And Then She Said: Recent Episodes
Elnora Blakeslee
And Then She Said is a podcast dedicated to exploring representation in art & media and how we relate to stories whether they're "about us" or not. There are an endless variety of stories in the world, and telling those stories and finding what we relate to in them, regardless of whether the characters' genders or skin colors or ability match our own, connects us with those who have had a different experience to ours. Every episode I'll chat with a guest about a piece of media that makes them feel seen and we'll use that as a jumping off point for a larger discussion around representation.
Maddie is back to discuss Kit Connor's forced outing and the out-of-control queerbaiting discourse in online communities.
we talk about gay people happy pride!!!!!!!!! - maddie
Welcome back to And Then She Said! In this episode, I am joined by my senior intern, Maddie (she/her), and her friends Grayson (they/them) and Veronica (she/her), to discuss the Netflix show Heartstopper and the original webcomics by Alice Oseman (she/they). We chat about the significance of a queer teen coming of age story that accurately depicts Gen Z teens and gives queer teens the same rom com storylines that straight teens have always had.
In this special episode, your usual interviewer becomes the interviewed. Special guest host Michelle Terry, Artistic Director of the Globe Theatre in London, talks with me about diversity in theatre and the need for systemic change, and why I created this podcast in the first place.
This is an episode of our series Shakesqueer, in which I and a guest discuss productions of Shakespeare's plays that include greater representation and conscious casting of LGBTQ+ and BIPOC people in the text we know so well. Kayla Mims and I discuss Kenny Leon's 2016 production of Much Ado About Nothing for the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park in New York. The production, led by Danielle Brooks and Grantham Coleman as Beatrice and Benedick, stars an all-Black cast and sets the story in Atlanta, Georgia in 2020. The cast brings the play to life with joy and exuberance (this is exactly how much fun you're supposed to have watching Shakespeare), and the production is a perfect example of conscious casting. The heart and soul of the production is the experience of Black people in America. The play was not written for Black actors - in fact there are no racial indicators in the text at all - but this casting allows the actors to tell their story through the text, to show them living their lives as people as well as their struggles based on their race. An audience member of any race watches and sees people they can relate to, and a racial experience that may not be theirs, and both are connective. From the music, to the inflections in the language, to the sass, to the "Stacey Abrams 2020" poster and the protest signs, the cast makes Much Ado their own, telling their story through Shakespeare's.
The Public Theater's Much Ado About Nothing,directed by Kenny Leon, is available to watch on the PBS website.
This is an episode of our series Shakesqueer, in which I and a guest discuss productions of Shakespeare's plays that include greater representation and conscious casting of LGBTQ+ and BIPOC people in the text we know so well. Gil Bengston and I discuss the Bridge Theatre's 2019 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream,directed by Nicholas Hytner. Immersive, hilarious, and magical, the production swapped the power dynamic and storyline between Titania and Oberon, allowing both roles to shine in a new way. The world of the play was queer-inclusive and all around delightful, from the courtship dance between Oberon and Bottom set to Beyoncé to the fairies flying overhead on aerial silks. If it ever comes back to NT Live, go see it; it's Shakespeare how the plays are meant to be done.
Gil Bengston and Vincent Merouze recommended different LGBTQ+ films to me within hours of each other - Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)and Just a Question of Love (2000) - and here they share with me what resonated for them both in each film. The three of us also discuss the differences in representation in the 20 year gap between when the films were made and why representation in media is important to us. Happy Pride 2020!
Portrait of a Lady on Fire was directed by Céline Sciamma. Just a Question of Love was directed by Christian Faure.
Julie Andrews' second memoir, Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years, covers her life through her time in Hollywood, beginning with Mary Poppins in 1963 and recounting her experiences balancing home and work life with her late husband, Blake Edwards, and the challenges they faced while raising their children and managing their busy careers. Carrie Kirby and I chat about why we related to the book - everything from her descriptions of being a performer and worrying about being "good enough", to the endless learning and effort that goes into introspection and therapy.
Home Work was published by Orion Publishing Group Ltd in 2019.
This is the first episode of our series Shakesqueer, in which I and a guest discuss productions of Shakespeare's plays that include greater representation and conscious casting of LGBTQ+ and BIPOC people in the text we know so well. The National Theatre recently live-streamed Simon Godwin's 2017 production of Twelfth Night, starring Tamsin Greig as Malvolia, as part of their National Theatre at Home series during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lucille Bengston and I discuss the production, how it explores gender and queerness in Shakespeare's beloved comedy, and the resonance the production has for us as members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night was performed at the National Theatre in London in 2017.
The book Spinning Straw Into Gold by Joan Gould focuses on fairytales and how they depict transformation in women's lives. Lily Elliott and I discuss Sleeping Beauty and the transformation she experiences while asleep - and how we are all "asleep" from our normal lives in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Spinning Straw Into Gold was published by Random House in 2005.