Dreading The Boards
By Dreading the Boards
Dreading The BoardsFeb 16, 2022
The Broadway Husbands, or: I Do! I Do!
Bret Shuford and Stephen Hanna are the Broadway Husbands--openly LGBTQ married working actors, performers, and BroadwayLife coaches. Bret has performed, produced, choreographed and directed dozens of Broadway, Regional, National tours, viral videos, television and film productions from Wicked to the Wolf of Wall Street. His industry insights have been featured in leading outlets like The Huffington Post, Backstage, Today Show, Good Morning America, and America’s Got Talent. Stephen was a soloist and principal dancer with the New York City ballet, going on to perform on Broadway in Billy Elliott, On the Town, An American in Paris, and Hello, Dolly! He has also appeared on television in All My Children, Boardwalk Empire, Forever, and Pose. Broadway Husbands IG | YouTube | From Imposter To Influencer Map
Paco Lozano, or: Weeping with Meryl
Born in Puerto Rico to a Cuban mom and Mexican dad, Paco was inspired to be an actor after an episode of The Wonder Years where Winnie Cooper plays the lead in “Our Town”, and he hasn’t really looked back since. With a resume that includes costars like Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Morgan Freeman, Hamish Linklater, Julianna Margulies, Ice-T, Pedro Pascal, Tea Leoni, Dave Bautista, and Ed Burns, Paco is a familiar face in New York film and television--but his favorite production thus far is his son. Paco's IG | Paco's Twitter
Tracy Cox, or: If the Fat Lady Sings... Listen
Hailed by LA Weekly as a “force of nature”, soprano and Fat Politics artist-activist Tracy Cox is a performer whose talent has been recognized across the industry, garnering her a Sullivan Foundation Award, the Birgit Nilsson Prize at Operalia, the Kirsten Flagstad Award from the George London Foundation, a Sarah Tucker Study Grant, and the top prize from the Marilyn Horne Song Competition. She has sung with orchestras around the world, including the MÁV Symphony of Budapest, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, and at the Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Center in Moscow.
Tracy has been interviewed by the New York Times on Fat Politics and restaurant accessibility, and currently has over 20,000 followers on her Instagram @sparklejams where she centers fat liberation, fat vanity, and fat talent in the performing arts. Tracy is a highly sought-after speaker and consultant on the topic of body justice in the performing arts and has been presented by numerous opera companies and arts organizations including Long Beach Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera NexGen, Sigma Alpha Iota, River City Opera, and the M Institute for the Arts in Washington D.C.
Doug Plaut, or: Golden Hollywood's Resident Queerdo
Doug Plaut is a New York-based Actor and Writer, most known for playing Terry on UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT. Other Credits include DAREDEVIL, VICE PRINCIPALS, HURRICANE BIANCA: FROM RUSSIA WITH HATE, NAOMI AND ELY'S NO KISS LIST, THE PREPPIE CONNECTION and THE MIMIC. He will next be seen in Charles Busch and Carl Andress' THE SIXTH REEL. Doug's IG | Doug's Twitter | Doug's IMDb
Dahlia De Fé, or: Vagina With a CDL
Dahlia De Fé is a burlesque performer cheekily known as the 'Witchy Wet Dream.' A darkly sardonic provocateur by night, they are a crew member by day! Dahlia's resume behind the camera includes shows like THE BLACKLIST and several murdery reenactment shows on Discovery ID, as well as behind the scenes at The Public Theatre and Heartbeat Opera. In a particularly poignant moment for labor and union policy, Dahlia tells us all about the sometimes exciting, but mostly deeply exploitative life of a crew person--and why we need our unions to stand up and fight for fair hours, reasonable rest, and balanced lives. Dahlia's IG
Melissa Center, or: Mrs. Jake Gyllenhaal
Melissa Center is an actor, filmmaker & crowdfunding coach. As an actor she was most recently seen opposite Susan Kelechi Watson on This is Us. Additional credits include Grey’s Anatomy, True Detective, and Masters of Sex. She wrote, produced, and starred in solo show Marrying Jake Gyllenhaal, which was hatched in partnership with Mark Duplass for Seed&Spark's Creative Sustainability Summit & debuted at Edinburgh Fringe as part of their 2021 digital program. Her feature film All I Want is currently streaming across platforms & her award-winning short R.V., about the threat to women’s reproductive rights, has screened around the world in addition to reaching half a million people online (and counting). www.melissacenter.com | Melissa's IG
Kay Koch, or: The Prog Rock Puppeteer
Kay Koch is a musical theater actress/singer, puppeteer, classic rock maniac, and general maker-of-geeky-joy! Kay has been collaborating with Jen for (a highly memorable) 5 seasons on original puppet-based webseries THE WEIRDOS NEXT DOOR. She has produced a long-running all-female production of 1776, where she plays Thomas Jefferson. She has similarly gender-bent the role of The Baker in INTO THE WOODS, and just closed a run of THE SOUND OF MUSIC starring as Maria. KayKoch.com | The Weirdos Next Door
Kathy Deitch, or: The Wickedy, Wickedy Witch Hunter
Kathy Deitch made her Broadway debut in the original cast of FOOTLOOSE and later created the role of Shen Shen in the smash Broadway hit WICKED. She made her LA acting debut at the Hollywood Bowl in RENT directed by Neil Patrick Harris. Other credits include: SILENCE! THE MUSICAL (LA Weekly Award), AMERICAN HORROR STORY: FREAK SHOW, and the thriller LOFT, opposite Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet and MAGIC MIKE XXL.
In looking to combat body bias, she co-created PLUS THIS! SHOW, a weekly vodcast on UBN GO that highlights fat women & non-binary folx and their allies, spotlighting creatives (Chrissy Metz, Retta, Our Lady J), academic powerhouses (Dr. Lindo Bacon, Christy Harrison, Dr. Sabrina Strings) and fat activist icons (Marilyn Wann, Da'Shaun Harrison, Ragen Chastain). Now fully saturated in anti-body bias work, she has produced many fat friendly events in LA, programmed panels to discuss body bias (most recently at BroadwayCon in NYC) and is a founding member of Fatch Comedy, a fat femme sketch comedy group which was at the SF Sketchfest right before lockdown. She's had monthly articles for Better Books for Living and has been featured in SLiNK & FabUPlus magazines, SoulPancake, and Home & Family on the Hallmark Channel. Plus This IG
Gianluca Russo, or: From Runway to Broadway
Gianluca Russo is a fashion and culture writer who specializes on the topic of body diversity. His NYLON column “Plus Us” explores the many ways in which larger-bodied individuals are discriminated against in society today. Gianluca’s work has also appeared in GQ, Glamour, InStyle, Teen Vogue, and more. Gianluca is the CEO and co-founder of The Power of Plus, a size-inclusive digital community aimed at promoting love, respect, and style for every BODY. He is currently writing his debut nonfiction book under the same name, which is set for publication in 2022 from Chicago Review Press. For more, visit www.RussoG.com. Gianluca's IG | Gianluca's Twitter
Cara Connors, or: Mall Superstar of Niles, Illinois
Cara Connors is an LA-based comedian and multifaceted homosexual with an ass that won’t quit. Cara stars on Dating #NoFilter on E! and her feminist investigative comedy series, Cara Takes Up Space, is now streaming on OUTtv. In 2018, she performed at the prestigious Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal and recently debuted her first hour long stand up show at the New York Comedy Festival as a part of the Upright Citizens Brigade Headliner series. A regular headliner at indie comedy shows across Los Angeles, Cara also hosts a monthly queer showcase, Straight for Pay (on tour in 2022). Cara's IG
Greg Jolley, or: The Psychedelic Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Greg Jolley is a New Jersey artist of all mediums. With a stage career that spans over 20 years, as an actor, he specializes in swashbuckling Shakespeare with a vast, storyfilled background in children's theater, musicals, and dance. He enjoys a rich career in photography and filmmaking, and you can check out his most recent film BEEN A WHILE here. Greg's IG | gregjolleycreative.com
Celey Schumer, or: Y̶e̶s̶ ̶A̶n̶d̶ Please Stop
Celey is an actor, writer, and comedian, working on both coasts and based primarily in Los Angeles. She's currently in development of a queer romcom feature, and a TV series centered on a women’s college ice hockey team. Most recently, on stage, Celey opened for Michelle Wolf in Burlington, Vermont. On screen, she can be found on Comedy Central, the Travel Channel, and in various commercials including Snickers, Aflac, and Yoplait. She is a lead on the SeekaTV show “Extra/Ordinary”, opposite BBC’s Will Turner Roden and Broadway’s Tiffany Mann, and a series regular in the upcoming digital series “Followers.” Celey’s voice can be heard on the popular nostalgic movie review podcast Still Got It, which she hosts and produces. Celey's IG | Celey's Twitter
Sara Minisquero, or: The Muppet Merkin Maven
Sara Minisquero is a lifelong New Yorker and stage critter of multiple talents: acting, crooning, crafting, stage management, and production design. They’ve worn every hat (plus the Community Contessa apron) for over 15 years. Sara formerly stage managed for FutureProof, and was the stage manager in residence for Funhouse Philosophers at Coney Island USA. Immediately prior to COVID, they co-founded the performance art company Marshmallow Minxes Presents, as well as the monthly variety show Boodoir. Sara also hosts mixed-medium shorts at SongsofSaranalia.com.
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Toni Robison May, or: Actor, Writer, SWAT Team
Toni Robison-May was raised on Star Trek and Masterpiece Theater in Oklahoma, which as a queer Black girl, gave her the solid sense of being an outsider that feeds mosts artists. She took that and her love of creativity to get her BFA in Theatre, then to NY. After graduating from the William Esper Studio, she started making her own short films. That led her to AFI’s screenwriting program in LA. She’s now living the multi-hyphenate life of acting, writing features, pilots and poetry, and directing. She does all of that while cuddling her cat and her dog, and pushing for the changes in storytelling that we need on screen and on stage - more inclusion, more queerness, more people of the global majority. IG : @toekneero
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Liza Poor, or: Undercover Cheerleader
Liza Poor is an actress working in theatre, film, TV, voice-over, and... ...TikTok? (Yup.) She also produces the podcast DVD Deathmatch, where she and her husband cull through their enormous movie collection.
IG: @lizapoor TikTok: @pandalicious37 Learn more at lizapoor.com!
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Tricia Alexandro, or: Petrified by the Dashboard Light
Tricia Alexandro is a native New Yorker who loves using her art to engender compassion and communication. She writes and performs monologues embodying the unsung heroes of NYC, the women of all ethnicities with whom she grew up and interacted in Queens. She also loves to throw down on the dance floor (she particularly loves swing dance). Tricia is a life coach and personal trainer, to boot, and delights in helping people access and express the greatest version of themselves. IG: @triciaalexandro
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Tanya Perez, or: Down 2 Clown
Born in NYC, raised in the South, Tanya Perez is a Latinx, performer, writer & filmmaker specializing in short-form comedy. Her comedy short PEEP SHOW was a finalist at the ‘Women in Comedy HBO Insider Competition.’ With over 22 screenings globally, her film VERONICA swept festival awards for ‘Best Actress,’ ‘Best Screenplay,’ and ‘Best Latinx Short’. Perez also received an ‘Audioverse Award’ nomination for her audioplay, RINCON. She is a featured writer on the upcoming audio narrative THE LIGHT AHEAD produced by Naomi McDougal Jones, and is a member of Latinx Playwrights Circle & Brown Girls Doc Mafia. Today, Tanya shares with us stories from her early stint as a militant ballerina, to attempting Dirty Dancing for an unappreciative crowd, to clowning at a Shoney's for beer money.
Tanya's IG | Tanya's Twitter
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Tessa Slovis, or: Filthy, Writhing Teens
Tessa Slovis is an actor and filmmaker. Her inaugural short film PIZZA PARTY (Director, Writer, Producer) has been featured in 25 international and Academy Qualifying film festivals, garnering her several Jury Mentions and awards. She currently freelances as a bicoastal hyphenated artist: acting, writing, producing, and directing. You can catch her in the SXSW Jury Prize winning film SHITHOUSE as well as onstage around LA and NYC. Today, Tessa shares with us stories of her upbringing in musical theatre--including Very Serious Thespian Children, Very Serious Musical Theatre Camp, and why you probably shouldn't do CATS with teenagers.
Tessa's website | PIZZA PARTY Instagram
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Duncan Pflaster, or: The Doo-Wop Burger King
Meet playwright, actor, and Judeophile Duncan Pflaster! "With his large imagination and witty dialogue, Pflaster is definitely a playwright to watch."
Duncan's plays have been produced all over, including THE UNDERPANTS GODOT, THE TRAGEDY OF DANDELION, and THE STARSHIP ASTROV, and his STRAPPED FOR DANGER feature films are available to stream. He also created the Naughty Jewish Boys calendar, a love letter to good Jewish Boys who wear their yarmulkes... and often nothing else. Today, Duncan shares stories of local Florida theatre, odious-smelling co-stars, and a very special Burger King barbershop quartet.
Duncan's Instagram | Duncan's website
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Curtain Up, Light the Lights!
Get ready to dread the boards, thespians--your hosts Jen Ponton and Lillian Bustle are about to start delivering some of the most cringeworthy, hilarious stories that have ever graced the stage... the green room... and the audition room! With guests from Broadway, television, film, and beyond, we are so excited to introduce our original cast to you. Coming at you Wednesdays--follow and subscribe for our big premiere!
Places, Places!
Welcome to Dreading the Boards, the podcast of actors' waking nightmares. We're your hosts, Jen Ponton & Lillian Bustle, and together we'll discover a whole world of dropped lines, lost props, and all the things that go bump in the night--er, terribly wrong in the theatre. Each episode, a special guest will take us through their most hair-raising opening nights, cringe-worthy auditions, and most brilliant saves on stage. For anyone who's ever loved the theatre, this podcast is for you!
Subscribe for full episodes coming soon--and if you want to binge now, listen to our very own harrowing tales over at All the Fucks!