Feature photo is of Kelsey Kanatan Wavey in ōpimātis. Photo by Melissa Morton.

By Juliana Bergstrom
@julianabergstrom

For its twelfth year, SHIFT, the annual one-act play festival, shines the spotlight on fierce truths as told by diverse voices. The three-day festival includes nightly performances, as well as a workshop and a staged reading of an original play—all available at an accessible price point (tickets to all events are under $20).

The evening performance lineup includes three short, sharp plays, created and performed by women—two of whom are Indigenous. 

“I’m really excited to spotlight underrepresented stories and to throw my support behind the powerful women that I get to present,” says Coco Roberge, SHIFT Theatre’s effervescent Artistic Director.

“This event is going to provoke, challenge, initiate dialogue and increase compassion, I think, in our community.”

In Marie’s Letters Tai Amy Grauman explores the past as she embodies five generations of Métis women addressing their unborn daughters about their aspirations and fears for them in Treaty 6 Territory.

Kelsey Kanatan Wavey’s ōpimātis imagines how the future could look in her unique narrative about the global water crisis in a story about a woman and her complex relationship with the last drop of water. 

Closing the show is Soundoff, an investigation of music and sound that evolves nightly. Created by Claire Love Wilson and Sara Vickruck, this ever-changing piece unites the performers and audience in the present moment—and you may just feel compelled to burst into a mid-summer night song.

SHIFT attendees can also get creative with Wilson as she leads a workshop on the Friday. Participants will engage in the song-walking practice that she’s developed and taught internationally. The only pre-requisite? An open mind.

Rounding out the festival is a staged reading of Beth Coleman’s Evolutionary Tango on Saturday, July 13. Featuring veteran Vancouver actors and SHIFT Festival alumni, this innovative and futuristic play centres on the relationship between a 108-year-old woman and her android caregiver. Expect some food for thought—this sci-fi play explores mortality and sexuality while challenging the way we care for our elders. Contribute to the conversation, after the reading there will be a talk back where the audience will be asked to give feedback to help bring it to the next level.

The SHIFT team will have a table at the car-free days on Commercial Drive this weekend. In collaboration with a First Nation elder and craft-person, they will be selling some beautiful woven and beaded jewelry to benefit the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre. 

SHIFT festival runs from July 11-13 at The Annex Theatre. Grab tickets here.

Juliana is a writer, actor, and cat-mom to her fur babies, Ebenezer and Emilia. Read more of her work at Julianabergstromwrites.com, or find her on the screen at imdb.me/julianabergstrom.