Ryan moved to Ottawa around 2015, and has been writing about the city's arts and culture scene ever since. Coming from a small, not-so-artsy city, Ottawa is the holy grail—and he makes sure everyone knows that. Ryan recently completed his Masters of English degree at the University of Ottawa.
The City of Ottawa and Arts Network Ottawa are partnering on two Artist-in-Residence in Government positions intended to identify creative approaches to answering civic questions and bridge the gap between artists, neighbourhoods, and municipal government.
It’s punk! It’s metal! No, it’s—bluegrass?! Well, it’s kind of all three, and that’s the way that Dan Rae likes it. You’ll have a chance to listen to a whole evening of riotous bluegrass at this year’s Black & Bluegrass festival at Rideau Pines Farm on September 16.
Celebrate the 30th anniversary of above/ground press on August 12 with a full night of reading of new chapbooks.
Learn how to build puppets, write shows, and market yourself as a puppeteer, at Almonte’s PuppetCon, happening August 11–13.
Barb Popel picks the best films to see at the ByTowne and Mayfair theatres, celebrating both new notables and big-time classics.
Ryan Pepper: “Earnest nearly to a fault, Sidney Moon and Maggie Decady’s May Be a Play?! is one of the sweetest heroes journeys I’ve ever seen, and a painfully 21st-century one as well. The actors had a lot of fun onstage, and the audience did too.”
Ryan Pepper: “The standing ovation shows just how much this plucky nerd with a horse sweater (and a dead fiancé?) connected with the audience. If you’re looking for the funniest show at undercurrents this year, this should be your pick.”
Dressed as People is a set of three monologues, all concerning women and girls at different periods of history. It’s a heavy show, but one competently handled by Margo MacDonald.
New Play Tuesday is a yearly event at undercurrents that presents several works-in-progress by upcoming playwrights. Who knows, you just might see them on the biggest stages in Canada someday—but you saw them at New Play Tuesday first!
