PJ Adzima: From The Book of Mormon to Stage Time CEO
Conversations with Musicians, with Leah Roseman
05/31/26
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I was fascinated to meet PJ Adzima, and learn about his path from his childhood on a farm to his career as a Broadway performer in the Book of Mormon. A chance encounter with a legendary composer changed his life forever and now as the CEO of the production company Stage Time, he’s paying that forward by discovering and curating talent across genres through many projects. He talked about how embracing vulnerability and studying drag has been transformative and helped him take up space, challenge norms, and create with purpose.
A joyful and deep appreciation for the performing arts certainly has driven his excellence and helped him transform his side project into his full-time business, and I’m sure you’ll find PJ’s energy infectious.
Like all my episodes, you can also watch this on my YouTube channel or listen to the podcast on many podcast platforms, and I’ve also linked the transcript. It's a joy to bring these inspiring episodes to you every week, and I do all the many jobs of research, production and publicity. Have a look at the show notes of this episode, where you’ll find all the links, including different ways to support this podcast, and other suggested episodes: Show Notes
(00:00) Intro
(01:55) Book of Mormon
(06:37) Stage Time
(11:23) power of drag
(16:59) Masquerade nighclub curation Phantom of the Opera
(21:00) The Stuppets
(25:20) history of Vaudeville, dealing with racism, minstrelsy and history of Broadway
(29:43) acting career
(30:10) linked episodes and how to support this series
(31:11) from childhood on a farm to Broadway, his big break
(39:44) comedy, Louis C.K. story
(43:10) curating new shows, Slam Frank
(51:42) challenges and joys entrepreneurship
Photo: Shawn Salley
Previous Episode
Vivienne Aerts is a NYC-based Dutch Singer, Educator, and Psychologist, for many years on the faculty of the Berklee College of Music. I’ve been following her inspiring creative practice for a couple of years and I’m excited to tell you that for this episode you’ll be hearing clips from her beautiful upcoming album Current, produced on a tiny 1951 Dutch sailboat, blending jazz, electronics, and vocal loops with water-inspired soundscapes. Her husband, the renowned pastry chef Ted Steinebach also made a documentary film about the journey, which features several other wonderful musicians who hopped on the boat to record.
I found it uplifting to get to know Vivienne’s interdisciplinary approach, rooted in mindfulness and how she got started as a student creating interesting opportunities for artists. You’ll also be hearing clips from a couple of her previous projects including the award-winning Typuhthâng featuring 100 female musicians which supports Congolese female cacao farmers through a partnership with Original Beans.
In this age of AI, I’m inspired by Vivienne's trust and hopefulness in the need for us to engage all of our senses and the power of mobilizing micro-communities to support meaningful creative work.
You can also watch this video on my YouTube; I’ve also linked the transcript, Vivienne's website, other suggested episodes, podcast newsletter sign-up, podcast merch, and how you can buy me a coffee to support this independent podcast! Everything linked here in the complete show notes: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/vivienne-aerts
photo: Ted Steinebach
(00:00) Intro
(02:48) album Current and film with excerpt of track 1
(08:30) collaborations with husband chef Ted Steinebach
(12:54) Current, mindfulness, the film, excerpt of track 5
(17:33) creative process Current, excerpt strack 5 and 11
(22:08) songwriting, South Korea
(27:49) Current, clip of track 8 Closer, living on the boat
(35:26) other linked episodes
(36:23) creative process album Polaroid with clip of Streetlamps
(39:16) Susanne Alt with clip of track 11
(43:31) Typuhthâng album with clips track 9, 4, 1, 6, Original Beans chocolate
(50:17) Vivi Talks podcast, teaching, Berklee, entrepreneurship
(55:16) her educational path, railway festival, micro-communities
(01:04:51) album launch concerts on boats
(01:08:12) career path with psychology and music, Dutch culture
(01:12:15) Effortless Mastery Kenny Werner, different approach to teaching mindfulness with self compassion
Next Episode
Jayne Dent is a British interdisciplinary artist, singer and composer and I was absolutely delighted to explore ideas around a creative and playful life with her. You’ll be hearing clips of music from Me Lost Me, with inspirations from folk culture old and new. She opened my mind to what folk creativity and community can mean in the 21st century. You'll also hear about community music making, collaborations with dancers, experimentation with e-textiles, and the challenges and joys of her career path. I was really struck by her creative and curious spirit and you’ll be hearing about some of her chance-based writing tips and her varied interests from creating costumes to medieval sword fighting.
Show Notes: Jayne Dent, Me Lost Me, Suggested episodes, Podcast Merch, Newsletter, Buy me a coffee, Video version, Full transcript
photo: Amelia Read
(00:00) Intro
(02:36) Me Lost Me RPG, clip of Marie it is While Summer I Last
(09:46) Me Lost Me, RPG video game inspirations, clip of track 2
(11:32) residencies in Aarhus, writing the Oldest Trees Hold the Earth with Ditte Elly, with clip track 8
(14:20) community music making, song writing and improvisation
(17:22) future folk, what folk can mean
(19:03) Me Lost Me, PHD research, folk use of tech, e-textiles
(25:44) costumes, childhood inspired by parents and folk community
(31:29) other episodes you’ll like, podcast merch and more
(32:24) chance-based writing, CAMP France with clip of track 10 This Material Moment
(35:25) challenges of freelancing, mesostic writing with clip of track 12 This Material Moment
(39:38) touring, collaborators with clip of track 4 This Material Moment
(45:57) more about creative process with clip Ancient Summer track 7
(48:39) making, coding, improvising, Abundance with dancers
(54:01) Worm Saliva experimental improvised music with clip of Brass Neck Melt
(57:56) where the name Me Lost Me came from, folk use of technologies, Guidonian hand, sword fighting
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