Who Are You Now?

WAYN - Penny Rose Feldman

In middle school, Penny Feldman played everything from Ed Sullivan to the Modern Major General to the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (as Joseph, not the garment). She and I connected as fellow old souls. Penny and I reminisced and shared our affinity for cinematicstaircases. I also learned of her current profession in a niche corner of the world of gaming. Note: I omitted the “pitch” of the party game I’m creating because it's still in development. My apologies for withholding the premise, but I’m hoping to share soon. - Recorded on 10/11/25.

WAYN - Lauren Manning Salomon

I worked with Lauren Manning Salomon when I assistant directed Li’l Abner and The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd at the JCC. Since that time, in addition to balancing career and family, Lauren continues to nurture her love of performing arts by writing and recording original Jewish music.  - Recorded on 10/11/25.

WAYN - Nolan G.

I met Nolan G. during the year I spent in Baltimore (2018-2019) -- a particularly challenging point in my life and career. That spring, I was spending part of my arduous job search serving as a long-term substitute teacher at Joppatowne High School. What I didn’t know at the time was that, like me, Nolan was experiencing his own low point that year. During our podcastvisit, Nolan and I recall that hellish semester and he fills me in on his post-Joppatowne journey. - Recorded on 10/8/25.

WAYN - Madison Hall

Though she was in my classes, Madison Hall didn’t officiallybecome a “theatre kid” until after I left Emery Weiner School. Still, she and I worked together long enough to stockpile some inside jokes and one rather odd lunchtime tradition. For this episode, Madison filled me in on her interesting and varied post-high school adventures.  - Recorded on 9/5/25.

WAYN - Gaston Azubel-Goldstein

As an eighth-grader, Gaston Azubel Goldstein had a brief but memorable role in our I. Weiner Middle School production of Good News which, I will admit, is in my top five favorite school shows I ever directed. Twenty-five years later, I was delighted to learn that Gaston’s humor, memory, and youthful outlook are still very much intact as he took me through his life and career from the JCC stage to having a daughter who’s a theatre kid. - Recorded on 8/30/25.