Seasonal Newsletter Nov/Dec 2021
/GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS FROM AXIS THEATRE
We are all nearly 2-years into a whole new way of doing things. We have pushed and pulled, molded and sculpted, and the result is an even more specific identity, both artistically and culturally! It is our greatest honour to share TWO film creations with you and your young people. Both stories are from Kwantlen First Nations legends, each with unique lessons that relate intrinsically to the here and now.
We’ve had the great privilege of filming KWI’AH: THE GIRL WHO HEALS at the Kwantlen Cultural Centre in Fort Langley, with access to the forest and the river. This new film reveals the time when settlers arrived on this First Nations territory, as interpreted by our friend and playwright Joseph A. Dandurand, with stunning designs by Jay Havens. This is a story you don’t want to miss.
“Tell them about the great sickness that our people had to be healed from... about the cedar basket that held water and how it was used to put out a great fire... about the fish and how even today they are in trouble and that we all need to care for them, or they will no longer be able to come home."
The legend of the healer Kwi’ah takes place during the smallpox epidemic (1862). The issues around health, uncertainty, and uplifting our communities during dark times, parallel the current state of our world. Told through the eyes and wisdom of Sasquatch (Sasq’ets), Eagle (Sp’oq’es), Raven (Sqeweqs), and Kwi’ah, a young girl in search of healing.
“You can eat the earth... but do not eat too much! You must save some for the next generation.”
Our award-winning production of TH’OWXIYA: THE HUNGRY FEAST DISH by Griffin Award finalist Joseph A. Dandurand is Axis’ first stage play adapted for film, and what a film it is!
This Kwantlen First Nations Tale is the legend of the basket ogress, Th’owxiya, an old hungry spirit that inhabits a feast dish full of bountiful delicious foods. Come enjoy the traditional Coast Salish and Sto:lo music, masks, and imagery while learning how Raven (Sqeweqs), Bear (Spa:th), and Sasquatch (Sasq’ets) trick a hungry spirit and save Mouse (Kw’at’el) and their family from becoming the feast!
We had remarkable distribution in the spring of 2020 reaching as far as the Maritimes, all over Saskatchewan and BC, playing for close to 50,000 students in classrooms, in theatres, and at home.
“Great production, can't wait to share more with the students in the future. Definitely made me proud to be First Nations, and share our culture in a school.”
Melissa Gagnon, Grassy Plains Elementary Secondary School, Burns Lake, BC
Axis is dedicated to making more films in the new year. We have three new plays in development, and fingers crossed, a Canada-US tour of SOMEBODY LOVES YOU, MR.HATCH in May and June 2022.
Wishing you and yours peace, love and inspiration this holiday season!
With deepest gratitude,
Artistic Director: The Grinch McGregor
Managing Producer: Mayor Augustus May Who Campbell
Tour & Safety Coordinator: Martha May Whovier Brett
Artistic Associate: Little Cindy-Lou Who Bourchier
Sasquatch design pictured above for KWI’AH by Jay Havens.
We acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia.
