Sila : the Arctic cycle / Chantal Bilodeau ; intro. by Megan Sandberg-Zakian.

ix, 105 pages ; 22 cm.

The Arctic Cycle consists of eight plays that examine the impact of climate change on the eight countries of the Arctic. Sila is the first play.

In Inuit mythology, “sila” means air, climate, or breath. Bilodeau’s play of the same name examines the competing interests shaping the future of the Canadian Arctic and local Inuit population. Equal parts Inuit myth and contemporary Arctic policy, the play Sila features puppetry, spoken-word poetry, and three different languages (English, French, and Inuktitut).There is more afoot in the Arctic than one might think. On Baffin Island in the territory of Nunavut, eight characters – including a climatologist, an Inuit activist and her daughter, and two polar bears – find their values challenged as they grapple with a rapidly changing environment and world. Sila captures the fragility of life and the interconnectedness of lives, both human and animal, and reveals in gleaming tones that telling the stories of everyday challenges – especially raising children and maintaining family ties – is always more powerful than reciting facts and figures.Our changing climate will have a significant impact on how we organize ourselves. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Arctic, where warming temperatures are displacing entire ecosystems. The Arctic Cycle – eight plays that examine the impact of climate change on the eight countries of the Arctic – poignantly addresses this issue. Sila is the first play of The Arctic Cycle. With its large-as-life polar bear puppets, the play is evocative and mesmerizing, beautifully blurring the boundaries between folklore and science.

Produced by Artistic Director Debra Wise and Executive Director Catherine Carr Kelly, as a project of Catalyst Collaborative@MIT.

Text in English, French, and Inuktitut.

Woodward International Playwriting Prize, 2014.

9780889229563 (paperback)

Women

D B611si 2015