ARTS EAST

One of Canada’s finest playwrights is back with a powerful new play that explores the relationship formed in a Washington State penitentiary during the 1960s between Alvin ‘Creepy’ Karpis and Charles Manson. Recently we spoke with Mike Melski about his new work - which debuts this coming Thursday night in Halifax - and what audiences can expect during the run. What inspired you to write Creepy & Little Manson? I've been compelled by the Manson story for a long time. Professionally, I wanted to do something very different from Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad , The Fly Fisher's Companion , and Eighteen . I needed to challenge myself with something very different. My career began with very dark material like Joyride , Heartspent , and Black Silence , so I was looking forward to going back there for a change. When I realized Alvin Karpis was a Canadian, I felt like there was a connection to my home country there that had never been explored in all the narratives about Manson. A...

This week, The Villain’s Theatre in Halifax presents ‘Women Beware Women’, a sharp, ruthless, power trip of a play – picture a feminist Taming of the Shrew that unravels into Titus Andronicus – with a fast-paced narrative that leaves very few standing and no one looking good. Recently we spoke with director Keelin Jack about what audiences can expect. What are your own roots? I was born in Tatamagouche, and grew up mostly in Truro. How long have you been involved in theater, and in what capacity? I started doing theatre in high school - I had been pretty dedicated to competitive horseback riding, and my horse got injured so I ended up at summer theatre camps, Neptune Theatre School and NOSCO Academy of Theatre Arts in Truro. The high school I went to, Cobequid Educational Centre in Truro, had a surprisingly excellent Fine Arts department, led by some really great teachers like Frank Lambert and Larry Bent and I got to do cool and precocious things like write and direc...