In this episode of "Kahnversations," we interview Benjamin Schrader. A Seattle native, Benjamin attended Cornish College of the Arts and began his professional acting career at The Village Theatre and Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre. In New York, he was part of the original 2007 workshopping team for Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s Broadway mega-hit THE BOOK OF MORMON, and went on to be a member of the original TONY winning Broadway cast. Benjamin received a Grammy nod for THE BOOK OF MORMON Grammy Award-winning cast album. Schrader also starred on Broadway in AVENUE Q, the 2009 revival of RAGTIME, the 2004 Broadway revival of Deaf West’s BIG RIVER, and was instrumental in the development of the character Gabe in the Pulitzer Prize winning musical NEXT TO NORMAL. In 2013, Benjamin toured the country with the TONY Award-winning Broadway production of PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, directed by the legendary actor/director Roger Rees. In Los Angeles, Benjamin recently won the Stage Scene LA award for the role of Freddy in Musical Theatre West’s DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS. Other recent highlights include the Walt Disney Academy Award-winning animated feature FROZEN, where he can be heard as Brother Troll, and appearances on television in HBO’s TRUE DETECTIVE and ABC’s REVENGE, among many others. For three years, Benjamin served as the Executive Producer and Host of THE STAGE DOOR SUPPER CLUB, a nationally broadcast in-depth Broadway educational series for the “On Broadway” channel on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. Benjamin is a prolific director having helmed PETER AND THE STARCATCHER for Raw Sills Productions at the Whitmore-Lindley, and the SiriusXM concert series at Rockwell Table and Stage. He is also a headlining magician at the world famous Magic Castle in Los Angeles, where he recently completed his one man magic play LESSONS IN DISHONESTY by magic legend Jim Steinmeyer. He also freelances as a director for other professional magicians. Outside of performing, for the past few years Benjamin has been a creative consultant for various high end bars and speakeasies in California. He designed the tiki cocktail program for Clifton’s Pacific Seas Room in downtown LA, Encino’s famed Sushi|Bar for celeb chef Philip Frankland Lee, and most recently he designed Magic|Bar, San Fernando Valley’s only magic and cocktail saloon. Benjamin lives in Los Angeles. You can download or subscribe to the podcast for FREE by clicking below. If you like “Kahnversations,” please leave a rating or review on our iTunes page! |