From Lee-Anne Goodman of the Canadian Press:
From Blogcritics:
DVD on Amazon From Slice:
From running away to join the circus to singing in a superstar rock band, The List is about fulfilling life-long dreams and indulging in guilty pleasures. The producers of this new Sliceâ„¢ series are looking for Canadians across the country who want to accomplish an item on their ultimate life to-do list on television. Intrepid host Liza Fromer (former co-host of Toronto’s Breakfast Television) will facilitate the chosen applicant’s dream – while participating in each adventure herself. The 26 x 30′ episodes begin airing on Sliceâ„¢ in October 2007. The series is produced by Cineflix Productions.
“If welcoming Liza to Sliceâ„¢ weren’t exciting enough – we are thrilled to now start casting for her new primetime series The List with Cineflix,†says Vanessa Case, Vice President, Content, Sliceâ„¢, Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. “Everyone has something they wish they could do, but because of limited time, money or simply courage, haven’t yet. We have no doubt this concept will result in overwhelming requests to be on the show.â€
Anyone who longs to fulfil a lifelong wish – from wing walking on an airplane to bathing in diamonds – should email thelist@nextfilm.ca. Applicants can nominate themselves or a family member, Emails should include what is on the applicant’s list and why that person should have their dream come true. The open casting call is for men and women 18 years and up. Additional details are available at www.slice.ca/About/CastingCall.aspx.
Premiering on Sliceâ„¢ in October 2007, The List is required viewing for those who want to live life to the fullest. In each episode, host Liza Fromer goes on a rollercoaster ride of fulfilling other people’s dreams, ambitions and decadent desires. From tasting every dessert in a bakery and strutting on the catwalk to starting a food fight, The List is a constant surprise to the viewers…and to Liza.
Prior to joining Sliceâ„¢, Liza Fromer spent five years as co-host of Citytv’s Breakfast Television in Toronto. She graduated from Ryerson University with a degree in Radio and Television and is a highly respected Canadian broadcast journalist. Previously, she worked as a columnist for TV Guide Canada. Her first foray into broadcasting was driving the Q107 Community Cruiser. She later launched her television career at YTV as the co-host of both the “Video & Arcade Top Ten†and “Clipsâ€. From 1995 to 1997, she hosted “Good Morning Toronto†on The Weather Network and later became the weekend anchor and reporter at A-Channel in Calgary, anchoring the station’s first-ever newscast. Fromer has also had stints with The Discovery Channel and CBS’s Newspath.
Sliceâ„¢ is an Alliance Atlantis Network. For more information please visit www.slice.ca.
From Playback:
From Bravo:
Calgary’s Elaine Jean Brown triumphs in the opera-singing competition
Bathroom Divas: So You Want To Be An Opera Star?
After a cross-country search for the next opera star, soprano Elaine Jean Brown was revealed as the winner in the season finale of Bathroom Divas: So You Want To Be An Opera Star?, which aired on Bravo! Saturday, March 17. Elaine was one of three remaining finalists that included Paul Abelha, a construction worker from Hamilton, Ontario, and Phillip Holmes, a student from Norway Bay, Qu̩bec. Elaine, the oldest finalist, was awarded the ultimate prize Рa debut performance at the Orpheum Theatre with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Bramwell Tovey in front of an audience of thousands.
“We saw in Elaine someone who had put her own desires and needs on hold for her family,” says soprano professor/comedienne Mary Lou Fallis, who served as judge, coach and producer of the series. “Always casting herself in the ‘mother’ role, even during boot camp, Elaine finally broke through her barriers and, in performance, fully exposed herself emotionally, surprising the judges and even herself. By the end of the competition, she proved to us that she had the ‘chops’ musically and had it in her to be a ‘Diva.'”
Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland and now residing in Calgary, Alberta, the youthful 59-year-old grandmother – who is the mother of fellow Bathroom Divas finalist, Robyn (Hefferton) Hauck – proved that it is never too late. Like many women, Elaine put her own career on hold to raise a family, and didn’t pursue her dream until a later age. She began her vocal training in 1997 and went on to win several singing competitions, perform with choirs and choruses, and release a solo CD in 2004.
Bathroom Divas, the critically acclaimed six-part, one-hour documentary series produced by Kaleidoscope Entertainment for Bravo!, began with auditions in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, where six finalists were hand-picked to participate in an extensive opera boot camp in Toronto. During the exhaustive three-week crash course, Elaine and her fellow competitors received intensive voice training, acting technique, stage fighting and more than 12-hours-a-week of one-on-one coaching with opera’s finest: Mary Lou Fallis, Tom Diamond (opera director/drama coach), Daniel Lichti (bass-baritone/ professor) and Liz Upchurch (pianist/vocal coach). For an aspiring opera singer, this exposure and experience is priceless.
For more info, please visit www.bathroomdivas.com and www.elainejeanbrown.com.