October 30th, 2024

My cast and I are thrilled to be returning to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa to perform two presentations of Dear Canada on Remembrance Day this year. You can find tickets and more information here.

November 2023

A letter from the work’s creator, Miranda Mulholland

Starting in 2021 and working in partnership with the NAC and the Royal Canadian Legion, we put a call out for submissions for this project of letters from the Second World War. In addition, I followed leads from contributors tracking down interesting aspects of our shared Canadian history and conducted further research on the people and events I had been led to. Every letter, photo or keepsake that was shared with me was special. The pride with which these were shared was so moving and as an appreciator of the medium of letters, I was glad to hear how valued these communications remain to the writers’ loved ones and descendants.

I read over 3000 letters - well that’s where I lost count anyway. There was enough incredible content to create over 3000 presentations. There was a story with every letter writer.

As I read and researched, themes appeared. Though each letter writer was unique, there were many common elements of humanity running through these lived experiences. Even though I couldn’t use every letter, each one submitted helped me shape the work and added to the weight and relevance of the themes. In the end, the presentation contains the words of almost 40 letter writers but within that are many common elements with the 3000 + consulted. In creating this presentation, I realized there was also more context needed to frame these themes and that led me to adding some historical notes throughout making this more of a documentary radio play.

After the script was finished, our cast assembled for 5 days in October where we all contributed creatively to the final work. We filmed the piece at Mule Spinner in Hamilton with Brittany Farhat at the helm of her fantastic team at Good Job High Five.

The collective voice is so powerful and I hope you will feel as I did, listening to letter after letter - in turns funny, tender, stoic and harsh - that the humanity that connects us is bigger than the sum of its parts.

Many thanks to each and everyone who submitted letters. It is my hope that you continue to tell the stories of your loved ones and share their words.

All my very best,

Miranda

Here’s a short trailer for Dear Canada - Letters from the Second World War

Dear Canada - Letters from the Second World War was created from researched letters and crowd sourced letters for presentation at the National Arts Centre of Canada.

The production would like to gratefully acknowledge the support of the Canada Council of the Arts Digital Now Fund.

CAST

Tak Arikushi

Tak Arikushi is a Toronto-based guitarist specializing in the virtuosic guitar style of Gypsy-jazz. His music is inspired by the Romani jazz guitar legend, Django Reinhardt, whose infectious swing rhythms and fiery melodies started a musical tradition that gave birth to some of the most dazzling guitarists of today.
His most recent ventures explore the intersection of Japanese culture and jazz music, fusing the two to create a sound that is both toe-tapping and introspective. The first single Sakura Swing was featured on CBC radio on national airwaves across several shows. Whether he’s sharing the stage with jazz guitar giant Stephane Wrembel, recording challenging music for a best-selling video game (Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course), or playing for Rush bassist Geddy Lee’s family event, Tak’s talents keeps him in demand both as bandleader and collaborator.
Vikki VanSickle

DRAMATURG
Vikki VanSickle is an award-winning author and playwright. Her work includes the bestselling picture book IF I HAD A GRYPHON, the Red Maple Award winning YA novel, THE WINNOWING, and IKE & PEARL: A NEW CANADIAN MUSICAL, co-created with Rob Kempson. When not writing, she can be found on CTV Your Morning, where she curates a regular kids' books segment. Her newest book, HOW TO DECORATE A CHRISTMAS TREE is out now. Vikki is thrilled to return as dramaturg for another Letters From the War project. Connect with her online.
Jamie Drake

Jamie Drake is a Toronto-based percussionist, drummer and composer, whose musical interests span from environmental chamber music to Motown, and who has performed everywhere from the Lincoln Centre to a small cafe in Shanghai. Jamie received his masters degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Toronto. He has premiered works by composers Christos Hatzis, John Luther Adams and Nicole Lizée and performed with Soundstreams, Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, Esprit Orchestra, Amici, NEXUS and many others.
As a member of TorQ Percussion Quartet, has has performed across North America and in Europe, and has been a featured soloist with the Toronto Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Buffalo Philharmonic. He is percussionist for the renowned Hamilton Children’s Choir, has worked as a percussion composer/consultant for CBC, and taught at Acadia University. Active in musical theatre, Jamie has played drums/percussion for Mirvish, Musical Stage Company, Soulpepper, Canadian Stage, and Young People’s Theatre for Dora Award-winning productions, and has played drums for numerous singers including Ron Sexsmith, Jackie Richardson, Heather Bambrick and more. His solo percussion recording “Night” is available on Bandcamp.
Miranda Mulholland

CREATOR/CURATOR
Miranda Mulholland is a JUNO Nominated Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, label owner, artist advocate, and Founder and Artistic Director of the Muskoka Music Festival in Muskoka, Ontario. Her most recent solo release, By Appointment or Chance, was nominated for a JUNO in 2020. Dubbed the “Sweet secret weapon of Canadian Roots Music” by Brad Wheeler at the Globe and Mail, her touring and recording credits include Harrow Fair, Great Lake Swimmers, Bowfire, The Jim Cuddy Band and many, many more. Not limited to band performances, Miranda has appeared in various theatre productions including the Dora winning productions of 'Parfumerie' and New York Times Critic’s Pick, 'Spoon River' with Soulpepper Theatre.
Over the past five years, Miranda has emerged as one of the world's foremost artist advocates, speaking at the World Intellectual Property Organization, World Trade Organization, a NAFTA negotiating round in Washington, Midem, Canadian Music Week, and was the first music creator to take the podium at the Economic Club of Canada. Miranda was awarded Intellectual Property Champion by the US Chamber of Commerce and was Runner-up to Margaret Atwood for Artist of the Year Award from the Globe and Mail.
Miranda is Music Canada’s Creative Culture Advisor, the Chair of the Music Canada Advisory Council and is the Vice Chair of the Board of Governors, Massey/Roy Thomson Halls.
Patricia O'Callaghan

Soprano Patricia O’Callaghan is something of a wandering minstrel, with six solo albums and many interesting collaborations along the way. A speaker of French, Spanish, and German, her early recordings focused on European cabaret, but one of Patricia’s unique talents is the ability to blend a variety of languages and musical genres seamlessly in her concerts, and to completely embody whatever style she is singing at any given moment.
“This Toronto soprano can sing a 100-year-old German tune so lustily that you almost don’t need a translation to know that someone’s about to get his throat cut or get laid or both” (National Post). “O’Callaghan sings her diverse material as if it was always meant to go side-by-side and by the end of the evening, it’s easy to believe” (Chart Attack).
Patricia is on faculty at The Dan School of Drama and Music at Queen’s University, and at The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity’s Evolution: Classical program.
Her latest album, Dark Butterflies, with music by David Braid, and with the Prague Epoque Orchestra, is available now.
Julian Taylor

Julian Taylor is a Toronto-based, award-winning singer-songwriter, radio host, and label owner. Over the course of his esteemed career, which spans 20-plus years as the leader of Staggered Crossing, Julian Taylor Band, and his solo work, Julian has established himself as one of Canada’s greatest troubadours. His 2020 LP, The Ridge, earned two JUNO Award nominations, along with a pair of Canadian Folk Music Awards for Solo Artist and English Songwriter of the Year, five Native American Music Award nominations, plus a nomination for Canada’s most prestigious music accolade, the Polaris Music Prize.
IN 2022, Julian released his follow up album Beyond the Reservoir. It received a nomination from the Country Music Association of Ontario, a JUNO nomination and two Ontario Folk Music Nominations.
From the alt-rock of Staggered Crossing to the rock and roll, funk, pop, and R&B fusion of Julian Taylor Band, and, more recently, the soulful folk of his solo albums, Julian is known for his versatility as a songwriter, singer, and band leader. As well, as a self-managed musician who has handled every facet of his own career, including owning his own label, Howling Turtle, Julian exemplifies the DIY ethic and been a model for other indie artists to follow.