The Scene Room

Royce Vavrek — The Language of Opera

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2439133/fan_mail/new] In this episode, Lizzie Bowman is joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning librettist Royce Vavrek [https://roycevavrek.com] (Angel’s Bone with composer Du Yun [https://channelduyun.com/], Adoration with composer Mary Kouyoumdjian [https://www.marykouyoumdjian.com/], Lincoln in the Bardo with composer Missy Mazzoli [https://missymazzoli.com/]) who grew up on a farm in Alberta, Canada, and is exploding in the international opera scene. We discuss how a childhood of country radio and the rural landscape of Northern Canada shaped his "serpentine" path through film school and eventually into the world of contemporary storytelling. Serendipitous Release: While this conversation was recorded in December 2025, a few audio technical hurdles (now fixed!) kept it in the vault until now. As it turns out, the timing is perfect. In the interview, we discuss the complexities of the project Indians on Vacation, and this week, on May 9, 2026, that project, in a new form, takes center stage. Against the Grain Theatre (where Royce is Artistic Director) will present "Stories Don’t Die" [https://atgtheatre.com/upcoming/storiesdontdie/] at the Terminal Theatre in Toronto. This intimate encounter interweaves excerpts from the opera with personal reflections on belonging and identity, featuring a newly commissioned sung land acknowledgement by Ian Cusson [https://www.iancusson.com/] and Yvette Nolan [https://nac-cna.ca/en/bio/yvette-nolan]. Also in this conversation: * The "Energy Ping-Pong": Royce explains why he loves an audience that "talks back"—from $11 tickets at Opera Philly to the electric, "imperfect" magic of live performance. * Pure Canadiana: A deep dive into our shared love for the Canadian singer-songwriters who define our playlists, including Sarah Slean [https://sarahslean.com/], Kathleen Edwards [https://www.kathleenedwards.com/], and The Rankin Family [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rankin_Family]. * Writing for Muses: The joy of creating roles for specific voices like Lauren Worsham [https://www.laurenworsham.com/], Anne Sophie von Otter [https://www.annesofievonotter.com/], and Thomas Hampson [https://thomashampson.com/]. All episodes are also available in video form on our YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY9gBsFDP3tifNdqOHMO_Xyp2zYjOnqvp] and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/57E01SroDgfzunDrPGNv79]Channels. All episodes are hosted by Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bowman.  Don’t forget to subscribe, share the love, and leave us a review to show your support—it means a lot to us! Don't hesitate to reach out to us with guest ideas, information you'd like covered, or any ideas you might have—the hope is for this to be a continuous resource and dialogue with our listeners. Visit TheSceneRoom.com [http://thesceneroom.com] for more information.

Julia Starr — Translating Creative Mastery into Professional Power

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2439133/fan_mail/new] This week, we sit down with career and leadership coach Julia Starr [https://juliastarrconsulting.com] to unpack a practical path through professional pivots. Julia isn't just a coach; she is a master of the "bold move." From her time as a Fulbright Fellow in Malaysia and a BCG consultant to her work streamlining a family sawmill business and earning an Ed.M. from Harvard, Julia has navigated the exact inflection points she now helps her clients master. In this episode, Julia explains why the skills of a performing artist—the discipline of an opera singer (for example), the multilingual adaptability of a touring musician, and the high-stakes presence of a stage actor—are actually elite assets for global business and leadership. We dive into: * The Identity Shift: How to separate who you are from what you do. * Career Design Thinking: Why you should treat your next move like a prototype—testing hypotheses and gathering data rather than guessing. * The Language of Translation: How to turn your creative "strength stories" into the strategic language that recruiters and CEOs crave. * The 5 A.M. Test: Why being a "thoughtful, curious colleague" is the ultimate competitive advantage in any industry. Julia also shares her Value-Strengths-Action method, offering a look at how to use AI to surface adjacent roles you never knew existed. Whether you are an artist looking for your next stage or a professional feeling "stuck," this conversation provides the strategy and the "momentum" needed to build something extraordinary. > "I can spot the thread in someone's story that leads to their next chapter, and help them walk toward it with clarity." — Julia Starr All episodes are also available in video form on our YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY9gBsFDP3tifNdqOHMO_Xyp2zYjOnqvp] and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/57E01SroDgfzunDrPGNv79]Channels. All episodes are hosted by Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bowman.  Don’t forget to subscribe, share the love, and leave us a review to show your support—it means a lot to us! Don't hesitate to reach out to us with guest ideas, information you'd like covered, or any ideas you might have—the hope is for this to be a continuous resource and dialogue with our listeners. Visit TheSceneRoom.com [http://thesceneroom.com] for more information.

Brett Egan — Beyond the NEA: Designing a Resilient Cultural Ecosystem

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2439133/fan_mail/new] What if the most vulnerable part of U.S. arts isn’t creativity, but structure? Brett Egan, president of the DeVos Institute, joins us to unpack why public funding feels shakier than ever, how AI is making the arts more necessary—not less—and what it would take to build a resilient cultural ecosystem that can weather political swings. We trace the long arc from the NEA’s founding to today’s accelerated attempts to shrink and politicize cultural agencies, with real consequences for stability, planning, and trust. Brett argues for a both‑and approach: defend what’s left while building capacity beyond government. He lays out a practical blueprint for a flexible national arts framework—more constitution than command—that invites thousands of organizations to align around shared pillars like arts education, creative workers’ rights, disability inclusion, community arts practice, and a legal defense fund for creative expression. Imagine collective philanthropy fueling a dozen long‑horizon campaigns that strengthen the whole field. We also dig into what leadership looks like now. The future belongs to hybrid leaders who blend classic arts administration with AI literacy, policy fluency, and cross‑sector savvy in health, transportation, and education. Brett shares how to move research from the academy into practice, why structural thinking helps decode fast‑moving policy shifts, and how a big‑tent mindset—assuming good faith across differences—can turn overwhelm into coordinated action. If you care about funding stability, audience recovery, and the role of culture in a turbulent world, this conversation offers clarity and a path forward. Enjoyed the conversation? Follow, share with a colleague, and leave a review to help more arts leaders find it. Your feedback shapes future episodes and fuels the work. All episodes are also available in video form on our YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY9gBsFDP3tifNdqOHMO_Xyp2zYjOnqvp] and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/57E01SroDgfzunDrPGNv79]Channels. All episodes are hosted by Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bowman.  Don’t forget to subscribe, share the love, and leave us a review to show your support—it means a lot to us! Don't hesitate to reach out to us with guest ideas, information you'd like covered, or any ideas you might have—the hope is for this to be a continuous resource and dialogue with our listeners. Visit TheSceneRoom.com [http://thesceneroom.com] for more information.

Christopher Wellbrook — Centered Under Pressure; Mental Skills For Performers

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2439133/fan_mail/new] What if the freedom you crave onstage has less to do with the perfect high note and more to do with the state you bring to it? Today we sit down with mental performance coach and five-time national karate champion Christopher Wellbrook to unpack how elite sport principles can transform the lives of singers, musicians, and creative pros. Christopher believes fully that opera singers are elite athletes. From long rehearsal blocks to constant travel and high-stakes visibility, the mental load rivals any arena. Together we dig into practical, science-backed tools that turn pressure into presence. We explore why outcome chasing rarely delivers fulfillment and how to replace it with a grounded, other-centered mindset. Christopher shows how tiny, identity-based habits—sleep routines, hydration, daily movement—build durable confidence and reduce the chaos of last-minute schedules. He walks us through visualization that embraces imperfection, so you’re not blindsided when nerves hit, and introduces anchors and box breathing to calm the nervous system in real time. You’ll hear how to communicate with creative teams without defensiveness, how to reframe burnout by raising the excellence of the room, and how to protect your identity when career turbulence hits. If you’ve ever thought, once I win that competition, then I’ll feel worthy, this conversation offers a better path. You’ll leave with simple strategies, pre-performance steps, and a mindset shift that makes composure repeatable and joy sustainable.  All episodes are also available in video form on our YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY9gBsFDP3tifNdqOHMO_Xyp2zYjOnqvp] and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/57E01SroDgfzunDrPGNv79]Channels. All episodes are hosted by Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bowman.  Don’t forget to subscribe, share the love, and leave us a review to show your support—it means a lot to us! Don't hesitate to reach out to us with guest ideas, information you'd like covered, or any ideas you might have—the hope is for this to be a continuous resource and dialogue with our listeners. Visit TheSceneRoom.com [http://thesceneroom.com] for more information.

Jaime Martino — Building Access, Not Barriers: The Story Behind Toronto’s Newest Performance Space

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2439133/fan_mail/new] A vacant sub-basement in an affordable housing building isn’t where most people expect a new theater to bloom — but that’s exactly what happened. In this episode, host Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bowman welcomes Jaime Martino, Executive Director of Toronto's Tapestry Opera [https://tapestryopera.com], to share the story behind the new Nancy and Ed Jackman Performance Center [https://tapestryopera.com/nancy-ed-jackman-performance-centre-sets-a-new-stage-for-the-toronto-artistic-community/], a flexible black box space that seats 100–150 and brings neighbors, artists, and first-timers together in one room. Jaime walks us through how a modest rehearsal plan evolved into a full venue with a bar, box office, rehearsal studio, and shared offices — powered by community partnerships, city champions, and a clear mission: build access, not barriers. We dive into the partnership with Nightwood Theatre [https://www.nightwoodtheatre.net/] and explore the decision-making culture that carried the project through three years of design choices, budget tradeoffs, and technical puzzles. Consensus wasn’t slow — it was strengthening. From tiered rental pricing and resident companies to opening traditionally “insider” events to the public, Jaime explains how a venue can become an ecosystem. Today, the space hosts indie rehearsals, mainstage runs, one-night concerts, and soon, commercial events that help subsidize artist use. We also zoom out to confront the bigger questions facing opera and the arts today — shrinking corporate support, rising costs, and what belonging really means in a legacy-driven field. Jaime’s take is clear: small casts and chamber forces make intimate stories land; multidisciplinary curiosity keeps the form alive; and safety nets enable bold risks. Micro experiences — genuine welcomes, open rehearsals, human-scale venues — turn first visits into lasting relationships. If you care about cultural infrastructure, community building, and the future of live performance, this conversation offers a practical, hopeful roadmap. Come see the space, meet the people behind it, and help shape what happens next.  All episodes are also available in video form on our YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY9gBsFDP3tifNdqOHMO_Xyp2zYjOnqvp] and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/57E01SroDgfzunDrPGNv79]Channels. All episodes are hosted by Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bowman.  Don’t forget to subscribe, share the love, and leave us a review to show your support—it means a lot to us! Don't hesitate to reach out to us with guest ideas, information you'd like covered, or any ideas you might have—the hope is for this to be a continuous resource and dialogue with our listeners. Visit TheSceneRoom.com [http://thesceneroom.com] for more information.