the GREENROOM with Nik n Mik cover art

the GREENROOM with Nik n Mik

the GREENROOM with Nik n Mik

By: Mik Allen Concepts
Listen for free

About this listen

The Green Room with Nikki & Mik Allen
A safe backstage for people who make things.

Recorded on Kaurna Country on the Adelaide Plains, The Green Room is where married duo Nikki Allen and Dr Michael (Mik) Allen clock off from the show and talk about what a creative life is actually like.

Between them, they’ve racked up around 80 years in the arts – acting, directing, teaching, dramaturgy, festivals, research, community work, youth arts, and a frankly ridiculous number of side-hustles and near-burnouts. They’ve tried to leave the industry more than once. It keeps dragging them back.

This isn’t a promo feed or a highlight reel. It’s the green room:
the staff room of theatre, where performers and makers swap stories, vent, compare scars, talk craft, politics, survival, and the quiet moments where the real lessons sink in.

Expect:

  • honest, unpolished conversations
  • ADHD rambling and PhD-level overthinking
  • stories from tin sheds to multi-million dollar festivals
  • and the odd coughing fit or existential crisis left in the edit

If you’re an artist, teacher, creative, cultural worker, or just a human who loves what art does to people, pull up a chair. This is your backstage.

© 2025 the GREENROOM with Nik n Mik Art Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Audiences

    Audiences
    Dec 12 2025

      📍 This episode explores how audience behave as a collective organism, their rituals, their resistance to disruption, and what their reactions reveal about cultural expectation.

    Among other things, we talk about our unique audience experiences as well as methods and techniques for shaping an audience. We try to get at the rituals, behaviours, and social scripts that underpin all audiences as a dynamic part of any event, rather than an aggregate mass.

    If we can understand these fundamental components of how an audience is developed and constructed, we can use this as another creative element to be used, rather than a misunderstood, and marginalised creative element.

    A Mik Allen Concepts production

    www.mikallenconcepts.com
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 15 mins
  • Welcome to the Green Room

    Welcome to the Green Room
    Nov 28 2025

    Introducing The Green Room: A Safe Haven for Performers

    In the inaugural episode of 'The Green Room,' married duo Nikki and Michael Allen, both experienced theater professionals, introduce their podcast. Recorded on the Kaurna country of the Adelaide plains, they discuss the inspiration behind creating this safe space akin to a theater's green room, where performers can share unfiltered conversations. They delve into their personal and professional journeys, spanning over 80 years collectively in the arts, and how they've transitioned from performing to teaching and researching. This episode sets the stage for candid talks on performance, creativity, and cultural change, aiming to provide an honest, grounded, and reflective space for fellow artists.

    00:00 Introduction and Acknowledgment of Country
    00:28 First Podcast Episode: The Green Room
    01:12 Setting the Tone and Framework
    01:54 Hosts Introduction: Nikki and Michael
    03:22 What is the Green Room?
    05:31 Purpose and Vision of the Podcast
    11:16 Nikki's Journey and Reflections
    20:26 Michael's Journey and Reflections
    25:24 The Green Room: A Safe Space for Artists
    29:08 Ground Rules for the Green Room
    30:36 The Essence of Connection in the Green Room
    31:20 Unspoken Rules of the Green Room
    31:41 The Importance of Genuine Interaction
    33:44 The Sacred Space for Performers
    34:22 The Reality Behind the Scenes
    34:47 The Power of Shared Experiences
    36:07 The Collective Journey of Performers
    37:45 Why We Are Recording This
    39:02 Capturing Lessons for Future Generations
    40:03 The Intersection of Art and Academia
    43:05 The Impact of Theater on Lives
    44:37 The Journey of Our Craft
    01:04:58 The Ephemeral Nature of Performance
    01:08:56 Introducing Ourselves and Our Mission

    A Mik Allen Concepts production

    www.mikallenconcepts.com
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 11 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.