Broadway icon Chita Rivera is a two-time Tony Award winner, has received a total of 10 Tony nominations and is the first Hispanic woman and the first Latino American ever to receive the Kennedy Center honors. Her first major role on Broadway was Anita in the original Broadway cast of West Side Story. She's also well known for starring as Rosie in the original Broadway cast of Bye Bye Birdie with Dick van Dyke, and as Velma Kelly in the original Broadway cast of Chicago opposite Gwen Verdon. Chita won her first Tony in 1983 for her performance in The Rink opposite Liza Minnelli. Ten years later, she won her second Tony for her starring role in Kiss of the Spider Woman on Broadway. Chita was also cast in the film version of Sweet Charity, in which she played Nicky opposite Shirley MacLaine. Chita's critically-acclaimed concert dates continued to play to ovations from packed houses around the world.
This Saturday July 23rd, Chita Rivera brings her unique solo concert to Guild Hall in East Hampton!! For tickets, visit guildhall.org
LISTEN TO OUR CONVERSATION HERE!!
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Seth Sikes is a performer and director. His directing credits include BUNKED! (Outstanding Musical at the New York Fringe Festival) and The 7th Annual Broadway Beauty Pageant. He was the Assistant Director of The Nance (Broadway), Tribes (Off-Broadway), Pageant (Off-Broadway), and Sondheim: The Birthday Concert (at Lincoln Center). As a performer he appeared in Fame on 42ND Street (Off-Broadway). He made his Feinstein’s/54 Below debut with his acclaimed show Seth Sikes Sings Judy Garland enjoyed a sold-out run and was named Broadway World’s Best Tribute Show.
His new show: Seth Sikes Sings Liza Minnelli will continue at Feinstein’s/54 Below on May 2 at 9:30 and June 8th at 7:00PM. For tickets, visit 54below.com
LISTEN TO OUR CONVERSATION HERE!
PURCHASE TICKETS AT 54BELOW.COM
Rock Goddess and Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee Ann Wilson is known as one half of the band HEART and as one of the great singers in rock history. In this conversation Ann talks about the music that made her want to rock, being bullied about her weight as a child AND as an adult, how she thinks her voice has changed over the last 40 years and what she does to maintain her impressive vocal range.
Ann Wilson will be at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center this Friday, March 25 at 8pm. Purchase tickets online at www.whbpac.org
LISTEN TO OUR CONVERSATION HERE!
Emmy Award winning producer and director Marc Levin, along with his documentary film partner Daphne Pinkerson, has produced 11 films for HBO's documentary film division. Most recently: Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags, and Hard Times: Lost on Long Island. His new film Class Divide, a look into the modern effects of gentrification in the New York neighborhood of West Chelsea is making its world premiere at this year's Hamptons International Film Festival.
Levin is best known for the docu-series Brick City, about the city of Newark, New Jersey, its mayor, Cory Booker, and the people on the frontlines of a city struggling to change. The series won the 2010 Peabody award and was nominated for an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking. It aired on the Sundance channel. Levin's dramatic feature film, SLAM, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Camera D'Or at Cannes in 1998.
LISTEN TO OUR CONVERSATION HERE!
Artist Andrea Kowch has been described as “a powerful voice emerging, demonstrating a highly sensitive consciousness that informs a culturally-laced symbolism.” Her paintings are rich in mood, allegory, and precision of medium, reflecting a wealth of influences from Northern Renaissance and American art to the rural landscapes and vernacular architecture of her native Michigan.
Andrea has receive numerous Best of Show awards in various juried exhibitions, and her work has been showcased at the Muskegon Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville, the Grand Rapids Art Museum, ArtPrize, Art Basel Miami, the Los Angeles Art Show, ArtHamptons, SCOPE NYC, and Sag Harbor’s RJD Gallery. Kowch resides and works in Michigan where she paints full-time, and serves as an adjunct professor at the College for Creative Studies. She is represented exclusively by RJD Gallery in Sag Harbor, New York.
CHECK OUT THE INTERVIEW HERE!
Catch Andrea’s solo show Across a Rural Skyline through October 4, 2015 at RJD Gallery in Sag Harbor!
“The lonely, desolate American landscape encompassing the paintings’ subjects serves as an exploration of nature’s sacredness and a reflection of the human soul, symbolizing all things powerful, fragile, and eternal.”
In this conversation, comedian Rita Rudner talks about her career as a dancer, end-of-summer sales in Westhampton Beach, her love of dresses, men, Botox in Las Vegas, and how an in-flight meeting with Ben Stein lead her to adopt a child- all while delivering one zinger after another. If you need a good laugh, (or twenty), listen to this episode. You won't be disappointed.
Rita Rudner will be performing at 54 Below this weekend! For tickets, visit http://54below.com
Joy Behar is a comedian, actress, writer and interviewer, best known as a co-host on ABC's The View for 16 seasons. From 2009 to 2011 she hosted The Joy Behar Show on HLN and Joy Behar: Say Anything! on Current TV from 2012 until 2013. This August, she's bring her new one-woman show Me, My Mouth & I to Guild Hall in East Hampton. (Click HERE to purchase tickets!)
In this conversation, Joy Behar talks about the times it got personal on The View, the real reason she left the show and why she turned down their offer to come back. Also- the crazy place she met her husband, why big houses in the Hamptons annoy her, Bill O'Reilly, the afterlife, Star Jones, piercings, death and the reasons it doesn't look good for God. Plus, Joy teaches Walker what the word "shkeaved" means. It's an action-packed 45 minutes.
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW HERE!
Walker's interview with Joy was featured on Page Six in the NY Post, People Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Perez Hilton, E! News, Access Hollywood and much more!
Click HERE to check it out! 
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE INTERVIEW:
Joy Behar & Walker Vreeland
Betty Buckley is a Tony award winning singer and actress. Best known to theatergoers for playing Grizabella in the original Broadway cast of Cats (for which she won the Tony in 1983) and for starring as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard both in London and New York, she's also appeared on Broadway in 1776, Pippin, Carrie, The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Triumph of Love. She made her big screen debut in the Brian de Palma film Carrie before going to star in Eight is Enough for four seasons on ABC. Other film and TV roles include: Tender Mercies, Roman Polanski's Frantic, Woody Allen's Another Woman and a reoccurring role in the HBO series Oz. To date, Betty has recorded 16 solo albums. Her most recent Ghostlight was produced by T. Bone Burnett. In 2012, she was inducted in to the American Theater Hall of Fame.
In this conversation, Betty looks back at her film and theater career, revealing the moment she knew she could act, the nights she felt most embraced by an audience, and how she always knew she would do her best work in her later years. She talks about what she learned from the late Dick Van Patten while shooting Eight is Enough, dealing with the shock of his death and how the challenges and losses we endure in life prove to be profound lessons in disguise that are designed to help us grow. Plus-- what was like working on her most recent album Ghostlight with T. Bone Burnett, how she's preparing for the Hamptons' first production of Grey Gardens: The Musical at Bay Street Theater, and why a recent riding accident means she won't have to act when she plays Big Edie.
LISTEN TO OUR CONVERSATION HERE!
Interview with the Artist was featured on Page Six!
Sue Costello is an actress, comedian, writer and producer. She's appeared in the Academy Award winning film The Fighter with Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, (directed by David. O Russell), and on countless television shows including NYPD Blue, Comedy Central's Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, NBC’s Last Comic Standing, (where she made it to the finals) and on the Fox sitcom Costello which she co-created and produced. She's been featured twice on Marc Maron’s podcast WTF and hosts her own podcast: The Kadoozie Kast.
In this conversation, Sue talks about her journey from the streets of Dorchester to Hollywood, and how she found herself along the way. She talks about working with David O. Russell and Christina Bale on The Fighter, how her experience in Hollywood taught her to trust that she was enough, what she does when she has the instinct to throw a punch and how she always knew that love was more powerful than fear.
LISTEN TO OUR CONVERSATION HERE!
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Catch Sue Costello in her new show: I Wasn't Trying to Be Funny Friday, July 17, 2015 at Guild Hall in East Hampton. Click HERE for tickets. 
Van Hansis is a three-time Emmy Award nominated actor, best known for playing Luke Snyder on As the World Turns and Thom in the dark comedy web series Eastsiders. Currently Van is crowd funding on Kickstarter for his latest project: Ms. Guidance, a dark irreverent comedy which he is producing, directing and starring in. Ms. Guidance tells the story of Jenny Bump, a talented but self-absorbed actress who, after having a mental breakdown on the New York stage, decides to give up her dream of stardom and return to her alma mater, Loch Hill School for the Arts where she becomes a guidance counselor. But listening to her students' dreams only makes her long to act even more, and soon she is scheming for fame and ruining lives, including her own. It's a show about theater kids and the life that waits for them in the real world. It's a show about unrealized dreams, the disconnect between what we hope we will become and the reality that we end up with. It's a show about trying to let go of a dream that won't let go of you.
In this conversation Van and Walker reminisce about their days at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, the inspiration (and location) for Ms. Guidance. They talk about who they were then and who they are now. They talk about how unique a place Walnut Hill is, and how the school changed their lives. Also- Van remembers his time on As the World Turns and sheds light on how to stay sane as an actor: never compare yourself with others, define success for yourself and create your own work whenever you can. Plus, tune in to hear Van explain how the character of Walker Pate in Ms. Guidance is different from Walker Pate Vreeland. And there is a difference. :-)
LISTEN TO OUR CONVERSATION HERE!
Click HERE to subscribe to Interview with the Artist on iTunes!
PLEASE HELP SUPPORT MS. GUIDANCE!
Click HERE to read more about the show and donate to the Ms. Guidance Kickstarter campaign! 
Jeff Leblanc is a singer/songwriter who has twice broken into the Top 10 of the iTunes Top 200 Singer/Songwriter Chart. Born and raised in Center Moriches, New York, he began his career as a street busker in Westhampton Beach. Jeff tours regularly and has opened for headliners such as Gavin DeGraw, Colbie Caillat, Lifehouse, Chris Isaak, Andy Grammer, Third Eye Blind and Goo Goo Dolls among many others. His music had been featured on Teen Mom, The Real World, The Challenge Rivals, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, FriendZone and Jersey Shore. In 2011, Jeff was nominated by SiriusXM's Coffee House Channel as Singer/Songwriter Discovery of the Year.
In this conversation Jeff talks about his new album Vision, why he worries and what he worries about, how facing his fears helped him grow and evolve as a songwriter, and why he finds it hard to write when everything is going great. Plus- several acoustic studio performances!
LISTEN TO OUR CONVERSATION HERE!
CATCH JEFF THIS SUMMER AT THE STEPHEN TALKHOUSE!
Jeff LeBlanc Monday, August 10th @ 8pm The Stephen Talkhouse Amagansett, NY For tickets, visit stephentalkhouse.com 
Click the album cover to hear Jeff's new album VISION on iTunes!
Sally Struthers is an Emmy Award winning actress, best known for playing Gloria Stivic on All in the Family, and Babette on Gilmore Girls. In 1970 she appeared on the big screen in Five Easy Pieces opposite Jack Nicholson. She is currently starring in Nice Work If You Can Get It at Gateway Playhouse in Bellport, NY, for which she has received rave reviews and countless standing ovations.
In this conversation, Sally and her co-star Jamie Beaman talk about what they love about Gateway, live theater and performing with each other; why comedy is difficult and dangerous and mysterious and the best high there is; and finding the balance between vulnerability and self-protection as an artist. Plus- Sally reveals why she doesn't get residual checks for All in the Family, how her daughter Samantha changed her life for the better, and why it's important for her to keep working.
LISTEN TO OUR CONVERSATION HERE!
**CATCH SALLY STRUTHERS**
in Nice Work If You Can Get It at GATEWAY PLAYHOUSE Running through June 27, 2015 For tickets, visit gatewayplayhouse.com
Lori Cuisinier is a painter and photographer whose work has been shown in the United States and Europe. The central theme in her recent paintings and drawings is self-portraiture. Specifically, this theme has led her through interpretation and reinterpretation of "self," as well as the inner world of her dreams. Her photographic images are featured in Academy Award-nominated director Mira Nair's 2006 film, The Namesake, in Adam Brooks’ 2008 film, Definitely, Maybe, staring Rachel Weisz and Mark Mann's 2013 film, generation Um..., starring Keanu Reeves. Lori maintains a studio in Southampton.
In this conversation, Lori talks about her many lives: as an athlete, a lawyer, a waitress, a jeweler, a coat check girl, and how one fall down a flight of stairs and a Leonard Cohen song prompted her to reinvent herself once again to become the artist she was always meant to be. Also- what inspired her new photography exhibition Desire, how she began to see her old journal entries as art, the vulnerability that runs through all of her work, and how everything she creates leads back to France.
LISTEN TO OUR CONVERSATION HERE!
LORI'S WORK WILL BE ON EXHIBITION
AT ART SOUTHAMPTON JULY 9-13, 2015 AT NOVA'S ARK PROJECT WITH BETH MCNEIL'S MCNEIL ART GROUP **CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION**
FROM LORI'S NEW EXHIBITION DESIRE:
FROM LORI'S EXHIBITION SOUVENIRS ELOIGNES:
LORI'S PAINTINGS:
LORI DRAWINGS:
Bob Balaban is an actor, director and producer. As an actor, he's was featured in 1969's Midnight Cowboy, and in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Perhaps best known for his work in Christopher Guest's films and for his cameos on Seinfeld, Bob Balaban has also been seen in Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry, Absence of Malice, Lady in the Water and in Robert Altman's Gosford Park, which he also produced and for which he received an Academy Award nomination. Also a veteran of the stage, Balaban received a Tony nomination for his work in the Broadway production of The Inspector General, he was the original Linus in the original off-Broadway production of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, and most recently, he appeared in the Broadway debut of 8 with John Lithgow and Morgan Freeman.
He is currently directly the play The New Sincerity which is making its world premiere at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor and runs through June 14th, 2015. In this conversation, Bob talks about The New Sincerity, living in Bridgehampton, falling in love with the magic of movie making, how being an actor informs his directing, what he's learned from all the great directors he's worked with, and the benefits of being a character actor as opposed to a star.
LISTEN TO OUR CONVERSATION HERE!
**WORLD PREMIERE OF THE NEW SINCERITY**
A comedy about love, sex & protest by Alena Smith at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, NY Running through June 14, 2015 For tickets, call 631-725-9500 or visit bay street.org 
Paula Poundstone is one of the great humorists of our time. A beloved panelist on NPR’s popular weekly news quiz show, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me, she also tours regularly, performing standup comedy across the country. Known for her spontaneity and ability to engage with an audience, Poundstone has said: “No two shows I do are the same. It’s not that I don’t repeat material. I do. My shows, when they’re good, and I like to think they often are, are like a cocktail party." Paula has starred in comedy specials on HBO and BRAVO, won an Emmy Award, and served as “official correspondent” for The Tonight Show during the 1992 Presidential race. Paula's book, There is Nothing In This Book That I Meant To Say was published in 2006, and her new CD, I HEART JOKES: Paula Tells Them in Boston follows her first CD, I HEART JOKES: Paula Tells Them in Maine.
In this radio interview, Paula talks about why she hates doing radio interviews, preparing for Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, what Robin Williams did to help her when she started out in comedy, how she discovered her talent for interacting with audiences and why technology makes parenting harder. 
Kate Pierson is one of the lead singers and founding members of the world's greatest party band: the B-52's. Formed in 1976 in Athens, Georgia, the B-52's (originally Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson & Ricky Wilson) have sold over 20 million albums and are known for such classic songs as: Rock Lobster, Private Idaho, 52 Girls and chart topping hits Love Shack, Roam and Deadbeat Club. Impossible to categorize, the B-52s emerged during the post-punk underground music scene in the late 70s, and went on to become worldwide superstars in the 80s, thanks to MTV and the success of their album Cosmic Thing which soared to the top of the Billboard Album Chart.
In this conversation, Kate talks about the night the B-52's was formed, how Rock Lobster was written, losing Ricky Wilson, and where the real 'Love Shack' is.
CATCH THE B-52'S THIS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND AT THE WESTHAMPTON BEACH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER!
SATURDAY, MAY 23RD AT 8PM FOR TICKETS CALL 631-288-1500 OR GO TO WHBPAC.ORG 
LISTEN TO OUR CONVERSATION WITH KATE PIERSON BELOW!
Ballroom dancer Val Chmerkovskiy is a 2-time World Latin Dance Champion and a 14-time U.S. national Latin Dance champion. The younger brother of Maksim Chmerkovskiy, he's best known for his work on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Val shares a DWTS record, originally set by his longtime rival Mark Ballas, of having the most celebrity partners to never individually score less than 8 from any judge. He is also the only professional dancer to go three consecutive seasons (16, 17, 18) without ever scoring less that an eight.
In this conversation, Val talks about the biggest misconceptions about ballroom dance, the importance of chemistry and storytelling, the mentality required for competition dancing, whether he and Kelly Monaco were together during season 15 of Dancing with the Stars, and why being a male ballroom dancer is one of the most masculine things you can be.
Love Letters, A.R. Gurney's celebrated play, will be presented at St. Ann's Episcopal Church in Bridgehampton on May 8th and 9th, 2015, at 7pm. The production will star Emmy-Award winning journalist and critic Pia Lindström and Terrance Fiore, and will be directed by Oscar, Emmy and Tony award winner Tony Walton.
Love Letters, which premiered in New York in 1989 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, tells the story of childhood friends Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and their lifelong correspondence through letters. Melissa is rebellious and bold, Andrew is conservative and reserved. As they chronicle their hopes and disappointments, successes and setbacks, failures and realizations, they paint a portrait of their great love, while posing existential questions about relationship, timing and missed opportunities. Presented by St. Ann's Church and the Corcoran Group, performances of Love Letters will take place Friday, May 8th and Saturday May 9th, 7pm, at St. Ann's Episcopal Church in Bridgehampton, NY. $25.00 includes wine and cheese after the show. All proceeds go towards St. Ann's Outreach Program, benefiting the Dominican Sisters, East End Hospice and Maureen's Haven. Tickets can be purchased at the door.
Pioneer psychotherapist, renowned global teacher and performer Susan Lambert, LCSW, joins us on the show this week to help Walker through a tough time, and offer some insights into the artistic temperament, the creative impulse and the human condition. With 20 years professional experience, her therapeutic process combines cognitive-behavioral and insight-oriented work, while helping her clients move towards self awareness, self-compassion, balance and fulfillment. As an artist herself, Susan specializes in working with creative people, and has been recognized for her innovative 4 week topic-focused workshops, and her unique Online therapy methodology. She is based in New York City and Athens Greece.
In this interview/one-hour session, Susan and Walker talk about the purpose of therapy, how to relate to one's own sensitivity, quieting the reactive mind and reframing how we think about "rejection", the importance of creating our own work, finding artistic partnerships that will support us, and how to expel shame and stigma from the subject of mental illness.
For more info about Susan, visit her website:
http://susan-lambert.com/ and click HERE to follow her on Facebook! 
Weathering Storms Along the Creative Path A Radio Personality Opens Up About His Struggle with Depression By Walker Vreeland When I was 25 and crazy, I had no idea that one day I’d be 35 and not crazy. But here I am, now 36, and considering everything that I’ve been through, (clinical depression, a bipolar diagnosis, ulcerative colitis, lower back problems, a brief stint at the mood disorder wing at Johns Hopkins Hospital), I lead a pretty stable life. When I’m asked how I got better, I’m never sure how to answer because the truth is I don’t know. There are several possibilities and perhaps it is a combination of all of them. It could be because I traded in all the medication for meditation, or because, for some of us, the brain does not fully mature until our early thirties. But there’s one theory of which I’m fairly convinced: a lot of my newfound stability is due to the fact that I am no longer trying to work as an actor. I am now a radio host and interviewer, which I love. As it turns out, broadcasting is just as competitive a business as acting, but in my experience, it has allowed for a more balanced life. Of course nothing is ever certain, and I’m not always happy, but I’m no longer running through the streets having panic attacks and leaving manic voice mails that frighten my friends and family members. Every now and then though, something stressful will happen—heartbreak, a defeat, an interpersonal conflict- that drags me back down into the darkness. A few weeks ago I auditioned for a play and didn’t get it. It is true that this was something I wanted badly, and having not auditioned for anything in ten years, I am undeniably out of practice when it comes to getting rejected and not having a total meltdown. But this represented something larger: that I miss acting. Just because I decided to leave the business doesn’t mean that I ever stopped loving the art that makes up the meat and potatoes of that business. It’s a form of self-expression that my truest self, my soul, my essence- whatever you want to call it- is crying out for. So while I am psychologically healthier than ever, I am also somewhat creativity stunted. In the weeks leading up to the audition, just the prospect of getting it made me come alive in a way that I haven’t in a long time. It was as if I was starving and someone took me by the hand and led me into a kitchen where I could smell bread baking. Not getting the job was like being told: ‘Not this loaf. Not for you. Not this time.’ But it was so much more intense than that. (For anyone with a history of manic depression, it always is.) It felt as though a hand had emerged from the center of the earth to lift me up, only to grab me by the collar two weeks later, slam me to the ground and pull me under. Dramatic much Walker? (I know. Growing up my parents LOVED it, you can just imagine.) It was rough though. If I had to describe what depression feels like, I’d say this: it feels like extreme jetlag coupled with a sense of dread. Those of us who have ever traveled abroad probably know half of the feeling: landing in a foreign country, having not really slept, we’re in a haze, unsure of what day it is or what time of day it is, and the light looks very bright but also very strange. For me, it feels like that; jetlag that has the potential of turning into the flu, with a crushing, heavy sadness in the pit of my stomach. But here’s the thing: I’m okay. One of the benefits of having a brain that is over 30, has survived crazytown and is no longer being overwhelmed by so many psychotropic drugs, is that I recover from depressive episodes quicker than I used to. I bounce back. After three days of wearing the same clothes, eating processed foods and feeling like death, I began shuffling around my kitchen, eating more processed foods and wondering how the hell I could take the horribleness I was feeling and be creative with it. How could I turn this God-awful experience into something that might help me and perhaps others? Could I use this “episode” in an episode of my show? As an episode of my show? With a great deal of trepidation, I decided I would. I would talk about the aftermath of this disappointment, and I would invite a therapist on as the guest, not just to help me process everything but also to talk about the universal issues that all artistic people wrestle with: hyper-sensitivity, mental illness, self-doubt in the face of rejection, self-acceptance, how fear blocks creativity, and more. The result of that idea is this show below. I hope it helps us all weather our dark and stormy times as we progress along the path. 
Dubbed ‘Master of the Telecaster’, Jim Weider is a guitarist, best known for his tenure with Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee: The Band. He joined the group in 1985, (replacing Robbie Robertson) and for 15 years toured internationally and appeared on numerous albums, films and videos with original members Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko. Throughout his career, he’s played and recorded with Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Dr. John, Los Lobos, Mavis Staples, Bob Weir and Taj Mahal, among many others. His albums include Percolator (2005), with the Jim Weider Band: Remedy, with Jim Weider & the Honkeytonk Gurus: Big Foot, and with Jim Weider's Project Percolator: Live at Boothbay Opera House, Live at Olde Mistick Village Performing Arts Center and Live at Mystic Blues Festival 2013. A master of classic telecaster and traditional blues slide guitar techniques, he’s admired for his distinctive tone, improvisational prowess and mesmerizing guitar solos. He is one of a select group of musicians to have an endorsement from Fender, and has built an international reputation among fellow musicians worldwide.
This Friday night, Jim will be playing with The Weight at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, NY, featuring: Randy Ciarlante, Brian Mitchell, Byron Isaacs and Marty Grebb. For tickets and more information, visit baystreet.org For more info about Jim, visit jimweider.com In this conversation, Jim talks about growing up in Woodstock, NY, what The Band meant to him before he joined the group, what made Levon Helm a great bandleader, why the Fender telecaster is his primary instrument and all of the musicians who inspired him to be great.
Casey Wilson is an actress and writer, best known for playing Annie on NBC's Marry Me and Penny on the ABC comedy Happy Endings. For two seasons, she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live, where she impersonated Rachael Ray, Jennifer Aniston, Katy Perry and Elizabeth Taylor, and introduced several original characters: Toni Ward, host of The Cougar Den, Dusty Velvet, a paralyzed strip club dancer, and many more. Other television credits include: Bored to Death, How I Met Your Mother, Kroll Show and the Hulu original series The Hotwives, a parody of The Real Housewives franchise. On the big screen, she's appeared in David Fincher's Oscar-nominated film Gone Girl, Julie & Julia, The Guilt Trip, and Christopher Guest's For Your Consideration. With her writing partner June Diane Raphael, she co-wrote the screenplay for Bride Wars, (starring Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway), and the comedy Ass Backwards, in which Casey and Diane both starred. She and her husband, comedy writer David Caspe live in Los Angeles and are pregnant with their first child.
In this conversation, Casey talks about Marry Me, being pregnant, what it's like to work with your husband, why angry people are awesome, how therapy has helped her live a more balanced life, why crazy women are SO MUCH fun to play, and what she really went through after getting let go from SNL. Plus- she clears up rumors about Happy Endings coming back to ABC and admits that the April Fools prank kinda pissed her off.
Lemon Andersen is a Tony Award winning playwright, poet and spoken word artist. Frequently featured on HBO's Def Poetry over the course of six seasons, he also starred in the original cast of Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, which earned him a Tony Award and Drama Desk nomination. As a spoken word artist, he's performed to sold-out crowds at Nuyorican Poets Cafe, the Apollo Theater, Chicago Theater, and Hollywood’s Kodak Theater; and his one-man show County of Kings: The Beautiful Struggle had a critically acclaimed off-Broadway run at the Public Theater. On the big screen Lemon appeared in The Soloist with Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx, and he's made four movies with Spike Lee, including Sucker Free City, She Hate Me, Miracle at St. Anna and Inside Man. His 2011 TED Talk: Please don't take my Air Jordans won him widespread attention and praise. As a playwright, Lemon's new play ToasT is a tribute to the black oral narrative tradition of 'toasting', and takes place at Attica prison right before the 1971 uprising. The play has been commissioned by the Sundance Institute and will open at the Public Theater for a limited run on April 21st. For tickets, visit publictheater.com
In this conversation, Lemon talks about growing up in poverty, and how PBS and ballet opened up a world of possibilities to him as a kid; why prison was the beginning of his training as a poet, the real life characters who inspired his new play ToasT and the importance of having creative control over one's work.
Ali Wentworth Talks About How Growing Up Waspy during Watergate Compelled Her to Break the Rules, Break the Ice and Make People Laugh  Ali Wentworth is an actress, comedienne and author. TV Viewers may remember her as Jerry's girlfriend "Schmoopie" on the famous soup nazi episode of Seinfeld, or as a cast member on In Living Color, where she became known for her impersonations of Cher, Hillary Clinton, Princess Diana, Brooke Shields, Lisa Marie Presley and Sharon Stone, among others. For 3 seasons she starred as Dr. Elizabeth Goode, a self-obsessed therapist-to-the-stars in the Starz comedy Head Case, and she can currently be seen hosting Daily Shot, a short daily talk show segment on Yahoo! Shine. On the BIG screen she's appeared in Jerry Maguire, Office Space and It's Complicated. She and her husband George Stephanopoulos have two children and split their time between Manhattan and the Hamptons. In this conversation Ali talks about being a wasp, how growing up in a political family shaped her sense of humor and desire to push the envelope, how her experiences with horrible therapists inspired her character on Head Case and why George Stephanopoulos is the perfect man for her.  Kate Mueth is an actress, director, choreographer and producer. In 2008, she founded Neo-Political Cowgirls, a women’s dance theatre company committed to making exciting and provocative theatrical work for and about women. In the fall of 2015, her show EVE will be opening both Off-Broadway and in Berlin. She is also founder of the Mulford Repertory Theatre Company, a summer Equity company in East Hampton, NY. Kate's directing credits include: Wody Girtch Mama, Trojan Women Redux, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), Sylvia, All in the Timing, Miss Electricity and The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife among many others; and she's worked with everyone from Blythe Danner to Tony Walton to Tovah Feldshuh to Peter Boyle. She has appeared at Lincoln Center with New York City Opera in the world premiere of Monodramas and continues to work in creating exceptional, contemporary dance, theater and film work based in the Hamptons and NYC. In this second half of our conversation, Kate talks about the future of experimental theater; why an immersive theater experience is important to a world disconnected by technology; how the language of mythology can lead to a deeper understanding of human motivation, and the universal forces that make up the whole self; and why her intention is never to make a social or political statement but always to raise questions. Come join us in the deep...again. We're waiting. 
Kate Mueth is an actress, director, choreographer and producer. In 2008, she founded Neo-Political Cowgirls, a women’s dance theatre company committed to making exciting and provocative theatrical work for and about women. In the fall of 2015, her show EVE will be opening both Off-Broadway and in Berlin. She is also founder of the Mulford Repertory Theatre Company, a summer Equity company in East Hampton, NY. Kate's directing credits include: Wody Girtch Mama, Trojan Women Redux, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), Sylvia, All in the Timing, Miss Electricity and The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife among many others; and she's worked with everyone from Blythe Danner to Tony Walton to Tovah Feldshuh to Peter Boyle. She has appeared at Lincoln Center with New York City Opera in the world premiere of Monodramas and continues to work in creating exceptional, contemporary dance, theater and film work based in the Hamptons and NYC.
In the first of our two-part conversation, Kate talks about how her formative years shaped her as a storyteller, why finding your voice has the power to heal, what it means to feel fulfilled and supported as an artist, and how- on and off stage- she defiantly breaks down walls by letting her imagination lead the way, and creating work for women that honors the feminine within us all. It gets deep. So get comfortable, press play and hang onto your f***ing hat/pants.
PART 1:
PART 2:
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