Break a Leg

by Jonathan van Bilsen

The launch of season five of my talk show will be slightly different from the previous 60 episodes, in that we will be recording four episodes on the stage of Port Perry’s Town Hall Theatre. The theatre is celebrating its 150th anniversary, so it is great to be involved.

We normally shoot three episodes in a day, each featuring one guest. In this case, I will be interviewing two guests per show, all of whom are related to the art world, and it is all happening on October 31st, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The stage of the Town Hall is a fantastic venue, with excellent lighting and great acoustics. Of course, setting up our cameras, audio equipment etc., will be a challenge, but nothing our team cannot handle.

The element I enjoy most about the entire undertaking is meeting the guests. Port Perry has a plethora of artists and artisans, and some of the people on my show that day, will be singing, dancing, and even offering me a lesson on acting.

Although this is not a public event, we are allowing anyone who wishes to drop by, to do so. It will be a great way to see local talent; however, it is a TV show, so there will be many minutes of downtime.

There are so many wonderful events happening at the Town Hall Theatre this autumn, including a limited performance by the fantastic classical soprano Leslie Ann Bradley. Born in Port Perry, Leslie Ann now makes her home in New York. I had the pleasure of interviewing her a few years ago, and her show on November 4th will be simply amazing.

There are tribute concerts to Garth Brooks, the Eagles, John Lennon and Abba. The Borelians will be performing ‘Here on the Flight Path’, Irwin Smith will be creating another of his wonderous Christmas extravaganzas, and the Durham Chamber Orchestra will be doing their Christmas Concert. Our very own SCS Musicals (Scugog Choral Society) will be performing a holiday Cabernet with four shows. What a fantastic way to weave through autumn into the festive season.

For more information on events at the Town Hall, visit townhalltheatre.ca and if you want to catch my show, check local listings or simply search YouTube for The Jonathan van Bilsen Show.

Jonathan van Bilsen is a television host, award-winning photographer, published author, columnist and keynote speaker. Watch his show, ‘Jonathan van Bilsen’s photosNtravel’, on RogersTV, the Standard Website or YouTube.