October 11, 2008
The TALENT POOL OF EASTERN ONTARIO by Kathleen Hay
The arts are anything but ordinary. Even within a small community such as ours, the depth of our talent pool, past and present, in all genres never ceases to amaze me. A couple of nights back I was browsing Clive and Frances Marins latest and -- most impressive -- tome, 'Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry 1975-2007: A Chronicle of Our Life and Times,' in prep for an interview I was having with them. I like to consider myself pretty well up-to-speed on who's what and where in our arts community, but I must confess I was blown away -- not to mention thunderstruck by what had escaped my artsy radar. For instance, did you know one of Canada's brightest lights in professional theatre hails from St. Andrew's? I didn't, and I was floored.Duncan McIntosh, a product of General Vanier's drama studies, was hailed as "the saviour of the Charlottetown Festival" by The Globe and Mail upon his appointment there in 2002 as artistic director. Duncan -- who I'm hoping to score an interview with when he teaches a sold-out acting workshop with the Ottawa Little Theatre later this month -- founded the Academy of the Shaw Festival, and was its associate artistic director. Among other credits far too numerous to list here, he was also artistic director of Edmonton's Citadel Theatre, Toronto's Theatre Plus, and founded the Prince Edward Island Conservatory in 2004, where he is currently artistic director.
There are scads more, either claiming roots or who have adopted our community. Ryan Gosling, Anna McGarrigle, Janet Irwin, Tyler Murree, Rosemonde Laberge, Joel Derouin, Thérèse Motard, Louise-Andrée Baril, Berenice Dickson, Rae MacCulloch, Paul Deslauriers, Bobby Lalonde, Gilles Godard, The Brigadoons, The Trottiers, Graham Greer, Nancy Beaudette.
