the following program is a PBS Wisconsin original production coming up on
Wisconsin life we meet an observatory director looking to the sky the Star
of a beloved bingo show a musician preserving long history and a pair of
entrepreneurs offering up fun ji that's all ahead on Wisconsin life
funding for Wisconsin life is provided by the wooden nickel fund Mary and Lowell
Peterson the ACV and Mary Elston family the Abroadovich family foundation the
Stanley J. Cottrell fund Alliant Energy UW Health donors to the focus fund for
Wisconsin programs and friends of PBS Wisconsin
you all sound amazing thank you so much and welcome to Wisconsin life I'm your
host Angela Fitzgerald we're on a mission to discover a place where science
and art collide by joining the Blackbird creative lab as they take over Yorkie's
observatory the observatory in Williams Bay continues to play an important role
in astronomy but for two weeks it transforms into a constellation of
musical creativity
Grammy award-winning ensemble eighth Blackbird welcomes the cohort of
musical ensembles and composers for an immersive created experience during
their time here musicians receive mentorship collaborate and experiment
all while composing new musical arrangements inspired and created for
this historic space before we get back to the music let's narrow our lens and
learn more about the largest refracting telescope in the world found right here
and focus in on the deputy director at Yorkie's observatory working to
revitalize this space through science and art
I want to go to space I want to break free you ready with a song in her heart
and stars in her eyes dr. Amanda Bauer is ready to show off your keys
observatory it's known for having the world's largest refracting telescope
1897 is when it first opened its eye on the skies the dome moves around 360
degrees to allow for the telescope to be able to point in any direction it really
innovated the way that astronomy was done it was the last big refractor built
because when you see it you see how mechanically amazing and huge scale it is
the entire observatory floor at 90 feet wide serves as a giant elevator the
largest in Wisconsin lifting astronomers up to the great refractor
telescope and into the heavens
there's a magic to it in using it it's so hands-on that just takes you to a
different space
as the new deputy director one of Amanda's first jobs to make sure the
telescopes still function they hadn't been used in five years and I hadn't
used a refracting telescope in a while so just kind of getting my hands in there
and seeing if it worked okay looks good you know when you wake up and you're
like oh and you creak that's what the telescope was doing
it was pretty spectacular it was like understanding the magic that people have
been seeing for generations
Amanda also provides this stargazing station of first I'm the first woman in
125 years who has been the head of science here in this observatory she
hopes to expand her own horizons with further research my area of expertise is
galaxy evolution
Amanda joins a long list of famous astronomers who appeared into the galaxy
with this exact telescope Edwin Hubble is absolutely one of the most famous
names that people have heard the next big telescope that NASA is going to
launch is named the Nancy Grace Roman telescope because she went from
Yorkies to become the very first chief of astronomy at NASA Carl Sagan was one
of my first idle astronomers this observatory is so historic so many people
have come through here
one legacy those astronomers left behind is a massive collection of images from
our galaxy and beyond we have 180,000 glass plates that capture these images
of the cosmos over the last 125 years and that's useful in research today the
glass plates that are here are spectacular this is Comet Morehouse it was
discovered by a student who was here in 1908 what we're doing is reinvigorating
that research program bringing it back after kind of a dormant couple decades
because it does have opportunities to use these telescopes to train the next
generation of students
Yorkies observatory also pioneered a historic discovery the shape of the
Milky Way galaxy is spiral arms and they determined that here
despite the scientific history here its future was up in the air over the
years the observatory had fallen into disrepair no one knew what was going
to happen to this building and the glass plate collection in the telescopes how
can we resurrect and reimagine what this observatory can do in 2020 the
Yorkies future foundation bought the observatory from the University of
Chicago
the modern-day purpose of this observatory is really bringing research
art culture cross-disciplinary approach to big ideas so tying that art and
science together in every facet of what we do is pretty fun it's pretty unique
you can come here and get a sense of the magnitude of what was undertaken and
the types of discoveries that were made over the last 125 years you get to see
the biggest refracting telescope in the world you get to hear these stories
come alive about what has happened in this building and you might just encounter
a ukulele playing astronomer who reached for the stars I want to go to space I
want to float free help me escape the force of gravity
next up we join an artist in Madison who's found their calling to educate and
entertain
Brandon rounds is a cat dad an artist and ambassador Rosie from Bosque about
Southwest Wisconsin if you hold up your hand down here is where I'm from the
goal is to be done by five shows at six
I had to move to realize what was outside of a small town outside of his
rule upbringing Brandon found a new circle of friends and the spotlight
the end bam you guys got the good makeup tonight Brandon is also known as the
drag artist Bianca Lynn Breeze when people come to a drag queen bingo they
expect the high glamour and they want to see you know something that's just
over the top they want people to understand that drag is nothing but an
art form you remember when you're a kid and you always played bingo in school
or maybe at your church it's like that excitement but amplified by like a hundred
all right here we go for number I 16 I am 16 drag queen bingo is just super
fun Bianca entertained sold out crowds in venue after venue greeting bingo fans
with humor and humility my humor comes from sarcasm and every day life
happenings to me but also you know I'm a dude wearing heels I've been doing it
for 12 years I still can't even walk on heels sometimes
Brandon uses his small town experience as a catalyst for change in high heels
and a wig a lot of my events and a lot of my bingos tend to be in the smaller
communities just outside of Madison after a while I started to realize that
the reason why I'm doing drag is to help educate our communities when we're in
drag and there's all this glamour people are gonna notice you and they're gonna
stop and they're gonna listen to what you have to say and that's what's beautiful
about drag
that approach could be even more important as drag performers find
themselves in the political crosshairs we have so much hatred against the LGBTQ
community against drag queens in general and I want to be that resource for
people to answer questions for them if they have questions
Bianca's personality is somebody that anybody can come up to her and ask her
anything I don't care I'm an open book for some people bingo is that aha
moment a lot of people don't know what drag is or have never met a drag queen
in their life and then after an event people are like you know I had so much
fun tonight thank you for opening my eyes I can't even count the amount of
times I've had people say that to me we need to continue to be happy show
people what happiness is what love is what kindness is kindness is a trait
Brandon learned from his mother growing up in that small town I lost my mom in
2008 15 years ago she was always an uplifting person in our community since
then I just feel like I have to be a positive person I have to be uplifting
because you never know when your last day is gonna come around inspired by
his mother Brandon took her name as part of his drag persona and I said why don't
want to be just Bianca I want to be Bianca Lynn because that was my mom's
middle name that tribute brought Brandon closer to his mom and a drag identity
that taught him something else when I was younger I was very reserved Bianca
instills a little bit of confidence in Brandon Bianca is somebody that people
come to see and all of the attention is on her and she gets to buy all the
flashy costuming and she gets to do the fun makeup and the glitter and the sparkle
we'll have to come in further because there's more stuff I'm just waiting for
these shelves just to break
Brandon's a little bit more professional in life but Bianca's taught Brandon to do
that because Bianca makes some money so Brandon has to be able to know how to
spend that wisely
Brandon has also transformed Bianca into one of Wisconsin's premier drag bingo
entertainers literally glitter rhinestones in a way we're all trying to get
through this thing that we call life to find joy and passion in what we do it's
made me feel like I've really found a place to express who I am
I'm a New Yorkies observatory joining the Blackbird Creative Lab who are
bringing music into focus at this cosmic site I caught up with the
directors of the lab who are also founding members of the music group
8th Blackbird to learn more we really started talking about how can we bring
together the pieces of all these different programs we are self-attended
to make our own program in 2017 we founded the Blackbird Creative Lab we
look back at our struggles the mistakes that we made and the things that took us
too long to learn we wanted to create a space that serves that demographic of
emerging professionals Wow that's quite a journey from you all as musicians now
creating a space for other artists to engage with it's a very intense program
and it's designed to be that way we really wanted to develop the curriculum
to what the cohort's needs were and they're not asking about how do I compose
music or how do I play my instrument they're saying how do I manage my finances
how do I read a contract and this program is very intentionally year toward the
whole human of the emerging artist not just performance and even this place the
Yerkes Observatory is a teaching vehicle this is extraordinarily unique concert
hall I mean it's not even a concert hall
managing sound at an observatory is quite different but I think too that our
partnership with Yerkes has been so beautiful we are not creating work that's
in the science field which is what Yerkes is known for but we hope that
we're bringing in folks who are incredibly innovative in in art folks
like composer Julia Moss and the group Sputterbox are cohorts of this year's
program so I'm writing a piece called growing pains it's about the morning
process of sort of growing and splitting off from old parts of yourself and how
that can be nostalgic and scary and hard but also a positive thing for moving
forward that is interesting and relatable so what is it like creating in
this specific space we've really had a open and vulnerable process here I
really think that this piece couldn't have been what it was if it wasn't in
this space together and also at the Yerkes Observatory it's so resonant and
beautiful from composition how about we start from letter J to practice to
performance the Blackbird creative lab offers emerging
musicians in out of this world space to create and play
we now go to Milwaukee where a musician tells stories through his instrument
while preserving the past I would say being connected to your identity gives
you purpose value and a reason why especially when I was in college I'm in
my last year my master's program studying clinical rehabilitation
counseling as a young among American male I've used this instrument to help me
navigate my experiences as well as preserve our culture the only thing that
I could use as an outlet to explore my identity or remind me of my identity was
my instrument the thing my name is Mason LaBeng her and I play the
traditional among instrument thing the thing is a woodwind instruments that is
made out of bamboo wood tree bark and alloyed wreaths the instrument is
typically played at weddings funerals and among new years for
entertainment purposes so when we play the instrument it does mimic the
among language it can basically share our among story from our culture back
then as a displaced group of people we didn't have a written language we weren't
able to communicate or write down our history it was a lot of oral history so
one of the ways that we've been able to preserve that is through thanks song so
I've been able to preserve those stories and also pass them down so I was
introduced to the instrument when I was eight years old initially it was my
mother who wanted me to learn an instrument then my father wanted to come
in and teach us there are a lot of aspects to the instrument so I am still
learning myself but we have created a relationship to now great stories
together and share our stories as a father and son as well as a student and
a teacher my favorite part about playing an instrument would be the
therapeutic effects that I get from the instrument so when I play the
instrument I do have to focus on breeding in a sense of mindfulness
breeding as well as again being able to tell my story as a first-generation
college students when I felt that I was alone away from family I could play the
instrument and feel that I belonged or it was something that I was good at I've
definitely created a different relationship with the instrument rather
than just using it for cultural purposes
the thing is important because it is something unique to the among people
you get to understand what your history is and why you are pursuing to be the
person you want to be it speaks importance to how music and this
instrument can share stories as well as help generations heal together and
communicate together
our last story takes us to Pestigo to meet a couple finding growth in the
rotting world
rot and decay are such negative words in our environment they're just a crucial
part of our life here on this planet this is a mushroom like I said very very
much in demand without fungi we would have no decay without decay we'd be
swimming in wood our tagline of our company has always been proud to be
part of this rotting world because we're just proud to represent that my
tacky is something that we find outdoors in the wild my name is Mary Ellen
Kozak and I am co-owner of Field and Forest products along with my partner
and husband Joseph Jo and I both got interested in mushrooms probably from
the very beginning both of us have Polish background and there's a lot of
interest in foraging fungi is a big thing in that population as a kid I
hated mushrooms my grandfather taught my dad what mushrooms to pick I think that
I learned a lot my very early years about foraging and food preparation through
the family Jo and I met in a mycology class we both were students in the UW
system he was mostly interested in effects of fungi and plants and I was
mostly interested in eating fungi and also just eat right out of the pan that's
pretty much as far as they go yeah I was working for the department of natural
resources and Madison that paper came across my desk on she taught me cultivation
on natural logs a potential new industry for the US I said Mary Ellen we have
access to the wood and the resources why don't we look into this so we decided
that we wanted to pursue the idea of having a small business we moved ourselves
up to Pestigos Wisconsin where we are now we established our business on the
family farm 42 some years later still doing what we set up to do back
nitties and we love it even more now than we did
yeah in 2017 we discovered that the farm just could not host the growth that we
were experiencing it was a big challenge because we scaled up what we do here is
we maintain a culture bank of different fungi that we're currently producing
the process starts in our general lab where we take apparent culture and
expand it into another media to increase the amount of mycelium we're
producing while that's growing we take the raw materials which are needed for
growing a specific culture most of the fungi that we grow here are wood decay
fungi so they're growing on recently dead material once things are sterilized
they go into our clean room where we have technicians open the bags up
inoculate them seal them and then they go into incubation this cart is good to
go fully colonized and ready to be moved out to the shipping area given
time we reach that perfect stage of rot which will then be used by the grower to
expand into their substrate so for us to understand decay and not be afraid of
it and be to be able to use it in a certain way to grow a food crop is a
really cool thing for us we're picking everything today okay we'll do a good
job Joe we just love mushroom cultivation it's a passion for us
we've hit all the right notes with the blackbird creative lab and have shared
stories that have taken us to the stars and back to discover more visit
Wisconsin Life dot org or reach out to us by emailing stories at Wisconsin Life
dot org I'm your host Angela Fitzgerald and this is our Wisconsin life bye
funding for Wisconsin life is provided by the wooden nickel fund Mary and Lowell
Peterson the ACV and Mary Elston family the Abroadovich family foundation the
Stanley J. Cottrell fund Alliant Energy UW Health donors to the focus fund for
Wisconsin programs and friends of PBS Wisconsin