►
Description
On the latest episode of Chesterfield Behind the Mic, we talk to Executive Director Chelsea Buyalos about the Perkinson Center for the Arts and Education, one of Chesterfield’s best cultural resources. We get into how The Perk came to be, the partnerships and connections that make it possible, and all of the different experiences that are offered there including music, art, comedy, theater, and so much more.
Credits:
Director: Martin Stith
Executive Producer: Teresa Bonifas
Producer/Writer/Host: Brad Franklin
Director of Photography/Editor: Matt Boyce
Producer/Camera Operator: Martin Stith and Matt Neese
Graphics: Debbie Wrenn
Promotions and Media: J. Elias O’Neal, Elizabeth Hart, and Jackie Wilkens
Music:
Hip Hop This by Seven Pounds
Inspiring Electronic Rock by Alex Grohl
Guest:
Chelsea Buyalos, Executive Director- Perkinson Center for the Arts and Education
Recorded on location by Chesterfield’s Constituent and Media Services Department
Chesterfield.gov/podcast
Follow us on social media! On Facebook, like our page: Chesterfield Behind the Mic. On Twitter, you can find us at @ChesterfieldVa and on Instagram it’s @ChesterfieldVirginia. And you can also watch the podcast on WCCT TV Thursday through Sunday at 7 p.m. as well as on weekends at noon on Comcast Channel 98 and Verizon Channel 28.
A
Good
morning,
good
evening,
good
afternoon,
wherever
is
that
you
are
and
wherever
you
may
be.
Thank
you
very
much
for
making
this
a
part
of
your
day.
I
am
Brad
Franklin
the
creative
content
writer
in
Chesterfield
and
I'm
very
glad
to
tell
you
that
Chesterfield
on
the
mic
is
on
the
air
once
again.
Now,
if
you
are
watching
the
version
of
the
show,
you
can
see
that
we
are
not
in
the
studio.
We
are
out
here
at
the
person
Center
for
arts
and
education.
A
A
I
very
much
appreciate
your
time
and
appreciate
you
coming
on
the
show,
obviously
for
a
lot
of
folks
who
may
understand
what
the
Parkinson
Center
is
and
all
the
different
things
you
guys
do.
We've
certainly
been
here
before,
but
we've
never
really
featured
the
Perkins
Center
itself,
and
so
I
thought
this
would
be
a
great
opportunity
to
sort
of
talk
a
little
bit
about
sort
of
what
the
Parkinson
Center
is
for
people
who
may
not
know,
and
what
kind
of
things
you
guys
offer
before
we
do
that.
A
One
of
the
things
I'd
like
to
do
when
we
we
record
the
show,
is
I
like
to
have
a
little
bit
of
time,
where
I
can
kind
of
introduce
the
guests
to
the
to
the
listeners
and
kind
of
give
them
a
sense
of
who
they're
hearing
from
and
before
we
get
into
the
background
of
the
Perkins
Center
I
want
to
kind
of
get
a
little
bit
on.
Yours
tell
me
a
little
bit
more
about
sort
of
your
background.
A
B
A
A
A
A
B
I
was
called
home.
I
was
called
Home
in
July
of
2021
to
serve
in
the
role
as
the
Director
of
Education
here
at
the
Perkinson
Center
and
then
in
February
of
2022
I
transitioned
into
the
leadership
role
of
executive
directors.
So
this
is
a
full
circle
moment.
This
is
a
homecoming
like
I
said
I
started
here.
A
A
A
A
A
A
In
terms
of
the
the
sort
of
mission
and
what
you're
a
part
of
now,
you
know
a
lot
of
people
probably
have
a
have
seen
the
Perkins
Center
have
maybe
heard
it
mentioned,
have
taught
her
to
hear.
You
know
people
talk
about
it,
but
I'm,
not
sure
a
lot
of
people
understand
truly
understand
like
what
kind
of
things
happen
here.
A
B
A
A
A
B
A
A
A
B
A
A
B
A
Of
ways
now
the
space
itself,
the
this
building,
not
I,
don't
I,
don't
recall
the
year
that
it
finally
finished.
You
know
once
everything
was
to
completion
and
we
could
finally
open
the
doors
for
for
real.
But
how
much
did
that
renovation
and
having
this
space
kind
of
change?
Everything
for
the
Parkinson
Center.
A
B
A
A
A
B
A
A
B
A
B
A
B
A
A
A
I
was
going
to
say
you
mentioned
community
and
I
was
just
thinking
like
this
is
probably
the
first
real
chance
wholeheartedly.
You
know,
I,
don't
know
if
you
guys
talk
about
it
in
Seasons,
so
to
speak,
but
it
feels
like
this
is
the
first
real
chance
that
you've
had
to
really
put
out
the
kind
of
things
that
you
want
to
do
with
this
new
space.
B
A
A
B
A
A
A
A
For
you
now
in
terms
of
the
community
piece
of
it,
obviously
this
is
such
a
I
mean
I,
don't
even
know
if
you
can
put
use
the
word
huge
resource,
but
those
words,
don't
necessarily
really
I,
think
fully
encapsulate
sort
of
what
the
Perkins
Center
means
can
mean
will
mean
for
Chesterfield
for
this
community
for
the
region.
You
know
as
a
whole
tell
me
a
little
bit
about
sort
of
those
Partnerships.
A
B
One
thing
I
think
we
all
have
learned
coming
out
of
the
pandemic,
or
what
we
experienced
is
that
we
are
stronger
together
and
collaboration
is
key
yeah,
so
forging
those
collaborations
is
very
important,
not
just
with
Arts
organizations,
Chesterfield
County
or
even
the
community.
Those
are
those
are
very
important
things
to
Foster,
because
at
the
end
of
the
day
we
are
here
to
serve
our
community
Through,
the
Arts,
and
so
we've
had
a
wonderful
opportunity
to
start
really
working
with
other
Arts
organizations.
I'll
go
ahead
and
do
some
name
drops.
B
A
B
A
B
A
B
B
A
B
Also
had
many
opportunities
to
collaborate
with
ccpl,
the
Chesterfield
County
public
libraries,
we've
had
opportunities
to
work
with
the
Richmond
Performing
Arts
Alliance
VSU
Virginia,
Opera,
Richmond
Symphony,
just
to
name
a
few.
We've
had
so
many
more.
The
list
goes
on
and
fostering
those
collaborations
you
know
providing
a
space
in
which,
for
those
Arts
organizations
to
work.
A
To
come
out
so
there's
going
to
be,
you
know,
if
you
come
here,
you're
going
to
see
a
different
sort
of
installation
exhibit
what
have
you
but
I'm
just
curious
before
we
get
to
some
of
the
things
that
are
coming
up:
I
I,
just
as
you
were
sort
of
talking
a
second
ago.
It
made
me
think
that
how
do
you
go
about
bringing
different
acts?
Different
shows
different.
You
know,
folks,.
B
A
You
know
how
far
out
does
the
scheduling
work
for
something
like
this,
because
I
think
this
is
one
of
those
like
inside
baseball
things.
It
probably
makes
a
lot
of
Essence
to
you,
but
for
all
of
us
on
the
outside,
you
know:
how
do
you
go
about
choosing
what
is
on
the
stage
or
what
isn't
here
in
the
gallery
like?
How
does
that
sort
of?
How
does
that
process
work?
How
far
in
advance
does
all
this
kind
of
come
together?
For
you
guys,
there's.
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
B
A
A
A
A
A
B
A
A
B
What
we've
got
coming
up
is
summer
nights
at
the
work.
This
is
year
two
of
our
Summer
Concert
Series.
Last
year
we
had
four
concerts
this
year,
we've
expanded
to
six
featuring
a
variety
of
talent.
We've
got
Kia
Bennett
coming
Seoul
r
b
Sarah
NADA
we've
got
a
local
favorite,
cheap,
Comfort,
John
wintette,
which
is
jazz.
We've
got
a
variety
of
artists
that
are
coming
for
that,
as
well
as
my
son,
the
doctor,
so
we've
got
lots
of
lots
of
opportunities
and
then
some
folk
opportunities
with
steel
gut.
B
Be
out
on
our
pantry
decline
patio,
and
we
welcome
all
so,
if
you're
listening
to
this,
please
please,
please
send
us
your
RSVPs
at
perkinsoncenter.org,
again
free
and
open
to
the
public
Arts
activities
we'll
have
food
trucks
on
tap
as
well
at
each
performance
and
we're
looking
forward
to
that.
That
last
year
we
took
a
stab
in
the
dark
and
we
tried
to
see
if.
A
A
A
B
B
A
A
A
For
the
summer
months,
good
deal
watch
out.
Let
me
get
chat
here
on
this
one
look.
Obviously
you
know,
because
of
sort
of
the
time
frame
of
when
you
guys
kind
of
came
online,
so
to
speak
and
everything
with
the
pandemic
and
sort
of
being
able
to
really
hit
your
stride.
The
this
seems
like
a
little
bit
of
a
softball,
but
I'm
gonna
toss
it
anyway.
How
excited
are
you
about
not
just
what
you
guys
are
doing
now,
but
the
future
for
the
Parkinson
Center
here
in
Chester,
the.
B
Future
is
so
bright.
The
fact
that
this
community
has
you
know
with
a
resounding
yes
said:
yes
to
investing
in
the
Arts,
the
Arts
are
essential
to
humanity.
They
connect
each
and
every
one
of
us.
They
allow
us
to
Foster,
better
versions
of
ourselves
and
I've
said
it
before
they
lead
to
more
vibrant
communities.
Yeah-
and
you
know
seeing
this
investment
made,
seeing
the
collaboration,
because,
let's
just
face
it,
this
was
a
Herculean
effort.
B
A
A
B
It
is
a
beautiful,
beautiful
process.
I
have
to
give
a
shout
out
to
our
team
here
at
the
Perkinson
Center
we've
got
three
full-timers
here
myself,
Heather
miles
and
John
Shelley,
who
make
magic
happen.
We
also
have
a
cohort
of
part-timers
that
help
us
with
our
events,
both
technically
and
in
the
front
of
the
house
and
beautiful
volunteers.
A
B
And
to
see
their
Joy
their
exuberance,
their,
you
know
go-getter
attitude
when
they
come
in
to
help
us
in
our
mission.
That's
been
a
beautiful
thing,
so
we
invite
our
community
members
to
lean
in
come
and
join
us
for
a
performance
in
our
theater
gain
a
different
perspective
in
our
gallery,
or
you
know,
get
those
creative
juices
flowing
by
taking
a
class
here
at
the
center.
We
are
so
excited
to
be
your
new
home
for
the
Arts
located
right
here
in
the
heart
of
Chester
good.
A
All
right
now
make
sure
you
check
us
out
on
social
media
on
Twitter,
it's
Chesterfield
Virginia
and
on
Instagram
it
shows
Virginia
one
word
and
on
Facebook
you
can
check
out
our
podcast
page
to
search
chestro.
Bond
Mike
now
make
sure
to
follow
the
podcast
or
subscribe
to
to
it
on
Apple
podcast,
Spotify,
Google,
podcast,
overcast
or
wherever
it
is
that
you
get
your
shows
and
if
you'd
like
to
leave
us
a
rating
or
review
we'd
greatly
appreciate
it.
A
As
always,
a
video
version
of
the
show
is
available
on
our
YouTube
channel,
as
well
as
on
our
website
at
chesterfield.gov
podcast.
That's
also
where
you
can
submit
feedback
anytime,
make
suggestions
or
just
reach
out
to
us.
You
can
also
watch
the
show
on
wsct
CCT
Thursday
through
Sunday,
at
7,
on
the
weekends
at
noon:
that's
Comcast,
channel,
98
and
Verizon
Channel
28..
Lastly,
you
can
check
out
chesterfield.gov
connect
with
us
to
find
a
number
of
different
ways
for
you
to
connect
with
Chesterfield
County.
A
My
thanks
to
my
director,
Martin
Stith,
my
executive
producer,
Teresa
bonifas,
and
all
the
good
folks
from
constituent
and
Media
Services
for
all
they
do.
My
thanks
to
you
for
joining
us
today,
so
from
all
of
us
here
in
Chesterfield,
thanks
again
for
making
us
a
part
of
your
day,
we'll
see
you
again
real
soon
take
good
care.