The Pleiades (Sarah Blanchard)

Sept 23

Sarah Blanchard

Sarah Blanchard credits her youth at the Fortress of Louisbourg for developing her love of storytelling and artistic creation. She studied Theatre at Mount Allison University and University of British Columbia. She has directed and designed several local shows and was awarded an Achievement in Costuming for Unsinkable and The Latest News from the Primodial Ooze (CBU Boardmore).

The Pleiades

Artist Project

For milenia, the stars have been a source of inspiration for stories and guidance around the globe. For the Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, a common story projected onto the star cluster is that of group of women escaping danger with the help of a powerful force. The Pleiades Project asks, “If we could visit these women, what story would THEY tell?”  As a performance experiment, this is the first step in a play development process that invites the viewer to sit with a living sculpture and provide feedback on the experience of sharing time in space.
Four 20 min performance viewing periods.
Performers: Afton Jette, Jule Ann Hardy, River Young, Sasha Young, Josie Sobol, Kristen Woodford, Amber Tapley, and Amber White
Thank you for the support of the Old Sydney Society for the use of their facilities during the development of this piece.

Land Acknowledgement

With construction still underway in Downtown Sydney, the festival will be hosted at Eltuek Arts Centre for this year. In line with Eltuek Arts Centre's land acknowledgment, we recognize that this festival occurs on the traditional and unceded ancestral territories of the Mi'kma'ki people.

Eymu'ti'k Unama'ki, newte'jk l'uiknek te'sikl Mi'kmawe'l maqamikal mna'q iknmuetumitl. Ula maqamikew wiaqwikasik Wantaqo'tie'l aqq I'lamatultimkewe'l Ankukamkewe'l Mi'kmaq aqq Eleke'wuti kisa'matultisnik 1726ek.

Eltuek Arts Centre is in Unama'ki, one of the seven traditional and unceded ancestral districts of the people of Mi'kma'ki. This territory is covered by the Treaties of Peace and Friendship which the Mi'kmaq first signed with the British Crown in 1726.

Ketu'-keknuite'tmek aqq kepmite'tmek ula tela'maiultimkip wjit maqamikew ta'n etekl mtmo'taqney. Ula tett, ula maqamikek, etl-lukutiek l'tunen aqq apoqntmnen apoqnmasimk aqq weliknamk Unama'ki.

We wish to recognize and honour this understanding of the lands on which we reside. It is from here, on these lands, that we work to create and support a culture of self-reliance and vibrancy on Unama'ki (Cape Breton Island).