ABOUT
Adrienne Walker | Founder
I’m an actor and vocalist based in New York, NY. A native of Jonesboro, GA, a suburb outside of Atlanta, I grew up singing in the church. I received my undergraduate degree in vocal performance at the historic Spelman College in Atlanta, GA. With the idea of pursuing a career in opera, I attended The Chicago Conservatory of Performing Arts, completing the program with a masters degree in vocal performance. However, I changed my mind about pursuing opera professionally after my first Chicago gig at Court Theatre in their 2011 production of Porgy and Bess and it’s been theatre for me ever since.
Since then my most notable regional credits are: Sondheim on Sondheim (Porchlight); HAIR, Rent (Paramount Theatre); Iphigenia in Aulis, Agamemnon (Court Theatre); and The Color Purple (Mercury Theatre) where I received a Jeff nomination for my performance as Shug Avery.
My life changed when I relocated to New York in 2016 for my Broadway debut starring as Nala in Disney’s The Lion King. In 2019, I took a short break from The Lion King to play the role of Hattie in Roundabout Theatre’s Broadway revival of Kiss Me Kate alongside Tony nominated Kelli O’Hara and Disney’s High School Musical star Corbin Bleu.
During the course of my career, I have had the pleasure and opportunity to work with notable directors John Doyle, Diane Paulus, Charles Newell, Jim Corti, John Stefaniuk, Scott Ellis & Casey Nicolaw. Although I do theatre for a living, my dream is to be the voice of an animated character so I was thrilled to bring the voice of feisty non-gender conforming Peanut alive on the LGBTQ animated YouTube series McTucky Fried High.
Visit adriennemwalker.com for more!
AUSTIN COOK | PRODUCER
Austin Cook grew up in a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. Music was always a part of life, whether it be accompanying the school choir, playing for church services, writing arrangements of hymns for school and church, playing trumpet in the band and the list goes on and on. The church was foundational in Austin’s musical ear training. After receiving his bachelor's degrees in piano performance, Austin toured Europe as a classical pianist. In 2008, he came back to the United States to work in the entertainment division of The Walt Disney Corporation. In 2009, Austin made the move to Chicago, IL to begin his career as a music director, producer and actor.
While in Chicago, Austin won four Joseph Jefferson awards for acting, music direction and artistic specialization. Austin collaborated on over twenty musicals and plays with over a dozen theater companies while in Chicago. Austin is a proud member of both Actor's Equity and the American Federation of Musicians. As a producer, Austin's most recently produced album The Beast in Me received the 2014 Independent Music Award for Best Roots EP. The album was performed in its entirety on the nationally televised PBS series Sun Studio Sessions.
In 2017, Austin moved to New York City and began work in the pit on the new Broadway musical War Paint. In late 2017, Austin began work as Music Associate, playing K2, and rapping/playing rehearsals for Hamilton. In 2019, he served as the Music Director for the 1st National tour of Dear Evan Hansen. Now, back in New York, after making his Broadway conducting debut with Hamilton, he was assistant music director and Keyboard I on the Broadway hit Some Like It Hot. Currently, Austin is arranger and music director on the critically acclaimed new musical, Gun & Powder, heading to Broadway soon!
In 2019, Austin started to lay the ground work to become a writer full-time. Throughout his career, he has always arranged, composed, performed and collaborated on other author’s works. In 2019, however, Austin resolved to finally start creating and producing his original works & ideas. Austin just finished a new play about the legendary FAME studios in Sheffield, Alabama entitled Sessions. Currently, he’s writing a new play about what it means to be human in the age of advanced Artificial Intelligence. Also, he is working on a new music/story LP entitled “Jonah and the Deep.” His latest produced album, Broadway Lullabies, contains eight of his arrangements starring Broadway’s greatest talents such as, Kelli O’Hara, Adam Jacobs, Patina Miller, Ashley Brown, Nikki Renée Daniels, Jeff Kready, Alexander Gemignani, Caissie Levy, Aaron Lazar and Corey Cott.
Visit austincookmusic.com to see what he’s up to now!
A NOTE FROM ADRIENNE.
I started 32 Bar Cut in September of 2020 as a way of connecting to theatre artists during the Covid-19 shutdown. What started as simply a blog about theatre audition advice has transformed into something I never could have imagined. Each week I am able to share candidly about my experiences as a stage performer, offer advice that I’ve learned as a reader, and encourage my fellow artists to keep pursuing their dreams in spite of everything in the world saying that they shouldn’t. I am so grateful to my friends and colleagues have so graciously offered over their time to sit down with me each week and share their personal experiences as well.
This series has become my saving grace during a time that has been difficult for many of us in the arts industry. It is a way to connect, to relate, and to cleanse my spirit. I hope that you find something encouraging, helpful or at least entertaining here. Thank you to all of our subscribers who inspire and encourage us to keep going every day!
Cheers,
“The Show”
Have you ever wondered what being a star on Broadway is really like? Whether you are an aspiring performer or just a fan of theatre, 32 Bar Cut: The Show provides its viewers with the chance to join Adrienne and her incredible guests for an honest look at the life of a performer on Broadway and stages across the world.
The key word is honesty. So many times when performers are asked for an interview or promo appearance, they are plugging the current show they are working on, and thus, cannot be fully transparent about the process. We rarely get the truth about the inner workings of Broadway and all that goes on behind the scenes.
Every week, we release a new episode of the show with a new guest. The shows are free-form conversations about the guest’s experience working on stage. The first half of every show is completely free to the public. The second half, “The Curtain Call,” where we get even more in depth on the lives of our guests, is for our subscribers only. Episodes normally last anywhere from 60-140 minutes. We want you to learn from our mistakes or, as a fan, better understand the lives of the performers you know and love.
Season One guests include: Bonita Hamilton, Kelli O’Hara, Bradley Gibson, Michael James Scott, Diana Huey, Derrick Cobey, Austin Scott, Bravita Threatt, Roman Banks, Stephanie Styles, Raymond J, Lee, Jelani Remy, Kimberly Marable, Travis Turner, Wesley Taylor, Aliya Jo Ramey, Stephen Carlile, Ben Jeffrey and many more!
If you have any more questions about the show, please reach out to us via email at contact@32barcut.com.
“BROADWAY BANTER”
32 Bar Cut’s flagship series started out as a blog by Adrienne Walker in hopes to give advice and encourage up and coming performers. If you are studying to be in the industry, already in the industry or hoping to find out more about the theatre profession, Broadway Banter is the show for you.
In this series from Adrienne, you will find episodes on topics such as, “The Top Five Audition Mistakes I’ve Made,” “My Lion King Audition Story,” “What Is Your Type,” “What to expect at a Broadway Audition,” and many more!
We want to hear from you! Are there topics you would like to see discussed on the show? Contact us at contact@32barcut.com or leave a comment on one of our videos on YouTube or Instagram. This show is for you, so let us know what you want to see on the series!
“The Curtain Call”
This series is the sister series to “The Show.” In this series, we get even more in depth in our discussion with our guest stars. No topic is off-limits for this show. If you have ever wondered what your favorite theatre artists really think about their careers, rehearsal processes, casting calls, diversity on and off stage, audition practices, etc. then this is the show for you. You do not want to miss this opportunity to get to know the real people behind your favorite Broadway roles.
In these intimate “Curtain Call” chats, you will get a chance to to know the people who have dedicated their lives to the performing arts.
We will see you at “The Curtain Call!”
