James MacLean and Laura Vingoe-Cram Pop Up with Theatre

Alumni James MacLean and Laura Vingoe-Cram with Katharine Kyle Vingoe-Cram add original theatre to our 75th Anniversary Pop Up series. 

HEADLESS BARBIE
DANCE PARTY

November 23 & 24
1- 2 p.m.

Lake City Cider

35 Portland St, Dartmouth  

About Headless Barbie Dance Party: 

An immersive show about notions of childhood, nostalgia and rediscovering "play" as adults, Headless Barbie Dance Party takes audiences (or cider goers) on an interactive, delightful journey, with more than a few tears, back into the kaleidoscopic prisms of their youths.

“Katharine Kyle and James have been friends for 25 years. When we were kids, we used to get together and play games - obstacle courses, monopoly, being the Spice Girls - often tagged along by Katharine’s younger sister, Laura. Sometimes, Katharine Kyle and James would even torment Laura by transforming her room into a haunted house and hanging her Barbies up by their hair.

After a while Laura became part of the gang and soon our triumvirate was creating worlds out of plasticine, inventing characters with unstoppable powers and rescuing balls from evil Dobermans. The world was our oyster and creativity was constant.

Now all three have grown up and we are artists in our own right. James is an actor, Laura is a theatre director, and Katharine Kyle is a visual artist. We now get to be creative for a living, which, while awesome in and of itself, can be a struggle when it comes to tapping into that sense of childlike play that came so easily when we were kids. This pop-up performance is about trying to get back to that sense of ‘play.’

The Nova Scotia Talent Trust is highlighted through our real stories. After all the Talent Trust allowed us to pursue our childhood dreams of becoming artists. This piece is about what lead all three of us to pursue careers in the arts.”

Artist Bios:

James MacLean 

James is a Halifax based actor and theatre creator. He is particularly interested in devised and immersive work. His recent show with Tea Time Creation Co saw a sold out run at Good Robot Brewing with the show Romeo & Juliet; A Drink Along, and in September the company received the ‘Fringiest Fringe Award’ from the Halifax Fringe Festival for their show ‘First Date Last Date’. He has worked as an actor with companies like Halifax Theatre For Young People, Shakespeare By The Sea, Eastern Front and Neptune Theatre. In 2008, James received the Theatre Nova Scotia Award through the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.

It is James’ preference to work collaboratively on shows, where the entire team can contribute to aspects of design, direction, and the overall shape of a piece.

Laura Vingoe-Cram

Laura Vingoe-Cram is a director, playwright, producer and co-artistic director of Keep Good (Theatre) Company. In 2015 she graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a masters in Directing. In 2019, she participated in the Michael Langham Workshop for classical direction at the Stratford Festival. Last year she completed an emerging artist residency with 2b theatre company. Her credits include, Interactions with Art¨ (Halifax Theatre for Young People), Time of Trouble (Opera Nova Scotia), Constellations (Keep Good Theatre Company) and Oh Graveyard you Can’t Hold Me Always (The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). In 2015, Laura received the Theatre Nova Scotia Award through the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.

Katherine Kyle Vingoe-Cram

Katharine Kyle Vingoe-Cram is a visual artist, comic artist and arts administrator, who is working on their first graphic novel, Kettle Harbour. Previously, they have exhibited paintings, drawings and collaborative works at various art galleries, particularly in Kingston, Ontario, where they lived for five years. They hold a BFA (2010) from NSCAD and an MA (2014) in Art History from Queen’s University. Their artistic interests include devising new forms of visual writing, themes of enchantment and grieving, queer kinship, gender identity, and the ethics of storytelling. HEADLESS BARBIE DANCE PARTY is their first time being in a play.


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First You Dream Exhibition Opens at AGNS-Western Branch in Yarmouth

First You Dream: Celebrating 75 years of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust: A Touring Arts Exhibition 

 
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia – Western Branch Yarmouth
November 22, 2019 – May 17, 2020.
  
Opening Reception:  

November 22 at 6:30 p.m. 
  
Regular Gallery Hours:
Thursday 12 – 8 p.m.
Friday, Saturday, 
Sunday 12 – 5 p.m.
341 Main Street, Yarmouth
artgalleryofnovascotia.ca

Since it takes long term commitment and far reaching foresight to create a lasting cultural imprint, it’s only natural that the Nova Scotia Talent Trust would partner with the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia for its 75^th Anniversary celebrations.

For many decades the two organizations have nurtured and highlighted home-grown artists while encouraging young people across the province to imagine a life filled with creative expression, collectively deepening regional appreciation of the arts. The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia compliments the NS Talent Trust’s efforts to support aspiring artists in rural areas and its Western Branch in Yarmouth will be hosting the last presentation of the touring exhibition, First You Dream: Celebrating 75 Years of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.

“I was honoured to be part of the curatorial team that brought First You Dream together. This exhibition features the work of 10 artists who were recipients of Nova Scotia Talent Trust scholarships between 1979 and 2016, a span of 37 years. These individuals are at various stages of professional practice and are engaged with a wide range of disciplines. They represent the breadth of creativity this province has to offer and the enduring impact of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust itself. We are more than pleased to see First You Dream on view at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Yarmouth,” states curator David Diviney.

The exhibition is named after Portia White’s post humous album, paying homage to the Truro born and internationally renowned operatic contralto that inspired the organization’s founding. First You Dream: Celebrating 75 Years of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust features works by Talent Trust scholarship alumni, Jordan Broadworth, Sandra Brownlee, Lux Habrich, Sara Hartland-Rowe, Dan O’Neill, Lucy Pullen, Pamela Ritchie, Despo Sophocleous, Emily Vey Duke, and Charley Young.

The exhibition includes drawing, ceramic, fibre, jewellery, mixed-media, painting, printmaking, sculpture and video pieces which were curated by Ingrid Jenkner (retired), David Diviney and Greg Davies in 2017, after a call to all NS Talent Trust scholarship recipients in visual arts.

Following its Halifax debut at the Mount St. Vincent University Art Gallery from May 18 – July 28, First You Dream travelled to the Cape Breton University Art Gallery in Sydney from August 16 – October 4 and completes its tour at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia – Western Branch in Yarmouth from November 22, 2019 to May 17, 2020.    

Since the unprecedented efforts to support Portia White in 1944, the Talent Trust has awarded over 1,000 deserving Nova Scotian artists in the early stages of their professional development, with scholarships and special awards totalling more than $2 million dollars.


About the Artists  
 
Charley Young  
Charley Young was born in Calgary, Alberta and received her BFA from NSCAD University, Halifax, in 2008 and her MFA from Main College of Art in Portland, Maine, in 2014. She is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily with drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and public installation. She has been recognized in Blouin ARTFINO’s top 30 under 30 artists and has received the 2012 Talent Trust Lieutenant Governor’s Award and the 2012 Charlotte Wilson-Hammond/VANS Award presented by the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, among other awards. Charley currently lives in Bedford, Nova Scotia, and has a studio in North End Halifax where she continues her practice. She works as a Regular Part-Time Faculty at NSCAD University, teaching drawing and printmaking. 
  
Dan O’Neill 
Dan O’Neill was born in Montreal, Quebec. He received a Double Major with Honours in Painting, Drawing and Printmaking from OCAD University, Toronto, in 1993; a BFA in Studio Art from NSCAD University, Halifax, in 1994; and an MFA in Studio and Media Art from NSCAD University in 1999. In 2011, he earned the Recognition Award as an Established artist from the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council. He works primarily in lithography, although he continues working on his interdisciplinary practice that includes drawing, painting, writing and collage. He lives and works in Halifax, Nova Scotia where he has been teaching at NSCAD University as a Regular Part-Time Faculty for over 20 years.   
  
Despo Sophocleous  
Despo Sophocleous was born in Nova Scotia and received her BFA from NSCAD University, Halifax, in Jewellery Design and Metalsmithing in 2008. During her undergrad, she also participated in a year-long study exchange at Pforzheim University in Germany. She received her MFA from the Munich Academy of Arts in 2015 where she studied under Otto Künzli. She has received several awards for her work including the Talent Trust Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Artistic Achievement from the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, the DAAD Scholarship for graduate studies and the Herbert Hoffman Award. She is currently based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. 
  
Emily Vey Duke  
Emily Vey Duke was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She received her BFA from NSCAD University, Halifax and her MFA at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Since 1994, she has worked almost exclusively in collaboration with her partner, Cooper Battersby. In addition to several other prestigious awards they have received the pair was shortlisted for the Sobey Art Award in 2010. In addition to her work as a media artist, Duke maintains a strong critical writing practice and has been published in several art magazines in North America. Emily currently lives and maintains her practice in New York City where she teaches at Syracuse University. 
  
Jordan Broadworth 
Jordan Broadworth was born in Esquessing, Ontario. He studied at the School of the Museum and Fine Arts in Boston and NSCAD University, Halifax, and received his MFA from the University of Guelph, Ontario, in 1997. His work has been exhibited across Canada in Museums and Public Galleries along with a recent solo exhibition in New York City in 2016. He currently lives and works in New York City, where he has been based as an abstract artist since 2008. 
  
Lucy Pullen  
Lucy Pullen was born in Montreal, Quebec. She received her BFA from NSCAD University, Halifax, in 1994. After receiving her MFA from the Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, in 2001, she held a tenured position in the Visual Arts at the University of Victoria. During her time there she led a collaborative team to build The Cloud Chamber, a freestanding sculpture that also works as a detector and imager of cosmic rays which is currently on display in the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy. She currently lives and continues her art practice in New York City, where she also teaches at Montclaire State University and Brooklyn College at the University of New York. 

Lux Habrich 
Lux Habrich was born in Montreal, Quebec and moved to Atlantic Canada in 2012 to attend NSCAD University, Halifax. In 2015, she received her BFA from NSCAD in interdisciplinary arts, focusing primarily on textiles and ceramics. She draws on her mixed racial and cultural identity as the foundation of much of her work and is interested in tactile craft practices. She has received numerous awards including the 2016 Charlotte Wilson-Hammond/VANS Award presented by the Nova Scotia Talent Trust and currently lives in Nova Scotia, where she maintains her practice and, most recently, has completed a residency at White Rabbit Arts in Upper Economy, NS. 
  
Pam Ritchie 
Pamela Ritchie was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia. She received her MFA from NSCAD University, Halifax, and completed postgraduate research work in Norway. She has received several awards and support for her work from institutions such as the Canada Council for the Arts, the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, the Government of NS and in 2017, she was the recipient of the Governor General’s Saidye Bronfman Award. She has served as the Canadian Advisor for several European exhibitions and her work has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions spanning three decades. She retired in the summer of 2018, after teaching at NSCAD University for 34 years and continues her practice in Halifax, NS. 
  
Sara Hartland-Rowe  
Sara Hartland-Rowe has lived and worked in Halifax, Nova Scotia, since 2000. She received her BFA from NSCAD University, Halifax, and her MFA from the University of Illinois, Boston. She works as a painter and site-based installation artist, often experimenting with form and structure and representing human beings as the subject of her work. She was a finalist for the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award for her large-scale permanent site-based painting for Halifax Transit, which was completed in 2010. She continues her practice in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she teaches at NSCAD University. 
  
Sandra Brownlee 
Sandra Brownlee is a Halifax-based interdisciplinary artist and teacher. She received her BFA from NSCAD University, Halifax, and her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Michigan. She has received several awards including the Governor Generals Award in Visual and Media Arts (2014) and was a finalist for the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award (2012). She lives and works in Halifax, where she has been an active teacher for 48 years and continues her practice in weaving and tactile notebook keeping. 
 
About the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is Atlantic Canada's largest arts museum with locations in downtown Halifax and Yarmouth. It offers a range of bold exhibitions and engaging programming for all ages in an inclusive public gathering place that connects people with art to inspire new ways of thinking. www.artgalleryofnovascotia.ca

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Join Us for the 14th Annual Portia White Award Gala Concert with Karen Myatt

Karen Myatt adds her voice to the 14th Annual NSTT Portia White Gala Concert, marking the organization's 75th anniversary and Portia White's infamous solo performance at the New York City Town Hall, an achievement Karen also shares. Fellow past scholarship recipient Jennifer King, will accompany Karen on piano.

Photography by Michèle Parent of Chèle Foto Couture

Friday, Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m.  
Faith Tabernacle
6225 Summit St, Halifax

Tickets $20

Printed tickets can be obtained from choir or band members, or reserved through the Medical Humanities office at (902) 494-1533 or medhuman@dal.ca. Tickets are also available at the door.

The 14th Annual Portia White Gala Concert, organized by Dalhousie Music in Medicine features Dalhousie Health Professions Chorale and the Sackville Concert Band. Chorale Artistic Director, Bryan Crocker and Principal Band Conductor, Jim Forde, have arranged a wonderful selection from Karen's catalogue to kick off the holiday concert season!

When Portia White performed her breakthrough concert in 1944, she changed her own life and many more, as she continues to do through her legacy. 75 years ago Portia White became the first Canadian ever to perform at the New York Town Hall. The concert initiated her ascent to become one of the best singers of the 20th century.

A part of the proceeds from this concert are directed towards the Nova Scotia Talent Trust's Portia White Award to assist a young Nova Scotia voice student. Since 1985, many deserving vocalists have been awarded. 

About Karen Myatt:

Karen Myatt is a vocalist and theatre artist who has appeared on stages in New York, Mexico, and throughout Canada. Professionally, she trained at the Randolph Academy in Toronto and is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City. In addition to performing around North America, Karen as a staple in the musical theatre community of Nova Scotia performing major roles in many of Neptune Theatre’s most popular productions including Beauty & the Beast, Into the Woods, Mary Poppins, A Christmas Carol, and Sweeney Todd.

About Jennifer King:

Nova Scotia’s Jennifer King is a versatile pianist who is at home as a soloist or collaborator. She has established herself as a sought-after performer and recording artist in the region. Jennifer’s recording, O Mistress Moon, was nominated for both the ECMA and Music Nova Scotia Classical Album of the Year for 2019. Her second recording, Doolittle: Minute Études “Excerpts” (Live) was released in August of 2019 and a new video is now available on You Tube. Jennifer has a Master of Music in performance from McGill and post-graduate diplomas from University of Reading and Royal Academy of Music in London. She has received numerous prestigious awards including scholarships from the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.

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Talent Trust Artist Spotlight Radio with Karen Myatt and Barbara Hannigan

Tune in for the 7th edition of the Talent Trust Artist Spotlight.

Every first Thursday of the month with your host, past scholarship recipient and current board member Breagh MacKinnon.

November 7 at 1 p.m. 

97.5 CIOE Community Radio

Listen in to hear about the intriguing musical lives of Karen Myatt and Barbara Hannigan.

About Karen Myatt:

Karen Myatt is a vocalist and theatre artist who has appeared on stages in New York, Mexico, and throughout Canada. Professionally, she trained at the Randolph Academy in Toronto and is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City. In addition to performing around North America, Karen as a staple in the musical theatre community of Nova Scotia performing major roles in many of Neptune Theatre’s most popular productions including Beauty & the Beast, Into the Woods, Mary Poppins, A Christmas Carol, and Sweeney Todd.

About Barbara Hannigan:

Barbara Hannigan is Grammy award-winning Canadian soprano and conductor, known for her performances of contemporary opera. She has worked with some of the world's most prominent symphony orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. In 2016, Hannigan was made a Member of the Order of Canada, one of Canada's highest civilian honours.

Previous episodes included:

Hannah Mae Cruddas, Chantal Peng, Becka Baker Gwyneth Christoffel Gina Burgess, Marcel d'Entremont, Gharrett Paon, Marc Djokic, Charley Young, Shandi Mitchell, Jane Archibald and Charlotte Wilson-Hammond. 

You can listen to former episodes here.

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75th Anniversary Ambassadors from Mocean Dance Present Sara Coffin's Wild Within

Past recipient, Mocean Dance’s Co-Artistic Director, Sara Coffin presents Wild Within, her new work resulting in part from residencies that took place in Annapolis Royal and Truro with additional NSTT alumni Georgia Skinner and Lydia Zimmer in partnership with the NS Talent Trust’s 75th Anniversary celebrations.

photo: Nick Bottomley
Nov 14 – 16, 8 p.m. 

Nov 14 – 16, 8 p.m.
& Nov 16, 2 p.m.

Alderney Landing Theatre

2 Ochterloney St, Dartmouth


Coffin, along with alumni Georgia Skinner and Lydia Zimmer, who also perform in the Wild Within, acted as ambassadors of the Talent Trust program, to help inspire young dancers across the province, inform students of the training scholarship program, as well as offer workshops for the local high school and community members to take in a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process of Inside Wild.

About Wild Within

Inspired by the landscapes of the north; the history and power of the Yukon River, paired with the magnificent force of the east coast waters Coffin takes on a journey of reverence for the land, acknowledging the wild within and the femininity of water. Listening to the energy held within the land and the wisdom of our mothers’ this new quartet dances within the poetic play between function and decay found in nature’s life cycles.

About Sara Coffin

Sara Coffin is an independent dance artist, dance educator and Co-Artistic Director of Mocean Dance. She holds an MFA in Choreography from Smith College (USA), BFA in Dance from Simon Fraser University and Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Dalhousie University.

An award-winning dancer and choreographer, her choreographic work has been presented in many prominent dance festivals including; Canada Dance Festival/Magnetic North Theatre Festival, Dances for a Small Stage, Dancing on the Edge and Dance in Vancouver, commissioned by Mocean Dance (2014, 2016, 2019), and her 2011 self-produced work Taking Your Experience for Mine was described by the Georgia Straight as “hauntingly gorgeous.” Coffin’s research interests include interdisciplinary collaboration, technology as an extension of the body, contact improvisation, and the poetic junction between vulnerability, resiliency, and courage. Her award credits include Nova Scotia Established Artist Award (2018), the Gretchen Moran Teaching Fellowship (Smith College, 2012-2014), Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award (2009), and BC Emerging Dance Artist Award (2005).

About Georgia Skinner

From Halifax NS, Georgia Skinner trained in ballet, contemporary, modern, and hip-hop at Coastal Dance from age three through high school. She graduated from The School of Toronto Dance Theatre’s Professional Training Program in 2014 where she worked with many esteemed artists. Georgia has traveled nationally and internationally for dance training during her years in school, and also attended ImPulsTanz International Dance Festival 2015 in Vienna, Austria for professional development training. She recently worked with Coastal Dance, East Coast Dance Academy, The Woods Hip Hop Company, Mocean Dance, Nostos Collectives Dance Association, as well as in various independent productions.

About Lydia Zimmer

Lydia Zimmer is a graduate of Walnut Hill School for the Arts and The Boston Conservatory (BFA). Since returning to her home city of Halifax, Lydia has created several works supported by Canada Council for the Arts and Arts NS. These include Bonne Nuit, presented through Live Art Dance; Embankment, commissioned by Votive Dance; Sonderlings, commissioned by Nostos Dance Collectives, and Sondering, a solo presented by FODAR. Lydia completed a dance residency at Nes Artist Residency in Skagastrond, Iceland, and a choreographic residency in Sofia, Bulgaria at the Derida Dance Centre. This past summer Lydia participated in Banff Centre for Creativity’s Music and Dance Creative Composition Lab. She currently works for Mocean Dance, Nostos Dance Collectives and Votive Dance.

Biographical and event description from Mocean Dance's website. 

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Alex McLean Directs tiny

Past scholarship recipient Alex McLean directs tiny, the multi-media theatre performance co-production with Zuppa Theatre Co. and Eastern Front Theatre, in association with Vertical City Performance and the Glenbow Museum. 

photo of Alex from Kings Community blog

tiny

November 5 to17
Daily 8-9:30 p.m.
Saturday matinees

2 -3:30 p.m.

Scotia Square Mall
5251 Duke St Suite 1210, Halifax, at the former NSLC location on the main level of Scotia Square, back of the food court

Wheelchair/powerchair accessible

"People are trying to figure out what the new contract is between a piece of theatre and its audience. What can a piece of theatre be?” Alex McLean once asked on the Kings Community blog, a few years back, but the question remains relevant.  “Theatre is re-inventing itself. It’s happened before with radio and TV, and now with instant access to media that most people have, it is having a huge effect on where people go to get stories and dramatic experiences and how they want to interact with them. 

Keeping with his curiosity, tiny is part theatre performance, part immersive installation, and part museum exhibition that explores the everyday lives of superheroes. In an alternate version of the 20th Century, a group of extraordinary individuals tries to live ordinary lives—and alters the course of history in the process. 

About Alex McLean: 

As Co-artistic Director at Zuppa, Alex McLean has directed and steered the creation of 16 of Zuppa’s shows since 1999. McLean earned his BA (Hons) in Theatre and Contemporary Studies at the University of King’s College, his MA in the Study of Drama at the University of Toronto with additional training at Primus Theatre and Manitoba Double Edge Theatre.  

Alex received his Talent Trust scholarship in 1996. (smile)

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Genius Child: Celebrating Portia White with Cecilia Concerts

Cecilia Concerts presents:
Genius Child: Portia White at Town Hall

Saturday, 
November 9
7:30 p.m. 
St. George's Round Church
2222 Brunswick Street in Halifax

In 1944, Truro born contralto Portia White performed her New York City debut at Town Hall, a concert venue with a distinguished history of presenting early twentieth-century African American performers, including soprano Marian Anderson, bass-baritone Paul Robeson, and jazz singer Billie Holiday.

Efforts to support her in this career milestone transformed into the NS Talent Trust in 1944. During the last 75 years we were able to support over 1,000 aspiring Nova Scotian artists to pursue arts training to become professional artists.

This special presentation recreates White's historic NYC concert featuring works by Scarlatti, Schubert, and Brahms as well as spirituals and text by African American poet Langston Hughes. The Grammy Award-winning soprano Harolyn Blackwell is accompanied by prize-winning pianist Daniel Zelibor.

Cecilia Concerts presents this concert in partnership with the Nova Scotia Talent Trust with assistance from the Halifax Ladies' Musical Club and Arts Nova Scotia.