Season 2

Welcome to your favorite holiday: Tax Day! One of the most difficult but important issues we face in the arts is our finances. How to make more of it and how to spend (and save) it in the best way possible.
Rebecca Selkowe, head of the Financial Wellness Program at The Actors Fund, covers some of the challenges people working in performing arts and entertainment face when trying to balance variable income and expenses, and also touches briefly on important tax issues. A performing artist’s financial life is complex, so it’s easy to get confused when trying to organize your money. This episode will help you distinguish between regular and irregular income, and determine what this means for building yourself a financial cushion, saving for periodic expenses and investing for your future.
The overall goal of the Financial Wellness program? Establishing a stable method of managing your finances. So check out their free classes and seminars today!
Learn more about Rebecca Eve Selkowe and her book Dominate Your Debt.
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Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.
 
Join the WINMI community by following on Instagram or Twitter as well as reaching out to Patrick with any questions or comments: contact.winmipodcast.com
 

Kelly and I talk about the mindset needed to get through the ups and downs of this business, and as founder of Triple Threat Therapy she even gives me a bit of therapy, asking questions and giving insights into my own thinking when it comes to auditions and making decisions for my career. 
But it all started the ripe old age of 4, when Kelly stepped on stage for the first time during a kindergarten musical. From that moment on, she was hooked. Most of us have a story similar to that, right? She performed throughout my childhood but focused on choir and singing during high school and college.
In her 20's, she started auditioning for local community theater productions. Up to that point, she had never been to a professional or semi-professional audition and had no clue what to expect. So she learned by doing and was soon performing regularly at a local theater. But she struggled to move beyond chorus, or small featured roles. Now in her 30's and after taking several years off from auditioning and performing, she focuses on family and her vocal students. 
She also writes a blog, which is how I first found out about Kelly. Her honesty and openness about the rejection that comes with auditioning and performing was both eye-opening and refreshing...
"We all know that we aren't supposed to take rejections personally...but seriously?! How can we NOT? It stings when someone doesn't see our talent, or sees our talent but just doesn't want us. We have poured our heart and soul into that performance and their response is simply, "thanks but no thanks" or "we'll call you." ⁣So what do we do with that rejection?"
Read the full blog article here.
Kelly is also starting a brand new Masterclass series, featuring many artists and professionals, including myself and former guest, Maggie Bera. To learn more about her Journey to Broadway Masterclass and the other coachings and consultations she provides, visit her website.
You can also follow her on Instagram & Facebook. 
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Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.
 
Join the WINMI community by following on Instagram or Twitter as well as reaching out to Patrick with any questions or comments: contact.winmipodcast.com

Fellow actor and podcaster, Clayton Howe, riffs on the business of auditioning as well as creating new work and making a difference in the world...whether that world is our own theater community or a larger presence influencing millions.
He even brings up one influencer, Casey Neistat, who is a filmmaker and was ticketed here in NYC for not riding his bike in the bike lane. Through his videos and mission to fight back against the ticket, he ended up exposing a flaw in the enforcement of bike lanes and galvanized a strong following behind him. Watch the video that started it all. Notice the 22+ million views so far!
Okay, now back to Clayton...he and I first met during my contract with Disney Cruise Line. He was Vocal Captain and became a true friend on the ship. Since being back on land, our careers have led us in similar directions as we pursue more theater gigs around the country.
Born and raised on Long Island and schooled at State University of New York (SUNY), Clayton has a resume that stretches from New York theater to regional theater and beyond. He most recently performed in From Here to Eternity at Ogunquit Playhouse and just finished a production at Gateway Playhouse for Cabaret.
All of this has brought Clay to a higher understanding of what it means to change the world through storytelling, which is why he created his podcast Entertainment(x). Clayton believes in understanding the roots of one's successes and struggles so others can learn from them and live a more fulfilled life...sounds familiar, eh? 
Much like WINMI, Clayton brings in names you might recognize, names you won't, and names you don't yet. In fact, in the coming weeks he'll be bringing me on his show. So stay tuned as your favorite host turns into Clayton's favorite guest! :)
Follow Clayton on Twitter and Instagram. 
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Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.
 
Join the WINMI community by following on Instagram or Twitter as well as reaching out to Patrick with any questions or comments: contact.winmipodcast.com

From musical theater to opera, from Disney Cruise Line to New York's famed Town Hall venue,Amy Marie Stewart has seen first hand the struggles that singers and actors face. Most of it coming from our own preconceived notions or those expectations heaped on us by others. Her recent blog post "Failing our Singers" went viral as she tried to dispel those do's and don'ts in order to free us up to give our best performance, whether onstage or in the audition room.
Due to a recent illness, which she opens up about in this episode, Amy now focuses on teaching and helping singers be their best. As the founder of TheoryWorks she specializes in distilling down effort, finding a filter-free sound, helping legit singers belt and belters sing legit -- and, most importantly, in being her student's new number-one cheerleader.
She works with musical theatre folks to build a cohesive book. To get a sense of her approach, check out the (free) TheoryWorks online masterclass on putting an audition book together.
Amy is also a published Backstage Expert and distinguished representative of the CU College of Music Alumni in NYC. Her students are currently performing on Broadway, and in Broadway tours, on cruise ships, with the Rockettes, and in theatres across the country.
Learn more about Amy here.
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Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.
 
Join the WINMI community by following on Instagram or Twitter as well as reaching out to Patrick with any questions or comments: contact.winmipodcast.com

Today, I'm joined by the wonderfully charming and talented Ilana Levine. She takes a break from her own podcast, LITTLE KNOWN FACTS, to talk with me about her career on Broadway and in TV/film as well as share stories of auditions and her obsession with British royalty. 
From her big Broadway turn as Lucy in YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN to her various appearances in The Nanny Diaries, Law & Order, and the infamous Seinfeld episode "The Contest," she has had a storied career. But Ilana has also directed and produced and her contact list is a veritable who's who of Hollywood and Broadway. It is from this wide array of stars that she brings guests onto her own podcast to talk about the ins and outs of entertainment and performing. 
I'm so honored and proud to add her to my list of guests today. She's an inspiration and motivation to keep striving and reaching for the best from myself and this career. I'm sure she'll inspire you as well!
Listen to her podcast: http://www.littleknownfactspodcast.com
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Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.
 
Join the WINMI community by following on Instagram or Twitter as well as reaching out to Patrick with any questions or comments: contact.winmipodcast.com

Happy Promposal Day!
Caitlin Kinnunen may go to THE PROM eight times a week on Broadway as Emma, a high schooler who wants to bring her girlfriend to the big dance. But when she was a teenager herself, she never actually attended prom. On today’s episode, Caitlin opens up about being home schooled and how she could only go to the before and after parties with a friend.
Her home schooling was largely due to being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at a young age, and being at home meant better care of her condition. She stayed active in local theater, though, auditioning and performing in her hometown of Seattle, Washington. But it was when she landed the role of Thea as a replacement in SPRING AWAKENING in 2008 that she finally moved to New York City.
Once that Broadway run ended the following year, it would be another 5 years before her next Broadway show, BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, and almost another 5 years until THE PROM opened at the Longacre Theater. There were times during those in-between years Caitlin wasn’t sure she would “make it” in this business. She even had to go on Medicaid at one point when her Actors Equity health insurance ran out.
So being a part of THE PROM isn’t just making up for her lack of one in high school, it is also giving her wonderfully supportive cast and stage management team, who also help monitor her blood sugar levels throughout the show and make sure she has plenty of fruit snacks hidden around the stage. 
Lastly, Caitlin shares her thoughts on the upcoming Tony Award nominations and what that could mean to the show. But she had even more fun with some fantasy casting of her fellow actors in Sondheim's classic INTO THE WOODS. One giveaway: Beth Leavel would play the Witch, of course.
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The time and expense needed to bring these guests and conversations to you each week is sometimes challenging but always rewarding. Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.
 
Join the WINMI community by following on Instagram or Twitter as well as reaching out to Patrick with any questions or comments: contact.winmipodcast.com

For the first Spotlight Series of 2019 I’m joined by Josie Whittlesey, the founder and Executive Director of Drama Club. The organization started in 2013, providing theatre programming to incarcerated and court-involved young people. They bring classes into juvenile detention centers, jails and community centers throughout New York City. 
Currently, Drama Club works with about 500 individual students between the ages of 10-21, using improv as their core curriculum, empowering young people to tell the stories they want to tell, in the ways in which they want to tell them. 
From her previous work with Rehabilitation Through the Arts and Girls Educational & Mentoring Services, Josie has proven to be staunch advocate for those who are underserved and in need of the outlet and experience that theater provide. I caught up with her at the Drama Club office in Long Island City, where she shares how this important organization began and talks about the lives they impact in such positive ways.
Find out more about Drama Club and Josie.
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The time and expense needed to bring these guests and conversations to you each week is sometimes challenging but always rewarding. Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.
 
Join the WINMI community by following on Instagram or Twitter as well as reaching out to Patrick with any questions or comments: contact.winmipodcast.com

How would you like to learn 13 different roles for one show, and be ready at a moment's notice to perform anyone of them...or even combine two or three of them in one show? That's exactly what Heather Botts is prepared to do 8 times a week in MY FAIR LADY, currently on Broadway.
In this episode, recorded backstage in the Lincoln Center Theater, she shares her process for gearing up for such a demanding part in cast as well as her journey from regional theaters to the Great White Way.
Born and raised in Walla Walla, WA, Heather started singing at a very young age. She grew up performing all over the Northwest and spent her extra time doing community theatre and competing in singing competitions. In college, she double majored in acting and voice. After earning both of her bachelor degrees, she moved to Seattle, WA to explore all facets of the professional theatre world. She worked at Taproot Theatre and Seattle Children's Theatre performing, teaching and working in the administrative offices. Her time in Seattle also paved the way for her own private voice studio, where she taught aspiring artists. In 2010, Heather went back to school to work on her Master's degree.
She studied at Oklahoma City University under the direction of Professor Florence Birdwell. Mrs. Birdwell taught Broadway veterans Kelli O'Hara and Kristin Chenoweth as well as many others. After receiving her Master's degree in Music Theatre, Heather worked regionally around the United States and has since moved to NYC to pursue her acting career. Favorite credits include: Clara (The Light in the Piazza), Nellie Forbush (South Pacific), Cosette (Les Misérables), The Baker's Wife (Into the Woods), Ellen (Miss Saigon), Sandy (Grease), and many more. When not on stage, she loves to teach voice and inspire the next generation of performers.
Follow her on Instagram.
Check out her website.
 
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The time and expense needed to bring these guests and conversations to you each week is sometimes challenging but always rewarding. Please consider buying me a coffee to support this work that goes into each episode.
 
Join the WINMI community by following on Instagram or Twitter as well as reaching out to Patrick with any questions or comments: contact.winmipodcast.com