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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, March 4, 2016 | 24 John Bkila Sub-Editor jbkila@oakvillebeaver.com Artscene "Connected to your Community" Miss Shakespeare defies tradition with modern take on literary period The Oakville Drama Series is closing out its 2015-16 season with some female empowerment. Miss Shakespeare, a new musical by Tracey Power, takes the audience to 17th century England where women are banned from the stage, but a bold group has decided it is no longer satisfied staying in the background. Put on by The Oakville Players, the musical will be staged March 9-13 at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts (OCPA). "Behind the dingy walls of The Cage Tavern, Judith Shakespeare -- daughter of the most famous bard of all time -- leads a group of women to explore the seductive power of the theatre," stated a media release. "With a musical score drawing influence from underground European cabaret, this inspired musical brings us six unforgettable, gutsy women who find the courage to tell their own stories in a time when tradition and English law forbid it." Brendan McDowell, who is also president of The Oakville Players group, directs the play. McDowell said he was excited to be bringing a new Canadian play to the stage. "Being the second group to ever perform this play is exciting and challenging. Tracey (Power) has been a huge help. Besides being a funny and heart-warming show, its message is very timely. Even today, women do not get the same recognition for their creative ability," he said in the release. Being the second group to ever perform this play is exciting and challenging. Tracey (Power, the musical's creator) has been a huge help. Besides being a funny and heart-warming show, its message is very timely. Even today, women do not get the same recognition for their creative ability. The Oakville Players president, director of Miss Shakespeare Brendan McDowell The Oakville Players is staging Miss Shakespeare next week (March 9-13) to close out this season's Oakville Drama Series. From left are: Margaret Dantas (who plays Margaret Moore); Andrea Papollion (Susannah Shakespeare-Hall); Sarah Hesson (Judith Shakespeare); Robin Sadavoy (Mrs. Thomas Quiney); Sarah Rice (Isabel Loxley); Michelle LaHaise (Katherine Rose); and Mercedes Davy (Hanna Storley). | photo courtesy The Oakville Players As a high school English teacher by day, McDowell said he is used to bringing the Shakespearean time period to life. "This isn't Shakespeare; there is no iambic pentameter and only a few rhyming couplets. It's a very modern take on the period and is easily accessible to today's audiences," he said in the release. "There will be a lot of laughs and a lot of tears. Each woman in the cast is an incredible talent, and the show is definitely not to be missed." Performances at the 130 Navy St. theatre start at 8 p.m. from March 9-12, with a matinee show at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 13. Tickets for the evening performances cost $28, or $22 for the matinee. Groups of 10 people or more receive a $2 discount per ticket. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the OCPA in person, call 905-8152021 or toll-free at 1-888-489-7784, or visit http://goo.gl/9JUzAL. The Oakville Drama Series has been bringing theatre productions to town for more than 35 years. The Lovelocks, with Oakville's Zoe Neuman, releases second album In the Arts... The Lovelocks, comprised of female rootscountry duo Ali Raney and Oakville's Zoe Neuman, is releasing its second album today (Friday). "We have poured our hearts into creating our new album, Born to Love, which is a collection of love songs in all of its iterations," Neuman and Raney said in a media release. "Once again, we couldn't have completed this album without the help of our amazing fans who supported our crowd-funding campaign to complete this project. We dedicate this album (and our love) to them." The pair was a winner in the 2014 Canadian Country Music Association's Discovery Series, a national initiative developed to educate and support artists in their pursuit of a career in the country music industry. Collectively, Neuman and Raney have raised more than $65,000 to fund the recording of their debut, self-titled EP and their Born to Love album. Produced by award-winning musicians Ben Glover (Grammy award) and Mitch Merrett (Juno award), the new EP features collaborations with several talents, such as 2016 Academy Award nominee and songwriter Phil Barton -- who co-wrote the title track Born To Love with The Lovelocks and Brian White. The Lovelocks' new album, which features seven tracks, "reflects (their) authentic, roots country signature sound... integrating a varied mix of acoustic instrumentation, including the fiddle, banjo, mandolin and dobro," stated the release. Neuman and Raney's current single, Home Sweet Home -- which is one of the tracks on the new album -- reached the No. 1 selling single by a Canadian country artist for the week of Jan. 25. The video for the single, which was directed by Ben Knechtel (who also directed Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe), recently debuted on CMT Canada. A release party for Born to Love is scheduled to take place at Toronto's MOD Club on Thursday, March 10. For more information, visit www. The Lovelocks, from left, Ali Raney and Oakville's Zoe Neuman, is releasing its new album, Born to Love, today (Friday). | photo courtesy MDM Recordings Inc. thelovelocksband.com. Bronte Sisters of Bronte Creek Oakville Improv is putting on its Bronte Sisters of Bronte Creek show starting tonight (Friday) at the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre's Black Box Theatre, 2302 Bridge Rd. The PG-rated event continues tomorrow (Saturday) -- shows start at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $10 and can be purchased at the door or online at https://goo. gl/2mrrSb.