My Antonia

Ollie Webb Center’s Short Film Screening & Panel Discussion (Read More)

The Ollie Webb Center, Inc.'s Art of Imagination program, in collaboration with University of Nebraska Omaha professor and screenwriter Todd Richardson, has created two short films based on excerpts from two Willa Cather novels. The first film, “Tom Outland's Story,“ is from Cather’s novel The Professor‘s House and is about discovering an ancient cliff city. The other is excerpted from My Ántonia. This film chronicles the difficulties living through Nebraska winters in the 19th century. Made in partnership with WhyArts, the films are co-directed by Ollie Webb Center, Inc.'s education director David Ackermann and artistic director, Jim Hoggatt, with director of cinematography Matt Bross. Individuals enrolled in Ollie Webb Center Inc. courses act in the films and served as the film crew on the project. Located in Omaha, the Ollie Webb Center, Inc.'s mission is to enrich the lives individuals with developmental disabilities and their families through collaboration, advocacy, relationships, and education. The center's Art of Imagination program works to empower develop and encourage self expression in adults with disabilities through professional opportunities in the visual and performing arts. Classes offer artistic opportunities in traditional art forms such as painting, writing, drawing, photography, and more. Theater classes include improvisation play writing, scripted pieces and radio drama culminating in rehearsals and public performances. This event is free to attend thanks to the generosity of Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment. 

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Creative Panel: The Kilbanes in Conversation with Peter Cipkowski (Read More)

Join Peter Cipkowski for a conversation with Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses of The Kilbanes, the acclaimed musical duo currently adapting Willa Cather's My Ántonia into an original stage musical. Commissioned by Theater Latté Da in Minneapolis, their adaptation reimagines Cather's masterpiece through their distinctive blend of storytelling and music. The panel will explore the Kilbanes' creative process, their decision to bring My Ántonia to the stage, and how their musical style shapes the emotional and narrative contours of the work. The discussion will also consider the creative challenge of adaptation itself: what it means to transform a beloved literary classic into a new form, and what questions arise when a masterpiece known as one thing becomes something entirely new. This event is free to attend thanks to the generosity of Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment. The Kilbanes (Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses) are a married composing and performing team and recipients of the 2024 Jonathan Larson Grant. Their rock musical Weightless (WP Theater, A.C.T., Public Theater's Under the Radar) was nominated for Lucille Lortel (Best Musical, Drama Desk (Best Music), and Off-Broadway Alliance (Best New Musical) awards in 2023. Other works include A Whynot Christmas Carol (A.C.T., Pam McKinnon dir.), The Code (A.C.T.), My Ántonia (Next Generation Commission, Theatre Latte Da in Minneapolis - upcoming), As You Like It (San Francisco Shakespeare Festival), and Eddie the Marvelous (American Music Theater Project (AMTP) O'Neill National Music Theater Conference; Berkeley Repertory Theater's Ground Floor).

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Nebraska Stories Season 14 Episode 6 (Read More)

Enjoyed by viewers across the state for its feature-based, character-driven storytelling, “Nebraska Stories” covers art, science, history, sports, performance, nature and more. New episodes air Thursdays at 8 p.m., repeating at 9 p.m. Mondays on Nebraska Public Media and at 8:30 a.m. Fridays on World, and are also viewable online at https://nebraskastories.org/. The March 30 episode tells the stories of notable Nebraskans. First, learn more about the real-life woman who inspired Willa Cather’s novel “My Antonia.” There are also stories about African American photographer John Johnson, whose early 1900s images of Black families could have been lost to the ages; General “Black Jack” Pershing’s history with the cadet training program at the University of Nebraska and Marion Crandell, who supported American and French troops and became the first American woman to die in combat in WWI.

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Nebraska Stories Season 14 Episode 6 (Read More)

Enjoyed by viewers across the state for its feature-based, character-driven storytelling, “Nebraska Stories” covers art, science, history, sports, performance, nature and more. New episodes air Thursdays at 8 p.m., repeating at 9 p.m. Mondays on Nebraska Public Media and at 8:30 a.m. Fridays on World, and are also viewable online at https://nebraskastories.org/. The March 30 episode tells the stories of notable Nebraskans. First, learn more about the real-life woman who inspired Willa Cather’s novel “My Antonia.” There are also stories about African American photographer John Johnson, whose early 1900s images of Black families could have been lost to the ages; General “Black Jack” Pershing’s history with the cadet training program at the University of Nebraska and Marion Crandell, who supported American and French troops and became the first American woman to die in combat in WWI.

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Nebraska Stories Season 14 Episode 6 (Read More)

Enjoyed by viewers across the state for its feature-based, character-driven storytelling, “Nebraska Stories” covers art, science, history, sports, performance, nature and more. New episodes air Thursdays at 8 p.m., repeating at 9 p.m. Mondays on Nebraska Public Media and at 8:30 a.m. Fridays on World, and are also viewable online at https://nebraskastories.org/. The March 30 episode tells the stories of notable Nebraskans. First, learn more about the real-life woman who inspired Willa Cather’s novel “My Antonia.” There are also stories about African American photographer John Johnson, whose early 1900s images of Black families could have been lost to the ages; General “Black Jack” Pershing’s history with the cadet training program at the University of Nebraska and Marion Crandell, who supported American and French troops and became the first American woman to die in combat in WWI.

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