This week we sit down with actor, singer, model, dancer, and poet Anneka Kumli (annekakumli.com) to discuss finding her personal intersection between political activism and art. Along the way, topics include:
- The horrors of the MTA on the weekend, and the not-so-secret Hate Poetry that all New Yorkers write while stuck in a subway tunnel at 2am.
- The Tragedy of Miriam by Elizabeth Cary, the first extant original play written by a woman in English.
- The Roaring Girl by Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker, about the real-life cross-dressing thief who may have even defied the law to appear onstage as herself in the play.
- The ability of good politicians and good art to make people feel heard.
- Whiplash, and the question of whether achieving greatness is worth the personal cost.
- The brilliance of Brad Pitt’s accent, Eric Bana’s hair, and (let’s be real) everything in Wolfgang Peterson’s 2004 film Troy.
- Anneka’s time working for the Governor of Colorado as a Legislative Aide, on his re-election campaign, and then as his events director on his inaugural committee.
- The democratic importance of the plays performed at the Festival of Dionysus in Athens and attending theater as a “civic duty.”
- The importance of the arts in a time where many people seem to have forgotten what it is to listen to one another.
- Anneka’s original poem, “2019.”
Music is by Kara Arena, Master of Music for Rude Grooms. Follow us @thiswoodeno on Twitter and Instagram, visit us on the web at thiswoodeno.com, like us at facebook.com/thiswoodenopod/, or support us on Patreon (patreon.com/rudegrooms) to join the conversation during livestream broadcasts of every episode.
This week’s shoutouts & further reading include:
- Kristen Johnston (Actor & Teacher) – follow her @thekjohnston
- Margot Jones – http://sweettornado.org/who-was-margo-jones/
- Zelda Fichandler – https://howlround.com/commons/zelda-fichandler
- Nina Vance – https://www.alleytheatre.org/about-us/history/nina-vance
This Wooden O is a production of Rude Grooms. Learn more at rudegrooms.com or follow us @rudegrooms on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Subscribe in your favorite Podcast app and share your thoughts on social media, on our website thiswodeno.com, or at thiswoodeno@rudegrooms.com.
