PBS Reno ARTS

 One year after her first visit, Beth Macmillan returns to preview the 2025 Artown Festival.  This year features a new venue necessitated by the downtown bridge repairs, one notable reunion and many exhibits, activities and performances to appeal to everyone.  

Marla Paulina is an impresario, keeping cabaret style dance performances alive in the Reno area.  Her latest effort is Velvet Moon, opening later this month.  Marla details how a show like this, with multiple dancers, aerial acrobatics and vocalists, comes to life.  

Tim Young is just beginning his time as the Executive Director of Arts For All Nevada. As he settles into the job at the historic Lake Mansion, he introduces us to the many services the organization provides and invites us all to participate in the exploration of arts and culture.  

A few years ago, Kris Vagner saw that arts journalism was dwindling, so she decided to do something about it.  She founded Double Scoop, a statewide online arts news source that is in its seventh year providing information that may otherwise not be reported.  

When music lover Ford Goodman learned from professional musicians how the business of music works, with many great performers laboring with limited opportunities, he was motivated to find a better way, and the result is For The Song.  Goodman explains how this throwback model takes a retro approach to funding artists and brings more great performances to the Reno area. 

Jessica Santina has been writing theater reviews for the Reno News & Review for years, and in a smaller city like Reno that can be sensitive work.  It can also be difficult working with your spouse, and since Jessica is married to this podcast’s host it might make for an unusual episode.  

Emily Skyle-Golden founded and nurtured the Cordillera Film Festival in Reno into one of the coolest film festivals in the world, with year-round events including the upcoming Future Filmmakers Foundation Film Day coming up on April 19th.  Emily tells us about the event and why it’s such an important part of Cordillera’s mission 

Karen Terrey is the newly-appointed Poet Laureate of Nevada County and is just now beginning her term.  She describes her vision of “bridging the county” to unite the two distinct arts districts on either side of the Sierra and gives a reading of two of her powerful poems. 

Founding Artistic Director of Sierra Nevada Ballet and the SNB Academy in Reno Rosine Bena is also a contributor to Art Views at pbsreno.org/artviews and her latest column introduces this year’s Brew, Brats & Ballet event, which celebrates her 51 year career in dance.  

Laura Newman, Author, The Darling of the Black Rock Desert.  2024 Silver Pen Award winner Laura Newman has a new book releasing in March.  She treats us to readings from a story in The Darling of the Black Rock Desert and discusses her work, which is partially informed by her insatiable desire to travel and experience the world. 

The John and Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art is a relatively new museum, open since 2019 on the campus of the University of Nevada.  Director Stephanie Gibson introduces us to the museum, its exhibits, philosophy and desire to be a cultural touchstone for the entire community.   

Dana Nollsch is a familiar face to Reno area theater groups.  He talks about his transition from theater photographer to theater reviewer at renoarts.news, and now his new identity as a podcaster with Creatives Talk.

Melissa Taylor, Reno Little Theater.  How do you adapt a classic?  RLT is producing a new adaptation of Dial M For Murder and Director Melissa Taylor gives us a preview of the new production.  Taylor explains the process of directing a 70-year-old play and preparing it for a modern audience.

Megan Berner, City of Reno Arts and Culture Manager. We’ve all seen public art – sculptures and murals and the like – but what do you know about how it got there?  Megan Berner, Arts & Culture Manager for the City of Reno explains the process, tells about the updated master plan and asks for public input, then gives us a preview of some upcoming public art for 2025. 

Dennyse Sewell, CEO, Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts. The Pioneer Center is more than just the place to see the Reno Phil, AVA Ballet and Broadway touring shows.  CEO Dennyse Sewell explains the ways the Pioneer is actively reaching out to the community, enriching lives by bringing the arts to the people who need them,and shares her excitement for the next few months of performances.

John Trent is a longtime journalist and University of Nevada, Reno alum who faced the enormous responsibility of writing the University’s 150th Anniversary retrospective book. Trent tells us how he managed it, and what he learned that inspired him during the journey to completing The University of Nevada 1874-2024, 150 Years of Inspiring Excellence.

1. Chris Lanier, 2024 Reno City Artist. As his term approaches its end, Reno City Artist Chris Lanier discusses the position he’s held since January, his solo exhibit Backyard Radiance  and Slow Draw, his curated City Hall show, plus his role as an art instructor, with all its joys and challenges.

Donald Johanson, Paleoanthropologist. It’s the 50th anniversary of Dr. Donald Johanson’s discovery of the Australopithecus afarensis Lucy in Ethiopia.  We learn how Dr. Johanson continues to emphasize the importance of science communication at the Institute of Human Origins at ASU, which he founded.  His continuing mission is to advance our understanding of human history.