Kennedy Plaza Is Heating Up

Most people think of the beach when they think of summer, but not this city gal! Simply walking downtown on a sunny day puts me in a great mood. So it’s no surprise that I can’t wait for the Downtown Providence Parks and Conservancy (DPPC) summer series when it once again combines some of my favorite things: education, performance and food trucks!

Let’s begin with Downtown Tuesdays, running July 5 – October 25 from 3 – 6pm. Downtown Tuesdays combines the Downtown Farmers Market with Farm Fresh RI, and the Kidoinfo Play in the Park. Family- friendly activities, performances and a play space truly make nutritional food fun for kids. What better way to promote healthy eating? Will this get my kid to eat his veggies? I’m not sure, but I’m willing to give it a try! What makes this year’s Downtown Tuesdays different from last is that Jennifer Smith of the DPPC upped the ante with special performances peppered into the schedule. On July 26 and August 23 there will be Open Drum Circles with Sidy Maiga, which provides not only an opportunity to see a professional musician hone their craft, but an opportunity to create with a professional musician.

Of course the fun doesn’t end with Tuesdays; Kidoinfo Storytime and Art in The Park will once again run on Thursdays from July 7 – August 18 from 10am – 12:30pm. Each year, the Art in the Park theme changes to correspond with a children’s book to ensure that children will find a love for stories through art. This year, children will explore Making on the Moon: Worlds of Tomi Ungerer. And if you and your little artist find that you’re hungry after Art in the Park, have no fear the food trucks will be there! Downtown Food Trucks at Kennedy Plaza & Not Bored Games will descend on the Plaza Monday through Thursday from 11:30am – 1:30pm July 7 – August 18. At the same time the Imagination Center, which includes the Imagination Playground and the Open Air Reading Room, will be open.

The Burnside Music Series and Beer Garden returns on Thursdays from 4:30 – 7:30pm, July 7 – September 8. The series has it all — live music, food trucks, family fun and beer!

I dare you to find anyone more excited about this fantastic lineup than the DPPC’s program director, Jennifer C. Smith. Her enthusiasm is infectious. “I am excited about all of the artists that we’re bringing together for kids and families in the park, and how this gives people an opportunity to be close to artists, like accomplished musician Sidy Maiga and our resident artist, Ricky Cadowitz.”

And then I heard the magic words any stage mama wants to hear. This year, thanks to a generous grant from Hasbro, there will be opportunities for kids to act out their stories! “We’re working on building a pop-up imagination theater, which will invite children and families to play and create and make up their own stories.” This project will have a pop-up theater front complete with props, costumes and an opportunity for kids to make their own books! Frequently we hear how children “lose” their academic knowledge over the summer. Thanks to the DPPC, parents can keep those wheels turning while their kids have fun.

With all of these great events going on at Kennedy Plaza, it’s hard to imagine that anything else could fit in this schedule. However, there are also some special events taking place this summer. PVDFest at Burnside Park takes place on June 4 from Noon – 8pm (see story on page XX) where you can find Make, See, Do + Play, a participatory art event with music, dance and play! Enjoy performances by local artists and community organizations, and make some art of your own. On July 12 will be a bilingual production of Romeo and Juliet presented by Trinity Rep and RI Latino Arts. The show begins at 6:30pm. Rhode Islanders will have a chance once again to tell their own stories when the Storycorps Airstream Station returns to Washington Street by Burnside Park from June 19 – July 30. This oral history project is something every Rhode Islander should check out.

Check out the DPPC’s Facebook page for more details. From a performance by the Doppleganger Dance Collective in August, to the Afrika Nyaga Drum and Dance Festival with Sidy Maiga and the DPPC in September, and the Second Annual Octoberfest Burnside Music Series and Beer Garden, there is always something happening at Kennedy Plaza!

For more information visit the DPPC website at www.provparksconservancy.org, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DowntownParksConservancyPVD or on Twitter @KennedyplazaPVD.

PVDFest Updates

I remember going to PVDFest way back in the day when it was still called the Providence International Arts Festival, in 2015. The festival was a marvel of positive energy, and its entertainment vibe was almost ADD, with theater skits and choreographed dance breaking out in the middle of the street, sanctioned skateboarding and blading stunt areas, food trucks and carts, a giant harp strung from the top of the Superman building, spectacular large-scale new public art executed by The Avenue Concept, and concerts that took place in parking lots throughout Downcity. Both the big lots you know and the slightly shady ones you might normally hesitate to walk through were transformed into giddy dancefloors for music of all genres.

This year promises the same sense of wonder and urban transformation. Expect a massive pedestrian zone again, speckled with seemingly random outbreaks of art and music. (see story at motifri.com/pvdfest-to-transform-city-into-magical-wonderland). There will be a WaterFire, of course, with everything that entails. Expect giant Dutch flying dragons and partners from the Dean Hotel and Big Nazo to The Avenue Concept and the Southside Cultural Center, from the Providence Preservation Society to AS220, and from the Downtown Parks Conservancy to Providence Implantations.

“The whole city is a stage,” says Kathleen Pletcher, executive director of event organizer FirstWorks, who mentioned that this year’s fest will also expand to Grant’s block, part of Westminster St. WBRU’s Concert Series will kick the whole thing off on Friday, June 3. There’s family programming during the day, and at night the main stage will host numerous performers, including locals like Chachi Cavallo and VulGarrity and some from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti and Mali, and the Extraordinary Rendition Band (ERB)’s planet of origin. There will be collaborations with Trinity Repertory Theater, and food trucks from across the state, coordinated by FoodTrucksIn. Eleven public art projects will manifest around Downcity.

So bring an empty stomach, your dancing shoes and as many friends as you can muster! PVD Fest is June 2 – 6 throughout Kennedy Plaza and the Downcity area. PVDfest.com JMW Art Conversations & Communications in Art and Metal

Communicating is a key factor in both learning about art and expressing oneself artistically. Art is a communication tool, and when artists share their art, they are trying to express fragments of their personal conversation, or their emotions, to the world around them.

This week, the Senior Class of the Jaclyn M Welsh Arts High School in Pawtucket has a two-part exhibit opening in DAWN At The GRANT Gallery in which they voice their interactions with local senior citizens and give voice to the creative journey they have accomplished to-date.

As expressed by one of the students, “Over the past four years at JMW Arts High School, students have been given the opportunity to further their education in visual arts. Professional artist and master sculptor Chris Kane designed a curriculum in which his students are exposed to multiple medias, practices and strategies used by artists… Students’ final year with Mr. Kane is spent in a class called Portfolio/Public Art, in which their voice and image is exposed to the public. The students this year have been working hard to create works of multiple medias, such as painting murals, figure drawing and photography, to find their voice in the world of visual art.”

A major part of the exhibit at DATG Gallery, “Conversations In Metal​” includes an intergenerational art project worked on and completed over the past year. “Conversations in Metal” is an exhibit of cast metal sculpture made by senior art majors from JMW Arts High School and senior citizen participants from the Leon Mathieu Senior Center. This art project was a partnership between the Pawtucket School Department, the Leon Mathieu Senior Center, Kane Sculpture Studio and Tunstall, a world leader in elder healthcare services. The high school art students and senior citizens worked with professional sculptor Chris Kane to create a series of complex forms in wax, which were then cast in aluminum.

The students and seniors began the project with a story exchange exercise that helped break the ice and led to deep conversations. Phrases from these conversations were cut into the wax bars that make up the sculptures. Legibility of the text is diminished by the many process steps involved in casting the complex knotted forms of the sculptures, leaving intriguing fragments of the conversations that began the process hidden among the drips, welds and tool marks that define the surface.

This year, at least 15 students will be giving voice to their art, expressing themselves in images and creative fragments to the world. The participating artists include Madeline Duffin, Timmy Ok, Aimme Martinez, Saxante Gonzalez, Jordon Omelas, Kevin Charron, Leenda Moitoso, Tiffany Warner, Katelin Tirrel, Patience Waring, Joshua Santos, Laila Cannon, Emma White, Erin Perkins and Brendan Baker.

Join them in conversation.

The combined exhibits are on display at 250 Main Street, Pawtucket. The show opening takes place on Tuesday, May 17 from 6 – 9pm and it runs through June 4. The best opportunity to visit the exhibit is on Thursdays from 11 am – 3pm. PVDFest to Transform City into Magical Wonderland

Dust off your binoculars, a pair of sturdy walking shoes and a sense of childlike wonder. In early June, 17-foot winged dinosaurs will glide through streets of downtown Providence in search of merriment and new friends. But there’s no need to fear these ephemeral beasts. Close-Act, an arts ensemble from the Netherlands, is behind their every move meant to transfix and entertain audiences young and old.

The enchanting spectacle will be part of PVDFest – a four-day international arts festival hosted by arts nonprofit FirstWorks and the City of Providence. From June 2 through June 5 public spaces — such as streets, parks and outdoor stages – will be transformed into visual playgrounds. In addition to the musicians, sculptures and performance artists, more than 70 merchants will be present at the multifaceted event that celebrates the unique offerings of the Creative Capital. Last year, over 100,000 people attended.

“There’s going to be so many treats — including surprise street performances, world class music, workshops meant to expose children to the wonders of art. Everyone can participate in this celebration that forges new partnerships between local creatives and those from across the world,” notes Kathleen Pletcher, the founder and director of FirstWorks. “We want people to look at our landscape – whether it be Grant’s Block or Burnside Park – from another perspective. Our mission is to expose everyone to the wonder of the arts.”

For those looking for summer sizzle, the festival will feature some red hot flavor. The 17-piece Afro- Cuban All Stars will be delighting music aficionados. Director Juan de Marcos González, who arranged the famed Buena Vista Social Club, leads a multi-generational line-up drawn from some of the island’s most beloved bands. Their performances are a celebration of Cuba’s rich musical history. And Haitian multigenerational collective Lakou Mizik will play a compilation of Vodou chants and drumming, Rara horns fashioned from sheet metal, Carnevale rhythms, gospel ballads and folk.

For those familiar with sounds hailing from the Ocean State, brother-sister rock duo Vulgarrity will be making an appearance. Brian Chippendale (of Lightning Bolt) will showcase his high-energy drumming in Black Pus. And Providence galleries, including Grin, will be featuring exhibitions. “There’s going to be so much to see,” notes Pletcher. “PVDFest is a magical world ready to explore.”

The PVDFest takes place June 2 – 5 at various locations throughout the city. For more information, visit pvdfest.com. Feeling like giving some love to the Providence arts scene? PVDFest is welcoming volunteers. Check out pvdfest.com/volunteer. Interview with John D. Cronise from The Sword

What can you say about the metal genre that hasn’t already been said? It’s emphatic, triumphant and it’ll give you a rush that few musical styles can. Usually that rush equates to banging your head, raising your fists in the air and acting like a crazed fun-loving lunatic. In a style with numerous sub-genres and different types of fans, there has been a good number of bands taking metal back to its roots. Add heavy fuzz, psychedelic aesthetics and raucous structure and you’ll have a sound reminiscent of metal’s glory days in the ‘70s when Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and many others were hailed as kings. It’s a movement happening in the post-everything age that many are welcoming with open arms.

One of those acts is The Sword, a band that started in the psych-rock capital of the world in Austin, Texas, and they have achieved a loyal following in the States and beyond. They’ll be lighting up the ballroom at Fete Music Hall in Providence on May 19 for what will be a wild and crazy time. Ahead of the show I had the chance to talk to frontman John D. Cronise about his love for comics, the influences behind The Sword’s latest release, High Country, and what the band’s plans are for the summer.

Rob Duguay: Growing up your aspiration was to be a comic book artist until you started playing guitar at the age of 13. What made you want to make the transition from drawing to making music?

John D. Cronise: Comic book drawing seemed a little too difficult and it took a little too long, music was more immediate. You just plug in your guitar and sound just comes out so I preferred that.

RD: It makes a lot of sense, especially when you can adapt faster to playing guitar than drawing comics. Are you still a fan of comics? Do you have a favorite character?

JC: I don’t really read anything actively, but I’d say Batman is probably my all-time favorite comic book character.

RD: Do you prefer Marvel or DC?

JC: When it comes to the comics themselves, I’ll maybe lean more toward DC a little bit, but I recently saw Captain America: Civil War the other day.

RD: Do you enjoy the movies and TV shows? Sometimes it can be hit or miss.

JC: I pay attention to that stuff. I’m kind of a nerd fanboy a little bit still. I at least keep abreast on what’s coming out, but I may not get around to seeing it. We were on tour when Batman vs. Superman came out so we didn’t get to see that in the theater and I heard it wasn’t that good. There’s a lot of that stuff out there these days and it’s cool on one level in the sense that when I was growing up all that stuff was just talked about, like maybe one day this X-Men movie would come out or there will be this Daredevil TV show or something like that. It didn’t seem like it was that close to happening and now everywhere you turn there’s some comic book, science fiction or fantasy based movie or TV show. Of course anytime something like that happens with TV, movies or music and when somebody sees a winning formula everybody piles on and thinks they can make the same formula work. Then you’re going to have a decline in quality at some point and you’re going to have to sift through some shit to find the gem.

RD: You moved to Austin, Texas, from Richmond, Virginia, in 1999 and a few years later you started The Sword with drummer Trivett Wingo in 2003. There’s been a lot of talk with a lot of major cities, especially Austin, of gentrification and the increase of the cost of living. In your opinion, how much has the city changed since you first arrived?

JC: Actually I lived there for 12 years but I haven’t lived there for the last three kind of because of what you’re talking about. When I left Austin it was unrecognizable from when I moved there and it’s pretty much why I left. It wasn’t really my bitterness necessarily, I just looked around and said to myself, “Wait a second, this isn’t what I signed up for and this isn’t where I want to live.” The Austin of back then was where I wanted to live and that doesn’t exist anymore so it was time for me to move on. I think it’s just inevitable in a lot of places, for me it’s just a matter of going with the flow and there are a lot of people who live in Austin and places like that where they feel it’s changing too much and getting too crowded and they just sit and complain about it. To me the answer is if you don’t like it then move.

RD: Do you still live in the Austin metro area or did you completely move out of there?

JC: I live totally far away, I live in North Carolina. Our guitarist Kyle Shutt lives in New York, our bass player Bryan Richie, speaking of gentrification and rising house prices and that sort of thing, he has a family and he bought a house outside of Austin in Taylor, Texas, because the houses are really expensive in Austin. We do pretty well as far as bands go but we’re not rich by any means, we’re pretty middle class when it comes to our income level. Where I live buying houses is a lot cheaper than it is in Austin.

RD: The Sword last August put out their fifth studio album High Country. I’ve listened to it a bunch and I definitely enjoy it. The band went down a lesser toned ‘70s hard rock route. It reminds me a lot of Thin Lizzy and even a bit of King Crimson, especially with the way the songs are structured. Were you listening to a lot of those bands while writing the material for the album or did it just come out that way?

JC: Well, I always listen to a lot of Thin Lizzy. That’s just a given. With King Crimson, I like King Crimson but they’re kind of musically beyond me as far as being an influence. I don’t think in that outside the box, abstract way when it comes to writing songs. We just tried to make a classic album you could say. With our personal influences and our little nuances, we just want to write good songs. That’s really what the album strives to do, it shows that it doesn’t have to be at full volume and just use distortion and bombast to get our point across. We can bring it back a little bit and still deliver quality material and that was kind of the idea.

RD: After the show at Fete, what are The Sword’s plans for the summertime?

JC: On this tour that we’re on now we’re playing a couple of festivals, a couple rock festivals later in the tour. The summer we’re pretty much going to be taking off, actually, and we’re going to start touring again in September and October. We’ll just be chilling for the summer and just working on new material.

Get tickets to The Sword @ Fete Music Hall on Thursday May 19: ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?eventId=6478625&pl=fete&dispatch=loadSelectionData; The Sword’s Website: theswordofficial.com

Providence Gallery Night: Art On Display

Providence is soaring into another enthusiastic season of Gallery Night, and this is a really big affair! When the doors open (5pm, closing at 9ish), the trekking, touring and mingling of art all come to life. What’s all the hype? Well, there is no better time to tour the city and treat yourself to an entire night dedicated to the arts. There is an abundance of galleries, studios and museums that welcome anyone who has even an inkling of art enthusiasm. It’s a great time to chat, learn, listen, possibly purchase and join in the fun the evening has to offer.

There are many ways to experience Gallery Night. Walk, bike, drive or sign up for a bus tour. There are several parking lots situated in and near the city and very conveniently located near Downcity. Gallery Night booklets are readily available throughout local shops and restaurants (wherever you might find Motif, plus in many participating galleries) that include street maps, directions, lists of artists and other arty information.

Walk: Providence is definitely a walking-friendly city. Park free in one of the many designated lots, pick a section or two and plan your night as there are many galleries within walking distance.

Bike: Go green! Bike tours will be available this summer, but until then you can bike to Regency Plaza and join a tour. Or contact Sol Chariots (401-400-1765) and let someone else pedal for you. It’s still green.

Drive: Drive into the city with local galleries nearby, with a sure bet you can get to a couple of venues during the night.

Tour Bus: Located at the Regency Plaza, the times are flexible, with tours beginning at 5:30pm and running every 20 minutes; the last bus leaves at 7pm. Select from celebrity- or collector-guided tours. Each tour runs about 2 hours and visits four to five galleries.

The celebrity guided tours allow you to mingle with folks who have art fever. For May, Julie Brayton (a RI contemporary painter), Robert Dilworth (artist and African-American art history professor) and Walter Harper (scholar of African-American 19th and 20th century artifacts and literature, fine art photography and literature) will be in attendance. Learn firsthand from their depth of art knowledge and share in the fun; even Mayor Elorza once shared his knowledge about Providence art on a celebrity tour.

During a collectors tour, you mingle with individuals who collect art. They tell their stories of meeting artists and give details of different mediums, adventures and additions to their own collections. That alone can make the evening unique and memorable.

Each tour covers different aspects of art and each guide is well versed on the city and happy to share and answer your questions about different aspects of art, artists and sightings. It’s fabulous!

For the May 19 line-up, here are a few happenings around the city:

The Peaceable Kingdom (pkgifts.com), located at 116 Ives Street, will exhibit a collection of African wooden stools. Uniquely carved from a single piece of wood, these pieces are available for purchase. Music by Tibetan singers will entertain visitors. The family owned and operated shop loves Gallery Night and has been contributing for many years. To the Ritchie family, it’s like a mini party with a range of diverse guests of all age groups who keep coming back to explore their world-traveled treasures. They love educating visitors walking through their door and appeal to a wide range of aficionados. Stop in and enjoy some international flair and excitement while grabbing a beverage and staying for hors d’oeuvres.

Painter Anthony Tomsaselli (anthonytomaselli.com) will be at his Fleur-de-lys Studio at 7 Thomas Street exhibiting his works. He has been involved in Gallery Night for over 10 years and loves it! With people from all over the world walking into his studio, he never knows who he’ll encounter. As a native Rhode Islander, his work is known to many local establishments and his style, as he reflects on his work, is “expressive realism with a tad of impressionism.” Well said. His paintings reflect mood, weather and the feelings of the person viewing his work. His passion for the arts runs deep and he notes that there is so much percolating out there and he enjoys it when local artists come together and make it accessible. Providence is a city of art and we like to show it off.

A one-time tour stop for May is DeSano Studio (desanostudio.blogspot.com) located at 9 Thomas Street.

In addition, here are some new galleries added to the 2016 season: The Handicraft Club (handicraftclub.org), Inner Space Outsider Art Gallery @ Share Space (facebook.com/innerspaceoutsider) and Sprout RI (sproutrhodeisland.com/gallery-night).

Enjoy a night of family-friendly galleries in Providence and experience the music and an array of art featuring the works of dozens of local artists.

Gallery Night Providence takes place on the third Thursday of every month. For more information, visit gallerynight.org

Other Gallery Nights take place in Newport, Bristol, and somewhere else.

Hope Street Annual Spring Block Party

Photo Credit: Eat! Shop! Play! – Hope Street

When spring comes around, the urge to get outside and enjoy your surroundings is contagious. You might want to go for a stroll around the neighborhood, play with your pet in a nearby park, get a pickup game of basketball going or just sit on the porch with a cold beverage and relax. On Hope Street in Providence’s East Side there’s a big bash that takes place in May right in the heart of the season. Food trucks, activities and live music are abundant and the vibe is perfect to mosey around and partake in the festivities. It’s the Hope Street Annual Spring Block Party and it’s happening on Saturday, May 21, from Noon – 6pm.

When you’re looking to get your grub on, there will be no shortage of places where you can grab a bite. Poco Loco will be present and putting their own unique spin on Mexican cuisine, Like No Udder will be serving dairy free treats that are absolutely scrumptious and Noble Knots is where you can score your pretzel bun fix. Acacia Café has yummy, wholesome fare that’ll stick to your ribs, O’Crepe has those delicious French pancakes with a variety of toppings and the Asian fusion cuisine from Fugo is out of this world. Local favorite Del’s will be serving up their trademark frozen lemonade and the fried food from Citizen Wing and Friskie Fries will be available as well. These are only a few of the food trucks that’ll be present at the block party, so chances are you won’t be leaving hungry.

There will be live music going on all afternoon with the reggae rocksteady funk masters Boo City and local supergroup Happiness consisting of Ravi Shavi’s Rafay Rashid, Deer Tick’s Ian O’Neil and Dennis & Christopher Ryan. Indie roots act Last Good Tooth, hip-hop up and comer Medusah Black, singer-songwriter John Faraone and the spectacular brass act Extraordinary Rendition Band will also be performing. A bunch of other acts that will be rounding out the bill are The Adjuncts, Tiny Diamond, Joe’s Backyard Band, The Classical High School Jazz Band and Nickel Jukebox. It’s a stacked lineup that aims to please so come early and don’t miss out.

Along with the food and music, Project 401 Dance Squad and Chinese Lion Dance Club will be getting their groove on. There will also be a drum circle, a fashion show, a rock climbing wall, face painting and a pop-up playground courtesy of the YMCA. With all of this going on, how can it not be fun? Free up your afternoon on May 21 and come down to Hope Street for what should be an absolute blast.

Event page for the Hope Street Annual Spring Block Party: facebook.com/events/557085854468980

90s Love: Todd Oldham Exhibition at RISD Museum

When prepping for the debut of his spring line in 1994, iconic apparel designer Todd Oldham did something a bit unexpected. Searching for inspiration, he set wood chips on fire in a metal trash can and photographed the wild blaze. The hot result was Flame Ensemble, a dye- sublimation printed stretch flannel dress paired with matching boots. Its polyester velvet was made by ski-fabric makers and the footwear was anointed with jeweled spiders on the zipper pulls.

This type of out-of-the-box creativity is evident throughout the RISD Museum’s All of Everything: Todd Oldham Fashion, the first major exhibition to focus on the playful aesthetic of the artist’s 1990s fashion career. The raucously colorful show features more than 65 full ensembles made using an assortment of unexpected materials: ornate Indian fabrics, intricate beading, Swarovski crystals. For instance, Love Ball Dress — a piece constructed out of fuzzy pipe-cleaners – was made in honor of the first New York AIDS fundraiser held in 1991.

“We’re always throwing curveballs,” Oldham recalls. “I felt I had something new to say in this medium that had juxtaposition and duality – not a normal approach to fashion, come to find out.”

One of the most stunning visual gems is Fluttering Flower Ensemble, a printed satin coat with applied floral decoration and printed knit cashmere hot pants. Seamstresses interested in the technical side of design will be pleased to examine the layered fabric. It’s Chinese silk embroidered in India, which was photographed and made into sublimation papers. The team then die-cute polyester organza flowers and stitched them onto polyester fabric before it was printed, so the transfer went right through and then it ghosted.

“On the body, the pattern doesn’t look disrupted; it shimmers,” Oldham writes in the artist statement. “Because the pattern matches up, it doesn’t become visual chaos. This was one of the few times I thought we did something that hasn’t been done before.”

Oldham is definitely a designer of the people who’s slipped into many mediums. Before high-def television made its debut, he hosted “Handmade Modern” – a DIY home furniture show that aired on HGTV. In one episode, he makes a leather-studded ottoman with the help of Joan Jett. The pair added circumferential studs to give an alt edge to the piece, which Joan later took home. And those keen to early MTV programming might remember when he hosted “Todd Time,” a three-minute segment included in the popular “House of Style” hosted by friend and mega-supermodel Cindy Crawford. The soft-spoken Oldham was always disarmingly congenial, which made for mighty revealing interviews.

Oldham retired from his wholesale business in 1999. The revelation that he was done with his haute couture fashion house actually occurred while he was making a green satin shift that Crawford would wear in a spring line. The designer felt as though he simply wanted to spend his limited time elsewhere. But he hasn’t stopped working creatively. In fact, he’s now some of the brains behind Kid Made Modern, a line of DIY home projects. His lessons inspire children to mash together discarded home items to make beautiful, functional works of art. Some of his colorful books even inform readers about mid-century visionaries such as Alexander Girard, Isamu Noguchi and Verner Panton.

But luckily for die-hard fashion enthusiasts (or those who simply enjoy a pop of color), his wonderful ’90s apparel designs live on in Providence. “I am most flattered RISD is celebrating my fashion days,” he says. “I had such fun making the clothes and the great pleasure of working next to amazing artists along the way.”

Hurry down to the RISD Museum! The exhibition runs through Sept 11, 2016.

Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me! Comes to PPAC

You don’t have to be a news aficionado to appreciate National Public Radio’s Chicago-based “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” but the weekly comedy series, taped live every week for Saturday broadcast, is ostensibly a “news quiz.” One might be forgiven for forgetting the topical nature of the show, however, since WWDTM is fast-paced, funny and filled with a rotating cast of guests and panelists that make an hour seem like a few minutes. Similar in style to another long-running NPR gem, “Says You,” WWDTM is sardonically educational, tickling the funny bone while infiltrating our senses with knowledge. Whether it is call-in contestants or notable humorists such as Paula Poundstone giving the answers, it never seems to matter if anyone actually wins or loses (unless you’re vying for the opportunity to have the gold-throated Carl Kasell record your answering machine message). Quick wit and opportunities for socio-political satire are the order of the day and regular host Peter Sagal ties the proceedings together with a practiced ease that has made him one of the most beloved NPR personalities of the last two decades.

The immediately affable Sagal has a long career in show business as a playwright, actor, journalist and screenwriter. He is ignominiously famous as both the co-writer of the sequel to Dirty Dancing and as an extra in a Michael Jackson video, two topics of which he appears to be simultaneously proud and embarrassed. It is his steady gig as host of WWDTM, however, that has gained him the most notoriety and, although there are often stand-in hosts, it is Sagal’s presence that makes the show both lighthearted and irreverent. He is not afraid to tease his base, the liberal NPR audience, while conducting business. While interviewing the US Labor Secretary on a recent episode, Sagal quipped “Despite President Obama’s best efforts, this is still a capitalist country,” and in response to Secretary Perez’s quip that he once brought too many items into an express checkout lane, Sagal deadpanned, “I don’t know if you’ve ever been on NPR before, but right now 40,000 people are writing to us in anger.”

With “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” coming live to PPAC on May 12, Motif took the opportunity to interview Peter Sagal about his many endeavors, his feelings about Providence and, of course, the Michael Jackson incident.

Terry Shea: I know you went to Harvard, so you’re not unfamiliar with New England, but have you been to Providence before?

Peter Sagal: Yes! I have been to Providence, but it was so long ago I have to honestly say I don’t remember too much. Has it gotten any better?

TS: Well, actually yes. Have you been there since the ’90s?

PS: Ah, yes, it would have been the ’90s since I was last there. The reason I know Providence, actually, is that I applied to (Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist) Paula Vogel’s graduate drama writing course at Brown and was accepted, which was one of the most flattering things that has ever happened to me. I didn’t go, but I regret that.

This comment sparked a long discussion between Sagal and me about theater in general and theater in Rhode Island, specifically. Sagal noted that he has been fortunate enough to live and work in some of the great theater cities in the country and was happy to hear about the plethora of new companies that have formed in Rhode Island since his short time here. He questioned whether the talent pool gets diluted in such a small state and went on to say that as long as the audiences are there, then good theater will always thrive.

TS: That being said, your last play was written almost 10 years ago. Do you have any plans for more scripts? PS: You know, I love it (playwriting), but it’s been a while. I love it, yet I never do it. It’s kind of like the old gunslinger movies where they call the aging shootist back into town and he’s not sure if he can hack it anymore. I like to say it’s like that Mel Brooks movie Blazing Saddles – I’m Gene Wilder without the alcoholism. Seriously, though, I couldn’t have imagined writing back then what people are doing now, the young writers. I went to see the play The Flick (Annie Baker, Pulitzer Prize for Drama, 2014) and there were all of these tiny things going on that I missed because I’m an old man. But, I would love to write another play. There is no other experience like sitting in back of a theater watching one of my plays being performed.

TS: So, this tour of “Wait Wait” brings you to the Providence Performing Arts Center. Do you know or remember that venue from your time here?

PS: No, I don’t know it! Never been, tell me about it.

TS: It’s a beautiful old theater, lots of detail, balconies. Goes back to the 1920s and has been renovated a few times. Usually, it hosts touring Broadway productions and the occasional classic rock act.

PS: Great! We’ve actually played in a lot of theaters like that. It’s interesting, because back in the day if you wanted to be a successful big city, you built a theater. And many of those fine old theaters, the beautiful ones, have been in these cities that, at some point, experience significant economic decline. For instance, one of the most beautiful houses we ever played in was located in Akron, Ohio. Waterbury, Connecticut, is another one that has a great old theater. So there are all these beautiful small to mid- sized theaters around the country that have just always been around. But, in cities that didn’t necessarily have that cycle of decline/resurgence, in our home base of Chicago, for example, they tore down a lot of the old theaters to make parking lots. Eh, no one’s going to theater, but people have to park! Now, just judging by the plaques on walls when we go backstage in some of these places, back in the ’80s or ’90s or later, these cities started renovating these old theaters once they had a little money again.

TS: You must see a lot out on the road. Any favorite cities or experiences while touring the show?

PS: They are all wonderful and I can justify it! The great thing about home (Chicago) is I am at home and I can sleep in my own bed, use my home office, see my kids. Our home theater (the Chase Bank Auditorium) is really perfect for what we do – it’s only 400 seats and as I like to say, it has everything but charm. For our type of show, and this is a comedy show, we really rely on that instant response; we rely on that audience feedback. Are they antsy? Do we need to move this along? We can see what’s working and if you have to give them more of that. You don’t get that at 3,000 seat houses. But, that size house is also wonderful. You really have to be like an old school rock ‘n’ roll band. You adjust to whatever place you’re playing. But, that being said, when we go to another town to play, the people are there to see us, and we’ve built up all this goodwill in advance. We would have to be really bad to annoy them! And, it’s a great experience to walk out onto a stage and be greeted by 3,000 people. I highly recommend it.

TS: One of the joys of listening (or watching) “Wait Wait” is the variety of guest panelists. Can you tell us who will be joining you in Providence and also, who are some of your favorites to work with?

PS: Really, I’m happy with whoever. I know it’s a pat answer, but I’m always happy when I look to my left and see these amazing people and I just know it will be a great time. I don’t know exactly who will be with us in Providence. I mean, I do, it’s written down on a wall back in the office, but I can’t recall at the moment. I love them all, whoever it turns out to be.

TS: Ok, since this is an NPR show, I have to ask: What are your feelings on pledge drives?

PS: I’m lucky in that part that I don’t have to manage the mic during pledge drives. Usually it’s done as part of a pretaped thing. But, that being said, the public radio model is ridiculously fair. You know, every once in a while we pass the hat and you know exactly what you’re paying for. I can’t imagine any commercial endeavor doing that. Imagine taking the Prius out for a test drive and liking it and the dealer saying, well, there you go, it’s yours, and if you feel like it … give us some money … if not, that’s ok we’ll let you keep it! But, we’d love some money so that we can make more Priuses. Actually, many other businesses are beginning to adopt that model with online fundraising and so forth for their product. It’s like … I’m a Red Sox fan and like all sports fans I was leeching off the coverage of the Boston Globe for a long time, including a particular writer, Peter Abraham, but I never paid for it. You can get it for free! I then, finally, I said, “What am I doing? Pete Abraham has to get paid! I should pay for this!”

TS: I know we’re running out of time, so I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up the question of you being an extra in a Michael Jackson video.

PS: Right! Well, it’s one of those things that always comes up, whether it actually means anything or not. The story goes: An old LA friend asked if I’d like a chance to be an extra for MJ and I immediately said, “Yes, because I know this is a story I will be telling for the next 50 years, no matter what happens.” So, most people seem to think it was for “Thriller”, but it wasn’t. Those people were dancers, not extras. This was actually for the marketplace scene in the “Remember The Time” video (1991). I was a snake charmer, I got all in costume and I was on the set, I got paid $95 and I was eventually not even used. But, I got to meet Michael. I said, “Nice to meet you,” and he said, “Nice to meet you,” and that was really it. So, in my obituary I expect the top line to be, “He worked with Michael Jackson and wrote Dirty Dancing 2 even though he didn’t mean to.”

Like the show he hosts, Peter Sagal emphasizes the quality of his experiences over their quantity. He has run marathons, appeared in TV and film, been in print numerous times and is comfortable on either end of an interview. For him, it seems fitting to crib a description from the aforementioned NPR show “Says You” when it comes to describing his life and his experiences – it’s not important to know the answers … it’s important to like the answers.

NPR’s comedic quiz show “Wait, Wait. . . Don’t Tell Me!” comes to the Providence Performing Arts Center on May 12 at 7:30pm. Tickets are available at the PPAC box office, 220 Weybosset St, by calling 421-2787, or online at ppacri.org.

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