Joy to the Pod!
The Risking Space
On this final episode of the season, Roxie and Karla discuss twelve highlights from the pod giving you the 12 Gifts of The Risking Space! Huge thanks to all of our guests, who are truly the gifts that keep on giving! And to all of our listeners...we RISK you a Merry Podcast! We'll be taking an undetermined break after this episode, so please follow us @ @theriskingspace on Twitter and Instagram to get all the latest updates! Rate, review and stay connected! Thank you for all of your support!
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360 Degree Directing with Storyteller Keith Powell
The Risking Space
Keith Powell (Toofer on NBC’s “30 Rock,” “About A Boy,” “Connecting”) might be best known for his acting, but he has always considered himself to be artistically more than that. Keith graduated from NYU with a degree in directing and has never stopped using directing and writing as a way to tell the stories he wants to tell. From stage to screen, his acclaimed web series “Keith Broke His Leg” and most recently Hallmark’s “A Holiday In Harlem,” Keith is committed to expressing his creative vision authentically, no matter the container. We dive deep into rejection,...
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Music Medicine, The Imposter Syndrome and Letting Go of Labels w/ Musician Stevvi Alexander
The Risking Space
Stevvi Alexander has certainly put in her 10,000 hours as a working vocalist having worked with the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Diana Ross, Barbara Streisand, Raphael Sadiq and currently St. Vincent and The Roots for Jimmy Fallon. Additionally, she is trained as a music therapist and was featured in the documentary “20 Feet From Stardom." But, these past three years have challenged her steady climb as she recovered from a debilitating back injury only to find live music disappear during the pandemic. We go deep with Stevvi on self worth, especially in what we have to offer as artists, the...
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Attacking the Funny with Actor/Comedian Leonard Robinson
The Risking Space
Leonard Robinson is most recently known for his work as Taurean on HBO’s hit “Insecure.” He also performed on every episode of the first four seasons of Nick Cannon’s Wild N’ Out, has appeared as a series regular on numerous shows, is a standup regular at The Comedy Store and a Main Company member at the Groundlings where he writes, performs and directs. We talk to Leonard about the discipline and drive it took for him to get from Howard’s school of business to Hollywood and how his martial arts training has guided him along the way. Other topics include comedy as a coping...
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Art After Brain Surgery with Actor-Writer Thomas Mejia
The Risking Space
Just as actor/writer/creator Tommy Mejia was finding his stride in the film and TV industry, his doctor discovered a potentially life-threatening mass in his brain. Since then, Tommy has had to undergo several surgeries which have completely changed the way he lives his life. In this beautifully honest conversation, we talk to Tommy about the frustration of not being able to make the art you want to make, how it felt to watch a play inspired by him and why he's still committed to staying creative. Other topics include accepting a slower pace, identity and (on the heels of Hispanic Heritage...
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Your Clothes Tell The Story with Costumer Carmia Marshall
The Risking Space
Carmia Marshall is a storyteller first, costumer/stylist second. Carmia - "Coming To America 2", "Ma Rainy's Black Bottom", "Sex and the City" - landed in NY not knowing what she would end up doing, but committed to a creative life. Years later, she has worked as a costumer on countless major motion pictures and television shows and even co-authored three DIY style books. We talk about how she fell into (or flowed into!) her career in costuming, the feelings attached to our bodies, and how we tell stories with our clothes - whether we know it or not. Other topics include body size, Halloween...
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Turning Anger Into Art with "Angry Little Asian" Creator Lela Lee
The Risking Space
Girls get angry. But in a culture that portrays and celebrates docile images of girls and women, they often don’t feel empowered to express their anger. Actor, writer and cartoonist Lela Lee has been on a mission to change that with her cartoon "Angry Little Asian" and comic strip “Angry Little Girls,” which has garnered fans for 25 years and is currently being developed for TV. As the 4th daughter of Korean immigrants who was raised in what she refers to as “obedience culture” with a gender preference toward boys, Lela talks to us about how she turned her wound into an...
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Analyzing with Empathy with "The Curvy Critic" Carla Renata
The Risking Space
Carla Renata is a working actor and singer...who is also a critic! As an actress, Carla currently recurs on NBC's "Superstore," starred on Broadway in "Avenue Q," and is the only actress to have recurred on four different shows during one episodic season...TWICE! But during a creative transition, Carla took a risk to follow her love of movies and began reviewing them. Since then, she has been featured in the LA Times and launched her successful YouTube show "The Curvy Critic." We talk about representation in film criticism, how NOT to be a hater, and how we can all be our own worst critics....
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Sustaining Your Practice with Visual Artist Alexandra Hammond
The Risking Space
For many of us, making art is synonymous with being busy, pushing, "making things happen." But for Alexandra Hammond, a visual artist with an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, art goes hand in hand with consciousness, meditation and creating community. From her Boa's Repair Shop Menditation- a recent interactive piece where participants mend torn clothing as an act of healing, to her years long focus on painting with a specific shade of blue, Alex is making an art of following her bliss, leaning into the unknown and liking what she likes. We discuss accessibility in art spaces, the paradoxes...
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Art, Alzheimer's, and Answering the Call with Roxana Ortega
The Risking Space
Roxana Ortega (Groundlings Sunday Company, Frida on "The Casagrandes", Moth Grandslammer, Co-Host of The Risking Space) is RISK AVERSE! And yet, she has chosen one of the most unpredictable professions. As an award winning actor, storyteller, voice over artist and producer, Roxie decides on a daily basis to run towards the things that scare her most...and she generally succeeds. On this episode, we talk about the importance of making a strong decision, following messages from the universe, and the necessity of self care. We also discuss why, in her 30s, she chose to be her mother's care taker....
info_outlineHappy Pride! We begin the month talking to Queer, Latinx play and screenwriter Fernanda Coppel (Queen of the South, How To Get Away With Murder, Atlantic Theater Company, Second Stage). She gets real about her journey from Mazatlán to making art in commercial spaces, the pressures she feels as a woman of color and the Latinx superpowers she calls upon. Other topics include getting stuck on a professional “track,” confidence and creatively thinking about career moves.
For more on Fernanda, follow her @fer_coppel10 on Instagram.
Follow us @ @theriskingspace.
And check out more about Ammunition Theatre Company @ www.ammunitiontheatre.com.
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