such a delight. Definitely, audiences will be drawn
in and have a great and moving.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Time, fun, fun, and I think really thinking about the
spirit of women at a certain age, and I think
that that'll be really great to see in action.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
Okay, so we have a couple of tickets to give away.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
We're going to take the second caller at six one
four eight two one nine eight eighty six that six
one four eight two one wtv N, because I know
we're towards the end of the segment, So give a
call in. You get to choose what day and what
show you go to.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
And speaking of that, a lady, what days and show
times are there still to go? Like with the show,
how is this all stacking up?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Tell people a little bit more about what their choices are,
whether they win the tickets or they want to go
to your website and learn more about the show?
Speaker 5 (08:00):
Was thing.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
So the Contemporary's website is a great place to go
for tickets. And I believe we're running for three weeks
Thursday to Sunday. There's an eight o'clock show on the
weeknights and on Saturday and the two pm matinee each Sunday.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
That sounds awesome. Yeah, we're going to get that second
caller and we will be in contact with you guys
to treat them to a great show out. And it's
just a great night out right. I mean, contemporary theater
is different than your regular sit down in the theater
and you're watching like a movie screen. It's totally different.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
I think this Contemporary does a really fantastic job of
selecting plays that are cutting edge, are compelling, and that
audiences have maybe heard a little bit about. So it's
not something out of total left field that you've never
heard of, but it's also not something you've ever seen before.
(09:01):
So Columbus audiences deserve excellent theater, and Contemporary is one
of the great theater. We have so many great theaters
in Columbus, but Contemporary is really setting a really wonderful
bar of heres stuff. You will be interested in things
that you may have heard of but that you haven't
had the opportunity to see yet.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Well, Janine and Alanie, thank you so much. Against six
one four eight two one nine eighty six six one
four eight two one WTVN.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Ladies. We look forward to the show and we thank
you for joining us today.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Thank you so much, Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Thanks ladies.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
Brey, it's really wonderful to talk with you.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Great to talk with you too. This is what Matters
on sixten WTVN.
The end of our show, and we hope you're still listening.
We know you are because you like free things and
we love to give away free things. We gave away
free sessions today with Art Psychic Medium.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Wait, we did, and now we're going to give away
tickets to a show. We love the arts, both Mindy
and I do, and are so appreciative to have the
contemporary theater on from time to time. And we'll have
a couple of tickets to give away to this show,
which is The Roommate. We have two guests joining us
today and I'm gonna Elene I. I'm going to have
you pronounce your name first because I don't want to
(00:32):
get it wrong.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
It's Aleni, Papa Leonardo.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Thank you have to be Italian, right, Greek? Oh?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Greek?
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Okay? That name said, Papa just sounded Italian to me.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
ELENNI, though, is your first name? That's that's right, okay, great?
And then Janine Thompson.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
That one's a little lazier.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Janine.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Hi, Hi, Janine, you're American right now?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (00:57):
I am so now. Eleni, you are the director of
the show.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Janine, you play Sharon. Thank you for joining us. I'm
going to go first to you, Lennie, tell us a
little bit about the Roommate. I know it just came
off Broadway and a really great run. What can you
tell us about the show and how did the contemporary
get it?
Speaker 5 (01:16):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Yeah, it is a fabulous two person show. And as
we all know, women of a certain age just don't
get seen very much. Right, we have like a certain
age where like it's there we see Augenu's young women,
but once we hit about forty fifty sixty, sometimes it
(01:39):
feels like women of that age become a little more invisible.
And this play is for two women in their fifties
and sixties. It is a stellar play where these women
get to have just full, such excellent, full characters. And
so it is ninety minutes of these two captivating, incredible
(02:03):
complex women kind of figuring out their lives and each other.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
So I take it their roommates correct?
Speaker 5 (02:11):
They are?
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Indeed, so are they at.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
A point in their lives where they're both divorced or
a widow?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Well, I mean there's like lots of reasons why we
typically think of when we have a roommate. We think
it's like college or when we're younger, and so certainly
for one of them. The idea that in their sixties,
no longer you know, divorced, and no longer with children
at home. Seeing the idea of having a roommate feels
(02:39):
like a failure at that point of life. But it
is not a failure. Roommates community is important to us,
and so having another person in her life actually becomes
quite wonderful.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
I just read an article recently about nine women living
together with their.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Dogs and it works out well. I mean, gosh, how
big is the place.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
I mean they're living on like ad But I mean
it's they're all divorced or widowed, right, I think there's
right dogs and just your girlfriends. The Golden Girls, Well exactly,
that is a perfect thought. So Sharon, not Sharon, but
I should say Janine, who plays Sharon.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
When we think about the Golden Girls, that's that's so interesting.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Tell us a little bit about Sharon and who she is,
and maybe which Golden Girl she would be if she
was a Golden Girl.
Speaker 5 (03:27):
Wow, that's a great question and how fun to consider
that in So, Sharon is divorced, and she's in her sixties,
and she needs to have a roommate, not only to
help make, you know, financial ends meet, but also to
maybe help bring a little more healthiness and happiness into
(03:49):
her life. A lot of us, when we're living alone,
we can become very isolated, and having a roommate eventually
really starts to open her up to new considerations, new
possibilities of looking at life and things to do in life.
And the show is full of very surprising and hilarious
(04:11):
twists and turns up to the very final moments.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Janine, how hard is it to be in a ninety
minute show where there's just two people? I would think
there's a lot of lines, a lot of movement on
stage to remember, and I just think that's a lot
of work too, people in the entire show, and you're
one of them.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
So I've been performing my entire life, and this is
one of the most difficult things I've ever done. Not
only are the lines immense, you know, yes, it's two people,
it's realistic, it's constant dialogue, a number of monologues. But
I think even more difficult than that it is to
(04:57):
be open and vulnerable to the emotion old roller coaster
that this play demands the actors to do. And what
is great is not only working with Elenni as the director,
but also my partner Michelle Schroeder. It is wonderful to
be able to meet a fellow actor on the stage
(05:18):
who you know you can trust to go on this
wild ride with.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
M I feel like Sharon might be a Dorothy. She's
definitely not a Rose or a Blanche. She's been through
some things and needs to find her joy. It sounds
like a bit is that accurate?
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Somewhat?
Speaker 5 (05:36):
But I think she's also a little bit of a
Rose that she's naive about a lot of things. However,
she's open to considering possibilities.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
So Eleni bring it back to you because you're directing this.
Is it easier to direct a production where there's just
two cast members or is it harder?
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Oh my gosh, you know they both come with their
different challenges and wonderful things. I think it's whatever I'm
not working on, I think it's easier. Like if I'm
working on a two person show, I'm like, oh, big
ensembled easier than this, And what if I work on
a big ensemble, like a two person shows easier than this?
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (06:18):
But something that makes this play so engaging and easy
to direct? Easy who compelling to direct is first of all,
Jen Silverman is an incredible play right, uh, And these
characters are so complex, and then we get these two
(06:39):
fantastic actors, Janine Thompson and Michelle Schroeder Lowry. Who oh,
they are so up to the challenge. I was saying,
like a couple of days ago in rehearsal, we could
just bring an audience in now to watch you rehearse and.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
It would be enough.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
They are so compelling. They work off each other the minute,
little gestures, facial expression size, and they're reacting to everything.
It is such a delight. Definitely, audiences will be drawn
in and have a great and moving.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Time, fun, fun, and I think really thinking about the
spirit of women at a certain age, and I think
that that'll be really great to see in action.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
Okay, so we have a couple of tickets to give away.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
We're going to take the second caller at six one
four eight two one nine eight eighty six that six
one four eight two one wtv N, because I know
we're towards the end of the segment, So give a
call in. You get to choose what day and what
show you go to.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
And speaking of that, a lady, what days and show
times are there still to go? Like with the show,
how is this all stacking up?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Tell people a little bit more about what their choices are,
whether they win the tickets or they want to go
to your website and learn more about the show?
Speaker 5 (08:00):
Was thing.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
So the Contemporary's website is a great place to go
for tickets. And I believe we're running for three weeks
Thursday to Sunday. There's an eight o'clock show on the
weeknights and on Saturday and the two pm matinee each Sunday.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
That sounds awesome. Yeah, we're going to get that second
caller and we will be in contact with you guys
to treat them to a great show out. And it's
just a great night out right. I mean, contemporary theater
is different than your regular sit down in the theater
and you're watching like a movie screen. It's totally different.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
I think this Contemporary does a really fantastic job of
selecting plays that are cutting edge, are compelling, and that
audiences have maybe heard a little bit about. So it's
not something out of total left field that you've never
heard of, but it's also not something you've ever seen before.
(09:01):
So Columbus audiences deserve excellent theater, and Contemporary is one
of the great theater. We have so many great theaters
in Columbus, but Contemporary is really setting a really wonderful
bar of heres stuff. You will be interested in things
that you may have heard of but that you haven't
had the opportunity to see yet.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Well, Janine and Alanie, thank you so much. Against six
one four eight two one nine eighty six six one
four eight two one WTVN.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Ladies. We look forward to the show and we thank
you for joining us today.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Thank you so much, Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Thanks ladies.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
Brey, it's really wonderful to talk with you.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Great to talk with you too. This is what Matters
on sixten WTVN.
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