The State of Things

Chapel Hill-bred writer Wells Tower recently traveled to China on assignment for GQ Magazine. There, he caught up with former NBA player Stephon Marbury, who is remembered for his commendable performance on the court and his conversational behavior off the court during his time in the league. After publicly battling with coaches and being benched for most of the 2009 season, Marbury decided to leave the NBA – the same year a series of strange videos starring the player started popping up online. Marbury, also the owner of a sports fashion line called Starbury with offices in North Carolina, now plays in the Chinese Basketball Association with a team named the Foshan Dralions. Marbury’s career move to China is shaping up to be a unique kind of professional makeover.

On Saturday, the inaugural OutRaleigh festival on Fayetteville Street's City Plaza will celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered lifestyles with entertainment and information. Activities will range from a kids play zone to an appearance by The Tranny Roadshow, a traveling group of all transgendered performers who present songs, comedy and commentary across the country. Host Frank Stasio talks with three performers: Jamez Terry, Modern Day Pinocchio, and Ryka Aoki de la Cruz about keeping the “T” in LGBT. He will also speak with Bobby Hilburn, executive director of the LGBT Center of Raleigh, about the first OutRaleigh festival.

Ari Picker's novelistic childhood and difficult life story has been at the heart of his music since he started writing songs. He describes his band, Lost in the Trees, as making orchestral folk music, combining the passion and pathos of symphonic music with the intimacy and searching of classic folk music. The band's album "All Alone in an Empty House" has had more than one incarnation including the newest, released last summer.

Recently, the news was focused on President Barack Obama and his critics who publicly doubted that he was native born. In response, the President released his long-form birth certificate as proof of U.S. citizenship. Still, some don't believe him. What is it about conspiracies that draw people in, even after being presented with the facts? Host Frank Stasio talks about the Obama story and other famous conspiracy theories with Kenneth Kitts, a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and author of the book, “Presidential Commissions & National Security: The Politics of Damage Control” (Lynne Rienner Publishers/2006).

Burning Coal Theatre Company in Raleigh wants young playwrights to have a chance to showcase their work. That's why staff there created Kidswrite, a contest that picks and performs the best plays written by junior high and high school students. This year's winning plays include an impressionist romance and a play told from the perspective of a hangman.