Archives
My review of Globe Theatre’s production of Marion Bridge…
...has already shown up online, even though it won't appear in print until tomorrow. This is the first time I've seen something I've written pop up that far ahead of the ink-on-paper version, though maybe I just haven't noticed until now. The review begins: I confess that I went into the opening night performance of Marion Bridge at Globe Theatre feeling skeptical. The premise, after all, sounds like the set-up to a joke: "A nun, an actress and a soap-opera addict walk into a kitchen ..." Not only that, the fact the three are sisters home together — in Cape Breton, no less — for the first time in years because their mother is dying made me fear I faced a turgid ...My preview of Globe Theatre’s upcoming production of Marion Bridge…
...is in today's Regina Leader Post. It begins: The 18th-century French poet Jacques Delille famously noted that while we can choose our friends, "Fate chooses our relatives." More than one family has fractured because siblings discover they have nothing in common with each other ... which is exactly what has happened to the family in Marion Bridge, Globe Theatre's next mainstage production, running Jan. 20 to Feb. 6. Written by Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor, Marion Bridge is set in Cape Breton, where the three MacKeigan sisters have come together to care for their dying mother. Aside from their last names, they have nothing in common. Theresa (Laura Condlin) is a nun. Agnes (Liz Gilroy) is a struggling actor. And then there's ...My preview of Globe Theatre’s production of Peter Pan…
...is in today's Regina Leader Post. It begins: For Ruth Smillie, artistic director of Globe Theatre, the key to Globe's upcoming production of J.M. Barrie's classic tale of Peter Pan is that children don't differentiate between reality and make-believe the way adults to. Smillie, who is directing the production, recalls that this past summer she overheard a group of boys walking up and down the street, "very engaged in what they were doing," and overheard them say, "We have to save the president," with "enormous concern and conviction." It's that kind of immersion in the world of make-believe that Smillie hopes Globe's Peter Pan will provide to people of all ages.Tent Meeting featured in LeaderPost
No, I haven't been blogging much. There's the novel to rewrite and the Johnny Cash biography to proofread and Fine Lifestyles Regina editing duties to look after and...well, lots. Including directing and being part of the cast of Tent Meeting, Regina Lyric Musical Theatre's fall show, which opens next Tuesday, November 3, and runs through November 8 at the Shumiatcher Theatre in the MacKenzie Art Gallery. I'd tell you about it, but you can read all about it in today's Regina LeaderPost. The story begins: Regina Lyric Musical Theatre's production of the gospel-flavoured musical Tent Meeting opens on Tuesday. Edward Willett, who is directing and performing in the play, ...My preview of the Regina Little Theatre One-Act Plays Cabaret…
...is in today's LeaderPost. It begins: Before Angel Genereux became the producer of Regina Little Theatre's programs of one-act plays in 2007, they were seen strictly as a venue for new talent on and backstage, and traditionally drew small audiences. Genereux thought they could draw new audience members, too. She boosted publicity. The result: last spring's one-acts drew record crowds and made money for the first time ever. "It's a chance to see what RLT is all about," she says. "And it's cheap: 10 bucks!" Fast-forward to this fall. Genereux is no longer the producer of the one-acts (she's moving up to producing the main-stage shows), but she's still involved. She's directing one of the three short comedies featured in RLT's Comedy Cabaret ...My preview of the Regina Fringe Festival…
...and in particular of Julia Mackey's play Jake's Gift, is in today's LeaderPost. An excerpt: Mackey says one of the main reasons she created the show was to let veterans know that a lot of people really do appreciate the sacrifices they made. Another was to educate children, and Jake's Gift, Mackey says, elicits the same "amazing" response from 10-year-olds as it does their elders. "Those young kids really get it, and it makes them interested in history. They come up to me afterwards and want to know more about the war and Remembrance Day. That's such an incredible reward."Two more Follies performances left…
Jeff Tonita and company sing "Live, Laugh, Love" [caption id="attachment_9154" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Eduardo and Monica Ventura dance "Bolero D'Amour""][/caption] ...and then I can think about other things again. After a week of rehearsals and performances mixed in with other stuff, I was more tired after last night's show than I think can remember ever being before. But a good night's sleep took care of that, and now I'm looking forward to the final show tonight. [caption id="attachment_9153" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Marianne Woods as Stella Deems and Aubree Erickson as Young Stell, "Who's That Woman?""]...LeaderPost preview of Follies, avec moi
[caption id="attachment_9118" align="alignright" width="300" caption="From left to right, Donna Trainor, Jeff Tonita, Amanda Dancsok, Dianne Burrows, and me."][/caption] Today's Regina LeaderPost has a preview of next week's Lyric Musical Theatre production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies, in which I play Buddy Plummer. And no, I didn't write it myself. Kelly-Anne Reiss did the honours; the photo is by Tony Fleece. Here's an excerpt: Regina audiences are in for a rare treat as the Lyric Musical Theatre of Regina will be putting on a full stage production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies. There has not been a staging of the entire musical in Canada for years, even though several of the songs, including "Broadway Baby," ...Professional entertainment, amateur audiences
Last night I attended the Conservatory of Performing Arts Ballet Program's outstanding production of La Fille mal Gardée at the University Theatre at the University of Regina. The production was just one more example of the incredible depth of talent we have here in Regina, demonstrated both by the young people who did the dancing and the adults who taught and guided them--in this case, Ana Maria Campos and Nathalia Barbara. The two young leads, Marcelle Pieri as Lise and Wade McLean as Colas, were wonderful to watch. Marcelle in particular was delightful, lighting up the stage so that the audience fell instantly in love with her. A personal highlight for me was the performance ...The shock of the new
The Apple Tree, the Broadway musical Regina Lyric Light Opera is presenting at the Shumiatcher Theatre in the Mackenzie Art Gallery through Sunday afternoon, is a fabulous, funny show that shouldn't be missed. Unfortunately, judging by the half-full houses on Wednesday and Thursday, it is being missed, by far too many people. Why? Most likely because it's not a well-known show. Never mind the fact the original ran for 463 performances on Broadway in 1967 and was nominated for six Tony awards. Never mind that its creators, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, are the same songwriting team that gave us Fiddler on the Roof, one of the most popular musicals of ...
Edward Willett is a The Shards of Excalibur, Book 1: Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel, coming in October from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
