Delaware State of the Arts Podcast

Andy Truscott speaks with Helen Chamberlin, the new Executive Director of the Rehoboth Beach Film Society. The Rehoboth Beach Film Society is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit, arts organization with a very interesting history of how a small coastal Delaware, resort area could produce a major Film Festival and then grow into an organization that sponsors a broad slate of wonderful film programs for a gr...

Andy Truscott speaks with Courtney Clarke, the Owner of Drama Kids Wilmington. Drama Kids of Wilmington and Delco is a drama education program that focuses on public speaking and self-confidence. They use drama education as a tool to enhance self-awareness and group respect and work out different emotions and scenarios through acting. To learn more about Drama Kids Delaware visit https://dramakids...

Andy Truscott speaks with Carol Dennis (Executive Director) and Richard Scalenghe (Board President) of Coastal Concerts. In 1999 a few classical music enthusiasts decided it was time to bring world-renowned classical performers to their new hometown of Lewes, Delaware instead of traveling back to Philadelphia, Washington DC, or New York.  They were not alone in longing to hear live concerts by int...

Andy Truscott speaks with Bud Martin, the departing Artistic Director of Delaware Theatre Company, as he prepares to retire after leading the organization for 10 years. While serving at DTC, Martin tripled the revenue and doubled the subscriptions. He oversaw 10 seasons, directing productions such as, Outside Mullingar, HONK!, Saint Joan, Sanctions, Dare to Be Black, Hetty Feather, White Guy on th...

Andy Truscott speaks with Gerri Weagraff, a Delaware based actress who is currently touring with Anastasia: The Musical – set to stop at The Playhouse on Rodney Square in Wilmington, Delaware. Gerri has also been seen on the national tours of Fiddler on the Roof (Golde). Regionally, she’s performed at the Arizona Broadway Theatre, Surflight Theatre, Beef & Boards, Fireside, Candlelight Theatre...

Andy Truscott speaks with Kate Ransom, the President and CEO of The Music School of Delaware and the Artistic Director of the Serafin Ensemble. The Serafin Ensemble pays and plays tribute to 17th century composer Georg Frideric Handel nin this three-day festival. Featured Performers: Luigi Mazzocchi and Kate Ransom, violin; Amadi Azikiwe, viola; Jacques-Pierre Malan, cello; Eileen Grycky, flute; J...

Paul Weagraff interviews recording artists Gabe Spadaccini and Hayden Chance about their recording business with Good Weather Records . Hayden’s most recent project, a 4-song EP titled “Mellow Lane,” can be found on his website: www.chvncemusic.com Send us Fan Mail The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating c...

Paul Weagraff interviews David Schelat, President and Artistic Director of Market Street Music, about their upcoming Mastersingers 13 concert, their programming challenges this past year, and prospects next season. Send us Fan Mail The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating creativity to enhance the quality o...

Paul Weagraff interviews Lou Cox and Tony Perrone from the Milford Community Band about their 31+ year history and the ambitious schedule of outdoor concerts they have lined up for summer 2021. Send us Fan Mail The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating creativity to enhance the quality of life in Delaware. T...

Paul Weagraff interviews David Stradley and Newton Buchanan from Delaware Shakespeare about their extensive work in developing anti-racism policies and procedures and their Summer 2021 Festival at Rockwood Park. Send us Fan Mail The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating creativity to enhance the quality of l...

Paul Weagraff interviews artist, filmmaker, and founder of Reel Families for Change , Akima A. Brown about her career in the film industry and aspirations for Delaware. Send us Fan Mail The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating creativity to enhance the quality of life in Delaware. Together with its advisory...

Paul Weagraff interviews Jonathan Whitney, local performing artist and percussionist, about his evolution as a musician, his work with drumming circles in Wilmington, and his new entrepreneurial enterprise, Flux Creative Consulting. Send us Fan Mail The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating creativity to enh...

Paul Weagraff interviews Dr. Jennifer Margaret Barker, Professor of Music at the University of Delaware, and 2021 recipient of a Masters Fellowship in Music Composition from the Delaware Division of the Arts. Send us Fan Mail The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating creativity to enhance the quality of life...

Paul Weagraff interviews jazz musician Fostina Dixon about her training, career, and upcoming program at the Delaware Theatre Company entitled “Five Women” Send us Fan Mail The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating creativity to enhance the quality of life in Delaware. Together with its advisory body, the De...

Paul Weagraff chats with Alex Johnson, founder of House Lights , about a summer initiative in three Delaware libraries designed to bring together community members, social services, and local leaders around a common artistic project. Send us Fan Mail The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating creativity to en...

Paul Weagraff interviews Tina Betz, the Director of Cultural Affairs for the City of Wilmington, about Clifford Brown and the jazz festival named in his honor. Send us Fan Mail The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating creativity to enhance the quality of life in Delaware. Together with its advisory body, th...

This week on Delaware State of the Arts Podcast, Kristin Pleasanton interviews Mark Fields, Executive Director of The Grand, about The Grand’s upcoming 2021-2022 season at its three venues: Copeland Hall at the Grand, the baby grand, and The Playhouse on Rodney Square.  After touching on the programming and events The Grand provided to the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pleasanton and Fie...

This week on Delaware State of the Arts Podcast, Michelle Kramer-Fitzgerald interviews Nataki Oliver, owner and gallerist of The Sold Firm, and 7GOD, a local artist who recently collaborated with the gallery on a visual art installation and short film. Kramer-Fitzgerald and Oliver discuss the founding of The Sold Firm and how it is more than just a gallery, but also a local, community resource, an...

This week on Delaware State of the Arts Podcast, Kaitlin Ammon interviews Cassandra Lewis, a Delaware playwright and author and a 2021 Established Fellow in Literature: Playwriting , about her latest play, Visitation , and its upcoming online reading that is being hosted by the ACLU of Delaware. To start, Ammon and Lewis discuss the different places Lewis draws inspiration from when creating and w...

This week on Delaware State of the Arts Podcast, Kaitlin Ammon interviews Delaware poets Jane Miller, a 2021 Established Fellow in Literature: Poetry , and Jack Mackey, a 2021 Emerging Fellow in Literature: Poetry , about their upcoming, joint poetry reading. They also discuss ൪uartet , the online poetry journal that Miller helped to found and now co-edits, and its most recent issue. The three beg...

This week on Delaware State of the Arts Podcast, Michelle Kramer-Fitzgerald interviews Nanci Hersh, a mixed media visual artist and the executive director of Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education, about her recent series Unmasked: Portraits from the Zoom Room and her upcoming exhibition of the same name. Kramer-Fitzgerald and Hersh discuss the inspiration for the series and what it has mean...

This week on Delaware State of the Arts Podcast, Kaitlin Ammon interviews Raye Jones Avery, a cultural activist in Wilmington, and James Ray Rhodes, the executive director of Christina Cultural Arts Center (CCAC), also in Wilmington, about the CCAC’s upcoming event, “Sounds of Resilience.” The performance features Raye Jones Avery accompanied by a nine-piece orchestra led by former CCAC Music Dire...

This week on Delaware State of the Arts Podcast, Kaitlin Ammon interviews Kate Ransom, the artistic director and violinist of Serafin Ensemble, about the group’s two upcoming performances in November. After a discussion about chamber music and an introduction to the artists who will be playing in the November performances, Ammon and Ransom dive into what pieces attendees will hear at each of the p...

This week on Delaware State of the Arts Podcast, Kaitlin Ammon interviews Kerry Kristine McElrone, the artistic director of City Theater Company (CTC), and Tatiana Michels, the director of business advancement of The Delaware Contemporary (TDC), about the recently announced partnership between their two arts organizations. As CTC begins its new residency in TDC’s new Black Box performance space, b...

This week on Delaware State of the Arts Podcast, Kaitlin Ammon interviews Matt Silva, the managing director of Delaware Theatre Company (DTC), and Taylor Rodriguez, the actor playing Elvis Presley in DTC’s upcoming production Million Dollar Quartet . To begin the show, Matt discusses the story behind the jukebox musical Million Dollar Quartet . From there, Matt and Taylor discuss what it is like b...