The StageLync Podcast

Ep.43: Sarah Davison: Director, Casting & Performance - “If you're honest in your emotions and storytelling, the audience will feel it with you” (Audio)

Davison started her formal training as a dancer with her mother in Toulouse, France. After multiple prizes on the National scene, she obtained her degree in dance and choreography from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Lyon at the age of 16.
Sarah started her professional performance career with several neo-classical and jazz companies in France before moving to North America as an original cast member of Céline Dion’s A New Day. Working with Franco Dragone opened her horizons, and she fell in love with the circus. She continued to refine and broaden her experience when joining Dragone's “Le Rêve”, and later as a cast member of “Viva ELVIS” by Cirque du Soleil.Sarah has done several TV appearances in “Dancing with the Stars”, “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, “The Jerry Lewis Telethon and the “American Music Awards”. 
In 2012, Sarah started her casting career with Cirque du Soleil, first as an Artistic Advisor until 2017, when she became the Head of Casting for the Las Vegas Resident Show Division for 3 more years. 
In 2021, fulfilling her need to broaden her experience, Sarah joined Action Horizons, a global stunt company, as the Creative Manager for The Bourne Stuntacular in Orlando, where she cast, trained and managed daily operations for a roster of 80 performers. 
In 2023, Sarah joined Feld Entertainment, serving as their Director of Casting and Performance for all stage and floor shows. In the beginning of this year, Sarah was offered to add Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey, to her portfolio. It is with great pride that Sarah gets to bring her diverse experience and expertise to casting the next edition of The Greatest Show on Earth.  
 
 
“ATTENTION SPOTIFY LISTENERS: IF you want to WATCH this with VIDEO, you can also subscribe to our video version:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5e9KnBRZdjUTXTvCe6Nrqm?si=6639537c61044396”
@stagelync
The StageLync Podcast is a branch of our larger StageLync Community. Come visit us at www.stagelync.com
 
Credits for the StageLync Podcast
Hosts: Anna RobbEditor: Rose Anne FermocilMusic: Jeremy WilliDesign: Em HoltProduction Coordinator: Roselle BernardoProducers: Anna Robb and Andrea Honis
 

Ep.43: Sarah Davison: Director, Casting & Performance - “If you're honest in your emotions and storytelling, the audience will feel it with you” (Video)

Davison started her formal training as a dancer with her mother in Toulouse, France. After multiple prizes on the National scene, she obtained her degree in dance and choreography from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Lyon at the age of 16.
Sarah started her professional performance career with several neo-classical and jazz companies in France before moving to North America as an original cast member of Céline Dion’s A New Day. Working with Franco Dragone opened her horizons, and she fell in love with the circus. She continued to refine and broaden her experience when joining Dragone's “Le Rêve”, and later as a cast member of “Viva ELVIS” by Cirque du Soleil.Sarah has done several TV appearances in “Dancing with the Stars”, “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, “The Jerry Lewis Telethon and the “American Music Awards”. 
In 2012, Sarah started her casting career with Cirque du Soleil, first as an Artistic Advisor until 2017, when she became the Head of Casting for the Las Vegas Resident Show Division for 3 more years. 
In 2021, fulfilling her need to broaden her experience, Sarah joined Action Horizons, a global stunt company, as the Creative Manager for The Bourne Stuntacular in Orlando, where she cast, trained and managed daily operations for a roster of 80 performers. 
In 2023, Sarah joined Feld Entertainment, serving as their Director of Casting and Performance for all stage and floor shows. In the beginning of this year, Sarah was offered to add Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey, to her portfolio. It is with great pride that Sarah gets to bring her diverse experience and expertise to casting the next edition of The Greatest Show on Earth.  
 
@stagelync
The StageLync Podcast is a branch of our larger StageLync Community. Come visit us at www.stagelync.com
 
Credits for the StageLync Podcast
Hosts: Anna RobbEditor: Rose Anne FermocilMusic: Jeremy WilliDesign: Em HoltProduction Coordinator: Roselle BernardoProducers: Anna Robb and Andrea Honis

Ep.42: Dani Ironside: Company Manager at Bell Shakespeare - "I want to create a space where everyone feels valued and supported” (Audio)

Dani Ironside is the Company Manager at Bell Shakespeare, bringing experience from roles as a  Stage Manager at Sydney Theatre Company, Ensemble Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith, and Belvoir.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Design for Theatre and Television from Charles Sturt University,  and her leadership is built on a deep understanding of theatre production and management. 
Dani is passionate about fostering an inclusive, supportive workplace. She is committed to  creating a transparent environment where every team member feels valued, empowered, and  inspired to grow, contributing to the company’s shared success.
 
“ATTENTION SPOTIFY LISTENERS: IF you want to WATCH this with VIDEO, you can also subscribe to our video version:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5e9KnBRZdjUTXTvCe6Nrqm?si=6639537c61044396”
@stagelync
The StageLync Podcast is a branch of our larger StageLync Community. Come visit us at www.stagelync.com
 
Credits for the StageLync Podcast
Hosts: Anna RobbEditor: Rose Anne FermocilMusic: Jeremy WilliDesign: Em HoltProduction Coordinator: Roselle BernardoProducers: Anna Robb and Andrea Honis

Ep.42: Dani Ironside: Company Manager at Bell Shakespeare - "I want to create a space where everyone feels valued and supported” (Video)

Dani Ironside is the Company Manager at Bell Shakespeare, bringing experience from roles as a  Stage Manager at Sydney Theatre Company, Ensemble Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith, and Belvoir.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Design for Theatre and Television from Charles Sturt University,  and her leadership is built on a deep understanding of theatre production and management. 
Dani is passionate about fostering an inclusive, supportive workplace. She is committed to  creating a transparent environment where every team member feels valued, empowered, and  inspired to grow, contributing to the company’s shared success.
 
@stagelync
The StageLync Podcast is a branch of our larger StageLync Community. Come visit us at www.stagelync.com
 
Credits for the StageLync Podcast
Hosts: Anna RobbEditor: Rose Anne FermocilMusic: Jeremy WilliDesign: Em HoltProduction Coordinator: Roselle BernardoProducers: Anna Robb and Andrea Honis

Ep.41: Alex Mecklenburg: Leadership and Change Coach & Consultant - “Success is overrated—we should focus more on progress” (Audio)

Alex is an experienced, provocative business coach, working with founders, C-suite and leadership teams to truly understand and shape their own vision. She helps them to create powerful stories that allow them to leap  but also design the behaviours, practices and actionable roadmaps that are needed to bring their vision alive. Her work has helped organisations shape new business models and creative structures to deliver innovative products and services. She is also a certified leadership coach an experienced sense-maker and a catalyst for collective energy who brings cross-sector experience, creative thinking and strategic focus to every project. 
Alex loves working together with others in order to bring cross-sector experience, diverse thinking and collective energy to any project. Her career spans over 30 years in the creative industries, working with creative agencies, large corporate partners, start-ups and  NGOs. 
 
 
“ATTENTION SPOTIFY LISTENERS: IF you want to WATCH this with VIDEO, you can also subscribe to our video version:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5e9KnBRZdjUTXTvCe6Nrqm?si=6639537c61044396”
@stagelync
The StageLync Podcast is a branch of our larger StageLync Community. Come visit us at www.stagelync.com
 
Credits for the StageLync Podcast
Hosts: Anna RobbEditor: Rose Anne FermocilMusic: Jeremy WilliDesign: Em HoltProduction Coordinator: Roselle BernardoProducers: Anna Robb and Andrea Honis

Ep.41: Alex Mecklenburg: Leadership and Change Coach & Consultant - “Success is overrated—we should focus more on progress” (Video)

Alex is an experienced, provocative business coach, working with founders, C-suite and leadership teams to truly understand and shape their own vision. She helps them to create powerful stories that allow them to leap  but also  design the behaviours, practices and actionable roadmaps that are needed to bring their vision alive. Her work has helped organisations shape new business models and creative structures to deliver innovative products and services. She is also a certified leadership coach an experienced sense-maker and a catalyst for collective energy who brings cross-sector experience, creative thinking and strategic focus to every project. 
Alex loves working together with others in order to bring cross-sector experience, diverse thinking and collective energy to any project. Her career spans over 30 years in the creative industries, working with creative agencies, large corporate partners, start-ups and  NGOs. 
 
@stagelync
The StageLync Podcast is a branch of our larger StageLync Community. Come visit us at www.stagelync.com
 
Credits for the StageLync Podcast
Hosts: Anna RobbEditor: Rose Anne FermocilMusic: Jeremy WilliDesign: Em HoltProduction Coordinator: Roselle BernardoProducers: Anna Robb and Andrea Honis

Ep.40: Carmen Morgan: Founder and Director of artEquity - "Without the arts, social justice work faces headwinds; with the arts, it gains momentum and creativity" (Audio)

Carmen Morgan is a national activist leading conversations at the forefront of the field on equity, inclusion, and racial justice issues. She is the founder and director of artEquity, a national organization that provides tools, resources, and training to support the intersections of art and activism. She has provided leadership development and organizational planning for staff, executives, and boards for over 100 non-profit organizations. She is the 2020 recipient of the Paul Robeson Award by Actors’ Equity Association and Actors’ Equity Foundation and a YBCA 100 honoree. She’s on faculty at Yale’s David Geffen School of Drama where she addresses issues of identity, equity, and inclusion in the arts. 
For over twelve years she worked with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) on structural and organizational equity. With her guidance, OSF implemented innovative programming, policies, and new organizational structures to support ongoing inclusion efforts. In addition, she served as the consultant for Theatre Communications Group’s diversity and inclusion initiatives and programming, where she partnered with TCG to launch a national Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Institute for theatres. She has supported national and regional cohorts and provided customized resources to theaters and arts organizations in the US and Canada, including Art Institute of Chicago, National Endowment for the Arts, New York Theatre Workshop, Woolly Mammoth, Long Wharf Theater, Hubbard Street Dance, Stages Repertory, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Cal Shakes, Steppenwolf, New York Foundation for the Arts, Association for the Performing Arts Service Organization, League of American Orchestras, Opera America, Association of Performing Arts Presenters, and Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, to name a few. 
Prior to founding artEquity, for fifteen years Carmen directed Leadership Development in Interethnic Relations (LDIR), a nationally-recognized social justice program co-sponsored by Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the Central American Resource Center, and the Martin Luther King Dispute Resolution Center. Prior to her work with the LDIR program, Carmen was the Associate Regional Director for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), an international human rights organization, where she oversaw human rights work on the US/Mexico border; gay liberation and sovereignty education work in Hawai’i; and tenant rights and racial/economic justice work in California and Arizona. 
Carmen is a founding member of the California Chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), a former Human Services Commissioner, and is currently on the Board of Directors for Black Women for Wellness, a community-based organization serving women in South Los Angeles. She has presented at numerous national conferences including the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity, National Association for Multicultural Education, Grantmakers in Health, Grantmakers in the Arts, Americans for the Arts, The California Endowment, and the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, to name a few. Carmen’s work is rooted in popular education, community organizing, and a commitment to social justice. She remains dedicated to community building and activism, and has worked in the non-profit sector for over 20 years.
 
“ATTENTION SPOTIFY LISTENERS: IF you want to WATCH this with VIDEO, you can also subscribe to our video version:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5e9KnBRZdjUTXTvCe6Nrqm?si=6639537c61044396”
@stagelync
The StageLync Podcast is a branch of our larger StageLync Community. Come visit us at www.stagelync.com
 
Credits for the StageLync Podcast
Hosts: Anna RobbEditor: Rose Anne FermocilMusic: Jeremy WilliDesign: Em HoltProduction Coordinator: Roselle BernardoProducers: Anna Robb and Andrea Honis

Ep.40: Carmen Morgan: Founder and Director of artEquity - "Without the arts, social justice work faces headwinds; with the arts, it gains momentum and creativity" (Video)

Carmen Morgan is a national activist leading conversations at the forefront of the field on equity, inclusion, and racial justice issues. She is the founder and director of artEquity, a national organization that provides tools, resources, and training to support the intersections of art and activism. She has provided leadership development and organizational planning for staff, executives, and boards for over 100 non-profit organizations. She is the 2020 recipient of the Paul Robeson Award by Actors’ Equity Association and Actors’ Equity Foundation and a YBCA 100 honoree. She’s on faculty at Yale’s David Geffen School of Drama where she addresses issues of identity, equity, and inclusion in the arts. 
For over twelve years she worked with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) on structural and organizational equity. With her guidance, OSF implemented innovative programming, policies, and new organizational structures to support ongoing inclusion efforts. In addition, she served as the consultant for Theatre Communications Group’s diversity and inclusion initiatives and programming, where she partnered with TCG to launch a national Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Institute for theatres. She has supported national and regional cohorts and provided customized resources to theaters and arts organizations in the US and Canada, including Art Institute of Chicago, National Endowment for the Arts, New York Theatre Workshop, Woolly Mammoth, Long Wharf Theater, Hubbard Street Dance, Stages Repertory, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Cal Shakes, Steppenwolf, New York Foundation for the Arts, Association for the Performing Arts Service Organization, League of American Orchestras, Opera America, Association of Performing Arts Presenters, and Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, to name a few. 
Prior to founding artEquity, for fifteen years Carmen directed Leadership Development in Interethnic Relations (LDIR), a nationally-recognized social justice program co-sponsored by Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the Central American Resource Center, and the Martin Luther King Dispute Resolution Center. Prior to her work with the LDIR program, Carmen was the Associate Regional Director for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), an international human rights organization, where she oversaw human rights work on the US/Mexico border; gay liberation and sovereignty education work in Hawai’i; and tenant rights and racial/economic justice work in California and Arizona. 
Carmen is a founding member of the California Chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), a former Human Services Commissioner, and is currently on the Board of Directors for Black Women for Wellness, a community-based organization serving women in South Los Angeles. She has presented at numerous national conferences including the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity, National Association for Multicultural Education, Grantmakers in Health, Grantmakers in the Arts, Americans for the Arts, The California Endowment, and the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, to name a few. Carmen’s work is rooted in popular education, community organizing, and a commitment to social justice. She remains dedicated to community building and activism, and has worked in the non-profit sector for over 20 years.
 
@stagelync
The StageLync Podcast is a branch of our larger StageLync Community. Come visit us at www.stagelync.com
 
Credits for the StageLync Podcast
Hosts: Anna RobbEditor: Rose Anne FermocilMusic: Jeremy WilliDesign: Em HoltProduction Coordinator: Roselle BernardoProducers: Anna Robb and Andrea Honis

Ep.39: Dawn Dennis: Executive Director for Client Experience, Pico Middle East - “Nothing is impossible—except defying gravity or physics” (Audio)

Dawn, a Las Vegas native, has over 30 years of experience in the Events, Exhibition, and Entertainment industries. She has managed a wide range of events globally, from Olympic Games sponsor operations to large casino property openings in Macao. With a career spanning Asia and the Middle East, she has led diverse teams to deliver exceptional client and stakeholder experiences. She currently serves as Executive Director for Client Experience at Pico Middle East, where she leads a division of three teams, one of which is for the newly opened Pico Abu Dhabi office. 
 
“ATTENTION SPOTIFY LISTENERS: IF you want to WATCH this with VIDEO, you can also subscribe to our video version:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5e9KnBRZdjUTXTvCe6Nrqm?si=6639537c61044396”
@stagelync
The StageLync Podcast is a branch of our larger StageLync Community. Come visit us at www.stagelync.com
 
Credits for the StageLync Podcast
Hosts: Anna RobbEditor: Rose Anne FermocilMusic: Jeremy WilliDesign: Em HoltProduction Coordinator: Roselle BernardoProducers: Anna Robb and Andrea Honis

Ep.39: Dawn Dennis: Executive Director for Client Experience, Pico Middle East - “Nothing is impossible—except defying gravity or physics” (Video)

Dawn, a Las Vegas native, has over 30 years of experience in the Events, Exhibition, and Entertainment industries. She has managed a wide range of events globally, from Olympic Games sponsor operations to large casino property openings in Macao. With a career spanning Asia and the Middle East, she has led diverse teams to deliver exceptional client and stakeholder experiences. She currently serves as Executive Director for Client Experience at Pico Middle East, where she leads a division of three teams, one of which is for the newly opened Pico Abu Dhabi office. 
 
@stagelync
The StageLync Podcast is a branch of our larger StageLync Community. Come visit us at www.stagelync.com
 
Credits for the StageLync Podcast
Hosts: Anna RobbEditor: Rose Anne FermocilMusic: Jeremy WilliDesign: Em HoltProduction Coordinator: Roselle BernardoProducers: Anna Robb and Andrea Honis