New Trier Performing Arts Stories
For more than 100 years, the Performing Arts Department (PAD) at New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois has turned out scores of Hollywood and Broadway stars. From legends like Ann Margret, Ralph Bellamy, and Charlton Heston, to modern stars like Virginia Madsen, Adam Baldwin, and Rainn Wilson, the list of actors, writers, directors, producers, animators, set designers, costume designers, and more, is long. But why? What is it that makes New Trier so different? In this podcast, we will explore the answers to those questions by directly interviewing the graduates themselves. These are their stories.
Episodes
In this final episode of Season 2 (delayed again due to my recent surgery ... apologies, and THANK YOU for all of your encouragement and support!), you'll meet my special, "mystery guest", an actor whose professional career in TV and film didn't START until after he "retired". He's also, in more ways than one, THE reason that this podcast EXISTS. Enjoy! And stay tuned until the end for details on Season 3!
In this "better late than never" edition of New Trier Performing Arts Stories, TV and film actress Rusty Schwimmer and I talk about why she eventually returned to Chicago while still maintaining a successful Hollywood career. We also talk about her involvement in the Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas special, and then go back to New Trier for her favorite performing arts memory. Finally, we finish with a funny story about something...
In this episode, Rusty talks about her rocky start in the industry (including a near death experience at a Superbowl celebration), how a chance lunch serving The Fonz changed her career, our mutual obsession with The Carol Burnett Show, and how New Trier prepared her for her career as an actress.
Laura Deutsch's life was transformed by, and then later dedicated to the dance division at New Trier. In this episode, she talks about how dance changed her life, and how she eventually ended up back at New Trier, where she then taught dance for more than 30 years. We also talk about how the program has changed, and how it hasn't over the last 40 years. Enjoy!
Welcome to the first Bonus feature from Season 2 of New Trier Performing Arts Stories! OK, technically it’s not the first bonus feature, because I have several others from earlier interviews that I need to edit and post for you, but this is the first one I’m posting and it’s a lot of fun. As many of you know, after the official interview is over, my guests and I often stick around and talk for a while, and when Jim True-Frost and I...
In part 2 of my interview with stage, film and TV star Jim True-Frost, Jim and I continue our conversation about the challenges of being a working actor. We also talk about some of his favorite experiences in film and television, but then we return to New Trier and talk about the only time that we got to work on stage together. Enjoy!
In part 1 of my interview with stage, film and TV star Jim True-Frost, we talk about how his experiences in music, dance and theater helped prepare him for his career as a professional actor, and then we talk about films like The Accidental Tourist, Fat Man and Little Boy, and Singles, before moving on to the BIG role of his career (5 seasons on HBO's The Wire). It's another great and candid interview with another great NT PAD alum...
In part 2 of my interview with Suzanne, we talk more about casting and play selection, but we do that while talking about one of my very favorite parts of the Performing Arts Department, The Forensics Team. Enjoy!
When the legendary Suzanne Adams would hand out scene assignments, her students called those days "Christmas", so it's only fitting that, once again, she is our guest at this special time of year. In this episode, Suzanne talks about how she designed the curriculum for the Performing Arts Department at New Trier, and how her aim produced not just better performers, but better people. Enjoy!
In part 2 of my very special interview with Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen, which is again being presented without commercial interruption, Virginia and I discuss the various stages of her career in TV and film. From Electric Dreams to the Astronaut Farmer, from Frasier to Star Trek Voyager, we go forwards and backwards through her career, and finally, of course, we also go … Sideways. And it is once again a remarkably candid and th...
In Part 1 of my very special interview with Oscar Nominee Virginia Madsen, Virginia talks openly and candidly about her time at New Trier. We also talk about some of her favorite performing arts memories, and the gratitude she now feels for the experience she had. We also talk about the transition from New Trier to her Hollywood film career, the challenges she faced, and the strength she found from family and friends. Enjoy!
In part 2 of my interview with John Siuntres, we talk about the creation of the Word Balloon podcast (which has become essential listening in the comic book fan world). We also return to WNTH and talk about John's experience interviewing some Hollywood legends, Enjoy!
John Siuntres is one is one of the most universally liked WNTH alum of our time, and when you talk with him, it's immediately obvious why that's true. In Part 1 of our interview, John talks about how WNTH gave him the skills necessary to rapidly rise through the ranks in broadcast radio, eventually spending decades in the field, including 9 years at WXRT and "The Score".
In Part 3 of my interview with Rainn Wilson, Rainn and I will talk about his new book Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution. We’ll also talk about his humanitarian work with Lide Haiti, and then, as we always do, we’ll return to New Trier and talk about WNTH, and our one time together on stage.
In this episode, Rainn and I finish our conversation about his film career, then move on to TV to talk about The Office (and a little bit about Star Trek). Finally, we start our conversation about his other career as a best selling author. Enjoy!
Welcome to Season 2 of New Trier Performing Arts Stories! We have some SPECTACULAR guests for you this Season, and we're leading off with a BIG star. In this episode (part 1 of 3), we welcome actor Rainn Wilson to the podcast! Rainn talks about how his time at New Trier launched his career as an actor. We also talk about the transition from stage to screen acting (and the challenges and differences involved). And finally, Rainn rev...
Well folks, this is it, the end of Season 1, and we're going to "bookend" the season by bringing back our very first guest, John Gion. In this show, John talks about his personal experiences with New Trier and how he became one of the most well known and liked "behind the scenes" people in the incredible and huge underworld below Gaffney Auditorium. We also talk about his frankly amazing abilities when it came to costuming, and how...
In my post interview conversation with Dave Marran, we talked first about our mutual WNTH friends John Siuntres (host of the Word Balloon podcast) and Gary Price. Then Dave asks me about Season 2 of this show, and finally, we talk about my impending return to The Rugby Report podcast, and my most recent sports obsession, New Zealand cricket. Enjoy!
Welcome to our second WNTH themed show of the season! Our guest today is Dave Marran, a former WNTH Station Manager who went on from New Trier to spend 29 years working with the Chicago White Sox, and two decades as the sports editor for the Kenosha News. In this show, Dave talks extensively about New Trier in general, and WNTH in particular helped to prepare him for a career in broadcasting and media. Enjoy!
Welcome to another special bonus feature from New Trier Performing Arts Stories! In my brief post interview conversation with Beth Lane we talk about some of the truly extraordinary people in the unusually talented class of 1981, and then Beth tells me about yet another way that New Trier impacted her life, when the marriage of two of her New Trier classmates led directly to her meeting her husband. Enjoy!
Popular Podcasts
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.
Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S. centering Latino stories, hosted by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Maria Hinojosa Every week, the Peabody winning team brings you revealing, in-depth stories about what’s in the hearts and minds of Latinos and their impact on the world. Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Latino USA and all our podcasts. www.futuromediagroup.org/joinplus