Justin Rutledge's Foray into Acting Informs Juno-Nominated Disc

Justin Rutledge stands on the stage coolly picking a rockabilly lick on his acoustic guitar. A beautiful blonde woman struts towards him, loosens his tie, slips it over his head, and plants a wet and lingering kiss on his mouth.

Rutledge is a good-looking guy and he writes sensitive folk songs. Undoubtedly, his music has set the hearts of women fluttering, but for all its passion, this kiss is scripted.

This past February, Justin Rutledge made his theatrical debut in 'Divisadero,' the stage adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's novel. During the performance's two-week run in an artsy theater space in Toronto the singer-songwriter was so involved in his role that he almost forgot about his music career. That is, until 'The Early Widows', an album of songs written for the play, received a Juno Nomination for Best Roots and Traditional Album: Solo.

"It was such a surprise. I was so immersed in rehearsal, that it kind of slipped my mind that I had this other life as a songwriter," he tells Spinner.

Michael Ondaatje became inspired to stage 'Divisadero' after catching Rutledge in concert nearly two years ago. He felt Rutledge's music somehow resonated with the characters in his novel, and he approached the songwriter to compose an original score for his yet-to-be-written play.

Ondaatje is one of Canada's most acclaimed authors. He produces the type of stark, depressing and beautiful novels associated with highbrow Canadian literature, and is the author of numerous works including 'The English Patient,' which was adapted into an Academy-Award winning movie starring Ralph Fiennes.

Rutledge, who is a bit of a bookworm and has many of Ondaatje's books on his shelf, says that he was rather intimidated when he learned that the award-winning novelist was keen to collaborate.

"I don't really get starstruck around musicians, but when I met him I was shaking in my boots," he says.

Despite having never worked in theater, Rutledge signed on immediately. Over the next year, Rutledge collaborated with Ondaatje on music for the play, and while the collaboration produced many "bits and pieces of songs," in the end, only one track, 'Jack of Hearts,' made the cut. That and the remaining sketches were later realized on Rutledge's Juno-nominated fourth disc, 'The Early Widows.'

"I ended up with all these songs and I needed somewhere to put them," he says. "It was about time for me to make another record, anyway."

With beautiful imagery peppered throughout, 'The Early Widows' is the most lyrically confident record of Rutledge's career. It's plain that he picked up a few tricks from one of Canada's most respected authors, and he credits Ondaatje, who receives a co-write for the track 'Be a Man' for inspiring him to new levels as a lyricist.

"On my other records there might be the odd throwaway line, but on this one I don't think there is. I tried to ensure every line was in the right space, and that every word was worth its weight. It didn't take me long to write the music, but it took a year and a half to write the words," he says.

Rutledge is pleased that the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) deems 'The Early Widows' worthy of a Juno nomination. While he doesn't measure the worth of his albums against the weight of industry awards, but he says the recognition of his effort is nice.

"As I keep putting more expectation on myself, writing songs becomes more difficult. I can honestly say that I worked harder on this album than I had on any of the other albums," Rutledge says. "I am extremely proud that this album is nominated."

Watch Justin Rutledge Perform 'Be a Man' Live
Early into the production for 'Divisadero,' Ondaatje threw Rutledge a curveball. He asked him to assume the role of Cooper, a musical farmhand and the love interest of the three women in the play. It's good fit, and Rutledge sees similarities between himself and the character.

"He's kind of a passive guy that just kind of plays guitar and goes where life takes him takes him," he says. "He's a bit like me. Honestly, I just wake up in the morning, and see where the day takes me."

But as difficult as it was to write the lyrics for his Juno-nominated album, Rutledge says he found acting more challenging -- especially on opening night, when, despite having performed countless times in front of large audiences, he succumbed to a case of opening night jitters.

"It was quite harrowing. I'm used to performing in a barroom of people getting liquored up. But these theater audiences are quite different; they are tuned in to every word."

Rutledge survived the scrutiny of the theater audience, and emerged with the most lyrically confident and imaginative album of his career.

After almost every performance of 'Divisadero,' the audience awarded Rutledge with an enthusiastic standing ovation. If a similarly fussy industry panel responds half as well to 'The Early Widows' this week, Rutledge could walk away with his first Juno Award.