Now & Then

Now & Then Episode 28 - Back In Time 100 Years Ago & To Episode 1 - April 2026

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, which will take us all back in time when the theatre specialized in silent films, and not just displaying them, but having live performers! Did you know they had those?! They will be playing a film from 1922 that actually did play at this exact theatre back then, also with live music, including our friend Sophia Mackey singing live songs! We talk with our good friend Ian McKechnie, who's made the night possible, and Shannon Rozell, a local musician from Fenelon Falls who's been all over Canada and details her journey into composing original music, signing with a producer, and recording her first album! Timecodes: Intro: 00:00 Victoria Sheppard: 01:06 Episode 1 Flashback: 06:31 Ian McKechnie: 13:42 Shannon Rozell: 24:43 Outro: 36:04

Now & Then Episode 27 - Autumn 2025

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 Theatre with me, and we reveal a fun opportunity to record a song of your very own for free at a legit studio. We have several guests of our recent Open Mic and their stories of who they are. Ian McKechnie talks about a famous film and stage actress Marie Dressler and how she made her huge start here at the Flato Academy Theatre. David McMillan is a young man now on the theatre’s committee, originally from Ottawa and having recorded for some amazing bands and working for some big-time record companies throughout his life. Dylan John Garton is the tech guru of the theatre, and has been helping out shows since he was 13 years old. Yep. 13! He makes sure everything’s working technically, and there was something here at the theatre that really ignited his passion for the craft. Jess Spagnolo is their new handler for Communications and Marketing, and is a renowned artist on the side. Our General Manager, Victoria Sheppard, talks about some exciting upcoming shows, such as A Christmas Story The Musical, and we then hear from the director of that upcoming show, Beth Wilson! Finally, we hear from our frequent theatre flier, Ron Sharman, talking about how he recently saw the Oasis band, famous for Wonderwall at the Rogers Stadium in Toronto - and he recently saw Jane Goodall speak before she passed away.

Now & Then Episode 26 - With Erica Ehm - August 2025

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, musicians and cultural leaders, and she started a show called "Yummy Mummy" and a website called the "Yummy Mummy Club" which is now the largest online community for mothers in THE ENTIRE COUNTRY!!! I could go on. We have some additional incredible guests, like Victoria Shepherd, GM for the Flato Academy Theatre, revealing some fun upcoming shows and performances for the next few months. We talk to some people who were auditioning for the upcoming musical, an adaptation of A Christmas Story to be performed this holiday season. There's also Ron Sharman, who's on the board at the theatre. He and his wife go to more shows at the theatre than anyone else I've seen. It was an honour to have him to be able to talk about two recent shows he's been to. Also, my good friend Ian McKechnie told us an interesting take about a play done 125 years ago, all the way back in 1900, according to newspapers documenting an Empire Day play at the Academy Theatre! 00:35 - Intro 01:22 - Victoria Shepherd 05:43 - A Christmas Story The Musical Interviews 09:40 - Ron Sharman 17:07 - Ian McKechnie 32:38 - Erica Ehm 45:35 - Outro

Now & Then Episode 25 - June 2025

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 theatre. Third is the owner of the Olympia restaurant, Nicki Dedes. You’d be surprised how the restaurant came to be. She takes us back to the beginning, when Lindsay was a rail town. Did you know this used to be an ice cream parlor, and it sold ice as a commodity, and Nicki’s dad really Greek’d it up? Also, back during one of my open mic nights, we chatted with a bunch of local singer-songwriters performing, including the Van Halteren’s. Lastly, we got to sit down with our producer Warren Frank to talk about the recent O Canada concert put on by BGC Kawarthas! 0:00 - Intro & Victoria Shepherd 10:58 - Operations Manager Alan Cottreau 13:45 - Nicki Dedes 29:05 - Linda Brown & Singer Songwriter Interviews 42:20 - Warren Frank

Now & Then Episode 24 - December 2024 - Two Year Lookback

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 have our producer Warren Frank, discussing what it is like being the one to put the podcast together over these last two years. And last we have our social media and graphic designer William McGinn, talking about what he feels are our most fascinating moments since production, and discussing a project he has done himself for the last three years, to bring a video game character back to life in his own way.