Thinking Like A Region

Hosted by Johan Serrano, a senior at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, this episode of Thinking Like a Region spotlights Leslie Wu Foley, Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Foley speaks on the journey she took as a musician, from picking up musical instruments at a young age to her current placement with the renowned orchestra, along with the challenges they face in becoming inclusive and reaching out to the greater Massachusetts community in the midst of a pandemic.

This episode focuses on the creative capacities of problem-solving, focus, communication, discipline, persistence, leading by example, creating a shared voice, and finding your sense of purpose. Listen in to hear how Foley and the entire Orchestra work as a team to create music for a region.

You can find the transcript for this episode here: https://tinyurl.com/TALR-LWF

Thinking Like A Region is a production of the C4 Initiative, Berkshire County’s Creative Compact for Collaborative and Collective Impact, based at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA, and grant-funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. This podcast is produced by Leslie Appleget and Lisa Donovan. Technical podcast support by Audrey Perdue.

For more information about the show or the C4 Initiative, visit brainworks.mcla.edu/c4.

THIS EPISODE’S VOICES:

Leslie Wu Foley currently serves as the Helaine B. Allen Director of Education and Community Engagement at Boston Symphony Orchestra. Foley graduated from Princeton University with a degree in art history. She has previously worked with New York Philharmonic, and has served as Director of the Center for Art and Community Partnerships at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Associate Director of the Tanglewood Music Center, Executive Director of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Director of Admissions at the Longy School of Music, and Assistant Producer of BSO broadcasts at WCRB.

Johan Serrano is a senior and arts management major at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

Episode 3: Julianne Boyd - Barrington Stage Company

by Alison Blakeslee & Eve McDougall

NOTE: This episode was recorded in Spring 2021. Some information may be dated.

Today’s episode is hosted by Alison Blakeslee, a freshman at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Eve McDougall, a junior at Monument Mountain Regional High School. In this episode of Thinking Like a Region, Blakeslee and McDougall interview Julianne Boyd, theatre director, founder, and artistic director at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, MA. Boyd discusses how her passion for theatre from a young age shaped her future career, how she was led to Barrington Stage, the Stage’s mission and endeavors, and more.

Boyd believes that “you don’t have to be brilliant to be creative…you just have to be in touch with your emotions.” This episode focuses on the creative capacities of deep listening, experimentation, and collaboration. Listen in to hear how Barrington Stage Company serves a passion of a region.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Thinking Like A Region is a production of the C4 Initiative, Berkshire County’s Creative Compact for Collaborative and Collective Impact, based at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA, and grant-funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. This podcast is produced by Lisa Donovan and Leslie Appleget. Technical podcast support by Audrey Perdue.

For more information about the show or the C4 Initiative, visit brainworks.mcla.edu/c4.

THIS EPISODE’S VOICES:

Julianne Boyd is a theatre director and the founder and artistic director at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, MA. Boyd received her B.A. in theatre and education at Arcadia University and her doctorate in theatre at the City University of New York. Notably, with the Company, Boyd produced the Tony Award-winning musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in 2004.

Alison Blakeslee is a freshman at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

Eve McDougall is a junior at Monument Mountain Regional High School.

Episode 2: Jennifer Trainer Thompson - Hancock Shaker Village

by Alex King & Kyle Gwilt

Today’s episode is hosted by Alex King, a senior and arts management major at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Kyle Gwilt, a senior at BART Charter. In this episode of Thinking Like a Region, King and Gwilt interview Jennifer Trainer Thompson, cultural administrator, author, and journalist. Thompson is a beloved founder of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (better known as MASS MoCA) and now serves as president and CEO of Hancock Shaker Village (HSV). Thompson speaks on how she believes arts education serves creative institutions, her astounding journey with MASS MoCA, the “volcanic shift” she sees occurring in the museum world, and all the things she loves about the Berkshires.

This episode focuses on the creative capacities of complex problem solving, adaption, curiosity, enthusiasm, and resourcefulness. Listen in to hear Thompson’s unique journey of developing and managing arts programs that define a region.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Thinking Like A Region is a production of the C4 Initiative, Berkshire County’s Creative Compact for Collaborative and Collective Impact, based at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA, and grant-funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. This podcast is produced by Lisa Donovan and Leslie Appleget. Technical podcast support by Audrey Perdue.

For more information about the show or the C4 Initiative, visit brainworks.mcla.edu/c4.

THIS EPISODE’S VOICES:

Jennifer Trainer Thompson is the director and CEO of Hancock Shaker Village and a founder and ex-creative director at MASS MoCA. Hired at MoCA in 1988, only 2 years after the institution’s inception, Thompson is regarded as one of the most influential people in the museum’s history and is credited as director of the museum’s 2019 documentary Museum Town. Thompson is native to Southeastern, MA, and studied English literature at Tufts University in Medford.

Alex King is a senior at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA. King is a major in arts management.

Kyle Gwilt is a senior at BART Charter in Adams, MA.

Episode 1: Tessa Kelly - The Mastheads

Episode by Sam Bonney

Episode host Sam Bonney is a senior at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. In this episode of Thinking Like a Region, Sam interviews Tessa Kelly, co-founder and design director of The Mastheads, an experimental writers’ residency and public humanities project based in Pittsfield, MA. Kelly highlights her journey in setting up The Mastheads program and how it has shaped her understanding of the arts and the skills and practices.

In Kelly’s words, “What I find really amazing about The Mastheads is that we continue to find ways to, through inviting everyday people, to find and share their creative voice as a way to reflect on where we live, and that we continue to find new opportunities to shape and improve our public spaces.” This episode focuses on the creative capacities of active listening, the ways ideas are combined with other goals, embracing and responding to multiple voices, and translating ideas into actions. Listen in to learn what it means to be an arts program that serves a region.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Thinking Like A Region is a production of the C4 Initiative, Berkshire County’s Creative Compact for Collaborative and Collective Impact, based at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA and grant-funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. This podcast is produced by Lisa Donovan and Leslie Appleget. Technical podcast support by Audrey Perdue.

For more information about the show or the C4 Initiative, visit brainworks.mcla.edu/c4.

THIS EPISODE’S VOICES:

Tessa Kelly is the co-founder and design director of The Mastheads in her hometown of Pittsfield, MA. She received her B.A. in art history from Williams College and her M.Arch from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Kelly created The Mastheads alongside her husband and co-founder, Chris Parkinson, with grants from  the National Endowment for the Arts and Housatonic Heritage.

Sam Bonney is a senior at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA. Bonney is majoring in arts management. His passions are literature, history, and learning.

What's 'Thinking Like A Region' about? Find out soon with our upcoming season!