All the World’s a Stage this International Women’s Week

Hot off the heels of an incredibly successful community tour, our performers are ready to showcase this year’s line up of monologues this Saturday at the International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues: Starting Over !  We are proud to provide a platform for women’s stories, to promote equity on Canadian stages and to provide access to the arts.

We started off by taking the pieces that were created through community group story-sharing back to the groups of women who had helped us to create them. After well-received performances at Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba and Welcome Place, we set off to tour the wider community! Here are the great host groups, all amazing organizations worth checking out:

March 2 – Genesis House – Manitou, Manitoba
Genesis House exists so that people of South Central Manitoba will be free from family and intimate partner abuse achieving results that justify the relative worth. They provide a confidential service, which includes a shelter for abused women and their children, residential and non-residential programs and prevention through public education.

Getting ready to go!

On the way to perform for Genesis House at Manitou Opera House

Nalini Reddy performs “Diaspora” by Alka Kumar and Angie St. Mars at Manitou Opera House for Genesis House.

March 6 – UWSA Women Trans-Spectrum Centre
The Women-Trans Spectrum Centre is an accessible and inclusive resource centre for women and trans students on the University of Winnipeg campus. The centre is a great space to hang out, study, and build community.

Erica Wilson and Johanna Burdon checking out the performance space at The Hive

March 7 – North End Women’s Centre
The North End Women’s Centre is a community based organization that provides women with support, knowledge, and opportunity as they move forward on their journey towards independence and healthier lifestyle.

 

March 7 – Nova House – Selkirk, Manitoba
Nova House is a shelter for abused women and children in the Interlake Region of Manitoba. They provide temporary shelter, counseling, support groups, and referral to community resources for women and their children.

March 8 – North End Family Centre
The North End Family Centre is a community gathering place that provides a comfortable and safe environment for community members to connect and belong.

Artistic Director Hope McIntyre introducing the performance

Anjali Sandhu

Anjalie Sandhu performing “Places that have no names” by Fauzia Rafique

March 8 – U of M Womyn’s Centre
The Womyn’s Centre provides a feminist voice and safe space for womyn on campus. The members strive to create a place where women are listened to and recognized, and facilitate women as they gather the information they need to make informed decisions in their lives.

March 8 – Rainbow Resource Centre
Rainbow Resource Centre provides support, education, and resources to foster a proud, resilient, and diverse LGBT2SQ+ community.

March 9 – Agape House – Steinbach, Manitoba
The mission of Agape House-Eastman Crisis Centre, Inc. is to empower women and children experiencing family violence by providing safe shelter, information, counseling, and ongoing support.

Reena Jolly, photo by Janet Shum

Cherrel Holder, photo by Janet Shum

March 9 – Mount Carmel Clinic
Founded on the belief that everyone has the right to accessible health care, Mount Carmel Clinic goes the extra mile to help clients connect with the services they need—in their homes, workplaces and neighbourhood.

March 9 – St. John’s Library
In addition to offering the services of a public library, St. John’s Library offers an array of free programs and workshops for all ages.

March 10 – St. Aidan’s School, Aberdeen Campus
St. Aidan’s School Aberdeen Campus is a Grade 6-10 school, primarily focused on at-risk kids, and presently serving kids from about ten nations – Cree, Tanzania, Metis, Kaska, Canada, Eritrea, Congo, Ojibway, Ethiopia, Burundi.

Erica Wilson, photo by Janet Shum

Nalini Reddy, photo by Janet Shum

March 10 – IIWR-MB
IIWR-MB is an organization open to all individuals, as well as organizations that have an interest in promoting women’s human rights.

March 12 –The Association of United Ukrainian Canadians
The Association of United Ukrainian Canadians is a progressive Organization with strong and durable roots in the people and history of Canada.

March 19- Manitoba Storytelling Guild
The Manitoba Storytelling Guild supports and promotes the art of oral storytelling throughout Manitoba.

Melanee Deschambeault, photo by Janet Shum

Sarah London, photo by Janet Shum

Johanna Burdon, photo by Janet Shum

A great big thank you goes out to Manitoba Status of Women and the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg. Without them, this Cabaret would not be possible. Special thanks to Neighborhoods Alive! and NERI for supporting our North End performances.

Join us for a performance of the full line-up, and a lobby full of visual art on the theme of ‘Starting Over’ at the International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues, March 11, 2017.

 

 

Powerful Performances Provoke Dialogue

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Record-breaking attendance, 10 stories, 11 community performances and over 800 people affected. This year, we set out to do something different with our Cabaret of Monologues. We had chosen a challenging theme, Stolen Sisters, with the goal of inspiring change by creating a platform for women to share perspectives on gender-based violence. In order to include more perspectives we worked with many women who do not traditionally tell their stories in a theatre setting. We welcomed these women’s stories to the Cabaret in diverse forms; dance, spoken word, slam poetry, oral storytelling, and visual art. The result of these collaborative efforts was an incredibly powerful production.

“What a beautiful show. I don’t know how you do it again and again…was so moved by all of the pieces” said Cairn Moore, who was in the audience for Saturday’s matinee. Cairn is a playwright and director who’s play Shiksa is currently premiering at Winnipeg Jewish Theatre.

“The relevance of the topics, the passion of the performers and the emotional impact on the audience are transformational”, said  Ms. Terry Price, Department Head of Professional and French Language Services with the Manitoba Teachers’ Society. Ms. Price hosted performances of three pieces at the Canadian Teacher’s Federation Women’s Symposium.

Sharing the stage with non-traditional theatre performers was an exciting experience! So was performing the pieces throughout the community in non-theatre settings. Intimate, informal, and often ad hoc DIY performance spaces can pose challenges, but our performers rose to these challenges with exuberance! This gave us the chance to make this art accessible and to connect with so many non-theatre goers in our community.

“It was such an honour performing as part of the Sarasvati Transformative ‪Stolen Sisters‬ Cabaret of Monologues this evening at the Thunderbird House on ‪International Women’s Day‬”, said Shaneen Robinson, reporter at Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and performer in Stolen Sisters. “Thanks to all who came to show support in our fight to raise awareness and put a stop to ‪‎MMIW‬ in our country.”

We are especially thankful to have had the chance to perform this productions for staff and clientele of crisis and resource centres in and around Winnipeg.

“As a Manitoba women’s shelter director, I know that our staff hear many stories from women escaping abuse and violence – our work is very challenging. Today’s monologues were outstanding and I found the theme very relevant to the clients we support” said Pam Hadder, Executive Director at Agape House-Eastman Crisis Centre in Steinbach, Manitoba.

“The performers and the content of this year’s monologues were incredible! Each performer did an outstanding job of entertaining us and informing us of current social issues. Very dramatic, very thought provoking, and very important! Thank you so much for giving us this opportunity to build awareness in our community”, said Anna Pazdzierski, the Executive Director of Nova House Inc.

Thank you to all of our supporters, volunteers, audience, community hosts, performers, writers, Board of Directors and funders for helping to make our International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues – Stolen Sisters a huge success. It was a pleasure to work with so many amazing women.

Standing with our Stolen Sisters

How can you show your solidarity? This year’s International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues is built around the theme of Stolen Sisters, and we do not take that lightly. We want our audiences at our performances on Saturday March 12 to not only hear these stories of gender-based violence, but to also expand their learning of other initiatives in our community. This year we received the help from practicum student Erin Schwartz to set up a variety of art installations and advocacy information for our audiences to interact with in the lobby, keep reading to find out what you’ll see!

 

Handmade felt faceless dolls from Nova House: You may have seen them on our posters, but you’ll get to see them in person on March 12. These dolls represent the silencing of women, particularly those who are murdered and missing. They have been created by a variety of people, including those out of town sending them in to Nova House. Their target is to have a total of 1,200.

 

‘Mine is but a tear in a river’ photo exhibit by Tracey-Mae Chambers: Erin shared that “these photographs elicit a very visceral response” as they honour the 1,181 murdered and missing indigenous women in Canada. Experience it for yourself in our lobby or at the Edge Gallery and Urban Arts Centre where they are also being displayed. Tracey-Mae will also be doing an artist talk on Friday at this gallery, learn more here!

 

The red ribbon project to remember and honour Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women: We will be demonstrating our support for this campaign that was started by Jennifer Flett, Pauline McGillivary, Janet Head and Rhonda Head from Opaskwayak Cree Nation by hanging red ribbons from the ramp railings that lead into the lobby at the Asper Centre for Theatre and Film. Erin hopes that seeing this will inspire people to hang red ribbons in their communities as an act of remembrance and support.

 

#WeCare Quilt: This quilt was created in collaboration with the #WeCare Campaign, The Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies, the Manitoba Crafts Museum, and the community. Erin was part of the team to coordinate this initiative last year that brought members of the community together to create “squares for the quilt to show their care for all who are missing and the need for immediate action.” To read more about this initiative and the team involved click here!

 

These projects all raise awareness, but we couldn’t stop there! There are three other components we’ve included to help keep the conversation going and to encourage everyone to take action. There will be a hands on writing response area for audience members to reflect, honour and show their care; Amnesty International Winnipeg will have a display with petitions and Stolen Sisters campaign materials; and there will be No More Stolen Sisters campaign material from the Canadian Federation of Students for people to take with them and place in their communities.

 

If you want to see all of this, ten powerful monologues, and the Buffalo Gals drumming group from the North End Women’s Centre, come down to the Asper Centre of Theatre and Film on Saturday March 12 at 4pm or 8pm. Tickets are available online here, by phone at 204-586-2236, or at the door and are only $10.

 

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A Week of Powerful Monologues

Bored of a traditional theatre setting, or can’t make it to our full line up of our International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues on March 12? No worries, we’ve got you covered! We’ve already had an early start to our community performances of our Cabaret of Monologues, but we’re just warming up. Starting March 6 we are doing eight community performances in Winnipeg, Steinbach, and Selkirk, keep reading to find out more!

 

March 6 at 2pm in the Ukrainian Labour Temple: As a part of the Temple’s Speaker Series we will be performing Finding Freedom by Shamin Brown, Warrior by Helena Kelly, and Stolen Girls by Hope McIntyre. And you get to hear speakers Leah Gazan and Lubna Hussain discuss gender-based violence too. Admission is by donation (suggested $15). Find out more here!

 

March 7 at 12:30pm in the West Central Women’s Resource Centre: For this performance exclusively for women in the West Central community we’ll be presenting four monologues: Warrior by Helena Kelly, Lingua Franca by Frances Koncan, Chance by Melaina Sheldon, The Visitor by Alison McEvoy Murray. We’re thrilled to be presenting at this great organization, learn more about the work they do here!

 

Backstage with some of the IWW15 Cast!

March 8 at 7pm in Circle of Life Thunderbird House: In partnership with Manitoba Moon Voices Inc, Southern Chiefs Organization, and Thunderbird House we’ll be presenting Quiet by Mary Black, Finding Freedom by Shamin Brown, Good Enough by Lynne C. Martin, and Chance by Melaina Sheldon. Suggested donation is $10. Thunderbird House is a great resource and provider of insights into the culture and heritage of Winnipeg’s Aboriginal people, learn more about them here.

 

March 9 at 12:45pm in the UW Hive (north-east corner of Lockhart Hall): In partnership with the U of W Women-Trans Spectrum Centre we’ll be presenting Doing it for the Fame by Makrenna Sterdan and Quiet by Mary Black, and admission is free! Find more info here.

 

Kelsey Wavey rehearsing Chance

March 9 at 7:30pm in the Rainbow Resource Centre: We’re looking forward to having Mary Black perform her monologue Quiet for the peer support group at Rainbow Resource Centre. Haven’t heard of the Rainbow Resource Centre? Learn about their work here.

 

March 10 at 12pm in Agape House: We’re going to Steinbach with Chance by Melaina Sheldon, The Visitor by Alison McEvoy Murray, and Warrior by Helena Kelly. Admission is by donation, and attendees are encouraged to bring one or two non-perishable food items for Agape House. Find out more here.

 

Nova House with some of the IWW14 cast (with tasty treats!)

March 10 at 7:30pm in Selkirk United Church: In partnership with Nova House join us for an evening of monologues and dessert! This year we’ll be presenting Chance by Melaina Sheldon, Warrior by Helena Kelly, Quiet by Mary Black, and She Said by Robyn Pooley. Admission is $15, and from past experience we can vouch for the tastiness of the dessert, so you won’t want to miss it! Find more information here.

 

March 11 at 9:40am in Miles Macdonell Collegiate: We love doing presentations at schools, so we’re happy to be bringing Warrior by Helena Kelly, Lingua Franca by Frances Koncan, Doing it for the Fame by Makrenna Sterdan and She Said by Robyn Pooley to the high school students of Miles Mac!

 

And then finally, your only opportunity to see all ten pieces are our two public performances of the full line up on March 12 at 4pm and 8pm. You can get your tickets online here, or by phoning us at 204-586-2236. Hope to see you there!

IWW Thank You!

Packed audiences, 10 young actors, 10 writers and plenty of community hospitality – including cheesecake! Last week, Sarasvàti Productions helped celebrate International Women’s Week once again with our 10th Cabaret of Monologues event! With two sold out public performances and several community presentations throughout Winnipeg and the surrounding area, this year was certainly one of our best yet. The response from audience members has been very inspiring and we would like to thank all of you who joined us to hear the voices of these young women, to explore the challenges they face in today’s society, and be inspired by the ways they Rise Up.

We were invited to help celebrate Int’l Women’s Week on campus with The University of Manitoba’s Womyn’s Centre and The University of Winnipeg’s Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies. Both groups consisted of engaged audience members, many of whom were young up-and-coming female leaders themselves with a desire to create change in their communities.

We also had the opportunity to travel out to Selkirk and help the many supporters of Nova House celebrate the week. Nova House is a shelter for abused women and children in the Interlake Region of Manitoba. They provide temporary shelter, counselling, support groups, and referral to community resources. It was such a pleasure to perform at this fundraiser for an organization that is doing so much to help women in their community. We were also set to venture out to Gimli to help the Interlake Women’s Resource Centre celebrate. Unfortunately, due to the snow storm and unsafe highway conditions, the event was canceled. We do hope to be able to reschedule the event in the future.

The West Central Women’s Resource Centre in Winnipeg also brought us out for an afternoon performance! The WCRC exists to empower women to help themselves, their families and their community to safer, healthier lifestyles. This performance was met by avid audience members who might not have otherwise had the opportunity to attend a professional theatre production.

We would also like to extend our appreciation to those involved in “The Girls Project” at Kanikanichihk in Winnipeg. “The Girls Project” is a program that aims at building leadership in young Aboriginal women in the community between the ages of 15—21. Many of the girls involved in the project attended the event while others chose to volunteer as box office attendants and ushers.

The official theme for this year’s IWD was “Inspiring Change”. We hope these stories inspired you to make change in some way, shape or form! Thank you once again to everyone who helped make this event a huge success. We couldn’t have done it without you. Stay tuned for our final production of the 2013/2014 season. The much anticipated Fefu and Her Friends by Maria Irene Fornes will run from May 22nd – June 1st and will feature and entire cast of 8 incredible local female theatre artists! Mark your calendars, save the date or book now! With only 60 seats per performance, this one-of-a-kind production it is bound to sell out fast.