Their blue heaven (July 14, 2011)
A cover story about the big screen adaptation of “The Smurfs,” produced by University of North Carolina School of the Arts Dean of the School of Filmmaking Jordan Kerner. Throughout production of “The Smurfs,” Kerner invited UNCSA School of Filmmaking students to participate in “shadow internships” to gain some firsthand experience on a big-budget film set.
Puppet play reaches for the stars (Sept. 29, 2011)
A cover story about Greensboro’s Jabberbox Puppet Theatre, an adult puppet theater company launched by writers Marianne Gingher and Debby Seabrooke in 2009. The long-time friends write, direct and perform in all of the plays and create all of the puppets, backdrops and set pieces.
James Joyce inspires paintings (Sept. 1, 2011)
A profile of Fritz Janschka, a 92-year-old Austrian artist and James Joyce aficionado. Joyce’s work was the subject of a series of paintings Janschka displayed at the Weatherspoon Art Museum in Greensboro. He has been painting Joyce-inspired pieces for about 50 years.
Catching the spirit of running (Jan. 6, 2011)
Cover story about “Hood to Coast,” a documentary directed by UNC-Greensboro alumnus Christoph Baaden about four teams running the relay race of the same name. At 197 miles, the world’s largest relay race stretches from Mount Hood to the Oregon coast.
The writer ‘so many of us want to be’ (April 8, 2010)
A profile of writer and Elon University professor Drew Perry, whose debut novel, “This Is Just Exactly Like You,” was the subject of a bidding war and received a lot of praise before it even hit store shelves. Perry reflects on his growth as a writer and the process of penning his novel.
Comedy gold on VHS (June 9, 2011)
An event preview about the Found Footage Festival, an homage to cheesy, ridiculous and just plain odd VHS footage discovered at thrift stores and garage sales. The festival is rife with comedic commentary by Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett, whose credits include “The Onion” and “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
Cancer benefit will unite local musicians (Sept. 17, 2009)
Story about a benefit concert by the Hirsch Wellness Network, an organization dedicated to building a community for cancer patients founded by fiber artist Louise Grape and her husband, string musician Scott Manring. Grape is a two-time breast cancer survivor herself.
Movie puts face on gays in the military (Aug. 7, 2008)
Feature on the movie “Ask Not,” a documentary about the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prohibits gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. The movie screened at the OUT at the Movies film festival in Winston-Salem, which debuted in 2004 with the goal of screening films dealing with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. One of the film’s subjects spent two years living in Greensboro.
Vanessa Carlton thrives on the live stage (July 24, 2008)
This profile of singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton served as a preview of her performance at Greene Street Club in Greensboro. For this article, I conducted a phone interview with Carlton about the song that made her famous, the pop-piano hit “A Thousand Miles,” and how she has evolved as an artist since then. The article also addresses her personal background, what she loves about performing and her future plans.
