The Locher Room

Meet two new children's authors Peyton Gulley and A.A. Jeffery. Joining both authors will be illustrators Desi Moore and Nassima Amir. Peyton and A.A. are lawyers in their day jobs and have just released their first children's book. I hope you'll join to hear about their new books and their journey getting here. This show aired February 11, 2020.

Peyton's “Stella and the Dinos…Alive in Space” is a rhyming story that follows a little dino girl who is filled with curiosity and kindness as she works to save the dinosaur species from extinction by taking all of the Dinos to live in outer space. Along the way, Stella shows us that with determination and compassion, nothing is impossible - even for a kid! Because ofStella’s bravery and courage, the dinosaurs are ALIVE TODAY…but readers are left to wonder - are they still around out there?

A.A. Jeffery's Wilda Silva, Secret Keeper is an illustrated fantasy novel about a talented
eleven-year old red headed girl who plays the flute and piccolo. She moves to
the small town of Belfair, Washington in the Pacific Northwest. Belfair is the
gateway to the international world of fairies. These fairies take an interest in her
talent for magical reasons. Wilda finds a fairy relic while playing her piccolo in
the woods one day, setting off a chain of events that impacts the fate of a fairy
kingdom and its long-lost African fairy ruler.

Actors, businessmen and real-life husbands Taylor Frey and Kyle Dean Massey joined me live in The Locher Room on February 10, 2020

This talented duo will discuss their thriving acting careers and their journey to creating one of the nation's premiere surrogacy company's Elevate. Taylor is the Founder and CEO and Kyle Dean is the Founder and Director of Surrogacy. Together they see the joy this process can bring to those who have lost hope. Their goal is to find you a donor that excites you, motivates you, inspires you and helps you expand your family.

Taylor Frey is best known for his work as Topher in the teen comedy film G.B.F., and to Broadway audiences in Hairspray, Finian's Rainbow, South Pacific, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, and The View Upstairs where he starred to critical acclaim as "Patrick". Taylor also starred in director Gabriele Muccino's (The Pursuit of Happyness, Seven Pounds), the feature film Summertime that debuted at the Venice Film Festival as well as IT CHAPTER Two.

Kyle Dean Massey is an actor best known for his work on Broadway in Pippin, Next to Normal, Wicked and Xanadu. In addition to his stage work, Kyle Dean has been seen on the screen as Kevin Bicks from Nashville (ABC), The Good Wife (CBS), Inside Amy Schumer (CC), High Maintenance, Up All Night (NBC), Hart of Dixie (CW), Cupid (ABC), Sex And the City 2 (HBO Films), Contest and After Party.

Tanya Singer, a media executive veteran, who has a passion for knitting, teaching, and social justice, joined me live in The Locher Room on February 8, 2020 to discuss Knitting Hope.

The Little Red Dress of Hope knitted in the Shanghai Ghetto during WWII, this toddler’s little red dress is sharing lessons of history and hope in a new passion project Tanya designed to bring inspiration and strength through the stories of people who were sustained or even saved by hand knit items.

The dress is one of many items knitting teacher Tanya Singer identified through a years-long research project, the culmination of which is “Knitting Hope” – a project which shares the ways in which knitting helped women to resist, remember and renew their lives after the war. “Knitting Hope” ensures that the important role of knitting in Jewish material culture is recognized for the significant impact it has had on the maker and wearer alike. Tanya's story about The Little Red Dress makes its debut on Modern Daily Living on February 8, in recognition of the 78th anniversary (February 1943) of the Japanese seizing control of the Shanghai Ghetto.

Tanya and I will discuss her research project, what she learned about Judy Fleischer Kolb who saved her little red dress until 2009 until the opening of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, how knitting helped women to resist, remember and renew their lives after the war and so much more.

Tune in to Friday at the Movies live in The Locher Room on Friday, February 5, 2020 to meet cast members from two new films - About Hope and Honesty Weekend. Joining me are Justin Ray, Christine Juarbe, Claire Bermingham and Aaron Groben from About Hope along with Evan Watkins, Dioni Michelle Collins and Pete Ploszek from Honesty Weekend.

About Hope is the story of a man who has been searching for true love his whole life finds himself torn between two women, a single mother with a wonderful young daughter and a wealthy woman who offers him a glimpse into an extravagant lifestyle. About Hope is available February 9th.

Honesty Weekend is a charming ensemble relationship comedy about a young married couple on the rocks who are prescribed a weekend of total honesty with one another…the same weekend they are going out of town with friends. Subtly feminist, a little bit raunchy, and entirely relatable, Honesty Weekend shows the lengths that couples will go to save – and sabotage – their relationships. Honesty Weekend is available February 16th.

Please join me in The Locher Room for a special afternoon with some of the winners of the 2020 OUT at the Movies International Film Fest Jury and Audience Award on Wednesday, February 3, 2020. Due to COVID-19, the 2020 festival was mostly virtual but did include a shorts night at a drive-in and a lakeside screening. I was honored to serve as a judge on this year's panel and am so excited to speak with the winners.

OUT at the Movies, Winston-Salem, North Carolina's LGBTQIA+ Film Series, was founded in August 2004 by Rex Welton and Lee Mecum. Rex will join the winners on today's show to tell us all about the film festival. From 2004 until 2014, OUT at the Movies presented a monthly screening. The OUT at the Movies International Film Fest started in 2014 as a three day festival and expanded to four days in 2016.

Past festival guests have included Scott Bailey, Crystal Chappell, Gregory Harrison, Wes Ramsey and Del Shores. The 2021 dates are September 30th – October 3rd.

Jury Winners:

Best Documentary Feature – Ahead of the Curve and Cured

Best Narrative Feature – Breaking Fast

Best Performance in a Leading Role – Michael Cassidy/Breaking Fast

Best Performance in a Supporting Role – Rula Gardenier/Breaking Fast

Best Documentary Short – Perfectly FRANK

Best Narrative Short – Finally Leon

Best Screenplay - Roadkill

Audience Winners:

Best Documentary Feature – Surviving the Silence

Best Narrative Feature – Drawn Back Home and A Perfectly Normal Family

Best Documentary Short – Perfectly Frank

Best Narrative Short – Sea Salt Wind

In honor of Guiding Light's 84th anniversary please join Grant Aleksander and Beth Chamberlin (Beth Raines) in The Locher Room live on Thursday, January 28, 2021. Grant joined the cast of Guiding Light in 1982 and played the role of Phillip Spaulding on and off for 27 years. Beth took over the role of Beth Raines in 1989 and played the role on and off for 20 years. The duo will share their memories of working together and portraying one of our favorite Springfield couples. Guiding Light's 84th anniversary is January 25th.

Allie Gonino (Actress, Musician & Producer) and Alexandra Chando (Director, Actress & Producer) were my guests in The Locher Room for a Virtual Premiere of their Musical Short Film "Deserted" on January 27th 2021.

Deserted' tells the story of Lupita and José, a couple struggling to cope with the loss of their son who died in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the harsh realities that come with being socially disadvantaged immigrants in America. Lupita, whose main source of hope and strength has been her religious faith, must decide whether she will stay true to her religious beliefs, and continue to bear the abuse of her cheating husband, or if she will risk her life to change it.

Allie Gonino and Alexandra Chando first met on the set of the ABC Family original series, "The Lying Game", where they played half-sisters. Since then, they've expanded from acting into writing, scoring, directing, and producing.

In this virtual screening, hosted by Alan Locher, Allie, Alexandra, and lead actress, Nancy Rodriguez, will discuss why and how they made the film, why now, more than ever, we need to raise awareness around domestic violence, and what we can all do to be a part of the solution. With the purchase of your ticket for this event, you will be directly benefitting Futures Without Violence, a 501C3 organization that, for more than 30 years, has been providing groundbreaking programs, policies, and campaigns that empower individuals and organizations working to end violence against women and children around the world.

Please join me for the third episode in the Conversation with Alan series in The Locher Room on International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Wednesday, January 27, 2021. Joining me for this episode is Mindy Corporon, an entrepreneur and thought leader.

Mindy was a single mother, dealing with divorce and had experienced a life-threatening illness. Mindy was in the middle of raising her talented boys when tragedy struck. In April 2014, Mindy’s father and oldest son were murdered by a white supremacist intent on killing Jews.

In that one moment, Mindy's life purpose changed from guiding people financially to helping people around the world learn about our differences and discover our commonalities. With incredible compassion and forgiveness Mindy opens her heart sharing the experience of loss as a daughter and a mother, a wife and co-worker. Mindy works with and motivates people to overcome life's challenges, one day at time. Mindy and I will discuss that day that changed the course of her life and what we can all do to be kinder, more courageous and bring healing.

Please join me for a fun afternoon with three women with unique voices and stories. These women
were my guests in The Locher Room on January 27, 2020.

Molly Merryman is the author of Clipped Wings: The Rise and Fall of the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs) of World War II. She used interviews and uncovered documents to write her book.

Susan Rubin is the author of the trippy time travel fantasy The Road Not Taken. It explores the inner drives of a woman in midlife, when a simple trip to the lipstick counter becomes an opportunity to unravel the mystery of self.

Joan Thomas is the author of Five Wives which is based on the true story of the missionary widows who attempted to convert an "untouched" Amazonian tribe after their husbands were killed by the tribe. The book, originally released just in her home country of Canada, has earned nearly every accolade a book can in that country.

One Life to Live cast members Bree Williamson (Jessica Buchanan) and Forbes March (Nash Brennan) were my guests in The Locher Room on January 22, 2020. Catch up with this popular Llaneview couple.