Opening on September 6, 2019 for a limited run of three performances, Hart House Theatre presents an original, devised work that is Curated and Directed by Indigenous educator and artist, Jill Carter. Through their engagement with  Encounters at the "Edge of the Woods", a committed team of emerging Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists have developed a process through which to address a fraught and tangled history of settlement.

About the show: To kick off Hart House Theatre's 100th Anniversary season, this special presentation project will explore the restor(y)ation of treaty relationships using Indigenous practices of story weaving through deep connections to the land. Led by Indigenous educator and artist Jill Carter, the piece includes performers and creators from all over the city who will use their personal stories and experiences to compose Encounters at the "Edge of the Woods".

We are thrilled to be working alongside Jill Carter as she leads the incredible team in devising this work. Jill is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance, Indigenous Studies and the Transitional Year Programme at the University of Toronto. As a researcher and theatre-worker, Jill Carter (Anishinaabe/Ashkenazi) works in Tkaronto with many Indigenous artists to support the development of new works and to disseminate artistic objectives, process, and outcomes through community-driven research projects.

Apart from her teaching, theatre work and academic writing, Jill works as a researcher and tour guide with First Story Toronto, facilitates Land Acknowledgement Workshops for theatre makers in this city, serves on the editorial board of alt. magazine: cultural diversity and the stage, serves the Canadian Association for Theatre Research (CATR) as Equity Officer, and serves as Advisor to the Grand Council of the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance (IPAA).
When speaking about the work being done through Encounters at the "Edge of the Woods", Jill had this to say:

"In 2019, Hart House Theatre will mark one hundred years of contributing to the development of the storytellers and to the dissemination of the stories that have sparked the Canadian imaginary and shaped the identity of this nation. To mark this historical moment, even as we look forward to the next century, we offer Encounters at the "Edge of the Woods" as a devised intervention through which to imagine our role within and to commit ourselves to the urgent project of re-presenting ourselves as treaty peoples in Tkaron:to /Gchi Kiiwenging. 

This is a process of re-membering: a process that requires us to move with care and listen with intent as we uncover buried histories and to take direction from the Indigenous Knowledge Systems that are rooted in this territory. This is a process that requires the curation of brave spaces in which Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists embrace uncomfortable tensions, working first apart and then together, as we probe the issues that divide this generation of erstwhile treaty partners, explore relational shifts and pick up the weighty bundles of responsibility, redress and repair left scattered for us across a blighted landscape."

Joining Jill around the production table and in the creative space are over 30 artists, story-tellers, activists and theatre makers.

Encounters at the "Edge of the Woods"Curated and Directed by Jill Carter Consultation and Community Leadership by Lee Maracle and Columpa C. BobbSet & Projections Design by Nicole Eun Ju Bell
Costume Co-ordination by Isabel Klassen-Marshall
Lighting Design by Andre du ToitSound Design by Susan Aaron, Uri Livne-Bar and Shirka Urechko

On Stage Sept 6 & 7, 2019
Fri. at 8 pmSat. at 2 pm and 8 pm

The audience experience will begin upon entry to the theatre, with several installations of artwork, activations and shared experiences occurring in the entrance hallway and lobby prior to the curtain time.

Postshow discussions are included with each performance.