Joining me in the studio today are Matt Bodo and Brian Devine both with the Merely Players Theatre Company. We're talking about the upcoming production of It's A Wonderful Life: A live Radio Play adapted by Joe Landry in 2006 based on the holiday classic. The play is performed as a 1940's live radio broadcast in New York City in front of a live studio audience. Matt is directing the production and Brian is playing the title role of George Bailey as an actor playing an actor. Most of the actors will be playing multiple character roles and three foley artists will be creating sound effects to go along with the story. Merely Players enjoys bringing the holiday spirit to the community each year! Both Matt and Brian recently performed in Shakespeare's Hamlet with the Merely Players which was founded in 1994 by Mona Wood-Patterson and her husband Charles Ford, bringing professional theatre to our community. It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play begins this Friday December 5th and runs through Sunday December 14th with six evening performances at 7pm and two matinees at 2pm. The Merely Underground is located at 789 Tech Center Drive, Durango. These performances are always popular and although the shows are sold out you can join a wait list online or come 30 minutes before a show to grab an extra ticket! For more information visit their website at merelyplayers.org.

In this episode Rob Miller talks about his newly released book "The Hours are Long But the Pay is Low: A curious Life in Independent Music".

The book details Miller's three-decade journey through music and how he helped build the prominent Chicago indie-punk-country label BLOODSHOT RECORDS. In 1993, Miller co-founded BLOODSHOT with Nan Warshaw and Eric Babcock, an idea they hatched on a cocktail napkin and with personal investments of $2,000 each. Miller is a long time acquaintance of KDUR Durango here in Colorado and the book is all about how he came to open and run the record label through the years although it is no longer in existence today. In the late 90's early 00's BLOODSHOT was a popular label that turned lots of people onto some great bands. KDUR played a lot of BLOODSHOT bands back then, and still do!

Joining me in the studio today are Kathryn Waggener, Executive Director of the Durango Creative District and Tony Vicari, Aviation Director of the Durango-La Plata County Airport. I'm excited to be speaking about their collaborative work to showcase local art at the airport. Kathryn brings experience and passion to the Durango arts scene with a masters in Fine Art from Columbia University in New York City, a job at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and then establishing and running her own gallery in Montclair, New Jersey. She is also a fine art professional ink painter and her work can be viewed at the Rain Dance Gallery in Durango. Tony received a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Michigan University in Aviation Science and Administration. He became the airport Director of Aviation in 2017 at the Durango La-Plata airport and was awarded "Colorado Aviation Professional of the Year" in 2019 by the Colorado Department of Transportation. In addition to all of this he is an avid supporter of bringing local and regional art into the terminal expansions to "foster an improved sense of place" for airport passengers. Three artists were selected to create art pieces that are featured currently in the baggage claim and arrivals hall area. Artists Annie Bussell, Cie Hoover, and Jeff Golde Wise were selected out of 36 submitted proposals. The artists provided a mural, a wall-mounted wood panel piece, and a suspended sculpture piece. There is also a Call to Artists in the region for 6 more pieces to be featured in the next phase of the airport expansion which will deepen the connection to the Durango and La Plata County art communities. For more information about what's happening in the art scene in Durango and the Four Corners area and the airport art projects or to make a submission you can visit the Durango Creative District's website at durangocreativedistrict.org.

Joining me on the program today is Suzy DiSanto a lecturer of theatre and dance here at Fort Lewis College. I'm excited to be talking about the evocative movement based performance piece she has created called Anaïs inspired by the love, desire and turmoil of the lives of Anaïs Nin, Henry Miller and June Miller. Anaïs Nin was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist and writer of short stories and erotica. Suzy has created this dance tale as a talented choreographer, performer and educator with over 30 years of experience across California and Colorado with an MA in Dance from Mills College and a teaching credential in Laban Movement Studies at the Laban Center in London. Her choreography has been showcased in many performance organizations in Durango including the Merely Players, the Durango Arts Repertory Theatre, 20 Moons Dance Theatre and the Durango High School Troupe 1096 among others. The performances will be at the Fort Lewis College Mainstage Theatre running from Wednesday thru Saturday November 12 -15 at 7:30pm and Sunday November 16 at 2pm. For more information and to buy tickets visit durangoconcerts.com.

In this episode I speak with Bekah Kolbe, Gallery Manager for Blue Rain Gallery in Durango. We talk about the exciting exhibit that she has recently curated called "Southwest Remix". This is the gallery's first invitational group exhibition bringing together thirteen dynamic emerging local and regional artists whose work reimagines Southwestern identity and the culture through fresh perspectives. Bekah comes with years of experience in gallery management and supporting and encouraging the development of artists' careers through the Durango Creative District's "Incubator for Emerging Artists" program which she founded. Blue rain Gallery was originally established in 1993 in Santa Fe by Leroy Garcia and expanded into Durango in 2023, deepening it's connection with the Four Corners arts community. The show "Southwest Remix" begins on Friday November 7 with an opening reception from 5-8pm that evening during Gallery Walk and runs through November 26. To find out more information you can visit their website at blueraingallery.com.

Joining me in the studio today is the multi-talented Ted Moore who is a local artist, musician and teacher. Ted combines wood cabinetry, ink painting and gold leaf inspired by nature and medieval influences to create unique pieces of art that have been exhibited in various galleries in Durango and at the SPACE gallery in Denver. His most recent work will be displayed at the Blue Rain Gallery's first invitational exhibition called "Southwest Remix" with an opening reception on Friday November 7th from 5-8pm located at 934 Main Avenue here in Durango. For more information visit blueraingallery.com and tedmoorewoodworkandart.com. Ted is also the drummer of the local band Mojo Birds playing funky grooves, soul and gospel with a touch of Afro-Peruvian rhythms. We talk about the exciting upcoming album release party at the Animas City Theatre on Friday January 9th located at 128 East College Drive. The album, self titled "Mojo Birds" was produced by Jano Rix of The Wood Brothers and recorded live in the studio in Nashville, Tennessee. For more information and tickets visit the website at animascitytheatre.com or mojobirds.com. Doors open at 6pm and the show begins at 7pm.

In this episode I have the pleasure of speaking with Anthony Myers, a local performer, comedian and talented storyteller. Anthony has performed both nationally and internationally attending many comedy, spoken word and fringe festivals around the world. Before retirement Anthony spent many years at Durango High School as the Speech and Debate coach, and during his time there and at other high schools he produced many student champions. In addition to being a teacher and performer he is also a non-fiction writer who shares his perspectives on aging, earth and ourselves in a thought-provoking way. His most recent project however is a production called "Wordy Old Men" which he describes as the "spoken word on living life to its fullest by writers who are too old to die young" and is performed by five senior creatives and includes poetry, prose and storytelling as part of an Artists of Aging production of which he is the Founder and Creative Director. Through comedy and the spoken word these performers will share their wisdom from many years of life experiences. This production is in conjunction with the Merely Players Studio Series, an exciting addition to the MainStage shows with the intent of fostering and supporting local talent. There will be three shows at the Merely Underground located at 789 Tech Center Drive beginning this Friday on October 24th and Saturday October 25th at 7pm as well as a 2pm matinee show on Sunday October 26th. No reservations are necessary and pay what you wish!

Joining me in the studio on this episode are two local musicians who are members of one of the area's favorite bands, the Afrobeatniks. Dean Mullen plays the congas, djembe and a variety of other percussion instruments and Danny Quinlan is on guitar. On Friday October 24th the Afrobeatniks will be performing along with Bluphunk and special guests Etienne Tolno and Baba Fred Simpson at the Animas City Theatre located at 128 East College Drive where they invite everyone to come and join them on the dance floor! The Afrobeatniks, based in Durango and Mancos, Colorado draw their inspiration from the popular, spiritual and folk music of West Africa along with Brazilian, Afro-Cuban and Latin Jazz grooves. To find out more about this exciting event and to buy tickets, visit the website at animascitytheatre.com. Doors open at 7:00pm and the show begins at 8:00pm. Tickets are $23 in advance and $25 at the door. To learn more about the band, visit their website at afrobeatniks.com

Joining me in the studio today is Cindy Atchison to talk about an exciting upcoming event on October 17-19 which is the Durango Open Studio Tour. Cindy is an artist herself and graphic designer who is co-hosting the event with another of our local artists and painter Heather Freeman, this will be their fourth year hosting the event together. This is a chance to spend a couple of days visiting 24 local artists in their studio and creative spaces and to learn more about their techniques and processes. The main sponsors of the event are the Durango Creative District, the City of Durango and a long list of other local businesses. On Friday October 17th from 5-7pm the Durango Creative District will host the Opening Art Exhibit at their gallery with an information booth at 1135 Main Avenue. On Saturday and Sunday, October 18-19 from 10am-4pm is the self-guided tour to the artists' studios throughout Durango. Join us for this exciting opportunity!

For more information and a sampling of the art, visit the website at durangoopenstudiotour.com

Joining me on the program is Mona Wood-Patterson, Artistic Director of the Merely Players Theatre Company which she founded together with her husband Charles Ford in 1994 bringing outstanding theatre performances to our community. Mona has spent all of her professional life studying, teaching and making theatre for which she has won many awards. Also joining me is Conor Sheehan, a local professional actor who is playing the leading role in the upcoming production of William Shakespeare's most famous play Hamlet. Conor studied theatre with Mona and Charles for four years at Durango High School and after graduating from the University of Northern Colorado in musical theatre, moved to Los Angeles where he continued his acting career. Conor moved back to Durango, Colorado in 2021 where he joined the Merely Players! To find out more about the Merely Players visit the website at www.merelyplayers.org.