"Nicole Gabriella Scipione breaks hearts." Or at least, that's what her cat Langston Brindle Anunciación, claims. As well as Stage Raw of Nicole in Lucas Hnath's Obie Award winning The Christians. Nicole is an actor/writer/filmmaker living in Los Angeles, but born the middle child in a gaggle of 5 children to her minister Father George, & educator/counselor Mother Eileen on a manse in New Jersey. She's played memorable roles in regional theatre including Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize winner D...
Aug 15, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Spoken word poet Caleb Miller White flew onto our radar at Theatre of Note's 2022 poetry slam, where he was a semi-finalist. Beyond impressed with his pieces and performance, we invited him as a featured poet in Towne Street's Theatre Sum Poetry at Stella Adler last July. Caleb is a writer, actor, and producer based in Los Angeles, CA and originally from Texas. His love of spoken word began in 2016 during a 5-year stint in New York City studying sketch writing and comedy improv. Since then, Cale...
Apr 21, 2023•56 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Amberlee Clark was born in Dallas, Texas and has been performing since she was four years old. When she was in 3rd grade, she was cast in a school production of Into the Woods Jr. Though it was a very small part, that little taste of the stage was all she needed to know she wanted to be an actor. She has been pursuing that dream ever since. However, also at a young age, Amberlee discovered she had a natural gift for writing as well. For fun, she would write poetry, short stories, and one-act pla...
Feb 27, 2023•51 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Robert LaMarr Randle is a S.A.G. Actor, Musician, and Licensed Master Barber Hairstylist- an Artist on many levels! Today, we dive into his love of expressing himself through Spoken Word Poetry. A devoted husband and father, as well as a strong believer in God, Robert is an advocate for sharing lessons learned from real life experiences in order to help others. Poems performed today: BLOOD-LINE- about slavery and its existence today (minutes 23:54-29:10) HISTORY- follows the very human journey o...
Dec 02, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Yes we are BACK! Even more than being excited to be in a real studio together, we are glad to reunite in the city of angels after a summer spent on our own adventures, coming back together to create some poetic content for this community! It has been a chaotic three years and we're happy to reexamine our journeys as artists, professionals, and of course, as poets. Ron recounts his summer of traveling productions, and Booey recounts her summer of teaching artistry and writing. Ron: “I am out here...
Nov 12, 2022•49 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Poem titled: “Falling in Love in the Big Apple.”
Mar 01, 2022•3 min•Season 2Ep. 6
“Fear is a rusty knife and do not let her into your house.” - John Cheever
Jan 18, 2022•2 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Host Melissa Booey narrates the reflective poem “Woodward Waysayers” from her anthology titled BIRDBRAIN. The poem asks the question, “was it all a dream?” As one looks back on recent times, it’s hard not to ask that. Original music from Anchor.
Aug 30, 2021•1 min•Season 2Ep. 4
This haiku, written by poet, novelist and essay writer Meredith Sandrik, describes how many of us feel in our careers and relationships. With smoke settling in the many valleys of our Wild West, we can’t wait for the skies to clear to discern our next adventure. The same goes for life: once you see the writing on the wall, there’s no going back. In the midst of uncertainty and confusion, we must find clarity to continue the climb, even if that means getting out of the jar altogether.
Aug 19, 2021•1 min
Bridget is a 23 year old Utah resident who has been interested in poetry since a young age. Her interest has grown into a continuous passion, peaking thus far during Bridget's senior year of high school and again about three years after her graduation. Just before I hit record during our zoom interview, the poet disclosed a story about being accused of plagiarism as a thirteen-year-old, simply because her teacher didn't believe the poem she submitted could have possibly been written by her. Litt...
Aug 13, 2021•41 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Joining us from the continent of Africa, Beauty, or Beauty in Words (b.i.w) is the pin-name of an up and coming anonymous online poet/writer, who is also the sole founder and creator of the Instagram page @beauty_in_words._ which has amassed a following of over 6,000 through Beauty's online presence and poetry. Her content varies from both short and long poems in both modern and traditional style, employing enjambment, irony, personification and other poetic devices to tell her sometimes allegor...
Aug 13, 2021•48 min•Season 2Ep. 2
We are BACK and more excited than ever to bring you the words, processes, and stories behind the storytellers. You don’t need to be a poet to share, and in the debut episode of our second season, podcast host Melissa BOOEY dives into her own creative journey as well as her ongoing struggle with addiction. Using our words well to promote positive change and combat dangerous stigma is more important than ever, and the responsibility isn’t limited to artists. Join us for a season of growth, reflect...
Jul 06, 2021•29 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In Part Two of the Season One Finale, Philasifer raps the other seven of the ten Milkcrate Monologues. His poetic influences combined with the message he's determined to share with the world make RJ Wayne's book turned stage play a piece of writing that needs to be seen, heard, and performed as an integral part of Hiphop culture. Here we listen to Ron discuss more about his roots, inspiration, struggles, and how he has overcome those struggles in order to create something that's bigger than all ...
May 16, 2020•49 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Hiphop culture requires participation. RJ Wayne, (Ron Johnson) aka MC Philasifer, knows that more than anyone. Here is the first part of our SEASON FINALE! You'll get to hear about Ron's history from him, as well as how the Milkcrate Monologues came to be a play. Tune in for PART TWO with the rest of the 7 monologues recited by RJ Wayne himself, as well as a brief history of Towne Street Theatre, and a projection of where this amazing content is going next. Tracks recited by PHILASIFER tonight: ...
May 15, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 12
The Milkcrate Monologues is a play written by Ron Johnson, known in the acting world as RJ Wayne, and known in the rap world as MC Philasifer. Milkcrate premiered with the Towne Street Theatre in October of 2019 at Stella Adler in Hollywood. After getting to sit down with Ron, who was the mastermind, creator, writer, director, producer, AND a part of the incredible ensemble, he was kind enough to invite me to by a fly on the wall during their cast album recording. There, I got to steal away cast...
May 14, 2020•39 min
Ron Johnson is a rapper, beatboxer, producer, actor, playwright and teaching artist. Originally from Gilroy, CA, Ron AKA Phlasifer, is known for his thought provoking lyrics and instrumentals. Heavily rooted in the time-honored traditions of Hiphop as a culture, Phlasifer also joined the fraternity as part of the Conscious Rapper wave of the Mid 90's. His credits include albums distributed by SONY BMG and Universal Music Group, and is currently a part of the Music Divisions of Utah-based label, ...
May 11, 2020•9 min
Mental health is still a widely stigmatized topic everywhere, and knowing you are not alone and that help is available to you is more important than ever. This week’s episode “Taking Your Power Back” features poet and creative, Megan Turoci, a writer, actress, and advocate for the mental health community. Megan delves into her personal experiences and the stories that have formed her, while speaking on her own journey to share that story in the hope of helping others in similar times of loneline...
May 01, 2020•38 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Cocoa Rigal is a multifaceted, multitalented artist living in downtown Los Angeles. She works with many mediums including animation, video game creation, set design, costume design, acting, poetry, music, and more. She is a crafty and resourceful talent to have on set, behind the scenes, and in front of the camera. Today we delve into her process, and creative ideology while also learning a bit more about her improv-based poetry album, "The Myst: Wisdom of the Serpent" and how it came to be. We ...
Apr 24, 2020•45 min•Season 1Ep. 10
***Hello Poet's Return listeners! We hope you're staying inside and staying afloat during these COVID-19 times. We're releasing some extra content during this time of isolation and semi-hiatus, and we'll be sharing some teasers for season two with you on our social media pages! We know that times are tough, but if you're able to donate in any way, please go to our page on Apple Podcasts, or see the link to our Anchor profile on our instagram @poetsreturn. Any donations, subscriptions, likes, or ...
Apr 14, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Forgive the ridiculous accents and antics, but these two have clearly been friends for a while. Daniel Botello is a versatile writer, not only dabbling but fully investing himself in his poetry, playwriting, and music. Along with touring solo through the United States performing his own music, he's also published, produced and performed his own plays as well as continued to perform his poetry and share it visually through social media. In this two-part episode, Daniel and our host discuss writin...
Apr 09, 2020•40 min•Season 1Ep. 9
During our last installment of the miniseries featuring playwright, poet, and novelist Conor Turoci, we give you a sneak peek into the play "At the Edge of the Wilderness," a play that Conor and host Melissa Booey have been working on for years. We discuss emotional resilience, the power of story, and how specificity is crucial to creating strong characters and conflicts. **During this time of COVID-19, we ask that you help us keep everyone safe and healthy, by practicing social distancing. We k...
Apr 03, 2020•17 min
Alicia Beck is a Los Angeles film actress with a background in stage and musical theater. Throughout her past six years performing and creating locally, Alicia has also cultivated her love of writing and sharing poetry. Her poems are filled with heartbreak and hope, time and people lost, gained and remembered along with all the in betweens. Her grippingly visceral words are visualizations in and of themselves, as we're transported through our own former experiences and future potential as listen...
Mar 26, 2020•47 min•Season 1Ep. 8
"At the Edge of the Wilderness" is a four act onstage western Conor and I have been writing since 2013. In this episode, we discuss the power of persevering when you have the right person to collaborate with, (even if you've been writing this play for 7 years, now). We discuss how crucial it is throughout an artist's journey finding artistic community regardless of size; these communes may change as we do, and as a result, our art evolves through our most vulnerable and formative moments. @poets...
Mar 14, 2020•19 min
We're switching gears a little this week, with Part One of a three-part release of Minisodes featuring Conor Turoci. Conor is a versatile writer, delving into such forms as playwriting, screenwriting, short story, essay, poetry and full form novel. In this small featured mini series of episodes, Conor and I discuss the ins and outs of writing process, how it evolves, and how to balance the highs and lows of inspiration and consistency. Today we focus on writing every day, knowing that sometimes ...
Mar 12, 2020•16 min
Elena Scarlett Murray is a local Los Angeles poet who has performed as a featured performer at the Kingdom of Pavement as well as several other venues and has never failed to impress with her powerfully beautiful and sometimes potently painful words. Continuing to pursue her passion for writing, Elena has seemed to grow right before the eyes of the poetic community, her spoken word poems hitting people exactly where they seem to always need it. She has created a visualization of her first poem f...
Feb 27, 2020•43 min•Season 1Ep. 7
This week's episode "Knowing You're Enough" features Elena Scarlett Murray, whose poetry has a wide range of topics, colors and styles. Listen to the trailer to hear a small excerpt from one of Elena's poems titled, "What I Should Have Written", and also hear us goof around for a bit as we're known to bring levity to just about any topic. A true poet knows not to take themselves too seriously! Follow Elena at @elenascarlettmurray and follow us at @poetsreturn DM us if you'd like to be on the pod...
Feb 26, 2020•10 min
Cairo Spencer is a 23 year old, Bay Area Native with a background in dance and theatre. Although he has primarily focused on film since his move to L.A, performing the Milkcrate Monologues in October encouraged him to continue his acting onstage, and on another level, to continue writing and sharing his poems and raps. (Especially through the support of his fellow cast mates' group text titled "bad raps crew" wherein they tell each other not to overthink their rhymes and just spit.) Since then, ...
Feb 20, 2020•38 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Amy Suto and Flannery Maney are the co-founders of Kingdom of Pavement, a local online publication serving as a platform for artists of all backgrounds to share their work, and collaborate within a safe space. Finding an artistic community is vital to inspiration, encouragement and support in one's art, and Kingdom of Pavement's mission statement is allowing for that community to flourish with opportunity for growth and outreach. Since their launch in the Spring of 2019, their goal has been to g...
Feb 13, 2020•43 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Thursday's episode is titled, "Creating a Safe Space with Kingdom of Pavement." Kingdom of Pavement is an amazing online publication that supports local artists here in Los Angeles. Following the launch of the podcast episode featuring Kingdom co-founders Amy Suto and Flannery Maney, there will be a LIVE performance at Aunt Bessie's on Pico this Saturday, February 15th,. The show starts at 7pm at $5 a ticket, and it opens with featured artists performing their work, followed by an open mic where...
Feb 12, 2020•3 min
Carlos Diego Mendoza is a Bay Area native who has always loved live theatre. He came to LA to pursue acting both onstage and in film, but hadn't considered his pass time of writing to be a serious career pursuit. He reconnected with an old friend and fellow performer he'd met up north, and auditioned for the Milkcrate Monolgoues with Towne Street Theatre. After becoming a part of the cast, he has begun to take ownership of his passion and talent for writing and rap after performing in this ten-m...
Feb 06, 2020•40 min•Season 1Ep. 4
