Directora

Lucille Ball is everyone's favorite funny redhead! Decades after her hit sitcom I Love Lucy, there are still references to the gags she performed on her hit show. People might not realize how influential I Love Lucy was to American sitcoms - and how much she and Desi Arnaz did for television as a whole. From an actress and dancer in New York City to a bit player in Hollywood, Lucille Ball learned how to stand out, and she quickly learned that making a fool of herself was a good way to do it. She cultivated her physical comedy skills, while never once thinking of herself as a comedian. She and her husband worked very hard throughout their lives to entertain American audiences for years, overcoming substance abuse, divorce, and Communist accusations. Listen to this episode to hear all that and more! This episode originally aired on Grab Bag Collab. Thank you to Daisy Eagan, Amber Hunt, and Amanda Rossman for their hard work. Thank you to Brock Alter for the art. Directora is researched, written, recorded, and edited by Stephanie Weber.SOURCES:Arnaz, Desi. A Book. William Morrow and Company. 1976. Kanfer, Stefan. Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball. Knopf. January 1, 2003. American Masters: Finding Lucy.The Plot Thickens, by Turner Classic Movies. Lucille Ball podcast series.

The musical Waitress is a modern success, a smash hit that has people around the world singing along to its soundtrack. Fans of the musical might not realize that it was based on a hit 2007 indie film written and directed by Adrienne Shelly. Sadly, Shelly never saw her own film's success. Shelly wrote and directed three original feature films and was director Hal Hartley's muse early in her career. She had big plans for more, but her life was cut tragically short when she was murdered. Hear about her inspiring life, amazing films, and the legacy she has left behind. This episode initially aired on Grab Bag Collab as part of their network. Thank you to Daisy Eagan, Amanda Rossman, and Amber Hunt for their help on this. Thank you to Brock Alter for his art. Directora is researched, written, recorded, and edited by Stephanie Weber.Click here to learn more about the Adrienne Shelly Foundation. SOURCES: Horton, Adrian. “The Life and Death of Filmmaker Adrienne Shelly.” The Guardian. December 1, 2021. Ostoy, Andy. Adrienne (2021). Special features on the DVD’s for Sudden Manhattan and Waitress. Director’s Commentary on Sudden Manhattan. Zimmer, Vanessa. “Who Was…Adrienne Shelly?”. Sundance.com. November 11, 2022.

“The devastating thing about Elaine is that she’s better at everything - writing, directing, acting - than anyone else I know.” That quote comes from director Clive Donner regarding the one and only Elaine May. Elaine May is the woman behind so many pivotal comedic moments you know and love. From the Second City and Nichols & May, to A New Leaf and Mikey and Nicky, to directing the massive flop that was Ishtar and coming back with the script for The Birdcage, Elaine May has always been relentlessly talented. She still is! She also has a reputation for being a difficult director. The dreaded D word. Is she difficult? Is that a fair assessment? We talk all about it! Listen to hear about her inspiring life, her many creative endeavors, triumphs, and everything in between. This episode originally aired on Grab Bag Collab earlier in 2026. Directora was created by Stephanie Weber, who researches, writes, records, edits, and hosts every episode. Artwork by Brock Alter.Check out film clips and stills from these movies on our Instagram and TikTok. Follow along! Email questions, concerns, press opps to directorapodcast@gmail.com. Rate and review as kindly as possible!Sources:Coleman, Janet. The Compass Players: The Improvisational Theater that Revolutionized American Comedy. University of Chicago Press. November 1, 1991.Couregan, Carrie. Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood's Hidden Genius. St. Martin's Press. 2024. Griggs, Jeff. Guru: My Days with Del Close. Ivan R. Dee. April 25, 2005. "Ishtar". What Went Wrong. Bassett, Lizzie and Winterbauer, Chris. February 1, 2021. May, Elaine. Power Plays. Samuel French.May, Elaine. Not Enough Rope: A Play in One Act. Samuel French. May, Elaine. Mikey & Nicky. Criterion Collection DVD Special Features. McGrath, Douglas. Becoming Mike Nichols. 2016. Mikey & Nicky Restoration Documentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bZVWLwQvbwNichols and May: Take Two. American Masters. PBS. May 1996.Elaine May at Mike Nichols AFI Achievement Awards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgjBxiDmJyUElaine May and Mike Nichols in Conversation. 2006. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShLPGHoXJFY

“Come up and listen sometime.” Mae West was an icon of old Hollywood. She has been impersonated by The Looney Tunes and Drag Queens alike. She was a woman who was so ahead of her time that her comedy holds up to this day. She was an actress, writer, and producer who wrote her own material - and sometimes that material was SO controversial that she wound up having to go to court over it. We are talking about the one and only Mae West as we get into her enduring legacy, her impressive career, and her court case over sex. That was the title of her script, not like a court case over whether or not she could have. Because I’m pretty sure she did…a lot. Listen to her wild adventures in and out of show business. This episode originally aired on Grab Bag Collab earlier in 2026. Directora was created by Stephanie Weber, who researches, writes, records, edits, and hosts every episode. Artwork by Brock Alter. Check out film clips and stills from these movies on our Instagram and TikTok. Follow along! Email questions, concerns, press opps to directorapodcast@gmail.com. Rate and review as kindly as possible! Sources: American Masters: Mae West: Dirty Blonde. PBS. Season 34. June 16, 2020. Chandler, Charlotte. She Always Knew How: A Personal Biography of Mae West. Applause Publishers. March 1, 2010. Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her. Directed by Gene Feldman and Suzette Winter. PBS Documentary 1994. Wombat Productions. Longworth, Karina. "Fact Checking Hollywood Babylon: Mae West". You Must Remember This. December 3, 2018. West, Mae. Edited by Schlissel, Lillian. Three Plays By Mae West. Taylor and Francis, LTD. 1997.

Welcome to season two of Directora: Actresses Who Became Power Players! This is a great season. Yes, we have directors, but we also have writers, producers, studio executives, and even inventors. This season will feature some heavy hitters like Lucille Ball, Elaine May, Debbie Allen, Mae West, and Barbra Streisand, and some lesser-known actresses like Adrienne Shelly who made a big impact. And an inventor, Hedy Lamarr. But first? We have to start with one of the most important female directors of the 20th century. I can’t kick off my season on actresses who became power players without talking about Ida Lupino. The petite British actress with the femme fatale voice became one of the ONLY directors working in the 1940s and 50s. She made a lot of historic firsts, including being the first woman to direct film noir. She directed boundary-breaking independent films and then went on to direct some of the most legendary episodes of early television. This is why she often comes up in discussions of women directors or women in film history, and that’s exactly what our podcast is about. Her film The Hitch-Hiker is part of the National Film Registry, and her films Outrage and The Bigamist are considered important works of 20th-century art. Learn about her life, career, and triumphs in today's episode!This episode originally aired earlier in 2026 on Grab Bag Collab. Directora was created by Stephanie Weber, who researches, writes, records, edits, and hosts all episodes. Episode art by Brock Alter. Please visit Directora on Instagram or TikTok for clips of things discussed in the episode. Email directorapodcast@gmail.com for questions, concerns, and compliments. And, kindly rate and review! Sources:Donati, William J. Ida Lupino: A Biography. University Press of Kentucky. April, 1996. Kuperberg, Clara and Julia. Ida Lupino: Gentlemen and Miss Lupino. (2021)Longworth, Karina. “The Many Loves of Ida Lupino”. You Must Remember This. July 10, 2014.Lupino, Ida. “Outrage.” 1950. Lupino, Ida. “The Bigamist.” 1953.Lupino, Ida. “The Hitch-Hiker.” 1955. Ida Lupino-  Documentary. Film Historian. Oct 12, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XCu7O9sw-QThis is your life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UgbgrLve7AWalsh, Raoul. “They Drive By Night.” 1940. Wellman, William. “The Light That Failed.” 1939. 

If you're a quirky internet/Tumblr girl, the chances are super high that you've seen images of the 1966 Czech film Daisies. The images are vibrant, striking, and adorable; but the story behind the film and the reactions to it in director Věra Chytilová's home country go so much deeper than you can imagine and the film put her on a career blacklist for years. Find out why the Czech communist regime took issue with her films and attempted to ruin her career. This episode originally aired on Grab Bag Collab's Patreon. Thank you to Amanda Rossman for sound mixing and to Brock Alter for the artwork. Directora is hosted, created, researched, and written by Stephanie Weber. Follow Directora on Instagram and TikTok. Please email directorapodcast@gmail.com for any questions, suggestions, or compliments. I love those!Sources for this episode:Brockel, Cal. “Věra Chytilová: the Czech New Wave director banned by her government”. Hero Magazine. May 8, 2021. https://hero-magazine.com/article/189560/vera-chytilova“BFI At Home: Filmmakers in Focus: Věra Chytilová”. BFI YouTube Channel. April 8, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwbA6aNiG7AČulík, Jan. “A Courageous Voice from Central Europe: The Films of Věra Chytilová”. Eastern European Film Bulletin. Volume 88. October 2018. https://eefb.org/retrospectives/The-Films-of-Vera-Chytilova“Daises: City Cinematheque.” CUNY TV YouTube Channel. Recorded January 1, 1997. Aired February 1, 1997. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0tU4ioovoAGray, Carmen. “Vera Chytilová for beginners”. British Film Institute. February 27, 2015. https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/vera-chytilova-beginnersSarno, Elena Pachner. “Feminism, Destruction, and Joy in Daises”. East European Film Bulletin. Volume 88. October 2018. https://eefb.org/retrospectives/feminism-destruction-and-joy-in-daisies/