Sandi Klein's Conversations with Creative Women

Afia Nathaniel

Born and raised in Pakistan, Afia Nathaniel moved to New York City just weeks before 9-11 to begin an MFA fellowship at Columbia University's film program. After getting her degree in 2006 Afia began work on her first feature, Dukhtar, which tells the story of a  mother and her young daughter who escape from their home in the Pakistani mountains to save her child from an arranged marriage. Ten years in the making, Dukhtar (which mean daughter) premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

Shannon O'Neill

Artistic Director Shannon O'Neill takes us behind the curtain at Manhattan's popular and highly respected Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. Home for all things comedy, UCB hosts improv, stand-up, sketch, talk/variety. Shannon's a very funny lady who performs every Friday night with The Stepfathers and then on Sunday nights hosts and performs with UCB Theater's longest running show, ASSCAT3000.

Katie Hannigan

Katie Hannigan is a Brooklyn-based comic by way of Indiana. She's been performing stand up since 2009: her bent is theatrical with a wholesome midwestern darkness. Go figure. Katie's been featured on The Oxygen Network, Laughs on Fox, and Good Day New York. Listen in as she shares her backstory with us.

Kathryn Hamilton

Get to know British performance maker Kathryn Hamilton, the founder and director of the New York-based company Sister Sylvester. Kathryn uses theater as a platform to address social issues. Her latest production, They Are Gone, But Here I Must Remain, examines the relationship between art and rebellion. Kathryn spends half the year in New York and the other half in Turkey, where she is a member of Kose, an art space in Istanbul. Listen in - it's a good bet you haven't met anyone like her!

Elizabeth Van Meter

Elizabeth Van Meter's acting career includes live theater, independent films, comedy and video game voice overs - but it's her work as a documentary filmmaker and founder of The Purpose Project that drives her today. Its goal:  to find individuals here and abroad, who against all odds, are making positive changes in their corners of the world.  In Elizabeth's documentary Thaos' Library, we meet a young Vietnamese woman, who despite physical deformities caused by agent orange, wants nothing more than to bring books to the children of her village. Elizabeth says she didn't choose Thaos' story - it chose her and she had to tell it for her own sanity.  

Mary John Frank

Houston native and New York-based artist Mary John Frank's creativity has taken her in several different directions. The choreographer and director has worked in film, on stage, music videos, fashion, multi-media and installation art. Her latest project - Debutaunt, is an inter-active dance-based show that explores the age old tradition of being presented to society. In her adapation, the audience is invited to attend a debutante ball and gets to know 5 VERY different debs. In a time when 'coming out' has taken on an entirely new meaning, the concept of a young woman being formally introduced to society is jarring. Oh, by the way, Mary John is a former deb herself.

Seret Scott

^{Meet Seret Scott, actress, director, playwright, cultural historian. She won the prestigious Drama Desk Award for her Broadway debut in My Sister, My Sister. Seret's also appeared in several movies and film and television shows. Her work as a Director is a rich, varied and rewarding one and includes Off-Broadway and regional theater - from the Old Globe in San Diego, to Yale Rep to New York's Roundabout Theater. She recently directed The Whipping Boy, the powerful play about the Civil War that featured an all-male cast. Join us as we shine the spotlight on the decades long career of the multi-talented Seret Scott.}

Carol Tandava Henning

Get to know funny and talented Carol Tandava Henning, actress, stand up comedienne and now... belly dancer. Carol says belly dance lessons changed her life - helping her heal both physically and emotionally after undergoing emergency abdominal surgery. Through wit and humor, she describes that journey in her solo show Blood on the Veil, which explores the healing and transformative power of dance.

Pandora Scooter

Meet Queer-Mama-Sapien Pandora Scooter. She's been called the funniest atheist/Amerasian/dyke/spoken word artist you'll ever see and hear. Founder of Stand Up & Stand Out Productions, she's written a slew of one-woman shows. Her most recent, I Am Enough tackles suicide among LGBTQ youth. Pandora's working to bring that number to zero by exploring and exposing their pain, while building self-esteem and self-confidence. She's a real force of nature.

Nancy Giles Returns

A return appearance for the wonderfully refreshing, no-holds barred actress/voice-over artist/commentator Nancy Giles...who, since 2002 has been sharing her views, comedic and cutting, on CBS Sunday Morning. Sit back and enjoy another fascinating, provocative, and entertaining conversation with the irrepressible Nancy Giles.