ColdSpell: How we Winter

Tuesday, March 6 at 8 p.m.
Yukon Arts Centre
Tickets: $35 Adult / $30 Children (2-16) and Seniors (55+)

Buy tickets at Yukon Arts Centre box office, Arts Underground or online.

A warm cabaret of music and comedy featuring local favorites and exciting outside talents: original songs, comic confessions, wood smoke, mukluks, and cabin fever. Pull up a stump!

This concert was produced by Emily Farrell and Claire Ness. It offers downright honest ideas about getting through the colder months in the north from a fantastic line up of local and visiting artists.

Program Biographies

• Claire Ness
  Claire is a northern songwriter, character comedian, cabaret producer, and circus trainer who naturally gravitated toward show biz after her birth and upbringing in the wilds of the Yukon. Some of her favourite memories include working for Zero Gravity Circus in Toronto, learning to be a clown with various majestic teachers, training at L’École Nationale de Cirque in Montréal, and producing many a riotous cabaret! Claire’s future includes the release of her debut music album this spring, the creation of a one-woman clown show set in the Yukon, and the development of her latest endeavor: the Yukon Circus Society.
• Dave Haddock
  Dave has been on the scene since about 1979 when he moved to Whitehorse from Vancouver via Keno City. From his start at Sam's McGee's Tavern on to the Kopper King with the band Goin' South he has performed as a musician and actor on most of the stages in Whitehorse and around the Territory, not to mention the Vancouver Expo 86 run of the Rinkbinders. His experience as musical and artistic director with the Longest Night Society allowed him the experience of working on the Yukon Arts Centre stage where he returns to lead the ColdSpell house band.
• Ryan McNally
  With more aliases then a stagecoach bandit, Ryan McNally is everywhere. Whether he's playing with his own solo band, Old Time Machine, Dana Sipos, or various rockabilly outfits, he can't be kept off Canadian stages. From rockabilly and blues, to old-time and folk, or even experimental pop, Ryan makes it all happen with grace, skill and plenty of pomade. He’s toured Canada and the U.S., and made the trek to China for the Nanjing Jazz Music Festival with his latest album, Down Home, in tow. Ryan is determined to spread his music far and wide, collaborating with as many different artists as he can.
• Grant Simpson
  Born at an early age, Grant soon deduced that earning a living as a writer and entertainer was preferable to working. After entering the Jazz Studies Program at Malaspina College, he began making his living playing jazz piano in a wide variety of settings from roadside saloons to five-star hotels to cruise ships to concert halls and music festivals the world over. Grant has performed his music in China, Korea, the Caribbean, Mexico, the USA and across Canada. He is currently collaborating on a musical with Roy Ness which should hit Yukon stages in 2013.
• Lonnie Powell
  Lonnie Powell has been hitting things (not people) for about 38 years. After much therapy (with the likes of Jim Blackley and Al Wiertz) he seems to be able to sit still on the drum set in most scenarios without ritalin. If by chance he leaves the drum stool during the performance, do not panic. He is probably going to relieve himself and be right back. Claire and Emily brought him back from the Amazon and he is still on monkey juice, so pay no mind to his antics. He is harmless and grateful to be on stage again!
• Moira Sauer
  Moira Sauer has called The Yukon her home for over a decade, and always looks forward to performing in the beloved Arts Centre. She has worked as a puppeteer in the US, Europe and Canada, toured Shakespeare across North America, and recently completed a successful run of 'Boston Marriage' at the Guild. ‘The Provider’ screened at the Tromso International Film Festival in Norway and will screen at the Vancouver Women in Film Festival later this week. It could not have been made without the talents of Ian Stewart, Genesee Keevil, Ryan McNally and our family of doggies.
  *** No animals or men were hurt during the filming***
• Brian Fidler
  Brian has been acting, teaching and directing theatre in the Yukon for over a decade. He has worked and trained with Mermaid Puppet Theatre of Nova Scotia and traveled to Japan twice with the company. As Artistic Director of Ramshackle Theatre his original plays have been presented across the country. He’d like to thank the talented Jon Gelinas for the music for his pieces this evening, and Neil Macdonald for the camera work. Brian is very excited to unscrew the top of his head and let you peek inside.
• Roy Ness
  Roy Ness is a writer, actor and gardening guru. His novel, Rutting Season, will be coming out soon. He has spent the winter working with Grant Simpson on Dogtown, a musical play about Trevor the Dog.
• Kathryn Calder
  Life is full of surprises. Nobody knows this more than Kathryn Calder. After years of playing in indie darling band Immaculate Machine, she found herself in the very unexpected position of being asked to record and tour with The New Pornographers. Before she knew it, she was inducted as a full-fledged member of the group. In 2010 she once again surprised herself (and fans) by releasing her first solo album of her own compositions entitled Are You My Mother?, which would garner favorable press throughout the world. Now just one year after the release of her debut album, Calder has returned with another full-length album, appropriately titled Bright and Vivid. Written and recorded in a relatively short amount of time, the album is a masterfully refined piece of work that illustrates a maturation that can only come from intense growth and change. Kathryn has found her own beautifully unique voice… one that is best summed up by the title that she chose for her sophomore release Bright and Vivid. Throw out any preconceived ideas that you had about Kathryn Calder and you will be rewarded with the biggest surprise you’ll have this year.
• Jen Georgopoulos
  A former competitive gymnast, Jen Georgopoulos trained as a stunt performer in fight choreography, fire work and high falls before eventually turning her determined gaze to the world of circus arts. One of Toronto's premier theatrical circus artists, she travels the country and the world. Currently Jen specializes in the dramatic dynamics of the aerial disciplines with Zero Gravity Circus, including static and swinging trapeze, corde lisse, aerial hoop, and aerial silks.
• Cris Derksen
  A rising star on the Canadian classical/jazz/folk/pop/electronica/what have you scenes, cellist Cris Derksen is known for captivating solo performances, building layers of sound into often surprisingly slamming dance music. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance at UBC where she shared the Principle Cellist of the UBC Symphony Orchestra title, and braids traditional and contemporary sounds for genre-defying music. Cris has toured extensively both nationally and internationally, and has shared the stage with the likes of Tanya Tagaq, Rae Spoon, Kinnie Starr, and Kanye West. Originally from Northern Alberta, Cris comes from a line of Chiefs from North Tall Cree Reserve on her father’s side and a line of strong Mennonite homesteaders on her mother’s side.
• Tim Jeffery
  Tim Jeffery was on the road for many years as front man, pedal steel guitar player, bass and guitar player, and singer with the bands Prairie Fire and The Honky Tonk Heroes. He went on to work as a sound engineer and producer at Damon Studios and Louis Sedmack Studios in Edmonton, Sundae Sound in Calgary, Big Mama Studios in Knoxville, Tennessee and 16th Ave Sound in Nashville. After retiring from the road, Tim took on house production for the Bragg Creek Performing Arts, and set up his own studio in Bragg Creek, Alberta.
• Emily Farrell
  Emily Farrell was born and raised in Whitehorse, and has returned home after living in Toronto for six years where she attended theatre school, worked for several major non-profit arts organizations, and realized her rent was really expensive. She is a familiar face in the arts community of Whitehorse, and is currently the Theatre Administrator for Gwaandak Theatre Society. Emily produces, stage manages, coordinates, and generally puts out fires within various contract work. Recently, Emily has produced a promotional music video project for Music Yukon, worked with the Western Canadian Music Alliance, been employed at the Old Fire Hall, coordinated sponsorship for Frostbite Music Festival, and has survived her first winter at home in a while.
• Vanessa Corkal
  Vanessa is a production jack-of-all-trades, having worked in the Yukon for the past two years on all manner of theatre, music, film, and performing arts events. She recently produced the 10th annual Available Light Film Festival and has worked with the Western Canadian Music Alliance, Hockey Day in Canada, and Yukon Arts Centre, among others. She is most passionate about engaging arts in the community and is thrilled about the wonderful combination of sport, art and culture at the Arctic Winter Games!