Vol 2., No. 18, May 29, 2026
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People. Places. Things To Do. |
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Welcome back to The Green Room.
I hope everyone is getting settled into their summer schedules. My son Archie is doing a Discovery Center camp this week.
In the arts world, Springfield continues to put its creative fingerprint on the map. A downtown mural created during the Overlay Art and Culture Festival is receiving national recognition after “Hitchhikers” earned two honors at the National Mural Awards. With each brushstroke, our community gains a little more artistic freedom and attention. Kudos to everyone involved!
Jim Payne stopped by The Green Room ahead of next month’s 15th annual Stomp the Blues Out of Homelessness festival, a grassroots music event that helps support local organizations while bringing nationally touring blues artists through southwest Missouri. This year’s lineup includes the great Anders Osborne.
I also want to send a huge thank you to everyone who took time to fill out our recent Green Room survey. The thoughtful feedback, encouragement, and ideas genuinely help shape where this project goes next and what stories we continue chasing each week. And as always, if you have ideas for people, places, or things happening in the arts world of the Ozarks, please reach out. I love connecting with and covering the many different arts communities in our area.
And finally, a reminder that The Green Room is a reader-supported project. If you enjoy this newsletter and want to help support its sustainability, you can contribute through the “tip jar” located just below the Arts News segment. Every bit of support helps keep local arts coverage alive and growing here in the Ozarks.
Thanks for being part of this weekly journey through the arts!
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| Jimmy Rea
Host, Arts News
KSMU 91.1 FM
Ozarks Public Broadcasting
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The Green Room is sponsored by Springfield Community Gardens
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The mural artists pose for a picture. Photo credit: Overlay Fest
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A mural created during Springfield’s Overlay Art and Culture Festival has received two national honors, including a National Silver Award, helping place the city’s growing public art scene on a larger stage...read more.
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Jim Payne presents WIN with a check from last year’s concert fundraising. Photo credit: Stomp the Blues Out of Homelessness
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Event founder Jim Payne stopped by the Arts News studio to discuss the milestone year for the long-running event and how it supports community organizations while bringing nationally touring musical acts to Springfield, including this year’s headliner, Anders Osborne...read more.
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KSMU’s final Social Hour will be held after the Studio Live on June 12, featuring Memphis soul and funk instrumental band The Sideburns. Join us one last time at BrewCo that evening from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. to dance the night away. But never fear – Studio Live on KSMU isn’t going away. In fact, we have a very exciting announcement coming soon!
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Arts News on KSMU is your long-standing source for what's happening in the Ozarks arts scene spotlighting local creators, performances, and cultural events every week. Tune in Fridays at 10:00 a.m. on 91.1 FM or stream at KSMU.org
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What you, the readers, are saying about The Green Room! |
🎤"I am a huge KSMU fan and I very much appreciate all you all do. I cannot thank you all enough for informing me and keeping my life bristling and vibrant with the news y'all report on. Thank you very much!"
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📰"This type of local, regular communication from our local Ozarks Public Broadcasting makes me even more committed to supporting OPB!"
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❤️"I really appreciate this newsletter. I love how it is written. Because my husband and I have been together for 10 years, it can be hard to think up new date night ideas, so this has been really helpful!"
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🎶"Jimmy Rea does an excellent job with the Green Room! And I love your jingle on the radio. Would like to hear it more often! Happy tune."
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👉Got a story, event, or artist I should know about? Share your arts and music tips with The Green Room, and help us shine a spotlight on the creative pulse of the Ozarks! You can email them to me at jrea@missouristate.edu
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Sponsored by Sothern Plumbing
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🎶Friends don't leave friends out of the music and arts scene - they share all the local arts and music happenings. Just forward this email to a friend or send them this link and let Jimmy tell them!
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What is Burlesque? According to Wikipedia “Burlesque is a 2010 American backstage musical film written and directed by Steven Antin. It stars Cher, Christina Aguilera, Kristen Bell, Cam Gigandet, Eric Dane, Stanley Tucci, Julianne Hough, Alan Cumming, and Peter Gallagher, and features cameos from Dianna Agron and James Brolin.”
And then I realize that I may have stumbled on the wrong page.
(But, also, Cher, Christina Aguilera, Kristen Bell, Stanley Tucci, Alan Cumming, and JAMES BROLIN?? I may need to watch this terrible, forgotten film.)
No, it turns out researching “burlesque” unto itself is a Russian nesting doll of Wikipedia pages, articles, and subjects. My favorite kind of research.
Burlesque (page #1), as most broadly defined, is “literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.” But “Burlesque,” essentially parody, with origins in French/Italian/English culture of the 16th century, eventually evolves to a Victorian form of comedy (page #2), and comes to the United States by the mid 1800’s. “Victorian Burlesque” evolves into “American Burlesque” (page #3) and, by the 1880s, involves four key elements:
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- Minimal costuming, often focusing on the female form.
- Sexually suggestive dialogue, dance, plotlines and staging.
- Quick-witted humor laced with puns, but lacking complexity.
- Short routines or sketches with minimal plot cohesion across a show.
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After several years living and doing shows in Chicago and New Orleans (and, incredibly, working in the art department of the Academy Award winning film “Sinners,”) Kaycie (a.k.a. “Miss Fancy”) has returned to town and finally brought her own flavor of Burlesque back to Springfield. Her show this Saturday night closes out her month-long residency at J.O.B. Public House on Walnut Street and, to make it extra special, she has both local and traveling performers and a live band for the whole show! So, if you need a bit of bawdy humor, some fishnets, fire dancing, and live rock 'n' roll all in one night, maybe make your way downtown this Saturday, and we’ll see you back here next week!
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Local Radar with Ran Cummings is a weekly music and conversation radio show on KSMU featuring bands and performances from in and around the Ozarks every Friday night at 9:00 p.m. 91.1 FM or stream KSMU.org
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Studio Live with Melissa Rea and Jess Balisle airs on the 2nd Friday of every month at noon. Tune in at 91.1 FM at KSMU.org for an hour of live music and conversation with talented local artists.
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June 12: The Sideburns - THE LAST SOCIAL HOUR
July 10: Jin J. X
August 14: Patti Steel
September 11: TBA
October 9: Drifters Mile
November 13: Pomfret
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In the mood to stay in? Queue up one of these videos handpicked by our staff at Ozarks Public Broadcasting, perfect for a night in when you're skipping the scene but still craving culture.
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Stand Together as One. This powerful documentary traces how journalists, musicians, and activists responded to the devastating Ethiopian famine of the 1980s — and how music became a force for global action.
American Masters: The Disappearance of Miss Scott. Watch the extraordinary life of Hazel Scott, the first Black American woman to host her own television show, and the price she paid for refusing to stay silent during the Red Scare, and what happens when powerful women challenge the system.
The Art of Home: A Wind River Story. A powerful look at identity, heritage, and the pull of the place that shaped you. Follow two Indigenous artists as they return to Wyoming’s Wind River Reservation to reconnect with their roots, wrestle with what “home” really means, and create art that carries generations of history, pain, pride, and resilience.
Laurie Anderson: Tiny Desk Concert. Now in her late 70s, the curious-minded visionary maintains her impish smile; her incantations — on everything from the American Dream to Amelia Earhart in this Tiny Desk set — seem more sage-like than ever.
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These favorites from KSMU and OPT are just the beginning. There's a whole world of storytelling, music, documentaries, and local gems waiting on you to dive in and discover at your local public broadcasting station.
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Was this email sent to you by a friend? If you'd love fresh takes, local gems, and behind-the-scene artsy goodness in your inbox every week subscribe to The Green Room.
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The Green Room is a production of Ozarks Public Broadcasting. For more information about our programs and services please visit our website.
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Mailing Address:
901 South National Ave.
Springfield, MO 65897
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Ozarks Public Television 417-836-3500
KSMU Radio 417-836-5878
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