Vanessa Finney
News Host / ProducerVanessa Finney is JPR's Arts Reporter, All Things Considered host, and Producer of My Better Half - a podcast and ÀÏ·ò×Ó´«Ã½ Exchange segment that explores how people are thriving in the second half of their lives. Outside of JPR, Vanessa sings Jazz & Bossa Nova as part of LoveNotes and produces The Work of Art for Southern Oregon PBS. Originally from California, she graduated from UCLA with a BA in Literature then earned an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Antioch University Los Angeles.
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When performance venues closed for an uncertain period of time during the pandemic, playwright/director Octavio Solis thought he might have to leave theater behind. In that first year of global shutdown, though, he revisited the writing of Samuel Beckett - and hatched a plan to produce a festival of Beckett’s short works in Ashland. JPR Arts Reporter Vanessa Finney recently spoke with Solis about the innovative project.
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Host Vanessa Finney explores the intricacies of finding (and keeping) love after age 50 with the author of "Love After 50."
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The Ashland Beckett Shorts Festival runs Oct 24-27 at 7pm each night.
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The Ashland New Plays Festival presents four plays October 16-20 at Southern Oregon University's Main Stage Theatre. Two finalists of the annual competition, Novid Parsi and Keiko Green, tell JPR's Vanessa Finney what audiences can expect.
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Novid Parsi and Keiko Green join host, Vanessa Finney
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The Ashland Independent Film Festival runs October 3-6, and features two music documentaries created by Rogue Award recipients Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein.
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Filmmaker Jeffrey Friedman talks with Vanessa Finney about two films showing this weekend at the Ashland Independent Film Festival.
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Vanessa Finney, host of My Better Half, interviews a life adventurer
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Oregon's new Poet Laureate, Ellen Waterston, recently spoke to JPR's Vanessa Finney about the state's literary landscape.
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Oregon's new Poet Laureate, Ellen Waterston, recently spoke to JPR's Vanessa Finney about the state's literary landscape.
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Marc Yaffee is one of three stand-up comedians in the upcoming Native Comedy All-Stars show on August 30 at the Ross Ragland Theater in Klamath Falls - along with Vaughn Eaglebear and Gilbert Brown. JPR's Vanessa Finney recently spoke with Yaffee about his art and how his Native heritage helps shape his sense of humor.
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When performers get up close and personal, they often need focused guidance. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival Fight and Intimacy Director RocÃo Mendez recently discussed her work with JPR's Vanessa Finney.