WCT Show Program | Inner Elder (2023/24 Season)

INNER ELDER

Written & Performed by MICHELLE THRUSH

CREATIVE TEAM

MICHELLE THRUSH

KAREN HINES

SANDI SOMERS

SANDY SCOFIELD

JP LORD

DIANNE GOODMAN

NEIL FLEMING

GRANT BURNS

Creator & Performer Director

Lighting & Scenic Design

Composer

Sound Design Company Manager

Technical Director Producer

Approximately 60 minutes, no intermission

Inner Elder was developed during workshops in 2017, supported by Lunchbox & One Yellow Rabbit. The performance premiered at the 2018 High Performance Rodeo at Lunchbox. For Bookings contact Grant Burns: bgburns@mac.com

WCT is proud to tell our stories in the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc territory within the traditional lands of the Secwépemc Nation.

GUEST SERVICES

The wearing of masks is currently optional. For Assistance and Accessibility:

Both the Pavilion and Sagebrush Theatres are wheelchair accessible and equipped with wheelchair-seating locations.

In consideration of your fellow audience members’ comfort and enjoyment, we ask the following: Electronic Devices: Please turn off all cellular phones and watch alarms prior to the show. Due to copyright regulations, the use of cameras and other video or audio recording of this performance by any means is strictly prohibited.

Late Arrival and Re-admission: If you arrive after a performance has begun or leave the auditorium during the performance, we will make every effort to seat you at an appropriate interval in the program. Please be advised that this may not be the seat you are ticketed for, depending on its location in the theatre.

Scent-free Facilities: Please arrive perfume/cologne-free

Children: WCT productions, unless they are identified as family friendly, are not suitable for children or babes in arms. For more information, please visit the FAQs on wctlive.ca.

Programme

PRESENTING PARTNER

TITLE SPONSOR GOVERNMENT FUNDERS

SEASON SPONSORS

INNER ELDER SHOW SPONSOR

FOUNDATIONS

PIZZA PRE-SHOW SPONSOR

SPECIAL THANKS

Kamloops Symphony presents…

GORDON GERRARD CONDUCTS MOZART’S REQUIEM

SAGEBRUSH THEATRE:

April 27 2024 Saturday • 7:30pm

April 28 2024 Sunday • 2:00pm

KamloopsSymphony.com

OPENING NIGHT SPONSORS

Dr. Elspeth M. McDougall Foundation

PAY-WHAT-YOU-CHOOSE MATINEE SPONSOR

We are pleased welcome Michelle Thrush and her team to WCT to share this beautiful multi-generational story.

We are so grateful to Michelle for sharing her story with us, a story that is both deeply personal and profoundly universal. And to be able to facilitate the sharing of this production with so many members of this community, including hundreds of young people through our school matinee program.

This is a story full of heart, humour, and power. It radiates with warmth and generosity, but also reminds us of some important truths.

And personally, I appreciate and admire the celebration of the Elder. We’d like to extend our thanks to Elder Connie Jules, who has been a strong and generous presence for all of us at WCT for the past seven years. The knowledge, wisdom, spirit, and humour passed down by Elders enriches us all, and we are truly thankful.

Soon we’ll announce WCT’s 2024/25 Season, which will feature a play created by another renowned Indigenous artist, and will be featured on our mainstage. We look forward to sharing this and many other projects with you in the near future.

Thanks for being here, and enjoy.

James MacDonald, Artistic Director

CREATOR’S NOTES

Inner Elder is my love letter to all of us that made it through. Thank you for being here.

Thank you to all the Elders who hold the stories of this territory.

Thank you to James MacDonald and Christine Leroux and the staff and crew at Western Canadian Theatre.

MICHELLE THRUSH

Creator & Performer

QUICK-STUDY GUIDE

Explore the Inner Elder Quick-Study Guide for further information and context about the show, useful both to students and general audience.

VICTORIA KJARGAARD PIECES

April 13 to July 6, 2024

Victoria Kjargaard, untitled (from the series Pieces ) (detail), 2023, resin, translucent paper, wax, 51 x 51 cm.

Photo: Kamloops Museum and Archives/Victoria Kjargaard

COMPANY BIOGRAPHIES

THE CREATIVE TEAM

MICHELLE THRUSH - Creator & Performer

Michelle has been involved in the arts as an actor, writer, director, and producer for more than thirty years professionally and is most well known for her roles in film and television. If she is not on a stage or working on a film you will most likely find her working in Indigenous communities across the country with youth and children, utilizing the arts and storytelling as a force of healing. Ms. Thrush is a multi-award-winning actress in film, television, and theatre, and most recently she received the Lieutenant Governor Distinguished Artist of Alberta Award. Michelle is thrilled to bring Inner Elder to the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc and is grateful to the Elders of this territory that hold the stories here. Michelle has said “My greatest achievement in life is my two beautiful daughters, which I admit was a co production.”

KAREN HINES - Director

Karen Hines began her theatrical career as an underground comic and emerged as the author of multiple award-winning plays which have been presented across North America at venues including One Yellow Rabbit, Tarragon Theatre, Boca del Lupo, Alberta Theatre Projects, Factory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Dallas Theatre Centre, Soulpepper, and Joe’s Pub (Public Theatre). She is a two-time finalist for Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama, and a recent finalist for the Siminovitch Prize. She is a Dora Award-winning performer and director and has collaborated on the play creations of other Canadian theatre artists such as Linda Griffiths (Age of Arousal), adult horror clowns Mump & Smoot (Mike Kennard and John Turner), and Michelle Thrush (Inner Elder). Karen is an actor in Canadian and American television and film, and her own short films featuring the character “Pochsy” have screened around the world. Chicago born, Toronto bred, she currently lives in Calgary where she has recently performed new works including the fourth in its series, Pochsy IV

SANDI SOMERS - Lighting & Scenic Design

Over the last few decades Sandi has lit and designed stages for companies such as One Yellow Rabbit, Alberta Theatre Projects, The Alberta Ballet, and Lunchbox Theatre. Productions include lighting and projection design for Making Treaty 7, set and lighting design for The University of Lethbridge’s Caucasian Chalk Circle, lighting and set design for Karen Hines’ Pochsy IV, lighting design for Denise Clarke’s Room 333. Outside of designing for theatre, Sandi is the lighting designer for The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta, and is an award-winning filmmaker.

SANDY SCOFIELD - Composer

Sandy Scofield is a multi-award-winning Métis singer/songwriter who holds an undergrad degree in music composition. She has won several awards for her diverse work, such as a Western Canadian Music Award, a Canadian Folk Music Award, and she has been nominated three consecutive times for a Juno Award. She has toured to festivals, including most major Canadian ones, but has also performed in Borneo, Austria, Seoul, Australia, France, and she toured Germany. Sandy composes original music—folk, roots, traditional, blues influenced, and electronic—sound design, and music for dance, film, theatre, and opera, and she works as an educator in all levels of education.

We believe that when people participate in their community, good things can happen.

Proud to support Western Canada Theatre and the 2023/24 season.

As part of our goal to help people feel a sense of belonging in their communities, TD supports arts and culture events, initiatives, and organizations across North America that amplify diverse voices.

td.com/artsandculture

® The TD logo and other TD trademarks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank or its subsidiaries.

A fun mix of music including rock, sea shanties, jazz, barbershop and everything in between.

Sa t u rd a y - 7 : 3 0 p m

M a y 2 5 , 2 0 2 4

K a m loop s U n it ed C h u r ch Hopeless Chromatics

I n for m a t ion a n d t ick et s a va ila ble a t ch a m ber m u s icia n s ofk a m loop s . or g or a t t h e d oor

DIANNE GOODMAN - Company Manager

Dianne is honoured to be on the Inner Elder production team and welcomes this opportunity to share this amazing work with a wider audience. She retired from Alberta Theatre Projects in 2021 after almost 40 years with the company. In her career, Dianne has worked in almost every aspect of theatre and with many arts organizations in Calgary. She is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Regina, the Betty Mitchell Award for Distinguished Achievement in Production, and the Harry and Martha Cohen Award for Significant and Sustained Contribution to Theatre in Calgary. Since retirement, Dianne freelances as a producer, production manager, and stage manager. Special thanks to Michelle and the team.

NEIL FLEMING - Technical Director

Originally from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Neil grew up in Anishinaabe territory of the Robinson-Huron Treaty. He is honoured to have been part of Making Treaty 7 for the last 8 years, helping amplify the stories, practices, and cultures of the Treaty 7 peoples. Neil is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter based in Calgary. Neil is best known for his work at Lunchbox Theatre including: Outside, Anomaly, Security, Last Christmas, The After Party, He Said, She Said (with Glenda Stirling), and Spare Parts (Stage One 2018). Neil is a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada, the Past President of the Alberta Playwrights’ Network, and a tenacious winger most mornings between 7–8am. Neil is also a theatrical designer. Some past design credits include: Napi & The Rock, Okotoks, 509 (Making Treaty 7); Come Home (Urban Stories); Gruesome Playground Injuries (Ground Zero, Hit & Myth); In A World Created By A Drunken God, And So It Goes, Goodness, Bone Cage (Downstage); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (CYPT); The Vajayjay Monologues (Pot of Jam, Urban Curves); Snowblind, Last Christmas, Shopaholic Husband Hunt (Lunchbox Theatre); An Almost Perfect Thing, The Kitchen Witches, The Attic, the Pearls, and Three Fine Girls (New West Theatre).

GRANT BURNS - Producer

Grant is excited to be working with Michelle and this talented group of artists on Inner Elder. Grant worked with One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre as General Manager and High Performance Rodeo as the Producer for eleven years, producing more than 60 original theatrical presentations and yearly Canadian and International Tours. Grant also consulted and produced for the Old Trout Puppet Workshop for 20 years, organizing tours across North America. He was the Calgary Producer of The Magnetic North Theatre Festival in 2012. Grant is the recipient of the Chalmers National Award for Arts Administration as well as the Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre honouring his contributions to the Calgary theatre community.

BRAVO TO OUR DONORS!

Western Canada Theatre gratefully acknowledges the following government agencies, corporations, foundations, and individuals for their generous contributions through sponsorships and/or charitable donations. We thank everyone who plays their important part in helping us to bring the highest quality of work to the broadest possible audience.

Listings based on annual contributions, July 01, 2022 to March 21, 2024.

FUNDERS

The City of Kamloops

Canada Council for the Arts

Government of Canada

The Province of BC

BC Arts Council

FOUNDATIONS

BC Interior Community Foundation

Vancouver Foundation

Dr. Elspeth M. McDougall Foundation

PRESENTING PARTNER

Kelson Group, Ron and Rae Fawcett

TITLE SPONSOR

Sandman Hotel Group

SEASON SPONSORS

Castanet

CFJC TV

Home Hardware

Kamloops This Week

RBC Emerging Artists

Stone Hazell & Company

TD Bank Group

Wayside

MEDIA SPONSORS

98.3 CIFM

B-100

Radio NL

OPENING NIGHT SPONSORS

Black Salt Catering

Privato Vineyard & Winery

Woodward Cider Co.

Kamloops Insurance

Celista Estate Winery

Cloverdale Paint

SHOW SPONSORS

British Columbia

Lottery Corporation

Chinook Scaffold

Systems Ltd

Highland Valley Copper

/ Teck

ideaLEVER

KPMG

New Gold

TNRD

Watson Engineering Ltd.

ACCOMMODATION

SPONSOR

Scott’s Inn

PAY-WHAT-YOU-CHOOSE MATINEE SPONSOR

Best Western Plus

Kamloops Hotel

PIZZA PRE-SHOW

SPONSOR

Domino’s Pizza

DIAMOND COMPANIONS: $10,000+

Anonymous

Michael E. Black and the Late Denise Fortier

Boogie the Bridge Society

Joel Cochrane

Kamloops Concert Society

Rae Nixon

PLATINUM PATRONS:

$5,000 - $9,999

Anonymous

Bill Adams & Katie

McCormick

Hugh & Marilyn Fallis

GOLD PATRONS: $3,500 - $4,999

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Anonymous

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Stephen Baron

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COPPER PATRONS: $750 - $1,999

Anonymous

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Judy Basso

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Jessie & James Fedorak

Valerie Fitger

John Helvoigt: In Memory of Helen Helvoigt

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In Memory of Verna Loretta Cheramy

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Terry Shupe

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PATRONS: $500-$749

Anonymous (2)

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Fearon Blair

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Foundation

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Margot Waithe: In Honour Of Commitment to Donate Councilor Pay

INVESTORS: $200-$499

Anonymous (3) 1322023 BC Ltd.

Wendy Bainbridge

Michael Baker

Catharine Ballingall

Sheila Balson: In Memory of Benjamin Bermiller

Ed & Dianne Barker

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Maureen Margaret Brady

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Maureen Brown

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Barbara Lucas: In Memory of Reg Lucas

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Newmarch

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Valentina Putoto

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Jane Reid: In Memory of Peter Baron

S. Cookie Reimer

Jeanne (Norma) Rodrigue

Terry & Susanne Rogers

Paul Ross

Ron & June Routledge

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BENEFACTORS: $100-$199

Anonymous (3)

Marilyn Allison

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Lamoureux

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Sue Buzash

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Cathy Hall-Patch

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Haywood-Farmer

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Caroline Jane Laitinen: In Memory of Peter Baron

Beverly Martin

Robert & Marian McLaren

Dorothy McLellan

Myrna McLeod

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Lori Melnychuk

Daniel Mills

Beth & Jeff Morgan

Mona & Chris Marlene

Murray

Nu Master Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi

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Chris Pincott: In Honour of Karla Pincott

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Manju Singh

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Colleen

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Dawne Taylor: In Memory of Peter Baron

Laurie Ternier

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Marilyn Triggs

Cheryl Tuira

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Lois M & R. David Williams

CONTRIBUTORS: $25-$99

Anonymous (6)

Karen Albiston

Esther Anderson

Jean Baron: In Memory of Peter Baron - You Are Missed!

Nicole and Tom Befurt

The Benevity Community Impact Fund

James William Bottoms

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Jay Burgomaster

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Henry

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Konopski

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Muriel & Kelly Miller

Barrie Ogden

Evelyn Pochay

Walter & Polly B.

Poohachoff

Trevor Pratt

Mikki-Lee Ransome

Cheryl D. Reed

Jane Reed

Mary Jane Reid

Bill & Beverly Roberts

Maureen Robertson

Steve Rodgers

Lorraine Romanin

Janet Scruggs

Shriners Donation

Bea Smith

Samara Staff

Goran Stojsavljevic

Jack & Terry-Lynn Stone

Anna R. Swanson

Carol Ann Swift

Carol Tennessy

Carol Todd

Brian & Sue Wilmot

WCT STAFF

FINANCE

RON THOMPSON Finance Director

OLGA KILINNIK Accounting Officer

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

CHELSEA ISENOR Marketing & Communications Director

KIRK SMITH Marketing & Multi-Media Manager

ELIZABETH NYGREN Digital Marketing Coordinator

LAURA MICHEL Indigenous Community Engagement Coordinator

DEVELOPMENT

SUZAN GOGUEN Development Director

STEPHANIE McLEAN Development Manager

JENNY EDWARDS Development & Administrative Assistant

PRODUCTION

CHRISTINE LEROUX Producer

BILL CHABASSOL Production Director

DANIEL JEWISON Technical Director, WCT

BRITTNEY MARTENS Head of Properties

SABRINA STACE Head of Wardrobe

ASHLEY HIIBNER Production Assistant & Floating Technician

EDUCATION

TERRI RUNNALLS Education & Outreach Director

EMILY BROWN Education & Fund Development Assistant

JAMES MacDONALD Artistic Director

LESLIE BILES Executive Director

VENUE SERVICES

Rentals & Facilities

SKYLAR NAKAZAWA Rentals & Facilities Manager

MORGAN BENEDICT Front of House Manager

JESSICA BUCHANAN Assistant Front of House Manager

House Staff:

LEO BARRAGAN, GREG BROWN, DENISE

CLEVELAND, SOPHIA DIMOPOULOS, STEPHEN FINLAY, AARON FOSTER, DES GEDDES, COLLEEN GIBNEY-TRELEAVEN, MAGGIE JONES, LINDA KASSIS, JAKOB

KOPYTKO, KELSEY LAUNIER, LUCAS

LOCHRIE, JULIA McKIBBON, MALLORY MOGG, ELIZABETH NYGREN

Head Ushers:

MARY AULIN, BARB DUBOIS-PAYNTER, KAREN FERGUSON, TRUDY GOOLD, KELLY JEFFERY, GEORGINA KNIGHT, WENDY MATHESON, MELODIE PIKE, GREG SAWATZKY

Kamloops Live! Box Office (KL!BO)

MICHELLE CHABASSOL Ticketing & Patron Services Manager

JANE HARESTAD Box Office & Patron Services Supervisor

Box Office Representatives:

STEPHEN FINLAY, LINDA KASSIS, MEGAN POLACIK, ANNA SPADA, ANN WELLER

Sagebrush Theatre

LIAM BEFURT Technical Director

ADRIAN HARLAND Theatre Technician

JENSEN SCZEBEL Theatre Technician

WCT BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHRYSTIE STEWART President

TIM RODGERS Past President

SUNNIE ROTHENBURGER Vice President

DIANA SKOGLUND Secretary

SHELLY SANDERS Treasurer

GERALYN CORMACK

DIETER DUDY

BETH MORGAN

COLLEEN RYAN

GREG SAWATZKY

JOHN SCOTT

ALISON SIDOW

David Ross †

Tom Kerr ‡

Judge T.W. Shupe §

Francis Barnett *

Grant Chu *

D. Michael Dobbin *

Sharon Frissell *

Peggy Gilmour *

Mike Latta *

Anne Manson*

Maureen Marshall*

Lanni Shupe*

RADHIKA MAIRA TABREZ † Honorary Life Artistic Producer ‡ Founding Artistic Director § Honorary Life Chairman

* Honorary Life Member