The Scope

Marie Wadden

Occupation: Network Producer for CBC radio, author, and investigative writing instructor at MUN. She’s also chair of the board of directors of the Suzuki Talent Education Program.

Bio: Marie Wadden has a masters’ degree in Journalism and has been working as a broadcast journalist since 1977, first in TV and then in radio. She won the 2005 Atkinson fellowship in Public Policy and wrote about addiction in aboriginal communities across Canada in a series of articles for the Toronto Star. This research also generated a book—her second about aboriginal issues—that was recently released in paperback.

How did you get into journalism?: “I worked at the campus radio station at MUN in the 1970s. But I always wanted to write. From a very early age I dreamed of myself as a writer. I had this vision of myself in a room with a view composing stories and telling stories. But I also was always a very practical person, so I thought, ‘well I better get a practical skill,’ so journalism was the one that was going to enable me to write.”

What inspires you to write about aboriginal issues?: “The relationships that I’ve developed with aboriginal people, and again, they’ve kind of happened by accident. I was traveling with a friend to Labrador in 1978 and seeing Sheshatshiu for the first time and never having learned anything about the Innu in school. And by that time I had already worked for a year at CBC and I had never seen them on television so it was like they weren’t in the public life of the province, and they weren’t in the social life of the province. It was like they didn’t exist.”

Tell me a little about how your latest book, Where the Pavement Ends, came about?: “It came about from my long dismay with the prevalence of addiction in the communities I love so much, particularly now Natuashish and Sheshatshiu and amongst the people I know really well.”

“I had some of the most enriching experiences in my life in those communities… and yet all I could see was the spiral of addiction getting worse rather than getting becoming lesser.”

­— Kerri Breen

Tommy Gushue

Bio: At only 22 years of age, Tommy Gushue has won scriptwriting contests, sold a pilot to the CBC, nabbed an agent, and formed his own local production company, Black Market Films. Black Market’s first project was to shoot a zombie film, Date with the Dead, co-starring Andy Jones. Dead is set to be completed by February 2009.

How did you happen to sell your own series to the CBC?: “In June I won the 2008 Island Media Screenwriting competition, and I was flown out to PEI to pitch Hotel Noir, a mystery-thriller that’s set in an old Montreal Hotel in the 1940’s.”

What’s the status of the series?: “I’m working on a general outline for the first season, and the first draft of the pilot is due early in the Spring”

What’s the genesis of Date with the Dead?: “Nima Yousefi, a friend of mine in LA showed me his new script, which would become Date With The Dead. I thought it was fantastic.”

How did you get Andy Jones involved?: “We immediately started seeking out some of the most talented people in town to fill out the cast and the crew…when we started showing [the script] around, people got excited”

What’s in store for Black Market Films?: “We’ve got a lot of things planned for the future, but the very next thing will probably be another short film sometime around the spring. Whatever our next project is, our approach will be the same: there’s some great work being done here in town, but not a lot of it is being seen. St. John’s has a very close-knit film community, but outside of that, there isn’t much interest at all from the average film-goer.

We’re trying to change that…We’re focusing on making films that people outside of [St. John’s] will want to see: independent films for people who don’t watch independent films.”

­— Adam Clarke

Jamie Skidmore

Bio: Jamie Skidmore has been working in theatre for over 20 years as a director and designer. Recent direction credits include A Ghost on the Shore, an environmental and historical theatrical piece that he also wrote, as well as Mother Courage and Her Children and Woyzeck. In 2006 he also served as the Production Manager/Technical Director for the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. Jamie is currently the co-ordinator of the Diploma in Performance and Communications Media and teaches courses in theatre and video production at MUN.

You are a teacher of young theatre artists at MUN, what are their main concerns regarding theatre here in St. John’s? “I was speaking to a student yesterday who perceives the theatre scene in St. John’s as very closed and insular. I don’t think this is the case, but I also think young actors and directors need to make their own theatre for a while before connecting up with established organizations. Krista Hann is a good example of an artist who has made quite a name for herself by mounting her own work, and doing so in a relatively short period of time.”

What is the best part of your job? “When a student says something in class that is brilliant and that never occurred to me.”

What is the worst part of your job? “It’s often sad when a really great student moves on to other things.”

Is there anything missing in the St. John’s theatre scene? “An audience. For certain types of shows it’s easy to pack the house, but lots of productions get relatively few people out. St. John’s is blessed with great theatre that is often seen by very small groups of people. Everyone should include theatre as an option when deciding what to do on the weekend. Parents should bring their children and teenagers to the theatre in order to develop the next generation of theatre-goers. Support the arts!”

­— Dave Sullivan

Charlie Thomlinson

Bio: Charlie Tomlinson has been involved in theatre for nearly as long as he can remember. Born in London, England, Tomlinson moved to Newfoundland in 1972 and would go on to study history and philosophy on MUN. Later, he would serve as artistic animateur for the LSPU Hall from 1988 to 1991 and teach theatre at the University of Alberta before returning to Newfoundland. On his return, Tomlinson co-founded the celebrated theatre company c2c whose production of The Leisure Society opens November 26. (more…)

Tim Conway

Being able to talk to Tim Conway presents many possibilities—what was it like to work with Sandra Bullock in Speed II: Cruise Control? What’s the methodology behind Dorf Does Golf?

Of course, that’s not the Tim Conway we spoke to, so those questions must wait.

St. John’s Tim Conway runs Capitol Video (134 Military Rd) and sits on the board for the Nickel Film Festival. (more…)

Dave Walsh

Bio: One thick, dark night, many moons ago, horrible and foreboding winds ripped through St. John’s and pitched the streets into blackness. According to legend, just as the storm set in, a low wail was heard drifting over the harbour. Dave Walsh was born. (more…)

Janet Maher

Taxation Centre employee and winner of the 2008 Special Olympics Canada Female Athlete of the Year. (more…)

Andrew Stewart

Occupation: Math Ninja

Bio: Born and raised in Glovertown, Andrew wrote his first mathematics competition in the seventh grade. In the eleventh grade, he finished third in the province and in the top four per cent in Canada. He recently wrote a competition exam to qualify for MUN’s team for the Putnam Mathematics Competition, a six hour long (!) exam written annually by over 3,000 of the continent’s best math students. It’s been called the hardest test in the world (almost half of those who write it score 2 out of 120 or less) and first prize is tuition for graduate school at Harvard. John Nash, the subject of the movie A Beautiful Mind, couldn’t crack the top five. Andrew’s hoping to break the top hundred. He is currently one year away from an honours degree in Pure Mathematics at MUN. Oh, and he’s also into sea kayaking, Ultimate Frisbee, weightlifting and he plays classical guitar. (more…)

Donna Bishop

Occupation: Tourist Councilor, baroness of the St. John’s Visitor Information Centre

Bio: This outgoing, sharp-as-a-knife redhead was born and raised in St. John’s. In fact, she grew up around the corner from where she presently works. She went to St. Patrick’s, then Holy Heart of Mary and got herself a job as a bank teller. She then went to Keyin Technical College and got a degree in Tourism. From there, a work term at City Hall led her to her current post at the Visitor Information Center on Water Street. She’s been there for twelve years and can find you a hidden hiking trail, a guy to take you out fishing, or tell you a hilarious story faster than you can say “Gros Mor…” She’s married and has a son and a grand-daughter.  (more…)

Michael Phillips

Occupation: Community Support Worker for the Stella Burry Centre

Bio: Michael was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia and his family moved to CBS when he was nine. He went to MUN and completed a BA in Sociology, graduating in 2003. In 2004 he was given a rare opportunity to put that BA to work and was hired on at the Stella Burry Centre. He’s been there ever since. An ex-”Blatch House” resident, he lived at the now legendary house of anarchy and communal rock n’ roll for four years. He was also the singer for local hardcore bands Taxi Driver, Not Enough Bullets and Judge Dread and is currently plotting his next musical venture. (more…)

William Pryse-Phillips

Occupation: Professor of Medicine (Neurology) at MUN

Bio: Dr. Pryse-Phillips is the reason Rawlin’s Cross looks so darn pretty in the summertime—but we’re getting ahead of ourselves… Born in London, England, in 1937, he and his family left London at the end of the Battle of Britain and moved to Farnham. He attended the University of London, graduated as a physician in 1961 and ended up in northern Alberta working as a physician. He went back to London, completed training in neurology, and returned to Canada. In 1972, when neurology was a very new field, he took a job in Neurology at MUN, the only academic job in Neurology available in Canada. He’s been here ever since and just completed the third edition of The Companion to Clinical Neurology.
(more…)

Dr. Jonathan O’Dea

Occupation: Dentist, artist

Bio: Born, raised and educated up to his undergrad in St. John’s, Dr. O’Dea got his Masters in Dental Sciences at the ever-prestigious McGill University. Immediately upon graduating from McGill, he returned to his beloved home town, where he began working and eventually became partner at the sleek, spacious and high-tech looking Village Dental Offices. He is an avid runner, having just completed his eighth Tely 10. Also an accomplished artist, Dr. O’Dea the dentist recently won an Arts and Letters award for an incredible pastel drawing of…candy apples. He married his wife, Jamie, this December. (more…)

Joe Ryan

Occupation: Retired schoolteacher and librarian, local running guru, father of two kids.

Bio: This eloquent and knowledgeable fella was born in Calvert, went to high school in Ferryland and moved to St. John’s in grade twelve. He ran his first marathon (that’s 42.195 kilometers) when he was a nineteen year old student at MUN and continued to run competitively. To date, he has run about 45 marathons. (That’s 1898.775 kilometers. Jesus.) On July 27th, he will be running his 36th Tely 10. Five years ago he became a trainer for the Joints in Motion Tely 10 Team, through the Arthritis Society, and has been organizing his own training groups and clinics for both the Tely and marathons ever since. He also wrote the go-to guide for the Tely called, aptly, The Tely 10 and was chair of the race’s organizing committee for 11 years. (more…)

Ennomos Subsignarius

(a.k.a. Elm spanworm)

Occupation: Defoliator

Bio: This nasty little bugger is native to the island, though the first recorded outbreak-grade infestation of its species was in 2000. A member of the Geometridae family of the order Lepidoptera, it begins life as an egg laid in a tree during the previous summer’s worm-a-palooza. (more…)

Neil Targett

Occupation: Musician, Promoter, king of paperwork at Targett Trucking

Bio: Born and raised in Corner Brook, Neil took up the drums in junior high and gave electric guitar a shot before settling on the bass, which he has played with Corner Brook indie bands like Kuroda, Korgsican Brothers and Starred Opposite. He completed a humanities degree at Grenfell, started promoting shows at a club called 709 when playing with Kuroda, and is now to the go-to guy for playing in Corner Brook. Most of the time, it’s that Corner Brook show that makes it financially feasible for a band to come from the mainland and play in St. John’s. Neil’s house usually ends up being the crash pad for many musicians playing shows in Corner Brook. (more…)

Sarah Joy Stoker

Occupation: Professional Dancer, Pilates instructor, chairman of the Neighbourhood Danceworks board, organic farm worker.

Bio: Sarah Joy was born and raised in St. John’s. She began dancing at the age of five and has been going strong ever since. After high school, she attended the Toronto Dance Theatre School and then moved to Montreal where she was employed as a full-time dancer. In 2000 she left the big city and the comfort of being able to support herself entirely with her dancing and moved back to St. John’s. Since then, she continues to dance, started the artist collective Gutsink and, with the Neighbourhood Danceworks and their yearly Festival of New Dance, helps foster the contemporary dance scene here in town so that someday she and future dancers may be able to support themselves with their art. She also works at the Organic Farm in Portugal Cove. (more…)

Jan Kergoat

Occupation: Outreach Worker at the Daybreak Parent Child Center

Bio: Jan was born in Churchill, Manitoba. With a father in the Navy, she has lived all over the country, including a stint in Gander. At age 17 she and her family moved to Spain, where she lived under the notorious government of Francisco Franco. Unimpressed with his dictatorship, Jan moved to New Brunswick all by herself and finished high school there. Inspired by fond memories of Gander, she headed to MUN for a degree in Anthropology and Sociology. She married Stuart Pierson, who was one of MUN’s most distinguished History professors and had two kids with him. She has done field work in Labrador, assisting with the creation of aboriginal dictionaries, and now works at Daybreak. (more…)

Kathy Jaeger

Occupation: Chef at the Hungry Heart Cafe, which opened its doors to the public on April 30th (more…)

Bernard Hughes

Occupation: freelance software developer/creator of virtual worlds

Bio: The rumours are true—he really did invent spell check. But we’ll get to that. (more…)

Pat Wright

Occupation: Former early childhood educator, founding mother of The Children’s Centre, volunteer at the Senior’s Resource Centre

Bio: Pat was born in England and wound up in Toronto working at children’s summer camp in the late 50s while exploring the world as a young woman. She met and married artist Don Wright there and moved to St. John’s with him in 1967. She arrived with a two-year-old and a newborn baby in tow, and began discussing the idea of opening a preschool in town with other mothers who relocated here and who shared her philosophy of child development. In September 1968, The Preschool Centre opened. (more…)

Shelley Pardy

Occupation: Former executive director of the NLEN, current Sustainability Coordinator at MUN, mother of a two year old daughter, with another child on the way. (more…)

Bonnie Leyton

Occupation: Owner of the the Leyton Gallery of Fine Arts. Artist. Mother of two. (more…)