Cut and Paste

This has been a super-crazy week for St. Louis theater professional and mom Christina Rios. One of her three younger children started kindergarten. Her teenager entered her junior year of high school. And her theater company R-S Theatrics geared up to open its largest-ever production: “In the Heights.” In our latest Cut & Paste podcast , we talk with Rios and her husband, Mark Kelley — who’s an actor with a day job at Washington University — about how they make it all work. They come from very different backgrounds. She was a child with Mexican roots who grew in a poor St. Louis family. He came from a middle-class west county home. But it was the very different paths they took as young adults that almost derailed their early relationship. Look for new Cut & Paste (#cutpastestl) podcasts every few weeks on our website. You can also find all previous podcasts focusing on a diverse collection of visual and performing artists, and subscribe to Cut & Paste through this link. The

Who among us hasn’t grappled with building a relationship with our parents? Matthew Kerns, director of the St. Lou Fringe festival of performing arts, struggled to bond with a father who was very different from him. Kerns was a gay theater kid; his dad was a stereotypically “manly” man who drove a truck and hunted deer.

Don’t put Rockwell Knuckles and Aloha Micheaux in a box. He’s known as a rapper and she’s more of a pop singer, who made it to the finals in “American Idol” in 2005. But the St. Louis performers shun labels in their collaboration known as The Knuckles. In our latest Cut & Paste podcast , we talk with the musical collaborators with 200 songs and one EP under their belts, focusing on a wave of recent attention they've received and what they'll do next. Look for new Cut & Paste (#cutpastestl) podcasts every few weeks on our website. You can also find all previous podcasts focusing on a diverse collection of visual and performing artists, and subscribe to Cut & Paste through this link. The podcast is sponsored by SPACE Architecture + Design. Follow Willis and Nancy on Twitter: @WillisRArnold and @NancyFowlerSTL Please help St. Louis Public Radio find creative people to feature on Cut & Paste. Tell us which artists and cultural drivers deserve a closer look.

Nika Marble’s artistic toolbox holds an eclectic mix: A shot of tonic, a staccato note and a sharp pair of scissors. Each tool is in service of one of her artistic endeavors: music, mixology and collage making. But as she dons one hat after another, how does Marble define herself? In this reboot of our Cut & Paste podcast , we talk with Marble about an identity crisis that plagues many creative people. “Am I am I an artist who waits tables? Or am I a waiter who occasionally makes art?” Marble said. “This is a thing that has worried myself and a lot of my friends in their lives.”

You know what they say: You can’t spell Cut & Paste without “u.” OK, go ahead: groan. We're groaning with you. We know that no one says that. But seriously, we want to know what you want to hear in Cut & Paste, our arts and culture podcast . Not necessarily “who,” but what kinds of conversations and experiences do you want to be in on?

Adrienne Davis teaches law but she regularly cross-examines the status quo in a completely different field: the arts. The Washington University law professor will receive an Arts Advocacy award from the Women of Achievement of St. Louis in a May 16 event at the Ritz-Carlton. The honor applauds her service on various boards including that of the St. Louis Art Museum and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. But it also extols her efforts to infuse more racial diversity into the artistic pipeline, from art-makers to gallery attendants to curators to institutional leaders. In our latest Cut & Paste arts and culture podcast , we talk with Davis about her advocacy and why it matters.

Photographer Kat Reynolds is having a moment. In the past few months, Reynolds has exhibited at five St. Louis venues. She was named this year’s Emerging Artist by the local Visionary Awards, a prize she’ll accept April 24 at the Sun Theater in Grand Center. She’s also wrapping up a residency program at Paul Artspace, north of Florissant. Her work primarily features young people of color, friends, people she encounters on the street, or people she finds through social media. Reynolds works all these activities around a full-time customer relations job. In our latest Cut & Paste podcast , we catch up with this busy artist, who strives to genuinely connect with her subjects.

When St. Louis' QFest of films officially launched, people in the LGBTQ community were barred from institutions ranging from the military service to marriage. A decade later, LGBTQ citizens can both serve and marry. The 10th annual festival, which opens March 29, includes a dozen films that reflect a restricted past and progressive present.

When St. Louis’ next mayor takes office, local artists will be waiting. They’ve got a list of things they want the mayor — likely Lyda Krewson — to do in support of the arts. They presented their ideas to mayoral candidates in a recent forum presented by Citizen Artist St. Louis. Their goals include a living wage, more artists at the table when economic development plans are decided and recognition of artists’ economic contributions. In our latest Cut & Paste arts and culture podcast, we talk with local artists about their expectations as voters and constituents, as well as creative professionals. Here’s some of what you’ll hear in the podcast: Artist MK Stallings, on the city’s priorities: “The city of St. Louis does a great job of getting behind its sports franchises and things of that nature but I don’t really see the city of St. Louis doing much to support the arts. Artist/activist De Nichols, about the impact of the arts: “The arts generate so much economic opportunity within

In the early 1990s, same-sex relations were illegal , the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy helped keep closet doors sealed shut, and marriage equality for same-sex couples was unthinkable. In that environment, a group of St. Louis lesbian singers wondered: "Where can we find a safe and comfortable place to enjoy making music?" They created Charis, a women’s chorus that’s still lifting its voice — and audiences' spirits — nearly 25 years later. In our latest Cut & Paste podcast, we talk with older and more recent members of the group about keeping pace with the history of the LGBT community. Here’s some of what you’ll hear in the podcast: Sharon Spurlock on her 23 years with the group: “For me, Charis became my longest-term relationship.” Claire Minnis, upon hearing about an artistic director opening at Charis, “That’s everything I ever dreamed of and never knew I could have.” Katie Benoit on being one of the first transgender women in the chorus: “One of the board members