ARTS EAST

When Daniel Lanois takes the stage at The Playhouse in Fredericton tonight, the musical mélange will be both fresh and familiar for fans. “It’s just the three of us (Lanois, drummer Brian Blade and bassist Jim Wilson),” explains the multi award-winning singer-songwriter-producer. “Instruments, sampling, dubbing and processing will all happen in real time – essentially, we are bringing the studio to the stage. So, anything can happen musically on any given night, which can be very exciting for both the artists and the audience.” Expect a few classic tracks as well, he says. “I know how much the folks out East love the stuff from Acadie and (For the Beauty of) Wynona. Some of those song are 20-25 years old, but they hold their own and I still enjoy playing them.” Lanois has been busy since his last appearances in Atlantic Canada. After producing new music for the likes of U2, Sinead O’Conner, Neil Young, Brandon Flowers and The Killers, and working with his pet proje...

Binnie Brennan is an award-winning author and musician based in Halifax. She is a graduate of Queen’s University and the Humber School for Writers, and a long-time member of Symphony Nova Scotia’s viola section. Recently we spoke with her about her third book – and first novel - Like Any Other Monday - a fictional portrait of the young comic genius, Buster Keaton.   What inspired you to write this story? It was a combination of things. I developed a keen interest in the vaudeville era after reading Marina Endicott’s novel, The Little Shadows , which is set in the western Canadian vaudeville circuit. I just couldn’t pull myself out of the era, or shake some of the characters – one in particular, a secondary character who was modeled after the great silent film comedian Buster Keaton, who turns out to have been a child prodigy on the vaudeville stage. I began doing research and flooded myself with information without having a novel in mind, although I was writing all manner...

Halifax’s Live Art Dance jump-starts its season with a ‘ visceral, physical, and emotional experience’ this weekend with Eesti: Myths & Machines, Peter Trostzmer’s voyage of self-discovery that reveals the resiliency of the human spirit and the ravages time exerts on our collective memory. Recently we spoke with the performer about the production. When and why did you first become interested in dance? I guess I became interested when I was in 1st year University. My roomate danced and a friend at work danced. I think before this I did not know it was something one could do. It was not for a few more years before I began to study it myself. I took a movement class for actors in my last year of studies at Concordia University - it was after this that I began to study and train full time. Before this I took movement classes (some martial arts and ballroom classes mainly) Are they the same reasons that you continue to be involved today? No - completely different I thin...

Next Saturday evening (September 27), there is a festival going on that you won’t want to miss. The 3 rd annual Afterglow Art Festival in Bridgewater, NS takes place from 6 to 11pm, featuring 35 or more artists, performances and installations along King Street. To whet your aesthetic appetite, we caught up with Ashton Rodenhiser , Afterglow’s founder. Ashton, tell us a little bit about your own artistic background? AR: I'm a dabbler. I play many instruments, like bass and acoustic guitar, piano, mandolin, autoharp and as well I sing. I paint with acrylics as well as do some mixed media are and love to needle felt and make things out of wool. My life is a canvas and I try to incorporate creativity into my life on a daily basis. I'm also a graphic facilitator.  What inspired you to found the Afterglow Festival in Bridgewater? AR: I founded this event in 2012. After living in Dartmouth for a few years and attending the Nocturne event in Halifax I was reall...

Halifax’s Theatre Arts Guild gets its 2014-2015 season into gear tonight with Doubt; A Parable, John Patrick Shanley’s compelling tale of a young priest in 1960’s New York City. Recently we spoke with the show’s director Emily Jewer about what audiences can expect during the run. How long have you been involved in theatre, and in what capacity? I’ve always been involved in theatre, in one way or another, as long as I can remember. My first play was in daycare, when I was maybe 4 years old, as a mermaid in Peter Pan. I totally rocked that sparkly tail! In high school I helped run the drama club and participated in workshops and classes as much as possible which continued into university at Mount Allison and working at Windsor Theatre and the local professional theatre Live Bait. I’ve done just about everything you can do, acting, costumes, stage management, set design, producing and now directing. I love how collaborative theatre is, you can’t create a show with only one person...

The Atlantic Film Festival is not strictly for film pros, critics or connoisseurs. It is for anyone who has a love, or at least a curiosity, for film. The 34 th Atlantic Film Festival (AFF) opens Thursday, September 11 and will present more than 200 films and special events over eight days across the Halifax region. “ I’ve landed my dream job because I’m absolutely obsessed with films and have been all my life,” shares AFF’s executive director and native New Brunswicker, Wayne Carter. “We’re very lucky that the Atlantic Film Festival is able to be the champion first and foremost of our regional film community and our industry and what it’s producing. Atlantic Canadians make a lot of content and interestingly enough, they make a lot of films about being Atlantic Canadian. They make no bones about the fact that they’re filmed here, and they’re very much about the experience about being here. That gives us a very interesting story to tell.” Carter says in recent years the...

Neptune Theatre in Halifax kicks-off its 2014-2015 season this week with Into The Woods, the multi-award winning take on Disney’s classic characters. Recently we spoke with actor Ann Doyle about her role in the production. What are your own roots? I am from Gander, Newfoundland. When and why did you first become interested in theatre? I started performing in school plays in Junior High. My friends encouraged me to get involved and I had a huge passion for it right off the bat. I couldn't wait to finish my school day so I could rehearse and memorize my lines. I loved being a part of the whole process from beginning to end, as well as developing relationships with the people I was working with. Are they the same reasons that you continue to be involved today? I feel the same way today. I'm never as happy and motivated as when I'm working in the theatre world, whether it be through acting or writing a new play. It's an intense process and you develop quick...

By Martin Wallace Martin Wallace describes his “oh-so-risky” experience at the Atlantic Fringe Festival in Halifax, and delves into three of the plays which you can still attend today and tomorrow: The Adversary , Bus Stop Theatre, Saturday Sept 6, 3:00 pm ‘ Dentity Crisis , Theatre NS The Living Room, Saturday Sept 6, 8:40 pm How Often Do I Dream , Plan B, Sunday Sept 7, 7:00 pm Fringing, let’s face it, is a risky business. There’s the often sweltering venues, the occasionally amateurish acting, the sometimes offensive-for-the-sake-of-being-offensive storylines and dialogue. (This nadir for me this year was the audience member who decided that, since he was himself a performer, he should somehow be part of every performance he saw.) But that risk, the risk that you might be offended, be bored, be filled with the wish that you could be somewhere—anywhere—else, is precisely what makes those of us who attend the Atlantic Fringe Festival come religiously yea...

The Muted Note is a poetry, music, dance and improvisation project inspired by the verses of P.K. Page (Patricia Kathleen Page, 1916-2010). P.K. Page grew up in Saint John, New Brunswick where she started to write poetry to become one of the country’s celebrated wordsmiths. Under the P.K. Irwin pseudonym she also created visual art and some of her works are featured at the National Gallery of Canada and other prestigious museums. Susanna Hood, The Muted Note Photo: Frédérique Ménard-Aubin Montreal-based Scott Thomson, a prolific trombonist and composer, and Susanna Hood, an award winning dance performer/choreographer, are the artistic brains behind The Muted Note. The stage work of the production will premiere in Toronto Friday-Sunday, September 5-7 , at the Citadel Theatre. From there they will embark on a massive tour performing the project in nine Canadian provinces.  Atlantic Canadian dates include September 10 at Back Street Records, Saint John NB (als...