After a three-week trip to Alaska in 2007, Ohio University alumna Chantal Bilodeau became “fascinated” by the Arctic. In time, this fascination grew, developing into a series of six plays.
“The landscape, the climate, the people who choose to live there, and the hardships they endure — made worse by our rapidly changing climate — captured my imagination and made me want to actively engage with the region,” said Bilodeau, a 2001 MFA film and playwriting graduate.
After doing a heavy amount of research, she began the series, titled “The Arctic Cycle,” focusing on the six regions — the United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Russia — of the Arctic.
The first play in “The Arctic Cycle,” Sila, was awarded first prize Nov. 23 by the Uprising National Playwriting Competition at the University
of Calgary.
Along with winning $1,000, Bilodeau was awarded a public reading of the play. The reading was held Dec. 9 at the University of Calgary.
Sila focuses on seven characters, which include a climate scientist, an Inuit activist and her daughter, an Inuit hunter, two Canadian Coastal Guard officers and a polar bear, as they see their values changed and their lives intertwined.
“(It) examines the complex web of interests bearing down on the Canadian Arctic and local Inuit population,” Bildoeau said.
“The play looks at the relationship between aboriginal cultures and dominant cultures, between social responsibility and personal responsibility, and between us, human beings and the natural world.” She said she believed it felt natural to start with Canada because she is Canadian herself.
“In June 2009, with a commission from Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company in San Diego, I traveled to Baffin Island in Northern Canada and spent three weeks exploring the region,” Bilodeau added. “I talked with scientists, government officials, Coast Guard officers, and Inuit activists and elders. Sila grew from my experience on Baffin Island and the information I gathered while on that trip.”
Bilodeau said she was thrilled to receive the news that she won first prize for her play, particularly because of how much the award is focused on playwriters whose work embodies social and political issues or promotes peace, human rights and social justice.
“I feel honored and proud to be among other award winners who also try to address these issues through their work,” she said.
Sila will also be presented at a reading during the conference “Under Western Skies 2: Environment, Community, and Culture in North America” at Mount Royal University in October.
“I feel every opportunity is a step forward, and we never know where it is going to lead us,” Bilodeau said.
wa054010@ohiou.edu
