ARTS EAST

Angela Campagnoni’s latest children’s book provides parents and grandparents with a simple yet profound tool to help children understand grief and loss through story. Recently we spoke with the author about the work. What inspired you to write  I Want to See My Papa ? Originally I was in the process of working on a children’s book my father wrote back in the 80’s, I thought it would be a wonderful tribute to him while then continuing his original ideas for the series, but then I literally woke up on night and wrote this story. In that moment I knew that this was going to be the best way tribute him by helping other children deal with loss. What was the most challenging aspect of the process?  I would definitely say that I was my most challenging aspect. Meaning that throughout the process if any self-doubt started to creep in or if I started to worry that people wouldn’t identify with the story, I had to remind myself to step back and remember why I was doing th...

Starting this week, Neptune Theatre in Halifax presents The Boat, Alistair MacLeod’s classic tale of life in a small Cape Breton fishing village in the 1940s. Recently we spoke with the production’s artistic director, Thomas Morgan Jones of Theatre New Brunswick, about what audiences can expect. What are your own roots? I was born in Oshawa, Ontario to one parent from the United States and the other from England. How long have you been involved in theater, and in what capacity? I’ve had the good fortune of creating theatre for over fifteen years both nationally and internationally. I adore all theatre, and have worked with new plays, musicals, theatre for young audience, dance and many other forms as a director, playwright, movement coach, dramaturg and teacher. How did you get involved with this particular production? In my position as artistic director of Theatre New Brunswick, one of the most exciting and enriching parts of my work is that I ca...

Jen Powley was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at fifteen. By thirty-five, she had lost the use of her arms and legs. Just Jen   is a powerful memoir that tells the story of Powley’s life at the time of her diagnosis, and the infinite, irrevocable ways it has changed since. Powley’s writing pulls no punches. She is lively, bold and unapologetic, answering questions people are often afraid to ask about living with a progressive disease. And yet, these snapshots from Powley’s life are not tinged with anger or despair. Just Jen is a powerful, uplifting and unforgettable work by an author who has laid her life — and her body — bare in order to survive. What is your own ethnicity/heritage? I am third-generation Ukrainian-Canadian, I am also from Alberta, which seems to think of itself as a country in its own right, but I wised up and moved to the Maritimes. Which was when I was 23. When and why did you want to be a writer? I never wanted to be a writer. I like...