Meet Paul Caiola & Erika Villalba | Podcasters, Writers & Actors

We had the good fortune of connecting with Paul Caiola & Erika Villalba and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paul & Erika, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
For us, we wanted to take control of our artistic careers. We were tired of waiting for someone else to give us permission to be a part of their project, so we created a project of our own. The podcast is a chance for us to be creative and get our voices out there, and also (hopefully) give the listeners some laughs on the way.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
We both started out as actors and have grown from there. Getting to the podcast required a leap of faith. All the doubting voices in your head are amplified when it’s your own project, ie “is this a good idea?,” “will people listen?,” “are we actually good enough to do this?,” etc. Luckily, we had each other to be cheerleaders…even if we doubted ourselves, we knew the other person was great. Now, the podcast feels like it has really grown into our unique voices and we’re so proud of it. Anytime a listener reaches out and says we made them laugh, or reminded them of a movie they hadn’t seen in ages, it’s a huge lift. What we both love is making people laugh and the podcast gives us a venue in which to do that.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We’re both long-time New Yorkers and theater lovers, so we’ll always have new shows we think you should check out…Joe’s Pub always has something interesting going on. If you have kids and want to take them to theatre, the New Victory has great kid-friendly stuff. Walking the High Line or over the Brooklyn Bridge can be really great (though you have to pick your times to avoid crowds!). Paul’s favorite restaurant is Maialino in Gramercy and Erika loves the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and Bookshop.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
So much of what we do comes from our training. Our podcast is a rapid-fire discussion, where we’re propping each other up all the time. Our time studying theater at NYU taught us that trusting and listening to your scene partner is the most important thing, and that’s what we both do while recording. So thank you and a shout out to all of our professors and classmates from Playwrights Horizons Theatre School!

Website: https://www.thatagedwell.com/
Instagram: @thatagedwell
Twitter: @thatagedwellpod