The East Van Podcast is back! In this episode, Jonny Vancouver checks out the East Van Culture Crawl, a yearly exhibition of East Vancouver artists that recently took place here in Vancouver, and interviews Phillip Stephen and Grant Mercs, two of the artists involved in the Crawl. Special thanks to Beyond Robson for featuring the East Van Podcast, and to everyone who went above and beyond to help us put this podcast together.

For the past 5 years Sean Devlin has been busy in Vancouver as both a comedian & filmmaker. This September he performed at the prestigious Bumbershoot Arts Festival. His first feature film, 2004's "Zach & Avery" is screening at The Vancity Theatre on Saturday November 3rd @ 2pm. You really have to click on the video, before we go on.

I enjoyed my very own copy of this cd so much, we decided to give you an interview with this smashing young lat before the screening takes place. Before that, I have a one or two tiny remarks on this film. First off it's filmed entirely in Vancouver, in some very familiar East Vancouver settings that will arouse nostalgia. But, most of all, what was absolutely overwhelming in the film was the brilliant humor and wit among characters that seemed to know each other so well, the button-pushing could only exist this extreme in theatre. But enough about me, and my take on this film. I want us to have a chat with this guy, so here it is. My questions for Sean were pretty straight forward, and he was a delight to talk to.

> (1) So Sean, what is Zach and Avery all about?

I wrote the film during my first year living in Vancouver. I think it is inspired by personal relationships as well as the city itself. I could continue, but you really have to see it for yourself...

I struck up a conversation with Filmmaker Michael Mew and, well, after a few short exchanges we knew we had an interviewer on our hands. And, without further ado, here goes.

Every grey cloud has a sequin lining. While he waits for his membership card into the Hollywood's gay mafia, Michael strives to write comedies that are not totally devoid of meaning. Actually, if you think of it, even shallow has some depth to it -- so he says.

> (1) What is your next feature all about? Where did you snag the Title?

"Going West" is based on short film I did 6 years ago. It's a typical story of a small town boy who moves to the big city who gets caught up in a militant gay organization, the Gay Liberation Army, that is determined to set the standard for a new generation of queers. I call the genre "Queer Orwellian: a gay distopian story."

The title was inspired by the historical notion that you can find a better life if you went west. This of course was the belief during the depression and Village People eras.

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I love hearing about laughable crimes gone awry - the guy that robbed a bank at gunpoint then returned later that day to deposit the money into his account, for instance. So imagine my delight when I read this morning about a theft at local office space WorkSpace. Some computers were stolen with Flickrbooth installed on them and some time after the theft the photo above appeared in the WorkSpace flickr stream!

Of course I'm sorry to hear that Workspace was broken into, but the hilarity of the thief taking photos of himself with their computers and not realizing they were being uploaded to the internet more than makes up for it.

Sherman, set the WABAC machine for the University of Alberta in the year 2000. Here we find one Medina Hahn, young, ambitious, and industrious. Looking for a way to showcase her studied talents post-ed, she and fellow student/pal Daniel Arnold figure hey, maybe we should sit down and write something for ourselves. Novel idea, that. The result of their efforts was Tuesdays and Sundays (based on a true story), a lovely play about two souls lost in the ether who reunite and piece together their relationship and the eventual tragedy that befalls them. Meant for a one-off Edmonton run after they finished school, Medina and Daniel ended up touring the production for the last seven years, in festivals as far away as New York and Edinburgh, and it had its most recent run at the Waterfront in August. The pair have a busy production company together, and have both recently made Vancouver their home. Medina was good enough to sound off on her new city, which is richer for having her.

1.) Describe your present condition.

Up, down and all around.

2.) What are your thoughts on the current state of Vancouver theatre, as compared to Edmonton?

I've heard that theatre in Vancouver doesn't really exist. I've heard that theatre in Edmonton is on a slippery slope. I hear that theatre is making a comeback in Vancouver. I hear people are bored in Edmonton.

Bartending is the lowest rung of celebrity. It doesn't matter which bar you work at, be it a night club or a restaurant lounge, there's a bunch of people who want other people to know that you know them, and everyone, on some level, wishes that they had your job. It has a weird rock star sheen to it, maybe because we're the last legal pushers. As such, and because of the "good help is hard to find" maxim, it seems anyone with a minor celebrity jones and a little personality can get a job behind a bar in Vancouver, as long as they know about seven cocktail recipes and someone who already works there.