This week on The Scene Podcast, we’re joined by writer, actor, and director Ngozi Anyanwu, whose work bridges generations, continents, and artistic disciplines. From her breakout play The Homecoming Queen to the deeply personal Good Grief and her acclaimed performance in The Last of the Love Letters, Ngozi brings a fierce emotional honesty to every story she tells. In this episode, she shares her journey from performer to playwright, how she captures the specificity of memory and migration, and why she’s driven to tell Black stories that aren’t centered in trauma but in complexity, joy, and love.

Guest
Ngozi Anyanwu – @gozeface
Playwright of The Homecoming Queen, Good Grief, Nike or We Don’t Need Another Hero

Topics Covered
• From acting to writing: finding agency through authorship
• Capturing the Nigerian American experience through character and rhythm
• Emotional honesty and vulnerability in storytelling
• Centering joy and nuance in Black narratives
• Creating new pathways for Black women in theatre
• Working across mediums: stage, screen, and beyond

Referenced Works
The Homecoming Queen
Good Grief
Nike or We Don’t Need Another Hero
The Last of the Love Letters

The Scene Team

Justin Borak - Host

Zach Dulli - Executive Producer

KJ Lampar - Producer & Editor

Leah Barker - Producer & Talent Coordinator

Additional music and sound effects licensed through Envato Elements

LINKS

Be sure to follow The Scene Podcast on Instagram and YouTube

Subscribe to The Scene Newsletter

SPECIAL THANKS

Jennifer Isaacson

Lauren Kardos

Kent Nicholson

Jeffery Keilholtz

This week on The Scene Podcast, we’re joined by playwright Jonathan Spector, whose work blends sharp political insight with dark humor and daring theatricality. From Eureka Day to This Much I Know, Jonathan has built a reputation for tackling polarizing subjects with nuance, empathy, and a touch of absurdity. In this conversation, recorded prior to his 2025 Tony Award win, we talk about writing satire in polarized times, the Bay Area as a creative influence, and how he builds plays that ask big questions without prescribing easy answers.

Episode Notes

• Guest - Jonathan Spector – @spectorama
• Playwright - Eureka Day, This Much I Know, and Good. Better. Best. Bested.
• Special Note: This episode was recorded prior to Jonathan’s Tony Award win, so it is not discussed in the interview.

Topics Covered

• Satire, sensitivity, and writing in the age of disinformation
• How the Bay Area informs his aesthetic and political lens
• The development journey of Eureka Day from regional theater to Off-Broadway to London
• Writing characters with clashing ideologies but shared humanity
• The value of ambiguity and open-ended storytelling
• Creating work that meets audiences halfway without moralizing

The Scene Team

Justin Borak - Host

Zach Dulli - Executive Producer

KJ Lampar - Producer & Editor

Leah Barker - Producer & Talent Coordinator

Additional music and sound effects licensed through Envato Elements

LINKS

Be sure to follow The Scene Podcast on Instagram and YouTube

Subscribe to The Scene Newsletter

SPECIAL THANKS

Jennifer Isaacson

Lauren Kardos

Kent Nicholson

Jeffery Keilholtz

This week on The Scene Podcast, we’re joined by Madeline Sayet, playwright, director, performer, and a powerful voice in contemporary Indigenous theatre. From her solo piece Where We Belong to her advocacy for language revitalization and decolonized storytelling, Madeline invites us into a conversation about lineage, responsibility, and crafting theatre that speaks across generations. We explore how her Mohegan identity shapes her work, why Shakespeare still matters, and how storytelling can be a form of reclamation, resistance, and radical hope.

The Scene Team

Justin Borak - Host

Zach Dulli - Executive Producer

KJ Lampar - Producer & Editor

Leah Barker - Producer & Talent Coordinator

Additional music and sound effects licensed through Envato Elements

LINKS

Be sure to follow The Scene Podcast on Instagram and YouTube

Subscribe to The Scene Newsletter

SPECIAL THANKS

Jennifer Isaacson

Lauren Kardos

Kent Nicholson

Jeffery Keilholtz