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Q&A: Midtown Arts Center Co-Founder John Traynor
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 1:54PM
The Midtown Arts Center is a project that is almost too good to be true. With all of the positive things happening in Midtown Harrisburg, the center has the potential to be a major catalyst for neighborhood renewal. Housed in the former Police Athletic League and Jewish Community Center on Third Street, the ambitious renovation calls for a art gallery, a 10,000 square foot theater, a restaurant, a cafe, a spa and a smaller, more intimate music venue. That venue — the Stage on Herr — opened this summer. I recently stopped by the building to talk with John Traynor, one of the three partners involved in the project. Along with Gary Bartlett and Chuck London, Traynor has rescued a gorgeous old building that had fallen well beyond the state of disrepair. Who knows where the project will go or when it will be finished, but Traynor, a true character, had some interesting thoughts on life in Midtown and the local arts scene. Here's what he had to say: Full Article » -
Senators Preview: Q&A with Brian Oliver
Wednesday, April 15, 2009 9:00AM
The Major League Baseball season has been rolling along for two weeks now, but Thursday night marks the first pitch in the newly-renovated Metro Bank Park on City Island. Actually, I'm not so sure about newly-renovated — it appears as though it's more of an ongoing process. Either way, with major improvements being made to what was a lackluster stadium, game start times more conducive to drawing fans and a promising roster, there's optimism surrounding the Harrisburg Senators opener for the first time in years. I know I'm excited and I'll be in the stands tomorrow night.
I grew up watching the Senators, and seeing the franchise struggle on the field and at the gate has been difficult. The renovations should certainly give attendance a jolt, and even though the Nationals have staggered to an 0-7 start, there are signs of life in the lower levels of the organization. To preview the product on the field in Harrisburg this summer, I traded emails with Brian Oliver, proprietor of the excellent blog Nationals Farm Authority a few weeks back. Oliver knows as much about the Nationals farm system as anyone this side of Director of Player Development Bobby Williams, so here's a primer for the 2009 season: Full Article » -
Q&A: Messiah College Concert Executives Jeff Rioux & Margeaux Monsour
Tuesday, September 16, 2008 11:25AM
I’ve long been impressed by the musical talent that Messiah College brings to campus. It's crazy how quickly the school has built a ridiculous amount of popular music credibility on a campus of less than 3,000 students.
Not too many indie acts have gotten more love from critics than The National and Feist, and both played at Messiah during the 2007-08 school year. The Decemberists came recently too. So did the Counting Crows. Oh, and some guy named Bob Dylan. The College’s Student Activities Board (SAB) organized all of those shows and also oversees a weekly concert series known as B-Sides that features emerging artists.
The SAB is staffed almost entirely by students and is overseen by Jeff Rioux, a 1994 Messiah graduate. When Rioux was in school, the SAB booked strictly Christian concerts and showed Disney movies in the student union. Now it has become one of the premier concert venues in the area. On the even of last weekend's Ingrid Michaelson concert at Messiah, I sat down with Rioux and B-Sides Student Executive Margeaux Monsour to ask them about their work. Full Article » -
Q&A: Café Fresco Owner Nick Laus
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 1:00PM
In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that Café Fresco is probably my favorite restaurant in Harrisburg. I haven’t managed to hit every place in the area since I moved back (I’m working on it, I’m working on it), but of those I have, Fresco stands out. I’m always impressed by the attention to detail shown in both its food and atmosphere. Not surprisingly, when I heard owner Nick Laus was opening Level 2, a new nightspot above Fresco’s downtown location, I was anxious to check it out.
I still haven’t been able to go at night when the place is in full swing, but Nick graciously allowed me to poke around inside one recent afternoon. The interior of the place is absolutely gorgeous, and the attention to detail I always appreciated at Fresco stands out in even greater relief inside Level 2. I sat down with Nick at Fresco during happy hour that evening to ask him about his new business and about his thoughts on the restaurant and nightlife biz downtown: Full Article » -
Q&A: Shakespeare in the Park Director J. Clark Nicholson
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 4:20PM
When I saw that the Gamut Theatre Group had chosen to put on Love’s Labour’s Lost as their annual Shakespeare in the Park show, I was, um… surprised. First of all, let’s get this out on the table, yes, I was an English major and I have read plenty of Shakespeare. Snicker, snicker. Let’s move on. Anyway, I was surprised by the selection because it’s not a show that most companies will put on, largely because it’s nearly incomprehensible.
That’s not to say that the story isn’t a good one and that the show isn’t funny — it is and it is. It’s just that almost any Shakespeare scholar will tell you that while Love’s Labour’s Lost is Shakespeare’s first work of true genius, it is also one of his most difficult reads. The play is about the King of Navarre and companions Berowne, Dumaine and Longaville who swear off women for three years in order to concentrate on study. At least they say they are going to until the Princess of France and some of her ladies pay a visit. Sexy right? Decidedly less sexy are the pages upon pages of highly-intellectual Latin puns. Even wikipedia calls the play “pedantic.”
But after reading in the Patriot-News that director J. Clark Nicholson had edited the play heavily and taken inspiration from the John Hughes comedies of the 80’s I was intrigued. I gave Nicholson a call and he assured me that he has nixed the archaic wordplay and left behind a pretty good story. He's got me convinced and I'd like to go see the show, which opens its two-week run tonight. Here’s what he had to say: Full Article » -
Who Do You Want To Hear From?
Thursday, May 22, 2008 3:16PMI have to admit that it’s going to take me a little while to get used to blogging. My background is in journalism, and in fact, this is my first professional job outside of the biz. That’s not to say that I haven’t enjoyed the switch. I was a sportswriter, and sportswriters almost inevitably begin hating sports. Trust me, I was well on my way.
As a sportswriter, you constantly find yourself trying to talk to people that have no interest in talking to you. You also work lousy hours and have to spend a lot of time with other sportswriters, many of whom smell strongly of coffee and press food and love to talk about sportswriting. It’s not as glamorous as it seems. Full Article »
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