By Gillian Brunette
There are many people in the area who will remember Les Stroud the musician, but many more know him as Survivorman, whose exploits in obscure places and hostile situations have made him a household name.
Now Stroud is trying something new, a multi-media show filled with his film work and music, as well as highlights from his highly acclaimed documentary series. The show is to be premiered at the Algonquin Theatre this Saturday, July 19, at 8 p.m.
“I did something similar with film work and music a few years ago, so this has been many years in the making,” said Stroud. “I wanted to compose music and set it to the imagery of my adventures. The music will be a real blending of dynamics, highs to bring us up – for instance, when the eagle soars on film, so too will the music soar – and beautiful lows.”
MANY SIDES: Survivorman Les Stroud, a Huntsville resident, presents the musician, singer and storyteller sides of his persona in a multi-media show premiering at the Alqonguin Theatre on July 19. [Photo by Laura Bombier.]
“There will be footage from Africa, South, Central and North America and Australia – just about all over. There will also be underwater work with sharks and dolphins,” said Stroud.
In addition to Stroud’s film footage there will be the work of others, including scenes from Rob Stewart’s Sharkwater and photography by Laura Bombier.
Joining Stroud and the top-notch musicians on stage will be special guest rock singer/songwriter Peirson Ross. They will be performing material from Stroud’s self-titled debut CD Les Stroud, his recent release, Les Stroud and the Pikes, plus original soundtrack material.
It was filmmaking that put Stroud, an accomplished musician, singer and songwriter, on the map. In 2000, he took a few small cameras out into the wilderness of Northern Ontario and spent a week surviving alone without food, water, equipment or camera crew. He single-handedly created, produced, wrote, filmed, hosted, edited and composed the theme music for these first two original, one-hour pilots for what would eventually become the Survivorman series.
Stroud, who is currently in production for his third Survivorman season, remains the only producer in the history of television to produce an internationally broadcast series entirely written, videotaped and hosted alone. Survivorman has gone on to become the highest rated show in the history of both the Outdoor Living Network and the Science Channel, and is quickly becoming one of the most popular shows on the Discovery Channel.
This latest endeavour of Stroud’s, titled Voices in the Wildernesss: An Evening Of Film And Music with Les Stroud, is a work in progress.
“The show will evolve and every year it will be different,” he said, adding that a world tour is in the works beginning next spring.
As for what people might expect from this Saturday evening’s performance? “I want people to leave this show with their jaws dropped,” said Stroud.
Adding to Stroud’s list of accomplishments is a 90,000-word manual titled Survive with Les Stroud, which provides essential skills and tactics to get a person out of anywhere alive. The book, to be published this fall by Harper Collins, also features photography by Laura Bombier.
