Beyond The Venue with MG Hodge, Host & Future PhD
Hello! I'm MG, host of Beyond the Venue Podcast and a hospitality professional turned academic. I started this podcast in the Spring of 2021 to elevate stories from my friends in the hospitality and entertainment world whose careers and businesses were impacted by the pandemic. Season 2 features several of my colleagues from the hospitality and event industry, as well as teachers and professors from a variety of disciplines. I interview other podcast hosts, storytellers, bartenders, parents, and everything in between! After wrapping up the recording of Season 2, I returned to the classroom as an adjunct professor in the College of Education and Human Development at Temple University. This would help me create Season 3, for which I used clips from my students' podcast project (with their permission of course!). After completing my first year of my doctoral program this past year, I decided the summer of 2024 was the perfect time to wrap up this podcast with an inside look into life in higher education. Starting Friday, August 30th, 2024, we will be releasing episodes of our 4th and final season. Season 4 includes interviews with my fellow doctoral students, as well as a variety of other folks from the "academy". Qualitative research is all about sharing stories and lived experiences, and that's what I've tried to do over the last 3 years through this podcast. Thanks for listening!
Beyond The Venue with MG Hodge, Host & Future PhD
Body Positivity with a Smile, a Shimmy & a Shake with Connor Michalchuk
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My guest this week is the Ginge on a Binge, Connor Michalchuk. We originally met at Temple University but our paths were destined to cross again.
I’ve seen Connor perform several times over the years through his body positivity show, formerly Bearlesque, now called CaBEARet, taking place every First Friday of the Month at Tabu in the Gayborhood of Philadelphia.
The second I ran into Connor in Center City a few months ago, I squealed “omg can I hug you” yes, ok second question “will you be on my podcast”?
Topics Include:
🎵 Recognizing How to be More Inclusive for the BIPOC, Trans and Non-Binary Communities
✨ It All Started with a Coincidence & a Lack of Talent
🎤 Comedic Strip Tease IS a Talent
✨ It’s Ok to Say Fat If That is How a Person Feels Comfortable Identifying
🎵 A Trip to Palm Springs in February 2020 Brought Covid to Philly
✨ The Creativity of the Philly Drag Mafia - Performing in the Streets (and a Bus Parking Lot)
🎤 How to Tip Your Performers
✨ The Power of Permission - Asking First Before Unloading On Your Friends
Thanks so much for listening and enjoy the following episode “Body Positivity with a Smile, a Shimmy & a Shake with Connor Michalchuk”.
About Connor:
Connor Michalchuk (he/him) is the host and creator of CaBEARet, (formally Bearlesque), a body positive variety show. His style encompasses the camp of vaudeville with the tact and social grace of Rush Limbaugh. Connor began his journey in nightlife in 2012 after losing a male beauty pageant. If he couldn’t be beautiful, he was going to be a stripper.
Over the last 9 years, he’s traveled the country with his troupe, spreading body positivity with a shimmy and a shake. In his free time, Connor enjoys drinking Rose Kennedys and dating men with a lot of money and heart conditions. His advice - “Kindness, acceptance and positivity will get you everywhere in life. Nice guys no longer finish last. And keep your socials clean.”
You can find him at Tabu Philly either hosting Trivia every Wednesday at 7:00 and CaBEARet every 1st Friday or check out his regular appearances with the Philly Drag Mafia.
Connect with Connor on Instagram and Facebook.
Connect with MG on Instagram and Facebook, too!
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