Heather Dore, with whom I’ve sung in The Broadway Chorus, has recorded a cover of the Human League’s 80’s classic, “Fascination”. It’s available to listen to on Heather’s website, and is also available as a download on iTunes and Amazon. Check it out!

Great news: I received word today that I’ve been cast in “Bruce: The Musical”, a brand-new show being presented by Theatre in the Raw!

As the TITR website says, “the show is an original two-act musical drama about the life of legendary Vancouver Downtown Eastside activist Bruce Eriksen, who transformed the neighborhood’s image from Skid Road to residential community. It’s a tale of triumph and tragedy, full of human drama, action, humour and song.” Harry Rankin also features as a character in the story (that’s Bruce and Harry on the right).

It’s funny, I saw the audition notice for the show and was immediately drawn to its combination of lefty politics and populist theatre - with songs! - and yet I stalled on getting it together to audition. Then my friend Colleen Winton, a fantastic performer with whom I’ve appeared in shows in the past, emailed me to say I really ought to audition for it. I agreed. Yet still I let it slide for some reason. Finally the phone rang a few mornings ago - it was none other than Jay Hamburger, the show’s director! He’d gotten ahold of my number and heard that I might be a good candidate for an audition. Someone had apparently raved about me!

I realized that it was time to stop fighting the universe and get my act together, already. I arranged to see him that evening. Then I dug up a monologue and brushed up on it… and ended up spending a very enjoyable time at the Theatre in the Raw studio with Jay - I sang a little (a capella since there was no pianist and I didn’t have a CD backing track or anything), did my monologue, we ran through some scenes from the script, and we just talked. The vibe was great and he shoehorned me into the callbacks scheduled for the next day.

So I returned Tuesday at 4pm, and met musical director (and co-writer of the score) Bill Sample. I belted out a number (this time with Bill’s able accompaniment), and we went over a couple of songs from the show. Again, positive feelings all around. It seemed awfully promising. But I still needed to hear the official word. 

Now I’ve gotten that confirmation. I still don’t know exactly what my role will be, but once I have more details, I’ll post them here.

Meanwhile, this page on the Theatre in the Raw website has more details about Bruce: The Musical.

I know Yvette Ipsaralexi from my volunteer work with Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter. But now I learn that she has an interesting side interest - as a roller derby girl!  And neatest of all, she is the subject of a mini-documentary on the Globe and Mail website. (And yes, she addresses the potential conflict between referring to herself as a roller “girl” and her strong feminist stance.) Watch it here!

At last, you can take your favourite song and make it even better: add MORE COWBELL!

MoreCowbell.dj takes the classic SNL skit and brings it to fully-interactive life. Upload your favourite song and add cowbell. Plus, drop in a bit of Christopher Walken shouting encouraging remarks from the studio. It’s crazy cowbell fun!

Below is my version of “You Know I’m No Good” by Amy Winehouse with… more cowbell!

For a couple of years now, I’ve been on a quest to enter the world of film and TV acting. One recommended strategy for getting on-set experience and building a “reel” has always been to pursue roles in student films. I’ve been on a few auditions but nothing had ever come of it - until now!

I auditioned for a Vancouver Film School project entitled “Straight To Video”. In it, a somewhat hapless aspiring rock star is working the late shift at the video store when an old videotape of a self-help “guru” magically transports him into a vision of his rock-and-roll fantasy come true - but even in this preview of music superstardom, things don’t go nearly the way he had imagined.

The role I auditioned for was that of the outrageous, turbanned “Guru Goulby” - the smarmy self-help swami whose videotape appearance sets the plot in motion. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most high-energy, crowd-pleasing offerings at the Fringe, “Musical of Musicals” is a delight! Whether or not you’re a musical-theatre buff, this show will leave you in stitches. It takes the simplest story - girl can’t pay rent, evil landlord demands it, hero pays it - and uses it as a springboard to take the stuffing out of five well-known musical theatre composers and the familiar style and character types that exemplify each.

Along the way there are puns and gags aplenty, jokes within jokes, and song titles twisted a bit and worked into dialogue. But even if you aren’t in on the nudge-wink insider humour, you’ll be bowled over by the laugh-out-loud funny songs and the infectious energy, enthusiasm and talent of the performers - Mikal Grant, Steven Greenfield, Anna Kuman, and Collen Winton. Sarah Jaysmith, unseen behind the black curtain, provides perfectly complementary piano accompaniment. Director Ryan Mooney ensures that every line and moment is milked for maximum laughs.

The finale manages to shoehorn in a sendup of one additional musical theatre phenomenon. It’s a sparkling and funny surprise to end with.

Run, don’t walk, to see “The Musical of Musicals, The Musical!”