Ellen Urbani's guest appearances

Ellen Urbani

OPB's State of Wonder

Beyond Well with Sheila Hamilton

Quentin Tarantino

Chuck Klosterman

John Doe

Jason Isbell

Paul Simon

Lily Tomlin

Colson Whitehead

Willie Nelson

George Takei

Wayne Coyne

Matt Sheehy

Tracy K. Smith

Craig Finn

Aaron Draplin

Jay Som

OwlTail

Ellen Urbani is a human rights activist, mother, and urban farmer who has spent most of her life in service of others.Now, Ellen shares with us the excruciating process of uncoupling from her life partner in order to fulfill her dream of living internationally. With exquisite care, Ellen sets the stage for eventual divorce and her departure from the people and the life she’s nurtured so lovingly.

Ellen Urbani is a human rights activist, mother, and urban farmer who has spent most of her life in service of others. Now, Ellen shares with us the excruciating process of uncoupling from her life partner in order to fulfill her dream of living internationally. With exquisite care, Ellen sets the stage for eventual divorce and her departure from the people and the life she’s nurtured so lovingly.

Ep. 239/ Ellen Urbani

Frank McCourt

Papi Fimbres

Today on the show: lots of goodbyes. A writer says goodbye to the New Orleans she used to know. A musical phenom gives Portland a big farewell smooch, as he takes off for the continent. And a dancer bids farewell to a measure of safety, during a nearly disastrous public rehearsal.But there're also some hellos! A world premiere, a best new band. Plus, sandwiches.    For over thirty years, PHAME has provided opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities to pursue their passion in the arts, sharing the stage with acts such as Pink Martini and putting on plays like "Bye Bye Birdie" and "Grease." But their new production, “Up The Fall,” is unlike anything they’ve done before: PHAME commissioned an original, full-length musical from local playwright Debbie Lamedman and singer-songwriter Laura Gibson. It runs Aug. 22–29 at Artists Repertory Theatre.    9:10 - Portland author Ellen Urbani lived through the final years of Guatemala’s horrific civil war—an experience she wrote about in her first book, 'When I Was Elena.' She then spent 13 years as an art therapist working with oncology patients and disaster survivors. Both experiences primed her for dealing with trauma in her first novel, 'Landfall,' about the days after Hurricane Katrina.     19:12 - In a city where it seems like everyone plays in five bands, there are few as booked up as Papi Fimbres. He’s a lynchpin in a whopping 23 bands, including Orquestra Pacifico Tropical, Sun Angle, Minden, and Mascaras. And he’s putting them all on hold as he moves to Germany for a year. He told us about his decision to leave – and five things every prospective Portlander needs to know.    27:22 - Divers live shows are so electrically sweaty and infamous that they topped Willamette Week’s best new bands poll this year. They stopped by opbmusic to test the sound proofing capability of the opb studio.    32:31 - Uncage the Soul Productions has produced all kinds of gorgeous, viral time-lapse videos of Portland and Oregon. We talked with the filmmakers about how they do it.    36:43 - Something went up online this week that caught our eyes. It’s a video of Daniel Giron of 11: Dance Co. dancing on the Portland waterfront when he's threatened by a man with a sledge hammer. But instead of stopping, Giron rips his shirt off, ups his twirls, and prances right into the Salmon Street Springs Fountain, while his friends go crazy cheering. He and 11's artistic director, B.B. DeLano, told us about the experience.     41:43 - Frank McCourt honed his storytelling skills as a teacher in a vocational high school in New York. He found stories were one way to keep the kids engaged, particularly since he didn’t know how to teach. But it wasn’t until he retired to Ireland 30 years later that he started putting those stories down on paper in memoirs. His first, 'Angela’s Ashes,' won the Pulitzer Prize in 1997.

Today on the show: lots of goodbyes. A writer says goodbye to the New Orleans she used to know. A musical phenom gives Portland a big farewell smooch, as he takes off for the continent. And a dancer bids farewell to a measure of safety, during a nearly disastrous public rehearsal. But there're also some hellos! A world premiere, a best new band. Plus, sandwiches. For over thirty years, PHAME has provided opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities to pursue their passion in the arts, sharing the stage with acts such as Pink Martini and putting on plays like "Bye Bye Birdie" and "Grease." But their new production, “Up The Fall,” is unlike anything they’ve done before: PHAME commissioned an original, full-length musical from local playwright Debbie Lamedman and singer-songwriter Laura Gibson. It runs Aug. 22–29 at Artists Repertory Theatre. 9:10 - Portland author Ellen Urbani lived through the final years of Guatemala’s horrific civil war—an experience she wrote about in her first book, 'When I Was Elena.' She then spent 13 years as an art therapist working with oncology patients and disaster survivors. Both experiences primed her for dealing with trauma in her first novel, 'Landfall,' about the days after Hurricane Katrina. 19:12 - In a city where it seems like everyone plays in five bands, there are few as booked up as Papi Fimbres. He’s a lynchpin in a whopping 23 bands, including Orquestra Pacifico Tropical, Sun Angle, Minden, and Mascaras. And he’s putting them all on hold as he moves to Germany for a year. He told us about his decision to leave – and five things every prospective Portlander needs to know. 27:22 - Divers live shows are so electrically sweaty and infamous that they topped Willamette Week’s best new bands poll this year. They stopped by opbmusic to test the sound proofing capability of the opb studio. 32:31 - Uncage the Soul Productions has produced all kinds of gorgeous, viral time-lapse videos of Portland and Oregon. We talked with the filmmakers about how they do it. 36:43 - Something went up online this week that caught our eyes. It’s a video of Daniel Giron of 11: Dance Co. dancing on the Portland waterfront when he's threatened by a man with a sledge hammer. But instead of stopping, Giron rips his shirt off, ups his twirls, and prances right into the Salmon Street Springs Fountain, while his friends go crazy cheering. He and 11's artistic director, B.B. DeLano, told us about the experience. 41:43 - Frank McCourt honed his storytelling skills as a teacher in a vocational high school in New York. He found stories were one way to keep the kids engaged, particularly since he didn’t know how to teach. But it wasn’t until he retired to Ireland 30 years later that he started putting those stories down on paper in memoirs. His first, 'Angela’s Ashes,' won the Pulitzer Prize in 1997.

State Of Wonder: Aug. 22, 2015 - Frank McCourt, PHAME, Divers, Papi Fimbres, Ellen Urbani & More