on The Mark TV/Radio 1/31/24

NEW On The Mark TV/Radio WED 1/31/24 from Westfield Community Programming and 89.5fm/WSKB. . Spotlight on Westfield. with Diane Chambers from. the Amelia Park Children's Museum and Bill Westerlind from ArtWorks Westfield. Stream after 8AM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk3aSwHs9vg

Westfield News/MassLive ArtsBeat 1/29/24

Westfield News/MassLive ArtsBeat 1/29/24. James Taylor at Tanglewood, Frozen comes to The Bushnell, Havana Night in Springfield, and arts news for WMass and No.CT. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2024/01/arts-beat-tickets-on-sale-today-for-james-taylor-tradition-at-tanglewood.html

ArtsBeat TV/Radio 1/26/24

NEW ArtsBeat TV/Radio 1/26/24 from Westfield Community Programming and 89.5fm/WSKB. Buzz Engine;s Elisa Hale previews upcoming plays and concerts in No.CT, and we meet the cast of TheaterWorks' "The Garbologists". Stream after 8AM Friday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKPyddsm4Fc

ArtsBeat on Pioneer Valley Radio 1/24/24

NEW ArtsBeat on Pioneer Valley Radio 1/24/24. Torch Song opens in Easthampton, The Garbologists plays TheaterWorks, and a local actor gets a starring role on Broadway, plus arts news for WMass and No.CT. segment begins at: 9:09 https://pioneervalleyradio.podbean.com/e/brad-shepard-today-january-24-2024/

on The Mark TV/Radio Spotlight on Westfield Series

In case you've missed it, On The Mark TV/Radio on Westfield Community Programming and 89.5fm/WSKB is doing a three-part "Spotlight on Westfield" series with Mike Ballway from Westfield News, Bo Sullivan from the Boys and Girls Club, Diane Chambers from the Children's Museum, Bill Westerlind from ArtWorks Westfield, Guy McLain and Becky Blackburn from the Westfield Athenaeum, and school superintendent Stefan Szaporowski. The first aired today. Stream them on Wednesdays after 8AM on Youtube on WSKB Community Radio. https://www.youtube.com/@WSKBCommunityRadio/videos

On The Mark TV.Radio 1/24/24

NEW On The Mark TVRadio 1/24/24 from Westfield Community Programming, 89.5fm/WSKB, Southwick Community TV, and Agawam Media. Spotlight on Westfield. Westfield News' Michael Ballway and Bo Sullivan from the Boys and Girls Club. Stream after 8AM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNZ6iLkzl5Q

Westfield News/MassLive ArtsBeat 1/22/24

Westfield News/MassLive ArtsBeat 1/22/24. New plays at TheaterWorks and Playhouse on Park. Grerat Barrington Public Theatre launchers new series, and arts news for WMass and No.CT. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2024/01/arts-beat-classic-opera-new-drama-coming-to-pioneer-valley-stages.html

ArtsBeat TV/Radio 1/19/24

NEW ArtsBeat TV/Radio 1/19/24 from Westfield Community Programming and 89.5fm/WSKB. Meet Barrington Stage Associate Artist Mark H. Dold, Berkshire Theatre Critics Award winning actor, whose credits include Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theatre, film, and TV. Stream his hour-long chat with Mark G. Auerbach after 8AM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnvJ8_9GeGo

ArtsBeat on Pioneer Valley Radio 1/17/24

NEW ArtsBeat on Pioneer Valley Radio 1/17/24. Gary Hochman’s Sobibor documentary screens in Hartford, American Son in Enfield, and arts news for WMass and No.CT. segment airs at: 4:57 https://pioneervalleyradio.podbean.com/e/brad-shepard-today-january-17-2024/

On the Mark TV/Radio 1/17/24

NEW On The Mark TV/Radio tomorrow, 1/17/24 from Westfield Community Programming and 89.5fm/WSKB. Poet and author Kevin McCaffrey has a new book, and investigative reporter Dusty Christensen takes us on his beat. Stream after 8AM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBZW6FEM0LE

Westfield News/MassLive ArtsBeat 1/15/24

Westfield News/MassLive ArtsBeat 1/15/24. Premieres at Hartford Stage and Playhouse on Park, Gary Hochman's Deadly Deception at Sobibor screens in Hartford and arts news for WMass and No.CT. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2024/01/arts-beat-western-mass-filmmaker-to-show-film-on-holocaust-denial.html

ArtsBeat TV/Radio 1/12/24

NEW ArtsBeat TV/Radio tomorrow from Westfield Community Programming, 89.5fm/WSKB, Southwick Community TV and Agawam Media. Let's go backstage at two area theatres with Allison Rachele Bayles at Berkshire Theatre Group and Tracy Flater at Playhouse on Park. Stream after 8AM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_stmqRxZlJM

ArtsBeat on Pioneer Valley Radio 1/10/24

NEW ArtsBeat on Pioneer Valley Radio 1/10/24. New Musicals at Goodspeed (pictured), an Oscar Wilde classic at The Majestic, Simona’s Search world premiere at Hartford Stage and arts news for WMass and No.CT. segment begins at: 6:19 https://pioneervalleyradio.podbean.com/e/brad-shepard-today-january-10-2024/

On The Mark TV/Radio 1/10/24

NEW onThe Mark TVRadio tomorrow from Westfield Community Programming, 89.5fm/WSKB, Southwick Community TV and Agawam Media. Laura Gratz helps people organize their lives, and Dave Madsen and Paul Robbins launch a podcast. Stream after 8AM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ket8jQ4UCbE

Westfield News/MassLive ArtsBeat 1/08/24

Westfield News/MassLive ArtsBeat 1/08/24. Plays and concerts for this winter in WMass and No.CT. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2024/01/arts-beat-tickets-on-sale-for-short-plays-big-broadcast-symphony-shows.html

ArtsBeat TVRadio 1/05/24

NEW ArtsBeat TV/Radio tomorrow from Westfield Community Programming and 89.5fm/WSKB. Michael Fling previews Goodspeed's Festival of New Musicals, and we check in with the peripatetic Maestro Kevin Rhodes, who led the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Stream after 8AM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfG3rOXVohI

On The Mark TV/Radio 1/03/24

NEW On The Mark TV/Radio tomorrow from Westfield Community Programming and 89.5fm/WSKB. For 20 years, Maestro Kevin Rhodes led the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (and lived in Westfield). He's back to talk about his post-SSO career. Jason Trotta showcases Northampton Community Music Center. Watch! Listen! Stream after 8AM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrYDS_E6vug

Westfield News/MassLive ArtsBeat 1/01/24

NEW Westfield News/MassLive 1/01/24. “American Son” in Enfield, Classics and Jazz at Springfield Symphony Orchestra, 2024 at Shakespeare & Company and arts news for WMass and No.CT. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2024/01/arts-beat-symphonys-classical-program-drama-on-enfield-stage-reckon-with-race.html

Mark;s Holiday Memories

Mark’s Holiday Memories My 2023 Year in Review. Chapter 1. I could recap the year with the health challenges I dealt with, simultaneous kidney failure and a heart attack. It was rock bottom. But, I choose to concentrate on the good things that happened. Despite health challenges, I produced some of my best radio and TV in years. Thanks to my producer, Peter Cowles, for making that happen. I got to interview some of the most incredible people for ArtsBeat and on The Mark for Westfield Community Programming, 89.5fm/WSKB, Southwick Community Television, and Agawam Media. Some of the most memorable: from the theatree world, James Barry and Tara Franklin, Alan Paul, Jay Sefton and Mark H. Dold (pictured). From the community: Stefan Czaporowski, Westfield School superintendent, Diane Pearlman from Berkshire Film and Media, the students at Westfield Technical Academy’s aviation program, and Hope Tremblay’s students at St. Mary’s High School and Brenda Garton’s students from Western New England University. https://www.youtube.com/@WSKBCommunityRadio/videos My 2023 Year in Review. Chapter 2. I was supposed to narrate Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard. https://www.conspirare.org/considering-matthew-shepard/ But illness eventually got in the way. Nonetheless I travelled to Wyoming to visit the sites in Shepard’s life. It was an opportunity to visit my good pal, Ben Jacek, who lives and works there. Ben was my tour guide. I’d mentored Ben when he was a teen, became friends after he worked for my company, and close friends after a mutual friend committed suicide. This year, while working full time, he got his paramedic certification, which involved over 500 hours of clinicals. I am so proud to see him accomplish his dreams and become a compassionate first responder. Invest in the young. Their successes will reap rewards. My 2023 Year in Review. Chapter 3. Old friends make a difference. I’ve remained close with my classmates at Northfield Mount Hermon since my graduation. I’ve known these people for over a half century. One, Nancy Stevens, and I had the chance to converse in depth at our Reunion in June., We discussed my end of life thoughts, as I waited for a kidney donor. As a clergy member, she helped me prioritize my thoughts. That dinner conversation got me through an eventual six weeks of hell. I’ve known Peter Weis since his dad was my math teacher. Peter, his wife Lydia, and I are close as siblings. My other classmates have rallied around me. I am blessed. My 2023 Year in Review. Chapter 4. A good friend becomes a best friend. Patrick Berry and I have known each other for over a dozen years. We’ve collaborated on projects, partnered on some extraordinary radio work, and served on boards together. When I was in the ICU, and about to sign my care off to hospice, Patrick turned my incredible low around. He got me to see that life was worth living, and he committed himself to getting me back on my feet. I rediscovered my optimism because of him. He’s been with me every step of the way. Without Patrick, I wouldn’t be here now. Other friends came through as well. They all have my gratitude and appreciation, but Patrick recalibrated my will to live. My 2023 Year in Review. Chapter 5. Love what you do. In 2021, when the musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra were at odds with the orchestra management, they formed their own non-profit and began to produce concerts. My first professional gig in Springfield was as Marketing Director of the SSO, and some of these musicians were friends of mine for over 40 years. I’ve worked hard for MOSSO ever since, and some of my old friends and new friends from the orchestra have brought me joy, professionally and personally. Steve Perry, Miho Matsuno, Bob Lawrence, and Sarah Sutherland have been good friends at work and otherwise. I love my colleagues. www.springfieldsymhonymjusicians.com. My 2023 Year in Review. Chapter 6. People who need people are the luckiest people in the world. OK, Beanie wasn't the greatest, but theatre trips with Martin Miller and Topher Morey were, as well as rendezvous with Maureen Sullivan, Diane Pearlman, Cassie Newman, Chris Daly, Joel Morse (my caffeination partner), Amy Barden, Stefan Czaporowski, and Brenda Garton were. I got through the year with the help of my friends. My NMH classmates kept me standing and smiling. My colleagues, Peter Cowles, Jason Martins, Addie Patterson, and Dylan Hegarty are the best. My poolside Table One neighbors are the best. It is these people who make my life a joy. My 2023 Year in Review. Chapter 7. If Patrick hadn’t saved me, my legacy might have been thousands of hours of radio and TV programs on YouTube, plus my conviction that white shoes can only be worn between Memorial Day and Labor Day. On those two holidays, people might chuckle. My annual countdowns to White Shoe Season would become folklore. But, I will carry on, surrounded by the love of friends. And, this holiday season, who could ask for anything more? Keep those good vibes coming on January 30.