Stage Combat The Podcast
Stage Combat the Podcast is a powerful and eye-opening exploration of the dark side of the entertainment industry which also asks the question: how can we make our workplaces better for everyone? Hosted by attorney/advocate/actor Sean Hayden.
In Seasons 1 and 2, Sean Hayden took the listeners into his own harrowing workplace nightmare in the style of a "true crime podcast." Now, Stage Combat the Podcast is a riveting platform for entertainment workers from everywhere to come together, to share their own stories and to advocate for themselves and for change.
Claim Your Story today. Season 4 premieres April 27, 2026!
Episodes
54 episodes
"Cancel Culture and Scott Rudin's Return to Broadway"
Season 4, Episode 4. Five years ago, The Hollywood Reporter published shocking bullying allegations about mega film and Broadway producer Scott Rudin, causing him to be cancelled. Today Rudin is BACK on Broadway and poised to ...
"Heated Rivalry and How Do Actors Portray S-x Scenes"
Season 4, Episode 3. With Heated Rivalry, the steamy Canadian TV show about gay hockey players, still on everyone's minds, Sean and intimacy director Nicole Perry are answering your questions about how actors perform sex sc...
"The Queen of Versailles on Broadway: What The Hell Did We Learn?"
Season 4, Episode 2. Synopsis: Now that the construction dust has settled, can we learn anything from Broadway’s 23M flop, The Queen of Versailles starring Kristen Chenoweth? Sean and Matt Koplik, host of Broadway Break...
"Aaron Lazar: Healing With ALS"
Season 4, SEASON PREMIERE. Synopsis: Sean talks with Broadway star Andrew Lazar, a veteran of 11 Broadway shows, about his journey of “healing with ALS” and thriving through adversity.Special thanks to Aaron Lazar and T...
BONUS: "5 Eye Opening Stage Combat The Podcast Moments"
SEASON 3 BONUS: While we're preparing the premiere of Season 4 of Stage Combat the Podcast, Sean's looking back on 5 Eye Opening Moments from Season 3. Listen and let us know what was our most impactful moment of the podcas...
BONUS: "The Thanksgiving Catch-Up Episode"
SEASON 3 BONUS: Sean's back with an all-new Thanksgiving Catch Up Bonus Episode! We're catching you up on all things Stage Combat the Podcast (BIG news about Season 4?). PLUS Sean's got some choice words about Actors' Equity Association a...
"Walking Away From Broadway"
SEASON 3 Season Finale! Episode Eighteen. "Walking Away From Broadway"Synopsis: At the end of a season of incredible stories, Sean looks to the future and finds inspiration chatting with Bobby Steggert: an actor who experienced...
"The Court Watson Story Part Two"
SEASON 3 Episode Seventeen. "The Court Watson Story Part Two"(Be sure to Listen to Ep 16 First: The Court Watson Story Part One")Synopsis: Court Watson sets out to tell his story to the media and to hold his former employer...
"The Court Watson Story Part One"
SEASON 3 Episode Sixteen. "The Court Watson Story Part One"Synopsis: Sean investigates what happened between Tony award-winning Broadway costume designer, William Ivey Long, and college student, Court Watson, on Roanoke Island some t...
"Franki Takes A Bow"
SEASON 3 Episode Fifteen. "Franki Take A Bow"Synopsis: Sean investigates whether the unsafe practices of a college theatre program contributed to a young woman's tragic mental health spiral.Special Guests: Franki Mastrone, Je...
"Sean Has Questions for the Union"
SEASON 3 Episode Fourteen. "Sean Has Questions For The Union."Synopsis: After hearing the frustrations of listeners about the lack of action by the actors' union in many of the season's workplace stories, Sean goes looking for answer...
"Loving Someone Traumatized By The Industry"
SEASON 3 Episode Thirteen. "Loving Someone Traumatized By The Industry"Synopsis: Sean's investigating the mental health ripple effect that occurs when an employee is traumatized by an employer. Actor Eddie Pendergraft (the acto...
"The 2nd Annual Stage Combat Holiday Special!"
SEASON 3 Episode Twelve. "The 2nd Annual Stage Combat Holiday Special!"Synopsis: Sean's reuniting with some of our guests from Season 3 for the holidays to ask probing questions such as "Would you choose The Rockefeller Center Chr...
"Revealing Your Darkest Secret: ABC News' Matt Gutman"
SEASON 3 Episode Eleven. "Revealing Your Darkest Secret: ABC News' Matt Gutman"Synopsis: Thinking about the power of disclosing our secrets causes Sean to revisit his 2023 interview with ABC News' Chief National Correspondent Matt Gut...
"Another Wicked Story: Eddie"
SEASON 3 Episode Ten. "Another Wicked Story: Eddie"Synopsis: Another actor from Wicked on Broadway comes forward to tell Sean his story about the toxic work environment he experienced there and how it traumatized him for years.
"The 'F' Word"
SEASON 3 Episode Nine. "The 'F' Word"Synopsis: Sean investigates whether there's a problem with using the "family" word in our workplaces.Special thank you to Bret Shuford, Michael McGurk, Nicole Perry, CorBen Williams, Jeani...
"Putting It Out There"
SEASON 3 Episode Eight. "Putting It Out There: Your Mental Health Story On the Stage"Synopsis: Sean meets two very different performers who claimed their mental health stories by creating their own one-person solo shows: Legendary dr...
“You’re Under Investigation: Laura's Story"
SEASON 3 Episode Seven. "You're Under Investigation: Laura' Story"Synopsis: After hearing Sean's story about the botched workplace investigation at the Goodspeed Opera House, listener Laura shares her own bonkers workplace investigat...
"Charlie at the Crossroads"
SEASON 3 Episode Six. "Charlie At the Crossroads"Synopsis: Sean meets Charlie, a 23-year-old Boston theatre program student. Two months before his graduation, Charlie has an unfiltered conversation with Sean about his hopes, his dream...
"Somebody's Going to Get Hurt"
SEASON 3 Episode Five. "Somebody's Going to Get Hurt"Synopsis: Sean asks whether theatre audiences actually understand the dangers that actors face when it comes to staged combat sequences on stage. And do the actors themse...
"It's All In Your Mind(fulness)"
SEASON 3 Episode Four. "It's All In Your Mind(fulness)"Synopsis: Almost five years after his collapse from a panic attack on the Goodspeed Opera House stage, Sean looks back at his own search for mindfulness and checks in with a ...
"Looking for Jeff"
SEASON 3 Episode Three. "Looking for Jeff"Special Double Length Episode.Synopsis: Sean undertakes a compassionate investigation into the tragic 2018 suicide death of Chicago The Musical actor Jeff Loeffelholz. Co...
"How Are We All OK With This?" Part 2
SEASON 3 Episode Two. "How Are We All OK With This?" Part 2.Synopsis: Synopsis: Sean continues to explore the problem with toxic stage managers and investigates whether our jobs can physically make us sick.Content warni...
"How Are We All OK With This?" Part 1
SEASON 3 PREMIERE! Episode One. "How Are We All OK With This?" Part 1.Synopsis: One year after telling his own podcast story of trauma while working at one of the country’s most powerful theatres, Sean explores the stories of li...
Stage Combat the Podcast Season 3 Trailer!
Season 3 Trailer. What happens when actors stop being quiet and start speaking up? Season 3 of Stage Combat the Podcast premiering July 23rd!In 2023, Sean told his story in Season 1 and 2 (in something that sounded like a true crime p...