ARTS EAST

Girl meets girl. Girl marries girl. They want to have babies…but they need a little help. Until October 9, Neptune Theatre in Halifax presents Natalie Meisner’s witty and heartwarming Speed Dating for Sperm Donors . Recently we spoke with Halifax actor Marty Burt about what audiences can expect during the run. How long have you been involved in theater, and in what capacity? I have been working in the theatre for 25 years primarily as an actor, but occasionally as a director and very occasionally as a writer and dramaturge.   How did you get involved with this particular production? I have known Pamela Halstead, our director and producer, for many years. She asked if I would be interested in the project. Natalie Meisner -who grew up in Lockeport, NS - was a friend of mine from back in the early 90s when I first moved to Halifax. I've always liked Natalie's spirit and sensibility. I welcomed the chance to do one of her plays, especially a story based on her own ex...

Every family has its secrets. In 1935, Hannah Parsons left her home in Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland, at the age of seventeen to work in service for Charles and Virginia Sinclair, a wealthy St. John’s family. While working for them, Hannah catches the eye of the patriarch of the household, and her life takes an unexpected turn. Now, sixty years later, Charles Sinclair has passed, and his last living will and testament is about to throw his family into turmoil. His children and grandchildren learn that no family is as perfect as it seems, and that some secrets refuse to stay buried forever. From a Good Home   is a novel of family legacy among the St. John’s aristocracy. Recently we spoke with author Trudi Johnston about her first full-length novel. When and why did you want to be a writer? Since my childhood I have been an avid reader.When I was a teenager, I read John Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Saga and dreamed of writing a series about a family set in my home province of Newf...

This week, a little comedy about sad times will run for eight limited-seating performances at the 26th annual Atlantic Fringe Festival in Halifax.   dark matter    is a tiny, funny, micro-exploration of grief, told through a collision of astrophysics and the supernatural. Recently we spoke with writer/director Colleen MacIsaac about what audiences can expect. What are your own roots? I'm originally from Spruce Grove, Alberta, where I did a lot of visual art and theatre as a kid. I moved to Vancouver when I was eighteen to study animation, and then in 2007 my partner Dorian Lang and I moved to Halifax, on something of a quest for new adventures.  I love the people and the landscape and the scale of things here, and so we've been Haligonian-ing ever since!  How long have you been involved in theater, and in what capacity? My first foray into theatre was as a skunk in a holiday pageant at age seven. I was very interested in theatre in high scho...