THE NEW COLOSSUS actor interviews: Part one

The New Colossus Audio Drama

In April 2020, Artist Soapbox released our second full length scripted audio drama THE NEW COLOSSUS. This is the first of two episodes that feature short interviews with the cast of THE NEW COLOSSUS audio drama (released in April 2020). This episode features half of the cast, all of whom play the younger generation of characters. 😊💕

You’ll hear from Ron Lee McGill, Carly Prentis Jones, Ryan Ladue, and Skylar Gudasz, interviewed by Kaley Morrison during our recording days in November of 2019. These are short snippets — each actor had only a few minutes between their calls to pop over and answer a few of Kaley’s questions.

(L-R: Ron Lee McGill, Carly Prentis Jones, Ryan Ladue, Skylar Gudasz)

If you’ve already listened to THE NEW COLOSSUS audio drama, then you know how talented these actors are. As you’ll hear in this episode, they are lovely, thoughtful and generous people as well.

The cast covers a variety of topics including: their individual characters in TNC, what it’s like to record an audio drama, the difference between acting for audio and acting on stage, why people should listen to TNC, their favorite moments and more. (Warning, there are a few spoiler alerts here if you haven’t finished all 6 episodes.)

WONDERFUL BONUS: This episode includes music written and performed by Sklyar Gudasz and recorded by James Phillips for Episodes 5 & 6 of THE NEW COLOSSUS. Enjoy it, and then go immediately to purchase Skylar’s newest album CINEMA (which has received incredible reviews!).

As of this release, TNC has been listened to in 20 countries and 30 US states. You can also listen to the six 20 minute episodes via the website www.thenewcolossuspodcast.com and via Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all the usual podcasts platforms.

If you’d like to hear more about THE NEW COLOSSUS and audio drama in general, our wonderful executive producer, Aurelia Belfield, and I will be co-leading an online session as part of the Women’s Theatre Festival on July 29 at 11am. Purchase tickets here for our individual session or for the entire month-long online conference and new play festival..

Big special thanks to our incredible TNC production team, to Trailblazer Studios where we recorded TNC, to the patrons of ASBX on Patreon, and to Manbites Dog Theatre Foundation and the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation for their support.

BIOS

Ron Lee McGill (KONRAD) is grateful to be apart of this production. Born & raised in Durham, NC, Ron received his BA in Media Studies from the University of North Carolina and now resides in Charlotte, NC where he is an Actor, Writer, and Graphic Illustrator. Ron’s film credits include appearances on TVOne’s Fatal Attraction and the national advertisement for Meals on Wheels. Ron could last be seen on stage for the Children’s Theater of Charlotte in such productions as Judy Moody and Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt and Last Stop on Market Street. Ron is humbled by the opportunity to be among such great and dedicated talent.

Carly Prentis Jones (NINA), Raleigh native is a theatre artist and vocalist performing on stages throughout the Triangle. She is a versatile performer – spanning opera, musical theatre, classic and contemporary theatre. Some of her most favorite performance credits include: Rachel in The How & The Why (Triangle Women’s Theatre Festival); Camila in In The Heights (North Carolina Theatre); Justice in Rock of Ages and Nettie in Carousel (Theatre Raleigh); Lady In Green in For Colored Girls…, and Dorothy in The Wiz (Burning Coal Theatre); Colleen/Marge in Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play and Baba Yaga in The Fairytale Live of Russian Girls (Manbites Dog Theatre); Nettie in The Color Purple, Sarah in Ragtime, and Lily in The Secret Garden (Justice Theatre Project). As a classically trained singer, Carly enjoys performing as an active recitalist and has performed with the North Carolina Opera Company. She attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance, a Bachelor of Arts in Black Music History, and a minor in Arts Management. Carly is excited to join this incredible group of performing artists on this exciting new project! www.carlyprentisjones.com

Ryan Ladue (MEDDIE) has been in local productions with NRACT, Raleigh Little Theatre, Seed Art Share, and others. Some of his favorite roles have been Boo in “The Marriage of Bette and Boo,” Eddie in “Fool For Love,” Caleb in “The Whipping Man,” and Jim, the gentleman caller, in “The Glass Menagerie.” Ryan currently works in TV/Film and commercials as much as possible and has appeared in a Harris Teeter commercial, an episode of AMC’s Turn: Washington’s Spies, and local feature film Oh Crappy Day. Ryan’s acting training was primarily in Chicago at Columbia College and improv Olympic, but he started working in theatre at a young age in Vermont. Ryan is looking forward to honing his voice and bringing the character of Meddie to life.

Skylar Gudasz (MASHA) is excited to be a part of the distinguished ensemble of The New Colossus. In the past few years, the Durham, North Carolina-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist has shared stages with the likes of Ray Davies, Cat Power and Sharon Van Etten as part of the Big Star’s Third tribute concerts, opened for Television and toured from the US with Teenage Fanclub to Europe with the Mountain Goats, and appeared as a background vocalist on albums by Superchunk and Hiss Golden Messenger, making her TV debut with the latter on Late Night with Seth Meyers. In 2020, Gudasz is set to release a new album, Cinema, recorded at the famed April Base in Eau Claire, WI, to follow-up her full-length debut Oleander (a 2016 release, produced by Chris Stamey, that prompted The Bitter Southerner to praise her as “the Joni Mitchell the South never had”). Recent acting credits include Macbeth in Macbeth, Sasha in Orlando, Love & Information; Premieres include Sylvia Valentine in the radio drama Occasional Shivers (WNYC), Principal Singer in Lion & the Lamb (Duke Performances), Joan in What Every Girl Should Know (Little Green Pig).