Burnt Sienna with Kris Alvarez
Featuring special guests Lindsay Eekwol Knight, Manuela Valle-Castro, and Leigh Thomas.
AKA artist-run centre
Thursday, May 30
Doors Open at 7pm
Performance at 7:30pm
Kris Alvarez’s Burnt Sienna brings audiences together for an evening of conversation, food, humour, and heart with local artists, thinkers, and entertainers from diverse backgrounds. The performance features special guests Lindsay Eekwol Knight, Manuela Valle-Castro, and Leigh Thomas, plus a special guest performance by Jayden Pfeifer.
Burnt Sienna is a variety show with a lot more colour! The idea came to creator Kris Alvarez on the heels of her previous production, What Kind of Brown are You?. “When I asked the audience why they thought more ‘brown folks’ didn’t come out to art events, one guest commented ‘Why would I pay thirty bucks to go out and see something that doesn’t speak to me or share my narrative?’”, Alvarez says. “This stuck with me and is one of the reasons for developing Burnt Sienna. I wanted to see: If I build it, will they come?”
This performance is part of the wrap up to Locals Only, a two day event including a community conversation and book launch Saturday June 1st, 1 to 4pm at Station 20 West.
Built around this key partnership between AKA Artist-run and CHEP Good Food Inc., Locals Only (2017-19) focused on engagement, community dialogue and authorship, and new access to fresh food in core neighbourhoods in Saskatoon. For nearly two years Elders, knowledge keepers, youth, artists, and food activists shared conversations, meals, and ideas for engaging on issues of food security and changing neighbourhoods.
These events are free and all are welcome!
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Kris Alvarez is an Artistic Associate of Curtain Razors Theatre whose work with the company has included Bad Blood, What Kind of Brown are You?, and most recently, Carmen Angel. Kris also works as an instructor with Fadadance, was a member of beloved Regina improv-collective Red Hot Riot, and is currently the artist-in-residence with Common Weal’s Respond to Racism program.
Lindsay “Eekwol” Knight is an Nehiyaw award-winning hip hop performing artist and activist living in Saskatoon, originally from Muskoday First Nation in Treaty Six Territory. She has dedicated years to the culture and craft of hip hop to create something unique
and astounding to give back to the community. Eekwol uses her music and words to spread messages of resistance, revolution and keeping the language, land and culture alive for the next generations. Through her original sound she displays her activist roots
by living and creating as a supporter of both Hip Hop and Indigenous culture and rights.
Leigh Thomas is an âyahkwêw-Two-Spirit/Non-Binary Gay 23 year old nêhiyaw- Métis from Treaty 6 and the Homeland of the Métis, Pelican Lake First Nation, Chachakiw sakahikan. A 4th Year undergraduate student attending the University of Saskatchewan, pursuing a degree in Regional and Urban Planning program. They serve as an Interim delegate for the Saskatoon Two-Spirit Society Inc. and serve the Community in Saskatoon as a wîcihtasiw- oskapêw, Helper. They are a Primary Naval Reservist within the Canadian Armed Forces onboard HMCS UNICORN as a Naval Combat Information Operator. And are also a Two-Spirit/ Queer Trans Non-Binary Poet and member of the Saskatoon Indigenous Poet Society.
Manuela Valle-Castro is a feminist organizer and academic from Chile who relocated to Saskatoon on Treaty 6 Territory in 2015. She holds a PhD in Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice from the University of British Columbia and a Master in Women’s and Gender Studies from the same University. In 2004 she co-founded FemFest in Chile, a feminist collective of cultural makers and musicians who create spaces for collaboration and mutual support. For the past ten years Manuela has been teaching intersectional feminist theories, as well as and gender and popular culture. She is an organizer with Girls Rock Saskatoon, a host for the feminist radio show the Laundry List in CFCR, and the coordinator of the Saskatoon Anti-Racist Network. She plays guitar and sings in the punk band Babyfats.
Jayden Pfeifer is a Regina-based actor, improviser, and teacher. He is a Regional Director and National Representative of the Canadian Improv Games, and teaches with the University of Regina Theatre Department. Jayden’s company, General Fools, was the first of its kind in Regina and has been creating improvised performance across Canada since 1997. Jayden has studied with a series of notable North American Improv instructors, and his work as an improviser has earned him four Canadian Comedy Award nominations. He is the host and creator of a monthly movie-commentary show, TALKIES at the RPL Film Theatre, and Red Hot Riot with Jayden Pfeifer, a comedy variety show now in its fifth season. Jayden is currently pursuing an MFA in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Regina, focused on improvisation and group experience.
