Actor, teacher, and activist Abby Gerdst shares her experiences avoiding the dark side, starting a non profit, working with kids around the world, transitioning to focusing primarily on acting again, and how building community has always been a priority for her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Poet, performer, writer Samantha Thornhill shares her experiences dealing with the changing weather of the dark side, her healing mechanisms, the power of the journal, leaving New York and parenting her son in the country she was born in, and embracing the unknown. Check out her powerful work at www.samanthaspeaks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Join me for a reading of a personal essay by Kim Brooks titled "Portrait of the Artist As a Young Mom: Is domestic life the enemy of creative work?" (http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/04/portrait-motherhood-creativity-c-v-r.html), an excerpt from Just Kids by Patti Smith, and a listening recommendation to get you through the weekend, and check back next week for another full episode of The Compass - Leah Walsh Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Composer, lyricist, and singer Joel B. New shares his thoughts on the dark side, showing up, day jobs, his awesome podcast "Something New", his writing process, crowdfunding, and Murder She Wrote. Joel also shares a new song from his upcoming EP! www.joelbnew.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Playwright and painter David Caudle shares his experiences carving out time to write when his time is taken up by a day job he loves, moving upstate, the importance of gratitude for the people in your life who support you, and addressing environmental issues in his writing (check out his lovely work at www.davidcaudle.org) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Director and teacher Pirronne Yousefzadeh shares her experiences with developing her leadership style, devising new work, working away from home for long stretches at a time, her mentors and teachers, and the year of candor. Check out her work at www.pirronne.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Actor and visual artist/performance artist Ryan O'Byrne shares his experiences dealing with the dark side, moving across the country, and pushing artistic boundaries. Check out his work at ryandavidobyrne2014.weebly.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Join me for an excerpt from an article on poet Mary Oliver and one of her poems (https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/01/20/mary-oliver-molly-malone-cook-our-world/), a chapter from Letters to a Young Artist by Anna Deavere Smith, and check back next week for another full episode of The Compass. - Leah Walsh Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Actor and teacher Erica Newhouse shares her experiences learning to teach, finding day jobs that work for her, living in a one room apartment with no kitchen and finding ways to be creative in that small space (read her blog about her cooking adventures here: http://cookwithoutakitchen.blogspot.com), the importance of being ready for opportunities when they arise, and raising her 8 month old daughter in New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Musician and songwriter Phil Pickens talks about his songwriting process, training and working as an actor and then deciding to focus fully on music, his day job solution, collaborating with other musicians, and being married to another artist. Check out his amazing work at www.philpickens.com and see him play live March 20th, 2016 at Rockwood Music Hall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dancer Chanel DaSilva shares her experiences battling the dark side, transitioning from dance company life to freelancing, the drive to be visible as a dancer, and starting a new dance organization with her best friend, which will provide a free summer dance intensive to NYC youth. Learn more about MOVE(NYC) at http://www.movenyc.nyc #jointhemovement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Musician Alex Chappo, lead singer of the band CHAPPO, shares his thoughts on the dark side, creativity, life as part of a band, and making stop motion videos that took over his apartment. Check out the videos in question (and more info about CHAPPO) at www.chappomusic.com/singularity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dealing with the dark side myself this week; join me for a quote from Rainer Maria Rilke, a poem by Billy Collins and check back next week for another full episode of The Compass. -Leah Walsh Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Actor Jess Watkins shares her experiences trying to stay out of the dark side, exploring the world of stand up comedy, writing her own material, and healing from an injury which forced a change in day job. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Actor Mark Junek shares his thoughts on finding the work that's important to you, building a home in a crazy city, starting and maintaining a non-profit, piecing together the finances of an actor, and being a true fan. Check out his amazing artist retreat: Makehouse www.makehouse.org . Other great organizations mentioned in this episode: Artists Striving To End Poverty www.astep.org and Arts In The Armed Forces www.aitaf.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Actor Nick Choksi talks about the ways he combats self doubt, how his outlook on filling every second of his day has changed, how he and his wife (who is also an artist) are approaching planning for the future, and his family's first reaction to him pursuing acting as a career. Nick is also a beautiful songwriter and shares a new song with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Actor MacKenzie Meehan talks about dealing with the ups, downs and the seeming randomness of life as an actor. She shares her experiences confronting the dark side with the help of close friends, making her own work, learning to prioritize what is important to her and deciding to start a family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Actor Joel Rainwater shares his experiences with the dark side, navigating working out of town with a spouse who is also an actor, taking care of himself in the city, and how he stays creative when he's not acting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Lighting designer and musical theatre book/lyric writer Alana Jacoby talks about how she avoids the dark side by staying busy, problem solving, being in a relationship with another designer, balancing her alter egos of designer and writer, and her artistic community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Actress Rebecca Hirota shares her thoughts on the dark side, the evolution of her day job, being a collaborative artist, and how you leave a state like Hawaii. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this mini episode, Leah shares an article which gives specific examples of how art can improve communities. Playwright Adam Scott Mazer reads Leah's tarot cards and talks about the process of developing his play, The Tower, which is now getting a full production at HERE Arts Center Dec 4-19, 2015. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Director and performer Wesleigh Gates shares their experiences producing their own work, battling imposter syndrome and the dark side, building lasting relationships with playwrights and collaborators, and a current project which tells the intense story of The Donner Party. (At the time of this interview Wesleigh went by different name, which you will hear reflected in the audio of the podcast) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Stage manager, director, and visual artist Kim Miller (creator of The Compass cover art!) shares her thoughts on not taking things personally, being realistic, having a supportive family, and working in vastly different forms of theatre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Singer Dwayne Washington shares his unique journey over the past few years: moving away from singing (and the USA), coming back, wanting to be a part of telling under represented stories, and dealing with the dark side of a life in the arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Actor and producer Dylan Christina Moore shares her experiences curating new work in unusual settings, prioritizing happiness, the artist as citizen, and finding her way out of the dark side. Check out the work she does with ASTEP (and Episode 1 guest, Alejandro Rodriguez) at https://asteponline.org and her producing work with her company Our Exquisite Corpse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Director Lori Wolter Hudson talks about producing her own work, having her baby six weeks early and how that affected her latest production, letting go, and the stability of a full time day job. Check out Lori's theater company Three Day Hangover at www.threedayhangover.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dancer and actor Collin Baja shares his experiences with balancing his creative drive and taking care of his body and mind. He talks about what the dark side looks like for him and how friendships and meditation help him stay out of it. Also: being in a relationship with another artist, Fort Tryon Park, modeling as a day job, and focusing on what's really important in life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Actress Britannie Bond discusses her time in New York, finding photography, the virtues of stability in a day job, and the glories of BAM. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Actor and writer Vichet Chum shares his experiences building an artistic life in New York City and battling the dark side with writing. He talks about the one-person show he's been working on about his Cambodian heritage, The Group Lab theatre company, and finding a day job which uses his education. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
No guest this week, new episode next Friday! In the meantime, Leah shares a few thought provoking pieces to get your Friday started: a quote from President Obama and a speech by performance artist Taylor Mac. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
