Now & Then

Welcome to the July 2024 episode!

Auditions recently took place for The Wizard of Oz, and I got to attend the first night. For the first part of this episode, you get to hear some footage from then. Some includes my granddaughter who’s been accepted as a Munchkin! And this was her first audition! I’m so proud of her!

We also have our historian Ian McKechnie, back after a little while, discussing how he’s now a published author, and talking about his book, “Reflections on Old Victoria County: In Tribute to R. B. Fleming”. Dr. Ray Fleming was a well-known historian and author, who also did some documentation about the Academy Theatre. Not long before he died, he compiled articles about our local history to put into a book. He passed before he could finish it, but Ian and another historian got a green light from Ray’s family to keep going where he left off. And this is the result!!

We also hear stories from the amazing Andy McNeilly, what it was like living in Bali, Indonesia, right after the pandemic. Some examples include how some people came permanently and all over the world to live in Bali during some rough times, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There was a surplus of tourism and some people weren’t treating Hinduism right, and Andy felt responsibility and was a bit of a speaker. Who had millions and millions of views!!!

Press play to Learn More!

This month, we have some exciting upcoming events!

One is the 11th Annual Inspired 2 Dance Recital on June 15th, and a week later, on the 22nd, we have a collaboration between the amazing Kawartha Lakes Concert Band and the Weston Silver Band, which is a British-style brass band. The concert will involve a lot of music from the other side of the ocean. Scottish, Welsh, English, etc.

Also, between then, on the 17th, auditions will start for the upcoming Wizard of Oz! And we have our good friend Beth Wilson for this episode to discuss how she caught the theatre bug, the selection process for this play, how it will be a bit of a darker version of the play with more characters and similarities to the book, and more!

00:00 - Intro

01:10 - Craig Metcalfe

05:11 - David Morrison & Larry Sheilds

07:48 - Beth Wilson

34:14 – Outro

Episode 18 is out!

In this one we have some very talented guests - Rob Barg, a talented musician, a board member of the theatre, and the chairman of the Program Committee, of which I am a member too. We talk about what the primary function of the committee is - to advise the management and the board of the shows we arrange ourselves and the ones we rent to, and how the theatre industry is leaning more and more towards tribute shows of old bands that might not be around anymore and dipping into the nostalgia. And more!

We also have Freddy Kwon. He's the guitarist of my dear friend Warren Frank's band The Kents. Their band is still working songs and doing tours. Freddy and Warren started working together in high school. Freddy currently works at an artist agency as a coordinator, and we talk about what it's like there; having a day to day roster of artists they represent, finalizing tours, working with the writers and promoters, etc.

Also, continuing our amazing story with Andy McNeilly, he talks about not just going viral for being a Caucasian immigrant in Bali, Indonesia, but ending up as a result on talk shows and television programs as a cultural observer.

Finally, we get some exciting show announcements from Craig Metcalf for the remainder of the month!

00:00 - Intro

1:34 - Rob Barg

9:49 - Fred Kwon

18:05 - Andy McNeely

39:18 - Craig Metcalfe

43:06 - Outro

For the past few episodes, we have discussed our special guest Andy McNeilly's journey from here in Kawartha Lakes to Bali, Indonesia. We learned he moved there, learned a new way of music, fell in love, and built a family for himself. What you might not know is he so quickly learned Balinese, and was so fluent in it, there was a special festival he spoke at in Bali that went viral!

We also hear about what is happening this month in April at the Academy Theatre, from tributes to Led Zeppelin and The Eagles, and two special ones are I.E. Weldon's Antics are coming back for their second year, and The Stampeders are coming, who recently lost Ronnie King. This will be a sort of tribute.

We lastly hear from a boatload of Odyssey Project alumni. This episode was kind of a reunion between two teachers (me and David Morrison) and the students, all of which have changed so much on the outside but are still their goofy selves on the inside. And David and me? Haven't aged a bit!

0:00 - Intro

2:33 - Andy McNeilly

15:42 - Craig Metcalfe

19:10 - Odyssey Intro

22:13 - Caelin Morrison

23:49 - Caroline Allen

26:18 - Shelby Clarke

28:32 - Matty Robbins

30:03 - Max Keir

33:04 - Jasmine Plumley

35:07 - David Morrison

37:06 - Outro

Continuing my story of The Odyssey Project, this is Episode 16!

We have some terrific upcoming shows, including bands The Traveling Milburys and The Sheepdogs.

We also continue Andy McNeilly's story, of how he ended up moving to India to pursue a life in Gamelan music. He tells us who introduced him to the work when in university.

Our two special guests are Connor Stephen, drummer, and James Barker, lead, of the James Barker Band. The two of them started locally as colleagues and then accidentally started performing together, over a dodgeball game, believe it or not! And had humble beginnings in The Odyssey Project. Now, their band has won a Country Music Award and they're off to play at a world famous theatre in Tennessee!

We also have on several old Odyssey Project members from several time periods, to explain their roles, what the band meant to them, and some cool stories like a theatre sleepover.

0:30 - Randy Intro

1:32 - Academy Schedule

2:55 - Andy Mcneely

13:13 - James Barker Band

25:28 - Odyssey

26:33 - Akalia 

27:49 - Danny Allen

29:46 - Ryan Railey

31:49 - Katherine

33:24 - Graeme Morrison

35:18 - Outro

This new episode is the first of a look back at a Kawartha Lakes band that was School of Rock come to life! Anyone remember The Odyssey Project? It was an amalgamation of local schools in the area!

First we get a visit from Alan Cottreau, Flato Academy Theatre's operations manager discussing some fun upcoming performers and bands for the month of February and March!

Then we hear from my longtime friend David Morrison, who started the band alongside me, Eric Smeaton and a few others, but he was the head honcho. Their first performance at the Academy Theatre was terrifying, but they did excellently and more showed up for their next performance.

David also met Andy McNeilly, a local student drummer, and our friend Sheri Brenneman told him of this new Odyssey Project band, and Andy was a godsend from the band as he was there in 2006 when they first started. He kept things in order and was a true leader when he was there, and his story is incredible and will be touched on more in future episodes!

Last but not least is our good friend Ian McKechnie, telling us the story of a producer named Gilbert George Zarfas. He was said to have been born in 1900 but may have lied about his age to qualify to be a driver in the first World War. He produced many of the Kiwanis Club shows at the theatre from 1953-1968, and some productions, including one with 75 people, he helmed and made a reality.

0:00 - Intro

1:30 - Alan Cottreau

6:42 - David Morrison

16:46 - Andy McNeely

26:50 - Ian McCechnie

37:43 - Outro

We may as well call this episode The Morrison Show, because my main guests are three members of that family, all of which are performers of their own.

First we have General Manager Craig Metcalf talking to us about not just upcoming attractions but how the theatre operates with contract deals, how they negotiate, and how they adapt to different requests from different guests who rent the stage.

Then I talk to David and Colleen Morrison. David and Colleen are both from the Kawartha Lakes Concert Band. I in fact interviewed David recently. David talks about how they moved back to Lindsay in 1989 after living away for a bit, and his first experience with the theatre when he was a music teacher at LCVI in 1991 and he was looking for better places to play the school concert rather than the gymnasium.

Colleen talked about how when she was in high school, her school was looking for a pit band for a Kiss Me Kate production and she went there in 1978, playing her flute. There was no going back for either of them.

Plus, their daughter Meaghan, who prefers to go by Meg, has been a star at various plays, especially musicals, at the theatre. She was in 4th grade and doing dancing and it was enjoyable but wasn't completely clicking for her. Then she decided to audition for an adaptation of Seussical and got the role of the Baby Kangaroo.

Our renowned historian Ian McKechnie is also back, and it is incredible how fascinating the history of this building is. In the 1930's, in the middle of the Great Depression, many things were happening. Homelessness and poverty were in crisis mode, and people were begging for food. The local Kiwanis Club and Rotary Club formed the Citizens Relief Assocaition, wehre they ran a soup kitchen at the armoury, checked on homes that were in need, and on Feb 7 1932 they hosted a Community Song Service at the Acaademy with a 15-minute concert and more. The theatre also had a few other worthy causes attached to it at the time.

Hope you enjoy!!

0:00 - Randy Intro

02:00 - Craig Metcalfe

06:30 - David and Colleen Morrison

15:37 - Iain McCechnie

25:17 - Meg Morrison

29:58 - Outro

Welcome to our anniversary show of Now & Then, and this episode’s a doozy! Craig Metcalf discusses the upcoming attractions, including the Hotel California band, the Rod Stewart Experience featuring Doug Varty, the ultimate Ozzy show, the big James & The Giant Peach, and more. Speaking of James & The Giant Peach, I also got to say Hello to Rory O’Neill, the 8th grader from Central Senior School who’s playing the lead role of James in the highly anticipated James & The Giant Peach. She’s also starred in productions of Annie, The Little Mermaid, Matilda and Mary Poppins! Also, I had our main historian Ian McKechnie on, who tells a fascinating story about how for decades, nurses were being taught at the Ross Memorial Hospital, and then had their graduation ceremonies at, you guessed it, the Academy Theatre. Also, during the first world war, Canada had a special election in 1917 where certain women were allowed to vote for the first time, and the nurses were seen as icons of hard work and value. Next, I have my producer Warren Frank on, to tell his story about his first experience at the theatre, when he was 11. He booked the lead role as Ebeneezer Scrooge for a play, and he was terrified on opening day, but pulled through. He reveals what that experience was like. I also have my friend Kate Imrie on to discuss her stories about growing up with the theatre, and a superb song to conclude it from our one and only Mary The Ghost!! 00:29 - Intro01:05 - Craig Metcalf03:00 - James and the Giant Peach06:13 - Iain Mckechnie14:00 - Warren Frank19:39 - Kate Imrie25:51 - Outro/Mary Song