Shaun Squad Society
The Shaun Squad Society Podcast is a podcast written, produced and hosted by three women who want to keep the Magic of a Midnight Sky alive!
Cindy, Dorese and Dame became friends at a Shaun Cassidy concert and immediately decided to form "The Shaun Squad." Soon after, the Shaun Squad Society Podcast was conceived to discuss and reminisce about all-things Shaun Cassidy, from his first years as a teen idol to his current career as a writer and producer.
This podcast brings together a community of Shaun's devoted fans, the ones who played his albums non-stop, and who tuned into The Hardy Boys Mysteries every Sunday evening. And now, 46 years later, Shaun's story-telling tour has delighted fans again. So, join us for the stories, fun-facts, and fascinating interviews as we take you down memory lane with our Teen Dream, Shaun Cassidy.
Shaun Squad Society
Behind the Curtain: Nashville’s Studio Tenn with Todd Morgan
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Step behind the curtain and get ready to experience the thrill of live theater as we speak with Todd Morgan, the Managing Director behind Studio Tenn Theatre Company. This episode promises a grand narrative as Todd, with his rich theater experience and unique adventures (even pyrotechnics!), guides us through the labyrinth of theater management. From finances to facilities, human resources to mentoring the young talent, Todd unveils the measured chaos that keeps the theater heart beating.
Strap in as we journey through the highs and lows of bringing the Million Dollar Quartet to life. Hear firsthand how Todd steered Studio Tenn through the tumultuous process of securing rights and ensuring an authentic representation of icons like Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley. Feel the energy as Todd recounts the audience's response and the gift of live theater.
Finally, we'll get an exclusive sneak peek into Studio Tenn’s upcoming lineup, including the highly anticipated shows like It's a Wonderful Life A Radio Play, Driving Miss Daisy, and Cabaret. Todd also shares about their star-studded Fall Fundraiser with special guest Jason Alexander and an event crafted to nurture the interest of younger theater enthusiasts. Wrapping up the show, we couldn't resist sharing our theater memories and the enchantment of live performances that leave an indelible mark.
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Discussion on Studio Tenn Theater Company
Speaker 1Well, stage performances, they just really take you away, they draw you in. I mean there's nothing like you know the night setting or the dancing and all the talent and the poetry, and it's like a dream world for so many people just to sit there.
Speaker 2Welcome to the Sean's Quest Society podcast with your host, myself, penny, cindy Day, madonna and Doris, and invite you to share our love and enthusiasm for all things Sean Cassidy, from his Teen Idol days to his recent adventure back on the road again. Please join us for our stories and memories that connected us to those happy days that help create a Sean's Quest Society podcast.
Speaker 3Welcome everyone. We are so excited about today's episode. We have a very special guest with us in the studio. Everyone knows that the Cassidy family has a deep root in theater. Jack and Shirley start together in many, many stage productions and we've talked about in previous episodes how Sean and his brothers have starred in different shows over the years. Sean's brother, patrick, is the artistic director of Studio 10 theater company located in Franklin, tennessee. Today we have with us Studio 10's managing director, todd Morgan. Todd has a diverse background in theater where he's been involved in both management and artistic capacities. He's managed the creative and administrative process for theater and theme park entertainment. He's with us today to talk about Studio 10. Welcome, todd, to our podcast.
Speaker 4Thank you so much. I appreciate the introduction and I'm so glad to be here, todd Morgan.
Speaker 3We are so happy to have you and I just wanted to let you know there are four of us with you today and you know me. But I want to introduce the other co-host and I'll start with.
Speaker 2Penny Penny. Hi, todd, I'm Penny. It's nice to meet you and I do have to say you have a very impressive resume.
Speaker 4Todd Morgan. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. I've worked hard on that.
Speaker 2Penny, it sure looks like it. It sounds like it.
Speaker 3Todd Morgan. The next co-host with us is Dane. She's in Oklahoma.
Speaker 1Penny. Hey, how are you doing? It's a privilege to have you on our podcast, todd.
Speaker 4Morgan. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate that, penny.
Speaker 3And next is Cindy. You actually met Cindy with me at Studio 10 when we came down to present a check a couple of years ago, and Cindy is now one of my co-hosts with me on the podcast Penny Yep.
Speaker 5So this is Cindy and it was nice to meet you. And yeah, we were at the Franklin Theater about a couple years ago, I believe, todd.
Speaker 4Morgan, that's right, it seems like it was just yesterday, but a lot has happened in those two years, penny I bet Todd Morgan. It's good to hear you again, penny.
Speaker 5Good to hear you too, penny.
Speaker 3So that's us. We're all here, we're the Shars Class Society podcast and we, like I said, we are so thrilled to have you, penny. Yes, welcome. Todd Morgan I don't know if you don't mind, todd, we just want to start with some questions and get the ball rolling on this party.
Speaker 4Penny. That sounds great. Let's jump in Penny.
Speaker 1Well, todd, you're the managing director, and we just want you to briefly tell us what does that really mean, todd?
Speaker 4Morgan, yeah, so typically in a nonprofit theater company there's usually some type of dual leadership and in most cases that's split between a managing director and an artistic director and kind of, as the name implies, most of the administrative functions, including everything from finance to facilities to human resources, fall on the side of the managing director. Versus what we all think of the creative side of putting the shows together and hiring the directors and the creative team to put on the actual productions, that all falls to our artistic director. In this case, as Doreen mentioned, is Patrick Cassidy, and so that's kind of how we split that we both equally report to our board of directors, because we are a nonprofit, and then all of the positions below us report up either to the administrative or the, as I like to call it, the production side of the theater company.
Speaker 1Penny. Yeah, it sounds like you have so many parts in that role. You know doing creative posters, writing sales, transportation Sounds like you do it all, todd Morgan.
Speaker 4Right, I caught a little jack of all trades and, similar to when I was in the theme park business, there are things that you didn't know. You were going to have to know that you had to learn either on the fly or or, in some cases, actually get some training. For I remember back in the day I got trained, certified, trained to do pyrotechnics, because that was something I had to actually oversee the implementation and training and hiring of young talent to actually do the pyrotechnics for a Halloween event. So you know, similar in this role that you know. As I mentioned, human resources, we're not a big enough company to have a human resources department. I outsource a lot of that work but as far as internally I am, I am the de facto HR director, if you will, todd Morgan.
Speaker 3I just wanted to say I never knew you needed certification to do pyrotechnics, so you don't burn the whole theater down.
Speaker 2I never knew that, todd Morgan.
Speaker 4Yeah, yeah, we did. We did all of ours outdoors, which was nice, but you know, just there again, for all things, safety. I was talking to a theater teacher yesterday who's doing a production of Xanadu and of course their roller skating, as we all remember the the movie Xanadu, and then she's had safety training for all of her students to come in and learn. So so they're all doing it, you know, safely as well as as having fun doing the show. Todd.
Speaker 1Morgan Wow, yeah, and that makes sense because you're like a mentor for all the young staff. Todd.
Speaker 4Morgan, exactly, exactly, todd Morgan.
Speaker 3That's cool, todd Morgan. Did you have another question, dane?
Speaker 1Dane Morgan, I do, and it with Studio 10 Theater Company. It consists of several theaters within the company. Is that true, and are the shows running at different theaters, or are they all at the same theater?
Speaker 4Dane Morgan? Great question. So it's typically it's just one company. So I'll start there, dane Morgan. So we are Studio 10 Theater Company and within that we are starting to develop what I call ancillary programming. For example, we started a cabaret series during the pandemic that we performed at TPAC, which is the large performing arts center in Nashville, and actually we just started our revamped education program yesterday and performed at one of the local middle schools. But our primary function is for main stage musicals and plays and we just opened a brand new theater, believe it or not, this past Thursday, and it was actually in the space where we had our old theater, but they completely renovated that and so that will be our home for the future and we will do all of our productions there.
Speaker 4I will say, in the past we have been somewhat of a vagabond theater because of not having a permanent home. We have traveled around to many of the spaces. You mentioned the Franklin Theater a while ago, dane Morgan. Yeah, dane Morgan, we've also been in Nashville. We've performed at the Ryman and TPAC and multiple other venues in the area, and some of that was due to the specifics of that show and some of that was due to not having a permanent home. So we are just thrilled to actually have that dream come true, if you will, and, like I said just literally three days ago, opening a brand new theater here in Franklin and that will be the permanent home of Studio 10 for all of our main stage plays and musicals. We typically do four to five shows a year in that space, dane Morgan.
Speaker 3Hey, Todd, did I hear you say you guys were at the Ryman Because?
Speaker 5that just gave me goose bumps, todd Morgan.
Speaker 3Wow, I know, dane Morgan. I did a tour of the Ryman when I was visiting, when I came down to visit, and just the history of that theater. I would have loved to have seen a production there. Todd Morgan, that is so cool that you guys actually did a stage production at the Ryman, dane Morgan.
Speaker 4We did. We've actually done two. One was before my arrival and the second one was the first year that I was here. The company, years ago, started a series called the Legacy Series and what that is was basically an honoring a given artist you know, recognizable name, usually that everybody would know and doing performing the music of that artist. It was never meant to be an impersonator show. It was meant to take the artist's music and make arrangements that you were either very familiar with or maybe some arrangements that were different. And so, for example, we did we've done multiple legacies. We've done Hank Williams, we've done Johnny Cash, we actually did a Hank Cash mashup. Dane Morgan oh, wow, that's cool. Todd Morgan, yeah.
Speaker 4And so the first one at the Ryman was the Johnny Cash legacy, which was amazing. And then, the first year I was here, we did a legacy of Glenn Campbell, and it was fairly recently after his passing, so it was very timely. We had his family involved Actually, some of his children were in the production itself and it is the magical place, as you said, if anybody's been there, and it's very iconic to Nashville. But in that, you know, that's one of those cases I was talking about where that really was specific to the production. We felt that to honor those artists and to do it in that vein and that platform, we wanted to have somewhere like the Rhymen to really showcase that, and so we were just thrilled to be there and have those productions seen by so many people and visitors to Nashville as well.
Speaker 2Yeah, what a neat connection. Yeah, the Rhymen is totally cool. I used to live in Nashville and get to Rhymen several times and, yes, every time you step foot in there, yeah, I've even cried in there before, and especially when.
Speaker 5I saw.
Speaker 2Laura at a Lynn Live that really brought out the tears, so yeah.
Speaker 4Well, they do call it the Church of Country Music, so I think it's okay to cry.
Speaker 2Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1You mentioned Johnny Cash. Well, he's one of my relatives, so that's pretty cool.
Speaker 4Well, that's cool. Well, just a quick segue from there. We just opened our new theater with a show called Million Dollar Quartet which features Johnny Cash based on the infamous night in 1956, where all four of these icons got together in Sun Studios, and we have an amazing Johnny Cash that all of the ladies seem to love and wait for after the show.
Speaker 2So Well, Todd, I'm gonna ask a question, but I think you may have answered it a little bit with one of Dame's questions, and I follow Studio 10 and social media as well as Patrick and Melissa, so I got to see a lot of clips from your opening Thursday night, was it?
Speaker 4That was yes.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 4Last Thursday.
Speaker 2Yeah, it was beautiful, very beautiful and very elegant. But if there is something that you didn't touch on at the Turner Theater, go ahead and share that with us.
Speaker 4Absolutely Well. I'll kind of give you the answer I gave a friend of mine last night who was their first time ever in Franklin and much less the factory and definitely the Turner Theater. The factory building itself is a historic landmark here in Franklin. It used to be a mattress factory, Once upon a time it was a stovework company and then a number of years ago was actually made into kind of a mini shopping mall, but keeping that very historic industrial vibe to the facility. And in 2014, that's where Studio 10 moved in as a theater company to start producing their shows.
Speaker 4Unfortunately, the space we were in was not really an actual theater, it was just really an event space. So every time we were to do a production, I always give the analogy of opening a restaurant and installing all of the appliances every time, having to remove them when it was over. Oh gosh, Because we literally built a theater every time we did a show. And so in 2021, a new organization purchased the factory and they're actually revitalizing the whole entire property, complete with new shops, new restaurants, and so we partnered with them basically to renovate this space into an actual purpose-built theater. So we have a complete 320-seat theater now, including a balcony.
Speaker 4It also has retractable seating, If you've ever seen that. But you can actually retract all of the seats to make an event space with tables and chairs if you wanted to do a fancy reception, wedding reception or special event, so it can be a multi-use space. As I said before, we do four to five main stage productions a year, but in the weeks that we're not in there, the factory would be able to utilize that for other companies. We have just asked that we be the only theater in there because we want not to have any brand confusion with the theater in the Franklin factory. But it's amazing. I'm glad you saw the photos in the opening night.
Speaker 4It was just a big celebration for the community. We had over 150 people come out just for the ribbon cutting in the morning. So, we knew there was a lot of excitement in the community and you see that big marquee now it looks very New York.
Speaker 2Yeah it is. It was beautiful.
Speaker 4And we have our own permanent box office out front and we've already seen a tremendous amount of excitement and traffic of people just walking up to buy a ticket.
Speaker 5And so we're super excited.
Speaker 4Yeah, you'll have to see it and we're excited not to build the restaurant anymore. Right To have permanent seating, permanent light, permanent sound is just amazing. And now we can really concentrate on the productions, which is what we do.
Speaker 2Right, well, I did have a question, but I hadn't really prepared it. But you did talk about the retractable seating. I was wondering after seeing on Thursday on social media the unveiling of Turner.
Speaker 3Theater.
Speaker 2Yeah, I was wondering if you guys were going to do wedding receptions and special events and things, because of the space I was seeing.
Speaker 4Yeah, that's where, like I said, all of the orchestra seating will fully retract all into the back area and then you have that whole open space that you can use for tables and chairs. It can also partially retract, and actually our last show of this season is Cabaret, which is the Tony Award-winning musical based on the movie, and we're going to have it partially retracted so we can put some cabaret tables and chairs down front just to really add that atmosphere for the show itself.
Million Dollar Quartet Production and Experience
Speaker 2Well, that's really good. Well, I know right now you guys have a million dollar quartet plan and it's been extended. Do you have anything you would like to share about that production?
Speaker 4Sure, I will be the first one to say I've tried to get the rights to the show for about six years, ever since I got here. One because I just think it's a perfect show for Nashville. I also think it's a perfect show for our theater, our space and the type of shows that we do and in our town, I mean, we are called Music City for a reason and a lot of our audiences loves that combination, as I talked about the shows at the Rhyme and the fact that you can combine this great music and these iconic names with a theatrical production. I saw the show years ago. I actually used to work with the original Broadway director of this production and I just thought it was so smart and how it was put together. You get all of their storylines, sort of how they met, how they started at Sun Records, and then you get a lot of their greatest hit and I just think I knew the audiences would love it.
Speaker 4Patrick, of course, was familiar with the show as well. So we started on a journey several years ago to get permission to do the show and once we knew the opening dates and timeline, we just knew it was the perfect show to open the theater. It just about blows the roof off. I mean, there's a 15 minute encore at the end of the night where the audience is on their feet the entire time. It's just a tremendous dough and we have four amazing gentlemen that play these icons and they've all done the show before and they they just bring a lot of wealth and high energy to the to the table. We had an amazing review that just came out yesterday basically says that we blew the roof off of the brand new Turner theater. So it's very exciting and we hope everybody can in the area can come and see it.
Speaker 3If I can just interject real quick, I don't know who would know what the million dollar quartet is, but maybe you could tell briefly, because I've seen it twice, but briefly, what the show is about, because we know and a lot of people are like what are they talking about?
Speaker 5I don't really know it either.
Speaker 4So the legendary story is that on December 24th 1956. Sun Records, for one reason or another, all four of these icons and I'll list them for you which would be Jerry Lee Lewis, carl Perkins, johnny Cash and Elvis Presley all ended up in the recording studio on the same night and basically ended up in a jam session. Now, there's probably variable things that happened and, of course, they probably took some liberties with telling the story itself, but that's basically the premise. They all end up there and they all end up playing each other songs for the course of the evening and meanwhile Sam Phillips, who was the famous music producer of Sun Records, he serves as a narrator for the show and talking about how he met each one of them when signed them on Sun Records and then and then how they went on their journey and, of course, to how we know them today, being, you know, for the biggest icons in history.
Speaker 4But we get to hear all the greatest great balls of fire full some prison blues, howling dog, you name it there. You know, matchbox can't leave out Carl. And they all play their own instruments. That's another key thing about this show that makes it really unique. Jerry Lee Is one of the most incredible piano players, carl Perkins, one of the most incredible guitar players, and you get that with this show as well. So the band is the cast and they're on stage the entire time and it ends with a photo of the actual four legends On that night in 1956. And so it is a true event, that happened. And then the book writers, you know, just kind of took some liberty in telling their story and ironically, we had the original music director and one of the book writers come to our dress rehearsal last Wednesday, because they both, of course, live in Nashville.
Speaker 4And they were complimentary and and very encouraging about the production.
Speaker 2You know, have you guys ever thought about selling tickets for a live viewing, so like if we wanted to see one of your productions online yeah, like online so I could buy a ticket and watch it live, live streaming, and you? Know, be an audience on one of the productions.
Speaker 4Absolutely well. I'll give you a couple answers on that. We we've looked at it multiple times, especially during the pandemic, when, you know, live theater was not accessible to everyone and we were looking at ways to do that. I will I will tell you that because we're a professional theater company, we do work with an actor's union and currently that union has has basically put the kibosh on that streaming aspect at least, at least making it affordable for most companies to do. I know that they were trying to work out something with the film union, because once you get into streaming and you kind of cross over Into the rights of the film artist union which is sad, and so that's something that we hope to maybe be there in the future it's just not currently an option for us.
Speaker 1What I was thinking, that it wouldn't feel the same anyway. So when you're sitting there in the audience and you're enjoying the state, you feel like you're right there with these guys are so musical.
Speaker 4Absolutely takes you back To that which is a great segue to something that I always preach about is that experience of life theater, and that you can't match it on film. I've seen many productions online and it's great to be able to see something, especially, you know, from the National Theater of London or from Broadway, but it doesn't have the same feel and I know that, post pandemic, a lot of theaters have been struggling To get audiences back. It's hard to get them off their couch and their Netflix subscription, but we know that nothing really matches that experience of the life theater. The encore that I was just talking about. You wouldn't be able to feel that energy If you were not in the room itself, and so we want people to experience that and we think that it's just very unique and what we do, and I'm really encouraged with this new space and seeing a lot of excitement about Coming out even for the first time to experience live theater.
Speaker 2Well, I'll definitely step by next time I'm in the Nashville area.
Speaker 5I can see this in my head, this production, but to be there you feel it, I think, is why you need to be there you feel it and you're more emotional about it when you're there.
Speaker 2But you know it's like living in the Chicago area. I can't get there to see it all the time, but if I still lived in the Nashville area I'd be at every one of your productions there is a difference when you're actually there.
Speaker 5Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2That's why I was asking because I would definitely, you know, buy a ticket and stream it, feel a part of it.
Speaker 4Right.
Speaker 2Yeah and Todd, I had a question. There is a group.
Speaker 5Yes, definitely right, we should go as a group. I just had a question about how long does it usually take a production to put together with something like this?
Speaker 4Well, putting it together is maybe a longer question because you know we start probably a year in advance getting the rights and then having meetings and finding all the you know creatives and the actors to put it together. But physically putting it together is actually a pretty short process for us. We do a two week rehearsal process and then about a half a week of what we call tech, which is adding the lights and sound and costumes and all of the stage elements, and then we, we open the show and we usually run for about three weeks. It's a it's a five week contract all together, which is pretty short in the world of theater. But, like I said, we, we didn't, you know it's a full time, six days a week. You know eight hours a day putting this, the rehearsals, together, but it's a pretty quick process.
Excitement for Upcoming Theater Productions
Speaker 5Oh, that's good. I thought it took longer than that. And then, what upcoming shows or shows are you most excited about in the future that you're working on?
Speaker 4Yeah, well, we have a great season. This year we're doing a four shows. He's in this year simply because of the timeline of the opening, so we're in million dollar quartet now. We run for another two weeks and then we take a little break and then we come right back with our holiday show, which is it's a wonderful life, a live radio playing and I've explained this a couple times that it's not on the radio but it actually takes place in a radio station and Another historic kind of moment in time and when these actors all came together in a radio station to tell the story of it's a wonderful life.
Speaker 4And it's really a beautiful production. We did it two years ago and we're bringing it back some of the same cast and we've set it in Franklin. So we've got a lot of local ties to the local radio station and some other sponsors that are in the show, but it's still the the beautiful traditional show of it's a wonderful life. And then in the spring we're doing drive-in Miss Daisy. This is a classic show and we're super excited about that. And then we're going to end the season with the production of cabaret, as I mentioned earlier.
Speaker 2We gotta go.
Speaker 5Yeah, you got a really good line up there.
Speaker 4Yeah, it's, it's very exciting. We've got a lot of, you know, great people and we're we're fortunate to have a lot of talent here in Nashville and then when we need to, you know, we bring them in from out of town as well. But it's, it's very exciting. We're already starting to work on next season, but I can't can't give any of those away yet because those are not confirmed. But we've got a lot going on. Like I said, got a lot of other Ancillary program. We also have a big spring fundraiser we do in the spring and which is basically another show that we do. So it's very exciting, it's great season and lots of, lots of talent and lots of great stories that we're telling yeah, and I heard there's you have some pretty well known we actually we just announced we we have we're calling it our fall fundraiser, but it's similar to the the shawnd event that that you came to a couple years ago.
Speaker 4We're doing a one night concert. Last year we had Michael Feinstein and this year we have Jason Alexander, which those people probably know.
Speaker 2Yes, exactly.
Speaker 4So he will actually use the. The last day of million dollar quartet will have a two o'clock matinee and then that evening We'll have Jason on our stage with his own one-man show. So we're we're super excited.
Speaker 5Oh, that sounds like fun. I was thinking about moving to Nashville one day and that would be great, just to be in the area and experience all of those things.
Speaker 3You know, I know, I know we are here to talk about studio 10, but the main thing I want to push tide, if you don't mind theater is theater in Chicago has a very active.
Speaker 4Oh yeah, we do immunity.
Speaker 3Absolutely and I go and I support. I go maybe three times a year to see a live production. So I want everyone to know that you haven't lived until you've seen a live stage Production. True, oh, go see something. You could go to local community, you could go to big yeah downtown you could go to me. A high school production is a great way to see a Production.
Speaker 2I'm gonna go see my Mamia at the you are. Yeah, it's a come or high school In a couple of weeks, yeah, so I'm excited to support, yeah, that local high school. It's a musical.
Speaker 5Yes.
Speaker 4I have conversations all the time with peers across the country and, like I said, it is still a hard time for For theater in general, and so the more we can get out there and support that and and help train younger patrons that do enjoy that art form as well. You're talking about the high school level and it's growing up. I was so encouraged yesterday with our education event to see kids Growing up doing that and learning not only the performing side but the technical side of putting it together and how important that is to keep keep our industry alive. And you know most of us are non-profits so you know we have to have not only ticket sales but the contributions that help support that and, as you mentioned, your organization was able to help us in the past and and we rely on that to to keep all those amazing Mamamias and Billy Miller for that on the stage.
Speaker 1Well, stage performances they just really take you away, they draw you in. I mean there's nothing like you know the night setting or the dancing and all the talent and the poetry and it's like a dream world for so many people just to sit there and to feel that and I'm a teacher and Sometimes children or even teenagers. They don't know about that. Of course, the high school musical, but this is even deeper and more special and sure make it pretty neat that they have the movie.
Speaker 4But, like you said, there's nothing like sitting there in the middle of it right, yes, having those look a good film, you know, and having those stories come to life and being able to help you Visualize that and and experience that, and, in some cases, telling stories that you're not as familiar with.
Speaker 4You know and and we love the idea that it's a conversation piece as well that you you walk away, even if it's not your favorite production, that it it stirs some thoughts inside of you and say, well, I've never really thought about that before, or did that actually happen?
Speaker 4Yeah just just to feel good, you know, right now. Yeah, you may have learned a little something about each of these icons, aside from their number one hit, but you also walked away with just a high energy feeling and and just really, you know, just really glad you were there.
Speaker 3That is so true and you always want more, so that's why you see these shows. I see a production like million dollar Quartek two or three times, because you go away feeling that I Want to see that again. It leaves you wanting so much more and you and you miss things.
Speaker 4You know I, of course, being in the business, I see shows multiple times, but you know you might miss something the first time or you come back again. You're like you know I'm gonna, I'm gonna just watch Jerry Lee Lewis tonight and you know, and see, see what he does throughout the show and it's, it's fun. I love hearing audiences talk about things like that as well.
Speaker 3Well, Todd, I had a question for you. You've okay hit on this a couple of times and it's near and dear to me. Studio 10 not for profit. How can the followers, our followers, support Studio 10 by making a donation?
Speaker 4Well, the easy way, of course, is, like many of us, we have online Giving, so you can go right to our website at studio 10 org and we have a donation page there. If you're at the production itself, we have this amazing little device called the dip jar, where you just dip your credit card in and make a donation. How cool is that yeah?
Speaker 4it's like a slot machine, only nothing comes out. But I gave I gave this analogy and I thought it was kind of corny the other night, but my wife really liked it, so I'll give it to you today is that I told everyone in the audience, if everyone in the audience Gave us their Starbucks money once a month not every day, just once a month for 12 months you could actually purchase the set and the costumes in this production that you're about.
Speaker 2Oh, I believe it.
Speaker 4And and I say that to say it doesn't take a six-figure check, although I joke that if somebody wanted to write that I would that pluck them but but it could take as little as your cup of coffee from Starbucks and say, hey, you know, this month I'm just gonna give that five dollars to studio 10 and and that starts adding up.
Speaker 4And and, as I said before, you know, ticket sales doesn't support a theater organization Entirety.
Speaker 4In fact, ours is probably half of our, our income, and so the contributions have to support the other half, have to pay for the lights and this, all of the other things that we do and the staffing and all of the things.
Speaker 4And so, like I said, that that little piece I think is a great perspective to have, because it is an expensive art, that's not Cheap to do what we do, but we think that it's vital and we want to keep that intimacy of 300 seats. We don't want to have, you know, broadway ticket prices. We want it to be accessible as well, and so the contributions, as you said, to Reese, really Really make that a possibility. But that's, that's the best way to do it, you know, obviously reaching out to us directly. We're still in a capital campaign, so we have people Actually purchasing seats in their name or in honor of a loved one, and that's been a really great Way for people to be involved not at a super high level, but it is substantial level where we can recognize them but also help pay for the construction of the theater itself.
Speaker 3Well, I appreciate that. I think it's the best way to give back a Christmas time or something if you don't, if you don't want to buy a lot of girls. You're older, you think you have. Yeah, give back by supporting theater and make a donation yes be it studio 10 or your local community theater. It is the best way for me anyway to give back.
Speaker 1That's great putting money towards the arts is priceless yes, and it gives back.
Speaker 4It really does in many ways.
Speaker 3So Todd, my final question for you. Do you have any questions for us? And we'll try not to talk all at once and maybe we could go in order, you know, and answer it.
Speaker 4Yeah, I think maybe we will go in order. I mentioned to Doris that that one of the questions and we've already had a couple of little mentions earlier in this conversation. I heard her mama Mia and different things. But I love to hear someone's personal story of a live theater experience, that they had something that was memorable, it was just An extremely good show, or they ran into somebody famous or whatever that you know surrounding experiences and I would love to hear from from each of you before I go. It's to tell me one of those, one of the stories that sticks out in your mind, and I'll go last with with mine, but, cindy, maybe we start with you.
Speaker 5All right. Well, the first one I haven't been in too many. The first one I saw was little Johnny Jones back, I think in 1981. David Cassidy was in that show. That was my first experience ever and it really blew me away. Of course I did see blood brothers to back in 94 with Sean and David Cassidy and that also blew me away.
Speaker 5Yes, it was a great show. We had episode about that and that was great. But there's some other ones I'd like to go see, like the Phantom of the Opera. I would love to see that. So there's some shows I still would love to see that haven't seen yet. But I'm blown away by the ones I saw.
Speaker 4Here's a piece of trivia for you. The Phantom himself is only on stage for 25 minutes in the entire show.
Speaker 5We do fun facts sometimes and thank you for the fun fact.
Speaker 4You're welcome, you're welcome, I'm doing. How about you?
Speaker 1Well, I have two, but the main one is cats, and I don't know, are they still doing that Broadway? It is not yeah, but I went to it a few times and I loved it. They say even people that hated cats still love this show, right, and I love how each cat had their separate costume and they each have their chance, kind of like all of us girls right now.
Speaker 1They each have their chance to talk about their part in the singing voice and so that made it very personal, but my favorite was and it was because she was shunned by the other cats at first and that's why, when she came back, it shows that everyone needs to have second champ. Well, when she came back, they accepted her back in and I remember sitting there and looking at the stage and it was so beautiful. And my husband, he's a fine artist, he has a degree in fine art and he always tries to get me to go to Broadway shows. Well, throughout the years I've started enjoying them more, but with that one it just brought tears, or happy tears, to my eyes.
Speaker 1I don't know what it was, but it may be that I could relate that show Since, yeah, my grandmother used to get me up at five in the morning. She lived at Hollywood Boulevard and we get up at five in the morning and go out to eat the stray cat. It just yeah. So it made it very personal and I just love that.
Speaker 1It's like a Broadway sermon when, with the second chances and my other one is the one that Cindy was talking about and of course, the opera my husband really likes that one too, and how like the Phantom was pretty much cast out. And so he was lonely and fell in love and I like that. He fell in love, like you know, regular people, but oh, is he hurt, so that one's very, very romantic. But so much depth in both of these.
Speaker 4Oh yeah, that's great. I love that, penny.
Speaker 2Well, like Dame, katz is definitely my favorite and I've seen it many, many times. And then you know I've seen Phantom of the Opera and several others. But another favorite is Book of Mormon and I like a lot of musicals myself. You know, I've just you know yeah. And you know I have three boys and each of them have a favorite that I've taken them to see, and those are some fun memories that I have, and I'll let Doris go next, and she has many.
Speaker 3No, I've been tired. I just want to share with you really quickly. I have some fond memories, but it's not about specific productions. My first very fond memory is going for the first time to see a stage production. I was in high school and I went to South Betel, mania, and that was the very first theater production I ever saw and that's what made me really, really decide I'm going to always see live theater. It was such a really good show. And then the next thing is when I was a kid I took my mom a little bit before she passed away to theater production downtown Chicago with our opera house to see 42nd Street, and I made it real special for her and I bought I'm getting choked up I bought orchestra seats Up front and she just loved it, everything about that show.
Speaker 3So 42nd Street is really, really near to me, dear. And then, finally, on a lighter note, I'm going to turn this around and tell you that when Patrick came to town years ago I told you this before In 2005, he came to town to do Joseph and he was nice and humble. He invited my sister and I backstage and we met his family and his son was in Joseph as one of the little kids in the choir and his wife Buston, their raider. So we got to go backstage and meet Patrick and his family and talk to the cast and hang out for a little while. And those are my three favorite moments.
Speaker 1Yeah, I forgot to say one thing, and it was about, you know, the cat's performance with the song memory, my favorite husband's father. Yeah, my husband's father is a singer, but he's a manly man, and so you couldn't even picture him ever singing the song memory, but he sang it in our wedding. And it was just huge for him to do. That Made it special.
Speaker 4That's amazing. I love that. Well, I love all of your stories. Those are all great and you can hear right away how it ties to you personally or a family member in making those connections. And you know two of my favorites. Of course I've seen many shows, no surprise, but you know, two of my favorites are one was that I did get to see Hamilton when it was off Broadway before people really knew about it, and what I loved about the experience, it was kind of a who's who in the audience and they did a talk back about making the show, but you could feel the energy in the room that they had just changed the game of musical theater and that we were entering in the air of stylistic and representation of diversity on stage and it was just a. It was a great moment for me as a theater artist. And the other one, ironically, is the infamous Lion King that is still running today.
Speaker 2And I forgot about Lion King. It changed the world at the end.
Speaker 4I've taken my kids. I took my kids years ago. I surprised them with tickets. They didn't know we had tickets to see the Lion King and I just remember their experience and how amazing it was for them and just transformative. And then recently one of my daughters took her kids to Lion King and had a similar experience and that was just really a full circle moment and just there again, that that power of the theater and what it can do for all ages, and that was just really special.
Speaker 1Yeah, and Todd, I heard that you like to sing too, like in a men's quartet or something.
Speaker 4I do. I mean, I actually have an undergrad in musical theater myself and have sung for a long time. And when I lived in DC I sang with a men's group called Brethren, which was comprised of mostly members of the men's military chorus of the Armed Forces, and they were very, very elite group of singers. I was very privileged to sing with them. We mainly did, you know, more sacred type songs. I'm actually singing with them this coming January, but yeah, I've been. I've been known to sing here in the air. I sang at our fundraiser last year and I I filled in for a gospel quartet about a month ago, checking off one of my bucket list items.
Speaker 4I was actually right up here, chicago, I learned I had to learn 14 songs in 48 hours and the bass part and and even sing back up for an Elvis impersonator in the evening.
Speaker 3Because, you know, I was always had had the Jordanaires right.
Speaker 1Right, yes, we'll be listening or looking real fast, real fast.
Speaker 2What is your favorite gospel song?
Speaker 4Oh, my goodness, I mean, I love that. The tried and true like the how great the arts, I mean you know, yeah, have a true. You've got to have a true vocal ability to really do it justice, right? I love stuff like that. And and then I love the four parts. You know when you can have the, the harmony and things like that. You know the little talk with Jesus and stuff like that. It gets fun for the bass singer, you know right.
Speaker 4But, but, but. I love that tight harmony. One of my favorite musicals is also Forever Plad. I've done six times and it's just a really unique show to have a four part male ensemble like that. And it's really a unique experience. I had a gentleman run into last night at our theater haven't seen in almost 20 years and we had done forever plaid together. So it's a. It's a really cool full circle moment.
Speaker 3That is a great moment, and next time you're performing I'm going to try to find you, yeah me too, exactly.
Speaker 2Another road trail.
Speaker 4Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 3Watch out. We really, really loved having you on our podcast and I really can't thank you enough for taking the time to do this with us.
Speaker 2We learned a lot too. Absolutely yes. Thank you so much, Todd.
Speaker 4I thank you all for having me on. I just want to say thank you.
Speaker 3You're more than welcome. Theater is near and dear to each of us and I think now it's a little bit nearer and a little bit dearer, sure is, sure is Yep, absolutely.
Speaker 5We'll be down in Franklin again.
Speaker 3So thank you so much and thanks for joining us listeners and we hope everybody had a great time. Talking about musical theater or any other theater you can go see a play, for that matter.
Speaker 2Hey, Todd, before we go, why don't you tell our listeners where they can find you in Studio 10?
Speaker 4Sure, yes, our website is studio 10.org, and that's studio 10, t and N, like the state of Tennessee. You can also find us on Facebook or Instagram and, as we mentioned earlier, we post all of our upcoming events on all of those platforms and that's the best way to find us. You can also find me on Facebook as well, and we try to keep everybody up to date on what's happening here, not only at Studio 10, but in the Nashville Theater community.
Speaker 3Thank you so much.
Speaker 2Todd, thank you from the bottom of our teen dream hearts. Keep on crushing.
Speaker 3Always believe in magic.
Speaker 2And have a peaceful shantastic week. Don't forget to follow us on Facebook, instagram and threads and make sure to keep in touch with us on our email.
Speaker 3Shansquadsocietycom.
Speaker 2The Sean Squads Society podcast, including past, present and future versions, and its contents are owned and controlled by the Sean Squads Society. The views and opinions are solely those of the Sean Squads Society podcast. The Sean Squads Society is written and produced and recorded at the Borden Studios. We may think we are always right, but we will get something wrong from time to time. So we assume no responsibilities or ears of submissions of content.