On this episode, Diana interviews director/performer extraordinaire Brian Clemente about Spring Awakening at SLOC, the power of Charlie Brown, and Great Comet (!). Plus, we play a very special Broadway FMK! Theatre mentioned in this episode: Spring Awakening at SLOC Musical Theater, Jan 19-28: sloctheater.org Into the Woods at Fort Salem Theater, A…

Diana and her husband Jeremiah travelled to NYC to see Here We Are, the final Stephen Sondheim musical! Hear all about it in this episode.By Amy Driscoll & Diana Chabai-Booker

No, it's not a ghost, it's the return of the Theatre Forks podcast! Taking turns, Diana talks solo about life in New York and her top 5 theatre experiences since moving. Theatre mentioned in this episode: GGFCT: The Dark Heart of Poe, Frozen Jr., You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown: ggfct.com SLOC: Spring Awakening: sloctheater.org…

Comin' atcha from two different time zones, Theatre Forks returns! On this episode, Amy and Diana talk to the cast and creative team of Proof at the Greater Grand Forks Community Theatre about the reopening of the building, pants mishaps, and of course, Patti LuPone. Theatre mentioned in this episode: Proof at GGFCT, now through Oct 23: ggfct.com A…

Amy & Diana sit down one more time in person before Diana's big move and discuss all her shows from the last three years. Fear not, Friends of the Pod, Theatre Forks will return! We also discuss GGFCT's recently unveiled 74th season! For more information: ggfct.comBy Amy Driscoll & Diana Chabai-Booker

Amy & Diana talk to actor and director Emily Wirkus about her return to Grand Forks, fulfilling dream roles, and hot audition tips. Theatre mentioned in this episode: Company at Empire Theatre Company: empireartscenter.comBy Amy Driscoll & Diana Chabai-Booker

Amy and Diana talk to actor/choreographer/director and Friend of the Pod Casey Paradies about earning his MFA, working in the theatre, and Elaine Stritch stories. PLUS, we play Toot or Boot with your favorite musicals! Theatre mentioned in this episode: Grease at Fort Totten Little Theatre: forttottenlittletheatre.com The Marvelous Wonderettes at F…

Amy and Diana talk to UND's Costume Designer/Instructor Camilla Morrison about her newest project "Of The Earth: Stories of Women in North Dakota," face casting, and her polydactyl cat, Alexis Rose. Theatre mentioned in this episode: Grease at Fort Totten Little Theatre: forttottenlittletheatre.com The Marvelous Wonderettes at Frost Fire Park: fros…

Amy & Diana talk to playwright, lyricist, novelist and composer (of many things, including our theme song!) Connor Wielgosz about theatre summer camp, Airbnb adventures, and Connor's new musical making its world premiere at the Fire Hall Theatre, Fool's Gold. Theatre mentioned in this episode: Songs for A New World at UND: burtness.und.edu Urinetow…

Amy & Diana talk to director Chris Berg about returning to the GGFCT for Ripcord, '70s musicals, and an all-white production of The Wiz. Featuring special guest stars Nessie & Olive! Bonus! In this episode, get a sneak preview of music from the new musical FOOL'S GOLD, premiering at the Fire Hall this spring! Local theatre coming up: GGFCT: RIPCORD…

On this episode, Amy & Diana celebrate the short month of February and talk about shows that deserved a longer professional run! Does Diana talk about Spongebob again? Only time will tell. (Yes, she does.) Local theatre mentioned in this episode: 1. Black History Month special at GGFCT (on now thru Feb 28): facebook.com/greatergrandforkscommunityth…

Theatre Forks will be back soon! In the meantime, here's some theatre coming up in the Red River Valley.By Amy Driscoll & Diana Chabai-Booker

Happy New Year, Forkies! Amy & Diana talk to former Empire Arts Center executive director and current Myra Foundation trustee and family farmer Emily Montgomery about running a theatre, giving out other people's money, and her upcoming site-specific production of Oklahoma! (Kidding! Or are we?)By Amy Driscoll & Diana Chabai-Booker

In this very festive episode of Theatre Forks, Amy and Diana talk about their favorite holiday traditions, Fred Penner, and unlocking recovered memories. Don't forget to check out the following theatre coming up in Grand Forks: - GGFCT's Holiday Cabaret, on now through Dec 26: GGFCT.com - Empire Theatre Company's Virtual Holiday Fundraiser, on now …

Amy and Diana talk to actor, singer, and all-around beautiful human Gina Uhlir about her artist-in-residency, building character, and her "inevitable decay as a person." Don't forget to check out the following theatre coming up in North Dakota: - Steel Magnolias, Dec 1-12, at GGFCT: ggfct.com - GGFCT's Holiday Cabaret, Dec 18-26 - Empire Theatre Co…

Amy and Diana welcome the entire cast and crew of Steel Magnolias to the podcast in our first ever two-part episode! Our guests: Brenna Skallet, Kathy Coudle-King, AnneMarie Brack, Chris Stoner, Emily Johnson, Ruthie Pederson, and Amy Lyste. Part 1 aired last week and is available for listening now.By Amy Driscoll & Diana Chabai-Booker

Amy and Diana welcome the entire cast and crew of Steel Magnolias to the podcast in our first ever two-part episode! Our guests: Brenna Skallet, Kathy Coudle-King, AnneMarie Brack, Chris Stoner, Emily Johnson, Ruthie Pederson, and Amy Lyste. Part 2 will air next week.By Amy Driscoll & Diana Chabai-Booker

Happy Halloween, Forkies! Amy & Diana talk theatre ghost stories to celebrate the spooky season, including listener submissions, the story of Winnipeg's Walker Theatre, Amy's UND ghost stories, and favorite Broadway hauntings.By Amy Driscoll & Diana Chabai-Booker

The Tonys are coming! The Tonys are coming! After a long wait, the 2020 Tony Award Nominations were announced, and we're talking favorites to win, strange categories or lack thereof, and read your Forks Friday submissions.By Amy Driscoll & Diana Chabai-Booker

Amy and Diana talk to Rob Cooper and Kyle Mason from University of North Dakota's Theatre Arts Department about their new devised show, Once the World Stopped. We also discuss Halloween must-watches, our theatre crushes, and Rob's future drag career.By Amy Driscoll & Diana Chabai-Booker

In our first-ever guest episode, Amy and Diana talk to Empire Arts Center Program Manager Maddie Sharpe about her theatre journey, her dream roles, and her deepest fears. (No, really.)By Amy Driscoll & Diana Chabai-Booker

In the first ever episode of Theatre Forks, Amy and Diana introduce themselves and talk about how they got involved at the theatre, some of their favorite theatre experiences, and the importance of a very large scarf.By Amy Driscoll & Diana Chabai-Booker

LA Final

We are saddened to say we're losing 1/3 of our beloved team, likely the most valuable member. Kathy has hung up her journalistic cleats and is no longer embedded in the exciting world of tech startups. In similar fashion, she is hanging up her MSP On Deck podcast cleats as well.In this episode we run through the early days of the podcast, highlight…

E27 Special Guest: Patrick Meenan, Managing Partner of Arthur Ventures Riffing points Why 2018 was Arthur Venture’s biggest year. Why recruiting and HR matter a ton in a startup. Patrick’s take in the Twin Cities vs other cities. Our commentary on 2018’s top stories that include Bite Squad, Bright Health, Bind, Total Expert, Flip Grid, and Andy Sla…

Riffing points Bright Health raises an eye popping $200m round. Sezzle lands a $100m credit line to fund easier online buying.Holiday gifts you can buy from Minnesota startups: KATHY'S GIFT PICKS:https://forcefieldfun.com https://www.macchina.cc https://www.sipdark.comPAUL'S GIFT PICKS:https://www.omniafishing.com https://kidizen.com CASEY'S GIFT P…

Young MN VCs -- Atland Ventures, the 1st student run VC firm in Minnesota.The state of junior developers and the jr. dev landscape in MN.Our most interesting, recent conversations with local founders.

--- We've upgraded our audio quality. Hope you like! --- Riffing points TotalExpert, MN’s fastest growing startup, raises $20m more.Why a SEC filing does not necessarily equal a funding round. Paul’s post game analysis of Twin Cities Startup Week. Enterprise HRtech company Ascentis’s ascendency and path to IPO. The robust HR technology landscape of…

--- We've upgraded our audio quality. Hope you like! ---Riffing points Sentera raises $14m in new funding.Evolve, the Minnetonka plastics printer, raises 19m in a fresh round of VC.Omnia Fishing raises $1m for anglertech startup.Paul gives you an epic 80/20 of Twin Cities Startup Week 2018.Novel Coworking buys it's way into dowtown Minneapolis.Tech…

E22 Riffing points Foodsby raises $13.5m to feed people nationallySansoro Health hauls in $8m in new fundingThe MN tech companies that still might IPOOur latest list of the hardest roles to hire for in a tech startup Paul’s panel on Sep 19th on recruiting talent to MN --> www.mntrn.org Casey’s launches a live interview series --> www.candor.live Ne…

Riffing points Dispatch raises a $2.6m oversubscribed funding roundDoug Berg launches ZAPInfo, raises over a million dollar seed round ClickSwitch raises $3.5m in funding from serious fintech investors Assemble becomes the first bigger downtown coworking space to shutter Paul gives the skinny on the brand new Spaces Coworking space in North Loop Re…

Special Guest: Kyle Coolbroth, Cofounder and CEO of Fueled Collective, formally CoCo Coworking Riffing points Structural raises $2.5m more in seed funding.Kyle Coolbroth’s take on WeWork and its rapid rise. How CoCo became Fueled Collective and the big expansion plans it has. A Leadpages/Drip competitor AutoPilot sets up shop in Minneapolis too.…

E19Riffing points Minnesota tech's newest IPO pipeline and who could pop. Startup Gravie continues to raise VC cash. Reeher has a great exit after Blackbaud’s acquisition. How often do startups shut down quickly like One20 did? Redbrick’s acquisition an whether the founders and early employees made money. Paul on companies hiring recruiters, where …

Riffing points Paul’s State of Tech Events Report: Tech Cities, MinneBar, Enterprise Rising ConferenceAbility Network has a huge exit Enterprise healthtech + health IT continues to thrive in Minneapolis Connexio and K12 companies still have an edtech stronghold in MN Sezzle raises an ever growing chunk of cash and is hiring full throttle Local MN s…

E17Riffing points Bind Benefits lands $60m series A in funding.The Definity Health Mafia and the startups that its ex-employees have created. HelpSystems at $160m in rev is acquired by another private equity firm and valued over $1b. Casey displays a company-crush on Help Systems’ outlier Glassdoor rating. Paul shares the state of recruiting recrui…

Special Guest: Jenna Pederson, Minnestar board member and Hack the Gap cofounder Riffing points Upsie closes $1.7m seed round funding Two MN tech startups, SparkDJ and Players Health, leave MN to join Techstars programs in Los Angeles and Boulder Casey’s rant on startup moving awayTech ecosystem observations from Jenna PedersonWhat Minnebar is and …

E15 Riffing points Loup Ventures closes their first fund and proves researchers can be VCsCoCo Coworking launches a 2nd coworking space brand, goes big and goes national SportsDigita launches their first product, Digideck, + raises investor cash for it Why Minnesota’s Amazon bid didn’t make us any smarter A rundown of VC firms outside of Minnesota …

E14 Riffing points Andy Slavitt launching a VC fund to make the world a better place The best rundown of MN VC firms that are active What does a seed round actually get a startup? Paul explains why being a developer is the best job in the world SPS Commerce doubles down on Accenture Tower and why it won’t be anything like ADC Who the hell is ADC?…

Special Guest: Maria Ploessl, new Director of MinnestarRiffing points The state of Minne*, present and futureTech ecosystem observations, good and bad, from Maria Ploessl Inclusion in the Minnesota technology community Cargill and Ecolab Techstars launching in Minneapolis in 2018 Priorities, outlooks, and predictions of tech jobs and hiring in 2018…

Riffing points: The top, most popular tech stories of 2017 get dissected in true geek fashion. We throw out detailed funding, IPO, and recruiting predictions for 2018. Also new announcements for Optum Ventures who formally launched, Revel Health who raised a ton of cash, and WeWork which graced Minneapolis with location #2.…

GUEST: Rob Weber, Great North Labs Venture Fund + Startup School Riffing points 1. Why Rob is starting a fund rather than doing another startup. For more details on Great North Labs, see: Great North Labs on MSPBJ 2. How Rob and his partner Ryan think about investing and what kind of startups the fund will invest in. 3. Rob's best angel investment …

Riffing points Is downtown HOT and the suburbs COLD as a place to grow a startup? Calabrio is blowing up their team in Minneapolis -- for more see story on MSPBJ The hardest and easiest roles to hire for in a startup right now A great blog post by Patrick Meenan of Arthur Ventures about recruiting an HR team for startups: https://www.linkedin.com/p…

Riffing points 1. Techstars is launching a brand new program in Minneapolis in 2018. Find out which huge corporation they’re partnering with 2. If we won’t get Amazon, who would we want? 3. The reason why big tech companies opening offices in MN is actually good for tech companies already here 4. What you missed at TC Startup Week 5. Follow us at w…

Riffing points JAMF was just acquired by Vista Equity Partners -- for more see: news on JAMF’s acquisition eBureau was just acquired by TransUnion -- for more see: news on eBureau’s acquisition How to see more quality startup tech coverage in the media Follow us at www.twitter.com/mspondeck even if you aren't a tweeter. We are.…

Riffing points 1. The upside of Bright Health -- for more see: Kathy’s tweet on Fortune’s article listing Bright Health 2. Our picks on Minnesota companies that could be unicorns 3. Mr. DeBettignies goes to Chicago to woo top talent 4. Developers in these U.S. cities are game to move to the Twin Cities 5. Life in Chicago’s tech shadow 6. Startups h…

Riffing points Should we pursue Amazon HQ2? -- for more see: MN news on Amazon HQ2 Twin Cities Startup Week and what’s in store -- for more see: news on MSPBJ Code42 whacks CrashPlan -- for more see story on MSPBJCan Code42 iPO? - for more see: news on Code42New startup Bind launched by serial founder Tony Miller -- for more, see: story on MSPBJ Fo…

**note there is a 20 sec gap of silence @ 5:04. Please skip or just keep listening.** Riffing pointsPodcast guest: Scott Burns1. Scott’s new startup Structural.com -- with Chip House, for more see: news on Structural2. The origin story of Osborn370 -- for more see: news on Osborn3703. Why the time is finally right for downtown St. Paul to be a star…

Riffing points: 1. New startup fund Capita3 -- for more see: news on Capita32. The state of the State (of Minnesota’s) VC ecosystem3. WeWork comes to Minneapolis, new details about it, and Casey’s dire prediction -- for more, see WeWork on MSPBJ4. Why Osborn370 won’t have your average coworking space -- for more about Osborn 370, see: recent news o…

Riffing points: Bright Health and their massive funding round -- for more see: Bright Health on MSPBJ Should the Angel Tax Credit have been killed? -- for more see: ATC on MSPBJ A new startup media startup comes to town -- for more, see MinneInno and Maddy Kennedy on MSPBJ DealerTeamwork crushing it -- for more, see: Dealer Teamwork on MSPBJ Nerder…