Pratfalls of Parenting

“Oh my god, all you do is walk really slow all the time or just stand and wait.” Visual artist Karen Kasel talks about her Low Tech/High Joy collaboration as well as the work of a full time mom. “I couldn’t think about the world. I had dirty diapers everywhere.” Karen talks about her kids […]

“At least you got a laugh.” Laura Zabel is the executive director of Springboard for the Arts. She is also married to the host of this podcast “My job fulfills a lot of the same things that acting did for me.” Laura talks about how she thinks about the work Springboard does and how it’s […]

“What it really comes down to is no one’s ever happy.” Writer, performer, producer Joshua Will talks about comedy, writing, performing, and how his kids reminded him how to “just be a pirate.” Joshua talks about getting into Monty Python in 6th grade even though he didn’t really get most of the jokes. He talks […]

“I parent the same way I write a story” Writer Todd Smith talks about the work ethic it really takes to be a writer “If you want to be a writer you should have better reasons than being rich” Todd shares the baggage that comes with the name Todd Smith. And he shares his goal […]

“When I started writing this I was a lot closer to these girls than to being the mother of a girl” Writer Stephanie Watson talks about writing for young audiences and being a single parent. “I’m hoping to teach her about following her own passions by example” Stephanie talks about getting into theater as a […]

“Amy and I share a language, a passion” Kurt Schweickhardt is an actor, theater teacher, and director and his daughter Amy Schweickhardt is an actor. “I try to direct the way I would like to be directed as an actor” Kurt talks about being an acting coach more than a director because his focus tends […]

“I feel like its kind of my job to not chicken out of what my dreams are.” Improviser, writer, and movie maker Eric Knobel talks about his almost two decades of experience as a performer and becoming a father to twins. “I have no constructive criticisms other than “Hey, don’t do that.” Eric talks about […]

“Kids, it just kind of makes what’s fractured more fractured and what’s solid more solid.” Graphic designer Kelly Munson and musician and music producer Scott LeGere talk about parenthood changing their work, their goals, and their relationship with one another. “If you’re not as talented as Prince, how do you find a side job.” Scott […]

“In some ways I’m doing what I wanted to do as a preadolescent” Songwriter, Musician, Teacher and Honeydogs frontman Adam Levy talks about teaching songwriting and how to approach a career as a musician.  He talks about the work required of a bandleader, particularly when performing for an audience full of children who will not […]

“I always wanted to impress girls but I had no talent” Director of Career & Alumni Services at McNally Smith David Lewis talks about becoming a concert promoter at age 15 mostly in an attempt to meet girls.  He talks about being driven by punk ideals in the creation and promotion of art. David talks […]

“The only thing I ever really wanted to do with my life was make music” Rapper/musician Stef Alexander, aka P.O.S of Doomtree and Rhymesayers,  talks about his first tour with a punk band when he was 14. He talks about being in elementary school and having the realization that making music was a job. Stef talks about his mom’s love of music and how important support from her has been in making music a career. “There’s a difference between what your ideal is and your real life” Stef talks about the financial realities of being an independent musician. He talks about getting comfortable with what he’s trying to communicate and taking pride in his ability to earn a living making the music he wants to make. And he talks about the role maturity plays on what he writes about. “If you’re paying any attention at all you can see there’s a lot things that are unfair” Stef talks about trying to make catchy, danceable music but that also has a complex and powerful message. He talks about trying to be consistently the same person in all areas of his life so that everyone he has relationships with knows what to expect.  Stef talks about meeting fans from the perspective of having been a fan first and being aware of the importance those human connections have. “Both parenting and making songs are a real second nature at this point” Stef talks about having conversation with his son about how people may try to be his friend in an attempt to get access to his dad’s shows. He talks about what its like for his son to have actual friends who really love his dad’s music. He also talks about the challenges of being a touring musician with other musicians who don’t have a family at home and don’t get the challenges of being a father on the road. “I love my work so I’m not one of those dudes that’s crabby when I get home from work because I hate my job”

“I have no inheritance” Playwright, theater artist, and teacher Jeannine Coulombe talks about deciding to concentrate on playwriting once she became a mother. “I do find a parallel between playwriting and my father’s carpentry” She talks about being a founding member of the Workhaus Collective and how much she gets out of producing hers and other’s work as well as writing plays. She talks about the complex relationship between a working playwright and William Shakespeare. And Jeannine talks about living in Europe for two years and figuring out who she was as a playwright. “They paid me to go to grad school to write so… I’ll take it” Jeannine talks about moving back to Minnesota knowing that working and living as a playwright was more realistic than in New York. She talks about getting her first play produced and about her decision to go to graduate school in Iowa for playwriting. And about what skills she was able to develop in graduate school that she may not have in the real world. “Because of the background that I have, I don’t think that I’ve ever fit into the theater” Jeannine talks about her work with a teaching program called Art Share and the impact that work had on her as a writer and eventually a teaching artist. She talks about her families blue collar background and the role that played in shaping her work ethic as well as her ability to not be heavily money driven. Jeannine also talks about what it means to be an actual expert at something and how to use that expertise to help others.

“The comedic soul of a piece is all in the editing” Video maker and father TJ Kudalis talks about the comic timing in editing video and film. TJ talks about his study of Scottish and Irish poetry and how close he came to being a professor of Scotch/Irish poetry. He talks about how languages are a form of expression and thus a specific way of interpreting the world. TJ talks about how many other versions of languages also exist, such as dance, photography and film. “Good cinematography replicates the act of seeing” TJ talks about being an audio/visual nerd. TJ talks about accidentally becoming a web journalist before there were a proliferation of blogs and citizen journalism sites. He talks about creating content specifically for the web rather than just repurposing old print media. TJ also talks about ending up covering a riot, winning awards, and working for a national news organization. “I used to think I was a great multi-tasker but it turns out I’m bad at paying attention” TJ talks about narrating his pre-language daughter’s actions as a way of playing with and enjoying her. He also talks about listening to audio books and podcasts that have adult themes with his infant. “Another thing I didn’t realize is how much time you spend with your kid just hanging out”

“Being a dad is kinda awesome. It’s way better than when I worked at Best Buy” DJ, producer, record collector, and musician Brendan Kelly, aka BK-One, talks about growing up learning music, obsessing about records, stumbling into DJing and becoming a stay at home dad. "Every big thing I've ever done I've been underqualified for" Talks about spending a decade as a touring DJ and then deciding that fatherhood meant the end of being a touring musician. Brendan talks about the difficulty in creating structure when his only job was music. And Brendan talks about deciding if and how he could keep making music as a stay at home dad. “I have trouble being productive unless there’s too much to do” Brendan talks about the business model of an independent musician and the strengths and weaknesses it carries. He talks about the role of the DJ in a rap performance and what it means to be focused on making someone else look good. Brendan also talks about his early obsession with music and records and how that unintentionally moved him into the work of being a DJ. “I just want to model for them how I got to the things I care about” Brendan talks about how his identity would change based on whether he was a touring musician or a guy at home or a dad. He talks about his focus as a parent on showing his kids how to care about things rather that what things to care about. Brendan also talks about learning from the other artists he worked with who were already parents about how that might impact his career.

“What I put out into the world has a through-line of personal transformation” Space Guru, holistic wellness practitioner, musician, producer, designer, radio host, and stepmother Susan Shehata talks about the challenges of describing the work she does because she does so many different creative things. She also talks about her desire to rebrand the idea of stepmotherhood. “Children are the biggest mirror that we can have” Susan talks about approaching spaces as an art form. She shares how for her helping people design and shape the spaces where they live or work becomes an art practice for her. She also talks about the creativity of finding and repurposing old or discarded objects. “It takes some of the joy out of the things you're passionate about because now they’re also the way you’re going to earn your income” Susan talks about having her business partner also be her life partner. She also talks about the challenges of working on big projects with people who are collaborators but also friends because of the sometimes hard to define relationship. Susan talks about being a stepmother and some of the challenges surrounding sharing parenting relationships not only with her partner but also with her stepdaughter’s other family. She talks about how having so many self-employed projects results in setting her own schedule but also never being off the clock.