Northern students treated to professional theatre production in own communities
- Andrea Ledding | April 18, 2018
Persephone Theatre’s annual youth tour is bringing a northern story to northern youth with a play called “Beneath the Ice.” Students in Cumberland House, Sandy Bay, Wollaston Lake, Fond Du Lac, and Black Lake will be treated to a professional tour of the show.
Persephone’s Lisa Bayliss explained that Persephone does a youth tour every year, usually in March, with the set and actors packed up in a van travelling to various communities in different parts of the province, especially rural and remote areas where students don’t get the chance to see a lot of professional theatre. “We’ve been on the road since the beginning of March with “Beneath the Ice” which is geared towards younger students, a play about a young boy who’s gone up to an Inuit community with his mother who's a researcher and becomes friends with a girl named Paasap and her grandmother — and he ignores local rules to his peril,’ explains Bayliss. “It’s about him learning about northern and Indigenous values as opposed to his city experience. This year we’re doing a fly-in tour to really remote northern communities in the first week of April.”
Bayliss says these communities almost never get to see shows come right into their communities and following the production they will offer a workshop to older students and their educators: theatre exercises and games they can use for the rest of the year.
“Three companies, Athabasca Basin Development, Orano Canada, and West Wind Aviation, partnered to provide the airfare and accommodations and act as a liaison for the schools so we're really appreciative.”
Director Curtis Peeteetuce said he had a great time working with the cast.
“The play includes elements of the Inuk culture and Inuit way of life portrayed and shared through the character of Aanak the elderly woman and her grand-daughter Paasap. What we learn and what David learns is throat-singing, the language, some of the customs like oyster gathering, mitt making, preparing seal hide for clothing, but most importantly he learns a lesson through the story of Sedna the sea goddess of the Inuit people.”
Peeteetuce says in many ways the Sedna story is very foundational to the Inuk way of life and leads to the most important lesson of the play: do not take more than you need.
“The ladies tell David that and share it through the language, it is a recurring theme throughout the play - taking from the land only what you really need - food shelter and clothing,” said Peeteetuce, contrasting that with David’s urban and more consumer-driven experiences growing up. “People get it and the children really enjoy it with the lights, sound, costuming and some creative expression — Frank Engel did some mime choreography with the actors.”
The cast and crew also skyped with playwright Eva Colmers in Edmonton, who based the play on time spent in Kangiqsujuaq where the Sedna story was shared with her, and she provided puppetry classes with the students in reciprocity. Peeteetuce is happy to see major theatres including more Indigenous programming and hopes all theatres seriously seek and employ Indigenous content.