Backstage Chatter @ The Segal

About Backstage Chatter @ The Segal

The Segal Centre for Performing Arts is Montreal's preeminent not-for-profit English theatre company. From fun interviews with theatre artists from around the world to insightful and thought-provoking explorations on issues affecting our community, Backstage Chatter revisits some of our most fascinating conversations and enriching pre-show panel discussions centered on the themes of our main season productions.

Publisher

Segal Centre for Performing Arts

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

16 Feb 2022

Latest episode

23 Jun 2025

Latest episodes

18 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Jun 2025

   Backstage Chatter @ the Segal - Clue: On Stage

   Host Sarah Deshaies interviews actor Tamara Brown and Associate Director Zach Counsil about bringing the comedic play *Clue: On Stage* to life, revealing the chaos and timing required for its fast-paced production.

2. 

   18 Jun 2025

   Backstage Chatter @ the Segal - Max and Aaron Write a Musical

   Host Sarah Deshaies interviews Trevor Barrette, Émile Auger, and Nathaniel Bacon about the development of "Max and Aaron Write a Musical," exploring its queer themes and connection to Montreal's creative community.

3. 

   7 May 2025

   Backstage Chatter @ The Segal - Our Little Secret: The 23andMe® Musical

   Backstage Chatter @ The Segal - Our Little Secret: The 23andMe® Musical An enriching pre-show discussion about the journey of a show from the page to the stage! Our Little Secret: The 23andMe® Musical is the hilarious and heartfelt true story of Noam Tomaschoff’s unexpected discovery that he wasn’t an only child—but had over 35 siblings around the world. On this episode of Backstage Chatter @ the Segal, Noam and his parents, Gideon and Sylvie, reflect on the deeply personal journey of turning that revelation into a musical. Hosted by the incomparable Sarah Deshaies, this episode offers a candid and moving look at how the creative process became a source of healing, connection, and growth for the entire family. This episode of Backstage Chatter @ the Segal is hosted by the incomparable Sarah Deshaies.

4. 

   9 Dec 2024

   Backstage Chatter @ The Segal - The Secret Chord: A Leonard Cohen Experience

   Backstage Chatter @ The Segal - The Secret Chord: A Leonard Cohen Experience An enriching pre-show discussion about the journey of a show from the page to the stage! Leonard Cohen’s music is woven with mystique, poetry, and a deep sense of spirituality—and few understand this better than Cantor Gideon Zelermyer of Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue, who lent his powerful voice to Cohen’s haunting You Want It Darker album. On this episode of Backstage Chatter, we delve into the unique bond between the legendary singer-songwriter and the city he cherished. Cantor Zelermyer shares personal insights, stories of collaboration, and the profound ways Cohen’s artistry continues to resonate. Tune in for an unforgettable journey into the soul of a musical icon, as seen through the eyes of a collaborator and friend. This episode of Backstage Chatter @ the Segal is hosted by the incomparable Sarah Deshaies.

5. 

   28 Oct 2024

   Backstage Chatter @ The Segal - Titanique

   Backstage Chatter @ The Segal - Titanique An enriching pre-show discussion about the journey of a show from the page to the stage! There’s nothing quite like the unsinkable charm of Titanique, the hit musical that takes the classic Titanic story and gives it a hilarious, campy twist. On this episode of Backstage Chatter, we’re setting sail with the brilliant minds who helmed this ship from its inception—creators Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle, and Constantine Rousouli. Join us as we dive deep into the making of this larger-than-life parody, exploring how they managed to steer this comedy straight into audiences' hearts. Grab your life vests, because this conversation promises to be a tidal wave of laughs, behind-the-scenes stories, and moments that will keep you afloat with joy long after the episode ends! This episode of Backstage Chatter @ the Segal is hosted by the incomparable Sarah Deshaies.

6. 

   25 Sept 2024

   Sunday @ The Segal: The Great Divide

   An enriching pre-show discussion about the journey of a show from the page to the stage! The Great Divide Join Director Trevor Barrette, two of three translators, Aron Gonshor and Anna Fishman Gonshor (Edit Kuper lives in Toronto), and Costume Designer Sabrina Miller to discuss the process of bridging historical settings (1911 New York City) with modern aesthetics (punk rock culture) and delve into the challenges and conversations surrounding authenticity and innovation while bringing a new Yiddish work to life. This Sunday @ the Segal is hosted by our incomparable 2023-2024 season host, Sarah Deshaies (CJAD radio).

7. 

   25 Sept 2024

   Sunday @ The Segal: Fifteen Dogs

   An enriching pre-show discussion about the journey of a show from the page to the stage! Fifteen Dogs Fifteen Dogs is a stage adaptation by Marie Farsi of the Giller® Prize-winning novel of the same name by Andrés Alexis. This Sunday @ the Segal will bring together two local playwrights - Alice Abracen (The Covenant) and Michaela Di Cesare (Extra/Beautiful/U) - to discuss the artistry of adaptation. How do you stay true to the spirit of a piece of literature? How does dramatization change a story? This Sunday @ the Segal is hosted by our incomparable 2023-2024 season host, Sarah Deshaies (CJAD radio).

8. 

   25 Sept 2024

   Sunday @ The Segal: Boy Falls From The Sky

   An enriching pre-show discussion about the journey of a show from the page to the stage! Boy Falls From The Sky Since Boy Falls From The Sky is a showbiz tell-all that explores the perspective of a life-long performer climbing the ranks of the theatre, TV, and film industries, this edition of Sunday @ the Segal will be a one-on-one interview with one of Canada’s most respected agents, Shari Quallenberg of AMI Artists. This Sunday @ the Segal is hosted by our incomparable 2023-2024 season host, Sarah Deshaies (CJAD radio).

9. 

   25 Sept 2024

   Sunday @ The Segal: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

   An enriching pre-show discussion about the journey of a show from the page to the stage! Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is the inspiring true story of Carole King’s remarkable journey from teenage songwriter to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Join us for this exciting panel discussion bringing together a quartet of music experts, featuring jazz musician Ranee Lee, former Montreal Gazette music critic Bernard Perusse, singer-songwriter Sarah Segal-Lazar, and music journalist Erik Leijon. This Sunday @ the Segal is hosted by our incomparable 2023-2024 season host, Sarah Deshaies (CJAD radio).

10. 

    4 Aug 2023

    Baker’s Burlesque Legacy: a conversation on the politics of popping pasties

    Best known for her career as a glamorous diva of stage & screen, Josephine Baker’s legacy is celebrated for acting as a spy for the allied forces in WW2 and an essential figure of the civil rights movement in the United States. She proved beyond all doubt that the tassel can be mightier than the sword (and even the pen!). Baker’s Burlesque Legacy: a conversations on the politics and popping pasties brings together four brilliant bombshells of Montreal's own fabulous burlesque scene, Lou Lou La Duchesse de Riere, The Foxy Lexxi Brown, Yaya Havana, and Zyra Lee Vanity, to discuss the rich history of their art and the intersection of burlesque and activism for an exciting preshow panel discussion. Feathers, fans, and fearless questions included! Moderated by the lovely and multi-talented, Votre Dame!

11. 

    4 Aug 2023

    Sunday @ the Segal: Josephine, A Musical Cabaret

    An enriching pre-show discussion about the journey of a show from the page to the stage! Josephine: A Musical Cabaret In this multi-award-winning biographical cabaret that combines music, theatre, burlesque, and dance, we follow Josephine Baker’s exploits that were groundbreaking for her time and still incredible nearly a century later. This dazzling panel discussion featutres Tymisha Harris (co-creator/performer), Michael Marinaccio (co-creator), Sean Cheesman (director/choreographer), and Taurey Butler (musical director) talking about how they brought this one-woman show from page to the Segal stage! This Sunday @ the Segal is hosted by our incomparable 2022-2023 season host, Sarah Deshaies (CJAD radio).

12. 

    31 May 2023

    Sunday @ the Segal: Prayer for the French Republic

    An enriching pre-show discussion about the modern Jewish experience Prayer for the French Republic is the latest work by multi-award-winning playwright Josh Harmon. This play explores modern antisemitism through the lens of a family living in France in 2016 amid a rise of antisemitic attacks and a pivotal election which led to the emigration of 5000 French Jews. This Sunday @ the Segal is moderated by our 2022-2023 season host, Sarah Deshaies, and features the Altman family who made this migration from France to Montreal in 2017 to get a deeper understanding of their reasoning and the experience of Jewish people in France. This interview will be conducted in French and English.

13. 

    31 May 2023

    Sunday @ the Segal: English

    English by Sanaz Toossi is a humourous and heartwarming story about four Iranian students studying for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and their teacher that explores the relationship between language and identity. This Sunday @ the Segal brings together 4 theatre artists of Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) descent, Anne-Marie Saheb, Arash Ebrahimi, Leila Ghaemi, and Sophie El-Assaad to discuss their experiences within the industry, the power of representation, and the significance of producing works like these within the current global context. Hosted by our incomparable 2022-2023 season host, Sarah Deshaies (CJAD radio)!

14. 

    10 Nov 2022

    The Art of Laughter

    From the minds of Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors brings together one of the greatest works of literature and a whole lot of hilarity to create a laughter-filled journey for its audience. Joy might be a universal feeling, but it takes a unique and creative mind to crack up an entire audience. This Sunday @ the Segal features local Montreal favourites Mike Carrozza, Darragh Mondoux, Sandi Armstrong, and Paul Van Dyck discussing comedy in all of its forms, the art and the industry. Hosted by our incomparable 2022-2023 season host, Sarah Deshaies (CJAD radio)!

15. 

    29 Jun 2022

    YidLife Crisis: Pandemish Sunday @ the Segal: Exploring Modern Jewish Identity

    For the third (and final!) episode of the first season of Backstage Chatter, we are revisiting a Sunday @ the Segal Panel from our virtual production of YidLife Crisis: Pandemish. In this panel, which originally aired in January 2022, we invited four Jewish-identifying panelists of different ages and experiences to talk about their relationship to Jewishness, and how it influences their lives and work. Our 2021-2022 season host, Sarah Deshaies (CJAD radio) moderated the discussion in her signature warm and insightful style, and is also our guest host for this episode. Our panelists and host have all developed projects through the Segal's Jewish Arts Mentorship program or the Museum of Jewish Montreal's Microgrants for Creative and Cultural Exploration. Panelists include daph ben david, J-Rob (Half White Full Black), Yael Silver, and Hershell Blatt.

16. 

    7 Apr 2022

    Moving Forward: Reflections on Theatre Training Institutions

    For our second episode of Backstage Chatter, we are revisiting a panel discussion that originally aired in May 2021. Moving Forward is a panel of recent graduates from five Anglophone Quebec theatre institutions to reflect on what works, what needs to change, and how to move forward. Over the past few years, we have discovered more about the harsh reality of what many theatre students have experienced behind closed doors. As artistic practices evolve to encourage representation and space for creativity to thrive, are educational institutions also evolving to meet the needs of this fast-paced industry? In a business where techniques are constantly evolving, why do acting institutions continue to hold on to outdated theatrical traditions? Our guest host is Gabriela Saltiel, co-founder of Acting in Good Company and the Segal Centre's Project Manager, Operations, and Assistant to the General Manager. Our moderators are Kayleigh Choiniere and Mara Lazaris, two more co-founders of Acting in Good Company. Panelists: Dakota J Wellman, Bishop's University Camila Fitzgibbon, John Abbott College Rebecca Gibian, National Theatre School Meagan Schroeder, Concordia University Gabe Maharjan, Dawson College

17. 

    9 Mar 2022

    Keeping the Conversation Going: One Year Later

    For our first episode of Backstage Chatter, we are revisiting a panel discussion originally aired in September 2020. The Montreal Holocaust Museum & Segal Centre presented Keeping the Conversation Going (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th96sl0ViHg), a panel of inspiring Black voices in our community in conversation about art, culture, and systemic racism. Moderated and guest hosted by Mike Payette, Actor, Director, Educator, Arts Advocate, and Artistic Director of Tarragon Theatre, who shares his thoughts about the conversation 17 months later. Panelists: Rivka Campbell, Co-Founder of Jews of Colour-Canada, Executive Director of Beit Rayim Synagogue and School in York Region Nantali Indongo, CBC Broadcaster, Host of the arts and culture program "The Bridge", and Arts and Culture Columnist on "Daybreak" Josa Maule, Founder of Montreal school of Performing Arts (MSOPA), Casting Director, Acting Coach, Director, and Producer Lisa Ndejuru, Counselor, Psychodramatist, Founding Member of the Living Histories Ensemble, Organizer and Activist serving the Rwandan diaspora for over 20 years Tarragon Theatre has also recently held a panel called Embracing Revolution that also asks: Where are we now? And how does Black Lives Matter intersect with making art? Click here to listen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsmFwnyQCQQ).

18. 

    16 Feb 2022

    The Segal Centre's Backstage Chatter - Teaser

    Announcing our newest off-stage venture: Backstage Chatter, a podcast from the Segal Centre! Like many artistic and cultural institutions, the Segal Centre was shut down in March 2020. While we waited to get back to doing what we do best, producing live theatre in front of an audience, we had the opportunity to have a lot of important and varied discussions, many of them captured and streamed online for your viewing pleasure. In Season 1 - or “Act 1” if you will - of this podcast, we’ll revisit some of our most fascinating conversations. Some were fun interviews with theatre artists from around the world and some were insightful and thought-provoking discussions on issues affecting our community. You can find our introduction anywhere you stream podcasts, and stay tuned until next Wednesday for our premiere episode!

Who has been a guest on Backstage Chatter @ The Segal

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Tamara Brown
• Zach Counsil
• Trevor Barrette
• Émile Auger
• Nathaniel Bacon

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

787,624

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Spotify

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 56 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

64

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

32

Contact Backstage Chatter @ The Segal

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.