The Chicago Theater-Makers Podcast

About The Chicago Theater-Makers Podcast

Welcome to The Chicago Theater-Makers Podcast; The show where we go behind the curtain with the actors, playwrights, directors, choreographer, designers, creatives and producers shaping Chicago’s one-of-a-kind theater scene. Every episode we sit down with the folks who make this city’s stages come alive. Whether you’re a theater pro, a curious audience member, or just love a good backstage story...This podcast is for you!

Publisher

John Michael Coppola

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

2 Jul 2025

Latest episode

2 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

75 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Nov 2026

   Mexodus with guest Brian Quijada!

   Today’s guest is a playwright, actor, and composer, who started his career acting in Off-Broadway and Regional Theaters including The Public Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, Playwright’s Realm, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Victory Gardens, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. He is also a member of Lucille Lortel winning group, The Pack. As a playwright & composer, his plays and musicals have been developed at such distinguished organizations such as Pittsburgh CLO’s Spark Festival, Victory Garden’s Ignition Festival, Ars Nova’s Ant Fest, The O’Neill’s National Musical Theatre Conference and from there, have gone on to be produced all across the country. His live-looped, hip hop solo show “Where Did We Sit on the Bus?” has been produced at Teatro Vista, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Geva Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville and many more garnering awards and nominations along the way. His play “Kid Prince and Pablo”, received its World Premiere at The Kennedy Center in the Fall of 2019. His Cumbia Hip Hop musical “Somewhere Over the Border” made its rolling World Premiere at Syracuse Stage, Geva Theatre, and Teatro Vista, garnering 6 Jeff Award nominations including Best New Work and Best Musical. He is a four-time Jeff Award winner, two-time Drama Desk winner, a two-time Lucile Lortel winner, a Helen Hayes Award winner and a proud member of The Ensemble Studio Theatre. Currently, his live-looped hip-hop musical “MEXODUS” is on tour, playing to sold-out crowds across the country and this week, arrives at Chicago’s Studebaker Theater from November 7th through 21st. For tickets you can visit this link. (https://ticketing.fineartsbuilding.com/event/81436?date=2026-11&_gl=1*avw70x*_gcl_au*NjY4MTI5NTcuMTc5MzMxMTkwMg..*_ga*MTgxMTI5MzM3MC4xNzkzMzExOTAz*_ga_1CZR3BRFCW*czE3OTMzMTE5MDIkbzEkZzAkdDE3OTMzMTE5MDIkajYwJGwwJGgw) To hear the single, "Two Bodies" on Spotify, use this link (https://open.spotify.com/track/2lVXtawhCR5oNU75h1eTgL?si=ea3743f13f32450c). To listen to the entire "Mexodus" album on Audible, use this link. (https://www.audible.com/pd/Mexodus-Audiobook/B0FQYL4VYB?qid=1793312113&intent=discovery&sr=1-1&ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=P3E7EZETEYBTB9MZV64E&plink=K7NC5Whn1iBUkbz0&pageLoadId=tr3IJw9nPb9i5DoM&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1) I hope you enjoy my conversation with Brian Quijada. Now let’s go to the top of the show!

2. 

   26 Oct 2026

   Remy Bumppo Theatre with guests Marti Lyons and Margaret McCloskey!

   Today’s guests are the Executive Director and Artistic Director, at Remy Bumppo Theatre. Artistic Director Marti Lyons received her BFA in Performance from Illinois Wesleyan University, and an MFA in Theatre from University of Idaho. As an educator, she has taught at University of Chicago, Northwestern, and University of Illinois at Chicago.Marti is as at ease directing Shakespeare as she is with new works. She has directed throughout the Chicagoland area and the country, including several world premieres such as JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN at Studio Theatre, HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELF at Actors Theatre of Louisville and Victory Gardens Theatre, WIFE OF A SALESMAN at Milwaukee Rep; and GEORGIANA AND KITTY: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY at Northlight Theatre. She was a 2015 Maggio Directing Fellow at The Goodman Theatre and in 2019, won the LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Direction and Production of Geffen Playhouse’s WITCH. She is also an ensemble member and is a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Margaret McCloskey has been with Remy Bumppo Theatre Company since 2014, serving as Director of Development and Managing Director before becoming Executive Director in 2020.Previously, Margaret was a fundraising consultant with Aaron Consulting in New York City, managing major fundraising campaigns for nonprofit organizations, and served in the Office of Communications at the Ford Foundation. She began her career in Chicago, holding positions at Chicago Opera Theater and the League of Chicago Theatres.Margaret holds an MFA in Playwriting from The New School for Drama in New York City and a BFA in Theatre Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her work has been produced in New York at the Bank Street Theater and The Producers Club, in Pittsburgh at Open Stage Theatre’s New Works Festival, and in Chicago at Chicago Dramatists and Bailiwick Repertory Theatre. Her play OLD HEAD received the Arts & Letters Prize in Drama, and she was a finalist for the Montblanc Young Writers Project for The 24 Hour Plays. Remy Bumppo's MUD ROW is running now through November 15th at TheaterWit. For special industry night performances, you can use the code INDUSTRY (all CAPS) for $20 tickets and visit this link (https://theaterwit.org/tickets/productions/609/performances#top). Non-industry tickets can be purchased here. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Marti Lyons and Margaret McCloskey. Now let’s go to the top of the show!

3. 

   19 Oct 2026

   Season Four Preview!

   Hi everyone! JMC here with the Chicago Theater-Makers Podcast with a quick message that we’re taking a short break this week to catch up with the content we already have in the can for Season 4! This season we continue with an incredible variety of guests, starting on October 26th with the Artistic and Executive directors of Remy Bumppo Theater, Marti Lyons and Margaret McCloskey. November is going to be an exciting month of incoming touring productions, starting on November 2nd when we chat with the writer and star of the smash hit “Mexodus”, Brian Quijada, as well as two of the stars of the 20th Anniversary tour of “Jersey Boys”, Peyton Schoenhofer and Coby Oram. On November 8th we drop a two part episode where we interview  director Elizabeth Margolius and set designer Nick Schons, as well as Anna Rigo and Rowan Sharma of Northwestern University’s upcoming of “She Loves Me” (the production for which I am also proudly serving as choreographer). Later that month, we chat with good friends and recent Jeff Award winners from Drury Lane’s production of “On Your Feet,” winner for choreography, Luis Salgado and winner for supporting role in a musical Claudia Quesada. Rounding out November and the beginning of December are the star of Theater Wit’s annual production of “Who’s Holiday”, Veronica Garza and owner of Wilmette’s Actor’s Training Center, Carole Dibo. Later in December, we return with two episodes in our Our “Out Of The Loop” series; The first with Broadway veteran George Dvorsky and the second with Broadway and Hollywood director Kenny Leon , about his new book, Direction: Making the Most of the Performance of Your Life. So, while we’re taking a break this week, we welcome you to catch up on any past episodes or revisit some of your old favorites! Finally, we want to thank all of our fans and supporters for taking the time to like, subscribe to and share this podcast with your friends and colleagues who you think would enjoy the conversations we’re having. We greatly appreciate your support in this way so we can bring you many more episodes for years to come. Thanks again for listening and remember to catch Season 4 starting on October 26th wherever you get your podcasts. We’ll see you on the boards soon!

Reach and audience

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

YouTube views

4,916

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

12 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 57 / 100

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

Quality

75

Social presence

0

YouTube

65

Engagement

32

Contact The Chicago Theater-Makers Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

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