Off the Page features 4 short multidisciplinary and experimental pieces. They use storytelling, poetry, music, visual art and dance to tell a variety of stories. Read more below on each description.

One of the acts in Off the Page contains a politically incorrect narrator, death, violence and illness. Please contact us at info@skirtsafire.com for more information.

The Tent With A Thousand Doors
The Tiger’s Hearts Collective

Amena Shehab, Poet
Danielle LaRose, Musician
Lebo Disele, Performer
Featuring Artwork by Aboud Salman

What can we tell you? I am we, and we are who I am. We are the story, and I am the storyteller. Today, we tell these stories in many languages and our stories move from right to left, and back again. Tomorrow belongs to us. Who are we now? I am Amena. We are bedouin, bidoon, between. In my heart, we hold the stories from behind a thousand doors.

The Tiger’s Hearts Collective is thrilled to present “The Tent With a Thousand Doors”; a sensory exploration of the rich and vibrant poetry of Amena Shehab, performed by Lebo Disele and accompanied by musician Danielle LaRose.

Traveller—Vox Virago*
Vocalising a Virus: the Spanish Lady Sheds a Century of Silence

The Travellers
Kathy Fisher, Poet, Producer, Director, “The Spanish Flu”
Donna Mae Mohrmann, piano, banjo, vocals
Alex, guitar, vocals
Monica Grove, violin, vocals
Reinhold Mayerhofer, guitar
Nermeen Youssef, Dramaturge, Troubadrix
________________________________________________________________________
Traveller – Vox Virago gives voice to the world’s most lethal femme fatale – the Spanish flu –
which infected over a billion and killed up to100 million people worldwide. The Spanish Lady
herself takes centre stage to set the record straight and put her spin on history, all the more
resonant given our recent tangle with COVID 19, our generation’s pandemic.

Traveller—Vox Virago is a cinematic spoken-word and music performance, where the Spanish
Flu vocalises her narrative, her story, in her own words. Accompanied by The Travellers, a
multi-instrumentalist ensemble, the Virago invites you to time-travel with energy, verve, and
mystery. Listen as the words and music weave their dark tale, with music interpreting, exploding
and acting as a counterpoint to the Spanish Lady‘s braggadocio and relentlessness.
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*vox noun. voice
virago noun. woman, heroine, manlike woman.
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CONTENT WARNING: death, illness, period language and concepts re: race and class.

Breaking Ground Excerpt

“Breaking Ground” is a devised, interdisciplinary performance that began as an exploration of roots and evolved into a reflection on Black migration to Canada and what it means to make home in a new place. It is collective creation by Lebo Disele, Mpoe Mogale, Cherelle George, Elsa Robinson and Timiro Mohamed. We invite audiences to break ground with us, to witness our coming into ourselves, as we find home in a new place and honour those who came before us.

Catch an excerpt of “Breaking Ground” in the A-Line Variety Show on March 2!

Poster design by Cherelle George
Photo by Timiro Mohammed

Amelia Kaminski

Amelia Kaminski is a professional Edmonton-based musician with over 40 years of experience.

Although she began her studies in classical music, she became passionate about traditional musical styles including Scottish, Irish, French-Canadian, Metis, and Old Time to name a few.

Amelia weaves the tunes together with storytelling, creating a wonderful opportunity for the audience to use their imagination!