Orpheus Musical Theatre's latest production, "The Music Man"
Orpheus Musical Theatre Managing Director J.T. Morris & Cast Member Lily Fletcher talk about their latest production, 'The Music Man.'
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Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Sandra Santiago Unveils 'The Life Force' – A Timely Short Film Illuminating the Emotional Energy That Keeps Humanity Moving Forward.
Award-Winning Filmmaker Sandra Santiago Premieres 'The Life Force,' A Poetic and Visually Arresting Exploration of Loss, Renewal, and the Invisible Forces That Heal Us. Los Angeles - June 23, 2025 - With the grace of a seasoned storyteller and the soul of a survivor, award-winning actress and filmmaker Sandra Santiago announces the official release of The Life Force, a short film that explores the emotional and spiritual energy that carries us through grief, healing, and transformation. Poetic and deeply human, The Life Force tells the story of Gina, a woman navigating the aftermath of personal loss who rediscovers a sense of meaning and connection through unexpected encounters. Rich in visual storytelling and grounded in emotional truth, the film offers an introspective reflection on the invisible strength that sustains us in difficult times. 'This story is about the invisible threads — love, memory, spirit — that continue to move us forward,' said Santiago. 'It's personal, but also something everyone has felt.' Born from Friendship, Built on Vision: The film is a result of the creative collaboration and personal bond between Sandra Santiago, Eric Marinho, and Reinaldo Vandres. Their friendship, rooted in shared life experiences and spiritual conversations, became the foundation for this artistic endeavor. What started as a series of candid discussions about loss, resilience, and healing grew into a cinematic project with universal relevance. 'We weren't just making a movie,' said executive producer Reinaldo Vandres. 'We were translating our own lives into something others could heal from, too.' Recognized by Festivals, Celebrated by Audiences: The Life Force has already received acclaim on the independent festival circuit: Winner – Best Drama Short – Golden State Film Festival 2025 - Chinese Theater, Los Angeles These accolades underscore the film's emotional resonance, visual strength, and narrative significance. The Life Force short film at the Golden State Film Festival 2025. - Chinese Theaters, Los Angeles, California. Video Link: Created in Crisis, Powered by Community: The project was conceived and produced at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, during a time when the film industry was virtually paralyzed. Thanks to the support of individual donors who believed in the filmmakers' vision, The Life Force overcame major obstacles to become a finished work. Their contributions were instrumental in transforming a creative idea into a healing work of art. 'In a moment when filmmaking had nearly stopped, our donors helped us rise,' Santiago said. 'They didn't just fund a film — they lifted a message meant to heal.' Read more about the film's production journey: Life Force IMDb listing: A Franchise in Development: Following the success of the short film, Santiago, Marinho, and Vandres are now developing The Life Force as a cinematic franchise. Future installments will explore interconnected stories grounded in the same themes—emotional transformation, spiritual strength, and the unseen energies that shape the human experience. Film Credits. Written and Directed by: Eric Marinho - EBM Productions Produced by: Sandra Santiago - Serenity Productions Executive Producers: Sandra Santiago - Serenity Productions Eric Marinho - EBM Productions Reinaldo Vandres - Aknanda Productions Cast: Gina – Sandra Santiago Jason – Eric Marinho Pablo – Jaime Ferrar Elise – Rebecca Holden Announcer – Karla Maatouk Helena – Julieta Ortiz Assistant – Akane Millan Principal Investors: Ramon Bautista Jr. Amber Crane Eric Pritchard The Life Force cast, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The Life Force is a cinematic tribute to resilience, connection, and the emotional current that unites us all. As it expands into a franchise, it continues to prove that even in silence, the human spirit speaks—and it heals. Press Release by: Reinaldo Vandres Press & Media Inquiries: Company Name: Aknanda Productions PR News & Content Creation Contact Person: Reinaldo Vandres - PR Senior Manager/Director Email: info@ Phone: (714) 926-1058 Location: Tampa, Florida, United States Website: Media Contact Company Name: Aknanda Productions PR Content Services Contact Person: Reinaldo Vandres - PR Senior Manager/ Director Email: Send Email Phone: 714 926 1058 City: Tampa State: Florida Country: United States Website:
Geek Dad
2 hours ago
- Geek Dad
Stack Overflow: Reading Grab-Bag
School is finally out for us and we've moved into our summer schedule, though you wouldn't know it from the weather—we had a grey, rainy summer solstice this weekend. Today's stack doesn't have a specific theme; it's primarily comic books, but I've also got a couple of joke books in there for good measure—just a few books that I've read recently! The Impawsibly Good Book of Cat Jokes edited by Thomas Nowak, illustrated by Nat Ellis Pretty Good Science Jokes edited by Steve Mockus, illustrated by Johnny Sampson These two joke books are small hardcovers, compact enough to carry around for on-the-go joke sharing, and have a lot of little illustrations scattered throughout the books. Although the books are the same size, the science book is a bit denser, with 230 jokes compared to the 165 cat jokes. The vast majority of jokes are riddles, though there are also some knock-knock jokes and one-liners. Both books will be published in August. We've worked our way through both books, and everyone in the family agrees that they liked the science jokes better than the cat jokes. I felt like there were just some limitations on the number of cat-related puns, which meant you got a lot of jokes that felt similar or repetitive (and sometimes the punchline just didn't quite land). Science, on the other hand, is a pretty broad category, which allowed for subcategories like physics, chemistry, math, and so on, each with their own jargon and terminology to build from. It could still be a little hit or miss at times, but as we enjoy groaners and dad jokes here, we had some fun with them. If you've got kids who like joke books, I'd recommend checking out the science jokes, but maybe pass on the cats. The Books of Clash Volume 5 by Gene Luen Yang, Kendall Goode, Alison Acton The legend continues in this graphic novel series based on the popular mobile app. It's fun to see how each book takes a particular character or two from the game and turns them from a generic class to a specific individual. This volume takes us to the Goblin village, where we meet Crag and Crag Junior. Old Crag doesn't really hang out much with the other Goblins because they think he's a bit looney: he has stories of a giant lava monster living deep under the village, and is building a giant rocket as an escape plan. Meanwhile, Crag Junior meets Joe, a miner who happens to speak a little bit of Goblinish. Although the humans and Goblins don't typically cooperate with each other, Crag Junior recruits Joe to dig down to find out whether these stories of a giant monster are true after all. In the previous books, whenever the Goblins are talking, the book uses a weird hieroglyphic font to disguise their words (though with some effort you can decipher it). This time, since the book takes place mostly in Goblinish, it's the humans who speak in gibberish, and there's even a scene from an earlier book that we see replayed from the Goblin's point of view. Crag Junior is caught between worlds—he loves his dad but he has a hard time simply rejecting all the other Goblins as wrong. And when Joe helps him dig down below the village, they make a discovery that brings yet another challenge for Crag Junior. My middle schooler has really been enjoying this series and has re-read all the books multiple times, and I like the way that the books have really created some narrative depth and individuality for these characters. Big Jim and the White Boy written by David F. Walker, illustrated by Marcus Kwame Anderson In the story of Huck Finn, Huck runs away with Jim, an enslaved Black man, and they have a series of adventures. Walker and Anderson take the skeleton of Mark Twain's tale and give it a new life in this graphic novel, told this time from Jim's point of view. I heard a radio interview with Walker in which he said one of the big questions he had even when reading Huckleberry Finn as a kid was: why did they flee to the south? Wouldn't it have made more sense to go north instead? Intrigued, I picked up a copy at the bookstore. This version of the story has Jim searching for his wife and children, sold off by Huck's dad. Huck pretends to be Jim's master whenever they encounter people, but behind the scenes Jim really takes the initiative. The comic book jumps forward and back in time, too: we see Huck and Jim as much older men in the 1930s, telling their story to a bunch of kids (and arguing with each other about what actually happened). We also see a woman in 2022 who has traced her genealogy to Jim, whom she believes to be the same man who became a legend for freeing many enslaved people using the network of the Underground Railroad. Although the comic does away with a lot of the escapades from Twain's original novel, it really builds on the relationship between Jim and Huck, and gives Jim a voice to tell his story. I really enjoyed this spin on the story, and I think it's worth a read! Should We Buy a Gun? written by Dave Cowen, illustrated by Gabriel Wexler It can be hard to have a conversation about guns in America that isn't immediately polarized, a stalemate between the Constitutional right to bear arms and the undeniable results of gun-related violence. This book is an attempt by Cowen and Wexler (themselves on opposite sides of the political spectrum) to try to dig into the question in a way that allows everyone to feel heard. The framing story is about Maggie and Adam, a young couple in Austin who are considering starting a family. After a mugging at gunpoint, they find themselves disagreeing about the best course of action. Maggie is scared that the muggers may track them down and would feel safer if they had a gun for protection, which shocks Adam, who feels that guns lead to escalation and are unnecessarily risky. They argue with each other, and also have conversations with various friends and coworkers. They even go to a shooting range and learn to shoot guns. Over the course of the book, a lot of the arguments both for and against gun ownership are presented by various characters, but Maggie and Adam also often have flights of imagination, picturing exaggerated situations involving guns and attackers. When Adam shifts his position and decides maybe guns are a good idea, Maggie finds herself turned off by his new ultra-macho behavior. It takes a while before the two are able to figure out where they stand, and whether their differences are irreconcilable. While I think it's a laudable to try to open up the conversation about guns in a way that is a little less combative, I don't know that the book changed my mind much, or introduced perspectives for either side that were new to me. There were parts of the book that felt a little caricatured or oversimplified, and it also felt like things wrapped up in a tidy way that didn't feel entirely realistic. It could be a starting point for a conversation if people are willing to read it first, though. My Current Reads I've got a stack of movie-related books that is probably more and more overdue that I've started to read lately, and I've also been picking back up on a few book series. I just finished the latest City Spies novel by James Ponti, and I've started the sixth book in Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series, which is super hefty! In the queue I've got The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal (in the Lady Astronaut series), and I'm excited for Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman, set in the same world as her Serafina novels. Disclosure: I received review copies of these titles except for Big Jim and the White Boy . Affiliate links to help support my writing and independent booksellers! Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
National Post
4 hours ago
- National Post
Daily Horoscope - Monday, June 23, 2025
Article content Moon Alert Caution! Avoid shopping or important decisions after 4 AM EDT today (1 AM PDT). The Moon is in Gemini. Article content The Stars Rate Your Day 5-Dynamic; 4-Positive; 3-Average; 2-So-so; 1-Difficult Article content Article content Aries (March 21-April 19) ** You might be involved with family discussions today, especially with a parent or an older relative. Nevertheless, things are tricky because your discussions are subject to confusion, misinterpretation, even deceit. Therefore, if you have something important to deal with – postpone it until Wednesday. Article content Taurus (April 20-May 20) ** Quite likely, in your efforts to do banking matters, or deal with financial issues, you'll encounter obstacles or some kind of confusion. (This will be frustrating.) However, there's also a remote possibility that someone is not being honest with you. Wait until Wednesday to feel sure. Article content Gemini (May 21-June 20) *** Today has a double-edged sword to it. In one way, you're serious, purposeful, and you won't overlook details. But in another way, wishful thinking might cloud your judgment. And worse yet, someone might be dishonest with you. (Who knew?) Play it safe and wait until Wednesday to act. Article content Cancer (June 21-July 22) ** Tread carefully today because the Sun in your sign is at odds with fuzzy Neptune. For starters, this can drain your energy. It can also make you feel discouraged and beaten down by circumstances. You're not in a great frame of mind to do business. Article content Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) ** This is the perfect day to take time off and hide somewhere with good food and drink. (Choose your guilty pleasure.) This is because there's a lot of woolly thinking out there, combined with apathy, distrust and discouragement. People are not sure who to trust. Draw the curtains and wait until Wednesday. Article content Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) ** Be aware that you're high viz. today, which means people notice you more than usual. Therefore, it's important to be honest, forthright and transparent in all your dealings with others because today people are inclined to be mistrustful. Watch your step. Don't believe everything you hear. Article content Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) ** This is a poor day for important dealings with bosses, parents, VIPs, the police, and the government because mixed signals will be par for the course. Misunderstandings and incorrect assumptions could lead you down the wrong path. Double check travel plans. Article content Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) ** Beware someone trying to sell you a bill of goods today, especially in discussions about politics, religion, racial issues or dealing with foreign countries. If you think something fishy is going on – it is. Trust your gut judgment. Wait until Wednesday to do business. Article content Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) ** This is a poor day for important decisions about social occasions, vacations and anything to do with the financial and practical support of kids. Wishful thinking won't cut it. You need reliable facts on these issues. Today is not the day to count on this. Forewarned is forearmed. Article content Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) ** If you feel discouraged talking to partners and close friends, cut yourself some slack today. Many people in the world feel like this today. Conversations are confusing and misleading; and some people aren't telling the truth. (Say it isn't so!) Wait until Wednesday to act. Run away! Run away! Article content Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) *** Give all your decisions regarding your health, your job and even your pet, a sober second thought today because you might not have the right facts. Something that is presented to you might actually be false information. (How would you know?) Wait until Wednesday to do business. Article content Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) ** Romance might be a disappointment, especially if your expectations were not expressed. Likewise, social outings might disappoint. Meanwhile, parents should be vigilant, and know what their kids are doing. Be aware of hazards related to gas, poison and tainted food. Be smart to avoid regrets. Article content
