In this episode you will hear the delightfully entertaining interview with American musical theatre composer Dana Rowe. His works have been performed internationally with productions in London’s West End, much of his work has been written with lyricist John Dempsey.

Dana wrote the music for: Zombie Prom, The Fix (directed by Sam Mendes) and The Witches of Eastwick. Dana was nominated for the Olivier Award for his contribution to The Fix and The Witches of Eastwick, both of which were produced in London by Cameron Mackintosh. Dana also composed the score for The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde. In 2011, he collaborated with Maribeth Graham on See Jane Run!

Despite all his success and fame, Dana admits he had become an “Unintentional Maestro of self-destruction” and he grew up wanting to please others. Through his early work he tried to apply and channel his energy and mindset, but the creativity was blocked and unsustainable. Dana describes his personal journey as riding a “Bobsled to hell” going down the path of self-destruct. He experienced relationship breakdowns, health issues and his work suffered. Eventually he found his way to the 12 steps to recovery programme – focusing on his spiritually and connecting with a community to support him to make a full holistic recovery.

Dana and I met through our mutual learning journey, both of us are discovering the techniques and skills of applying mental fitness with the organisation Positive Intelligence. You will hear us chat about the saboteurs and how to strengthen mental muscles.

Thank you to Dana for being so open and vulnerable to share his story and thank you for your interest in this topic.