From the New York Times:
from Amazon.ca
From Bravo:
SIX “BATHROOM DIVA” FINALISTS FLEX THEIR
VOCAL CHORDS AT OPERA BOOT CAMP
Bathroom Divas: So You Want To Be An Opera Star?
The final six battle to win the ultimate singing competition
Saturdays at 9pm ET / 6pm PT (Repeats Tuesdays at 8pm ET / 5pm PT)
After a cross-country search for Canada’s next opera star, six finalists have been handpicked to take part in a rigorous opera boot camp in Toronto. The six opera hopefuls, hailing from Quebec to Calgary, are Paul Abelha (construction worker, Hamilton), Elaine Jean Brown (part-time model, Calgary), Robyn Hefferton (activist / entrepreneur, Calgary), Phillip Holmes (student, Norway Bay, QC), Donna Jacobs (day care worker, South Shore, QC) and Laura Landauer (Celine Dion and Cher impersonator, Toronto). The candidates vary in background and experience, but they all share the same goal; to be the next “Bathroom Diva”!
In the series premiere that aired Saturday, February 10 on Bravo!, judges Mary Lou Fallis, Tom Diamond, Liz Upchurch and Daniel Lichti audition wannabe singers in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Montreal and Halifax. The six finalists are then thrown into opera boot camp, an exhaustive three-week crash course where they receive intensive voice training, acting technique, stage fighting and more than 12-hours-a-week of one-on-one coaching with opera’s finest. Antics ensue, flirtations blossom, conflicts arise – and divas are born.
Can Laura shake her Celine Dion-isms and find her own voice? Mother Elaine vs. daughter Robyn – who will make it further? Does Phil need a “Henry Higgins” to polish his country-boy ways? Can Donna bolster her self-confidence and find her inner diva? Will Paul build his dream and leave the construction site behind?
At the end of each episode, the remaining competitors showcase their newly-polished operatic skills at various venues in Toronto, including the Bravo! Rehearsal Hall, the Robert Gill Theatre and the historic Elgin Theatre. The judge’s criteria for selecting a winner is not only based on the protégés’ operatic singing abilities, but on their facility to learn and understand a new language such as Italian; how well they perform theatricality; and, above all, their ability to apply the coaches’ advice and critique.
Bathroom Divas culminates in the final episode with one singer selected as the winner and awarded the ultimate prize – a debut performance at The Orpheum Theatre with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in front of an audience of thousands.
Bathroom Divas airs Saturdays at 9pm ET / 6pm PT, with encore presentations Tuesdays at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.
For more information and updates, as well as blogs and exclusive behind-the-scenes sneak peaks, please visit www.bathroomdivas.com.
From Macleans:
From Playback:
From Teletoon:
Animation addicts hungry for new shows will be satiated with an exclusive sneak preview of four new TELETOON series on Friday, March 16th from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET/PT. The sneak previews air during one of the network’s most popular programming blocks, SPIN CYCLE. The new shows include the much anticipated Canadian series, based on the popular book series by Louis Sachar, Wayside.
The March Break SPIN CYCLE Sneak Preview includes:
Wayside (Broadcast Premiere)
Sneak Peek Fri., March 16 at 4 p.m. ET/PT
Based on Louis Sachar’s best-selling book series, Wayside features the comically absurd tales from the top floor of the towering Wayside grammar school which was accidentally built 30 stories high. Mark Rendall (Childstar; ReGenisis) does voice work. Canadian singer Skye Sweetnam – who performed on Britney Spears’ Onyx Hotel Tour – sings the theme song. Regular Timeslot: Comedic Saturdays at 8:00am ET/PT beginning March 17.