Ditch Your Backup Plan
Peter Royston (he/him) is an equity stage manager based in New York, and originally from the Bay Area area. His credits include: Blue Man Group, The Public Theater, The Lark, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Theatre Works, among others. Since 2017, Peter has become a vocal advocate and ally to the disabled community, specifically through his lived experience as a White Gay man with Cerebral Palsy. Peter hopes to see disabled stage management representation on Broadway and increased visibility of disabled artists across all aspects of the industry. Show Notes and...
info_outline 50. Build Your Own Position - Elsie EscobarDitch Your Backup Plan
Elsie Escobar is a 14 year veteran in the podcasting industry and inductee to the Academy of Podcasters Hall of Fame. She is the co-founder of She Podcasts, a podcasting community for women + non-binary that has over 19 thousand members with a corresponding podcast and conference. She's a podcasting advocate, pundit and mentor to primarily women podcaster leaders. She also has an MFA in Acting! Elsie is Libsyn’s Community Manager and co-host/producer of The Feed: The Official Libsyn Podcast Elsie loves to drive dialogue in the podcasting industry focusing on podcasts’ impact...
info_outline 49. While Waiting for Your Shot - Noah LindquistDitch Your Backup Plan
Noah Lindquist is a member of AEA, a singer and actor, and the creator of the viral videos, "Wear a Mask," and "I Just Can't Wait for Vaccines." Show Notes at
info_outline 48. Go Back into the Fire - Kimberly Doreen BurnsDitch Your Backup Plan
Kimberly is a New York City based award-winning singer, actor, performer, and educator who recently originated the role of Maya in the New York City premiere of Sideways (based on the Academy Award Winning film). Top theatre critics have dubbed her a "golden-voiced vocalist," "a luminous life-force with a crystalline soprano voice," and "one of the best voices I've heard in musical theatre." Show Notes at
info_outline 47. We're Not in Competition with Each Other - Logan Rose NelmsDitch Your Backup Plan
Logan is an actor in NYC with a passion for social justice and human equity. Over the past almost ten years, Logan has crafted a pretty nifty little life for herself, filled with some very cool flexible side hustles that enable her to drop everything on a dime and take an audition or a booking.. and she’s like really proud of that. Most notably, she is an ambassador for a fair trade fashion brand, called Noonday Collection. Noonday partners with artisans across the globe to create dignified work in their communities and combat the modern day slavery crisis. Over 70% of the artisans Noonday...
info_outline 46. Casting College - Alison FranckDitch Your Backup Plan
Alison Franck (CSA) is a casting professional with over 20 years of Broadway, Off-Broadway, Touring, Regional Theatre, TV, Film, Commercial and Voice Over Casting experience. For a decade, she was the Casting Director for the prestigious regional theatre Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, where she cast over 50 productions with some of the theatre community's finest talent. Notable credits at Paper Mill include the Broadway transfer of starring Judd Hirsch and Ben Vereen, starring Chita Rivera, starring Alice Ripley, starring Theodore Bikel and John Lloyd Young, starring La Chanze, Norm...
info_outline 45. See Yourself Being Successful - Damion TaylorDitch Your Backup Plan
Damion Taylor spent the last 15 years applying data and technology to entertainment. Both analytical and creative, he brings a unique skill set that’s in high demand for brands and media companies. He effectively translates data in a way that is meaningful to creatives talent and has become a respected leader in audience growth and producing data-informed creative. He has lead Audience Development for large traditional media companies (e.g., Warner Bros. and NBC Universal) as well as innovative digital leaders (e.g., Machinima, Mitu and New Form) Show Notes at
info_outline 44. Strategize & Maximize - Elizabeth NestlerodeDitch Your Backup Plan
Elizabeth is a New York actor and teaching artist. She is the creator and instructor of the Show notes at:
info_outline 43. Understand Where Your Limits Lie- Gianmarco SoresiDitch Your Backup Plan
Gianmarco Soresi is a stand up comic, actor and writer but the first line of his obituary will probably say “guy from all those General Electric commercials.” Check out his comedy special on Amazon Prime: "Shelf Life." Show Notes at
info_outline 42. Death of the Diva Decade - Sherita CarthonDitch Your Backup Plan
Sherita Carthon is a Celebrity Brand Precision Expert who has helped more than 3k celebrities, artists, entrepreneurs and small business owners navigate their brand. An award winning speaker, Sherita has been featured on VH1 | FOX | ABC | MARKET WATCH | and most recently Live with Les Brown discussing her innovative project: The Celebrity Sales Method. Show notes and links at
info_outlineGuests from 2020 answer the question, “What was your biggest risk?”
1:07 Becca Kötte- Broadway actress and recording artist
1:40 Lauren Hirsh- Broadway child guardian
2:16 Clyde Voce- Actor
2:55 Sarah Schreiber-WWE backstage correspondent
3:36 Ross Evans- Screenwriter
4:44 Katie McClellan- TV, film, theatre & voiceover
5:34 Tim Murray- Actor, comedian
6:32 Mariand Torres- Broadway actress
7:12 Logan Jones- General manager, About Face Theatre, Chicago
7:48 Jenna Rubaii- Broadway actor
9:15 Alanna Saunders- Broadway actor
9:47 Anne Cofell Saunders- Television writer, executive producer
12:00 Lindsay Levine- Casting director
12:48 Carrie Compere- Actor
13:12 Joshua Henry- Artist and Performer
14:02 Josh Fiedler- Producer
14:22 Travis Cloer- Broadway actor, Las Vegas performer, recording artist
15:23 Nick Francone- Scenic designer for theatre, art director for television and film
16:02 Shaun J. Brown- Actor, writer and producer
16:37 Maya Lynne Robinson- Film, TV, stage actress, and writer/producer
17:02 Michael McElroy-Tony and Grammy nominated Broadway performer
17:53 Qui Nguyen-TV and film writer and playwright
18:23 Chantal Bilodeau- Playwright, founder of the Arctic Cycle organization
19:22 Bliss Griffin- Entertainment industry inclusion strategist
20:10 Kiki Rivera- Theatre artist and playwright
20:45 Jerry Jay Cranford- Director, choreographer, performer professor
21:15 Laura Camien- Writer, producer, Co-host of The Spark File podcast
21:51 Vincent J. Cardinal- Chair of University of Michigan Musical Theatre
22:35 Alisa Hurwitz- Psychologist, Dr. Drama