In this episode, Jenni Werner is joined by Mark Cuddy, Gus Cuddy and Mari Vial-Golden to discuss Geva’s production of Nick Payne’s Constellations, the power of improvisation, the surprising comfort of Beckett’s Godot, the ups and downs of worki

Episode 3-8: Actors Jean McCormick and Matthew S. Morgan

Dec 6th, 2021 1h 8m

In this episode, Jean McCormick and Matthew S. Morgan, two of the principal actors in Geva's annual production of A Christmas Carol, join Jenni to talk about their favorite pieces of prop business, the highs and lows of touring productions, sha

Episode 3-7: Ginny Nguyen

Oct 19th, 2021 48m 42s

In this episode, we talk with Webster-resident Ginny Nguyen, who fled Vietnam with her family in 1975, and after several months in an Arkansas refugee camp, started a new life in Rochester. This story has been a source of inspiration for everyo

Episode 3-6: Vietgone Prologue

Sep 27th, 2021 31m 8s

In this episode of Out of the Rehearsal Hall, we welcome you to an audio prologue for Qui Nguyen's Vietgone. Before COVID disrupted our lives, audiences would arrive early to Geva productions to hear a presentation about the show they were abou

Episode 3-5: Projection Designer Rasean Davonte Johnson

Sep 6th, 2021 54m 48s

In this episode, projection designer Rasean Davonte Johnson (Geva's THURGOOD and RING OF FIRE), joins Jenni Werner to talk about his process and the artists and theatres that have had an influence on his career and his aesthetic. It's a convers

Episode 3-4: Maia Directors

Jun 28th, 2021 55m 53s

This episode features Megan Sandberg-Zakian, Evren Odcikin, Kareem Fahmy and Pirronne Yousefzadeh, the four incredible forces behind Maia Directors. The organization is a consulting service for organizations and artists engaging with MENASA sto

Episode 3-3: Daniel Banks

May 24th, 2021 1h 6m

In this episode, we talk with director, deviser and dance dramaturg, Daniel Banks about socio-political awakenings, storytelling traditions and innovations, justice and spirituality and the work that breaks your heart open, makes you want to cr

Episode 3-2: The Changemakers

May 10th, 2021 1h 15m

This episode features the Changemakers: Rochester Women Who Changed the World exhibit at the Rochester Museum and Science Center, which inspired Geva’s Tenacious Women project. We start by talking with Kathryn Murano Santos about the innovative

Episode 3-1: Christopher Rivas

Apr 26th, 2021 53m 40s

Christopher Rivas is an incredible storyteller in any medium, and in this episode, he talks about the climate crisis and the beauty of this world, Porfirio Rubirosa (inspiration for James Bond) and just how vital it is to see people who look li

Episode 2-6: Playwright/Director/Producer Chay Yew

Feb 1st, 2021 59m 50s

In our first podcast episode of 2021, we’re thrilled to feature a conversation with playwright/director/producer, Chay Yew. Geva audiences will have an opportunity to see his work as a director this winter, with his direction of Brian Quijada’s

Episode 2-5: Sound Designers Justin Ellington and David K. Samba

Dec 21st, 2020 1h 11m

In this episode, Esther Winter, creative producer for Recognition Radio, and Jenni Werner talk with sound designers David K. Samba and Justin Ellington about jazz music, the nature of collaboration, sound design and composition as an out of bod

Episode 2-4: Sound Designers Christie Chiles Twillie and Larry Fowler

Dec 7th, 2020 58m 30s

Recognition Radio's Creative Producer Esther Winter joins Jenni Werner for a conversation with sound designers Christie Chiles Twillie and Larry Fowler. Join us for a great conversation about how sound designers build worlds onstage, and how th

Episode 2-3: Playwrights Christina Anderson and Harrison David Rivers

Nov 2nd, 2020 1h 5m

In this episode, playwrights Christina Anderson and Harrison David Rivers join Pirronne Yousefzadeh and Jenni Werner for a joyful conversation about listening to the voices in your head, finding inspiration in poetry, novels and raunchy rap lyr

Episode 2-2: Playwrights Chisa Hutchinson and Kirsten Greenidge

Oct 19th, 2020 1h 12m

In this episode, playwrights Kirsten Greenidge and Chisa Hutchinson join Fran Da Silveira and Jenni Werner for an impassioned conversation about their work and inspirations, how August Wilson impacted them both as young people, and the renaissa

Episode 2-1: Sonja D. Williams

Oct 5th, 2020 1h 13m

In the first episode of season two, Jenni Werner is joined by co-host Esther Winter, creative producer for Geva's Recognition Radio Festival - an audio play festival celebrating Black stories - to talk about the festival and Esther's many roles

Episode 10: Director Mikael Burke

Jul 13th, 2020 1h 15m

In Episode Ten of Out of the Rehearsal Hall, Geva's Assistant Literary Director Fran Da Silveira joins Jenni Werner once again for an invigorating conversation with director Mikael Burke. They talk about the impact of music and silence on our u

Episode 9: Costume Designer Christina Selian

Jun 22nd, 2020 1h 2m

In Episode Nine of Out of the Rehearsal Hall, Geva’s Wardrobe and Wig Supervisor Karin Eckert joins Jenni Werner to talk about her journey from Rochester to the West End, and around the U.S. (with a stop at “The Price is Right”), and back to Ro

Episode 8: Fight Director/Intimacy Coordinator/Actor Rocío Mendez

Jun 9th, 2020 1h 18m

Fran Da Silveira and Jenni Werner talk with fight and intimacy director Rocío Mendez. The conversation starts with an acknowledgment of the moment the U.S. is in as a country, after the deaths of George Floyd, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Ahmau

Episode 7: Performer Madeleine Lambert

Jun 1st, 2020 1h 7m

In this episode, Jenni is joined by Geva's former stage operations manager Carolyn Pike for a conversation with actor Madeleine Lambert. Carolyn and Jenni talk about just what a stage operations manager does, and a particularly memorable - and

Episode 6: Universes' Steven Sapp and Mildred Ruiz

May 25th, 2020 1h 14m

In this episode, Pirronne Yousefzadeh and I catch up with Steven Sapp and Mildred Ruiz, the co-founders of the performance ensemble, Universes. It's a really wonderful conversation about their inspirations, about the Geva-commissioned piece AFR

Episode 5: Performer Jen Cody

May 18th, 2020 55m 56s

This episode features Jen Cody, truly one of the funniest actors around. We talk about how fate played a role in her becoming a professional actor, how she discovered her gift for comedy, how Actors Equity Association is working to address the

Episode 4: Playwright Dipika Guha

May 11th, 2020 1h 7m

In this episode, playwright and TV writer Dipika Guha (Yoga Play) talks about her international childhood, how learning you are a playwright might be "bad news," the snacks in a TV writers room, and women who've changed the world. Fran Da Silve

Episode 3: Brian Quijada

May 4th, 2020 1h 9m

We talk with poet-playwright-composer-performer Brian Quijada about how looping has impacted his life and work, snooping parents and teenage love letters, and the happy accident of choosing a college program that puts your career on an exciting

Episode 2: Playwright Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder

Apr 27th, 2020 58m 26s

We talk with Looks Like Pretty playwright Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder about being a Southern storyteller, bourbon happy hours, her 105-year old grandmother, and her next project. Geva's Associate Director of Education, Lara Rhyner, co-hosts, and s

Episode 1: Director Shelley Butler

Apr 20th, 2020 1h 6m

In this inaugural episode of Out of the Rehearsal Hall, Geva's Literary Director Jenni Werner and Associate Artistic Director/Director of Community Engagement talk to Shelley Butler about her work as a director in non-profit and commercial thea