KBIA News brings you a look at arts and entertainment this week in mid-Missouri in Off the Clock. Formerly known as Arts Week, this program, with host Janet Saidi, offers a glimpse into the week in arts.

Want to subscribe to a podcast of Off the Clock? Paste this link into your aggregator. More about KBIA podcasts here.

11/23/07 Nearly twenty years ago, the Canadian band the Cowboy Junkies released perhaps their best known album, "The Trinity Session." Recorded in an empty church, the album continues to influence singer-songwriters to this day. Well, the Cowboy Junkies are coming to Columbia next weekend, playing the Blue Note on December 1st. And tomorrow, the Ragtag is showing a new film, which documents the Cowboy Junkies' return to that same church, with guests including Ryan Adams, Natalie Merchant, and Vic Chesnutt. KBIA's Andrea Chalfin recently spoke with brother and sister Margo and Michael Timmins, about their tour, "Trinity Revisited," and their latest studio album, "At the End of Paths Taken." She began by asking, what’s the secret behind a band's staying together more 20 years. To hear the complete thirty minute interview with Margo and Michael Timmins, click here. Visit the official Cowboy Junkies website.

Above: The Cowboy Junkies.

11/16/07 It's a jazz theme tonight. We're checking in with the "We Always Swing" jazz series by talking with a jazz ensemble that's been in Columbia, and another one on the way. Reporter Martin Winkler caught up with Marcus Baylor – he's the drummer for the four-man ensemble known as The Yellowjackets. And reporter Mike Moreau talks with jazz pianist Bill Charlap.

11/09/07 "The Most Massive Woman Wins" is the title of a play that opened at Stephens College's student-run Warehouse Theatre. KBIA's Liz Langton went backstage and talked with the four actresses about their roles and some of the themes in the play – which involves women, food and body image.

Central Methodist University's Ashby-Hodge Gallery of American Art recently celebrated its 14th anniversary. A few days later, the gallery welcomed an exhibit of the works of MU professor and fiber artist Jo Stealey. KBIA’s Krysten Chambrot was at the opening, and learned a little bit more about this artist.

11/02/07 Iranian-Ameircan author and scholar Fatemeh Keshavarz on literature, the United States and Iran – and her belief that classic and contemporary stories can stop wars.... And, a piece of art history arrived recently in Columbia when a well-known sculpture by African-American artist Beulah Woodard found its way from New York to Columbia’s Museum of Art and Archaeology.

10/26/07 On today's Off the Clock:

Libraries across the nation are getting noisier. Once a study hall, this American institution is now being increasingly – corrupted – by contemporary trends like Guitar Hero and now ... are you ready for this? D-D-R. Yes, you heard me correctly. Dance Dance Revolution. That noisy part-Twister part-mosh-pit game that your 15-year-old is gah-gah over. And, the Daniel Boone Regional Library system – in Columbia and Ashland – is getting in on the action. KBIA’s Pat Fleming went to the library and came back with this report.

Frank Stack is a local artist who arrived in Columbia 44 years ago to teach at the University of Missouri. And he’s still working rigorously on his art – with and energy - KBIA’s Betsy Mikel found – that other people reserve for working out.

10/19/07 For author Naeem Murr, characters are inspired by places and settings. The the setting for his latest novel, "A Perfect Man," happens to be mid-Missouri. He talks with Janet Saidi. Plus, a new Columbia band is beginning to grab some attention, if only they can keep it "together," so to speak. KBIA's Martin Winkler talks to The Makeshift Gentlemen.

10/12/07 One is a film and one is a film producer. Both are challenging assumptions people have about women and their issues. We've got a theme this week. It's all about women. That's this week's Off the Clock.

10/05/07 On this edition of Off the Clock: We're taking it to the stage. We'll check out two Columbia theater groups, one that gets ordinary people involved in creative ways to produce traditional love stories -- the kind that suddenly break into song. And another, that takes the art of theater to the edge.

09/28/07 On this edition of Off the Clock: This week it’s all about Columbia’s Festival of the Arts.  Taking place this weekend at the Courthouse Square, it’s visual, literary and performing arts all rolled into one.  KBIA's Kevin Lorenz has a conversation with an area poet performing at the festival, while Matt Velker has an audio postcard of one of the musical acts. Hosted this week by KBIA's Andrea Chalfin.

09/21/07 On this edition of Off the Clock: There's one more week to go for this September's Twilight Festival - we'll check in with some of the performers that can be found on the streets of Columbia this season ... And an MU professor who has been putting together an encyclopedia of African American folklore finds the influences of these old stories in some interesting places. It's Off the Clock - arts and culture on KBIA.

09/14/07 Columbia's "One Read" book program is back again; that's where the entire town reads the same book and then gets together to talk about it. And this year we get to talk about elephants and circuses.... because the library's One Read book this year is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. KBIA reporter Catherine Wolf set out to listen to some of the discussions... And, the Joey Kelly circus has been performing as part of the One Read book program. KBIA's Jennifer Galt caught up with this unique family circus. It Off the Clock: arts and culture on KBIA.

Summer 2007 Archive

KBIA's Off the Clock goes on hiatus during the summer and resumes in the fall.

Spring 2007 Archive

5/11/07 On this edition of Off the Clock: The 2007 summer season of the Maplewood Barn theater begins tonight, with a production of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Byron Scott directs the production. Scott is a professor emeritus at the Missouri School of Journalism. He also directs the European Union Center, at MU. This is an excerpt from a conversation with Byron Scott about the Maplewood Barn's production of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

Charlie Wilkerson is a local actor who plays the character of "Chief Bromden." He also came by the studio and performed a reading from the play.

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" plays at the Maplewood Barn Community Theatre for two more weekends, May 18-20, and May 25-27. Performances begin at 8pm, doors open at 7. All performances are in Nifong Park, so take a picnic.


5/4/07 As its name implies, Columbia's Access Arts aims to make "art" accessible to everyone--and its School of Service program provides arts workshops for people with a range of abilities ...MU's Museum of Art and Archeology is not only celebrating its 50th anniversary here on campus, but for the first time the museum is unifying modern technology with ancient art. That's this week on Off the Clock.


4/27/07 On this week's Off the Clock, it's the first of Columbia's ARTrageous Fridays, starting tonight. ...Plus, an exhibit at MU presents literature in miniature. ...And a Columbia two-piece band uses synthesizers and a drum machine to sound like a five-piece band. All that on this edition of Off the Clock. It’s Friday.


4/20/07 It's not Halloween tonight, we know that, but there will be vampires out in downtown Columbia. The Ragtag Cinema-Cafe is hosting a sing-along to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode known as the "Once More with Feeling" episode. KBIA's Catherine Wolf sat down this week with Ragtag co-founder David Wilson about the sing-along ... and they tried not to get TOO serious about Buffy. ...and, Fast Forward for upcoming events.


4 /13/07 Hazel Kinder's Lighthouse sits just off the Millersburg exit on I-70 near Columbia. Every Saturday night, the theater comes alive with family-friendly music performed by area bluegrass, gospel and country bands. Hazel Kinder, co-owner of the Lighthouse, recently spoke with KBIA's Catherine Wolf about why she and her husband felt it was important to open a venue where local musicians could perform - and how music has helped her cope with the childhood deaths of three sons. Kinder brought her guitar and punctuated the conversation with some songs.

And, has David White been to your house yet? This week the executive director of the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts, began a campaign to visit 25,000 Columbia homes in the next seven weeks. KBIA's Jennifer Galt has the story.


4/6/07: One of the most important books about growing up as a Palestinian in the occupied territories ... in fact it may be one of the ONLY memoirs about growing up as a Palestinian under occupation ... and it comes out of Columbia, Missouri.

Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood is the first book by Ibtisam Barakat.

In the book, Barakat recounts her early childhood. Barakat now lives in Columbia. She first came to America after graduating from the West Bank's Birzeit University, to work as an intern at The Nation magazine in New York City. She said she wanted to try life outside of the occupied territories.

We asked her where her aspirations came from - how she knew what life outside the West Bank was like. Hear her answer, and more, here .


Hear the full conversation with writer Ibtisam Barakat here .

You can also hear Ibtisam Barakat later this month - she speaks at the Unity Church, in Columbia on April 18th - and on April 19th she will be at the University bookstore signing books.


3/30/07 In honor of Tennessee Williams' birthday, which was March 26th, Off the Clock checks in with an MU professor who's compiled two volumes of Williams' letters, and is working on a third. ...And we'll talk with another Missouri playwright, Ken Lazebnik, about growing up in Columbia, writing in California, and life in between. ...All on this edition of Off the Clock.


3/23/07 Lots of music on this week's program. KBIA's Katherine Harbin sits in on a sort-of academic jam session with the theme of celebrating women who rock, called "I Don't Give a Damn about My Bad Reputation." Many women rockers, it turns out - have declined to conform with traditional expectations, that probably comes as a surprise to no one who grew up listening to Joan Jett. ..."Fast Forward" takes a look at what's coming up in the music scene for Columbia and beyond, with KBIA's Shantell Jamison. ...Plus, the town of Slater, Missouri is celebrating Steve McQueen Days this weekend, in honor of the actor's birthday. It's all on this edition of Off the Clock.

3/16/07 A play about a hostage situation between America and Beirut - but it's not a political play. It's a love story ... Plus, Fast Forward - with upcoming music gigs you might not want to miss. ...It's Off the Clock, arts and culture on KBIA.

Off the Clock Web Extra: Hear a scene from "Two Rooms" by playwright Lee Blessing. The scenes are set between the US and Beirut. But it's not as much about politics ... as it is about love. It tells the story of Michael, an American held hostage in Beirut, and his wife Lainie, who holds vigil for him at their home in the US. Produced by KBIA's Catherine Wolf.

Off the Clock Web Extra: Off-Broadway playwright Mac Wellman is known for experimenting with language. Working on his play "Terminal Hip," he spent two and a half years coming up with clumsy constructions and double negatives to create bad English. He has been in Columbia recently introducing other works. KBIA's Elena Chadova spoke with Wellman and two local playwrights about the place of language in contemporary American theater. Listen to it here.

3/9/07: Our weekly programs are pre-empted this week because of the spring fund drive. See you next week!

3/2/07 The True/False film festival kicked off Thursday, and the Cherry Street Artisan downtown was crammed throughout the day with people lining up to buy tickets. By yesterday evening live music and some partying had joined in the mix. KBIA's Matt Tarnawa was there and brought back an audio postcard. ...One of the films that has been screened at this year's True/False festival is a film called "The Falling Man." Director Henry Singer's documentary takes one of the most controversial and disturbing images from September 11, 2001 - a man jumping from the burning North Tower of the World Trade Center - and uses it as a starting point to explore not only the tragic events of September 11th, but also to explore the haunting images that emerged from that day and how those images shape our understanding of the events. Singer's journey took him to the families of 9/11 victims, we'll hear clips from two of the victims' families in this next piece. Director Henry Singer speaks here with KBIA's Patrick Fleming. The piece is edited and produced by Patrick Fleming and Sean Powers.

Listen to a longer version of the conversation with KBIA's Patrick Fleming and Sean Powers and director Henry Singer in this web exclusive.

2/23/07 A 30-piece punk-inspired marching band, a documentary game show, lots of parties ... and also ... some films. It's the True/False film festival - and it comes to Columbia this week. ... Plus, the historical society is turning history into theater. ...It's Off the Clock - arts and culture on KBIA.

2/16/07 A Columbia pastor who's tired of church as usual ... So his church is hosting a film-discussion series that tries to get beyond the traditional doctrinal discussions to the cutting edge of culture ... Plus, we have a new feature: Fast Forward looks at what's going down in the music scene this week ... And a controversial play comes to MU campus ... It's Off the Clock: arts, culture and a lot in between.

Fall 2006 Archive

12/15/06 How well does Columbia, Missouri do when it comes to supporting art galleries? Jennifer Perlow and Chris Stevens, owners of Columbia’s PS Gallery, talk about their experiences so far. … And we visit musician Lizzie West and her partner, the White Buffalo, at their Holy Road House during a rehearsal. … All that’s on Arts Week.


12/8/06 A local designer makes art out of chewing gum … or already-chewed gum, we should say. … And with last week’s record snow-storm it was cold outside, baby … but inside the Missouri Theatre it was smoking-hot. Jazz legend Paquito D’Rivera was in town … It’s Arts Week.


10/27/06 Dracula is in Arrow Rock, Missouri. The Lyceum Theater presents the play, based on Bram Stoker’s classic novel. Quin Gresham, artistic director at the Lyceum, joined us in studio this week to talk about the production, and to share some of the music from Roberta Carlson's original score for the play. Here it is … on Arts Week.


10/20/06 We hear from Steve James and Peter Gilbert, in town for a screening of their classic documentary, Hoop Dreams. … And kids' musician Jim Cosgrove stopped by the Columbia Public Library this week. The Kansas City musician is touring the country with his wife and baby daughter, performing songs from his latest CD. KBIA catches up with "Mr. Stinky Feet" on Arts Week.


10/13/06 Columbia area artists are getting a great new workspace. KBIA’s Sarah Ashworth has been hanging out in Columbia’s downtown north district and here’s what she’s found. … And this week kicks off another season of the We Always Swing Jazz Series, a 12-year-old Columbia tradition. Series founder and director Jon Poses shares the music.


10/6/06 Musician Lizzie West and her partner and collaborator the Tony Kieraldo (the White Buffalo) are in Columbia for the month of October … they’re performing their latest “Holy Road Tour,” writing a novella, planning a Halloween Ball, and of course making a lot of music from the home they’ve bought in Columbia. They sat down at our studios with their guitars, and with KBIA’s Kryssy Pease. … And one of the biggest champions of the Columbia music scene through the decades is Richard King, owner of The Blue Note and Mojo’s music venues. We wrap up with a quick montage from King about shows coming in the next few weeks.

9/29/06 A new documentary by Stephens College professor and film-maker Kerri Yost follows a family of Bosnian refugees as they adjust to a new life in Columbia, Missouri. We hear from Yost about the making of the film. ... And a Columbia gallery specializes in a nontraditional canvas ... it's a tattoo gallery. ... Finally, how a ball of yarn creates a women’s movement. All that's on Arts Week, with host Janet Saidi.

9/22/06 It’s Banned Books Week. Here's to all the books you’re not supposed to read … Meanwhile, Jane Austen makes an appearance at the Columbia arts fest this weekend. Jane Austen Society members Devoney Looser and George Justice join us for a discussion on Austen and marriage ... including their own. … All this on Arts Week, with host Janet Saidi.

Bonus, Web-only audio: selections from the full interview with MU professors and Jane Austen Society lecturers George Justice and Devoney Looser. Here they discuss why we should all be reading Austen, and why Austen herself never married even though all of her novels end in happy marriages. And they discuss their own happy marriage ... listen, to get the backstory on George’s proposal to Devoney (it’s good). Devoney and George also perform a reading from Emma. At the October 8 Jane Austen Society meeting in Columbia, Dr. Justice will give a talk on the novel.

Spring 2006 Archive

5/12/06 A revolution in how music is being composed ... imagine not being able to read notes, but still composing whole symphonic pieces. Plus, how technology is changing the value of art degrees. Those stories on this edition of KBIA's Arts Week.


5/5/06 A man, a piano, and his computer … crawling through Columbia's galleries ... and the kick-off to the city's summer-in-the-park movie series.


4/28/06 Moviegoers have a chance to see two local films this weekend, and high school students show off their music skills.


4/21/06 Earth Day makes its mark on the local music scene ... a chat with local musician and Earth Day headliner, Hilary Scott ... and author Edmund White stops by.


4/14/06 Singing along to a "Spoonful of Sugar" … the launch of a literary magazine ... and take a listen to MU's jazz bands.


4/7/06 This week we hear from two musicians … one a rising star, the other a young composer … both spending time in Columbia.


3/31/06 Funding for the arts in Missouri takes a dip … Jewish pop music picks up … and one local musician finds ways to make music in an unusual way.


3/24/06 Profiles and a Poem. In this week's show, you’ll learn about one of the artists selected to revamp the city's bus station, and about an author who undertook the task of writing about her ancestor. Then hear a poem from MU Professor and new director of the Center for Literary Arts, Scott Cairns.


3/17/06 Columbia’s latest art gallery may be its bus station … and music of the polka and Irish varieties.


2/24/06 This weekend is the third annual True/False Film Festival in Columbia. KBIA gives you a sneak preview.

Bonus Web audio: Click here for more thoughts from volunteers working the True/False Film Festival.


2/17/06 Gearing up for the True/False film festival in Columbia and censorship in high school drama. Plus, a playwright in his own words. That's all included in this edition of Arts Week.


2/10/06 Get a clue … the musical “Clue,” based on the popular board game, comes to Columbia for the next three weeks … the founder of the Missouri Symphony Society receives a lifetime achievement award ... and a jazz album recorded in Columbia three years ago finally gets its release. These stories and more covered in the first edition of Arts Week.