Shows
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesActor Neil BurghardIn this final episode of Season 2 (delayed again due to my recent surgery ... apologies, and THANK YOU for all of your encouragement and support!), you'll meet my special, "mystery guest", an actor whose professional career in TV and film didn't START until after he "retired". He's also, in more ways than one, THE reason that this podcast EXISTS. Enjoy! And stay tuned until the end for details on Season 3!2024-02-1921 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesTV and Film Actress Rusty Schwimmer (Part 2)In this "better late than never" edition of New Trier Performing Arts Stories, TV and film actress Rusty Schwimmer and I talk about why she eventually returned to Chicago while still maintaining a successful Hollywood career. We also talk about her involvement in the Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas special, and then go back to New Trier for her favorite performing arts memory. Finally, we finish with a funny story about something her Mom didn’t know about one of New Trier’s great contributions to popular culture. Enjoy!2024-02-0416 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesTV and Film Actress Rusty SchwimmerIn this episode, Rusty talks about her rocky start in the industry (including a near death experience at a Superbowl celebration), how a chance lunch serving The Fonz changed her career, our mutual obsession with The Carol Burnett Show, and how New Trier prepared her for her career as an actress.2024-01-1921 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesDancer, and New Trier Dance Teacher Laura DeutschLaura Deutsch's life was transformed by, and then later dedicated to the dance division at New Trier. In this episode, she talks about how dance changed her life, and how she eventually ended up back at New Trier, where she then taught dance for more than 30 years. We also talk about how the program has changed, and how it hasn't over the last 40 years. Enjoy!2024-01-1227 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesBonus Feature! After Hours with Jim True-Frost!Welcome to the first Bonus feature from Season 2 of New Trier Performing Arts Stories! OK, technically it’s not the first bonus feature, because I have several others from earlier interviews that I need to edit and post for you, but this is the first one I’m posting and it’s a lot of fun. As many of you know, after the official interview is over, my guests and I often stick around and talk for a while, and when Jim True-Frost and I did that, I told him about an important role that he had rather inadvertently played...2024-01-0609 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesTV and Film Actor Jim True-Frost (Part 2 of 2)In part 2 of my interview with stage, film and TV star Jim True-Frost, Jim and I continue our conversation about the challenges of being a working actor. We also talk about some of his favorite experiences in film and television, but then we return to New Trier and talk about the only time that we got to work on stage together. Enjoy!2024-01-0517 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesTV and Film Actor Jim True-Frost (Part 1 of 2)In part 1 of my interview with stage, film and TV star Jim True-Frost, we talk about how his experiences in music, dance and theater helped prepare him for his career as a professional actor, and then we talk about films like The Accidental Tourist, Fat Man and Little Boy, and Singles, before moving on to the BIG role of his career (5 seasons on HBO's The Wire). It's another great and candid interview with another great NT PAD alum! Enjoy!2023-12-2922 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesSPECIAL EVENT! Christmas 2023 with Suzanne Adams! (Part 2 of 2)In part 2 of my interview with Suzanne, we talk more about casting and play selection, but we do that while talking about one of my very favorite parts of the Performing Arts Department, The Forensics Team. Enjoy!2023-12-2528 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesSPECIAL EVENT! Christmas 2023 with Suzanne Adams! (Part 1 of 2)When the legendary Suzanne Adams would hand out scene assignments, her students called those days "Christmas", so it's only fitting that, once again, she is our guest at this special time of year. In this episode, Suzanne talks about how she designed the curriculum for the Performing Arts Department at New Trier, and how her aim produced not just better performers, but better people. Enjoy!2023-12-2230 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesActress and Oscar Nominee Virginia Madsen (Part 2 of 2)In part 2 of my very special interview with Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen, which is again being presented without commercial interruption, Virginia and I discuss the various stages of her career in TV and film. From Electric Dreams to the Astronaut Farmer, from Frasier to Star Trek Voyager, we go forwards and backwards through her career, and finally, of course, we also go … Sideways. And it is once again a remarkably candid and thoughtful look at a remarkable career. Enjoy!2023-12-1528 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesActress and Oscar Nominee Virginia Madsen (Part 1 of 2)In Part 1 of my very special interview with Oscar Nominee Virginia Madsen, Virginia talks openly and candidly about her time at New Trier. We also talk about some of her favorite performing arts memories, and the gratitude she now feels for the experience she had. We also talk about the transition from New Trier to her Hollywood film career, the challenges she faced, and the strength she found from family and friends. Enjoy!2023-12-0825 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesPodcaster and Broadcast "Foot Soldier" John Siuntres (Part 2 of 2)In part 2 of my interview with John Siuntres, we talk about the creation of the Word Balloon podcast (which has become essential listening in the comic book fan world). We also return to WNTH and talk about John's experience interviewing some Hollywood legends, Enjoy!2023-12-0122 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesPodcaster and Broadcast "Foot Soldier" John Siuntres (Part 1 of 2)John Siuntres is one is one of the most universally liked WNTH alum of our time, and when you talk with him, it's immediately obvious why that's true. In Part 1 of our interview, John talks about how WNTH gave him the skills necessary to rapidly rise through the ranks in broadcast radio, eventually spending decades in the field, including 9 years at WXRT and "The Score".2023-11-2425 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesActor, Author, and Philanthropist Rainn Wilson! (Part 3 of 3)In Part 3 of my interview with Rainn Wilson, Rainn and I will talk about his new book Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution. We’ll also talk about his humanitarian work with Lide Haiti, and then, as we always do, we’ll return to New Trier and talk about WNTH, and our one time together on stage.2023-11-1730 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesActor, Author, and Philanthropist Rainn Wilson! (Part 2 of 3)In this episode, Rainn and I finish our conversation about his film career, then move on to TV to talk about The Office (and a little bit about Star Trek). Finally, we start our conversation about his other career as a best selling author. Enjoy!2023-11-1022 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesActor, Author, and Philanthropist Rainn Wilson! (Part 1 of 3)Welcome to Season 2 of New Trier Performing Arts Stories! We have some SPECTACULAR guests for you this Season, and we're leading off with a BIG star. In this episode (part 1 of 3), we welcome actor Rainn Wilson to the podcast! Rainn talks about how his time at New Trier launched his career as an actor. We also talk about the transition from stage to screen acting (and the challenges and differences involved). And finally, Rainn reveals his (current) favorite film experience. Enjoy!2023-11-0325 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesCostumer and New Trier PAD Historian John Gion!Well folks, this is it, the end of Season 1, and we're going to "bookend" the season by bringing back our very first guest, John Gion. In this show, John talks about his personal experiences with New Trier and how he became one of the most well known and liked "behind the scenes" people in the incredible and huge underworld below Gaffney Auditorium. We also talk about his frankly amazing abilities when it came to costuming, and how his time at New Trier led him to form a company which warehouses stage costumes. And of course, along the way, we’ll...2023-02-1623 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesBonus Feature! After Hours with Dave Marran!In my post interview conversation with Dave Marran, we talked first about our mutual WNTH friends John Siuntres (host of the Word Balloon podcast) and Gary Price. Then Dave asks me about Season 2 of this show, and finally, we talk about my impending return to The Rugby Report podcast, and my most recent sports obsession, New Zealand cricket. Enjoy!2023-02-0909 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesSports Journalist and Former WNTH Station Manager Dave Marran!Welcome to our second WNTH themed show of the season! Our guest today is Dave Marran, a former WNTH Station Manager who went on from New Trier to spend 29 years working with the Chicago White Sox, and two decades as the sports editor for the Kenosha News. In this show, Dave talks extensively about New Trier in general, and WNTH in particular helped to prepare him for a career in broadcasting and media. Enjoy!2023-02-0928 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesBonus Feature! After Hours with Beth Lane!Welcome to another special bonus feature from New Trier Performing Arts Stories! In my brief post interview conversation with Beth Lane we talk about some of the truly extraordinary people in the unusually talented class of 1981, and then Beth tells me about yet another way that New Trier impacted her life, when the marriage of two of her New Trier classmates led directly to her meeting her husband. Enjoy!2023-02-0607 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesActress, Producer, Writer, and now Director Beth Lane!This week we have a very special show. Actress, writer, producer, and now director Beth Lane joins me to talk about her current project (and her first film as a director), Would You Hide Me, a documentary about two German farmers who hid Beth's mother and six siblings from the Nazis during World War 2. We also talk about Beth's role in the film "Hollywood Musical", and of course, how her time at New Trier helped to shape her career in Performing Arts. Enjoy!2023-02-0230 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesSinger and Opera Executive Diana Hossack!This week I welcome singer and Opera Executive Diana Hossack to the show! Diana and I talk about how her memories and experiences at New Trier translated into the skills needed to market, manage, fundraise, and eventually run large non-profit performing arts operations. She also tells us a really funny New Trier Performing Arts Story. Enjoy!2023-01-2625 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesBonus Feature! There's Something About Mary (After Hours with Mary Ryan)One of the reasons I really wanted to interview Mary Ryan was because so many of her peers spoke so highly of her. I wanted to learn WHY so many of our friends remember her so fondly. And I did. She’s warm. friendly, smart, funny, talented, inclusive, and engaging … in fact, I can now say from experience that if you spend any time with her at all you realize pretty quickly that there really is … something about Mary. And when someone like that is willing to sit around and talk with you for a while after the interview, well...2023-01-1913 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesActress, Voice Actress and Businesswoman Mary RyanNew Trier has obviously produced a LOT of talented people, but whether they go on to careers in Performing Arts or not, the skills they learned at New Trier's PAD are useful in both Performing Arts and business. This week, we visit with Mary Ryan, who talks with me about how she has used what she learned at New Trier on camera, on stage, AND in business.2023-01-1921 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesBonus Feature! Backstage with The Bard! After Hours with Tim and LauraIn my post interview conversation with Tim and Laura, Tim gets to tell his favorite Laura story, and then the conversation somehow drifts into MY dating life, before Laura talks about her year away from New Trier, and the difficulty in returning. We also touch on the Rocky Horror Picture Show (of course) and then we return to New Trier, and why it was and remains so special. 2023-01-1214 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesShakespeare! Part 2, with actor Tim Walsh and musician Laura (Ebert) BrennerIn Part 2 of our tribute to Shakespeare productions at New Trier, Tim, Laura and I talk about theater preferences (and why Shakespeare was better in a smaller theater), and then I get to answer one of my standard questions for all of my guests ... and finally, I get to tell one of MY New Trier Performing Arts stories, involving our guests and what was literally THE funniest moment of my life! Enjoy!2023-01-1221 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesShakespeare! Part 1, with actor Tim Walsh and musician Laura (Ebert) BrennerShakespeare was a special part of the New Trier Performing Arts Department. So special, that it takes not one but TWO weeks ... AND not one but TWO former thespians to talk about it. This week, professional stage actor Tim Walsh and professional musician Laura (Ebert) Brenner talk about their New Trier experiences in general, as well as their specific memories of working with the late, great Dr. Robert Boyle (New Trier's MASTER of Shakespeare for over 30 years). Enjoy!2023-01-0519 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesBonus Feature! After Hours with Chris and Duane on WNTHDuring the show I started to tell a story about driving Chris to the 1983 WNTH Awards Banquet, after the show, I told Chris what happened AFTER I dropped her off, and then we chatted about what she's up to today, as well as some of additional memories we had of our time at WNTH. Enjoy!2022-12-2908 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesWNTH's First Female "Rock Jock" - Christine Polydoris WebsterWelcome to the show "CP"! In the late 70s and early 80s, WNTH was still very much a male dominated place, and there were things that girls just didn't do ... until Christine (Polydoris) Webster showed up. WNTH's first female rock jock (and later, its first female Music Director) joins our show this week to talk about smashing the Glass Ceiling on the 5th floor at New Trier.2022-12-2922 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesSPECIAL EVENT: Four Days of Christmas with Suzanne Adams - BONUS FEATURE!I have discovered that sometimes the conversation which takes place after an interview is fun and/or worth sharing too .. so I've started recording those moments as well. Here are some highlights of my post-interview conversation with Suzanne Adams.2022-12-2521 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesSPECIAL EVENT: The Four Days Of Christmas With The Legendary Suzanne Adams! Part 4 of 4!In Part 4, we talk about how Suzanne managed the difficult task of providing feedback AND guidance in a positive way. We also talk more about casting, including the frankly incredible amount of reading she had to do on a weekly basis as she helped her students become the characters that they were playing. And finally, I get to tell Suzanne what I remember, and for all of us, say thank you.2022-12-2517 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesSPECIAL EVENT: The Four Days Of Christmas With The Legendary Suzanne Adams! Part 3 of 4!Today, in part 3 of my SPECIAL "Four Days of Christmas" interview with Suzanne Adams, we talk about Suzanne’s extraordinary life AFTER New Trier, from saving forests to her current work teaching dyslexic children. We’ll talk about how the events of her life informed her views at New Trier, and we might get her to share a few favorite memories along the way.2022-12-2415 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesSPECIAL EVENT! The Four Days of Christmas With The Legendary Suzanne Adams! Part 2 of 4Day 2 of our "Four Days of Christmas" Special Interview with Suzanne Adams! In this episode, Suzanne talks about how she approached teaching the art of acting, her encyclopedic knowledge of plays, and you MIGHT catch why I released this interview at Christmas .....2022-12-2316 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesSPECIAL EVENT: The Four Days of Christmas With The Legendary Suzanne Adams! Part 1 of FOUR!Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from New Trier Performing Arts Stories! This is the podcast that you've ALL been waiting for! Join us each day from now until Christmas for our extended interview with Suzanne Adams.2022-12-2219 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesActress and Second City alum Janet Van De Graaff!Welcome to the show Janet Van De Graaff! Janet is a star of both stage and screen. She spent five years with one of the most prestigious comedy troupes in the world (Second City) and starred in the Canadian TV series "History Bites". But it all began at New Trier, when she first appeared on stage with a writer who now does some kind of podcast .....2022-12-1522 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesProducer, Director, Animator, and Voice Actor Audu Paden!Audu Paden (Class of 81) is a TWO time Emmy award winner, as well as a Peabody and Gemini award winner. Join us as Audu tells us about his truly incredible early life in sub-Saharan Africa, and how his time and experiences at New Trier led him to the extraordinary and successful career that he's had.2022-12-0824 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesNew Trier PAD Historian John GionIn this first episode of New Trier Performing Arts Stories, we spoke with John Gion about the history of the program and how and why it has produced so many successful people.2022-12-0119 min
New Trier Performing Arts StoriesNew Trier Performing Arts Stories - Official TrailerNew Trier Performing Arts Stories will begin December 1, 2022!2022-11-2301 min