Upcoming artistic endeavours

On Friday Nov. 13 the Ottawa Story Tellers will have their Shenkman Centre debut with a telling of Homer’s epic Greek poem, The Odyssey. The show premiered at the National Art Centre’s fourth stage last year where it was a big success.

The Odyssey tells the story of the Greek hero Odysseus and his 10-year journey home after the fall of Troy. Over the course of his adventure he faces the wrath of the gods, escapes from a giant Cyclops’ lair and must deal with many other dangers before reaching his home.

“It’s not a drama with props but they’re also not reading the story,” says Sherri Yazdani, administrative coordinator for the Ottawa Story Tellers.

Four storytellers will share duties as they tell an accessible version of the epic poem. Tickets for the show, which starts at 7:30 p.m., are available at the Shenkman Arts Centre box office for $15 for adults and $12 for students and senior citizens.

On Sunday Nov. 15 the Montreal group Les Petites Tounes will perform an afternoon children’s show with their own versions of Christmas songs. Much like the wildly popular Australian group The Wiggles, four male day care workers started Les Petites Tounes when they discovered children really liked the songs they recorded together during their spare time.

“We try to make a little story with every song,” says Carlos Vergaras, one of the band’s multi-instrumentalist members.

The show starts at 3 p.m. and tickets cost $14. They are also available at the Shenkman Arts Centre box office.

If live performances aren’t your thing you can’t go wrong with two exhibits in the Shenkman Centre’s Trinity Gallery. In Salon A there is an exhibit called Patterns in Nature by Ottawa artist Hans Blokpoel. Blokpoel creates unique multimedia pieces that incorporate natural materials like stones and wood.

In Salon B, Ottawa’s Michael Goodman has an exhibit of paintings that consist of different portraits. Both exhibits will be on display until Dec. 1.

-- By Jonathan Migneault