Episode 499 - Ryan Spahn

Michael James Scott plays Nurse Francois on Scrubs.  His previous television credits include Apple TV’s critically acclaimed animated series CENTRAL PARK, Showtime’s BLACK MONDAY and Hallmark’s A HOLIDAY IN HARLEM. Michael is no stranger to commanding an audience. He is currently making history as the longest-running Genie in Disney’s Aladdin, a performance that has earned him critical acclaim and a devoted fan base. A powerhouse in the theater world, he was also an original cast member of The Book of Mormon, Something Rotten!, and Hair, cementing his reputation as a versatile, scene-stealing performer. Beyond the stage, Michael showcased another side of his artistry with his 2020 holiday album A Fierce Christmas, featuring beloved classics like “Christmas Time Is Here,” “This Christmas,” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Townsend draws on everything. For over twenty years he has been spear-heading collaborative drawings using low-adhesive tapes that can be stuck on facades, sidewalks, walls, whatever without permanent repercussions. The drawings started as nightly guerrilla raids on the surfaces of Providence, Rhode Island and as interest in these ephemeral works grew he has been invited to perform over 500 of his Tape Art creations on walls around the world. His work with the Tape Art medium has optimized his efforts as a community artist and he has worked collaboratively with tens of thousands students both young and old. The uniquely accessible nature of his teaching practice have made this participatory work a good fit for prisons, hospitals, psychiatric facilities, nursing homes and communities struggling to have their voices heard. When he is not pressing tape onto walls, Townsend might be found in front of a computer editing footage from his films, choreographing short dance pieces, working on a subterranean sculpture pieces or working relentlessly on one of his epic secret projects. Townsend and his collaborators became an international curiosity when it was discovered that they were building a fully-functioning apartment space inside the Providence Place Mall that they had occupied, undiscovered, for four years. The project was ended abruptly before the wood floors were installed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jamaal Fields-Green is a multi-hyphenate talent, with experience and accolades across acting, singing, writing, and directing. A Musical Theatre graduate, Jamaal refined his theatrical skills and began to craft his identity as an artist during his time at the prestigious Hartt School. Most recently, he starred as Michael Jackson in MJ the Musical on the West End. A globally recognised role, Jamaal’s portrayal showcases his ability to embody a character and is a testament to his deep understanding of his craft across music and acting. Prior to MJ the Musical, Jamaal brought to life the characters of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in the Chicago company's rendition of Hamilton: An American Musical and appeared on TV with appearances on Freeform’s That Thing About Harry and Chicago PD. Beyond acting, Jamaal wrote and directed an award-winning short film - The Inevitable - and recently released an EP of original songs titled ‘What Was the Reason’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rafael Monserrate is an accomplished Producer and Director with more than two decades of experience creating acclaimed unscripted and narrative content. He has executive produced and directed over a dozen television series, including History Channel’s Alone, the award-winning survival series hailed by The New Yorker as “the best reality show on television,” now in its 13th critically acclaimed season and streaming on Netflix. A two-time feature film director, his credits include Peel (Sony Pictures), starring Emile Hirsch and Amy Brenneman. His work spans large-scale competition formats, intimate documentaries, and character driven narrative films, unified by a cinematic sensibility and a commitment to emotional truth. Most recently, he directed, executive produced, and completed production on Teenhood, a four-part docuseries of unprecedented access to four American teens over 50 transformative days. He is currently developing The Colony, a feature film exploring the formative years and ideological awakening of Malcolm X. Across formats, Rafael crafts stories that are intimate yet expansive, grounded in lived experience, and designed to resonate long after the screen goes dark. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rosie Glen-Lambert is a bicoastal theatre director originally from Los Angeles and currently based in Brooklyn. She is the Artistic Director and Founder of The Attic Collective, an award-winning Los Angeles based theatre company. Rosie is also a proud Kilroy who fights for and believes in the importance of gender parity in the American theatre. Rosie was recently the associate director of Babbitt, written by Joe DiPietro, directed by Christopher Ashley, and starring Matthew Broderick (La Jolla Playhouse, Shakespeare Theatre Company). Recent directing work includes Swallows (La Mama), The Robots: A New Chamber Opera (Project [BLANK]), नेहा & Neel (Wagner New Play Festival), and a benefit performance of Love Letters (La Jolla Playhouse, Featuring Matthew Broderick and Ellie Kemper). Rosie was a 2025 Director for Moxie Arts NYC's Incubator Lab. Rosie received her MFA in directing from UC San Diego. Hailey McAfee is an actor, writer, director, and associate artist of The Attic Collective. Recent acting credits include Three Exorcisms and Iphigenia in Splott (LA Theatre Bites Best Solo Show Winner, Best Actress Nominee, Hollywood Fringe Best of The Broadwater Winner, Best Solo Show and Top of Fringe Nominee). Directing credits include The Hostage Situation (Inkwell LAB) Here Comes the Night (SheLA Festival), Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin (Inkwell LAB) and Hedda Gabler (Hollywood Fringe Best of The Broadwater Winner, Best Drama Nominee, LA Magazine Top Pick of Fringe). She has a degree in Theater Arts from UC Santa Cruz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Liz Tuccillo was a writer on "Sex and the City" and co-authored the bestselling book "He's Just Not that Into You." She went on to create the WB TV series "Related" and worked on the TV shows Smash, Sweetbitter, Alaska Daily and American Sports Story. She was the showrunner for HBO's Divorce for its third season and is currently the showrunner and creator of "Best Medicine," an adaptation of the British Doc Martin, starring Josh Charles that was recently picked up for its second season. She has developed television and film with Will Smith, Ali Wentworth, Chelsea Handler, Debra Messing, Lauren Graham among others at Warner Bros, NBC, ABC, Starz, Peacock, Shondaland, Amazon, Fox, and Fx. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nina White stars as Jenny in You Got Older off Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Nina is known for her Broadway-debut performance as Teresa in the Tony Award-winning musical Kimberly Akimbo, reprising the role from the show's Off-Broadway premiere with Atlantic Theatre Company. She is also starred in the pre-Broadway world premiere and Broadway transfer of the musical The Queen of Versailles, playing the daughter of star Kristin Chenoweth; and she also starred as Olive Ostrovsky in the 2025 revival of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Kennedy Center in D.C. On-screen, she can be seen in Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Amazon Prime) and A Different Man (A24). University of Michigan alum. She loves to knit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Belle Burden is the author of the best selling book- Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage. Belle holds a BA from Harvard College and a law degree from the New York University School of Law. She lives with her children in New York. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ryan Spahn is a Drama Desk Award–winning actor and writer. Select Off-Broadway: Richard II (Red Bull), Danger and Opportunity (East Village Basement), The Antiquities (Playwrights Horizons), Jordans (The Public), Merry Me (NYTW), Good Enemy (Audible), Jane Anger (New Ohio), Summer & Smoke (CSC), Daniel’s Husband (Westside), Moscow x6 (MCC), Exit Strategy (Primary Stages), Gloria (Vineyard). Select TV/Film: Sub/liminal, Zero Day, Elsbeth, AHS: Delicate, Succession, Modern Love, The Bite, Chicago P.D. Ryan co-wrote the feature film He’s Way More Famous Than You and wrote the play Inspired By True Events (Concord Theatricals, Theatrely’s “Best of 2024.”). Juilliard graduate and the first teenaged Borg on Star Trek: Voyager. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CLINT RAMOS is an award-winning creative director, designer, and producer. Most recently, he produced Theater Group Asia’s sold-out production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, starring Lea Salonga, Arielle Jacobs and featuring a cast of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans. He currently serves as the Visual Director for Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City, where he reimagines the entire Lincoln Center campus each summer into a vibrant stage for more than 300 events that serve New York City’s diverse communities. He also serves as Artist-in-Residence at Lincoln Center. Ramos was a lead producer of the groundbreaking Broadway musical Here Lies Love, and is currently the Producing Creative Director for Encores! at New York City Center. There, he has spearheaded acclaimed projects including Billy Porter’s reimagining of The Life, The Light in the Piazza featuring Ruthie Ann Miles, and Jelly’s Last Jam. As a designer, Ramos has created over 200 productions across theater, opera, and dance. His Broadway credits include Maybe Happy Ending, Eureka Day, Here Lies Love, KPOP, Slave Play, The Rose Tattoo, Eclipsed, Once On This Island, Sunday in the Park with George, and Torch Song. His film work includes production design for Isabel Sandoval’s Lingua Franca (Netflix) and costume design for RESPECT, the Aretha Franklin biopic starring Jennifer Hudson (MGM). Ramos made history by becoming the first person of color to win the TONY® Award for Best Costume Design of a Play, for Eclipsed. He has received additional TONY® nominations—six for costume design (Maybe Happy Ending, The Rose Tattoo, Once On This Island, Torch Song, KPOP) and one for scenic design (Slave Play). His numerous honors include two OBIE Awards (including one for Sustained Excellence in Design), three Lucille Lortel Awards, a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, two American Theatre Wing Henry Hewes Design Awards, the TDF Irene Sharaff Young Master Award, the Helen Hayes Award, the Craig Noel Award, and two Ani ng Dangal Presidential Medals for Dramatic Arts from the President of the Philippines. Ramos is a member of the Advisory Board of the American Theatre Wing and co-founder of Design Action and Springboard to Design, initiatives focused on equity, inclusion and education. A passionate advocate, his life's work centers on creating equitable opportunities in theater and film for People of Color and immigrants. Born and raised in Cebu, Philippines, Clint now resides in New York City with his husband and daughter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices