Fall, Fun, and Festival Theatre (Hour 1)

Transcript

Fall, Fun, and Festival Theatre (Hour 1)

Nite Lite with Pete Schwaba and Greg Bach · Mon Oct 20, 2025

Kathryn Lake

You're listening to Civic Media.

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anywhere.

And now, a guy who loves the sin but hates the sinner, T. Chwaba.

It is

Pete Schwaba

finally Monday.

Welcome to Nightlight, ladies and gentlemen.

So great to be back on the air and great to have you with me.

Wherever you're joining me from here over the course of our beautiful state, this gorgeous fall night.

It's kind of dark, kind of windy, definitely feels like fall.

Or as I like to call it, perfect radio weather.

Hope you're having a great day.

And if you're not, join us.

We'll have some laughs.

We'll sing some songs.

We're going to have a lot of fun tonight on the show.

And I'm not kidding.

We are literally going to sing some songs.

Maybe not we, but we've got a couple of guys coming in here who really know how to sing and can wail and are going to blow the roof off the studio.

I'm going to tell you all about our guests in just a minute.

In the meantime, I'd like to introduce the lovely and talented Conrad Krieger.

Hey, buddy.

Hello.

Pete Schwaba

How's it going?

Oh, God, I thought I wasn't a bad

man.

No, it was that.

Yeah, I look outside and it's dark.

Last week, we still had a little bit of sunlight before like 620-ish.

Yeah.

But now it's just, it's dark and it kind of makes me a little sad.

My ride homes

Pete Schwaba

are brutal in this kind of weather.

I

Pete Schwaba

don't like it.

Or this kind of, you know, the darkness, I should say.

Yes.

No fun.

You know, I have a road story, actually.

You know, it's usually you today.

Pete Schwaba

Oh, no, what happened?

Well, I was just, I was just minding my own business or driving down.

40 miles per hour.

So I was going around 45, you know.

Pete Schwaba

Sure.

Within non-ticketable

MPH.

Exactly.

I'd say it's like seven and below.

It's non-ticketable, you know.

Okay.

Anyways, this guy starts just, he's right on my butt, you know.

What do you think?

Two options.

What do you think I do?

I go faster or I just start going slower on purpose.

Pete Schwaba

If it were me.

Rather than risk my own life and go faster, I would slow down, but I don't know.

I slowed down.

I thought so.

Okay.

Cause I, there was a semi next to me.

Pete Schwaba

So you knew he couldn't pass you?

Yeah.

Like at the end of the road, he finally got around the semi, you know, and he was like next to me.

I just looked straight.

I didn't look.

Pete Schwaba

Cause what are you going to do?

You're going to get in a staring con.

Then he knows you were being like that and that could escalate it.

You know what I mean?

Yeah,

Pete Schwaba

you're in cars.

It's it's you know,

you know if you're just going too fast I just want to slow you down to help help the traffic You know, I don't want to anyone get in a crash because you're going too fast

Pete Schwaba

exactly

Good work.

Pete Schwaba

That is you're a good citizen like I told you about that issue I had with my brother I think I said that I told that story in the air about how I Passed the guy on the right it ended up we ended up getting in a fight on the highway Yeah, we pulled over and everybody Conrad I'm not kidding says why don't you just drive away?

I'm like, he was driving as fast as I, the guy was, I would rather do something and duke it out rather than getting a high speed chase with a maniac.

Like they're driving weapons and this guy obviously didn't care.

He could have followed you all the way back.

Where you're going he could never know

Pete Schwaba

well, that's interesting too But I was on my way to Appleton to do stand-up and I was at my parents house the weekend before so I was driving for Marinette to Appleton But I thought I thought you're gonna say you could have followed you to your gig

Come

Pete Schwaba

up and try to throw punches at me or something

Excuse

Pete Schwaba

me, I got to open up a can of whoop

ass on this guy,

Pete Schwaba

but well, that's good.

I'm glad you you proved your point and

I saw this yesterday.

My wife and I were looking for a place.

First of all, we watched the season finale of TASC.

It's the first season of Mark Ruffalo, my pal Jamie McShane, who's a nightlight semi-regular, I would say, and just a great Tom Pelfrey, really solid acting, a very good show.

Definitely check it out.

Loved the finale.

I'm not gonna say what happens to Jamie.

You'll just have to see, but you know, he...

He played a great bad guy.

It was really fun to watch that show.

But my wife and I were looking for something to eat last night.

We just want to order something.

We're sick of pizza.

And we see that Olive Garden delivers now.

And we don't have one near us.

And I probably wouldn't order.

I make better Italian food than the Olive Garden.

I'm just saying that.

Do you make better breadsticks though?

Well, no, but that's where I'm going with this.

How do they deliver, and then you do the unlimited breadstick salad and soup?

That would be an Uber nightmare.

I need more.

More,

Pete Schwaba

please.

I'm not done.

That would be a nightmare.

I'm sure they have limitations.

Have you ever ordered the Olive Garden?

I'm joking.

Olive Garden's fine.

It's a nice dining experience.

Yeah.

We actually ordered once.

I was at my brother's house in Appleton.

There's one right across town, and we got it to pick up.

Yeah.

We ordered.

Breadsticks and my sister-in-law accidentally put a zero at the end of something

Pete Schwaba

What do you mean on the on the charge?

So it's uh, it was I think it was I think we ended up with like 30 breadsticks.

Oh We kind of won just a huge box of all breadsticks, but they made good on that they did now all those breadsticks were

It's hilarious.

She comes back with just a huge box.

Pete Schwaba

I gotta try that again.

I've not eaten at the Olive Garden probably in 30 years.

Maybe

longer.

I think I had it like a year ago for that one time and since then, I haven't gone back.

I mean,

Pete Schwaba

it's not fast food, but it's just a franchise.

You're gonna go there knowing what to expect.

It's probably fine, but I just remember going and having to add salt.

constantly and I'm like, that's bad.

I made chipotle shrimp garlic pasta over the weekend.

I don't need salt.

If you season it right, I don't want to be putting salt on my pasta.

When I was younger, I don't know, I'd say around like 15 or 16.

I thought Olive Garden was a five-star restaurant.

Once I'm my all my friends never we're gonna go to Olive Garden and we all dressed up Dad is

Pete Schwaba

dropping some serious

coin tonight

Pete Schwaba

That's great.

Let's get this out of the way, too.

We got to put a button on the brewers.

I here's my issue like I truly was rooting for the brewers and I like the Dodgers I was a Dodger fan my son that was his first favorite team, but I was really I Really wanted to see like a huge comeback

in a history kind of be made.

Youker, we've had Sean Hannish on the show.

Here's my question.

If you're the Brewers, what do you do?

You're the hottest team in baseball.

You're the best record, and this team owns you.

What do you do?

Not even 24 hours after we lost, they're already shopping Freddie Peralta.

Really?

They don't want to pay them.

That's

just how

it is.

We don't pay any of our players.

Honestly, I don't expect us winning anytime soon because we never play our good players.

Besides, we'd paid one person, Jackson, to your own.

It's about it.

Pete Schwaba

But like, what do you make of that kind?

You're a sports fan.

This is probably something you guys will or have talked about on Make the Call.

Great show.

Check it out here on the weekends.

Yes.

But you own them during the season, and then the playoffs happen.

What changes do you make if you're the Brewers in the offseason?

You have the best record in baseball.

You got a great manager.

Yelich kind of disappeared, but like, what do you do?

I mean, honestly, we have a good farm system, so I expect we have some prospects that are definitely going to come up next year, I feel like.

Garrett Mitchell, when he comes back healthy, is going to help us tremendously, too, as well.

So I just think we do kind of keep it in our system that we have, but also pay the players that we have that made us this good of a team.

Pete Schwaba

Right.

Yeah, letting Brawl to go would not.

That would suck.

Yeah, you can't do that.

And I don't know.

Pete Schwaba

I remember when they let C.C.

Sabatheon go in the early 2000s.

And he was a rental kind of, but

I

Pete Schwaba

mean, well, my condolences next year is another

year.

Go back, go.

Now you got the

Pete Schwaba

Packers who looked good yesterday.

I mean, they didn't, it wasn't a decisive

win, but it was.

Pete Schwaba

Michael looked good

yesterday.

Michael

Pete Schwaba

Parsons looked worth every penny.

Yeah, three seconds.

Oh my God, that's amazing.

And I was talking to a friend of mine about this even he had like I think 2.5 sacks going into that game because I looked last week because I was curious But how many sacks do the other guys have because of him?

You know what I mean?

He's like a multiplier.

Yeah, and now we still got probably close to the lead league and in sacks out of Mandarin

Well, he's I mean on the other side we got Rashawn Gary and he's Mike is looking for making better.

Yeah, exactly.

Pete Schwaba

Yeah

All right, so I'm gonna tell you about a movie I saw this weekend, and I really dug it.

But first, let's do the nightlight question of the night.

Let's talk about the question.

Okay, question.

Question.

Question.

Pregunta.

Question.

Question.

Okay, I have a question.

Questions.

This question.

Pete Schwaba

Domanda.

Question.

Questions.

Pete Schwaba

What's your favorite romantic song?

Could be a love song.

Could be a song that makes you amorous.

Could just be a sweet song about someone that makes you think of someone you love?

What's your favorite romantic song?

855-752-4842, 855-75 Civic or text us on the app.

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Or if you're watching the stream, watching the radio on the stream, you can drop us a stream comment.

But let us know what your favorite romantic song is.

I'm gonna go first con.

And mine is Just My Imagination by The Temptations.

love Eddie Kendrick's voice on that.

It was between that and Danny's song, which is, even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love.

That's a great song.

There's so many to choose from, but I just went with kind of the first one that came to mind, just my imagination.

What about you?

You know, mine comes from one of my favorite movies, Back to the Future.

Pete Schwaba

What is it, Power Love?

Earth Angel.

Oh, Earth Angel is a good one.

It makes me jealous.

I wish I could have been in school during that time.

Grown up in the 50s.

Yeah, no kidding.

Because they didn't make music like that when I went to school dances.

It was all like, rap and stuff.

And, you know, no really slow dancing songs when I went to school.

Pete Schwaba

Oh, that's interesting.

So I think that it's a great song, too.

Pete Schwaba

That's too bad.

I have great memories of being at dances.

And when they would slow it down and you've had these great songs come on like, like.

true by Spandau Ballet or in my favorite from that era or one of them used to be, I remember in college loving the song in the still of the night and wanting the same thing you just said, I wish I grew up in the 50s.

That's just something that music makes us think sometimes, but let us know what your favorite romantic song is, folks.

And I have to say, I saw a really funny one on our social media posts, but we'll get to that in a little bit because I wanna play some of that, it was very funny.

So and then I saw this too this this I thought was kind of interesting He talked about Dexter with Lisa Hale Friday and you saw this con did she touch on this issue with I don't know I don't think so remember that actress his name is Campbell.

I think but it's the guy who played Dexter Michael C Hall and the girl who played his sister He's looked that up quick they dated like on and off during the show

And they got, wait, oh my God, I forgot about this.

Okay, they got engaged, then they got married and got divorced, all while continuing to play brother and sister on TV.

That is so great.

I wonder if that's ever been done before.

I don't know, because they act like nothing happened on the set.

Yeah.

Pete Schwaba

For some reason, I have

DBS.

Jennifer Carpenter.

Carpenter, that's it, not

Pete Schwaba

Campbell.

Jennifer Carpenter.

I'm having an issue.

My M is not working.

You ever had that issue?

No.

I take that back.

It works, but I have to really poke the keyboard.

There's probably something that got lodged in there, like a piece of food or something.

So I really got a whale on the M, and it's stressing me out a little bit.

I got to be honest, because it's hard to do a search.

But Jennifer Carpenter, yeah, and Michael C. Hall, that's a crazy, I would take some serious acting, a little marriage quarrel on the set of Dexter.

So our guests tonight folks, great lineup tonight.

At 635, Amy Gaye there will be here.

She is directing a show in St.

Croix Falls.

She's a New York City based theater director and writer.

And she's gonna be here at 635 to tell us all about a show that's taking place in the Western part of the state this coming weekend.

It's great.

And I'm very much looking forward to meeting her.

We've talked to other people from St.

Croix Falls before.

And then Ask Your Mother is here at 720.

Eric and Adam are going to rock the studio, blow the roof off the joint.

They're going to be here at 7.20 tonight.

So you're hearing a great night.

Great to have you.

We will be right back.

And I'm going to tell you about a movie I saw this weekend.

It's Peach Wabbit and Nightlight on the Civic Media Radio Network.

Kathryn Lake

You're listening to Civic Media.

Stay up to date on the latest news and information for your local community and Wisconsin by signing up for our free email newsletter.

Visit civicmedia.us slash email to get

started.

My father fell in love with her and soon the two were wed This made my dad my son-in-law and changed my very life My daughter was my mother cause she was my father's wife To complicate the matter even though it brought me joy I soon became the father of a bouncing baby boy My little baby then became the brother-in-law to dad And so became my uncle though it made me very sad

That's Willie Nelson.

Willie Nelson.

I'm my own

Pete Schwaba

grandpa.

That is the choice for our question of the night, the most romantic.

What is your favorite or what is the most romantic song?

And that is from someone on social media named Bill, who shared that.

I'm my own grandpa.

That is the Woody.

Winnie Nelson version.

It gets even weirder.

Like the lyrics are so bizarre.

It's like with the Elon Musk family.

I think his dad married some young girl and then the mom was crazy.

But this is even more convoluted.

Great one, Bill, on social media.

Our question of the night is, as I said, what's your favorite romantic song?

Daniel Wheeler says, sailing by Christopher Cross.

My wife and I both loved this song before we ever met in high school.

When we discovered that, it instantly became our song.

That's great too, because even if a song isn't necessarily romantic, and that song kind of is about sailing, it just becomes special to you.

That's so great.

Jay on social media says, the one where the husband and the wife are both trying to cheat on each other, but the marriage is saved by Pina Coladas.

I don't know that one.

Sounds very romantic, though.

Thank you, Jay.

Amanda Nimmer, our GBW pal and producer and social media expert says, wait for you.

How do you pronounce that?

Do you know her?

Is it

Pete Schwaba

Atreou?

I'm not totally sure.

Who

Pete Schwaba

that is.

Thank you, Amanda.

I'll have to give that a listen.

And then Mike on social media, our pal, Mike Destetel says, can't get enough of your love by Barry White.

That's a great tune.

And Terri Barr also commented just that.

Oh, did she?

Oh, I missed that one.

Yeah, she said.

Beth by Kiss, of course.

Beth is a great

Pete Schwaba

song.

Yeah, not a big surprise there.

Terry's a huge Kiss fan.

That one was written by, I thought when I was a kid, I remember thinking or hearing that that was written by the drummer Peter Criss at the time about his wife.

And it's a very un-Kiss-like at the time, because they had all these pyrotechnics and crazy rock songs and God of Thunder.

But that was kind of a sweet song.

Great one, Terry.

Thank you.

check out Bar Band Friday Nights here at Nightlight on Friday nights at 7.35 when Terry comes by with brand new music.

We have Craig Benzine coming on the show Friday, I'm sorry, Wednesday at 6.35.

Last week, Terry was on and brought a song called A Man of Action that Craig Benzine wrote.

And he is one of the creative forces behind the film, No Packers, No Life, which I think you can still see in Marcus Theaters.

But we'll have Craig on Wednesday night.

He's going to tell us about his songwriting and filmmaking and his social media following, which is monstrous.

He's a lot of fun to have on the show.

So that's Wednesday night at 635.

So thank you again, Terry Barr.

I saw the movie Roof Man over the weekend.

Nice.

Really good.

It's about a guy who breaks into McDonald's stores through the roof, a veteran, and he learned these skills overseas when he was in Afghanistan or just in the military.

And he eventually gets caught and then escapes prison and lives in a Toys R Us for like four or five months hiding.

And it's just so, and it's based on a true story.

It's not made up.

And as I understand it, they kept pretty close to the story, but it's Channing Tatum.

Peter Dinklage plays the manager of the Toys R Us and Kirsten Dunst is one of the employees.

And he sneaks out sometimes during the day.

It's just such a fascinating story.

With a really nice message.

I won't give away what happens, but The way the guy summarizes everything at the end.

It's just it's great I wouldn't say it was a masterpiece by any stretch, but I really enjoyed it great film to check out roof man

I watched the second episode yesterday of the chair company.

Pete Schwaba

Oh, I almost did that last night, but

it's you gotta keep watching it's so funny

Pete Schwaba

Is it funnier, would you say, than the movie Friendship with

Tim Robinson?

Okay, because I

Pete Schwaba

thought the pilot was funnier than Friendship as

well.

Easily.

It's like, suspenseful too.

Like, it's funny, but you're also like, what's gonna happen next?

So I'd keep watching.

Pete Schwaba

So they're dropping an episode a week

though, that's a bummer.

Yeah, it does suck.

Like Chad Powers.

Pete Schwaba

You still like that, you still watching that?

All right, the new episode comes out tonight.

Pete Schwaba

Wait, that's Apple TV, right?

No, it's Hulu.

Oh, Hulu does it.

It's a weird one.

It's Monday at 11 p.m.

Pete Schwaba

Netflix is like the only good app that still drops everything all at once.

Yeah, no, because like I said, starting five, the basketball show that I started watching, I already finished it, by the way, because every single episode drops.

Pete Schwaba

But that's great.

If

you want

Pete Schwaba

that option, I love that.

All right, so we've got Amy Gaye.

They're coming up at 635, a New York based theater director who is in the state producing a show in St.

Croix Falls.

Is it St.

Croix Falls?

Where is

Pete Schwaba

that?

Kathryn Lake

Is

Pete Schwaba

it just St.

Croix?

I feel like I'm adding a falls.

It

is St.

Croix Falls.

Pete Schwaba

Okay, and it's the festival theater.

They do an amazing job at the festival theater.

There's no doubt about that.

And then Eric Rathsack and Adam Kraus from Ask Your Mother will be here at 720.

Such a fun night here at Night Lights.

So glad you're with me.

If you listen and let us know, folks, what is your favorite romantic song?

I'm gonna add a song, but I'm gonna put a caveat in there.

I love the song.

This is my second Ann Murray song I'm saying.

I love the song, Could I Have This Dance for the rest of my life is like how it continues.

But Ann Murray originally sang it.

But I love when like an old country dude or a folk singer covers it with like a raspy voice It sounds so beautiful Very romantic song, but I said just my imagination Conrad said earth

angel

Pete Schwaba

earth angel So let us know what you think eight five five seven five two four eight four two eight five five seven five civic We did not unfortunately get to Conrad's trip to Dork County this weekend.

Did you

pick apples?

No, but once one of those places that does

Do apple picking and we tried a bunch of different apples.

So ... I might

Pete Schwaba

have you elaborate on that later in the show.

Okay.

So make stuff up if it's not that exciting.

All right, we're coming right back after the news with ... talk about a really cool play that if you are in the western part of the state, you got to check out.

This is Pete Schwabba in Nightlight on the Civic Media Radio

Network.

Pete Schwaba

That is it.

Love that song.

I think that's Eddie Kendricks.

Such a great tune.

That is my favorite romantic song, at least for tonight.

Let us know yours.

That's our question of the night at 855-752-4842-8557.

Five Civic.

This is a funny text we got from Lori in the 715.

This is in regard to my M, not working on my keyboard.

So Conrad gets all these crazy messages.

But Lori says, hey, Pete, it's probably some of that gelato that's gotten down there.

It's sticking

Pete Schwaba

to your M letter with a bunch of crazy emojis.

You're probably right, Lori.

I should probably have this looked at.

Before we bring on our guest, did you say we have a phone call?

Yeah,

only from the

Pete Schwaba

north north.

Oh, all right, put it through.

Ali, how are you tonight?

Hi, how are you?

You guys?

Pete Schwaba

Doing great.

One song that I like is Island in the Stream by Dolly and Kenny Rogers.

Pete Schwaba

Okay, Ollie, I don't usually name drop my own stuff here on Nightlight, but you have to check out the movie A Guy Thing from MGM.

I co-wrote it, and I was not responsible for that, but that is the couple's song, and you hear that song a lot during that movie, and it's kind of funny.

You might check it out and enjoy

it.

I'll do that, Betsy.

All right.

And I'll

Pete Schwaba

get a two-cent residual check.

They'll be outstanding.

All right.

Thank you,

Pete Schwaba

ma'am.

Have a great night, Ollie.

Oh, she's so fun.

I love our phone calls from Ollie.

All right.

It is time for our first guest on Monday, which is brought to you by Chicken or the Egg Photography.

Chris specializes in food, event music, and product photography for businesses across Wisconsin and the Midwest.

See what he can do for you at ChickenOrTheEggPhotography.com.

Chris will actually be coming by here on Thursday night, so tune in for that as well.

We love Chris, he's a great guy, and he will be here in person, but check out Chicken or the Egg Photography.

And with that in mind, it is my pleasure to welcome to Nightlight for the first time, a New York-based director who finds herself in Wisconsin at the St.

Croix Falls Festival Theater, a great little spot.

It's Amy Gather.

I hope I'm saying that right.

Amy, welcome to Nightlight.

Hello.

Hi, Pete.

Yes, you are saying it right.

Pete Schwaba

It's Gather.

Gather.

Pete Schwaba

Perfect.

All right.

I thought so, but I usually, when something's on the bubble, I usually email and just get the fanatics.

And for some reason I didn't do this.

So I rolled the dice and I got it right.

So it's great to see you.

Thank you for being here tonight.

Thanks for having me.

Pete Schwaba

Sure.

Are you in St.

Croix Falls right now?

I would imagine you are.

I am not.

We got the show open last weekend and I'm back in New York.

Pete Schwaba

Back to work.

Okay, well good for you.

How are you tonight?

And tell us a little bit, if you would please, give us a little bit of your background before we get into this, what sounds like a really terrific play.

It is a wonderful play.

I have been acting since I was a child and I live in New York and so now I act and direct.

full-time.

I taught university for a long time.

I'm from the Midwest, grew up in Indiana, and I taught at DePaul University for a long time.

And now I work full-time as a theater artist.

Pete Schwaba

That's pretty cool.

You and I almost have something in common.

You said you taught at DePaul.

I went to DePaul.

In Chicago.

Oh, in Chicago.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Pete Schwaba

Actually, no connection whatsoever, but it sounds like there should be.

I know everyone gets them confused, but to follow the W.

Pete Schwaba

Yeah.

Before we get too much into the show here that we'll talk about at the festival theater, do you have a favorite romantic song, Amy?

Oh, man.

Pete Schwaba

You can

think about it

Pete Schwaba

if you want.

Moon River.

Pete Schwaba

Oh, great one.

Andy Williams.

The Andy Williams version?

I just like to sing it.

Pete Schwaba

Oh, okay.

You're welcome to belt out a few lines if you like.

We have singers on the show all the time.

But no pressure.

I love it.

I love

Pete Schwaba

it.

That's

a great song.

It's one of the most beautiful melodies.

Pete Schwaba

Absolutely.

And it's funny, it's one of those songs that now that it was part of a comedy like in Fletch, that's where my head goes when I hear this

amazing

Pete Schwaba

song.

I know

Pete Schwaba

that scene.

Why didn't they use a crummy song?

I know.

Don't ruin that for us.

Exactly.

Pete Schwaba

It says in your bio that you grew up in a legendary family of Grammy winners.

That piqued my interest.

Tell us about that.

My parents are...

singer-songwriters in gospel music.

So they've been around for a long, long time.

They're still writing.

They're still in the studio.

My dad still travels and sings.

But the Gaythers have been around for a long time.

And so that's my family.

Pete Schwaba

Very cool.

Well, let's jump in here.

How did you end up, you have Midwest highs, but how did you find yourself directing this, what sounds like this really cool play at the Festival Theatre?

Tell us about the play.

Well, I came to the Festival Theatre, I think it's been about five years ago now for the first time.

One of my good friends from grad school, who was in the same MFA program as I,

was the artistic director there and asked me to come out and direct the mousetrap.

And then I came back and directed a Sherlock Holmes, Games of Foot, Homes for the Holidays.

And then they asked me to come back and direct I and You, which is the play currently running by Lauren Gunderson.

So this is my third time out there.

And it is a gorgeous play.

She's one of my favorite playwrights.

Pete Schwaba

Yeah, tell us a little bit about the plot, because it's about teenagers, really, and a Walt Whitman poem, which I thought was really cool.

Yeah, it's really cool.

It is about teenagers, but it's such a wide crowd pleaser.

It's such a beautiful play for everyone, and especially right now, because it's a play about

how we need each other.

And in a time when there's so much division, it's really a story about people coming together.

So it's a 17-year-old white girl and a 17-year-old black boy.

And they come together, she's home with a, she was born with a liver condition and is awaiting a transplant and is not able to go to school.

So he brings over an English project to work on with her.

And it's a project on Walt Whitman's Song of Myself on the pronouns in Song of Myself, you and I and we.

And Gunderson is amazing at weaving through the poetry into the story, but it's funny.

These kids are really special and smart and funny and quirky and

their friendship that develops over the course of the evening is really quite beautiful.

And it's kind of a surprise ending.

So I don't want to say too much more.

But we are five for five now for Standing Ovation.

It's really, really a beautiful show.

Gunderson is the most widely produced playwright in America and has been since 2019.

She's incredibly proficient and

Pete Schwaba

That's

impressive.

Just an amazing writer.

Pete Schwaba

Yeah, I feel like everything starts with the script.

I mean, even whether

it's

Pete Schwaba

theater, movies, whatever, when the script is written, at least you have a story.

You know, directors, producers, actors need that material.

So what is it?

You as a director, what was it that first caught your eye with this particular piece of material?

Well, I produced one of Lauren's plays in New York two years ago called Amy Lee.

The subtitle is La Marquise de Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight.

And it's about the first female physicist.

And she writes a lot of plays about women in history whose stories have not been told because they're women.

She was an 18th century French Marquis who was the first female physicist.

And so I've had my eye on her scripts for a long time.

And when Isaac Bont at Festival Theatre sent me the script and asked me if I was interested.

Before I even read it, I was like, oh, I'm gonna be interested because it's Lauren Gunderson, but it's really an incredible story, just.

I would love to talk to her and find out how she came up with this story.

Pete Schwaba

My guest is Amy Gather.

She is a New York based theater director and a writer, and she is directing or has directed a show that is currently, you can check it out this weekend at the festival theater in St.

Croix Falls.

Do you know how we can direct people to get tickets, Amy, if there are some

of us?

Yes, absolutely.

They can.

They can call the box office at Festival Theatre in St.

Croix Falls, or they can go to the website and get tickets on the website.

Excellent.

And it's... What is the website?

Pete Schwaba

We can

encounter... It's like...

Pete Schwaba

You mind googling that?

We can get that for people.

Yeah.

So I can

Pete Schwaba

have your undivided attention, Amy.

Yeah.

So I want to ask you, what is... For people that haven't been to Festival Theatre,

What can they expect?

What kind of space is it?

And how many people does it hold?

We'll talk a little bit if you can about the history of the theater.

Well, this is their second season back in the Civic Auditorium, which is, it's a historic...

vaudeville house actually it was built in the early 1900s and It was never it never opened as a vaudeville house, but it was built for vaudeville because the the first that that pandemic hit From what I understand the Spanish flu came in and they never opened it, but it was used as a music hall and as a library It's been several things in the community for a long time and then it's been closed

Um, for, I think I understood like something like nine years while they refurbished it and they've done this beautiful restoration job.

So this show, the show is in the historic auditorium and the historic auditorium is worth a visit all by itself, but there's a cafe in their seats about, I think 250 and, uh, it's a beautiful, beautiful space.

Pete Schwaba

So.

What where does this show rank you've got such a great resume?

Where does this show rank in terms of?

Favorite plays you've directed obviously you love the writer that's got to help But how do you where do you put this in your on your catalog so to speak

quite high actually because Because the play is so great, but also because the whole design team and the two actors are just have been a dream to work with just

lovely people and beautiful artists, incredibly talented, but James Randolph and Lindsay Fry are the actors playing the two kids.

And they're just, they're stunning.

I mean, they're, I don't know what other word to say, but they're stunning.

And the whole experience, and I love being in St.

Croix Falls.

It's a beautiful time.

I spend about a month there when I go to direct to play.

But the whole experience was just kind of idyllic from beginning to end.

Just no problems or hiccups or anything.

Pete Schwaba

How do you find, where did you find your two leads?

Are they local?

Do they come in from other communities like you did or how does that work with casting?

Well, yeah, they cast at festival theater.

They cast mostly through Uptas and other regional auditions.

They go to auditions for the Midwest and the area.

to bring in people.

So James is from Chicago and this is his second show with Festival Theatre this season and then he's staying to do their Christmas show which is Frosty coming up next.

And then Lindsay was an intern there a few years ago when she was in college and when she came out of college she applied for a position at Festival Theatre and they hired her so she's now there full-time on staff but she's also an incredible actor.

Pete Schwaba

Oh, that's fantastic.

My guest is Amy Gather.

She is directing the show, I and You, a great play for the Festival Theatre in St.

Croix Falls.

If you want tickets and if you want to attend this really, really fantastic play, check out or go to www.festivaltheatre.org for tickets.

We'll have a couple more minutes with our guest with Amy when we come back.

And I might ask you about Mousetrap, Amy, if I can do that.

Okay.

And interlocking too.

Pete Schwaba

That's a cool place.

Oh, okay.

All

Pete Schwaba

right.

We are coming right back.

This is Nightlight with Pete Schwabba.

Our question of the night, what is your favorite romantic song?

We'll get to your texts in just a little while too.

It's Pete Schwabba and Nightlight on the Civic Media radio

network.

Kathryn Lake

You're listening to Civic Media.

Find the latest news, information, and archives of all your favorite shows on the Civic Media website,

civicmedia.us.

Pete Schwaba

romantic song he's literally slow dancing with himself right now

folks if you can

Pete Schwaba

see

him

Pete Schwaba

through the glass it's

A bit of a spectacle, but yeah, that's a great tune.

We have a few more minutes with our current guest, Amy Gather.

She is directing the play I and You at Festival Theatre in St.

Croix Falls in the western part of the state here.

Check it out.

Festivaltheatre.org is where you can find tickets to this.

What sounds like a really cool production.

Amy, you said that you're a big fan of Agatha Christie when I checked out your website earlier and you said after the Bible,

And Shakespeare, she's the most red author or something to that effect.

That's incredible.

Yeah.

Yes.

I learned that when I was directing Mousetrap, I kind of did a deep dive on her and ended up listening to a podcast all about Agatha Christie.

And I've always read her books, but I read a lot more and I was in the Mousetrap.

when I was in high school.

So it was kind of fun to come back to that play.

But yeah, she's the third most published.

And I think, I think I just heard this in a trivia game yesterday.

She is the author that's been translated into the most languages in

Pete Schwaba

the world.

No kidding.

Wow.

Boy, that's impressive.

Mousetrap, I saw, I assume it's the same one that Christopher Reeve, Michael Cain film based on the play.

Oh, no, that's Death Trap.

Oh, Mouse

Pete Schwaba

Trap.

What am I thinking of?

Mouse Trap is the longest running show on stage in London.

And I think in the world, it's been running since the 50s.

It's still running.

That movie was called Death Trap?

Yeah, that's called Death Trap.

Michael Cain and and I don't think it's Agatha Christie.

I don't think that's an Agatha Christie 1982 they can't make a movie of mousetrap because it's in her will That they can't make a movie of it until it has been off stage for something like 20 25 years And it's still running

Pete Schwaba

which might never happen.

Yeah, I know right so

What do you, you're an actress, you direct, I know you've been on TV.

What is your favorite way to act?

Do you like TV or is theater too close to your heart?

Or is it just acting is acting and you'd love any gig if you liked the material?

Yeah, that's the case.

I mean, I love any good material and it's all a little bit different, but it's still the same craft.

So I've loved doing television and film.

But if I could do nothing but Shakespeare for the rest of my life, I'd be fine with that.

Pete Schwaba

No kidding.

Wow, that's great.

And acting versus directing, does that, do you have a preference there?

I really don't.

I really love both of them.

And I get, I get like sort of homesick for the other when I'm not like, I haven't acted much this year.

And so I'm really itching to get back on stage.

But when I go without directing for a while, I want to be directing.

So I like a balance.

Pete Schwaba

Yeah.

Oh, that's nice to have that opportunity where you can do both.

I saw that you studied also on your resume at Interlochen, that it's such a beautiful space.

I really wanted to study there, but I can't sing, so that was an issue.

No, but it's a beautiful, like I remember on a family camping trip, we walked around there for hours, it's just gorgeous.

What was that like studying there?

It's amazing.

really a magical place.

My son has also gone there.

I think he spent two summers there and then he worked there a couple summers ago after when he was in college.

But it's amazing because you walk through the woods and you're hearing violins and pianos and voices and then you walk by the dance studio and they're rehearsing a ballet and then you

I was in the theater program, so I was doing musicals, and they were doing Shakespeare, and now they have a creative writing.

So they've got a writing house, which is what my son did, which was very, very cool.

It's a magical, magical place to spend your summer.

Pete Schwaba

Is there anything you haven't done from a theater standpoint, whether it be acting or directing, like what is the one show you would love to do before you hang it up or stop?

It doesn't sound like you'll ever stop in theater, but what is the one show you'd love to do?

I'd really like to do Anthony and Cleopatra.

Pete Schwaba

Oh wow, okay.

I'd like to play Cleopatra.

There are several Shakespeare plays that I'd like to do.

Some Queens I haven't played yet.

A lot of

Pete Schwaba

Queens

that I'd like to play that are on my list.

Pete Schwaba

Before we let you go.

We talk, I ask a lot of guests this, because we talk about TV and movies a lot on the show.

What is a show if there is one that you're binge watching that you could recommend?

The Diplomat.

Pete Schwaba

Oh, that's good.

And I'm watching Slow Horses.

I watch a lot of British television.

So most of my favorite shows come from the BBC.

all the detective shows, the British detective shows I love.

Pete Schwaba

It's crazy, you could

lose yourself.

Call the midwife.

Pete Schwaba

Oh yeah,

right.

I just

Pete Schwaba

got caught up on Slow Horses this weekend.

And I think this

is

Pete Schwaba

my favorite season so far.

Really?

I

Pete Schwaba

think so.

I mean, last season was pretty cool, but I love that they were sort of quarantined into their office.

I don't know, I love the show.

I love Gary Oldman.

Have you seen a show called Line of Duty from the BBC?

No, I've seen it come up on my A-cord, but I haven't watched it yet.

Pete Schwaba

I stumbled onto that about four months ago, and I haven't seen season six yet, but it's really, it might be my favorite British detective show.

So I'd love to know your thoughts after you get a chance to take a look at it.

Okay.

All right.

I'll look at

Pete Schwaba

it.

All right, very cool.

Hey, this is great.

Break a leg, even though you're not still there.

Thank you.

I'm

Pete Schwaba

sure the show is great.

Hopefully, we can help you put a few butts in the seats, but it's been

fun

Pete Schwaba

talking to you and getting to know you.

Amy, continued success.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Pete.

It's good to talk to you.

Pete Schwaba

Very welcome.

Amy Gather, check out I and You at the Festival Theater in St.

Croix Falls, a beautiful area of our state.

And get some tickets.

Go on out and see some live theater as Homer Simpson would say.

Conrad, you could play a good Anthony to Cleopatra.

Just think about it.

I've never seen it or so.

It's just a hunch.

Pete Schwaba

Do some research.

OK.

You got the news, right?

You got five minutes here as we do the news.

We are coming back for Act 2, folks.

Enjoy your intermission.

When we come back, oh, it's 720.

Ask your mother, Eric and Adam are here, and we're coming back for Act 2.

After this, it's Peach Wapa Nightlight on the Sandvik Media Radio Network.

Kathryn Lake

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