ARTS & CULTURE
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City woman to launch first CD Saturday
“So it’s been a real exciting, hardweek that we’ve had,” he said. “But it’s fun, it’s new.” And even then, the play was evolving as the cast began adding their own personal spins on their roles, Bowes said. “It’s people bringing something to a show that never has been performed before,” he explained. The playhouse in Morrisburg has been producing a holiday season play now for about six years, thanks to local demand for such a production. “People want a Christ- mas show,” Bowes said. The cast includes a familiar playhouse face, Doug Tangney as Grandad Barners, Meredith Zwicker as Maggie Barnes and Jeff Mulrooney as Ted Barnes. Also return- ing is head elf Parris Greaves, who appeared in the playhouse’s past production of The Christmas Express. Rounding out the cast are Bruce Tubbe, last seen in the 2001 production of TheWild Guys, Ryan Jacobs and Jody Osmond who were the playhouse’s 2011 touring produc- tion of Charlotte’s Web, and newcomers Jess Vandenburg, Clayton Labbe and Katie Edwards. The play runs until Dec. 16. For more in- formation, go to www.uppercanadaplay- house.com or call 613-543-3713 or 1-877- 550-3650. “It was always a dream, but it never really came to fruition,” she said. Pressed about why it took her so long to finally realize her musical destination, she struggles to come up with a definitive an- swer. She eventually surmises a lack of confi- dence prevented her from sharing in the lyrical form what were, in some cases, pro- found life experiences. “Absolutely, it was a personal thing,” she concludes. “ELECTIC STYLE’ Delage has a broad range of musical influ- ences – country, folk, rock, jazz and blues. So when asked to define her music she sim- ply describes it as “eclectic”. But if she was forced to choose one bin for her disc, she would likely select “adult contemporary”, she said. She will be launching her CD with a live show at the St. Lawrence Power Develop- ment Visitor Centre near the power dam on Second StreetWest on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Attendees will receive a complimentary copy of her disc. There will be a reception after at Katerina’s Restaurant at 1195 Sec- ond Street West. Delage will be performing with her friend and guitarist Rod Robillard, of TKT Studios, which produced the CD, along with Greg Deruchie on rythmn, Jim Sharp on drums, Bobby Tessier on bass guitar and flutist-per- cussionist Marc Carriere.
GREG KIELEC greg.kielec@eap.on.ca
What do you do if you are the director of a theatre and have run out of options for your annual Christmas play? If you are Donnie Bowes, the artistic direc- tor with Upper Canada Playhouse, you com- mission somebody to write a play for you. Everything I Love About Christmas is a brand new play written by Bowes’ theatre colleague Robert More. It will be performed for the first time ever at Upper Canada Play- house on Nov. 23. The musical revolves around a family struggling through tough economic times and in need of some Christmas magic when their eldest daughter is stuck at an out-of- town bus station during a snow storm as Christmas draws near. “So it’s very current,” said Bowes at a press conference Thursday to announce the show. And, taking a cue from the success of previous holiday productions, there will be plenty of music, Bowes said. “There’s a fair amount of music in the show,” he said. The production is filled “with many things that make a good show for young and old” – a good story, some great mystery, magi- Roxanne Delage’s first music album has been a long-time going. The songwriting process for her first ever CD, The Way I Am, began 30 months ago. But the 48-year-old Cornwall resident has been dabbling in the art for much of her adult life. When Delage hits the stage to launch her new disc at the visually stunning acoustic stage at Ontario Power Generation visitor’s centre in Cornwall on Nov. 24, it will be the culmination of a life’s experiences. For as long as Delage can remember, she has been surrounded by music. Whether it was songs drifting from the family’s radio or her mother Colena’s own voice, music was the universal language at her home in the predominantly Scottish North Glengarry. SHE SANG ALL THE TIME “The music was always on, and she sang much of that time,” remembered Delage. “Her singing and love of music is what peo- ple remember her most for.” Her CD is dedicated to her mother, who died from leukemia in 1995 at the age of 51. “If she were still alive, she would have been over the moon with pride about this CD,” Delage said.
Roxanne 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 coming out for Delage, who was a self-confessed “closet songwriter” for years. “It was always about music. My main passion was music,” said Delage during an
interview at a downtown coffee bar. She always had bits and pieces of songs – a chorus here, a melody there – but was never able to bring a whole song together.
New Christmas play premiering at Upper Canada Playhouse
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 extraordinary characters and plenty of singing and dancing on stage, according to Bowes. Producing a play from scratch made for some dynamic times for Bowes and the
playhouse. Although More started work on the play last winter, the playhouse only received the final draft three or four days before the beginning of rehearsals, Bowes said.
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