If This Is True with Chris Hall

Alexandra is an artist, educator, and somatic guide working with movement as a way to access creative authority, embodied clarity, and deep personal voice. Her work supports artists, teachers, activists, facilitators, and guides to strengthen their inner compass while leading, creating, and communicating. She is fascinated by how decision-making lives in the body: how gesture holds belief, habit becomes pedagogy, and intuition is a fluent language.She is a choreographer, director, and educator working at the intersection of dance, theater, and somatics and was a member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company from 1995–2001. She founded Alexandra Beller/Dances in 2002, creating more than forty dance-theater works across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.Her theater credits include Off-Broadway productions of Sense and Sensibility (Folger Shakespeare, A.R.T., Portland Center Stage; Helen Hayes Award, Lortel nomination), How to Transcend a Happy Marriage (Lincoln Center Theater), and The Mad Ones, as well as regional work with Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, La MaMa, La Jolla Playhouse, Milwaukee Rep, and The Goodman Theatre. Her directing credits include Macbeth (Theater Row) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (92Y).She has taught at institutions including Barnard, SUNY Purchase, Rutgers, UC Santa Barbara, the University of Michigan, The New School, and Princeton University, where she taught for seven years. Alexandra currently serves on faculty at the Laban Institute for Movement Studies and Gibney Dance Center and teach internationally through residencies and master classes. Her forthcoming books are The Embodied Conductor: A Somatic Approach with Laban and Bartenieff (Meredith Music, 2025) and The Anatomy of Art: Unlocking the Creative Process for Theater and Dance (Bloomsbury, 2026). You can get her books at alexandrabellerdances.org.This was an inspired episode. Give it a listen!This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brad Elder is an award-winning author and attorney, living in Texas. Prior to writing his action thriller, Recoil of Justice, his writing credits Included millions of emails and text messages, and a couple of dozen witty social media posts.When not poking fun at himself, Brad spends his days in Lubbock, TX, with his wife, Ashton, and his two children, Lauren and Jake.We talked about the hero's journey of his protagonist, Ryan Wolfe, and how he wrote his first novel. Don't miss it!This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Mann is an improviser, actor, comedian and author. His book, the Law of Improv came out in paperback in 2025. He has performed in several plays, shows, commercials, and TV shows, based out of the Boston area.He is also been a sheriff for 28 years, and uses that experience to explore how improvisational principles can help first responders communicate and strengthen leadership. The Law of Improv provides a framework for that practice. You ought to be arrested if you don't listen to this one!This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born in Athens, Greece as an Air Force brat, Teri M Brown came into this world with an imagination full of stories to tell. She now calls the North Carolina coast home, and the peaceful nature of the sea has been a great source of inspiration for her creativity.Not letting 2020 get the best of her, Teri chose to go on an adventure that changed her outlook on life. She and her husband, Bruce, rode a tandem bicycle across the United States from Astoria, Oregon to Washington DC, successfully raising money for Toys for Tots. She learned she is stronger than she realized and capable of anything she sets her mind to.Teri graduated from UNC Greensboro with a multitude of degrees – majors in Elementary Education and Psychology and minors in Math and Sociology – she just couldn’t settle on one thing! While homeschooling her four children, she began her writing career by focusing on small businesses, writing articles, blog posts, and website content.Upon winning the First Annual Anita Bloom Ornoff Award for Inspirational Short Story for a piece about her grandfather, she began writing in earnest, and published her debut novel in 2022, Sunflowers Beneath the Snow, a historical fiction set in Ukraine. Her second novel published in 2023, An Enemy Like Me, takes place during WWII. Her latest novel, Daughters of Green Mountain Gap, a generational story about Appalachian healers came out in January 2024. In June 2024, her short story, The Youngest Lighthouse Keeper, came out in the anthology Feisty Deeds: Historical Fictions of Daring Women. Her latest book, 10 Little Rules for a Double-Butted Adventure (Feb 2025), My first children's picture book, Little Lola and Her Big Dream, came out in April of last year.Teri is a delight. Listen to this!!This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke is an award-winning author whose Jake Fortina series has captivated readers with its razor-sharp realism, fast-paced storytelling, and unforgettable characters. With three acclaimed novels already on shelves—and a fourth installment, Vital Mission, launching this August—Steinke has established himself as a fresh, authoritative voice in the military thriller genre.Readers praise his novels for their vivid detail, believable dialogue, and storylines that feel startlingly real. From international flashpoints to complex characters operating under extreme pressure, Vital Mission continues the gripping tradition of a series that feels both timeless and timely.You can connect with him on LinkedIn Ralph "Rick" Steinke | LinkedIn or Facebook:  https://bit.ly/3WiH57u. For more information, please see: www.ricksteinke.com.Give this a listenThis episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Drawn to a career in the arts, multi-hyphenate (actor, director, playwright, comedian) Chris Ferretti acted in several theatrical productions that no one ever saw.Ferretti studied theatre and marketing at the University of Rhode Island, which is as good of a recipe as any to become a bartender in Connecticut.Working several jobs and bartending nights, Ferretti continued to perform in several productions, which ultimately led him to studying acting, directing and playwriting at the Actors Studio, where he received his MFA and once shook hands with Bradley Cooper.An avid writer, he has written and produced several works including his one-act comedy, The Session, which had its Off-Broadway debut at the Theatre at St. Clement’s. Chris’ other works include Clipped Wings, Between A Rock and The Port Authority, Don’t Forget to Tip Your Server, Trumped, and Fish & Visitors: A Covid Comedy. He has also penned a solo show, Voicemails From Purgatory, which details the insanity of growing up in an Irish/Italian dysfunctional family.Chris, and his wife Julie, also penned, Go Shit in a Hat: Wise Words, Vulgar Expressions, and a Little Bit of Advice from the One and Only Auntie Ro, with 100% of the proceeds going to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.Check this out!!!This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since 2014, Anthony LaMarca has served as the multi-instrumentalist in The War On Drugs. He has also released five albums as The Building. He also engineers and produces albums for other artists at his Youngstown, Ohio studio, Peppermint Productions. Along with his partners Dean Anshutz and Peppermint founder Gary Rhamy, they also archive and reissue recordings from the studio's more than fifty year history.We talked about his love of polka music and why Youngstown, Ohio is special. Don't miss this one!This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A proudly queer comedian and artist, Louie Pearlman has been fueling the NYC comedy scene since 2002. His original sketches starring the Sesame Street Muppets are featured at Sesame Street Learn and Play in the American Dream Mall, NJ. As a writer for The Sesame Street Podcast and the Webby Award winning Ready Set Ride with Elmo, he engages young audiences with humor and creativity. An esteemed instructor at The Second City NYC and Improv for Life, Louie nurtures future performers, with his classes featured on People.com. He also produces, directs, performs, and writes for Story Pirates, (where he has appeared on a Tonie!) captivating listeners and audiences nationwide. Co-creator and co-writer of the musical Joey and Ron, Louie’s writing work extends to Archie Comics and articles for Gizmodo and Elmore Magazine. Louie's energy is infectious! Give this a listen!This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A native Rhode Islander, Amy is a mild-mannered health data analyst by day, shamelessly bold improviser by night Her educational background includes a bachelor's degree in Mathematics, a Master of Library and Information Science, and a multitude of classes and workshops with Groundlings School, Impro Theatre, Freestyle Love Supreme Academy, and numerous other instructors from London to Los Angeles. Currently, she can be found coaching and performing at Kismet Improv in Pawtucket, playing on stage in the fast-paced high energy games of The Bit Players in Newport, and taking tarot-inspired improv to various festival stages with Whatever Fate Decides.You can follow her work and performance dates here:  kismetimprov.com and bitplayers.netShe also has a couple of special shows coming up in NYC at The PIT LAB -- October 19, 6pm NYC Sketchfest'25 "Tell Me More" and November 8, 8pm "Shotgun Improv."Enjoy this one!This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, consisting of singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Laura King. Formed in 1989, they were one of the bands that helped define the Chapel Hill music scene of the 1990s.[1] The band is known for its energetic, high-velocity style and strong do-it-yourself ethic.McCaughan and Ballance founded the successful independent record label Merge Records in 1989 as a way to release music from Superchunk and music created by friends, which has expanded to include artists from around the world and records reaching the top of the Billboard music charts. Superchunk released a string of full-length albums and compilations throughout the 1990s. After releasing their eighth studio album in 2001, the band went into a period of reduced activity. In 2010, the band released a new studio album, Majesty Shredding, and followed it up in 2013 with their tenth studio album, I Hate Music. Their 13th album, Songs in the Key of Yikes, comes out this year.Superchunk's music has been described as punk rock[and indie rock. Superchunk's early influences included Buzzcocks, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., and Hüsker Dü. The band would eventually incorporate elements from such bands as Rocket from the Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, and Polvo.Jim Wilbur and Laura King met with me to discuss success, what's good in music and much more. Give it a listen!This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katherine Davis-Gibbon is an award-winning children’s book author, publisher, certified yoga and Pilates teacher, and mother of two Generation Alpha kids. She founded Riverlet Press in 2021, as a platform for books that illuminate and enrich the child’s inner life. Her debut book, My Old Friend, Then, received praise from critics, teachers, therapists, and parents, as well as the following awards recognition: Distinguished Favorite in the 2022 New York City Big Book Awards; Finalist in the 2022 American Book Fest’s Best Book Awards; and Distinguished Favorite in the 2023 Independent Press Awards. Her forthcoming book, Words, is already receiving high praise from multiple outlets, including being selected as an Editor’s Pick by Publishers Weekly BookLife Reviews.Prior to becoming a children’s book author, Davis-Gibbon was a contemporary dancer and choreographer for many years, performing in New York City, St. Louis, Albuquerque, and throughout California. By day, she taught Pilates and yoga—initially at Performing Arts Physical Therapy, in Los Angeles, where she worked with a diverse clientele ranging from seriously injured people to Olympic athletes and Hollywood stars—and ultimately opening her own studio. She has a B.A. in Dance from Scripps College, a Pilates Teaching Certificate from Joseph Pilates’ lifelong protégé, Romana Kryzanowska, and more yoga certifications than she can count.You can find her books at her imprint, Riverlet Press, https://riverletpress.com.Don't miss this episode!This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Vaillancourt is a writer, actor, director, producer but most of all an improvisor who has been teaching and performing improv across the country for more than 30 years. He is a graduate of the Comedy Sportz Training Program in Virginia, the Second City Training Center in Chicago as well as the legendary Improv Olympic in Chicago where he had the rare opportunity to study under the legendary Del Close. After his group, Bitter Noah, was selected to perform their signature piece, the Improvised Movie, at the US Comedy Arts festival in Aspen, Paul moved to Los Angeles and co-founded the iO West where he has been teaching, directing and performing (both written and improvised shows) ever since. During his time in Hollywood, Paul has become a sought after improv coach, producer and consultant working with many TV networks including CMT, Fox, MTV, VH1, Oxygen and Bravo to name a few. He now lives in Los Angeles with his wife Lindsey and their two children Isabelle and Paul junior (or Bro as his friends call him).You can find Paul's teachings on Instagram at @whatsupwithpv, on TikTok at Paul Vaillancourt. You can also buy his book, The Triangle of the Scene at https://www.amazon.com/Triangle-Scene-practical-approaching-improvisation/dp/1539733718/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2SEMV48BEEJN1&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.pA6gDbth8dKGjlppk9t73A.qcyrQBHeTwr9rlM1ijnLEGk5sscDB_RexfjXovWO8y4&dib_tag=se&keywords=paul+vaillancourt+book+triangle&qid=1746289681&sprefix=paul+vaillancourt+book+triangle%2Caps%2C101&sr=8-1This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Artistic Director and Founder of Improv Training Hub, Amey was the Artistic Director of E-MPROV.com, produced and hosted Indie Cage Match at UCB Theatre East Village from 2011-2016.She started at UCB NY in 2001. You can see her work on ucbcomedy.com, Funny or Die, The Food Network, IFC Channel and YouTube. Amey moved to LA in 2016 and taught improv at MI Westside Comedy in Los Angeles. Currently, she is the Training Center Director and Co-Creative Director at Chaos Bloom Theater in Denver.She performed at Westside Comedy every month in Improv Famous, Women Aren’t Funny and the Faculty Show.She has been on a million teams like Lucy, Krompf, Wicked Fuckin Queeah, Spoiled Space Monkeys, and so many more across the country.Amey has directed and/or coached more than 500 improv and sketch teams across the country. She also teaches teams online. Don't miss this one!This episode, like all episodes of If This Is True, brings forth what drives creatives to do what they do. For more of this content and interaction, you can also go to my substack, coolmite25.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.