Theater Alumni Highlights: 12 Podcasts, TV Series, and More to Stream this Winter
In 2020, there may be less live theater happening thanks to the pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped our artists/citizens/innovators from making and sharing socially engaged work. One of the strongest aspects of our Theater program is the voice training, including our voiceover and podcast creation classes. Check out the latest podcasts where Cornish alums have been putting their training to work—you just might hear a voice you recognize!
Theater Alumni Highlights
PODCASTS
1.Obsessed with “Abducted in Plain Sight” with Skye Borgman
It’s been a year since the smash hit documentary “Abducted in Plain Sight”—directed by Theater alum and 2020 Cornish Commencement Speaker Skye Borgman—premiered on Netflix and set the internet ablaze with shock, fascination, disbelief, and rage over the story of 12-year-old Jan Broberg who was kidnapped twice by her neighbor and family friend Bob Berchtold. This four-part series goes behind the scenes of the documentary and shares new interviews with Jan and her parents, deleted scenes, shocking plot lines cut from the film, never-before-heard audio journals from the kidnapper and his wife recovered by the FBI, and so much more.
- Hollywoo with Joshua Conkel
Theater alum and award-winning television, stage and film writer Joshua Conkel discusses his interest in/ambivalence toward woo-woo topics with Hollywood types including tarot, astrology, crystals, ghosts, psychic phenomena, and more!
- Papa Don’t Creech with Andrew Lee Creech
Theater alum and sometimes-faculty member Andrew Lee Creech creates filmed comedy, social commentary, and consumer advocacy for Black-owned businesses on his YouTube site Papa Don’t Creech.
- Stories of Impact with Tavia Gilbert
Theater alum and award-winning audiobook narrator Tavia Gilbert produces this series exploring new scientific research on human flourishing that translates these basic discoveries into practical tools. Bringing a mix of curiosity, compassion, and creativity that will appeal to all ages, host Richard Sergay and producer Tavia Gilbert shine a spotlight on the human impact at the heart of a cutting-edge social and scientific research project. This project was made possible through the generous support of a grant from Templeton World Charity Foundation.
Tavia has also given a powerful TED talk entitled Turning Challenges into Opportunities. More about Tavia’s audiobook narration on her website TaviaGilbert.com.
- When They Were Young with Lanise Antoine Shelley
Chicago-based performer, director, and visual artist Lanise Antoine Shelley hosts this podcast about the experiences of adoptees and their parents. The show engages with adoptees from all over the world, as well as therapists, psychologists, CEOs, coaches, and adoption experts. An adoptee herself, Lanise explores powerful self-love practices to define familial boundaries, regulate the nervous system, and implement culture in everyday life.
- Double Consciousness with Joetta Wright
A weekly podcast of current events, life in the audition room, and moments of double consciousness. Questioning authority (and sometimes reality)or biting tongues, Theater alum Joetta Wright and co-creator Toussaint Morrison report on their lives as performers and how they navigate their way as artists. Hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota (a city and state with some of the highest racial disparity in education and law enforcement), Double Consciousness also explores the W.E.B. DuBois concept of what it means to have a divided identity and be tried by dominant culture politics and social norms.
- Rizo Love with Amelia Zirin Brown (La Rizo)
Theater alum La Rizo (aka Amelia Rose Zirin-Brown), who recently performed and spoke at the 2020 Scholarship Gala, is creating and sharing new content through her Rizo Love Patreon. She also recently appeared on the Guilty Feminist podcast (episode 283) along with writer-performer Rachel Bloom (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”).
- FACULTY PODCAST: Mind Your Show Business with Candice Pullom
Theater faculty member Candice Donehoo Pullom, who teaches private vocal instruction as well as TH 144 Musical Theater Singing: Vocal Function, co-hosts the podcast Mind Your Show Business, a light-hearted look at how to navigate the industry.
FILM AND TELEVISION
The award-winning independent satirical thriller “Survival Skills,” written and directed by Theater alum Quinn Armstrong, is now available across a range of streaming platforms. Alum Emily Chishiolm co-stars in the film.
- “Young Sheldon”
Ramiz Monsef, a 2002 graduate, was featured in the Nov. 19 episode of CBS’s hit comedy “Young Sheldon.”
- “Mank”
Watch for alum Derek Petropolis portraying film star Eddie Cantor in the new David Fincher film “Mank,” coming soon to Netflix.
Seattle-based web series “World of Chaldea” launches on Dec. 20. Created by Peter Adkison, founder of Wizards of the Coast, the series combines live-action and animated graphics. Featured in the cast are Theater alums Chris Morson, Jake Ynzunza, and Drew Highlands.
