There’s always a place in your home where people gather and stories are born. The east coast has stoops. The south has porches. But Alaska? We’ve got arctic entries. Our Arctic Entries show features true stories born from those moments when we close the door on 8 feet of snow or the midnight sun, pull off our XtraTufs, and say, “You’ll never guess what happened…”
Where it all started.
Cyrano’s Off-Center Playhouse is a nonprofit playhouse in an historic 1915 building in downtown Anchorage. Formed in 1995 by a group of volunteers committed to producing professional, quality works utilizing Alaska talent, Cyrano’s continues to operate year round with a different play every month. We’d like to thank Cyrano’s Managing Director, Sandy Harper, for responding with an exuberant ‘Yes!” to our idea to start Arctic Entries here in February 2010.
Due to the incredible volume of local supporters, our third season of shows kicked off in the fall of 2011 with a move to the Snow Goose Theatre, home of Sleeping Lady Brewing Co. and is our current home.
Who are we? Meet the Storyboard:
Matt Rafferty – Spicy Host #1
Matt Rafferty, former candidate for the American presidency, made a stunning transformation from an overweight, buffalo-wing eating accountant in Boston to a skinny, moose-hunting conservationist in Alaska. Thankfully, his Neil Diamond-impersonating alter ego survived the transformation. In addition to Arctic Entries, you can catch him on the airwaves of KNBA 90.3 FM every Wednesday at 8 p.m. as he hosts the Borealis Bluegrass Breakdown.
Emily Fehrenbacher – Host and extreme story recruiter
Born and raised in the suburban sprawl of Chicago, “Bacher” came to Alaska in 2008 for the trees, mountains and politics. She spends her time reading wikipedia entries, playing songs on the Buckaroo Club jukebox, and exploring this wonderful place. Her zest for life and a nervous high-kick at our “Road Trips” show endeared her to us, and we’ve been inseparable ever since.
Darcy Dugan – Publicity Maven
Not to be confused with Darcy Ezekiel Dugan, the Australian bank robber and New South Wales’ most notorious prison escape artist, our Darcy Dugan hails from Girdwood, where she grew up in a house her parents built. Darcy ventured Outside for an education in environmental science and returned to Alaska where she works as the program manager for the Alaska Oceans Observing System. She enjoys mountaintops, pizza made by her husband, Toby, early mornings before you know whether the sky is clear, and making stuff up on the piano.
J.R. Zufelt – Audio Wizard
We think what he does is magical. He continues to let us think just that.
Rosey Robards – Audio, too
Rosey Robards has been an Anchorage resident since right around her ninth birthday. She’s the director of the Alaska Teen Media Institute, where teens produce a monthly, public-affairs radio show (KNBA 90.3 FM) among other multimedia pieces. She occasionally freelances for the Anchorage Daily News and produced this piece about the founders of Arctic Entries long before she had the opportunity to join the Storyboard.
Carlyle Watt – Music Wrangler
He’s a man of mystery – or at least a man who has never submitted his bio.
Kate Huber – New Kid
Kate grew up hiking and paddling along the North Shore of Lake Superior and frolicking on the prairie and in corn fields of Southern Minnesota. After earning a degree in Ecologically Sustainable Community Design and spending a summer as “Flower Girl,” slinging organic cut-flowers, she jumped on the opportunity to move to Anchorage, with mountains and coast to explore. Here in Alaska, she can be seen talking to salmon, dancing to live music and jumping at every opportunity to discuss the virtues of Minnesota including, but not limited to, the beer back that should accompany every Bloody Mary. (Don’tcha know?)
Vikram Patel – Story Guru
Vik grew up on the shore of the Los Angeles River, watching television and eating candy; his favorites include Dukes of Hazzard and Caramelo. Since 2005, Vik has called Anchorage home, even during a brief return to California, which really annoyed his Mom. (Hi Mom!) Now, Vik spends his days at the Anchorage Park Foundation and his free time listening to Arctic Entries reruns and eating candy.
Nathan Havey – Online Communications Guy
Nathan got hooked the first time he attended Arctic Entries. After multiple attempts, he even got to tell a story about paying off his student loans (which he has now done). Nathan and his team revamped the Arctic Entries website and help with Facebook, the email list and posting pretty pictures.
The Storyboard would, of course, like to give a huge, grateful thank you to our co-founders, Tara Loyd & James Keck.
