Arts Educators Save the World

If you thought Steve and Jerry Rosen was the name of name of a borscht belt comedy duo… you would be close to correct. Steve Rosen is “that guy” in a lot of TV shows and Broadway musicals including Sir Belvedere in Spamalot and Benny Southstreet in Guys & Dolls. He’s also a successful writer - The Griswolds’ Broadway Vacation is coming this year! But he’d be nothing without his dad, retired pediatric dentist and octogenarian stand-up comic Jerry. This episode? 10/10 no notes!

Get ready to have your socks knocked off by the son and daughters of Baltimore! Jonathan Burke, Current Mungojerrie in Broadway’s Cats the Jellicle Ball, shares the mic with his bestie Adena Varner, Director of Arts Engagement for the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. Together, they celebrate the genius of their childhood mentor Kenyatta Hardison who took them both from awkward middle schoolers to superstars.

Tony’s recap alert! On this episode, Erica is joined by Nicole Hudson, Broadway Producer (The Wiz, Appropriate) and regional theatre genius, as they answer the question, “Why are theatre kids so into mentorship and arts education?” The discussion spans the magic of live performance, a focus on mentors within the awards show itself, and a deep dive into joy as resistance. To learn more about Nicole and her work, visit: https://www.thehudsonmannbridge.com/

This one's for all you poetry stans out there! On this episode, Erica sits down with two very singular gentlemen of letters, each of whom both teach and write poetry for a living. They discuss what poems are, what people are, and how to connect with students today in such a niche literary field. Jason Morphew is the author of the collections Eject City (Poets Wear Prada, 2024) and dead boy (Spuyten Duyvil, 2018) and the chapbooks What to deflect when you’re deflecting (Poets Wear Prada, 2017) and In Order to Commit Suicide (Floating Wolf Quarterly, 2012). His poems have been published in Seneca Review, Lana Turner, Bellevue Literary Review, and Smartish Pace, among other journals.  Joe Wenderoth is an American writer, performer, teacher, and film-maker. He has published seven books: five books of poetry, an epistolary novel (Letters to Wendy's), and a book of essays. His work is widely  anthologized, and has been published in collections and periodicals such as Harpers, The Nation, The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories, Best American Poetry 2007, Best American Essays 2008, Poetry 180, The Next American Essay, The Best American Poems: From Poe to Present, The Body Electric, The New American Poets: A Bread Loaf Anthology, and American Poetry: Next Generation. He and his work has a notable mention in The Best American Essays 2011.

In this live podcast, Arts Educators Save the World podcast hosts Dr. Erica Halverson and Alek Lev will interview the actor Anjali Bhimani (Ms. Marvel, The Legend of Vox Machina, Overwatch, Apex Legends) in conversation with her mentee Owyn P Taylor about the role of arts learning in her success as a multi-hyphenate actor . Using stories from Bhimani’s career and her role in Owyn's development, this conversation will highlight how Bhimani draws upon her training as an actor to adapt her work across multiple forms of media, including television, film, Broadway, and gaming – and how her connection with Owyn inspired his unlikely but undeniable creative emergence.