Madison's Bradley Whitford, other celebs salute arts leader

Ultimately, it was this early stage experience that cemented Whitford's love for acting and set her on the trajectory for a career that would later earn her three Emmy Awards.

Whitford, who attended East High School in the 1970s, tells her story on Arts Educators Save the World, a revealing and entertaining podcast co-produced by Whitford-Madison professor Erica Halverson.

This weekly podcast, which just concluded its second season, is available to listen to anytime, and features A-list artists and their mentors discussing the impact their arts education has had on their lives. So far, Lin-Manuel Miranda (creator of Broadway's “Hamilton” and “In the Heights”) and Robert Lopez (co-creator of “The Book of Mormon” and co-creator of “Frozen”) Contains a chat with the songwriter. Elementary school music teacher. Josh Radnor, star of the television comedy “How I Met Your Mother” and professor of singing at New York University. “Saturday Night Live” and “Schmiga Doon!” star Cecily Strong, acting California Institute of the Arts professor, and many other artists will be performing.

The podcast with Whitford also features East High School's current theater director, Paul Mirisch.

Halverson came up with the idea for the podcast with Los Angeles-based creator Alek Lev, who has been his best friend since second grade (they both went to the same school in New York as Miranda and Lopez).

After a career in which she wrote articles for academic publications and her 2021 book, “How the Arts Can Save Education,” Halverson wanted to find another medium with broad appeal to convey her message. Ta.

“I got into the business of arts education because I believe in the power of the arts to change people's lives for the better,” said the professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of California, Madison, and a professor in the Chicago community. said Halverson, who is also the founder of the arts support program. Madison includes an artist-in-residence program for elementary schools called Hoopensocker.

“Podcasting is an incredibly powerful medium for sharing exciting and transformative messages,” she said. “I have worked to combine my expertise in how the arts change people’s lives with mediums and messages that can get people excited and inspire them to advocate and talk about arts education.”

Some of the podcast guests have personal connections to Halverson and Lev.

“We've both been very fortunate in our lives to have known very successful artists and, in some cases, their mentors,” Halverson said.

“Arts Educators Save the World” features a variety of artists, from renowned filmmakers to comedy writers, dancers, and even University of California, Madison mathematics professor and author Jordan Ellenberg. Their mentors range from elementary school teachers to university professors to art professionals they met early in their careers.

Halverson said some of the podcast's guests talked about how meaningful it was to think about “why they like making art in the first place,” rather than doing the usual celebrity interviews about specific projects. .

“And we receive feedback from listeners about how meaningful it is to hear about this aspect of successful artistry,” she said. “We received a lot of great comments.”

Halverson's “dream guest” for her podcast, she said, would be U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who performed in theater and did improv comedy while an undergraduate at Harvard University.

A 2019 study by the Houston Arts Action Initiative found that students who participate in arts education experiences “commit fewer disciplinary infractions, perform better on writing assessments, and are more considerate of others,” Halverson said. he said. A 2022 Boston Public Schools study found that students who take art classes in school “have better attendance rates, are more engaged, and (their) parents and teachers are also more likely to be involved and engaged in school.” “It's expensive.”

Halverson said it's important to get this message out in a state like Wisconsin, which ranks 50 out of 50 states in state arts funding.

Halverson and the podcast's production team are working on Season 3. Watch the hour-long segment at www.ArtsEducatorsPodcast.com or by searching “Arts Educators Save the World” on your podcast platform.