Podcasts by MFA: The Parenting Edition

That Was Like a Crazy Trust Exercise from 2022-02-27T12:00

Trust. 5 letters that carry a tremendous amount of weight. Trust falls, trusting your scene partner/kids, and why potty training is the worst – trust me!

We’ll kick off our show with The R...

The Theatre of Discipline from 2022-02-11T05:00

Orders, commands and punishments. Oh my! Today’s topic is all about discipline. The ugly yucky monster that infects all of our parenting brains with the shoulda, coulda, woulda's about rais...

Just My Imagination from 2022-01-29T11:00

Today’s topic is the imagination: what is the imagination, how do you activate it, why is imaginary play so important. Kids have the best imaginations because we haven’t, as a world, killed thei...

I'm Sorry, I Forgot to Pay Attention from 2022-01-14T05:00

Your child won’t listen to you? Take a number, hun. Today we'll be talking about listening - why your kids don’t listen to you and why you may not be the world’s best listener and how to ge...

They'll Tell the Story of Tonight from 2021-12-31T05:00

What does New Year’s mean to you? If you could hear the story of your life told by your children after you’ve past, what would you hear and how would you feel? What is the story you want to tell...

Developmental Milestone Shmilestone from 2021-12-22T08:00

How do you honor your body? If we could model appreciation and honor for our body, to our children, what would that look like? If we could ease our stress concerning our children's ability ...

I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me from 2021-11-19T05:00

What sparks your curiosity? How can you help a person feel seen, heard, and understood? What does it mean to observe? What is the importance of observation? If we had all the time in the world t...

Let's Start at the Very Beginning, a Very Good Place to Start from 2021-11-05T05:00

Today we'll start diving into our history. As an actor, part of the work of creating a role is to understand the history of the character (their backstory) and how it impacts the life they&...

Mommy's Freakin'Awesome from 2021-11-05T05:00

“What’s in a name?” Well, so much. Today we’ll be looking at the name of this show, the inspiration behind the podcast, why frankly my dear you should give a damn, and what to expect th...

The Soundtracks of Our Life from 2021-06-22T15:00

Today’s episode is the last in season two. We’ll be looking at The Magic “If” an acting tool that works so perfectly for parenting and life in general. 

The Raise a Glass segment lyrics ar...

Your Art Can Hold It from 2021-06-11T01:00

This week's Artistic Parenting conversation is our last one for the season. My chat today is with 2 time Helen Hayes Award winning actor and mama of two munchkins, Erika Rose. We know each ...

Down the Rabbit Hole from 2021-05-23T22:00

Today's mini check in episode is a trip through my brain about all the things I'm unlearning,  reflecting on my new anarchist feelings to dismantle all the things, and how devised thea...

Master of Feeling Arts from 2021-05-18T21:00

This week's Artistic Parenting conversation is with actors, educators, and parents Jonathan Ziese and Christine Perrotta Ziese.  Today we talk about balancing each other through parenting, ...

Motherhood is Not for Wimps from 2021-05-09T16:00

Happy Mother's Day!
This week's Artistic Parenting conversation is with actor, mama, tour guide extraordinaire, and adventurer, Amanda Tudor. Today we talk about the the fourth tri...

Mommy the Musical from 2021-04-30T21:00

Question – How do you handle your parental meltdowns? What tools do you use to release tension and connect to the present moment with more calm? Why do we love musical theatre?

In toda...

#ParentingWin from 2021-04-16T02:00

This week's Artistic Parenting conversation is with teacher, singer, mom of three and my dear sweet best friend/soul sister for over 25 years, Christine McCarthy . Today we talk about the m...

Controlling the Narrative from 2021-04-09T20:00

This week's Artistic Parenting conversation is with actor, mother, and friend from grad school days at The New School for Drama, Shelley Molad. Today we talked about the spark that drove he...

I'm the One Who Has to Grow from 2021-04-02T17:00

This week's Artistic Parenting conversation is with actor and father, and friend from grad school days at The New School for Drama, Mitchell Diehr. We talk family values, the lessons he&apo...

You Go and I'm Gonna Stay Here! from 2021-03-28T23:00

This special treat is a collection of Angelica Interludes, recorded moments between me and my daughter Angelica. They are adorable and will make you smile.
We have a sing off, can't qu...

If We're Being Honest from 2021-03-20T00:00

What do you stand for? Are you clear about what is important to you? Are you resilient?
Just a few of the questions we explore in this episode that is more a confessional and reflection on l...

Be Kind to Yourself from 2021-03-05T00:00

How transitioning my daughter to a big girl bed has shown me how unkind I am to myself. My personal lesson this week I share with you.

Ways to support the show:
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Honoring the Process from 2021-02-26T02:00

The Artistic Parenting Series Special Guest: Isaiah Johnson

On the show today I’ll be sharing parts of my conversation with Isaiah Johnson. Isaiah is an actor, professor at SCAD (Savana...

What We Do Is Vital from 2021-02-19T02:00

The Artistic Parenting Series, which kicks off today, are conversations with parents in the performing arts examining the lessons they've learned in the theatre that have helped support the...

Jesus, Be a Fence All Around Me Every Day from 2021-02-12T01:00

The Play Series #1 – Fences by August Wilson; we’ll examine Troy Maxson and his family to find the parenting lessons we can learn about family values and building fences or bridges in our relati...

The Perfect Baby from 2021-02-05T04:00

What does anticipation feel like in your body? When it comes to pregnancy and the new journey to parenthood, how do you anticipate that’ll look like? What kind of child did you dream about havin...

New Years Thoughts from 2021-01-01T11:00

My 12:28AM New Years Thoughts
Happy New Year!!! May 2021 be a beautiful adventure!!!

Send in the Clowns from 2020-12-18T16:00

What can we learn from clowns? How can they help us be better parents? 

They’re experts on everything…or so they believe. Let us work to become experts on our children in the same way. ...

March of the Toys from 2020-12-14T00:00

What are props and how are they used in theatre? What is the purpose of a toy? What toys engage the imagination of children? How many toys is too many? Do we teach our children to respect their ...

The Sorority of Mean Girls from 2020-12-04T01:00

Why do we judge each other? What’s wrong with criticism? Is it possible to get everyone in the world to stop judging one another? Is that even healthy? Isn’t part of our job as parents to teach ...

Thank You from 2020-11-27T01:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Celebrating gratitude and our precious time with a mini Thank You Episode!

Stop, Collaborate and Listen from 2020-11-20T00:00

What does it mean to collaborate? How does the collaborative process work in theatre? How can that translate to family life? 

Yes, And from 2020-11-13T00:00

What is improv? What the hell are people talking about in theater and improv when they say “yes, and”? How can it benefit our parenting journey? 

It's Socially Complicated from 2020-11-03T21:00

How do we create change? Can theatre be used as a vehicle for social change? What are the social issues we feel are important and worth speaking out about? Why? What does the world look like tha...

Oh Say Can You See from 2020-10-23T02:00

What is political theatre? What does the history of political theatre teach us about ourselves? What are our values, in society and our home? What’s the difference between a belief and an idea? ...

The Song&Dance of Parenting from 2020-10-16T00:00

The Method Series Part 7 of 7:  How often do we battle with what we want to do and say and how we allow ourselves to respond to situations? How does our expressiveness get diminished through lif...

Expecto Patronum from 2020-10-09T00:00

The Method Series Part 6 of 7:  What does Harry Potter have to do with this? 
What is emotional memory? Do our memories and our feelings surrounding them shape the story of who we are? How e...

Expecto Patronum from 2020-10-09T00:00

The Method Series Part 6 of 7:  What does Harry Potter have to do with this? 
What is emotional memory? Do our memories and our feelings surrounding them shape the story of who we are? How e...

Expecto Patronum from 2020-10-09T00:00

The Method Series Part 6 of 7:  What does Harry Potter have to do with this? 
What is emotional memory? Do our memories and our feelings surrounding them shape the story of who we are? How e...

Welcome to the Jungle from 2020-10-02T00:00

The Method Series Part 5 of 7:  How physically expressive are we in our own bodies? What stories can people devise from our physicality? What do actors do to help them take on the physical chara...

The Bath from 2020-09-25T00:00

The Method Series Part 4 of 7:  What are inhibitions? What are the blocks we have that make it difficult to connect and engage with the world authentically? How can our kids help us open up? Wha...

Splish Splash I Was Taking a Bath from 2020-09-25T00:00

The Method Series Part 4 of 7:  What are inhibitions? What are the blocks we have that make it difficult to connect and engage with the world authentically? How can our kids help us open up? Wha...

You Are My Sunshine from 2020-09-18T00:00

The Method Series Part 3 of 7:  How does sunshine make you feel? Does that image cause distress or happiness? What is happiness anyway? In our limited time on earth do we have a goal, objective ...

Mirror Mirror on the Wall from 2020-09-11T00:00

The Method Series Part 2 of 7:  Can we look at ourselves in the mirror without judgement? Not glance but take in our form and all its details for an extended period of time without criticizing, ...

The Cup from 2020-09-04T00:00

The Method Series Part 1 of 7:  Do we tune into the present moment regularly or operate on autopilot? How much awareness do we give to the everyday tasks we have in our life; to the mundane habi...

Inside the Parent's Studio from 2020-09-04T00:00

The Method Series Part 1 of 7:  Do we tune into the present moment regularly or operate on autopilot? How much awareness do we give to the everyday tasks we have in our life; to the mundane habi...

Forgiveness from 2020-08-28T00:00

How difficult is it to forgive? To forgive others, to forgive ourselves. Why do we hold on to so much anger and pain when all it does is cause us suffering? How do we clean this residue from our...

Forgiveness. Can You Imagine? from 2020-08-28T00:00

How difficult is it to forgive? To forgive others, to forgive ourselves. Why do we hold on to so much anger and pain when all it does is cause us suffering? How do we clean this residue from our...

Let Me Entertain You from 2020-08-21T00:00

This song & dance we do to engage with our children, is it a requirement? What do I mean by song & dance? I mean do we have to know how to be clowns, princess & princes, pirates, sin...

Analyze Your Life from 2020-08-14T00:00

Do you know who you are? Like at your core? If you had to describe yourself and your life to a stranger what would you say? Have you ever considered how other people would describe you? In this ...

You? Who Are You? from 2020-08-14T00:00

Do you know who you are? Like at your core? If you had to describe yourself and your life to a stranger what would you say? Have you ever considered how other people would describe you? In this ...

Choices from 2020-08-07T00:00

Why did you choose the life you're living? An actor’s work starts with work on themselves and that’s where it’s most helpful to begin our journey as parents, with ourselves. 

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The Choice is Yours from 2020-08-07T00:00

I had an acting teacher in college tell us, “No parent looks at their child and says, Dammit you’re gonna be an actor.” Choosing the life of an artist is a choice you make for an extremely perso...

MFA Trailer from 2020-07-31T21:00

These lessons from the theatre for raising ourselves and our kids came about when I realized my MFA in acting trained me for life as a mommy better than life as a full-time actor. Let’s unite to...