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Izolda Trakhtenberg And Valerie Higgs

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Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeMovies, Equitable Creative Teams, Shogun, and Nekkid PartnersWe open up about some fun and peculiar aspects of life, the universe and everything on this week's show. We also delve into awards season, and why Valerie particularly wants to watch every Academy-award nominated movie (and the reason Izolda won't be watching them all). 2024-02-211h 41Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeHow to Balance Your Creative Career with a Day JobVal and Izolda discuss how they balance (and sometimes fail to balance) the demands of their art and their creative work. They also give some advice on how to do it better. Val, the classic introvert, also explores how she manages networking events as an introvert. Izolda gives her perspective as an extroverted introvert. Subscribe to the show and tell your friends about it. You can also follow us on Instagram (check there to see the non-Rorschach ink blot Izolda created and mentions in the episode) https://www.instagram.com/twowomenofacertainage/. 2024-01-311h 06Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeThe Two Women on Our Favorite Shows, the inherent ageism in Hollywood casting, and our latest thoughts on the state of the worldThe Two Women on Our Favorite Shows, the inherent ageism in Hollywood casting, and our latest thoughts on the state of the world. Join Val and Izolda as we explore topics like being child-free by choice, our favorite TV show binges (Val's is edgy, current, and will get you thinking. Izolda's have a running theme of irresistible nerds.) We also explore just why the heck casting directors skew so darn young, especially when looking to cast women characters. If you have a topic you want our takes on, get in touch. Support the...2024-01-241h 07Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women on Shows, the Need For Retreats, and the Not-So-Guilty Pleasure of Jacob ElordiJoin Valerie and Izolda as they discuss their favorite recent shows and musicals. They also give their ideas on how to make writing in plays, musicals, books, and movies more inclusive in various ways. Get their favorite cheap ways to get all the bang of a relaxing retreat for none of the buck. Last, they explore the not-so-guilty pleasure of enjoying younger men's performances in shows, movies, and other art. 2024-01-161h 56Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeTheatre, Writing, Movies - what works and what doesn'tWe're back! Listen in as we delve into some of our favorite movies of the last fifty years, dissect plot issues with a couple of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks favorites, and what it means to be a woman of a certain age in a creative career in 2024.2024-01-091h 12Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeReturn to Work and Creative Work StylesIn this episode, Izolda and Valerie talk about what it's like to be a night owl vs. a morning lark; what will the workplace look like post-pandemic; the efficiency of mandatory drug testing; introverts and extroverts; and escapist TV.2021-07-261h 31Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeMaking Choices That Work for YouValerie and Izolda discuss choices they have made and whether these choices have been worked out; being mindful about labels; and Manhattanhenge.  2021-07-121h 13Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeFriends: How Many of Us Have Them?In this week's episode, Valerie and Izolda discuss letting go of friendships and forging new ones as GenXrs; whether a continuation or reboot of a TV series is a good idea; and keeping creative focus when busy.2021-07-061h 49Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeHow We See Ourselves vs How Others See UsValerie and Izolda discuss taking care of aging parents, the masks we wear in public (work especially), and what we see vs. what other people see vs what we actually look like.2021-07-021h 06Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeSeason 2 Opener: We Are Back!Season 2 opens with a discussion about the Friends reunion show on HBOMax, what Valerie and Izolda have been up to during their hiatus, and the glut of digital streaming subscriptions.2021-06-231h 12Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeSeason FinaleIn the Season 1 finale, Val and Izolda discuss creative burnout, what "refills their well", and how they are going to (try) to step away from being creative during the holidays.  2020-12-161h 25Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeEp 13. Val and Izolda discuss creative thinking and how to do it, this weird holiday season, and of course some entertainment industry chatterEpisode 13 is out! We talked about creative thinking in industries that don't often reward it, how different this holiday season feels and what we can do about it, and of course some entertainment industry chatting especially about Wonder Woman 1984, and a bunch of 1970s shows. See the image to see the shows. 2020-12-091h 24Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeEver AfterVal and Izolda discuss possible reasons why we don’t like to examine what happens after the fairytale ends, why rom-com leading ladies don’t realize their own power, why different points of view create better stories,  and what two things Luke Skywalker heard after destroying the Death Star. Oh, and we might have talked a little about porn.2020-12-021h 25Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeOur Top 5 Sex and the City EpisodesVal and Izolda talk about their favorite Sex and the City episodes, who their favorite characters are from the show and movies, and what they really thought about Mr. Big.2020-11-251h 26Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeVal and Izolda count down their five favorite Friends episodes and discuss charisma, creativity, and what you need to do break through performance fearThe tenth (10th!!!) episode of the Two Women of a Certain Age podcast is here!   We talked about Harrison Ford (of course), Robert Downey Jr, Paul Rudd, Tom Cruise, how to get the confidence to step on stage and own it, what it takes to know your role, the slippery thing charisma can be, and we counted down our five favorite Friends episodes.2020-11-181h 13Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeChildhood Crushes and British Mystery SeriesIn Episode 9, Val and Izolda talk about the Presidential Election, Prime Suspect and other British mystery series, why romance novels are a multi-million dollar industry, whether we should make passion a priority, and Joe vs. Frank Hardy.2020-11-111h 56Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeStrong Women and Introverts vs. ExtrovertsEpisode 8?!  We can’t believe it!  This week, Val and Izolda discuss strong female characters on screen; extroverted and introverted performers and how they think; and how the level of your confidence in the things you love to do may affect how you receive criticism.2020-11-041h 28Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeVal and Izolda Discuss Performer's Social Anxiety and Why You Should Probably Learn a Musical Instrument2 Women of a Certain Age switch it up a little bit to discuss how musicians/performers can experience social anxiety before even stepping foot on stage; whiffing it in front of The Boss; what to do when the power goes out; jazz improvisation; pesky gig logistics; and why you (yes you!) can (and should!) learn a musical instrument.2020-10-281h 27Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeMusic From Our Formative Years, Women's Agency in the Entertainment and Business Fields, and the movie, Mr. RightWe talked about music from the formative decades of our lives (the 70s and 80s) and then Valerie schooled Izolda on the music of the 90s (Izolda didn't listen to the radio at all during the 90s so she's still playing catch-up. And you *know* we talked about women and our agency throughout the entertainment, education, and business fields. We also discussed a fun and quirky movie called, "Mr. Right: with the fantastic Sam Rockwell, Anna Kendrick, and Tim Roth. 2020-10-211h 45Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeVal and Izolda talk about Hairspray, musicals, The Boys, and the Creativity GestaltEnjoy our far-ranging chat. We also ended up talking about racism, sexism, and identity in movies from long ago and today.2020-10-141h 46Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeVal and Izolda Discuss the 39 Steps, The Boys, and Covering Other People's Songs: Yay or Nay?This is a fun episode. Oh, and you get to hear us do a cover as well. So, listen in.2020-10-071h 22Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeVal and Izolda discuss Notorious, Fembots, Weird Weight Standards for Women, and Their Surprising Roles as Malfunctioning WomenWe went into several fun movies, the Malfunctioning Women tweet heard round the world, The Boys, the 1973 Stockard Channing movie, The Girl Most Likely To, and Hitchcock's masterpiece, Notorious. We also chatted about the banned Lane Bryant ad, Victoria's Secret angels, Ashley Graham, and the strange weight standards about what is sexy. We had some great fun with this episode and got a little serious about things too. Let us know if you're liking the show. Leave a review wherever you listen or send us a DM on Instagram @twowomenofacertainage.  2020-09-301h 14Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeValerie and Izolda talk Escapism in movies, Inconsistency in fictional universes, Star Trek, The Boys, the X-Files, and the Psychology of Casting Older People to Play Younger onesPlus, Izolda is politically incorrect during our discussion of movies, music, staging, directing, television, beauty, characters, and Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (and other films). She apologizes. Listen in to see her learn her lesson. Oh, and if you want to join in, we gave each other homework. We both will watch The Girl Most Likely To with Stockard Channing and Hitchock's Notorious starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. That's your homework too, by the way. Watch Notorious. It's fantastic, and we'll be talking about it on next week's show.2020-09-231h 31Two Women of a Certain AgeTwo Women of a Certain AgeVal and Izolda discuss Karl Urban, Star Trek, Horror Movies, and Why "Pretty Women" in Movies Piss Izolda Off.Friends, colleagues, and musicians Izolda and Val bring you this show. Hold onto your hats. We had fun in this inaugural episode.  Oh and we also discussed our favorite Will Smith movies and how effectively Broadway musicals can be turned into movies and vice versa. Plus a whole lot more. We're going to make this weekly. And we'll be inviting you to join us. Have a movie, book, or music piece you want us to discuss, dissect, and disseminate? Let us know. 2020-09-161h 00