Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Albert Schultz, Founding Artistic Director of Soulpepper Theatre Company, today announced Guswenta Gathering, programmed by Falen Johnson and Cole Alvis. Guswenta Gathering will bring Indigenous artists to the Young Centre this October with presentations of theatre, dance, music, and storytelling. Programming will be centred on artistic creation that speaks to the lands and waterways in the area of the Distillery District. Guswenta Gathering, a mix of free and ticketed programming, will run at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts from October 16 to 21, 2017. Visit Soulpepper.ca/Guswenta for more details.
Preliminary plans for the Guswenta Gathering involved artists Falen Johnson and Soulpepper Academy Graduate Justin Many Fingers. The resultant Guswenta Gathering is programmed by Falen Johnson (Mohawk-Tuscarora) and Cole Alvis (Métis): “When we were asked to come onto the project as programmers it was important to reflect on what this cross cultural collaboration means. As Guswenta Gathering is Soulpepper’s first collaboration where members of the Indigenous arts community hold leadership roles, it was important to question how we enter into this relationship in an Indigenous way.”
“The Guswenta Wampum Belt came to mind. The belt is one of the first Indigenous agreements we both learned about and it is beautifully poetic. Two groups of people travelling side by side as sovereign nations. The belt can appear simple at first, but when we look closer the intricacies can be found. Each bead is shaped and strung carefully to create something that represents what we want for this new beginning - an agreement made through art.”
“Our hope for the Guswenta Gathering is that we begin the work of creating meaningful and ongoing relationships between Soulpepper and that of Indigenous artists and communities so we can move forward in the spirit of respect, understanding and generosity.”
The Guswenta Gathering includes Cliff Cardinal’s previously announced solo play Huff; Kaha:wi Dance Theatre presenting Santee Smith’s solo tour-de-force NeoIndigenA, a piece which calls for connection, transformation and healing; and In First Person from award-winning Toronto-based theatre company SoulOTheatre and director Tracey Erin Smith, performed by an intergenerational mix of storytellers including Cultural Consultant Tantoo Cardinal.
In collaboration with First Story Toronto, bus tours leaving from the Distillery District will share and celebrate Indigenous stories present in the area of Toronto since time immemorial. These tours will travel the city, sharing history from an Indigenous perspective. Stops along the way will be animated by Indigenous performing artists and knowledge keepers.
Guswenta Gathering programming also includes: a free Speaker Series; a public artistic and cultural Marketplace to be set up inside the Young Centre atrium; and a Guswenta Cabaret including performances from Indigenous artists including Ansley Simpson, Cliff Cardinal, Justin Many Fingers, Kristi Lane Sinclair, and Lacey Hill.
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To learn more about Guswenta Gathering and the rest of Soulpepper’s 2017-2018 season, visit soulpepper.ca or call the Young Centre Box Office at 416.866.8666.
GUSWENTA GATHERING
Soulpepper Presents
Huff
Cliff Cardinal
Directed by Karin Randoja
A Native Earth Performing Arts production. Produced by Cunning Concepts & Creations
A two-time winner and four-time Dora Mavor Moore Award nominee, Native Earth’s production of Huff by Cliff Cardinal is back in Toronto after touring around the globe. After his mother’s death, Wind’s fantastic dream world bleeds into reality when he’s preyed on by the Trickster. With biting humour, and raw imagery, Cardinal’s award-winning solo show shines an unflinching light on life on the Reserve.
★★★★ “Strong, uncompromising storytelling” – NOW Magazine
Winner of Dora Awards for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Performance
October 16 to 21 and October 26-28 (check soulpepper.ca for show times)
$20/$35
Warning – Mature Themes
NeoIndigenA
Santee Smith
Kaha:wi Dance Theatre
A solo call for connection, transformation and healing NeoIndigenA is a performance of the soul exploring our relationship to all living entities and elements. It is transcendent and primordial fiercely cycling through sacred portals between Skyworld, Earthworld and Underworld. Santee Smith’s solo journey encompasses past, present, future in one body and space, awakening ancient ways of knowing and spiritual renewal. NeoIndigenA searches for sacred pathways of human connection to self and universe.
October 19 – 7:30 PM
October 21 – 6:30 PM
$20/$25/$35
In First Person
SOULO Theatre
Seven members from different Indigenous communities, ages 30 to 82, including Order of Canada recipient Tantoo Cardinal, perform short autobiographical solo shows using dance, humour, storytelling and song. The shows were developed with director Tracey Erin Smith, Artistic Director of SOULO Theatre. Performers include: Annie Akavak; Tantoo Cardinal; Amy Desjarlais; Hilton Henhawke; Rhonda Lucy; Maria Montejo; and Teddy Syrette.
October 18 – 8:00 PM
October 19 – 1:30 PM
$10
First Story Bus Tour
Presented in collaboration with First Story Toronto
Toronto’s lands and waterways have been a crossroads for thriving nations since time immemorial. Jon Johnson and First Story Toronto lead an interactive bus tour of Indigenous landscapes that activate stories of accomplishment, struggle, and resilience.
Departs from and returns to the Distillery District. Duration: 3.5 hours.
October 18 – 2:00 PM
October 19 – 4:00 PM
$10
Speaker Series: Wampum and Worldview
Kicking off the Guswenta Gathering, Wampum and Worldview features artists and knowledge keepers as they discuss traditional Indigenous agreements and how these agreements impact their work and worldviews.
October 18 – 4:00 PM
FREE
Speaker Series: Land and Story
How does the history of the land we stand on impact art and practice? The second installment of the Speakers Series focuses on land and our relationship to it, including land acknowledgements, ceremony and story.
October 19 – 4:00 PM
FREE
Guswenta Cabaret
The Guswenta Cabaret showcases local Indigenous musicians and storytellers in an intimate setting. Confirmed cabaret artists include Cliff Cardinal, Lacey Hill, Justin Many Fingers, Ansley Simpson, Kristi Lane Sinclair, and more.
October 20 – 9:30 PM
October 21 – 9:30PM
$5/$10
Marketplace
Visit the Young Centre lobby on the Gathering’s closing weekend for a public Marketplace of Indigenous artists and artisans selling jewelry, clothing and other artistic offerings.
October 20 – 1:30PM – 10:00PM
October 21 – 1:30PM – 10:00PM
Guswenta Gathering is generously supported by the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Canada 150 Community Fund and by two anonymous individual Soulpepper donors.
Connect with us:
FACEBOOK.COM/SOULPEPPERTHEATRE
TWITTER: @SOULPEPPER
INSTAGRAM: @SOULPEPPERTHEATRE
SOUNDCLOUD.COM/SOULPEPPERTHEATRE
Photo: Santee Smith in NeoIndigenA.
2017-09-28
Toronto: Soulpepper announces Guswenta Gathering running October 16-21