When a previous guest recently reached out to say that I simply had to speak with Jan Alexandra Smith, who in his words “is one of Canada’s finest actors and directors”, I thought, “what wonderful idea.” 

For nearly 35 years, Jan has been stepping onto stages in roles that have entertained, challenged, surprised and thrilled audiences across this country. The work itself has fueled her passion for sharing stories and her love of creative expression. And yet leading up to 2020 and then throughout the pandemic quiet that performing artists were cast in, Jan was becoming aware of what she describes as a dwindling pilot light in her sense of what theatre seemed to be offering to her lifelong passion for it.  She began to wonder if the party was over for her and theatre. And then a conversation with a friend and colleague led to her discovery of a highly inventive company whose work felt both exciting and inviting to her imagination, sparking not just a reignition but a bright burst of new flame for her love of movement-based theatre.

From early childhood as a member of the Whitefish Lake Atikameg First Nation in Treaty 8 territory, Roseanne Supernault has held the medicinal impact of story as a deep, core belief; one that guides and strengthens her in both life and art. In honoring her own storytellers, wisdom keepers, mentors and teachers she gratefully acknowledges the shoulders she stands upon and is coming to understand her role in providing the same for those who are following her lead.  On the heels of starring in a terrifying new thriller, Cold Road, and beginning the post production process on her first feature film, Dusk & Dawn.as writer, director and producer, Rose continues to navigate her creative adventure with courage and compassion. 

Roseanne has been acting since childhood and has appeared in numerous Film and TV productions, including Blackstone, Maina, Rhymes for Young Ghouls and most recently on the CTV comedy series, Acting Good and in the feature Cold Road, directed by Kelvin Redvers, slated for streaming on CRAVE later this year.

Since 2005, Christy Morin has been the heart of Arts on the Ave in Edmonton, Alberta.  Arts on the Ave actively celebrates its unique neighbourhood community north of the downtown core as “a place whose “personality” is vividly expressed through the arts; possessing a dynamic momentum, “an arts pulse” where the artist and community continually engage.” At the core of the organization, or more accurately, the movement, lives a deep commitment “to the community through the cultivation of positive urban renewal. It is through culture-led urban regeneration initiatives, a vision of creative spaces and place-making that these art-infused communities have begun to flourish and provide a safe, nurturing environment for artists to thrive.”

From the earliest days of its dreaming and the establishment of a dedicated creator-centric community coffee house, The Carrot, to expanding to its current scale, hosting two much loved festivals, Kaleido, a fall festival of the arts and its winter companion, Deep Freeze: A Byzantine Winter Festival about to take to the streets later this month, Christy and her team have embraced the Arts as the alchemical element spinning gold through community development and acting as a transformative agent in advocating for the healthy lifestyle of the whole neighbourhood and beyond.

For the past decade theatre artist, Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks has been surfing some incredibly wild waves, fuelling her love of what she refers to as creative chaos.  Since graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada in 2015, she has appeared across North America on stages of all sizes, hopping confidently from comedy to drama. From the soul building and edifying work of bringing the seed of an idea to life on the smallest of stages to the high-flying adventure of hitching on to an internationally recognized sensation as a member of the San Francisco company of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Cynthia’s understanding of what it means to stay present to self, art and life has continued to expand.  We sat down together days after it was announced that she would be heading to the Stratford Festival this season in the role of Wendy in the premiere production of Ella Hickson’s, Wendy and Peter, the latest iteration of the J.M Barrie classic.  

For as long as she can remember, Cassandra Lemoine had been surrounded by pop music and show tunes.  Inspired by the acclaimed Canadian tenor, Benjamin Butterfield during a master class he delivered at her high school, she soon found herself in a classical music program at the University of Victoria, where much to her delight everything was new!  She delighted in the adventure of living in a kind of translation, not simply of language, as much as the classical opera repertoire demands but of a complete newness of her experience of learning and of music.  Sitting in a lecture hall or concert venue with classmates that appeared to her to have been immersed in classical music from infancy, cast her in this intriguing and welcomed space of curiosity. 

Over the past decade, Cassandra, has established herself as a highly sought after soprano living in Copenhagen, loving living in a constant state of translation, performing roles ranging from Mozart to Puccini and Sondheim to Lloyd Webber.

Max Wyman’s most recent book, “The Compassionate Imagination: How the Arts are Central to a Functioning Democracy” serves as an invitation to consider what might be possible, not if, but when we embrace culture, and creative imagination at the core of what it means to be a member of a thriving, growing, curious, healthy and functioning society. Wyman who worked as an arts critic and columnist for The Vancouver Sun and CBC Radio for over 30 years is the author of 7 books on the arts in Canada. He has served on the board of the Canada Council for the Arts and as President of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, is an officer of the Order of Canada and holds the Queen’s 25th, 50th and 60th Jubilee Medals.  

Considered “a timely book that expertly shows how the arts contribute to human flourishing in all its manifestations” by Anne Bamford the Strategic Director of Education, Culture and Skills for the City of London. From its announcement at being named a finalist for the 2023 Basillie Prize in Public Policy, the jury called the book “a profound and beautifully written examination” in which “Wyman offers deep insights into how and why arts and cultural funding is vital to safeguarding Canada’s present and future.” And finally, from Angela Elster, President and CEO of Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, “At a time when our world is in crisis, this stellar book brings clear vision and strategy.  The Compassionate Imagination presents a beacon of hope.”  Hope: An image that matched perfectly how I felt upon finishing the book myself.  

“Innovation = Transforming Ideas into Value”

Leo Chan firmly believes that everyone is an innovator and his mission is to create space, opportunity and practice so that everyone might believe it to be true as well and then to make it so in their lives. Leo is a people and heart-first entrepreneur and the founder of Abound Innovation Inc. An innovator himself, Leo holds 55 US patents and over 20 years of experience supporting organizations looking to unleash the innovative potential of their employees by transforming them into confident innovators. A glance at Leo’s schedule of appearances speaking at conferences and delivering hands-on workshops is evidence of the value placed upon innovation and creativity in the world today.  

For more information on Leo and his work, visit: https://aboundinnovation.ca/

Poet Diana Hayes has walked with grief for over 20 years since the death of her mother. The fact that both she and her mother, whom she remembers as her confidant, muse and dearest friend, were both facing a breast cancer diagnosis at the same time, added even greater complexity to her grieving process. Diana’s collection of poetry, The Language of Light serves as her tribute to her mother and has been alongside and within Diana as a central part of her creative and grieving process.

Since 1981, she has made her home on Salt Spring Island where she divides her time between writing, photography, producing literary events and festivals, and when possible, travel.  In 2002, she founded the Salt Spring Seals, an open-water swim team that swims year-round in the bays around Salt Spring and the Gulf Islands.

Season 3 - Oct 27, 2023

Jeremy Schonfeld’s powerful storytelling voice, reveals the heart of a man on a journey, vulnerably seeking to understand himself, his family and friends and his community.  Weaving across the story-threads of Jeremy’s musical tome, is his own deeply genuine exploration of fatherhood.  Having been moved by his music since it first landed in my ears over a decade ago, I continue to be drawn to this recurring theme of what it means to have a father and be a father; reflective of the joys and sorrows, dreams and regrets, times of absence and presence and above all, the wisdom gathered from both sides of the role. 

An award-winning Billboard-charting singer/songwriter, composer/lyricist, producer and performer, Jeremy is also co-founder of the Beacon Bonfire Music and Art Festival, held annually in Beacon, New York. 

As a bonus to end Season 2, on Father’s Day, Jeremy joined me in conversation about his creative process, his life as a storyteller and fatherhood.