SkirtsAfire makes a map of women's art
We notice SkirtsAfire Festival opens this week with several new works from local artists. The 14th annual festival celebrating women in the arts is based this year on the theme "The Maps We Make." One of the four mainstage productions is Ms. Pat's Kitchen by Jameela J. McNeil; it was workshopped at Nextfest and RISER, and now runs in a full production from March 5 to 8 at ArtsHub Ortona, a new venue for the festival.
Another of the main theatre productions is I Am Eagle by Matricia Bauer, a Jasper-based Cree artist. The puppetry-based show, which explores the cultural displacement, confusion, and suffering caused by the '60s Scoop, runs on March 6 and 7 at the Walterdale Theatre. A staged reading of Louise Casemore's Put Your Lips Together runs on March 10 and 12 at Gateway Theatre. It is billed as "a surreal neo-noir about the experience of women in the workplace." And preeminent Canadian clown Shannan Calcutt performs Things I Shouldn't Tell You from March 12 to 15 at the Walterdale.
The festival's Off the Page showcase on March 11 includes works-in-progress from locals Sara Campos-Silvius, Kijo Gatama, Mhairi Berg, Danielle LaRose, Ruth Alexander, and Bailey Bieganek. Ten immigrant and refugee women will share their stories through The Shoe Project, returning to the festival for a fifth time on March 7 and 8. There's also comedy, dance, and live music. Tickets for some performances are already sold out, so you know what to do.


