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Sansei: The Storyteller Nov. 30 at Key City
Key City Theatre and Western Financial are proud to present Mark Ikeda’s Sansei: The Storyteller on Thursday November 30 at 7:30 p.m.
If the Japanese Internment didn’t happen in Canada during the Second World War storyteller Mark Kunji Ikeda wouldn’t be alive today.
Sansei: The Storyteller uses dance, theatre, and humour to tell the story of one of Canada’s darkest decisions and unwraps how – with help from the audience – the story of racism doesn’t need to end in hate.
Sansei: The Storyteller uses a wide variety of storytelling devices including spoken word poetry, historical audio, and family interviews to share a true storytelling spectacular. This award-winning performance has a long performance history on stage, in schools, and was even presented on the site of the internment camp that once held Ikeda’s family in New Denver.
It is widely believed Mark Kunji Ikeda is the youngest sansei in Canada; and is therefore the closest to the events, while still having the benefit of time to contextualize what has happened.
“Sansei” is a term meaning third-generation Japanese Canadian – issei, nisei, sansei (consider Japanese numbers one, two, three – ichi, ni, san). Historically, issei (first-generation) were born in Japan and moved to North America prior to the First World War when conditions changed drastically; nisei were their children, sansei their grandchildren.
After years of training with One Yellow Rabbit, and serving as Artistic Director of MoMo Dance Theatre for two seasons, Mark Kunji Ikeda cultivates the next generation of physically demanding, sensually charged physical theatre to Calgary. His radical combination of choreography, narrative and poetry lead to being named the 2015 Enbridge Emerging Artist Award winner.
“Sansei is storytelling at its finest; sophisticated, meaningful, moving and humorous.” – Laurie Fife, Ottawa Storytellers Society
“A terrific stage presence… a natural-born storyteller” – Stephen Hunt, Calgary Herald
“[There is a] silence, a generational absence of memory that Sansei: The Storyteller rips open, bringing tears of awe to members of the audience.” – Diana Morita Cole, The Pacific Citizen
Tickets are $31 Regular | $25 for Big Ticket Plus Members | $21 for Big Ticket Members; SD#5 Student Special Price $5.
Tickets are available at the Key City Theatre Box Office 250-426-7006 and Online at www.keycitytheatre.com
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