Now & Then

00:00 - Intro 00:54 - Upcoming Events 03:26 - Quote from The Creative Act 04:37 - Warren Frank 10:58 - Showcase Finale 12:11 - Ian McKechnie 24:02 - Vaudeville Look Back 29:13 - Ron Sharman 33:43 - Shrek The Musical 34:25 - Outro In this brand new episode of the Now & Then Podcast, may I start by saying Thursday, June 18th at the Flato Academy Theatre, starting at 7 p.m. is the last Showcase O...

The Now & Then podcast is back, but in addition to telling new stories, we're also going to take a look back into our jar of treats. Our very first episode was three and a half years ago, when we got in contact with Mary the Ghost, and we're going to reminisce about her stories of haunting and practical joking. The highlight of the podcast, though, is a special event next Sunday, April 26th, w...

00:00 Intro 01:15 Linda Brown 05:20 Open Mic 11:26 Ian McKechnie 23:24 David McMillan 31:51 Dylan John Garton 37:34 Jess Spagnolo 40:24 Victoria Sheppard 49:18 Beth Wilson 55:56 Ron Sharman 1:03:14 Outro Welcome to our episode for Fall 2025, and Happy Thanksgiving! We have an array of guests this time with some wonderful stories. We have Linda Brown, who co-hosts Open Mic nights at the Academy The...

For our second summer episode, we have a bunch of goodies, but a standout is the super-famous Erica Ehm. She has been in the entertainment and music industries for 40 years now. She started by booking shoots for the show "The New Music" back in 1982 for Much Music, and then Much Music became a national channel and Erica was the host. She's released a book, done multiple interviews for artists, mus...

This is our first episode back after a hiatus, and we’re excited to have it out for you! For starters, we hear from the brand new General Manager of the Flato Academy Theatre, Victoria Shepherd, and the fascinating journey of her life that landed her here. We also give a tribute to her predecessor, Craig Metcalf! Next we hear from Operations Manager Alan Cottreau about future events coming to the...

For this very special episode, we are going to be looking back at some of our best moments on this podcast. Before that, we have our dear friend Craig Metcalf, updating us on not just this month's shows but some exciting ones to look out for in not January but February! Hmmmm! We hear from Mary The Ghost, who talks about her secret identity for the world and sings us a lovely Christmas carol! We h...

Well, the month has arrived for the big Wizard of Oz play! In which my granddaughter is voicing a Munchkin. I talk about that with director Beth Wilson. I also find an article from 1892 about the construction of the theatre, three weeks before its grand opening. Fun fact about it: The chairs were brought in from Hamilton, and there are names mentioned of the Federation that had a big part in Flato...

Thank you for joining me for Episode 22 of Now & Then! We start this episode with me continuing my journey through the archives of the theatre, and finding out how people advocated for a hall that would honour our future town of Lindsay. I also talk about the history of Oktoberfest, the famous beer festival and traveling carnival, especially its significance in Kitchener, plus a little song ce...

In this delightful episode, having returned from the summer holidays, I have some fun updates for you. Ian McKechnie and I got to recently go to the theatre's attic, and we uncovered some incredible old artifacts of the theatre, including a copy of the Lindsay Daily Post from the 19th century, a playbill from the Great Depression age, and more. Craig Metcalfe and I discuss upcoming shows, includin...

Welcome to the July 2024 episode! Auditions recently took place for The Wizard of Oz, and I got to attend the first night. For the first part of this episode, you get to hear some footage from then. Some includes my granddaughter who’s been accepted as a Munchkin! And this was her first audition! I’m so proud of her! We also have our historian Ian McKechnie, back after a little while, discussing h...

This month, we have some exciting upcoming events! One is the 11th Annual Inspired 2 Dance Recital on June 15th, and a week later, on the 22nd, we have a collaboration between the amazing Kawartha Lakes Concert Band and the Weston Silver Band, which is a British-style brass band. The concert will involve a lot of music from the other side of the ocean. Scottish, Welsh, English, etc. Also, between...

Episode 18 is out! In this one we have some very talented guests - Rob Barg, a talented musician, a board member of the theatre, and the chairman of the Program Committee, of which I am a member too. We talk about what the primary function of the committee is - to advise the management and the board of the shows we arrange ourselves and the ones we rent to, and how the theatre industry is leaning...

For the past few episodes, we have discussed our special guest Andy McNeilly's journey from here in Kawartha Lakes to Bali, Indonesia. We learned he moved there, learned a new way of music, fell in love, and built a family for himself. What you might not know is he so quickly learned Balinese, and was so fluent in it, there was a special festival he spoke at in Bali that went viral! We also hear a...

Continuing my story of The Odyssey Project, this is Episode 16! We have some terrific upcoming shows, including bands The Traveling Milburys and The Sheepdogs. We also continue Andy McNeilly's story, of how he ended up moving to India to pursue a life in Gamelan music. He tells us who introduced him to the work when in university. Our two special guests are Connor Stephen, drummer, and James Barke...

This new episode is the first of a look back at a Kawartha Lakes band that was School of Rock come to life! Anyone remember The Odyssey Project? It was an amalgamation of local schools in the area! First we get a visit from Alan Cottreau, Flato Academy Theatre's operations manager discussing some fun upcoming performers and bands for the month of February and March! Then we hear from my longtime f...

We may as well call this episode The Morrison Show, because my main guests are three members of that family, all of which are performers of their own. First we have General Manager Craig Metcalf talking to us about not just upcoming attractions but how the theatre operates with contract deals, how they negotiate, and how they adapt to different requests from different guests who rent the stage. Th...

Welcome to our anniversary show of Now & Then, and this episode’s a doozy! Craig Metcalf discusses the upcoming attractions, including the Hotel California band, the Rod Stewart Experience featuring Doug Varty, the ultimate Ozzy show, the big James & The Giant Peach, and more. Speaking of James & The Giant Peach, I also got to say Hello to Rory O’Neill, the 8th grader from Central Seni...

You won't want to miss this! There are some upcoming attractions coming fast for the rest of this month at the Flato Academy Theatre, and I discuss them with Craig Metcalfe. They include Grease: The Concert on the 15th, a country music concert on the 18th with Canadian musical artists Michelle Wright, Dogwalker, and Jason McCoy. There will also be a 50's and 60's revival show on the 23rd, and trib...

Our September episode has some fabulous treats. For one, we're introducing the voice of Mary The Ghost, who will also be reading us a fictional but historically accurate tale of a little scavenger who finds himself in Lindsay at the theatre and meeting some real life people. We will also be joined by Craig Metcalf to hear about some of the cool concerts happening this month. We also have some new...

In this episode marking double digits for the podcast, we are going to be talking with our historian Ian about some misadventures faced 100 years ago, such as a train crash that caused the delay of a film reel in 1923 and how special effects were incorporated in silent films. We are also going to talk with him about how he got involved with the theatre and his journeys as a local historian. We als...

On the July episode (Happy Canada Day by the way) we have three new guest stars. We start off with a regular, Claire Imrie, a teacher and actress who was key in creating the Triple Threat Theatre, talking about the upcoming Matilda musical, premiering on July 28th, as well as other productions coming up from Triple Threat. We then have two appearances by my team, Warren Frank and William McGinn. W...

For this nice and hot new month, we’re interviewing a Maestro, and a retired high school Music teacher; David Morrison of the Kawartha Lakes Concert Band, an orchestra of dozens of musical geniuses. The band has a concert at the FLATO Academy Theatre June 24th at 7 p.m.! We’re also reuniting with the Imrie women; Alana, Claire, and Mama Kate, talking with us about what it’s like to program gigs at...

Did you know the theatre almost got turned into a parking lot? How sad would that have been? This episode we're going to be talking with the Academy Theatre Foundation Chair, Michael Piggott, on what it takes to run the century-old building. Did you know it takes about $800-1,000 just to keep it open?!! We also talk about what it was like having the theatre renamed and what it has meant for the bu...

With this new, exciting episode, we're going to be talking about how the Flato Academy Theatre was once investigated by paranormal seekers. Ghostbusters, if you will, explained by Marion Puffer. We also hear from Linda Thomson, who was once part of a fashion show in the mid-1950's at that theatre when she was a kid. We also get a return from the other Randy Read, who tells us an amazing story of t...

In this episode we have some new guests, both under the name Read. The first is some tunes from my late father Alexander "Ragtime" Read who would've celebrated his 100th birthday this month. And the other is another Randy Read who's the artistic director of the New Stages theatre company in Peterborough. Who would have guessed two people with the same name also love the same industry?!! 00:27 - In...