Today on the podcast, Elise Seyfried and Denita Stevens talk about This Is My Brave, the nonprofit bringing a mental health storytelling event to Philadelphia. Here is my interview for THIS IS MY BRAVE.

This Is My Brave was co-founded in Virginia by Jennifer Marshall and Anne Marie Ames (1958-2017), two women passionate about ending the stigma surrounding mental illness, and saving lives through storytelling. In May of 2014, TIMB debuted its first ever live show in Arlington, Virginia at the Spectrum Theatre to a sold-out crowd of nearly 400.

Over the past six years, the nonprofit organization has hosted performances across the United States and in Australia, including Greenville, SC; Valparaiso, IN (Chicagoland); Denver, CO; Iowa City, IA; Washington, DC; Baltimore, MD; Los Angeles, CA; Boston, MA; Lewiston, ME; Wheeling, WV; Boise, ID; New York, NY; and beyond. TIMB has been featured on the Today Show: Mind Matters with Carson Daly as well as in The Washington Post and O, The Oprah Magazine, Stage-Directions Magazine, and Health as well as many other publications. In 2019, This Is My Brave launched high school and college pilot programs.

This Is My Brave, Inc. (TIMB), the national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the stigma surrounding mental illness through storytelling, comes to Philadelphia hosting auditions May 7, 14, and 15, 2022. The resulting performance will be held at the Ambler Theater on October 9, 2022. Performances will feature area community members who live with mental health challenges or substance use disorders, telling their stories through spoken word, poetry, music, dance, and more. No performing experience is necessary.

Register to Audition: https://calendly.com/thisismybrave-philadelphia (Participants must be age 18+).

Today on the podcast, Our Eric returns as his star continues to rise. With three plays, a book on the way and a weekly newsletter, we’ll play catch up with R. Eric Thomas. Here is my interview with R. Eric Thomas.

We’re living in the “The Ever Present”, we’re “Backing Track”, spending time with “The Folks at Home”, will soon bow to the “Kings of B’More”…, soon, we’ll be “Crying On Television”, all this and more “Previously On…”, is Our Eric, R. Eric Thomas in the virtual studio!!

Keep track of R. Eric Thomas on his website at: https://rericthomas.com

Today on the podcast, Director and Choreographer, Jeffrey L. Page talks about the Philadelphia Theatre Company production of Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney. Here is my interview with Jeffrey L. Page.

Honor. Legacy. Pride. Taking his place out front as the choir leader at an elite all-boys, all-Black prep school, Pharus Young is determined to make his mark by challenging expectations in a world steeped in deep-rooted traditions. Can Pharus find harmony among his peers while staying true to his own voice? From Tarell Alvin McCraney, the Academy Award®-winning writer of Moonlight, Choir Boy electrified Broadway with its soaring gospel, spiritual, and R&B performances.

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://philadelphiatheatrecompany.org/choir-boy/

Today on the podcast, we talk about the musical, RENT as its Farewell Tour, delayed by the pandemic, finally reaches Philadelphia. I meet with a 16-year old June Kaplan-Mayer and mother Gabrielle to talk about its generational impact over the years. Here is my interview with the Kaplan-Mayers for RENT, by Jonathan Larson.