ARTS & CULTURE
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City woman to launch first CD Saturday
“It was alwa y s a drea m , but it never reall y ca m e to fruition,” she said. Pressed about wh y it took her so long to finall y realize her m usical destination, she struggles to co m e up with a definitive an- swer. She eventuall y sur m ises a lack of confi- dence prevented her fro m sharing in the l y rical for m what were, in so m e cases, pro- found life experiences. “Absolutel y , it was a personal thing,” she concludes. “ELECTIC STYLE’ Delage has a broad range of m usical influ- ences – countr y , folk, rock, jazz and blues. So when asked to define her m usic she si m - pl y describes it as “eclectic”. But if she was forced to choose one bin for her disc, she would likel y select “adult conte m porar y ”, she said. She will be launching her CD with a live show at the St. Lawrence Power Develop- m ent Visitor Centre near the power da m on Second Street West on Saturda y at 7:30 p. m . Attendees will receive a co m pli m entar y cop y of her disc. There will be a reception after at Katerina’s Restaurant at 1195 Sec- ond Street West. Delage will be perfor m ing with her friend and guitarist Rod Robillard, of TKT Studios, which produced the CD, along with Greg Deruchie on r y th m n, Ji m Sharp on dru m s, Bobb y Tessier on bass guitar and flutist-per- cussionist Marc Carriere.
GREG KIELEC greg.kielec@eap.on.ca
Ro x anne Delage’s first music album has been a long-time going. The songwriting process for her first ever CD, The Wa y I A m , began 30 m onths ago. But the 48- y ear-old Cornwall resident has been dabbling in the art for m uch of her adult life. When Delage hits the stage to launch her new disc at the visuall y stunning acoustic stage at Ontario Power Generation visitor’s centre in Cornwall on Nov. 24, it will be the cul m ination of a life’s experiences. For as long as Delage can re m e m ber, she has been surrounded b y m usic. Whether it was songs drifting fro m the fa m il y ’s radio or her m other Colena’s own voice, m usic was the universal language at her ho m e in the predo m inantl y Scottish North Glengarr y . SHE SANG ALL THE TIME “The m usic was alwa y s on, and she sang m uch of that ti m e,” re m e m bered Delage. “Her singing and love of m usic is what peo- ple re m e m ber her m ost for.” Her CD is dedicated to her m other, who died fro m leuke m ia in 1995 at the age of 51. “If she were still alive, she would have been over the m oon with pride about this CD,” Delage said.
Ro x anne Delage will lanuch her first ever CD with a live performance Saturday at the OPG visitors centre just east of the Power Dam on Second Street West.
It is a bit of a co m ing out for Delage, who was a self-confessed “closet songwriter” for y ears. “It was alwa y s about m usic. M y m ain passion was m usic,” said Delage during an
interview at a downtown coffee bar. She alwa y s had bits and pieces of songs – a chorus here, a m elod y there – but was never able to bring a whole song together.
New Christmas play premiering at Upper Canada Playhouse
“So it’s been a real exciting, hard week that we’ve had,” he said. “But it’s fun, it’s new.” And even then, the pla y was evolving as the cast began adding their own personal spins on their roles, Bowes said. “It’s people bringing so m ething to a show that never has been perfor m ed before,” he explained. The pla y house in Morrisburg has been producing a holida y season pla y now for about six y ears, thanks to local de m and for such a production. “People want a Christ- m as show,” Bowes said. The cast includes a fa m iliar pla y house face, Doug Tangne y as Grandad Barners, Meredith Zwicker as Maggie Barnes and Jeff Mulroone y as Ted Barnes. Also return- ing is head elf Parris Greaves, who appeared in the pla y house’s past production of The Christ m as Express. Rounding out the cast are Bruce Tubbe, last seen in the 2001 production of The Wild Gu y s, R y an Jacobs and Jod y Os m ond who were the pla y house’s 2011 touring produc- tion of Charlotte’s Web, and newco m ers Jess Vandenburg, Cla y ton Labbe and Katie Edwards. The pla y runs until Dec. 16. For m ore in- for m ation, go to www.uppercanadapla y - house.co m or call 613-543-3713 or 1-877- 550-3650.
What do you do if you are the director of a theatre and have run out of options for your annual Christmas play? If y ou are Donnie Bowes, the artistic direc- tor with Upper Canada Pla y house, y ou co m - m ission so m ebod y to write a pla y for y ou. Ever y thing I Love About Christ m as is a brand new pla y written b y Bowes’ theatre colleague Robert More. It will be perfor m ed for the first ti m e ever at Upper Canada Pla y - house on Nov. 23. The m usical revolves around a fa m il y struggling through tough econo m ic ti m es and in need of so m e Christ m as m agic when their eldest daughter is stuck at an out-of- town bus station during a snow stor m as Christ m as draws near. “So it’s ver y current,” said Bowes at a press conference Thursda y to announce the show. And, taking a cue fro m the success of previous holida y productions, there will be plent y of m usic, Bowes said. “There’s a fair a m ount of m usic in the show,” he said. The production is filled “with m an y things that m ake a good show for y oung and old” – a good stor y , so m e great my ster y , m agi-
Photo Greg Kielec
Elves gather around Santa during a press conference at Upper Canada Playhouse Thursday afternoon to announce this season’s Christmas play, Everything I Love About Christmas.
cal extraordinar y characters and plent y of singing and dancing on stage, according to Bowes. Producing a pla y fro m scratch m ade for so m e d y na m ic ti m es for Bowes and the
pla y house. Although More started work on the pla y last winter, the pla y house onl y received the final draft three or four da y s before the beginning of rehearsals, Bowes said.
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