In this episode of Re-Creative, it’s all about acting. Mark and Joe talk to Judy Cormier, an actor based in London, Ontario where she can often be found onstage at the Palace Theatre acting with the London Community Players. She’s also dabbled in directing, having recently co-directed The Wicked Witches of Oz for the Kettle Creek Players. She’s also known for her film work, notably in Black Donnellys, an indie film from 2017 that explores the brutal, vigilante-led end of an infamous Irish immigrant family, and in which Judy portrayed family matriarch Johannah Donnelly.

Judy talks about the work of three heavyweights of the craft who have inspired her —Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, and Maggie Smith. Judy shares specific lessons she unearthed in Dench’s memoir Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent, including the fundamental difference between rote line memorization and the necessity of truly understanding the text you’re performing.

Joe, Mark and Judy discuss everything from the tragedies of Euripides to the structured chaos of “Pantos,” those unique traditional musical comedies often performed around Christmas. Judy walks the lads through the unique challenge of training polite Canadian audiences to abandon their reserve and scream at the villain, something they learn Mark excels at.

It’s a fun conversation with someone truly passionate about her craft.

Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press.

Contact us at: contact@donovanstreetpress.com

In this episode of Re-Creative, Mark and Joe talk to animator/filmmaker Tess Martin about Yuri Norstein’s Tale of Tales (1979), a complex, surreal masterpiece. As Tess explains, Tale of Tales is less a classical narrative than a tapestry of memories, providing just enough clues to allow viewers to unlock its meaning and hidden depths, though a familiarity with the culture from which it emerged helps. Featuring a little grey wolf from a traditional Russian lullaby, Norstein employs deeply personal and culturally specific imagery—such as a glass of vodka and bread as an offering for the dead—making the film feel intensely real and true, even if one doesn’t fully grasp every reference the first time around.

Originally from the States, Tess relocated to the Netherlands to pursue her craft. Her own work follows in Norstein’s tradition of thoughtful, material-based art. Her projects tend to develop through a mix of personal interest and the practicalities of the Dutch public arts funding system.

Mark, Tessa and Joe discuss two of her recent films:

• How Now House: Using archives, personal memories and the philosophy of time, the film questions whether a space can ever really belong to one person, or time period, at all.
• 1976 Search for Life: A new father visits the hometown of his mother in 1976, accompanied by his wife and baby. At the same time, the NASA Viking lander is sending the first images back to Earth from the surface of another planet.

You can check out Tess’s work on her website.

Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press.

Contact us at: contact@donovanstreetpress.com

In this episode of Re-Creative, Mark and Joe talk to singer-songwriter Jenn Grant about coffee, smoothies, and a whole lot more, including Jenn’s upcoming tour Cradled by the Waves, described as “a groundbreaking live tour that transforms her forthcoming album, Queen of the Strait, into a stunning multimedia performance blending music, film, theatre, and dance.”

Drawing inspiration from Sarah Harmer, Jenn sees her work as an act of service, viewing music and art as forms of resistance, especially in these troubled times. They talk about how her current album Queen of the Strait was recorded “live off the floor” in four magical days, in their own home studio, and how the “Queen” in the title is an homage to her mother, who displayed remarkable resilience during a tumultuous time in their lives. Jenn also shares the true story behind her wonderful song “Jim Cuddy Dress”

Mark and Joe also talk to Jenn about some of her favourite art. She speaks passionately about her own journey with visual art and her admiration for the work of Mi’kmaq artist Alan Syliboy, and about the importance of reconciliation and supporting the long-standing work of indigenous creators.

Re-Creative is produced by Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press.

Contact us at contact@donovanstreetpress.com

In this episode of Re-Creative, Mark and Joe talk to Diane Walton, a founding member and long-time managing editor of On Spec: The Canadian magazine of the Fantastic. On Spec is well known in Canadian speculative fiction circles (and beyond!) for publishing quality fiction and art from (largely but not exclusively) Canadian writers and artists.

Diane tells the lads how the highly regarded Canadian spec fic magazine began in Edmonton around 1989 after a creative writing group at the University of Alberta grew frustrated with American magazines rejecting their work for being “too Canadian”. She recounts the early days of assembling an editorial team, securing startup funds, and commissioning stories from notable authors like Dave Duncan and Eileen Kernaghan for their first saddle-stitched issue.

Re-Creative is produced by Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press.

Contact us at contact@donovanstreetpress.com

In this episode of Re-Creative, Joe and Mark dive into a fascinating conversation with author and publisher Lynda Williams, the "obscure Canadian Tolkien." Joining the lads from Prince George, B.C., Lynda shares how she balances her academic background in Artificial Intelligence with her sprawling, ten-novel epic, the Okal Rel saga.

They explore Lynda’s unique approach to collaboration, where she invites other writers to play in her sandbox rather than protecting her turf. They nerd out on the physics of "reality skimming" (her version of faster-than-light travel) and discuss how her universe evolved from a passion project into a collaborative literary ecosystem.

For her "homework," Lynda chose Edgar Rice Burrough's Tarzan of the Apes series. The three have a frank and illuminating discussion about the Victorian and colonial influences of this early 20th-century classic, and how those "larger than life" archetypes eventually seeped into—and were subverted by—Lynda’s own bioengineered cultures and dramatized philosophies.

Lynda Williams is a powerhouse of Canadian science fiction whose work bridges the gap between hard science and epic space opera. Her ability to maintain an arc from beginning to end across ten novels has earned her a dedicated following from Germany to the Maritimes.

Beyond her fiction, Lynda is a pioneer in the Canadian small-press scene and an educator who understands the intersection of technology and storytelling. Many of her co-collaborators have ensured that all aspects of the Okal Rel universe-everything from faster-than-light travel and fencing-are grounded in scientific logic and reality.

Lynda currently hosts a blog called Reality Skimming, where she continues to foster community by hosting guest posts on a wide range of intriguing themes.

You can explore the vast Okal Rel universe and find all of Lynda’s work by visiting her blog at realityskimming.com or her official series hub at okalrel.org.

For more information, please check out the show notes for this episode.

Re-Creative is produced by Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press.

Contact us at contact@donovanstreetpress.com

Christopher Sweet is an author from New Brunswick. Christopher has been, in his words, “…a freelance writer, manager, waiter, bartender, event DJ, actor, children’s entertainer, truck driver, shopkeeper, call centre operator, concierge, office assistant, barista, supply teacher, and—most recently—a campground manager.” He’s a cinephile, a bibliophile, a lover of nature, and currently resides on a campground in New Brunswick on the other side of the Miramichi with, as he puts it, “his growing tribe of people and pets on a peaceful river in New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula.”

In this episode of Re-Creative, Mark Rayner and I talk to Christopher about, well, everything we could think of related to writing, books and publishing… including our darkest fears. We each have one! But you’ll have to listen to the podcast to discover what they are.

We explore Christopher’s love for Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series, and tumble headlong down rabbit holes containing more of King’s work, including The Shining.

Christopher shares his thoughts on indie publishing, his own budding career in writing, and even waxes poetically about em dashes—a subject upon which the three of us agree.

It’s a fun, illuminating conversation with a talent to be watched… and read.

For more information, check out the show notes for this episode.

Re-Creative is produced by Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press.

Contact us at contact@donovanstreetpress.com

Joe and Mark welcome back writer and editor Ira Nayman, returning to Re-Creative for a third time — we like him that much!

Ira has returned to the podcast to discuss the work of actor, comedian and filmmaker Buster Keaton, in particular his stunning 1924 action/comedy Sherlock Jr., which Ira describes as “an amazing exploration of the nature of film itself” and “astonishingly smart.”

A film of “multiple layers,” Sherlock Jr. was years ahead of its time in terms of conception and execution.

Ira, Joe and Mark examine the film on every level, including the amazing and dangerous stunt work, for which Keaton is justifiably famous, and the surreal nature of his imagery, which continues to inform Ira’s own work.

For more information, check out the show notes for this episode.

Re-Creative is produced by Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press.

Contact us at contact@donovanstreetpress.com

Author and critic Michael Antman joins Joe and Mark for Michael's second appearance on Re-Creative.

After discussing Michael's novel, Cherry Whip: the Twentieth Anniversary Edition, recently released by Donovan Street Press, which features a Japanese protagonist, Michael explains the origin of his love for Japanese culture. According to Michael, it all happened because he didn't know what a "porter" was (it's not what you think...)

Well, that and his discovery of a six volume history of haiku.

To Michael, haiku has always been "a wonderful diversion." It's a passion that Mark shares, both Michael and Mark having actually published haiku in The Mainichi Daily News.

"A writer writes," Michael reminds us, advice he received from fellow writer Scott Turow. "I'm a writer, that's what I do."

And to prove it (not that we needed proof), he shares with us all a choice morsel of his own haiku.

For more information, check out the show notes for this episode.

Re-Creative is produced by Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with MonkeyJoy Press.

Contact us at contact@donovanstreetpress.com