Kathleen Harquail
The Firecracker Department - The Blaze Sessions Season 02
Release Date: 05/11/2022
Jennifer Podemski & Naomi Sneickus believe there’s comedy to be found in trauma
The Firecracker Department - The Blaze Sessions Season 02
In our kickoff episode for the second season of The Blaze Sessions, Naomi sits down with this season's curator, Jennifer Podemski. As a multi-hyphenate artist, Jennifer’s creativity knows no bounds, and she’s committed to highlighting the importance of cultural sensitivity when it comes to Indigenous content and shining lights on aspects of the industry that still make her angry in an effort to force change. In this discussion with Naomi, Jennifer shares her views on the importance of grieving, how both grief and comedy exist next to each other, and her desire to bring people together in...
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The Blaze Sessions Season 2 Trailer
The Firecracker Department - The Blaze Sessions Season 02
Welcome back to The Blaze Sessions brought to you by the Firecracker Department! Season two is here, and we're thrilled! Hosts Naomi Snieckus (Mr.D, The Madness, The Social, Second City Toronto) and the incredible Jennifer Podemski, ("Little Bird", "Reservation Dogs" and founder of Red Cloud Productions and The Shine Network) have curated inspiring, engaging, and refreshingly honest conversations with women and non-binary individuals at the top of their game in the industry. From sharing insights on their creative journeys to discussing how they're changing the world through their...
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Alana Johnston wants to be the funniest she’s ever been
The Firecracker Department - The Blaze Sessions Season 02
For the past few years, performer and writer Alana Johnston has made it her mission to incorporate the theme of self-esteem into her artistic work. As the host of The Self-Esteem Party Podcast (on which this episode was first featured), she’s learned that the things we struggle with in regards to self-esteem might follow us forever, and that’s totally okay. She also shares how her perspective has shifted after some major events occurred in her life in recent years, and how she’s now using her art to work through those traumatic moments. Through this brave discussion, Naomi and...
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Anne Rab finds bravery in being bold on stage & in life
The Firecracker Department - The Blaze Sessions Season 02
Anne Rab’s improv career all started when she met a clown and stumbled into the art form that would change her life. Although it was difficult to make the transition from a city where she had stability and comfort to one completely unknown, she tells Naomi that learned that she didn’t want to play it safe and to make the choice to just go for her dreams. Now, she carries this outlook through her teachings and thrives off of encouraging people to be comfortable with making mistakes and not worrying about “fucking it up” in her improv classes. Ultimately, Anne tells Naomi...
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Nadine Antler gives herself permission to do the things she loves
The Firecracker Department - The Blaze Sessions Season 02
One thing’s for certain about improviser Nadine Antler is that her strength lies in taking care of people. From studying to be a social worker to putting on a decade-long improv festival and now running her own improv school, Nadine tells Naomi about her desire to help both actors and non-actors through the communication and boundary-setting skills that improv teaches. But despite committing to help others with this, she reveals that her personal challenge is her inner critic and the disappointment she faces when it rears its ugly head on stage and takes her out of the present...
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Vanessa Matsui is a pro at taking things frame by frame
The Firecracker Department - The Blaze Sessions Season 02
With her wealth of experience as an actor, writer, improviser, and now a director, Vanessa Matsui always finds time to look back and thank her younger self for having the gumption and bravery to take chances. By stumbling through her experience creating, writing, directing, and acting in the award winning series Ghost BFF, Vanessa tells Naomi about how she learned to just keep going and follow through on her impulses in every role she played. She also recounts the discovery she made that all roads were pointing to her beginning to direct, and how much she loves that it allows you to access a...
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Inbal Lori has a plan to not have a plan
The Firecracker Department - The Blaze Sessions Season 02
Growing up in Israel, the multi-faceted Inbal Lori always knew she would be in the arts and fully embraced the holy trinity of acting, writing, and directing. But amidst her love for creation, she tells Naomi that before she moved to Berlin, she suffered when she played parts that she didn’t write because she wasn’t in control - even though she never had a “plan” in life. Little did she know that when she arrived in Germany, her love and passion for improv would take over her life and teach her how to work within a structure but also profoundly let go and play. As she began immersing...
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Maria del Mar paved the way for all of us with power and passion
The Firecracker Department - The Blaze Sessions Season 02
Maria del Mar has never let fear hold her back from anything in her extensive career and expansive life. As a young actress with a passion growing up in Ottawa, Maria took a chance and moved to Toronto to fake it ‘till she made it, with roles on incredible shows like Frasier, 24, and Hudson & Rex. The more Maria took chances, the more life presented her with opportunities to try new things and learn from everyone she’s worked with. She tells Naomi how she vowed to always remain open to everything in life, and how there’s no such thing as perfection - which has become all the more...
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Beatrix Brunschko navigates life with her three “me”s
The Firecracker Department - The Blaze Sessions Season 02
Beatrix Brunschko, aka Trixie, dives headfirst into every twist and turn of her incredible career. She's not just a director of the stage and screen – Trixie's a founding member of Theatre Bahnhof, a professor at the University of Hamburg, and the go-to guru for all things improv. Starting from the wild passion that birthed a theatre company to her game-changing improv workshops, Trixie's all about creating spaces where creativity runs wild and shakes things up for everyone – even our curious host, Naomi. She reveals her "say yes to everything first" approach, taking life as it comes. And...
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Firecracker Department 2024 Trailer
The Firecracker Department - The Blaze Sessions Season 02
Rev up your year with a brand new season of The Firecracker Department Podcast! Let's ignite 2024 with an explosive lineup of captivating conversations. Join our sensational host, Naomi Snieckus, and an array of global artists as they take you on a heart-pounding journey into the depths of creativity and inspiration. But that's not all – mark your calendars because later this spring, we're bringing you The Blaze Sessions, a special mini-season featuring the extraordinary co-host Jennifer Podemski. It's a dynamic duo that will set your imagination ablaze! Each episode promises an electric...
info_outlineOur guest this week is Toronto-based policy advisor, workplace consultant, change maker, film producer AND Firecracker Actioneer and part of our mentorship department - KATHLEEN HARQUAIL!
Kathleen has a degree in Hispanic Studies from Trent University, in Peterborough, Canada, and Universidad del Valle de Mexico. As well as, a diploma in screenwriting from George Brown, in Toronto, and is a graduate of Women In Film and Television Toronto’s Media Business Essentials program. Kathleen can do it all! She could write a film in Spanish about media business essentials.
Kathleen, as an independent film producer, focuses on queer stories and projects led by women and non-binary folks. Kathleen associate produced the award-winning film TRU LOVE, a film written and directed by Kate Johnston and Shauna MacDonald, about a lesbian with commitment issues who befriends a widowed mother visiting her workaholic daughter. Some of the awards TRU LOVE won in 2014, include Best International Feature at the FilmOut San Diego Film Festival, Best Feature Film at the Inside Out Toronto LGBTQ plus Film Festival and Best Women’s Feature at the Long Island Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
Kathleen founded, with Sandra McCallum - Reel Culture, a consulting firm focused on building sate and inclusive work cultures in the film and television industry. Their tag is “Reel Culture. Real Change.”
REEL CULTURE
Twitter - @reelcultureca
Instagram - @reelculturerealchange
Podcast Team
Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong
Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz
Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019
To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept
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