From AD Keith Barker

Nothing beats a good story. The best storytellers can make 8 hours of data-entry riveting. As a theatre maker I am always striving to be a better storyteller. When I am in a room full of talented storytellers, it is the best kind of alchemy. I laugh more, cry more, argue more, think more, but most of all, I remain present. This is the gift of good storytelling and live theatre.

This is why I feel our Weesageechak Festival is so important in the work we do. It allows artists to bring work in its rawest form to the stage; sharing the guts of it whiles the blood and sweat of creation is still wet on the floor. It is a culmination of playwrights madly writing, dancers and choreographers building physical language, dramaturges finely tuning words to the action, while actors put action to words. This is the energy that fills the Aki Studio on any given night of the festival, and is what makes Weesageechak so special.

That energy of creation and the excitement in finding new ways of approaching the work is why we programmed Ipperwash this season. The play comes to us fresh from its success at the Blyth Festival this past season. The collaboration with the communities of Stony and Kettle Point First Nation is unlike anything I have seen before. Falen Johnson and Jessica Carmichael have done a lot of work to honour the story of resistance, resilience and reclamation.  We along with Blyth Artistic Director Gil Garratt are excited to give Ipperwash a second production in Toronto. Falen and Jessica are talented creators who have played a huge part in the success of Native Earth and we are honoured to have them in our 2017/18 season.

Finding Wolastoq Voice is a piece I have been excited about since I first heard about it. Five minutes on the phone with its creator Samaquani Cocahq (The Water Spirit) Natalie Sappier, and I was sold. Her passion for the work is impressive. Her clarity and vision infectious. She has partnered with the equally talented Artistic Director of Theatre New Brunswick, Thomas Morgan Jones to create this stunning work. Rarely have we had the opportunity to partner with an East Coast company, so we jumped at the chance to partner with Theatre New Brunswick to showcase the hugely talented Natalie Sappier, Aria Evans, and the gifted design team of Andy Moro and Michael Doherty, directed by Thomas Jones. This is a piece not to be missed.

In closing, this year I will work on trying to connect more with artists, to be more generous with people, to lead with empathy not judgement, and to celebrate this life through art (and hockey). I look forward to seeing many of you at the theatre. What a gift.

All my relations.

Keith Barker
Artistic Director