Chiila School

Nìsk’ā, tłīk’āʔītīshí uwa mīsgúsʔōní (The Land, The Animals and the Seasons)

NOVEMBER 15-26 | TSUUT'INA

The goal of Nìsk’ā, tłīk’āʔītīshí uwa mīsgúsʔōní (The Land, The Animals and the Seasons) is for students and community members to gain a deeper, and more direct understanding of theseasonal changes and what we can learn from the animals, plants and land about them. Thestudents will explore these changes through art, stories, discovery and sharing of ideas with Elders and the land directly.

Our residency will be in 2 parts:
Part 1: Creating the puppets for each season. (two weeks- one artist)
Our production will include a component where we build 4 large puppets to represent the 4 seasons. We will work with a Trickster artist to build puppets from the natural found artifacts such as sticks, materials, fur, leaves, and other relevant objects. The puppets will use “backpack frames” to provide skeletal support. The puppets will be instrumental in building the show and outline the interrelationships of the seasons with the animals and the land. Each class will go outside with the artist for 60 minutes to gather materials and explore the outdoor space. The students will get to help design the puppets as well as help build them. They will be worn by adults in the show as they will be about 8-10 ft tall.


Part 2: The main residency week – creating the show. (one week- multiple artists)
In this part, all of the classes will help create the show. Students will be involved in developing the script and choreography and all of them will act in the show.

230 Students participating