Laura Spencer
Arts ReporterKansas City is known for its style of jazz, influenced by the blues, as the home of Walt Disney’s first animation studio and the headquarters of Hallmark Cards. As one of KCUR’s arts reporters, I want people here to know a wide range of arts and culture stories from across the metropolitan area.I take listeners behind the scenes and introduce them to emerging artists and organizations, as well as keep up with established institutions.
Send me an email at lauras@kcur.org or follow me on Twitter @lauraspencer.
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Kansas City Actors Theatre is producing the two-person play about Calvin Trillin's late wife. The play was adapted from his memoir of the same name.
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A $3 million gift to KU's Spencer Museum aims to help artists and researchers answer 'big questions'The endowment will support arts research integration at the University of Kansas. The interdisciplinary approach brings together artists, researchers, students and the public to tackle pressing issues.
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A Haskell Indian Nations University student journalist gained national recognition during the pandemic advocating for free speech. Now he’s turning his attention to bringing back traditional textile weaving.
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The Coterie Theatre re-imagines Lewis Carroll’s classic story “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” as a hip-hop and pop-inspired video game.
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The six finalists in the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition include Ilya Shmukler, who attends Park University’s International Center for Music.
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After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival returns on June 14 with "Romeo and Juliet." The festival celebrates its 30th anniversary of outdoor shows in Southmoreland Park.
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Indie rock band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs released a music video on June 1 called “Spitting Off the Edge of the World.” It was shot in Kansas City.
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The Salvation Choir, a Congolese Rumba band based in the historic Northeast, creates a community for Tanzanian refugees through song and dance.
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Publishers Weekly, an international news website of book publishing and bookselling, selected the Raven as this year's best bookstore out of five finalists.
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The Kansas City Ballet's executive director Jeffrey Bentley plans to step down in June 2023. The ballet company is considered one of the most financially stable in the country.