Examineradio - The Halifax Examiner Podcast

Nova Scotia's summer theatre season was a complete wash in 2020, but through multiple waves, lockdowns, reopening phases, and restriction changes, the 2021 season is about to launch. Jesse MacLean stops by the studio to talk about Shakespeare By The Sea's unique programming approach to this summer (plus an update on the Chester Playhouse fire); Ship's Company Theatre's Richie Wilcox discusses the challenges of planning a season out of an indoor space; and Ken Schwartz talks Two Planks and a Passion's truncated/triumphant 30th season. (They all share thoughts on the provincial government's pandemic support for the arts, too.)Plus a new jam from Hello Delaware!

Art Ross and Aaron Green comprise Pillow Fite, a brand-new duo that's managed to make waves with just one song and one show (in a pandemic no less!). An authentic mix of queerness, feelings, tasteful guitars, and empathetic arrangements has made the duo one to watch. They're in studio to talk about this grand accident of a band, its approach and aesthetics, and to tell possibly the only interesting "how we named our band story" ever.

The former leader of Glory Glory has spent the past few years building out his name as a go-to producer in the city while also meticulously crafting his debut solo project, waants—thoughtful and reflective pop music with lots of room for dancing. With his debut album Love U Forever due out mid-July, Warren offers a preview of its offerings, the long period of questioning his life choices from which it emerged, and what his favourite Vampire Weekend record is (it's Tara's too).

Breagh Isabel — you likely know her as Breagh Mackinnon, formerly of folk-pop trio Port Cities — has reemerged with a new skill set and a sweet new single in "Girlfriends," which looks back at her coming-of-age as a queer person in Cape Breton. She'll gently pop into the show to talk about her new direction as an artist, why she moved on from Port Cities (spoiler alert: it's totally cool), and what her future plans are once the pandemic ends.

The East Coast Music Awards, originally scheduled for May in Sydney, have been reimagined as a four-day online festival kicking off June 10. Multiple nominees Rich Aucoin and Like A Motorcycle drop by the show to talk about putting out long-gestating projects into the covid abyss, their hopes and dreams for fall shows (and Halifax release shows), and exactly how they're going to appear on Thursday's big awards gala. Hit ecma.com for the full schedule.

Jonathan Torrens is an ideas guy — he's an actor, writer, director, producer, podcast host, production rental house owner, and professional nice person who's been graciously and usually hilariously gracing Canadian television (and film and computer) screens since 1989. He pops in from Truro to talk about his t-shirt campaign in support of entertainment workers, his new homegrown series Vollies, and offers up some of his past experiences as a working performer in Canada and Hollywood. It's a gentle, kind, funny trip.

Dawn, Her Dad and the Tractor is a family drama that finds a young trans woman (Maya V. Henry in her film debut) returning to her rural Nova Scotia town for the funeral of her mother. Her arrival shakes up her father John Andrew (Robb Wells) and sister Tammy (Amy Groening), already grieving one loss and now facing another, more unexpected one, and learning that it’s also a victory. Shelley Thompson drops by the show to talk about writing and directing her first feature—which also has the dubious distinction of being the first film made in Nova Scotia in pandemic times—premiering at the Inside Out festival in Toronto this week.

Terra Spencer is a singer-songwriter in Windsor, Nova Scotia — or what she calls “the fringes of the Annapolis Valley.” In the fall of 2020 she released her debut album Chasing Rabbits — even squeaked in one of the year’s few record release shows at The Carleton, which found a fan in Ron Sexsmith, among many others. She drops by the show to talk about pursuing songwriting late in life, the summer tour she has planned celebrating the music of 1971, and how her day job as a funeral director has changed in the pandemic and affected her artistic practice in a meaningful way.

Dartmouth's Dark Side chronicler talks wrestling, Hobo with a Shotgun, and the cult classic Siege.The Dartmouth filmmaker Jason Eisener made an international splash in 2007 with the grindhouse short Hobo With A Shotgun, which became a feature starring Rutger Hauer in 2011. He's the perfect guy to have helped unearth the 1981 Halifax cult classic Siege, directed by a pre-Salter Street Films Paul Donovan, about a group of fascist vigilantes attempting to take over the city during a (real) police strike. Vice (and Crave in Canada) has just launched the third season of Eisener and Evan Husney's acclaimed Dark Side of the Ring wrestling series, which Eisener had to direct over skype for the past year. He's got lots to chat about.

The first delivery of the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 has arrived in Nova Scotia today. This afternoon, a technical briefing for reporters was provided by Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed, Nova Scotia's deputy chief medical officer of health; Dr. Shelly McNeil, chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, and senior medical director, COVID-19 Planning and Implementation - Nova Scotia Health Authority; and Gary O'Toole, senior director, Population and Public Health - Nova Scotia Health Authority. Listen to the briefing here.

Philip Moscovitch asked readers for questions about the Halifax Examiner, and he put those questions to Tim Bousquet, Suzanne Rent, Zane Woodford, Yvette d'Entremont, Joan Baxter, and Iris the Amazing.

The Atlantic bubble's success has extended to the Nova Scotia film industry, one of the first production centres in the world to get back on track, with more lining up in 2021. Tara chats with Screen Nova Scotia's executive director, Laura Mackenzie, about the province's current achievements and future potential; and filmmaker Steph Joline, who's worked on multiple productions throughout these pandemic times. 

Poet and activist Rebecca Thomas stops by the show to discuss her debut book of poetry, I Place You Into the Fire, a meditation on navigating life and love. She talks about the embarrassment of interrogating her feelings, her time as poet laureate of Halifax, and her experience as an advocate for Indigenous justice. She reads a couple poems too. Plus: The Bitter End?!

Globe and Mail reporter Dakshana Bascaramurty is Tara’s guest this week, discussing how she came to document a Halifax man’s cancer diagnosis, treatment, and need to create a legacy for his young son in This Is Not the End of Me. Bascaramurty’s first book describes, in intimate detail, Layton Reid’s diagnosis, treatment, and the steps he and his family took to extend his life. Plus: It’s holiday market time already.

What happens when you make a new record then the guy who founded the band decides to leave? Hillsburn knows—Rosanna and Clare stop by to tell Tara all about it, spin their brand-new single, and let folks know what to expect from this week's run of sellouts at the Carleton, their first shows in a long time. Plus: A Halloween lament.

Tara catches up with hip hop artist Lance Sampson aka Aquakultre, who's been poised for a big year since winning CBC Searchlight in 2018, only to find his release date smack in the middle of quarantine. Last week he put out another album, with DJ Uncle Fester, a rap effort featuring the cream of the Sipset crew (and reaching for Tara's Simpsons-loving heart by calling it Bleeding Gums Murphy). He talks about both journeys as well as the concept of paying it forward, musically and in life. Plus: Neptune Theatre becomes a cinema for a run of the Nova Scotia feature Splinters.

For the pilot episode, Tara talks to Eastern Front Theatre's brand-new artistic director, Kathryn McCormack, about the state of the stage arts in Nova Scotia, Kat's plans for the company (cue the digital noises), and what the future could look like on stage. Plus this week's big art party, a new track by Sorrey, and gearing up for Miranda July's Kajillionaire.

My apologies for the audio quality; I'm not trained in audio, and I'm learning as I go along with substandard equipment. But I think this interview is important all the same.

Saturday, young people in Halifax's Black community led a conversation at the North Library about Scot Wortley's report on street checks and the effects of street checks on them. After the conversation, there was a march from the library to the police station (and then on to Province House) demanding an end to street checks. At the police station, El Jones read her poem, "Stop Street Checks."