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(Y Chairman of the Board: Friends for dinner

(¥ Douglas alumni take CBC ComedyCoup by storm

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Contact: Chery! Minns, Arts Editor
Marts@theotherpress.ca

www. theotherpress.ca

 

Fred Ewanuick is the boss in
new comedy ‘Ranger Bay’

» From Commercial Drive to ‘Corner Gas’

Cheryl Minns

. Arts Editor
Marts
@theotherpress.ca

 

Fs of Canadian comedy
series are sure to know the
name Fred Ewanuick, who has
starred in Regina’s Corner Gas,
Vancouver’s Robson Arms, and
Kitchner’s Dan for Mayor. Now
he’s appearing on the big screen
in Corner Gas: The Movie, guest
starring in the 10th season of
Supernatural, and working ona
potential new TV series called
Ranger Bay.

Ewanuick met with the
Other Press last week on
Commercial Drive at Caffé

house in Vancouver.
“T love this place. It’s so old

school,” said Ewanuick, who is of " a ,
: relate to it and think, ‘Oh, that’s

: a show I'd like to see? then
: please vote for it and share it,”
: Ewanuick said.

Italian-Ukrainian lineage, about
the café he has patronized since
he was a child. “My parents grew
up around here, so I claim to
have East Van blood. I’m from
Port Moody, but I claim to be
part-East Van.”

Ranger Bay, a comedy
project made for the CBC
ComedyCoup competition,
follows the fictional story
of Vancouver park rangers
and their newest hire, Claire
Mulligan (Brynn Peebles), a
disgraced police cadet who
accidentally started the Stanley
Cup Riot.

“The potential for the show
is particularly strong,’ Ewanuick
said. “I think it’s as good as
pretty much all the stuff that’s
out there.”

Ewanuick plays a senior
park ranger in the series who is

and overachiever attitude.

“I get to bea boss. I’ve
never been a boss before,” he
said about the character. “He’s a
pretty smart guy, but he doesn’t
like parks and he doesn't like
animals. He’s really good at his
job, at this administrative stuff.
That’s why he’s there.”

If the series goes into
production, Ewanuick teased
that “he'd be one of those

see in the park. He’d always be

t

Re a3 Ae

15} AG at-1 9A Ubhav ets

 

sending people out to do the
: stuff that needs to be done.”

In the CBC ComedyCoup

: competition, viewers cast their

: vote for which show they want

: to see continue to the next

: round and get one step closer to
: production. The projects feature :
Calabria, the oldest Italian coffee : Video clips, photos, interviews,
: and more on the website,

comedycoup.cbc.ca.

“Check it out, and if you

Whether the show wins the

: competition or not, he hopes

: the creators—Jamie Hrushowy,
: Mike Scully, and Tom Hackett— :
: will continue the showin some:
: way because he has enjoyed

: working with them. Three of

: them—Ewanuick, Hrushowy,

: and Hackett—know each other
: from their Douglas College days
in the theatre program.

“T haven't seen them ina

long, long time. It brought back
: a lot of fun memories of my time :
: at Douglas,” Ewanuick said.

Though he didn’t complete

: the theatre program, it helped
: him realize that he was more of a :
: film actor than a stage actor.

“In film and television,

intimidated by Mulligan’s height : everything works at a quicker

: pace. I’m more of a person who
: likes to experience it and then

: go home and not think about it? :
: he said, explaining that theatre
: is more about fine-tuning scenes :
: and characters than working

: with fresh material.

“For me, I realized that

: theatre wasn't going to be.

: But I learned skills—which I

: didn’t realize at the time I was
learning—that have helped me

characters who you'd never really ; 17 ™Y career today.

Ewanuick is alsoa

: screenplay writer and has

: written scripts over the years,
: which he has recently begun
: releasing.

rcs :
Sometimes you can get

: caught up in the acting world
and it can get a bit frustrating

: because there’s peaks and

: valleys. So having something
else that’s still creative has been
: great,” he said.

One of his latest projects is

The Magic Ferret, ashort film

: about an orphan boy named

: Sam (Jacob Tremblay) who puts
: ona magic show with his ferret
: Booger (Falcor the Ferret) to

: impress prospective parents.

: Ewanuick starred in the film as

: prospective father Mr. Parker,

: and now is writing the script for
: a feature-length adaptation.

This summer, Ewanuick and

the cast of Corner Gas returned
: to Regina, Saskatchewan, five

: years after the show’s finale to

: film Corner Gas: The Movie,

: which premieres in theatres this
: December.

“Tt was like a homecoming

to see everybody again. Regina
: was like a second home. It was
: good,” he said about the filming.

In the movie, not a lot has

: changed over the last five years
: in the fictional town of Dog

: River, Saskatchewan. That is

: until Brent (Brent Butt) and his
: friends discover that the town

: has been poorly managed and

: is under threat by a corporate

: giant, which means it’s up to

: them to save the town.

“People who like the

show are going to dig it for

: sure. They're going to love

: it,” Ewanuick said. “It'll be

: interesting to see how many
: folks we get out there who

: haven't seen the TV show or
: aren't fans of the show.”

To decide which theatres

: will premiere Corner Gas: The

: Movie, the CTV website has a

: map application called Light Up
: The Map of Canada where fans

: can vote for their local theatre

: to host the premiere. For more

: information on Corner Gas: The
: Movie, check out the official

: website at cornergasthemovie.

: com.

To learn more about

: Ewanuick’s work, visit his official
: website at fred-ewanuick.com

  

 

New art exhibit
shows talent runs
in the family

» ‘Under the Same Roof’ in the
Amelia Douglas Gallery

Cheryl Minns

. Arts Editor
Marts
@theotherpress.ca

 

ather and daughter Ewan

McNeil and Jessie McNeil
are the latest artists to have
their work on display in the
Amelia Douglas Gallery at
the Douglas College New
Westminster campus. From
October 23 to December 12,
Under the Same Roof will
feature Ewan’s sculptures and
Jessie’s figurative collages as
well as a collaborative large
mural spread across the
exterior wall of the Laura C.
Muir Theatre.

“T hope visitors go away
with a pleasurable visual
experience and an idea of
what it takes to live and work
and be an artist,’ Ewan said
about the exhibit.

The large mural is
particularly special because
it is a new type of art for
the McNeils due to the
collaboration and size.

“I don’t usually work in
that size, so it was a bit of a
challenge for me,” Jessie said.
“We set a few guidelines and
starting off points, then I
would work a little bit on my
own, then my dad would. We
would reflect on what we did
and then go from there.”

“We both have studios
within shouting distance and
we're constantly coming in

: and out of each other’s and

: checking up on the work,”
Ewan said. “It was difficult

: to get space to actually do

: the mural. We had to set the
mural up in the alleyway in

: order to get a full picture of
what we were doing.”

Both artists will be giving

Da presentation about their art
: on October 24 at 10 a.m. in
the Amelia Douglas Gallery,

; and students and members of
: the community are welcome
to attend.

“The process is really

: important to me and I would
like to talk about what’s

: possible,” Ewan said about the
: presentation. “I might pepper
it with some art history.”

“T always love an open

format, Q-&-A kind of thing,
: so bring questions!” Jessie
: said.

The show was originally

: called Merge, but underwent
a name change when the

: artists decided on a more
symbolic show title.

“Merge sounded kind of

> vague,” Ewan explained.

“Under the Same Roof just

: came to us,” Jessie said. “We

: could think of it literally, like
: we’re working under the same
roof, or metaphorically.”

Ewan and Jessie will be

: in attendance at the opening
: reception for Under the Same
: Roof on October 24 at 4:30
p-m. at the Amelia Douglas

: Gallery.