One, two, three, four.

Get my shoes then out the door.

Five I'm alive, six, seven, eight feelin' great.

Nine, gonna shine, life is good I'm doing fine.

Ten, Gonna do it right then do it again.

Yeah yeah.

I look up to the sky with all the beautiful color but, there's more than just for me so gonna share it with another.

I got to show, to give, let out, I want to sing and shout.

Take a look and see A beautiful morning that turns into beautiful evening.

And together make a beautiful life.

And if you want see, then come along with me.

That's right.

Welcome to Experience Michiana.

I'm the show's producer, Kelsy Zumbrun.

Thank you so much for being with us as we get out and explore the Michiana area.

There's always so much to do and see here.

On today's show, we are going to look back at the South Bend High School Music Festival, which took place at the Morris.

A lot of the area kids came and performed on the stage at the Morris.

It was a great opportunity and we're going to find out why that happened.

And maybe next year you can go and see the next performance.

We're also going to find out about the Bunny Express.

You can meet the Easter Bunny and ride on the trains at the National New York Central Railroad Museum in Elkhart.

But first, we are here at the stage in Goshen on the Goshen High School stage, and we're going to find out about the Phoenix Performing Arts next performance, which is Anastasia.

So come along with us.

So today we are in Goshen at the Goshen High School, this time in the Goshen Theater.

And we're here because the Phoenix Performing Arts is putting on their next show, which is Anastasia.

Guys, thank you so much for having us.

We're we're constructing the set, right?

Yes.

You're in the middle of it.

All right.

So, why are we at Goshen High School this time instead of downtown at Goshen?

Yeah.

So we had an opportunity that just kind of came to us, thankfully, because of Jim Dubois and the Goshen community Schools staff.

And so we thought, why not?

You know, being a part of Goshen has been so magical for us.

And so she kind of hit the nail on the head when we were talking about being able to see just another piece of Goshen and bringing the community to a different area of Goshen, is still just as magical, but a new viewpoint for everybody.

So, Alyssa, you're at one of the roles here in the performance.

What is it been like getting ready for this, this musical?

It has been so fun.

So I'm a teacher.

So teacher by day, theater nerd by night.

So it's really cool to get to see other members of our community, come together and do something that we all enjoy so much.

I've loved getting to know my character and watching other people get to know their characters, too.

So Anastasia is, pretty well known.

Performance.

Yeah.

I don't know anything about it.

So we'll talk more about this.

Yeah, I have four boys, so I'm not real familiar with the story.

So, kind of give me a sense of what?

What can we expect?

Where is this taken place?

It looks like a castle.

Yeah, well, kind of a palace.

Yeah.

Okay, so we actually.

So the movie was originally done in, I believe, 1997.

We grew up watching it as kids were siblings.

So I don't know if you can tell.

So we grew up watching that, and it was originally done by Fox as a cartoon.

And then, I believe in 2017 or right around that time, it became a musical.

And so they took the storyline of what, you know, from the cartoon or the movie, and then they expanded upon it.

So in the musical setting, we actually end up in two places.

Act one is set in Russia, and then act two is set in Paris.

So it's a really kind of nice shift of of mood, of change.

It's right around the 1920s.

So there's also that, you know, you feel that embedded in the different areas of what the 1920s are or right before that would have looked like in those different areas.

You know that.

Well, I wasn't alive then, so I don't know either.

But it I feeling old but know what it transports you both with costume with with sound and music, with the set and then, you know, dance style as well.

Dance too.

So are you loving the song and dance?

Is that part of the reason you're involved?

Oh, my gosh, yes.

It's so cool to watch.

You know, a familiar story being told, but through music and dance.

And like she said, you know, you see the differences at the very beginning when it's, you know, very Russian and ballet, and then you go to Paris and it's just fun.

And then I come in and I get the party going and so it's just cool to watch, you know, not only the story being told, but, you know, the music and the mood shifting.

It's awesome.

So theater always is this thing where everybody comes together and becomes a community.

How big is your community for this production?

So this one we have, excuse me, just around 30 people in this cast and on Broadway.

I was looking back at it.

Their ensemble I think, was just 14 people.

And so this there's so much that happens in the show.

Our cast is just so amazing.

I mean, they are just wearing quite literally multiple hats.

I mean, there is there's I can't even say there's a thing.

It starts with a K, it's a Russian headpiece.

My costume is going to be like Ashlea, but, you know, and then they changed hairstyles and they have, you know, their go from being Russian, you know, street, not performers, but they work through the streets and they're street sweepers and people who don't have homes, too, transforming into this like, grandiose, you know, Paris, where there's dancing and drinking and celebration.

And so it's just a, you know, small knit family here that creates such a grandiose spectacle on the stage.

You would think that there were, you know, 60 plus people on the stage based on what you're going to see.

That's awesome.

What has been your favorite part of getting ready for this production?

We're even a number that's in the production.

My favorite part is it sounds so cliche, but it truly is.

The people that I share the space with.

Theater is super fun, but it's also puts you in a very vulnerable spot because you're kind of putting yourself out there for everybody to look and judge and, just to be able to do that to the community, that's so, inclusive and welcoming and supportive.

I'm like, okay, I'll try this.

And if it's not great, I know people have my back.

So I just love getting to share the stage with all of these people, and we're all going towards the same goal.

And kind of along that lines, you bring in sometimes new people, sometimes people who have been a part of other casts and merge them all together.

Yeah.

So what is this cast been like, our new old?

A little bit of both.

Yes.

And we it's really neat to see the way that they come together, you know, even though some of them have worked with each other for years.

There's no difference between those that are new, because we do have several new, family members as part of this production.

And there was no gap in time.

There's no, like, awkward stage of, like, getting to know each other.

We just we dive right in and we let people know right from the bat that everybody's welcome here.

And, we say it's like, you know, we're in a school, but even in our organization, it's no bully zone.

So we want people to be able to feel free to try things and to feel safe to make mistakes.

And that's how you learn.

And so we have significant others.

We have old roommates.

We have a grandpa and, and a granddaughter.

We have siblings, you know, husbands and wives.

So it's really neat to see everybody come from different walks of life and come together like they've known each other forever.

So in putting this together, what have been what has been the biggest challenge as far as creating this storyline?

And, and the two different locations?

Honestly, this isn't across the board.

It's huge.

It's a very big undertaking.

And, you know, I'm so thankful that we have such an amazing team.

You know, Zak is our artistic and technical director.

He makes, you know, all that magic happen with his technical team.

And then we have Karina, who is up here painting, and we have an amazing costume team.

One of our costume designers is also a choreographer.

And so there's just so many moving pieces.

I mean, you're looking at a show that was based off of actual history.

So there are some historical components that we wanted to make accurate, both in location and kind of what you'd see.

And so costumes, I mean, hair, everything, it's just it's a very grandiose spectacle.

It's kind of reminds you a little bit of Cinderella, but with a little bit more historical accuracy.

But that grandiose spectacle you think of when you think of a princess show.

This is exactly what that is.

Very big.

Very big.

Do you have a favorite number?

That you're performing in?

That I'm performing in?

Yeah.

Okay.

Yes.

I love Land of Yesterday.

It's, it's one of the first numbers in the second act of the show, and we're at a bar, and I'm kind of talking about, you know, what I was like when I was back in Russia and being all of these, you know, wonderful, fabulous things.

And now I'm stuck in Paris and, you know, she kind of she's a really cool character, but she kind of gets the party going and they all try to die out.

And I'm like, nope, come back up.

We're still partying.

So it's just it's really fun.

And it's a cool contrast from the really sad beginning of the story, and it speaks to the storytelling.

You're in Russia, you're in Paris.

Yeah, right.

So you're transforming your audience and taking them around the world with you.

And it really I mean, we hope that it translates that way.

But just, you know, sitting from the house as you're watching, I mean, you can feel that the energy shifts the like I said, the styles around you shift and it really kind of there's some really deep stuff that happens in the beginning.

And her character in particular is a really great reprieve from the heaviness of some of that historical accuracy because her and her counterpart, Vlad, are the definite comedic relief, for sure.

So this show is taking place this Friday through Sunday?

Yeah, just three days.

You're in a different location.

But how do people get tickets and how do people show up?

Where should they park?

Yeah, parking's it's a school, right?

So park wherever you want.

There's so many options.

But you can get tickets the same way.

You can head to our website, the Phoenix arts.org.

Or you can call or visit the Goshen Theater box office and then head to 401 Lincoln Way East in Goshen, just a couple minutes from downtown.

Very good.

Well, I hope you guys have a great show.

It's going to be so much fun.

Make sure that you go online, get your tickets early to make sure that you have a seat.

It's going to be a wonderful, transformational experience as we go to Russia and Paris.

So be sure to join us for Anastasia.

So.

So I'm here at the Morris Performing Arts Center for something that is going on tonight, which is a high school music festival that's happening.

Mark here.

Mark, what's your title?

What?

The school corporation, K12, K12 fine arts, steam coordinator coordinator.

Okay.

What does that all encompass though?

Because that's fine arts and steam.

I mean that's a lot of things going.

There's a lot there's a lot with that title.

But I will say that it's very it's very satisfying and gratifying in terms of like what we do with the students.

But what it is, is I am the I oversee the 12 fine arts.

And then what I do is I also work with teachers in math and science and instruction from elementary.

Now, what is happening tonight and why is it so important for the community?

So tonight is a big opportunity for us.

It's our second year that we've had the Southern Music Festival.

And, this gives our students that opportunity to showcase their talents on a very impressive stage that we have here, venue that, that we don't ever have a chance to do.

Last year was our first dance, and, our students, we have three district concerts where is also requires a choir has one.

The orchestra has one.

And then we have a jazz one.

This one, we're all coming together, and we're getting everyone to showcase their talents.

I mean, our staff is amazing.

They do an amazing job.

And it's like, this is the time for them to shine.

And this is what better place to do it, what venue to do it in.

And of course, you'll you'll always hear things about the schools, no matter whether you want to hear it or not.

And it's just so great to to highlight the talent of these young people during I mean, it really is I mean, to give this chance, like I said, we couldn't ask for a better place to do it.

And, Doctor Curtis and Jane Moore and, everyone in this that's a part of this is this band very helpful and just very, supportive of the South Bend Municipal Corporation.

I know that by the time this airs, it is after the fact.

Unfortunately, but obviously you're going to have it again next year, but it's also free to the public.

Why is it important to to do that?

Just to have it open to everybody?

Well, we want to open because we want this building to be I mean, you hear the people out there and I say, this is the first time we've been in this building and they're like, yes, this is the first time.

I mean, you're right.

They drive by this on every day occurrence.

And to not be in this building and not have ever seen anything performed.

But now to perform on it is something magical for these students.

And it's pretty cool.

It is absolutely magical.

And I'm telling you about the schools that are taking part in it tonight as well.

The three schools are South Bend, Adams, South Bend, Riley and Washington, South bend Washington.

Awesome.

Well, we're going to chat to people from the schools and find out about their unique perspectives of what's going on tonight.

So thanks for putting it on.

And hopefully a lot of people show up to see it I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

You know, a lot of people come from all over the country to perform here at the Mars Performing Arts Center.

But all of the people performing tonight are from right here in our community.

Heather, you're the director of choirs at the John Adams High School.

So tell me a little bit about what this night means to everybody who's performing from the school.

So for my students, especially, they're super excited.

I have one student who walked in and said, oh my gosh, this is so beautiful.

I am so thrilled to be here.

I need to take pictures for my parents.

They're going to be so excited.

So it's just a really great opportunity to perform and a wonderful, beautiful concert hall.

And it's nice for all the schools to get together and kind of do something together as well, right?

Yes.

We rarely get to hear other groups, even groups in our own school.

So this is a great opportunity for each school to showcase their best, and then for the other schools to see it and cheer each other on and just have a great time.

Now when I look at the back here, all the different high schools John Adams has, a big list, two lines of people.

So what kind of performers?

I know you're a choirs, but there's also orchestra and different things like that.

Yes.

So we have a show choir, and then I just have some small ensembles within my choir that we did for dismissal and ensemble and such.

But then we also have a percussion ensemble.

We have our jazz band, we have an orchestra, we have a concert band as well.

How important is music and singing to kids in high school?

Oh my gosh, I will tell you that this is the place where the students feel at home for a lot of them, when they need somewhere to go to take a break, or they just don't have a sub, or they have a sub that day and they don't want to stay in their class because they aren't doing anything, they will come to their music room because that to them is home.

That is their safe space.

Yeah.

Is that like what you see in the movies?

Pitch perfect and all that is not quite.

Well, I mean, those are professionals.

I think we hold our own pretty well now.

Awesome.

Well, thank you so much and good luck tonight.

Thank you so much.

So, Christian, you're from Washington High School.

You're part of that.

Although you're originally from Bogota.

I was like, yeah, I'm from Colombia.

Proudly.

Nice.

No.

That's awesome.

I have a sister in law and brother in law and little nephew live in Medellin, so not too far away from Bogota.

So, so now I was curious to talk to you about that.

But also, I know that in this area you've also studied and being part of Notre Dame University as well.

Right?

So tell me a little bit about that.

Yeah, I came to Notre Dame in January 2023.

Because I got a delay with my visa.

So for this reason, I came one semester late and then I am here in Washington and in South Bend.

Yeah, I understand visas too.

Okay.

I'm from Ireland.

I we could do a whole show on that as well.

Oh, yeah.

So tell me about tonight and all the work that you've put into it.

And how are you bringing your talents as well today?

The variety of the repertory is like a yeah, it's huge, is very diverse.

Also, the kids are very talented.

I'm so happy and glad to work with them.

It is even my first time teaching in high school level, which has been a talent.

But yeah, I'm super excited and happy.

And also I think it's like a very rewarding, seeing the kids every rehearsal, doing as good as they can or as fast as they can and all the improvement weekly.

Yeah, just getting better as time goes on.

What do you think it really does for kids spirits to be able to perform on a stage like this?

What do you think it really does for their heart?

Well, also like, watching their previous friends from different schools and also, yeah, I think like the excitement makes them playing a little bit better.

Yeah.

And just for them overall for their growth, you think it's a great experience for them.

Of course.

Of course.

Of course.

All those like all those events, they make them like, grow up.

And a lot of the musicians and also, as I mentioned, the nervous of being on the stage.

Yeah, it always make to the performance even better than before that we were rehearsing why is music so important to you as an individual?

For me, music is important because it's my life.

I think with no music, is a waste of time in the life.

Well, thank you for everything that you do.

I'm glad that you're finally here.

And I'm glad that you're putting all your talents into helping these kids.

So thank you.

Thank you so much.

So we've heard from Washington and John Adams.

Now, Riley, I'm here with Kyle.

Kyle, tell me a little bit about what people can look forward to tonight and how much work have your students put into this performance?

Well, this concert is a showcase of a lot of the group's different pieces that they've worked up for different events throughout the season.

I know that Riley High School Band is bringing back something from our marching show.

It's the closure from our James Bond theme, our new show.

It's called You Know My Name from Casino Royale.

Jingle Banger that opens the show.

How proud are you when you see the kids performing up there on stage, especially in such an iconic venue?

I mean, it really is amazing.

This is a really special opportunity for our kids to get a chance to perform on, you know, the city's premiere stage.

Yeah.

And, we did it last year and they had a great time.

And this year, we put it together pretty quick.

And I'm really proud of their attention to detail as we make it work in a different venue that we've never been in before as this group.

What about you?

What's your driving force behind wanting to use your talents in the public school system in South Bend?

What is it that motivates you?

What a wonderful question.

I think it's really important that students get an exposure to different musical experiences.

So a concert like this is terrific because there's something from a wide variety of disciplines choir, band, orchestra, jazz.

We have our, it's my, perfect score sax quartet that's going to perform their ensemble.

It's pretty special, you know, in high school, I went to.

I don't think we ever talked about orchestra or jazz or anything cool like that.

What does it mean to expose the kids to those instruments, that music, because it's probably so different.

It is so different than pop culture and what they're probably listening to on their headphones.

So do you think it helps them in any way to be exposed to that kind of music?

You know, any musical ensemble is a perfect metaphor for community.

So what we're trying to build with our students in our classrooms is really what do we want our community to be like in the future?

It's a microcosm, and it's it's neat for us to, learn something that's different and not what we're used to.

Well, thank you so much, Kyle.

And it is a little bit of a shame that we're recording this the day off, even though it's great to see all the performances going on, all the practices, I should say.

So, yeah, maybe you'll just have to watch out for the third performance of this next year.

The third annual performance.

But thank you to Kyle and everybody who we spoke to today.

And I really hope it's a great night here at the Morris Performing Arts Center.

Well, today we are over in Elkhart.

And if you can't hear behind me, the trains are going.

You might hear a train whistle.

And if you love trains, this is the place you want to be.

Today we are here at the national New York Central Railroad Museum.

Brent It's so great to see you once again.

And we have a special friend.

We do?

Yes.

Tell us about the Easter Bunny.

Hello, Easter bunny.

I see you even have your train conductor gear on.

Ready to go, Yeah, well, every year we have a bunny event.

It's called the Bunny Express, okay?

And we have games and activities for kids.

I love that we have free treats for the kids.

We have, we're hoping to have free train rides with our amusement train on that day.

Weather permitting.

Okay.

Weather permitting.

Gotcha.

Okay.

And of course, the Easter Bunny will make a reappearance.

Lovely.

Okay.

Have.

Yeah.

Kids can have their, pictures taken with the Easter Bunny and, Great.

Give a few hugs and that type of things.

Now, when does the bunny express happening?

The Bunny Express happens on Saturday, April the 12th.

Okay.

And we're open from 10 to 5.

The event actually runs from 11 to 4.

Okay, so they can come as early as 11 or a little bit before 11.

I'm sure we don't get locked in right at 11, but, whatever their time works for them.

We'll take them now.

The last time when I was here with you, we were outside riding the train.

But we are inside today.

Now, I have to ask you, because I'm looking around.

There are trains everywhere.

What's your guess on how many trains?

Model trains are actually in this building?

I would say if you're counting the locomotives and the rolling stock, you're probably talking somewhere around 400.

Really?

Yeah.

Okay, that's pretty awesome.

Yeah.

I can't hear the real train.

Yeah I do, yeah.

And there are around 80 of those that go by in a 24 hour period.

Really.

This is just such an amazing experience.

I know so many people love trains.

And if you don't, this is the reason to come and visit so that you can fall in love with trains.

What's the importance behind railway?

I mean, it's really what started our our transportation in the, in the world.

And you notice most any town, even the small towns had railroads, which is why there are towns.

Yeah.

For example, Wakarusa had the Wabash, Nappanee had the Baltimore in Ohio.

In fact, the story of Nappanee is two miles north of town was a little town called lock.

And when the railroad went through, they decided, you know, decided to make it two miles south.

And so Nappanee actually got established and lock right now was just a couple of buildings on an intersection on the middle of the country.

So the railroads did indeed build America.

And of course, Elkhart was a major, focus for railroads here with Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, which eventually was the New York Central, now for the railroad Museum, right here.

What made you guys really choose this location?

I mean, it's important why it's here.

This was the original freight house.

Okay.

And so back in around 1987, there were some railroad nuts who, decided to make this into the museum.

And this building was established around 1900 by the lakeshore and Michigan Southern and so it was a very appropriate place to turn it into a museum with the history behind it.

Yeah.

And of course, you know, the Easter Bunny comes here every once in a while.

Sure, sure.

Hey, I love it, I love it.

So tell us what we're looking at behind us right now.

Well, this is one of our, It's a large O scale layout.

We have five different tracks that we can run.

Right now.

We're only running three of the five because the other two are our steam locomotives, and they're a little bit noisier.

So we decided to just let some of the diesels tool around here to give you an idea.

But a lot of this that you see here, the buildings and things, a lot of this was donated by one individual, Stanley Bill.

And in fact, a lot of the train cars that you see on the walls, there was one person's collection, I would say probably about 70 to 80% of this was one person's collection.

So when it all came here, this was not his layout, but a lot of the things that are on the layout would have been his.

So it was it's still now you can walk past this layout.

I've been here for quite a few years and I still walk by and I go, oh, I never noticed that.

Very detailed.

And this was really great about the railroad museum is there's so many different things that you can look and see.

What are some of the historical things that people can catch while they're here visiting?

Well, if they are history buffs, there's a lot of history signage on the walls about railroads in general.

And of course, Elkhart Railroad history.

Okay, we have a station master, office set up.

We have a neat thing for the kids.

We have what's called a kids zone play area.

So it's got a big playhouse tree and a lake.

Is there a limit of the kid age?

Like, can I go in there?

Railroads turn the adults into kids.

We find house.

Okay, I'll go with that one.

So there's all sorts of things on the inside.

There's displays with railroad China.

We've got.

Oh, that's cool.

Outside, of course, we have an actual diesel locomotives, which I've been in before.

And I remember you honk the horn in here, I did.

You guys have to look back for that episode so you can catch me doing that.

And, some rolling stock, some of which is starting to be in tough shape, but we're starting to work on some restoration.

We're beginning with our wood caboose about 1905.

Caboose, we have a new roof on it, and we're hoping to put a some type of a pavilion style, building over it, open air, but covering it.

And then we will recite it, paint it, and freshen it all up.

Now, around here, when you're walking around, you are actually really in a part of history.

You're walking on the floors that are history here in Elkhart.

Yeah, 125 years old history.

Some of it's covered up now with the plywood sheeting.

And there are some other issues with an old building as far as Karen.

Sure.

But, you know, you walk through here and you realize, oh, that's a doorway over here.

And that was a doorway over there where there's displays are, and the rail cars would come up right against this building and get unloaded into this area and then loaded into the trucks out on freight.

And they happen right here?

Yeah.

Right here.

Right here.

You think of all the goods and services it went through here and with.

If you're from Elkhart, you know, about Miles laboratories, which eventually was bought up by Bear.

There was so much here that Miles used that miles even had his own office on the far end.

So this building and the railroads indeed did kind of build Elkhart.

I love it, and I have to ask you, because you were so knowledgeable when people come here to visit, can they get like a tour?

Oh, yeah, like a guided tour.

You can request a tour.

I love that, it would either be myself or one of our curators.

We also have a volunteer that gives tours as well.

And.

Okay, so tell us, when can we visit the museum?

For those who haven't been there, I know we have lots of folks who love to come here regularly.

When can I catch you guys?

The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday, so we're closed Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday through Saturday from 10 to 5 year round.

I love it, I love it and remind us again the date for the Bunny Express.

Because that bunny you're going to be hopping, right?

Yeah.

The Bunny Express will be Saturday, April the 12th.

And again, we're open from 10 to 5.

The event says 11 to 4.

But, you know, if you come a little early, 1045 or so, that's fine.

I'm sure lots of people will be here.

So much to see and explore in here.

Thank you so much for showing us more of the inside of the museum.

Well, we appreciate you coming.

Thank you buddy.

Yeah, we hope a lot of people come to see us.

If they can't come to the Bunny Express event, come to see us.

The summer will be running the train all summer on Fridays and Saturdays.

Oh, great.

When school is out.

Okay.

When school is not out, we do run it on Saturdays.

But once school is out, we add a weekday because kids are more likely to come on the weekdays heading to the kids area too.

I'm going to go there right now.

Let's go.

Okay, okay.

Well, that's it for this week's show.

Thank you so much for being with us.

Remember, if you have ideas of what we should get out and explore and share with our community, be sure to let us know.

Get on Facebook, search Experience Michiana and drop us a line that way.

Thank you so much for being with us.

Have a great week everybody.

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