WBEZ | Columbia College

Youth Voices: Truth & Choices

Sat, 11 May 2013 15:28:00 -0500

In a youth forum/expo style event, different youth organizations from across the city came together with high school students and college students to share experiences and build community and solidarity. Featuring Chicago's youth-led organizations & guest speaker Dr. Beth Richie, Director of the The Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The Ellen Stone Belic Institute is pleased to co-present Youth Voices: Truth & Choices in partnership with Black Youth Project; Columbia College Student Organizations: One Tribe; The F Word; Columbia Links; Chicago Freedom School; Crossroads Fund; Fearless Leading by the Youth; Young Chicago Authors and Young Women's Empowerment Project.

Recorded live Saturday, May 11, 2013 at Columbia College.

TV and movie crews spending more time filming in Chicago

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:26:00 -0500

The number of days movies and TV shows spent filming in Chicago is up 45 percent compared to 2011, according to the Chicago Film Office.

The office’s director, Rich Moskal, said the city saw a record increase in the number of production days: 1,808 days in 2012 compared to 1,235 the year before.

Although the number of productions themselves held largely steady, Moskal said the production day figure gives a fuller picture of the amount of activity here. TV series could spend as many as 150 days filming, compared to the production of a commercial, which only has a presence for 2 to 3 days.

“Each day a production is filming translates into days of employment for local crew, additional days of business with local vendors, hotel nights, etc,” he said. “The more days a production is here, the more they spend locally.”

In 2012, Film Office data shows, local film and TV industry spending hit a high of $170 million. That’s up from $160 million in 2010 and $154 million in 2011.

Last year’s increase is mainly due to four TV shows: Chicago Fire (NBC), Boss (Starz), Underemployed (MTV) and Mob Doctor (Fox), Moskal said, adding that 17 independent movies also were filmed in the city. So were several reality shows including Mob Wives Chicago, Chicagolicious and Hardcore Pawn: Chicago.

“Chicago looks great on film, it’s a great place to tell a story creatively, but it also has great depth of talent and resources to outfit the productions when they are here,” Moskal said.

He said a 30 percent tax credit also helped bring in the film business: “The tax incentive has done a tremendous job in terms of attracting production and keeping (it) here in Chicago, not just for Hollywood productions, but locally produced productions as well.”

Although two of last year’s TV shows were cancelled, and the fate of a third looks uncertain, Moskal said that’s just part of the gamble.

“You never know if it’s going to last or not,” he said, adding that this year, the city will have four other pilots filming and three Hollywood films including Transformers Four.

Bruce Sheridan, who chairs the Film and Video Department at Columbia College Chicago, said he’s already seeing an increase in the film industry this year.

“We have six features that we are putting out students interns onto this coming summer, which is much higher than last year or the year before,” Sheridan said. “So, we think the trend is continuing.”

Chicago Classics

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:31:00 -0500

Chicago Tribune journalist and WBEZ radio host Rick Kogan presents guests from Chicago’s literary community reading works by their favorite Chicago authors.

Featured readers include: Kathie Bergquist, Arnie Bernstein, Charles Blackstone, Kevin Coval, Alison Cuddy, Amina Gautier, Ronne Hartfield, Aleksander Hemon, Gary Johnson, Billy Lombardo, Eric Charles May, Samuel Park, Coya Paz, Donna Seaman, Regina Taylor, and Tony Trigilio.

Recorded live Friday, March 22, 2013 at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Literary Rock & Roll: Girl Trouble

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:23:00 -0500

Writers Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl), Jane Hamilton (Laura Rider’s Masterpiece) and Joe Meno (Office Girl) read from their work followed by music from Chicago band The Right Now.

Recorded live Thursday, March 21, 2013 at Columbia College Chicago.

From Truth To Fiction Panel

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 10:47:00 -0500

Writers Jane Hamilton (Laura Rider’s Masterpiece), Patricia Ann McNair (Temple of Air) and Shawn Shiflett (Hidde Place) discuss the role of truth, fiction, and everything in between in their work, hosted by Eric May.

More information about this event here.

Recorded live Thursday, March 21, 2013 at Columbia College Chicago.

Emma Donoghue Discusses 'Astray' and 'Room'

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:30:00 -0500

Emma Donoghue appeared in conversation with Garnett Kilberg Cohen on the morning of March 20th to discuss her noted collection of short stories titled Astray. The characters featured in these stories include a cross-section of society, such as runaways, drifters, gold miners, counterfeiters, attorneys, and slaves from Puritan Massachusetts and revolutionary New Jersey to antebellum Louisiana.

Garnett Kilbert Cohen is an instructor at Columbia College Chicago and was named a Distinguished Artist there in 2007. She has published two collections of short stories, most recently How We Move the Air, along with numerous other publications.

Later in the day, Emma Donoghue appeared in conversation with Karen Lee Osborne to discuss her powerful novel titled Room. Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

Karen Lee Osborne is a writer and has taught at Columbia College Chicago since 1987. Her novels include Carlyle Simpson and Hawkwings.

Recorded live Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at the Harold Washington Library Center.

Dramatic Revisioning: Conversation with Playwrights

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 10:55:00 -0500

Playwrights Adrian Danzig, Producing Artistic Director, 500 Clown, Mickle Maher, Co-founder, Theater Oobleck and John Musial, Writer/Director, Lookingglass Theatre discuss the role of vision in their work on a panel hosted by Lisa Schlesinger.

More information on this event here.

Recorded live Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at Columbia College Chicago.

Sapphire Discusses 'The Kid'

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:36:00 -0500

Bestselling author Sapphire converses with Donna Seaman, Senior Editor at Booklist, to discuss her novel The Kid. The Kid is Sapphire's second novel and tells the electrifying story of Abdul Jones, the son of Push's unforgettable heroine, Precious.

Famed in the worlds of literature, poetry and literacy--and an extraordinary public speaker--Sapphire is first and foremost a poet and performer. She is the author of American Dreams, cited by Publisher's Weekly as 'One of the strongest debut collections of the nineties;' and Black Wings & Blind Angels, of which Poets & Writers declared, 'With her soul on the line in each verse, her latest collection retains Sapphire's incendiary power to win hearts and singe minds.'

More information on this event here.

Recorded live Monday, March 18, 2013 at the Harold Washington Library Center.

Events in the near and far future!

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 10:00:00 -0600

If you have no plans Wednesday night and want to learn all about the magical world of blogging, I will be chatting with beloved local bloggers Dmitry Samarov and Ben Tanzer tonight on a panel at Columbia College. I'm psyched to hear what they say because I am teaching a course on blogging in January and think I need to pick up a few insights from the experts. Details are below:

Also! Mark your calendars, because the literary humor reading series I run, Funny Ha-Ha, is returning in 2013! February 22 at the Hideout from 6:30-8 p.m. Details to come!

Daily Rehearsal: College cabaret

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:05:00 -0600

1. Columbia College is holding "An Evening of Cabaret: Journeys and New Beginnings" on February 4th to raise money for their Betty Garrett Musical Theatre Scholarship, with performances by alumni, faculty and students. The scholarship was named after "actress-singer-dancer-teacher Betty Garrett, who passed away last February 12 at the age of 91. The scholarship was established with funds raised from a 1998 appearance Ms. Garrett made at the Getz Theatre of Columbia College Chicago's Theatre Department. Since the Scholarship was established in 2000, it has awarded some $21,000 to Musical Theatre Majors at Columbia College." Girlfriend has an amazing resume which you should IMDB. Tickets run from $35 to $100; make your reservations here.

2. Barrel of Monkeys will be performing matinees of That's Weird, Grandma on Sunday's at 2 pm, starting March 11.

3. Here is a lovely profile of My Fair Lady (Paramount) and Gypsy (Drury Lane) star Andrea Prestinario in the Sun-Times. She high-fived Donny Osmond once, no joke.

4. William Shatner is coming to Chicago on March 16 with his show Shatner's World: We Just Live in It, reports Playbill. Tickets go on sale February 3.

5. Bob Falls has been profiled in the Washington Post for his general awesomness and ability to get shows on Broadway. He holds the rare distinction of shepherding Broadway revivals of two plays often considered quintessential American masterpieces, Salesman and Long Day’s Journey Into Night, the latter with Dennehy and Vanessa Redgrave," writes Peter Marks. "And while some of his recent productions have foundered on Broadway — his 2008 revival of David Mamet’s American Buffalo with Cedric the Entertainer lasted a week, and his 2009 staging of O’Neill’s Desire Under the Elms closed after a month — he remains one of the country’s most-sought-after stage directors."

Questions? Tips? Email kdries@wbez.org.