The Doyenne

Richelle Gordon is a digital media pioneer who served as the first online director for The Miami Herald and launched a master's program in digital publishing at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.  She came out as a transgender woman in 2023.  Her band, Queer Country Bandwagon, plays regularly in Chicago, performed at the Americanafest festival in Nashville in 2025, and is currently recording their first two singles.

Soupy Fischel (he/him) is the Drag King persona of (AFAB) visual artist Ruthie Fudge (they/he). He is new to the world of Drag; however, he is a seasoned visual artist and performance poet who has graced stages and galleries across the US. In 2006, Soupy took a break from public shows and writing to raise two fantastic humans. In 2016, Ruthie briefly emerged to perform stand-up, then relocated to Germany in 2022. Since then, Soupy has been committed to using art as a spiritual practice to cope with aging, illness, disability, and his ever-evolving Q, T, and A identities. You can follow Soupy on Instagram at @soupyfischel   

  Jenny Magnus is a writer, performer, composer, musician, director, and teacher who is a founding co-Artistic Director of the Curious Theater Branch, now in its' 37th year. In 2014, Observations of an Orchestrated Catastrophe: Plays and Performances, 9 plays and performances produced over 25 years, was published by Jackleg Press and had a 2nd printing in 2021. Magnus has released 17 albums of music with various ensembles, including the recent The Times We'll Have with The Crooked Mouth.  She was inducted, with artistic partner Beau O'Reilly, into the Chicago Theater Hall of Fame in 2024 by New City Chicago. She was Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists in 2025. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jemlunar/ Website: https://www.jennymagnus.com/ Rhinoceros Festival: https://rhinofest.com/ Curious Theatre Branch: https://curioustheatrebranch.com/ The Crooked Mouth: https://www.thecrookedmouth.org/

IG: freerosie Rose Freeman is an award-winning stage director, teacher, writer, and producer of theatre and opera. Freeman's direction has been lauded as "virtually flawless" (Chicago Classical Review) and Operatic stage direction credits include Sonheim's Sweeney Todd at Opera Idaho, the 2023 revival of Spears' Jason and the Argonauts for Lyric Opera of Chicago, Puccini's La Boheme with LOON, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Elisir d'amore at Gulfshore Opera, (Johann) Strauss' Fledermaus with Opera Mississippi, Mozart's Magic Flute with Harrower Opera, Viardot's Cendrillon with City Lyric Opera, (Richard) Strauss' Die Liebe Der Danae at Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Hildegarde's Ordo with Chicago City Opera, Fizz and Ginger at Chicago Fringe Opera, Stravinsky's L'Historie Du Soldat at Temple University, and Weber's Der Freischütz. Zie co-founded Third Eye Theatre Ensemble, which the Chicago Tribune called "one of the greats." At Third Eye, direction credits include Han Lash's Beowulf, Kamala Sankaram's The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace, Juliet Palmer's Stitch, Daniel Crozier's With Blood With Ink, Nico Muhly's Dark Sisters, Mohammed Fairouz's Sumeida's Song, as well as Gian Carlo Menotti's The Medium and The Consul.  A Wolftrap Opera Directing Fellow 2020-2022, Freeman had the honor of working on Floyd's Susannah, Verdi's Traviata, Bologne de Saint-George's L'Amant Anonyme and Holst's Savitri and Viardot's Cendrillon while also directing the studio artist scenes program in 2020. World premieres include Four Lost Santas with Opera Orlando (of which zie is co-librettist), Elisabeth Rudolph's Petticoats and Sliderules, Alexandra Enyart's Witness, Evan Kassof's Ganymede 5, and Eric McDonnell's Cosmic Ray and the Amazing Chris.  Freeman has spoken on panels and led seminars for Opera America, the National Opera Association, and the Chicago Theatre Symposium, and has participated in the 2012 DirectorsLabChicago and the 2017 La MaMa Umbria Intl. Symposium for Directors. Freeman's production of Stitch was named Best New Opera Production, and Third Eye Theatre Ensemble was nominated for Best Opera Company by The Chicago Reader in 2019. The Medium (2014) and Sumeida's Song (2015) were both named top 5 operas by NewCity. Zie is a recipient of the National Opera Association's 2024 First Place Opera Competition (Temple University, Producer) and 2020 JoElyn Wakefield-Wright Stage Director Fellowship and the city of Philadelphia's 2022 Illuminate the Arts Grant. Freeman received an MFA in Directing at Temple University through the inaugural Music Theatre Collaboration program, where zie collaborated with Spicer Carr to write the musical, Chance the Snapper. Four Lost Santas, was hailed by the Orlando Sentinel as deserving to become "a festive new holiday tradition." Freeman's poem, Bad Sailor Poetry was featured at WHYY's Collective's MIXT: A Living Gallery in Spring 2025.  Freeman brings great innovation and a diverse artistic background to their work, having created national fine art shows for M Gallery of Fine Art, served as managing producing director for Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, worked as a stage manager for 10 years, and production managed a national tour for Feld Entertainment's Monster Jam Monster Truck Show. Zie regularly tours Italy performing with Teatro di Viti's production of Eva. Zie has directed many plays, space-generated theatrical events, burlesque events, nationally touring hip-hop concerts, and workshops of new musicals and operas. A passionate advocate for the shepherding of new musicals, Freeman has had the honor of working on the directorial staff for Polyphone New Musical Festival for five seasons, working on Crimson Lit, TL;DR: Thelma and Louise Dyke Remix, and Marie in Tomorrow Land, among others. Freeman is currently the Program Director of Opera and Assistant Professor at Roosevelt University CCPA and was previously on faculty at Temple University, having previously served as the Interim Head of Opera Production. Academic directing and teaching work includes Mannes School of Music, Southern California University, Columbia College Chicago, and the University of the Arts. Zie is a Member Emeritus for the DirectorsLabChicago Steering Committee and a Mercury Store Lead Artist. Freeman is a Marvel Artist. www.rosefreeman.org

Honey Marie is a Portland based artist moving through the world in grief, mess, beauty, and joy. Honey's work will pull at your heartstrings and encourage a collective curiosity. Honey's movement exists in the space between the world we're in and the world we deserve. Honey studied movement and choreography at Columbia College and has performed with various artists, including Peter Carpenter, David Rousseve, Kendall Loyer, and Amanda Timm. She is the producer and founder of Pink Hanky Productions, founded in 2014 in Portland, OR, bringing queer, Black, POC, and disabled artists to the stage. Honey is always working to take her space while making space for others in a world that demands smallness and silence. In this world, our most powerful weapons are creativity and bodies; let's use them! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honeymariepdx/

Episode 5: Yvette Baltazar aka Millie May Named after her beloved grandmother but powered by pure chaos, Millie May has been shaking her shimmy all over Chicago since 2010.Taking campy bump-and-grind to a full comedic frenzy, she puts the oooh in buffoonery. With high-energy tassel twirling, fearless physical comedy, and a sparkly stage presence that refuses to behave, Millie May has become an iconic Chicago staple and a beloved multifaceted force of fabulous nonsense. Whether she's putting you in a trance with her tassel twirling or stealing hearts (and occasionally diginity), Millie May guarantees an experience that will leave you wanting for more! IG: https://www.instagram.com/milliemayburlesque/ Get full access to The Doyenne at thedoyenne.substack.com/subscribe