ARTS EAST

If you haven’t left town for the long weekend, you’ll be happy to know that in Halifax a footlights-filled weekend awaits you. Today through holiday Monday, Atlantic Fringe Festival performances take the stage all afternoon and evening. And if you are away, you can still get your Fringe Fix next week until September 8 th ! Two of the productions that open today are Wave On, Ocean Blue (2:45pm at the Museum of Natural History) and Funny, Daddy (7pm at Neptune Studio) . Wave On, Ocean Blue Last year, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia’s Kenzie Delo made his Atlantic Fringe debut with his play If We Were More. The actor, playwright, Busker and Halifax Citadel interpreter returns to the festival with his heated fishing village drama, Wave On, Ocean Blue. Tell us a little bit about your background in theatre/performance/writing. KD: I've been acting since grade 7, when I starred in a middle school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream . The role of Puck was ...

Ryan Van Horne Throughout the years, you have probably read some of the news pieces reported by Ryan Van Horne, a prolific journalist, writer, editor and columnist based in Halifax. More recently Van Horne has tapped into his instinctual affinity for dramaturgy to compose  The Department of Common Sense.  Although a work of fiction, it is inspired by a particular story that stemmed from his four years as a governmental communications consultant.  “ When I would go to parties and tell this story, people’s jaws would drop, but, as absurd as it was, they did believe it because governments and bureaucrats can do some pretty stupid things,”  Van Horne describes on his  website .  Arts East  caught up with Van Horne to learn more about the play (which begins its  Atlantic Fringe  run tomorrow night) and the new directions his creative juices are taking him. Department of Common Sense:   Fiona Kirkpatrick Parsons, as Sop...

The 23 rd Atlantic Fringe Festival kicks off tonight in Halifax! Yesterday we posted an interview with Nancy Kenny , the writer/performer of Roller Derby Saved My Soul, which opens tonight at the Museum of Natural History Theatre. Today we’ll share the intriguing insights from two more passionate playwrights featured at this year’s Fringe! Half Girl/Half Face Hailing from Toronto, Half Girl/Half Face (Surplus-Value Theatre) describes the journey of ‘YOUNG-GIRL’ whose face has gone viral. Arts East caught up with the tragic farce’s writer and director,  Zo ë Erwin-Longstaff. What was your inspiration for writing the play? ZEL:  Young women b. 1994–96 who lit up my Facebook once they hit a certain age this past year. They began to construct online personas that weren’t only exuberant and brash, but also sentimental, saccharine—and notably, sexualized. It came out in status updates, pix, captions, quotes, cover photos, and w...

Known as the largest theatre festival in Atlantic Canada, the 23 rd Atlantic Fringe Festival opens tomorrow night and runs until September 8 th . Over 11 days, more than 50 plays and productions (hailing from the region, across the country and even Germany and Argentina) will treat audiences at 11 different venues in Halifax. In this year’s published program, the festival’s Chair, Kevin Kindred, explains the “magic” of fringe festivals. “Because the principles of Fringe theatre require that there be very few barriers to artists, and a low-cost ticket for the audience…you’ll see touring performers alongside local favorites, seasoned veterans alongside brand new faces, and traditional theatre venues alongside spaces that aren’t usually used for live performance… ” Over the next few days, Arts East will be sharing musings from some of the creative minds behind this year’s plays. We start with actor, producer, marketing professional and writer/performer of Roller Derby Sa...

Story by Meghan Lafferty The Island Fringe Festival in PEI is quickly approaching! From August 29 th to the 31 st , you will have the chance to witness independent and alternative theatre, comedy, dance and more, all from local Island artists! In addition to this, the Island Fringe Festival also gives Canadian and International theatre companies a chance to bring their shows to PEI and make connections with Island artists.  Shows can be found all over downtown Charlottetown in some very unconventional venues. Show venues include coffee shops, the wharf, and town square!  I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to speak with one of the playwrights, Malcolm Murray. Malcolm wrote The Abettor; a ‘creepy’ play which will be shown at several points during the festival. The Abettor is described as a play about ‘murder and corpse disposal’ – a very interesting and dark description that caught my attention almost instantly. Thankfully, I had the chance to ask Malcolm ...

When The Ascot Royals take the stage in Halifax tonight and in Sydney tomorrow night, they will be doing what they do best; connecting with concert goers. Recently the band took a break from their extensive touring to connect with AE . The Band We are a fairly multicultural band. Brothers Ben and Jimmy Chauveau (keyboards and vocals)are from a small town outside of London, England. Sam Stark (drums) and Scott Page (bass) are from Ontario and guitar player Tal Vaisman moved to Canada 4 years ago from Israel. The band went through a few line up changes throughout its existence before solidifying this current line-up.  Most of us met each other through McMaster University in Hamilton and Metalworks Institute in Mississauga. In early 2013 we released "Don't Let It Stop You,” our debut full length album.  The Album We spent most of 2012 writing and recording and mixing the album. The writing process was pretty much the most collaborative effort one can imagi...

♫  Click on the  AE  logo to  listen to our Mini Music Podcast, featuring talent from across Atlantic Canada  ♫ : Featured Musicians/Songs: Christine Campbell (with Matt Anderson): “Severed Strings” from her Debut Solo Album Christine Campbell (January 2013) http://christinecampbellmusic.ca https://www.facebook.com/christinecampbellfromstonemary Shadow Folk : “Kensington Hill” from their new EP Seagull Visions (just released by Poncho Records). http://shadowfolk.bandcamp.com/album/seagull-visions https://www.facebook.com/shadowfolkmusic http://shadowfolk.tumblr.com/ Jim Payne and Fergus O’Byrne : “Waltz Around the Cape” from the album How Good is Me Life! (SingSong Inc.) http://www.singsonginc.ca/index.php/artists/jim-payne Paul Broadbent : “Roll Waves Away” from his latest album The Stratford Sessions (produced with Steve Love, 2012) https://sites.google.com/site/jpaulbroadbentmusic/home https://www.facebook...