Most artists dream of building a stage. Tannis Kowalchuk built a farm, too. Long before she was directing original productions in the fields of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Tannis was captivated by performance. Theater offered a way to tell stories, connect with audiences, and make sense of the world around her. Then she met a farmer. What began as a personal relationship eventually became a shared life and a shared mission. Together, Tannis and her husband Greg built Willow Wi

Long before she was performing on international stages, Melanie Henley Heyn was a ten-year-old girl from Northeastern Pennsylvania’s Wayne County discovering opera for the very first time.The production was Amahl and the Night Visitors. That experience changed everything. What began as childhood curiosity grew into a lifelong pursuit that would eventually carry her far beyond the small-town landscape where she was raised. This week on HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau sits down

Most people hear a rumor and move on. Matt Birkbeck hears a rumor and starts asking questions. For more than forty years, the award-winning investigative journalist and bestselling author has built a career following stories wherever they lead. Sometimes that meant reviewing thousands of court records. Sometimes it meant traveling across the country for face-to-face interviews. And sometimes it meant spending months earning the trust of people who had spent their lives avoidi

Fifteen years ago, the idea of staging Shakespeare in Scranton carried a slight degree of skepticism amongst those in the New York theater world. But Scranton native Michael Bradshaw Flynn decided to give it a try, crossing his fingers that at least 200 theater fans would show up in support of the Bard. Instead, more than a 1,000 people crammed into Nay Aug Park for a performance of Shakespeare’s celebrated “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The rest, as they say, is history. In th

How Michele Dempsey helped Scranton turn parody into pride. This week on HarmonyTALK, Michele Dempsey shares with Todd Stephens how Scranton’s connection to ‘The Office’ nearly became a national punchline, until creativity and collaboration turned it into civic pride and tourism dollars. As an architect, Michele is trained to see possibility before others could. She brought that same vision to her city, helping transform pop culture attention into events, partnerships, visito

Following a Different Beat. There are moments in life when everything looks right on the outside. A respected career. A clear path. A life built on service and responsibility. Matt Kizis had that life. As a dedicated Pennsylvania State Trooper, his work carried meaning and structure. It was a role defined by commitment and purpose. But alongside that life was something just as steady. A love for travel. Not occasional. Not fleeting. Something that consistently brought him ene

Some people watch a movie and move on. Others build their life around it. For Mike Kunda, Rocky was never just a film. It was a lifeline. Growing up in West Scranton, he was the kid who didn’t quite fit. Bullied. Overlooked. Unsure of who he was supposed to be. But when he watched Rocky Balboa take hit after hit and refuse to go down, something shifted. He saw himself. Not the champion. Not yet. But the fighter. On this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Todd Stephens explores what

Chef Ryan Von Smith didn’t leave Scranton because everything was lined up. He left because he knew he needed more. More opportunity. More pressure. More of a shot than he felt he could get staying put. So he headed to Los Angeles with a big dream and one mindset: figure it out. It wasn’t glamorous. He scraped by at first, doing whatever he had to do to stay afloat. His first real break came at Tao Asian Bistro… not in the kitchen, but at the door. Working security. Watching e