Today’s interview is sending us all the way to London! (The blog’s first international interview!!) I had the incredible opportunity to interview the lovely Alexandra Pehako! She is the host of the podcast, Goodversations! Over the summer, I became super into podcasts! I discovered Goodversations after the podcast followed the Broadway Babes Blog Instagram! Alexandra is so sweet! Her podcast is so amazing! She has interviewed people such as Jane Jourdan (Founder and CEO of Fit for Broadway) and Sarah O’Connor (Current swing in Waitress London) just to name a few! I live in the United States and I know her podcast has helped me learned more about things that are happening on the West End! Keep on reading to learn more about the Goodversations podcast!
What’s your name? Where are you from?
My name is Alexandra and I’m 25! I was born and raised in Latvia, but I currently reside in London, the United Kingdom.
Tell us a little bit more about Goodversations!
Sure! Goodversations is a new podcast that highlights inspirational voices in the theatre industry. Through insightful conversations with performers and industry creatives, we explore the various journeys that artists can take in order to follow their passion for the performing arts.
What made you start Goodversations? What was the process like?
Thanks to the power of Youtube, I’ve been a huge Broadway fan since I was about 14 and I remember always looking for a way to support my favourite artists and performers – even though at that point Broadway was thousands of miles away! Later on, I moved to the UK to pursue a degree in Communications; as part of my Bachelor’s dissertation, I created a multimedia project that explored the positive impact of social media on shaping a contemporary and inclusive theatre environment. For this project, I had the great fortune of chatting with some of the most wonderful people in the theatre industry and I quickly realised that I particularly enjoyed the interviewing aspect of this. Then it kind of just snowballed from there – I have to say that at the beginning I thought I would never be able to do an interview podcast because I had no tangible link to the industry and so I thought securing sit-down conversations with theatre talent would be near impossible. Whilst it definitely takes a lot of hard work to make it happen and requires a lot of planning and communication, I am so grateful to actors who said ‘yes’ to my podcast before I even had anything to show for it. That has been one of the most heart-warming and surprising aspects of this experience and one that has kept me going and exploring my creativity in this way for almost a year now!
What made you want to venture into a podcast? What was that process like?
I think podcasts are an exciting and highly practical way of consuming content – you can be on the move, at the gym, on the train or in the comfort of your own home – as long as you have your headphones and a bit of battery, you’re all set! And I really like how much choice and variety there is now – some of my favourite podcasts, such as actor Rory O’Malley’s “Living The Dream” has hundreds of episodes out and available to listen anytime and anywhere – which means there are constantly new stories to listen to, learn from and be inspired by.
How do you manage both Goodversations, work, and everyday life?
It’s definitely something that I’m still trying to figure out and balance. Alongside Goodversations, I have a full-time job in the film industry which requires my undivided attention not just 9-to-5 but sometimes on weekends and evenings too, due to the nature of the entertainment industry. That being said, I usually do all my audio edits on Sunday afternoons which is my designated podcasting time; I find that, oddly enough, having a set routine really helps me get into the creative mindset. I try and do the rest – creating visuals for social media, recording intros and stuff like that – on week nights as that doesn’t take very long.
As someone that lives “across the pond” with different shows than Broadway, what are some of your favorite shows right now that you can only find on the West End?
That’s a great question! A lot of our shows – for example, Six and Betrayal – have actually now transferred to Broadway, and we get a lot of transfers in as well, so the line up here is quite similar, I think? I think Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is delightful and &Juliet has just opened here in London as well – I’m not sure if either is scheduled to open on Broadway anytime soon but both shows have kick-ass cast recordings out on Spotify if you’d like a flavour of what these musicals are all about!
What has it been like seeing the impact that Goodversations is having on people? Any stories you would like to share?
I’ll be honest and admit that I’m definitely an overthinker when it comes to putting my creative efforts out there because I always just think that nobody will care or why would they listen anyway? Overcoming these thoughts is a weekly struggle for me and I’m really grateful for those awesome people who have gotten in touch after listening to say encouraging things about the podcast or a particular interview as that is what keeps me going. I think one of the most frequent pieces of feedback has been – “oh that xyz thing that they said – I never even thought of that!”. It’s the best feeling to know that someone has learned something new about the theatre through listening to these episodes and this kind of feedback really pushes me to constantly think of new things to ask my interviewees that would then help lift the curtain even more.
Is it fun to have fans all over the world? Any stories?
So far I’ve interviewed lots of exciting Broadway, Aussie and West End talent, so because of that my listenership is predominantly based in the US, UK and Australia. It’s really lovely to occasionally get messages from other parts of the world though – I’ve chatted with listeners from Russia, Portugal and Denmark to name a few – that have stumbled upon my episodes whilst researching a particular performer or show that they like. As the podcast grows and expands, I am hoping to secure interviews with international talent too – lots of countries have spectacular theatre environments that not very many people know about so if there is anything I can do to highlight, for example, the theatre scene in Latvia then I’m definitely up for it!
What do you see for the future of Goodversations?
My hope is to continue interviewing industry talent and creatives and doing a live recording event would be a wonderful experience to have as well! I’m also fiercely passionate about helping young people unleash their creativity and I’ve always said I’d like Goodversations to be as much yours (the listeners’) as it is mine, so I’m looking for ways to merge these two ideas and to involve more of YOU guys into these interviews and my podcasting process. I’m not quite sure how yet, but it is definitely something that I will be exploring in 2020!
Who is a woman or women that you look up too in the theatre community and why?
I look up to lots and lots of incredible women in this industry! I have to say someone like Caissie Levy really inspires me – her commitment to be a positive change agent in the theatre community by standing up for LGBTQ+ and women’s rights is truly admirable, and I love that she really SHOWS UP for these causes! And Susan Blackwell too because she is very honest about the many joys and struggles that creatives face. And can I just say, her new podcast The Spark File is the best thing since sliced bread so you should definitely check it out!
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