Outcry Theatre Podcast

In the twentieth episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos and marketing director Jason Johnson-Spinos talk with the incredible Katie Guiou, who has worked on costumes for over a dozen Outcry Youth Theatre productions, as well as two professional Outcry Theatre shows. Katie talks about her costume journey, including highlights, some of the her biggest challenges, and the moments that make it all worthwhile.

In the nineteenth episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos talks with three of the lead actors from Outcry Youth Theatre's recent production of The Great Gatsby: Brayden Lawrence and Calin Eastes as Nick Carraway and Peyton Nicholson as Jay Gatsby. They talk about this new adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's American classic, written by Jason and Becca Johnson-Spinos, about the important metaphors and symbols from the novel and the play, and about how The Great Gatsby is still relevant one-hundred years later.

In the eighteenth episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos talks with the four lead actors from Outcry Youth Theatre's production of Assassins: Isabella Wilson and Madeline Carter as the Balladeer and Corbin Ross and Peyton Nicholson as John Wilkes Booth. They discuss the darkly funny and highly controversial musical, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by John Weidman.

In the seventeenth episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos talks with the three lead actors from Outcry Youth Theatre's production of Antigone: Peyton Nicholson as Creon and Alex Gray and Marcy Bogner as Antigone. They discuss this challenging and original post-apocalyptic version of Sophocles' classic Greek tragedy, as well as what it's like to make theatre in this difficult time.

In the sixteenth episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos talks with the four lead actors from Outcry Youth Theatre's production of Tuck Everlasting: Alexa Stratton and Ashlyn Koford as Winnie Foster, and Brayden Soffa and Corbin Ross as Jesse Tuck. They discuss the difficult and unusual road to the stage for a production that was cast just days before the pandemic hit.

In the fifteenth episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, guest host Jason Johnson-Spinos sits down with the four lead actors from the upcoming production of Cummins and Scoullar's The Little Prince: Isaac Aranda and Jordan Battey, who play the Little Prince, and Brayden Lawrence and Giulia Garbani, who play the Aviator. They discuss their characters in depth, including the challenges they went through and the extra steps they took to bring them to life.

The fourteenth episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast features the three creators of the world premiere devised theatre piece Dreams of Icarus. The director (and podcast host) Becca Johnson-Spinos talks with the two actors, Dylan Weand, who plays Icarus, and Logan Beutel, who plays Daedalus. They discuss the long and difficult, but ultimately fruitful, process of creating a play from the ground up.

In the thirteenth episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos sits down with four of the actors from Outcry Youth Theatre's production of Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan. Dylan Weand and Calin Eastes play the title character of Cripple Billy, and Elijah Harms and Harrison Polen play Johnnypateenmike. They discuss this dark and politically incorrect show, the entertaining characters that inhabit it, and the challenges of their roles. In addition, Elijah Harms discusses what it is like to perform in his last Outcry Youth Theatre show.

In the twelfth episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, guest host Jason Johnson-Spinos sits down with the two actresses playing the title character in The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: Alex Gray and Giulia Garbani. They discuss how they approached such a difficult role, the challenges of being on stage the entire show, their favorite Poe stories, and more. This episode also features two performed excerpts from the show.

In the eleventh episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos sits down with the four actors who portray the title character of The Legend of Arthur: Logan Beutel and Dylan Weand as King Arthur, and Brayden Lawrence and Calin Eastes as Young Arthur. They discuss this brand new adaptation, as well as the way their characters change and grow, and the unique way they interact.

In the tenth episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, guest host Jason Johnson-Spinos sits down with several of the actors from Disney's The Little Mermaid JR.: Sienna Lawson, Jane Landrum, Alex Gray, Zara Lone, and Samantha Stratton. They discuss their characters, the challenges they faced, and what they enjoyed about the fast-paced rehearsal process.

In the ninth episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos sits down with the four lead actors from The Old Man and the Old Moon: Logan Beutel and Brayden Soffa as the Old Man, and Elizabeth Belilty and Dylan Weand as Matheson. They discuss the unique elements from the show including the shadow puppets and live music, as well as their characters. In addition, this episode features an emotional goodbye from longtime Outcry actress Elizabeth Belilty, as this is her final show before moving to Florida.

In the eighth episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos sits down with the four lead actors from the upcoming production of Newsies from Outcry Youth Theatre: Logan Beutel and Ian Lawson as Jack Kelly and Madeline Carter and Ashlyn Carter as Katherine Plumber. They discuss their characters as well as how this production compares to the original movie and the Broadway production.

In the seventh episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos sits down with the two actors playing Christopher in Outcry Youth Theatre's production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: Dylan Weand and Will McDonald. They discuss the difficulties of portraying an autistic character, the challenge of switching between realistic and non-realistic styles, and the important relationships between Christopher and the other main characters.

For the sixth episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos sat down with Andy Stratton shortly before he left for college. They discuss some of the 21 shows they did together, what was the hardest, what was the most fun, and the life lessons learned along the way.

In the fifth episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos sits down with actors from Outcry Youth Theatre's production of Frankenstein several times over the course of the rehearsal process. The episode features discussions with Logan Beutel and Harrison Polen as the Creature, and Ian Lawson and Dylan Weand as Victor Frankenstein. They discuss the incredible challenges of playing the Creature, the elaborate dances, and the unique facets of the adaptation by Nick Dear.

In the fourth episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos sits down with the four actors playing Quasimodo and Frollo in Outcry Youth Theatre's production of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Andy Stratton, Ian Lawson, Dylan Droz, and Luke Williams. They discuss the complex relationship between Quasimodo and Frollo, the difficulties of playing the two roles, and Andy and Dylan talk about performing in their last Outcry Youth Theatre show before moving on to study theatre in college.

In the third episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos sits down with the four lead actors playing the title roles in Outcry Youth Theatre's production of Romeo and Juliet: Andy Stratton, Arianna Sy, Fallon Goldsmith, and Harrison Polen. They discuss the circus concept of this production, the difficulty of taking on these famous roles, and their process at handling the emotional material.

In this second episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos sits down with three of the actors from Outcry Youth Theatre's production of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Alexa Stratton, Elizabeth Belilty, and Brayden Soffa. They discuss the differences between the novel and this new adaptation, as well as puppets, movement, romance, and magic.

In this first episode of the Outcry Theatre Podcast, artistic director Becca Johnson-Spinos sits down with two of the stars of Outcry Youth Theatre's production of Treasure Island: Harrison Polen and Logan Beutel. The two talk about the show as a whole as well as the experience of playing Long John Silver.