Hi Everyone,

Last night, I attended the opening ceremonies and first performance of Weesageechak Begins to Dance 36, a.k.a. the Annual Development Festival of Indigenous Work. The festival is produced by Native Earth Performing Arts, which is Canada’s oldest professional Indigenous performing arts company. I love that live theatre can promote cultural connectivity and understanding, so I feel very grateful to have been given this opportunity. Thank you!

Weesageechak, or “the Trickster,” is “the belevolent culture hero of the Cree tribe.” The Trickster can take on any form, but is primarily depicted as a clownish figure. The Trickster’s role is to teach people about “the nature and the meaning of existence on the planet.” (Source: Native Earth website).

This year’s festival brings together 22 Creators from across Turtle Island (North America), presenting new and in-development works. The festival opened with a ceremony performed by Elder Whabagoon, an Ojibway Elder who sits with the Loon Clan. I thought the opening ceremony was powerful – Elder Whabagoon asked the audience to think about our relationship to the land, water, and trees, and to connect with our ancestors. I felt lucky to be able to learn and participate in a sacred ceremony. After the opening night show, there was a community drum circle led by Nicole Joy-Fraser, and a DJ set by DJ Fawn Big Canoe. Overall, a great evening of programming.

The opening night show is called “who will save the night sky?”, written and performed by Philip Geller. Philip is an Ashkenazi Jewish and Red River Métis-Michif performer who grew up in Manitoba. In Philip’s own words, the show is “about our relationship to the stars, our relationship to star stories” (Source). “who will save the night sky?” is a one-person show about 45-minutes long, and we were informed from the introductory speech that it’s a work-in-progress. The description did not lie – it certainly felt like a performance art piece being workshopped.

If I’m being completely honest, I didn’t understand Philip’s piece. I read the article linked above before attending the performance, but I had a lot of trouble translating what they said it was about to what I saw on stage. I liked the lighting cues (how each “character” was represented by a different colour), and I liked the projections. I will say, though, that there was audience participation in this one, and that always makes me really uncomfortable. We were told we could opt-out if we were selected, though, which was appreciated.

I’m not very familiar with experimental theatre or indigenous storytelling methods, so I’m definitely missing some baseline knowledge, but I think it’s fair to say that it’s a very conceptual piece, and I couldn’t grasp it.

I think this festival is important, and I look forward to seeing more of Native Earth’s productions in the future so I can learn more!

Weesageechak Begins to Dance 36 runs until November 19, 2023, at Native Earth Aki Studio in downtown Toronto. “who will save the night sky?” will be performed again on Nov. 16. You can purchase tickets to the festival here.