Ferreira Fest 61
Published January 2015.
Please report any broken or expired links to admin@louisferreira.org.
All content copyright © 2015.
Please report any broken or expired links to admin@louisferreira.org.
All content copyright © 2015.
Happy New Year! And luckily, it's the 20th of January, and the start of another year's worth of parties here at Ferreira Fest, where we celebrate the acting career of Louis Ferreira (Justin Louis) and the works of his friends and the activities of our chosen charities. This month's issue is very text-heavy as we have two long interviews for you, please be patient as the page loads. And at the very end we have a Happy New Year's message from Louis! We are starting our 6th year here so bring all your friends! Help yourself to a virtual pineapple cocktail at our bar, and come on in - the fireplace is going...
CHARITY NEWS
The Children's Aid Foundation
We have received a lovely Happy New Year's card from The Children's Aid Foundation:
The Children's Aid Foundation
We have received a lovely Happy New Year's card from The Children's Aid Foundation:
The Foundation's monthly newsletter The Buzz is available online.
We have extended our sponsorship of The Children's Aid Foundation for another year. If you haven't had a chance to make a donation yet, please consider doing it now and starting the new year off right! Click on the banner below and give what you can - every penny helps.
We have extended our sponsorship of The Children's Aid Foundation for another year. If you haven't had a chance to make a donation yet, please consider doing it now and starting the new year off right! Click on the banner below and give what you can - every penny helps.
The Good Neighbours' Club
According to Louis' wishes we have also extended our fundraising campaign for The Good Neighbours' Club for 2015. This is the most difficult time of year for the members at the club. It is brutally cold in Toronto and many people's lives are in actual danger.
Add to that numerous problems with the aging building - burst water pipes, heat loss and similar calamities - it's enough to bury one's head and stay in bed. Not so at the GNC! Despite the issues, not a single day was a down day for this organization. From their FaceBook page:
According to Louis' wishes we have also extended our fundraising campaign for The Good Neighbours' Club for 2015. This is the most difficult time of year for the members at the club. It is brutally cold in Toronto and many people's lives are in actual danger.
Add to that numerous problems with the aging building - burst water pipes, heat loss and similar calamities - it's enough to bury one's head and stay in bed. Not so at the GNC! Despite the issues, not a single day was a down day for this organization. From their FaceBook page:
New office attire for staff at The Good Neighbours' Club. Toque, parka, and gloves... a little hard to type though.
Yesterday afternoon, water pipes burst, flooding the food storage area, today overnight the little heat we had ( boiler disconnected since the Fall) has failed and we have no heat at all!
Third flood we have had in 5 months. Yet, not one day missed in ensuring our men get the services they need! Our staff are fantastic, dedicated and creative. A true blessing being able to work with them.
Thankfully, the men waiting outside to get inside, are able to come out of the frigid -20 degrees. Even though it is cold inside the building, it's much better than being outside.
Yesterday afternoon, water pipes burst, flooding the food storage area, today overnight the little heat we had ( boiler disconnected since the Fall) has failed and we have no heat at all!
Third flood we have had in 5 months. Yet, not one day missed in ensuring our men get the services they need! Our staff are fantastic, dedicated and creative. A true blessing being able to work with them.
Thankfully, the men waiting outside to get inside, are able to come out of the frigid -20 degrees. Even though it is cold inside the building, it's much better than being outside.
Please help The Good Neighbours' Club in this difficult time. Even the smallest donation will make a difference. Click on the banner to the right - our donations page is secure and you can choose to receive a tax receipt for next year's round of tax returns. It is very simple to use and walks you through the process in a few easy steps.
The Good Neighbours' Club is now on Twitter!
Follow them at @ElderHomeless
The Good Neighbours' Club has a magnificent new look! Check out the great new banner/ mural:
The art project was a grant we received by a program sponsored by the City of Toronto called StART. It was commissioned to a group of local artists after consultation with members and the local community. It was put up in early December. Our local City councillor and GNC Board member Kristyn Wong-Tam supported the project.
StreetARToronto or StART is a new pro-active program that aims to
develop, support, promote and increase awareness of street art and its
indispensable role in adding beauty and character to neighbourhoods
across Toronto, while counteracting graffiti vandalism and its harmful
effect on communities.
MENTOR'S CORNER
Louis is a big believer in mentorship - in guiding and teaching others to help them achieve their full potential.
Here Louis shares some thoughts on mentorship. Sadly, the sound quality is rather low - the line was not the best - but you can still make it out.
LF – I think mentoring is just one of those things that happens in your life when you feel like something that you love is good for you and you see people in places that you know you’ve been.
I think it’s just natural to want to give back. To give and help others. I love the idea of volunteering. I think that’s the greatest thing in the world to do. Because ultimately, you get to a place where you realize the best thing to do in the world is to serve others. And however that looks and whatever form that takes is, in my opinion, if it’s a service, then you’re doing a great job.
So, whether that’s with one person, or a small class, a big class, a big group, or a huge deal, whatever it is, I think that when you’re doing that then you’re really giving to yourself. So it’s just a natural thing, it makes you feel good about it and I think that everyone, at some point in their lives, should, hopefully, get to that place because it does feel like a place of, like, you start, I do feel like I’m growing up. I’ve grown up. I’ve evolved.
Feeling that is, to me, a very positive feeling. Nothing feels like, it’s much better than any job I could get at this point or any gig. When you start voicing what it is you think in your head that you’ve learned and you start to articulate it, it definitely is different than, a lot of times, than that voice in your head.
So, it’s very, very beneficial. And certainly for me that mentoring saved my life. Mr. Allen, grade twelve, youth programs when I was younger and we’d go to after-school programs and you’d have, in my case, youth pastors, and a church or a group or something that I associated myself with and they were so fundamentally instrumental in my road to my development that I feel it only inherently makes sense that I would be someone who would then return the favor.
Thanks to Casey for the transcript!
THE ART AND POETRY OF JUSTIN CHANCE
This month we feature the creative spirit of one of Louis' friends and someone he mentors - Justin Chance.
I met Chance on my last visit to LA and Louis, and he kindly agreed to discuss his work with Ferreira Fest. We now have a special Friends page for Chance which contains his artwork and poetry - check it out! The page is intended for adult visitors. Children should go here instead.
This month we feature the creative spirit of one of Louis' friends and someone he mentors - Justin Chance.
I met Chance on my last visit to LA and Louis, and he kindly agreed to discuss his work with Ferreira Fest. We now have a special Friends page for Chance which contains his artwork and poetry - check it out! The page is intended for adult visitors. Children should go here instead.
FF – Well, hello to Justin Chance who is a good friend and mentee of Louis Ferreira. He usually goes by his last name, Chance. And so, Chance, tell us a little bit about yourself. Who is Chance and what gets you up in the morning?
JC – What gets me up in the morning is just, I think it’s hope. Just the feeling of hope that the sun is going to set today, it’s going to rise again tomorrow and there’s always something to look forward to. As long as there is breath in my lungs there is purpose in my life. And so that’s what keeps me waking up is following my dreams and being… if I’m going to dream, I’m going to dream extreme. And I’m gonna do whatever it takes to get there. So really just my dreams and passion - if you’re gonna love your life, love your life with a vengeance.
FF – That sounds wonderful. So, I’ve known you for, well, I guess nine months or so? And I’ve known you mostly as a graphic artist, a poet and a musician. And you’ve shown me drawings and I’ve read your poetry and you’ve also let me listen to some of your music. So can you tell us a little bit about those three specific creative areas? You’re not one of those people who says, well okay, I’m a painter. Or I’m a sculptor. You do so many different things in so many different art forms. Tell us a little bit about how you got started in these three areas. And what kind of training did you have. Are you self-taught? Who are your people that you emulate or that you admire in those various areas? So tell us a little about your art.
JC – I think it started a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I think I was two years old and my grandmother bought me my first Star Wars action figure. And I was just in love with, at that point, with creative things. And I was always drawing and my mother had said that I was always drawing and that if I had a pencil in my hand I was always doing, scribbling something on a page.
And then, as I got older, she would try to put me into art classes. And I would end up leaving the art classes because I wouldn’t listen to what the art teacher said to do and I would just draw my own characters and my own creatures…. We would go to Mass on Sundays and we’d be sitting there in church and people would turn to her and be like, why do you let your son draw during the service? And she’d be like, well, this is how he pays attention. And I’d be drawing Darth Vader with a Bible and stuff like that during Mass.
It’s what kept me going. I mean art, I remember being a vital part of my life. Ever since I was a kid. And music, whenever there was music on I was dancing or I was singing or going along to the music. So it was always just whatever had to do with the arts, I wanted to be a part of.
I remember as young as I could, trying to be a part of plays, drama, things at school. Being involved in anything that was creative and anything that would allow me to use my creativity and just be a big ham in front of the audience.
FF – So art, for you, is a way of interacting with the world as such? I mean, you said that "this is how he pays attention", to me that really rings a bell. This is a way for you to communicate?
JC – Yeah, I feel it’s the way I believe and I feel that that’s the way that I get everything out of me that I gotta get out of me because when I’m happy I go out and be happy.
But when I have something that’s bothering me, sometimes, or I have something inside that I just haven’t figured out or haven’t broken or some type of past demon I’m dealing with or something that is, at the core, just eating me alive, and then I sit down and start drawing or I start writing a song or I start writing a story.
And after that I feel healed, I feel like there’s a part of me that is just alive at that point. I’m able to get up and go, okay, I got that out. And that’s good. And hopefully what I got out will be able to heal somebody else.
FF – So, art and the creative force, for you, is something that goes from the inside towards the outside, and not the other way around. Like for a lot of artists it’s like, oh, they experience something and then you internalize it as an art form. But for you this is a way of giving back, as well.
JC – Yeah, I think it’s a self-medicating thing. I think it’s a way of self-medicating myself. It’s a way of finding a way to get out of me the things that are bothering me or even the things that make me happy. It has to do with the old cliché of life, love and why.
FF – Yes.
JC – I think that it is those ABCs that you keep going back and forth and you keep asking the question, why am I here?
FF – Yes.
JC – And then you realize, well I am here, so I gotta do something about it, because I am here. And I think art is a tool that’s a universal language that you could use and it could reach anybody, no matter where they are or what language they speak. They don’t have to speak the same language that you do. You could just show them a picture and out of that picture you could arouse some type of emotion. And out of that you could spawn a whole array of feelings that they never knew they had.
Art is just a way of communicating.
FF – Where do you find your inspiration for your art? I mean, you’ve mentioned that something happens to you or something’s eating at you and you working with it, but how do you decide if something becomes a poem or a drawing or a piece of music? Where does that process happen? That you decide, oh, this is better off being a drawing, or this is better off becoming a poem? How do you make those decisions?
JC – I think that part of it is discovery. That part of it is, every day, discovering more about yourself. Discovering more about the relationships that you’re in with other people. Discovering the abilities that you have and along the way the things that inspire me. It could be from writing in my journal or jotting something down that happens during the day. Or a conversation with somebody. And from that, that can either turn into a poem, or that could turn into a song or that could turn into a script or that could even turn into a drawing. But it’s just inspired off of conversation.
And inspired off of events that happen. Real life events. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
FF – Let’s talk a little about the three drawings that you chose to share with us. And I don’t have the titles for them so I’m just going to use titles I made up.
JC – They’re all untitled at this point. They’re all characters that have been created that haven’t been picked or used yet for any specific story. One is, the one that’s in color is part of a new children’s book that I just finished that I’m in the process of doing the sketches for.
FF – Okay, now, is that a digital artwork? It looks like it was done with some kind of digital program?
JC – Yeah, I had actually… that was an experimental piece, I had sketched that and come up with the characters and then a friend of mine had digitally colored it (Sam Flugrad).
FF – Oh, okay, all right. So it started out just as a black and white sketch? And then it was colored in later?
JC – Yeah, it was just a black and white sketch with an ultra-fine Sharpie.
FF – So, I just called it The Officer at the Campfire because that’s what I’m seeing in there. Somebody who, it looks like a police officer, but he’s at the campfire and something’s coming out of the campfire, some, some…
JC – Yeah, he’s a zookeeper.
FF – Okay.
JC – He’s a zookeeper and out of the fire somebody is surfing. So it’s just kind of an image that he saw in the fire. Just how sometimes we look at the clouds and we just see all different crazy images. He saw an image coming out of the fire.
FF – Right, right, right, I got it. I got it.
JC – What gets me up in the morning is just, I think it’s hope. Just the feeling of hope that the sun is going to set today, it’s going to rise again tomorrow and there’s always something to look forward to. As long as there is breath in my lungs there is purpose in my life. And so that’s what keeps me waking up is following my dreams and being… if I’m going to dream, I’m going to dream extreme. And I’m gonna do whatever it takes to get there. So really just my dreams and passion - if you’re gonna love your life, love your life with a vengeance.
FF – That sounds wonderful. So, I’ve known you for, well, I guess nine months or so? And I’ve known you mostly as a graphic artist, a poet and a musician. And you’ve shown me drawings and I’ve read your poetry and you’ve also let me listen to some of your music. So can you tell us a little bit about those three specific creative areas? You’re not one of those people who says, well okay, I’m a painter. Or I’m a sculptor. You do so many different things in so many different art forms. Tell us a little bit about how you got started in these three areas. And what kind of training did you have. Are you self-taught? Who are your people that you emulate or that you admire in those various areas? So tell us a little about your art.
JC – I think it started a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I think I was two years old and my grandmother bought me my first Star Wars action figure. And I was just in love with, at that point, with creative things. And I was always drawing and my mother had said that I was always drawing and that if I had a pencil in my hand I was always doing, scribbling something on a page.
And then, as I got older, she would try to put me into art classes. And I would end up leaving the art classes because I wouldn’t listen to what the art teacher said to do and I would just draw my own characters and my own creatures…. We would go to Mass on Sundays and we’d be sitting there in church and people would turn to her and be like, why do you let your son draw during the service? And she’d be like, well, this is how he pays attention. And I’d be drawing Darth Vader with a Bible and stuff like that during Mass.
It’s what kept me going. I mean art, I remember being a vital part of my life. Ever since I was a kid. And music, whenever there was music on I was dancing or I was singing or going along to the music. So it was always just whatever had to do with the arts, I wanted to be a part of.
I remember as young as I could, trying to be a part of plays, drama, things at school. Being involved in anything that was creative and anything that would allow me to use my creativity and just be a big ham in front of the audience.
FF – So art, for you, is a way of interacting with the world as such? I mean, you said that "this is how he pays attention", to me that really rings a bell. This is a way for you to communicate?
JC – Yeah, I feel it’s the way I believe and I feel that that’s the way that I get everything out of me that I gotta get out of me because when I’m happy I go out and be happy.
But when I have something that’s bothering me, sometimes, or I have something inside that I just haven’t figured out or haven’t broken or some type of past demon I’m dealing with or something that is, at the core, just eating me alive, and then I sit down and start drawing or I start writing a song or I start writing a story.
And after that I feel healed, I feel like there’s a part of me that is just alive at that point. I’m able to get up and go, okay, I got that out. And that’s good. And hopefully what I got out will be able to heal somebody else.
FF – So, art and the creative force, for you, is something that goes from the inside towards the outside, and not the other way around. Like for a lot of artists it’s like, oh, they experience something and then you internalize it as an art form. But for you this is a way of giving back, as well.
JC – Yeah, I think it’s a self-medicating thing. I think it’s a way of self-medicating myself. It’s a way of finding a way to get out of me the things that are bothering me or even the things that make me happy. It has to do with the old cliché of life, love and why.
FF – Yes.
JC – I think that it is those ABCs that you keep going back and forth and you keep asking the question, why am I here?
FF – Yes.
JC – And then you realize, well I am here, so I gotta do something about it, because I am here. And I think art is a tool that’s a universal language that you could use and it could reach anybody, no matter where they are or what language they speak. They don’t have to speak the same language that you do. You could just show them a picture and out of that picture you could arouse some type of emotion. And out of that you could spawn a whole array of feelings that they never knew they had.
Art is just a way of communicating.
FF – Where do you find your inspiration for your art? I mean, you’ve mentioned that something happens to you or something’s eating at you and you working with it, but how do you decide if something becomes a poem or a drawing or a piece of music? Where does that process happen? That you decide, oh, this is better off being a drawing, or this is better off becoming a poem? How do you make those decisions?
JC – I think that part of it is discovery. That part of it is, every day, discovering more about yourself. Discovering more about the relationships that you’re in with other people. Discovering the abilities that you have and along the way the things that inspire me. It could be from writing in my journal or jotting something down that happens during the day. Or a conversation with somebody. And from that, that can either turn into a poem, or that could turn into a song or that could turn into a script or that could even turn into a drawing. But it’s just inspired off of conversation.
And inspired off of events that happen. Real life events. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
JC – They’re all untitled at this point. They’re all characters that have been created that haven’t been picked or used yet for any specific story. One is, the one that’s in color is part of a new children’s book that I just finished that I’m in the process of doing the sketches for.
FF – Okay, now, is that a digital artwork? It looks like it was done with some kind of digital program?
JC – Yeah, I had actually… that was an experimental piece, I had sketched that and come up with the characters and then a friend of mine had digitally colored it (Sam Flugrad).
FF – Oh, okay, all right. So it started out just as a black and white sketch? And then it was colored in later?
JC – Yeah, it was just a black and white sketch with an ultra-fine Sharpie.
FF – So, I just called it The Officer at the Campfire because that’s what I’m seeing in there. Somebody who, it looks like a police officer, but he’s at the campfire and something’s coming out of the campfire, some, some…
JC – Yeah, he’s a zookeeper.
FF – Okay.
JC – He’s a zookeeper and out of the fire somebody is surfing. So it’s just kind of an image that he saw in the fire. Just how sometimes we look at the clouds and we just see all different crazy images. He saw an image coming out of the fire.
FF – Right, right, right, I got it. I got it.
FF – And then the other one, I call it The Fuzzy Snake.
JC – Yeah, that’s my interpretation of things that I believe that live in the ocean. So yeah, those are my underwater friends. Maybe they’re friendly, though.
FF – Yep.
JC – But they are weird looking.
FF – He doesn’t look too terribly fearsome, he looks maybe a little bit confused, or a little bit, "what am I doing here?" You know? That’s why I’m calling him fuzzy.
JC – Yeah, but if I’m under the water with him and he’s confused and I’m not really supposed to be in the water anyway, it’s pretty scary.
FF – Yeah.
JC – So it’s one of those things where it’s like, oh yeah, I’d love to see him behind some glass while I’m eating a bag of popcorn or something.
FF – Right.
JC – Yeah, that’s my interpretation of things that I believe that live in the ocean. So yeah, those are my underwater friends. Maybe they’re friendly, though.
FF – Yep.
JC – But they are weird looking.
FF – He doesn’t look too terribly fearsome, he looks maybe a little bit confused, or a little bit, "what am I doing here?" You know? That’s why I’m calling him fuzzy.
JC – Yeah, but if I’m under the water with him and he’s confused and I’m not really supposed to be in the water anyway, it’s pretty scary.
FF – Yeah.
JC – So it’s one of those things where it’s like, oh yeah, I’d love to see him behind some glass while I’m eating a bag of popcorn or something.
FF – Right.
FF – And then the third one you sent me - I call it The Guy with the Whirligig.
JC – Yeah, that character was interesting - he kind of became an ancient time traveler. Just this guy’s wisdom, this guy that has seen everything and has been everywhere and has come to a place now where he’s full of all this wisdom but also full of all this sorrow.
And so he’s been there and done it all and seen everything and he’s one of those guys that just stays in his shop now and just writes these amazing books that hopefully one day we’ll all read and will guide us into a different direction that is not self-destruction.
FF – Right, right, right.
JC – The Ancient Time Traveler.
FF – I do get that time traveler thing because one of his eyes is a lens that looks almost like a telescope lens. So something about that reminded me of science fiction or Bionic Man, you know, seen all, done all and now slowly turning into technology or something as his older body might be breaking down. And so now he has this telescopic eye. But there he is with a whirligig and I just thought that was something sad and endearing.
JC – Yeah, I was trying to do a cross between Galileo and steampunk.
FF – Yeah, yeah. No, I totally got that steampunk thing. And it’s an art form and a culture all unto itself. But there’s a lot of fun to be had. And a lot of truth to be had as well. And a lot of nostalgia which I think comes very clearly through, in that picture.
JC – Yeah, that character was interesting - he kind of became an ancient time traveler. Just this guy’s wisdom, this guy that has seen everything and has been everywhere and has come to a place now where he’s full of all this wisdom but also full of all this sorrow.
And so he’s been there and done it all and seen everything and he’s one of those guys that just stays in his shop now and just writes these amazing books that hopefully one day we’ll all read and will guide us into a different direction that is not self-destruction.
FF – Right, right, right.
JC – The Ancient Time Traveler.
FF – I do get that time traveler thing because one of his eyes is a lens that looks almost like a telescope lens. So something about that reminded me of science fiction or Bionic Man, you know, seen all, done all and now slowly turning into technology or something as his older body might be breaking down. And so now he has this telescopic eye. But there he is with a whirligig and I just thought that was something sad and endearing.
JC – Yeah, I was trying to do a cross between Galileo and steampunk.
FF – Yeah, yeah. No, I totally got that steampunk thing. And it’s an art form and a culture all unto itself. But there’s a lot of fun to be had. And a lot of truth to be had as well. And a lot of nostalgia which I think comes very clearly through, in that picture.
FF – Now, you also sent us, or shared with us, two poems. And one of them is Brokenology, and I think that’s the first one that you sent me right after we met last summer. You want to talk a little bit about that?
JC – Yeah, Brokenology was a title that I came up with, actually, as a book title for a book I’m working on, of poetry. A collection of all my thoughts, and I titled it Brokenology which is the Art of the Broken Heart. And so that was inspired from my earlier years, my younger years of falling in and out of love and meeting new people and experiencing what life is all about and realizing that sometimes we fall in love to fall out of love to get a broken heart, because it kind of prepares us for that person we’re gonna be. That we could be ready to understand what love is all about.
I don’t even, I don’t think I’m there yet. So that’s why it’s called Brokenology.
FF – Well, it’s always a work in progress. Your life is a work in progress. You never know how it ends.
JC – Yeah, so that’s what it’s about. It’s just, more or less I had written it as a calling card for all the outcasts of society, the people that have been broken-hearted, the people, the fatherless, the orphan, the people that have been hurt before. It’s just one of those things, it’s just a call to say hey, you know what, I’ve gone through the same things you’ve gone through and I’ve also found something I can take it to in my life. I’ve also found hope.
BROKENOLOGY by Justin Chance
Will this scalpel permanently remove her from my mind
Then I realized she was the brain surgeon, nurse, and my only visitor
There's no point in pressing this button for help
Then I will relive loving her and the death of love all over again
I stare out the window, cause if I stare in her eyes
My sky starts falling but the stars stay hanging
Is this a cruel joke by an author who keeps the punch line for himself so we go on guessing
Or just another fantasy I've chiseled on the surface of my heart to make sure it's still beating.
Will this scalpel permanently remove her from my mind
Then I realized she was the brain surgeon, nurse, and my only visitor
There's no point in pressing this button for help
Then I will relive loving her and the death of love all over again
I stare out the window, cause if I stare in her eyes
My sky starts falling but the stars stay hanging
Is this a cruel joke by an author who keeps the punch line for himself so we go on guessing
Or just another fantasy I've chiseled on the surface of my heart to make sure it's still beating.
JC – Yeah, Brokenology was a title that I came up with, actually, as a book title for a book I’m working on, of poetry. A collection of all my thoughts, and I titled it Brokenology which is the Art of the Broken Heart. And so that was inspired from my earlier years, my younger years of falling in and out of love and meeting new people and experiencing what life is all about and realizing that sometimes we fall in love to fall out of love to get a broken heart, because it kind of prepares us for that person we’re gonna be. That we could be ready to understand what love is all about.
I don’t even, I don’t think I’m there yet. So that’s why it’s called Brokenology.
FF – Well, it’s always a work in progress. Your life is a work in progress. You never know how it ends.
JC – Yeah, so that’s what it’s about. It’s just, more or less I had written it as a calling card for all the outcasts of society, the people that have been broken-hearted, the people, the fatherless, the orphan, the people that have been hurt before. It’s just one of those things, it’s just a call to say hey, you know what, I’ve gone through the same things you’ve gone through and I’ve also found something I can take it to in my life. I’ve also found hope.
FF – Now, AntMan is probably one of my favorite poems, too. It’s right there on my list. Talk a little bit about AntMan. How did that come about?
JC – That piece is interesting because it came about out of my journal. It was actually a day that I was writing on the train in L.A. And I was just at the end of my rope with certain things in my life. You know, a little depressed about things I was going through. And I was just like, you know what, I’m just gonna write out my thoughts and write out my feelings. And I wrote it out and, the original piece, I ended, and one day I was looking at it and I re-read what I had written. You know I went back a few weeks and I looked at my journal and I read that. And I was like, Oh my God, this is a good piece to use as a poem. And so I took a few lines out here and there and cleaned it up and it became AntMan.
FF – Yeah.
JC – And it was the idea that sometimes I feel like I just got here and I think that sometimes we all feel that way. Is there a supreme being, or is there somebody out there that hears me and knows what I’m going through? And I thought about the ants, how I can’t even hear what they’re talking about, I can’t hear anything that’s going on in their lives. And I thought, well, is that how God sees me? Maybe I’m the AntMan. Maybe I’m this small ant that he just looks down upon and he doesn’t hear my moan for existence or my cry for life. It’s just a question, it was just a question of faith and at the same time a battle with doubt.
AntMan by Justin Chance
It coils around my neck suffocating all my confidence in who I really am
The tighter it holds the less I believe in faith and the more I believe in fear
I am able to walk, I am able to run, I am able to dance
It only slithers
I am able to speak, I am able to laugh, I am able to sing
It only hisses
The odds are in my favor yet I treat this as a battle already lost
I am so tired that even sleep is tired of me
So it invaded me through the darkness only to shut my eyes in the light
It is a comb over the only legacy I’ll leave behind
What creature is truly happy on this Earth?
So other may mimic or at least be inspired to breathe on
Is the bird happy?
I do not know, I haven’t translated the language of the chirp yet
Is the cat happy?
Only when we are the hand that feeds and then when full it prefers solitude
Sounds familiar? Much like one nation under God but they’re still trying to figure out which God suits them best
Is the ant happy?
I’m too large to even begin to understand their world let alone their moods
Is that how God sees me?
The AntMan
Too small to even hear my moan for eXistence
It coils around my neck suffocating all my confidence in who I really am
The tighter it holds the less I believe in faith and the more I believe in fear
I am able to walk, I am able to run, I am able to dance
It only slithers
I am able to speak, I am able to laugh, I am able to sing
It only hisses
The odds are in my favor yet I treat this as a battle already lost
I am so tired that even sleep is tired of me
So it invaded me through the darkness only to shut my eyes in the light
It is a comb over the only legacy I’ll leave behind
What creature is truly happy on this Earth?
So other may mimic or at least be inspired to breathe on
Is the bird happy?
I do not know, I haven’t translated the language of the chirp yet
Is the cat happy?
Only when we are the hand that feeds and then when full it prefers solitude
Sounds familiar? Much like one nation under God but they’re still trying to figure out which God suits them best
Is the ant happy?
I’m too large to even begin to understand their world let alone their moods
Is that how God sees me?
The AntMan
Too small to even hear my moan for eXistence
JC – That piece is interesting because it came about out of my journal. It was actually a day that I was writing on the train in L.A. And I was just at the end of my rope with certain things in my life. You know, a little depressed about things I was going through. And I was just like, you know what, I’m just gonna write out my thoughts and write out my feelings. And I wrote it out and, the original piece, I ended, and one day I was looking at it and I re-read what I had written. You know I went back a few weeks and I looked at my journal and I read that. And I was like, Oh my God, this is a good piece to use as a poem. And so I took a few lines out here and there and cleaned it up and it became AntMan.
FF – Yeah.
JC – And it was the idea that sometimes I feel like I just got here and I think that sometimes we all feel that way. Is there a supreme being, or is there somebody out there that hears me and knows what I’m going through? And I thought about the ants, how I can’t even hear what they’re talking about, I can’t hear anything that’s going on in their lives. And I thought, well, is that how God sees me? Maybe I’m the AntMan. Maybe I’m this small ant that he just looks down upon and he doesn’t hear my moan for existence or my cry for life. It’s just a question, it was just a question of faith and at the same time a battle with doubt.
FF – My next question to you is, tell us a bit about how you met Louis and how he became your mentor.
JC – We met each other the second week I’d moved to L.A. I’d been here for about two weeks and I was out to eat and I was at a Mexican restaurant and I just started talking with this amazing man next to me about certain things in my life and he started talking about certain things in his life. And we had a lot of things in common and it just clicked.
Chance and Louis
It’s just at that moment, it was one of those moments where you’re talking with somebody and you’re just like, man, I really want to hang out with this person, this person is really cool.
FF – Yeah.
JC - We just talked about certain things and he was like, yeah, let me get your number, and I gave him my number. And I had called him a couple days later and we went and we hung out and we just talked more and he just became a mentor to me in my life, because I was fresh out here in L.A. I didn’t know anybody. And it was a moment where it was someone who just took me under their wing. And gave me advice, just life advice.
FF – Yeah.
JC – Advice about growing up as a person and being out here in L.A. and being able to survive the battle that goes on every day out here in Hollywood.
FF – Isn’t it nice, though, that you can find these treasures in everyday life when you least expect it?
JC – Yeah, it’s one of those things you can’t plan. And it’s amazing and I believe, a lot of times, it’s destiny. A lot of people say, well is it luck or coincidence? But you know there’s just certain cards that fall in certain ways that you just look back, it’s not at that moment that you see it or it’s not something that you can envision a few steps ahead.
But when you look back, a year later, and you’re like, wow, it’s amazing how all those pieces fell into place. And then you know that there’s something that is orchestrating your path when you follow your heart.
FF – I have one more question for you. If you could describe Louis with four words, what would those four words be?
JC – That’s an awesome, awesome question. Awesome question. He’s a man of integrity. He’s Father Christmas. He’s a fire starter who inspires people’s dreams. And he’s just, simply, a man that is full of love.
FF – Fantastic. So, Chance, if people want to see more of your artwork or read more of your poetry, where can they go to see other examples that you have easy access to so you can constantly update it.
JC – On Facebook you could look me up under Justin Chance which is Facebook.com/Chancefanpage (you need to friend him first before you can access the page), and on Instagram, it’s @FollowTheTusk and which is also Justin Chance, and if anybody would like to contact me personally for any drawings or writings it’s officialchancemusic@gmail.com.
FF – Thank you so much for your time tonight.
JC – Appreciate it. I hope you have a beautiful night.
FF – Thank you, Chance. Bye-bye.
Thanks to Casey for the transcript!
Please be advised that Chance's artwork and poetry is intended for mature viewers and readers and not recommended for young children. Visit Chance's Page here at The Friends of Louis Ferreira and check out his gallery of art and poetry!
JC – We met each other the second week I’d moved to L.A. I’d been here for about two weeks and I was out to eat and I was at a Mexican restaurant and I just started talking with this amazing man next to me about certain things in my life and he started talking about certain things in his life. And we had a lot of things in common and it just clicked.
Chance and Louis
It’s just at that moment, it was one of those moments where you’re talking with somebody and you’re just like, man, I really want to hang out with this person, this person is really cool.
FF – Yeah.
JC - We just talked about certain things and he was like, yeah, let me get your number, and I gave him my number. And I had called him a couple days later and we went and we hung out and we just talked more and he just became a mentor to me in my life, because I was fresh out here in L.A. I didn’t know anybody. And it was a moment where it was someone who just took me under their wing. And gave me advice, just life advice.
FF – Yeah.
JC – Advice about growing up as a person and being out here in L.A. and being able to survive the battle that goes on every day out here in Hollywood.
FF – Isn’t it nice, though, that you can find these treasures in everyday life when you least expect it?
JC – Yeah, it’s one of those things you can’t plan. And it’s amazing and I believe, a lot of times, it’s destiny. A lot of people say, well is it luck or coincidence? But you know there’s just certain cards that fall in certain ways that you just look back, it’s not at that moment that you see it or it’s not something that you can envision a few steps ahead.
But when you look back, a year later, and you’re like, wow, it’s amazing how all those pieces fell into place. And then you know that there’s something that is orchestrating your path when you follow your heart.
FF – I have one more question for you. If you could describe Louis with four words, what would those four words be?
JC – That’s an awesome, awesome question. Awesome question. He’s a man of integrity. He’s Father Christmas. He’s a fire starter who inspires people’s dreams. And he’s just, simply, a man that is full of love.
FF – Fantastic. So, Chance, if people want to see more of your artwork or read more of your poetry, where can they go to see other examples that you have easy access to so you can constantly update it.
JC – On Facebook you could look me up under Justin Chance which is Facebook.com/Chancefanpage (you need to friend him first before you can access the page), and on Instagram, it’s @FollowTheTusk and which is also Justin Chance, and if anybody would like to contact me personally for any drawings or writings it’s officialchancemusic@gmail.com.
FF – Thank you so much for your time tonight.
JC – Appreciate it. I hope you have a beautiful night.
FF – Thank you, Chance. Bye-bye.
Thanks to Casey for the transcript!
Please be advised that Chance's artwork and poetry is intended for mature viewers and readers and not recommended for young children. Visit Chance's Page here at The Friends of Louis Ferreira and check out his gallery of art and poetry!
THE CO-OP RADIO INTERVIEW: WHEN SPIRIT WHISPERS
Last month Louis did a long interview on the CO-OP Radio talk show "When Spirit Whispers". He was there as a guest with his BFF Eugene Lipinski, artist Gary Olver and host Gunargie O'Sullivan.
The programming directors at CO-OP Radio have kindly given us permission to transcribe the interview portion of the program and post it here, so that our hearing-impaired visitors may enjoy it as well. Many thanks to Leela from CO-OP Radio!
What is CO-OP Radio?
From their website: Vancouver Co-Operative Radio, CFRO, 100.5FM is a non-commercial, co-operatively-owned, listener-supported, community radio station. Located in East Vancouver and with long-time roots in the Downtown Eastside, Co-Op Radio is a voice for the voiceless that strives to provide a space for under-represented and marginalized communities. Co-Op Radio aims to increase community participation by encouraging examination of the social and political concerns of the geographic and cultural communities of BC.
Please check out their website and learn more about this worthy cause! If you're in the Vancouver area, please tune in and listen! And if you are elsewhere, visit their website often and listen to recorded programs. And you can also listen online, on your mobile device and many other ways - check out the Listening Page.
Here are the direct links for the full content of the radio program. The music is fantastic, and it's well worth listening to the entire show.
http://www.coopradio.org/content/when-spirit-whispers-393
WHEN SPIRIT WHISPERS – December 8, 2014
Last month Louis did a long interview on the CO-OP Radio talk show "When Spirit Whispers". He was there as a guest with his BFF Eugene Lipinski, artist Gary Olver and host Gunargie O'Sullivan.
The programming directors at CO-OP Radio have kindly given us permission to transcribe the interview portion of the program and post it here, so that our hearing-impaired visitors may enjoy it as well. Many thanks to Leela from CO-OP Radio!
What is CO-OP Radio?
From their website: Vancouver Co-Operative Radio, CFRO, 100.5FM is a non-commercial, co-operatively-owned, listener-supported, community radio station. Located in East Vancouver and with long-time roots in the Downtown Eastside, Co-Op Radio is a voice for the voiceless that strives to provide a space for under-represented and marginalized communities. Co-Op Radio aims to increase community participation by encouraging examination of the social and political concerns of the geographic and cultural communities of BC.
Please check out their website and learn more about this worthy cause! If you're in the Vancouver area, please tune in and listen! And if you are elsewhere, visit their website often and listen to recorded programs. And you can also listen online, on your mobile device and many other ways - check out the Listening Page.
Here are the direct links for the full content of the radio program. The music is fantastic, and it's well worth listening to the entire show.
http://www.coopradio.org/content/when-spirit-whispers-393
WHEN SPIRIT WHISPERS – December 8, 2014
GO – You’re listening to Co-op radio 100.5 FM. Merry Christmas. We got a full house with Louis Ferreira?
LF – Ferreira works. Merry Christmas everybody. Happy Holidays. And my friend Eugene Lipinski is here.
EL – Hello!
(Sing along to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer)
LF – Oh, we just love Phyllis Sinclair so much, we want to sing a song… a little karaoke in the booth.
LF – Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas everybody!
EL – Merry Christmas everybody!
GO – Merry Christmas everybody! And we got Gary Olver.
LF – Thank you Phyllis Sinclair for singing those wonderful songs for years, yeah, she’s awesome.
GO – Phyllis Sinclair, yes, we’ve been listening to her music. It’s her Christmas album, her very first Christmas album that she’s been trying to get out for quite some time. We started you off with the song Traditional, and then Snow Flakes, and then of course, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with Louis Ferreira.
LF – Ferreira.
GO – Ferreira.
LF – “Ferrara” sounds like “Ferrari”.
GO – “Gunargie, gunozzi gnozzi.” And then Louis, I mean, I’m sorry, I keep getting people mixed up here, with Eugene Lipinski, and then we also have Gary Olver in the house with us.
EL – Po-tayto po-tahto.
GO – Po-tayto, po-tahto, to-mayto, to-mahto.
LF – Gunnergy O’Sullivan.
GO – Gunargie!
LF – O’Sullivan.
GO – Yeah, quite the mixed up name there.
LF – I like it.
GO – Some people say it sounds like East Indian, Irish slash who knows what.
LF – All of it, I love all of it.
GO – Well, speaking of names, where does Lipinski come from?
EL – From Poland.
LF – It’s better if he doesn’t tell you.
EL – Oooh, both of my parents were Polish. I’m an immigrant, actually born in the UK. So I’m not even a first generation Canadian. I’m an immigrant.
LF – Ditto for me.
GO – Is that right? Where’s your name come from?
LF – I’m, well, it’s Portuguese. I was born in the Azores and got to Toronto when I was six and a half years old.
GO – Really?
LF – Yeah.
GO – And Gary Olver, where does your last name come from?
Gary O – It’s actually a British last name. I’m from, actually, Britain.
LF – Olver?
Gary O - And when the family emigrated from Britain over to Canada, we uh, they took the “i” out of it. So it’s, my last name’s actually pronounced “Olver”. Not Oliver, it’s Olver.
EL – Oh!!!
LF – That’s cool. Why’d they take the “i” out of it? Do you know that story?
Gary O – It shows a generation from European to Canadian. There’s a lot of immigrants that had that happen when they were from England, they would take an extra letter, a vowel, out.
EL – Yeah. Immigrants used to change their names. I met Jamie Oliver in the Spring, I was over in London…
LF – That’s Oliver with an “i”?
EL – Yeah, Oliver with an “i” and he’s a cook. Yes, and he’s got his restaurant and my friend, Quint, is his buddy, so we went to his place in Kingston and we had a meal and it was good.
LF – He did one of the best TED Talks ever. Yeah.
EL – Oh really?
LF – Yeah, good times. Good times. Now I’m remembering the two girls, that skit from SNL when they do, when they’re the radio host, you know? And they do that… yeah, that’s, yeah good times. And they’re very, sort of, deadpan. Maybe it’s just me.
GO – Kind of like me.
LF – Had to be there.
EL – Getting a little static-y.
GO - Okay, my name is Gunargie, but it’s said: Gunnargy, Gunnazzi, some people have called me “gun-orgy” which is not acceptable. All kinds of things.
LF – Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas everybody!
EL – Merry Christmas everybody!
GO – Merry Christmas everybody! And we got Gary Olver.
LF – Thank you Phyllis Sinclair for singing those wonderful songs for years, yeah, she’s awesome.
GO – Phyllis Sinclair, yes, we’ve been listening to her music. It’s her Christmas album, her very first Christmas album that she’s been trying to get out for quite some time. We started you off with the song Traditional, and then Snow Flakes, and then of course, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with Louis Ferreira.
LF – Ferreira.
GO – Ferreira.
LF – “Ferrara” sounds like “Ferrari”.
GO – “Gunargie, gunozzi gnozzi.” And then Louis, I mean, I’m sorry, I keep getting people mixed up here, with Eugene Lipinski, and then we also have Gary Olver in the house with us.
EL – Po-tayto po-tahto.
GO – Po-tayto, po-tahto, to-mayto, to-mahto.
LF – Gunnergy O’Sullivan.
GO – Gunargie!
LF – O’Sullivan.
GO – Yeah, quite the mixed up name there.
LF – I like it.
GO – Some people say it sounds like East Indian, Irish slash who knows what.
LF – All of it, I love all of it.
GO – Well, speaking of names, where does Lipinski come from?
EL – From Poland.
LF – It’s better if he doesn’t tell you.
EL – Oooh, both of my parents were Polish. I’m an immigrant, actually born in the UK. So I’m not even a first generation Canadian. I’m an immigrant.
LF – Ditto for me.
GO – Is that right? Where’s your name come from?
LF – I’m, well, it’s Portuguese. I was born in the Azores and got to Toronto when I was six and a half years old.
GO – Really?
LF – Yeah.
GO – And Gary Olver, where does your last name come from?
Gary O – It’s actually a British last name. I’m from, actually, Britain.
LF – Olver?
Gary O - And when the family emigrated from Britain over to Canada, we uh, they took the “i” out of it. So it’s, my last name’s actually pronounced “Olver”. Not Oliver, it’s Olver.
EL – Oh!!!
LF – That’s cool. Why’d they take the “i” out of it? Do you know that story?
Gary O – It shows a generation from European to Canadian. There’s a lot of immigrants that had that happen when they were from England, they would take an extra letter, a vowel, out.
EL – Yeah. Immigrants used to change their names. I met Jamie Oliver in the Spring, I was over in London…
LF – That’s Oliver with an “i”?
EL – Yeah, Oliver with an “i” and he’s a cook. Yes, and he’s got his restaurant and my friend, Quint, is his buddy, so we went to his place in Kingston and we had a meal and it was good.
LF – He did one of the best TED Talks ever. Yeah.
EL – Oh really?
LF – Yeah, good times. Good times. Now I’m remembering the two girls, that skit from SNL when they do, when they’re the radio host, you know? And they do that… yeah, that’s, yeah good times. And they’re very, sort of, deadpan. Maybe it’s just me.
GO – Kind of like me.
LF – Had to be there.
EL – Getting a little static-y.
GO - Okay, my name is Gunargie, but it’s said: Gunnargy, Gunnazzi, some people have called me “gun-orgy” which is not acceptable. All kinds of things.
LF – That’s inappropriate. Kind of like Schweddy Balls.
GO – Okay, I asked for that.
LF – Schweddy Ball.
GO – Okay, I asked for that.
LF – Schweddy Ball.
EL – I worked with Kim Basinger. She was, that was with…
LF – Alec Baldwin. Yeah. That was another SNL skit. But it was with those two ladies were the host.
GO – Well, Eugene?
RL – Yes, love?
GO – Gary has some questions for you.
Gary O – Yeah, hey Eugene, so, you’re originally from England and so you’re in Vancouver right now and what are you working at right now?
EL – Well, I just finished doing this web series called Paranormal Solutions. And then at 3:30 I’m going to go meet the director of this next project I’m going to do called The Unseen which is sort of sci-fi show.
LF – The Unseen.
EL – So, yeah I do, I do some film. I did the film with Al Pacino and Colin Farrell called The Recruit. And I’ve been doing, I’ve been doing TV here in Vancouver, Intelligence and Da Vinci’s City Hall and I was in all five seasons of Fringe. So, yeah, I’ve been pretty busy, so.
Gary O – So in the movie The Recruit with Al Pacino, that was…
LF – Al Pacino!
Gary O – That was filmed in the United States, correct?
EL – Some of it, we filmed it in Langley, Virginia and also in Toronto.
Gary O – Oh, cool. So you actually played, what, a villain, right?
EL – Yeah, I played a guy who worked for the CIA but my task in the movie was to break Colin Farrell. Because Al Pacino sets him up as a spy, but I won’t give you a spoiler alert, but, so it’s like, yeah, things are not what they seem to be in The Recruit.
LF – Booyah!
Gary O – So, Louis, so, you’re from Toronto, right?
LF – I grew up in Toronto.
Gary O – Yeah. So, the other night we were at an acting class from, what was it, Bannock Productions?
GO – The Greasy Bannock Productions Theater with Sam Bob, Curtis Ahenakew, people like Duane Howard, Mark Redsky was there and little Aisha O’Sullivan was auditioning for Mark Redsky. It was awesome to see you guys supporting our First Nation’s people at a community level. And it seemed like you were mentoring the actors there, giving them a helping hand.
LF – Yeah.
EL – Yeah, it was like, because I know Mark, because Mark Redsky, he’s also a carver and I buy lots of his carvings because they’re beautiful and his wife, Julie, paints exotic flowers. So I buy them, too, for presents.
And so then Mark said, “Oh, we’re…”, well, I know Curtis as well, so we were having this acting thing on Thursday come along, and I asked Louis if he’d be kind enough to come along and it was really good because Louis is such an established, recognizable face, right? And so when he walked in, everyone said, “Wow!” you know. And I think it makes people feel like they’re doing the right thing. It makes them feel substantial when someone like that walks in and is prepared to help.
GO – Yeah, and then you guys all went Indian on us and sat at the Pow Wow drum.
LF – Yeah, well, fun! That was a privilege!
EL – We know the beat, I’m from Saskatchewan, so you know.
GO – Yeah?
LF – Yeah, and but for me, it was one of those things where, I’ve always looked for opportunities to volunteer and to give back and to, you know your life becomes about, at some point, doing that. And I was privileged and humbled to be there. I was actually so impressed with the actual material that they created for themselves and, you know, we need to support one another in all areas. And it’s wonderful that there’s all these smaller community theaters doing just that. And it was, I don’t know, I ended up having such a great time with all of it.
EL – Yeah. Well, the great thing about being an artist is like you’re a member of a fraternity, right? No matter if you’re Polish or Portuguese or Native or Asian or whatever, right? All artists seem to really support each other. Because that’s the overriding philosophy that we all have that we create things.
LF – Yeah, and for me it was like, you know, having been raised in Toronto, pretty much as a street kid for most of my life, it was the community programs and the after school programs and youth leaders that made a difference in my life. So I looked for mentorship throughout my life. Not having parents, really, so giving back in that capacity just seems like a very natural progression for me.
Gary O – So Louis, is… you’re in town and you film a production here, do you?
LF – Yeah.
Gary O – And what production…
LF – It’s a show called Motive. We’re in our third season.
Gary O – Oh, cool. I’ll have to check that out sometime. Um…
LF – It’s a show called Motive. We’re in our third season.
Gary O – Oh, cool. I’ll have to check that out sometime. Um…
GO – That should be fun since you don’t have a TV.
LF – I think you can get it online, I don’t know.
GO – Yeah, you can.
EL – Yeah, you can get it online. It’s a good show, too.
Gary O – Is it?
LF – It’s a why-done-it. You meet the killer and the victim and you try to figure out the motive. It works in reverse.
Gary O – So what season is that TV show?
LF – Season three. We’re doing… this is our third season right now.
Gary O – Season three, wow.
LF – With a great, great group of people that I work with for a very long time. Before this show a lot of the crew for me were, there were a lot of people on the show I did called Stargate Universe.
Gary O – Okay.
LF – So it’s just like, I just feel so blessed to have that family to go to work with because the comfortability factor alone, which is a big thing, always in our lives when you just get to that place where you just feel like this is like another home for me, so I feel very, very beyond blessed and grateful to have been part, and be a part of, this show. So yeah.
GO –Yeah, and now tell us more how you began your acting career. Let’s start with Eugene
LF – I think you can get it online, I don’t know.
GO – Yeah, you can.
EL – Yeah, you can get it online. It’s a good show, too.
Gary O – Is it?
LF – It’s a why-done-it. You meet the killer and the victim and you try to figure out the motive. It works in reverse.
Gary O – So what season is that TV show?
LF – Season three. We’re doing… this is our third season right now.
Gary O – Season three, wow.
LF – With a great, great group of people that I work with for a very long time. Before this show a lot of the crew for me were, there were a lot of people on the show I did called Stargate Universe.
Gary O – Okay.
LF – So it’s just like, I just feel so blessed to have that family to go to work with because the comfortability factor alone, which is a big thing, always in our lives when you just get to that place where you just feel like this is like another home for me, so I feel very, very beyond blessed and grateful to have been part, and be a part of, this show. So yeah.
GO –Yeah, and now tell us more how you began your acting career. Let’s start with Eugene
Lipinski.
EL – Okay.
LF – Great story! True story!
EL – Okay.
LF – Great story! True story!
EL – I told it the other night at the acting circle. So I was in grade
eight and Ken Kramer of the Globe Theater came to our school to do a
play. They asked for volunteers to be rocks and trees. So I volunteered
to be a tree.
And then I started swaying in the wind, you know, and everyone was laughing at me and I thought it was just fantastic. So then I went to the guidance counselor, the priest, and I said, you know, well no, first I asked the actor, “Do you get paid for doing this?” he goes, “Yeah” and then I went to the guidance counselor and they directed me to the Regina Little Theatre. And then I met a couple people who were at the University of Regina drama program. And they always needed men because there were lots of girls in the program, but not enough guys.
So I went and just kept going like that and then I went to school in England at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and studied there. And then I did stage work in London and films and lived in London for twenty-five years. And then I wrote a film called Perfectly Normal. Came here to Toronto and I’ve stayed in Canada since. That was like 1994.
GO – Okay, and Louis?
LF – Bravo Eugene!
GO – Some people call you “Louie”.
LF – Luigi, Louie, any version works.
GO – All right. And how did you get your start in theater and film?
LF – Well, one of the things about me, I think, just growing up the way I grew up, I was always known for being very silly. (fart noises) Excuse me. And uh…
GO – Did you just fart, on the air?
LF – No, no, no.
GO – No? Okay.
LF – (More fart noises) Oh, sorry about that. The thing about growing up when you’re silly, you just find outlets that allow you to fully express yourself. (More fart noises) Sorry about, again… at all times, and so I’ve never really taken myself, (more fart noises) that seriously in life. And I feel that that’s…
(GO laughing)
LF – I really apologize, that’s embarrassing. But then all that happened was at high school level I ended up having to help my mom out. Because we were on welfare. And so I started working at a factory where my brothers and sisters still work and I was in grade twelve and I was working in that factory full-time and it was the last semester of school and there was some… There was a friend in high school who thought for some reason that I should be in the business. And there was literally an open call in the Toronto Sun where they were casting for a film. And I lined up with like five hundred guys to say one line. And it was Sarah Polley’s mom who was a casting director. And I went in there, did the line, and she reacted to me and got me an agent on the spot.
And I sort of accidentally fumbled into it. And so that’s kind of how I actually began. But I never took it seriously. I was always thought, oh, it’s a matter of time before I go back to the factory job, sort of thing.
And then as years passed and I was like, oh, I’m still working, oh I like this, oh, it’s actually some sort of craft in this and it means something and it is a service, and it is giving back. And I learned to, you know, I fell in love with acting, sort of by, just, circumstance.
And so that’s sort of, that’s my story roughly. But the silliness thing always helps.
(Movie clip playing in background.)
Gary O – Yeah, that was just a clip, actually, from a Star Wars clip that Eugene got to perform in years ago.
GO – At the beginning of his career.
Gary O – We were just talking… at the beginning of his career. And, basically, he was pointing out that he knew some of the actors that were in that one scene.
And then I started swaying in the wind, you know, and everyone was laughing at me and I thought it was just fantastic. So then I went to the guidance counselor, the priest, and I said, you know, well no, first I asked the actor, “Do you get paid for doing this?” he goes, “Yeah” and then I went to the guidance counselor and they directed me to the Regina Little Theatre. And then I met a couple people who were at the University of Regina drama program. And they always needed men because there were lots of girls in the program, but not enough guys.
So I went and just kept going like that and then I went to school in England at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and studied there. And then I did stage work in London and films and lived in London for twenty-five years. And then I wrote a film called Perfectly Normal. Came here to Toronto and I’ve stayed in Canada since. That was like 1994.
GO – Okay, and Louis?
LF – Bravo Eugene!
GO – Some people call you “Louie”.
LF – Luigi, Louie, any version works.
GO – All right. And how did you get your start in theater and film?
LF – Well, one of the things about me, I think, just growing up the way I grew up, I was always known for being very silly. (fart noises) Excuse me. And uh…
GO – Did you just fart, on the air?
LF – No, no, no.
GO – No? Okay.
LF – (More fart noises) Oh, sorry about that. The thing about growing up when you’re silly, you just find outlets that allow you to fully express yourself. (More fart noises) Sorry about, again… at all times, and so I’ve never really taken myself, (more fart noises) that seriously in life. And I feel that that’s…
(GO laughing)
LF – I really apologize, that’s embarrassing. But then all that happened was at high school level I ended up having to help my mom out. Because we were on welfare. And so I started working at a factory where my brothers and sisters still work and I was in grade twelve and I was working in that factory full-time and it was the last semester of school and there was some… There was a friend in high school who thought for some reason that I should be in the business. And there was literally an open call in the Toronto Sun where they were casting for a film. And I lined up with like five hundred guys to say one line. And it was Sarah Polley’s mom who was a casting director. And I went in there, did the line, and she reacted to me and got me an agent on the spot.
And I sort of accidentally fumbled into it. And so that’s kind of how I actually began. But I never took it seriously. I was always thought, oh, it’s a matter of time before I go back to the factory job, sort of thing.
And then as years passed and I was like, oh, I’m still working, oh I like this, oh, it’s actually some sort of craft in this and it means something and it is a service, and it is giving back. And I learned to, you know, I fell in love with acting, sort of by, just, circumstance.
And so that’s sort of, that’s my story roughly. But the silliness thing always helps.
(Movie clip playing in background.)
Gary O – Yeah, that was just a clip, actually, from a Star Wars clip that Eugene got to perform in years ago.
GO – At the beginning of his career.
Gary O – We were just talking… at the beginning of his career. And, basically, he was pointing out that he knew some of the actors that were in that one scene.
EL – Let’s talk a little bit about that.
Gary O – Yeah.
EL – So that was, that was Star Wars. I was in the one that Irvin Kershner directed called The Empire Strikes Back,
I think. And so how that happened was I didn’t even have an agent then
and I had met a casting director called Mary Selway, she cast all the James Bond movies until she passed away and now Debbie McWilliams casts all the James Bond movies.
So, I was hired with a group of about six to seven other guys. We were the rebel pilots. And it was really funny watching that clip because they only had one x-wing fighter and it was set up in front of a blue screen. So they didn’t even have green screen back then in the seventies, right. And so they had one x-wing thing and you’d get in and then they had all the stage hands underneath the stage and they would be shaking the stage so it looked like the x-wing fighter was going through space.
And then they’d say, “We’ve been hit!” so my line was, “We’ve been hit, Luke, we’ve been hit!”
So, but I don’t think I made the cut.
And, but that’s okay. I had some nice memories, got some nice photos of the team. And Mark Hamill and Irvin Kershner. And John Morton and Denis Lawson. And also Lee Marvin’s nephew, Richard Marvin. He was one of the x-wing fighters as well.
So, yeah, no, it was really, it wasn’t like it is now. It hadn’t become iconic or anything. It was just, you know, a sci-fi little space sci-fi movie then.
Gary O – Yeah. Exactly.
EL – But I met Harrison Ford, then, of course. And then I worked with Harrison Ford then and then on Hanover Street. And then on K-19. And so, yeah, it was good, yeah.
Gary O – So, what was that like working with Harrison Ford? Did you get a chance to work with him?
EL – Yeah, well, in those days he wasn’t the Harrison Ford that he became, you know? But, all through time, he’d always been very nice. You know, he was nice in Raiders of the Lost Ark, he was nice at Star Wars, nice at Hanover Street, nice at K-19. You know, he’s like a dude.
GO – Yeah.
EL – You know. He’s very tall, like six foot six. And very polite.
LF – Is he that tall?
GO – Yeah.
EL – Yeah. Way taller than me.
GO – How tall are you?
EL – Six foot one.
LF – Ooh! You’re taller than me! I’m short! I’m tall for Portuguese stature though. Five foot nine.
GO – Five foot nine?
LF – So yeah, it’s tough in my land.
GO – I’m a big five three and a half.
LF – Nice. And you? You’re tall.
Gary O – I’m six four.
LF – Yeah, you’re six four, you’re tall. We need you, you’re a power forward. You’re power forward height.
GO – How about, oh, carry on.
Gary O – Yeah, I just, yeah, I wanted to go back to Louis there. Louis?
LF – Yes?
Gary O – When you, when you first started out, you were found, right? You were working in a…
LF – Yeah. I was working in an upholstery factory.
Gary O – Upholstery factory, in where, Leamington?
LF – No, Toronto. Just North Toronto. It was Dufferin and Steeles. Like I say, my brother and sister, who married a brother and sister, still work there, all four of them. They’ve been there for over thirty-eight years.
Gary O – Wow.
LF – Yeah.
Gary O – That’s pretty cool.
LF – Yeah, yeah, yeah but I was mad because I was like a fifteen year old kid. And the boss was like, “I’ll give you $4.50 an hour, kid. You got a future here. Don’t leave!” (laughs) I mean like, you know? And my mom was like, “Yeah, yeah, it’s good.”
And I was like, ah, something felt funny. So I was, I was off the… it was just the way it was. My culture, you know, you did that, you kept things going. You did what the people before you in your family did. And I just sort of took a risk, a chance, and went outside it. And you know, I actually came to discover that really the journey of our lives is actually what helps us be creators and artists and I was able to sort of use that and find a lot of therapy, because of the way I’d grown up, in the ability to find characters that allowed themselves to, you know, I could really sort of just integrate all that stuff that I’d gone through and use it in my work.
EL – And that man helped you along, didn’t he?
LF – Yeah, I had a great mentor who was my grade 12 theater teacher also, Mr. Allen who was instrumental in my life. And I was living in the Ontario housing projects and he took me out of there, built me a little basement apartment in his little humble home, and so I had this sort of father figure for three years in my life that made a big impact and difference in my life during that initial three year period where I started. We’re still very much, we’re still good friends.
Gary O – So, basically when you were growing up you spent a lot of time in, like, acting, like stage? Did you do theater?
LF – Well I took, I was one of those kids who took theater and gym. I did really good in grades 9 and 10 when I was at a Catholic school. And then I went to public school and it just all fell apart. I was like, I took gym and music and gym class, I mean, I wasn’t about school, really, it wasn’t my deal, per se.
But, I think secretly I liked the theater. But I loved sports even more than. And the…just, I don’t know, just sort of happened that way.
Gary O – It’s funny how, it’s just kind of life, you fall into life.
LF – That’s right. I think that’s, when people say, what, did you ever train, I’m like life’s your best teacher ever. And it truly is, right?
Gary O – It is, it truly is.
So, I was hired with a group of about six to seven other guys. We were the rebel pilots. And it was really funny watching that clip because they only had one x-wing fighter and it was set up in front of a blue screen. So they didn’t even have green screen back then in the seventies, right. And so they had one x-wing thing and you’d get in and then they had all the stage hands underneath the stage and they would be shaking the stage so it looked like the x-wing fighter was going through space.
And then they’d say, “We’ve been hit!” so my line was, “We’ve been hit, Luke, we’ve been hit!”
So, but I don’t think I made the cut.
And, but that’s okay. I had some nice memories, got some nice photos of the team. And Mark Hamill and Irvin Kershner. And John Morton and Denis Lawson. And also Lee Marvin’s nephew, Richard Marvin. He was one of the x-wing fighters as well.
So, yeah, no, it was really, it wasn’t like it is now. It hadn’t become iconic or anything. It was just, you know, a sci-fi little space sci-fi movie then.
Gary O – Yeah. Exactly.
EL – But I met Harrison Ford, then, of course. And then I worked with Harrison Ford then and then on Hanover Street. And then on K-19. And so, yeah, it was good, yeah.
Gary O – So, what was that like working with Harrison Ford? Did you get a chance to work with him?
EL – Yeah, well, in those days he wasn’t the Harrison Ford that he became, you know? But, all through time, he’d always been very nice. You know, he was nice in Raiders of the Lost Ark, he was nice at Star Wars, nice at Hanover Street, nice at K-19. You know, he’s like a dude.
GO – Yeah.
EL – You know. He’s very tall, like six foot six. And very polite.
LF – Is he that tall?
GO – Yeah.
EL – Yeah. Way taller than me.
GO – How tall are you?
EL – Six foot one.
LF – Ooh! You’re taller than me! I’m short! I’m tall for Portuguese stature though. Five foot nine.
GO – Five foot nine?
LF – So yeah, it’s tough in my land.
GO – I’m a big five three and a half.
LF – Nice. And you? You’re tall.
Gary O – I’m six four.
LF – Yeah, you’re six four, you’re tall. We need you, you’re a power forward. You’re power forward height.
GO – How about, oh, carry on.
Gary O – Yeah, I just, yeah, I wanted to go back to Louis there. Louis?
LF – Yes?
Gary O – When you, when you first started out, you were found, right? You were working in a…
LF – Yeah. I was working in an upholstery factory.
Gary O – Upholstery factory, in where, Leamington?
LF – No, Toronto. Just North Toronto. It was Dufferin and Steeles. Like I say, my brother and sister, who married a brother and sister, still work there, all four of them. They’ve been there for over thirty-eight years.
Gary O – Wow.
LF – Yeah.
Gary O – That’s pretty cool.
LF – Yeah, yeah, yeah but I was mad because I was like a fifteen year old kid. And the boss was like, “I’ll give you $4.50 an hour, kid. You got a future here. Don’t leave!” (laughs) I mean like, you know? And my mom was like, “Yeah, yeah, it’s good.”
And I was like, ah, something felt funny. So I was, I was off the… it was just the way it was. My culture, you know, you did that, you kept things going. You did what the people before you in your family did. And I just sort of took a risk, a chance, and went outside it. And you know, I actually came to discover that really the journey of our lives is actually what helps us be creators and artists and I was able to sort of use that and find a lot of therapy, because of the way I’d grown up, in the ability to find characters that allowed themselves to, you know, I could really sort of just integrate all that stuff that I’d gone through and use it in my work.
EL – And that man helped you along, didn’t he?
LF – Yeah, I had a great mentor who was my grade 12 theater teacher also, Mr. Allen who was instrumental in my life. And I was living in the Ontario housing projects and he took me out of there, built me a little basement apartment in his little humble home, and so I had this sort of father figure for three years in my life that made a big impact and difference in my life during that initial three year period where I started. We’re still very much, we’re still good friends.
Gary O – So, basically when you were growing up you spent a lot of time in, like, acting, like stage? Did you do theater?
LF – Well I took, I was one of those kids who took theater and gym. I did really good in grades 9 and 10 when I was at a Catholic school. And then I went to public school and it just all fell apart. I was like, I took gym and music and gym class, I mean, I wasn’t about school, really, it wasn’t my deal, per se.
But, I think secretly I liked the theater. But I loved sports even more than. And the…just, I don’t know, just sort of happened that way.
Gary O – It’s funny how, it’s just kind of life, you fall into life.
LF – That’s right. I think that’s, when people say, what, did you ever train, I’m like life’s your best teacher ever. And it truly is, right?
Gary O – It is, it truly is.
Gary O - So, Eugene, I have this question that I had somebody that I talked to this morning and I told him a bit what I was doing today and he asked me to ask you. And his name was Matthew Atkins. He wrote a book from the United States. Anyway, he’s an old friend of mine. And Gunargie did some work with him before and he wanted, he was a large Star Wars fan. And what he wanted to do, he wanted to ask you, what, you know what the Jedi is, right? In Star Wars, right?
EL – Yeah.
Gary O – You know that’s considered a religion? In some parts of the country, now. You can actually write that down as a religion.
EL – I know, my friend Bob McCallum, he’s a recovering person, you know?
Gary O – Yeah.
EL – And, like you know, they in recovery they, like you have to have a higher power to try to take you away from the drugs and the alcohol. Well, his higher power is The Force.
Gary O – Yeah, right? Right on!
EL – Yeah! Thirty years sober, so it’s working for him.
LF – Whatever works.
Gary O – Well, why not, hey?
EL – He says, “Eugene, it’s The Force, man. The Force.”
Gary O – That’s awesome, man. That’s just awesome the way you came back on that one. That was, that came out of left field for me.
EL – I was brought up in Saskatchewan. There’s, we had lots of opportunities there to do drama and stuff. There’s a really, even though it’s Saskatchewan and it’s in the middle of nowhere, it’s very popular, all, like drama, writing.
At one point, seven out of the last twelve Governor General Award winners for literature were from Saskatchewan. Nothing to do there except freeze in the winter and get bitten by mosquitoes in the summer.
Gary O – Yeah, that’s true. So what’s the funnest production you’ve ever done? Which one impressed you the most?
EL – Well the funnest show I ever did was a film called Shock Treatment which was the sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Have you ever heard of that? The Rocky Horror Picture Show and it was, we all were singing and dancing and were playing guitars and playing idiots and yeah. It was lots of fun and we got paid, so, you know, it was very good.
Gary O – Awesome. Louis, same question. What was the funnest production you ever were involved in?
LF – I don’t know. I’d like to think that I try to make them all fun. You always get different aspects in each one. I mean there’s the actual product that’s being made, but don’t forget a lot of times being on set is, there’s a lot of hurry up and wait. So you spend more time not rolling than you do rolling. And so, to me, a fun production is one where there’s a family unit working together with none of the typical things that sometimes will make productions not fun.
Extreme egos for example. Or someone who’s kind of one person ruining it for all because really, the crew is there, seventy hour weeks. So to me, my fun comes with being with them and enjoying them and being silly and making them…and so it’s like, I really try to make myself have a good time, at this point of my life, if I’m, you know, I chose to be an actor. It was never brain surgery to begin with so for me to go and take it that seriously just goes against everything, you know, it’s not really why I became an actor. So I try to make each experience fun.
And there’s always obstacles and struggles obviously, but the choice is a daily one that I get to make. So, right now, for example, this is the most fun I’m having.
EL – Louis was in Breaking Bad.
GO – Was he?
LF – Yeah. Probably a weird thing to say. I really had fun on that one!
That one was hilarious! That was one of my favorite. I’m currently
wearing a shirt with Heisenberg on it.
EL – Oh yeah, that’s right.
LF – This was a Christmas gift.
Gary O – We’ll post that later. We’ll post some of this footage from this radio station on Facebook. On Spirit Whispers.
EL – Spirit Whispers. I love that name.
LF – It’s really cool.
GO – Actually, yeah, it’s a great name. We were talking about names earlier. This show has a life of its own. People call it When Spirit Whispers. When Spirits Whisper. They call it When Spirits Whisper. And it’s just forever changing. How about Frosty the Snowman, do you guys know that song?
EL – Oh yeah, that’s right.
LF – This was a Christmas gift.
Gary O – We’ll post that later. We’ll post some of this footage from this radio station on Facebook. On Spirit Whispers.
EL – Spirit Whispers. I love that name.
LF – It’s really cool.
GO – Actually, yeah, it’s a great name. We were talking about names earlier. This show has a life of its own. People call it When Spirit Whispers. When Spirits Whisper. They call it When Spirits Whisper. And it’s just forever changing. How about Frosty the Snowman, do you guys know that song?
LF – I love you wanting to sing the Christmas carols!
GO – Let’s do it!
(Sing along with Frosty the Snowman)
GO – So, what brought you to Greasy Bannock Productions on the Hot Dog Church, of all places? Downtown Eastside.
EL – Louis?
GO – Louis?
LF – Well, Eugene brought me. You invited me. That’s how I got there. We talked about it.
EL – But then you went yesterday and gave out hot dogs.
LF – I did. I sponsored a couple of, I think three, days of it. And met the pastor there and me and…
GO – Barnetson.
LF – Yeah. Me and my wonderful son and my lovely girlfriend, we went and we served about 230 people down there, yesterday. And it was awesome. They had 2 hotdogs each. Lots of condiments. There’s music playing. And wonderful people. And the, it was really, honestly it was really, it’s one of those things where you just, you know, it’s about giving back.
And, when you’re there you just, I feel privileged and humbled to be there. And that’s what it was for all of us. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
GO – What’s interesting about Randy Barnetson is like he is a pastor from the downtown Eastside, the Hot Dog Church has been there for eons.
LF – I love that you call it the Hot Dog Church. That’s awesome.
GO – We call it the Hot Dog Church. It was closed down a while ago but has recently re-opened. And Cheryl Bear Barnetson is also a singer, she’s an actress, she’s a really fabulous person. She is his wife and here is some of his music. We’ll be right back.
EL – Wow!
LF – This is awesome!
(music plays)
GO – All right. That was Cheryl Bear Barnetson, one of the founders of the Hot Dog Church, along with her husband Randy Barnetson.
LF – For those of you listening you should YouTube it because she is gorgeous, incredible, and it’s a beautiful piece. That was awesome wasn’t it? So awesome!
GO – That was called The Lord’s Prayer.
LF – Cheryl Bear! I love you, well, that’s what it was, yeah.
GO – Well it was the nicest version of…
LF – I’m a good Catholic boy, I know The Lord’s Prayer.
GO – Are you?
LF – I sure do.
GO – Right on.
LF – Every day I was in school… you say The Lord’s Prayer?
EL – I do.
LF – And then people ask for forgiveness.
GO – Yes, well, we met you over at the Hot Dog Church while you were supporting a group of actors from Greasy Bannock Productions where we found people like Mark Redsky, Curtis Ahenakew, Sam Bob, work-shopping a play that’s going to be happening very soon.
EL – Yeah, it was, they performed about the first fifteen minutes. Your daughter, as well, was in it.
GO – Aisha.
EL – And she sang.
GO – She gets to sing with Cheryl Bear actually.
EL – Oh really?
LF – Oh, that’s going to be fun.
GO – A song by Susan Aglukark called Hina Na Ho.
EL – I love Susan Aglukark. How do you say her name?
GO – I say Susan Aglukark. But it’s one of those to-mayto to-mahto things.
EL – Yeah, yeah.
GO – We’re sitting here with Eugene Lipinski and our friend Lou or Louis…
LF – Ferreira.
GO – Ferreira. And I’m Gunargie O’Sullivan plus Gary Olver. And we’re having a really great time. We sang you songs like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
EL – Frosty the Snowman.
GO – Frosty the Snowman. And then we’re going to talk, go on to like serious…
LF – After Cheryl Bear we should probably stop singing.
EL – Yeah.
GO – Yeah. I don’t know, I think you could do it, you could hit it one more time if you tried.
LF – I’m going to pass.
GO – Okay, yeah. Even I’ll pass.
EL – I thought the acting was really good.
LF – So good.
EL – And after they put on the little fifteen minutes of the play then they started doing like cold readings you know because I thought it was right what Curtis said it’s something that it’s really good to know for the business of acting, you know? And the cold readings were great as well. They read for Mark Redsky, scenes from his, he’s trying to get a web series off the ground as well.
GO – Yeah. Awesome, because he started out mostly as an actor. And he’s worked his way up to writing his own screenplays and producing. He’s very dedicated, self-motivated and has a lot of discipline. I’d like to see where he goes with all of this.
And I thought the cold reads were brilliant because it’s a good exercise. Any clues for those people who are listening who are hoping to become actors? What should they be… how should they prepare themselves for a cold read? I mean, how do you prepare yourself for a cold read? You don’t get the script ahead of time, you just get it a few minutes ahead of time, and…
LF – I think before that even happens, you know, just get involved, if that’s something you’re interested in doing. Go find where you can get classes. Get involved with community groups, do whatever you can as far as just immersing yourself in the ability to actually act, perform. It’s in doing it that you learn. Always. And so, it’s just a matter of, you know, putting yourself out there a little bit. And if that’s a calling, a desire, you should do whatever you can to get involved with a group, like the one we’re talking about. Or wherever you can in your community because that’s really the first step, isn’t it? Just sort of get out there and do it.
EL – And also one exercise you can do if it’s something you’re interested in is read a lot and read out loud. Because some, like I’m not a great reader but I practice and I practice and I practice. And now I feel confident in cold reads, but for years and years, if they’d say it was a cold read I would just like sweat, because I couldn’t read very well.
GO – Cold sweat.
LF – Yeah, and I sometimes, I go in the rooms and I get nervous (fart noise in background) when it happens it makes me feel really uncomfortable. (more fart noises) Because I’m nervous.
EL – Louis, someone’s talking behind your back.
LF – (laughs) Sorry I’m such a ridiculous…
GO – You work on Motive, right?
LF – Yeah. It’s a very serious show.
GO – Serious stuff.
LF – We don’t mess around.
GO – No, you don’t mess around. So, I notice you have the Metro there.
We talked a little bit about some disturbing things that happen like
rape and murder and people going missing. Is that how you sort of keep
in tune with some of the work you’re doing on Motive? Where do you get
your motivation?
LF – Ah, well, that’s cute. I… what’s your motivation, Eugene Lipinski? Well, no, I mean, there was just something about, in the Vancouver Metro today that talked about, there was, yesterday at False Creek there was a Rally. Aboriginal women who have disappeared or been murdered. They started this campaign called Am I Next?
And it started as a social media campaign involving women taking pictures of themselves with a sign asking if they could be the next missing or murdered Aboriginal woman which I thought was just powerful and happened to be on the front cover today.
It’s not so much that I’m personally that involved in it all. But I think as human beings there are causes that you just can’t turn your back on if you’re, in my opinion, we’re all connected.
We’re all human beings, so, I think as they present themselves there, there’s opportunities for you to certainly contribute or get involved as much as you can or not at all but there’s just awareness and consciousness. I think this is the new reality that’s out there and I think that that’s something that I want to choose, I’m choosing to be a part of and want to be a part of.
Yeah, it’s kind of, it’s weird because I was a single dad, my son’s grown up now, twenty-one, and there’s a part of me that’s like going, oh, next chapter of my life, what’s it about? And I’m, just, part of me is trying to figure that out. And I know a lot of that for me personally is about giving back and being of service. There’s something about that and it can, you know, translate to many, many different areas.
GO – Well, do you think that Motive has touched on the reality of the murdered and missing women?
LF – No, it’s not something we’ve… yeah, no, I don’t think it’s, it’s not, we have not dealt with a story-line like that at all. But it’s a great idea.
GO – I think it’s odd that nobody has picked up on the Robert Pickton Piggy’s Palace and stuff. I mean, when is that going to happen and maybe I think in some ways it has seeped through some of the story-lines, right? Without being really…
LF – Right, right, yeah, right.
EL – That was one of those things, I was listening to the radio this morning and there was like…
LF – Oh, CBC?
EL – Yeah, getting caught, hashtag, being white, or something like the white people would say, oh I stole and dahdahdah and then the police caught us and we cried and said we were sorry and they let us go. But if it would have been a native person or a black person like in the U.S. what’s going on right now they probably would get the crap beat out of them, right?
So, yeah, it would be good to get story-lines like that on the TV you know. Like I know for example say in Saskatchewan, you know, at the University of Regina, the native college and everything like that, but they go and graduate and it’s still hard, really hard, to get a job, you know, unless you go back to the reserve, right? It’s like impossible to get a job if you’re a native person, virtually in Saskatchewan, so yeah, things gotta change.
LF – Yeah, and that translates in many, how many times you get in a cab and someone’s from somewhere else and they were doctors in their country, or, you know, and that happens all the time so it’s across, that’s what I’m saying too, it expands across many different groups as well.
GO – Yeah, and the high rate of child apprehension has affected aboriginal people for years. Incarceration, 80% of our people are either in jail or in foster homes and group homes and this and that. But also the immigration, the people who are affected by immigration are also being incarcerated and their children are being apprehended simply because they have different cultural like identities and ways of living.
EL – It’s a really strange thing like I know even when we came to Canada you know it was weird because we were Polish, right. Even though everyone else was from Poland or Russia or wherever like that you know and the joke was, oh, you’ve been in this country two weeks and already some DP is trying to steal my job. You know, it was like, it’s very, very odd, the human animal, the human condition, how everyone wants to be on top of everyone.
GO – Hierarchy.
EL – It’s like, yeah, it’s very odd.
GO – Were you in Ricochet? A movie made a long time ago called Ricochet?
EL – No.
LF – Me neither.
GO – No? Nor was I.
EL – I’d like to have been in, it sounds like a good name.
GO – Okay, so, where do we go from here? It’s 2014, you’ve done a lot of work between the two of you, voice-overs, movies…
LF – Let’s talk about you for a little bit. We were talking about, tell me, you apparently have started your resolutions, right? You’ve already got a jump on them? You want to tell me what those…
GO – Yeah. I did.
LF – Ah, well, that’s cute. I… what’s your motivation, Eugene Lipinski? Well, no, I mean, there was just something about, in the Vancouver Metro today that talked about, there was, yesterday at False Creek there was a Rally. Aboriginal women who have disappeared or been murdered. They started this campaign called Am I Next?
And it started as a social media campaign involving women taking pictures of themselves with a sign asking if they could be the next missing or murdered Aboriginal woman which I thought was just powerful and happened to be on the front cover today.
It’s not so much that I’m personally that involved in it all. But I think as human beings there are causes that you just can’t turn your back on if you’re, in my opinion, we’re all connected.
We’re all human beings, so, I think as they present themselves there, there’s opportunities for you to certainly contribute or get involved as much as you can or not at all but there’s just awareness and consciousness. I think this is the new reality that’s out there and I think that that’s something that I want to choose, I’m choosing to be a part of and want to be a part of.
Yeah, it’s kind of, it’s weird because I was a single dad, my son’s grown up now, twenty-one, and there’s a part of me that’s like going, oh, next chapter of my life, what’s it about? And I’m, just, part of me is trying to figure that out. And I know a lot of that for me personally is about giving back and being of service. There’s something about that and it can, you know, translate to many, many different areas.
GO – Well, do you think that Motive has touched on the reality of the murdered and missing women?
LF – No, it’s not something we’ve… yeah, no, I don’t think it’s, it’s not, we have not dealt with a story-line like that at all. But it’s a great idea.
GO – I think it’s odd that nobody has picked up on the Robert Pickton Piggy’s Palace and stuff. I mean, when is that going to happen and maybe I think in some ways it has seeped through some of the story-lines, right? Without being really…
LF – Right, right, yeah, right.
EL – That was one of those things, I was listening to the radio this morning and there was like…
LF – Oh, CBC?
EL – Yeah, getting caught, hashtag, being white, or something like the white people would say, oh I stole and dahdahdah and then the police caught us and we cried and said we were sorry and they let us go. But if it would have been a native person or a black person like in the U.S. what’s going on right now they probably would get the crap beat out of them, right?
So, yeah, it would be good to get story-lines like that on the TV you know. Like I know for example say in Saskatchewan, you know, at the University of Regina, the native college and everything like that, but they go and graduate and it’s still hard, really hard, to get a job, you know, unless you go back to the reserve, right? It’s like impossible to get a job if you’re a native person, virtually in Saskatchewan, so yeah, things gotta change.
LF – Yeah, and that translates in many, how many times you get in a cab and someone’s from somewhere else and they were doctors in their country, or, you know, and that happens all the time so it’s across, that’s what I’m saying too, it expands across many different groups as well.
GO – Yeah, and the high rate of child apprehension has affected aboriginal people for years. Incarceration, 80% of our people are either in jail or in foster homes and group homes and this and that. But also the immigration, the people who are affected by immigration are also being incarcerated and their children are being apprehended simply because they have different cultural like identities and ways of living.
EL – It’s a really strange thing like I know even when we came to Canada you know it was weird because we were Polish, right. Even though everyone else was from Poland or Russia or wherever like that you know and the joke was, oh, you’ve been in this country two weeks and already some DP is trying to steal my job. You know, it was like, it’s very, very odd, the human animal, the human condition, how everyone wants to be on top of everyone.
GO – Hierarchy.
EL – It’s like, yeah, it’s very odd.
GO – Were you in Ricochet? A movie made a long time ago called Ricochet?
EL – No.
LF – Me neither.
GO – No? Nor was I.
EL – I’d like to have been in, it sounds like a good name.
GO – Okay, so, where do we go from here? It’s 2014, you’ve done a lot of work between the two of you, voice-overs, movies…
LF – Let’s talk about you for a little bit. We were talking about, tell me, you apparently have started your resolutions, right? You’ve already got a jump on them? You want to tell me what those…
GO – Yeah. I did.
GO – Thanks to Gary Olver. Just to give him some credit here. I was able to… do you want to get really down and personal?
LF – Bring it.
GO – Okay, I lost weight, for one thing, in a good way. But part of the reason I did lose weight
was because I quit drinking alcohol.
LF – Congrats! That’s awesome!
GO – I still drink pop, right!
LF – The soda!
LF – Congrats! That’s awesome!
GO – I still drink pop, right!
LF – The soda!
GO – Yeah, and it’s been like 5 months for me and it’s made a really huge difference in my life. In a positive way. And it made me realize that maybe drinking wasn’t really good for me. You know, looking back, in retrospect, a lot of bad things have happened as a result of alcohol, not just to me, because of alcohol, it’s been a crazy journey.
And so here I am. I jumped the gun. Get it, Gunargie jumped the gun.
LF – Did it again.
GO – Gunargie jumps the gun.
LF – She’s punning.
GO – Yes, and I quit drinking like about, I’ve been clean and sober for 5 months.
LF – Congrats.
GO – And so, it’s been really great. I’ve enjoyed it, my family is happier, I’m happier, and yeah.
LF – That’s awesome, congrats.
GO – Yeah.
EL – Gary’s a carver, a famous carver, he’s got pieces in a museum, the museum of? Where is? In Winnipeg or in Ottawa?
Gary O – In MoAD.
GO – MoAD?
Gary O – In New York City. Modern Museum of Art Design (MAD). Ah, the little art piece I did a number of years ago that’s actually in their permanent collection. It’s only like 2 ½ inches high by, I think it’s 2 ½ wide by, it’s only half an inch thick.
LF – Wow! Can you bring it up? On the computer? Can we see it? I’d like to see it.
GO – I can get it up.
LF – You can?
(laughter)
LF – She’s being hilarious, Gunargie! That’s what she said.
GO – I said it.
LF – She said it!
GO – I meant it.
Gary O – A number of my pieces end up in magazines and you know private collections. You know, they end up in museums, eventually. But that’s what I do, where I work spiritually, in my culture. That’s what, you know, brings me closer to the one I call God, right. So that’s kind of my gift. And then with, it kind of, you know, allows me to live, allows me to have my freedoms.
LF – Beautiful.
Gary O – Allows me to have a beautiful family. And be more spiritual.
LF – I love that.
Gary O – This is my work here. This is what kind of…
LF – I think, I think, it’s funny, not to get too serious with stuff, but I think at the core of it all, for me as I get older, realizing our human-ness, that spiritually is really the only thing that matters. As far as like our journey. It’s that connection to your higher power, whatever that is. And whatever works for somebody. But at the end of the day, that’s who I’m going out with. So I better connect with that, whatever it is for me, because it’s… these are beautiful, by the
And so here I am. I jumped the gun. Get it, Gunargie jumped the gun.
LF – Did it again.
GO – Gunargie jumps the gun.
LF – She’s punning.
GO – Yes, and I quit drinking like about, I’ve been clean and sober for 5 months.
LF – Congrats.
GO – And so, it’s been really great. I’ve enjoyed it, my family is happier, I’m happier, and yeah.
LF – That’s awesome, congrats.
GO – Yeah.
EL – Gary’s a carver, a famous carver, he’s got pieces in a museum, the museum of? Where is? In Winnipeg or in Ottawa?
Gary O – In MoAD.
GO – MoAD?
Gary O – In New York City. Modern Museum of Art Design (MAD). Ah, the little art piece I did a number of years ago that’s actually in their permanent collection. It’s only like 2 ½ inches high by, I think it’s 2 ½ wide by, it’s only half an inch thick.
LF – Wow! Can you bring it up? On the computer? Can we see it? I’d like to see it.
GO – I can get it up.
LF – You can?
(laughter)
LF – She’s being hilarious, Gunargie! That’s what she said.
GO – I said it.
LF – She said it!
GO – I meant it.
Gary O – A number of my pieces end up in magazines and you know private collections. You know, they end up in museums, eventually. But that’s what I do, where I work spiritually, in my culture. That’s what, you know, brings me closer to the one I call God, right. So that’s kind of my gift. And then with, it kind of, you know, allows me to live, allows me to have my freedoms.
LF – Beautiful.
Gary O – Allows me to have a beautiful family. And be more spiritual.
LF – I love that.
Gary O – This is my work here. This is what kind of…
LF – I think, I think, it’s funny, not to get too serious with stuff, but I think at the core of it all, for me as I get older, realizing our human-ness, that spiritually is really the only thing that matters. As far as like our journey. It’s that connection to your higher power, whatever that is. And whatever works for somebody. But at the end of the day, that’s who I’m going out with. So I better connect with that, whatever it is for me, because it’s… these are beautiful, by the
way, we’re looking at his artwork, so I’m slightly distracted.
GO – Yeah, these are catlinite pieces.
LF – Stunning.
GO – One is called the…
GO – Yeah, these are catlinite pieces.
LF – Stunning.
GO – One is called the…
Gary O – This is a replica of the one that actually sits in that museum in New York City.
LF – You guys gotta check this out.
Gary O – I changed it a little bit because they end up owning the rights to it, right? So what I did is I did it opposite. So it, because you have to change it 20% right, because they own the original design now. So, when I did, you know, basically almost a copy of it, I did it the opposite.
EL – The left hand is way up.
Gary O – yeah, so.
LF – Beautiful, man!
EL – They have the right handed way and you’ve got the left handed way.
Gary O – Left handed way, yeah. So, it’s the same story. This is a powerful story, this is about a halibut hook, one of our great fishermen and basically how he shared it with all the other Crees. Shared the salmon, see they’re all feasting on the salmon in the center of the halibut hook. And what it represents is sharing and unity.
LF – Community.
EL – Wow. That’s amazing. So you’re a Cree but is that considered West Coast origin?
Gary O – No, I was adopted into a British home from northern Manitoba when I was a boy. And later grew up out here. And the first natives that I actually met were Haida. And that’s where I just kind of fell in love with them and they taught me some things. Before, I never knew that that’s what would carry me through my life.
EL – Yeah, that’s beautiful, man.
Gary O – I carve out of the catlinite, the pipestone, which is the highest spiritual material item that us Crees have to honor the Haida people and that’s the reason I carve in their form.
GO – Yeah, so if you’d like to find…
LF – That’s inspiring! That’s really inspiring, man!
GO – Yeah, it is inspiring. But if you’d like to find out more about Gary’s work you can check him out, Google him at Gary Olver. You’ll see him, some of his work at Spirit Gallery and Canadian West Coast Art and so on and so forth. And Cheryl Bear Barnetson is how you find her on YouTube. And so, before we go, I know you Louis, Louis, I asked you a question and you turned the tables on me.
LF – I did!
GO – And tell me what your New Year’s resolution will be this year. I’m going to hold you to the question.
LF – Boy, I gotta be honest. I don’t really think I have one. To stay on the path? Perhaps. To stay, you know.
GO – To be more productive?
LF – Sure. Be more productive, I’ll take that. Eugene, add something. What have we got, we gotta lose weight? We losing weight?
EL – No.
LF – 5 pounds? I want to lose 5 pounds.
EL – It’s all paid for, there’s no mortgage on this baby. I’m just gonna live my life one day at a time. That’s what I’m gonna do.
LF – That’s it.
GO – Well, that’s a good way to live your life. And here we go, Jingle Bell Rock.
(Sing along to Jingle Bell Rock)
Many thanks to Casey for the huge transcript!
Here is a photo from the recording session that was posted on CO-OP Radio's Twitter feed; unfortunately Louis' face is right behind the microphone. From left to right you can see Eugene Lipinski, Louis Ferreira, Gunargie O'Sullivan and Gary Olver.
Photo by CO-OP Radio
LF – You guys gotta check this out.
Gary O – I changed it a little bit because they end up owning the rights to it, right? So what I did is I did it opposite. So it, because you have to change it 20% right, because they own the original design now. So, when I did, you know, basically almost a copy of it, I did it the opposite.
EL – The left hand is way up.
Gary O – yeah, so.
LF – Beautiful, man!
EL – They have the right handed way and you’ve got the left handed way.
Gary O – Left handed way, yeah. So, it’s the same story. This is a powerful story, this is about a halibut hook, one of our great fishermen and basically how he shared it with all the other Crees. Shared the salmon, see they’re all feasting on the salmon in the center of the halibut hook. And what it represents is sharing and unity.
LF – Community.
EL – Wow. That’s amazing. So you’re a Cree but is that considered West Coast origin?
Gary O – No, I was adopted into a British home from northern Manitoba when I was a boy. And later grew up out here. And the first natives that I actually met were Haida. And that’s where I just kind of fell in love with them and they taught me some things. Before, I never knew that that’s what would carry me through my life.
EL – Yeah, that’s beautiful, man.
Gary O – I carve out of the catlinite, the pipestone, which is the highest spiritual material item that us Crees have to honor the Haida people and that’s the reason I carve in their form.
GO – Yeah, so if you’d like to find…
LF – That’s inspiring! That’s really inspiring, man!
GO – Yeah, it is inspiring. But if you’d like to find out more about Gary’s work you can check him out, Google him at Gary Olver. You’ll see him, some of his work at Spirit Gallery and Canadian West Coast Art and so on and so forth. And Cheryl Bear Barnetson is how you find her on YouTube. And so, before we go, I know you Louis, Louis, I asked you a question and you turned the tables on me.
LF – I did!
GO – And tell me what your New Year’s resolution will be this year. I’m going to hold you to the question.
LF – Boy, I gotta be honest. I don’t really think I have one. To stay on the path? Perhaps. To stay, you know.
GO – To be more productive?
LF – Sure. Be more productive, I’ll take that. Eugene, add something. What have we got, we gotta lose weight? We losing weight?
EL – No.
LF – 5 pounds? I want to lose 5 pounds.
EL – It’s all paid for, there’s no mortgage on this baby. I’m just gonna live my life one day at a time. That’s what I’m gonna do.
LF – That’s it.
GO – Well, that’s a good way to live your life. And here we go, Jingle Bell Rock.
(Sing along to Jingle Bell Rock)
Many thanks to Casey for the huge transcript!
Here is a photo from the recording session that was posted on CO-OP Radio's Twitter feed; unfortunately Louis' face is right behind the microphone. From left to right you can see Eugene Lipinski, Louis Ferreira, Gunargie O'Sullivan and Gary Olver.
Photo by CO-OP Radio
ARTHUR
Don't forget that Louis' latest short film ARTHUR still has its fundraising campaign going on!
Check out their pitch video and then go to Indiegogo to pledge your support!
If you've ever wanted to be a movie producer who is listed on IMDb, here is your chance!
Louis plays Antonio, the main character's abusive boyfriend. Check it out!
Paola shared this beautiful photo of herself and Louis as Vera and Antonio on set.
Thanks, Paola!
Don't forget that Louis' latest short film ARTHUR still has its fundraising campaign going on!
Check out their pitch video and then go to Indiegogo to pledge your support!
If you've ever wanted to be a movie producer who is listed on IMDb, here is your chance!
Louis plays Antonio, the main character's abusive boyfriend. Check it out!
Paola shared this beautiful photo of herself and Louis as Vera and Antonio on set.
Thanks, Paola!
LIFE ON THE LINE
News from David Hackl who directed Louis' latest movie Life on the Line starring John Travolta:
News from David Hackl who directed Louis' latest movie Life on the Line starring John Travolta:
Louis has a small role in the movie which is set to premiere this year.
Oh, and he gets to wear a really big hat. ☺
Oh, and he gets to wear a really big hat. ☺
MOTIVE
MOTIVE was nominated for Best Dramatic Series in the Canadian Screen Awards! Congratulations, everyone!
Season 3 starts March 8 on CTV. Stay tuned for more news and photos as press releases about the new season start to appear.
Principal photography wraps right around Louis' birthday on February 20th.
MOTIVE was nominated for Best Dramatic Series in the Canadian Screen Awards! Congratulations, everyone!
Season 3 starts March 8 on CTV. Stay tuned for more news and photos as press releases about the new season start to appear.
Principal photography wraps right around Louis' birthday on February 20th.
IT CAME FROM THE TWITTERVERSE
PHOTOS
Louis sent this Christmas photo last month. While the season has definitely passed it's never too late to share! Thanks, Louis!
It's been several months since Dragon Con but occasionally photos still trickle in. Bill Salina has posted several of them, please check them out on the Dragon Con Page.
Louis sent this Christmas photo last month. While the season has definitely passed it's never too late to share! Thanks, Louis!
It's been several months since Dragon Con but occasionally photos still trickle in. Bill Salina has posted several of them, please check them out on the Dragon Con Page.
VIDEO
Season 1 of Durham County is now available on YouTube. The quality isn't the best but if you haven't had a chance to watch it you might want to give it a try.
Season 1 of Durham County is now available on YouTube. The quality isn't the best but if you haven't had a chance to watch it you might want to give it a try.
SCREENCAPS
To celebrate the great news for Hungary (see below) we have screencaps of the final episode of Season 2 of MOTIVE - episode 213 For You I Die (beware of spoilers). There are no spoilers for the episode in these screencaps, though! Here is also a direct link to the album: https://ferreirafestscreencaps.shutterfly.com/pictures/14893
THE READING SERIES: ARE YOU AS HAPPY AS YOUR DOG?
Every month Louis reads a chapter from one of his favorite books, Are You as Happy as Your Dog? by Alan Cohen. Mr. Cohen has kindly granted his permission for us to post Louis' book reading clips here. Please join me in thanking him and be sure to visit his website at alancohen.com.
Click on the thumbnail of the book cover to purchase a copy of the book:
Here is this month's chapter.
Listen to the sound clip here:
Every month Louis reads a chapter from one of his favorite books, Are You as Happy as Your Dog? by Alan Cohen. Mr. Cohen has kindly granted his permission for us to post Louis' book reading clips here. Please join me in thanking him and be sure to visit his website at alancohen.com.
Click on the thumbnail of the book cover to purchase a copy of the book:
Here is this month's chapter.
Listen to the sound clip here:
Chapter 23: Don’t take it personally
I can say just about anything to Munchie, and he doesn’t get upset.
Sometimes after he eats dead frogs he comes home with breath that would make a camel wince.
When I tell him this, he just looks at me and laughs.
He has no ego. Maybe he is better off.
(Nice Munchie!)
FRIENDS NEWS
Bradley Stryker
Bradley has been a busy man! He wrapped his role as Skipjack on The Lizzie Borden Chronicles just before Christmas, and right after that he jetted off to Italy to film Nightfire.
So here's Bradley's little photo album of cool stuff! Click on the thumbnails to see Bradley's posts on Instagram.
Bradley Stryker
Bradley has been a busy man! He wrapped his role as Skipjack on The Lizzie Borden Chronicles just before Christmas, and right after that he jetted off to Italy to film Nightfire.
So here's Bradley's little photo album of cool stuff! Click on the thumbnails to see Bradley's posts on Instagram.
Bradley wraps Skipjack
Bradley and Caitlin celebrate Christmas 2014
Yep, Bradley is definitely a Seahawks fan!
Bradley on his way to Italy
Bradley's first day of filming "Nightfire"
Bradley wraps "Nightfire"
"86 My Life" is an Official Selection for the 2015 Garden State Film Festival. Screenings will be held March 19-22 in Atlantic City. Bradley plays the character of Brian.
Visit Bradley's Page at The Friends of Louis Ferreira.
Peter Kelamis
Peter has been busy on the Standup Comedy circuit and some very lucky people got to spend New Year's Eve laughing with him.
And here is Peter's view from the stage at the New Year's Eve event!
Here is Peter as the Friendly Guy
in Big Eyes.
in Big Eyes.
And of course Peter went to the cast and crew screening of Big Eyes.
Visit Peter's Page at The Friends of Louis Ferreira.
Jennifer Spence
Jen got to visit the Grand Canyon and of course she took the opportunity to take a picture!
In February, her multiple award-winning film Down River will be screening at the Available Light Film Festival in Whitehorse, Yukon.
Down River is now playing on Moviecentral in Canada!
Down River has a new trailer - you can watch it here.
On February 9th there will be a screening of Down River and a performance by Kevin House with music from the film at Ben Ratner's Haven Studio.
Please visit Jen's Page at The Friends of Louis Ferreira.
David Dingess
David has posted a link to his album "Fall Up Art." He's got some really cool stuff on his BandCamp site for you to listen to.
Also, please check out David's Facebook Page, and visit David's Page at The Friends of Louis Ferreira.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS FROM HUNGARY
Great news: MOTIVE has come to Hungarian TV! Here is TV2's page, and here is Viasat3's page. This second one is less useful, no information about the schedule is available there. Although the slideshow is nice. There's even a short video here.
Ildi says: I couldn't figure out the logic behind Viasat3's scheduling, it's rather chaotic. I've found a post on a page called sorozatjunkie (Series Junkie), which explains some of the reasons behind it - it seems to be some kind of weird TV politics.
Here's the schedule:
Here is an article (in Hungarian) on the actors who are doing the voices for the Motive characters on Hungarian television.
NEWS FROM HUNGARYGreat news: MOTIVE has come to Hungarian TV! Here is TV2's page, and here is Viasat3's page. This second one is less useful, no information about the schedule is available there. Although the slideshow is nice. There's even a short video here.
Ildi says: I couldn't figure out the logic behind Viasat3's scheduling, it's rather chaotic. I've found a post on a page called sorozatjunkie (Series Junkie), which explains some of the reasons behind it - it seems to be some kind of weird TV politics.
Here's the schedule:
Here is an article (in Hungarian) on the actors who are doing the voices for the Motive characters on Hungarian television.
Oscar Vega is voiced by actor Péter Haás Vander.
Here is a photo of him, as well as a short sound clip from the movie "Platoon" where Peter voiced Sgt. Barnes (originally played by Tom Berenger), so get an idea of what Oscar sounds like in Hungarian:
Ildi reports that SGU is no longer on AXN but it's still on AXN Black. Here is the schedule:
THE GREAT 2015 BIRTHDAY PROJECT
Once again it's time to gear up for the great annual birthday project! Every year The Friends of Louis Ferreira send Louis a box of cheer for his birthday on February 20.
Louis loooves his birthday cards! Listen:
"I love getting my birthday cards. Those are fun! Oh, it's very sweet. Oh yeah!!"
This year's theme is "homemade".
So: make a birthday card from scratch! There's no need for grand artwork (unless you're so inclined). Make something from the heart, write something heartfelt, share something from the bottom of your heart.
Alternatively, you can make a donation to one of our charities (see above or here) or a charity of your choice.
If you've participated in a birthday project before - the instructions and mailing address are still the same. If this is your first time or if you'd like the instructions again please send an email to Ferreira Fest.
Be sure to put your card into a larger envelope before you mail it out, and please do not seal the inner envelope. No autograph or contact requests, please - this is strictly to wish Louis a happy birthday.
All cards must arrive here in Georgia/ US by February 1, 2015, so please send them out now.
Questions? Please ask.
ODDS AND ENDS
Site Updates
We now have a new page for Radio Interviews. It is a collection of audio files of interviews with Louis that have aired on a radio program. Check it out!
We also added a character link for Police Officer Vince from The Dating Guy. Louis voiced the character in the animated show for two seasons. You can find all the character pages links on the Info Links Page.
Flag C0unter
As of our publication date on January 20th we have had visitors from 90 countries, and 453 different cities or regions all over the world! Welcome, everybody!
We hope you visit often and tell your friends to come over as well so they can put their flag on our map!
And that, dear Friends, is about it for this month! Thanks for visiting often! Be sure to follow us on Twitter for all the Louis news you can handle and a weekly Louis photo!
If you have comments, questions or suggestions, there are many ways to make your voice heard:
1. Visit the Forum and start a discussion or participate in an existing one. Signing up is easy and hassle-free, and nobody here will send you spam or unwanted emails.
2. Leave a note in the Guestbook.
3. Contact admin@louisferreira.org or any other staff member. Everyone is listed on the Contact Page.
We are always looking for volunteers who want to contribute, and there are perks associated with being a correspondent or staff member! Want your own email address at louisferreira.org? Contribute - it's that easy.
Please remember: all content of Ferreira Fest and indeed this entire website is copyright protected. That's what the note on the bottom of each page says. It means that you should never re-post anything you find here elsewhere. If you absolutely must do so please contact admin@louisferreira.org first so we can work things out. We all work for free here, and we all work very hard, and it's just not fair if you steal stuff and claim it as your own. Your mom/ dad/ parental unit/ teacher already told you as much. Please play by the rules.
We hope to see you all next month!
And lastly, here is Louis wishing everybody a Happy New Year!
Site Updates
We now have a new page for Radio Interviews. It is a collection of audio files of interviews with Louis that have aired on a radio program. Check it out!
We also added a character link for Police Officer Vince from The Dating Guy. Louis voiced the character in the animated show for two seasons. You can find all the character pages links on the Info Links Page.
Flag C0unter
As of our publication date on January 20th we have had visitors from 90 countries, and 453 different cities or regions all over the world! Welcome, everybody!
We hope you visit often and tell your friends to come over as well so they can put their flag on our map!
And that, dear Friends, is about it for this month! Thanks for visiting often! Be sure to follow us on Twitter for all the Louis news you can handle and a weekly Louis photo!
If you have comments, questions or suggestions, there are many ways to make your voice heard:
1. Visit the Forum and start a discussion or participate in an existing one. Signing up is easy and hassle-free, and nobody here will send you spam or unwanted emails.
2. Leave a note in the Guestbook.
3. Contact admin@louisferreira.org or any other staff member. Everyone is listed on the Contact Page.
We are always looking for volunteers who want to contribute, and there are perks associated with being a correspondent or staff member! Want your own email address at louisferreira.org? Contribute - it's that easy.
Please remember: all content of Ferreira Fest and indeed this entire website is copyright protected. That's what the note on the bottom of each page says. It means that you should never re-post anything you find here elsewhere. If you absolutely must do so please contact admin@louisferreira.org first so we can work things out. We all work for free here, and we all work very hard, and it's just not fair if you steal stuff and claim it as your own. Your mom/ dad/ parental unit/ teacher already told you as much. Please play by the rules.
We hope to see you all next month!
And lastly, here is Louis wishing everybody a Happy New Year!
Hello my friends! Happy birthday! What?! Happy New Year is what I meant to say! I don’t know why I’m speaking this way! But it’s 2015, wonderful things for everybody, every happiness to all, let us all love each other like the brothers and sisters that we are, and Godspeed!
Content copyright . LOUISFERREIRA.ORG. All rights reserved.
