Employee Of The Month

2017 marks a critical juncture where I am paying attention to what I consume and create. For starters, I strive to shed new light as a writer. I also want to share conversations with exceptional people who devote their careers to not only distilling life’s greater truths AND help others hone their own voices. I also have found that as vital as it is to engage in society, some days the news makes me worry that my head might explode. It’s why I am particularly thankful to kick off 2017 bringing you a live interview with Sarah Kay, an extraordinary writer, performer, and teacher. For those who don’t know Sarah Kay, as she is quickly becoming a global sensation. She made her television debut when she was 18, on yogi and music scion Russell Simmons’s Def Jam on HBO. Shortly after graduating from Brown, she then performed her poem "B" as a TED Talk, which garnered over 9 million hits on Youtube. The half-Jewish, half-Japanese, New York Native was twenty-two years old. She then released “B” as well as another...

As a 6’2, 300-pound offensive guard for the Citadel, Morris Robinson scored first team All-Southern Conference, first team Kodak All-American, and second team Sports Network All-American. He wanted to play pro. Sports Illustrated profiled Robinson because the powerhouse also possessed a one-of-a-kind musical talent. At the South Carolina military academy, he’d sing the National Anthem. His deep voice was electric, and otherwise stoic boys would line up for autographs after Robinson’s concerts like fan girls. The beloved son of a minister, Morris had performed music at his family’s church since he was a kid. He later joined the Atlanta Boys’ Choir and continued to play drums and piano. The Georgia native was a stand out on and off the field. Then he faced a brutal blow. College football teams worried he was too slow. Robinson felt crushed. After dabbling as a bouncer, he worked in sales at 3m, where his huge smile and charm paid off. But Robinson was miserable. Luckily, his wife intervened. She set up an...

Turturro, who is best known, as one of the most pliable, memorable actors of our time, spoke about needing to laugh post the election of Donald Trump. We certainly did a lot, as the Brooklyn native shared hilarious stories about working with Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorcese on Raging Bull to shooting a threesome with Bobby Cannavale and Audrey Tatou for his latest project GOING PLACES. He also shared some never released before photos from the set, as Turturro is currently editing the film. In it, Turturro revisits the sleazy, former pedophile, and die hard bowler Jesus Quintana, which became one of the many stand out characters in the cult classic THE BIG LEBOWSKI. Most folks became aware of John Turturro in Spike Lee’s DO THE RIGHT THING, but he cemented his street cred as the Coen Brothers, who famously cast the Italian-American human sponge. The brilliant brothers are credited with creating Jesus Quintana from scratch, but they were initially inspired by a similar character Turturro had created on...

JON GLASER talks about Second City and whether SNL grabbed his joke by Catie Lazarus

MARTHA WAINWRIGHT is touring in Australia, the UK, Ireland, and Canada, just released her fourth solo studio album, GOODNIGHT CITIZEN. The bilingual, dual citizen has lived betwixt and between worlds, and when you hear her sing, you'll feel how her music deftly embodies the cacophony of emotions simultaneously. Now a mother, who grew up with parents, Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright, Martha talks about raising a child as an artist and touring. We also spoke about how hard it is for musicians to make a living and that all musicians need to compose music and tour if they want to try to do so. Leonard Cohen saw her talent from the get go, and once you hear our interview and her sing, you'll know why. Go buy GOODNIGHT CITY. Makes a wonderful Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa gift for you or someone you love, lust, or like like a lot a lot. If you enjoyed our interview, come check out our next live taping December 22nd at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater at 7 pm.

"Get comfortable with people hating you," Sarah Treem, who created THE AFFAIR, which is in the midst of its third season on SHOWTIME, says about what it takes to be a boss. Her keen awareness about the messiness of real life is palpable in this epic series. Of course, it helps having actors like Dominic West , Maura Tierney, Joshua Jackson, and Ruth Wilson depict what the cost of prison, murder, infidelity, children, death, mental illness play on even the strongest relationships. This season continues to shed light on how people use, abuse, and find refuge in sex, lust, and love, but also delves into what it takes to live with baggage and the limits of resilience. Everyone and every relationship has a breaking point, and this season looks at what role mental illness, custody battles, prison, infidelity, children, death of parents, work play. In our interview Treem unveils what happens behind the curtain. She outlines what it takes to sell stories in Hollywood, and, once you do, the glory and challenges...

The extraordinarily talented musician Mitski Miyawaki composed two albums before she had graduated from college. Her latest album Puberty 2 led her to her first live TV performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Most importantly, it gave her momentary reprieve from that awful feeling "impostor syndrome" which is not to be confused with a Napoleon complex. Mitski is hilarious, smart, and such a fantastic performer. It was a delight to discuss her punk background, touring, Twitter, and hear why you must catch her live performing and grab PUBERTY 2 at a record store near you (or online). If you enjoyed this interview, please check out a live recording of Employee of the Month at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater or subscribe to the podcast. www.employeeofthemonthshow.com on SoundCloud or iTunes.

Donald Trump's legacy is already underway. Instead of calling for higher standards and ethics when it comes to how journalism treats privacy issues, a Florida judge awarded Hulk Hogan millions of dollars for recording his affair with his best friend's wife and bankrupted Gawker Media, as well as journalist AJ Daulerio and founder Nick Denton. There are other lawsuits which remain. Of course, Gawker is not innocent and Nick Denton spoke about his own desire to be profitable, which lead to recklessness. A former journalist and serial entrepreneur, Denton talks about the good, bad and ugly of Gawker Media, which included Jezebel and Gizmodo. The lawsuits were spearheaded by Peter Thiel, an immigrant who is a staunch advocate of Donald Trump, and was on a mission to shut down media. A Facebook board member and co-founder of PayPay, Thiel could afford to do whatever he wants, but the result is that TMZ, New York Post, British Tabloids still infringe on privacy, and without the smarter journalism that Gawker...

Nate Silver the leading political pollster in history, and is as deft with sports and social issues. Silver explores all three arenas as the Founder and Editor-in-Chief at 538, which he sold to ESPN, after a stint at The New York Times. In our interview, which was recorded live at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater, Nate and I spoke about how this 2016 election is unprecedented, who gets polled and why, and what set Silver, a wunderkind, apart as a kid. Nate also spoke about managing his staff at ESPN's 538, why he failed to predict that Donald Trump would win the GOP nod, sexual assault, aka Donald Trump's "pussy tape," Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, and how email hacking is the scariest political weapon. It was a pleasure and privilege to have Nate Silver back on Employee of the Month. I highly recommend our first interview as well. He is a lot of fun, brilliant, and runs an addictive website in panic inducing times.

Jessica Bennett is a columnist at the New York Times Style section and wrote about Monica Lewinsky and online shaming to Hillary Clinton's closest confidantes to sororities and feminism. Her work has also appeared in Newsweek, Time, and was the cofounder and curator of the Lean In Collection – a partnership betwen LeanIn.Org and Getty Images, to change the way women are depicted in stock photography. We spoke about her first book, Fight Club: An Office Survival Manual (for a Sexist Workplace), which was published by HarperCollins in September and offers suggestions for women to take when facing sexism. www.jessicabennett.me

Isaac Oliver is the author of INTIMACY IDIOT, which was named one of NPR's Best Books of 2015. Even if you read it in 2016, you'll see why his writing has been featured on BuzzFeed, Gawker, and Out Magazine. A gifted storyteller, Isaac Oliver regularly performs his stories. It was delightful to interview him live at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater. If you enjoyed this episode of Employee of the Month, you can attend our live tapings at Joe's Pub or check out the podcast or follow @catielazarus, or do all three. www.employeeofthemonthshow.com

Tony Award-winner LAURA BENANTI is playing all over the country so catch her singing live. You may recognize her from her impression of Melania Trump which went viral. She was also a smash hit in the 2016 Tony nominated role of Amalia Balash in the hit Broadway Musical, She Loves Me. Benanti became a broadway baby when she was a little older than a baby, at the tender age of 18. She also received a Drama Desk award, Outer Critics Circle Award and a Tony Award Nomination for her starring role in the Broadway production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and, in our interview we spoke about her turn in the Broadway production of Sarah Ruhl'sIn the Next Room or The Vibrator Play. I had the joy of seeing Benanti in Gypsy, which earned her the 2008 Tony Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, a Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award. Her other Broadway roles include The Wedding Singer, Nine, Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, Swing! and more. We also spoke about her TV roles in...

Maya Rudolph is pure joy. After wrapping the first season of NBC’s Maya and Marty, her comedy variety show with Martin Short, Maya toured with her college friend Gretchen Lieberum to sold out crowds. Their band Princess pays tribute to the late genius Prince, Princess and in our interview, we spoke about how Prince enjoyed their Valentine to his legacy. Maya and Gretchen even gave us glimpse into why their show is so fun. The secret is in the sauce. On Maya and Marty, Rudolph sings and breathes light into loopy characters, much like the ones that endeared her to audiences and the celebrities she depicted on SNL, such as Oprah. We spoke about how Lorne Michaels hired Rudolph because of her “daring exuberant spirit and how being on SNL was always Maya’s dream. Many performers share that dream, but Maya infuses her depictions with utter originality and a familiar quality, enabling audiences to go wherever she takes us. She has also had meaty roles in the blockbuster Bridesmaids and indies like Chuck and...

Patti LuPone may be best know for her irresistible voice, but the two-time Grammy and Tony, and Olivier Award winner’s secret weapon is feeling everything. Lord knows, especially on stage, there are actors who overact and mug, in doing so, leave no room for audiences to respond. Then there are ones who are so muted, that if you stuck a needle in their limp arm, they wouldn’t flinch. LuPone thrives when she can be unflinchingly honest in a performance, which requires discipline to turn into art. She did in Evita, Gypsy, and Anything Goes, as well and now in the Showtime series Penny Dreadful. LuPone is equally at home doing comedy and has had stints on comedian Brett Gelman’s terrifyingly funny short on Adult Swim and Lena Dunham’s GIRLS on HBO. LuPone is funny, candid, and whip-smart off stage, which isn’t surprising, but no less mesmerizing. Our conversation was recorded live at Joe’s Pub. In it, LuPone revealed that you can get crabs as easily from sex as you can from the theater. We also spoke about...

JON HAMM is best known for revolutionizing how society envisions masculinity, in all of its raw sensuality, insatiable competitive hunger, arrogance, and corrosive loneliness, in his deft portrayal of Don Draper, but he is equally deft at comedy. Happy to laugh at himself, a necessity when you look like (and were) a star high school football player, Hamm is clearly a team player which makes him enjoyable to work with, as evidenced in how often TV creators like Tina Fey and Robert Carlock find excuses to cast him. Of course, Hamm is ultimately cast because he delivers. In Mad Men Bridesmaids, 30 Rock, and SNL, he seems to only hit home runs. Still, Hamm, like any actor, needed directors and show creators to go to bat for him when he hadn’t yet had the opportunities to prove himself. Hamm says he struggled for years in his early twenties. (I thought that was the definition of being in your twenties). He scored his first big break, a recurring role on Lifetime’s The Division, as the only non-female cop....

Peeno Noir is Expanding! Actor Tituss Burgess’s real wine company Pinot Noir, inspired by his Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’s character viral music video, will unveil a new wine for Pride Week and a rosé. Whether your celebrating the LGBTQ or can’t get enough of the nimble actor and deliriously delightful singer, you’ll feel better about splurging on Pinot Noir after seeing how Burgess does in a blind taste test. Catie Lazarus, host of Employee of the Month, wanted to see if the 37 years old, Georgia native really knows his wine. A consummate performer, Burgess was game. His honesty and humility, as much as his humor, makes their interview a must listen. “Sometimes on Broadway, you have an inflated budget to do what is essentially a community theater production,” Burgess explains with refreshing candor. Without missing a beat, he flashes a mischievous grin. As he acknowledges the bad and the ugly about working in theater, he never forgets the good. Burgess points out how intoxicating Broadway and television,...

Jen Marlowe has committed every ounce of her being to activism, be it Black Lives Matter, Palestinian rights, prisoner's rights, and many more. In our conversation, we spoke about the methods she finds most useful, namely documentary filmmaking, playwriting, books, and community based education. She also speaks about being fired and the financial struggles, as well as how her politics have evolved throughout her career.

I've never understood why MacArthur Foundation gives grants to geniuses, shouldn't they give them to the rest of us shlubs who are lucky if we can write a legible grocery list, never mind, pen rapturous plays? Luckily for the rare geniuses, MacArthur Foundation insists on honoring them. Employee of the Month was thrilled to follow MacArthur's lead and honor Suzan-Lori Parks, a playwright, novelist and screenwriter, and interview her about her illustrious career. Parks has repeatedly re-imaged playwriting, with plays like Top Dog/Underdog, which she won a Tony and Pulitzer, the first for an African-American female playwright. She also created 365 Plays/365 Days, which meant that she'd write a play a day and stage it. Her latest play, Father Comes Home From the Wars Parts 1, 2, and 3, had its debut at The Public Theater and then was equally heralded at The Mark Taper Forum. The Public Theater has been a home for Parks, who holds a chair there and teaches at NYU, but she will be starting up a new play at...

The Artist’s Way is celebrating its 25th Anniversary, so it was a privilege to speak with a woman who democratized creativity. In our interview, Cameron talked about working with her daughter Domenica, an actor who made her directorial debut with the indie film Almost Paris, which screened as part of Tribeca Film Festival. Cameron also shared what she got out of writing fiction versus non-fiction, co-parenting with Martin Scorsese, and a musical which is in the works. She also revealed why walking your dog doesn’t count as an “Artist’s Date” and what gets her to write her “Pages,” even when she’d rather not do so. Julia Cameron is a prolific writer and you can learn more about her at www.juliacameron.com. To learn more about Employee of the Month, go to www.employeeofthemonthshow.com and follow Catie Lazarus on Twitter @catielazarus.

Between Isaac Mizrahi’s pithy humor, remarkable insight, and insatiable desire to create and perform, he is a captivating presence. In our candid conversation, we spoke about, amongst other things, Isaac choosing not to come out to father to his tender relationship with choreographer and dancer Mark Morris and dealing with Jonathan Ames. A wunderkind, Isaac Mizrahi made his mark in fashion in the late 1980’s and 1990’s. The fashion world is notoriously competitive and volatile, even for the beloved boy wonder, whose rise was so perfectly captured in the documentary Unzipped in 1995. Soon after, Chanel pulled out financing and various ventures folded. Isaac smartly took it as an opportunity to branch out. Like the late great Joan Rivers, Mizrahi was more than resilient and restless, he was and is a creative soul with more ideas to develop. He reinvented himself again and again, be it starring in his own cabaret show, Les Mizrahi, or hosting and appearing on numerous TV shows, including Project Runway and,...