The Belfry Theatre presents
The Unplugging
By Yvette Nolan
Starring
Lois Anderson – Bern
Marsha Knight – Elena
čačumḥi – aaron wells – Seamus
Krystle Pederson – Musician *
CREATIVE TEAM
Reneltta Arluk – Director
Daniela Masellis – Set & Lighting Designer
Catherine Hahn – Costume Designer
Krystle Pederson – Composer, Sound Designer & Onstage Musician *
Tobin Stokes – Sound Design Consultant **
Liz King – Stage Manager
Jalisa Gonie – Assistant Stage Manager
Liz Page – Apprentice Stage Manager +
Shannon Litzenberger – Assistant Director
*Krystle Pederson’s participation is supported in part by Sum Theatre (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan).
+ Liz Page’s participation was made possible through the Belfry’s Emerging Artist Enhancement Program, funded by the RBC Emerging Artists Project.
** Tobin Stokes’s participation was made possible through the Associated Designers of Canada Mentorship Program.
The Unplugging is 75 minutes. There is no intermission.
The Unplugging is generously sponsored by
The Belfry Theatre is a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres and engages professional Artists who are members of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the terms of the jointly negotiated Canadian Theatre Agreement.
The live-streamed performances of The Unplugging (from February 21 – 26) are produced with the cooperation of the Union of B.C. Performers
SEASON SPONSORS
PUBLIC FUNDERS
…from the Artistic Director
A new year, and a new production of this beautiful play by Yvette Nolan—playwright, director, dramaturg, actor and educator. She has contributed greatly to the creation, performance and dissemination of Indigenous theatre in this country—and is one of the most wonderful, vibrant and positive human beings I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
The Unplugging premiered in 2012, and has only become more pertinent in succeeding years, dealing as it does with ageism, gender inequality, and our over-reliance on technology. The play proves especially prescient as our governments are recognizing the need to turn to Indigenous communities to help address the conservation of our environment—from forests to lakes, from whooping cranes to killer whales.
Bringing this award-winning play to life on our stage is a remarkable group of artists. Director Reneltta Arluk was a powerful force as Emily Dictionary in our production of Tomson Highway’s The Rez Sisters. Lois Anderson—absent from this stage for far too long—directed the first production of The Unplugging at the Arts Club Theatre. She is joined onstage by Winnipeg actress Marsha Knight, and čačumḥi – aaron wells, who has been very busy since graduating from Victoria’s Canadian College of Performing Arts. Those who were lucky enough to watch our online presentation of the Manitoba Theatre Centre’s filmed production of Tomson Highway’s musical The (Post) Mistress will recognize Krystal Pederson—our onstage musician, composer and sound designer—who was so sublime in the title role.
I am thrilled to be presenting this play on our stage. The Unplugging is filled with humanity, humour, and hope, as Yvette Nolan generously encourages us to open ourselves to the Indigenous wisdom that has been passed down through generations.
with all best wishes—
Michael
…from the Executive Director
As I listened to the first read of The Unplugging, I was taken back to 2015 when Native Earth was a co-producer of the Toronto production. I found myself thinking of the differences in how audiences responded to the play eight years and several provinces apart.
I was struck this time by the nuance of the ideas which appeared to jump out so much more to the broader audience. In part because Indigenous work is now so much more common on our stages. The worlds created by Indigenous playwrights reflect realities that are far better known. The reverence or empathic distance is far less than it was eight years ago. Perhaps also in BC, the conversation around the climate crisis is so much more advanced.
Reframing “value” is necessary to any society during a crisis—be it medical, socio-political, or environmental. Questioning values is critical to any progressive society. Eight years later The Unplugging still challenges us. But the context now deepens the questions we ask ourselves.
Isaac
Director’s Notes
Delving deep into this story of two old women in the bush is one of complex simplicity. We meet these two women, Elena and Bern. One Indigenous and one non-Indigenous. Different lived experiences but the same outcome of being expelled from their apocalyptic community. We then watch a world unfold in their discovered cabin through story and personal experiences and the arrival of a younger Indigenous man, Seamus. As they continue to learn from each other we begin to see ourselves in their conversations. Interwoven with live music and moon poetry The Unplugging reveals vulnerabilities in these relationships and asks us to be hopeful in our future of reparation too.
Building story is a humble gift to be given as a director. I appreciate deeply the support that the Belfry Theatre has given for this production to explore land, connect with the community, and have a longer rehearsal period for us to discover this world. Yvette Nolan’s The Unplugging is one of my favourite plays because it allows all the creative team to infuse their own imagination into what this world could be. For me, it is about reparation and generousity. Humour and circumstance. All good reasons to come together, building community through story and song. Mahsi cho / Quyanainni.
Reneltta Arluk
About the Belfry
The Belfry Theatre is on the land of the Lək̓ʷəŋən People, known today as the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. The Lək̓ʷəŋən people have been keepers of this land for millennia and we offer our respect and gratitude for our uninvited presence on their territory.
These lands are within the disputed Douglas Treaties territories, treaties that were negotiated verbally, signed to blank pieces of paper by the Indigenous leaders and then had text added by the colonial government. The colonial perspective on the treaty is one of a sale of land, while the Indigenous perspective is a sharing of territory.
The Songhees are members of the Te’mexw Treaty Association seeking a modern treaty with the Crown on their rights, territory and self-government.
The Belfry Theatre is a registered Canadian charity, 11921 5549 RR0001.
The Belfry Theatre is a member of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, Destination Greater Victoria, and the Professional Arts Alliance of Greater Victoria.
President – Richard Brownsey
Vice President – Alison Watt
Secretary – Mikaila Mauro
Treasurer – Dr. Joan McArthur-Blair
Directors
Cathi Charles Wherry
Kini McDonald
Daniela Pinto
Joni Steinman
Andy Stephenson
Stephen Tax
Gillian Wood
Honorary Board of Directors
Chair Emeritus Patrick Stewart
Sherri Bird
Barbara Greeniaus
Robert Johnston Q.C.
John Keay
Joan Snowden
Dr. Brian Winsby
Michael Ziegler
Castor Angus – Box Office Clerk
Siobhan Barker – Box Office Clerk
Kate Barry – Interim Development Manager
Jane Broomfield – Front of House Manager
Claire Cacheux – Box Office Clerk
Matty Cervantes – Manager of Community & Artistic Connections
Danica Charlie – Box Office Clerk
Helena Descoteau – Box Office Supervisor
Mark Dusseault – Director of Marketing & Communications
Linda Findlay – Head of Wardrobe
Mike Ford – Director of Production & Operations
Ian Gibson – Audience Services Manager
Keith Houghton – Head Technician & Systems Administrator
Valerie Houle – Producer
Nora Kidston – Box Office Clerk & Front of House Supervisor
Carole Klemm – Head Scenic Artist
Jeff Kulak – Graphic Designer
Jeremy MacLeod – Technical Director
Patricia O’Brien – Financial Officer
Samantha Pelkey – Associate Producer & Indigenous Relations Manager
Peter Pokorny – Head of Props & Scenic Carpenter
Dale Pudwell – Master Carpenter
Sophia Radford – Box Office Clerk
Michael Shamata – Artistic Director
Isaac Thomas – Executive Director
Cian Waldron – Box Office Clerk
Deborah Williams – Associate Artist & Flame Facilitator
Golnaz Zad – Development Associate
Celena Cook Custodial – Celena’s Cleaning Co.
Carolyn Moon – Venue Technician & Properties Assistant ***
Lara Shepard – Scenic Artist
Aidan Dunsmuir – B4 Play Technician
Alex Sangster – Lighting Programmer
Ariel Pretty – Lighting Crew
Emily Trepanier – Lighting Crew
Mackenzie Matthews – Lighting Crew
Andrew Young – Lighting Crew
Daniel Oliemans – Lighting Crew
***Supported by the Canadian Institute of Theatre Technology In-House Assistantship Program and funded by Canadian Heritage’s Canada Performing Arts Workers Resilience Fund.
Florence Dick
Songhees Wellness Centre
Jedson August
Sara Rhude
Alysha Brown
Deanna Reder
Chris Childerhose
Sum Theatre
What to Expect – Live in-person attendance
Cast & Creative Team
Lois Anderson – Bern
Lois Anderson has won multiple awards as a theatre deviser, director, and actor. She is an original member of Leaky Heaven Circus and The Flying Blind Collective, which workshopped and toured in Australia and Canada. Lois was an artistic associate with Runaway Moon and is an actor at Bard on the Beach (Viola, Kate, Helena, Rosalind, Mistress Overdone, Goneril, and Paulina). Lois directed the short film, Siiye’yu, which documented the site-specific collaboration of Coast Salish performance company Tsatsu Stalqayu and Mortal Coil. In 2020 she wrote an article for Canadian Theatre Review with Quelemia Sparrow entitled “Lysistrata and Camas Lilies”, reflecting on their creative process during the adaptation of Lysistrata for Bard on the Beach. Lois is the dramaturg and director for Tai Amy Grauman’s new adaptation, Romeo and Juliet: A Metis Love Story, and is adapting Henry V for Bard on the Beach, 2023.
Marsha Knight – Elena
Marsha hails from the heart of Turtle Island—Winnipeg, Treaty One Territory, with Metis Ojibway heritage. As a thespian, her work covers both theatre and film, many behind-the-scenes projects, teaching female-identifying at-risk youth and teaching at the University of Winnipeg. Select theatre: Norm Foster’s Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun (Theatre Northwest); Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare in the Ruins); Drew Hayden-Taylor’s Crees in the Caribbean (Magnus Theatre); Tomson Highway’s The Rez Sisters (three productions); and Ian Ross’s fareWel (three productions). She has also just finished recording her third audiobook. Marsha is absolutely thrilled to be making her debut at the Belfry. Love to Robert, at home taking care of the fur-babies.
čačumḥi – aaron wells (he/they) Seamus
ʔuukłaas čačumḥi aaron wells ʔuukłaasƛa—my name is chah-chum-hi, aaron wells is what I am also called. I come from the ʔiiḥatis tribe (Zeballos) of the nuučan̓uł nation and the lax kw’alaams tribe (Port Simpson) of the ts’ymsyen nation as well as English settler heritage. I raise my hands in thanks to the Lekwungen speaking peoples of the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations who have been stewards of this land for far longer than we can fathom.
The Belfry’s production of Proud was the first play I saw while I was a student at CCPA, and since then I have been looking forward to this day. I have a small collection of connections to this theatre, so it feels like coming home. My first Belfry appearance was a livestream presentation of HIV in My Day in January 2021. I first saw Reneltta as Emily Dictionary in the Belfry’s production of The Rez Sisters, and have had the privilege of working with her on and off since graduating in 2016. I want to thank her for bringing me home. English words cannot describe how elated I feel so: čumqƛsiš luu’am guudl s’ygoy’n ƛeekoo ƛeekoo.
Recent works include: The Breathing Hole (NAC English Theatre and Indigenous Theatre), Pawâkan Macbeth (Akpik Theatre), They Call me Princess (Globe Theatre), Children of God (Segal Centre), The Coyotes, The Nutcracker (Caravan Farm Theatre), and The Unplugging (Gwaandak Theatre). Čuu
Krystle Pederson – Musician, Composer and Sound Designer
Krystle Pederson is a Cree/Metis actor, singer, and songwriter whose performing talents have taken her all across North America and New Zealand. Krystle’s list of acting credits includes: The (Post) Mistress (Belfry online programming), Gabriel Dumont Wild West Show, The Penelopiad, Lynx Lamour Goes to Nashville, Reasonable Doubt, CBC Gem television debut in Zarqa, and most recently, Frozen River (presented in Victoria by Kaleidoscope Theatre). Krystle is very excited about composing and performing music at the Belfry for The Unplugging as part of her sound composition internship with the theatre this year. Krystle will be sound designing over the next six months, working on developing her skills as a composer/designer, and is excited about kicking off this learning experience here in beautiful Victoria. Krystle hopes you enjoy the show and is excited to be back on the stage for this amazing production. Kinanâskomitin (thank you).
Yvette Nolan – Playwright
Yvette Nolan (Algonquin) is a playwright, director and dramaturg. Her works include many plays, the dance-opera Bearing, the libretto Shawnadithit, and the short play-for-film Katharsis. She co-created, with Joel Bernbaum and Lancelot Knight, the verbatim play Reasonable Doubt, about relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan. From 2003–2011, she served as Artistic Director of Native Earth Performing Arts, Canada’s oldest professional Indigenous theatre company. Her book, Medicine Shows, about Indigenous performance in Canada was published by Playwrights Canada Press in 2015, and Performing Indigeneity, co-edited with Ric Knowles, in 2016. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Public Policy at Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.
Reneltta Arluk – Director
Reneltta is an Inuvialuk/Dene/Cree from the Northwest Territories. Raised by her grandparents on the trap-line until school age, this nomadic environment gave Reneltta the skills to become the multi-disciplined artist she is now. She is the founder of Akpik Theatre, a northern-focused professional Indigenous theatre company. For nearly two decades, Reneltta has taken part in or initiated the creation of Indigenous-led theatre across Canada and overseas. Her director credits include The Breathing Hole (National Arts Centre), Bound & Messiah/Complex (Against the Grain Theatre), The Birds (Studio Theatre), All That Binds Us (Azimuth Theatre), The Breathing Hole (Stratford Festival) where she received the 2017 Tyrone Guthrie – Derek F. Mitchell Artistic Director’s Award, The Unplugging (Gwaandak Theatre). Radio plays: The Unplugging (Common Boots Theatre), Niitahtaastsi (Jupiter Theatre), I Count Myself Among Them (Akpik Theatre), Ndoo Tr’eedyaa Gogwaandak – Forward Together (Gwaandak Theatre). Co-director credits: Kuekuatsheu Mak Muak (Anorae Productions) and Aklavik Journals (Stuck in a Snowbank Theatre). Reneltta has extensive directing experience working within Indigenous communities across Canada in self-created work.
Daniela Masellis – Set & Lighting Designer
Daniela Masellis is a theatre designer and artist based in amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta), on the Treaty 6 territory. Daniela’s training includes a BFA in Theatre Design from the University of Alberta, a Diploma of Fine Arts, and a design apprenticeship in Italy at Teatro alla Scala Milano. She has designed in theatres large and small across Canada, collaborating on over 85 professional productions. Her credits include work with such companies as the Stratford Festival, the Citadel, the Arts Club, Soulpepper Theatre, Workshop West, Mile Zero Dance, Western Canadian Theatre, Akpik Theatre and many others. Daniela works mainly in the areas of set, lighting, and projection design for live performance and film. She is a proud member of the Associated Designers of Canada and IATSE 659.
Catherine Hahn – Costume Designer
Catherine has designed sets and costumes, masks and pageants, for theatre, dance, film, television, multi-media and international expos for over 40 years. She has garnered several Dora, Jessie and Gemini nominations for her work. Her long association with the Caravan Farm Theatre helped develop and hone the populist spectacle style for which they have achieved renown. She also designed costumes for the first all-Indigenous production of The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, directed by Yvette Nolan, and co-produced by Western Canada Theatre and the National Arts Centre. She is a full member of the Associated Designers of Canada. For the Belfry: The Rez Sisters, Gracie, Here and Away and Reverberations. Elsewhere: Globe Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects, Theatre SKAM, Bread and Puppet in Vermont, Toronto’s Theatre Columbus and approximately 45 shows for Caravan, plus many other theatres across the country.
Liz King – Stage Manager
Liz is absolutely ecstatic to be working on her first show at the Belfry and thrilled to be working again on The Unplugging. She was the stage manager for Gwaandak Theatre’s version in 2018 and was lucky enough to travel the Yukon with it, including to Old Crow in the Arctic Circle. She has worked across Canada as a stage manager and spent the “Lost Years” as Operations Manager for the Victoria Symphony. Liz has run one marathon and had one major mountain biking crash. She cares to repeat neither.
Jalisa Gonie – Assistant Stage Manager
Jalisa is grateful to be part of the team here at the Belfry Theatre. A Saskatoon based artist, they work hard to balance stage management, acting, clown and writing. They hold a BFA in Acting from the University of Saskatchewan and training from the Manitoulin Conservatory of Creation and Performance.
Selected work: Stones in his Pockets, The Fiancée, The Revolutionists (ASM, Persephone Theatre) No.7, Pot Roast (Playwright, Shortcuts). She received a SAT Award for Outstanding Supportive Performance as #2 in The Wolves (Little Big Theatre/Evil Stick/Live Five). When not in their stage management shoes, they are the other half of a Clown duo: Oblong and Oboe with Charlie Peters.
Liz Page – Apprentice Stage Manager
Liz Page (she/her)(Metis) is a recent graduate of the BFA Stage Management program at the University of Alberta. Her recent select Stage Management credits include: The Immaculate Perfection of F**king and Bleeding in the Gender-Neutral Bathroom of an Upper-Middle Class High School (2022), She Kills Monsters (2022, Studio Theatre), Night (2021, Major Matt Mason Collective). Selected assistant stage management credits include Barvinok (2022, Pyretic Theatre), The Birds (2021, Studio Theatre), Don Juan Comes Back from the War (2021, Studio Theatre), and 2019 Calgary Pride (Mainstage).
Shannon Litzenberger – Assistant Director
Shannon Litzenberger (Tkaronto) is an award-winning dancer, choreographer, director, embodiment facilitator and experienced cultural leader working at the intersection of art, ideas and transformational change. She creates sensory-rich, multi-disciplinary performance experiences that animate our relationship to land, community and the forgotten wisdom of the body. She has been an invited resident artist at Soulpepper Theatre, Toronto Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, Atlantic Ballet Theatre, Banff Centre, Remai Modern and Memorial University. She is also a frequent collaborator with the wind in the leaves collective. Her recent work World After Dark was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award. shannonlitzenberger.com
Bravo!
The Belfry Theatre gratefully acknowledges the financial support of The Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council and the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, the Capital Regional District Arts Development Office, and the City of Victoria.
Sponsors
Belfry Legacy Circle
The support of visionary philanthropy ensures that the Belfry will continue to flourish as Greater Victoria’s premier contemporary theatre company.
Donors
Bravo! The following individuals have invested generously in support of the Belfry Theatre.
Our thanks to the 141 Believers ($75-$149) and 224 Friends (up to $74)
† through the Victoria Foundation
* new donor
** donor moved up a level
As of January 10, 2023