THEATRE PREVIEW

august 2018 | Volume 170

 

POWWOW TRAIL INFO: SMOKE SIGNAL #1 
Kamloopa

Co-produced by Western Canada Theatre (Kamloops), Persephone Theatre & Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre, (Saskatoon) and The Cultch (Vancouver), in collaboration with National Arts Centre Indigenous Theatre (Ottawa).

Land Acknowledgement: The Cultch would like to deeply thank the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations on whose ancestral, traditional and unceded territories we live and work.

WHEN: Sept 25 – Oct 6, 2018
Sept 25, 8PM: Preview
Sept 26, 8PM: Opening Ceremony
Sept 27 – 29, Oct 02 – 06, 8PM
Sept 30, 2PM

Post-show Artist Talkback: Sept 27 & 30, Oct 02
Post-show Talking Circles: Sept 29 & Oct 4 
Post-show Talking circles are for Indigenous community members who see themselves in the work. Moms, Aunties, Sisters, Elders, Children, Matriarchs, Wisdom Keepers, Scholars, etc., you are invited to respond to the ceremony; join Kim Senklip Harvey after the performance, and be a part of the ceremony.

WHERE: HISTORIC THEATRE
1895 Venables St.

TICKETS: Tickets from $24. Single tickets on sale July 16 through The Cultch’s Box Office: 604-251-1363 or tickets.thecultch.com.

* Please Note: Kamloopa is an Indigenous artistic ceremony, and with that, the protocols for this ceremony state that no written reviews occur. Reviewers are more than welcome to come as community witnesses, but are asked to refrain from creating formal critiques of the work.

For more information: www.kimsenklipharvey.com/blog

On Monday, Sept 24, 6-7:30 pm, Kim Senklip Harvey will host a Community of Practice, especially for media and reviewers, to learn how Settlers can engage with the ceremony and learn about respecting Indigenous protocol.

Indigenous community members who see themselves in the work--Moms, Aunties, Sisters, Elders, Children, Matriarchs, Wisdom Keepers, Scholars, etc.--are invited to respond to the ceremony, and space will be created to enable them to take part. We invite reposts, tweets, in person engagements, and tea chats; however you feel comfortable engaging with artistic ceremony.

Be witness to a new theatrical matriarchal-ceremony, from Kim Senklip Harvey that begs the question—how do you discover yourself when Columbus already did that?!

The Cultch is thrilled to open its 2018/19 Season with Kamloopa, a high-energy Indigenous matriarchal play by Kim Senklip Harvey. Following its world premiere at Kamloops’ Western Canada Theatre, Kamloopa will make its Vancouver debut on the unceded traditional territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, at The Cultch’s Historic Theatre, Sept 25 – Oct 6, 2018. The ceremony will begin on Sept 26, 2018 with the unveiling of an art show featuring the work of Indigenous women in The Cultch’s Gallery, and a traditional welcome from xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) host nation representative, Quelemia Sparrow.

Time—All. Space—Multi-dimensional. Somewhere between this world and the last…

Two urban Indigenous sisters, Kilawna (Samantha Brown) and Mikaya (Kaitlyn Yott), are struggling to navigate their way through the world, and Mikaya has been having visions and evocative occurrences neither she nor her trepidatious sister Kilawna can understand. The sisters are dealing with multigenerational complications of worldly proportions, searching to understand their identities in all the wrong places. In the presence of their ancestors and the shifters who voyage between realities, Kilawna, Mikaya, and their new Indian Friend #1 (Yolanda Bonnell), a lawless trickster, go on a road trip to BC’s biggest Powwow, Kamloopa... and beyond. The three women, with the help of the shifters, learn to bear witness to the bravery of one another and our peoples, as they embark on a transformational journey that unleashes the powers of being Indigenous matriarchs. 

Through Kim Senklip Harvey’s exciting approach to Indigenous theatre, Kamloopa explores the fearless love and passion of Indigenous women reconnecting with their homelands, ancestors, and stories. “This is not Canadian theatre, but rather Indigenous theatre,” says Harvey, a writer/director/performer from Syilx, Tsilhqot'in, Ktunaxa, and Dakelh Nations. “This work is about creating and embedding ceremony and protocol into my artistic practice and being able to share and lead with my Indigeneity at the centre… Kamloopa is a story about vulnerability and being courageous to honour and become who we truly are.”

“Here. Us. We are here. Daughters. Sisters. We are the mountains, the rivers, the sky, the animals, the wind, the breath of our worlds. These are the pathways connecting us to you. We are the Land, our home for you to return to—together”

Cast (Fire Holders):
Kaitlyn Yott: Mikaya, Samantha Brown: Kilawna, Yolanda Bonnell: Indian Friend Number 1/Edith

Creative Team:
Kim Senklip Harvey: Fire Igniter - Playwright/Director, Jessica Schacht: Fire Igniter and Tender - Assistant Director, Lindsay Lachance: Fire Igniter and Tender - Dramaturg, Daniela Masellis: Fire Igniter and Tender - Set and Lighting Designer, Samantha McCue: Fire Igniter and Tender - Costume Designer, Cris Derksen: Fire Igniter and Tender - Sound Designer/ Composer, Emily Soussana: Fire Igniter and Tender - Projection Designer, Madison Henry: Fire Tender, Holder and Extinguisher -Stage Manager, Michelle Chabassol: Fire Tender, Holder and Extinguisher - Apprentice Stage Manager (WCT/Cultch)

Kim Senklip Harvey acknowledges the assistance of the 2018 Banff Playwrights Lab – a partnership between the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and the Canada Council for the Arts.

ABOUT KIM SENKLIP HARVEY

Kim Senklip Harvey comes from the Syilx, Tsilhqot'in, Ktunaxa, and Dakelh Nations and is a director, playwright, and actor. She completed the BFA program at UBC and worked on the national tour of Kevin Loring’s Where the Blood Mixes and the world premiere of Corey Payette’s Children of God. Her first full-length play, Kamloopa, focuses on three Indigenous women’s understanding of indigeneity and the journey of reclaiming Indigenous matriarchy. In 2017, Harvey was shortlisted for the Gina Wilkinson Prize for her work as an emerging female director and participated in the Banff Residency “Centering Ourselves: Writing in a Racialized Canada.” She was also appointed as one of two artists to take part in the National Theatre School’s inaugural Artistic Leadership Program, which aims to steward the next generation of artists to lead the major artistic institutions in this country.

ABOUT THE CULTCH

Since 1973, The Cultch (formally the Vancouver East Cultural Centre) has been one of Vancouver’s most diverse and innovative arts and cultural hubs. The organization operates three theatrical venues, a gallery, and various ancillary spaces in the heart of East Vancouver. The Cultch offers dynamic contemporary programming in theatre, dance, music, and the visual arts, bringing world-class cultural presentations to thousands of citizens each year through its own programming and through providing rental opportunities for community users. Our purpose is to provide a venue for performance that serves a diverse and engaged public and provides space for artistic experimentation and development, building an audience for local companies and presenting cutting-edge national and international work.

 

 

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