Photo by Alistair Maitland Photography
Open Pit Theatre is very excited to announce that Busted Up: A Yukon Story will be making it’s southern debut in Victoria, BC at the SPARK Festival from March 10 - 14, 2020!
By Geneviève Doyon
Directed by Jessica Hickman
Original Music by Brooke Maxwell
Busted Up: A Yukon Story is set in Canada’s far north; home of 35,000 people, 200,000 caribou, 14 different First Nations and the beautiful midnight sun.
Six actors portray over 30 real-life Yukon characters who throughout the play share their stories of colonialism, natural resource extraction, racial discrimination and a deep love of the wild. The interactions of these characters evolve around relationships between indigenous people and settlers, the growing immigrant population, and the fast-paced changes Canada’s north is experiencing.
Open Pit Theatre spent 3 years developing Busted Up: A Yukon Story as part of The Yukon Verbatim Project, which consisted of gathering over 60 interviews from eight Yukon communities including Whitehorse. The words you will hear are the exact words as transcribed during the interviews without any alterations or additions. Each of the real-life characters featured in the play was consulted, invited to readings/shows, and ultimately gifted Open Pit Theatre the use of their words for this play.
Busted Up: A Yukon Story is approximately 70 minutes with no intermission.
Cast – Joel D. Montgrand, Kaitlyn Yott, Brenda Barnes, Caleb Gordon, Christine Quintana, and Lisa Goebel
Creative Team
DIRECTOR, CO-CREATOR, & TOUR PRODUCER – Jessica Hickman
CO-CREATOR, PLAYWRIGHT – Geneviève Doyon
COMPOSER & SOUND DESIGNER – Brooke Maxwell
SET DESIGNER – Michel Gignac
COSTUME DESIGNER – Rosie Stuckless
LIGHTING DESIGNER – Brad Trenaman
STAGE MANAGER- Becca Jorgensen