ARTS. WORK. LIFE.

Latest Episodes:

Mark your calendars! Jun 03, 2025

Show notes

APAP’s award-winning podcast ARTS.WORK.LIFE. is back! On June 10th, we’ll premiere our new season, which is bursting with bold, untold stories from across the performing arts industry.

This summer, we’ll take you behind the scenes with stories from seasoned and emerging professionals – exploring the triumphs, lessons, and motivations of the people who bring the performing arts to life!

ARTS.WORK.LIFE. returns June 10th, with a new episode every other week!

13! Thirteen more days to submit your story. Mar 29, 2025

Show notes

Learn about how to submit a great story, and hear from past storytellers, by watching our recent webinar: https://youtu.be/eZ7a55-slLw?si=VvihOVwjV0W3bxQ6&t=12

Calling all performing arts workers! Submit your bold, untold, personal story for season four at apap365.org/podcast

FINAL deadline is April 10th. If your story is selected, you’ll work with a podcast team to bring your story to life and receive a $200 honorarium.

ARTS. WORK. LIFE. is produced by APAP (Association of Performing Arts Professionals) with support from The Wallace Foundation.

Season four needs you! Jan 28, 2025

Show notes

Calling all performing arts workers! Submit your bold, untold, personal story for season four at

apap365.org/podcast

Priority deadline is March 20th. If your story is selected, you’ll work with a podcast team to bring your story to life and receive a $200 honorarium.

ARTS. WORK. LIFE. is produced by APAP (Association of Performing Arts Professionals) with support from The Wallace Foundation.

Second Acts Aug 13, 2024

Show notes

Sometimes, we have to give up one dream and find another, providing an opportunity for growth and discovery.

The finale of season three features stories about the power of community from a high school teacher learning from her students, an executive challenged to remake her life, an opera singer realizing that the seeds she planted long ago have suddenly bloomed, and an Indian classical dancer who achieves a milestone for her community.

Intro: “Shine” with Anna Woods, former drama theater and theater director for Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose, California.

Act One: “A Path Through The Dark” with Lisa Hilas, president and director of Onstage Vacaville in Vacaville, California.

Act Two: “A Full-Circle Moment” with Ersian Francois, an opera singer, producer and arts administrator in Washington, D.C.

Act Three: “Finding Your Footing” with Rukhmani Mehta, co-artistic director of Leela Dance Collective in Los Angeles, California.

You can find a full transcript and more on APAP’s website: https://apap365.org/podcast/arts-work-life-podcast-season-3-episode-6/

Are you a performing arts worker with a story to tell? Submit it here: https://bit.ly/AWLpodsubmit

My Story To Tell Jul 30, 2024

Show notes

Finding your voice is hard, but summoning the courage to use it can change your life and the lives of those around you.

Whether it’s helping others recover, how advocating for yourself becomes advocating for those like you, or re-claiming a harmful narrative, episode five brings three powerful stories from arts workers who use their stories to help others heal, grow, and learn.

Intro: “Harnessing Healing” with Payton Rhyan, a theater administrator and full time masters student in Performing Arts Administration at New York University.

Act One: “Leaps and Bounds” with Tristan Grannum, the Director of Community Engagement and Rehearsal Director for Brooklyn Ballet in Brooklyn, New York.

Act Two: “Strings Attached” with Sheila Gaskins, a teaching artist and puppeteer from Baltimore, Maryland.

You can find a full transcript and more on APAP’s website: https://apap365.org/podcast/arts-work-life-podcast-season-3-episode-5/

Are you a performing arts worker with a story to tell? Submit it here: https://bit.ly/AWLpodsubmit

Through The Looking Glass Jul 16, 2024

Show notes

Often, our sense of self can feel rigid. Like who we see in the mirror is who we’ll always be. But how we see ourselves is changeable, and sometimes a dramatic event shakes our self image to the core. Including stories from an artist who had to re-evaluate her career through her mother’s eyes and a dancer whose life was turned head-over-heels, episode four highlights significant changes in our perceptions of ourselves and how we fit into the world.

Intro: “This or That” with Chloë Zimberg, a dancer and creative director of ODC Theater in San Francisco, California.

Act One: “Parallel Tracks” with Heidi Latsky, a dancer, choreographer and artistic director of Heidi Latsky Dance in New York City.

Act Two: “Striking A Chord” with Azadi Amaan, a pianist and composer in Shelton, Washington.

Act Three: “Body Signals” with Maura García, a dancer and choreographer living on the homelands of the Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan Nation in Texas.

You can find a full transcript and more on APAP’s website: https://apap365.org/podcast/arts-work-life-podcast-season-3-episode-4/

Are you a performing arts worker with a story to tell? Submit it here: https://bit.ly/AWLpodsubmit

The Personal and The Political Jun 25, 2024

Show notes

Artists are often the voice for social movements. Some make it their life's purpose, while others are thrust into politics by circumstance. Episode three shares inspiring stories from artists navigating identity, society, and the industry. First we share a story from a singer with a mission. Then, from a performer dragged into a political battle. And lastly, from a groundbreaker who confronted racism and found a gateway to tell her story through art.

TRIGGER WARNING: There is discussion of disordered eating between 24:05 and 25:10.

Act One: “Songs In The Key Of Change” with Wayna, a recording artist based in Washington, D.C.

Act Two: “The Kindness Of Strangers” with Dennis Porter, a variety artist and owner of Happy Faces Entertainment in Kansas City, Missouri.

Act Three: “Bravery in Brass” with Dr. Jazzie Pigott, a tuba player and composer in Baltimore, Maryland.

You can find a full transcript and more on APAP’s website: https://apap365.org/podcast/arts-work-life-podcast-season-3-episode-3/

Are you a performing arts worker with a story to tell? Submit it here: https://bit.ly/AWLpodsubmit

Breaking the Arts Barrier Jun 11, 2024

Show notes

Systemic barriers to equality are apparent throughout the industry, but at a certain point you can't keep dancing around the red tape. You have to break through it. Episode two is all about arts workers that are breaking down barriers. But these storytellers don’t just shine a light on inequality, they offer a tangible and inspirational path forward.

Intro: “Eyes and Ears” with Sabrina Martinez, an audio describer in Houston, Texas.

Act One: “Tours and Tribulations” with Justine Bayod Espoz, the executive director of Torito Arts in Chicago, Illinois.

Act Two: “Mobilizing To Move Forward” with Daniel Phoenix Singh, the executive director of Metro Arts Nashville in Nashville, Tennessee.

You can find a full transcript and more on APAP’s website: https://apap365.org/podcast/arts-work-life-podcast-season-3-episode-2/

Are you a performing arts worker with a story to tell? Submit it here: https://bit.ly/AWLpodsubmit

Remix, Rework, Reimagine. May 28, 2024

Show notes

The audience was seated, the performers were waiting in the wings, and the musicians were just about to play the opening note when a powerful storm took out the electrical grid for the entire county. With the event suddenly canceled on the last night of their tour, Jono Gasparro’s company found inspiration in desperation. And that’s when the magic happened.

The first episode of the third season of ARTS. WORK. LIFE. explores what results when artists and arts workers must remix, rework, and reimagine their performances, their work life, and their art. Whether by accident, a cruel twist of fate, or through thoughtful consideration, these necessary adaptations reveal what truly guides performing arts professionals.

Act One: “Remix” with Jono Gasparro, the co-founder of Electric Root in Los Angeles, California.

Act Two: “Rework” with Ziiomi Law, an administrative care worker and artist. They are currently based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Act Three: “Reimagine” with Perla Batalla, a singer and recording artist in Los Angeles, California.

You can find a full transcript and more on APAP’s website: https://apap365.org/podcast/arts-work-life-podcast-season-3-episode-1/

Are you a performing arts worker with a story to tell? Submit it here: https://bit.ly/AWLpodsubmit

Season 3 Arrives May 28th! May 21, 2024

Show notes

Are you ready to shine? Season three of the award-winning ARTS. WORK. LIFE. podcast arrives May 28th! Twenty bold, untold stories will take you behind the curtain of the performing arts industry. Whether about failure and heartbreak or triumph and success, each story reveals an important truth from the perspective of a professional working in live arts and entertainment.

Subscribe or follow the show, turn on automatic downloads, and tell a friend about ARTS. WORK. LIFE. https://apap365.org/podcast/

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected