"Nicole Gabriella Scipione breaks hearts." Or at least, that's what her cat Langston Brindle Anunciación, claims. As well as Stage Raw of Nicole in Lucas Hnath's Obie Award winning The Christians. Nicole is an actor/writer/filmmaker living in Los Angeles, but born the middle child in a gaggle of 5 children to her minister Father George, & educator/…

Spoken word poet Caleb Miller White flew onto our radar at Theatre of Note's 2022 poetry slam, where he was a semi-finalist. Beyond impressed with his pieces and performance, we invited him as a featured poet in Towne Street's Theatre Sum Poetry at Stella Adler last July. Caleb is a writer, actor, and producer based in Los Angeles, CA and originall…

Amberlee Clark was born in Dallas, Texas and has been performing since she was four years old. When she was in 3rd grade, she was cast in a school production of Into the Woods Jr. Though it was a very small part, that little taste of the stage was all she needed to know she wanted to be an actor. She has been pursuing that dream ever since. However…

Robert LaMarr Randle is a S.A.G. Actor, Musician, and Licensed Master Barber Hairstylist- an Artist on many levels! Today, we dive into his love of expressing himself through Spoken Word Poetry. A devoted husband and father, as well as a strong believer in God, Robert is an advocate for sharing lessons learned from real life experiences in order to…

Yes we are BACK! Even more than being excited to be in a real studio together, we are glad to reunite in the city of angels after a summer spent on our own adventures, coming back together to create some poetic content for this community! It has been a chaotic three years and we're happy to reexamine our journeys as artists, professionals, and of c…

Poem titled: “Falling in Love in the Big Apple.” --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/poetsreturn/support

“Fear is a rusty knife and do not let her into your house.” - John Cheever--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/poetsreturn/support

Host Melissa Booey narrates the reflective poem “Woodward Waysayers” from her anthology titled BIRDBRAIN. The poem asks the question, “was it all a dream?” As one looks back on recent times, it’s hard not to ask that. Original music from Anchor. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/poetsreturn/support…

This haiku, written by poet, novelist and essay writer Meredith Sandrik, describes how many of us feel in our careers and relationships. With smoke settling in the many valleys of our Wild West, we can’t wait for the skies to clear to discern our next adventure. The same goes for life: once you see the writing on the wall, there’s no going back. In…

Bridget is a 23 year old Utah resident who has been interested in poetry since a young age. Her interest has grown into a continuous passion, peaking thus far during Bridget's senior year of high school and again about three years after her graduation. Just before I hit record during our zoom interview, the poet disclosed a story about being accuse…

Joining us from the continent of Africa, Beauty, or Beauty in Words (b.i.w) is the pin-name of an up and coming anonymous online poet/writer, who is also the sole founder and creator of the Instagram page @beauty_in_words._ which has amassed a following of over 6,000 through Beauty's online presence and poetry. Her content varies from both short an…

We are BACK and more excited than ever to bring you the words, processes, and stories behind the storytellers. You don’t need to be a poet to share, and in the debut episode of our second season, podcast host Melissa BOOEY dives into her own creative journey as well as her ongoing struggle with addiction. Using our words well to promote positive ch…

In Part Two of the Season One Finale, Philasifer raps the other seven of the ten Milkcrate Monologues. His poetic influences combined with the message he's determined to share with the world make RJ Wayne's book turned stage play a piece of writing that needs to be seen, heard, and performed as an integral part of Hiphop culture. Here we listen to …

Hiphop culture requires participation. RJ Wayne, (Ron Johnson) aka MC Philasifer, knows that more than anyone. Here is the first part of our SEASON FINALE! You'll get to hear about Ron's history from him, as well as how the Milkcrate Monologues came to be a play. Tune in for PART TWO with the rest of the 7 monologues recited by RJ Wayne himself, as…

The Milkcrate Monologues is a play written by Ron Johnson, known in the acting world as RJ Wayne, and known in the rap world as MC Philasifer. Milkcrate premiered with the Towne Street Theatre in October of 2019 at Stella Adler in Hollywood. After getting to sit down with Ron, who was the mastermind, creator, writer, director, producer, AND a part …

Ron Johnson is a rapper, beatboxer, producer, actor, playwright and teaching artist. Originally from Gilroy, CA, Ron AKA Phlasifer, is known for his thought provoking lyrics and instrumentals. Heavily rooted in the time-honored traditions of Hiphop as a culture, Phlasifer also joined the fraternity as part of the Conscious Rapper wave of the Mid 90…

Mental health is still a widely stigmatized topic everywhere, and knowing you are not alone and that help is available to you is more important than ever. This week’s episode “Taking Your Power Back” features poet and creative, Megan Turoci, a writer, actress, and advocate for the mental health community. Megan delves into her personal experiences …

Cocoa Rigal is a multifaceted, multitalented artist living in downtown Los Angeles. She works with many mediums including animation, video game creation, set design, costume design, acting, poetry, music, and more. She is a crafty and resourceful talent to have on set, behind the scenes, and in front of the camera. Today we delve into her process, …

***Hello Poet's Return listeners! We hope you're staying inside and staying afloat during these COVID-19 times. We're releasing some extra content during this time of isolation and semi-hiatus, and we'll be sharing some teasers for season two with you on our social media pages! We know that times are tough, but if you're able to donate in any way, …

Forgive the ridiculous accents and antics, but these two have clearly been friends for a while. Daniel Botello is a versatile writer, not only dabbling but fully investing himself in his poetry, playwriting, and music. Along with touring solo through the United States performing his own music, he's also published, produced and performed his own pla…

During our last installment of the miniseries featuring playwright, poet, and novelist Conor Turoci, we give you a sneak peek into the play "At the Edge of the Wilderness," a play that Conor and host Melissa Booey have been working on for years. We discuss emotional resilience, the power of story, and how specificity is crucial to creating strong c…

Alicia Beck is a Los Angeles film actress with a background in stage and musical theater. Throughout her past six years performing and creating locally, Alicia has also cultivated her love of writing and sharing poetry. Her poems are filled with heartbreak and hope, time and people lost, gained and remembered along with all the in betweens. Her gri…

"At the Edge of the Wilderness" is a four act onstage western Conor and I have been writing since 2013. In this episode, we discuss the power of persevering when you have the right person to collaborate with, (even if you've been writing this play for 7 years, now). We discuss how crucial it is throughout an artist's journey finding artistic commun…

We're switching gears a little this week, with Part One of a three-part release of Minisodes featuring Conor Turoci. Conor is a versatile writer, delving into such forms as playwriting, screenwriting, short story, essay, poetry and full form novel. In this small featured mini series of episodes, Conor and I discuss the ins and outs of writing proce…

Elena Scarlett Murray is a local Los Angeles poet who has performed as a featured performer at the Kingdom of Pavement as well as several other venues and has never failed to impress with her powerfully beautiful and sometimes potently painful words. Continuing to pursue her passion for writing, Elena has seemed to grow right before the eyes of the…

This week's episode "Knowing You're Enough" features Elena Scarlett Murray, whose poetry has a wide range of topics, colors and styles. Listen to the trailer to hear a small excerpt from one of Elena's poems titled, "What I Should Have Written", and also hear us goof around for a bit as we're known to bring levity to just about any topic. A true po…

Cairo Spencer is a 23 year old, Bay Area Native with a background in dance and theatre. Although he has primarily focused on film since his move to L.A, performing the Milkcrate Monologues in October encouraged him to continue his acting onstage, and on another level, to continue writing and sharing his poems and raps. (Especially through the suppo…

Amy Suto and Flannery Maney are the co-founders of Kingdom of Pavement, a local online publication serving as a platform for artists of all backgrounds to share their work, and collaborate within a safe space. Finding an artistic community is vital to inspiration, encouragement and support in one's art, and Kingdom of Pavement's mission statement i…

Thursday's episode is titled, "Creating a Safe Space with Kingdom of Pavement." Kingdom of Pavement is an amazing online publication that supports local artists here in Los Angeles. Following the launch of the podcast episode featuring Kingdom co-founders Amy Suto and Flannery Maney, there will be a LIVE performance at Aunt Bessie's on Pico this Sa…

Carlos Diego Mendoza is a Bay Area native who has always loved live theatre. He came to LA to pursue acting both onstage and in film, but hadn't considered his pass time of writing to be a serious career pursuit. He reconnected with an old friend and fellow performer he'd met up north, and auditioned for the Milkcrate Monolgoues with Towne Street T…

DeShawn Cavanaugh is a Minnesota native. He moved to Los Angeles to become a professional actor, and has done so very well, booking numerous roles in TV, film and commercials. He is also part of local music group tbc.records whose music is featured on the episode today! He hosts a weekly open mic at Crave Cafe in Studio City featuring poets, spoken…

Natalie Beisner is an amazing short story and essay writer with her own blog, www.thisisnotalie.com. (Clever, right? I love it.) She discusses painful and difficult topics in a simultaneously visceral and beautiful way. Although her blog isn't strictly poetry, so to speak, her style and imagery are both extremely poetic, and any listener or reader …

Kate Strauss is a self-published poet whose book DASH-Y can be found on Amazon for purchase. Her work delves into learning self-love through overcoming body struggles, addiction and misplaced ideas of our own worth. We discuss these topics as well as the process Kate went through publishing her own work and using social media as a public journal to…

Hello world! We decided to release this poem early so that you can get a taste of all the amazing, talented pieces that are coming your way! We hope you enjoy. Social Media: Facebook: @PoetsReturnInstagram: @PoetsReturn --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/poetsreturn/support…