http://www.simcoe.com/news-story/415...a-for-filming/
Lightfoot visits Orillia for filming
Gordon Lightfoot visited the Orillia Opera House and St. Paul's United Church Tuesday while filming a documentary about his life.
Orillia Today
ByFrank Matys
Hometown troubadour Gordon Lightfoot returned to two childhood haunts Tuesday for an upcoming film focusing on his life story.
Lightfoot spent time at St. Paul’s United Church, where he was once a member of the youth choir, and the Orillia Opera House, the downtown landmark where he first performed as a child, and later as an international superstar.
He spent part of the morning and afternoon at the church and arrived at the opera house with a film crew shortly after 4 p.m., staying for a few hours.
“Gordon just talked and talked about various memories, stories of the songs he’s written all the while strumming out bits and pieces of his tunes,” said Krista Storey, general manager of the opera house. “It was the most relaxed I’ve ever seen him. He had a super day.”
Storey said that, prior to visiting the opera house, Lightfoot took the film crew for a drive around Orillia, “where he possibly pointed out some old haunts.”
Lightfoot has played benefit concerts at the opera house in recent years, including a pair of shows in 2009 supporting Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital.
During this week’s visit to the historic theatre ¬– the very venue where he suffered a near-fatal abdominal aortic aneurism several years ago ¬– Lightfoot was reflective while offering pointers on the art of songwriting.
“His advice to young people is to look deep inside for those songs,” Storey added. “Work on the chord progressions first and then you let the imagination take over if you can. And no one gets anywhere in this business without practicing.”
As reported recently by Orillia Today, Lightfoot is the subject of an upcoming profile by CBS Sunday Morning.
A crew from the U.S. television network visited the opera house and St. Paul’s United Church in early September.