Digital Access to Mi’kmaq Stories through PERFORM!

Halifax Theatre For Young People is proud to offer our production of Mi’kmaq Stories: Past and Present in digital format to schools across Nova Scotia through PERFORM! Mi’kmaq Stories will be available starting September 30th for Truth and Reconciliation Day, and throughout October as part of Indigenous History Month!

Grade Levels: Appropriate for all ages, recommended for ages 8-12.

Duration: 45 minutes

Cost: $50/class or $300 for whole school

Show Dates: Digital Production available through Mi’kmaq History Month October 1 – October 31 

To book please go to: Perform – Mi’kmaq Stories: Past and Present

Mi’kmaq Stories: Past & Present weaves stories from the past with glimpses into current realities and dreams for the future. This blend of Indigenous voices and stories, with an all-Mi’kmaq cast, will be an enlightening experience for young audiences at this pivotal time in our history. These are new and traditional stories, written & created by Mi’kmaq artists Trevor Gould and Catherine Anne Martin with additional writing by Rita Joe, Shalan Joudry, and Rebecca Thomas.

Featuring: Brady Googoo, Laura Fleet, Noel Julian, Anna Nibby-Woods, Shelly Woods

Additional material (interviews, archival photos, images and music): Dozay Christmas, Gerald Gloade, Loretta Gould, Seth Doucette, Samqwan Boyz, Richard Poulette, Dr. Bernie Francis and Alan Syliboy.

Learning outcomes: Mi’kmaq Stories Learning Outcomes

Feedback from Teachers: 

Wow……in 40 minutes we gained so much important information… The power of it was very important…This presentation should be part of the grade 6 curriculum from here on out. –Sackville Heights Junior High

The students were all focused on it. It also fit in with what we were working on in the Curriculum… Bringing the Arts into Social Studies is fantastic. –Leslie Thomas Junior High

We watched & absolutely loved it, and had a lengthy discussion afterwards…I found it to be a great launching point to talk about Mi’Kmaq ways of knowing and being. –Sackville Heights Junior High My class watched it and were engaged the whole time. It created new conversations around the culture and our (modern day) abuse of the environment and resources… It was also awesome to see local Mi’kmaq Peoples portraying the roles! –Sackville Heights Junior High

#IAmTheCheese x Digital Stage

Digital Stage is a brand new performing arts platform that teams up six theatre companies (including Nova Scotia’s Eastern Front Theatre) from across Canada to bring stage performances onto a digital format! It is a way to extend theatre’s accessibility and create brand new avenues of collaboration. Memberships to watch shows through Digital Theatre are pay-as-you-choose, and all fees collected are divided equally to help support the theatre companies involved.

Image Description:
On a dark purple/blue background with faded computer/HTML codes in white stands a stern and concentrated white man(Sam Vigneault) with medium dark brown hair. He has high cheekbones and a strong brow. He is wearing a red hoodie with a blue hospital scrub shirt underneath. 

 We are proud that our production of #IAmTheCheese, co-produced with Eastern Front Theatre and filmed on January 31st, 2022 at Alderney Landing Theatre, is now available on Digital Stage! Click the link here to watch #IAmTheCheese and to learn more about Digital Stage!

Written by: Josh Macdonald
Directed by: Ann-Marie Kerr

Fall School Tour – Newcomers

Newcomers: Stories of Refugee and Immigrant Children a Halifax Theatre for Young People’s production is touring to schools throughout Nova Scotia from Oct. 24 – Nov. 10, 2023. 

This program has been Pre-Approved by Daytrippers Children’s Charity for full funding for schools demonstrating financial need/ children in low-income communities! If this is your school, please contact halifaxtheatreforyoungpeople@gmail.com asap so we can help facilitate your application.

Originally produced at Pier 21, Newcomers: Stories of Refugee and Immigrant Children is touring to schools in Nova Scotia from October 23 – November 10, 2023. Written, performed and created by Newcomers from all over the world, including Kenya, Taiwan, Germany, India, Brazil, Malaysia, Nigeria, and more, Newcomers: Stories of Refugee and Immigrant Children, is designed to build empathy and understanding of others’ experiences, while allowing newcomer students in Nova Scotia to see themselves and their stories reflected on stage, often for the first time.  

The production aligns with Nova Scotia Department of Education Curriculum Outcomes for Grades 3 – 7, for Social Studies, Language Arts and Competencies, including the following learning outcomes: 

Learners will investigate the role of culture in communities, Learners will analyze the impact of cross-cultural understanding, Learners will communicate effectively and clearly respecting cultural contexts, Learners will interpret, and watch combined information from culturally diverse contexts, Learners will reflect on issues surrounding human rights, social justice and equity.

Mi’kmaq Stories available for schools again!

Last year Halifax Theatre for Young People’s production of Mi’Kmaq Stories: Past & Present was made into a film for schools throughout Nova Scotia. This year we are happy to announce that once again the film will be available all Mi’kmaq History Month for you and your class! 

Grade Levels: Appropriate for all ages, recommended for ages 8-12.

Duration: 45 minutes

Cost: $50/class or $300 for whole school

Show Dates: Digital Production available through Mi’kmaq History Month October 1 – October 31 

To book please go to: Perform – Mi’kmaq Stories: Past and Present

Mi’kmaq Stories: Past & Present weaves stories from the past with glimpses into current realities and dreams for the future. This blend of Indigenous voices and stories, with an all-Mi’kmaq cast, will be an enlightening experience for young audiences at this pivotal time in our history. These are new and traditional stories, written & created by Mi’kmaq artists Trevor Gould and Catherine Anne Martin with additional writing by Rita Joe, Shalan Joudry, and Rebecca Thomas.

Featuring: Brady Googoo, Laura Fleet, Noel Julian, Anna Nibby-Woods, Shelly Woods

Additional material (interviews, archival photos, images and music): Dozay Christmas, Gerald Gloade, Loretta Gould, Seth Doucette, Samqwan Boyz, Richard Poulette, Dr. Bernie Francis and Alan Syliboy.

Learning outcomes: Mi’kmaq Stories Learning Outcomes

Feedback from Teachers: 

Wow……in 40 minutes we gained so much important information… The power of it was very important…This presentation should be part of the grade 6 curriculum from here on out. –Sackville Heights Junior High

The students were all focused on it. It also fit in with what we were working on in the Curriculum… Bringing the Arts into Social Studies is fantastic. –Leslie Thomas Junior High

We watched & absolutely loved it, and had a lengthy discussion afterwards…I found it to be a great launching point to talk about Mi’Kmaq ways of knowing and being. –Sackville Heights Junior High 

My class watched it and were engaged the whole time. It created new conversations around the culture and our (modern day) abuse of the environment and resources… It was also awesome to see local Mi’kmaq Peoples portraying the roles! –Sackville Heights Junior High

Newcomers: Stories of Refugee and Immigrant Children

This all-new theatrical presentation shines a light on what it’s like for a child to be a newcomer to Nova Scotia. Composed of short plays and monologues by newcomers from all over the world including Kenya, Hong Kong, China, Jamaica, Bolivia, Nigeria, and more, Newcomers: Stories of Refugee and Immigrant Children, is designed to build empathy and understanding of others’ experiences, while allowing newcomer students to see themselves and their stories reflected on stage, often for the first time.

A cartoon of a newcomer to Canada wearing an orange big sweater, an orange ball cap, and a plaid green scarf on, they also have on back shorts and a pair of open-toe sandals. They are crying and saying "OK, I'm fine". The image is titled "How I dress up like Canada weather."

Halifax Theatre for Young People is partnering with the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 to present this engaging play. 

Book your class today by emailing learn@pier21.ca

School matinees:

$8 + tax per student, free for chaperones

Thursday, April 13: 10:30 AM & 1 PM      

Friday, April 14: 10:30 AM & 1 PM

Suitable for Grades 4 – 7

This performance is an hour, including a talk-back with the artists.

For more information email: info@halifaxtheatreforyoungpeople.com

For help funding transportation: Ruth Goldbloom Educational Bursary Fund | Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21For lower-income schools, funding for the entire experience is available (up to $25/ student): https://daytrippers.ca

Mi’kmaq Stories: Past and Present

Created by Mi’kmaq artist including film-maker Catherine Martin, storyteller shalan joudry, and performer/film-maker Trevor Gould, with design by artist Jordan Bennett, Mi’kmaq Stories: Past and Present weaves stories from the past with glimpses into current realities and dreams for the future. Past and Present, co-directed by Catherine Ann Martin and Tessa Mendel, and edited by Ann Verrall, is NOW READY FOR BOOKING. Schools can book this digital presentation for Treaty Day and throughout Mi’kmaq History Month! September 29 – October 31 through Perform Nova Scotia: https://performns.ca/mikmaq-stories-past-and-present/#more-2337

Need additional information about curriculum outcomes or any other questions? Email info@halifaxtheatreforyoungpeople.com

Reel Teens Video Program

In 2021 Halifax Theatre for Young People offered the REEL TEENS Video Program, a four-month training program in digital media arts with film-maker Tara Taylor.

We engaged about 50 students from across the province in this exciting project. They learned about the art and practice of storytelling through media art, by producing a 1min video visualizing their original spoken word/theatre piece. Training workshops introduce youth to Script Development, Pre-production, as well as technical workshops in camera, sound, editing and framing. Youth will use their cell phones, ipads, etc to create their own short film.

The compiled project premiered at the Emerging Lens Film Festival in March 2021, where it won the Inspirational Youth Film Award!

Brundibár: A Children’s Opera – Digital Offering

A photo of HTYP's production of Brundibár: A Children’s Opera featuring a girl on sttage with braids and a light coloured dress standing next to a boy in a cap, shorts, and suspenders, next to an adult with a cardboard device and two children in red caps and vests sitting on the ground. In the background is a symphony.

For grades 3-6 / 7-9
Available to stream FREE to your school now!
See Schools for more info.

“Brundibár” is a half-hour opera (performed in English), about children embracing the power of music and friendship. “Brundibár” originally received its premiere in German-occupied Prague at the Jewish Orphanage before the mass deportations of Czech Jews to Theresienstadt concentration camp began in 1942. There, composer Hans Krása reconstructed the music for the available instruments from a smuggled-in copy of the score, and it was performed 55 times in the camp – a source of hope and resistance to the prisoners – until the children, the composer, director and musicians were sent to Auschwitz following the final performance.

Despite the background of its creation, the opera itself is light-hearted and provides an excellent opportunity to introduce children and youth of all ages to the topic of the Holocaust and racial discrimination, and the need to work together to defeat oppression. The opera tells the story of children who sing in the marketplace to raise money for their sick mother, but are chased away by the organ player, Brundibár. With the help of animal and bird friends, as well as other children, they defeat Brundibár and continue to sing. All watching understood that Brundibár represented Hitler and were uplifted, even momentarily, by the fact that good could triumph over evil.

Directed by Tessa Mendel and conducted by Eszter Horvath with a cast of young performers from across HRM and an orchestra of local musicians including Scott Macmillan and members of Symphony Nova Scotia, this award-nominated production played at the Sir James Dunn Theatre at Dalhousie University in May of 2019. The digital program is a broadcast of the production, with subtitles, with an introduction by the director, who explains the context of the performance, and a short segment where the performers talk about what performing the show meant to them. All told, the video lasts about 45 minutes. We will also provide a study guide, with more detailed information about the show, the performers, and the context of the work.

This program is aimed at students in grades 3-8, and can be booked for any date and time that suits your school’s curriculum.

This program is booked through the PERFORM! program (http://performns.ca).

While schools booking a PERFORM program are traditionally asked to share in the cost, for 2021 ALL FEES will be paid by the PERFORM program (while funds last), so there is no cost to your school to book.

For more information about the program, click here.
To book a screening of “Brundibár” for your school, apply here.
Questions? Contact us at info@halifaxtheatreforyoungpeople.com

#BlackLivesMatter Statement of Solidarity

Halifax Theatre for Young People
stands in solidarity against anti-Black and
anti-Indigenous racism and systemic oppression.

June 22 2020

As the recent anti-Black and anti-Indigenous tragedies have highlighted violence and discrimination in communities across North America, we acknowledge that we as an organization have benefitted from the systemic racism in our society.

HTYP’s mandate is to create theatre for young people, and we are keenly aware of our responsibility to model the world we want to see: one that affirms justice and equity for all people.  We have attempted to model these principles through our past planning and programming, most recently in our postponed production Mi’kmaq Stories: Past & Present.  The process of partnering with a team of Mi’kmaq artists has been a rich opportunity both to learn and to develop a positive process of collaboration.  However, as an organization led by individuals with a primarily white settler background, we know we have much more work to do to become an explicitly anti-racist organization.

We are using this time to learn, to listen, to reflect on our past complicity, to engage with this struggle, and to determine how to work towards justice and equity through our future activities.  We encourage all white people to join in this work.

Specifically, we are actively working towards:

– Listening to and learning from voices of communities that have been oppressed, and educating ourselves without expecting BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) communities to do the work for us.

– Developing policy and procedures that acknowledge and actively dismantle white supremacist colonial structures in our administration and artistic practice, and replacing them with anti-racist action.  We will begin by mandating anti-racist and anti-oppression training for all staff members.

– Increasing and amplifying diverse perspectives on our board, in our staff, in our programming, and in our casting and hiring, with consciousness about the methods we employ in these areas.

– Developing an internal work culture that welcomes, values, and protects the well-being of BIPOC people.

– Developing new initiatives to connect with BIPOC communities, including mentorship opportunities for emerging BIPOC artists, in ways that affirm, amplify and honour their voices, humanity and artistry.

We intend to share this work as we refine these goals and work to implement them.  Please email us at HTYPinfo@gmail.com to discuss these activities or with further suggestions.

We must do better.
We will do better.
Because Black and Indigenous Lives Matter.

RESOURCES FOR MORE LEARNING

Resources on Anti-Black Racism in Nova Scotia, offered by the Community Sector Council of Nova Scotia:
This link (https://www.csc-ns.ca/anti-black-racism/#in-nova-scotia) includes multiple resources on topics including:

  • Information on Anti-Black Racism in Nova Scotia – both historical and present-day;
  • Organizations and Programs that are doing anti-racist work in our Province which you can support today; and
  • Training, Education, and Recommended actions for Organizations to take to make their workplaces anti-racist.

The Canadian Race Relation Foundation provides free learning about racism through a number of excellent online courses.  Visit their catalogue, and sign-up HERE.

For parents of white children, here are some resources that might give you a new perspective, and some tools to use when talking to children about racism: