Presented with
“Clements establishes herself as a talent to be reckoned with.” – The Georgia Straight
Jan 21–31, 8pm Sundays 2pm onlyPresentation House TheatreNo Performance Jan 25
Matinee Saturdays at 4pm, Sundays at 2pm
Post-show talkback moderated by Paula Danckert Jan 24 matinee
Running Time 90m
Playwright and co-director
Marie Clements Co-director
Brenda Leadlay Installation photography
Rita Leistner Dramaturgy
Paula Danckert Featuring
Tamara Podemski, Stephen Miller, Kathleen Duborg, Kevin Loring Composer
Bruce Ruddell Singer/Songwriter
Leela Gilday Set design
Andreas Kahre Lighting Design
John Webber Photography and Projection
Tim Matheson Costume Design
Barbara Clayden Stage Management
Jan Hodgson, Karen GriffinThe Edward Curtis Project is a modern-day picture story that creates an unlikely dialogue between Curtis and a Métis foreign correspondent named Angeline who fears she is slipping from existence—a situation mirrored in a turn-of-the-century book entitled The Vanishing Indian. In her journey to recover from post-traumatic stress disorder, she finds herself face-to-face with the controversial photographer who was obsessed with capturing the Indian way of life he thought was dying out. This photographic and spirit catching investigation looks at Curtis’s romanticized photos taken between 1900 and 1930 and juxtaposes them with today’s realistic renderings of a “vanishing race” that never actually vanished.
The Edward Curtis Project is a poignant and stirring multi-disciplinary work by Metis/Dene playwright Marie Clements and photojournalist Rita Leistner that blends theatre performance with photographic installation, exploring how historical photography and documentation continue to influence contemporary Aboriginal communities. The creators travelled across North America to conduct research, lead community workshops, record interviews, and take still photography as a means of building a dialogue between peoples, communities, perspectives, artistic forms and disciplines.
Commissioned by Presentation House Theatre with the assistance of Arts Partners in Creative Development.
Tickets $22–$28
...............................................................
RSVP to The Edward Curtis Project on the PuSh Festival facebook page
Related postings on PuShing It: The PuSh Festival Blog
January 12, 2010 - PuSh 2010 Curatorial Statement: The Edward Curtis Project
Links
See what Wikipedia has to say about Marie Clements and Edward Curtis
Read an interview between Rita Leistner and Jason McBride in the U of T Magazine
The entire contents of The North American Indian by Edward Curtis have been digitized by Northwestern and can be viewed online
...............................................................
