Buckle up PAD Podcast listeners! The next two episodes of the #PADPod feature the original godfather of the PAD and the man who arrived in St. Louis in 1987 to build a department from the ground up: Henry Schvey! It seems like Henry has been at the heart of the Performing Arts Department for forever — in fact, it’s been 39 years since he began his notable career at WashU. As a teacher, director, and scholar, he has made significant contributions to the department, the university, and of course the lives of his beloved students. Many of you know Henry and have taken classes with Henry, but perhaps you don’t know the full backstory about how the Performing Arts Department was formed and how Henry came to create an amalgam of a department dedicatedto both study and practice unlike any other in the country. This Part One episode is called “Early Years to Equus” where Henry talks about his upbringing in New York, his time teaching in Leiden, and his arrival at WashU. If you love Henry, you’ll not want to miss listening to this one!

Milestone Episode #30 of the #PADPod features an insightful and inspiring episode with actor, writer, and facilitator Jeff Pagliano! Believing in “imagination as a portal for change”, Jeff specializes in interactive and immersive theater applied across multiple disciplines. He has designed learning experiences on leadership development and workplace culture and delivered team building workshops forcorporate clients around the world. A proud member of Actor’s Equity, Jeff has also appeared as an actor in Regional and New York theater productions. He started his career in the film industry working on the feature films “Contact” and “Deep Impact” and in the office of director Robert Zemeckis. Jeff was involved in many PAD productions when he was a student including Romeo & Juliet and The Servant of Two Masters. He was also a founding member of the WashU comedy troupe Mama’s Pot Roast and directed the musical Chess for All Student Theater (AST). Don’t miss this interesting interview that will make you believe that storytelling can truly change people and the world!

Episode 29 of the #PADpod features Keith Sherman founder of Keith Sherman & Associates (KSA) – a global firm is a communications firm for a diverse range of entertainment, arts, lifestyles, and international brands. KSA has represented hundreds of Broadway, Off Broadway and touring productions, films, television broadcasts, Olympic sports, music projects and major events globally. The company represented The New York Times for a decade, the Tony Awards for 18 years, the Drama Desk Awards for 12 years, and the Chita Rivera Awards for nine years. From figure skating to film and from music to musicals, Keith and his team have represented nearly 400 events over the last 36 years and counting. Rob and Keith talk about his humble beginnings at #WashU working for the Student Life newspaper and his involvement with the PAD that allowed him to blend his business and marketing background with a life in the arts. It would be bad PR to miss this episode, so give it a listen!

We have a new episode of the #PADpod for your summer listening pleasure featuring television producer, screenwriter, and author Nick Santora! Nick is an executive producer, showrunner, screenwriter, and author who has written for and/or produced The Sopranos, The Guardian, Law & Order, Prison Break, Lie to Me, and Scorpion. He has created and executive produced Beauty and the Geek, Breakout Kings, Reacher (Amazon Prime), and the soon-to-be-released this summer spin-off of Reacher called Neagley. Rob and Nick talk about his circuitous journey studying multiple subjects at #WashU, his graduate training and professional career as a lawyer, and how he spent a week of vacation writing his first screenplay that won Best Screenplay of the Competition in the New York City Independent International Film Festival. It was at this moment that his career as a writer and creator began! Don’t miss this inspiring episode loaded with sage advice. It really should be assigned listening for all students. ;)

Episode 27 of the PAD podcast features writer/author and performer Tracy Wise! After an international childhood lived throughout Asia because of her father’s aid work, Tracy Wise has spent her career in theatre, opera, and then higher education administration. She currently writes university presidential speeches, campus communications, and news stories in California’s Inland Empire. She has a BA in Theatre and Spanish from #WashU (which includes a year at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK) and an MA in Cultural Studies (a historiography degree) from the University of East London in the UK. Tracy talks to Rob about the many skills she learned as an official “Metzian” in the Performing Arts Department. Tracy learned local lessons that she leveraged into an international career. Don’t miss this one!

Episode 26 of the #PADpod features the very funny and engaging Joanna McNurlen! Joanna parlayed her Drama and Business background at #WashU into an interesting and exciting career journey that took her from positions at Deloitte and Spotify to her current role managing a team of Technical Architects at Salesforce and teaching Change Innovation and Management at NYU. Rob and Joanna talk about how the PAD taught the importance of failure and using that experience to leverage her way into a successful career of collaborating and presenting to large groups of people. We talk about the PAD classes that most shaped and (her word) broke her in a way that led her to a better understanding of the value of emerging from a struggle and understanding her true talents applied to business. Do not miss this funny, thought-provoking, and inspiring episode featuring the one and only Joanna McNurlen!

Episode 25 of the #PADpod features our FIRST designer sincethe podcast began with the enormously talented costume designer Chloe Karmin. Since graduating from WashU and studying costume design in the PAD, Chloe has been working nearly non-stop in the television and film industries. She’s designed costumes for films like Friendship and You Hurt My Feelings and been an assistant for multiple projects like Problemista (for Julio Torres whom she also did Fantasmas for HBO), Spaceman, Montana Story, and Lost Girls. She’s costumed Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Steve Buscemi and Paul Rudd just to name a few. Rob and Chloe talk about the values and skills she learned in collecting and assimilating research while at WashU and how she has leveraged that in making connections and engendering trust with her directors and collaborators. We also talk working with Antonio Banderas on-set for the upcoming Summer 2026 film Tony based on Anthony Bourdain’s book Kitchen Confidential. Don’t miss this episodeabout a talented #WashU trained costume designer with an extremely bright future in the business!

Episode 24 of the PAD podcast illustrates yet another of the many career branches a #WashU alum might take in the artsfield. Recorded from the heart of Broadway in New York City, this episode features Mr. Michael Sinder who is an entertainment attorney practicing predominantly in live theatre for shows from Broadway to London’s West End. For over 30 years, Mr. Sinder has counseled and represented clients that range from producers to authors and from investors to creative team members. Name the show and he’slikely been involved on it in some capacity or another. Rob and Michael’s talk ranges from discussing the first Broadway show he saw all the way up to his recommendations for great current Broadway productions. Don’t miss this entertaining (law) episode!