FREE EVENT! at Artists Repertory Theatre
Sunday, June 1 at 3PM & Monday, June 2 at 7PM
illioo Native Theatre and Artists Repertory Theatre present a concert reading of a new play by Theresa May & Marta Lu Clifford (Chinook, Cree, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde). BlueJay’s Canoe explores the power of Indigenous stories in everyday life, and represents a weaving of Indigenous storytelling and contemporary drama. A contemporary tale of healing, recovery and resilience, BlueJay’s Canoe takes place in the Pacific Northwest during the uncertain times of 2020-21. Sixteen-year-old Xak lands an internship at KMAS Indigenous radio where he meets the brash Indigenous radio host, BlueJay/qisqis, and his Auntie Goldie, a storyteller. Together with Xak’s family and the mysterious Heron, we learn the key to BlueJay’s past and wittness the healing of a river and a family. Why did BlueJay abandon the canoe he was building years ago? Moving across time and space from the covid pandemic and Oregon wildfires into the landscape of stories and back again. Filled with humor, history and Indigenous life-ways of Oregon, BlueJay’s Canoe is a story about the power of stories, and our connection to and responsibiliy for the places we inhabit and the folks with whom we share them.
