I’m delighted to welcome on the podcast Teal Sherer and Jessica Wallenfels. Teal is an actor, writer, mom, and disability advocate who has teamed up with Jessica, a fabulous director and choreographer, for the upcoming production The World Looks Different Sitting Down, which runs at Seattle Public Theater for two weekends only from February 20 to March 1.

Combining comedy and confrontation, Teal shares her experiences as a wheelchair user in a world where strangers at Whole Foods either don’t notice you exist or ask oddly intimate questions about your sex life.

Teal has performed multiple roles on stage and screen. One of her first major roles was in 2004’s Warm Springs with Kenneth Branagh and Cynthia Nixon. She played Venom in the web series The Guild and herself in her own hilarious series My Gimpy Life.

You will hear:

• Teal talks about her life changing post-car crash, which left her paralyzed and in a wheelchair in a world that was not designed for her
• The importance of accessibility and representation in the arts - disabled people deserve to play any kind of role, not just a disabled character - and being able to be included in everything the rest of the cast can do, like using the same dressing rooms
• Teal and Jessica’s partnership
• And more!

Links:

Seattle Public Theater: https://www.seattlepublictheater.org/sittingdown

Teal’s Website: https://www.tealsherer.com/

Jessica’s Website: https://www.jessicawallenfels.com/

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: ser1840@gmail.com

Join the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

Author and activist Maya Contreras joins me to discuss the aftermath of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s victory, and what that means for a Democratic Party that might have a restrictive definition of “big tent.”

Maya lives and works in New York City. She’s just finished a new book, The Language of Theft: How The Wealthy Fund Narratives That Rob America of Our Common Sense, in which she offers a blueprint of strategies Democrats can use to counter destructive, donor-funded right-wing narratives.

Guest Info:

Maya Contreras is a political strategist, a narrative interpreter, and an advocate for anti-racist policy. As a lifelong advocate, Contreras’s focus has been on Voting Rights because all paths to policy begin with access to the ballot box. On the road to equity, dominant political narratives that stem from domestic policy inhibit civic participation.

Contreras has given Voting Rights lectures at the Brennan Center for Justice, Clark University, and NYU. She was invited to testify in support of the New York State Voting Rights Act at the New York Senate on March 3, 2020. Maya has held anti-racist narrative and messaging clinics for leading members of the media, and U.S. Democratic Senators’ social media teams.

Maya’s own civic participation is a critical component of her work. Contreras was appointed by City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera to the Neighborhood Advisory Board, Community 3 Manhattan of which she now serves as Chairman.

Contreras co-founded All Women’s Progress Policy Center to create an intersectional policy institute dedicated to improving the lives of womxn and marginalized groups through research and education.

Maya has a MA in Arts & Public Policy from NYU and a BA in Comparative Religion from FSU.

Links:

Maya’s Website: https://www.mayacontreras.com/

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: ser1840@gmail.com

Join the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

Joining me on the podcast is my friend Lynne Streeter Childress — playwright, actor, teaching artist, singer, director, and (whew!) the founder and artistic director of Building Better People Productions, an organization based in Annapolis, Maryland, that produces theatre-based shows, workshops, and classes based in themes of empathy, kindness, and respect—Traits that don’t seem particularly prominent in our current era.

Lynne has 31 years experience in professional theater, and she’s spent most of her career serving young audiences. This includes performing at the Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, and Adventure Theatre and teaching for such institutions as the Folger Shakespeare Library, Everyman Theatre, and Baltimore School for the Arts.

Lynne also co-hosts the podcast Fine Beats and Cheeses with her twin sister (and friend of this newsletter), Leslie Gray Streeter. Last year, Lynne and Liz invited me on to discuss all things Law & Order.

You’ll hear:

• How Lynne got started in theatre
• Expressing the Black experience while being told (falsely and offensively) that you or your experiences aren’t “black enough” and how important representation is on stage and screen to expand the view on a “typical” experience
• The importance of showing and teaching empathy on stage and starting these teachings early
• And more!

Links:

Lynne’s Website: https://lynnestreeterchildress.com/

Building Better People Productions: https://bbpproductions.com/

Fine Beats and Cheeses Podcast: https://finebeatsandcheeses.com/

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: ser1840@gmail.com

Join the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson