Stephanie Fravel, host of “In the Green Room”, has a special announcement to make! For up-to-date information regarding future episodes of the show, follow “In the Green Room” and AUX on Facebook and Instagram.

This week, Stephanie steps back in time to a past life and talks theatre with actor Colleen Lafeber. Though the two recently met, their similar but different training backgrounds led to a beautiful discussion about connection, groundedness, and purpose. Listen in and learn about Shakespeare, healthy diets, and what it’s like to pretend to play sports.

When bassist Stacy McMichael walks into a room, the room knows. Whether it’s her bleach-blonde hair, piercing eyes, or the fact that she’s carrying a bass is up to the viewer. Stephanie gets the scoop on Stacy’s history as a performer, beginnings as a musician, and discovers they have more in common than either of the two originally knew. A natural educator, Stacy drops knowledge on overcoming the symptoms of anxiety or nervousness, and what it’s like to both celebrate and diminish being a woman in the music business. Must we advertise that we are girls? Can we simply say “I’m a serious musician?” Why not advertise the music and show up in killer shoes and earrings anyway Stacy McMichael is currently playing in the musical SIX, running now through August 4th at The Yard at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

In this episode, Stephanie talks to musician Aaron Williams (founder of the Homegrown Arts & Music Festival) about his career, early inspirations, pre-show attitudes, and so much more. Aaron has been a mainstay in the Chicago original scene for so long, and has many feelings and strategies that he wishes younger musicians would follow in order to keep the scene alive. This conversation also happened on Cinco de Mayo, so everyone in the green room that day was enjoying neighborhood music drifting into the window...maybe you’ll hear some clips, too!

This week, Courtney Fontaine talks about life in the world of musical theatre and improv comedy, and shares what it’s like to be and to have always been a “broad” in a world full of ingenues. Courtney and Stephanie also get into some personality traits they share (ie, crying at everything, despite being outwardly tough to the rest of the world). Grab some rosé and drink along while you listen to a beautiful conversation shared by two non-ingenues, in the green room.

In the conclusion of this two part series, Stephanie sits down with the other founding member of the band Karma Committee, Kate Brassel. They rehash their very personal connection to a special stage manager (among other things college), living in New York, and auditions. And, mirroring the real green room experience of bandmates swirling around the room with funny anecdotes as the girls prep, Chris Servia jumps in on the conversation every so often as well. Listen in as a couple of strong women discuss who they are, where they’re from, what they did.....and if there’s anything to know about stages they’ve shared in the past, it’s that somehow Backstreet Boys played a part in their history.

This week, longtime friend, magician, and Ph.D. in math Tori Noquez joined Stephanie in the green room during a break from a very important math conference which brought her back to Chicago. Tori touches on what got her into performing magic, her membership to the elite Magic Castle in Hollywood, and what it’s like to be a woman in two fields highly dominated by men. Because of her background in logic, Tori was able to talk about anxiety, and how our bodies respond from a different perspective than other guests, and offered good advice to Stephanie. The two talk about how nerves affect them pre-show, and that usually the trigger isn’t the show itself, but having to accept our human qualities we are afraid may show during the performance. Listen in and get a sneak peak of a math magic trick.

This week in the green room, Stephanie gets schooled in classical music by her guest Amanda Noelle Neal. Amanda grew up as a chorister in Sacramento, followed her vocal dreams to NoLA, and on to Chicago where she was also bitten by the inevitable improv bug. The two share first performance stories. and Amanda doesn’t shy away from sharing some challenges she faced as a half-black/half-Filipino girl in a white opera chorus. Listen in as the two bond over auditions, nerves, makeup (and its snafus), and what it’s like to perform with their significant others. If you also love ska but don’t know why, or have performed a dance between sticks of bamboo, this episode is for you.

In the green room this week is James Henry Wineman III, aka Jamie Wineman, aka Jimmy Con. Though he identifies as a producer these days, he is still the same Jimmy Con that Stephanie met rapping onstage back in the winter of 2009. They reminisce on that fateful night, which made them instant friends; complete with Stephanie’s trademark intense energy (the only proof being a lost MySpace photo and a screenshot from their Facebook friendship). Past projects such as Ghost House come up, and current productions with DownVega (yes, named after his hilarious husky Vega). The two also bond over discovering how to play synth both onstage, and in their living rooms. Breaking down barriers and expectations, Jamie launches into the truth that as a performer, he has had to cope with gut-wrenching anxiety, and panic attacks. Proof that no matter how tough a person can look on the outside, there is still a sensitive, beating heart on the inside.