Broadleaf Theatre (Toronto): The Chemical Valley Project

Devised Theatre Workshop: Objects and Personal Storytelling. With Kevin Matthew Wong of Broadleaf Theatre (Toronto). Click here for more information

Isadora Digital Media Workshop. With Julia Howman of Broadleaf Theatre (Toronto). Click here for more information

Located in Sarnia, the Aamjiwnaang First Nations reserve is smothered by one of Canada’s largest petrochemical corridors: the Chemical Valley. Vanessa Gray and Beze Gray have dedicated their lives to fighting the pollution that threatens their community’s health and future. Theatre makers Julia Howman and Kevin Matthew Wong document their vital activism as land defenders and water protectors. Through an innovative blend of design, object puppetry, and performance, The Chemical Valley Project sparks conversations on Canadian environmental policy, treaty rights and Indigenous relations, and of Canadian identity and values. NOW Magazine Critics’ Pick at the 2017 SummerWorks Performance Festival, honourable mention for the Theatre Centre Emerging Artists Award, winner of Theatre Passe Muraille’s Crapshoot in fall of 2016.

We are striving to make this performance as accessible as possible. Here’s how:

-The Chemical Valley Project is being presented as a Relaxed Performance. Relaxed performances are designed to make theatre spaces more comfortable and welcoming to audience members with autism spectrum disorders, sensory and communication disorders or learning disabilities. Other audience members who benefit from Relaxed Performances include parents with toddlers, people with Tourette’s syndrome, people who experience anxiety or people who are not comfortable with the conventions of a traditional theatre setting.

-Two ASL interpreters will be signing throughout the performance.

–ASL interpretation at the box office, as well as pen and paper for those who prefer to communicate non-verbally.

–Hearing assist. Six headsets will be available with amplified audio for theatre-goers with partial hearing loss.

–Low cost tickets. Self identified underwaged audience members can pay a special rate of $15 (including fees) to attend the show.

–Gender neutral washrooms are available onsite.

-A venue guide is available ahead of time to familiarize audiences with the Market Hall. You can view it online at this link, or call us at 705-745-1788 and we will send it to you prior to the performance.

-A visual story is available at this link. A visual story is a tool to help patrons familiarize themselves with a show. Visual stories go through every step of the audience experience in detail, including plot summaries and content warnings for the show. Together with the venue guide, visual stories allow patrons to know in advance what to expect at the theatre, so they can prepare themselves accordingly. If you can’t access the link call us at 705-745-1788 and we will send the visual story to you prior to the performance.

–Complimentary earplugs and Sensory kits will be available at the performance.

-A designated quiet zone will be available during the performance in the lobby beside the bar.

-We are encouraging all audiences to do their part to maintain a scent free environment.

–Reducing EMF (electro magnetic frequencies). We ask that all audience members turn off cellular devices, or put on airplane mode, to support community members with an Environmental Disability related to wifi and cellular signals.

–We are committed to accessibility! Please contact eva@publicenergy.ca if there’s anything else that we can do to make this performance more accessible for you, or if you have any questions.

Mooney on Theatre:
“I highly recommend seeing this show for the important reality it exposes. To its diligent creators: thank you.”

NNNN – Now Magazine Critics’ Pick:
“Wong has a warm, generous and fully present delivery style, and Howman’s imaginative production design goes beyond a slide presentation to create something with a grassroots, humane feel….

Wong is sensitive to the idea of cultural appropriation, and so he lets the siblings talk for themselves in audio interviews; in a video clip, he even shows them the work in progress and asks for suggestions, which he then implements”

alt theatre magazine:
“I left The Chemical Valley Project with a sense of the value in stories, and with a model for what it takes to really listen and come to understand others’ lived experience… earnest, accessible, and very well told.”

Janis Lacouvee:
“The Chemical Valley Project is moving and disruptive theatre, a call to action beautifully told and executed, and a must see for any modern Canadian.”

More Information:

Broadleaf Theatre

Vanessa Gray Calls for Allies Against Pipelines – The Link

Sisters host ‘Toxic Tours’ of their home in Canada’s Chemical Valley – Anishinabek News

Aamjiwnaang Solidarity Against Chemical Valley

Thanks to these Trent University programs for their support in bringing Broadleaf Theatre to Peterborough:

Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies
First Peoples House of Learning
Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies
Indigenous Environmental Science & Studies
Indigenous Studies PhD Program
Sustainability Studies

Main Photo: Graham Isador