Dean Taucher is a film and television production designer, art director, and playwright. He is behind some of television’s most iconic shows and spilling the beans in his new play, “Reel Stories.” On this episode we peek behind the curtain and talk set design, “Miami Vice,” and working with directors like Michael Mann.

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Dean Taucher is a production designer/set designer, originally from the Chicago area. He attended The Goodman School of Drama - Art Institute of Chicago and immediately began designing in the Off-Loop theater scene of the 1970’s. These theaters included Body Politic, St. Nicholas, the Organic Theater Company, the Goodman and Victory Gardens.

He moved to New York in 1979 and thanks to his membership in the United Scenic Artist Local 829 he worked on many Broadway shows including 42nd Street, Evita, Cats and at NBC on Season 5 of Saturday Night Live. His design work continued in regional dance and opera at The Penn Opera Theater, Atlanta Ballet and the Hubbard Street Dance Company.

His work as a scenic Artist let him to working on feature films where he was able to move into positions in the Art Department. From his initial job as charge scenic on Michael Mann’s film “Manhunter” he became an assistant art director and the following year he was hired by Mr. Mann as the production designer (credited as visual consultant) on Season 3 of Miami Vice, with Dick Wolf as the head writer.

Dean then made the TV movie “ L.A. Takedown” with Mann. He returned to New York to work with Dick Wolf for the CBS series, Harlem Eastside Lifesaving Project, H.E.L.P., and subsequently three season at FOX for New York Undercover and over 20 seasons of Law & Order, SVU at NBC. For David Chase at HBO, Dean designed Season One of The Sopranos and episodes two through thirteen, including many of the iconic permanent sets, the logo of the Bada Bing and the logo for the show.

Off-Broadway he designed the plays Tabletop, Snakebit and River Deep: A Tribute to Tina Turner. He has worked with the director/choreographer Gabrielle Lansner on all her live and filmed projects for the last 25 years as designer and on her film projects as Executive Producer. Their current film, I AM NOT OK, is part of The Brooklyn Museum’s 200th Anniversary Show, The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition.

Dean’s play “REEL STORIES-MADE IN NEW YORK” is a riotous exposé of the inner workings of film and TV, informed by the myopic, egocentric and clueless motivations of the people who work in front and behind the camera. Nothing may be true, but they are all “REEL STORIES- MADE IN NEW YORK.” It is Dean’s first play.

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Produced and Edited by Arts and Craft.
Theme Music: Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras.

Jason Kravits is an actor, singer, improvisor, and viral video creator who's worked regularly in film, television, and on Broadway.His voice can currently be heard as Sneezy in Disney’s live-action hit, "Snow White." On this episode we get into Jason’s audition process and sniffling varieties, his adoration of vaudeville, and how changes in technology have affected viewership.

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Jason has been fortunate enough to appear on stages and screens, large and small, for over 35 years. Recent TV credits include Only Murders in the Building (as Melissa McCarthy’s husband, “Big Mike”) Halston, The Undoing, Dr. Death and Young Sheldon. Other favorite appearances include Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, Kimmy Schmidt, Gilmore Girls, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Practice and the final episode of Friends. His voice can be heard as “Sneezy” in the current live-action remake of Disney’s Snow White. On Broadway, Jason has appeared in The Drowsy Chaperone, Sly Fox and Relatively Speaking. Off-Broadway, Jason appeared in the New Group’s adapation of the Philip Roth novel Sabbath’s Theater (alongside John Turturro and Elizabeth Marvel). For the last 10 years, Jason has been performing his solo, completely improvised cabaret, OFF THE TOP (winner of a 2017 Bistro Award) - playing to sold out crowds in London, Adelaide, Melbourne, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles - and can be seen regularly in New York City at venues like Joe's Pub and Birdland. Jason is a native of the D.C. area, where he performed extensively at the Shakespeare Theatre, Round House Theatre and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co. He is a member of the Actors Center Workshop Company.

Tickets to July 2025 show @ Joe's Pub: https://bit.ly/OffTheTopJuly10

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Produced and Edited by Arts and Craft.
Theme Music: Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras.

Celia Chavez is a singer, songwriter, session vocalist, educator, and coach. She’s played global arenas and intimate music clubs - duetting and harmonizing with Pink, Enrique Iglesias, Julia Fordham, and many more. On this tuneful episode, Celia shares the secrets of how to blend, harmonize, and adapt to different voices and concert styles, and how to stay fit while on an arena tour. We also get an introduction to her musical alter ego, Babilonia.

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Celia Chavez enjoys a multifaceted career as performing songwriter, touring singer, session vocalist, educator and coach. With her wistful lyricism balanced with a unique clarity of vocal delivery, Celia creates an ongoing love letter to the world as comfort in times of uncertainty, compassion in times of division, and catharsis for a world under pressure. Her songs express different ways to hang on to love and faith despite seemingly hopeless odds. Her music displays a gracefully tenacious, yet playful sensibility — so beautifully reflected in the story arc of Celia's life.

Spreading her wings to step outside the gilded cage of her life as a globetrotting backup singer, she assumed a new moniker, Babilonia, to release her new EP, If I Ever Think To Double Back. Braiding together strands of music she's lived and loved -- from her parents’ jazz/soul records in her hometown of Seattle, to New York City’s vibrant Lower East Side and Brooklyn, to the songcraft capital of LA's Laurel Canyon -- Chavez takes her place at the front of her own formidable studio band as a compelling singer-songwriter. Click here for more.

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Produced and Edited by Arts and Craft.
Theme Music: Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras.