Rachel Lewis Hilburn

Nina Repeta is forever recognizable as Bessie Potter, the older sister of Katie Holmes’ character on the iconic TV show, Dawson’s Creek, which continues to find new generations of fans. She's also appeared in several episodes of Matlock (and died several times), Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (NOT Fried Green Tomatoes), and Radioland Murders.

Tony Rivenbark grew up in Duplin County and wanted to go to college at the smallest branch in the University of North Carolina system. So he came to Wilmington. He walked into Thalian Hall in 1966, which, as he says, for good or ill, set the course for the rest of his life. In this episode, we hear him talk about local history, Shakespeare, historic Thalian Hall, and the importance of story.

Micky Dolenz, lead singer and drummer for The Monkees, agrees his most recognizable artistic achievement is his time on the TV show and with the band, but it hardly captures the breadth of his show-business career. Starting in the 1950s on the TV show Circus Boy, he played Corky, the waterboy for the elephants. He went on to perform in and direct musical theater in the West End, direct and produce TV shows for the BBC, and he continued touring as a musician. But his first loves remain architecture and science.

Micky Dolenz, lead singer and drummer for The Monkees, agrees his most recognizable artistic achievement is his time on the TV show and with the band, but it hardly captures the breadth of his show-business career. Starting in the 1950s on the TV show Circus Boy, he played Corky, the waterboy for the elephants. He went on to perform in and direct musical theater in the West End, direct and produce TV shows for the BBC, and he continued touring as a musician. But his first loves remain architecture and science.

Wiley Cash is working to demystify the creative process for himself and his online community. Creativity, he says, comes through engagement with the world — observing it, surrendering to it. It’s his fascination with his own creative process and pointing others in the direction of their own creative flow, whether writing or some other art form, that we explore on this edition of CoastLine.

Matt Sullivan's film production responsibilities have ranged from puppeteering baby bats to icing a female actor's nipples to brushing out the nap on carpet to hide tracks. While he's moved up through the ranks from a nonunion jack-of-all-trades employee to a union department head as Set Decorator, he still sees the precision, discipline, clarity, and intelligence of a Coen Brothers' film as the most rewarding of his career.

Author Philip Gerard contends the incorrect and incomplete narrative surrounding the Civil War perpetuates the great partisan divide. Once the gunfire ended and North Carolina rejoined the Union, questions about civil rights and race should have been settled. But they weren’t. The battle still rages. How to move towards a more perfect union? Education, he says, is key.

The women who join Alpha Kappa Alpha make a commitment to a lifetime of service. How that service is delivered and what the areas of focus are might differ from generation to generation and from city to city, but the end goal is the same: empowerment and expanded possibility for underserved people. Chrystal Fray and Jhaniqua Palmer are members of AKA's Wilmington chapter.

The Honey Head filmmakers describe what they do as putting a narrative spin on the creative world. The company is run and staffed by women. They say they’re breaking down barriers not only as female filmmakers — but as full-time working artists in Wilmington, North Carolina.

After working on the movie, Firestarter, in Wilmington in the early 1980s, Bobby Huber rose through the ranks, his circus rigging experience preparing him well for the job of key grip. His work helped earn Oscars in cinematography for two films: Braveheart and Legends of the Fall.