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.

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

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

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.

Well, the month has arrived for the big Wizard of Oz play! In which my granddaughter is voicing a Munchkin. I talk about that with director Beth Wilson.

I also find an article from 1892 about the construction of the theatre, three weeks before its grand opening. Fun fact about it: The chairs were brought in from Hamilton, and there are names mentioned of the Federation that had a big part in Flato Academy Theatre’s construction.

I also talk with Craig Metcalf about a big list of attractions for this month, I meet with my friend Terry Guiel, Executive Director of the Lindsay District Chamber of Commerce and his love of all things local theatre, with an exciting hint at a project we’re doing together, and discussing how an open mic at the theatre, put together by friend Linda “Pinky” Brown, where people can perform open mics, has been very successful and I meet up with some of the performers, who have made their debut at the lovely theatre doing this!

Randy Intro - 0:30

Randy Article - 1:15

Craig - 3:49

Wizard - 9:26

Terry Guiel - 12:44

Open Mic - 16:24

Randy Outro - 20:52

Thank you for joining me for Episode 22 of Now & Then!

We start this episode with me continuing my journey through the archives of the theatre, and finding out how people advocated for a hall that would honour our future town of Lindsay. I also talk about the history of Oktoberfest, the famous beer festival and traveling carnival, especially its significance in Kitchener, plus a little song celebrating the event.

We also hear from my granddaughter McKenna, who’s going to be in the Wizard of Oz production at the Flato Academy Theatre next month as a munchkin. It is her first ever play and I can tell she’s got the talent for it already.

My special guests this month, are Len & Steve Green! Len is now 97 years old, and when he was younger, he worked as a set designer, set painter, and set builder for the theatre in the 1970s. His son Steve was the head honcho at the Durham Cafe! Remember that place? We hear stories of what the theatre was like back then, and we reminisce about some of our mutual friends!

Finally, Ian McKechnie and I learn about how the Academy Theatre was so popular and so respected, people used to say things like, “Oh, Lindsay! Where the big theatre is!”

0:00 How The Theatre Opened

3:45 Oktoberfest in Kitchener

5:10 Oktoberfest Song I Sang

7:20 Update on The Wizard of Oz with McKenna

11:16 Interview with Steve & Len Green

21:22 Ian McKechnie & the Recent International Plowing Match

In this delightful episode, having returned from the summer holidays, I have some fun updates for you.

Ian McKechnie and I got to recently go to the theatre's attic, and we uncovered some incredible old artifacts of the theatre, including a copy of the Lindsay Daily Post from the 19th century, a playbill from the Great Depression age, and more.

Craig Metcalfe and I discuss upcoming shows, including one for tomorrow, September 13th, the metal band Anvil, the monsters of rock who were on top of the world in the 1980s.

We also hear there's going to be a new monthly event, an open mic show, and it's orchestrated by local star and my former student, Linda "Pinky" Brown, who we also have on to talk about what this is.

Finally, we have musician, teacher and business owner Graeme Morrison of Morrison Music, talking about a moment at the Flato Academy Theatre that he will hold dear to his heart for years to come!

Intro - 0:00

Iain McKechnie 1 - 02:53

Craig Metcalfe - 05:05

Linda Brown - 07:29

Graeme Morrison - 10:00

Ian McKechnie 2 - 13:19

Outro - 21:57

Welcome to the July 2024 episode!

Auditions recently took place for The Wizard of Oz, and I got to attend the first night. For the first part of this episode, you get to hear some footage from then. Some includes my granddaughter who’s been accepted as a Munchkin! And this was her first audition! I’m so proud of her!

We also have our historian Ian McKechnie, back after a little while, discussing how he’s now a published author, and talking about his book, “Reflections on Old Victoria County: In Tribute to R. B. Fleming”. Dr. Ray Fleming was a well-known historian and author, who also did some documentation about the Academy Theatre. Not long before he died, he compiled articles about our local history to put into a book. He passed before he could finish it, but Ian and another historian got a green light from Ray’s family to keep going where he left off. And this is the result!!

We also hear stories from the amazing Andy McNeilly, what it was like living in Bali, Indonesia, right after the pandemic. Some examples include how some people came permanently and all over the world to live in Bali during some rough times, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There was a surplus of tourism and some people weren’t treating Hinduism right, and Andy felt responsibility and was a bit of a speaker. Who had millions and millions of views!!!

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