Hi, I'm Ed Leon.

Welcome to the 260, where we cover life and community in Northeast Indiana.

On this episode, we'll get an update on the riverfront Development Plan, a preview of the first Myaamia cultural fest celebrating the history and culture of the native peoples of Northeast Indiana, and one on one with the man behind Fort Wayne Improv.

It's all right now on the 260.

Fort Wayne riverbank has become a vibrant destination and one of the city's defining success stories, but they ain't done yet.

Riverfront phase two B is underway, adding new public spaces, river access trails, overlooks and recreational amenities along the north bank of the Saint Mary's River.

Here to give us an update is the director of Parks and Recreation for Fort Wayne, Steve McDaniel.

Steve, welcome to the 260.

Thank you for having me.

Good to have you here.

Promenade Park was such a success.

How did that influence this phase?

I think it kind of lend itself to we saw the successes that we saw in promenade.

We wanted to basically build on those.

And what we also saw was the private development that took off after we built Promenade Park.

We wanted to make sure that we were lending itself as we built out riverfront development, that that would be continue to have success.

All right.

So we're going to let's put in some visuals.

First of all, because I want to talk what's included in this phase.

This is where it's located right?

So we're we're the identified area and the green.

What is that?

What are you calling that area?

Steve: So the Esplanade and the North Lawn area.

Ed: Okay.

And what is going into this phase?

Steve: So along the Esplanade, we'll have the urban trail.

It'll be a big walking area.

Ed: We have some video to that I think will that we can put up that will show us from an aerial vantage point.

Talk about what you're putting in.

Steve: So along Harrison Street from there, going north all the way up through fourth Street and the MLK bridge, it'll be the cascading steps.

We'll have a boulder mound that you see, a hammock grove.

There are all kinds of things that are along this, I guess, pathway.

And as we move farther north, we're going to get into the North Lawn adjacent to our work.

We also have private development.

The Shaab metal building is being renovated.

Ed: Okay.

What's that going to be?

Steve: So there's a couple different things that are going into their restaurants, nightclub and then other spaces... Ed: And thats the building we saw in the in the video.

Steve: Yep.

Ed: Okay.

Well, so these renderings are some of these areas I saw you that serpentine area.

We saw that in the video.

Ed: So the Boulder mound is an area where kids can can go all the way up and it's fully accessible.

They get a higher elevation.

They're looking down.

They can also climb all over it.

There's a hammock grove, the cascading steps with this kind of like a mini area where we can do all kinds of different programing and as you see their seats and tables in front of that.

So kind of movable furniture like what we saw on promenade.

Ed: So that's the hammock grove.

And I think there was one more.

Yeah.

What is this?

Steve: So urban swing is one of the great things that we saw in Promenade Park that was very successful was all the different swings that we have.

And so we have urban swings that are be happening along fourth Street in the North Amphitheater.

We'll continue that success.

There's just all kinds of areas that you'll have for views down to look downtown, but it's also just part of that build out that we've been doing as part of riverfront.

We hope that it expounds and has a kind of a big walking loop for people to walk through.

Yeah, we know that this is going to be a great thing that's going to lead into North River, but it's also connects all of the area north of the river to Headwaters Park and Promenade Park.

So there's been talk of the North River district.

Is that included in this phase or not included?

It is not included, but it lends itself to be right on the border as you move farther north.

What's the budget for this phase?

It's about 28 million.

Dollars, and you had to at some point.

You changed some design elements, right?

We did.

Why was that?

That was a requirement from FEMA and permitting at the federal level.

The build out of what you could do in the river had changed.

And so what we had planned had to be shifted and rearranged.

So talk about how the city sees this park contributing to the economic development of the entire downtown.

So when we built Promenade Park, we saw the private development happen.

We have riverfront, the the promenade, riverfront promenade.

They have the buildings across the street, and then we have the headwaters loft.

The Eddy is also being built.

It's adjacent to this area.

We see the Schaab metal building More brewing.

There's just so much more private development that's happening.

So we feel that the public space that we're building here with riverfront is that front door to all that private.

Is there private development happening in conjunction with phase two B?

I think what we saw with the Eddy and with the Schaab metal and More brewing is is all tied to that.

How does environmental stewardship play into the design of this park?

So we're looking at how we're using stormwater off of this site.

We're looking at how we impact the river, the ecological, the wildlife.

And all of that is is playing a factor as we pick and choose landscape materials.

That's all playing a factor in that kind of whole combination.

What's been the biggest challenge, like building like right next to the river?

Is that a specific challenge?

It is, but I think the permitting was our biggest hurdle in this project.

I think we've got a plan that we're moving forward with, and we're really excited about how it's all going to develop and formulate into one kind of coalescence of a great project.

By the way, are you on schedule?

We are.

So we're looking at a completion towards the end of this year or first part of next year.

Okay.

And are you on budget?

We are.

All right.

So that's a great factor in the project.

So will people get to use portions as you build it or is there going to be a grand opening.

We're still working on how that's going to be unveiled and opened up.

There's a possibility that we might do it in phases, but we're not sure yet.

By the way, it seems like this is such a redevelopment.

It's such a complicated it seems like a very complicated process.

Is this is this your expertise?

You get to you get to oversee these big, these big projects, these building construction projects.

Is that your background?

It is.

I've got a degree in construction management, but there is a great team that's working on it, both Parks and recreation but also other city departments.

So kind of as a city came together as a whole.

We're working at it collectively.

There are so many cool spots down there.

Do you have a favorite spot on the river?

I do, I the the amphitheater that we see in the tree canopy trail.

Those kind of are my two big things right along the river, at least in promenade.

I think this phase two be is going to have some great elements that are going to draw people to it.

We as a recreation staff are also looking at what are we going to do to program that area in that space.

And so we've got all kinds of great ideas, and we'll be putting that into motion in spring.

Talk about some of those ideas, because I think that that's what people will connect to.

That'll be our touchpoint with this area.

So so it could be lots of different things from either art in the park and art vending and stuff like that, but also music, lots of different small areas that can lend itself to having programing space just right there.

So I mean, there's a laundry list of things that the team is working on, and we just got to make sure that we can put those all into place.

But the idea is to have program space to to draw people in.

We also know that there's also a lot of new residents in the downtown area with all the new apartments that are being built.

So there's a lot of of of people living right there.

They're going to use these parks in this space as kind of their front door and their front yard.

Yeah.

So it's an exciting and exciting resource for the city.

Thank you so much for coming to tell us about it.

Construction on riverfront phase two B will extend through the rest of the year.

You can learn more about the Riverfront Development plan at FortWayneParks.ORG Long before there was a Fort Wayne, This region was the historic home of the Myaamia people.

Although the Miami tribe was forcibly removed to present day Oklahoma in the 19th century, the tribe has never lost its connection to Northeast Indiana.

That history takes center stage this year with the inaugural Myaamia Cultural Fest, a free public celebration of the living, culture, traditions, language, arts and history of Fort Wayne's first people.

Here to tell us about it are Logan York, the Tribal Historic Preservation officer and the chair of the Miami Heritage Foundation.

Morgan Lippert, welcome to the show.

Thank you.

Thanks for having us.

Yeah.

You got it.

Thank you for being here to share about your culture and your people.

Tell us about your ancestral people and living in this region.

I think many of us are just not well informed about that.

Yeah.

So the Myaamia people have been here since time immemorial.

As we say, we separated from who we were before here within Myaamionki, the land of the Miami people.

And that would have happened in the South Bend region.

And from then on, US Miami's are living here in this area, and we've been doing that for at least over 1000 years, because we're here when corn comes into the area and Kekionga or Fort Wayne is our biggest village.

Biggest settlement.

Yes.

What was life like in in, in Kekionge?

Well, life was, you know, it depends on when we're talking about.

But, you know, we were in agrarian society with, with hunting.

So don't think of us as hunter gatherers.

By the time Europeans are getting here, we're very much not.

We have lots and lots of agrarian fields.

We are growing lots of corn, lots of other vegetables.

We are also tending forests.

So, you know, people see forests and they immediately think of wilderness.

But our homelands were not a wilderness.

We very much were tending these places that we would harvest the nuts and woods and animals that come out of a forest.

So they very much were tended places.

How far did the nation extend?

Oh, that is a good, good question.

We generally consult and work in all of Indiana, the western half of Ohio, up to the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan and west, mostly in Illinois, though we do a little bit of work in Wisconsin due to our time there during the Beaver Wars, and then a couple of counties along our removal route.

When in when and how was the tribe removed into Oklahoma?

We were removed in 1846 when the United States Army came and rounded us up in Peru, Indiana, and they put us on to canal boats, shipped us down to Cincinnati, where we were then put on to steamships in the cargo holds.

And we were then shipped down to Kansas City when we walked down to Sugar Creek, Kansas, which was our first reservation, our first post removal reservation.

And we were there until 1867, when we were removed down to modern day Oklahoma.

Boy, I'm so what was lost in the trauma of that of that removal?

Lots, lots was lost.

You know, we we have struggled to revitalize much of our language and culture, our arts, our dances.

And we've been very, very successful at that.

Yeah.

Talk a little bit about that.

The the revival of the language specifically.

Yeah.

So, you know, the fact that I can say: [Speaking Myaamia Language] And know what I'm saying is a pretty big deal.

You know, 30 years ago that might not have been the case, but because of our work revitalizing our languages and language and studying it, we are able to say that.

So I said, hello, my name is Mihihkinaahkwa.

I am the tribal historic preservation officer.

Niila Myaamia, I am Miami.

So, you know, we were able to actually understand what we were saying.

We were able to actually speak our language again.

Morgan, how is the tribe consider its ongoing relationship with Northeast Indiana?

So even though the tribe was removed to Kansas and then later to Oklahoma, we still have over 1000 tribal citizens still living in what is today Indiana.

A lot who do live in Northeast Indiana.

So the tribe currently to serve that population better.

We have a 45 acre property here in Fort Wayne that is held in trust by the federal government.

So it is considered a reservation.

And there we have a cultural center, which is where I work out of, and we host cultural events.

We host our youth camps there.

Talk about talk about the festival.

It's going to be the first one.

Yes.

So that's super exciting.

What's it going to be like?

So the festival is really a, I would say, celebration of the cultural revitalism of the Miami tribe, you know, decades long efforts to be able to now, you know, showcase that to the Fort Wayne general public, but also not just a celebration, but also to show the people of Fort Wayne that, you know, the Miami tribe is their neighbors.

You know, we have hundreds of people living in Allen County and the surrounding counties who are enrolled in Miami.

And so it's just to say that the tribe is a living people, not a people of the past.

So we are going to have over a dozen Miami artists, everything from beadwork, finger weaving, ribbon work.

We're going to have lacrosse demonstrations, traditional lacrosse demonstrations.

Logan will be there with a history table.

People can learn more about the history, but we'll also directly support the tribe and purchase things like, be having our tribal gift shop so people can, you know, you know, grown pecans.

The tribe has a pecan factory in Oklahoma.

And so, yeah, it's just a way for people to, you know, re-meet the tribe.

Yeah.

Right.

To make that connection.

And it's free.

Yes.

It's free for everyone.

It's free.

It's fantastic opportunity.

Logan.

What what do you hope people learn or what would you like to to tell people or leave people with, you know, if they come to the festival or what do you want them to know about the Miami tribe?

That's I kind of think of that a little bit twofold on one half.

I want them to get a better understanding, a more accurate understanding of who we are.

You know, what, what our art forms look like and what they don't look like.

You know, we never lived in teepees.

We don't wear headdresses.

We never did.

So stuff like that.

But I think the most important aspect is we're still here.

We're people with a pass, not a people of the past, as Morgan said.

And I want people to understand that that, you know, we are Miami, we're still Miami, and we're just as Miami as we ever were.

And you're a people of our past here in Fort Wayne.

And.

Present and present.

Present and future.

And future.

Yes, exactly.

The inaugural Myaamia Cultural Fest takes place in downtown Fort Wayne on August 29th, celebrating the heritage and living culture of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma.

There's more information at MiamiNation.com There's a new entertainment option in Fort Wayne that not only comes with built in laughs, but also comes with a side helping of collaboration, self-confidence, and human connection.

I'm talking about improv comedy.

At the Fort Wayne Improv, I'm joined by its founder, Michael Bradt.

Michael, welcome to the 260.

Thanks so much for having me.

You bet.

Hey, you come from the Mecca of improv comedy, Chicago.

What brought you here to Fort Wayne and start a club?

Great question.

I did grow up in the Chicago suburb, so I had access to a lot of different improv comedy growing up.

And my my wife and I don't have kids of our own, so we have nieces and nephews And we got to see kind of my nieces and nephews in the Chicago area grow up, and they're off to college and doing great things, and we have young nieces and nephews down in Fort Wayne.

So I told my wife we were kind of coming to the make or break point at a theater that we owned up in the Chicago... So you were in the improv comedy business in Chicago?

Yes.

We had a theater that we opened just after the pandemic, which is a great place, great, great time to open the theater.

Our performers were wearing masks in Aurora.

It's still existing.

We sold the theater.

It's called the Bith Theater.

And so I told my wife I was like, hey, you know, we can either extend this lease or what if we just sell the house and sell the theater and moved to Fort Wayne?

And she was very excited.

About it.

Oh, good for you.

All right.

Well, welcome to town.

Thanks so much for, you know, if you've been to an improv show before, you know, you know, it's one of the things if you know, you know.

Yes.

But for those people who haven't experienced improv comedy, what's a show like?

Explain what happens at a show.

Great question.

I consider the way I describe improv to people that have never seen it before.

Pretty much everyone seen Whose Line Is It Anyway, but I call it a spontaneous artistic expression, and that can come in a bunch of different ways.

The short form improv is what you'd see at like Whose Line is it anyway?

Long form improv.

It's basically like an improvised play or like a play that we're we're writing and scripting literally in the moment.

So you're seeing the whole thing.

And I really like the nature of improv because it's very ephemeral, like it's there for that moment, and we get to experience it with the audience and the performers.

And even if we tried to do the same show twice in a row, it would be different because the audience is is integral to to creating the show as well.

Yeah.

And the dynamic.

Talk a little bit about the dynamic between performer and audience, because, you know, when you're in the audience at an improv show, you're everything feels more immediate because it's just been thought of, you know, whether it's good or bad, you know, it's like, right, and you're rooting for the performers or you're or you're rooting against the performer.

I love that.

You said that.

Because that's that to me, is one of the big differences between short form and long form improv.

Because in short form improv, when you see Whose Line Is it anyway, we know what the rules are of what the game they're about to play is.

And the funny part is kind of seeing them screw up, seeing them trip over the words.

So you're kind of rooting against the performers in short form improv in long form improv.

You want them to succeed.

You don't want it to feel cringey and awkward.

You want them to be successful, so you're rooting more for them.

What got you into this?

Is that laugh getting that laugh?

The drug that that keeps you going?

Yes.

So when I was a very young kid, my I remember I had a Fozzie Bear joke.

Book that I would tell jokes out of.

And I went to school at Notre Dame.

And I think my sophomore year is when they started The Humor Artist, which is now evolved to be their like improv group.

And when we first started, it was really sketch comedy.

Sketch comedy is another thing that we're going to do at Fort Wayne Improv.

It's like Saturday Night Live.

And so we I went back to law school at Notre Dame.

I had taken a couple of years off, and the group had kind of evolved from sketch to like improv and standup.

So I really got into it, actually.

Even coming from Chicago, I got into it more in Indiana, in northwestern Indiana.

I had seen shows and like done some stuff just seeing improv in the Chicago area, but like performing it.

I kind of got my love.

After I'd already moved out.

To Chicago, Michael explain the concept of “Yes And” which is so critical to improv.

So to make it a successful improv scene, if you were to walk into an improv scene and say, oh, I'm taking my dog for a walk, and I were to say, that's not a dog, that's a skunk, I would certainly get a laugh.

Well, depending on the crowd, I probably get a laugh.

But what I would.

What we teach at Fort Wayne Improv is to just agree with the reality that you're creating and then add more information to it.

So if you walked into a scene and said, I'm taking my dog for a walk, I would say yes.

So acknowledging that you're taking your dog for a walk and your dog is getting so big, I'm so glad you got a puppy.

Okay, so the you're also doing classes, right?

So and you teach this in the classes, right?

Yes.

Is it for all ages?

Can anyone.

You know, I mean, if you don't want to be a performer on Whose Line anyways, why would you take an improv class?

Great question.

The improv.

We spent a couple of years being super distant from each other and being separated, and, and we kind of had this sort of human traumatic experience.

And improv is all about bringing people together and connecting them.

So I did a couple of things when we were going through the pandemic and tried to teach improv remotely, and it's just not the same as when you're dealing with a delay and you're not making that contact, talking to people face to face.

It helps.

Communication is the biggest thing that it helps with.

It helps with listening.

That's the biggest lesson I think I teach my students.

listening?

It's yeah, it's all about listening because.

Why is that so important?

Because to me, you cant even get to the “Yes And” unless I'm actually listening to you.

So we have a tendency to hustle everything along and finish each other sentences and to speed everything along, because that's the world we live in right now.

But when we take the time to actually think about what someone saying to us and actually take that beat, I like to tell my students that there's a line and then another line.

But in between those two lines is where the improv actually happens.

So if you say a line in a scene, I have to like filter through the choices that my character has made through choices.

Your character is made where we are in a scene before I can respond and have it make any sense.

And by the way, it's, you know, it's no rehearsals, no script.

You know, sometimes you you make magic and sometimes you miss the mark.

Right.

I'll push back a. Little bit.

There are some rehearsals.

So even though everyone, the kind of common joke is, well, if it's improvised, if it's all made up, why do you need to rehearse?

Because there are certain things.

There are techniques and rules, loose rules that we do.

And I tell my students, learn the rules so you can learn when to break the rules and when that will be ok.

What's a rule?

Give me a rule.

Well, “Yes And” would be a rule.

Don't say no.

Is is is kind of the better way of saying “Yes And” and don't ask questions is one of the rules.

I, I think more of a general thing is try to be giving gifts to the scene.

So I consider a gift any information that you're adding to a scene versus like if I ask a question, if we walk into a scene and I say to you, who are you and what are you doing?

I haven't done any improv.

I haven't added any gifts to that scene.

I'm making you.

I'm deferring them.

Right to you to do all the improv versus if I walk into a scene and say, oh, son, you failed another test.

I've given a lot of information.

I've given probably my emotional state.

I've given us a relationship I've given us, like, what's happened?

What just happened?

You failed another test.

Yeah.

So it's not just like your first test.

What do you hope people walk out of the theater if they take a class?

And if they go to a show.

I want for one improv to be everyone's third space.

I want people to feel comfortable.

I want them to feel welcome.

I want them to be able to take creative chances.

I want them to know I'm not going to yell at them if they if they fail, because that's what improv is.

It's about failing and learning from those failures and and progressing.

So I try to have a very quick path for the students to get on stage right when they start taking classes.

We have it's almost like a yoga studio model for our classes, where you can kind of jump in at your comfort level.

And then we do.

We actually have our first one coming up soon.

Not one this airs I'm realizing we just had our first one, our first student jam.

So it'll be like a student teacher jam.

It's a pay what you like show that people can that the students can start to learn.

Because as much as I can tell them, I have thousands of hours of experience doing improv, but that isn't.

Those are my experiences.

They don't even help me anymore.

Necessarily.

Because it's constantly evolving.

So just telling them is not as helpful as getting them out there and showing them and giving them a chance.

All right.

Well, it's a great addition to Fort Wayne.

You can check out the Fort Wayne Improv at 1314 East State Street in Fort Wayne, or find them online at FortWayneImprov.com Michael, thank you for coming today.

Thanks so much for having me.

That's all the time we have for this episode.

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Now, please take a moment to appreciate the people that make the show possible, and I'll see you next time on the 260.