TIMMINS - Theatre can be a healing experience, and Faye Naveau wants young people to know that.
By taking the stage in the upcoming Tamarack Festival, Naveau hopes to inspire the Indigenous youth she works with.
“One of my dreams is to have Indigenous theatre in the north,” she said. “One of the things I try to promote is theatre, and what better way than to be a prime example.”
The inaugural Tamarack Festival is in Timmins from Sept. 13-15. It features a play, a one-person show, a concert, workshops about theatre and writing, an artists' market and more.
Most of the events are at the Timmins Museum: NEC or the Timmins Public Library, which are both on Second Avenue in downtown Timmins.
Through the festival, organizer Jessie Bergeron wants to offer more theatre in town and make it accessible to everyone.
“I realized I couldn’t stop being an artist because I was a mother, and I was at the time living in Timmins,” she said. “We’ve been planning for a while now and we’re finally at the big moment of the first festival coming together.”
She's also putting her theatrical talents to the test as the director of Witches in the Woods, a retelling of Hansel and Gretel.
The first performance is at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14, in the main gallery at the Timmins museum.
“This festival is going to bring in a new energy,” said Naveau. “It’s really well planned out for everybody to get involved.”
She said that acting can be a way to leave some of life’s troubles behind for a little while.
“It's very healing to step into another role and take that on, and that’s very transferable in life,” she said. “Every time you do it, and you achieve something, you’re going to feel stronger, more confident and that helps with mental health.”
Her young cast mates are of a similar mind about the connection to confidence and mental health.
“I wanted to step out of my comfort zone because I was like a little shy bird and any time I had to socialize with anyone, I’d start freaking out,” said Peyton White, who plays Gretel in the show.
White’s co-star, Emma Seim who is playing Hansel, said she hopes to see more opportunities for young performers in the city.
“We don’t really have enough of it, and I want to become an actress when I’m older,” she said. “I used to watch musicals and immediately fell in love with it.”
The girls became friends after meeting during Take Two Theatre's production of Cinderella.
“We didn’t know each other, but we started to talk, and we got to know each other and we got to know each other more through this place,” said Seim. “Hansel and Gretel have a really great connection, so I feel like we’re starting to create that as well.”
Jason Boissonneault, who is relatively new to theatre, said it’s been a fantastic journey so far.
“Being a typical Timmins hockey player guy, trying something different and out of my element was something I wanted to challenge myself with,” he said. “The idea of having these additional types of forays and outlets to try different things has been nice.”
Bergeron hopes to see the festival grow and include more local talent and more people getting involved.
“It’s growing at an exponential rate,” she said. “Everyone is looking for these opportunities to share their work with an audience.”
The Tamarack Association of the Arts is a charitable organization that promotes the arts in Northern Ontario, focusing on diverse voices and stories with a northern perspective.
The festival kicks off with a meet and greet on Sept. 13 at 6 p.m., which will give performers and patrons a chance to network and celebrate the work that has gone into the festival.
“It’s a welcoming into the space,” said Bergeron.
The one-man show, How a Bear Dies by Algoma artist Jacob Maybe will begin at 7 p.m. after the reception, and at 8 p.m., the Bella Corda string ensemble will also be performing.
Those who find the cost of tickets to the shows prohibitive can reach out to organizers at [email protected] to request a ticket.
“We want everyone to be able to access the arts,” said Bergeron. “There is a tendency to see the same people at arts events because the tickets are too expensive, and that’s not what we’re going for.”
The festival also has publishing, writing, and technical theatre workshops for those looking for an educational experience. One example of what people can participate in is Take Two Theatre’s theatre lighting workshop on Sunday at 10 a.m.
“There’s a lot of excitement,” said Bergeron.
The performers are hoping that people will take a chance to join them for the shows and do something different during the weekend.
“Things like this coming to town gives people a chance to try new things,” said Boissonneault.
The full schedule for the festival is available on the Tamarack website.
