Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Emory zuckerback here live on news radio eleven ten KFAB.
We're always telling you about cool things that are happening
in our community, and we're always happy to talk to
our friends from Omaha Performing Arts and here to speak
with us about some really cool things that are here
in Omaha Performing Arts as we're getting set for another
fall which is going to be very, very busy. Aaron Derell, Gregory,
Andy Cassano, gentlemen, thanks so much for being here with
(00:22):
us today.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Thank you for having us, great to be here. Happy
Friday to you.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Yeah, Happy Friday to you as well. So, Aaron, I
got to start here. You want to come in and
you wanted to chat with me about Voices Amplified, and
I saw this information drop yesterday, So tell me a
little bit and tell our listeners who may not be
aware of what Voices Amplified is kind of the one
oh one about what you guys do awesome.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
So Voices Amplified is one of our engagement programs within
our education and Engagement programming. Voice Amplify was created to
connect cultures and create opportunity to bring us out into
the community while uplifting and amplifying marginalized voices. So we
started out in twenty twenty one doing black voices and
(01:05):
then we transitioned from black voices to black and Latino voices,
Latino voices Asian American voices. So this season we are
amplifying voices with disabilities, which are super excited about.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
That is very interesting, I guess Andy, when you talk
about this from a perspective of you know, I just
watched a lot of the Paralympics, for example, right, you know,
and you don't understand a lot of the challenges that
different types of people face until you actually are exposed
to their stories and then getting a chance to see
them elevated to kind of where you see normal people elevated,
(01:36):
and it gives you a little different perspective on the
background of a lot of people. How important is it
to have something like this available in this community?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Well, just like any community that wants to see themselves
represented on the stages that are at the Holland Center,
the Orpheum, and Steelhouse, it's important for us to make
sure that we're intentionally bringing the best talent in the
world so that people in the local community can see
themselves one and whether that is you know different socioeconomic groups,
(02:05):
or different races or different classes, disabilities is just as
absolutely important. And so what we're really excited about being
able to do is to not only bring these fantastic
artists to our community, but also highlight artists within our
community that are doing really great work. And even though
we can only touch upon the surface of so many
(02:27):
things that are going on, one of the great things
about Voices Amplified is that just because we elevate a
conversation doesn't mean we stop that conversation. So, as Aaron said,
even though we started with black voices, we are still
continuing our conversation with black voices. But this year you're
going to be able to also see added to these
conversations voices from the blind and low vision community, from
(02:49):
the death and heart of hearing community, from the neurodivergent community,
from the mobility challenge community, and they're all going to
be on the stage.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
That is really really fascinating. Aaron from you talk about
this being still a pretty new program that you guys
have here, what kind of impact have you seen this
have already with the communities that you have elevated through
Voices Amplified.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
We've seen strengthen bonds and relationships. We have an ongoing partnerships,
particularly with No More Empty Pots. We love them. We
do an annual family cooking live segment with them, so
we'll go in and record that. We assign guests to
talk with them, and they we record them cooking a dish,
and then we invite people to get those ingredients into
(03:33):
their homes so they can actually watch the recording later
and do it at the same time. So that's just
one of the many things so strengthen bond and relationships.
We've seen an increase of participation from the community, so
they come out. Like last season for the fashion event
that we had at Milwork Comments, we had one hundred
and twelve people come out, which is the largest audience
(03:53):
we've ever had, whereas we were starting out with maybe
ten to twenty. So people are repeat attenders and they're like,
oh no, we're coming. We love this program. We love
what you're offering, exposing us and you're teaching us about
the different communities that are outside of what our norm is.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
I love the idea of exposure in education through exposure
to this. We're speaking with Eron Derel Gregory and Andy
Cassano here from Omaha Performing Arts as part of the
Voices Amplified program, and Andy we talk about kind of
you're adding different types of marginalized populations, not just you know,
(04:33):
focusing solely on one size or one group or you know,
one specific area. But from your vantage point here, what
would someone have an opportunity to learn about people with
disabilities when we're talking about the performing arts, because it is,
you know, the more I think about it, that the
I feel like there's no group of people. I feel
(04:56):
like I've seen less in these roles in you know,
Broadway shows or you know, musical acts than people who
do have especially physical disabilities. What kind of impact do
you think this could potentially have for this group is
people can learn about maybe the different ways that they
can also be very strong performers.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
I think there's a couple of things. I mean, first
of all, I think one of the things is that
we're hoping that the communities know that Omaha Performing Arts
is here for you and we're listening. We, like any organization,
are changing and adapting to the responses and the needs
of our community. And that takes time and effort and energy.
But we're here and we're listening and we want you
to be a part of that conversation. The other great
(05:39):
thing about these artists is that you know, we're not
bringing these artists here because of their disability. We're bringing
these artists here because they are fantastic artists who happen
to have yes a disability. So it's not about spotlighting
really or putting people on display. It's really the saying
that you're just ability or your condition really is just
(06:03):
the condition that you were given with. But that doesn't
have to be the way that you're seeing by everybody else.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
I absolutely love this and this is the way that
people learn that. It's just like wow, I you know,
our brains are telling us that these people are different
than we are, even though if you didn't know any better,
they would be just a great performer otherwise. So aaron
part of what you guys do here with these events
and these education and have the opportunity for people to
(06:32):
see or be a part of this. So how can
people be a part of what you guys have going on?
And what are some of the events that you have
lined up?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
So some of the events that we have lined up
are our first one is cosmic optics with hot Shops
where we will have an art gallery, a conversation with
the artists of that gallery, and then more room for
the audience to connect and learn about these artists who
have different abilities upon the divergent spectrum. We also will
have Matthew Whitaker, who's a black pianists who also happens
(07:01):
to be blind, who will be in conversation with Marky
Montague who's at Salem Baptist Church. And another event that
we'll be having is through our Hip Hop Lab, which
is another program that we have is a dance Battle Wreale,
which is what elevates our Black voices, but it is
as an opportunity for street dancers to show their stuff
and battle against the New York group that we're bringing
(07:23):
the ladies of hip hop. So you can learn more
about that on our website at odspa dot org slash
Learn Engage or slash Voices Amplified, as well as on
all social media oh Performing Arts. Once you go there,
you'll be able to sign up and register for these
events and something that's great this year, we're offering a
choose what you pay option, so for those who want
to pay as little as ten dollars can do that.
(07:46):
But if you're like, we're not able to do that,
but we still want to come, you can just come.
And we want people to continue to be a part
of these conversations and give us Also we lean on
what the audience tells us to It's not about us
creating full or the community. We're creating with the community.
So hearing what they have to say and seeing them
any spaces and being a part of it is is
(08:07):
it helps make this this gumbo of a program that
what we have and make it really rich.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Just to wrap things up, Andy, is there a way
that people can follow what you guys are doing on
social media as well?
Speaker 3 (08:19):
We're on all the channels that are out there pretty much,
from Instagram to Facebook, to Twitter to well whatever the
new social media. To Jore is where our people are
pretty savvy about following through. So you can really get
an idea of the programs. But if you go on
our website, you can also get a chance to experience
what these artists are going to bring to our community
and what our community has to offer as well.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
It's going to be so fun to see this as
it You know what I love about OMAH Performing Arts
is It's just not like, hey, there's this one thing
at this one time and you got to come see it.
It is literally kind of an experience throughout the entire
year that you can have an opportunity to understand this.
And this is just one of the many great things
that OPAH offers people in our community. Aaron Derect, Gregory,
Andy Cassano, thank you so much for coming in and
(09:02):
explaining this to us, and I can't wait to see
how this program goes this year.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Come on out. We look forward to seeing you.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yes, thank you. Come check us out.
Emory zuckerback here live on news radio eleven ten KFAB.
We're always telling you about cool things that are happening
in our community, and we're always happy to talk to
our friends from Omaha Performing Arts and here to speak
with us about some really cool things that are here
in Omaha Performing Arts as we're getting set for another
fall which is going to be very, very busy. Aaron Derell, Gregory,
Andy Cassano, gentlemen, thanks so much for being here with
(00:22):
us today.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Thank you for having us, great to be here. Happy
Friday to you.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Yeah, Happy Friday to you as well. So, Aaron, I
got to start here. You want to come in and
you wanted to chat with me about Voices Amplified, and
I saw this information drop yesterday, So tell me a
little bit and tell our listeners who may not be
aware of what Voices Amplified is kind of the one
oh one about what you guys do awesome.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
So Voices Amplified is one of our engagement programs within
our education and Engagement programming. Voice Amplify was created to
connect cultures and create opportunity to bring us out into
the community while uplifting and amplifying marginalized voices. So we
started out in twenty twenty one doing black voices and
(01:05):
then we transitioned from black voices to black and Latino voices,
Latino voices Asian American voices. So this season we are
amplifying voices with disabilities, which are super excited about.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
That is very interesting, I guess Andy, when you talk
about this from a perspective of you know, I just
watched a lot of the Paralympics, for example, right, you know,
and you don't understand a lot of the challenges that
different types of people face until you actually are exposed
to their stories and then getting a chance to see
them elevated to kind of where you see normal people elevated,
(01:36):
and it gives you a little different perspective on the
background of a lot of people. How important is it
to have something like this available in this community?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Well, just like any community that wants to see themselves
represented on the stages that are at the Holland Center,
the Orpheum, and Steelhouse, it's important for us to make
sure that we're intentionally bringing the best talent in the
world so that people in the local community can see
themselves one and whether that is you know different socioeconomic groups,
(02:05):
or different races or different classes, disabilities is just as
absolutely important. And so what we're really excited about being
able to do is to not only bring these fantastic
artists to our community, but also highlight artists within our
community that are doing really great work. And even though
we can only touch upon the surface of so many
(02:27):
things that are going on, one of the great things
about Voices Amplified is that just because we elevate a
conversation doesn't mean we stop that conversation. So, as Aaron said,
even though we started with black voices, we are still
continuing our conversation with black voices. But this year you're
going to be able to also see added to these
conversations voices from the blind and low vision community, from
(02:49):
the death and heart of hearing community, from the neurodivergent community,
from the mobility challenge community, and they're all going to
be on the stage.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
That is really really fascinating. Aaron from you talk about
this being still a pretty new program that you guys
have here, what kind of impact have you seen this
have already with the communities that you have elevated through
Voices Amplified.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
We've seen strengthen bonds and relationships. We have an ongoing partnerships,
particularly with No More Empty Pots. We love them. We
do an annual family cooking live segment with them, so
we'll go in and record that. We assign guests to
talk with them, and they we record them cooking a dish,
and then we invite people to get those ingredients into
(03:33):
their homes so they can actually watch the recording later
and do it at the same time. So that's just
one of the many things so strengthen bond and relationships.
We've seen an increase of participation from the community, so
they come out. Like last season for the fashion event
that we had at Milwork Comments, we had one hundred
and twelve people come out, which is the largest audience
(03:53):
we've ever had, whereas we were starting out with maybe
ten to twenty. So people are repeat attenders and they're like,
oh no, we're coming. We love this program. We love
what you're offering, exposing us and you're teaching us about
the different communities that are outside of what our norm is.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
I love the idea of exposure in education through exposure
to this. We're speaking with Eron Derel Gregory and Andy
Cassano here from Omaha Performing Arts as part of the
Voices Amplified program, and Andy we talk about kind of
you're adding different types of marginalized populations, not just you know,
(04:33):
focusing solely on one size or one group or you know,
one specific area. But from your vantage point here, what
would someone have an opportunity to learn about people with
disabilities when we're talking about the performing arts, because it is,
you know, the more I think about it, that the
I feel like there's no group of people. I feel
(04:56):
like I've seen less in these roles in you know,
Broadway shows or you know, musical acts than people who
do have especially physical disabilities. What kind of impact do
you think this could potentially have for this group is
people can learn about maybe the different ways that they
can also be very strong performers.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
I think there's a couple of things. I mean, first
of all, I think one of the things is that
we're hoping that the communities know that Omaha Performing Arts
is here for you and we're listening. We, like any organization,
are changing and adapting to the responses and the needs
of our community. And that takes time and effort and energy.
But we're here and we're listening and we want you
to be a part of that conversation. The other great
(05:39):
thing about these artists is that you know, we're not
bringing these artists here because of their disability. We're bringing
these artists here because they are fantastic artists who happen
to have yes a disability. So it's not about spotlighting
really or putting people on display. It's really the saying
that you're just ability or your condition really is just
(06:03):
the condition that you were given with. But that doesn't
have to be the way that you're seeing by everybody else.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
I absolutely love this and this is the way that
people learn that. It's just like wow, I you know,
our brains are telling us that these people are different
than we are, even though if you didn't know any better,
they would be just a great performer otherwise. So aaron
part of what you guys do here with these events
and these education and have the opportunity for people to
(06:32):
see or be a part of this. So how can
people be a part of what you guys have going on?
And what are some of the events that you have
lined up?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
So some of the events that we have lined up
are our first one is cosmic optics with hot Shops
where we will have an art gallery, a conversation with
the artists of that gallery, and then more room for
the audience to connect and learn about these artists who
have different abilities upon the divergent spectrum. We also will
have Matthew Whitaker, who's a black pianists who also happens
(07:01):
to be blind, who will be in conversation with Marky
Montague who's at Salem Baptist Church. And another event that
we'll be having is through our Hip Hop Lab, which
is another program that we have is a dance Battle Wreale,
which is what elevates our Black voices, but it is
as an opportunity for street dancers to show their stuff
and battle against the New York group that we're bringing
(07:23):
the ladies of hip hop. So you can learn more
about that on our website at odspa dot org slash
Learn Engage or slash Voices Amplified, as well as on
all social media oh Performing Arts. Once you go there,
you'll be able to sign up and register for these
events and something that's great this year, we're offering a
choose what you pay option, so for those who want
to pay as little as ten dollars can do that.
(07:46):
But if you're like, we're not able to do that,
but we still want to come, you can just come.
And we want people to continue to be a part
of these conversations and give us Also we lean on
what the audience tells us to It's not about us
creating full or the community. We're creating with the community.
So hearing what they have to say and seeing them
any spaces and being a part of it is is
(08:07):
it helps make this this gumbo of a program that
what we have and make it really rich.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Just to wrap things up, Andy, is there a way
that people can follow what you guys are doing on
social media as well?
Speaker 3 (08:19):
We're on all the channels that are out there pretty much,
from Instagram to Facebook, to Twitter to well whatever the
new social media. To Jore is where our people are
pretty savvy about following through. So you can really get
an idea of the programs. But if you go on
our website, you can also get a chance to experience
what these artists are going to bring to our community
and what our community has to offer as well.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
It's going to be so fun to see this as
it You know what I love about OMAH Performing Arts
is It's just not like, hey, there's this one thing
at this one time and you got to come see it.
It is literally kind of an experience throughout the entire
year that you can have an opportunity to understand this.
And this is just one of the many great things
that OPAH offers people in our community. Aaron Derect, Gregory,
Andy Cassano, thank you so much for coming in and
(09:02):
explaining this to us, and I can't wait to see
how this program goes this year.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Come on out. We look forward to seeing you.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yes, thank you. Come check us out.
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