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PODCAST

ACT LIKE A MOTHER

Katie and Melanie

Working actors and mothers Katie MacNichol and Melanie Lora talk with fellow actor moms about balancing career, creativity and parenting. While no two stories are the same, what these women have in common is an ever-deepening relationship to their craft and a profound commitment to raising their kids in a way that feels true to them. Not just for actor moms, this podcast is for creatives parents of all ilks, and anyone wondering what it"s like to be an artist and raise a family.

arts performing arts

All Episodes

01:00:06

Cindy Cheung Saw The Signs

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2026/02/09

Award winning actor Cindy Cheung blames a hot pink flyer stuck to a UCLA campus wall for causing her 180-degree turn away from applied mathematics and towards an acting career. From her days in LA discovering the power of theatre and the importance of representation on stage, to turning down a job helping to build B1 bombers so she could do an acting intensive, to struggling to feel authentic and inspired as a young actor in NY, to the time she quit the business altogether and what ultimately

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00:56:23

April Matthis Will Show You Something Amazing

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2026/01/23

After she was told by someone in the business that she could either have a career or a family, award winning actor April Matthis made it her mission to show the world that it was possible to do both. With intense dedication to her vocation (she went to an audition 2 days after giving birth) and to her child (she nursed him for 22 months), April has created her beautiful career and family with unwavering integrity. April shares the frustrations of fighting for fair wages and the pleasures of being a

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00:59:34

Shinah Hey Wants More Of This

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/12/22

As an in-demand Twin Cities actor, singer, dancer and comedienne, Shinah Hey went from one job to the next with barely a break in between. When she was offered a role she’d played 10 years before, she knew she’d hit a creative ceiling. Ready to be seen not as the girl she was when she got started but as the woman she’d become—a seasoned performer, wife and mother of 2—Shinah did her research to find a new home base. She was looking for a place she could pursue fulfilling acting work and where her

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00:56:50

Kelly Lester Is A Mother Of Invention

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/12/08

Kelly Lester is someone who shakes things up on a regular basis without even meaning to. While taking some time off from acting to raise a vibrant family, Kelly started not one but two super successful businesses. She then discovered, during one of her daughters’ performances, that her own creative fires were burning stronger than ever. Kelly entered back into acting a little older, a little wiser, and a lot more confident and castable. And when working in LA was no longer fulfilling, she and her

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01:00:48

Katie MacNichol Feels Grateful and Faithful

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/11/24

NOTE BEFORE: In this episode we mention suicide ideation and drug use which may be sensitive subjects for some.  Act Like A Mother creator and co-host Katie MacNichol takes her turn in the interview seat to share her beautiful, funny and deeply moving story of acting and mothering. She describes her early days in NYC - on Broadway one day and back to waiting tables the next - her meet-cute moment with her actor husband, and how they raised their two kids while working on stage and on the road. Katie

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01:06:15

Deborah Puette Flies To The Moon With Her Arms

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/11/10

Growing up in a family of hunters in a town without much art, award-winning actor, writer and director Deborah Puette didn’t have a name for what she yearned to do. After moving to Chicago and stumbling into a breakout role on stage, she set her sights on a career and life that has propelled her ever-forward. Through an unexpected pregnancy, a move to LA, the breakup of a marriage, and seeing her child through cancer treatment, Deborah continued to tend to her artistry and her professional

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00:55:11

Rosina Reynolds Says Do It Now

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/10/27

As a young woman fresh out of drama school in London, Rosina Reynolds’ wanderlust got the best of her. Instead of starting her acting career, she set sail on adventures that took her to the West Indies, Panama and eventually led her to northern Wisconsin where a San Diego magazine appeared with an article about the Old Globe Theatre. Was it a series of coincidences and right turns made, or was it Rosina’s commitment to live her whole life fully that led her on a wild wonderful path to find herself

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01:02:15

Kim Griffin Hasn't Got Time for Shame

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/10/13

Welcome to Season 3! Actor Kim Griffin did not move to LA to further her own career. After her daughter's diagnosis with Prader-Willi syndrome, Kim moved her family of 4 across the country in order to have access to the services (and the sunshine) that would benefit her two children. Kim shares openly about her high-risk pregnancies, the special needs of her kids, her own mental health, and the daunting financial circumstances she and her actor husband continue to find solutions for.Kim is an

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00:54:20

Purva Bedi Listens For Life's Heartbeat

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/06/23

Award-winning actor Purva Bedi tried to be practical by double-majoring in Economics and Theatre as an undergrad, but with acting and performing running through her bloodlines, a life on stage and screen was inevitable. In the final episode of Season 2, Purva tells Melanie and Katie incredible stories of her family and how she carries that lineage forward. She shares about her early career as a bicoastal actor crashing with her parents, the bold declaration she made on her first date with her

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00:54:07

J. Paul Boehmer In His Greatest Role Yet: Daddy

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/06/09

As a single gay actor going from out of town job to out of town job, J. Paul Boehmer didn’t think having children was in the realm of possibility for him. Then he met his husband, bought a house and, after a fortuitous conversation, began looking for an egg donor and a surrogate. In this very special Fathers’ Day episode, Paul shares the fatigue of life on the road and the reality of 8-week friendships, how he grew his audiobook side hustle into a full-time gig, and how he and his husband found

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00:54:19

Hilary Ward Knows Who She Actually Is

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/05/27

Actor, producer, coach, union organizer and mom to a 13-year old boy, Hilary Ward shares with Katie and Melanie her beautiful perspective on life and work. She speaks about acknowledging the “almosts” and the failures as an actor and not just the wins, how her career doesn’t define her worth, and how theatre can be relevant to the community it takes place in. Hilary explains why Primary Trust is the play of the moment and how she negotiated with her family to leave town not once but twice to perform

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01:00:03

Mary Bacon is a Living Legacy

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/05/13

Mary Bacon is an award-winning actor and a writer who has collaborated with countless esteemed playwrights, directors and theatres. From multiple world premieres to a canon of classical roles, Mary is a celebrated and beloved member of the New York and regional theatre communities. In this episode, Melanie and Katie speak with Mary about the last 2 decades: from the series of beautiful synchronicities that led to the adoption of her Ethiopian son Abadi, now 15, through a thriving career as an actor

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00:51:36

Amanda Naughton Doesn't Do Vision Boards

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/04/28

Growing up as a latchkey kid with 2 working actor parents, there was little doubt that Amanda would follow in the family business. Now the mother of a 20-year-old daughter who has decided to tread the boards, Amanda shares with Katie and Melanie how she found her formula for the work/mom life, and what went down when she left her child and husband behind to hit the road with a show that called to her like no other. Now as an empty nester, Amanda is looking forward to all kinds of juicy character

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00:53:11

Annie Torsiglieri Savors the Sweetness of Life

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/04/14

Award -winning actor, director, writer and educator Annie Torsiglieri talks to Melanie and Katie about raising her twin boys while holding onto her artistic life after one of her children received an early autism diagnosis. As life's trajectory continued to unfold in unexpected ways, Annie’s humor, curiosity and fierce mama mojo led her family through the darkness and into the light. For 21 years, Annie has worked to understand, celebrate and advocate for her kids while all the time digging

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00:52:36

Vivia Font on Follicles, Filmmaking and Finding...

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/03/31

NOTE BEFORE: In this episode there is a brief reference to suicide which may be a sensitive subject for some. Actor, writer, producer, educator and single mom Vivia Font speaks with Katie and Melanie about all things single parenting. From freezing her eggs to shopping for a sperm donor to the ins and outs of insemination and beyond, Vivia's zest for life and figure-it-out-as-you-go attitude infuses everything she does. After the unexpected death of a dear friend, Vivia turned to her creativity

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00:46:15

Alysia Reiner is a Badass

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/03/18

Alysia Reiner is an actor, producer, activist, volunteer firefighter, foster parent, mother of a teenager, and a force to be reckoned with. In this episode, she speaks with Melanie and Katie about how she manages her multi-hyphenate life, the long and winding road to motherhood, and why she believes storytelling can save the world. Whether it's FaceTime dinners with her family while on location or opening her arms and home to those in need, Alysia's commitment to bridging divides began long

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00:50:27

Jacque Wilke is Back to Work with Baby in Tow

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/03/04

Brand new mom Jacque Wilke speaks with Katie and Melanie about what it's like taking on the tour de force lead in What the Constitution Means to Me while figuring out parenting for the first time. Jacque shares the pressure she put on herself to be a supermom and the liberation she found when she embraced how motherhood had rearranged her. From learning her lines during stroller walks to allowing herself to be less than perfect and a bit exhausted, Jacque digs deep into an incredible role which

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00:54:11

Melanie Lora Finds Magic in the Chaos

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2025/02/17

In the first episode of Season 2, Katie talks with Melanie about the realities of staying committed to her career while growing a big family. They discuss what Melanie has to consider before even auditioning for a job, how she keeps her energy up while rehearsing/performing and how she stays grounded in the face of life's inevitable curve balls. Currently playing Brooke in Other Desert Cities, Melanie shares how much fun it is to turn off her empathetic mama brain in order to play a character

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00:47:23

Ursula Meyer Leads With Love

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2024/12/31

Ursula Meyer, head of Graduate Acting at UC San Diego, recounts the gifts of life with a creative mother and the clear path to teaching that opened before her. When she and her husband found themselves on the path to adoption, a conversation with a theatre friend led them to their child. Through years of teaching and single parenting while her actor husband was on the road to the moment her child came out as transgender, Ursula's story affirms, as Shakespeare said, "There is no jewel in the world so

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00:54:26

Mercedes Herrero Believes in Miracles

ACT LIKE A MOTHER ·

2024/12/23

Actor, educator and single mom Mercedes Herrero shares her story of suddenly and unexpectedly wanting a child in her early 40s, and the creative way she solved that as a single woman. (Hint: in any company of actors, there is usually one gent willing to help a lady out...) After several years of taking her baby with her to auditions, spending most of her Broadway paycheck on childcare, and surrounding herself with loving actor friends willing to help, Mercedes' single-parenting life took a

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28 results

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