Speaking of the Arts

The Theresa Rebeck play 'Seminar' opens at Talking Horse Productions on February 17th for a two-weekend run and in this episode Diana Moxon chats with two of its cast members, David McSpadden who plays the fiction guru and hilariously condescending seminar leader, Leonard, and Erin Matteson, the aspiring young writer who has offered to host the 10-week seminar for 3 of her equally aspiring pals. This episode is marked with an E as the scene from the play between Leonard and Kate contains a good amount of fruity expletives.       

This week host, Diana Moxon, takes a look back at two conversations she had with Columbia-based poets Lynne Jensen Lampe and Barbara Harris Leonhard in October and November last year. Both Barbara and Lynne had recently released collections of poems, both of which explored their relationships with their mothers and the complications that post partum depression and alzheimers had on their time together. Their collections of poems are eloquent, moving, sad and funny, and both Lynne and Barbara shared the background to their collections with Diana. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

Once again this week show host, Diana Moxon, is taking a look back at some her favorite chats from the past year. Back in July Diana chatted with two composers who were visiting Columbia as part of the Mizzou International Composers Festival: guest composer Angélica Negrón and resident composer Cassie Wieland. In August the vocalist, spoken word poet, writer, arts educator and community organizer, Josh Runnels aka J. Artiz, was on Speaking of the Arts talking about his passion and purpose, the break up of the band he was a vocalist for - Loose Loose, and future soul. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliams.com)

This week Diana Moxon revisits chats with three singer songwriters who were on the show last year. From August, St Louis' Paige Alyssa (https://www.paigealyssamusic.com/) chats about their blend of jazz-new jack swing-R&B and the influence of Sonic the Hedgehog on their music; from September, social justice singer songwriter Crys Matthews (https://www.crysmatthews.com/) talks about the importance of empathy and compassion when inviting listeners into a story; and from October "not your typical singer songwriter" guitarist Miss Molly Simms (http://missmollysimms.com/) who made her singing debut on an airplane at age 6. Opening and closing music with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

Each month the Missouri Arts Council features four artists on its website from a variety of arts genres, and on this week's show Diana Moxon checks in (belatedly) with the December artists: St Louis-based Elinor Harrison, a dancer with a national touring resume who is doing pioneering research into how singing can improve the gait of people with Parkinson's Disease; Christine Riutzel from Hollister, a muralist and fine artists whose art is therapy that helps her unpack past traumas, doubts and insecurities caused by an extreme religious upbringing; and a nature/wildlife photographer from Joplin who turned his hobby into a full time job. You can see/hear/learn about the works of this week's guests on their websites: https://www.elinorharrison.com/; https://www.beautyfromlight.com/; https://www.greenheronphoto.com/. Thanks, as always, to guitarist Yasmin Williams (http://www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com/) for the show's opening and closing music entitled, 'Restless Heart'. (Pictured artwork by Christine Riutzel)

For the first show of 2023 Diana Moxon chats with two people who the audience never gets to see on the stage or screen, but whose work has a huge influence on both actors and audiences. Paula Vanlandingham (https://www.accentpaula.com/) is an accent and dialect coach to actors all over the world from her home in Columbia Missouri. She speaks 6 languages plus English and coaches in over 50 global accents including coaching an American actor who doesn't speak any Spanish to speak 19th century Mexican Spanish with an Irish accent. Ryan Zirngibl (http://www.ryanjzirngibl.com/) is the resident scenic designer at the Lyceum Theatre in Arrow Rock and has created hundreds of complex stage sets for theatres across the state and in New York City, including one with 9 rooms and 2 secret passageways, one with moving train cars, and one for a play that had so much fake blood that the set had to have a moppable floor. Opening and closing music credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

As we close in on the end of 2022, Diana Moxon invites three arts pals to the Speaking of the Arts studio to look back on their favorite moments of the year. Columbia Daily Tribune arts writer Aarik Danielsen remembers some of the music, poetry and sentences that moved him this year. From Ragtag Film Society, Stacie Pottinger, drops in to talk about the year's movie highlights and how meeting a film-maker can really change her opinion about a film. And the woman who sees more theatre productions than anyone else in mid Missouri, Monica Palmer, ponders which of the many plays she saw this year she would love to see again and what plays she would have loved to be in. Opening and closing music credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

With end of year giving season firmly upon us, on this week's show Diana Moxon chats with 10 arts leaders from 9 local arts agencies to find out about some of the magic and meaningful moments their organizations have inspired, and what they would do with a $100,000 donation.

'Tis the season when stages are awash in figurative tinsel and this week Diana Moxon visits three of them. At the Missouri Symphony Orchestra, their new Music Director Designate, Wilbur Lin, makes his first public performance at this weekend's Symphony of Toys concert and chats about his vision for the orchestra and how he came to found his own orchestra at 18. In Act II, Broadway actor and now Stephens College Conservatory for the Performing Arts associate professor, Lisa Brescia, and associate professor of voice, Nollie Moore, talk about the college's production of White Christmas and what it takes to make it in the performing arts. And in Act III, Diana explores the world of barbershop harmonies with the Heart of Missouri chorus' director Twilla Duvall and bass singer, Heather Vuckovic. Opening and closing music credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

This week's show is a theatre-fine art-theatre sandwich with host, Diana Moxon, talking to Talking Horse Production theatre directors, DeeDee Farris and Mark Baumgartner about their production of the Larissa Fasthorse comedy satire, 'The Thanksgiving Play' in which the history of Thanksgiving, woke culture, and privilege checking all collide. In Act II of the show, Diana explores Sager Reeves Gallery's 2022 Masters' Exhibit and its theme of love, human connection, courtship and sex, with the show's curator and art historian, Hannah Reeves. And in Act III, it's back to the stage with actors Monica Palmer and Ginger Cawley introducing their M'Lynn Eatenton and Truvy Jones from the upcoming Columbia Entertainment Company production of 'Steel Magnolias'. Opening and closing music with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com) [pictured: Leonor Fini 'Masked Figure' from The Masters' Exhibit]

Each month the Missouri Arts Council features four artists on its website from a variety of arts genres, and on this week's show Diana Moxon checks in with the November artists: portrait photographer Randy Bacon from Springfield whose profoundly moving photographs of unsheltered people has traveled the country and is also a vital viewing short film "The Road I Call Home" (https://www.randybacon.com/the-road-i-call-home-short-film); St Louis-based visual artist and art educator, Simiya Sudduth, whose love of mural painting might have started when they drew their classmates names on their mother's basement ceiling as a first grader; from Cameron, colored pencil artist Wanda Taylor whose paintings of animals appear tactile; and landscape painter Michael McClure from Willow Springs whose vibrant and light-filled paintings are guided by his intuition and his soul. You can see the works of this week's guests on their websites: https://www.randybacon.com/; https://spiritscapes.life/; http://www.wandataylorart.com/; https://www.michaelmcclure.com/. Thanks, as always, to guitarist Yasmin Williams (http://www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com/) for the show's opening and closing music entitled, 'Restless Heart'. (Pictured artwork by Wanda Taylor)

This week two writers explore the lives of two women: one a memoir poetry collection about a mother's Alzheimer's, and the other an original play based on love letters from 100 years ago. Barbara Harris Leonhard's book "Three-Penny Memories A Poetic Memoir" is a love story that explores her relationship with her mother, their mother wounds, entangled journeys, and her mother's Alzheimer's. And in Greenhouse Theatre Project's new, original production in collaboration with the State Historical Society of Missouri, "MO Love: Letters from the Archive", GTP founder, director, actor and playwright, Elizabeth Braaten Palmieri, takes us back in time to the relationship between Missouri adventurer and writer, Olive Gilbreath McLorn, and her long-distance love affair with William Lewis Cazelet, a mysterious widower 20-years her senior who wrote hundreds of love letters to her over two decades between 1915 and the late 1930's. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

Music is the through line on this week's show with host, Diana Moxon, chatting with Dismal Niche's, Matt Crook, the curator and director of the Columbia Experimental Music Festival about this year's festival and the challenges of overcoming stubbornly conditioned ears. Plus Diana checks in with Joy Powell from the University of Missouri's theatre department about their regional premiere of the heartwarming musical comedy 'The Prom'; and Robert Wells and Lainie Vansant talk about the 2022-23 University Concert Series season and the challenges of managing two huge venues when the world keeps throwing curveballs at you. Opening and closing music with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

With the return of Fall into Art this weekend after a 2-year hiatus, Diana Moxon chats with one of the art fair's organizers, Melynda Lotven, about the event's new venue and the challenges of re-starting the festival, plus she chats with two of the exhibiting artists - St Louis-based surreal and fantasy painter, Mollie Chounard, and encaustic artist and jeweler, Jamie Scheppers from Columbia. And as Columbia Entertainment Company moves into the final weekend for its production of the classic 1970's farce 'No Sex Please, We're British' Diana goes behind the scenes with director Terry Schoonover and actor Ginger Cawley and gives them a No Sex Please trivia quiz. Opening and closing music credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

Each month the Missouri Arts Council features four artists on its website from a variety of arts genres, and on this week's show Diana Moxon checks in with the October artists: award-winning author Greg Stout from Cape Girardeau who wrote 22 books on US railroad history and then won a national award for his first work of detective fiction; St Louis-based singer songwriter, Miss Molly Simms, who made her public singing debut at the age of six in an unusual place; artist Nick Gadbois from Kansas City whose multiple bodies of work includes painting in cement and recreating some of the psychedelic surreal colors he discovered through the 1960's counter culture; and Columbia-based painter Cristina Núñez whose work is a balance of color, shape and rhythm. You can see - and hear - the works of this week's guests on their websites: https://www.gregorystoutauthor.com/; http://missmollysimms.com/; http://www.nickgadboisart.com/; https://www.cristinanunezartstudio.com/. Thanks, as always, to guitarist Yasmin Williams (http://www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com/) for the show's opening and closing music entitled, 'Restless Heart'. (Pictured artwork by Nick Gadbois 'Area 51')

This week's show is a theatre-poetry-theatre sandwich. Diana Moxon chats with theatre director Elizabeth Braaten Palmieri and actor Lindsey Oberle about Stephens College's upcoming production of the American classic, 'Our Town', by Thornton Wilder and explores how the play's significance changes as we age. In Act II poet Lynne Jensen Lampe talks about her first full collection of poetry titled 'Talk Smack to a Hurricane' which centers on her relationship with her mother, whose life was irrevocably altered by psychiatric misdiagnosis. And in Act III it's back to the theatre for a look at Talking Horse Production's rock musical 'Murder Ballad' with its director, Trent Rash, and actor, Megan McNew. Opening and closing music with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

Keeping it eclectic this week Diana Moxon chats with the two women behind the annual Boone County Art Show: Mary Wilkerson from Central Bank of Boone County (which has hosted the show for 63 years), and Kelsey Hammond from the Columbia Art League. Plus Karen Mareck Grundy talks dance with Diana and about changing the name of her organization from the Missouri Contemporary Ballet to Mareck Dance. Artist Sarah Nguyen talks about the origin and inspiration for her large scroll works intricately carved with an x-acto knife. And St Louis-based flutist, Wendy Hymes, talks about learning to play African rhythms and her upcoming concert at the University of Missouri on October 10th. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com).

The Roots n Blues festival returns to Stephens Lake Park from October 7th-9th, and on this week's Speaking of the Arts Diana Moxon chats with the festivals two owners, Tracy Lane and Shay Jasper, about what it takes to make a music festival be a safe, accessible and inclusive space and how centering women is paramount to the festival's identity. There's also a check-in with two of the singer songwriters appearing at this year's festival. Kassi Ashton who released her debut radio single earlier this year, 'Dates in Pickup Trucks' inspired by her granny and grandpa's date night "I was going on dates in pickup trucks when I was 17 and apparently I'll still be doing it when I'm 90, if I'm lucky!". And Jen Norman, whose latest single 'Moon Baby' features Columbia's own Burr Oak tree. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com).

Each month the Missouri Arts Council features four artists on its website from a variety of arts genres, and on this week's show Diana Moxon checks in with the September artists: painter Joshua Newth from Cape Girardeau whose art tells the story of the ubiquity of man's litter and environmental impact; Kansas City based wearable art jeweler and sculptor, Clarissa Knighten, whose first sale happened in an elevator and who navigated her own clinical depression and bulimia through her creativity; artist Teri Moore in Augusta whose layered works seek an emotional response from her viewers; and poet Daniel Biegelson in Liberty whose first collection of poems titled 'of being neighbors' has just been published in which he aims to capture the music of thought. You can see the works of this week's guests on their websites: https://jnewthimages.weebly.com/; https://www.rissasartisticdesign.com/; https://teri.pb.online/; https://danielbiegelson.com/. Thanks, as always, to guitarist Yasmin Williams (http://www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com/) for the show's opening and closing music entitled, 'Restless Heart'. (pictured artwork by Joshua Newth 'Paris in Flowers')

This week a rebroadcast of two of Diana Moxon's recent chats: author M O Walsh about his book 'The Big Door Prize' which is this month's Daniel Boone Regional Library One Read book (first broadcast September 1st); and poet Dave Malone about his latest collection of poetry entitled 'Tornado Drill' (first broadcast July 7th). Opening and closing music credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsguitar.com)

For the past 30 years, the visual artist/sculptor/dancer/educator Nick Cave has been making art that speaks to racism, gun violence, inequality and injustice. It was in 1991 as the brutal beating of Rodney King by the LA Police reverberated around the world, that Nick Cave created a wearable artwork that would go on to change his life: it was the first of his now 500-plus Soundsuits, a body-camouflaging second skin that conceals race, gender, class; a wearable, kinetic, sound-producing, protective carapace that both demands to be seen, and also forces the viewer to look without judgement. Today he has works in public collections in 30 states, plus museums around the world from Sydney to Stockholm, and through October 2nd the first career-spanning survey of his work, entitled ‘Forothermore’ is on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. And this week Diana Moxon spent the full hour of the show chatting with him about his work, growing up in Fulton and Columbia MO, and about being an artist with a civic responsibility.

What would you do if you knew your life's potential - and it wasn't the life you were currently living? This is our entry point into the fictional town of Deerfield, Louisiana and the latest novel from M O Walsh (https://www.mowalsh.com/) called 'The Big Door Prize', which is this year's Daniel Boone Regional Library's selected One Read book. In Act One of the show Diana chats with author M O Walsh about his book and writing fiction. And in Act Two, social justice singer-songwriter, Crys Matthews (https://www.crysmatthews.com/), talks about writing from the heart and turning difficult conversations into songs. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

On Speaking of the Arts this week host Diana Moxon visits with St Louis musician/singer/songwriter Paige Alyssa (https://www.paigealyssamusic.com/) whose new band, Paige Alyssa and The Max, has their live debut this week, and who counts Sonic the Hedgehog as one of their musical influences; in Act II there's a peek beyond the footlights at Maplewood Barn with Russ Scott, the director of the Barn's upcoming production of Hamlet and Diana confesses to her antipathy to Shakespeare; and in Act III Diana chats with Plattsburg artist Laurel DeFreece (https://www.laurelsartstudio.com/) whose fine art tells the story of the fragility of the natural world and the ravages of climate change. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

Utopian societies popped up all over the United States in the 1840's and for one Ozarker, Columbia-based novelist Steve Wiegenstein, it was a chance for him to combine his love for an area of Missouri in which his family goes back 5 generations with his fascination for these 19th century egalitarian communities. He talks about his Daybreak series of novels with Diana Moxon and how the history of a legendary and terrifying guerilla fighter intersects with his own ancestors. And in Act Two of the show, Diana chats with metal sculptor, butch Murphy, who went from a career in the sanitized world of medicine to a retirement of rust, oil and the grime of scrapyards. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com).

On this week's show, host Diana Moxon's chats range from Afrofuturism to magical realism. Columbia-based musical artist J. Artiz (https://www.jartiz.com/home) is a community activist who is using his passion and purpose to help the next generation find their self identity through art and talks to Diana about stepping into the world of Afrofuturism and seeing his name on the same stage listing as Chaka Khan; actors Christine Bay and Kirsten Malinee talk about theatre roles for women over 50 and the upcoming play at Talking Horse Productions 'The Things You Least Expect' about finding love, and yourself, in later life; and infrared color photographer, Matthew Piper, talks about his worlds of dreamscapes and magical realism. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com) (pictured: 'Life and Death' by Matthew Piper https://www.matthewstuartpiper.com/)

On this week's eclectic art tour, Diana Moxon has conversations that span from New York City to Kansas City with a stopover in Columbia. There's a board game that became a stage play, by way of a movie and a musical, that is taking to the stage at the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre and Diana chats with its director, award-winning actor and director, John Treacy Egan; there's a visit with Missouri's 6th Poet Laureate, Maryfrances Wagner and a peek at her tiny books project, and how a rich Italian-American heritage shaped her as a poet; and Diana checks in with Daniel Boone Regional Library's Lauren Williams for an advance peek at Columbia’s 2022 One Read book, 'The Big Door Prize' by M.O. Walsh, and the series of accompanying literary and art events that will roll out this September. Opening and closing musical credits to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

Each month the Missouri Arts Council features four artists on its website from a variety of arts genres, and on this week's show Diana Moxon checks in with the July artists: Kendall Hart, a sculptor of monsters and fantastical creatures from Farmington, who played Frankenstein with his dinosaurs as a child; St. Charles-based mixed media artist and photographer Kim Bouldin-Jones whose art career started with some COVID 'Wear your Mask' postcards; watercolor painter Alicia Farris from Springfield whose degree in psychology helps her find a story in every face; and in Kansas City, photographer Kirk Decker whose passion for photography began when he was 12 years old and his glamorous aunt brought her Minolta to town. You can see the works of this week's guests on their websites: https://grimstonestudios.com/; https://www.hangingtime.org/; https://www.afarris.com/; https://www.kirkdecker.com/index. Thanks, as always, to guitarist Yasmin Williams (http://www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com/) for the show's opening and closing music entitled, 'Restless Heart'. (pictured artwork by Kim Bouldin-Jones 'House the Invisible')

As composers start to arrive from around the world for this year's Mizzou International Composers Festival (July 25-30), Diana Moxon catches up with three of them: Guest composer, Angélica Negrón (https://www.angelicanegron.com/) from Puerto Rico who writes for orchestras, ensembles, film, drag queens lipsyching opera, and her own tropical electronic band, Balún, whose album 'Prisma Tropical' was named as a Top Ten 2018 Latin album by Rolling Stone Magazine; and resident composers, Niko Schroeder (https://nikodschroeder.com/) from Columbia Missouri whose oeuvre encompasses concept works about historic chess moves and polka music; and Cassie Wieland (https://cassiewieland.com/), now based in Brooklyn but originally from Normal Illinois whose works range from hometown nostalgia to the human anatomy. Plus Maplewood Barn theatre director, Morgan Dennehy, talks about the Barn's production of the Oscar Wilde play "The Importance of Being Earnest". Opening and closing music credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

Love and the world we live in are themes that run through all of Diana Moxon's chats on this week's show. West Plains Missouri-based poet Dave Malone is the author of seven books of poetry, including a brand new one 'Tornado Drill', which centers on love in many guises and our journey along the babbling brook of life. On stage, Greenhouse Theatre Project are performing 'Lungs' by playwright Duncan Macmillan, which interweaves a love story with concerns about the planet and whether having a baby is the right thing to do in a world that's over-heated, over-populated and overly divisive. Director Elizabeth Braaten Palmieri and actors Anna Sundberg and Rob Glauz talk about their upcoming production. And Dan Eck, the new Director of the University of Missouri's Museum of Art and Archaeology talks about his aspirations for the museum and how it was an abandoned canning factory behind his childhood home that first got him interested in archaeology. Opening and closing music credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

Each month the Missouri Arts Council features four artists on its website from a variety of arts genres, and on this week's show Diana Moxon checks in with the June artists: Kansas City mural artist JT Daniels who sees blank walls as an opportunity to communicate; classical guitarist W Mark Akin in St Louis whose musical career started with a birthday guitar he wasn't expecting; Columbia-based printmaker and collage artist Lisa Franko, whose thesis show was inspired by IKEA; and encaustic painter Jodie Sutton in Springfield, whose encaustic journey started with an episode of a TV crafting show. You can see, and hear, the works of this week's guests on their websites: https://www.jtdanielsart.com/; http://www.wmarkguitar.com/; https://www.lisafranko.com/; https://www.jsuttonstudio.com/gallery. Thanks, as always, to guitarist Yasmin Williams (http://www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com/) for the show's opening and closing music entitled, 'Restless Heart'. (pictured artwork by JT Daniels, Lee Summit mural)

It is a history-making week at KOPN as we start broadcasting from our new home on Bernadette Drive. And history has a role in each of this week's Speaking of the Arts chats with host, Diana Moxon, taking a trip to ancient Egypt courtesy of Joy Powell, the artistic director for MU Theatre Department's Larry D Clark Summer Repertory Theatre, whose production of the Elton John and Tim Rice musical theatre's retelling of the classic Verdi opera 'Aida' opens this week featuring singer Symonne Sparks; a chat with the The Missouri Symphony Orchestra's Executive Director, Trent Rash, and the first of the Hot Summer Nights visiting conductors, Wilbur Lin, including a look at how modern orchestra's might interpret the music of early composers; and Tom Piché, the Director and Curator of the Daum Museum of Contemporary Arts in Sedalia for the past 14 years gets Diana's Arts Exit Interview as his era directing the Daum comes to a close. Opening and closing music credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

As KOPN prepares to move to its new home this week, show host, Diana Moxon, revisits some recent chats: the art exhibit 'For the Love of Locals' featuring portraiture works by three local artists, Lisa Bartlett, Jane Mudd and Amy Stephenson at the Boone History and Culture Center's Montminy Gallery; a conversation with director Ed Hanson and actors Adam Brietzke and Natalie Botkins about their production of the Cindy Lou Johnson play 'Brilliant Traces' opening this week at Talking Horse Productions; a whistle stop tour through the Arrow Rock Lyceum theatre's summer season with its Producing Artistic Director, Quin Gresham; and a peek behind the curtains of Maplewood Barn's production of the Que Nguyen play 'She Kills Monsters' with its director, Chris Bowling and actor Ada Chapman. Opening and closing music credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

This week's show is theatre, theatre, theatre and then more theatre. Show host, Diana Moxon, chats with director, Chris Bowling, and actor, Ada Chapman about monsters, a succubus and an ogre all of which make an appearance in Maplewood Barn Theatre's production of the Que Nguyen play 'She Kills Monsters'; there's a rabbit hole dive into MU Theatre Department's 'The Cat in the Hat' with its director Kasey Lynch; a trek to a remote Alaskan cabin with director Ed Hanson and actors Adam Brietzke and Natalie Botkin, whose production of the Cindy Lou Johnson play, 'Brilliant Traces', opens at Talking Horse Productions next week; and a veritable gallop through the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre's summer season with its Producing Artistic Director, Quin Gresham. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Columbia Art League's annual Art in the Park festival returns to Stephens Lake Park this weekend. Diana Moxon checks in with its Executive Director, Kelsey Hammond, to find out how she's feeling about her first Art in the Park festival and what she's looking forward to. Plus there are chats with two of the visiting artists, Webb City MO painter, Michael Steddum, and from Springfield MO, ceramic artist, Kendle Durden. There's also music from The January Lanterns, one of the musical acts performing at the Roots n Blues tent at the festival. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist, Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com).

This week's show is a little bit of a mash up of new and old. New is a chat with actor, director and music producer, Richard Harris, about the August Wilson play 'Jitney', in which he is performing with The Black Rep Theatre of St Louis. The Second Act of the show is a return to a conversation from last July with St Louis artist jeweler, Allison Norfleet Bruenger, who will be returning to Columbia the first weekend in June for this year's Art in the Park festival. And in Act Three, show host Diana Moxon revisits a chat from a few weeks ago with vocal performer and actor, Anthony Blatter about his past five years performing on Mizzou and community stages. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

Each month the Missouri Arts Council features four artists on its website from a variety of arts genres, and on this week's show Diana Moxon checks in with the May artists: Singer songwriter Mick Byrd in Vienna who won a Billboard magazine award with the first song he wrote on his return to music in his late 30's; Yoro Newson, a jeweler and stylist in St Louis who creates fashionable art and had one of her creations catch the eye of the world's biggest pop star; Benjamin Parks, a portrait artist in Kansas City who works way beyond life size; and Jo Stealey, a fiber artist in Columbia who is a master of texture and volume. You can see, and hear, the works of this week's guests on their websites: https://www.mickbyrd.com/; https://yorocreations.wixsite.com/yoro; http://benjaminparks.info/; http://www.jostealey.com/. Thanks, as always, to guitarist Yasmin Williams (http://www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com/) for the show's opening and closing music entitled, 'Restless Heart'.

This week Diana Moxon takes a deep dive into the annual Eurovision Song Contest - its history, culture, music and the strange rise and fall of the United Kingdom over the contest's 66 years. Plus she chats with a local Eurovision fan, Ragtag Cinema's Stacie Pottinger, and checks in with an American Eurovision podcaster, Erik Nelson from 12pointsfromAmerica, live in the Eurovision press center in this year's host city, Turin in northern Italy. This podcast is only available for two weeks.

On this week's eclectic arts tour, show host Diana Moxon dives into a new exhibit at the State Historical Society's Center for Missouri Studies called 'MOda 200: Missouri Style Makers, Merchants & Memories' with its curator, Nicole Johnston. On the eve of the launch of the North Village Arts District's first four ArtWalk artworks, artist Shannon Webster and the Art District's President, Tootie Burns, talk about the development of the ArtWalk project. And as Mizzou musical theatre and opera actor Anthony Blatter leaves for new art pastures in Florida, Diana gives him the Arts Exit Interview. Opening and closing music credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com).

This week's Speaking of the Arts smorgasbord includes the Missouri Symphony Orchestra's hiring of a new Conductor, three local artists whose portrait works make up a new show at the Boone History and Culture Center, the return of the musical comedy 'You're a Good Man Charlie Brown' to Maplewood Barn, and a Pop-Up postcard show at the Columbia Art League. Diana Moxon finds out from the MOSY's Executive Director, Trent Rash, who the four finalists are for the person who will take up the mantle of Conductor/Music Director for the orchestra and its conservatory. Artists Lisa Bartlett, Amy Stephenson and Jane Mudd plus curator Audrey Florey talk about their new 'For the Love of Locals' portraiture exhibit. Maplewood Barn Theatre Director Russell Becker and actor Sean Dennehy give a sneak peek at their upcoming production. And CAL Executive Director, Kelsey Hammond, chats about the 350 entries to the gallery's Pop-Up Postcard show. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

The 6th annual Unbound Book Festival returns to downtown Columbia this weekend and Diana Moxon caught up with the festival's Executive Director, Alex George, to talk about some of the author events and the keynote event, a conversation with Pulitzer prize-winning novelist, Viet Thanh Nguyen. Plus University of Missouri theatre director, Claire Syler, discusses the Lauren Gunderson play 'The Revolutionists' about four very real women who lived boldly in France during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. And from Talking Horse Productions, director Kathleen Johnson and actor Mallory Donohue talk about their upcoming production of the musical 'Fun Home' written by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori, adapted for the stage from the original graphic novel by Alison Bechdel. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com).

Each month the Missouri Arts Council features four artists on its website from a variety of arts genres, and on this week's show Diana Moxon checks in with the April artists: Wood sculptor Michael Bauermeister in Augusta, who has two sculptures in the Smithsonian museum and whose gouge-carving technique creates surfaces which seem to ripple and flow of their own accord; Spoken word poet Sheri Purpose Hall who is described as both a kind and gentle spirit and a gale force wind who wrecks microphones; abstract painter Kelley Carman who says her artwork is an attempt to decipher the babble in her brain; and guitarist BT Sullivan who plays orchestral arrangements of The Great American Songbook on his solo guitar. You can see, and hear, the works of this week's guests on their websites: http://michaelbauermeister.com/; https://www.spokenpurpose.com/; https://www.kelleycarman.com/; https://btinamerica.com/. Thanks, as always, to guitarist Yasmin Williams (http://www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com/) for the show's opening and closing music entitled, 'Restless Heart'.

On this week's show host, Diana Moxon, revisits two recent chats: Director Angela Howard and actor DeeDee Farris talk about Columbia Entertainment Company's production of the Tracy Letts play 'August, Osage County' about a vanished father, a pill-popping mother and three sisters harboring shady little secrets (www.cectheatre.org). Plus singer songwriter Meredith Shaw talks about finding her musical voice and career later in life, and how she secured a Nashville producer. Opening and closing music credits with thanks to guitarist, Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

Each month the Missouri Arts Council features four artists on its website from a variety of arts genres, and on this week's show Diana Moxon checks in with the March artists: Columbia oil painter, Ken Nichols, whose artwork 'Sometimes It's a Door' won the 2021 City of Columbia poster contest; Ozarks story-sharer Kaitlyn McConnell who has written over 450 stories for her website, Ozarks Alive, documenting not only the past but also present day culture and people of her region; St Louis-based photographer, Ken Konchel, who aims to provocatively capture architecture in an abstract way; and textiles and performance artist, Karen E Griffen, aka E Lewis, in Kansas City, whose work tells the story of her ancestors. You can see the works of this week's guests on their websites: https://kennicholsartwork.com/; https://www.ozarksalive.com/; https://www.kenkonchelphoto.com/; https://artbyelewis.studio/. Thanks, as always, to guitarist Yasmin Williams (http://www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com/) for the show's opening and closing music entitled, 'Restless Heart'.

On this week's show Diana Moxon chats with Boone History and Culture Center curator, Audrey Florey, about an art retrospective of the work of Tracy Montminy and the fascinating tale of a mural she painted in 1941 that has been missing for almost 80 years. Plus artist Chad La Fever talks about his work as a bronze sculptor and his current show entitled 'Descension' on display at Columbia College's Hardwick Gallery, which explores how human evolution has arrived at the era of connection via technology; and director Angela Howard and actor DeeDee Farris discuss their upcoming production of the Tracy Letts Pulitzer-prize winning tragicomedy play 'August: Osage County' about a wildly dysfunctional family who seamlessly blend love and cruelty, secrets and truths, in a play that has been described as an acting cornucopia. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com).

This week it's a musical tour of the arts. Host Diana Moxon chats with singer songwriter, Meredith Shaw, about her journey into the Nashville music scene and the liberation of pursuing a music career in later life. And, as The Missouri Symphony holds its golden jubilee celebrations, Executive Director, Trent Rash takes Diana back through the mists of time to talk about the founding of the Missouri Symphony Society and the two people whose love of music, and love for each other, were the bedrock of the organization for half a century, Maestro Hugo and Lucy Vianello. Opening and closing music with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

The True False film fest returns to downtown Columbia this weekend with 33 documentary movies and 20 shorts packed into the weekend. Diana Moxon chats with the Fest's new artistic director, Chloe Trayner, about her first Fest, what she is excited to bring to audiences and how films are chosen. There are 4 world premiere documentaries at the Fest, one of which is 'Let the Little Light Shine' (https://www.lightshinefilm.com/) by Kevin Shaw, which follows the fight put up by parents, educators and students when a high-performing mostly Black elementary school in Chicago was threatened with closure so that it could be transformed into a high school for mostly White and Asian students. Kevin chats with Diana about making the film and the challenge of filming in a school setting. Plus film director and cinematographer Rita Baghdadi talks about 'Sirens' (https://www.sirensdocumentary.com/) an intimate coming-of-age story that follows Lebanon's first and only all-women thrash metal band, Slave to Sirens. Opening and closing music with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.YasminWilliamsMusic.com)

Each month the Missouri Arts Council features four artists on its website from a variety of arts genres, and on this week's show Diana Moxon checks in with three of the February artists (timing precluded the inclusion of the 4th): St Louis-based film maker, Joseph Puleo, whose documentary 'America's Last Little Italy: The Hill' has received multiple film festival awards and explores the colorful history of St Louis' Italian neighborhood; muralist and fine art watercolorist Linda Hoover in Houstonia; and nature inspired abstract painter Joha Bisone in Kansas City. You can see the works of this week's guests on their websites: https://www.facebook.com/TheHillDoc; https://johabisone.com/home.html;http://www.lindahooverart.com/.Thanks, as always, to guitarist Yasmin Williams (http://www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com/) for the show's opening and closing music entitled, 'Restless Heart'.

With Columbia's annual True False Film Fest returning the first weekend in March, this week Diana Moxon chats with three of the visual and musical artists who will be showing and performing alongside this year's documentary film line-up, plus she checks in with one of the most prolific composers of African art music. Arriving in Columbia from Canada on March 5th is indie pop singer Begonia (www.hellobegonia.com) whose debut album 'Fear' was released right before pandemic fear arrived on the planet, Diana chats with Begonia about being an artist during a pandemic and her new single, 'Heaven'. Visual artist and spoken word poet, Askia Bilal (www.askiabilal.art), talks about how his work centers around what it means to be human and his non-portrait series. Geologist and artist Carrie Elliott discusses her True False installation work COMO Sea and her fascination with the intersection of art and science. And Ghanaian-Nigerian-American composer, Fred Onovwerosuoke (www.fredomusic.com), talks about becoming a composer and his Nubian and Warrior Dance works which will be performed in Columbia by the Mizzou New Music Ensemble and the Columbia Civic Orchestra. Opening and closing music credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

After their annual winter hiatus, local theatres are turning out their ghost light and turning the footlights back on, so on this week's show, host Diana Moxon dives back into the world of theatre. Quin Gresham, from Arrow Rock's Lyceum Theater previews what's coming up in their 2022 season and exactly how unique Arrow Rock's theatre is in the American theatre landscape; from Stephens College, Director Brett Olson talks about the college's production of the Eugene Ionesco anti-play, 'The Bald Soprano' and the challenge of giving a play of non sequiturs a sense of truth; Director Cara Carter explores the character motives and comedy of Talking Horse's production of 'The Smell of the Kill' by Michele Lowe; and artist and debut-author, Jeru Battle, talks about his upcoming children's book 'The Indigenous Goat'. Opening and closing music credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

The arts are starting to emerge from their January hiatus and this week Diana Moxon chats with three people who are making arts things happen. Actor and Director, Richard Harris, talks about his love for August Wilson plays and about Columbia Entertainment Company's upcoming production of 'Fences' (Feb 3-20); Ragtag Film Society's Co-Director, Barbie Banks, imparts some updates on next month's True False film fest (March 3-6); and the Missouri Symphony Orchestra's Executive Director, Trent Rash, chats about two upcoming events: MOSY on the Rocks (February 14th) which pairs classical music with Dogmaster Distillery cocktails, and Chicago's Juliani Ensemble's visit to the Missouri Theatre (February 12th). Opening and closing music with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com).