Summer is here, and that means a lot of things to the students here, such as eternal sunshine on the beach, seeing our families, mind-blowing barbecue and scrambling for employment to get some much needed liquidity. But more importantly, summer is the season for festivals.
Canada has a proud tradition of festivals, with events spanning the whole nation, and most don’t even know what they’re really missing. Here’s just a taste of what is out there.

If you want music, our nation’s capital is not a bad place to be this summer, because from there you can check out the Ottawa Jazz Festival. Now celebrating its 30th year, the Jazz Festival was founded by local musicians Bob Misener and Tony Pope.

Since then it has evolved and gained a loyal fan base, as well as greatly contributing to the rise in popularity of Jazz. The Jazz Festival opens on June 24th and runs through July 4th.

If you’re in Bytown but jazz isn’t you’re thing, there’s the Ottawa Bluesfest, opening on July 6th until the 18th. The festival started sixteen years ago with a performance by Clarence Clemons, and it has blossomed from there. The Bluesfest now showcases music of different genres. This year, headliners include Carlos Santana, Iron Maiden, Rush and Arcade Fire, to name a few.

For our friends in Quebec, July 8th is the opening of the Quebec Summer Festival. The Festival was started in 1968, making it the oldest on the list. It was founded by Quebec artists to promote popular music in the province.

It is now an award-winning festival within Quebec, and showcases stars not only from this province, but the rest of the country as well. Take a look at the show that claims to be the biggest outdoor artistic event in the country.

Later in June is The North by Northeast Music Festival and Conference (NXNE), in Toronto. NXNE was founded in 1994, and plays host to over 650 musical acts across 50 venues, ranging from newcomers to headline acts. On top of that, the NXNE also includes a film festival with 40 of the best music related documentaries and videos. And if that’s not enough, there are conferences that bring delegates and celebrities from the business for interviews, workshops and demo listening.

If music is your thing, or if you’re a musical newcomer, this is the place to be. NXNE opens on June 14th and runs until June 20th.

If you happen to be in the east coast sometime this summer, you will want to take a look at the Evolve “Music and Awareness Festival” in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Founded in 2000, “Evolve” is a three-day festival that celebrates music, culture and social responsibility and awareness.
What sets apart Evolve is that it’s environmentally friendly. It has a zero-waste policy as well as a number of workshops that teach everything from belly dancing and meditation to solar chimney construction.
If you’re still unsure of making your way to small-town Nova Scotia, consider this: Evolve was rated the “Best Festival in Canada” in a survey conducted by CBC Radio 3, and has an incredible lineup of musical performances this year. Evolve runs from July 23rd to the 25th.

For any theatre goers, there are the Canadian the Fringe Festivals. The first North American Fringe Festival was opened in 1982 in Edmonton, Alberta. Since then, it spread to ten other major cities across Canada, as well as the United States.

What makes the Fringe festival different from other theatre festivals is that the theatre is all original, created and produced by travelling actors and artists. On top of that, the work is not censored, or screened by any jurors.

Needless to say, most Fringe shows are more controversial than mainstream. But, if you have a love for theatre and a thirst for edgy entertainment, the Fringe is a great bet.

Even all this is just a taste of what’s happening across the country, so there’s no reason not to get involved. The summer is yours – make the most of it while you can.

It all started when graduating Bishop’s Drama student Lucy Collingwood decided that she wanted to direct some theatre in her free time this spring. Along with four other students, they set about to put on a play, just for the heck of it.

They called themselves The Poutine Players.

With second year Drama and Secondary Education student Emily St-Aubin as Stage Manager, and fourth year Taylor Demontigny, third year Trevor Marlatt and alumni Jeffrey Basiliere as the cast, they discussed which play to put on. Demontigny suggested Art, and they simply went from there.

For those not familiar with this play, Art was written by French playwright Yasmina Reza. It first premiered in 1995 in Paris, and even after such a short time it has already become a classic of contemporary European theatre. It has been translated and produced worldwide and honored with numerous awards, including the Moliere Award for best author and the Tony Award for best play.

Art is a play of ideas, which is very difficult to stage, because if the audience cannot follow the argument, the play is lost. Art tempers this with its dialogue. Reza’s play is filled with hilariously sharp dialogue, and all three leads do a superb job of tackling it.

The true strength of the play is the humor. The actors really find their stride in the chemistry of the three men, and the little moments of humor that aren’t found in the script.

The first strength of this play is its casting. Demontigny as Marc shows an aggression and hostility in his performance akin to a feral predator. Every laugh he makes seems to bare fangs, making him instantly captivating. Demontigny also shows incredible depth of character. Of all the men, Marc’s transformation is the most profound, and Demontigny sells it perfectly.

Marlatt is cast brilliantly as Serge. Serge is imbued with a quiet strength and underlying snobbishness making him an ideal counter to Marc’s ferocity. Marlatt has a talent for subtlety that gives power to his character.

Basiliere rounds up the cast as Yvan, who is on the fence between the two. Basiliere balances the whiny timidity and the eccentric explosions masterfully, switching between them with ease.

The play was performed in Bandeen Hall. Collingwood explained that staging a play in Bandeen provided challenges and opportunities for unique stagecraft. The stage is a long strip with the audience on either side of it. Collingwood claims the tricky part was to solve the problem of sight lines. Based on the performance, it was successful. Everything is clearly visible, and the audience feels a great deal of intimacy with the actors.

Another good thing about setting a play in Bandeen Hall is that the acoustics are incredible. Volume was never an issue, even when the actors were at other ends of the stage, with their backs turned.

Art by The Poutine Players is not only a great show, (and at $6 for students and $8 for adults, a price that can’t be beat) but it shows how resourceful and proactive students here at Bishop’s really are.

These students decided they wanted to challenge themselves with an incredibly demanding play, and with their success, they proved that art can happen anywhere. The result is a great accomplishment to cap off another school year, and an ideal swan song for some of our graduating Drama students.

You might not think that musicals and Shakespearean theatre go together. Of course, the Bishop’s Drama Department begs to differ, and they’ve proven it. Some of you may remember past Shakespeare musicals, such as The Ballad of Romeo and Juliet in the spring two years ago, and A Beatles’ Midsummer Night’s Dream prior to that.

Well, this June, the Bishop’s University Drama Department is at it again, and will present the musical The Chimes of Freedom in Turner Studio Theatre.
Similar to past spring productions, this play will be a reworking of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, adapted by Bishop’s drama professor and professional playwright George Rideout. It includes music by Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, The Rolling Stones and The Doors. You might even recognize that the title of the play is based on the title of one of Dylan’s songs!

For those not familiar with The Tempest, it tells the story of Prospero, the Duke of Milan (played by graduating student Michael Wighton), who was deposed by his brother, Antonio, and the King, Alonzo. He is then banished to a magical island along with his daughter, Miranda. Prospero takes control of the spirits on this island and uses their magic to exact his revenge by shipwrecking Alonzo and Antonio on his island.

Prospero’s primary ally is the spirit, Ariel, who uses her music to hypnotize the people on the island. As with some of the other roles in the play, Ariel will be played by two actors, on different nights: Andriana Chobot and Stephanie Izsak.

The third principal character is Caliban (played by first-year Daniel Armand) who was the rightful master of the island before he was enslaved by Prospero.
The audience can look forward to a collection of great songs, from the folksy crooning of Bob Dylan, to the more psychedelic tunes of the Rolling Stones, and the reggae stylings of Bob Marley. The music was arranged by Fannie Gaudette of the Bishop’s music department and Dr. Jamie Crooks, Dean of Arts and Sciences and conductor of the Bishop’s University Singers. The two are also serving as vocal coaches throughout the rehearsal process.

The cast includes great actors and singers from past drama productions and music shows. As previously mentioned, some parts have been double cast, so you can expect a completely different take on many of the play’s characters on several different nights.

The play will also feature full dance numbers, which are choreographed by Cory Bowles. You may recognize Cory from the indie television series Trailer Park Boys, but he is also a well established Canadian dancer and choreographer with his own dance company in Halifax.

If you enjoy Shakespeare, musicals, or just want a pleasant night out, The Chimes of Freedom will deliver. The play has everything, from a love story, to the escapades of two drunken clowns, a plot to assassinate a king, and magical sprites dancing to some classic music, a true Shakespearean experience in the modern day.