Blackout Podcast

Marc is an independent producer and writer based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is a producer and co-owner of Shut Up & Colour Pictures Inc with his partner Jason Levangie.

At S&C Marc has produced countless music videos, including the Prism Prize winner “Brian Wilson is A.L.i.V.E.” by Rich Aucoin, a handful of short films including “Benjamin” (TIFF ’16) and “I Am Coming to Paris to Kill You” (CUFF ’16).

In 2013 Marc premiered his Spanish-language feature film “Saudade” which in 2015 sold to Starz in the US. In 2014 Marc was accepted and completed the Canadian Film Centre’s Cineplex Entertainment Film Program Producer’s Lab where he spent six months developing feature and television projects with experienced producer mentors from all over the world.

Out of that program, Marc developed and produced the feature film “Suck It Up” by director Jordan Canning, which premiered at Slamdance 2017. In 2016 Marc was co-Producer of festival darling and multiple Canadian Screen Award winner “Weirdos” directed by Bruce McDonald. “Weirdos” went on to premiere at TIFF ’16 and play Berlin ’17.

Currently, Marc has several feature films and one series in development.

Check him out @marcakamark

You can always watch this episode on our YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any episode.

Jandera Simmonds is a local African Nova Scotian Singer-songwriter and Poet as well as an early child educator.

She has been making up songs and writing poetry for as long as she can remember. Earliest songs date back to 4 years old earliest poems date back to around age 7. Started performing different bars an establishment’s about 5 years ago. Started working at different daycares in schools 7 years ago.

Jandera has faced many trials and tribulations along the way including dealing with anxiety, grief, racism and much more. She tries her best to be honest and authentic with her audience as well as write about the things that she knows been through or has experienced.

Check her out @4poeticrhymes

You can always watch this episode on our YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any episode.

Energetic and enthusiastic Learning and Development professional consultant. Gaby has over 15 years of experience in HR and Training & Development. Gaby has shared her enthusiasm, knowledge and experience mainly with manufacturing, non-profit and IT companies. For that reason, she created her training company Connect the Dots Training where she focuses on designing and delivering online and instructor-led training to front line employees, managers and executives. 

As a learner explorer and long-life learner, Gaby believes that the ability to learn is the one skill that every person needs in the digital age. Gaby loves to connect with people and share knowledge with them, for that reason she decided to host a networking event for local entrepreneurs and newcomers, LinkedIn Local in Halifax.

Check her out on LinkedIn

You can always watch this episode on our YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any episode.

Kyla Nicolle is a model & makeup artist currently residing in Halifax, NS. She attended the Advanced Makeup Program at Blanche Macdonald Centre in Vancouver BC, before making her way back home to Halifax to continue her makeup career in Film & Television.

When she’s not on set you can typically find her at home cuddling her cat, reading up on various topics of interests or out dancing with her pals.

Check her out @kyla_saysmeow

Sam Horak is a writer, producer and theatre creator. Past highlights include The Coast’s ‘Best of’ bronze winner, Sissydude, a dandy rock musical (Co-producer, director and dramaturge) and Halifax Fringe award-winning Sit on My Face (Co-writer, producer and director).

For the past few years, Horak has been busy writing two full-length scripts. Her first, Kitchen, a show about artists working in the restaurant industry, was workshopped last year through PARC with direction by Laura Vingoe-Cram. Her second features her love of feminist punk rock and the Riot Grrrl movement.

Horak hopes to continue exploring the producing and writing side of storytelling while maintaining her strong interest in feminist narratives.

Check her out @samaraiswordz

Rockmen is an entrepreneur with a passion for life. He’s a positive disruptor giving a voice to the voiceless!

He is a radically opened minded truth seeker on the hunt for the truth! His purpose is to make it better for the next generation! His most important duty is to be an honest person, and be the best father he can!

He values principles, knowledge, and skills, a position title means nothing to him, it’s just a title!

He knows how powerful knowledge can be, and that we all have the ability to be more knowledgeable! He knows that smiles are contagious, so he is going to laugh along the way too!

Check him out @rockmenparris

Though born and raised in a small farming community in rural Nova Scotia, Kristen Herrington has called Halifax home for more than a decade. She is a prolific abstract painter and designer, with a particular interest in collaborative works. She studied -what she calls- the artist’s “thing” for her Master’s thesis as an avenue to explore the relationship between the creative individual working in a capitalist society. Through this research, Kristen discovered her own “thing” and has been working on that artistic evolution for the past 6 years.

She identifies as a “fluid-artist”, capturing life’s overlooked moments or ideas on her canvasses. Additionally, she uses digital images of her work to make fabrics for items such as yoga mats, leggings and furniture reupholstery. Her work has been showcased in galleries and shops throughout the province and other parts of Canada.

Michael S. Ryan is the solo project of singer, multi-instrumentalist and frontman for the award-winning Alt-Rock group The Town Heroes. As a prolific songwriter with more than 500 unrecorded songs, Michael S. Ryan highlights Ryan’s Folk oriented influences and allows him to explore various avenues of songwriting and performing. A natural storyteller with a desire to entertain, Ryan’s ability to connect with an audience is unparalleled. Known for his banter, crowd engagement and comical stories, his goal as an entertainer is to transport the listener to a world where they believe anything is possible.

At the root of every song is a passionate exploration of the things that make us all human. Whether good or bad, they’re the things that make us who we are – heartache, love, the socioeconomic struggles of rural Canada, dreams and family. His songs fluctuate between lush, multi-instrumented arrangements to stripped-down acoustic ballads á la Bon Iver. Lyrically and thematically, they’re driven by personal experiences and the human condition.

Husband and wife creatives, Michael and Kristen are teaming up for their first collaborative art project. “From the Bottoms of Our Murky Hearts” is the debut album from Michael S. Ryan as a solo performer. Each song on the album will have a coinciding painting — of the same name — that will be Herrington’s visual representation of the mood, lyrics, melody and themes of Michael’s soundscapes.

Check Kristen out @Kristenherrington.art

Check Michael out @Michael_S_Ryan

You can always watch this episode on our YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any episode.