Individual Artist Project Grant

Land of Stories will benefit the Fond du Lac and Cloquet communities by: providing free (donation-based), all-ages, immersive, spectacle public theatre; acting as an art-incubator for local Ojibwe artists; providing artmaking opportunities to Cloquet youth and families; presenting historical research and vital cultural information to Cloquet residents; celebrating and honoring significant leadership from a Fond du Lac ancestor; directing traffic to select local businesses (through onsite vendoring, hosting, and advertising); facilitating difficult conversations that promote greater understanding and possible reconciliation between white settlers and Fond du lac Ojibwe inhabitants; and planting the seed for Cloquet residents to consider officially recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Day.My measurable goals are: to co-write and co-direct with KoriiRay Northrup, an outdoor, immersive documentary and puppet production that explores, in part, the life and legacy of Joseph Northrup; to mentor Korii's teens, Xandria and Wynnter, in designing the set, puppets, and costumes; to conduct 5-10 documentary interviews with filmmaker Augustin Ganley; to stage 5-10 min of narrative film and co-direct 2-5 Native teens performers; to host 8-12 community build days with 10-30 people in attendance from May-September; to build 2-6 community partnerships; to host 4-6 performances October 1-2 and 8-9, 2022 at the Spafford Park Campground in Cloquet's West End, with post-show conversations at Common Ground Coffee Bar and Deli (possible additional performances September 29-30, 2022 on the Fond du Lac Reservation, exact location tbd); to have 45-75 people in attendance each night; and to host 2-5 primarily Native-owned food and craft vendors onsite each night of the performance. I feel confident in my ability to execute this project based on my artistic experience, strength of relationships, and pre-production work in-progress. Documentary interviews, research, dramaturgical consulting, design, and writing are underway since Land of Stories received the West End Flourish grant in 2021. Additionally, 2 of 5 desired community partnerships are secured, and I've had initial conversations with 6 potential musicians, sound engineers, builders, and puppet-makers. I've also had initial conversations with 2 potential individual major donors, and feel very confident those funds will come through. Apart from my devising theatre experience, I've spent years participating in Minneapolis' BareBones outdoor spectacle puppet productions. Given my relationships with theatre-makers extending from Ashland to Duluth to Minneapolis (including several Ojibwe artists), I feel very confident in my ability to seek technical as well as cultural guidance as needed.The goals above are quantitatively measurable through thorough documentation. Qualitatively, I plan to acquire anecdotal feedback from collaborators and contributors throughout production, as well as to conduct post-show surveys and follow up interviews with contributors, audience members, and community members from October-December 2022.