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.