Veal Oscar, “Footloose” and Country Music

November 3

The past couple of days on PA Live! many interesting guests have appeared on the show. On Tuesday, we were treated to the beautiful singing of Madison Woods. When I first brought Madison and her mother to the studio, I thought they looked familiar, but I wasn’t sure. After talking to them for a little while, she asked me if I did theatre with KISS. I finally realized where I knew her from. About five or six years ago, Madison and I were in a play together. I’m surprised she recognized me because I definitely have change over the years. Anyway, she did a great job singing and everyone was impressed with her musical abilities.

For those of you who are fans of “Jersey Shore”, Snooki was on PA Live! through a Skype interview with Monica. Snooki talked about her new book that is coming out and also how to be a guidette. I told Monica she should have asked Snooki what is the best way to get as dark as her. I think this was something for interesting for our local talk show to have a reality show celebrity interview.

In the kitchen on Tuesday was Fire & Ice from Trucksville. They are a well-know restaurant and I always hear rave reviews about the food. On the show he made Veal Oscar. Although I do not eat veal, the food smelled amazing. Everyone who tried it said it tasted as good as it smelled.

Our Thursday show was very busy. We were delighted to have the cast of the Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre’s production “Footloose” on the show. About six members from the cast came on the show. Two of the guys acted out a scene for one of the teases. The four girls sang an awesome number from the show. At the end of the segment, they talked about the show. I think it is very interesting to have a local theatre doing this show at the same time the movie is in theatres. They all did a great job on our show and I’m excited to see the live performance next weekend.

Rising Country Music Star Justin Haigh was also on the show. He sang for us one of his hit songs. He did a great job and everyone was awed by his performance. It was so nice to have two musical guests in one show.

In the kitchen was Ellie-Gant Cakes. Ellie was very nice and did a great job on camera. She made a huge cake that all of us enjoyed very much. The slices she cut were so big that some workers at WBRE couldn’t finish the delicious dessert. One interesting thing about Ellie is that she made Doctor Oz’s birthday cake last year.

Our Tuesday, November 1 and Thursday, November 3 shows were packed with great food and entertainment!

My Job at PA Live! #1

November 1

When I tell everyone I intern at WBRE’s PA Live!, the first thing I get asked is “What do you do there?” I’ve decided to spend a couple entries describing what I do for my internship.

One of my jobs at the intership is to help book guests for the show. My first couple weeks on the job I spent a lot of time calling all restaurants in the area to see if they would come on the show for our cooking segment. Some restaurants were thrilled that they were asked to be on the show and others were rude. If I were a restaurant owner, I would jump on the opportunity to cook on live television and promote my business. After making many calls, I was able to help book up all the empty days that needed a restaurant segment.

In addition to getting guests for the cooking segment, I also search for events going on in the community for the Your Community Live segment. One guest I booked was having a Halloweeen show to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network. Kate Synder from the Children’s Miracle Network appeared on the show with a member from the halloween show. I knew Kate Synder because of my involvement with the Children’s Miracle Network. I was thrilled that we were able to get her on the show to promote this event.

Every so often, Dave and Monica ask me if I know any local bands or music guests that would be good for the show. Since I’ve been involved in music for a nearly my entire life, I know a lot of people with musical talents. One of my friends and fellow Wilkes classmate Todd Oravic is a member of the local band Just Blush. They have a great high-quality music video so I knew they would be perfect for the show. I suggested the band to Monica and Dave, and after previewing the music video we booked them for the show.

One guest that I was delighted to get on the show was my fellow classmate Faith Lane. Faith, as I mentioned in a previous post, makes homemade sweet potato pies and donates a portion of the proceeds to charity. This November, she is making them and donating money raised to the Salvation Army’s Kettle Drive. Because of her great personality and dedication to doing great things for this community, I wanted to give her the opportunity to come on the show and bake her pies. Dave and Monica loved the idea, and we were able to get her on the show. Faith did a great job, and I am thrilled that we were able to get her on the show.

Halloween at PA Live!

October 31

I made sure to come in for this special holiday show today. Dave and Monica were dressed in awesome beach attire, PA Live’s parenting guy was dressed as Ben Franklin, and even J.W. Colwell was dressed in costume.

J.W. Colwell, movie guy, told viewers what his favorite scarey movies are. Dr. David Palmiter from Marywood University talked about holiday rituals and the psychological health of a family. Kelly Alexander from The Cake Studio in Dupont made delicious Halloween cake pops.

Here are some of the pictures from the Halloween show:

Monica in her Halloween costume

Monica, Dave, and J.W. in their costumes

Halloween cake made by Cake Studio

End of Halloween show in the kitchen

A Familiar Face on PA Live!

October 25

I intern with the show on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Tuesdays are like a Monday to me. I was looking forward to this show because one of my classmates, Faith Lane, was coming on the show today.

Faith owns her own business called Faith’s Homemade Sweet Potato Pies. A portion of the proceeds from her sales goes to charity. This November Faith teamed up with Zebra Communications, the student-run public relations agency at Wilkes University, to help raise money for the Salvation Army’s Kettle Drive. Each pie is $10.00 and a portion of each pie goes to this wonderful cause.

I wanted to get Faith on the show because she has such a great personality, and I wanted her to have the opportunity to promote such a wonderful cause. Despite being a little nervous, Faith did a marvelous job during the show. I really liked that she got Monica involved with mixing the pies.

Faith had pies baking in the oven throughout the show. This made the whole studio smell wonderful. The smell reminded me of Thanksgiving and Fall.

I never had a sweet potato pie prior to this show so I was a little skeptical of what it was going to taste like. After an hour of smelling, I was finally able to have my first taste of a sweet potato pie. The pie was delicious. I think the pie was better than a pumpkin pie. That is huge for me to say because pumpkin pies are the only pies I eat at Thanksgiving.

After the show, many from WBRE said that they definitely were going to order a pie from Faith because they liked it so much. I’m ordering a few pies for my family and friends for Thanksgiving.

If you would like to order a delicious pie and help out a great cause at the same time, call Zebra Communications at (570) 408-4158. Orders will be taken until November 11th. Pies will be available for pickup on November 21st and 22nd.

Can You Say ‘Old Forge Pizza’?

October 21

It seems like our Fridays at PA Live! are always extremely busy because of our pep rallies. This Friday wasn’t as busy as when Hanover was on, but there still were a lot of guests.

Entertaining us today were members of the Wyoming Area band and cheerleaders. They all did a great job, and brought a lot of energy to the studio.

We had previews of movies and information about an event at the Wyoming Free Library, but the smell of Old Forge Pizza hit the spot on this Friday.

Pat Revello from Revello’s Café in Old Forge was on the show today making his signature pizza. He started making pizzas at the beginning of the show so my stomach was growling for literally an hour before I could eat. Staff members from WBRE were coming in throughout the show asking me if I could snatch them a piece of pizza prior to the end of the show.

When the end of the show came, everyone devoured the pizza. We were all so thankful to Pat Revello for making over eight pies for us. I was shocked at how much the Wyoming Area band and cheerleaders ate. All of us at WBRE had to fight for a slice of pizza. Once again on this Friday, employees from all over the WBRE building were coming in for a slice of the delicious Old Forge pizza that we all love.

After being able to eat a few slices of pizza, I helped Pat Revello and the Wyoming Area band and cheerleaders carry stuff out of the studio. With a full stomach, I helped post the video from the show to the web.

I left week four of the internship full, but wishing that I had a tray of Revello’s pizza to eat for the ride home.

 

A Busy Friday with My Alma Mater

 

Monica Madeja and I taking a picture with Hanover's lead singer Melissa Steininger.

 

October 17

When I first arrived at the internship today, I was told that this was going to be a packed show with more guests than we ever had. Usually Fridays are the easy end of the week days, but this particular Friday was the exact opposite.

On the show today for our pep rally was Hanover Area, my alma mater. Most schools bring a couple cheerleaders and band members. This was not the case with Hanover. Hanover brought about twenty cheerleaders and over twenty band members. Since Hanover’s band is electronic, I helped the technical guys carry equipment into the studio about an hour prior to the show.

Hanover does not have a marching band. The band is called Fusion. Fusion is a show that combines percussion, keyboards, guitars, singers, traditional marching band instruments, color guard, cheerleaders, and a dance team all into one show.

Fusion did great on the show. They performed two of their songs and really entertained everyone at WBRE. One of my good friends, Melissa Steininger, is the lead singer in Fusion. I chose her to be interviewed by Dave since she was in the band for all six of her high school years. She did great in the interview and sang amazing as well.

The Hanover Cheerleaders got everyone fired up for the big game with their energy and enthusiasm.

Despite having so many guests from Hanover on the show, we also had our chef, a community live guest, and our movie guy.

John Rivero from Beer Deli in Forty-Fort made enough cheesesteaks and hoagies to feed all of us in the studio.

It was great to see so many faces from Hanover that I haven’t seen in a while. This was a great show to end the week.

Bunnies and Greek Desserts

October 11

What a show today! We had bunny rabbits that were bigger than me and enough Greek desserts to feed an army.

The popular Nick Jr. stars Max and Ruby were on the show today with their spokesperson Sarah to promote their upcoming show at the F.M. Kirby Center. Max and Ruby are rabbits for those of you who may not know. The energetic Sarah was on the show to speak on their behalf since the rabbits do not speak. I must say that it was quite interesting to see two big rabbits standing alongside Dave and Monica.

In the kitchen were Theresa Karambelas and Harriet Koukoltsios from the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. They made so many delicious Greek desserts. Both of them were very good on camera and had great personalities. After the show, I was treated to some of these desserts that I can’t even pronounce. They also brought along one of my favorite Greek desserts baklava. This was definitely a day where WBRE employees were coming from all over to taste these delicious treats.

A Delicious Friday with Great Music

 

September 30

After a busy first week at PA Live!, I was treated to great food and music on our Friday pep rally show.

Plumpy’s Pierogies was in the kitchen making all different types of pierogies. They made the traditional potato cheese filling. The potato cheese pierogies were great, but the cheese steak pierogies were different and out of this world. I love to try different and unique things.

Coughling’s band and cheerleaders brought life to the studio with their wonderful music and enthusiastic cheers. I was in Hanover Area’s band Fusion. When I told Coughlin’s band director I was in Fusion she said, “Oh, I know the Fusion band.”

Also on the show today was Justin Brown from The Weekender. He gave viewers information about all different events going on in the area this weekend. PA Live! Movie Guy, J.W. Colwell, gave his picks for the movies to see this weekend.

While leaving the internship, I was well fed, entertained, and had many ideas for possible events and movies to go to.

My First Day

 September 27

My first day on the job began with an interview with Kyla Campbell, WBRE morning news anchor. I scheduled this interview with her for a class assignment prior to getting the internship. Kyla was so nice and provided me with a lot of information about the television reporting industry.

After interviewing Kyla, I met with Dave Kuharchik and Monica Madeja, hosts of PA Live! They showed me the beautiful set and introduced me to the director, producer, and other WBRE employees.

I was surprised to run into Wilkes Alumni Anthony Dorunda on my first day. He graduated from Wilkes in Spring 2011, and I worked with him during my freshman year with the Wilke’s television show Wilkes World. He is now employed at WBRE. It was great to see another familiar face on my first day.

The show on this Tuesday was very busy. We had our weekly NEPA blogger Harold Jenkins on. Also on the show was the Jeanie Zano Band. I didn’t know Jeanie Pisano personally, but I felt like I knew her. I grew up listening to Jeanie sing at local bazaars when she was with Flaxy Morgan. I also listened to her CD that she released. She has an amazing voice and her songs are great. One song that stands out is the touching Eight Years of Life.

I really enjoyed my first day, and I look forward to working here for the next few months.

Intern at PA Live!

September 25

I’m Dominick Costantino, and I’m a sophomore Communications major at Wilkes University. I was thrilled when the opportunity became available to intern at WBRE for their new talk show PA Live! This show features guests from all over northeastern and central Pennsylvania. PA Live! Is the areas only local talk show, which made the internship even more appealing.

In 2005, I was the Poster Child for the Children’s Miracle Network after going through numerous surgeries at the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville, Pennsylvania. The past two years I had the wonderful opportunity to help host the yearly telethon along with another former miracle kid. Since WBRE/WYOU personalities host the telethon, I already knew a lot of people before coming in to start the internship. Dave Kuharchik, host of PA Live!, was a host for the telethon during my first year with Children’s Miracle Network in 2005. I guess you can say I knew Dave for quite some time.

I’m very excited to begin my internship!