ARTS. WORK. LIFE. – Details, episodes & analysis

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

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

Content warning: brief mentions of gun violence, suicide and child molestation between 18:16 and 19:32.

Whether you are an arts worker and parent, share your art with kids, or see arts education as vital, the intersection of kids and the arts can be joyful and challenging. In Episode 3, hear from a circus artist, drag performer and a clogger.

From the Intro: Watch the hilarious video of children reacting to the Opera on Max Grossman’s TikTok account: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.tiktok.com/@maxigrossman/video/7253994878726802734&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1689570168290561&usg=AOvVaw1pqWG05J4RM0YCpKgiuIST

Act One: “High Stress on the High Wire” with Amancay Kugler, the executive director of Yes Ma’am Circus in Chicago, Illinois.

Act Two: “A Magical Existence” with Beatrice Thomas, a creative producer, drag performer and educator, and former director of Drag Queen Story Hour in California.

Act Three: “Clog A Mile In My Shoes” with Brian Bon, a clogger, arts educator and director of Powerhouse Percussive Dance in Anaheim, California.

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

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

Our personal experiences, family history and cultural roots define who we are. But translating our roots into our work can be just as trying as it is fulfilling. In Episode 2, we explore what it means to find your unique voice, to feel the burden of representation and to follow the call of legacy.

Act One: “The Roots Remix” with Malou Beauvoir, a singer, songwriter and actress who lives in Brussels and New York.

Act Two: Seasons of Change” with Heena Patel, the CEO of MELA Arts Connect in Asheville, North Carolina.

Act Three: “Movement Forward” with Dominic Moore-Dunson, a choreographer in Akron, Ohio.

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

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

“The show must go on!” is a phrase associated with live entertainment for a reason. Arts workers have always had to think on their feet, respond to last-minute disasters and improvise their way through unexpected circumstances. But the past few years have presented the industry with some unique disruptions. For the first episode of Season 2, we bring you stories about improvisation from around the world including stories about how crises can help you grow, the strength in flexibility, and how too much uncertainty can grind you down.

Introduction: “In Tune” with Aruna Kharod, an ethnomusicologist and South Asian performing artist based in Austin, Texas.

Act One: “Flipping The Script” with Audrey Rose Dégez, a playwright and producer for CP4P International Productions who splits her time between Pittsburgh and Paris.

Act Two: “ On The Road Again” with Gracie Meier, a multimedia artist and artistic director for The Exodus Ensemble in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Act Three: “Stooping to New Heights” with Kendra J. Ross, a dancer, choreographer, community organizer and founding director of STooPS in Brooklyn, New York.

You can find a full transcript and more on APAP’s website: https://apap365.org/podcast/arts-work-life-podcast-season-2-episode-1/

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

In this special bonus episode, the panel from the “Stop Talking, Start Listening: Finding Common Ground with Young Arts Workers” session featured in the last episode reconvene to debrief and unpack audience feedback.

Javier Stell-Fresquez, Lexis Hamilton, and Tariq Darrell O'Meally respond to audience questions about authenticity, “paying your dues,” and connecting with colleagues from different generations and backgrounds.

This special bonus episode is a live recording from the APAP|NYC+ 2023 conference in New York City. Arts workers from across the country came together for a panel titled “Stop Talking. Start Listening: Finding Common Ground with Young Arts Workers and the Future of Our Field.”

Young arts workers Javier Stell-Fresquez, Lexis Hamilton, Bobby Cento and Tariq Darrell O'Meally discuss pay equity, job-hopping, performative activism, social media, work/life balance, and how all generations can come together to build a more equitable future.

Even a simple setback can derail a career, so knowing when it’s time to change direction – or step away entirely – is invaluable. The storytellers in Episode 6 share their experiences navigating health crises, job transitions, and personal loss and the unexpected and welcomed relief, joy, confidence, and grace that can follow.

Content warning: This episode mentions eating disorders from 2:15 to 3:23 and from 5:05 to 8:24. You can find mental health resources on APAP’s website.

Intro: “Pushing Buttons” and Act One: “A Coda and A Compromise” with Roselie Samter, the founder and violist in the Videri String Quartet.

Act Two: “Encore” with Randall Prestwood, a theater consultant, based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Act Three: “Aha Moment” with Madia Cooper-Ashirifi, the chair and associate professor of dance at Brenau University.

You can find a full transcript and more on APAP’s website: https://apap365.org/podcast/arts-work-life-podcast-season-1-episode-6/

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

An organization is the sum of its people, so decisions about who to recruit, who to hire, and who to fire radically shape an organization's work culture. This is especially true in the human-centered work of the arts, where culture matters. The storytellers in Episode 5 put the human back in human resources as they share personal experiences about barriers to hiring, tokenism, layoffs, and what we can learn from other industries before it’s too late.

Intro: “You and Whose Army” with Yukio Kuniyuki, executive director of the San Angelo Performing Arts Center.

Act One: “Turning The Page” with Emily Marks, arts programmer at the Cossitt Public Library.

Act Two: “An Inside Job” with Monique Martin, a creative producer and presenter.

Act Three: “Essentials” with Carolyn Van Brunt, VP of guest relations and ADA compliance for The Music Center in Los Angeles.

Listen to Carolyn’s poem: https://soundcloud.com/arts-work-life/to-whom-it-may-concern

You can find a full transcript and more on APAP’s website: https://apap365.org/podcast/arts-work-life-podcast-season-1-episode-5/

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