Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Performers Headline Pivot Fest Starting Tomorrow

    Pivot Fest 2020 kicks off January 14th.

    Nakai Theatre’s Pivot Fest kicks off tomorrow. The festival that runs from the 14th to the 25th of January features theatre, storytelling, and comedy in Whitehorse, Haines Junction and Dawson City.

    The first event of the festival is the Pivot Story Crawl beings tomorrow at 7 pm and features a unique story told in four Whitehorse venues.  The crawl beings at the Woodcutters Blanket, and continues from there with different story tellers at each location.  Despite the cold weather, Artistic Director of the theatre Jacob Zimmer is optimistic.  He says that the cold weather may actually bring people together and create a sense of community and intimacy that’s so important this time of year.

    Beginning Wednesday there will also be a one man play taking place on a moving bus, called Tales of an Urban Indian.  The play stars Simon Douglas, an indigenous man from the Secwepemc Nation, navigating a 22-year period of his life as he struggles with survival, belonging and hope – all on a bus driving through Whitehorse. Douglas plays at least 40 characters from his life as the travelling stage traverses Whitehorse.    The play focusses on ostracization and assimilation faced by Indigenous people across Canada.

    Zimmer recognizes that the cold may make it harder to some folks to come out to the show but he says that some of the best shows he’s ever seen have been in tough weather conditions.  He says that when you’re at a show and you know that everyone has come out through the cold to see it, there is a certain feeling of comradery.  Zimmer also says that they will probably have some handwarmers for the story walk.  The bus is heated, and Zimmer joked that he would have some extra boots and jackets for performers coming up from Vanvoucer to perform.   

    A full list of performances in Whitehorse, Dawson and Haines Junction can be found on the Nakai Theatre website. (https://nakaitheatre.com/)

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