Take Me To Coffee

Covid Conversations: Actor's Equity with Brian Myers Cooper

Episode  |  April 28th, 2020  |  1 hr 9 mins

actors equity association, covid, fair wage on council, theatre

As a result of Covid-19, the theatre industry is experiencing a mind blowing 100% unemployment rate, with no real understanding of when or how that's going to start to change. In the midst of this, Actor's Equity, the union that governs and protects professional actors and stage managers is about to hold an election that will define the next decade of live theatre. Whether you are a theatre maker or a patron who loves to watch plays and musicals, we rang up our friend Brian Myers Cooper to come talk about what challenges face modern working class actors and what his vision for the future is as he prepares to run for AEA council again and lead our industry into a vibrant, flourishing future.

Covid Conversations: Finding Your Purpose with Rick Cowley

Episode  |  April 21st, 2020  |  1 hr 28 mins

bali, cancer, purpose, retreats, surfing

Rick and Jess met four years ago, at an event in Australia put on by an entrepreneur they both knew. Turns out, that entrepreneur had met Rick when he attended his retreat VysionQuest in Bali. His time with Rick gave him the space to open up, ask himself what his purpose was, and it led to the idea for what has become a 100 Million dollar business that is driven by that purpose and passion. Since then, Jess has watched Rick help friends, colleagues and collaborators completely change their lives and discover their purpose. With the massive disruption Covid has brought on all of us, Andrew and Jess knew they wanted to bring on Rick, ask him to share his story and give our listeners some simple exercises to help turn this crisis into a huge opportunity. Be sure to listen toward the end, when Rick starts grilling Jess & Andrew!

Covid Conversations: Classical Music & TikTok with Nathan Chan

Episode  |  April 15th, 2020  |  1 hr 8 mins

artists, cello, covid, symphony, tiktok

We've been chomping at the bit to talk to Nathan Chan, after hearing about him from our guests Drew Forde and Ken Kubota - and it did not disappoint. This conversation about how live performers navigate the loss of our space rollercoasts from hilarious conversations about bananas and nervous poop (don't ask, just listen) to trying to figure out what role the giving economy will play in the arts, to what a world looks like if artists have no income, to how TikTok gives us permission to not be perfect. You won't want to miss this!

Covid Conversations: The Artist + Activist Relief Fund with Michael Skolnik

Episode  |  April 7th, 2020  |  1 hr 13 mins

activism, corona virus, relief funds, theatre

This episode is a valentine, lighthouse (and primal scream tbh) for all of our listeners who have been changing the world through the arts and activism and are facing the reality that we have been left with very little in this crisis. Our guest, Michael Skolnik, has been at the center of the major civil and gender rights fights of our lifetime - the racial police shootings, #metoo - and now, he and his agency The Soze Agency along with Task Force and Invisible Hand are the first to recognize the enormity of the crisis facing artists and activists and putting money where their mouths are. Links to apply and donate in the show notes.

Covid Conversations: Travel & Content with Sarah Dandashy

Episode  |  March 31st, 2020  |  1 hr 1 min

concierge, content, instagram, travel

Here at #TM2C, we love when a guest is willing to really dig in and road map how they built their career, even if the beginnings were humble. Sarah Dandashy, aka AskAConcierge, built her Instagram following to 100k brick by brick, video by video, and she has so many great tips for all of us building our own followings and marrying our passions. We also end the episode with our #CoronoaQuestion: What does Sarah see next for the Travel Industry?

Covid Conversations - Broadway with The Broadway Husbands

Episode  |  March 24th, 2020  |  1 hr 9 mins

broadway, coronavirus, influencers, social media

Coronavirus can't stop our coffee dates! This is one is for all our artists friends and listeners grappling with what comes next as our livelihoods have been moved online. The Broadway Husbands, Bret Shuford and Stephen Hanna, join Jess and Andrew to work through their feelings, debate about the urge to create vs just be still, talk about parent-panic and dig into the best and worst of how live performance translates in the digital realm.

The Daily Server: Rob Darwell

Episode  |  March 17th, 2020  |  1 hr 6 mins

bartenders, dj, food and beverage, instagram, lawyer

UPDATE: If you have the means and enjoy the episode, please go to the show links and donate to the US Bartender's Guild Emergency Relief Fund. All of the beautiful servers and bartenders Rob features are out of work for at least 4 weeks and need our help. We can hardly believe entertainment lawyer Rob Darwell agreed to come on and have coffee with us, and let us tell you - this conversation didn't disappoint. He's run legal on some of the biggest film and television deals of our lifetime, he's a DJ for fun and he runs our favorite Instagram account, The Daily Server, where he features the stories of food and beverage workers around the world who provide him with excellent service.

BONUS EPISODE #5: Big Changes: Sommvivant Returns

Episode  |  March 10th, 2020  |  38 mins 59 secs

content creator, quit your job, social media, sommelier, wine

If you've been with us since the beginning, you know Amanda McCrossin, aka @Sommvivant, has been working as a sommelier at one of the best restaurants in the world. And now she's not. Say WHAT. After 10 years of working to build her reputation as a digital content creator in the wine industry, she's taking that terrifying step and going out on her own. Since this is a mentorship podcast, we all thought it would be pretty damn cool (and useful) to keep building on our original episode with Amanda and document the entire process, ups, downs and everything in between. Listen up for tips on lilypadding a career, why this transition feels like a breakup and a big win on the @sommvivant front.

#GayCountry: Brian Falduto

Episode  |  March 3rd, 2020  |  54 mins 23 secs

#gaycountry, country music, life coaching, school of rock

Remember the movie School of Rock, with Jack Black? The cutie-patootie kid (who also happened to be gay) in that movie is all grown up now, and has used his talent and fame to stand up for a whole new generation of kids who need to hear that they are loved and seen. He's a life coach and a gay country music star who has a new song hitting the charts this spring. It is accurate to say that Brian "life coached" the shit out of Jess and Andrew on this coffee date, and it's also a great chat about why stories can be the most effective form of advocacy, how Brian owns the label "that gay kid" from School of Rock, and what words make Brian lose 50% of his coaching clients before they even start - and why he likes it that way.

Haus Urban: Hassan Sayyed

Episode  |  February 25th, 2020  |  55 mins 34 secs

broadway, entrepreneurship, founders, performing arts, skincare

How do you go from theatre actor to laid-off performer with a major injury and then end up as a skincare entrepreneur with a cult following of broadway stars, high profile makeup artists, pro athletes, and multiplatinum recording artists? If we learned anything on our coffee date with Haus Urban founder Hassan Sayyed, you do it with grace, humor, a whole lot of grit and the all-important science and technology library in Los Angeles. Special thanks to #tm2c listener Avery for introducing us!

Sex Work Affirming Therapy: Janis Luna

Episode  |  February 18th, 2020  |  53 mins 27 secs

capitalism, sex work, strippers, therapy

Well, this is one of the coolest conversations we've ever had. Janis is a stripper, writer, and sex work affirming therapist living and practicing in NYC and get ready because we are going to learn all the things together today, not the least of which is: what those of us not in the sex industry can take into our lives after listening. Other interesting topics of note: Why it's necessary to talk our financial realities when we talk relationships and what Janis is interested in learning more about and why it has to do with what was in her brother’s sock drawer.

Sideways the Experience: Mary Giuliana & Vanessa Conlin

Episode  |  February 11th, 2020  |  52 mins 40 secs

chef, immersive theatre, merlot, sideways, wine

On February 20th, Napa Valley takes over NYC with Sideways the Experience at the Pecadillo Theatre Company - yes, that Sideways of Paul Giamatti hates Merlot fame. Why's it an experience, you ask? If you're a VIP, your evening includes delicious food from celebrity caterer Mary Giuliani and fabulous wine pairings from Vanessa Conlin, Head of Wine at Wine Access. In honor of their opening, we're sitting down to coffee (maybe vodka?) to talk all things Sideways, what Mary, a graveyard and a Ferris Wheel have in common, how Vanessa went from Broadway performer to wine expert and what the heck BLICCA means, and why it might help you.

Ring of Keys: Andrea Prestinario

Episode  |  February 4th, 2020  |  1 hr 7 mins

activism, actor, fun home, non-profit, queer

On February 16th at Joe's Pub in NYC, Ring of Keys is celebrating its 2nd Birthday with QUEERING THE CANON, a cabaret concert that flips the songs you thought you knew, and introduces new tunes to our book that tell stories we don't usually hear in musical theatre. We sat down with the co-founder of Ring of Keys, Andrea Prestinario, to talk all things art, activism, building a non-profit as your side gig and why just nearly everything should be BANISH'ED we say!!!!

Let's Put on Our (JHM) Jams

Article  |  January 29th, 2020
By Jess Ryan
classical music, digital media, jhm jams, ken kubota, social media, viral

What's next after our coffee date with JHM Jams founder Ken Kubota this week? How bout a #TM2CTop3 countdown of our favorite videos he's made!

JHM Jams: Ken Kubota

Episode  |  January 28th, 2020  |  1 hr 12 mins

cello, classical music, digital media, influencer, social media

Classical Cellist Ken Kubota has hundreds of thousands of people tuning into his JHM Jams every week and brand collaborations every which way you look - but like most stories, the way it all got started is much less glamorous and involved hunting people down in practice rooms, trying to avoid being sued by Julliard and thinking that Instagram was a photo editor. Also on tap: we challenge all the social media creators we know to take the one week "Do Nothing" story challenge.

Meghan's Favorite Hacks, Tips, Tricks and Companies to help you live a low waste life

Article  |  January 27th, 2020
By Jess Ryan
composting, environment, how to save the world, sustainability

On this week's epsiode of #TM2CPodcast, we keep getting asked: What's the biggest piece of advice Meghan Offtermatt, co-host of How To Save The World Podcast & owner of Moss Consulting, had for us? Read on for the answer, plus a free sustainability survival guide made just for TM2C listeners!