Liz Garbus is one of America’s most celebrated documentary filmmakers. She has received two Academy Award nominations, two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards and a Grammy nomination for her body of work, which includes “Harry & Meghan”; “The Farm: Angola, USA”; “What Happened, Miss Simone?”; “Bobby Fischer Against the World”; “Nothing Left Unsaid”; “The Fourth Estate”; “All In: The Fight for Democracy”; and “Becoming Cousteau” among others. Her scripted feature debut, “Lost Girls,” premiered at Sundance in January 2020. Since then, she’s continued her foray into the scripted world by directing the season 4 finale of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which earned her an Emmy nomination. In 2019, Garbus co-founded, alongside her Academy Award- and Emmy Award-winning husband, Dan Cogan, Story Syndicate, a premium film and television production company that provides a home for talented filmmakers, producers, journalists, thinkers and artists to create innovative, ambitious and elevated visual content.
EPISODE 335 - JENNY GERSTEN
Jenny Gersten serves as Line Producer for Beetlejuice on Broadway and National Tour, Executive Producer for the musical Born for This, Producer of Musical Theater for New York City Center, and Interim Artistic Director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival. She sometimes produces commercially, including the award -winning Off Broadway “pie shop” production of Sweeney Todd. She works with Jessica Hecht on The Campfire Project, an arts program that primarily serves Syrian and Ukrainian refugees overseas. Previously, Jenny served as Executive Director of Friends of the High Line and as the Associate Producer of The Public Theater in New York City. At sea, she is the Creative Producer of Virgin Voyages.
Photo Credit- Brigitte Lacombe
EPISODE 334 - SCOTT WITTMAN
SCOTT WITTMAN
Tony, Grammy, and Olivier Award winning lyricist, director, writer, and conceiver, Scott Wittman co-wrote the lyrics for the hit musical Hairspray (Tony, Grammy, Olivier Award winner) with creative partner Marc Shaiman. Wittman also served as an executive producer on the hit film starring John Travolta.
Scott was nominated for a Golden Globe, Grammy, and two Emmy Awards for the original songs on NBC’s musical drama Smash. While working on the show, he co-wrote songs for Jennifer Hudson, Uma Thurman, Bernadette Peters, and Liza Minnelli. Shaiman and Wittman’s original score for the Marilyn Monroe musical Bombshell was released by Sony Records.
Scott & Marc’s Broadway writing credits include Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, which Scott also directed, Catch Me If You Can (Tony nom. for Best Musical), and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Broadway and the West End.
Scott has created and directed two Broadway shows, three studio recordings, and three sold-out Carnegie Hall concerts for Patti LuPone. He has created solo shows for Christine Ebersole and Nathan Lane, as well as writing for Bette Midler’s 2015 Divine Intervention World Tour. Off-Broadway, he conceived and directed Jukebox Jackie starring Justin Vivian Bond, Cole Escola, and Bridget Everett at La Mama., and Bridget Everett’s Rockbottom at the Public Theatre.
His notorious and legendary Downtown shows are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York
Marc and Scott also wrote the score to Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns starring Emily Blunt, Lin Manuel Miranda, and Meryl Streep. Directed by Rob Marshall. Their song, “The Place Were Lost Things Go” was nominated for an Oscar.
He recently joined the Marvel Universe with his song cowritten with Marc for “Rodgers:The Musical for “Hawkeye”.
They have written a new musical version of “Some Like It Hot” that premiered on Broadway in the fall of 2022.
EPISODE 333 - MICHAEL CANZONIERO
Michael Canzoniero is an award winning writer/director working out of his film studio MCM Creative in midtown Manhattan. Born in the Bronx, and raised on the east end of Long Island, Michael grew up obsessed with making movies alongside his cousin Marco Ricci. After attending the University of Notre Dame, where he had his first taste of Hollywood working as a production assistant on the iconic sports movie “Rudy”, Canzoniero was accepted to NYU Graduate Film, alma mater of his directing hero Martin Scorsese. But it was his apprenticeship of maverick indie filmmaker Abel Ferrara (King of New York, Bad Lieutenant) that he credits as the formative piece in learning to make his own highly personal, independent films. After Canzoniero’s thesis film “Pishadoo” was awarded the Princess Grace award for the nation’s best student film, Michael and his cousin Marco co-wrote and co-directed the popular 2009 SXSW comedy “The Marconi Bros.”. He followed this with several more comedic indie films starring his Tony-winning friend and frequent collaborator Dan Fogler (who recently portrayed Francis Coppola in Paramount’s The Offer). In 2022, Canzoniero theatrically released his fifth feature “Making The Day” which had its premiere at Cinequest Film Festival and is now available on Amazon video.
Photo Credit- Isak Tiner
EPISODE 332 - QUENTIN PLAIR
Recently seen in the Peabody Award-winning Showtime series The Good Lord Bird, and a lead role on Roswell, New Mexico, Quentin will star this November 22nd in the Hulu Limited series, Welcome to Chippendales, opposite Kumail Nanjiani. Quentin trained rigorously to dance for this breakout role as ‘Otis,’ the first and sole Black dancer at Chippendale’s at its inception. Otis is taken under the wing of self-made founder Steve Banjeree (Nanjiani) in this fictional crime series (based on true events). Below is the Vanity Fair first look image of Quentin in the role and here is the teaser trailer. Quentin will then star opposite Kathryn Hahn in the Hulu series Tiny Beautiful Things (early 2023) based on author Cheryl Strayed’s NYT bestseller and helmed by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Productions.
EPISODE 331 - MICAYLA BREWSTER
Micayla Brewster is a freelance Social Media Manager who oversees the digital presence of brands within the world of Arts & Culture. Past and current clients range from museums to musicals, books to bands, podcasts to performers, and films to forums on advocacy, to name a few.
Formerly, she was an Account Manager at Marathon Digital, a social media agency that represents Broadway shows and live entertainment clients in NYC and around the world. While there, she led innovative social media campaigns for shows such as HAMILTON, Hadestown, Be More Chill, and Freestyle Love Supreme, among others.
Previously, she has worked at media and entertainment companies such as theSkimm and Paramount Pictures. She is deeply passionate about the strategy behind creative digital marketing campaigns, as well as re-watching The Office. @MicaylaBrewster, www.MicaylaBrewster.com
EPISODE 330 - SARAH RUHL
Sarah Ruhl is a playwright . Her plays include- How to Transcend a Happy Marriage; The Oldest Boy; In the Next Room, or the vibrator play (Pulitzer Prize finalist); The Clean House (Pulitzer Prize finalist, The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize). Other plays include For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday; Stage Kiss; Dear Elizabeth; Passion Play, a cycle (PEN American Award, The Fourth Freedom Forum Playwriting Award from The Kennedy Center); Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Helen Hayes Award); Melancholy Play; Eurydice; Orlando; and Late: a cowboy song. Her plays have been produced around the country and internationally, translated into fourteen languages. Her books include Smile, a memoir; 100 Essays I Don’t have Time to Write and Love Poems in Quarantine. Opera: Libretto for Eurydice (Metropolitan Opera, composer Matthew Aucoin). Awards: MacArthur “Genius” Grant, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, Helen Merrill Emerging Playwrights Award, Whiting Writers’ Award, MacArthur Fellowship, Lily Award, PEN Center Award for a mid-career playwright. Education: M.F.A., Brown University (with Paula Vogel). Teaches at the Yale School of Drama.
Photo Credit- Gregory Costanzo
EPISODE 329- JULIE BOARDMAN - MUSEUM OF BROADWAY
Julie Boardman is an entrepreneur and Tony Award-winning producer. She recently conceived and produced I'm Still Here, a 90th anniversary celebration for the Billy Rose Theatre Division at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, featuring archival materials from the Theatre on Film and Tape archive, interviews with Broadway legends and emerging creatives and reimagined musical numbers with a cast of over 100 artists. In fall 2020 she produced In Our America: A Concert for the Soul of the Nation and Artists for Change. She is currently a co-producer on the Broadway revival of Funny Girl. Other Broadway credits include: An American in Paris (Tony nomination), Carousel (Tony nomination), Company (Tony Award), Dames at Sea, Head Over Heels, Hughie, Indecent (Tony nomination), and The Inheritance (Tony Award). Tours: An American in Paris, Dreamgirls, Peter and the Starcatcher. West End: An American in Paris (Olivier nomination), Academy Award winner Florian Zeller's The Son. Julie is a Tony voter and member of The Broadway League. She is on the Theatre Committee at New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the Leadership Council for the Costume Industry Coalition, the Creative Advisory Board of Festival Internazionale del Musical Milano, the Musical Theatre Advisory Board for the University of Southern California, the Advisory Board for the Musical Theatre Conservatory at Orange Country School of the Arts, and an arts advocacy coalition of arts leaders in NYC. Through her company Boardman Productions she has has worked with some of the worlds leading brands including Nike, Maybelline, Evian, Vogue, Victoria’s Secret, Microsoft, Diet Coke, VitaminWater, Samsung, Game of Thrones, Disney’s The Lion King and many more on their activations and fan experiences. With over 14 years working in experiential and promotional marketing, she is thrilled to combine all of her talents to create The Museum of Broadway. @msjulieboardman
EPISODE 328 - COLIN DONNEL & PATTI MURIN
COLIN DONNELL:
Colin Donnell is an actor and musician who will next be seen as the lead in Peacock’s “Irreverent,” which premieres November 30, 2022. He is well known to television audiences for his roles on NBC’s hugely popular franchise “Chicago Med,” the CW series “Arrow,” and as Scotty Lockhart on the Showtime “The Affair.” He is also known for his Broadway performances in Violet, Anything Goes, and Jersey Boys, as well as the Regional and Off-Broadway productions of Wicked, Mamma Mia!, Merrily We Roll Along, Love's Labours Lost, among many others. In 2020, Donnell and his band The Nineteen Twenty released their debut album Chaos + Cocktails.
PATTI MURIN:
Patti Murin is an accomplished stage and television actress who will next be seen in the upcoming Hallmark film In Merry Measure which will be released on November 11, 2022. Murin is well known for her critically acclaimed Broadway performances, which include originating the role of ‘Princess Anna’ in Disney’s Frozen, the titular role in Lysistrata Jones, her Broadway debut in Xanadu, as well as Glinda in the national tour of Broadway’s renowned show Wicked. She previously appeared in Hallmark’s Holiday for Heroes, as well as alongside her real-life husband Colin Donnell in Love on Iceland. On television, Murin has starred as recurring character ‘Dr. Nina Shore’ in NBC’s “Chicago Med,” as well as ‘Ana’ in USA’s “Royal Pains.” Murin has narrated a variety of audiobooks written by the likes of authors Jodi Picoult, Christina Lauren, Katherine Center, and more.
In the fall of 2022 the married duo released an album together - “ Something Stupid”
The album was produced by Robbie Rozelle for Broadway Records.
Photo Credit-Michael Hull
EPISODE 327- CASEY LIKES
Casey Likes made his Broadway debut in Almost Famous The Musical as ‘William Miller' starring alongside Solea Pfeiffer and Chris Wood. Created and written by Cameron Crowe and directed by Jeremy Herrin, this adaptation from the 2000 film chronicles an adolescent's experience touring with an up-and-coming band when given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone. He will next be seen as 'Gene Simmons' in the Neil Bogart biopic Spinning Goldthat will be released on March 31, 2023 and as 'Richie Shepard,' the leading role in MGM's feature Dark Harvest.
Previous film credits include Everything Must Go, where he portrayed a young Will Ferrell. TV credits include the recent Crypt TV and Facebook Watch series The Birch, as well as National Geographic's American Blackout. As a filmmaker, he has won awards for the direction of his films Seriously and How to Romance, including the top prize in the Arizona Student Film Festival. His latest two self-produced films Thespians and I Got You can be seen on YouTube now.
At the age of 17, Likes won the ASU Gammage High School Musical Theatre Award for "Best Lead Male" and was a finalist in the 2019 High School Musical Theatre Awards, AKA The Jimmy Awards.
EPISODE 326 - SARA WOSTER
Painter and art teacher Sara Woster founded The Painting School in Brooklyn, NY in an effort to share her passion for painting with her community. Woster shows her artwork internationally and has illustrated several children’s books. Painting Can Save Your Life: How and Why We Paint from Penguin Random House / TarcherPerigee is Woster's how to/memoir dedicated to encouraging more people to try this transformative art. She lives with her family in Brooklyn and the Catskills.
EPISODE 325 - JENNIFER WESTFELDT
An actress and filmmaker, Jennifer Westfeldt is perhaps best known for writing, producing and starring in the indie films Kissing Jessica Stein (Indie Spirit Nomination, Golden Satellite Award, GLAAD Media Award, multiple Audience Awards), Ira & Abby (Best Actress/HBO Comedy Festival, multiple Audience Awards), and Friends with Kids (Top Ten Films of 2012, New York Magazine, NPR), which also marked her directorial debut. Her television credits include Younger, This Is Us ,Girls, 24, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Notes from the Underbelly, and Children’s Hospital, among others.
Jennifer made her Broadway debut opposite Donna Murphy in Wonderful Town, directed by Kathleen Marshall, for which she received a Tony nomination, a Theater World Award and a Drama League Award. Other notable stage work includes the world premieres of Scott Z. Burns’ The Library at the Public Theater, directed by Stephen Soderbergh; Nell Benjamin’s The Explorer’s Club at Manhattan Theater Club; Nicky Silver’s Too Much Sun opposite Linda Lavin at The Vineyard Theater; Joe Gilford’s Finks at NYSAF; Cusi Cram’s A Lifetime Burning at Primary Stages; and Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros’ Big Sky at The Geffen Playhouse.
On the writing side, Jennifer recently adapted Robinne Lee’s novel The Idea of You to the screen; the film, starring Anne Hathaway and directed by Michael Showalter, is shooting this fall for Amazon Studios.
EPISODE 324 - SAIDAH ARRIKA EKULONA
Saidah Arrika Ekulona is an award-winning theatre, television and film actress. She's originated roles on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in regional theatres and international theatres, and originated the role of Mama Nadi in the Pulitzer Prize winning play RUINED, for which she won an Obie Award, Lucille Lortel Award, Jeff Award, Audelco Award and the Black Theatre Alliance Award.
She's currently shooting a Series Regular role as Ebunoluwa on BOB LOVES ABISHOLA, can also be seen as Toni Chapman in A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, and has been a recurring featured Guest Star on SNOWFALL, BETTER CALL SAUL, BULL, KEVIN CAN WAIT, IMPASTOR, and has also Guest Starred in SCANDAL, THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, WHY WOMEN KILL, ROOM 104, THE 100, and SHAMELESS, among others. Saidah's film work includes DARK WAS THE NIGHT, HONEYGLUE, CHRISTIAN MINGLE, THE DEN, THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123, RIGHTEOUS KILL, and others.
Theatre credits include BROADWAY: Well OFF-BROADWAY: An American Daughter (Williamstown Theatre Festival); Othello; Unconditional; Well; The Square; Romeo and Juliet (Public Theatre/NYSF); The Thugs (Soho Rep); Fabulation (Playwrights Horizons); A Streetcar Named Desire (NYTW), The Thugs (Soho Rep) and more.
Saidah received her BA from Albright College and her MFA in Acting from University of Minnesota.
EPISODE 323- TOVAH FELDSHUH
TOVAH FELDSHUH is a six-time Emmy & Tony nominee and has been awarded three honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters. Additionally, for her theatre work, she has won four Drama Desks, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, three Dramalogues, the Obie, the Theatre World, and the Helen Hayes and Lucille Lortel Awards for Best Actress. She has recently been twice nominated as Best Actress in a Drama in Los Angeles for her work in the play Sisters-in-Law, in which she originated the role of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
On the Page: Tovah’s first memoir, Lilyville: Mother, Daughter, and Other Roles I’ve Played was published in April by Hachette Book Group and can be purchased on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, Indie Bound, and more. See www.tovahfeldshuh.com/lilyville for more information and to order.
On the Stage: Broadway: Yentl, Cyrano, Rodgers & Hart, Dreyfus in Rehearsal, Sarava!, Lend Me a Tenor, Golda's Balcony, Irena's Vow, and the show-stopping, trapeze-swinging Berthe in Pippin. Off-Broadway and around the country: Dozens of productions playing everything from three queens of Henry VIII and Tallulah Bankhead to Yussel “The Muscle" Jacobs, nine Jews from birth to death in Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh! and Holocaust denier Brenda Goodsen opposite Ed Asner in The Soap Myth. In the pre-COVID summer, she starred in the world premiere of Wade Dooley’s The Prompter directed by Scott Schwartz, where she played Irene Young, a legendary diva making her Broadway comeback after a 40-year absence. Immediately on the heels of The Prompter, she filmed Clifford for Paramount Pictures, traveled to the Sing-Sing in New Guinea, and flew from there to Los Angeles to star as RBG in the LA Premiere of Jonathan Shapiro’s Sisters-In-Law. She's thrilled to bring to New York Becoming Dr. Ruth by Mark St. Germain which she first played under the baton of Artistic Director David Ellenstein at North Coast Rep as a streamed performance for subscribers. Since then, the production continued to be developed and deepened through its boffo run at Bay Street Theater under the direction of Scott Schwartz and now again at the exquisite Safra Hall in the Museum of Jewish Heritage.
On TV: Deanna Monroe on "The Walking Dead", Danielle Melnick on "Law & Order", POTUS Pauline Mackenzie on "Salvation", and Naomi Bunch on "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" where Feldshuh can be seen singing the dignified showstopper: "Where's the Bathroom!" As the pandemic subsided in 2021, she completed filming "Scenes from a Marriage" for HBO playing Oscar Isaac’s mother, Miryam.
On Film: Kissing Jessica Stein, (Golden Satellite Award), A Walk on the Moon, Brewster's Millions, Just My Luck, Daniel, The Idolmaker, and Ms. Feldshuh's award-winning performance as Prime Minister Golda Meir in Golda's Balcony which has been made into a film entitled Golda's Balcony The Film that won 25 out of 25 Audience Choice Awards. In the last two months, she has completed two feature films: one playing Sir Anthony Hopkins' wife and Anne Hathaway's mother in Armageddon Time by James Gray and a second playing the matriarch Rosalind L. Russell in Start Without Me produced by Matt Damon and directed by Joel Gretsch.
In Concert: Her one-woman shows, “Tovah is LEONA!” and “Aging is Optional” enjoy sold-out engagements and rave reviews in New York, San Francisco, Boca Raton and Delray. "Tovah: Out of Her Mind" has played all over the world and was voted Best One Woman Show of the Year by the BOSTON GLOBE.
She’s the wife of New York attorney, Andrew Harris Levy, the mother of Brandon, married to Jami, and Amanda, married to Joel, and the grandmother of Rafael Levi, Sidney Mei, and Camille Willa. Follow Tovah’s pre-pandemic travels around the world on Instagram @tovahfeld.
EPISODE 322 - CHRISTINE EBERSOLE
CHRISTINE EBERSOLE
Christine’s lastest album is called After The Ball.
Ms. EBERSOLE has captivated audiences throughout her performing career. Recognized with a string of honors that includes two Tony Awards, she has appeared in twenty Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, as well as gracing television series and specials, films, concerts, recordings and opera. It was for her “dual role of a lifetime” as Edith Beale and Little Edie Beale in Grey Gardens that Ebersole won her second Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, as well as virtually every available Off-Broadway honor. Other memorable New York roles include her Tony-winning turn as Dorothy Brock in the hit revival of 42nd Street, her Tony-nominated portrayal of Elizabeth Arden opposite Patti LuPone in War Paint, her Tony- and Outer Critics Circle-nominated appearance in Dinner at Eight, her Obie-winning and Drama Desk-nominated appearance in Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads, her performance as Guinevere alongside Richard Harris and Richard Burton in Camelot, and her leading roles in Oklahoma!,On the Twentieth Century, Steel Magnolias, The Best Man, and the revival of Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit. In 2018 she made her operatic debut under James Conlon’s leadership as the Old Lady in Francesca Zambello’s production of Candide at LA Opera.
Recently starring as Lucille Dolittle, a role based on Lucille Ball, in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Oscar-nominated Licorice Pizza, Ebersole has appeared in numerous feature films. Previous film credits include The Wolf of Wall Street, Amadeus, Black Sheep, Dead Again, Folks!, Ghost Dad, My Girl 2, Richie Rich, Tootsie, True Crime, and The Big Wedding, which features her account of her original song “Gently Down the Stream.” Since launching her TV career alongside Eddie Murphy as a regular cast member of “Saturday Night Live,” Ebersole has also accrued a long list of television credits. Currently starring in Chuck Lorre’s hit CBS sitcom “Bob Hearts Abishola,” she recently portrayed Estelle Schneider in the award-winning Netflix series “The Kominsky Method,” and has appeared on “American Horror Story,” “Blue Bloods,” “Madam Secretary,” “Murphy Brown,” “Pose,” “Search Party,” “The Colbert Report,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “Will & Grace” and Gypsy, in which she played Tessie Tura to Bette Midler’s Mama Rose.
Ebersole has performed at some of the nation’s foremost concert halls, including New York’s Carnegie Hall, L.A.’s Disney Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Her concert highlights include appearances in San Francisco Symphony’s tribute to Leonard Bernstein, concert versions of The Grapes of Wrath at Carnegie Hall and of A Little Night Music with the Boston Pops, and Gershwin at 100: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall and The Rodgers & Hart Story: Thou Swell, Thou Witty, both of which were filmed for broadcast on PBS TV. A celebrated recording artist, her discography includes Christine Ebersole: Live at the Cinegrill, In Your Dreams, Sunday in New York, Christine Ebersole Sings Noël Coward, and Strings Attached. www.christineebersole.com
Her newest album - After The Ball -is being released by Club44 Records.
EPISODE 321- SUSPENSE GENRE NOVELISTS - A LIVE PODCAST EVENT FROM BRYANT PARK
Ilana hosted a live event at Bryant Park in New York City in the summer of 2022 with five authors who just published their latest novels in the thriller/suspense genre.
The authors on the distinguished panel included-
Casey Sherman- Helltown
Niko Wolf- Birthday Girl
Kathleen Marple Kalb- A Fatal Overture
Cate Holahan- The Darkness Of Others
EPISODE 320 - JUSTIN GUARINI
Justin Bell Guarini’s robust performance career launched with the first season of American Idol in 2002. His stage and screen appearances since then include Broadway productions of American Idiot, InTransit, Paint Your Wagon, Romeo and Juliet, Wicked, and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.
Justin has hosted nationally broadcasted shows like Idol Wrap and Idol Tonight along with live red carpet events for the TV Guide Network, the Oscars, the Emmys, and the Grammys. He continues to reprise his role as the lovable “Lil’ Sweet” in the award winning national commercial campaign for Diet Dr. Pepper.
In 2019, Justin founded The Warrior Artist Alliance (Warrior Artist Empire LLC) to help performers achieve the success they deserve in a challenging industry. He shares his tips, tricks, breadth of experience, and warrior mindset with a community of performers through podcasts, his best selling book “Audition Secrets”, blogs, and dynamic training programs.
EPISODE 319 - AMY BRENNEMAN
Amy Brenneman divides her time evenly between acting, producing, and political activism.
She earned a degree in Comparative Religion at Harvard, with a specialty in Indo-Tibetan Religion, studying sacred dance and indigenous ritual in Kathmandu. She was a founding member of the Cornerstone Theater Company, which specializes in site-specific community-based theater on themes of social justice.
Other theater: CSC Rep, Lincoln Center Theater, LA Theater Works, LATC, Williamstown Theater Festival, En Garde Arts, Spark, The American Repertory Theater, Yale Rep, Playwrights Horizons, and the Geffen Playhouse.
Amy co-created, wrote and starred in Mouth Wide Open (The Yard, American Repertory Theater) and Overcome (The Yard). Overcome will have its premiere at South Coast Repertory as part of the 2021-2022 season.
Amy created, executive produced and starred in “Judging Amy” (two TV Guide Awards, three Golden Globe nominations, Producer’s Guild Nomination, three Emmy Award nominations, People’s Choice SAG nomination) based on the work of her mother, the Honorable Judge Frederica Brenneman. Other television: “NYPD Blue” (2 Emmy nominations, SAG award), “Frasier,” “Heartbeat” (exec producer), “Goliath” and Shonda Rhimes’ “Private Practice.” Amy starred in “The Leftovers” (Peabody Award, Critic’s Choice nomination).
Amy’s most recent television roles include playing opposite Jeff Bridges in the critically acclaimed FX/hulu series “The Old Man;” opposite Elisabeth Moss in “Shining Girls” on Apple TV+; and “Tell Me Your Secrets” on Amazon prime.
Film credits include: CASPER, FEAR, DAYLIGHT, HEAT, FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB, PEEL, THE LOOK OF LOVE and WORDS AND PICTURES opposite Clive Owen. Amy has a long collaboration with Rodrigo Garcia, with whom she worked on NINE LIVES, THINGS YOU CAN TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT HER and MOTHER AND CHILD.
Amy produced and directed the documentary “The Way the World Should Be” about the trailblazing work of the CHIME Institute and its mission of inclusive education. She created and hosts the podcast “The Challengers” now in its third season.
As a teacher, she has taught drama and creative process the CHIME Charter school, which specializes in educating children of all abilities. She has also taught at Harvard and UCLA, among others.
For her activist work, Amy has been honored by Women in Film, The Brady Center, the League of Women Voters, the California State Assembly, the National Children’s Alliance, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the Help Group, the Producer’s Guild of America, among others. In 2016, she was part of the amicus brief for the Supreme Court case Whole Women’s v. Hellerstedt, ensuring that abortion clinics remain open in Texas and elsewhere; she received the Eleanor Roosevelt Award from The Feminist Majority for her ongoing commitment to reproductive rights. In 2019 Amy received the Change Agent Award from En Garde Arts in New York. She has served as keynote speaker for NARAL, Cal-Tash, The Council for Exceptional Children and on the steps Supreme Court.
Amy splits her time between Los Angeles and West Tisbury, MA. She is married to writer/director Brad Silberling and has two children, Charlotte and Bodhi.
EPISODE 318 - DARREN GOLDSTEIN
DARREN GOLDSTEIN
Broadway: Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes, Bloody Bloody, Andrew Jackson. Off-Broadway: The Bedwetter (Atlantic Theater) Continuity, The Madrid (Manhattan Theatre Club); Rasheeda Speaking, The Good Mother, Abigail's Party (Lortel Nom. Featured Actor), Mouth to Mouth, Terrorism (all at The New Group); Oohrah! (Atlantic Theater); Mary Rose (The Vineyard). Regional: The Forgotten Woman (Bay Street), Beyond Therapy (Williamstown/Bay Street). Film: Sharper (upcoming), Paterno, Detroit, The Girl on the Train, Limitless. TV: Charles Wilkes on “Ozark,” Jackie Bennett on “American Crime Story: Impeachment,” Oscar Hodges on “The Affair,” “Under the Banner of Heaven,” “Inside Amy Schumer,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Blindspot," "Damages,” “American Odyssey.” MFA: NYU Graduate Acting Program.
Hello, World!
EPISODE 317 - JENNIFER GRIFFIN
Jennifer Griffin is an American journalist who works as the chief national security correspondent at the Pentagon for Fox News. Griffin graduated from Harvard University in 1992, receiving a B.A. in Government. Prior to working at the Pentagon, Griffin started her career reporting for The Sowetan newspaper in Johannesburg, South Africa, covering Nelson Mandela’s prison release and South Africa’s transition from apartheid. She then lived in Islamabad, reporting on the rise of the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan before moving to Moscow in 1996 where she reported for three years on the end of the Boris Yeltsin era and the rise of Vladimir Putin. In 1999, Griffin became a Jerusalem-based correspondent for 7 years, providing coverage of the Second Palestinian Intifada, suicide bombings, military incursions and failed peace deals. In 2000, she provided on-site coverage of Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon, its withdrawal from the Gaza strip and Yasser Arafat’s funeral. In 2005, Griffin conducted a rare interview with former Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon before he lapsed into a coma. Griffin later coauthored with her husband NPR correspondent Greg Myre This Burning Land: Lessons from the Front Lines of the Transformed Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Since 2007, Griffin has reported daily from the Pentagon where she questions senior military leaders, travels to war zones with the Joint Chiefs and Secretaries of Defense, and reports on all aspects of the military. Since 2010, Griffin has hosted the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine's Heroes of Military Medicine Awards. For the past decade, Griffin has also hosted the Wounded Warrior Experience, which features stories from wounded veterans and service members. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Prevent Cancer Foundation and an Advisory Board Member for Report for America, an effort by the Ground Truth Project to save local journalism. She was recently awarded the Transatlantic Leadership Network 2022 Freedom of the Media Gold Medal Award for Public Service and received the Medal of Honor Foundation’s “Tex” McCrary Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2015.