Cara Lieurance

Following last summer's outdoor production of Three Little Birds, Farmers Alley Theatre will present six free family-friendly performances of the hour-long musical She Persisted on Saturdays in June, starting June 12 in Bronson Park. Cara Lieurance spoke to lead actress E.J. Taylor, a Western Michigan University theater senior, and Farmers Alley artistic director Jeremy Koch for a preview.

Cori Terry, founder of Wellspring/Cori Terry and Dancers, describes the potent moment when the company finished a dress rehearsal for Turbulence: Spring Concert of Dance and practiced their bows. It was a long-awaited renewal of purpose after a year of isolation.

Editor Marie Lee talks to Cara Lieurance about the stories written for the newest edition of Encore Magazine, which focuses on culture and community in west Michigan.

Conductor Daniel Brier says he and the Kalamazoo Symphony staff have learned many new skills and put in long hours to create a season of online concerts. In a conversation with Cara Lieurance, he says the final Digital Concert Hall performance makes him proud:  It's Prokofiev's Peter And The Wolf, featuring the orchestra, narrator David Little, and the Ballet Arts Ensemble of Kalamazoo. Little recorded the narration first, then the symphony recorded the music, then the dancers performed to the music. After careful editing for a seamless show, it will come together in a streamed concert at 7 pm Friday, May 28 through the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra website. The concert, which will be available to watch for 30 days, also features Brier conducting Ravel's Mother Goose Suite.

For Paulie Cohen, a long-delayed ambition to write an album of original music became part of a survival strategy upon learning he would need chemotherapy to treat lymphoma during 2020's COVID-19 pandemic year. He wrote, sang, played, recorded and produced The Senary in his basement late at night. To jump start his songwriting, he decided on a concept: all the songs would be sung from the point of view of an 80's film character. It's up to the listener to figure out which characters from which movies, but Cohen left clues in the lyrics throughout the album. Cohen says that along with being able to focus on a fun and creative music project,  he cherished the time with his family during a year of isolation.  He spoke about the experience with Cara Lieurance.