A multi-disciplinary dark comedy about the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline, Alberta Aboriginal Performing Arts and Punctuate! Theatre from Edmonton present Bears
Date/Time: May 8 2018, 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Vancouver, Historic TheatreCost: $22.00
Find tickets: here
Comically dark. Unapologetically political. A play about pipelines.
The prime suspect in a workplace accident, Floyd has to get out of town fast. Pursued by the RCMP, he heads through the Rockies for Burnaby, B.C, along the route of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline. By the time he reaches the Pacific, Floyd has experienced changes – his gait widening, his muscles bulging, his sense of smell heightening…
Written and directed by Matthew MacKenzie (SIA, The Particulars, The Other) and starring Métis theatre artist (and former tar sands worker) Sheldon Elter, Bears asks “What the hell is going on in Wild Rose Country?”
Unapologetically political, Bears gives a voice to the voiceless animals, and vulnerable landscapes, desecrated by the insatiable human desire for industrial expansion, while striving to increase dialogue about the devastating effects on Canada’s First Nations peoples. Originally developed in Edmonton, the sold-out workshop run also garnered five Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award nominations, and two wins for Outstanding Score and Outstanding Choreography. Liz Nicholls of the Edmonton Journal reported,
"Bears is an Ode to Nature…it’s rare enough to find original theatre that is so definably of this place. Theatre that harnesses the divergent resources of multi-disciplinary artists so creatively to mount an argument is rarer still. You can’t really afford to miss BEARS.”
"I’d never seen a piece that speaks to issues facing Canada’s Indigenous peoples as effectively and beautifully as Bears does.” — Jerry Saddleback, Cree Elder and Dean of Cultural Studies at Maskwacîs College
An Indigenous-led new Canadian play told through dramatic storytelling and choreography, an eight-person chorus, enchanting projections, and an evocative electronic soundscape, BEARS is an emotional, empathetic performance experience.
Cast/Crew
Starring: Sheldon Elter
Featuring: Skye Demas, Christine Sokaymoh Frederick, Zoë Claire Glassman, Alida Kendell, Aimee Rushton, Rebecca Sadowski, Kendra Shorter, and Gianna Vacirca.
Written and Directed by: Matthew MacKenzie
Associate Direction: Patrick Lundeen
Stage Management: Erin Voaklander
Choreography: Monica Dottor
Sound Design: Noor Dean Phatcat Musani
Environmental Design: T Erin Gruber
Costume Design: Brianna Kolybaba and Monica Dottor
Producer: Sheiny Satanove
May 10, 8PM; Talkback
More info