This Town: Recent Episodes
Rick Allen Lippert
This Town highlights Oklahoma City area business owners - their roots, their missions, their challenges, their goals - with host Rick Allen Lippert
Very few people in This Town have been so integral in the arts culture as Peter Dolese. Since the 1970s, he's been immersed in music, art, poetry, and food. He was in arts administration before he knew what that was, even showing obscure films for a while. Working with the CETA grant program, he made his way to volunteering with the Arts Council of Oklahoma City (1976-1989) before joining the staff and eventually retiring in 2022. During that time, Peter coordinated the Arts Commandoes and directed the Festival of the Arts before becoming the executive director. All along the way, he blew his harmonica with multiple bands. He's performed with the OKC Philharmonic and continues to play in area churches.
In this interview, Peter expresses why the arts are essential, and he tells of his current endeavors before addressing the challenges the ACOKC faced in the wake of the Murrah Building bombing in 1995 and the challenges of moving the Festival back to Bicentennial Park.
Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
In this second part of the interview, Carpenter Square Theatre executive artistic director Rhonda Clark tells of her early days with CST, starting with the first season, and takes us through all of the moves she and the theater endured and the challenges she overcame. Rhonda also recalls many her favorite roles as an actor and her directorial highlights.
Edited by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
Rhonda Clark is a mainstay of theatre in This Town as the executive artistic director of Carpenter Square Theatre. In the first part of this two-part interview, she tells of growing up in the Ozarks and what inspired her to seek a life in theater.
From her high school performing, to attending Northeast Oklahoma A&M Junior College, and transferring to the University of Oklahoma, Rhonda remembers fondly those fabulous years. And the stories of OU Theatre in the 1970s and of doing rep in Odessa, Texas (with most interesting travels on days off)! She also talks about doing a dinner theatre performance for an audience of two in Paducah, Kentucky (shortly before the place went bankrupt).
Once back in Oklahoma, Rhonda tells of finding work in a variety of jobs at the Oklahoma Theater Center (later renamed Stage Center) and also performing in some traveling troupes as artists-in-residence. It was during this period that she met some other actors who would become lifelong friends: Doobie Potter (RIP), Joe Long, Albert Bostick and others.
At OTC that Rhonda mounted a production of "Lonestar" that went on to win regional and national competitions and eventually play in Monaco.
In part two of this podcast, Rhonda recalls her history with Carpenter Square Theatre.
Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
A long-time political reporter and photographer whose byline has appeared in numerous newspapers, M. Scott Carter is also an author of both fiction and non-fiction. Raised in Yale, OK, he began his journalism career at the young age of 12 with a gopher job at the Yale News where he published his first story at 13.
Following editor positions at both Northern OK College and OK State University, he recalls keeping his metal film camera warm under his armpits in a legendarily cold football game while working at the Stillwater News Press..
Scott worked in the media departments at the state Senate and House and shares insider observations on the different approaches to legislating in those bodies. He tells a particularly memorable story of meeting Vice-President Al Gore following the Murrah Building bombing and leaving the VP with a biological memento. He is also a professor of Journalism and tells some poignant stories of helping students find their way and, in one case, stay out of jail.
His novel, "Stealing Kevin's Heart"."was an Oklahoma Book Award finalist, and he has written several others including the upcoming "The Capitol War" about the illegal moving of the state seal from Guthrie to OKC. In this interview, Scott tells of just some of the shenanigans that the governor and others pulled.
Post-production by Fred. O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
Before Ashley Wells became the executive producer of Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, she had an exciting ride to get to Broadway where she appeared in "Hello Dolly" with Carol Channing for several years. You'll be amazed at the differences between a first-run tour and a bus-and-truck one. But the fluke that landed her that job is the stuff of legends! And speaking of jobs, how did she survive in NYC when not on stage? She tells the story of a particularly interesting one. She also provides a behind-the-scenes look at the Hollywood casting process. Life and love took her to Orlando and then finally back home where she and her husband never thought they return. She now directs shows at Lyric in addition to keeping track of everything.
Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
Chances are that if you've attended the Great State Fair of Oklahoma in the past 3+ decades, you've encountered attractions booked by Scott Munz. As the spokesperson for the Fair, he's in charge of all promotions, so you've probably seen or heard him in media interviews. In this episode, you'll hear him tell the secret of the Six-foot Man Eating Chicken!
But before he gets to that story, Scott tells about his start in the music business booking bands as a university student in upstate New York. A few of them you'll recognize: Billy Joel (whom he danced to while in high school and Joel was in local bands), Eagles, Shawn Phillips, B.W. Stevenson. He even booked bands through a small company called Harvey & Corky. The Harvey was none other than Harvey Weinstein. Yes, that Harvey Weinstein.
After moving to Tulsa in the mid-70s, he managed Cain's Ballroom where he worked with some of the biggest acts of the time: Sex Pistols, Police, Van Halen, Pat Benatar, the Ramones, and all of the Outlaw Country stars. Scott also tells of promoting professional wrestling in the 80s.
Since 1988, Scott has promoted the Fair. He sheds light on the strategy of fair attractions and fair food, and he shares some strong personal views on the state of the music touring industry.
Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
Just about everyone who does anything of importance in this town is a Leadership OKC alum. After all, their mission is to develop leaders. Christy Zelley is the executive director, but she started as the administrative assistant to the first director (only her second job out of college). She became the number two woman in a two-woman shop back when LOKC was in its eighth class. LOKC is about to announce Class 43.
Christy tells of the many cities in which her family lived and how they ultimately returned to this town. She details how the organization came to be along with the many different programs they offer and what the selection committees each year look for in applicants.
Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
You've seen him in numerous TV shows and some movies. But as a character actor, you wouldn't know this name. It's Jim Beaver. He tells tales of a working actor - from his college days at Central State University (now UCO) in Edmond to New York City and finally to Los Angeles.
He tells a funny story about his big break in Norman Jewison's 1989 "In Country" with Bruce Willis when the director mentioned his name ahead of Willis'. And Jim tells more about the many TV shows he's worked including "Justified" and the show he considers to be the greatest of them all, "Deadwood."
Our paths crossed back in college when we both attended CSU (he in theatre, me in broadcasting) and also as gunfighters at Western theme park Frontier City. Jim sat for this podcast during the filming of a short film after an appearance at a fan convention for the TV show "Supernatural."
Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
Talk about a mainstay in OKC theatre! Billie Thrash came here in the 1970s on a whim and has since graced the stages of many theatre companies as a choreographer, director, and performer. In this podcast, she describes working with Carpenter Square in its inaugural season and choreographing this town's first production of The Rocky Horror Show. Lots of theatre stories here including how, on another whim, she auditioned and was cast in the Papermill Playhouse production of Follies and the thrill of having to get into makeup in the stuck-in-the-tunnel bus. But they made it! Billie also shares how she came to serve on the University of Central Oklahoma musical theatre faculty. While we didn't get into it, her contributions to OKC culture aren't just with theatre; she also served as co-chair for both the New Year's Eve Opening Night celebration and the spring Festival of the Arts for the Arts Council of OKC.
Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
These days, you hear KGOU-FM general manager Dick Pryor on his weekly "Manager's Minute" along with other features. A long-time broadcast journalist, Dick actually started at KGOU while in college. His career began in sports radio in the 1980s and moved to television news where he spent 25 years at OETA with a stint as a lawyer along the way. He tells his story before we get into the philosophy and purpose of public broadcasting and the value of a major in broadcasting and journalism.
Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
Cacky Poarch has made a name for herself as the executive director of the deadCenter Film Festival - twice. As she retires again after this summer's Festival, she tells her story of growing up in the red dirt, tumbleweed-strewn fields of Quail Creek, performing improv comedy in Aspen, working as a casting director in OKC, and touring the state as Captain Supertooth. And she reminisces on the movie that took dCFF to the next level and how deadCenter Film Icons came about.
Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
We've heard his voice for years on television and radio commercials as well as at sporting events. He got his start in radio at the age of 14 with a live, on-air audition orchestrated by his station manager father. Brought to OKC for a radio job at the old KLTE, for the past several decades he's run his own audio recording studio, RK-One Productions. Back during the covid pandemic, RK-1 Studios was the location of a series of classic radio show recreations, broadcast live on the Carpenter Square Theatre YouTube channel (where they are still available for viewing).
Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
A vibrant city needs an arts district with a unique character. In Oklahoma City, that's The Paseo. And thanks to visionary John Belt and his wife Joy Reed Belt, OKC has the most distinctive district in this town and where Joy runs the JRB Gallery as OKC's preeminent art dealer. In this podcast, Joy tells how she arrived here, via Tulsa to teach returning Vietnam vets (with a little help from Leon Russell), and became involved in the revitalization of The Paseo all while becoming a world-traveling business consultant. You may think you know something about the history of the arts in this town, but you're guaranteed to learn more from Joy as she tells the history of legendary arts pioneer Nan Sheets and the creation of the OKC Museum of Art.
Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
Terry Veal has performed in virtually every theater in Oklahoma City over the past 40-odd years. He's been a mainstay at Carpenter Square Theatre since its first season. Following college, the Navy, and college again, he started his acting career at Oklahoma Children's Theatre. He moved into education by teaching drama first at Choctaw High School then at Classen School of Advance Studies. Along the way, he's shard the stage with such greats as the late, local legend Brenda Williams and a college-aged Kristin Chenowith. In this interview, Terry also reveals important lessons he learned from a couple of his influential professors.
Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
Leslie Spears has had a front row seat to the culture of Oklahoma City for a few decades now. Starting as a receptionist at a radio station and moving into promotions, she worked at the OKC Chamber of Commerce to promote the first MAPS projects that transformed downtown OKC, then moved to the OKC Museum of Art and later to the Myriad Gardens. She now promotes all of OKC through her position at the reborn Oklahoma Gazette. In this podcast, Leslie tells how the OKCMOA managed to become the nation's lead exhibitor of glass artist Dale Chihuly.
Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
Ben Hall is an Oklahoma City-based actor, director, writer, and scenic designer. He has appeared in many films both small, independent ones as well as Oscar-winning movies such as "Minari" and "Killers of the Flower Moon."
Ben also designs and builds sets for multiple theatre companies, churches, and film production companies. He tells his story - how he landed in Oklahoma City and how his career progressed to become a cultural icon in This Town.
Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre
In this inaugural Edmond edition of This Town, Rick Allen Lippert interviews Scott McCollum, owner of McRoof.us and a couple of other business. Recorded 8/17/22.
In this inaugural episode of the South OKC edition of This Town, producer/host Rick Allen Lippert interviews Teresa Moisant, owner of Moisant Promotional Products. Recorded 8/17/22.
Introducing the This Town podcast featuring small business owners in the Oklahoma City-area communities telling their stories - their roots, their missions, their challenges, their successes.