Jill Anderson

Actor/singer

Since I was a child, I have loved and found great joy in the free expression of performance. Music and acting have always come very naturally to me so it is no wonder that I focused those interests into my career. I have done concert work, cabaret shows, regional theatre, workshopping, teaching, directing, writing, composing, recording, commercial work, jingle singing, and voiceover. I have worked professionally in the arts now for 25 years and my work has taken me all over the country. The people I have collaborated with and the places I have been have enriched my life, and circulating in the world of professional performance has been edifying on more levels than I can name. Now, living back in my home town of Omaha, I am having to be creative about how I make my living. Quite unexpectedly I have stumbled upon Why Arts? My dear friend, Amy Kunz described her work for the organization with such passion and such a glow in her face that I couldn’t help but be curious. I am probably the newest member on the roster, my work beginning in early 2010, but so far, it has been an adventure filled with amazing rewards. The negative side of the professional performance world filled with ego, status, and desperate striving has no bearing on this work. To take artistic expression in it’s pure, unadulterated form and share it with people for no other reason than to in some way touch them, fortify and encourage them, make them think in a different way, reach or soothe them when they feel alienated or in pain is TRULY the greatest use of that expression. It has been a great gift to me this year and will hopefully continue to be so for many years to come! For more information about my projects and resume, please visit my website at: www.RedChairRecords.com

Stephanie Anderson

After studying Dramatic Arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Nebraska-Omaha I began working as an instructor and director with what was then called the Emmy Gifford Children’s Theater, and is currently known as the Rose Theater. In my 14 years with the professional children’s theater I directed countless productions including The Sound Of Music, The King and I, Bambi, The Boxcar Children and the national touring production of Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters. As an instructor with the children’s theater I worked with children age 4-18 both as performers and as students in classes.

For the last ten years or so I have worked with Campfire USA; performing in two plays in local elementary schools. The first play, the Bubbylonian Encounter, serves to teach young children about inappropriate touch and what to do. The second play, The Adventures of Natalie the Net Nanny, teaches internet safety to upper-elementary students.

Although my background is primarily working with children, through my work with WhyArts? I have discovered a love for working with adults and senior citizens as well. Whether a person is 4 or 104, the arts have something to teach us all.

Donnis Arens

I love to watch people as they listen to a story. Their faces reveal so much. I see reflections of how meaningful the story is to them, whether they are engaged participants on this new journey, what emotions are evoked, and if they are discovering fresh insights and stories of their own.

Stories have great power, regardless of whether they spring from true life or imagination, whether they are kept close to the heart or shared with the world. Storytelling illuminates different ways of thinking and working together, enriching us all.

Storytelling has been essential to me since I could first express myself, and it is a joy to empower others to express themselves through storytelling and creative arts workshops. There is life, mystery and celebration in stories and storytelling. It is an honor to explore storytelling’s unlimited possibilities with people of all ages and backgrounds.

My roots in education and creative expression run deep. I graduated from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln with a dual degree in Special Education and Elementary Education. For thirty-some years, I taught for Millard Public Schools and enjoyed exploring learning with my students. As business owner of Party Kapers by Donnis, I have brought storytelling, creative movement, music, crafts and memories to countless birthday parties and other celebrations. And, for the last twelve years, I have been a stroke survivor with quite a few new stories to tell.

Important influences in my life include my most awesome family and many special people and organizations, including the Nebraska Human Resource and Research Foundation. Some of the groups I have been involved with as a consultant, board member or volunteer are the Omaha Children’s Museum, Rose Children’s Theater, American Heart Association, Methodist Hospital, Board of the Intergeneration Orchestra, Nebraska StoryArts (current president) and Omaha Stroke Club (current president).

Why Arts? and Carolyn Anderson’s leadership touches people in such positive ways, with a limitless exuberance and passion for living. That is why I am so proud to be a part of this amazing team.

Joseph Broghammer

Cairns are an artificial pile of stones often erected as landmarks.  Some mark a path or a burial site.  They can commemorate any sort of event, from the site of a battle to a place where a basket of eggs was dropped. Each of The Birds in this series represents an important moment in my life that I want to remember—whether it was good or bad.  They are life lessons that I’m sharing with you.  They are my cairns.

I use birds as a canvas or skeleton for my life experiences.  I chose birds because they are familiar to us all.  They build nests, some fly, some sing.  They are resilient and colorful. My goal was to chose birds with the qualities and color of the feeling I was experiencing. However, life and its decisive moments occasionally bow to the practical.  I spend hours drawing and that gives me a lot of time to think but sometimes I get hungry.  My favorite cereal is Lucky Charms, so occasionally yellow moons, orange stars, and green clovers will find their way onto the paper.

The Birds are one of a kind pastel drawings and my intent is to push the medium of pastel and pencil to the point that it takes on an expressive, painterly quality.  In paint, you can be explosive.  The medium is wet and can be textured.  But drawing with pastels is a controlled, dry medium. For this series, I choose bold colors and did all of the creating, thinking, and drawing on the paper.  I’m working to create dry paintings.

I’m really a story teller.  But I draw my stories rather than speak or write them.

Matt Bross

Educator/ Videographer

Matt has worked with Why Arts for four years as an educator and a photographer/videographer. He has documented numerous WhyArts projects by co-creating photography displays and short-form documentaries. As an educator, Matt has led workshops in acting, video production, photography, and visual arts. He holds a degree in Theatre from the University of Nebraska Lincoln and has been involved in the creation of music, theatre and film for over 15 years. Currently, Matt works at the Omaha Community Playhouse as the House Manager and co-owns Delinea Design, a multimedia design company.

“I enjoy working with Why Arts because it allows people of all backgrounds to open up and express themselves. I have seen people open up to find something new within themselves that they never knew they had. It is truly rewarding work for everybody involved.”

WhyArts? continues to partner with DeLinea Designs

Denise Chapman

Performer/Director/Teaching Artist

Art in all forms is a basic way of communicating, how we feel, who we wish or hope to be, what change we want to see in the world. Why Arts provides a platform for artist to share their individual gifts with groups of children and adults alike and assist them with finding their artistic voice, allowing them to share their view of the world, how they feel, or what they hope to be. I am honored to be a part of an organization that allows me to bring my talents to the table, share them with a group of individuals and see what happens next.

Michael Fitzsimmons

Composer

Michael Fitzsimmons is a percussionist, an award winning composer, and a performance and recording artist with Dancing Man Music.com. His most recent recordings include Skin on Skin (2002), which garnered him a Nebraska Arts Council Fellowship Award. Michael performs his Drums of the World concerts throughout the Midwest.

He is a leader of full day music workshops with Creative Healing for therapists, school teachers, hospital teams, and individual groups. He is a skilled performer of diverse percussion instruments including drums, African instruments, Mbira (thumb piano), Plains Indian flutes, Brazilian percussion flutes, various bamboo flutes, and Hang Drum from Bern Switzerland.

Michael says of his experience with WhyArts?… “I love my experiences with this program. In particular I love playing for and drumming with very special people at House of Hope, Munroe Meyers, University of Nebraska Medical Center, VODEC, Quality Living Inc. – all the places served by WhyArts! I love seeing the joy on peoples faces as they let loose and play drums and spontaneously break into dance. Their joy is infectious! I always leave these WhyArts? performances with so much more than I came with! It is a privilege to be part of a program that contributes so much to my community.”

Nils Haaland

Nils Haaland loves the art of storytelling in all its forms and is committed to passing along the knowledge and skills he’s acquired over the years to others eager to lean. Nils has earned many awards for his skills as an Actor. He has directed professionally for animated television programs and has earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Technical Direction from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Nils has worked as a staff educator/ actor with the Rose Theater. He has acted and taught workshops for The Omaha Community Playhouse, and with University of Nebraska -Omaha touring company, Shakespeare Unbound. Nils is thrilled and delighted to be working with Why Arts and honored to be included in its very fine roster of professional educators.

Kim Jubenville

I’m thrilled to be joining the Why Arts wonderful roster of artists. I’ve been acting professionally and semi-professionally for over 30 years. When I moved to Omaha almost 25 years ago I found an amazingly vibrant and diverse artistic community. I’ve participated as an actor, director, guest artist, mentor, drama coach and volunteer mom. I’ve taught through the Nebraska Theatre Caravan, VSA, Millard and OPS school districts . I have performed on many area stages, recorded a number of voice-overs for both commercials and film. I believe we all have gifts to share. I believe there is an artist in all of us regardless of age or our physical limits. We may not know where the artist lies or how the artist wants to emerge. But then, that’s my job: to ask it to “come out and play!”

Leslie T. Iwai

Leslie T. Iwai is a professional artist/sculptor with experience working in Nebraska, Africa, and Florida. Iwai holds an undergraduate degree is in Mathematics with a minor in Chemistry. She earned a Master of Architecture degree at Virginia Tech and has also studied in Switzerland. She has been widely commissioned for installations, public art and residencies throughout Nebraska. She has worked on local projects, such as the J. Doe project in Omaha, as well as a solo exhibition on her experiences in Sierra Leone, Africa. Iwai has taught at the University of Nebraska in both Lincoln and in Omaha. One of her best-known public art pieces, Sounding Stones, is located at Elmwood Park in Omaha, where she currently resides.

Iwai uses artwork to challenge students to think creatively and find value and beauty where they live. By focusing on the inherent value of any place, she emphasizes the importance of finding beauty in a seemingly unspectacular environment. With a variety of simple organic and everyday materials, Iwai uses methods such as sewing, folding and drawing to allow students to experiment with new ways to connect simple objects and create a new thing or story. In residencies, students are introduced to site-specific installation sculpture, and utilize simple, atypical materials to construct a collaborative artistic installation at their school or in their community. She leads them in individual and group experiences to understand how art physically transforms their immediate environments and encourages community engagement. “

Lisa Kalantjakos

Visual artist/dancer

isa Kalantjakos has been a part of WhyArts? for two years now. Her diverse background and degrees in dance, education, and studio art have allowed for many rich art experiences with budding and experienced artists of all ages. Some of the locations at which she has conducted workshops and residencies include: The Douglas County Health Center, New Cassel Retirement Center, Heartland Family Services, Dora Bingel Senior Center, Quality Living Institute, Intercultural Senior Center, Seven Oaks, Maple Ridge Resort, The Omaha Children’s Museum, Ollie Webb, The Bemis Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as for Campfire and OPS at various OPS locations.

Lisa’s workshops focus on both two-dimensional and three-dimensional art, as well as creative movement. The visual arts component focuses on drawing basics in graphite and charcoal, life drawing, advanced still life, painting with both watercolor and acrylic, collage, printmaking, and clay sculpture. Creative movement workshops include an exploration of space, meter, rhythm, floorwork, combinations, and many chances for participants to express themselves through their own choreography.

Tom Kerr

Artists

I’m a self-taught artist, and I have spent the better part of my career using lines, shapes and colors trying to get people to react. Sometimes I get a smile, sometimes the goal is to try to provoke anger. I use art to communicate-to tell a story, and that’s what I try to pass along to the children and adults I reach through the Why Arts program.By the way, I also teach cartooning because it’s fun.

Amy Kunz

Artist

For 25 years I have been a professional actor, drama instructor and Education Director. I have also utilized my art background through various projects in those years. I worked many years for The Rose Theatre, The Brigit Saint Brigit Theatre Company and performed principle roles for the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival for eight seasons. I teach voice for the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and am an active artist with The Nebraska Art’s Council.

Now, through working with “WhyArts?”, not only have I been able to put my years of training to use, but I have gained insight and grown through connections with the diverse and beautiful populations we are lucky enough to work with. My most recent experience was with The Ollie Webb Center. We performed the Greek Myth “Perseus and The Medusa” focusing on the theme of Heroism; through years of experiences in theatre, this group of adults with “disabilities” proved to be one of the most positive, mature and inspiring groups I have ever worked with…their inner strength, warmth and good humor truly made this a story about heroes in all forms. It was a gift to work with them and to co-produce with other imaginative artists like Michael Murphey and Octopus’s Garden.

Carolyn Anderson is an inspiring leader, allowing artist’s a rich variety of experiences. I worked with the senior populations at the Intercultural Community Center and The Dora Bingel Center. We designed and created “masks from around the world”. Their creativity and ability was remarkable, and watching them view their own pieces at an art exhibit for Hot Shops was very meaningful. The junior high students at Marrs and Norris Middle Schools are open to new ideas and love the visual arts. In developing “history collages”, it opened up a world of questions…the dialogue that is inspired through creating art is invaluable. I feel privileged to be a part of “WhyArts?

Natalie Linstrom

I’m passionate about teaching and bettering lives through the arts.

I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1997. From 1998 to 2003 I lived in New York City, where I worked as a graphic designer and exhibited my artwork. Here I had access to the world’s best museums, galleries and artists. This proximity to the international art scene was an invaluable source of education and inspiration and has contributed profoundly to my professional growth. From 2001 to 2007 I was creating 5×5 foot paintings for my “Structure and Decay” series. During this time, I also built a storehouse of visual knowledge by traveling often and immersing myself in the museums and cultures of Europe, India and North Africa. From 2004 to 2008 I was the Community Arts Program Director for the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts and had the pleasure of working with nearly 2,000 people. Together we created large-scale public art projects that enhanced the beauty and culture of Omaha and Council Bluffs. Since 2008, I’ve had the opportunity to teach art for WhyArts?inc. and Metropolitan Community College. To date, this has been one of the most satisfying and rewarding aspects of my career.

Of all the things I love to do, teaching is a favorite. It’s a chance to engage with others and share what I’m discovering through my artwork and learning from my research. Pursuing the arts as a profession is a rich and multifaceted experience that I want others to know. With this goal in mind, I structure my lessons around four core concepts: 1) self-acknowledgement and discovery 2) collaboration and teamwork 3) technical and conceptual skill building 4) knowledge of career possibilities that exist within the fine and applied arts.

By expanding their familiarity with supplies, techniques, and the boundlessness of what art is and what can be used to make it; I hope my students come to see more possibilities and potential in all situations.

Portia Vivienne Love

I have been writing since I was 13 years old. In my childhood and early teens, I was very shy and unable to talk to people and learned to use writing to express my anger, feelings and fear.

At 15, one of my poems was chosen from a contest, all of the high schools in the United States and published in an Anthology. From then, I began to keep my writings. I have poetry book, Eclipses of the Sun, which was self-published with a grant from the Nebraska Arts Council. I have published numerous poems in the “Omaha Star Newspaper,” for two years I wrote a column in the Alzheimer’s Association of the Midlands newsletter, entitled “Forget Me Nots,” my essay, “The Alien,” was published in the Alzheimer’s Association Caretaker newsletter, I was the featured writer in the June, 2005, Fine Lines, a national, quarterly, creative writing journal, I published a poem and short story in Creighton University’s literary magazine, Shadows and also won an award from Creighton University for my short story, “Stories My Grandmother Told Me,” I taught poetry classes to teenage females at Girls, Inc., in Omaha, Nebraska. One of my students from this class received a college scholarship for winning second place in a national contest for the poem she wrote with my assistance, I taught poetry classes and have done poetry residencies for a number of organizations including Boys and Girls Clubs, Metropolitan Community College and Quality Living. These were done through VSA. I was the opening poet for the fourth annual Malcolm X Poetry Festival at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, I read my original poetry and taught a poetry writing workshop at Joslyn Art Museum, to coordinate with the jazz paintings, entitled “Portraits of Music I Love,” by world-renowned artist, Frederick J. Brown.

In addition I have been a professional singer in Omaha for over 10 years. I was lead singer for my father’s band for 9 of those years, sang with the choir at my church, for weddings, funerals and memorial services, and with different groups throughout the city of Omaha. Through VSA I conducted a number of singing workshops with developmentally disabled youth and adults, and groups of elderly at nursing homes and senior centers.

I believe that it is so important to expose our children to art. Teaching children to write or paint or create sculpture, etc, to express themselves, can alleviate some of their despair and acts of violence because we have given them other options. Also they get an opportunity to work with people who have a set of positive expectations for their behaviors and their success!

Jill Manhart

I have had the pleasure of working with Why Arts since its early beginnings as Very Special Arts. The value it places on sharing creative arts experiences with people of all ages and abilities is such a gift to our community and the world. The arts provide us a vehicle for self discovery and celebration of who we are at our essence. The arts are at the core of learning, discovering and communicating about the world around us. In a time when the arts are in jeopardy in our schools, it is a gift to have an organization dedicated to sharing the value of the arts with everyone.

The arts have played a critical part in my life and who I am today. I began my early career in textiles and costuming in the world of children’s theater, which sparked my interest in finding a path where I could work directly with children through the arts. After getting my Masters in Art Therapy, I went on to working with boys in a psychiatric facility to now my new found passion, preschoolers. To see the world through their pure, uninhibited eyes is inspiring me to fully immerse myself into the PROCESS of art making. Through Why Arts workshops, I have had so many wonderful experiences such as working with seniors creating clay faces to middle school youth making their own journals to creating community collages in respite care centers and to creating mandalas with people with developmental challenges. Why Arts has given me amazing opportunities to work with an array of beautiful people that have truly enriched my life and work.

Jean Mason

visual artist

I’m a full time artist with a background in theater, education and graphic design. I currently paint full time and sell my work in galleries around Omaha and beyond.

I am most known for my paintings of jazz and blues musicians. Fluid movement, high energy and vibrant colors mark the style of my work. My J.Doe is a favorite for tourist photos in the Old Market. “Doe, re mi” is the only J. Doe still in its’ original location. My work is often used for t-shirts, posters and advertising for music events around the world. My goal is to capture creative passion and happiness. If I can make somebody feel good for an instant, I’ve done my job. I think that positive energy translates into the projects I do with WhyArts!

I have been painting since I was very young. My early inspirations come from my mom (an oil painter) and her studio friends. My dad taught me how to build stretcher frames and use power tools. I began formal art training when I was 12. Showing my work through the private art school, I made my first real sale before I was officially a teenager.

In high school and college I developed an interest in theater design, painting huge backdrops for local theater companies. Looking back, it surprises me that I was not afraid of failure. Our high school gym was the “stage” so the backdrop went full court. I hope to be able to encourage other people to feel that sort of confidence in their ability to succeed.

A tougher question is “Where did you grow up?” since my dad was in the Air Force and we moved about once a year. I was born in Japan and lived all over the United States. I graduated from The University of Kansas with degrees in Art Education and Fine Arts. KU is where I met my husband Mike, an Omaha native. We have been married 30 years and have three grown children. In the span of my career I have worked as a technical illustrator and writer, a creative director, and as a teacher.

In Nebraska, my paintings have been featured on publicity materials for Summer Arts Festival, Playing with Fire Blues Series, The Omaha Symphony, The Blues Society of Omaha, a UNO television documentary, and at the Nebraska Governor’s mansion. I have done lots of Public Art projects in addition to JDoe; Benchmarks, Omaha Online and several of Sioux City’s public art projects. Nationally, my paintings have captured the attention of the music industry where they can be seen on CD covers and in recording studios. My work has also been featured on magazine covers and product literature across the US and abroad. Recently I was featured in JAZZ COLO[U]RS, an Italian Jazz Magazine.

Locally my work hangs at The Artists’ Co-op in the Old Market and at The Hot Shops Art Studios. I am also represented by Ward Nasse Gallery in SoHo/ NYC, and Studio Encanto in St Petersburg Florida. My website is: jeanmason.com

Most of all, it’s all about having fun. I believe that every person has a creative side. Encouragement combined with a few news skills can give everybody a place to explore. I try to teach a little happiness mixed up in every art lesson.

Linda S. Meigs

I am a native of Omaha, and a graduate of the University of Kansas with a BFA in Printmaking. Upon graduation I abandoned printmaking because of its emphasis on “process” in favor of the spontaneity and immediacy of drawing. I began exhibiting expressive figurative drawings. As my life changed, so did my artwork.

After taking a ten-year sabbatical from art to concentrate on four children, I began exhibiting again the year our twins started preschool. My subject matter changed from figurative to the solitude of landscapes. I painted land that I was emotionally attached to. My art often interpreted and explored a particular location along the Platte River near Grand Island. This land was farmed by my family for five generations. It became my quiet place… my “Walden Pond” for resource material.

These days my identity as an “artist” seems to be overshadowed. I am commonly known as the “mill-lady” since taking on the preservation of Nebraska’s oldest business site…the historic Florence Mill. In 1998 I became founder, curator, director, tour-guide and janitor of a non-profit museum, along with creating an art gallery in the mill’s 2nd floor space. Renovation of the Florence Mill is a continuing project. In a sense the mill project functions as an art and history installation and draws from the same creative well as artwork. Inside the old miller’s office I create narrative jewelry using taxidermy eyes to explore personal stories. I call the jewelry Eyecons.

In “Before-Mill” life, I wrote and illustrated a children’s book,
“Nebraska from A to Z.” I exhibited art locally at Anderson O’Brien, the Artist Co-op in the Old Market, other regional locations and many national exhibits. My work is in private collections locally, nationally and internationally. My Omaha Public Arts project, “Birth of the West” (a J. Doe sculpture,) is inside the Florence Library/ Community Center. My “Benchmarks” art-bench is located outside the Florence Mill.

With the 2004 Christmas Eve loss of our son, Connor, my art resurfaced and is again changing. I see life and the world with different eyes. I seek meaning. My artwork is once again incorporating “process,” but it is a process including randomness, order, playfulness…and the transformation of accidents.

Josh Mullady

I am an artist, and I am fortunate to say this. I started as a wee lad with a Fraggle Rock drumset, and since then I was either playing music, drawing cartoon characters, or performing in a band, play, or whatever stage I could get my feet on.

I’ve lived my adult life knowing nothing else except I would be involved in the arts, and most likely teaching it somewhere. I’ve been fortunate to have had the experiences I’ve had. In the last 15 years I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to be involved with somewhere near 150 productions, from my start as Eeyore at the Grand Opera House in Dubuque, IA, to my latest home in Omaha, Ne. Here, I’ve been a part of productions at The Rose; Omaha Community Playhouse; Brigit St. Brigit; SNAP! Productions; F-Troupe Collaborative; and SkullDuggery Productions. In between, I’ve performed with many other wonderful groups in the Midwest and down South I was a company member with the Texas Shakespeare Festival for three seasons.

I graduated from the University of Northern Iowa as the first person to receive all three emphases in Theater: Performance; Design and Production; and Drama for Youth. While there I acted, directed, designed scenery, lighting and sound, helped start a 10-minute play festival and stand up comedy night, was President of the Student Theater Association, a TA in both the classroom and the scenic studio, did workshops with people ages 5-85, and occasionally slept . It didn’t matter, because I was living my dream. I got to be whatever I wanted to be, and as an artist it was the perfect training ground.

Now, in Omaha, I get to take all of these past experiences and put them to good use as an artist with WhyArts? And for that, I again, am fortunate.

Michael Murphy

Musician

I am a musician. I play, write, record, sing and perform music. It is my gift. It is what I am meant to do. Our world is a gift – the air, water, and earth – and we are to take care of and share that gift with everyone. I believe that we all have gifts, and like the world, we are meant to take care of, and share our gifts, or they will become something stolen from others.

I can’t remember how Carolyn of WhyArts? found me, or how she saw what I do as something for WhyArts? but I am ever so glad. Sometimes I get to teach the Native American Flute, along with its culture, at Munroe-Meyer. Some evenings I will get to share a sing-a-long, like I sometimes do at QLI. Whatever opportunity I get through WhyArts? I take with great anticipation, because I know that I am about to learn something. We all see the challenges, hardships, and handicaps of others, but to me they are all teachers and I need to find the lessons that they have to share. One great flute player said that if you play a flute for a beautiful woman, the song will write itself. WhyArts? is always reminding me how superficial beauty can be, and what real beauty is, and I hope that is reflected in my music.
One of my favorite places to go is the Ambassador. I really believe the greater the challenge, the greater the reward, and when I get to visit the young babies and children there, all I see are angels. Now for me, what can be better than to sing or play a song for an angel. Why Arts? Because it is the right thing to do, it is what we are supposed to do. Art is 99% inspiration, and as an artist if you don’t leave a WhyArts? workshop inspired, then you really don’t know beauty, and you really don’t know art.

April 2009. I just got some good news over the week-end. I was awarded the “Traditional Native American CD of the Year” be the Rural Roots Music Commission, part of the National Traditional Country Music Association.

Roxanne Nielsen

I have had the great honor of learning movement, dance, and choreography from master instructors and I continue to learn about myself and how to be a better teacher from the students with whom I work. I have been a dancer, choreographer and instructor for most of my life and every project I am involved with offers me more wonderful learning opportunities. Dance / movement can be an empowering art from and is accessible to all. My experiences have led me to work with Alzheimer’s patients, students with learning disabilities, limited movement capabilities and low self-esteem. I have seen dance break through barriers of mistrust, communication issues and lack of confidence. I have witnessed joy, surprise, pride, collaboration and creativity take hold and grow. I have been blessed to work with many wonderful people in the arts community and my hope is to give back and share what I have learned with others.

I am on the Nebraska Arts Council roster, a board member and Teaching Artist for The ARTery, and I have served as a teaching artist for African Culture Connection and Diavolo Project: Nebraska. My training includes the National Dance Institute, Dancing Classrooms, and Diavolo in addition to workshops sponsored by the Nebraska Arts Council, the Lied Center for Performing Arts and many other locally sponsored workshops. I am thrilled to be part of the work of WhyArts?

Liz Reiter

have danced all my life. From the age of four to the age of 42, dance has played an integral part in my life. My parents put me in dance class before I started kindergarten to try to get rid of some of my “spirited energy”. I have been dancing ever since! I danced through high school, got a dance scholarship to attend college, became a classically trained professional dancer and have taught at the university level for 17 years. Without dance, where would I be? Who knows. What I do know is that the arts are such a wonderful part of life and every person should have the opportunity to participate in them in some way or another. That is why I love WhyArts! so much. When I teach a workshop, I find the joy that the participants have to be infectious. I love to watch the kids’ faces light up! How fun is that!

I was a principal dancer and rehearsal director for Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, a founding member of what is now BAM!, the performing tap company of the Chicago Human Rhythm Project, was an Instructor of Dance at Oklahoma City University for 6 ½ years in their dance school and then was the Director of Dance at St. Gregory’s University in Shawnee, OK, for 10 years. I recently moved back home to Omaha where I teach at Robin Welch Dance Arts and in Creighton University’s Dance Program.

Gail A. Schriber

Artist

I have been an artist for as long as I can remember; art and crafts were part of my childhood environment. I was creatively nurtured by supportive people who taught me painting, sewing, knitting, crochet, embroidery, needlepoint, etc.  These artistic abilities have equipped me to respond to life’s various questions and challenges. I am grateful for this and feel a responsibility to pass on this knowledge, especially to others who have not had the same opportunities or encouragement.

Teaching is a source of pleasure and positive energy that is often reciprocated by my students. Sometimes instruction is returned, like a gift, and a student teaches me a new technique. But watching someone glimpse art’s magic for the first time is always the greatest reward. I have found a source of comfort and satisfaction in both the process of making art and in my finished pieces. Seeing that same sense of achievement in another affirms my understanding of the joy and possibility at the heart of creating. It is a way of defying our limitations, our mortality.

Materials themselves can express transformation.  In my artwork, I use recycled items, primarily telephone wire, which I have found in office dumpsters. Appreciated only for its assigned function, this wire is routinely trashed when no longer needed. Seen with new eyes, telephone wire, which comes in a rainbow of colors, becomes a beautiful filament. I have developed many of my own techniques, using embroidery stitches and other skills I learned as a child to create both sculptural and functional pieces. As a tangible expression of my ideas, telephone wire acquires a new mode of communication.

Art is a language beyond words—a deeper form of expression. I have felt personal empathy and inspiration through the work of artists and writers, known and unknown, whether a famous painting or anonymous embroidery. Through my artwork and teaching I want to include others in this ongoing conversation.

Barrett Scroggs

Teacher, Actor, Director, Stage Manager

Barrett Scroggs graduated from Columbus State University in Columbus, GA with a BS in Theatre Education. He has taught at the Rose Theatre here in Omaha and the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte in Charlotte, NC. He also toured across the Midwest working with CLIMB Theatre in St. Paul, MN. While at CSU, Barrett Directed Señora Tortuga and The Wrestling Season, Assistant-Directed Alexander and the Terrible….Day and has performed in shows including The Garden of Rikki Tikki Tavi and Once Upon a Mattress.

At my core I am an educator.  I believe in constant learning for not only the students that I work with but also for myself as an educator. I believe that every experience in life is an opportunity for an educational experience. My goals as an educator include to encourage students to think creatively, to use creative dramatics activities to help students work on problem solving skills, and to allow students to work in a creative and safe environment where they can make bold choices.

Fran Sillau

Mr. Sillau has served as a teacher, writer, director, actor, and/or producer. With an extensive background in Theatre for Youth, Fran has worked for both Lexington Children’s Theatre and Omaha Theater Company. Recently he was chosen as a 2008-2009, VSA Arts Teaching Artist Fellow

His most notable professional accomplishments however have been that of teacher and director. Fran has received project funds from both The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and The National Endowment For The Arts. Currently Fran serves as a Arts Educator and facilitator for VSA Arts in Washington, D.C.

In 2004, Fran co-founded and served as artistic director for RUSTY HORSE PRODUCTIONS, an organization dedicated to bringing the arts to rural and economically disadvantaged communities. Under his leadership, the company has produced numerous productions and workshops for youth across southwest Iowa and Nebraska.

For Why Arts? Fran has conducted workshops at Munroe-Meyer, Vodec, Mosaic, South High School, and Omaha Public Schools among others. Fran was recently commissioned to write a play about disability called The Brass Ring. The play will be available to tour to venues this year.

Fran has the ability to use theatre as a tool to help every child, disabled or not to see the good and power within themselves.

Courtney Stein

Movement and rhythm are universal. Dance is a form of emotional expression found in every culture and in every corner of our world. Although we differ in language and beliefs, dance is a constant outlet for celebration–from marriage to birth to victory in war to victory on the football field. At the core of all dance movement is emotion, and emotion is inherent in all human beings. After graduating from high school, I followed my passion for performance and teaching all the way to the west coast where I was a member of the Young Americans Music Outreach Program, working with underprivileged and troubled teenagers. It was here that I cultivated my desire to help others explore the medium of music and dance as a therapeutic tool for personal growth and interpersonal connection. I next had the privilege of studying at the prestigious New York University–everything from post-modern choreography to Indonesian theatre to African dance and drumming. This path of enlightenment culminated in my earning (and creating) a degree in “Anthropology with a Focus on Music, Dance, and Theatre” from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. While some might question the validity of dance as a form of scholasticism, I would argue that the scientific underpinnings of why we so often feel the need to “shake a tailfeather” are indeed tangible. Every human culture throughout space and time has utilized dance as a mode of personal and communal expression–in times of grief, in times of joy, in times of war, and in times of peace. Therefore, dance is, at its simplest, a means of communication. An interaction without words. Raw emotion. This is why I am so passionate about using the medium of dance to communicate across the barriers that exist in our world–be they socioeconomic, cultural, linguistic, locational, or even related to gender or age. The primal urge for movement is inherent in all of mankind.

With 20 years of dance experience, I have a background in belly dancing, African dance, Japanese dance, modern, lyrical, hip-hop, pointe, and the more standard ballet, tap, and jazz. Currently, I am working with students of all ages in the Omaha area–literally from ages 1-90. I have taught for the Omaha Community Playhouse, Arts for All, the Jewish Community Center, the Bellevue Senior Center, Motion 41 Dance, the Papillion-LaVista Arts Network, the Salvation Army Kroc Center, and the Omaha Academy of Ballet. In my spare time, I enjoy performing throughout the Omaha theatre community and am always striving for more exposure to this medium I love so much. I am beyond thrilled to be working with WhyArts? and am hoping to share my love for dance with even more members of the community.

Iggy Sumnik

Michigan born and raised multimedia artist Iggy Sumnik creates ceramics, sculptures, prints, collages and more. His techniques focus on texture and balance and include an intricacy and depth that permeates his work. Sumnik received his BFA with a dual concentration in ceramics and sculpture from Detroit’s Wayne State University in 2004. He spent several years working as a sculpture instructor with Detroit’s historic Pewabic Pottery, Camp Tamakwa in Algonquin Provincial Park, and Youthville Detroit, the largest and most comprehensive youth development center in the Midwest. Sumnik recently finished a three-year commitment as assistant at the Jun Kaneko Studio in Omaha, Nebraska.

The artist’s work has been shown in numerous regional galleries, including “Iggy Sumnik – Sculpture,” a highly successful 2009 one-man show at Jackson Artworks in Omaha. He has been commissioned to create several pieces for private collectors. His clothing line, Urbani, is another development in the artists expanding repertoire. Sumnik’s work, which has been said to share a similar visual aeshthetic to that of Tim Burton and Dr. Seuss, has been described as “archaic and fantastical, rife with balance and harmony.” Iggy continues to support young people in their artistic explorations through his most recent work as instructor at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha. He currently works through a private studio at Omaha Clay Works and continues to show his work in both traditional and experimental art venues.

Michael Tuosto

Musician/Songwriter
Since I was a child, the educational experiences that always affected me the most deeply involved music and storytelling. Imagination is one of the most powerful ways to foster learning, healing, and connecting to those around us, and with only a keyboard, guitar and harmonica I have found I have a unique ability to bring this way of “creative thinking” to others, and am very excited to join Why Arts? family of imagineers!

Biography: As well as becoming a recent edition to Why Arts?, Michael has over twelve years experience working in the field of education. He has spent the better part of the last decade writing, recording, producing and promoting two children’s CD’s and bringing music, and the lessons they carry, to a vast array of ages and cultures around the world. His music has been played on radio stations across the country and was featured, locally, on the “best of” list in 2004, on Kid’s Weekend Radio. Michael earned a BA in General Studies from UNO, with an emphasis in music, history, and theatre.

Kirk Vaughn Robinson

Recently completed more than 12 years as a cast member of the National Broadway tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera (Lefevre & Fire Chief).  His recent local credits include: The Rose Theater’s 2011 production of The Sound of Music (Captain von Trapp).  Upcoming performances include Opera Omaha’s 2011/ 2012 season of Hansel and Gretel (Sandman) The Mikado (Pish-Tush), baritone soloist in the world premiere of a work by Mark Kurtz (still untitled) and Moses in the premiere of Paul Boesing’s oratorio Journey to Canaan.  Kirk will also be making his directing debut at Creighton University in the Fall of 2012.

Other operatic performances include roles with the Cincinnati Opera, Dayton Opera, Sorg & Whitewater Opera companies and the Cincinnati Pops.  He was awarded a full scholarship to the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria and also performed as an Apprentice Artist with the Santa Fe Opera Company.  An accomplished bronze sculptor, Kirk was recently named Omaha’s AC Gallery- Emerging Artist for 2011.  His work can be seen in galleries throughout North America, as well as noted publications and magazines.   www.kirkvaughn.com

Rachel Vickrey

Growing up in a unique environment, with two parents as professional ballet dancers, I was surrounded by art from the moment I was born. Everything about dance, music and theater has always made sense to me and to this day is still a driving force in my life. Dance is a way of communicating, it goes far beyond it’s athletic appearance. There is a huge connection between art and humanity and I want to work for an organization that believes in enriching peoples lives through art! Everyone and anyone should be able to experience dance and that is why WhyArts? is the perfect fit for me.
I have been so lucky as a dancer. My professional career lasted for twenty two years as a member of several different ballet companies across the country. Although my career was longer than most ballet dancers, I always knew that it was important for me to look ahead to a future without performing. Instructing dance seemed the be the perfect progression, I love both children and dance so it made sense to head in that direction. Now I teach over 17 children’s dance classes a week at Robin Welch Dance Arts. My favorite part of teaching is that I get to pass on my love and passion for the art form. I get to do what I love and through WhyArts? I get to share what I do!

Paula S. Wallace

“Much of my work has found its genesis in literature, theater, music, or the spiritual. While most of my work is figurative with an emphasis on the human face, my range of styles may be from representational to whimsical. Often I employ an uncluttered or almost austere background, permitting the viewer to be wholly engaged with the subject of the painting or print, concentrating on the intimacy of that encounter, the imperative of a glance or gesture.

I enjoy the collaborative process, understanding that collaboration is not only key to enriched creativity, but also to successful personal, professional, and community relationships. Art is the language of my work: to delight in beauty and to share in the human experience and its many emotions are aspects of that language. What better way to explore the themes and characters in the narratives we know as folk tale, in poetry, or stories of the day to day? Why not record our delight and dismay, our history and our astonishment through the lens of the artist, a visual language?

Art is its most powerful in context. Literature brings the might of word, art the visual might of the imagination. I marvel when I see work by artists who use a visual language to tell a story, to understand history and humanity, to give form to the word. So much can be said in a Chagall or a Caravaggio painting or in an illustration by Barry Moser or Arthur Rackham.”

Ms. Wallace is a graduate of the University of Iowa, with additional study in Chicago and Ireland. She maintains a studio at the Hot Shops Art Center in Omaha, Nebraska, and exhibits widely. Her work is held in private collections internationally .

Carole A. Waterman

Theater Education Artist

For forty seven years I have been a music and theater education specialist, teaching students from pre-school through university in Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, California, and Athens, Greece.  During the fifteen years in Greece, I taught music and theater at the American Community Schools, and I was the artistic director of the Athen’s Children’s Theater.  After our move to Omaha in 1990, I served as The Omaha Theater Company’s Director of Education until my “retirement” in 1997.

For the last several years I have been conducting theater workshops for “Very Special Arts”, now “WhyArts?”.  The participants have been children in day care centers, hospitals, respite care facilities,  family shelters, and child learning centers.  There have been workshops for adults in adult day care centers, senior centers,  and in facilities for adults with disabilities.  In addition, I have worked with staff members who work in child and adult day care centers, respite care facilities, and learning centers.  I have also conducted workshops for nurses who work in hospitals or hospices.

The activities in these workshops have been varied:  making and performing with puppets; creative dramatics; play-making; improvisation; and music for story-telling.  Creating theater is a total experience that utilizes the emotions, the body, the senses, the voice, and the imagination.  In using these “actor tools”, one can develop greater awareness of the self and the world around.  Thus, I believe, theater (and the other arts) can be used as a very powerful tool to create an experience that can encourage, enrich and uplift the participants.  I have seen this happen in the “WhyArts?” workshops over the past years, and I believe that the arts can play a very important role in the lives of children or adults who face challenges in their lives.

My favorite workshops?  I guess it would be the workshop I am involved with at the moment.  Whether the organization is Campfire and the residency is a family shelter, or Munroe-Meyer working with disabled adults, or OPS programs for children, or the Children’s Respite Care Center, or Vodec or New Cassel,  I am always challenged and I am always uplifted by the participants in my “WhyArts?” workshops.

Felicia Webster

Spoken Word is a uniquely African American art form, which has for decades been part of the historic oral tradition of African peoples. And, in the Midwest, no one is better known for its moving, dramatic, sometimes comedic, always poignant presentation than Felicia Webster. Felicia, also known as Withlove,Felicia, combines relevant,social changing, historical and  heartfelt words into lyrically moving pieces that invite her audience/students to find their reflection in her and to ignite healing in their own writing.  Having performed and taught in schools, arts venues, nightclubs, colleges and universities, community centers, homeless shelters, drug and alcohol healing centers and theaters Felicia Webster has  become a much sought-after artist.
Her workshops include a combination of  historical background, performance and she has also been known to  use other artistic mediums to support the written word with her students, like collaging and drawing.   Felicia says, “The arts gave me a voice when the world ignored my cry. Now I create artistic spaces to share, heal and perform those words we’ve kept hidden from ourselves someone would love to hear, and invite others to do so in a safe space of love.

Lori Wegener

An Omaha native, I grew up exploring and learning in the Joslyn Art Museum, at local art galleries and in progressive public school classrooms. I went on to earn a B.A. in Studio Art from Wellesley College in Wellesley, MA, a M.S. in Art and Design Education from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY and a M.F.A. in Drawing and Painting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln, NE. My passion for art has also taken me all over the United States and to other parts of the world. It even drove me to help create a children’s book publishing company, The Gorilla Press (www.gorillapress.com) and publish my own illustrations.

Now, I am both a teacher and an artist. I teach art full-time in the Westside Community Schools in Omaha, Nebraska, while creating and exhibiting my own drawings, prints, illustrations and paintings locally. Recently, I decided to get involved with Why Arts, because I understand the importance of the arts in everyone’s lives. Study in the arts boosts problem solving skills, creativity and self esteem, and by allowing for self-representation and self-expression, it builds feelings of empowerment and an independent attitude. My experiences both as a student and a teacher in co-educational, single-sex, urban, suburban, public, underprivileged and private school environments have enforced my belief that people of any gender, race, ethnicity, age, ability and socio-economic background should be welcome to an education that encourages the development of a rich and creative mind.