(MINNEAPOLIS; May 3, 2021) -- Pangea World Theater is honored to present The Missouri River Water Walk. A musical that chronicles a water walk from Three Forks, Montana to St. Louis, Missouri, written by Sharon Day and directed by Dipankar Mukherjee. Forgiveness is not a strong enough word for what happened when six women walked the length of the Missouri River. Join us for this outdoor performance filled with the songs and stories of this powerful story of healing historic wounds and restoring our relationships with the land and each other.
Led by Anishinaabe Grandmothers, Water Walks respect the truth that water is a life giver, and because women also give life they are the keepers of the water. Water Walks are focused and implemented in faith: faith in the water spirits, faith in the earth, faith in humankind and faith in the power of love. “No amount of money is more powerful than these forces. When we spend time respecting and thanking the water for keeping us alive, it becomes impossible to abuse it. When we spend time praying for the water, we spend time praying for ourselves; in praying for ourselves we pray for all of our relatives.” explains Sharon Day, executive director of Indigenous Peoples’ Task Force and playwright of the show.
The Missouri River Water Walk will tell the story of one of these moving water walks, chronicling the experience with music, set on the water at the beautiful Hidden Falls Regional Park in St. Paul, Minnesota. The ensemble includes Roxanne Ornelas, Sara Thomsen, Chas Jewett, Nicole Christian, Jane Ramseyer Miller, Sharon Day, Sir Curtis Kirby III, and Zachary Kulzer– all of whom have participated in a water walk before or were a part of the show’s staged reading at Pangea World Theater in 2019. The technical team includes sound design by Maury Jensen, assistant direction by Sir Curtis Kirby III and stage management by Suzanne Victoria Cross.
Pangea World Theater gratefully acknowledges that we are on the sacred traditional lands of the Dakota people. It is an honor to live, work and create art and community alongside Dakota, Ojibwe and other indigenous people in the Twin Cities. By producing The Missouri River Water Walk, we hope to further live out our mission of illuminating the human condition, celebrating cultural differences, and promoting human rights by creating and presenting international, multi-disciplinary theater. This play is full of beautiful music, strong women, and wishes of healing and love for the earth– we can’t wait to share it with our community.
Performances
Friday, May 21, 2021 at 6:00pm
Saturday, May 22, 2021 at 6:00pm
Sunday, May 23, 2021 at 2:00pm
Hidden Falls Regional Park, 1313 Hidden Falls Dr, St Paul, MN 55116
Attending these performances is free of charge, but seating is limited! To reserve your seats, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/153249865473. Donations are appreciated and help to resource more work like this. To learn more about this show, visit pangeaworldtheater.org. These performances are outside and socially distanced. Masks are required. If you are feeling unwell, please stay home- there will be a virtual watch party for the filmed performance in the near future!
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
The Missouri River Water Walk is also made possible in part by support from the NPN Artist Engagement Fund. Major contributors include the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information visit www.npnweb.org.
Pangea World Theater Media Contact: emily@pangeaworldtheater.org, 484-798-7366
“Every step is taken in prayer and gratitude for water, our life giving force. We walk for the water, and as we heal the water we heal all of life. We are not a protest. We are a prayer for the water.”
Sharon Day, playwright.
“We are so privileged to present Sharon Day’s play The Missouri River Water Walk. The play is an imperative voice and a pertinent call to action to the community. The story of women who undertake rigor and work hard to steward their relationship with water as a source of life is crafted through words, music and movement by playwright Sharon Day. Pangea is a theater of relevance. After the uprisings in Minneapolis the whole community is calling for justice and equity. Sharon Day, whose voice and work spans decades of art and activism writes this play as a call to climate and racial justice. Presenting Sharon Day’s The Missouri River Water Walk is a powerful call for accountability.”
Dipankar Mukherjee, director.
PANGEA WORLD THEATER PRESENTS
The Missouri River Water Walk
May 21-23, 2021 at Hidden Falls Regional Park
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE MISSOURI RIVER WATER WALK
Written by Sharon Day
Directed by Dipankar Mukherjee
Friday 5/21- Sunday 5/23, Hidden Falls Regional Park
Pangea World Theater Media Contact: emily@pangeaworldtheater.org, 484-798-7366