**** Producer's Note: The following is a general transcript of LCC Connect's weekly radio program. Contents include but may not be limited to podcasts, program imaging, announcements, and PSAs. More detailed and accurate transcripts of the podcast episodes featured in this broadcast can be found at LCCconnect.com or by following the links provided in the show notes of this episode. ****

It's time for Inside lcc, an inside look at Lansing Community College's academic programs. We've got you covered with programs that nourish creativity and exploration, cultivate your purpose and guide you to your career. Listen as we explore some of the opportunities at LCC and learn from conversations with faculty members, staff and students.

Hello, I'm Melissa Caplan and I am happy to be here in the studio today to talk about LCC's theater program. And I have two wonderful guests who are faculty in the program. I'm gonna let them introduce themselves.

Hi, Melissa. And everyone listening. I'm Blake Bowen. I am lead faculty at LCC Theatre.

I am Paige Tufford. I'm the performing arts production coordinator and theater faculty.

Welcome. It's absolutely wonderful to have both of you here, Paige and Blake, to talk about LCC's theatre program, which I think a really special and unique program here in the Lansing area. And I know you're going to be able to share exactly why that is, but it offers a variety of degrees, some really wonderful classes, and has a lot of recognition in the Lansing area and beyond. So I'm hoping you both can share a little bit about why that is so. And what students get when they come here to LCC to study theater.

Yeah, absolutely. So we offer an AFA degree.

What's an afa?

An AFA is an Associate of Fine Arts, which means we focus. I won't say singularly, but there's much more focus on the craft itself of theater. So we are a studio program. A two year, four semester program doesn't always work that way, but that's what it's designed to do. In the first year, students take a studio one which is contemporary, and this is an acting based program, so they really focus on contemporary just for the acting world. And then the second year, for the fourth semester, depending how it all works out, then we get into classical. So that's the second studio part of it. So you get a bit of the new and you get a bit of the old too. And then also learn all the bells and whistles that come with the fun of theater.

So contemporary for people who are just starting out or who may not have that distinction between contemporary and classical. What kinds of things are students learning in the. The first semester of the studio in.

The contemporary studio format? Well, contemporary, I'd say what, 1900 till now, give or take, you know, so.

That'S really focusing on the material, the plays that have been written during that period and the style of acting during that period.

Yeah, Absolutely. And we look how styles of acting have changed as well as they tend to do. You could think about movies, right? So movies, even 40, 50 years ago, it was a lot of presentational acting. It's a lot of how are you today? Well, I'm doing all right. And then that all, you know, that changed a lot with Marlon Brando and that kind of class of actors that came in with Stella Adler and. And we talk about how, how styles of acting have changed into the more contemporary format. So although we are a theater, but it's easy to. Easier to compare that to movies where it's very conversational, it's very down here, it's very rough and gruff and down.

Here is how people act.

Okay. And so what are some of the bells and whistles that you mentioned? Because there's the studio and then what else comes with the theater program page?

I think what's great about especially that beginning studio, when students first come here, they may have very little acting experience. They may have a lot. I think that we do a great job of providing a very strong foundation for beginning actors by teaching them not just the acting styles, but a lot of technique and other things that maybe theater students don't realize they need, like play analysis and script analysis and also understanding how theater is created through collaboration. So I think that's. We do a great job of that and our students do appreciate it.

I think it's interesting you mention that I was just recently, over the past few weeks, I had a chance to chat with some of our alumni and they're in Chicago and they were recently in a production there and they were pretty surprised by, in comparison to their experience here at Lansing Community College with theater, how really rough and unprofessional it was. Now, this was a community theater, small community theater in Chicago. I don't know the name, but that's often the case. And they were incredibly grateful for what they've learned here because here you get not only the onstage experience, but you get the behind the scenes experience too. And I will just throw this in. I think one of the pretty special things about LCC's program is that all students who are in the studio program get a chance to be in professional productions, professionally produced productions. And that is a function of LCC's performing arts production arm and office that you run. Paige. And tell us a little bit about how that works in tandem with the theater program.

I think that recently we just added an intro to tech theater class for students who really want to focus on that they may not want to be on stage, but they may want to be backstage working in. In different capacities. So allowing students to experience and collaborate with the production process, I think is important for any actor to learn and to experience so that they know what goes into a production. And I think that's one of our strongest. Our strongest qualities as a program is that we offer such a wide variety of experience. And also it's, you know, small classes. We really do a lot of one on one teaching. We know all of the students names, they get a chance to be on stage every semester or work backstage. So I think that's what makes us a very strong program.

I agree, I agree. You come in and you join and in fact, it's a cohort and you're here for those two years or maybe three, however long it takes. But you build a relationship with the other people and you get to audition together and go through the whole production process together and see a huge amount of camaraderie. And that collaboration that you mentioned is really valuable. Whatever one does down the road. I mean, can you speak a little bit to that, Blake? Both the down the road, what do our students do when they leave LCC down the road, what are some of the opportunities and how do those skills that are so wonderfully taught in theater, such as collaboration and communication, how might those play out in other fields?

Yeah, absolutely. As Paige said, we have students that don't want to be on stage. They don't want to be in front of the audience. They want to be behind the scenes. They want to be working on sets and costumes. So we find ways to put those students to work, to have them working on sets, have them building costumes and whatnot. As far as what happens afterwards, a lot of our students transfer. So MSU has a wonderful BFA program in acting and design and stage management. I mean, a lot of universities do. So if they're looking to get a bachelor's degree or even a master's degree, I mean, that's way down the road. But LCC Theater can set them up for that or if they want to jump right into the working world. All of the faculty here, all of us, have worked with professional theaters in the community in one way or another, whether that's Williamston or Purple Rose or theaters in Detroit. As you said, we have students in Chicago right now, but we have former students working in la. We have former students working in New York. Cruise ships, of course, are a wonderful way to make money as an actor or a designer. So that's part of the experience. You get here. And Melissa, as you said, it's such small class size that you get to know your professors, they get to know you and what your interests are. And so there's a lot more one on one career development and portfolio development if you're a designer as well. So it's really those one on one conversations that's the heart of LCC theater, as opposed to a bigger program just has more overhead, more numbers, and just larger in general. And that's really what I love about being here. It's small and we can focus on the student. So I know all of the students in my class and I get to know them and I see them develop semester after semester and see them where they're struggling. And then also I get to help them in performance too. So I see in class what they shine in, what they need to work on. They audition for a show, they get into a show, and then we can work on those little artistic bits in the moment.

That's really wonderful. So faculty, I know both of you are professional actors and perform.

Have performed.

Have performed. Yeah, maybe not right this minute.

It's a lot.

It's a lot to. To be in shows or to direct shows at the same time that you're doing all of this here at lcc. But tell me, who are some of the other faculty and what do they bring to the party?

We just hired basically three new adjunct faculty.

Exciting.

It's really exciting. And they all bring their own unique skills and talents to the program. We have Jenna Thomas, who is teaching acting. She also has film experience and television experience. We have Emma Baker, who has a lot of film theater, Shakespeare experience. She also teaches stage combat, which is great. She's certified and she's teaching that this summer.

Great.

Wink, wink. And then we also just hired Michael Byer, who is a professional lighting designer and comes to us from another well known college in the state and he'll be teaching stage and lighting design next semester and also designing our lights for main stage production. So we are super excited.

That's great. That's really wonderful. So speaking of lighting design, I want to make sure we have a chance to talk a little bit about the productions that students have an opportunity to audition for and be a part of. I know you said students perform every semester and with the studio classes and some of the other classes, there are end of semester performances that are required. But in addition to that, can you tell me a little bit about what each semester offers as far as standalone productions and where those are, you know, where those take place? And how those work.

Yeah. Every semester, we offer a main stage show in Dart auditorium on campus here and a black box show. So that's for the fall semester and the spring semester. And then summer, we'll do an outdoor venue show in our amphitheater. So you have the opportunity to work in three distinct, different venues, which require completely different skill sets. So you can imagine in Dart, you need to be much larger as an act. You need to be louder, you need to project, you need to act to the very back row. And so you're learning that in the black box, it's much more intimate. Right. So people can hear more of a whisper. Back to. I'm going back to that voice again.

I like that voice.

Yes.

Let's keep it, I think.

And then the real kicker, though, is working in an outdoor venue. And for any actor, the first time working outdoors, you would be amazed how different that is, how different it feels just to feel even the wind in your face and the sound just goes out. The fact that you can't hear yourself and sometimes you can't hear the audience clap, and even though they're doing it as much, so it's not as contained, that can really throw an actor. And it's great to have that experience here. And then also, you know, we have a film acting class, too, so acting on film outdoors even more is just. It just feels just odd. You feel just weird for some reason, which is understandable. So we help with all that.

I think that's wonderful to have all those possibilities. And those auditions I know are open, and, you know, the focus is students, so largely cast with students from lcc, but also community members can audition. And so that's a really cool opportunity for students to perform with community members and for community members to be on campus. And I do want to mention all those performances that are done at LCC are free to the public. It's a wonderful, wonderful service to the public. And people have really enjoyed the fact that they are free and not all are for all ages. It really depends on the. And Paige, what are some of the shows in the past that have been done in Dart, for example?

Well, I was going to mention that kind of to jump on what Blake said about the variety of venues that students get to perform in. But also, when we do our season selection, we try to pick scripts that will serve our students, maybe challenge them a little bit, give them a different style. So, you know, a children's show, that acting style is completely different than Shakespeare or a musical or a drama. So having that Variety of scripts to work with also helps us teach a different technique, acting techniques in the classroom and during rehearsals. But I think in the past we've.

Done huge musicals in dart like Cabaret and Hair.

Cabaret, Hair, Lightning Thief. We've also done dramas and period pieces. The same outside. We normally try to get a Shakespeare outside, which is one of my favorite seasons, the summer season. And then in the Black Box, we do a lot of different shows, intimate shows, a little edgier sometimes, but we always do keep students in mind when we're doing our season selection, I think.

Yeah, the seasons always end up being a really good, wonderful mix of different types of shows, students and for the community to come into. I want to mention that LCC for people who are interested in what's coming up. LCC has a really active Facebook page which is the LCC Theater, Music and Dance.

Yes.

And then there's also LCC EDU ShowInfo, which is the LCC site with all the performing arts events. And I'll make sure in the show notes to include those as well as our theater website so that people who are interested in academic programs can get more information and get your emails before we wrap up. You mentioned stage combat, Paige and building your muscle like in play analysis and such. What are some of the other classes besides acting and tech theater that students can take?

Makeup's a big one for summer as well. Makeup is such a fun class where you just get to play, come and play and you get to learn all different things. Tones and shades, of course, but styles and ages and how to work on yourself and each other as well. So that's like a practical application that not a lot of students think about, that's available to them. I will say we also have that intro to theater, that Theater 110 class, which is a general education credit for anyone that wants to dip their toe into theater. Maybe you're not a theater major, maybe you did theater in high school. You want to play a little Remember when and listen. Learn, of course, about the foundational elements of theater. Theater 110 is offered every semester, both online and in person. And then on top of that, what else do we have?

We got, well, we've got improv, which is a very popular class and that does end in a public performance every fall semester. And then we also have, as Blake mentioned before, acting for the camera, very popular class, directing, directing, which is finishing up at the end of fall semester. And that also ends with a public performance of student directed 10 minute plays.

That's great. So I mean there's just for a community college, relatively small program. There's a wealth of opportunity here for students who want to major in theater. And, you know, I also want to mention, and have you talk just briefly about our local community, our local theater community, and what our students connect and really support the health of that. Either of you want to share a little bit about that?

Yeah, a lot of our students come in from out, like, let's say Portland or Lanesburg or Williamston or wherever, and everyone has their own, or most of them have their own community theaters there. So that they're connected, that these students are connected with. So they're able to come to lcc, learn the skills, do some shows here, and then take that back. More immediate to us, we have Riverwalk right down the road, which is a wonderful local theater, and then Peppermint Creek, who is close to my heart for many, many years. It also just says wonderful, wonderful theater. A lot of our alumni are associated with those different theaters and again, also go stage, manage for professional theaters as well, or act in professional theaters. So there's always endless opportunity.

Yeah, we've had students who've interned with Williamston Theater. Professional theater. I think one of our alumni is with Chicago Shakespeare, who is a stage manager there. There's Ixion locally as well.

Flint Rep. We've got students working there.

The professional Flint Rep. Absolutely. And when I look at a local theater season or I go see local plays, it is rare that there is not somebody with affiliation, a former LCC student who's in the cast or on the crew, and sometimes the whole cast is almost made up of it. So really foundational to the community. And this is a great theater community. Lansing, for, you know, its size, it's pretty impressive. So, yeah, I think that speaks to the strength of what students are learning and that collaborative spirit that you mentioned. Paige, too. So anything else you'd like to add at this point as we wrap up?

I'll say I really like it when alumni come back and do shows with us. So they'll learn here, they'll go out in the world, and then they'll come back. That happens all the time with us. And so then they get to spread the knowledge that they've learned with the younger actors and students in the productions. That's really valuable.

I think it's great. Yes, the programs are small. We really know our students well. But I think we also do a good job as a faculty in advising our students and helping them get to the next place that they want to go. You know, what you were saying, Blake. Learning where they want to be. So if they're wanting to transfer, we help them do that. We don't just say good luck. We have a great transfer agreement with U of M Flint that's connected to the Flint Rep, the professional theater and they take all of our credits. So that's a wonderful resource and opportunity for our students. And we also have great transfer not agreements, but we transfer a lot of students to Western Roosevelt Chicago Institute. Where else?

Grand Valley?

Grand Valley, Wayne State, Oakland?

Mm.

Yeah. So I'm really proud that we are able to help students get where they want to go.

Yes, our credit stretch work really well and as Paige said, you do get that one on one advising and we also know about the financial aid aspect so you get the one on one in that way too. I'll give a quick plug too for returning adults as well. We have many of those in our class. We want more of them. They really add to the classroom. In my improv class, there's always two or three returning adults that just want to take a class and just do something different. And that is available to you if that is something you want to do.

Absolutely. That's a great point. Learning from then the students in the class all learn from each other too, and different kinds of experience. Well, thank you both so much. It's really great to hear from you about the theater program and as I said, I'll put in the show notes all of the ways to get in touch and follow the theater program and learn more. You out there are interested in pursuing theater or being in the audience. So thank you so much. Paige Tufford thank you. And Blake Bowen.

My pleasure.

And I'm Melissa Caplan and thank you for listening.

This has been inside lcc. If there's a specific degree and program you want to hear more about, let us know by contacting us@lccconnect.org thanks for taking a listen. Inside LCC.

Keep connected with LCC Connect at lccconnect.org.

LCC Connect Voices vibes Vision Lansing Community College Performing Arts presents the Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon by Don Zelaidis. The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are turned on their heads in this fast paced, rollicking ride as two narrators and several actors attempt to combine all 209 stories, ranging from classics like Snow White and Cinderella to more obscure stories. A wild freeform comedy with lots of audience participation and madcap fun. Featured at LCC's Black Box Theater February 20th through the 22nd and February 27th and 28th. Recommended for ages 11 and up. All performances are free. To attend. Visit LCC.edushowinfo for showtime information.

Hi, I'm Melissa Caplan and I host a show called Galaxy Forum on LCC Connect. It's all about the creativity in our classrooms and on campus here at LCC and the connections we have with the community. You can catch Galaxy Forum here on LCC Connect or listen anytime@lcc connect.org unexpected.

Reactions to smart financial decisions brought to you by feedthepig.org well, I finally did it.

I opened a 401k.

So you're giving up, just like that?

Giving up on what?

I'm getting an inheritance from a distant relative.

Don't you think if there were a.

Billionaire in the family, we'd know about it by now?

Listen to me. We are one phone call away from.

Riding horses on our own private polo.

Grounds, one call from christening yachts, having a butler using summer as a verb.

How do you figure?

Look, everyone's got a rich uncle somewhere.

It's statistics.

So the best thing you can do.

Is just prepare for the inevitable, Right?

Which is why I thought maybe it.

Would be smart to take control of my finances.

You know, start using a budget, get out of debt, set some retirement goals.

Budgets, debt. You watch your mouth. Retirement shouldn't be a goal for us. It should be a way of life. When it comes to financial stability, don't get left behind. Get tools and tips for saving@feedthepig.org this message brought to you by the American Institute of CPAS and the AD Council.

Lansing Community College welcomes transfer students. Transfer students may apply prior credits toward their LCC degree, certificate or transfer program. Learn more at lcc.

Edu youbelong LCC Connect Voices, Vibes, Vision.

Welcome to Community Combos, a podcast and radio program from LCC Connect with conversations about what's happening in Lansing and around Mid Michigan. It's Dadalion back on the convo once again. And joining me in the studio today is Amy McGill Austin and Cassidy Brown, two folks that help keep a whole lot of moving parts running behind the scenes for the annual Michigan Nordic Fire Festival. It's a celebration of winter fire, family and fun. Welcome.

Thank you.

Please take a moment to introduce yourselves, Explain what it is you do as a part of the Nordic Fire Festival and tell us how long you've been doing it.

So, I'm Amy. I've been on the board for seven years, but I've been involved for eight years. I started out as a volunteer and Then I got sucked into a meeting with some ideas and I. I have been there ever since. I work with the kids events initially, but then went to volunteer coordinating. I now also do all of our merchandise ordering, planning and I took over doing sponsorships for the first time this year. And so I do a little bit of marketing and then for all our meetings, I kind of the secretary for everything too.

Cassidy.

I have been with the festival. Now this will be my third year, second year on the board. I am our head of the Mead hall. So I do all of our back end mead hall ordering and flavor profiling. Make sure we have a good mix for everybody. I book and run all of the outdoor entertainment as well as MC Festival weekend flavor profiling.

So does that mean you taste test?

Yes. I am head of research and development for the Mead Hall.

Fair enough.

Sometimes when I get into these interviews, I forget to talk immediately about the when and where. So let's get that right off the bat. Tell us when and where is this year's Nordic Fire Festival.

So every year, the final Friday in February, we start for that weekend. So this year it is the 27th through March 1st. It is now located at the Eaton county fairgrounds in Charlotte, Michigan, which is at 1025 South Cochrane.

Okay. This is the first year I've heard about the festival. And it's been going on since what, 2016, is that right?

2015. They started up and they were trying to get an idea if and when they wanted to do this festival. The origin story, which I find very interesting, a gentleman that worked for the city was asked, hey, do you have something that's family friendly in the middle of winter? So he hires a research company who does some research. They find that there's this Fire festival and maybe we would want to look into it. So someone had mentioned there's this big Viking guy at the Frontier Days. You should get with him. A couple weeks later, the big Viking guy shows up at the city manager's office saying, I hear you looking for me. And that's where it started. The three got together and they created that very first event. It was free because we weren't sure how it was going. And it brought in probably about a thousand people, I believe they said. And then each year we've grown probably 10 to 14% every year. And last year, that's great. Was almost around 20, 20,000 people for the weekend.

That is huge.

It's gotten very large.

And when you said big Viking guy, I will say that when I first heard about this, the very first Thing that came to my brain was a big Viking guy.

So you get to be a Viking for the weekend.

So is that what I should expect? Like. Like if you were to describe it to somebody who's never been to it, how would you describe it to them?

Fascinating. The people watching was amazing. I am not part of the Renfest or Viking world until I started doing this. But I think shows like Game of Thrones became popular. Vikings became popular and you could definitely see that influence or I could when I was joining because the people that dress up in costumes go all out and it is fantastic to see, but it's a very neutral atmosphere. You can dress up. You don't have to dress up. There's a lot of people that don't. And you get to walk around. We have over 80 vendors. You have the live music, you have the entertainment, you have the mead. There's something for everyone to do.

Okay. Would it be fair to say that the Renaissance Festival is similar to the vibe?

Similar vibe, but we are very Viking and Norse related.

More specific, I guess.

Yeah.

So when you say Game of Thrones, I don't think family friendly. What are we talking here?

Now, I will admit I've never actually watched Game of Thrones, but the not family friendly, that's what I have heard. But just the way people dress up. So I have watched Vikings. I had watched that and seeing the characters and how they dress up, the face paint, the furs, definitely more Vikings.

Coded than Game of Thrones. The dragons aspect, we see a lot of dragons and we've got everyone who is very traditional, handmade, true Viking style outfits too. We had a gentleman last year who he had my favorite outfit of the day. He was in pink chainmail, bright pink chainmail. So we've got people who come from historically accurate side as well as the fantasy Dungeons and Dragons role playing side. And everyone gets to come together and meld and it's kind of putting their.

Own spin on it a little bit.

Yeah.

So definitely family friendly though. You can take the kids. Definitely take the kids there.

Saturday and Sunday for sure for kids. Friday we open at 5, we're open to 11. At 7 o' clock we have a ship burning ceremony which is fantastic to see for the kids though. Saturday and Sunday's your day. We have a kids quest that's inside the Cardell hall, so it is inside a heated building. So if you want to warm up, there's that too. Then there is the Voyage of the Nine Realms, which is a D and D style quest that groups of Four can do on Saturday as well. For kids events, we have princesses, so we have Elsa and Anna from Frozen. We have Merida, Merida from Brave. And then we have a balloon guy that does dragon balloons or anything they want. We have birds of prey from the Eaton Rapids Rehab. They'll bring them in on Saturday. We also have face painting on Sunday for kids. We have what we call the Serpent Slither. And we also have a pinata for them on Sunday.

Serpent slither. You're gonna have to like, you're gonna have to elaborate on that.

What is that?

So a couple years ago, the theme was Sleipnir, the eight legged horse of Thor.

Okay.

We really wanted horses. We were not able to get horses. We had built a horse paddock just in case we could, but it never happened. So it's like, what do we do with this paddock? So Jason, our grounds guy at the time, who also owns the Whistle Pig, which will be a food vendor there, he got 150 stick ponies. 150 stick ponies that we let the kids decorate. They could paint them and then they let them race them. Well, we had a lot of extra stick ponies and not enough kids. So the adults did became hilarious. It was fantastic. It went over very well.

That's awesome.

And so we brought it back. Last year was Berserker Bear. So it was the bear scare. This year is the year of the Serpent. I can't pronounce his name. Jorgender. That one.

I was actually going to ask you about that, so I'm glad you elaborated on that. Yeah.

Yep. So the Serpent Slither is this year's theme version of the Stick Pony race.

Oh, very good, Very good. You know, I think it's great that you guys are doing it the time of the year that you're doing it, because there's not as many festivals. I always joke about the fact that, like, come summertime, especially in mid Michigan, I feel like I can't throw a microphone without hitting a festival. But I want to know, like, kind of what feels different about this festival.

Compared to most, other than the Michigan winter and the fun that it brings because the weather is always unpredictable. But it is the only fire festival that I'm aware of in mid Michigan. And that Viking theme, it's just, it's a lot of entertainment and all inclusive. Everybody is welcome. And those that do come, I have not heard them say, oh, I'm never coming back again. They're like, oh, I can't wait till next year. The first comments we get on our surveys is when is next year? What is next year's theme? When can we do this?

So varying weather has got to be an issue some years. Have you guys had any years where like, there's just like, like mud all over the place or what?

We've had mud. I believe one of the nicknames in the early years at our initial location was, you know, we should rename it to Mudfest. A few years ago we were able to go to the fairgrounds because we have grown so much and it's got a lot more space for us. We do everything possible known to man to try to prevent any mud and whatnot. We put wood chips down, we have sand down, and we try to keep up on it, but it's a never ending process.

We do our best to make sure that it's handled and taken care of. We've got extra hands on deck this year after last year to make sure that we keep our grounds as clean and neat as possible and as safe as possible for everybody. Because that's our biggest concern is safety.

And that was definitely one of the things I was thinking about is safety. And of course, playing into that, really volunteers become a part of kind of keeping that safety happening. And any festival like this, you need a lot of volunteers to make it work, don't you?

Very much so.

So what do you think draws people to come out and help? Because I imagine you've got those repeat volunteers, right?

Most definitely.

Okay.

They will sign up and we try to get the word out. I try to get it out between my workplace and then, you know, you follow us on Facebook and then I will tag everybody known to man on mine so I can grow my circle and then that he reaches everybody else's circle trying to get as many volunteers in. Most of my volunteers do come from over two hours away or out of state and love it. But once they get to it, they'll sign up for a shift and then they end up having so much fun, they'll ask like, hey, what else do you need me to do? I can be back tomorrow. I've had people just walk by the event and wanted to know what was going on and walk up and ask, is there something I can do to help? Which I love seeing that. But most of the volunteers are repeat. This year we did something new. I called them campus posters. And one of our new committee, former volunteers, also joined the board, teaches at lcc and we put up campus posters and then I just put volunteers wanted with the QR code. So I have seen a Lot of new volunteer signups come through, and I'm very excited about that. And hopefully they'll become regulars.

Oh, great.

I'm glad that technique worked for you.

Yes.

Do you feel like you've got, like, your fellow volunteers this year?

Do you need.

Oh, no, we've always. It's. Yeah. And you get a lot of people that will sign up, maybe not show up. You get some people that realize, wow, that's a lot of work. They'll sign up for multiple shifts, but after that first one, they're like, I don't think I can keep doing that one. So they're like, it's a lot of.

Time in the cold, too.

Yeah, it is. And all our tents are heated. We have fire stations everywhere. The ship burning on Friday, you know, you set that long ship on fire and we keep that bonfire going all weekend.

Okay.

And so there is warming stations and the shifts are smaller. We have a volunteer kitchen. And so we feed our volunteers very well. All those local businesses have donated all the food. So they side street deli, Acapulco, eat in place are three of the main ones. And they feed us and they do it at no charge, which is awesome. Because we are a nonprofit. We're not out to make money. We just want to build an event, make it better. We take all the comments that people give back and we try to adhere to it, make it safer. Each year. ADA accessible as much as we possibly can for Michigan.

Right.

I want to put a pin on Ship on Fire, so we'll get right back to that. But first I want to ask, since we're on the topic of volunteers, how can people get involved if they wanted to? Like, at this point.

At this point, you can go directly to our website, which is michigannordicfirefestival.com the homepage will have a button on the right. You can get your tickets on the left, and there's a button on the right to volunteer. And that will take you to a sign up page. There's several different opportunities and skill sets and levels that you can volunteer for. As a volunteer, not only did you get to work with the coolest people, but you get free tickets. So last year, my marketing ploy was sign up for something before the event starts. You get four free tickets for volunteering, plus some other swag items, and then you can enjoy the event all weekend for free because you earned your tickets.

I would say marketing incentive. Let's put a good span on that because that is. That's a great incentive setup.

The last two years has been stacked. Now I need to get all those other ones filled up. We have ticket handling. We have Axwell assistance. We have a range where we need volunteers. We have what I call runners, essentially, is whatever needs to be done. Helping vendors, helping other people set up. There's lots of areas.

All right, what ship are you putting on fire? What's happening here?

So every year, we have a long ship that is built, and part of the opening ceremony is they would bring it in and they set it on where the fire pit will be, and they have their ceremony, and we set that ship on fire Friday at 7pm.

So how big is this ship?

This year is our longest ship ever, and it is almost 18ft.

Oh, wow. Goodness.

Before, it was always been between 12 to 14ft.

So that kind of just burns throughout the weekend, is what you're saying.

Like, it burns, but we have a bonfire going.

So you managed to get rid of Been one night.

That's pretty much gone by the end.

Of the night for sure.

Fair enough.

This year, it will be a little bit different with the size of the ship being increased. Instead of actually carrying the ship through, it will be built up and displayed already in the fire pit. We're still going to have our big processional, and we're going to have all of our Vikings out there to help light it and do this ceremony. But it'll just look a little different this year, and I'm. I'm very excited for these changes that are coming.

All right.

And I'm gonna throw this one your way, Cassidy, because you've only been with it for what, three years now?

Is that what you said?

So was there a moment for you, maybe even a small one, where you did think that.

Yeah, yeah.

This is why I do this.

This is fun.

It was actually my very first shift that I ever volunteered is where I earned my nickname. Pyro Princess Pyro.

You like sunflowers?

It's.

No.

Who doesn't?

Yes, absolutely.

Well.

And I come from a background where I was a cheerleading coach, and I'm very good at crowd control.

Okay.

So being able to be in the pit and have that feeling of being legitimately in the center of all of the chaos and all of the excitement and enjoyment of that large of a group of people, there's nothing like that feeling. Absolutely nothing. So that very first day, I was hooked. Came back the next day for my shift that I had signed up through my employer at the time, at the ticket booth, met a couple more of the board members, got talking with Amy after Festival when I was completely done volunteering, and now I'm on the board for my second year.

Very cool.

There's just something about the atmosphere at the event. Everyone feels like they're allowed to just be themselves.

All right, all right. So you've mentioned a couple of things here and there. So we've got axe throwing. We've got the ship burning. We've got the. What'd you call it? The serpent.

Serpent slither on Sunday.

So there's. Here's some of the events, things that take place, but I've seen quite a bit more. Can you give us a rundown of just, like, what somebody else might see? Like, for instance, I know I also saw reenactments.

We have reenactments. We have encampments. So there's Viking culture, and you can learn about the history of them. They have battles scheduled battles.

We have a large raid on Saturday, early afternoon, where our Viking groups, our reenactors, go against each other right there and just outside the fire pit ring. And that's amazing to watch, to see that there's nothing like that war cry that you hear from those groups.

See, in this case, I kind of picture more of a Braveheart thing. Of course, there is the TV show Vikings too, but all sorts of stuff.

A combination of all of those things. You never know what you're gonna get when you walk around a corner, who you're gonna see, what you're gonna run into, what exciting thing is gonna pop up next.

So has there ever been anything that totally surprised you out of all these different things that you do where you weren really sure people were going to gravitate towards it, too, and it ended up working out.

That would be the serpent slither this year, where those. That horse pony stick, pony race turned into so much fun and excitement and stuck because the other committee members are like, you want to do what? He's like, I want to get ponies. I want to race them. And he's just a very animated mc. And it was hilarious, and the adults really got into it, and it was just a lot of fun. So that wasn't something anybody thought would come, you know, it was just like, hey, a time filler. What should we do? And now we have that event every year since.

That's awesome. So how does, like, music, performance, food. How does this all turn this into a community experience instead of just another event?

So for the food aspect, I had mentioned that our community, with the sponsorships that I do, I want to have that partnership with our local community. Once you Leave the festival ground if you want to go downtown and check out the restaurants and the things that we have to offer. The community helps by sponsoring us. We work together. They feed our volunteers. Like I had mentioned, the entertainment aspect, that's all Ms. Cassidy, over here.

When it comes down to entertainment, I mean, we've got acts from all over. We have acts coming in from out of state that are musical acts for our Mead hall stage that will bring their own following as well as having the chance to introduce them to people who may not have heard them before. We definitely upped our outdoor entertainment this year. That stage is fully booked from open to close every single day.

Give us a rundown of some of your favorites there.

Oh, some of my favorites. So this year we've got two returning acts for the stage. I actually brought in quite a few new acts this year and I'm very excited. So we have Drew, a drummer returning. He not only works with us, but he does go to Murph, the Michigan Renaissance Festival. So he's definitely known in that community. And then we have Velkan Vassar. He's coming back. He's one of our dancers. He's super cool. We also have a new fire act who does bubbles that are fire and like fire jump rope. Thanks to Amy, she got me in contact with her. I've got a musician named Magpie Swallows.

Oh, yeah.

She is going to bring up some Nordic instruments that you can actually hands on, touch. I'm really trying to get the outside entertainment to be more immersed, to have more lane work. So that way when you're walking around, you feel like you're truly immersed in that era and in just the community that we feel being a part of the festival.

Did I read correctly? Do you have Plethora there too?

Yes, yes, we have Plethora.

They're on the indoor stage in the Mead Hall.

All right, so we've actually had an interview with Plethora and the Drew drummer on a different podcast and I'll make sure I have that in the links just in case anybody wants to hear that. Now, if somebody only had time to see just one of those acts, which one would you tell them to come see?

Oh, goodness gracious. I actually don't get to spend a whole lot of time in the Mead Hall.

That's unfortunate.

I know. I'm busy emceeing the Dragons.

I get it.

I get it.

I gotta emcee the outdoor stage, so I don't get to see those acts. So I can't pick a favorite.

I know Pictus is a huge draw.

Pictus is a huge draw. And then I believe Hexan is our Hexen is a new band this year that our other chair for entertainment is very excited about. My favorite act for my stage, one of my favorites is Ring of Steel. They're big fire act at the end of the night for Friday night and Saturday night. They do sword fights and fire whips and I'm talking on fire swords during their fights. It's amazing to see the way they choreograph and work together is amazing. I was lucky last year that they let me kind of emcee some of their fights, so I got to be in on that act with them. So I might be a little biased as being able to be a part of that with them.

It's okay to be biased.

They let me play. They let me play for a couple hours at the end of the night with them and it's great.

Excellent. Excellent. Well, thank you both for coming in and joining me here on the convo.

Thank you for having us.

Thanks for having us.

Yeah, I'd like to also say thanks to Sarah Pierce from 517Living for her assistance with this episode. To find out about Mid Michigan events or list your own event, you can find it at 517living.com this once again, the Michigan Nordic Fire Festival. Taking place February 27th through March 1st. The event's going to be at the Eaton County Fairgrounds in Charlotte. You can find out all the details@michigannordicfirefestival.com. You've been listening to Community Combos, a program from LCC Connect with conversations about what's happening in our community. To listen to this episode on Demand, Visit us@lccconnect.org or find us on your favorite podcast platform. If you or someone you know would like to be a guest on Community convos, email us LCC ConnectCC.edu and thanks for joining the convo. This is LCC Connect Voice Vibes Vision.

Lansing Community College Performing Arts invites you to the Music Faculty Concert and scholarship fundraiser, Friday, March 6, a special evening showcasing LCC's music faculty. This concert also serves as a fundraiser supporting the Endowed Music Scholarship Fund, helping future students pursue their musical education. Seating is limited. Join us for a dessert reception at 6:30pm followed by the concert at 7pm in the Gannon Building at LCC's downtown campus. For more information, visit LCC EDU ShowInfo.

When I Grow up, I want to be a doctor.

I want to be a veterinarian.

I want to be a fireman.

I want to be a scientist.

I want to be I want to be a superhero.

I want to be a dancer. I want to be a drug addict.

Get to your kids before drugs do. Arm yourself with the facts.

Get your free the Truth About Drugs booklet set today.

Go to drugfreeworld.org.

Michigan residents age 25 or older may qualify for Michigan Reconnect, a program providing free or reduced tuition to students who have not earned a prior college degree. Reconnect students are responsible for books and fees. Visit lcc Edu Reconnect for more information.

LCC Connect Voices Vibes Vision.

Hello friends and welcome to Coach Cut's Corner, Streaming bright from Michigan Capital City. This podcast is dedicated to helping you better understand the who, the what and the why of mental performance, personal growth and Lansing Stars Baseball Coach Cuts Corner, brought to you by Eyewash in collaboration with Lansing Community College. And now here's your host, Stephen Cutter.

Welcome to Coach Cuts Corner. This is a place where we challenge limits, push for greatness, and develop athletes who thrive on and off the field. We built a program centered on discipline, self belief and relentless preparation. Each week I bring you insights from my coaching journey, conversations with high performers, and lessons that drive winning habits. If you're serious about growth, whether as a player, coach or leader, you're in the right place. Let's get after it. I'm still recovering from broken ribs and one thing I've learned it's made my life more difficult as of late. I've got a lot of questions of how that happened and not super proud to tell the story. I feel like it was me trying to do 100 and a 55 moving too fast, but I was at our field and I was working with a baseball player that does not play for lcc, but I was working with a college baseball player and we were doing some hitting and using some technology and we wrapped up and I picked up my computer, some other stuff, had them in my hands and was walking out of a batting cage. And if you've ever tried to get in or out of a batting cage, it's not super easy. Typically a lot of times you have to pick up the net, crawl under. Sometimes they provide a nice slit that you have to squeeze through and I was trying to squeeze through that and my foot got caught on the net. Well, at the exact time my foot got caught on the net I was taking a step and so therefore I fell flat on my face and I was not able to brace myself because I had things in my hand which probably for all intents and purposes was probably a great thing because I probably would have done something to my arms or wrists or whatever. But long story short, I ended up with two broken ribs. There's a lot of things that you take for granted, and I've learned that it's challenging to just put socks and shoes on. So there's one story about my broken ribs, and here's another story that I want to tell about my summer From Fence to the Dugout for quite a few years now, my middle daughter has played travel softball, and for many of those years, I've been able to appreciate sitting somewhere in the outfield near the fence to watch her play. Summertime for a college coach is a time that's spent recruiting, but I certainly have a lot more time in the summer to be able to see her compete on the softball field and also to be home with the family and do the things that somewhat get neglected during the college season. In 2024, when her travel softball team ended, I had an idea and I went to her head coach and pitched the idea that I'd like to help out. I mean, what could be so different about softball and baseball? Coaching is coaching at the end of the day. I went to him, I met with him in late August and said, hey, you know, I'd like to help out. And he was more than willing to listen to some of the ideas I had. I wanted to bring a more intentional focus to practices. I also knew that the team had played at 15U this past season and they were jumping up to 18U. They were skipping the step of 16U. They were just going straight to 18U. And I knew the competition would be better. So I thought if we could develop a more detailed, driven development program and start teaching brick stacking and be super intentional about it. I think the overall goal was I just wanted to move from the fence to the dugout so that the girls could maybe realize some of the gifts. And through that process, that's what I've been doing this past summer, is coaching that team. So just a quick conversation about where that started. That 15U team went 12 and 13. And of course, travel ball is not all about wins and losses, it's about development. But a lot of that gets lost in the whole travel ball thing. And this is not going to be a podcast about the pitfalls and the peaks of travel ball by any stretch. It's just what it is. They went 12 and 13 and one this summer, jumping up to 18U with mainly the same team. The team went 17 and nine and one across five tournaments. So a tremendous jump in winning. And I just kind of want to talk about a little bit of how that happened. This team this year made a final four once. They were runners up in one tournament, and this past weekend they just won a championship. So we climbed from 12 wins to 17 while facing older talent. Well, how's that happen? Well, it happens in a lot of ways, and it happens with the systems of success that we use here at LCC and just taking them and putting them into another sport with new faces. The batting average climb from Last year's team at 314 to 352 runs per game climbed from last year 5 to this year. Over 7. Extra base hits went up by 20 on base percentage and OPS both went up. The quality at bat rates rose. And I think a lot of it, the surges that I'm talking about came from the conversations we had about approaches, us using skinny bats and overloads and underloads and heavy machine work and daily mental cues. We started that in September when we kind of joined forces and we would practice inside once the weather got colder. And then as their high school seasons started, you know, I was in my college season, so they were with their own teams. But then they all came back together in June and we started practicing a couple days a week and then every weekend going and playing in the tournaments. And it was a lot of brick stacking. We had immense defensive gains in game management. Our fielding percentage went. Went way up. And a big piece of that is because we started using machines for just massive reps. And of course, you've got to have some intentionality there with not just taking massive reps and the footwork is really bad or the reads are bad and just stacking bad habits and things like that. But we were able to do it by giving them the blueprint for what you need to do and then just giving them a lot of reps. And through those reps, what do you see? You see the fielding percentages go up. You also see the confidence rise. We were able to add go routes, the wearable watches. That helped with our pitch calling, it helped with our defensive alignments, it helped with our bunting and our stealing and things like that. And I really saw the process of teaching them how to win and then through that process of teaching them how to win, get them to expect to win. And that was a large difference between last year's team and this year's team. The girls, albeit same mindsets and same girls, they came in and they expected to win. They always felt like they deserved to be there. And oftentimes they were playing at the 18U level against girls that had at least one year of college experience. And so they were playing much older girls, and so it was much more challenging. But when you have a belief system and your expectations start to get to a point where you expect to do well, what do you think is going to happen? It's not always going to be perfect. You're not going to win all the time. But if you focus on things like your process, then great things are going to come out of that. And if you focus on hard work, well, I think it's been said that hard work doesn't always equal success, but it's not a waste of time, ever. It will pay off for you. And I really want to give a shout out to coach Mike Rehm for trusting me since, you know, August of 2024 and allowing me to teach winning habits and stack bricks and stuff. Sweat the small details. I will have Mike in the studio soon to talk further with him about his journey in this special summer that we just had. I know he's really excited to get started with the next season. And speaking of next seasons, that's kind of where we're at right now. We're about 10 days away from our fall season starting, and I just want to talk a little bit about what that looks like because as I'm coaching travel softball, I'm still also recruiting players out of the 2026 class. We've got a recruiting coordinator out at as many tournaments as possible. We're looking forward not only to this season, but the following season, trying to find the best players. When I say the best players, we're not always talking about the most talented players. We're trying to find kids that have some tools that we can develop and make them better. And some of what we're doing is, you know, for me, I'm shifting from softball to baseball. And as I started to make the shift this summer, I started to think about, like, where our program was at. And one of the staples of our program has been our offense. In our four years here, we've had a top five team nationally every season, year in and year out. But we're trying to make it better. And how do you do that? Do you just rinse and repeat? Do you keep doing the same stuff? Do you keep using the same technology? I went down this rabbit hole and started coming up with some new plans. We have incredible technology. As we've talked about on this podcast before, we have Things like K Motion for our hitters. It's basically biomechanical analysis of you put stuff on them and it measures things in a 3D world and gives you graphs and high points and low points and spits all this information out. But then I started thinking about, look, how do we use that? We have blast sensors that will measure bat speed and attack angle. And we have all these things for our hitters, but they're all on their own platforms and you've really got to know how to use them and then you also have to understand how to use the information. So I started building a program in Excel using code with Python and some other things and infusing some AI into it, and then started infusing videos into it and then started making it. So our blast information went in there and basically what it does is it spits out a couple different parameters of programs for people. And some of those parameters are it's going to be a one week program, it's going to be a two week program, or it's going to be a six week program which is super conducive to like college baseball or high school baseball. The one week program is more conducive to like the pro level. And so once we take all this technology and we put it into this Excel program, which then files into our Google Drive and Google Sheets, it provides programs for each of our hitters. And so you want to talk about development, development really needs to be individualized if it's going to be at its peak. You can develop a whole group of 10 or 12 or 15 or 50 or 100 people, but you're not going to get everybody to get to their potential unless it's individualized. And I learned that when I was doing speed work. I was a certified speed and agility instructor and I could take a group of 10 people and we could get everybody faster. But some only got a little bit faster and others got a lot faster and started realizing that if we could kind of use some periodization and some individualization, we could get players to be faster. And so that's some of the stuff we're working on. And I've taken it and also dropped it over onto the pitching side because we have things like the pulse units, which measures like valgus torque in the elbows. And of course, you know, when you think about pitchers and you think about the Tommy John surgeries and the injuries, how important that stuff can be. And then we also have something called armcare.com that we use. And so we have quite a bit of pitching stuff. We have Trackman and Rapsodo and spin rates and tilts and all this stuff. I've been able to take all that, which they all have their own dashboards, and take it and put it into one dashboard for our pitchers. And as they put their information in, the cells will change colors into a green, red or yellow. Green, gray. Yellow. Not so sure. And red. We need to stop what we're doing. And so really excited about the development pieces that we're trying to use here. We've had technology for the four years prior. That being said, in year five, we're actually taking that technology and trying to individualize it even more. So it's pretty exciting for me. I know it's going to be exciting for our players. Our practice opens up on August 10th. Our first scrimmage is August 23rd. So we got a whole 13 days to figure out everything for everybody. But with our fall, the scrimmages are just that, they're scrimmages. They're going to go out and play somebody else. Typically it's four year schools that we play in the fall. And that's not the most important thing about our program. Our program in our fall is really the priority is development, individual development, seeing how much better we can make them, not only with their swings or their pitching or their stuff, but what type of people they can grow into and how selfless we can get them and how much we can teach them to work hard even if the results aren't immediate. Instant gratification is something we really work on. To say, like, let's try to get away from the instant gratification. Let's try to gravitate more to delayed gratification and knowing that we're working really hard right now. And it's going to be a little while before we kind of see some of the fruits of that labor. And I think we're also building on the legacy of past seasons. We've had some really special teams here the last four years, but it's not just in our tenure. There was things built in the 2017 World Series team, the 2021 team that went 47 and 3 and was ranked number one in the country. Coaches like Drew Heward and Jordan Kerr and I often get asked through the summers when traveling around and things about, you know, what's the talent going to look like on this team? And I feel like I get those questions every summer. And I think I try to go back and just say I believe in how vital it is to be weave in the belief system into what we're doing. That's kind of at the forefront, and I think it's at the forefront for all of us, you and I just believing that things are possible and not falling into the traps of saying I've always been like this or I haven't been able to climb this mountain or I think this way when the pressure mounts and that's just who I am. And in some ways that honesty is fine, but also understanding that there's a whole new world out there there, you're just going to have to put in some processes. I think I'm most excited about the processes we have in place this year. And as we move along through our fall, you're going to see more of our team players in here on this podcast and some of our coaches, and we'll try to dig a little bit deeper into some of the things that we're doing. But the excitement is. It's overwhelming. Everything's starting really soon and our players will be back in the capital city in a few days and we're going to take off for year five. So I appreciate you guys listening and all the support and all the follows and everything else that's generated from this program. We're getting close to the hundredth episode, which is pretty awesome in itself. Until then, make winning in life your habit, not your goal. Excellence is not an outcome, it's a daily standard. My mission is to build athletes and teams that compete at the highest level, not just on game day, but in every part of their journey. Build the right habits, lead with intent and push yourself beyond the limits others set for you. Remember to cherish the small moments they pass in the blink of an eye. Until next time, keep stacking bricks and go stars. Coach Cutscorner is recorded live in the WLNZ studios, with the Dalian Lowry providing engineering and production assistance. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed today's podcast, please share it and follow us on all forms of social media. Our program has been built and maintained with the help of many great people. If you want to be part of our mission, you can donate using the link in the show notes below. You can learn more@coachcutter.com and more about our team@lccstars.com see you next time.

This is WLNC Lansing. You're listening to LCC Connect, a weekly program that features the voices, vibes and vision of Lansing Community College. To find out more about LCC Connect programs or to listen on demand, Visit us@lccconnect.com LCC Connect voices, vibes, vision.