Early in my conversation with Tracy Michailidis, as we discuss professional training, she jokingly refers to herself as ‘an impostor’ because, rather than attending a conservatory programme, she chose a liberal arts education. And as we chat further, Tracy details the depth of study, the vitality and shared passions of her cohort, friends she has worked with and maintains to this day. All joking aside, it’s abundantly clear that Tracy hasn’t been hobbled by her decision.

We discuss Tracy’s early career, when she was cast in a leading role at the Charlottetown Festival. She reveals what being in the touring production of Beauty and the Beast taught her and, later, what playing in the Broadway production added to the experience of living and working in New York.

Apart from our career-focussed chatting, it is abundantly clear that for Tracy, both personally and professionally, her love of, and commitment to, her family is her grounding place, the foundation that frees her to dream without restraint.

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It’s hard to believe that Michael Healey, playwright of The Drawer Boy and The Master Plan (and several original and adapted projects in between), spent the first ten years of his career as an actor before writing for the stage became his principal passion. Which is not to say that he gave up his acting career.

On the contrary, I first met and worked with Michael on the Studio 180 Theatre production of Stuff Happens, in 2008 and 2009, and a few years later on Clybourne Park.

Michael’s wholly candid and generous description of his career, his insecurities and his insights into a profession beset by constant challenges is as refreshing as it is entertaining.

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NOTE: please consider supporting the running cost of this podcast by going to: patreon.com/lifeinstages

And you can find us on:

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Sarah Orenstein was a touchstone for me during the pandemic lockdown. We’d meet outdoors, drink coffee and inflict ourselves and our anxieties on each other. We also found time to laugh at the insanity of the world around us. Sarah works, and has worked, at every major theatre in the country, including both the Stratford and Shaw Festivals.

We met in 2008, when Sarah joined the Studio 180 Theatre production of Stuff Happens, one of those watershed moments that we cherish. And among the gifts of that project is my enduring friendship with Sarah.

Sarah is fiercely dedicated to collaboration, an artist whose true love is the process of an ensemble. Not surprisingly, she dedicates a great deal of time to mentoring young artists in the craft of acting.

And let’s not forget Sarah’s love of baking and gardening.

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NOTE: please consider supporting the running cost of this podcast by going to: patreon.com/lifeinstages

And you can find us on:

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