A Holiday Must-See, Laugh

If you’ve never met Jodi Cohen, too bad for you. And even though she’ll be presenting “Oy to the World! Comic Relief for the Holidays” right here in Madison this week, you won’t get to meet her even if you just want an autograph. Why? Because she will be busy impersonating a warm and hilarious cast of characters to an audience of folks eager to find joy AND laughter this holiday season. Cohen’s writing and comedy/improv work is coastal caliber, but like a lot of us she fell in love with Madison and the Midwest. So lucky us.

Jodi, who has worked with the likes of Chris Farley and Brian Stack, a writer for Conan O’Brien (read an earlier blog on this), is not only gifted and talented, she’s warm and generous with her time. I know this because I asked her to ask one of my favorite characters a few questions for my blog and she was kind enough to let Helvi give us a preview of the kind of funny you’ll experience when you go to the show. Click here for the schedule.

So, without further ado, heeeeeeeeere’s Helvi!

Tell us a little bit about yourself, Helvi. Well, I’m a social and political macaroni sculptor, making macaroni sculptures to express my feelings about what is going on in the world and to make changes in the world. I used to use clay, but well, that was not for me. I found my inner macaroni and now I have a cable show, “Helvi’s Corner,” and I’m the hostess of the radio show “Pasta and YOU,” where we talk about changing the world one noodle at a time, and I also am the editor of the Macaroni Monthly.

So what were you doing last Friday while the rest of us were skipping, um I mean SNOWED IN, from work? When it snowed I was outside, I was making a snow angel. Then I decorated it with uncooked macaroni. It was itchy, as I laid down in the snow and the uncooked macaroni. But that is what I do for art.

I understand you have some important political statements you’re planning to make in this year’s show. Without giving it all away, could you give us a hint of what you’re going to try to accomplish? Fer cryin’ out loud. I did such a great job canvassing in Wisconsin during the primary that I was awarded the Canvasser of the Year award and invited to the inauguration. Ya’ hey. I’m going to wear my special apron. I’m going to connect with other social and political craftspeople. We’re going to meet in a corner somewhere.

Do you work with a number of different macaroni styles or do you stick with the quintessential elbow? I work mostly with elbow macaroni, but that is just me. You can work with anything that floats your boat. Some people work with clay! Not this pony. No. I tried it, but it lost some of its zip zap sop along the way. I did start working with Spaghetti-O’s as an homage to Obama. However, I feel a little cramped when there’s sauce involved.

Do macaroni ingredients—say, egg or no egg—make a difference in your work? Some people like eggless pasta. It doesn’t hold together in the same way when you get to the decoupage part of the project. But still, whatever works. You have to do your work, make your art, in order to be heard and seen and known in the world. With enough super glue you can do anything.

Is there a friendly competition among the characters you present in “Oy to the World,” or are you all, like, best friends? Everyone who shows up for “Oy to the World” is amazing. I have to say, it’s an honor to be there. People are so nice and friendly and what have you. I give away potato salad recipes as rewards to people who are speaking out. You have to speak out whenever and wherever possible. That is what I always say.

Are there any other artists who work with macaroni—or other artistic media—that you admire or are inspired by? I love Twyla Tharp. I’ve asked her if she’d like to collaborate and I’ve yet to hear back. I’m also inspired by Babs Gillespie, my friend from years ago. She works with laundry in these fanciful ways. It’s hard to explain. I haven’t seen her or her laundry for years and I miss her terribly. One time she wore just a sheet all night because everything she owned was in the wash. She is a consummate artist gal.

What is your New Year’s resolution for 2009? To be realistic about my resolutions. To start small and keep it all very small. One noodle at a time, is what I always say....

OK, I saved the toughest question for last: What’s your producer/director Jodi REALLY like? Ah, well, she’s, you know, normal. I guess. She’s a bit nervous sometimes and is always saying, “Oh, Helvi, where’s your macaroni sculpture? Where are your noodles? Where are your potato salad recipe cards? Where’s your guitar? Do you know the song you’ll do for the sing-along? Have you written your poem? Do you still want to do some modern dance as a way of interpreting the global financial meltdown that’s occurring?” I just say to her O FER CUTE! Build a bridge and get over yourself already then there now. Real good.

See? I told you she was good. Go see Helvi and the rest of Jodi’s gang this week. You’ll get delicious Imperial Garden Chinese food to boot.

Two Journalists You Should Know

Back when I was studying for a master's in journalism at UW–Madison, I spent a lot of time on news.wisc.edu, the University Communications website. The depth and breadth of its coverage made it a fertile ground for article ideas and academic experts for my writing assignments.

After I joined the magazine I signed up for their media press releases and often marveled at how thoroughly reported and well written they were. I used to joke about how the newspapers should've just printed the releases verbatim; often they were smarter and more provocative than the stories that showed up in the next day's news.

When uber-talented UW communications staffer Tim Kelley was lured back to the State Journal, I wasn't surprised. He penned a ton of great stories that came out of the press office. Tim also wrote for the magazine for a time. He was one of those freelancers who took an assignment, you wouldn't hear boo from him for a month, and then he'd file a story you hardly had to edit. You never quite felt like you were earning your keep. Tim's still at the State Journal as its digital media manager for madison.com.

Another UW communicator I admire is Michael Penn. He wrote and edited for the UW alumni magazine On Wisconsin for many years and is now with a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences magazine called Grow. Michael is an excellent storyteller, and he has a knack for reporting that a lot of writers think they have but don't. He gets that readers want more than the who, what, where and engages them in an intellectual joyride.

Check out Penn's recent article on corn, called "Grain of Doubt." If you've read The Omnivore's Dilemma, or even if you haven't, it's a local complement to the global discussion about the corn crop and how it is, in detrimental ways, taking over the planet's agricultural system. Remarkable, and a little bit scary.

Diversity Almost Done!

While I hope readers are busy devouring all things pet in our current issue of Madison Magazine, my staff is a little busy on the next issue. Thing is, it’s not just any issue, it’s two magazines in one. For more than a year now we’ve been planning for a new, 68-page magazine celebrating diversity in the Madison area. It’s called Spectrum Magazine, and the organization we’re producing it for is the Madison Area Diversity Roundtable. They are an amazing group of Madisonians I’ll blog about later, but for now I want to brag about the writers and designers who are, like I said, B-U-S-Y putting this important publication together.

Laura Salinger, who has deftly covered a broad range of issues and topics for The Madison Times, Capital City Hues and Asian Wisconzine, wrote most of the major articles, and a whole slew of smart, talented people, including all of our editors, designers and more than a dozen area freelance writers and photographers, have been laboring to make this magazine matter in a community that embraces diversity but doesn’t always follow through in executing it. (More on that later, too.) For now, just know that I can hardly think straight, much less blog straight, because I’m so nervous and excited about sharing Spectrum with you.

It’s been hard and exhilarating to help birth a new magazine … and remarkably, the labor has been longer than my seven-year-old who took her own sweet time in production. But in a few short weeks Spectrum Magazine will ride along with the January issue of Madison Magazine, which we’re dubbing “Big Ideas.” The Spectrum concept is a perfect fit for a magazine about what our city and its people can accomplish if we set our minds to it. Because we all know that ideas are only as good, or as big, as those of us willing to work to make them happen.