SkirtsAfire Festival MainStage Play - Ms. Pat's Kitchen by Jameela McNeil
Details
Northern Alberta
The Idea
SkirtsAfire Festival's MainStage production of Ms. Pat's Kitchen by Jameela McNeil brings underrepresented voices to the forefront of professional theatre, centering Caribbean Canadian stories and characters. This compelling play led by Black artists offers a powerful perspective that is rarely seen on stage. It celebrates the vibrant diversity and talent within our community.
Our Festival's programming features an array of artistic disciplines and welcomes artists of diverse backgrounds, ethnicities and abilities. We are dedicated to empowering and amplifying the voices of underrepresented women and this is exemplified in Ms. Pat's Kitchen by Jameela McNeil.
When first reading Jameela's pitch for the development of her play, we were struck by her clarity of voice and intention in her work. She is a skilled and compassionate artist interrogating questions very few playwrights in Canada have brought to the stage.
Ms. Pat's Kitchen will have 10 performances during our festival as our feature MainStage production. At the time of production, the play will have finished taking part in the RISER Program from Common Ground Arts Society. This 2 year program has better prepared Jameela and her team for this premiere at SkirtsAfire, allowing her to work sustainably as a playwright and integrate her production collaborators before shifting her role to that of a producer. Common Ground's program helps artists through the producing phases, but requires partnership with an organization like SkirtsAfire to offer the performance portion, which we are honoured to do. Without our portion of the partnership, Jameela's play would not have a professional stage to premiere on, which is often a huge barrier for new works to be realized and seen by an audience.
Live performance and art is for everyone, but has historically excluded certain communities based on limited access. Over the past 5 years, we have collaborated with a diverse group of community artists and consultants to build, enhance and expand our festival's accessibility, allowing us to increase the diversity of our audiences and artists. Ms. Pat’s Kitchen will include one ASL Interpreted performance, for which we will hire a Deaf and ASL Consultant as well as ASL interpreters. In addition, we have been working with a prominent leader in the neurodiverse community, and we are excited to have her curate a relaxed performance for Ms. Pat’s Kitchen. We will also offer pay-what-you-will ticket options for every performance.Who Will Benefit?
The goals of presenting Ms. Pat’s Kitchen as our MainStage production are to increase community inclusiveness and connectivity by investing in and showcasing this new work. We will strengthen our community's artistic landscape and ensure that underrepresented voices are heard, enriching Edmonton's cultural fabric. Ms. Pat's Kitchen is led by an exceptional team of Black women artists, featuring a cast of five talented Black actors and skilled designers who collaborate to bring this powerful story to life.
We are committed to prioritizing women and gender-diverse artists from diverse cultures who have not yet had the chance to present their work on Edmonton stages. By elevating underrepresented voices, this production reflects the rich diversity and talent within our community.
Ms. Pat’s Kitchen came out of Jameela's desire to write about dual identity as a Jamaican-Canadian (being Canadian born and of Jamaican descent), an identity which is complex and often invalidated. Many Jamaican-Canadians (including Jameela) feel a lack of identity and belonging due to their 'Jamaican-ness' and 'Canadian-ness' being frequently denied or called into question.
In Jameela’s words:
"Ms. Pat's Kitchen is my attempt to build a bridge between older and younger generations in order to find healing. I pose the questions: What are the stories that older generations have never told? What might have they experienced and are they similar to what younger generations are facing today? It is rare to have a room full of Caribbean, Afro, and/or Black artists in Alberta, especially when it comes to telling our stories. We're often told that we 'all move to Toronto', however the evidence is clear, we are here. It's the opportunities that aren't always available to us. There is a lack of Black artists pursuing acting, script-writing, or theatre production in our city in general. Many of our artists leave Alberta due to lack of opportunities. We are left with the belief that there is no place for us in these spaces. This play provides Afro and Indo-Caribbean people an opportunity to see themselves on stage. My hope is to create a pathway for Caribbean artists in Edmonton and strengthen our community. We are here and shouldn't have to look elsewhere to find artistic opportunities. Access shouldn't just exist for one or two communities but for everyone."