{"podcast":{"title":"Story and Craft with Marc Preston","slug":"story-and-craft-with-marc-preston-5077873","podcast_index_feed_id":5077873,"rss_url":"https://feeds.redcircle.com/450dac6f-a0c8-4883-ba43-229f0fbc2c2f","website_url":"https://www.storyandcraftpod.com/","image_url":"https://media.redcircle.com/images/2025/12/23/9/e977794e-6f28-4090-a271-c8e25c1742ad_0-8280359.jpg","author":"Marc Preston Productions, LLC","episode_count":104,"summary":"Story & Craft is Marc Preston’s venue for offering up entertaining, insightful and inspiring conversations. Marc has spent over three decades as a successful actor, voiceover talent, and nationally syndicated radio host. He’s endlessly curious and enjoys great conversations that inspire. Each episode, Marc welcomes film, television and voiceover actors, storytellers, influencers and creative personalities that have intriguing points of view to offer. Marc’s unique interview style provides insight into the origins of what made his guests successful, as well as how they stay at the top of their game. Whether you work in the industry, or simply enjoy great conversation, you’re invited to grab a cup of coffee and enjoy a sit down with Marc and his guests as they talk story, share a moment and inspire.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-16T18:19:55.533620+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/story-and-craft-with-marc-preston-5077873"},"episode":{"title":"Johnny Ray Gill | Tale of a Prospective Gent","slug":"johnny-ray-gill-tale-of-a-prospective-gent","published_at":"2026-04-24T11:37:10+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/story-and-craft-with-marc-preston-5077873/johnny-ray-gill-tale-of-a-prospective-gent","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/story-and-craft-with-marc-preston-5077873","url":"https://www.storyandcraftpod.com/","audio_url":"https://audio3.redcircle.com/episodes/53cb961d-e622-41b8-8b0b-eec1270dd7c8/stream.mp3","summary":"On this episode of “Story and Craft” , Marc sits down with actor and writer Johnny Ray Gill ( “Cross” Season 2 on Prime Video ) for a wide-ranging conversation about Gill’s Portland roots in an all-Black Northeast community, his working-class family, and early artistic start in spoken-word poetry inspired by the film “Slam.” Gill shares how a rites-of-passage program shaped his cultural awareness, how an internship with writer Mike Rich opened doors, and how his path led from USC film school to Temple and then UC San Diego’s theater program. He recounts booking “Harry’s Law,” reflects on hip hop’s shift as commerce overtakes art, and explains why he feels artists owe audiences truth. Gill discusses his climate-focused script “Laying Pipe,” his love of animals and nature, learning Spanish, and the serendipitous way he was offered his role in “Cross.” SHOW HIGHLIGHTS 02:24 From Portland to LA 03:23 Working Class Roots 04:48 Choosing the Arts 08:09 Spoken Word Origin Story 11:28 College Path and Drama School 15:10 Hip Hop and Early Influences 17:10 Art Versus Commerce 20:25 Screenwriting and Truth 22:03 Pitching Laying Pipe 29:45 How Cross Came Together 34:31 Persistence and Knowing Your Vocation 36:31 New Passions Nature and Animals 40:03 Plants Pets Travel 41:40 Indigenous Symbiosis 44:26 Cross Writing Process 45:17 Bobby Trey’s Capitalism 48:34 Shreveport Food Authenticity 51:06 The Seven Questions","meta_description":"On this episode of “Story and Craft” , Marc sits down with actor and writer Johnny Ray Gill ( “Cross” Season 2 on Prime Video ) for a wide-ranging convers…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4280,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/story-and-craft-with-marc-preston-5077873/episodes/johnny-ray-gill-tale-of-a-prospective-gent/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/story-and-craft-with-marc-preston-5077873/johnny-ray-gill-tale-of-a-prospective-gent.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}