Editor, Author at Milwaukee Independent

Democrats bring Barack Obama to Wisconsin to campaign for party candidates

Posted by Editor | Oct 29, 2018 |

With the November 6 midterm election less than two weeks away, former President Barack Obama returned to Milwaukee after two years on October 26 to give Wisconsin Democratic candidates support and help boost voter turnout. President Obama came to Wisconsin to stump for the Democratic ticket, and he headlined the rally held at North Division High School. He told a roaring crowd of more than 4,000 people that in spite of growing frustrations with the political system, voting would only make things better. “I am here for one simple reason. I am here to ask you to vote,” Obama...

Molly Sommerhalder: Finding the tools to live authentically

Posted by Editor | Oct 26, 2018 |

Inspired by her own therapeutic life journey to break free from the hold of fear, stress, and anxiety, Molly Sommerhalder applies that experience in her work as a wellness coach and yoga teacher. Through this effort, she helps guide people with lives ruled by materialistic needs and the social media expectations of perfection to fully heal and find balance. | Q&A with Molly Sommerhalder Milwaukee Independent: Was there an event in your childhood that you feel influenced the trajectory of your adult life? Molly Sommerhalder: There are a lot of events that have brought me to where I am...

Hosts of “America’s Test Kitchen” exchange recipes with Milwaukee’s cooking fans

Posted by Editor | Oct 25, 2018 |

With more than 2 million viewers each week, “America’s Test Kitchen” is the most watched cooking show on Public Television. Hosts Julia Collin Davison and Bridget Lancaster visited Milwaukee on October 18 and shared some of their recipes with fans at a special Public Market event. America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country feature recipes carefully developed to make sure that they work every time. Each week, Davison and Lancaster solve every day cooking problems, test equipment so that viewers never have to waste money on things that fail to work, and taste supermarket ingredients to save time in the...

Cristina Costantini talks about her award winning “Science Fair” with hometown crowd

Posted by Editor | Oct 22, 2018 |

Milwaukee native Cristina Costantini’s award-winning film kicked off the 2018 Milwaukee Film Festival as its opening night feature presentation on October 18 at the Oriental, the same theater she grew up watching movies at while, as a student, Costantini herself competed in science fairs. The National Geographic documentary and Sundance Festival Favorite is an account of America’s annual International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), a gigantic competition open to high-school science students from all over the globe. At the annual final in Los Angeles, 1,700 young people must present their projects in trade-fair style booths and be prepared to...

Edward Morgan: Folk Art and creative work that goes “Against the Grain”

Posted by Editor | Oct 19, 2018 |

As an award-winning director and playwright with numerous production credits in Milwaukee, Edward Morgan has worked at regional theaters, Shakespeare festivals, and universities across North and South America. His latest project with Danceworks combines his love of history and the arts with the original presentation of “Against the Grain: The Life & Times of Levi Fisher Ames.” The Milwaukee Independent attended several of the play’s rehearsals for a behind-the-scenes look at its creative process, and spoke with Morgan about his life and work. | Q&A with Edward Morgan Milwaukee Independent: When did your enthusiasm for early United States history...

THUG LIFE: Milwaukee director’s film shows the hate we give to little kids F*cks us all

Posted by Editor | Oct 16, 2018 |

“Pac said ‘Thug Life’ stood for “The Hate U Give Little Infants F*cks Everybody. T-H-U-G-L-I-F-E. Meaning what society gives us as youth, it bites them in the ass when we wild out.” – Angie Thomas, “The Hate U Give” The Oriental Theater hosted an exclusive preview screening of the new movie The Hate U Give on October 10, including a question and answer talkback session with the film’s director, Milwaukee native George Tillman Jr. When Angie Thomas began writing what would become a 2017 young adult novel, The Hate U Give was a short creative writing project inspired by...