The actor’s journey is one of occasional highs and frequent lows. It is a path riddled with self-doubt and frustration as we question our career choices, wondering if we’ll ever really ”make it.” But it is those few moments of glory on stage or screen that can sustain us through all the setbacks and challenges. On this award-winning podcast, New York actor Patrick Oliver Jones invites fellow creatives to share three stories that offer a behind-the-scenes look at the creative life rarely seen in the glitz and glam of this industry. These conversations remind us we’re not alone in t...
Latest episodes
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32 min
FINAL FIVE: Sydney Kane, Comedic Actress and Writer
The wonderful Sydney Kane is back to answer the Final Five Questions and share some memorable auditions stories. This is a continuation of our previous conversation, an honest and…
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1 h 12
Sydney Kane Brings Laughter to Her Life and Acting Career
When the to-do list starts piling up, it’s easy to put off the things that matter most. After nearly six months of unemployment since my last show, I’ve found myself doing exactly…
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9 min
FINAL FIVE: Rachel Lin, Embracing Uncertainty and Trusting the Journey
Theater is a world of breakthrough performances and backstage challenges and is as cherished for its camaraderie as it is notorious for its pressures. After a wonderful initial con…
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54 min
Rachel Lin Brings Asian Representation to Law & Order and Creates Her Own Work
Actors today are expected to do far more than wait for the next audition. Increasingly, they're becoming writers, producers, directors, and creators of their own work. Rachel Lin h…
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27 min
FINAL FIVE: New York Theater Company with Katherine Winter, Josh Zacher, and John Kroft
Katherine Winter, Josh Zacher, and John Kroft from the New York Theater Company are back for an honest, insightful, and often humorous exploration of what it truly takes to carve o…
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1 h 31
New York Theatre Company Takes Performance Off the Stage and Into the Streets
Step behind the scenes of the innovative New York Theatre Company with Katherine Winter, Josh Zacher, and John Kroft—the creative team behind their latest groundbreaking production…
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13 min
FINAL FIVE: Michael Kostroff, Actor in Dog Day Afternoon
Showbiz is full of uncertainty, self-doubt, and surprising moments of joy, a reality that even the most seasoned actors face long after their Broadway debuts. In this episode, cele…
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53 min
Michael Kostroff Sees Performing as a Calling and Everyday He Answers That Call
What does it really take to build a lasting career as an actor? For Michael Kostroff, the answer is persistence. Michael was actually one of the first guests to ever come on this p…
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32 min
FINAL FIVE: Katerina Papacostas, Chess on Broadway
In the previous episode, you heard stories from Katerina Papacostas, where we got into her theater experiences as a 19-year-old as well as her current show, Chess, and filling in f…
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1 h 16
Katerina Papacostas Is Making All the Right Moves in Chess on Broadway
Broadway performer Katerina Papacostas joins the opening episode of Season 10! She has spent years of working in on tours, on Broadway, and across regional theatre. Currently appea…
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1 h 08
A Look Back at Lynn Nottage Shaping Stories That Matter in American Theater
As actors, it’s easy to get caught up in auditions, roles, and the day-to-day work of performing, often without stepping back to consider the larger forces shaping the stories we’r…
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1 h 28
A Look Back at J. Harrison Ghee & Caroline Bowman Before the Breakthrough Moments
Identity can feel like a moving target in the performing arts—something shaped not only by the roles actors play on stage, but by the expectations placed on them offstage as well.…
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1 h 08
A Look Back at Ann Harada and Finding Longevity as an Actor
No matter what it is that initially motivates someone to be in the arts, it could be the craft or the people or the fame, there is one thing I think we all strive for: longevity. B…
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1 h 32
A Look Back at Adrienne Walker Navigating Rejection as a Broadway Actor
Rejection is a constant in this business, even when you’ve had success. Some days you take it in stride, other days it can really sink in deeper than you expect. I’ve had plenty of…
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1 h 06
A Look Back at Misha Osherovich and Breaking Free from Body Image Pressures in Theater
After seeing Misha Osherovich in an Off-Broadway production of A Clockwork Orange, I began following Misha’s work and perspective online. A couple of years later, a deeply personal…
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2 h 32
A Look Back at Sharon Catherine Brown and a Legacy of Passion and Joy for Theater
Growing up, it was my mother who sang in the church choir about the time I was joining the children’s choir, and my aunt spent her young adult years performing as a jazz singer. Bu…
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1 h 21
A Look Back at Anthony Rapp, From The Little Prince to Seasons of Love
Since making my Broadway debut in Beetlejuice last year, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what it actually means to “make it” in this business. It took me twenty years from…
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1 h 12
A Look Back at Lisa Howard Defining Success on Her Own Terms in Broadway Musicals
After working with Lisa Howard in 2022 on a production of 42nd Street at Goodspeed in Connecticut, she sat down with me the following year to chat about her career and of course re…
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1 h 26
A Look Back at Geoffrey Owens and the Dignity of Work Beyond Broadway and Television
I think most of us actors hope to be in a hit Broadway show or a popular film or highly rated TV show. But for those actors lucky enough to be in one, it can sometimes be all you’r…
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60 min
A Look Back at John McGinty and His Persistence as a Deaf Actor in Theater
As Why I’ll Never Make It approaches its tenth season, this special retrospective looks back at ten conversations that helped shape the podcast and transformed a simple interview i…