A number of very nice articles have been written about things I’ve worked on. Pretty much 80% of creative work is done in solitude, so when someone notices it is very rewarding. Feel the love!
The New York Times: Give the Ladies the Mike for a Bit of Poetry and Comedy
Festival of One Woman Shows– New York City & Washington DC
The director, Louise Fagan, had the inspired idea to usher the poet Molly Peacock and the cartoonist Victoria Roberts into the theatre…
(Peacock) can inhabit a moment with quiet intensity: in a haunting poem about an alcoholic father hovering over her, she fully enters her scene, gripping the folds of fabric around her as if they might swallow her alive.
The evening’s second half, the New Yorker cartoonist Victoria Roberts’s “Nona,” brings a dramatic lightening of tone. She’s a compelling, oddly credible character, whether musing on how wolves decide to adopt, offering a “Nutcracker” tap dance or dropping a delicious one-liner.
Oprah Magazine – scroll down this page for the full article or click this link http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/In-the-Spotlight-One-Woman-Shows
‘With great style and energy they’re already on their way to realizing Fagan’s idea of a minifestival of one-woman shows that will tour North America…full article appears in the February issue, 2006. Written by Molly Peacock, photographs by Michael Edwards www.oprah.com
Nona – “Vivacious Victoria transforms herself into an elderly, doddering, extremely odd woman with bright orange hair & chattering teeth. She is simply amazing! Catch her if you can…Try to imagine Blossom Dearie as a kabuki dancer, Another 5-star review!”
— Elwood Smith, New York
In Good Company: original artwork below by Donna Andreychuk
…it will happen this fall, when they produce “In Good Company,” the first ever festival honouring hundreds of local women from the past and present that have lived and contributed their work in the arts to the London community. Full story appears in the July 21st, 2006 on-line issue Western Alumni Gazette. Written & Photography by Karmen Dowling
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Father’s Touch – Triggerstreet online film festival, founded by Kevin Spacey
A short film based on the first chapter of the acclaimed book ‘Father’s Touch’ by Donald D’Haene.
‘A visual poem…touch of brilliance…wonderfully crafted and touching story. Absolutely brilliant music underscoring magic cinematography.’
Hearts Made Great – London Free Press, James Reaney
One of the finest ways Londoners could ever salute the Year of the Veteran is on the stage at Centennial Hall this weekend.
Based on yesterday afternoon’s presentation, Orchestra London’s Hearts Made Great—a fictional London region family’s wartime saga in words and music, new and old—is not to be missed. If you can’t go tonight, go tomorrow afternoon—or both times…new compositions for the orchestra, powerfully restrained words, documentary touches and some glorious singing and playing. Fine moments include a heartbreakingly peppy Cheek to Cheek by the young lovers—Victor and Red Cross nurse Julia (Carolyn Hall)—in the first act…. (Jennifer) Venner’s use of letters as the basis for her drama—and Louise Fagan’s direction—allows for subtly developed shifts in the playwright’s characters. (Jeff) Christmas’s arrangement of It’s a Good Day, a sweeping and cinematic treatment, follows triumphantly as Hearts Made Great soars to its finale.
There is much more in my notes about Hearts Made Great and the way it shares so many feelings and thoughts…of the war on the homefront or the Normandy beaches. But all that needs saying is this: See it and hear it and feel it.
Jazzabel – Noel Gallagher, London Free Press
Simply irresistible describes any show boasting the silky smooth, honey-sweet singing voice of London’s jazz/blues diva Denise Pelley. However, her engaging vocal talent is joined by other very impressive allies in Jazzabel, the play now on its world premiere run at the Grand Theatre’s McManus Studio.
Subtly directed by Louise Fagan, the musical marks the promising playwriting debut of Jacquie Gauthier, who developed this “story of fast friends, hot music and Harlem nights” from a premise conceived by Pelley.
2001 Jeux du Canada Games – Opening Ceremonies
By Jane Sims & Jonathan Sher, London Free Press
(Marnie McBean and Jack Palech lighting the torch)
A feast of colour, music and history, plus a whole lot of home-town enthusiasm, greeted Canada’s premier amateur athletes last night at the opening ceremonies of the 2001 Canada Summer Games.
‘This is the moment we have all been waiting for,’ London’s Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco told the15,600 crowd…
Nothing seemed to dampen the picture-perfect evening. The only waves were made by the arms of the happy crowd and the thunder was from their stomping feet on the stadium’s metal stands. It was absolutely perfect…
The World Awaits – (recording)
Louise Fagan’s production is exemplary and the overall effect is something like the Medieval Baebes sans cleavage, but with more daring song selections. (James Reaney, The London Free Press)