Category: Updates

Calla Adubofour-Poku, a queer, Afro-Indigenous improviser, actor, and creator from unceded Stz’uminus territory, is now based on Treaty 1 Territory. Her theatrical journey took off at the Gulf Island School of Performing Arts, where she gained skills in devising theatre and fell in love with improv. From performing at local Legions to winning national competitions, Calla developed a deep appreciation for spontaneous art and its transformative joy during this time. As a recent graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, she is dedicated to bringing untold stories to life with passion and vibrancy. Focusing on the healing power of storytelling, Calla is thrilled to be a part of bringing this story to life, and she feels fortunate to collaborate with such a talented team. She sends all her love and appreciation to Anaka, Justine, Chris, Adrian and Theo.

Leah Borchert is a multidisciplinary artist with a passion for theatre, play, and curiosity. Her work spans performance, creation, and artistic collaboration, with recent plays including August Quarterly Report and The Opposite of Play. She holds a Master of Arts in Drama Therapy from Concordia University, and now practices as a Drama Therapist in Winnipeg. She believes strongly in the power of theatre for both personal healing and societal change, and is deeply honoured to collaborate with an incredible team of artists on Owl Calling. Much love to her rambunctious cat, Gandalf.

Braiden Houle (He/Him) is excited and honoured to be involved in this production of Owl Calling/IAP. Braiden is Dakota and Anishinaabe from Treaty One Territory also known as Winnipeg Manitoba. Selected credits include: Father Tartuffe: An Indigenous Misadventure (Arts Club Theatre Company/Touchstone Theatre); White Noise (Savage Society); Kill Me Now (Touchstone Theatre); Kill Me Now (Manitoba Theatre Centre/National Arts Centre); Th’owxiya: The Hungry Feast Dish (Axis Theatre); In My Day (Zee Zee Theatre); Shadows Among The Prairies (Gordon Tootoosis Nikaniwin Theatre); Only Drunks and Children Tell The Truth (Firehall Arts Centre); Camera Obscura Hungry Ghosts (the frank theatre); The Enemy (Firehall Arts Centre); The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Manitoba Theatre for Young People); Redpatch (Hardline Productions); Jumping Mouse, Little Red Riding Hood, and Wings of Darkness (Urban Indigenous Theatre Company). He is a graduate of Studio 58.

Tracey Nepinak is Cree/mix claimed by Peguis First Nation, here on Treaty One Territory, and calls Winnipeg home. She began her theatre training with Vancouver’s Spirit Song Theatre School in the late 90’s, moved home to Manitoba, and completed her BA Honours degree in Theatre. Tracey has worked professionally in theatres across the country since 1994.

Jeremy Proulx’s selected theatre includes the following productions: Beautiful Scars – The Musical (Theatre Aquarius), Where the Blood Mixes (Teesri Duniya Theatre), Of Mice and Men (Maples Repertory Theatre), The Ecstasy of Rita Joe (NAC), King Lear (NAC), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, GA), Cottagers and Indians (Persephone Theatre), Feather Gardens (Hudson Village Theatre), Bannock Republic, Bent Boy, Crazy Dave Goes To Town (Centre for Indigenous Theatre), Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth, A Christmas Carol and Salt Baby (Magnus Theatre and Theatre Aquarius), The Secret to Good Tea (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre), Sixty Below (CIT) and Honour Beat (New West Theatre). International Tour of Red Forest (Belarus Free Theatre) at the Young Vic in London, UK and Teatro Vascello in Rome, Italy. International remounts of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest with Cardinal Stage Company (USA) and Sheffield Theatres (UK). Upcoming: Australian stage debut in a major revival of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (StoreyBoard Entertainment).

His film and tv credits include the following: the documentaries Just Another Dead Indian (Thunderbird Productions), Along the Wabash (WTIU and PBS) and In the Beginning Was Water and Sky (Heart Shaped Movies) Jeremy is a graduate of the Centre for Indigenous Theatre’s (CIT) full-time conservatory Indigenous Theatre School and a graduate of York University – Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours in Film & Video – Screenwriting Major, 

James Dallas Smith is an actor/writer/musician with Six Nations Mohawk of the Grand River (Turtle Clan) & Scottish heritage. He is a Dora nominated performer who has been appearing on stage & screen for twenty-five years and is thrilled to be back performing in Winnipeg as a member of Root Sky Theatre. Favourite credits include Almighty Voice & His Wife (Dora Nomination for Outstanding Performance); Where the Blood Mixes, King Lear,and Our Town (Soulpepper); The Secret to Good Tea (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre); Hamlet (No More) (Canadian Stage); This is How We Got Here and Ipperwash (Native Earth Performing Arts); The Donnelly’s Part I, Part II & Part III, Cottagers & Indians, and The Berlin Blues (Blyth); The Drawer Boy and Proof (Centaur); MacBeth (Great Southwest Shakespeare Company); and Hard Times for These Times (NAC). J.D. lives in Toronto with his wife, his beloved kitten, and his small, barbarian child.

His film and tv credits include the following: the documentaries Just Another Dead Indian (Thunderbird Productions), Along the Wabash (WTIU and PBS) and In the Beginning Was Water and Sky (Heart Shaped Movies) Jeremy is a graduate of the Centre for Indigenous Theatre’s (CIT) full-time conservatory Indigenous Theatre School and a graduate of York University – Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours in Film & Video – Screenwriting Major, 

Sandy Bunn is a star blanket artist whose roots are Dakota Cree. She’s made starblankets for 28 years and has made them for residential school survivors as well as the Pope. She started making them when she was 20 and continued making them while being a mom to nine kids. It took her about a year to learn how to start making star blankets, and she learned from three people. One person taught her how to put the stars on. Another person taught her how to put the edges on, and a third person taught her how to set up the star blanket on a quilting frame and how to hand quilt them, She found that she wanted to make them because of the great spiritual significance that they carry. They are used in many different ceremonies to honour people, and she “wanted to be a person who could help to honour those people.” She says that when she makes them, she tries to personalize them and draw out the spiritual connections within that person. Sandy has made them for different ceremonies such as sundances and sweat lodges.

For Owl Calling, she read the play closely in order to find a vision for the three starblankets she made. In one of the star blankets, she integrated images of the moon, water, and owl feathers, and had to find the proper light to create a dream-like feeling. She says, “I used the blue shades in the star tip to encompass the star blanket, and I had to find the right material to give it the right look.” The blanket hanging on stage represents hope, healing, and protection.” The baby blanket represents the morning sun.

Sandy says, “I’ve learned many lessons and teachings through star blankets. They have carried me through the experience of being a single mom and provided me with a source of income. They have also saved my life in a lot of ways and given me and my children many blessings.” She has taught her children how to sew them and some of the prayers used in making them,

Jason Burnstick was the composer for the Little Bird television series (2024 Canadian Screen Awards, 19 nominations), 2021 Juno Nominee and 2020 Leo Award Winner for the Composer of the Year for Best TV Movie Indian Road Trip and one-half of the multi-award winning and nominated group Burnstick. Jason’s many accolades also include winning the 2015 Indigenous Music Award, the 2010 APCA, and the 2006 CAMA Award. He was a nominee for a 2009 Jessie Richardson Award & Dora Award, and a 2007 Juno. He is a Cree musician, singer-songwriter/composer based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. His musical expression comes from his original vintage 1920’s Weissenborn lap slide guitars.

Aria Evans is a queer, award winning interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans dance, theatre and film. They just began an Assistant Professor position, teaching movement in the Theatre and Film Department at the University of Winnipeg.

Aria is a certified Intimacy Coordinator working in both film and theatre. They work as a Movement Director, Choreographer and Intimacy Professional for a number of Canada’s leading arts organizations with highlights including the Canadian Opera Company, Tarragon Theatre, Soulpepper Theatre, Stratford Festival, Coal Mine Theatre, and Factory Theatre.

As a public speaker, activist and creative leader, Aria draws on their experiences of being multiracial. They were the Metcalf Artistic Director Intern at Soulpepper Theatre from 2021-2022 and co-Artistic Director of hub14 from 2013-2018. With a large-scale vision, collaboration is the departure point to the choreographic work that Aria creates under their company POLITICAL MOVEMENT.  www.ariaevans.ca

Cindy Hanson is a professor of Sociology and Social Studies at the University of Regina. Through teaching, research and relationships with Indigenous people, she has been doing research about Indian residential schools for 33 years. Her research with Dr. Leah Levac provided information, stories and funding that made this production possible. 

Michelle Lagassé is a Francophone Métis from the Red River Valley who calls Treaty One Territory home. Her Indigenous ancestors were of the Cree and Objibwa Nations, and she has Metis ancestors who were granted scrips/land grants under the provision of the 1870 Manitoba Act. She feels honoured to be part of the creative team for this exceptional and moving play that give a voice to Residential School Survivors’ stories. Michelle has come to believe that theatre is a voice to call on social injustice and has had the honour of Stage Managing productions that shone a light on some of these with the Racine/Lakevold play “Stretching Hide” (Theatre Projects Manitoba), “Songide’ewin” (Sarasvati Productions), “L’article 23 et sa Suite » (Théâtre Cercle Molière), “Antigone” (PTE, AA Battery), and «Address Unknown » (Winnipeg Jewish Theatre). Michelle is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada. She is an Election “Junkie” has worked on the last eight Federal elections and three Provincial elections.

Brenda McLean is a theatre artist living and working on Treaty I Territory in Winnipeg. She has been thinking about, training in, and making theatre for 30 years. Recent credits include costuming designing for Shakespeare In the Ruins, Midsummer Night’s Dream and “Iago Speaks,” and doing the set and costume design for Thunder Bay’s Magnus Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet. This summer, she was an event producer on Bike and Circuses with Green Kids Inc., where she helped to bring active environmentalism and theatre together to Whittier Park. Brenda thanks Root Sky Theatre for the opportunity to work on this important play and to collaborate with this wonderful artists.

Amy McPherson is a Métis artist and designer from Winnipeg Manitoba. Over the years she has learnt many different forms of Indigenous arts, including several different beading techniques, porcupine quilling, moose and caribou hair tufting, birch bark biting, and basketry. Now a teacher herself, she spends time sharing her knowledge around the province in person and virtually. Amy is an alumni of MC College’s Fashion Design and Apparel production program.

She is the owner and designer of Fashion Ikwe Designs, specializing in custom clothing, styling, and jewelry creation. She has been part of various creative teams as a costume designer, assistant and associate for the following theatres: Manitoba Theatre for Young People, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, Bikes and Circuses, Root Sky Theatre, and the National Film Board.

Max Mummery is a Winnipeg-based artist who has established themselves as a designer and technician within the theatre, dance, and performing arts communities. They’re also a self-proclaimed tech geek. The absurdity of life influences a lot of their work and collaborations as they seek out ways to poke fun at or engage in discourse around systems of power. In a current art world where identities are increasingly becoming a commodity, they notice the difficulty for people to be themselves and wonder ‘what the fuck is going on?’ Max could give you a list of their recent credits and university accomplishments, but they’d much rather share their joy that comes from video games, roller skating, horror movies, and bitching about stuff.

To sneak a peek at what they’ve worked on, visit their website!

Charlene Van Buekenhout has been with Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre as Assistant Director: The Woman in Black; Actor: Di and Viv and Rose, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, and Bleeding Hearts. 2022/23 National Mentorship Program. 

Other theatre: Actor/theatre creator in Winnipeg for 20 years. Actor: Josephine-Marie in Li Keur: Riel’s Heart of the North (MB Opera); The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (SIR); two Munsch tours (PTE). Actor/producer: Minoosh Doo-Kapeeshiw (currently touring), JONNO (Winnipeg Fringe); Hamlet (the rest is silence), Hedda Gabler, Blithe Spirit (Master Playwright Festival). Director: The Gravedigger. 

Film/tv: Le Monde de Gabrielle Roy, Architecture of an Atom, Lanfeust of Troy, and voices for various animated series. Training: BA Hons. in Theatre (U of W). Jigging for 5 years with Métis Jigging instructor Dean Davis.