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My final stories for Vue Weekly

My final stories for Vue Weekly

On Nov. 29, 2018 beloved Edmonton alt-weekly Vue Weekly published its final edition. Prior to that I’d neglected to share links to my clips from recent months, so here’s a list of my final seven stories in Vue Weekly after two years of freelancing for the paper.

Playwright Becomes Performer in U of A Production of Lenin’s Embalmers

“When Vern Thiessen’s former intern from Workshop West…

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Edmonton International Fringe Festival 2018: My reviews are in

Edmonton International Fringe Festival 2018: My reviews are in

The Real Inspector Hound/Ryan Parker for Bright Young Things

I reviewed 9 shows at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival for Vue Weekly’s EdmontonFringe.ca this weekend. Here they all are in one place, ordered from fav to least.

(more…)

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'The Importance of Being Earnest' theatre review for Vue Weekly

‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ theatre review for Vue Weekly

I sneaked a review of The Importance of Being Earnest into this week’s Vue Weekly. It’s one of my favourite dramatic farces, and Teatro’s star-studded local cast really did it justice.

Teatro la Quindicina’s second production of its 2018 season mounts a return of an enduring comedy in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.Wilde’s final play remains as sharp in 2018 as it likely did in…

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'Wedding Bells and Bombshells' theatre review for Vue Weekly

‘Wedding Bells and Bombshells’ theatre review for Vue Weekly

Here’s another review I wrote for Vue Weekly last month. Wedding Bells and Bombshells was a fun and inclusive musical with excellent choreography.

Edmonton Musical Theatre’s final production of the season, Wedding Bells and Bombshells, centres on a couple just four months into their relationship. They make googly eyes at each other, they lovingly share a secret handshake, and they’re ready to…

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‘The Gooseberry’ headlines my NextFest theatre and dance reviews for Vue Weekly Vue Weekly gave me free reign of NextFest last weekend. Here are excerpts from my reviews of…

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'Crash Pad' art exhibition preview for Vue Weekly

‘Crash Pad’ art exhibition preview for Vue Weekly

I covered Crash Pad, an engaging exhibition from Albertan artist Cindy Baker, for Vue Weekly a few weeks ago.

Edmonton artist Cindy Baker’s latest exhibition explores the fat female body through inviting blue watercolour prints and evocative, yet relaxing, performance art.

Crash Pad was first shown at the Tangled Art Gallery in Toronto last December, and it features images of diverse women at…

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‘Infinity’ theatre review for Vue Weekly I got to review one of my favourite shows of the year, Infinity, for Vue Weekly…

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'Undercover' theatre review for Vue Weekly

‘Undercover’ theatre review for Vue Weekly

Citrus Photography I got my first taste of “spontaneous theatre” this week when I reviewed Rebecca Northan’s Undercover at the Citadel Theatre for Vue Weekly. While many improv shows rely on audience members for only a few moments to serve a gag, director and producer Rebecca Northan’s follow-up to her international hit Blind Date, takes a different approach. Undercover makes a single “rookie…

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Video Games Live symphony concert preview for Vue Weekly

Video Games Live symphony concert preview for Vue Weekly

I enjoyed a fun and personal assignment this week when I previewed Video Games Live for Vue Weekly. When veteran composer Tommy Tallarico dared in 2002 to produce Video Games Live—an audiovisual spectacle featuring symphonic music—no one in the business thought it would work. Tallarico recalls the game publishers, symphonies, and concert venues telling him “people who play video games don’t go to…

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Clips from my time as an Anime News Network news intern in 2015

Clips from my time as an Anime News Network news intern in 2015

I recently noticed that Anime News Network began listing bylines on all articles in its news section (where I interned for six months in 2015) and as several employers have reached out to me with potential work opportunities, I decided to index a few clips for easy review. Though I ended the internship in one of the lowest mental health states of my life, I’ve completely rebounded since. Working…

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Kobo Town concert preview for Vue Weekly

Kobo Town concert preview for Vue Weekly

Kobo Town is an incredible Canadian calypso band, and I got to preview its upcoming concert for Vue Weekly. When Kobo Town comes to play, they deliver a high-energy show with calypso classics and reinterpretations of the genre. After moving to Canada as a teenager, Trinidadian songwriter Drew Gonsalves named the band after the historic neighbourhood in Port of Spain, Trinidad: the birthplace of…

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'Doob: No Bed of Roses' Film Review for Vue Weekly

‘Doob: No Bed of Roses’ Film Review for Vue Weekly

I tackled a film review of Doob: No Bed of Roses for Vue Weekly this week. I thought it was a great, probing film Bangladeshi director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s latest lodges a chisel into a rock labelled “unfaithful love.” And during 85 minutes of film, he gently hews away until there’s nothing left. No Bed of Roses (Doob) trains a plodding lens on infidelity—a subject that’s often only struck…

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'La Traviata' Opera Preview for Vue Weekly

‘La Traviata’ Opera Preview for Vue Weekly

I had a fun time previewing La Traviata in Vue Weekly this week. It’s described as the ‘pinnacle’ of opera, and this production is set in a cabaret club. Mercury Opera’s slogan may be “Opera where you least expect it,” but for this week’s production of the iconic La Traviata, it’s hard to imagine a more fitting venue in Edmonton than the Chez Pierre Cabaret. La Traviata tells a tragic tale of…

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Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown Review for Vue Weekly

Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown Review for Vue Weekly

Women The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown is my new favourite musical (overtaking Chicago and Rent) and I reviewed it for Vue Weekly. Plain Jane Theatre Company has always had a knack for reviving musicals that didn’t necessarily live up to their initial potential during Broadway runs, but Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown is a standout. A farcical tale of love, infidelity, and crime in ‘80s…

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Mary and the Witch’s Flower review: A magical debut flight for Studio Ponoc

It’s easy to get excited about an animated feature when you hear its coming from some of the creators behind Studio Ghibli’s greatest works, and in almost all respects, Mary and the Witch’s Flower (Mary to Majo no Hana) meets expectations. (more…)

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Blind Enthusiasm and Small Breweries' Success Report for Vue Weekly

Blind Enthusiasm and Small Breweries’ Success Report for Vue Weekly

This week for Vue Weekly, I checked in with Greg Zeschuk, founder of Blind Enthusiasm Brewery (and co-founder of BioWare) to see how business is going under relatively new government supports. Beer-brewing newcomer Blind Enthusiasm Brewery opened shop almost half a year ago, and owner Greg Zeschuk says business is going well. That’s thanks in part to financial boons offered by the provincial…

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Good Grief Photo Exhibition Preview for Vue Weekly

I previewed Good Grief for Vue Weekly today. It’s an exciting debut exhibition by Jay Procktor, an Edmonton photographer I respect immensely. As a Grade 1 teacher, Jay Procktor sometimes clowns around with his students. But after years of work on the side as a photographer, the 43-year-old local is unveiling his first large gallery exhibition this week, filled with 16 images of clowns in both a…