Pimooteewin – Sleepy Heads and Happy Spirits

Ryan, Julia and I at the Ecolodge, Moose Factory

In the water taxi from Moosonee to Moose Factory

Saturday, May 9, 2009 – Day 6

I’m starting to lose track of what day it is…between performing, sleeping and traveling, the days are beginning to blend together.  We left Moosonee/Moose Factory on Thursday night.  Our train was delayed which meant that we arrived in Cochrane after 4am (!!) on Friday morning.  We collapsed into our beds for a few hours only to get up again for a 2pm school matinee (thank you Sam for pushing the show time ahead…whew!). 

Despite our tired eyes and sleepy heads (and upstage curtain leg that fell on Sam’s head at the top of the evening performance), our Cochrane performances were so uplifting.  The show is beginning to settle as we continue to perform it and our connection as a cast has become very strong.  At the beginning of each performance, we form a circle and breathe together as a group.  We find our collective energy and use that to get us through the shows when we are exhausted from travel and lack of sleep. 

During the afternoon show, there wasn’t a peep in the crowd that was filled with students from elementary to high school.  Having done some workshops with the cast the week before, they’ve been buzzing with anticipation to see the show, according to their teachers who also commented on how they’ve never seen the kids so well behaved and attentive during the show.  They were filled with curiousity and had so many questions to ask during the post show Q&A.  The questions tell us so much about the things that are resonating for them in the production.  They want to know things like where we are all from, how much we had to rehearse, if we are flexible, why the boys have to wear makeup, how Xin makes her voice so high, why we all wear black, and if we ever fight!

The evening show was equally uplifting.  The audience rose to their feet, and in our exhaustion we were reminded of why we love doing what we do as performers.  The impact of this work has been so palpable here and in all of the places we’ve performed thus far.  Many have not had the opportunity to experience opera or the performing arts, and are fascinated to see their cultural heritage reflected back at them for the first time through opera.  Back in Moosonee a group of kids wanted to collect some autographs from the cast and I asked them if they had ever seen an opera before and one kid relied ‘No, but I’ve seen Oprah!”.  As hilarious as that moment was, it reminded me of how important it is to educate and present our youth with cultural experiences that reflect a Canadian context in all the ways it is manifest in the people of Canada.  These experiences help us know ourselves in the world and in remote northern communities like the ones we’ve traveled to, these experiences are among few and so are all the more important and affecting.  After a week of being a part of this experience, I can say with certainty that we too have all been deeply affected by this experience. 

I’m signing off now to enjoy a day off…with plans to do some laundry, see the new Star Trek movie (yay!), and hopefully get to bed on time! 

Shannon

ps – check out some great coverage of the show in the Toronto Star!

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/630870

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