Sinopsis
I blogcast about Artist stuff. and Arts Related stuff. Also feminism. Become a supporter of this podcast:https://anchor.fm/songs-for-the-struggling-artist/support
Episodios
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What Happened to First Night?
20/04/2026 Duración: 14minEvery New Year’s Eve, my friend and I wish we had a First Night celebration to go to. We both went to many First Nights in our youth and wish such a thing were happening here in NYC. It was a great way to spend the last night of the year and take in a lot of local arts culture in one big burst. It was a lovely way to bring a community together. To read What Happened to First Night? visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. Episode 494Song: What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?Image from the First Night Boston siteGive this podcast 5 stars. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistMailing list: www.emi
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Re-Broadcast of Episode Three - Why Going Away for Inspiration Is a Good Idea
13/04/2026 Duración: 12minMy allergies have stolen my voice for the day so I'm re-posting this episode from ten years ago, in honor of a decade of podcasting. This early episode has no song and the sound quality is a little chaotic. (No mic yet!) But if you want to hear what this sounded like in the beginning, here you go!To read Why Going Away for Inspiration Is a Good Idea visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. Give this podcast 5 stars. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistMailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/
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Pronounce "Queens"
07/04/2026 Duración: 15minThe voice of the GPS sounds like a British man, with an RP accent, and he gives his instructions to turn right or left like he’s a butler guiding the staff. He mispronounces some things funny because he does not have local knowledge. For example, he’ll tell us to take the Ed Cock Bridge when everyone knows that, our former mayor, Ed Koch’s name is pronounced with a clear “CH”.To read Pronounce "Queens" visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. Episode 493Song: A New EnglandImage by Samuel Regan-Asante via UnsplashGive this podcast 5 stars. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistMailing list: ww
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Chalamet Gate
31/03/2026 Duración: 12minThis Timothée Chalamet story about his dismissal of opera and ballet, calling them arts nobody cares about might be too up my street to resist. Art that nobody cares about is kind of my beat! I am also an artist that “nobody” cares about so I’m well placed to discuss this particular controversy.To read Chalamet Gate visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. Episode 492Song: Opera SingerImage by Kazuo Ota via UnsplashGive this podcast 5 stars. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistMailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/
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Acting Is Embarrassing
24/03/2026 Duración: 15minWe had some men in the class but that day we were all women and we were playing a ball game of tossing the ball around the room, to music, trying to find the pleasure and searching for complicity in our classmates. Then our teacher, Jane, gave us the next task. When we caught the ball, we had to hold it up and say, “Look at me! I’m an actress in New York City!”To read Acting Is Embarrassing visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. Episode 491Song: Looking at MeImage by Jason Vail Give this podcast 5 stars. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistMailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/
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The Credulous and the Scammed
17/03/2026 Duración: 16minScammers know their scams are not believable. They know most of us we know that the Prince of Nigeria has not emailed us to help with his fortune. They don’t want to scam everyone. They’re looking for the most credulous people they can find and the Prince of Nigeria is a filter. They don’t want anyone who’s going to ask too many questions. They make these things hard to believe on purpose. They want only the extremely credulous.To keep reading The Credulous and the Scammed visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. Episode 490Song: Scam SongImage by Yuliya Strizhkina via UnsplashGive this podcast 5 stars. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistMailing list:
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Preparing for Editing
10/03/2026 Duración: 14minWhat’s funny is, I like editing. I’m not sure why I was dragging my feet around editing our book. I’d already made some major changes. The big re-structure had already happened. But somehow I couldn’t bring myself to sit down and fix up some details.I finally decided I needed to buckle down, though, and instead of getting into the document, I watched a movie made in the year our book was set. It was a great movie and I thought it would get me inspired.To keep reading Preparing for Editing visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 489Song: Ready to GoImage by Jainath Ponnala via UnsplashGive this podcast 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistMailing list:
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A Clown Teacher Exits
03/03/2026 Duración: 19minIf you felt a bit of a tremor in the fabric of the universe last week, you’re probably a clown. One of the most influential clown teachers made his exit and more people than I would have expected felt the impact of his loss.I never studied with Philippe Gaulier but I studied with several teachers who did. I guess I’m a second generation Gaulier clown. I think there are a lot of benefits to being the second-generation student.To keep reading A Clown Teacher Exits visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 488Song: Clown StrikeImage via WikipediaTo support this podcast:Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistMailing list:
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Dealing with Egotistical Narcissistic A**holes
24/02/2026 Duración: 14minBack in college, I took a class in producing, as I thought it might come in handy in my future theatre career. The class involved running the student run space with four other students. One of them was an egotistical narcissistic asshole so I quit the job and the class after the first semester of it.I’d forgotten most of this drama until I saw a friend who also considered walking away. She wonders if she should have quit and I wonder if I should have stayed.To keep reading Dealing with Egotistical Narcissistic Assholes visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 487Song: Should I Stay or Should I GoImage via UnsplashTo support this podcast:Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistMaili
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Theatre, Epstein and Me, Two Degrees Away
17/02/2026 Duración: 18minWhen I went to go see my friend in a show at Jeffrey Horowitz’s theatre, TFANA, I had a wild experience with a velvet rope they’d set up after the performance. I wrote about it. But I didn’t name the theatre but now that I’ve read those emails from Horowitz to Epstein, I feel like the two things are connected. Because that velvet rope they set up was to cater to people like Jeffrey Epstein, if not exactly him, and to keep out people like me. Then I saw the news that Lauren Gunderson was in the Epstein files. To keep reading Theatre, Epstein and Me visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 486Song: Richard CoryImage of Access Grove by Gabriela SalazarTo support this podcast:Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartist
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Networking Tips
10/02/2026 Duración: 14minMy college has an alumni holiday party every year and it’s a fun opportunity to meet people both younger and older than me. At this last one, I met two groups of recent grads and I was struck by the difference in their approaches to the prospect of networking. It seemed to me that one group had a lot they could teach the other.They were all very nice – but the first students I talked to – let’s call them the freshest grads – were clearly there for some help with their careers. To keep reading Networking Tips visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 485Song: Talk to MeImage by Jon Tyson via Unsplash To support this podcast:Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistMailing list:
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A Book Called Theatre (With Very Little Theatre)
03/02/2026 Duración: 19minHis “About the Author” said he’d been a successful playwright so I couldn’t figure out why his novel about an actress should be so utterly devoid of any verisimilitude about life in the theatre. There’s not a single writer character in it until the very end and the actress is never in rehearsal, never onstage and we never see much interest in her work. We just hear about what an amazing actress she is and then watch her get massages and entertain people in her dressing room.To keep reading A Book Called Theatre visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 484Song:Paper DollImage of W Somerset MaughamTo support this podcast:Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistMailing list:
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Comments on The Heroine's Journey
27/01/2026 Duración: 21minBack in 2008, I wrote a review of The Heroine’s Journey on Goodreads. At the time, I was developing Mythellaneous, which was a clown hero’s journey, so I was very excited to read this book, which was meant to be a women’s version of the famous hero’s journey as described by Joseph Campebll. Unfortunately, The Heroine’s Journey was disappointing and generally kind of facile and old fashioned. It did not help me in the creation of that show.Over the years, I have noticed likes coming through for this review, more than any other book on my list. To keep reading Comments on The Heroine's Journey visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 483Song: I'm No HeroineImage of some of my myth booksTo support this podcast:Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartist
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Health Care Every Year
20/01/2026 Duración: 16minA few weeks ago, I started receiving alarming emails about renewing my health insurance. “Renew now,” they said, “Or you risk losing your health insurance!”I can’t risk losing health insurance so I got right on it and logged into my NY State of Health account to take care of it. When I got into the system, it told me I could not renew for another two weeks. Several more panic inducing emails arrived and there was literally nothing to do about it yet.This made me think about how absolutely bonkers our health care system is.To keep reading Health Care Every Year visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 482Song: UnwellImage by Tim Mossholder via Unsplash To support this podcast:Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartist
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Giving Tuesday
13/01/2026 Duración: 13minI didn’t want to be a Giving Tuesday party pooper so I waited to post this until after giving season. I hope all my non-profit friends got lots of donations this year! But I did write this on actual Giving Tuesday. Am I a spoilsport? Maybe.Because I run a non-profit, I feel like I ought to make a pitch for us every year around this time. It feels like an exercise in futility but a lot of things feel that way, so maybe I should do it anyway? I didn’t do it this year but maybe I should have?To keep reading Giving Tuesday visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 481Song: Giving TuesdayImage via WikicommonsTo support this podcast:Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistMailing list:
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This Show Needed Gertrude Stein
06/01/2026 Duración: 20minI saw an adaptation of a Thornton Wilder play at The Public and it made me real mad. My only comfort is that apparently Thornton Wilder used to get real mad at everything he saw as well, so I guess I’m in good company.The show was an adaptation of The Skin of Our Teeth, which, for the most part, just involved throwing some songs into it. It was mostly harmless, I suppose. I’d never seen The Skin of Our Teeth and this production made me go straight home to read it so I guess it did me the service of catching me up on an American classic. To keep reading This Show Needed Gertrude Stein visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 480Song: Gertrude & SteinImage by CHUTTERSNAP via UnsplashTo support this podcast:Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartist
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Further Thoughts on Type
30/12/2025 Duración: 16minOccasionally, I’ll get responses to these blogs that suggest some further clarification is necessary. I wouldn’t have thought my piece about types would have been one of them. But it has become clear that the concept of types is not immediately obvious to those who don’t work in show business. I’m oddly touched by this. I love the notion of being free of the idea entirely. Types, for actors, are useful but sometimes oppressive categories. To keep reading Further Thoughts on Type visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 479Song: Been ItImage of Peter Falk via WikipediaTo support this podcast:Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistMailing list:
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Seven Pages in the New Yorker
22/12/2025 Duración: 15minThere was this article in the New Yorker a couple of months ago that I really hated. It was a profile of an influencer and I nearly quit reading it multiple times. But somehow, because it was about someone I really do not understand, I felt like I should stick with it to try and learn something.To keep reading Seven Pages in the New Yorker visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 478Song: Material GirlImage by Ethan Hoover via UnsplashTo support this podcast:Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistMailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/
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A Cultural Misreading of TV
16/12/2025 Duración: 16minThe episode ended with a child falling out of a window, which was a hell of a cliffhanger. This episode with the child was the ninth episode of this Swedish show and I thought, “Damn, the Swedes are hardcore to end a season this way!” It felt like a lot.To keep reading A Cultural MisReading of TV visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 477Song: LovefoolImage of The Restaurant To support this podcast:Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it at: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistJoin my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/Like on Fac
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Women's Business
08/12/2025 Duración: 15minWhile reading a book about the history of the Bluestockings, I was thunderstruck by this quotation from a “conduct manual” for women from the 1760s. It said, “Your business chiefly is to read Man, in order to make yourselves agreeable and useful.” This was the advice for women, then, to help them steer clear of the danger of reading books and becoming (gasp!) the dreaded Learned Ladies.To keep reading Women's Business visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog. This is Episode 476Song: Read Your MindImage by Richard SamuelsTo support this podcast:Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it wherever or via: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartistJoin my mailing list: