Aalaapi | ᐋᓛᐱ is a hybrid project, combining the creations of both theater and radio. On stage, two women from Nunavik (Niap Saunders and Hannah Tooktoo), live their lives in front of our eyes; lives in which the radio is central and serves as a true guideline for their existence.
Through the radio, which sits as a centerpiece in their household and occupies a crucial place in Nordic communities, the sound of a documentary flows out for both us and them. We become immersed in the North through its soundscapes, its silences, and the voices of five young women from the Nunavik territory. Thus, the two women on stage listen as the documentary’s subjects speak about their very experience and will, at some point, even need to challenge them.
Audrey, Samantha, Louisa, Mélodie and Akinisie split their lives between the North and the South. Over an 8 month period, these young women have accepted to speak about their lives by means of a radio documentary; a piece sculpted through their own words and silences. Aalaapi | ᐋᓛᐱ is an echo of the North; of its past, but especially of its present, through the sensibilities of these five young friends.
Laurence Dauphinais and Marie-Laurence Rancourt gather a group of indigenous and non-indigenous artists for the creation of a singular multidisciplinary piece where the spectator finds himself as a foreigner traveling north of the 55th parallel. With their senses aroused, the viewers are positioned as voyeurs, witnessing the lives of two Inuit women, whose realities they know very little. They are invited to listen with patience to gain access to this foreign world.
Aalaapi | ᐋᓛᐱ reflects the desire of the collective to position the piece in contrast to the often-conveyed images of the North. To open a door to a universe freed from clichés and preconceived ideas. It’s the possibility of meeting, both within the team and with the public. It’s an invitation to listen, as a means to better see. It’s a communion through bread and sound.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Collectif Aalaapi
Original idea Laurence Dauphinais + Marie-Laurence Rancourt
Directed by Laurence Dauphinais
Radio documentary directed by Magnéto –Marie-Laurence Rancourt + Daniel Capeille
Performed by Nancy Saunders + Olivia Ikey
Assistant Director Charlie Cohen
Set Design Assistant Nancy Saunders
Translated by Brett Donahue + Nicolas Pirti-Duplessis
Animation Camille Monette-Dubeau
Tour Manager Charlotte Ménard+ Sandy Caron
Sound and video on tour Joel Lavoie
Technical Director and Lighting Manager on tour Romane Bocquet
Sound and video on tour Fabien Locas
Stage Manager Jasmine Kamruzzaman
Performed by Angel Annanack + Nancy Saunders
Set Design Odile Gamache
Set Design assistance Nancy Saunders
Lighting Design Chantal Labonté
Music Antonin Wyss
Sound and Video on tour Joël Lavoie
Video Guillaume Vallée
Other members of the collective Audrey Alasuak + Mélodie Duplessis + Caroline Jutras Boisclair + Samantha Leclerc + Louisa Naluiyuk + Akinisie Novalinga
Production and touring La Messe Basse
Created in association with Magneto
With the support of Nouveau Chapitre
Creative residencies Quai 5160, maison de la culture de Verdun + Ateliers de LA SERRE – arts vivants + Conseil des arts de Montréal
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Niap is a multidisciplinary artist from Kuujjuaq, Nunavik. Based primarily in Montreal, She divides her time between the city of Montreal and her home community, a place that continues to deeply influence her work. Niap’s practice moves between sculpture, textiles, paintings, drawing, writing, theater and murals. By integrating traditional practices and contemporary aesthetics, Niap highlights the power and beauty of its culture, while affirming its profound modernity. Aalaapi was her first theatre project and since then, she has been acting both on stage and on screen. Niap’s visual art has been seen at the Marion Scott Gallery in Vancouver, at Banque Capital One in Toronto, at the Feheley Fine Arts in Toronto and at the MBAM and McCord museum in Montreal.
Olivia Ikey Duncan is an Inuk/Qallunaak Advocate, Educator, Artist and Mother originally from Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, Quebec. Olivia’s work brings together modern and traditional elements of being an Inuk in the 21st century. Working through different mediums Olivia invites non-inuit to experience the true realities of her people in today’s world. Her work concentrates around decolonisation, identity, language and creating new relationships to pursue reconciliation in Quebec & Canada.
Laurence is a feminist creator who is interested in the notion of hybridity between forms, and who claims the right not to be an expert in anything. She likes to think of innovative ways to stage content that is strongly rooted in reality and to create engaging experiences for an ever changing audience. Some of her noteworthy creative work includes: THE COLLECTIVE CREATION ISHOW which she co-directed and her stage adaptation of the sound documentary, AALAAPI, a production that won the CTDA Playwrighting Award, and was a finalist for the Governor General’s Awards. She also co-created AND SI JAMAIS VOUS NOUS ÉCOUTEZ AND SIRI, directed the generative music show LUMENS GAME BY VIDEO PHASE, as well as her show CYCLORAMA, a bilingual documentary pilgrimage that she also wrote and performed in. Laurence is often invited to conferences that question the use of A.I. and science in the creation of new artistic works.
