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Show NotesThe Process & Science of Clay: Dean Schmidt breaks down the stages of pottery—from wet clay and leather hard cheddar-cheese states to bone dry firing, glaze chemistry, and atmospheric kilns.Skill Building & Letting Go: Why repetition, discipline, and embracing failure (even dumping work in a shard pile or using the "golden hammer") are essential to mastering ceramics.Functional Art & Community Connection: Exploring how utilitarian pottery—handmade plates, cups, and bowls used in everyday life—connects people across cultures and history. *** Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

The Power of Authentic Mentorship & Legacy: Emily reflects on lessons learned from growing up in a working theater family, the value of kindness in the room, and taking up space as a physical actor[cite: 17, 18].Unpacking the Intimate Anes Season: An inside look at playing dual roles in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and navigating the complex, highly ambitious character of Ana in The Book Club Play.Self-Production and Solo Performance: Exploring how stand-up comedy and writing her solo show, Furious, taught Emily to embrace vulnerability, fail boldly, and create her own artistic opportunities.Connect with SUU & The Festival: Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apexBook your tickets to the 65th anniversary season at bard.org *** Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

The Dual Role of Production Leadership: Tanya breaks down her responsibilities as Festival Stage Manager supervising the department and as Artistic Associate collaborating on season selection, calendaring, and casting.The Nerve Center of the Festival: An inside look at how stage managers serve as the ultimate hub of communication between directors, actors, designers, and crew from early rehearsal to closing night.The Art of Calling a Show: A step-by-step walkthrough of executing a production—from running pre-show checklists and managing headsets to calling precise lighting, sound, and automation cues.Building a Supportive Artistic Community: Reflections on human-centered leadership, equity standards, and creating collaborative environments where artists and staff are set up for success.Connect with SUU & The Festival: Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apexBook your tickets to the 65th anniversary season at bard.org *** Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

Key Takeaway 1: The Journey of a Regional Actor & Educator: Jacob Dresch details his path from high school band and community theater to earning a BFA at DeSales University, an MFA at UC Irvine under mentor Phil Thompson, and balancing professional regional acting with university teaching. Key Takeaway 2: Unpacking The Book Club Play: An inside look at playing Will, exploring documentary camera meta-dynamics in an intimate three-quarter-round space, and defending the value of popular culture alongside classical literature. Key Takeaway 3: Dual Roles in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Examining the memory-play structure of David Catlin's adaptation while navigating the tragic flaws, hubris, and moral complexities of Victor Frankenstein and Percy Bysshe Shelley Connect with SUU & The Festival: Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apex Book your tickets to the 65th anniversary season at bard.org *** Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

Key Takeaway 1: The structural mechanics of running a 65-person costume shop during peak build, balancing artisan craftsmanship with the daily logistics of wardrobe supervision. Key Takeaway 2: How historical clothing and silhouettes—from Victorian leg-of-mutton sleeves to corsets—function as social commentary and shape physical movement on stage. Key Takeaway 3: The distinction between costume design and costume technology, and the career advice that "there is no schedule but your schedule" when building a healthy life in the arts. Connect with SUU & The Festival: Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apex Book your tickets to the 65th anniversary season at bard.org *** Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

A Lifelong Performing Career: Guest Brian Gonzales traces his journey growing up in Dallas and San Antonio, raised by a television crew chief father and a blues singer/director mother, leading to his Broadway debut in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Crafting Iconic Character Roles: An inside look at originating Babkak in Aladdin on Broadway and stepping into two distinct 2026 Randall Theater roles at USF: the explosive, comedic seer Nostradamus in Something Rotten and the delicate, pragmatic clerk Ladislav Sipos in She Loves Me. The Interconnected Theater Community: Reflections on lifelong artistic partnerships, working alongside close friends like director Alan Muraoka and actor Blake Henri, and navigating the shifts of regional theater. Connecting with the Audience: A deep dive into how actors read and respond to live audience energy, adjusting timing without losing the grounded emotional truth of a production. Connect with SUU & The Festival: Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apex Book your tickets to the 65th anniversary season at bard.org *** Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

From Magnet School to the Stage: Guest Kayland Jordan discusses growing up in Dallas, attending specialized performing arts middle and high schools, and earning a BFA in acting in New York City. Unpacking Classical Character Depth: A discussion on bringing fresh humanity, grief, and comedic timing to iconic figures like Olivia in Twelfth Night and Horatio in Hamlet. Representation and Intentional Casting: Kayland reflects on working with open-minded directors, rejecting tokenism, and serving the core story rather than letting casting choices feel like forced statements. The Transformative Nature of Performance: Reflections on how collaborative rehearsal processes foster mutual trust, artistic growth, and genuine connections with live audiences. Connect with SUU & The Festival: Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apex Book your tickets to the 65th anniversary season at bard.org *** Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

From the Ballfield to the Ghost Light: Guest Blake Henri shares how a high school injury and an unexpected moment alone on stage redirected his life path from sports and business toward a passionate, career-focused pursuit of classical acting. Depth Behind the Antagonists: A compelling discussion on breaking traditional performance stereotypes to discover grief, regret, and genuine human love in roles like Sir Toby Belch and Laertes. The War Correspondent of Troilus and Cressida: An inside look at transforming the classic truth-teller Thersides into an embedded modern media correspondent who reframes historical conflict for a contemporary audience. Mentorship and Supportive Connections: Reflections on the mentors, directors, and collaborative colleagues who opened doors, provided reality checks, and fostered a sense of home within the regional theater community Connect with SUU & The Festival: Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apex Book your tickets to the 65th anniversary season at bard.org *** Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

The evolution of an actor—from childhood comic book art and construction work with his father to mastering leading classical roles. A fresh perspective on approaching famous soliloquies as spontaneous, character-driven discoveries rather than grand, static recitations. Unpacking the duality of playing two vastly different figures—the introspective Prince Hamlet and the complex, satirical warrior Achilles—in the same repertory season. *** Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

Show Notes From Competition Dance to Storytelling: Guest Sacha Comrie details her early career in commercial dance and her transformative education at Spelman College that bridged technical skill with narrative choreography. Understanding Intimacy Coordination: A comprehensive breakdown of how intimacy coordinators manage actor consent, boundaries, modesty garments, and movement choreography across theatrical and film sets. The Power of Community & Mentorship: Sacha reflects on the pivotal hands-on mentorship from industry pioneers like Ann James and Kaja Dunn that shaped her career transition into advocacy and intimacy work. Crafting USF's Engelstad Season: An inside look at coordinating intimacy and choreography for the 2026 festival productions of Twelfth Night, Troilus and Cressida, and Hamlet. Connect with SUU APEX & the Uta Shakespeare Festival: Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apex Book your tickets to the USF 65th anniversary season at bard.org *** Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

From Center Stage to Scenic Design: Guest Jo Winiarski discusses her transition from an undergraduate acting student at NYU to finding her true calling as a professional set designer and television art director. The Architecture of Repertory Theater: A deep dive into the physical mechanics of managing three distinct productions within the exact same theatrical footprint, featuring the logistical triumph of the She Loves Me turntable. The Core of Pure Creativity: A warm reflection on the internal drive to build and create, the external inspirations that spark artistic innovation, and why a simple black ink pen and a white notebook remain the ultimate creative tools. Functionality and Safety First: Why serving the structural needs of the script and ensuring physical safety on stage forms the unpretentious baseline for successful visual storytelling. Connect with SUU APEX & the Uta Shakespeare Festival: Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apex Book your tickets to the USF 65th anniversary season at bard.org *** Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

A Journey Built on Shared Discovery: Guest Alan Muraoka traces his roots from a Southern California latchkey kid seeking structural camaraderie to winning the historic UCLA Carol Burnett musical theater scholarship. The Invisible Engine of Musical Comedy: An inside look at balancing complex choreography and rapid character pacing under the tight engineering constraints of repertory festival tracking. Balancing Slapstick with Sincerity: How refining performance notes to track the vulnerability and heartache of historical characters like Nigel Bottom creates a deeper, more impactful audience experience. The Modern Mandate for Authentic Representation: Reflections on building spaces of profound emotional safety and introducing generation-defining milestones of intersectional visibility. Connect with SUU APEX & the Uta Shakespeare Festival: Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apex Book your tickets to the USF 65th anniversary season at bard.org *** Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

Blending Art and Acting: Guest Bill Black shares how his background as a childhood actor, visual painter, and early sewist blended perfectly to build a lifelong career as a theatrical storyteller. The Fundamentals of Design: A breakdown of the five core skill sets required of a senior costume designer, emphasizing script comprehension, human psychology, design fundamentals, and collaboration. From Sketchbook to Flat Pattern: A look at the advanced dimensional mathematics required by drapers and hands-on production crews to translate simple lead pencil mock-ups into complex historical garments. The Invisible Support of Wardrobe: Why a highly successful costume shouldn't distract the audience, but rather quietly support the actor's vulnerability and internal journey through structural adaptation. Connect with SUU & The Festival: This episode is part of a collaboration between SUU Eccles APEX and the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apex Book your tickets to the 65th anniversary season at bard.org *** Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

Learning Theater as a Trade: Guest Geoffrey Kent details his unconventional path into classical theater, acquiring his performance skills through corporate murder mysteries, renaissance faires, and high-flying stunt shows rather than a traditional classroom setting. The Architecture of Farce: An inside look at directing See How They Run and why structural choices—like compressing multiple acts together—are vital to keeping an audience completely hooked before an intermission. Safety vs. Excitement in Fight Direction: A deep dive into how a risk assessor and Society of American Fight Directors certified teacher crafts dangerous-looking combat that remains perfectly safe for actors to perform eight shows a week. The Instant Feedback of Comedy: A breakdown of how comedic timing requires an acute awareness of the audience, demanding that performers actively manage pacing without letting the room take over the production. Connect with SUU & The Festival: This episode is part of a special partnership between SUU Eccles APEX and the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apex Book your tickets to the 65th anniversary season at bard.org  *** Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

A Lifelong Theater Education: Guest Beth Lopes shares her journey growing up as a self-described "Shakespeare festival baby" and how seeing diverse, non-Western classics early on built her foundational worldview of storytelling. The Crucible of Hamlet: An inside look into directing the 65th anniversary production of Hamlet at the Engelstad Theater, focusing on authentic human choices rather than strict character archetypes. Ensemble Storytelling over Solos: Why building a deeply invested family dynamic for the Polonii and highlighting the multi-dimensional relationships of Gertrude and Ophelia makes tragedy more impactful. The Syncing Heartbeats of Live Performance: A reflection on the vital, irreplaceable nature of live theater in an increasingly digital world. Connect with SUU & The Festival: This series is produced in collaboration with SUU Eccles APEX series. Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apex Book your tickets to the 65th anniversary season at bard.org  *** Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex