Adventures in Artslandia With Susannah Mars

Holed up at home, our host Susannah Mars has taken to watching the best movies. A family favorite, What's Up Doc?, stars the brilliant Austin Pendleton who was most recently seen on Broadway in The Minutes by Tracy Letts, a play that will hopefully re-open in the not-too-distant future. Listen as Austin Pendleton talks all things acting, directing, family, and politics.

Our host Susannah Mars talks to Karen Kitchen and Mel Kubik of The Prairie Blossoms and breathes in their music. These brilliant artists perform contemporary and traditional Native American music in many different languages, including Cree, Creek-Seminole, Cherokee, Paiute, Dakota, English, French, Lakota, Osage, Pima, Polish, Spanish, and more.

Our fearless host Susannah Mars chats with the brilliant Krista Vernoff, showrunner of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19. Krista made the call to shut down Grey's Anatomy, the first series to do so amid COVID-19. Krista and her team are using this extended hiatus as a way to incorporate events into Grey's previously announced 17th season. Get the skinny here as Krista dishes on all things Grey, including Portland!

The incomparable Mel Brooks — need we say more? Host Susannah Mars’ father was in his movies The Producers and Young Frankenstein. Mel shares stories with Susannah, and is simply his wonderful self. It’s an Adventure In Artslandia you’ll never forget! 

Artslandia Happy Hours and Adventures in Artslandia podcasts provide indisputable proof that artistry retains the power to unite, inspire, and comfort despite the distance we must keep. Let’s have a round of applause for the human spirit! Support Artslandia here. Up next on Adventures in Artslandia, our fearless host Susannah Mars and friends chat with novelist Omar El Akkad about the writing of his short story Government Slots before the gang (Duffy Epstein, Barbie Wu, Kisha Jarrett, Merideth Kaye Clark, and Susannah) reads the story. You can read along here. El Akkad’s work has appeared in The Guardian and Le Monde among many other esteemed publications. His upcoming novel will hit the shelves in spring 2021.    

Up next on Adventures in Artslandia, with too much time on her hands and in need of a lift, our fearless host Susannah Mars drops two interviews this week! She chats with Will Eno and Larissa FastHorse — two wonder playwrights, one East Coast and one West, both of whom have produced in Portland. Then, author Kate Ristau and 2009 Librarian of the Year Erin Fitzpatrick Bjorn gather virtually to celebrate the release of Ristau’s new book, “Shadow Queen.” It’s a socially distanced yet audibly intimate party.

Up next on Adventures in Artslandia, our fearless host Susannah Mars chats with Gary Cole, co-founder of Portland theater company CoHo Productions and author of the novel Black Box. The story is not-so-loosely based on his experiences in theater and business. Amid the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cole will donate all proceeds from the sale of the book to CoHo to honor their 25th anniversary season scheduled to open this September.

Up next on Adventures in Artslandia, our fearless host Susannah Mars chats with composer and violist Kenji Bunch of Fear No Music who was a recent guest on Artslandia’s Happy Hour. The two explore how Fear No Music and art flex with the time and reflect on how music is responding to our present-day challenges.

Up next on Adventures in Artslandia, our fearless host Susannah Mars chats with wondrous jazz master Rebecca Kilgore who shares of her life at home in Portland with music and stories.

Up next on Adventures in Artslandia, our fabulous host Susannah Mars chats with Misty Tompoles, Artslandia’s founder and publisher. Though she typically eschews the spotlight, her loyalty, innovation, and passion for our work have so inspired our team that we’ve convinced her to share her signature brand of optimism and perseverance. She is known for her trademark formula of equal parts work and play, and comic timing that can bring levity into the tensest of moments. We are in such a moment.

Actors Ashley Mellinger and Duffy Epstein join Susannah to read $2,500 OBO, one of E.M. Lewis' famed 10-minute plays, while Lewis herself reads stage directions. Then, artists whom Susannah met during her U.S. State Department trip to Cairo share their video chat, including their perspectives on this new age of COVID-19.

Regina Carter, a MacArthur "Genius Grant" and Doris Duke Arts Award recipient, chats with Susannah about her work as a hospice volunteer, teaching, grief, and the perks of her prestigious awards.Regina Carter joins Metropolitan Youth Symphony in the West Coast Premiere of David Schiff’s 4 Sisters jazz violin concerto on March 8, 2020. Tickets here!

In the wake of organization-wide changes at the Arts and Culture Council, Executive Director Madison Cario discusses the new vision and priorities, including a deeper focus on reaching underserved communities. The changes, while dramatic, are in the hope of better service for all in our community, including artists and arts administrators. The conversation includes an open invitation to all Portlanders to meet with Cario any time, by emailing ED@racc.org.

Susannah steps aside to welcome Ruby Joy White as the host of this week's podcast. White, Director of the Multicultural Resource Center at Reed College, chats with actors Morgan Walker and Sara Williams of School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play. The first-time co-production between Artists Rep and Portland Center Stage features a POC cast and creative team. Please join moderator Ruby Joy White for a post-show discussion for School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play Sunday, February 2, 2020 3:10 p.m. – 4:10 p.m.

You may remember brilliant choreographer, dancer, and writer Andrea Parson from Artslandia's Ladies Leading series. Listen to her riveting conversation with Susannah and then catch her onstage in SHE’S HERE: A ONE WOMAN SHOW, which she she wrote and performs with direction from Susan Banyas, January 16–18 at Coho Theatre.

Shall we question authority in 2020? What is the case for The Earl of Oxford to have written about the works of Shakespeare? Dive in with Dr. Earl Showerman in 2020's first Adventure in Artslandia!

JOHN MAVROUDIS is an artist who has created heart-stoppingly brilliant award-winning covers for TIME magazine, The New Yorker, and more. Also, Susannah went to high school with him! If you went to Granada Hills High School or love art, this is a must-listen!

Cult filmmaker, writer, actor, and fine artist John Waters follows up his interview earlier this year by NPR's Terry Gross with a candid chat with Artslandia's Susannah Mars. See A John Waters Christmas – Filthier & Merrier “It’ll Stuff Your Turkey” December 6 at Aladdin Theater!  

Susannah chats with director David Sikking about Lakewood Theatre Company's Shakespeare in Love, a romantic comedy, based on the award-winning screenplay by Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman. It plays at Lakewood Theatre Company through December 8, 2019. Don't miss it!Photo credit Triumph Photography. Pictured are Kelsey Glasser and Murri Laseroff-Babin.

There is so much adventuring this week! First I talk to Amanda Bullock from The Portland Book Festival. Their big day is on November 9th,  and you will not want to miss it, there is fun for everyone. Then I chat with Chip Miller who directs the world premiere of Redwood by Brittany K. Allen at Portland Center Stage at The Armory; a play about ancestry.com gone wrong, with dancing, DNA and dark truths.

Peter Frajola is The Oregon Symphony's Associate Concertmaster, and here, we get to enjoy a private concert and chat with one of our favorite violinists!

All Aboard The Mystery Ship! Portland Spirit’s Masquerade Party with Heartbeat Silent Disco will be a floating dance party like no other. Listen here and find out where else to dance in Portland as the unparalleled DJ Jo TAKIMBA shines a light on music as a DJ and host of KBOO’s The Melting Pot.

Do you know about The Low Bar Chorale? It's a twice-a-month extravaganza that transforms a local bar into a drop-in alt/indie sing-along backed by a live band of rotating musicians from Blind Pilot to Brandi Carlisle’s band, and no one cares what you sound like. Meet Creative Director/Producer Kate Sokoloff!

Stephanie Schneiderman is a brilliant singer songwriter, and she is currently at work on a new musical. Here's another podcast from Mississippi Street Fair with a live performance. September 15th don't miss Stephanie Schneiderman at The Old Church.Due to technical difficulties that day, this is an extra short podcast, but don't miss Stephanie's live performance at the end of the interview!

Dayna McErlean is a founding member of Portland’s restaurant metropolis. She's innovated DOC, Nonna Tavern and Yakuza. McErlean has created inviting and delicious spaces that make guests feel as though they are being transported.Don't miss this chat with Oregon's own head of The Dept. of Food and Shelter!

Don Horn and Kevin Loomis talk about the world premiere of That's No Lady! at Triangle Productions, a new musical chronicling the fantastic life of Portland's own Darcelle. Chances are you know Darcelle, also known as Walter Cole. Donnie has been working on telling the story of this man, who at the age of 37 became a drag sensation before it was ‘popular’. “How did a man put on a dress, sell a ticket, and stay in business for over 50 years? He’s been in business longer than Starbucks!” Kevin plays Darcelle in the show, with book and original song (with lyrics) by donnie, and additional lyrics and music by Tom Grant, Marv/Rindy Ross, Jon Quesenberry, Storm Large, Rody Ortega, Wesley Bowers. This will be a thrilling world premiere at triangle productions!

At the Mississippi Street fair I met up with the brilliant directors Jennifer Lin and Rebecca Lingafelter, both of whom are directing at Third Rail Rep this season. Third Rep wants to provoke dialogue, encourage empathy, and inspire curiosity; this fascinating interview sets the table!

For your listening pleasure, Susannah's conversation with the newly announced cover artist for Artslandia's soon-to-be-released, much anticipated [ital]Annual Issue[ital]. Brilliant painter (and thinker) Thérèse Murdza's artistic path began with toddlerhood accordion lessons from her dad, followed by a deep dive into theater.

Were you a part of the Willamette Writers Conference this last week?If yes, you'll love this interview with Executive Director Kate Ristau and President Gail Pasternack. If you don't know about Willamette Writers, you'll want to! From online Book Clubs to developing the craft of writing, Willamette Writers has so much to offer. Welcome to Adventures in Artslandia!

Philip Glass’s In the Penal Colony is a chilling thriller and we imagine no-one will do it better than visionary director Jerry Mouawad and conductor Nicholas Fox. A visitor is invited to a penal colony to observe the execution of a prisoner at the hands of a nightmarish machine. The New York Times calls Glass' piece a “surreal exploration of injustice.” Intimately performed in the round, don't miss this thrilling evening of theatre at Portland Opera. Jerry and Nicholas share insight into this one of kind production.

Tonight Nothing is new work created and performed by Merideth Kaye Clark and Katherine Murphy Lewis that follows the paths of two long-term friends, Kaye and Em, who find their way back to themselves and each other. What makes up a legacy? What we leave, or don’t leave, behind? and How on earth do we let go? Come find out at Coho Productions July 26 – 28.

Portland Opera's Resident Artist Program is one of the finest in the nation. Find out why Portland Opera attracts the world's top burgeoning singing talent, and don't miss the upcoming La Finta Giardienera!

Call her crazy. After all, Storm Large is truly Crazy Enough. It’s the 10th anniversary of Storm’s brilliant show at Portland Center Stage. If you can get a ticket to the highly anticipated redux, do it as fast as you can. In the meantime, listen here.

Brilliant citizen artist Darrell Grant, a recipient of an Oregon Creative Heights grant, is known for his multifaceted and deep artistic projects. Listen here for a preview of his performance of The Territory coming up at the Oregon Bach Festival on July 12th. Grant also shares for the first time a snippet of work he created for his son’s graduation from middle school.

Susannah chats with the brilliant and charming George Manahan, Portland Opera’s Music Director and the conductor of The Barber of Seville, and the lovely and talented Aleksandra Romano, who will be our city’s own Rosina. Their wide-ranging conversation covers Rossini, mischief and fun in opera, and what’s up in Portland!

Last September Marissa Wolf began as the new Artistic Director of Portland Center Stage. Here she'll talk about the 2019/2020 season and why she wants PCS to be YOUR theatre company. Are you a match? Speed date PCS here, and don't forget to subscribe to Adventures in Artslandia!

Artistic Director Cassie Greer and Managing Director Beth Lewis of Hillsboro’s nationally renowned Bag&Baggage Productions talk about making theater and their thrilling upcoming season. Can art heal an ailing world? Don’t forget to subscribe to Adventures in Artslandia!

Celebrate Mother's Day with the brilliant Marilyn de Oliveira! A mother of two herself, she has been the assistant principal in the cello section of the Oregon Symphony since 2009, as well as working with other musical groups in town. This lovely and talented artist is a marvel to listen to, both on stage and in this segment of Adventures in Artslandia. Don't forget to subscribe, this is your place to get up close and personal with artists, performers, and geniuses in our community!

Who are the culture keepers? Heritage holders? Wolf at the Door author and director Marisela Treviño Orta and Rebecca Martinez, respectively, talk about this, and so much more, including demystifying Cinco de Mayo, and could art heal 45? Don't be left behind. Share and subscribe in order to open your mind to, and hear more the voices that are being heard at Milagro Theatre. We talked about photography as an inspirational jumping off point: www.diegohuerta.com, www.gracielaiturbide.org What do you think? Thanks for your great question Emilia Smart Denson!

Melissa Crespo, Director of Karen Zacarias’ Native Gardens at Portland Center Stage at The Armory, expounds on how this sharply hilarious play about opposing gardening practices lets us examine ethnic stereotypes, cultural and generational differences, and questions of immigration–don’t miss this incredibly relevant backyard battle! Thanks for subscribing to Adventures in Artslandia!

Pickathon. What is it? It's a mind blowing three-day music festival that takes place every August at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, near Portland. Phil Lesh, Nathaniel Rateliff, Lucius, Yob, and Our Girl, to name a few, in state of the art venues. Plus, the festival has the best food in town, and promotes an ecologically aware, sustainable ethos. Don't miss it. Family friendly! Photo: Kjerstin Johnson

Two of Portland's brilliant actresses play two women sorting through “the wreck of memory” including failed marriages, dashed ideals, and the meaning of life. Gretchen Corbett and SharonleeMcLean talk about their work on Portland Center Stage at The Armory's upcoming production, The Breath of Life by David Hare.

Living superhero Mary Kathryn Nagle is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and the playwright of Crossing Mnisose, which was commissioned as part of Portland Center Stage at The Armory's Northwest Stories series. The play has its world premiere in April. Nagle manages to have her feet firmly planted in some of the most traumatic untold stories of American history and remains active and hopeful for the future in her work toward ending domestic violence and sexual assault and at the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center. Need inspiration? Here it is.

Frequently praised for the timbre of her voice, Hannah Penn stars in Portland Opera’s As One, a stunning coming-of-age story in which two voices—a mezzo-soprano and a baritone—share the role of transgender heroine Hannah. Discover behind-the-scenes details and more as Hannah talks about this “one woman show played by two people.” Opens at Newmark Theatre on March 22.

Dance the night away at the Solid Gold Disco Ball with BodyVox on March 9th! Ashley Roland, co artistic director, will share Master of Ceremonies duties and talks about how she shakes her groove thing, encourages the culture of YES, and creates an artistic community in BodyVox’s upcoming piece The Pearl Dive Project, opening on April 4th.

Take a trip into dance-making, with Artistic Directors Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland at BodyVox. They've invited a group of creatives, none of whom have ever worked in dance before. “What will happen when artists and innovators working at the peak of their profession immerse themselves in a craft they’ve never considered?” The Pearl Dive Project melds creative worlds in a collaboration of movement and ideas, the likes of which have never been seen. Don't forget that BodyVox has partner restaurants that offer discounts for a fantastic date night!

Written by Anya Pearson and directed by Jamie M. Rea, Made to Dance in Burning Buildings is a fusion of poetry, theater, and violent and visceral contemporary dance. Meet the creators as they discuss the premise of the work: how do we heal from trauma? Onstage February 15–March 16 at Shaking The Tree Theatre.

The Oregon Symphony continues to push the boundaries of a symphony concert experience in thrilling way. Enjoy a peek into the 2019/20 season with Music Director Carlos Kalmar. Don’t miss out on being a part!

Meet Susan Moore, Literary Arts Director of Programs for Writers, and Cheryl Strayed, best-selling author. Strayed will be hosting Literary Arts' 2019 Oregon Book Awards Ceremony on April 22. Her Tiny Beautiful Things is onstage through March 31 at Portland Center Stage at The Armory.

Meet wondrous performing artists Emma Fulmer and David VanDyke, members of Oregon Children's Theatre's Young Professionals Company. They will performing in Impulse, OCT's 12th annual improv show. Impulse runs 2/8-2/24 at the OCT YP Studio Theater. Performances are Fri/Sat at 7 pm and 2 pm shows on Sundays.

Susannah gathers Lawrence Howard and Lynne Duddy, founders of Portland Story Theater––the premier storytelling organization in the Pacific Northwest––with storyteller Warren McPherson to explore the art of storytelling and its role in community building. Check it out, and then catch McPherson's upcoming show at the Fertile Ground Festival! Catch _You Were Supposed To Be This Great Thing_, February 2, 2019, at The Old Church Concert Hall and visit pdxstorytheater.org for Portland Story Theater's current offerings.