Issue 65, Volume 121
Thursday, November 29, 2012
UT radio station shines light on working poor Claire Dodson Staff Writer A UT radio station is giving a voice to the unheard in East Tennessee: the working poor. WUOT, a member of National Public Radio licensed to UT, is airing a special called “Without a Net: Voices of the Working Poor” at noon on Dec. 7. The special will be comprised of interviews with experts who interact and work with working people who struggle financially. Matt Shafer Powell, the director of new content at WUOT and the executive producer of this special, finds the predicament of these people worth researching. “This is a large segment of our population that often goes unnoticed,” Powell said. “They’re too poor to enjoy the kind of middle-class existence they aspire to, but they make too much money to qualify for much in the way of government assistance. And to be honest, many of them aren’t interested in a handout.” Leslie Snow, the co-producer and co-host of the special, says that they chose this subject because of the way this group of people is often overlooked. “Powell and I spent an afternoon brainstorming about projects we wanted to tackle,” Snow said. “We decided to focus on the working poor because we believe their stories often go untold and unheard. We wanted to give (a) voice to people who work long hours, who see dignity in hard work, but still walk a thin line between making ends meet and financial disaster.” Originally, the project was just a set of four-minute clips featuring different representatives of East Tennessee’s working poor to be aired daily for a week. “In these segments, we get an intimate glimpse into their lives, their interests, their jobs, their struggles, their dreams and the persistent, paralyzing fear of financial collapse,” Powell said. As the project continued, however, it became evident that the
project needed more in order to truly understand and represent these people. “After producing the daily segments, we realized that we had really only begun to scratch the surface in terms of our understanding of the working poor,” Powell said. “So we decided to add an hour-long special where we could explore some of the issues that were brought up during the daily pieces.” In making this special, Snow and Powell faced several difficulties in gathering their information. “It was important to establish a level of trust with the people we interviewed,” Snow said. “They were gracious enough to invite us into their homes and their lives and tell us stories that were often difficult to tell.” Powell emphasizes that these people are a part of the Knoxville community that go unnoticed and unappreciated. “The people we spoke with are members of our community — they’re our neighbors, our sisters, our cousins, our parents,” Powell said. “They’re the people who wait on us at the store, in the restaurant. They fix our roads and our cars. They build our homes and our schools. They work very hard and don’t expect anything more than a fair shot at the American dream.” For Snow, it’s important that listeners put themselves in other people’s shoes in order to understand the way they live. “One of the people we interviewed told me, ‘I think everyone should take off their shoes and be grateful and thankful for what they got and walk in my shoes. To see what it’s like to have to work two jobs everyday, sick with the flu, pneumonia or whatever, because you know you have to get out there to make your bills, to pay your bills, to have a roof over your head,’” Snow said. She added, “I think the series and the hour-long special give listeners a chance to do as Rick asked and walk in his shoes.” The special airs on Dec. 7 at noon on 91.9 FM. During the week of Dec. 3rd to 7th, short interviews will be aired throughout the morning.
Around Rocky Top
Sarah O’Leary • The Daily Beacon
Aaron Wiek, junior in psychology and political science and executive board member of Amnesty International, write letters highlighting cases of prisoners of conscience around the world during “Muggles Write for Rights” on Tuesday night.
• Photo courtesy of Nick Brown
Peter Bell, played by Caleb Cook, and Hark, played by Chris Ward, sing about their Yuletide adventures.
UT student directs ‘Deck’d’ RJ Vogt News Editor On Friday evening, All Campus Theatre will present “Deck’d” at 8 p.m. at The Wesley Foundation United Methodist University Center. This show is different than most — it’s directed by a student. Ben Murphy, sophomore in journalism and electronic media, joined All Campus Theatre as a freshman. When he found out that four shows are selected to be studentdirected each year, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. The idea began when Murphy was in high school, when he first saw the “Deck’d” YouTube series produced by Dominic Fera. Fera, then a high school senior, performed in and scored the videos, which gained over 200,000 views. Fera’s work won the audience awards at NFFTY (National Film Festival for Talented Youth) two years in a row with “Deck’d” and “Deck’d 2.” He started and runs DFear Studios, a YouTube channel with more than 200,000 subscribers. “He’s someone I looked up to as a bit of an idol because he’s a few years older than me and he’s a really good filmmaker and creator of original stuff,” Murphy said. Murphy contacted Fera and asked to adapt his series into an onstage musical. A freshman at New York University, Fera declined, saying he did not have the time. It wasn’t until last semester that the two began to collaborate. The musical tells the story of Peter Bell, a festive high school student who loves Christmas. His passion for Christmas subjects him to bullying from family, friends and a neighborhood thug. Fortunately, Peter soon finds himself on Santa’s cheerbringing team. He must lift a young girl’s spirit, deal with rebellious angels and find the true meaning of Christmas before he forgets what it’s all about. Story-telling is what attracted Murphy to theatre in the first place.
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“I got my start in elementary school and then I did some throughout middle school, but it really started impacting my life in high school,” he said. “Me and my friends got really involved in video and theatre and acting and just the experience of working with media and performing it.” “Deck’d” is Murphy’s first chance to direct a musical. He directed two plays while attending Cleveland High School in Cleveland, Tenn. “The best part is creating a story and working with people that are fun and energetic and excited to bring their creativity to a project. It’s just so rewarding to work with people who come to rehearsal and are excited everyday and are willing to be right there with you to create this kind of story,” Murphy said. “The story we are creating is very comical and a little bit tongue-in-cheek.” Caleb Cook, freshman in theatre, plays the lead role of Tyler Bell. The part is his first big lead. “Peter is a good character in that he has a lot going on,” Cook said. “He’s fun to play because he grows over the course of the play. That was really fun to capture.” To get in touch with his role, Cook watched the YouTube videos and tried to truly understand Bell’s psyche. “What I usually do with my characters is to just try to empathize with them as if they were real people,” he said. The Christmas spirit of the show’s protagonist seems to have rubbed off on Cook. “It’s got a good message that’s very pertinent this time of year. It’s something that a lot of people could get into and relate to. A lot of us get bogged down with all the other things about Christmas, the shopping and the glitz. We forget how rewarding it is just to step back and be with people who are important to us.” Tickets are $3 for students and faculty and $5 for general admission and are sold at the door. The curtains open at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
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