Blue Beads and Blueberries coming to Steinbach

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The retelling of an old English fairytale into a Metis folktale is the charm of Blue Beads and Blueberries, a Manitoba Theatre for Young People production, which is coming to Steinbach April 11.

“It should be a lots of fun for kids. There’s going to be learning and celebration about Metis culture and professional theater, what’s not to love?” said performing arts coordinator Tara Schellenberg.

“We always want to bring high quality kids entertainment. It’s important for us to have these kind of opportunities for families so they don’t have to travel to Winnipeg for this and make it accessible for all. The Manitoba Theater for Young People has been really good in working with us to bring these tours to Steinbach.”

Photo by Leif Norman
Alanna McPherson, Emily Meadows, and Simon Miron act out a scene from Blue Beads and Blueberries. The Manitoba Theatre for Young People production will play in Steinbach on April 11.
Photo by Leif Norman Alanna McPherson, Emily Meadows, and Simon Miron act out a scene from Blue Beads and Blueberries. The Manitoba Theatre for Young People production will play in Steinbach on April 11.

This is the second time Manitoba Theatre for Young People has come to perform in front of a Steinbach audience; the first was 2023’s Frozen River.

The play is written by Metis playwright Erin Macklem, and centers around the eldest daughter Exerine who one night when her father asks her how much she loves him she says she loves him “like pemmican loves blueberries.” Her father takes it the wrong way and banishes her from home and into the forest.

Exerine then travels to Fort Garry where she becomes house servant Celina. She meets the handsome Pierre who falls in love with her and gives her blue beaded earrings not knowing she is the servant. One day, Pierre asks for soup and Exerine/Celina makes it for him and one of her blue beaded earrings falls into the soup. And just like Cinderella’s glass slipper, Pierre finds his true love is Exerine/Celina.

“One of the beautiful things about this story is that it’s a story inside a story,” said Emily Meadows, who plays Exerine/Celina.

“It’s been fantastic (playing this role). I’m a big sister in real life so it’s really fun to see the oldest child syndrome quirks in myself that are very apparent in the character,” she said with a smile.

Meadows is a Winnipeg native who has been performing professionally for the past seven years. She has taken the stage at many theatres across the country after graduating with a bachelors in musical theatre performance from Sheridan College.

Some of the ways the main character and Meadows are similar are trying to keep the younger siblings in line and trying to follow the rules and guidelines set by their parents.

Submitted by Manitoba Theatre for Young People 
Emily Meadows as the lead character in Blue Beads and Blueberries, a Manitoba Theatre for Young People production. The story is a retelling of a European fairytale told through the lens of the Metis.
Submitted by Manitoba Theatre for Young People Emily Meadows as the lead character in Blue Beads and Blueberries, a Manitoba Theatre for Young People production. The story is a retelling of a European fairytale told through the lens of the Metis.

“Because in this story the youngest sister is a little more all over the place and wants to add and change the story the father is telling and the father wants to keep it to the traditional version of it almost. And so Exerine the eldest daughter is there in the middle trying to keep the peace and lead a good example but reminds the father that there’s not just one way to do something,” said Meadows.

In preparing for this role, Meadows, who is Metis, said there are a lot of similarities between her and Exerine/Celina in that “Exerine, the eldest daughter, really likes beading and weaving and a lot of the traditional art and craft forms which I myself really enjoy doing. I have been doing beading since before this play, but it’s really fun to get to play a character who also does traditional Metis beading.”

What Meadows wants audiences to take away from the play is a respect for the past and traditions, but also “listening to everyone’s voice because everyone’s voice has value.”

Blue Beads and Blueberries is geared towards children aged five to 12. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for those under 18 and can be purchased on the Steinbach Arts Council’s website. Curtain rises at 7 p.m. at the Steinbach Regional Secondary School Theatre.

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