Two Women of a Certain Age
By Izolda Trakhtenberg and Valerie Higgs
Two Women of a Certain Age Oct 21, 2020
Movies, Equitable Creative Teams, Shogun, and Nekkid Partners
We open up about some fun and peculiar aspects of life, the universe and everything on this week's show.
We also delve into awards season, and why Valerie particularly wants to watch every Academy-award nominated movie (and the reason Izolda won't be watching them all).
How to Balance Your Creative Career with a Day Job
Val and Izolda discuss how they balance (and sometimes fail to balance) the demands of their art and their creative work.
They also give some advice on how to do it better.
Val, the classic introvert, also explores how she manages networking events as an introvert. Izolda gives her perspective as an extroverted introvert.
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The Two Women on Our Favorite Shows, the inherent ageism in Hollywood casting, and our latest thoughts on the state of the world
The Two Women on Our Favorite Shows, the inherent ageism in Hollywood casting, and our latest thoughts on the state of the world.
Join Val and Izolda as we explore topics like being child-free by choice, our favorite TV show binges (Val's is edgy, current, and will get you thinking. Izolda's have a running theme of irresistible nerds.)
We also explore just why the heck casting directors skew so darn young, especially when looking to cast women characters.
If you have a topic you want our takes on, get in touch. Support the show by subscribing and telling your friends to join the conversation.
Two Women on Shows, the Need For Retreats, and the Not-So-Guilty Pleasure of Jacob Elordi
Join Valerie and Izolda as they discuss their favorite recent shows and musicals. They also give their ideas on how to make writing in plays, musicals, books, and movies more inclusive in various ways. Get their favorite cheap ways to get all the bang of a relaxing retreat for none of the buck.
Last, they explore the not-so-guilty pleasure of enjoying younger men's performances in shows, movies, and other art.
Theatre, Writing, Movies - what works and what doesn't
We're back! Listen in as we delve into some of our favorite movies of the last fifty years, dissect plot issues with a couple of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks favorites, and what it means to be a woman of a certain age in a creative career in 2024.
Return to Work and Creative Work Styles
In this episode, Izolda and Valerie talk about what it's like to be a night owl vs. a morning lark; what will the workplace look like post-pandemic; the efficiency of mandatory drug testing; introverts and extroverts; and escapist TV.
Making Choices That Work for You
Valerie and Izolda discuss choices they have made and whether these choices have been worked out; being mindful about labels; and Manhattanhenge.
Friends: How Many of Us Have Them?
In this week's episode, Valerie and Izolda discuss letting go of friendships and forging new ones as GenXrs; whether a continuation or reboot of a TV series is a good idea; and keeping creative focus when busy.
How We See Ourselves vs How Others See Us
Valerie and Izolda discuss taking care of aging parents, the masks we wear in public (work especially), and what we see vs. what other people see vs what we actually look like.
Season 2 Opener: We Are Back!
Season 2 opens with a discussion about the Friends reunion show on HBOMax, what Valerie and Izolda have been up to during their hiatus, and the glut of digital streaming subscriptions.
Season Finale
In the Season 1 finale, Val and Izolda discuss creative burnout, what "refills their well", and how they are going to (try) to step away from being creative during the holidays.
Ep 13. Val and Izolda discuss creative thinking and how to do it, this weird holiday season, and of course some entertainment industry chatter
Episode 13 is out! We talked about creative thinking in industries that don't often reward it, how different this holiday season feels and what we can do about it, and of course some entertainment industry chatting especially about Wonder Woman 1984, and a bunch of 1970s shows. See the image to see the shows.
Ever After
Val and Izolda discuss possible reasons why we don’t like to examine what happens after the fairytale ends, why rom-com leading ladies don’t realize their own power, why different points of view create better stories, and what two things Luke Skywalker heard after destroying the Death Star. Oh, and we might have talked a little about porn.
Our Top 5 Sex and the City Episodes
Val and Izolda talk about their favorite Sex and the City episodes, who their favorite characters are from the show and movies, and what they really thought about Mr. Big.
Val and Izolda count down their five favorite Friends episodes and discuss charisma, creativity, and what you need to do break through performance fear
The tenth (10th!!!) episode of the Two Women of a Certain Age podcast is here!
We talked about Harrison Ford (of course), Robert Downey Jr, Paul Rudd, Tom Cruise, how to get the confidence to step on stage and own it, what it takes to know your role, the slippery thing charisma can be, and we counted down our five favorite Friends episodes.
Childhood Crushes and British Mystery Series
In Episode 9, Val and Izolda talk about the Presidential Election, Prime Suspect and other British mystery series, why romance novels are a multi-million dollar industry, whether we should make passion a priority, and Joe vs. Frank Hardy.
Strong Women and Introverts vs. Extroverts
Episode 8?! We can’t believe it! This week, Val and Izolda discuss strong female characters on screen; extroverted and introverted performers and how they think; and how the level of your confidence in the things you love to do may affect how you receive criticism.
Val and Izolda Discuss Performer's Social Anxiety and Why You Should Probably Learn a Musical Instrument
2 Women of a Certain Age switch it up a little bit to discuss how musicians/performers can experience social anxiety before even stepping foot on stage; whiffing it in front of The Boss; what to do when the power goes out; jazz improvisation; pesky gig logistics; and why you (yes you!) can (and should!) learn a musical instrument.
Music From Our Formative Years, Women's Agency in the Entertainment and Business Fields, and the movie, Mr. Right
We talked about music from the formative decades of our lives (the 70s and 80s) and then Valerie schooled Izolda on the music of the 90s (Izolda didn't listen to the radio at all during the 90s so she's still playing catch-up.
And you *know* we talked about women and our agency throughout the entertainment, education, and business fields.
We also discussed a fun and quirky movie called, "Mr. Right: with the fantastic Sam Rockwell, Anna Kendrick, and Tim Roth.
Val and Izolda talk about Hairspray, musicals, The Boys, and the Creativity Gestalt
Enjoy our far-ranging chat. We also ended up talking about racism, sexism, and identity in movies from long ago and today.
Val and Izolda Discuss the 39 Steps, The Boys, and Covering Other People's Songs: Yay or Nay?
This is a fun episode. Oh, and you get to hear us do a cover as well. So, listen in.
Val and Izolda discuss Notorious, Fembots, Weird Weight Standards for Women, and Their Surprising Roles as Malfunctioning Women
We went into several fun movies, the Malfunctioning Women tweet heard round the world, The Boys, the 1973 Stockard Channing movie, The Girl Most Likely To, and Hitchcock's masterpiece, Notorious. We also chatted about the banned Lane Bryant ad, Victoria's Secret angels, Ashley Graham, and the strange weight standards about what is sexy. We had some great fun with this episode and got a little serious about things too.
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Valerie and Izolda talk Escapism in movies, Inconsistency in fictional universes, Star Trek, The Boys, the X-Files, and the Psychology of Casting Older People to Play Younger ones
Plus, Izolda is politically incorrect during our discussion of movies, music, staging, directing, television, beauty, characters, and Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (and other films). She apologizes. Listen in to see her learn her lesson.
Oh, and if you want to join in, we gave each other homework. We both will watch The Girl Most Likely To with Stockard Channing and Hitchock's Notorious starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. That's your homework too, by the way. Watch Notorious. It's fantastic, and we'll be talking about it on next week's show.
Val and Izolda discuss Karl Urban, Star Trek, Horror Movies, and Why "Pretty Women" in Movies Piss Izolda Off.
Friends, colleagues, and musicians Izolda and Val bring you this show.
Hold onto your hats. We had fun in this inaugural episode.
Oh and we also discussed our favorite Will Smith movies and how effectively Broadway musicals can be turned into movies and vice versa. Plus a whole lot more.
We're going to make this weekly. And we'll be inviting you to join us. Have a movie, book, or music piece you want us to discuss, dissect, and disseminate? Let us know.