Instagram Creators Eric Seppala (@olivianewtonjohnisadoll) and Ruston Harker (@dolldecree): "Playing With Dolls In A New Way"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Release Date: 12/24/2024
THE YEAR IN MOVIES 2024 Part 1 w/ film critic Glenn Gaylord and actor-writer-film lover Drew Droege
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Glenn Gaylord, Senior Film Critic at The Queer Review, and actor-writer-film enthusiast Drew Droege to talk about the movies of last year; their favorites, the moments that have stuck with them and the movies they just weren’t that into. The films discussed include: Memoir of a Snail, Anora, Scrambled, Wicked, The Brutalist, The Fall Guy, The Substance, Challengers and Queer, which Drew plays a supporting role in. The trio also talks about what a great year it was for cinema generally and Drew shares memories of shooting Queer in Rome and explains that he...
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Filmmaker Luke Willis (Lady Like): "We Built An Ice Cave For A Hundred Bucks"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Luke Willis, the director, co-writer and co-producer of Lady Like, a new documentary about RuPaul's Drag Race Season 14 runner-up Lady Camden AKA Rex Wheeler. Luke recalls first meeting Rex through the San Francisco ballet scene where they both had danced professionally, then being knocked out the first time he saw Rex perform as Lady Camden, not knowing Rex had started pursuing drag. Luke talks about telling Rex soon after that first show, "Let’s make fun, campy, queer stuff together," and so they did. Their collaborations on short films eventually led to...
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Playwright & TV Writer Steve Yockey (Sleeping Giant, The Flight Attendant, Dead Boy Detectives): "I Write Theatre Instead Of Going To Therapy"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by playwright and TV and film writer Steve Yockey to discuss Steve's latest play, Sleeping Giant, which is playing at the Road Theatre Company in Los Angeles. The play, which is about a group of people dealing with a mysterious lake monster, is Steve's way of exploring authoritarianism, a theme that is even more timely today than it was when he starting writing the play in 2018. Steve talks about his journey as a writer; from making the decision to abandon the business school path in college in order to study playwriting, to getting withering critiques for his...
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Career Coach & Author Barbara Deutsch: “I Don’t Go To Therapy Anymore. I’ve Peeled Enough Of The Onion”
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
For this special New Years episode, Dennis is joined via Zoom by his career and life coach friend Barbara Deutsch to do a podcast version of Barbara's famous year-end Completion / Creation Workshop. Barbara has been leading clients through this process for years--usually in groups-- and has graciously agreed to take Dennis through a version of the workshop on this podcast. The questions she has participants tackle are as follows: • What worked for me this year? • What didn’t work for me this year? • What did I lose/gain? • Specific accomplishments in career. • Eye opening...
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DENNIS DOES DNR HOLIDAY STYLE 2024
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
In this special holiday crossover episode, Dennis Hensley pops in to the Derek and Romaine Show to talk about all things holiday-time; from gift giving to favorite traditions to decorating to Mariah. Happy Holidays! (Note from Dennis: I heard from a listener my audio is a little low in this ep. Sorry about that...it was mixed on their end and can't be fixed till after the holidays)
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Instagram Creators Eric Seppala (@olivianewtonjohnisadoll) and Ruston Harker (@dolldecree): "Playing With Dolls In A New Way"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by two of his friends from the Xana-crew; Eric Seppala and Ruston Harker who have something unique in common. They both created passion projects during the pandemic involving Barbies and Instagram, which continue to today. Ruston's account is @dolldecree and it features short animated vignettes involving Barbie and her friends, saying pithy things and looking fabulous. Eric's account is @olivianewtonjohnisadoll and it's exactly what it sounds like. Using Barbie dolls, Eric has painstakingly recreated looks from Olivia's career; from her breakout days in the 1970's to...
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Author Brian Sonia-Wallace (The Poetry of Strangers): "I’m Like An Uber Driver For Your Emotions"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by author and poet Brian Sonia-Wallace to talk about his book The Poetry of Strangers, which documents his adventures traveling the country as a typewriter poet-for-hire. He recalls the stunt that led to him first getting into public typewriter poetry when he declared during an open mic type show that he was going to make his rent money doing nothing but poetry. It worked...and led to his career as what he calls a "rent poet," which is like a rentboy but for poems. He talks about some of the places this vocation has taken him; from paid residencies at the Mall of...
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Author and Collector Bill Morgan (Collector's Guide To TV Toys & Memorabilia): "I Live Like This. This Is Every Day."
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined by one of his pals from the Xana-crew, Bill Morgan, who is the co-author of a book called Collector's Guide To TV Toys & Memorabilia 1960s & 1970s. The book features every TV tie-in toy you remember from your childhood and a bunch that you never even knew existed. Bill talks about first getting obsessed with collecting when his ex was given a set of Three's Company trading cards as a kind of gift. Seeing the cards were numbered Bill wanted to collect them all and a new passion was born. Bill talks about shooting the photos for the book himself while his...
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Actor-Singer Hugh Panaro (Man Without a Mask): “Darling, There Are Six Moments When You Have To Be Thinking With Your C@#k”
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Broadway veteran Hugh Panaro to talk about his album and cabaret show Man Without a Mask, which is playing in Los Angeles on December 5th at the Catalina Jazz Club. Hugh talks about making the leap to recording and doing his own cabaret show after years of appearing on Broadway and on the West End in shows like Les Miserables, Sweeney Todd and Phantom of the Opera, in which he logged over 2500 performances as the Phantom. In regards to that show, Hugh talks about the mask itself, what it's made of, how it's maintained and how he feels about it. He also talks about...
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Actor Marc Samuel (The Merry Gentlemen): "I Call It The 'Hold In A Fart' Look"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by actor Marc Samuel to talk about his two new Netflix projects; the holiday film The Merry Gentlemen and the Ted Danson comedy series Man On the Inside. The Merry Gentleman is like a holiday twist on The Full Monty with Marc playing a reluctant male stripper who, along with his pals, puts on an exotic male review show to save their small town theater. Marc talks about performing the various dance numbers, working opposite male lead Chad Michael Murray, getting in shape for the role and what it's like to work for Netflix generally. He also talks about Man On the...
info_outlineDennis is joined via Zoom by two of his friends from the Xana-crew; Eric Seppala and Ruston Harker who have something unique in common. They both created passion projects during the pandemic involving Barbies and Instagram, which continue to today. Ruston's account is @dolldecree and it features short animated vignettes involving Barbie and her friends, saying pithy things and looking fabulous. Eric's account is @olivianewtonjohnisadoll and it's exactly what it sounds like. Using Barbie dolls, Eric has painstakingly recreated looks from Olivia's career; from her breakout days in the 1970's to Xanadu to the Physical era to her more recent memoir launch. Both men talk about what inspired them to start the accounts, their different creative processes--Ruston uses AI, Eric is totally old school--their most popular posts, and what having this side project has brought to their lives. Other topics include: the shame attached to wanting to play with Barbies as a boy, the Christmas gifts they'll remember forever, the joy of connecting with other Xana-fans, and constantly wondering if you're crazy for putting so much time, money and passion into these doll projects. The episode ends with a special musical moment; a bangin' cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Under the Mistletoe" performed by Dennis's past guests Matt Zarley and Kathy Deitch. Happy Holidays, everyone!