Author: tara beagan

We were invited, we were warmly welcomed, we rocked the BATS theatre with Deer Woman at Tawata Productions’ Kia Mau Festival.  Stay tuned for future Turtle Island and Australian plans for our latest ground rocking show. #TheFutureIsIndigenous

In Spirit, featuring Cecil Mann-Nelson, runs in Winnipeg through Urban Indigenous Theatre Company at the Théâtre Cercle Molière from May 23 to 28, 2017. Shows nightly at 7:30. More info at UITC‘s site.

PRODUCTION DESIGN  Andy Moro
DIRECTION  Tara Beagan
UITC ARTISTIC DIRECTION Columpa Bobb

Shortly after finalizing the shape of In Spirit, we realized we needed to get this story out to our people. We knew this could happen in partnership with more hard-working colleagues.

In 2015, we applied for support to mount In Spirit with GTNT (then SNTC), featuring Dakota Hebert and SM’d by Aaron Shingoose. We had received an invitation from the U of Regina’s Performing Turtle Island and were very excited to partake.

Sadly, our funding did not come through. Thanks to the support of GTNT and the U of R, we went ahead anyway.

Much to our surprise, the funding body we had applied to did some re-organizing and found our project could be funded, though not retroactively. This blessing with caveats meant we could further our desire to give productions of In Spirit to another Indigenous company that shares our values.

Urban Indigenous Theatre Company thrives in Winnipeg, fostering upcoming Indigenous theatre artists and working from a place that prioritizes community and ongoing artistic health. Artistic Director Columpa Bobb’s vision is to nurture a strong youth base that can helm the company once they have the training they require. In Spirit is one step among many towards realizing this vision, and we are thrilled to be along for the ride.

we’re playing right in downtown calgary, in the HQ of the fabulous Mayor Nenshi!
we’re not too shy to say he’s even going to guest in for one of the showings.
Thrush, Derksen, Many Fingers, Nenshi and some damn fine prairie weather… nothing sweeter than that.

read all about it.

we are proud and humbled to return as artistic directors of the 17th annual imagineNATIVE film and media arts festival, saturday october 22, 2016.

this year, our work was made possible through a generous sponsorship of A11 from Solotech Inc. and the magnanimous Greg Wilkie. huge thanks to Greg and Solotech for supporting our contribution to the gala.

this year, the gala is sponsored by CBC and hosted by CBC shining lights Craig Lauzon and Rosanna Deerchild, and featuring appearances by such greats as Alanis Obomsawin and Tom Jackson. the gala is a free ticketed event.

tickets for free ticketed events are available in person only, starting at 10:00am on the day of the screening, at the TIFF Bell Lightbox Box Office. the gala begins at 8pm at Cinema 2 of TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King W, Toronto, ON, Turtle Island.

we are honoured to have been invited to be part of The Mush Hole Project in Brantford. love and thanks to all.

photo of Owen Louis Soop by Andy Moro for RUN at the Mush Hole Project, 2016

“There is a growing canon of work, by Indigenous artists, that addresses Canada’s Indian Residential School System in truly sophisticated ways.  Reckoning by ARTICLE 11 is just such a work.  It defies simple categorization because it is trans-disciplinary, holistic in its viewpoint and begins its exploration at a demanding level.  Reckoning assumes you are a conscious and historically informed citizen and its 3-part structure reflects the multidimensionality of the trauma and our responses to it.”
– Michael Greyeyes, multi-disciplinary artist, Cree

“Its excellence sets the bar high: this work deserves a broad audience in Toronto and to tour widely.” Karen Fricker, the Toronto Star

“Reckoning was provocative, aesthetically rigorous and really moving. Its complexity was a large part of its grace and at the end, I stood, not just out of a wish to celebrate the work, but as well because it felt like the only thing to do.”
– Sarah Garton Stanley, Artistic Associate at the National Arts Centre

Glen Gould as “Emmett” in Reckoning. Photo by Andy Moro

Meet Paul Chaput. He is a lauded recording artist, an accomplished actor and filmmaker, and recently earned his PhD at Queen’s University. At seventy years of age, Métis marvel Paul just keeps getting busier and brighter. Paul worked with core ARTICLE 11 artists Moro and Beagan as an actor before they founded A11. He starred on screen in the multi-media project Foundlings, a piece addressing gaps in families, the resulting deracination and some questionable modern day solutions. Paul’s gifts as an empath and a scholar have been invaluable to the creation of Reckoning. His insights, after working as the Aboriginal consultant for the creation and the delivery of the curriculum to train 37 adjudicators (former judges and lawyers) for the Indian Residential Schools Resolutions Canada’s Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) process, are unique and profound.
We are grateful to have him with us.

We are grateful, also, to Canadian Stage who have sponsored Paul’s presence leading up to opening night of Reckoning. We thank Sherrie Johnson for initiating this support.

Paul will be with us and the Teens in Residence (a collab of Mammalian Diving Reflex and the Theatre Centre) at the Saturday April 16th 2:30 showing of Reckoning.

DECLARATION is a work that ARTICLE 11 curates with Indigenous artists in your area.

1. we take the context of your programming and fuse it with an unconventional venue. we design a creation space therein.
2. we work with you to find kind, brave and political Indigenous collaborators from your region – musicians, dancers, actors, Elders and youth. we invite them to join us in the space we created with your event.
3. we host a creation lab throughout the day and have performance offerings in the evening. this creates dialogue with the general population and the Indigenous artists on board, who are declaring their right to work and live in a good way.
4. we share increased strength and celebrate the collaboration.

“A successful disruption.” Sarah Garton Stanley, Artistic Associate of English Theatre at the NAC, on witnessing DECLARATION at Ontario Scene.

“This is the way we should always work.” Monique Mojica, storied artist and DECLARATION collaborator

“Your exhibit left me physically chilled. It left me without words. Thank you.” Heather, audience member of DECLARATION at the ROM

CANDY IS BACK!

we’re proud to be the inaugural Artistic Directors of the 16th annual imagineNATIVE film and media arts festival.

we’re giddy about the fact that Mi’kmaq great Candy Palmater returns this year as host!

the festival runs from October 14 to 18th, with events in many thrilling art locales.

catch the celebrations we get to A.D. at TIFF Bell Lightbox, October 17 at 8pm.