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Page to Stage Returns with AWOWAKII
Theatre Calgary is pleased to announce that our TD Page to Stage Festival will return in 2022.
In March of 2021, when we launched our inaugural Page To Stage New Works Festival, our goal was to discover a new play that had potential to one day land on Theatre Calgary’s stage. With a lineup that included Awowakii by Sable Sweetgrass Katoiyissa, Bollywood Basement Boutique by Sharanpal Ruprai, and Agápi sti Fury by Matthew Oliver van Diepen, we’ve chosen to continue working with Sable Sweetgrass on Awowakii in 2022.
Awowakii is the story of Chrissy Two Guns, who is a Blackfoot Awowakii (Transgender) mother, struggling to make ends meet. When her father, who she hasn’t seen in years, shows up on her doorstep offering his residential school settlement money, and asking for a second chance, Chrissy is forced to make a decision that decides the fate of a family. Awowakii is a family drama about the resilience of Blackfoot Matriarchy.
“At its core, this is a story about a Blackfoot family living in Calgary who discover what familial reconciliation truly means,” says Theatre Calgary Artistic Director Stafford Arima. “What makes Awowakii exceptional is that Sable speaks authentically of her own experiences, yet communicates a universal message of how a family can heal through simple acts of awakening and forgiveness. Awowakii is filled with humour, honesty,
heartache, and hope.”
Our 2022 TD Page to Stage Festival will see Awowakii given a workshop with a cast of theatre professionals that will help further explore this new play, and take Sable’s play to the next step of development from the page, to the stage. Directing the workshop will be Alanis King, and the dramaturg for the workshop will be Ed Roy. A cast of 5 will be announced in the new year, once dates are finalized for the workshop.
“Playwrights have brought unique families to our world stages for generations and Theatre Calgary has opened its home to several of those one-of-a-kind families. Think of A Thousand Splendid Suns, Private Lives, Raisin in the Sun, or Kim’s Convenience, and the distinctive families that exist within those plays,” says Arima. “Awowakii has its place with those other titles, and I am excited to watch how Sable and her play
continue to evolve at Theatre Calgary.”
Theatre Calgary is grateful to TD for becoming the naming sponsor of our Page to Stage program. Thank you, TD, for your commitment to helping develop new works and new voices on our stage.
