The Arts

New West Theatre is looking forward to rocking out Aug. 3-27 with its latest summer show “Born to Rock,” after going back to the ’50s with “Twist and Shout” — their most successful summer show yet.
“It‘s been a lot of fun because the shows are just so different in terms of style and musical genre,” said director Jay Whitehead, who is the director of both shows.
Most of the cast appear in both shows. They performed “Twist and Shout” at night and rehearsed “Born To Rock” during the days, working around the massive ’50s diner set used for the former.
“‘Born To Rock’ includes a wide range of music. It appeals to a wide range of generations from the ’70s to today,” Whitehead continued.
There is a variety of music from CCR, the Police, some Guns N Roses and Bryan Adams’ “Kids Wanna Rock,” which the cast was busily learning the dance choreography for during the interview.
Whitehead along with assistant director Erica Hunt and musical director Paul Walker chose the music.
“It’s a high-energy show,” he observed.
“It will be fun for the whole family.”
The show includes four new dancers: Sydney Peters, Christi Harris, Jenn Beaver and Tessa Tamura, as well as the return of a favourite familiar face — Grahame Renyk.
Renyk estimated he has been in about 10 New West productions including directing  “For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again.”
“It’s just nice to be back with the cast and working with the band. They are all pretty special people,” he said.
He is also back in Lethbridge to teach at the University of Lethbridge drama department for the fall semester before heading back to Toronto.
“And this time working with four wonderful dancers. It’s been a lot of fun,” he continued, adding the show is coming together really well.
“I think the show looks great. It is very diverse, there is a lot of  really fun vocals and  excitement. I think people will really enjoy it.”
One of several new faces on board this summer is Calgarian Allison Lynch, who is pleased to be spending this summer in Lethbridge where she makes her debut as a performer and vocal director for both summer programs.
“Everyone involved has been really nice. It’s been a fun way to spend the summer,” she said.
She added the talented cast made her job easy. Each individual has their own style and strengths, which she believes she has captured in the shows.
Working in the rock-and-pop vein has been a departure from the norm for Lynch, who usually teaches and coaches classical and opera performers.
“So this is different for me. It’s been a nice change from Mozart,” she said.
Working with the cast has been her highlight of the summer.
“I’ve enjoyed getting to come to work each day and work with all of these great people each day. It’s been quite a treat,” she said.
Artistic director Nicholas Hanson is looking forward to building on the momentum of “Twist and Shout.”
“We hope to build on the hype from ‘Twist and Shout.’ The last two shows are all sold out. So we’re thrilled people responded to it. We want to keep it going with ‘Born To Rock,’” he said.
There are a lot of energetic numbers in “Born To Rock,” he observed, adding the performers also show off their other skills.
“We have quite a few cast members who are also multi-instrumentalists, who can play guitar, bass and drums. So it is really awesome to find out that someone who is a really hilarious performer is also a really sweet guitar player. We try to showcase their talents,” Hanson continued.
Born to Rock runs in the Yates Theatre, Monday through Saturday at 8 p.m. until Aug. 27 with 1 p.m. matinees Aug. 13, 20 and 27.

Local singer-songwriter Alyssa McQuaid is going places — this time to Dallas, Texas.
   McQuaid was chosen as one of two Alberta representatives for the eWoman Network as International Emerging Leader from members across the province. They were the only two Canadians at the international conference featuring ambitious and philanthropic women from all over North America. And to boot, she won the eWoman sing off challenge by playing her version of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” backed by an 11-piece band. Her win earns her a ticket to Dallas next year.
“They asked us to send a YouTube video, so I sent them ‘Hallelujah,’” she said. “They picked 10 of us to perform.”
As a result, her video and eWoman page will be shared with all 500,000 members of the organization.
“If all 500,000 watch the video, it means it will go viral.”
She feels honoured to be chosen to go to Dallas.
“I was chosen based on my philanthropy and as my motivated business qualities as a singer-songwriter,” she said.
McQuaid is an active member of the community. In addition to being a mentor to other young women with her songwriting, she is a YWCA Girl’s Space ambassador and did plenty of volunteering and leadership workshops in high school. She also volunteered with organizations including Kid’s Help Phone. This summer, she is working with the YWCA kids’ camp.
She recently spent five days enjoying the Dallas heat, and taking advantage of the contacts and opportunities afforded by rubbing shoulders with about 2,500 of the most talented women on the continent.
“It’s the largest business networking group of women in North America. It was very cool,” she said.
“It’s about people helping each other. If you help them, they’ll help you.”
While there, she met “a lot of amazing women and amazing men, too.”
McQuaid is a new member of the local chapter, which she estimated has between 30-40 members and meets monthly at the Lethbridge Lodge. However, her mother, Valerie, is a long-time member, who mentioned to the local president Jo-Ann Vacing that part of her business was managing her daughter’s singing career. Vacing asked McQuaid to perform at the provincial conference in Red Deer earlier this year. She made a pretty positive impression on them as the members voted overwhelmingly to send her to Dallas for the international conference.
One of the highlights was meeting country singer Trisha Yearwood and Travis Tritt’s manager Ken Kragen, who was one of the speakers, and getting the chance to work with him in the future over conference calls.
One of her favourite moments was meeting Medicine Hat-born, U.S.-based hypnotist/motivational speaker Wayne Lee.
“He taught us about the importance of visualizing yourself as a success,” she said.
She also enjoyed meeting Jack Canfield, author of the popular “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series.
It also gave her the chance to reconnect with a songwriting partner she met in South Carolina during the Nashville Connection contest in April.
Now that she is back home, she is looking forward to a lot of shows she has booked until December, including a two shows at the Canadian Country Weekend in Fort Macleod Aug. 12-13 in the beer gardens, both days. She performs 4:30-5 p.m. on Aug. 12 and 5:30-6 p.m on Aug. 13.

Local artists have drawn up a special deal for the Lethbridge branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
   The Shuffle Up and Deal fundraiser marks the second edition of the popular project, said Todd Lacharite. The first time it raised money for the Bowman Arts Centre’s adult special needs art program.
Lacharite contacted 53 local artists to explore the theme of “nose art” or art used to decorate the nose cones of airplanes in the Second World War.
“I’m really impressed with the art,” Lacharite said.
The artists were asked to design individual playing cards, which have been made into decks of cards. The cards will be sold with all proceeds going to the Legion. The 1,000 decks are available for $15 each at the downtown farmers’ market July 20, at the Alberta International Air Show, the Bowman Arts Centre, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, the Owl Acoustic Lounge and the Legion.
As a special bonus, the original individual pieces are being auctioned off in a silent auction July 23 at a gala event at the Legion featuring live music by the Necessities and Matt Robinson and some surprise guests.
The pieces were on display at the Owl until July 2 but have since been moved to the Legion. The silent auction has already begun through a bid book, with each piece having its own bidding page. While some pieces at press time already had bids as high as $300, some didn’t have any at all.
At 6 p.m. there will be a buffet roast beef dinner with potatoes, salad and dessert catered by the Country Kitchen.
“We could use more ticket sales for the dinner,” Lacharite observed.
The auction begins at 9 p.m. with hosts Rick Gillis and Aaron Hagan, who will be dressed in Second World War GI fatigues. There will also be a lot of door prizes including CDs donated by local musicians and items from donors such as the Owl Acoustic Lounge.
“For like one in 10 people,” Lacharite continued.
“And the Snowbirds might make an appearance. We will have some stuff from the Snowbirds, maybe even a flight suit,” he said.
In addition, there will be door prizes, and as a special bonus, local artists including Rick Gillis, Darcy Logan, Jason Trotter and Nathan Harker have donated pieces of art they created on pieces of actual Second World War Lancaster airplanes donated by the Nanton Air Museum.
“Rick Gillis turned a piece of fuselage set on its end into a sculpture with steel rods representing grass and a butterfly on them. You have to see it,” said Lacharite.
These larger pieces will be auctioned off at the gala event.
Tickets for the event cost $35 which includes dinner. Doors open at  6 p.m., with dinner being served at 7 p.m. Or just come for the live auction and music for $15, which begins at 9 p.m.
Tickets are available at the Bowman Arts Centre and the Owl Acoustic Lounge.

You might find hippies and music lovers, not to mention musicians a little scarce in the city this week. That’s because most of them will be in Fort Macleod July 15-17 for the 25th annual South Country Fair.
Two of the main live music venues in the city, The Owl Acoustic Lounge and the Slice, both close down for the fair, because most of their regulars will be there enjoying a variety of music from all over the world from as far away as Russia in the case of Namgar. Some of the highlights this year include bluesman Amos Garrett, Captain Tractor, Cousin Harley, Fred Eaglesmith, Elaine McIlwaine and lots more.
For Maureen Chambers, one of the South Country Fair’s founders, the lineup is a bit of a homecoming as the fair welcomes back some of the most popular acts from over the past 25 years to the popular summer getaway in the Fort Macleod Fish and Game Park.
“It’s like any other year. We do the same thing each year to make the festival work, but when I booked the line up I wanted it to feel like a homecoming,” Chambers said.
“There are some new acts, but most of them are acts that have been here before and that audiences responded well to.”
Amos Garrett, who plays Sunday afternoon with Eaglesmith and others, was the only paid artist in Year Two, she said, adding the fair took place at the John Zoeteman Park (now the Willow Creek Park). “(Garrett) was the headliner; the others were just playing for the love of music.”
“Willie P. Bennett brought us Fred Eaglesmith. Willie used to show up early to help us set up. One year he said, ‘You’ve got to book this guy (Eaglesmith).’ So we did. And Fred has a great following.”
She is looking forward to some of the new acts this year, particularly Namgar, a new group from Russia whose members are from Mongolia, China and Russia.
“I think it’s going to be pretty special,” she said.
She is also looking forward to the poets performing on the spoken word stage.
 They have come a long way since the Lethbridge Folk Club, the Willow Creek Folk Club and Livingstone Folk clubs decided to get together for a summer weekend full of music and fun in the sun.
“Our first hospitality tent consisted of a tipi, a pot of chili and a keg of beer. I think we’ve come a little way since then,” she said.
The fair has enjoyed a consistent and slow build in popularity.
“About five years in, it became apparent the audience needed more. But we didn’t try to build it too fast. It evolved properly,” she said.
“I think we’re where we need to be now.”
The fair draws approximately 2,500 visitors a year. Ticket sales are on par with what organizers expected.
A large number of people in the city make the South Country Fair part of their vacation, taking some time to enjoy summer in the sun with friends, swimming in the Oldman River and listening to a lot of great music.
 One of those is Jana MacKenzie, who has attended the past 17 fairs beginning when she was young.
“I've been going since I was 15. I usually go there on Sunday and stay there until the next Sunday,” she said.
MacKenzie soon discovered  the joys of volunteering and has worked everything from set up and tear down to security.  Before this year, she was booking acts on the east stage for the previous three years.
“As soon as I went, I knew I wanted to be part of these people. I just liked the general atmosphere and compassion for each other and watching how they work together. I like going there just to refuel my mind and soul,” she said.
“There’s the instant community that’s created. You put your tent up and just watch the other tents pop up, and all of the sudden there’s people all around you.
“It’s amazing to have that many people together and  there isn’t any trouble. It’s very peaceful.”
 And then there’s the music — music from all over the world as well as from in our own backyard play on the east and south stages throughout the day and into the night. Poets and performance artists have their own stage to strut their stuff, people of all ages and from all walks of life, then there are food vendors and all kinds of fun in the sun happening.
“A lot of people just go and swim in the river. They pay $100 and just go to the river,” MacKenzie chuckled, admitting she, too, just went for the party in her early years.
She is looking forward to several acts including Russia’s Namgar, plus Elaine McIlwaine, and some stranger acts like the Ball Gag and Chain Gang.
There will also be the screening of the short film “Prairie Tales 12” at 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday on the east stage wall.
“The whole idea is to create  great family reunion atmosphere,” Chambers continued.
“The gathering is just as much about community and friendship as it is about the music.”
For more information, visit www.scfair.ab.ca.


Friday, July 15 — starting at 6 p.m.
The Bunch Of Us
Back Porch Swing
The Recipe
Namgar
Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra
Agnostic-Phibes Rhythm & Blood Conspiracy
 
Saturday, July 16 — starting at 1:30 p.m.
Oh Susanna
Andy White
Annie Lou

Starting at 7:30 p.m.
Ellen McIlwaine
Russell deCarle
Gabriel Yacoub
Cousin Harley
Captain Tractor
 
Sunday, July 17 — starting at noon
Barracuda Orchestra
e.s.l.
Amos Garrett
Fred Eaglesmith