SKYBORN
JAN 23 – FEB 1, 2020 | THE CULTCH
PuSh FESTIVAL
Developed with the support of the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund
A black hole, hungry ghosts, a Grandmother wolf—Quelemia Sparrow’s Skyborn is an epic odyssey grounded in Indigenous ancestral knowledge. Guided through the universe on a river made of stars, Sparrow makes a journey by canoe to recover her lost soul from the land of the dead. This adventure is deeply rooted in the cosmology and teachings of her Musqueam heritage. It invites the audience to bear witness to a reclamation of culture, land and self.
Skyborn is imaginatively constructed and fiercely poignant. It introduces never-before-seen Musqueam/Sto:lo visual storytelling and animation, as well as inter-Indigenous sound and puppetry, but at its heart is the simple, irreducible force of human presence: Sparrow is a natural performer, endowed with grace and magnetism. This work is her gesture of liberation.
“When a person had a spirit sickness, it was said that their soul had left their body. In Skyborn, we use theatre to embody a ritual that is a personal and familial odyssey of reclamation of self, and land, and blood memory.” —Quelemia Sparrow
TEAM MEMBERS
- PLAYWRIGHT & PERFORMER Quelemia Sparrow
- DIRECTOR Kim Senklip Harvey
- INDIGENOUS FRAMEWORK CONSULTANT/DRAMATURG Lindsay Lachance
- DRAMATURG David Bloom
- SET DESIGNER Andy Moro
- VIDEO DESIGNER Emily Soussana
- COSTUME DESIGNER Evan Ducharme
- LIGHTING DESIGNER Itai Erdal
- ILLUSTRATIONS Chrystal Sparrow, Carrielynn Victor
- PUPPET DIRECTOR/DESIGNER Stephanie Elgersma
- PUPPETEER Kelsey Kanatan Wavey
- STAGE MANAGER Lois Dawson
- APPRENTICE STAGE MANAGER Brody Halfe
- SOUNDSCAPE VOCALS Renae Morriseau, Chelsea Rose Tucker, Kaitlyn Yott
- PRODUCTION MANAGER Matt Oviatt
- CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Andrew Pye
- TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Conor Moore
- PROPS Jennifer Stewart
ANDY MORO 