The Creatives

Pottery is Jim McDowell's passion, and the Weaverville, N.C., artisan is one of the best producers of face jugs, an art form developed in Africa to celebrate family lineage. McDowell's work is on display at the Smithsonian Museum of African American Art and Culture in Washington, D.C., and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

A funeral director by day, Shuler King's going places as a comic. Next up: America's Got Talent.

Raven Barkley reflects on 10 years with Charlotte Ballet by recalling her favorite roles, the physicality of dance and professional future as a teacher and mentor.

James Webb, director of the Three Bone Theatre production "what the end will be," talks about Mansa Ra's play, which challenges notions of sexual identity, masculinity and Blackness.

Actor Mike Wiley talks about his one-man performance in "Breach of Peace: Freedom Riders of 1961" at Children's Theatre of Charlotte. The production is a treatment of a pivotal moment in the civil rights era for young audiences.

Charlotte author of the young adult novel "Half-Truths" talks about an interracial friendship in the 1950s

Children's book author Kelly Starling Lyons talks about the adaption of her book "Tiara's Hat Parade" for the stage at Children's Theatre of Charlotte Feb. 22-March 9.

Donna Bradby, director of Three Bone Theatre's production of the Tony Award-nominated play on immigration, assimilation and community, talks about its contemporary meaning as well as her work as a theater professor at North Carolina A&T State University and summer theater collaborations with Davidson College.

Three Bone Theatre founder Robin Tynes-Miller and actor Marvin King join the podcast to talk about "Thoughts of a Colored Man" May 3-18 at Arts Factory and West End Studios.

Charlotte Symphony Orchestra's new music director Kwamé Ryan is an international conducting star who has worked in the UK, Germany and the US. Ryan talks about his music journey and what he brings to Charlotte when he makes his Queen City debut April 5-6.