ARTS EAST

Renown Canadian jazz vocalist Emilie-Claire Barlow tours Atlantic Canada over the coming week, with stops in Fredericton, Saint John, Moncton and Halifax. Recently AE spoke with her about her latest recording Lumières d’hiver. What are your roots? I am Canadian, born in Toronto, Ontario! Where do you currently reside? I move between Montreal, Toronto, and Southern Mexico How long have you been involved with music, and what inspired you to start? I’ve been involved in music ever since I can remember. Both of my parents are musicians. My mother is a singer and my father is a drummer. In the 70’s and 80’s they were both first-call studio musicians, so I spent a lot fo my childhood in Toronto studios. I started working professionally when I was about 8 or 9 years old. Music was and is our life, so it was just a natural thing for me to do. I learned to read music at a very early age. My parents could see that I expressed interest, and had a natural musicality. A...

Audiences across Atlantic Canada are in for a boatload of belly laughs over the coming week, as the renown musical comedy weaves its way through Moncton, Halifax, Pictou, Glace Bay and Charlottetown. Recently, AE check in with the show’s producer Janet Martin. When and why did you first become interested in theatre? I've been in theatre professionally for 35 years as an actor, and as a producer since 2014. Are they the same reasons that you continue to be involved today? I don't know how to do much else, and theatre really fulfills my soul. This way, I eat, sleep and breathe theatre. I believe in the power of live performance and always have. What are the challenges of the vocation? As an actor of a certain age, one must maintain the instrument, the body, voice, health etc. As a producer, it is risky - not for the faint of heart. Never go into this business (or any other) just for the money. There must be passion too. What are the rewards? The...

Paris! The Show is a vibrant tribute to the greatest French songs of the post-war years, featuring the music of Edith Piaf, Maurice Chevalier, Lucienne Boyer, Charles Trenet, Josephine Baker, Yves Montand, Charles Aznavour and Jacques Brel. Recently we spoke with the show’s writer, producer and director Gil Marsella about what Halifax audiences can expect on November 7. What is your own personal background? I am 48 years old, living in Nice, France, I am married, with 3 kids. I have a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Nice, and I studied piano with the Nice Conservatory Class of Jazz. What is your professional background? I was a professional musician at 16 years old, a musical director at 20 years old, and an artistic director at 25 years old. I became CEO of founder of Directo Productions in 2001. Since then, we have produced more than 300 concerts and events produced each year. When and why did you first get involved with this part...

By putting his province on the canvas, Gerald Squires helped put Newfoundland on the map Renowned Newfoundland artist Gerald Squires always claimed to show himself in his paintings, but it is Newfoundland - in all its rugged, enduring majesty - that shone through in his work. A prolific painter, sculptor, lithographer, and stained glass artist, Squires passed away from cancer in 2015 at the age of 77. An ardent advocate for ‘The Rock’ – as Canadians affectionately call the country’s easternmost province - he believed that something special was lost when Newfoundland joined Confederation in 1949. “We are only now beginning to get our dignity back,” he told journalist and fellow Newfoundland native Sandra Gwyn in the mid-1970s. In an article in the Globe and Mail following his death, Newfoundland writer Joan Sullivan credited Squires with playing a key role in restoring that dignity. “Always absolutely recognizable, over time his art became more representatio...

NONIA’s preservation of knitting traditions allows Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to wear their pride on their sleeves. Marie Hayward’s eyes widened when she was recently presented with a huge basket of wool. “When do I got to have that knit up?!” she asked with some alarm. Edna Duffett, president of the Newfoundland Outport Nursing and Industrial Association (NONIA), quickly assured her that it was a gift, to do with as she wished, and not another knitting order from the not-for-profit organization. Hayward was being recognized for 70 years of knitting at NONIA’s Annual General Meeting at Government House in St. John’s. The basket was a gift from a wool supplier. One of over 150 women around the province of Newfoundland and Labrador who knit for NONIA on a regular basis, Hayward is - amazingly - not the first to reach the 70-year milestone. Many of the group’s knitters are part of a family tradition, where mother, grandmothers, aunts, and others have contribute...

Comedian, author, and star of CBC Television’s hit series This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Mark Critch opens up to Arts East about his past, his path, and his home-province pride. What are your family's roots? My father's family lived in Gaskiers, St Mary's Bay. My great-grandfather was a fisherman, as was his son Patrick. My mother's people were Bells and they had a farm. Her grandmother was an O'Connell from Waterford, Ireland. When and why did you get into comedy and broadcasting? I first rented a theatre when I was 15 to do a sketch comedy show. I always wanted to write and perform my own material. From there I went on to become an actor, but the comedy took on a life of its own. I eventually landed a gig writing for 22 Minutes. From there, I ended up on air. Are they the same reasons that you do it today? Absolutely. I'm fortunate to make a living doing what I love, but if I wasn't working as much, I'd still be doing it. I love writing...

M ary Walsh, Newfoundland’s reigning queen of comedy, is having a few anxious moments as Canada: It’s Complicated - her new musical celebrating the country’s 150th anniversary - takes off to tour the country. The show is designed to showcase Canada’s history and diversity, providing a platform for emerging performers. Walsh is one of its writers. “We’ve got talented young people from all over everywhere coming together in this musical,” she says from her home in St. John’s. “I know it is going to be wonderful, but I’m more used to going down the street to Missus and asking her if she wants to be in a show.” A job as a radio host while she was still a teenager catapulted Walsh into a life on stage, in film, and on television. “The comedy came easy,” she recalls. “As a kid, being funny was one of the few things that was rewarded. “If you don’t have a sense of humour in Newfoundland you are not going to survive.” Many will remember Walsh in her role on CODCO,...