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The Scene Podcast

The Scene Podcast

By: Justin Borak KJ Lampar Leah Barker Zach Dulli
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 The Scene is a supplement to the popular newsletter. Playwright and host Justin Borak provides an entertaining and informative look at theatre and theatre education.2023 - Present Art Entertainment & Performing Arts
Episodes
  • An Interview with Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin (Corners Grove)

    An Interview with Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin (Corners Grove)
    Nov 22 2025
    Guest: Kaela Mei-Shing GarvinOfficial Website - https://www.kaelameishinggarvin.com/Playwright of Tiger Beat, Ping Pong, Corners Grove, High School Coven, do this in [x] of, you know that feeling, Cap’s Last, Harpers Ferry, Call Out Culture: or, the unbearable whiteness of being, Pride and Prejudice, The Well-Tempered Clavier, and The Bakunawa.Guest Bio – Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin (they/she) is a playwright, theatermaker, educator and new work advocate drawn to messy truths, slippery timelines, and theatrical forms that refuse the expected. Kaela's plays distort time, poke at power, and explore identity through diaspora, queerness, and quick changes. Their work questions norms at the heart of the theatrical form — weaving nonlinear structure, questioning inherited systems, conjuring ghosts, magic, and 雲吞麵. Their plays have been published by DPS; honored by the Leah Ryan Prize, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, & the Kennedy Center; produced at the Know Theatre of Cincinnati & Strand Theater of Baltimore; and developed by theaters like Ma-Yi, 2ST, & the Alliance. They are currently Assistant Professor of Playwriting at Salem State University.The Scene TeamJustin Borak - Host Zach Dulli - Executive Producer KJ Lampar - Producer Leah Barker - Producer & Talent CoordinatorJim Colleran - EditorAdditional music and sound effects licensed through Envato ElementsLINKSBe sure to follow The Scene Podcast on Instagram and YouTubeSubscribe to The Scene NewsletterSpecial ThanksJennifer IsaacsonLauren KardosJeffery KeilholtzShow ContributorsLeah BarkerJustin BorakJim ColleranZach DulliKJ LamparKaela Mei-Shing Garvin The Scene TeamJustin Borak - Host Zach Dulli - Executive Producer KJ Lampar - Producer Leah Barker - Producer & Talent CoordinatorJim Colleran - Editor Additional music and sound effects licensed through Envato Elements LINKSBe sure to follow The Scene Podcast on Instagram and YouTubeSubscribe to The Scene Newsletter
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    49 mins
  • An Interview with James Ijames (Fat Ham)

    An Interview with James Ijames (Fat Ham)
    Nov 15 2025
    Episode SummaryThis week, host Justin Boark sits down with award-winning playwright, director, and educator James Ijames, the creative force behind plays including Kill Move Paradise, The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning, Tony-nominated Fat Ham. Their conversation digs into process, purpose, and the responsibility of telling stories that reshape the American stage. If you care about bold writing, fearless storytelling, and the next wave of theatrical innovationEpisode NotesGuestJames Ijames – @jwijames | Official Website - https://www.jamesijames.com/Playwright of Abandon, Good Bones, Reverie, Youth, History of Walking, Matter Out of Place, Kill Move Paradise, White, Moon Man Walk, The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington, The Threshing Floor, Fat Ham, and TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever.Topics Covered• Acting, directing, and writing• Philadelphia, PA• The work of playwright August Wilson• Finding the comedy in Hamlet James Ijames Bio – James’ plays have been produced by Flashpoint Theater Company, Orbiter 3, Theatre Horizon, Wilma Theatre, Theatre Exile, Azuka Theatre (Philadelphia, PA), The National Black Theatre, JACK, The Public Theater (NYC), Hudson Valley Shakespeare Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Definition Theatre, Timeline Theater (Chicago IL) Shotgun Players (Berkeley, CA) and have received development with PlayPenn New Play Conference, The Lark, Playwright's Horizon, Clubbed Thumb, Villanova Theater, Wilma Theater, Azuka Theatre and Victory Garden. James is the 2011 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Artist recipient, and two Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Play for The Brothers Size with Simpatico Theatre Company and Gem of the Ocean with Arden Theatre. James is a 2015 Pew Fellow for Playwriting, the 2015 winner of the Terrance McNally New Play Award for WHITE, the 2015 Kesselring Honorable Mention Prize winner for ....Miz Martha, a 2017 recipient of the Whiting Award, a 2019 Kesselring Prize for Kill Move Paradise, a 2020 and 2022 Steinberg Prize, the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Drama recipient and a 2023 Tony nominee for Best Play for Fat HamJames was a founding member of Orbiter 3, Philadelphia’s first playwright producing collective. He received a BA in Drama from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA and an MFA in Acting from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.The Scene TeamJustin Borak - Host Zach Dulli - Executive Producer KJ Lampar - Producer Leah Barker - Producer & Talent CoordinatorJim Colleran - EditorAdditional music and sound effects licensed through Envato ElementsLinksBe sure to follow The Scene Podcast on Instagram and YouTubeSubscribe to The Scene NewsletterSpecial ThanksJennifer IsaacsonLauren KardosJeffery KeilholtzShow ContributorsLeah BarkerJustin BorakJim ColleranZach DulliJames IjamesKJ Lampar The Scene TeamJustin Borak - Host Zach Dulli - Executive Producer KJ Lampar - Producer Leah Barker - Producer & Talent CoordinatorJim Colleran - Editor Additional music and sound effects licensed through Envato Elements LINKSBe sure to follow The Scene Podcast on Instagram and YouTubeSubscribe to The Scene Newsletter
    Show More Show Less
    47 mins
  • An Interview with Ngozi Anyanwu (The Homecoming Queen)

    An Interview with Ngozi Anyanwu (The Homecoming Queen)
    Jul 26 2025

    This week on The Scene Podcast, we’re joined by writer, actor, and director Ngozi Anyanwu, whose work bridges generations, continents, and artistic disciplines. From her breakout play The Homecoming Queen to the deeply personal Good Grief and her acclaimed performance in The Last of the Love Letters, Ngozi brings a fierce emotional honesty to every story she tells. In this episode, she shares her journey from performer to playwright, how she captures the specificity of memory and migration, and why she’s driven to tell Black stories that aren’t centered in trauma but in complexity, joy, and love.

    Episode Notes

    Guest
    Ngozi Anyanwu – @gozeface
    Playwright of The Homecoming Queen, Good Grief, Nike or We Don’t Need Another Hero

    Topics Covered
    • From acting to writing: finding agency through authorship
    • Capturing the Nigerian American experience through character and rhythm
    • Emotional honesty and vulnerability in storytelling
    • Centering joy and nuance in Black narratives
    • Creating new pathways for Black women in theatre
    • Working across mediums: stage, screen, and beyond

    Referenced Works
    The Homecoming Queen
    Good Grief
    Nike or We Don’t Need Another Hero
    The Last of the Love Letters

    The Scene Team

    Justin Borak - Host

    Zach Dulli - Executive Producer

    KJ Lampar - Producer

    Leah Barker - Producer & Talent Coordinator

    Jim Colleran - Editor

    Additional music and sound effects licensed through Envato Elements

    LINKS

    Be sure to follow The Scene Podcast on Instagram and YouTube

    Subscribe to The Scene Newsletter
    Show More Show Less
    49 mins
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