The Ensemblist

Latest Episodes:

#270 - I'm Still Here (feat. Cameron Adams) Mar 30, 2021

Show notes

In Stephen Sondheim’s Follies, the character of Carlotta sings of her long and varied character in the showstopper “I’m Still Here.” The lyrics share that her decades in the show business have provided her with “plush velvet sometimes, sometimes just pretzels and beer.”

The same could be said of today’s episode guest, Cameron Adams. The legendary Broadway ensemblist made her Mainstem debut in the 2000 revival of The Music Man. In the twenty years since she’s been a mainstay on New York stages, performing in an extraordinary 13 Broadway shows.

Cameron joined me over the phone to share some of the most memorable moments of her career thus far, as well as how the industry has changed for ensemble performers in the last two decades. Here’s our conversation…

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#503 - Can We Award Ensembles? (feat. Jack Smart) Mar 29, 2021

Show notes

So, we’re off! Thank you for coming along on my mission to discover how to celebrate, recognize and award great theatre ensembles. As I shared in the first episode of this miniseries, I started this journey wondering why there is not a Tony Award for Best Ensemble? But the more I thought about what such an award would recognize, the less convinced I became that it was possible to quantify what makes theatre ensembles so great.

I figured that speaking to a member of the press was as good of a place as any to start. Since theatre press are often the tastemakers for audiences at large, they have experience watching and adjudicating what makes excellent theatre. If the press attend shows in order to convey their expertise about excellent performances, scores, direction and sound design, they could also distill what makes an excellent ensemble. Right?

In my esteem, there was no better press member to have this initial discussion with than Jack Smart. Not only does he work for Backstage, the premiere resources for actors in the entertainment industry, his title is “Awards Editor.” His job is literally about awards. So I was lucky enough to speak with him on the topics of what makes a great theatre ensemble and how can they be recognized with awards. Here’s our conversation...

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#502 - Reopening Theatre (feat. Timothy Hughes, Michael Fatica) Mar 26, 2021

Show notes

Today, we are taking a detour and not talking about a show that we need. In order for those shows to come back, we need a clear, safe and realistic plan for our industry to move forward. Hadestown cast member Timothy Hughes wrote a letter to Actor’s Equity Association demanding transparency and a seat at the table for union members to be heard when discussing how we go about getting back to work.

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#501 - Can We Award Ensembles? Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

It’s a question that has been on host Mo Brady's mind for years. Definitely since the infancy of The Ensemblist, but probably earlier. “Why is there not a Tony Award for Best Ensemble?”

It seems a simple enough question on the surface. If we can recognize actors playing leading and featured roles in musicals, why can’t we do the same for ensembles. A Tony Award for Best Ensemble would bring legitimacy and respect to the contribution ensemble performers make to shows. It would also bring a level of equity and equality to those performers themselves, making them eligible for the same commandations as our industry’s leading performers.

In this time where we are “paused” due to the Coronavirus pandemic, our industry is engaged in many important conversations. So he figured it was as good of a time as any to throw this into the mix, and formally ask the Tony Awards to add a new competitive category beginning in the 2021-2022 season: Best Ensemble.

Except, he couldn’t exactly figure out what he was asking for.

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#279 - I'm Still Here (feat. Gaelen Gilliland) Mar 24, 2021

Show notes

Although not exactly touring in stock, today’s episode guest is indeed still here. Gaelen Gilliland has been delighting Broadway audiences since making her 2005 debut in the musical phenomenon Wicked. Between taking a break as Courtney in Legally Blonde to Bikini Bottom’s Mayor in SpongeBob SquarePants The Musical, she has spent most of her career creating musical comedy gold.

Gaelen is now sharing her talents across the country in the First National Tour of Mean Girls. Looking back at her career spanning six Broadway shows and three National Tours, she delights in how lucky she has been to have worked with some of the most collaborative individuals in the industry.

Jon M. Wailin spoke with Gaelen about the inspiration behind her incredible character work, as well as how life on the road has changed since her first tour twenty years ago. Here’s our conversation . . .

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#500 - Episode 500 (feat. Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Anna Altheide, Hattie Andres, Chad Campbell, Jackson Cline, Angela Tricarico) Mar 23, 2021

Show notes

Travel back in time. Way, way back to a long ago year called 2013, when an overly caffeinated 30-something with a single Broadway credit was looking for a way to stay connected to the community of performers he so dearly wanted to be a part of. It was out of that desire to celebrate, to advocate and to connect that our experiment called The Ensemblist was born. And here we are almost eight years later, sharing with you our 500th episode.

What we found is that for every person who has stepped onstage as part of a theatrical ensemble, there are a multitude of stories to share. Over the years, we’ve expanded our mission - from simply sharing the unknown stories of working in theatre ensembles to make connections between those stories to document and celebrate our collective history.

To commemorate our 500th episode, we asked our podcast collaborators both past and present to share their favorite stories of working on and listening to The Ensemblist.

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#499 - Chris Chats With (Actors Equity Association) Mar 22, 2021

Show notes

This month’s topic took host Christine Shepard on a full quest. She felt like Harriet the Spy gathering info this time around. Half this episode was honestly for her. She learned a lot about stuff she should have years ago, but luckily her learning experience can be somebody else’s. Today we are talking about union membership, specifically AEA or Actors' Equity Association.

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#498 - Tony Telecasts (1993 - Kiss of Spider Woman, The Who's Tommy, Blood Brothers, The Goodbye Girl - Part 2) Mar 19, 2021

Show notes

The 47th Annual Tony Awards were hosted by Liza Minnelli on June 6, 1993. Presented at the Gershwin Theatre, the theme of the ceremony was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of theatre in Times Square. Heading into the ceremony, Kiss of the Spider Woman and The Who’s Tommy led the pack with 11 nominations each, followed by Blood Brothers with six and The Goodbye Girl with five. This season there were no musicals nominated for Best Revival.

Well, Mo, the 1992-93 season saw the inauguration of the US’s 42nd president, President Bill Jefferson Clinton and the installation of the nation’s first female attorney general, Janet Reno. Outside of those momentous occasions, the country was mainly dealing with ongoing issues, both abroad and domestically: The United States was still dealing with the aftermath of the Gulf War, waged by the previous administration, and with the nation finally acknowledging HIV/AIDS within the last few years as a nationwide epidemic, the US found itself playing catch-up to dealing with a plague that was ravaging its citizens.

In New York, the Broadway industry and community were heavily laden by the effects of the AIDS epidemic, as we see in the telecast. Red ribbons everywhere; emotion overtaking hosts, presenters, and recipients alike; a nominated performance directly addressing the disease AND its stigma; and even an honorary Tony being given to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for its leadership in the industry’s fight against the disease... we ultimately find a community in mourning, even in this celebratory ceremony of the last hundred years of Broadway.

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#497 - Reopening Theatre (Moulin Rouge! Australia - feat. Fredric Odgaard) Mar 18, 2021

Show notes

So many of us theatre artists are missing the experience of creating with others. Those who have the opportunity to be in a room making theatre seem to have won a golden ticket for making it through this pandemic. Even those who have traveled halfway around the world to do so.

Fredric Odgaard is an original cast member and Assistant Dance Captain of Broadway’s newest juggernaut, Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Fred spent eight weeks running auditions alongside two of his Broadway colleagues: associate choreographer Katie Spelman and dance captain Karli DiNardo. Upon his return to the States, Fred chatted with me about his long-standing relationship with the show’s choreographer Sonya Tayeh and what it felt like to create across the globe when theatre at home is at a standstill.

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#288 - Seeking Representation (feat. Ann Sanders) Mar 17, 2021

Show notes

There has been no seismic shift in the number of actors of color performing on Broadway. Yes, systematic change often comes with incremental progress. However, the recent crop of Broadway musicals seem to provide few examples of such change. I’ve been curious what that feels like for artists of color, so I asked a few into the studio to share their experiences with racial representation in the theatre industry.

Today's conversation is with Ann Sanders. Having made her Broadway debut in Beauty and the Beast, she has played a variety of iconic roles including Queen Iduna in Frozen, Anna in The King and I and Christmas Eve in Avenue Q. Here's our conversation...

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