The StageLync Podcast

Episode 107 – battleROYAL with Brendan Shelper and Judith Hoch

In this episode, we are joined by the CEOs of battleROYAL Berlin, Brendan Shelper and Judith Hoch, ahead of Esch 2022. battleROYAL is an entertainment company based in Berlin. They are a studio of bold creatives, strategists and event professionals working between the domains of culture and commerce. Technology and innovation are defining parts of their work and process. Founded in 2011, battleROYAL Berlin has staged some of the largest sport and cultural events throughout Europe and Middle East such as the European Capital of Cultures Aarhus 2017 and Esch2022, and have worked for several Fortune 500 firms, including BMW, Porsche and American Express. battleROYAL Berlin regularly publishes articles, sharing insights on their work and practices. You can find a selection on our Theatre Art Life website as well. 
Brendan Shelper is an executive creative director with 20+ years of experience in the culture, event, and entertainment industry, and founder of battleROYAL Berlin. Working at the intersection of creative strategy and emerging technologies, Brendan envisions compelling ways to bring large-scale activations to life. His roots stem from physical theatre, major cultural ceremonies, and Olympic openings.
Judith Hoch is a business and culture manager, with 15+ years of experience in the performing arts, entertainment and events sector. As the former COO of battleROYAL, Judith set the operational framework for the team, making sure that each project got the people and budget it required. She led major international productions, overseeing team structures, budgets, and processes. Appointed as Co-CEO in 2022, she is joining co-founder and Co-CEO Brendan Shelper as strategic lead of the company.
https://esch2022.lu/en/
We want to hear from YOU and provide a forum where you can put in requests for future episodes. What are you interested in listening to? Please fill out the form for future guest suggestions here and if you have suggestions or requests for future themes and topics, let us know here!
@theatreartlife
Thanks to David Zieher who composed our music.

Episode 106 – Immersive storytelling and the Kingdom of Plants with Lou Doye and Iona McEwan

In this episode we are joined by Lou Doye and Iona McEwan, talking about their work with emerging technologies and storytelling on Kingdom of Plants.
Iona McEwan is a creative at Alchemy Immersive. She has worked on the creative and design for a variety of AR, VR, and MR projects, most recently directed the VR series David Attenborough’s Kingdom of Plants for Oculus TV. Her focus is exploring how emerging medias can be used to explore the narratives hidden in plane sign and engage new demographics in factual content.
Lou Doye is an Immersive and emergent technology executive producer and creative director- AR/VR/MR/5G Film and TV. Creating content for audiences today and future technologies. In 2019 she became a digital fellow to the Royal Shakespeare Company and Magic Leap to explore storytelling in technology. Trained at London Contemporary Dance School, in her early career as a professional dancer she toured with Matthew Bourne’s Adventures in Motion Pictures.
In Kingdom of Plants is an immersive experience designed for Occulus TV. It is a virtual reality and using time-lapse sequences, macro cinematography and 8K 3D 60fps footage, David Attenborough guides us to discover the hidden lives of plants and what they do to ensure the survival of their species.
https://alchemyimmersive.com/
We want to hear from YOU and provide a forum where you can put in requests for future episodes. What are you interested in listening to? Please fill out the form for future guest suggestions here and if you have suggestions or requests for future themes and topics, let us know here!
@theatreartlife
Thanks to David Zieher who composed our music.

Episode 105 – Ballet in Kenya and Artists for Africa with Cooper Rust

In this episode we are joined by Cooper Rust, talking all about her work as a dancer, her time with the Royal Academy and how her career took her to Africa.
Cooper Rust is a Columbia, South Carolina native and currently resides in both Nairobi, Kenya and Columbia. She graduated from Dreher High School and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her professional ballet career includes seasons with the Nevada Ballet Theatre, State Street Ballet, and Columbia City Ballet. Ms. Rust serves as the Ballet Mistress of Ann Brodie’s Carolina Ballet and adjunct faculty at the University of South Carolina. She has volunteered with the AIDS Benefit Foundation of South Carolina, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Las Vegas, and Anno’s Africa in Kenya. In 2012, she founded Artists for Africa and directed the inaugural show.
https://dancecentre.co.ke/ http://artistsforafricausa.org/
We want to hear from YOU and provide a forum where you can put in requests for future episodes. What are you interested in listening to? Please fill out the form for future guest suggestions here and if you have suggestions or requests for future themes and topics, let us know here!
@theatreartlife
Thanks to David Zieher who composed our music.

Episode 104 – Lighting design in India with Becket Tundatil

In this episode we are joined by Becket Tundatil, talking all things artistic media artist and lighting. Becket Tundatil is a media artist whose work is a fusion of technology, popular culture, and visual information. Becket is a highly experienced and well-known lighting professional with a good deal of experience in the entertainment industry, working on projects as varied as lighting a Mumbai bridge for Christmas and New Year, to Broadway style musicals, and he has also worked across film, television, award shows, large scale ceremonies, and weddings and concerts for Salman Khan & Academy and Grammy Award-winner AR Rahman.
https://www.beckettundatil.com/ 
We want to hear from YOU and provide a forum where you can put in requests for future episodes. What are you interested in listening to? Please fill out the form for future guest suggestions here and if you have suggestions or requests for future themes and topics, let us know here!
@theatreartlife
Thanks to David Zieher who composed our music.

Episode 103 - Rigging permanent installations with Lauren Duffy-Franzoso

In this episode we are joined by Lauren Duffy-Franzoso, talking all things rigging and design. Lauren Duffy-Franzoso is a rigger who holds a BFA in entertainment design technology which is where she started, with a concentration in stage management. Focusing on technical stage management, Lauren progressed through production management which ultimately led to rigging and permanent install rigging. She is the 34th woman ever to be certified as a theatre rigger.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-a-duffy-0109126/
We want to hear from YOU and provide a forum where you can put in requests for future episodes. What are you interested in listening to? Please fill out the form for future guest suggestions here and if you have suggestions or requests for future themes and topics, let us know here!
@theatreartlife
Thanks to David Zieher who composed our music.

Episode 102 - Theatre directing during Covid with Marina Zurita, Acadia Barrengos and Mollye Maxner

In this episode we are joined by Marina Zurita, Acadia Barrengos, and Mollye Maxner, talking all things theatre directing. 
Acadia Barrengos is a theatre director hailing from New England. She found her home in directing through molecular genetic study of pregnancy and childbirth poetry and dance which brought her to North Carolina University of the Arts. Inspired by the research and study of epigenetics, Acadia is driven by stories that wrestle with inheritance, and is fascinated by the discovery that we can adapt how our bodies read our DNA coding to evolve through and beyond intergenerational trauma.
Marina Zurita is a theatre director born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and she likes to think of theatre as a powerful gap between translations, home for lost voices and interpretations. She moved to the USA in 2016, and is currently pursuing a BFA in directing as UNCSA. Living in a foreign location fuelled her passion for anthropological research in linguistics, inspiring her to develop her upcoming project ‘Mother Tongue’, to be performed in the spring of 2022.   
Mollye Maxner is an educator, director, choreographer and maker of original performance work. Her movement theatre work has been performed in the USA, Taiwan, Germany, Georgia, and throughout Turkey. Mollye is on the faculty at UNC school of the Arts, where she is director and co-creator of the studio for creative practice, a laboratory for transdisciplinary art and inquiry.
https://www.acadiabarrengos.com https://www.marinazurita.com 
We want to hear from YOU and provide a forum where you can put in requests for future episodes. What are you interested in listening to? Please fill out the form for future guest suggestions here and if you have suggestions or requests for future themes and topics, let us know here!
@theatreartlife
Thanks to David Zieher who composed our music.

Episode 101 – Directing and acting in Africa with Lesedi Job

In this episode we are joined by Lesedi Job, talking all things directing and acting in South Africa and beyond. Lesedi Job is an award-winning theatre director, actress and voice artist. She completed her BA honors degree in Dramatic Arts at Wits University and trained as a singer with Jazz Musician Ziza Muftic. Upon graduating she was cast in the Lion and the Jewel at the Market theatre and starred in A Place Called Home on SABC 1. Since then she has worked consistently over the years as an actress in both theatre and television playing lead roles in theatre productions such as Colored Museum, Fisher’s of Hope, Raisin in the Sun, Paradise Blue and most recently playing the character of Mantwa on The River. Lesedi is an advocate for equality, and talks to us about her fascinating career and her experiences in South Africa as an actor and director.
@lesedi_job
https://www.osmtalent.com/artist/lesedi-job/
We want to hear from YOU and provide a forum where you can put in requests for future episodes. What are you interested in listening to? Please fill out the form for future guest suggestions here and if you have suggestions or requests for future themes and topics, let us know here!
@theatreartlife
Thanks to David Zieher who composed our music.

Episode 100 – Celebration special with Anna and Ana

It’s our 100th episode! Anna and Anna reflect on the show, and the issues that have occurred in the industry over this time, sharing stories and giving us an insight behind the scenes.
We want to hear from YOU and provide a forum where you can put in requests for future episodes. What are you interested in listening to? Please fill out the form for future guest suggestions here and if you have suggestions or requests for future themes and topics, let us know here!
@theatreartlife
Thanks to David Zieher who composed our music.

Episode 99 – Acting and storytelling with Vongai Shava

Vongai is an award-winning actor, singer and writer who has been based in New York for the last six years. She has worked in theatre, film, television, and voiceovers. Before life in the Big Apple, Vongai was born in Zimbabwe, and raised in the UK and China. She holds a BA in film and television studies from Brunel University and trained classically in acting, voice artistry and movement at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Vongai talks to us all about her fascinating career. 
https://vongai.com https://zimexcellence.buzzsprout.com
We want to hear from YOU and provide a forum where you can put in requests for future episodes. What are you interested in listening to? Please fill out the form for future guest suggestions here and if you have suggestions or requests for future themes and topics, let us know here!
@theatreartlife
Thanks to David Zieher who composed our music.

Episode 98 – Entertainment law with Adam Weissman

In this episode we are joined by Adam Weissman talking all things entertainment law and intellectual property. Adam Weissman is a transactional attorney with a background in entertainment and media production, providing legal counsel on commercial and intellectual property issues. Adam also regularly works with leisure, recreational and other industries advising on licensing and regulatory issues and other legal and operational matters, and he also acts as general counsel for companies that require business advice and assistance. Adam talks to us all about the changing scene of digital media, entertainment and international issues through the lens of his fascinating career.  
https://www.adamweissmanlaw.com/
We want to hear from YOU and provide a forum where you can put in requests for future episodes. What are you interested in listening to? Please fill out the form for future guest suggestions here and if you have suggestions or requests for future themes and topics, let us know here!
@theatreartlife
Thanks to David Zieher who composed our music.