Upstage Left | Intimate Conversations with New York Theater
40 episodes - English - Latest episode: 11 months ago - ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsRachel Lin speaks with the theater artists shaping the landscape of American Theater today. Join her, as she chats with the most exciting theater makers of our generation about their careers, the challenges, and how they lead a life in the arts.
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Episodes
An Interview with Tony Winner: Reed Birney
May 25, 2023 18:00 - 43 minutes - 29.9 MBAfter a long hiatus, we return with an interview with veteran stage, TV, and film actor: Reed Birney! Since his Broadway debut in 1976, Reed has graced many a stage and screen. He won a Tony award in 2016 for his portrayal of the dad, Erik Blake, in Stephan Karam's The Humans. You've seen him in one of his many roles on Broadway and off. Or perhaps in his more recent film work, including: The Menu and Mass. In this episode, Rachel & Reed talk about: the three times Reed has tried to leav...
An Interview with Actor & Playwright: Daniel K. Isaac
October 27, 2022 16:00 - 50 minutes - 34.8 MBDaniel K. Isaac is a very busy man! So we were especially excited that he made the time to chat with us. In this episode Rachel & Daniel discuss: the upcoming 2022-23 theater season and the Asian theater-makers on stage! how he turned a 2 line role on Billions into 72 episodes and counting being the only children of single, immigrant mothers (and how they humble us) It was truly a delight to chat with Daniel. Not only is he incredibly prolific, but he's also such a graceful and lovely h...
An Interview with Actor, Director, and Co-Founder of Big Dance Theater: Paul Lazar
September 22, 2022 16:00 - 52 minutes - 36.3 MBWe are thrilled to chat with Downtown Theater Icon: Paul Lazar. From making appearances in movies that became cult classics (Married to the Mob, Silence of the Lambs, Old Boy, Snowpiercer), to his recent Broadway appearance in Macbeth directed by Sam Gold with Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga -- following Paul's career is like a game of Where's Waldo? You never know where you'll spot him next! In this episode we talk: Early beginnings - how Paul found his way into the Downtown world The curre...
An Interview with TV, Stage, & Film Actor: Didi O'Connell
August 03, 2022 13:00 - 54 minutes - 37.8 MBIn this episode, Rachel speaks with veteran TV, stage, and film actor: Deirdre O'Connell. Didi is the 2022 Tony Award winner for Best Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Dana Higginbotham in Lucas Hnath's Dana H. She is also the recipient of the Lucille Lortel Lifetime Achievement award this year, and has racked up multiple awards over the years, including a 2005 Obie for Sustained Excellence. Rachel was eager to find out more about Didi's process and what it takes to maintain such a st...
Upstage Left Host, Rachel Lin, chats with Kendall Cafaro
July 05, 2022 15:00 - 35 minutes - 24.6 MBFor the 32nd episode, we decided it might be a good idea to introduce our listeners to the host of this podcast: Rachel Lin. After much convincing, Rachel zooms with social media manager and actor, Kendall Cafaro, to discuss Rachel's time in the theater and how this podcast came to be. Recorded in April of 2022, turn in to learn about the actor, writer, and person asking the questions. Kendall & Rachel discuss: the artistic communities & spaces Rachel has been a part of some goals and hop...
An Interview with Playwright: Anchuli Felicia King
May 21, 2022 13:00 - 36 minutes - 25 MBRachel chats with playwright & screenwriter, Anchuli Felicia King, whose play Golden Shield is currently running at Manhattan Theatre Club through June 12. Her work also includes White Pearl which world premiered at the Royal Court in London and has received productions at the Studio Theatre in DC, as well as Sydney Theatre Company earlier this year. She is also on the writing team of the new HBO Max original series The Baby. In this episode Rachel & Felicia discuss: how Felicia ended up ...
An Interview with Director: Taylor Reynolds
April 21, 2022 14:00 - 41 minutes - 28.5 MBIn this episode, Rachel chats with Taylor Reynolds - one the most in demand theater directors currently working off-Broadway, and a producing artistic leader of The Movement Theatre Company. This season her work included: Tambo & Bones at Playwrights Horizons, Man Cave by John J. Caswell Jr. presented by P 73, and Songs About Trains playing at the New Ohio Theatre through April 18. Rachel & Taylor talk about: Taylor's approach to these larger than life theatrical new works How Taylor mad...
An interview with Actor, Director, & Artistic Director: William Carden
January 20, 2022 15:00 - 53 minutes - 36.8 MBRachel chats with Billy Carden, the current leader of her artistic home, Ensemble Studio Theatre. With almost 50 years in the biz and close to 30 as an artistic director (first at HB Playwrights Foundation & Theatre, then at EST), Billy is a wealth of theater history and knowledge. The two speak about: - the acting job that took him to the Public & Lincoln Centre - what it was like to direct Uta Hagen - and the legacy he's leaving behind: "the quality of the how people talk to each other on...
An Interview with Nothing For the Group's Lauren Halvorsen
December 23, 2021 15:00 - 44 minutes - 30.8 MBRachel chats with the dramaturg behind the newsletter, Nothing For the Group, Lauren Halvorsen. Before starting the weekly missive offering theater round-ups, reviews, and takes, Lauren was the associate literary manager at Studio Theatre in DC. Prior to that she worked at the Alley in Houston and the City Theatre in Pittsburgh. These two nerd out on the current state of theater and what might be coming up next in the 2022-2023 season. Lauren talks about how no longer working in the indust...
An Interview with Actor Tedra Millan
November 12, 2021 14:00 - 50 minutes - 34.5 MBIn this episode Rachel chats with Tedra Millan, one of New York's most celebrated young talents! Teddi originated the role of #46 in Sarah Delappe's The Wolves that world premiered at Playwrights Realm, and went on to Lincoln Centre production (that was made available for streaming earlier this year). Teddi has also been on Broadway in the revival of Noel Coward's Present Laughter (starring Kevin Kline), as well as the New York premiere of On the Shore of the Wide World by Simon Stephens at ...
An Interview with Actor Tedra Millan
November 12, 2021 14:00 - 50 minutes - 34.5 MBIn this episode Rachel chats with Tedra Millan, one of New York's most celebrated young talents! Teddi originated the role of #46 in Sarah Delappe's The Wolves that world premiered at Playwrights Realm, and went on to Lincoln Centre production (that was made available for streaming earlier this year). Teddi has also been on Broadway in the revival of Noel Coward's Present Laughter (starring Kevin Kline), as well as the New York premiere of On the Shore of the Wide World by Simon Stephens at ...
An Interview with Playwright & Actor: Vichet Chum
September 14, 2021 20:00 - 47 minutes - 33 MBIt's back-to-school season, and in this episode Rachel is taking notes from multi-hyphenate theater maker Vichet Chum. Rachel & Vichet met years ago working on a festival of short plays written by high school students, and since then Rachel has watched as Vichet has grown from actor to actor/writer to sought after playwright and industry leader. In this episode, they recount parts of his journey together. Highlights include: Vichet's experience writing, producing, and performing in his one...
An Interview with Casting Director: Conrad Woolfe
August 13, 2021 14:00 - 47 minutes - 32.8 MBIn this episode we speak with casting director: Conrad Woolfe, who has worked in casting for over a decade. He cut his teeth at Telsey and Company, one of New York's largest casting offices focused on film, theater, and television. Now, based on the West Coast, Conrad has started his own company: Conrad Woolfe Casting. Rachel & Conrad reminisce about the early years of their friendship, and how Conrad found his way to casting. They also chat about: The role of the casting director in bring...
An interview with Actor: Catherine Curtin
June 08, 2021 13:00 - 50 minutes - 35 MBIn this episode Rachel catches up with acclaimed stage, film, and TV actor: Catherine Curtin. After making her Broadway debut in Six Degrees of Separation in 1990, Cathy made her way onto stages large and small before appearing on screens everywhere. Today she is known for her roles as Wanda Bell on Orange is the New Black, Claudia Henderson on Stranger Things, Joanne on Insecure , and many many more. In this episode we chat with the Cathy about: Growing up in New York City The early year...
An interview with Actor: Catherine Curtin
June 08, 2021 13:00 - 50 minutes - 35 MBIn this episode Rachel catches up with acclaimed stage, film, and TV actor: Catherine Curtin. After making her Broadway debut in Six Degrees of Separation in 1990, Cathy made her way onto stages large and small before appearing on screens everywhere. Today she is known for her roles as Wanda Bell on Orange is the New Black, Claudia Henderson on Stranger Things, Joanne on Insecure , and many many more. In this episode we chat with the Cathy about: Growing up in New York City The early year...
An Interview with Meropi Peponides of Soho Rep & Radical Evolution
April 29, 2021 14:00 - 42 minutes - 29.2 MBIn this episode Rachel speaks with one of the directors of Soho Rep and a co-founder of Radical Evolution: Meropi Peponides. The two met over a decade ago while Meropi was still an MFA student at Columbia. As the theater industry continues to have conversations about change, and what that might look like, we were excited to 1. gain a better understanding of what leadership looks at one of downtown's bedrock institutions. 2. Learn more about what how those decisions were made, and where they...
An Interview with Theater in Quarantine's Joshua William Gelb
March 03, 2021 19:00 - 49 minutes - 33.7 MBJosh Gelb is a director, performer, writer, & producer whose work is often visceral, surprising, and bold. Pre-pandemic his play Jazz Singer, which he co-wrote, directed, and performed in, received a critically acclaimed run at Abrons Arts Center. After performance venues closed, Josh built out his closet and created Theater in Quarantine, streaming fully realized theatrical experiences live from his home. Theater in Quarantine is free to watch, and available on #TiQ's Youtube Channel. Co-h...
An Interview with Playwright: Martyna Majok
September 10, 2020 12:00 - 52 minutes - 35.9 MBRachel & Martyna recorded this episode in late April. While it was only 5 months ago, in some ways, it feels like an entirely different lifetime. As summer draws to a close, and we head into fall, Rachel can't think of a better time to share this episode with one of her theater heroes. Martyna Majok is the 2018 pulitzer prize winner in drama for her play, Cost of Living. Other plays include: Queens, Ironbound, and Sanctuary City. She is a Yale School of Drama and Juilliard alum, a former P...
An Interview with Playwright Monet Hurst-Mendoza & Actor Ugo Chukwu
July 23, 2020 12:00 - 51 minutes - 35.3 MBMonet Hurst-Mendoza and Ugo Chukwu are #relationshipgoals. They also happen to both be fantastic theater artists in their own right. Monet's play Torera was slated for production at the Long Wharf Theatre this fall, pre-pandemic. She is former Emerging Writers Group member, current member of the Kilroys, and a staff writer for Law & Order: SVU. She also has her own Wikipedia page. And you've probably seen Ugo in a play at one of the many Downtown Theater Establishments. In fact, Helen Sh...
An Interview with Playwright: C.A. Johnson
July 02, 2020 12:00 - 51 minutes - 35.1 MBIn this episode, Rachel speaks with C.A. Johnson - the playwright of All the Natalie Portmans, which premiered at MCC this February. C.A.'s play The Climb was part of the 2019 Cherry Lane Mentor Project, and her work has also been produced at the Contemporary American Theater Festival, and Strawdog Theatre in Chicago. C.A. and Rachel speak about life during COVID, and the state of the American Theater during this long overdue uprising. C.A. talks about the experience of her first New York r...
An Interview with Associate Artistic Director: Erin Daley
May 26, 2020 12:00 - 32 minutes - 22.2 MBIn this episode, Rachel chats with Erin Daley, the associate artistic director of Primary Stages. They recorded this episode on March 25th (two months ago), when New York City was only two weeks into quarantine. While things were much less certain then, it might have also been easier to be more optimistic. With this in mind, listen in, as the two discuss what the realities of the industry might look like on the other side of this pandemic and what organizations are thinking about as they nav...
An Interview with Actor, Teacher, & Director: Maria Dizzia
May 10, 2020 16:00 - 58 minutes - 40.2 MBA special Mother's Day episode with Tony Award nominated actor, Maria Dizzia. The celebrated stage & screen actor, director, & teacher chats openly and honestly with Rachel about her career, and the challenges she faced early on. They talk about how she got an 'unsatisfactory' in grad school, her experience playing Eurydice in Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice, and how being a mom has changed her work. In this episode: On school: "I knew as a person who did well in institutions... I knew I needed t...
An Interview with Actor: Matthew Maher
April 16, 2020 15:00 - 52 minutes - 35.8 MBRachel chats with one of theater's most sought after actors, Matthew Maher (The Flick, Mr. Burns, Chinglish) who has originated roles on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off. Most recently he appeared in Will Eno's Gnit, and is slated to appear in NYTW's upcoming Three Sisters, adapted by Clare Barron directed by Sam Gold. Rachel and Matt chat about his early years in New York - working in the downtown theater scene, and how he came to be someone playwrights write roles for. He talks about ...
An Interview with Actress: Keilly McQuail
April 03, 2020 12:00 - 42 minutes - 29 MBRachel speaks with old friend and actress, Keilly McQuail, whose work can be see in the HBO mini-series The Plot Against America, and the upcoming Lunch Bunch by Sarah Einspanier produced by The Play Company. They discuss why Keilly avoids social media, how she dealt with the close calls & rejections early on in her career, and how she achieved her dream of being a "Nicky Silver woman." Listen in to find out she navigates her burgeoning stage & TV career. More information about Keilly at:...
An interview with Playwright, Performer, Multi-Hyphenate Artist: Haruna Lee
March 19, 2020 12:00 - 52 minutes - 36.1 MBIn the midst of this crazy time, we're excited to come back on air with this episode recorded with Haruna Lee before the shut-down of theaters city & nationwide. We hope you're staying safe and indoors at this time. May this episode offer some inspiration and reprieve in this time of isolation. Haruna Lee is a multi-hyphenate artist, included between hyphens are the titles: playwright, performer, activist, and more. Their play Suicide Forest, which they wrote and starred in, was remounted t...
An Interview with Artistic Director: Michael Legg
January 30, 2020 13:00 - 48 minutes - 33.6 MBWe kick off 2020, and a new decade with an interview with Artistic Director of Montana Repertory Theatre, Michael Legg. Montana Rep is the only full season, equity theater in the state of Montana (population: 1 million). Rachel & Michael talk about his journey to Artistic Director, after a brief stint as a talent agent in New York, and 11 years as the director of the professional training program at Actor's Theatre of Louisville in Kentucky. As someone who selected a small cohort of young ...
An Interview with Actor: Margaret Odette
December 27, 2019 15:00 - 43 minutes - 30 MBIn the last episode of 2019 - Rachel speaks with Margaret Odette, a first generation Haitian American actor from Harlem, NY most recently seen as Hero in the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing, starring Danielle Brooks and directed by Kenny Leon. If you missed it, you can stream it for free at PBS.Org as part of their Great Performances Broadway's Best of 2019 series. In this episode, Rachel and Margaret talk about how cultural institutions go fro...
An Interview with Playwright: Will Arbery
October 10, 2019 13:00 - 44 minutes - 30.9 MBWill Arbery is a playwright & filmmaker raised in Wyoming and Texas. His latest play, Heroes of the Fourth Turning, is about a group of Catholic Conservatives reuniting in the Path of Totality, in their Wyoming hometown on the night before the solar eclipse. Will & Rachel talk about his experience sharing this deeply personal play on an Off-Broadway stage, how he came to playwriting, what he most loves to see on stage, and the importance of allowing mess as a preventative measure against fo...
An Interview with Playwright & Actress: Abby Rosebrock
September 27, 2019 14:00 - 38 minutes - 26.6 MBAbby Rosebrock is a brilliant and hilarious actress (Dido of Idaho, Women), and equally brilliant and hilarious playwright (Blue Ridge, Dido of Idaho, Different Animals), and lastly incredible friend. I had the honor of interviewing her back in January 2019 when her play Blue Ridge premiered at the Atlantic starring Marin Ireland. In this episode we talk about how she juggles both acting and writing, the most important advice she wish she had known 6 years ago when she began, and why it is ...
An Interview with Artistic Director: Noel Allain
September 05, 2019 12:00 - 58 minutes - 40.6 MBNoel Allain started out as an actor... once playing a "large dwarf" as part of Richard Foreman's ensemble. After attending Skidmore, and meeting his now, long-time collaborators - he would go on to become a founding member and Artistic Director of the Bushwick Starr. Noel and Rachel talk about his early years in New York City, how he ended up at Juilliard, and how the Bushwick Starr has grown over the past decade from DIY performance space to a leading institution for the theater vanguard. ...
An Interview with: Diana Oh
August 01, 2019 11:00 - 50 minutes - 34.5 MBDiana Oh's work encompasses multiple performance categories, including but not limited to: music, art, storytelling, and theater. Earlier this year, Diana's The Infinite Love Party was hosted at the Bushwick Starr and is described as "barefoot barefoot potluck dinner, dance party, and sleepover for QTPOC and Their Allies." Their residency at A.R.T. in Boston culminated in Clairvoyance, "an installation series that culminates into a concert and tree planting." For more information about Diana...
An Interview with Playwright: Jaclyn Backhaus
July 11, 2019 12:00 - 47 minutes - 32.8 MBJaclyn Backhaus is the 2018 Horton Foote prizewinner for her play India Pale Ale. Her play Men on Boats has been produced at Clubbed Thumb's Summerworks, Playwrights Horizons, & regionally in the US. Her new play Wives will be opening Playwrights Horizons' 2019-2020 season, running from August 23-October 6. She is a co-founder of Fresh Ground Pepper, a theater company committed to developing new work, and a member of the Kilroys. Listen in as Jaclyn and Rachel talk about how she came to rea...
An Interview with Director: Annie Tippe
June 20, 2019 12:00 - 46 minutes - 31.7 MBAnnie Tippe's latest project, Octet, a chamber musical, written by Dave Malloy, is a meditation on our collective addiction to technology and our devices. In this episode we talk about how Annie came to direct this strikingly relevant piece, and what she did the day after the show opened to rave reviews. Annie talks about her relationship to her mentor, Rachel Chavkin, who just won the Tony for Best Director of Musical - and how that has impacted her journey as a young director. We commise...
An Interview with: Wendy Vanden Heuvel
May 03, 2019 14:00 - 41 minutes - 19.2 MBWendy Vanden Heuvel is a native New Yorker, who has been acting since high school. Today she is an actor (most recently seen in the world premiere of Jessica Dickey's The Convent as the Mother Abbess), teacher, and producer. She is the artistic director of Weathervane Theater, founder of piecebypiece productions, and a member of Rising Phoenix Rep. I met Wendy when she was teaching acting at the Experimental Theater Wing, at NYU where she also studied as an undergrad during the studio's ea...
An Interview with: Wendy Vanden Heuvel
May 03, 2019 14:00 - 41 minutes - 19.2 MBWendy Vanden Heuvel is a native New Yorker, who has been acting since high school. Today she is an actor (most recently seen in the world premiere of Jessica Dickey's The Convent as the Mother Abbess), teacher, and producer. She is the artistic director of Weathervane Theater, founder of piecebypiece productions, and a member of Rising Phoenix Rep. I met Wendy when she was teaching acting at the Experimental Theater Wing, at NYU where she also studied as an undergrad during the studio's ea...
An Interview with Actor: Layla Khoshnoudi
April 18, 2019 13:00 - 48 minutes - 22.2 MBYou may have seen Layla Khosh (Khoshnoudi) in the Pulitzer Prize nominated Dance Nation at Playwrights Horizons as Amina, in Abby Rosebrock's Dido of Idaho at Ensemble Studio Theatre, in the original cast of Men on Boats, or as Nina in Seagullmachine by the Assembly. She's a brilliant actress, as well as writer and director. After moving New York to attend the Martha Graham School, she left the program early to pursue a career as an actor. In this episode we talk about feeling like an outs...
An Interview with Fiasco Theater's Jessie Austrian & Noah Brody
April 06, 2019 19:00 - 54 minutes - 25.1 MBJessie Austrian and Noah Brody are two of Fiasco Theater's co-founding members and co-artistic directors. In addition to running a company celebrated for their productions of Shakespeare & Sondheim - they're both actors, teachers, and directors. Their production of Merrily We Roll Along co-produced with Roundabout Theatre Company has been extended until April 14 at the Laura Pels Theater. They joined forces after graduate school at Brown/Trinity Rep MFA program, and have been making theater...
An Interview with Actor: Ronald Peet
March 21, 2019 14:00 - 51 minutes - 23.9 MBRonald Peet is currently starring opposite Alan Cumming in Daddy by Jeremy O. Harris. You can also catch him in Netflix’s upcoming series “The I-Land” (with Kate Bosworth, Natalie Martinez and Alex Pettyfer). Previous credits include: Spill (EST), Cute Activist (The Bushwick Starr), Kentucky (EST/P73), Icarus On The LES (Joe’s Pub), The World My Mama Raised (Clubbed Thumb), Debutante (Ars Nova). In this episode Ronald talks to Rachel about NYU, his hustle as a young actor, his experience wo...
An Interview with Playwright: Charly Evon Simpson
March 07, 2019 13:00 - 45 minutes - 21.1 MBCharly Evon Simpson is the playwright behind the thrice extended Behind The Sheet at Ensemble Studio Theater. A New York Times' critic pick, Behind The Sheet is based on the true story of a group of enslaved black women, and their (uncredited) contributions to modern gynecology. Her new play Jump is premiering at four theaters across the country with the National New Play Network's rolling world premiere program, including: Playmaker’s Rep (Chapel Hill, NC), Actor’s Express (Atlanta), Shrew...
An Interview With Playwright: Ming Peiffer
February 18, 2019 05:00 - 51 minutes - 23.9 MBMing Peiffer's Roundabout Underground debut, "Usual Girls" made history by writing the first play to sell out its extension before the show even opened. The critically acclaimed play follows the story of Kyeoung, a bi-racial (half-Korean, half-American) girl coming of age in Ohio. A former actress, and founder of the now defunct Spookfish Theater Company - Ming talks about her own journey from being on stage to writing for it. The roles that were available to her as a young actress and wha...