ARTS EAST

In   The Call of the Ocean , Jim Wellman profiles some of the most fascinating men and women ever to answer the call of the North Atlantic. Recently we spoke with him about the book. When and why did you want to be a writer? I took an early retirement from the CBC in 1997. I had worked with the corporation for almost 30 years and for exactly half that time (the last half) I was host of the   Fisheries Broadcast . The “Broadcast” as it called, had an interesting story of is own and I decided to write it. My book “ The Broadcast”   was published in 1997. Are they the same reasons you do it today? The Broadcast   book made me realize that I liked writing. I had never written anything before but it was fun and made me want to do more. As luck would have it, just as my first book was published, I received a call from someone with the TriNav Group of Companies who wanted to start a fisheries publication. I began writing for the   Navigator Magazine ...

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...

The People Who Stay   is a tale of love and redemption in which the heart of family beats like the relentless tide against the rugged Newfoundland shores. Recently e spoke with author Samantha Rideout about the novel and her passion for writing. When and why did you want to be a writer? As my mother can attest courtesy of the hundreds of exercise books and binders filled with loose-leaf stories, I have been a diligent writer since I learned how to print. I was always mesmerized by the process of creative writing and how a few blank pages could transform into a something beyond reality. Plus, I was big fan of Robert Munsch. That guy spins a good story; comedy, heart, he has it all! My first grade teacher, Mrs. Barnes, was able to find me his address so I could send him fan mail. I think it’s the only fan mail I ever felt compelled to write, probably (in part) because mail is a fading out as vehicle to express admiration, but I wanted to write him because I was impressed w...

While Salt Water Moon is dubbed a love story, it is most the furious of love, the divine, the epic. Mo Duffy Cobb tells us more. Set in the 1920s in Newfoundland, the play opens outside the home of Mary Snow (played by Marli Trecartin). Her eyes are on the stars, as she tilts her headback into her telescope. The tension is high as young Jacob Mercer (played by Fraser McCallum) comes up the lane and into the yard: Mary arches her back, pierces her eyes, crosses her arms and looks away. “The least you could do is make a fist,” says Jacob. The audience is immediately drawn into the other side of passionate love - relentless conflict. “Black Beauty”, as her spyglass is affectionately known, spies the satellites of Jupiter as the two spar through their speckled history, up on Jenny’s Hill one night they shared together, “the new moon like a smile over the birch hills.”  The two were entwined, satellites moving towards the same sun, until Jacob up and moved to Toronto lookin...

Mo Duffy Cobb shares the magic of Spoon River, running until August 20 at the Charlottetown Centre of the arts. Welcome to the magic of Spoon River , a production of movement and music that transcends life and invites us into the hereafter. From the Soulpepper Theatre Company in Toronto to Confederation Centre’s The Mack, the stories of Spoon River come alive: a series of fictional epitaphs of the long-dead residents of the community. Adapted by Mike Ross and Albert Schultz, the production showcases the verses of Edgar Lee Masters from his 1915 publication, Spoon River Anthology . The show centers around the wake of a loved one, Bertie (played by Amanda LeBlanc) and the voices that have “carved our town”. From the moment the audience is greeted, there is mystery and intrigue. During the eerie opening, we are ushered through a graveyard where several tombstones stand in a lonesome grove of birch trees. The unusual setup peaks our interest even before begin the show, and remin...