P.A. Works’ latest slice of life show, Sakura Quest, takes a recent university graduate’s job-search woes and spins it into another fun take on its real-world “Working” series of anime.
Category Archives: Preview
Spring 2017 Anime Preview: The Royal Tutor
While the first two episode of studio Bridge’s The Royal Tutor (Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine) fall squarely into the genre of comedy, they also do an excellent job of charting a path of character discovery to give its jokes some weight.
Spring 2017 Anime Preview: TsukigaKirei
Studio feel.’s latest foray into the teenage romantic drama genre with TsukigaKirei (As The Moon, So Beautiful.) strikes a pretty, but frustratingly boring premiere. The slower change of pace might have been its selling point if much of the debut didn’t feel like an ad for messaging service LINE.
Spring 2017 Anime Preview: Alice & Zoroku
In a double-length premiere that manages to be both action-packed and subversive, J.C. Staff’s Alice & Zoroku (Alice to Zouroku) teases a magical realism story with plenty of narrative hooks.
‘Skin Glowing in the Moonlight’ Art Exhibition Preview for Vue Weekly
I got to reach outside my bubble and talk to two black artist, Danièle Dennis and Shantel Miller, for a preview of Skin Glowing in the Moonlight in Vue Weekly.
Skin Glowing in the Moonlight will feature the work of two Toronto-based black Canadian artists at Edmonton’s Latitude 53 gallery for 44 days, starting next week.
Danièle Dennis uses videography to challenge the status quo of black identity, while her friend and former art school junior, Shantel Miller, takes a similar approach by focussing on black men in oil paintings.
“We’re really, really excited to be featuring our work in Edmonton,” Dennis says. “We really look forward to people coming out to the show, talking to us, engaging with us, and asking questions.” Read more
For as far as we’ve come as a progressive society, speaking with these two women reminded me that we still have a long way to go. Skin Glowing in the Moonlight opens on April 13 and runs through May 27 at Latitude 53.
‘9 Parts of Desire’ Theatre Preview for Vue Weekly
I wrote in Vue Weekly this week about The Maggie Tree theatre company’s production of 9 Parts of Desire.
The original one-woman play, 9 Parts of Desire, isn’t meant to explain things simply. Written and performed by award-winning Iraqi-American Heather Raffo, it’s that depth which caught the attention of Edmonton’s The Maggie Tree theatre company.
The Maggie Tree co-executive director and director for the production, Vanessa Sabourin, looks forward to bringing the project to the Varscona Theatre.
“Something that we have always enjoyed with Maggie Tree is getting people to gather, and also putting forward big questions,” Sabourin says. Read more
It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to interact with The Maggie Tree, but talking to Sabourin about their brand of theatre got me excited all over again. At the Varscona Theatre, 9 Parts of Desire opens tonight and runs through April 15.
Laini Giles’ ‘The It Girl and Me’ Book Launch Preview for Vue Weekly
I got the chance to chat with biographical fiction author Laini Giles about her latest novel, The It Girl and Me. Over on Vue Weekly, you can read my preview of her book launch event happening this weekend.
The It Girl and Me is the second novel in a series about starlets in the silent film era from Edmonton-based author Laini Giles.
It tells the story of Clara Bow through the eyes of her Hollywood secretary, Daisy DeVoe. Giles landed on Bow as a subject from the title of her previous work, The Forgotten Flapper.
“You say ‘flapper,’ people think about Clara Bow automatically,” Giles says. Read more
I haven’t had a chance to finish the book yet, which launched last Saturday, but the first few chapters definitely drew me into the story. Giles will be signing and reading from her book at Audrey’s Books this Sunday at 2pm.
‘Models of Diversity’ Western Canada Fashion Week preview for Vue Weekly
Photo by JProcktor
I had the chance to dip my toe back into the fashion world with this week’s Vue Weekly cover story. Benveet Gill will join other models with disabilities and injuries on the Western Canada Fashion Week catwalk this season.
This spring’s Western Canada Fashion Week (WCFW) turns its focus towards a different kind of diversity than the one it has championed for 13 years.
WCFW Creative Director Sandra Sing Fernandes tried to orchestrate a fashion showcase for models with disabilities and injuries a year ago, and was disappointed when it ultimately fell through.
Then, two months ago, she received a serendipitous call from an old friend who previously worked as a WCFW makeup artist, Benveet “Bean” Gill. She had been struck by a virus-induced autoimmune disease in 2012, and the transverse myelitis in her spinal chord paralyzed her lower body.
“I’m in a wheelchair, but I’d love to model,” she told Fernandes over the phone. Read more
Gill and Fernandes reunited and materialized an important fashion showcase that challenges the stigma around people with disabilities. I’m glad I got the chance to tell a bit of their story.
Jude Griebel’s ‘Crafting Ruin’ Art Exhibition Preview for Vue Weekly
Here’s my first big local break. I wrote the cover story for Vue Weekly this week about a sculpture exhibition by prairie-bred artist Jude Griebel.
After installing exhibitions around the world, Jude Griebel returns to Edmonton this week for his first solo exhibit at the dc3 Art Projects gallery.
With seven-foot resin figures and bone sculptures the size of a human head, the Alberta-bred artist’s 12-sculpture installation, Crafting Ruin, tackles modern environmental issues like consumption and wastefulness. Read more
His exhibition opens today at dc3 Art Projects, and it’s filled with provocative figures that make us think about our place in the environment. I had a lot of fun writing this preview, and I’m glad I could share some of Griebel’s perspective with a wider audience.
‘Soliciting Temptation’ Theatre Preview for Vue Weekly
McDonald Photography
Here’s a preview I wrote for Vue Weekly about an exciting looking play called Soliciting Temptation opening at the Varscona Theatre tonight.
Soliciting Temptation tackles the social complexities of sex tourism from the inside of one nondescript hotel room set in an exotic country. And that hotel room shuttled from Calgary to Edmonton this week for a new crowd to see. Read more
The Jason Mehmel-directed play is coproduced by Calgary’s Sage Theatre and Edmonton’s Shadow Theatre, starring Patricia Cerra and Mattie Overall. The 90-minute, two-person performance opens at 7:30pm tonight and runs until Mar. 26.
Kevin Pennyfeather 