Inclusive STAGES: Building Healthy Arts Spaces
Inclusive STAGES™ is the podcast for theater makers, creatives, and arts leaders who believe we can build a better industry—one brave, emotionally intelligent, and trauma-informed space at a time. Hosted by Kira Troilo, founder of Art & Soul Consulting, each episode explores what it really takes to create inclusive, healthy creative environments in today’s rapidly changing performing arts landscape.
Whether you're a theater artist, an arts administrator, an educator, a creative leader, or a producer, this show will help you answer big questions like:
What is inclusive leadership in the arts, and how do I practice it?
How can performing arts organizations promote diversity and inclusion?
What does “representation matters” mean in theater and beyond?
How can venues make performances more accessible?
What tools do I need to lead with care—and still make bold, brilliant work?
Through honest conversations, industry insights, and practical tools, Inclusive STAGES™ empowers you to reduce burnout, dismantle harmful norms, and build the kinds of creative spaces where everyone can thrive.
New episodes every week. Follow now and join the movement toward healthier, more sustainable arts spaces.
Inclusive STAGES: Building Healthy Arts Spaces
Latest Episodes
Talking to Closeted Trump Supporters—Why Theater Must Try
Talking to a closeted Trump supporter about politics, inclusion, and what theater needs now.In this season finale, I sit down with my longtime friend, Julie D'Alessandro, a Boston-based voice teacher who has long kept her political views...
Burnout Is Breaking Us — Here’s the Pivot Arts Leaders Need
What if the greatest threat to theater right now isn’t empty seats, but burnout in the arts?In this solo episode, I open up about the strain so many artists and leaders are facing, and why creative leadership strategies and even AI might...
Family Meeting: Race, Theater & Fighting Fires—Onstage and Off
What if the most powerful tool for change in theater isn’t performance, but conversation?I sit down with my dad, retired firefighter Fred Cowan, for a candid family conversation about race, theater, equity, and what it takes to bu...
Post October 7: Jewish Theater Identity and Hard Conversations w/ Ari Axelrod
What if the most powerful way to confront antisemitism… is by celebrating Jewish joy?I sit down with actor and singer Ari Axelrod, who shows how Jewish representation in theater goes far beyond casting—it’s about telling the compl...
Why We Still Can’t Find a Stylist Who Gets Our Hair with Jade Buffong-Phillips
What if your biggest barrier to belonging in a theater space was the hair that grows naturally out of your head?In this candid and eye-opening conversation, Jade Buffong-Phillips of Mane Hook-Up shares why textured hair in theater...