Stay ConnectedThis is arts and culture. Unfiltered. Unscripted.
Formerly known as CI to Eye, Arts Unscripted with Monica Holt is a trove of meaningful interviews with executives, artists, and experts across industries. Together with Monica, we’ll explore the way innovation, leadership, and joy drive our industry forward.
Producer's Note: While Arts Unscripted is on summer hiatus, we're re-sharing a few of our favorite episodes from past seasons. Carlos Simon is the the inaugural Composer Chair of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Composer-in-Residence since 2021 at the Kennedy Center. Since we recorded earlier this year, his Good News Mass keeps finding new orchestras and new audiences. With its Midwest premiere on July 31st at Ravinia Music Festival, what better moment to go back and hear how Carlos has built his body of work.
-----
Music has the power to move a room. For composer Carlos Simon, that effect was first felt in church, where music was both a creative act and a shared experience.
Raised in a family steeped in ministry and musical tradition, Carlos grew up surrounded by gospel, jazz, and the spontaneity of worship. From playing organ by ear during Sunday services to his later work with orchestras, film, and opera, he has built a compositional voice that blurs boundaries: bridging sacred and secular, improvisation and form, tradition and innovation.
In this episode, Carlos traces his path to becoming one of today's most sought-after composers and the first-ever Composer Chair for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Along the way, he offers insight into the deeply collaborative nature of his work and frames musical composition as an act of service.
-----
LINKS:
Carlos Simon: https://www.carlossimonmusic.com/
brea(d)th: https://www.carlossimonmusic.com/album/brea-d-th
Monuments: A Suite for DC: https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/festivals-series/250-years-of-us/sounds-of-us/monuments/
The Blacknificent 7: https://www.instagram.com/blacknificentseven/
Producer's Note: While Arts Unscripted is on summer hiatus, we're re-sharing a few of our favorite episodes from past seasons. Shanta Thake is the vision behind Lincoln Center's free Summer for the City festival happening right now through August 8 in New York. It's a good moment to go back and hear how she thinks about building a season for an entire city, not just a subscriber base.
-----
Shanta Thake sees artistic curation as a practice rooted in curiosity and community connection.
As the Ehrenkranz Chief Artistic Officer at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Shanta is helping redefine what one of the world's most storied institutions can be. Since joining in 2021, she's helped usher in an era of experimentation and access to ensure the arts remain central to New York City's civic life.
In this episode, Shanta reflects on what it means to democratize the programming process, how the arts contribute to community wellbeing, and why leading with curiosity sparks meaningful innovation. She also takes listeners behind the scenes of initiatives like Lincoln Center's West Side Expansion and Summer for the City—efforts rooted in humility, collaboration, and partnership with local communities.
----
LINKS
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts: https://lincolncenter.org/
Summer for the City: https://lincolncenter.org/series/summer-for-the-city/
A festival lasts only a few weeks or months each year, but the work of leading one never stops.
Jeffrey Haydon has spent his career at the helm of some of the country's most respected music festivals, including Ojai, Caramoor, and now Ravinia Festival, where he serves as President and CEO. Drawing on a background that bridges music and business, he has led major capital projects, expanded educational and community programs, and navigated moments of organizational transformation.
In this episode, Jeffrey reflects on what makes festivals such distinctive cultural institutions; the leadership lessons he's learned across three decades in arts management; and how Ravinia continues to balance its rich classical legacy with new audiences, artists, and ideas.
-----
LINKS
Ravinia Festival: https://www.ravinia.org/
Jim Collins: https://www.jimcollins.com/index.html
The Tony Awards often celebrate the names on a show poster, but every Broadway production is carried by countless artists whose work rarely fits neatly into a category. So in anticipation of this year's awards ceremony, we're spotlighting a few of the performers, collaborators, and creative forces behind nominated productions.
Beth Callen follows her curiosity wherever the music leads. A multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and educator, she has traveled from indie folk stages and an all-female Guns N' Roses tribute band to some of Broadway's most acclaimed productions, including Head Over Heels, A Strange Loop, Suffs, and now The Lost Boys.
In this episode, Beth discusses the realities of building a career as a working musician; why mentorship matters for the next generation of artists; and how greater visibility for pit musicians can deepen our appreciation for the live magic that happens eight times a week on Broadway.
Links
Beth Callen: https://bethcallen.com/
The Lost Boys: https://www.lostboysmusical.com/
Maestra: https://maestramusic.org/
The Tony Awards often celebrate the names on a show poster, but every Broadway production is carried by countless artists whose work rarely fits neatly into a category. So in anticipation of this year's awards ceremony, we're spotlighting a few of the performers, collaborators, and creative forces behind nominated productions.
Victor Vazquez has spent his career expanding the possibilities of who gets seen onstage and whose stories Broadway embraces. As the founder of X Casting and casting director for CATS: The Jellicle Ball, Victor has helped build one of the most joyful, original, and culturally electric productions of the season from the ground up.
In this conversation, Victor offers a rare look inside the audition room, reflects on what it means to bring Ballroom culture into the spotlight with care and authenticity, and discusses why he remains hopeful about the future of theater and the artists shaping it.
——
LINKS
CATS: The Jellicle Ball: https://catsthejellicleball.com/
X Casting: https://www.xcastingnyc.com/
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts: https://www.nypl.org/locations/lpa
The Tony Awards often celebrate the names on a show poster, but every Broadway production is carried by countless artists whose work rarely fits neatly into a category. So in anticipation of this year's awards ceremony, we're spotlighting a few of the performers, collaborators, and creative forces behind nominated productions.
Allison Blackwell knows the power of ensemble storytelling firsthand. Currently appearing in Ragtime at Lincoln Center Theater as Sarah's Friend, Allison is part of the acclaimed company behind one of Broadway's most resonant productions this season. She has built a career defined by extraordinary versatility, emotional depth, and a deep commitment to collaboration onstage.
In this conversation, Allison reflects on the path that brought her back to theater after nearly pursuing law school; what it has meant to revisit Ragtime across multiple productions; and what recognition for ensemble artists means to her personally.
-----
LINKS
Allison Blackwell: https://www.allisonblackwell.com/
Ragtime at Lincoln Center Theater: https://www.lct.org/shows/ragtime/
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts: https://www.nypl.org/locations/lpa
Creative work is often romanticized as spontaneous: a flash of inspiration, a breakthrough moment, a burst of talent. In reality, many artists discover that creativity is less about sudden genius and more about the systems, rituals, and relationships that help ideas grow over time.
For Oliver Richman, creativity has been both an early spark and an evolving practice. As a child, his performances found an audience far beyond his years, from a widely shared rendition of "Defying Gravity" to performing alongside Stevie Wonder at just ten years old. Since then, he has continued exploring new creative paths: studying drama at NYU Tisch, writing and directing numerous projects, and building an online community through his ambitious song-a-day practice.
In this episode, Oliver reflects on balancing spontaneity with structure, building meaningful connections with online audiences, and why creativity thrives when treated as a daily practice.
-----
LINKS
Oliver Richman: https://oliverrichman.com/
Oliver's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliverrichman11/
Oliver's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@oliverrichman
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts: https://www.nypl.org/locations/lpa
Arts organizations thrive when teams stop operating in parallel and begin building together.
Take it from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, which is wrapping its biggest season in over a decade. By creating shared goals across teams and building systems that encourage communication instead of competition, the Symphony has seen unprecedented audience growth in just a few short years.
In this episode, Monica sits down with three leaders from across the organization—Director of Marketing Charles Buchanan, Director of Artistic Planning Melissa King, and Director of Learning & Engagement John Nolan—to explore how deeper collaboration has reshaped both internal culture and audience experience.
-----
LINKS
Sydney Symphony Orchestra: https://www.sydneysymphony.com/
Emil Kang's The Reprise: https://emilkang.substack.com/
Susan Magsamen has spent her career arguing that creativity and aesthetic experiences are not luxuries, but biological necessities woven into how we heal, learn, and connect.
A researcher, educator, and co-author of the New York Times bestseller Your Brain on Art, Susan has become one of the leading voices in the growing field of neuroaesthetics: the science of how the arts and sensory experiences shape the brain and body. Through her work with the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins and the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative, she has helped bridge the gap between scientific research and real-world practice in healthcare, education, and community life.
In this episode, Susan reflects on the winding path that led her into this emerging field and explains what the latest research reveals about the profound impact of arts engagement on human wellbeing. She also explores how arts organizations can better communicate their value, why community-centered approaches matter, and what it will take to make neuroaesthetics a mainstream part of public policy in the years ahead.
——
LINKS:
Your Brain on Art: https://www.yourbrainonart.com/
International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins: https://www.artsandmindlab.org/
NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative: https://neuroartsblueprint.org/
Neuroarts Resource Center: https://www.neuroartsresourcecenter.com/home
Jacob Jonas consistently questions who dance is for, where it belongs, and how it can be sustained.
From his early days as a street performer on Venice Beach to founding his own company at just 21, his work reflects a conviction that art must evolve alongside audiences. That perspective has shaped his drive to build new models for the field just as much as it has informed his creative practice.
In this episode, Jacob discusses expanding access to dance beyond traditional ticketed spaces, and bringing movement to the screen through his global platform Films.Dance. He also reflects on the gaps he sees across the dance ecosystem—from outdated funding models to legacy approaches to marketing—where emerging leaders have opportunities to rethink the future of the field.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
