Our 2016 tour ended in the friendly community of McGrath.
We instantly felt comfortable at the school, thanks to the welcoming hospitality of Principal Matt Shelbourne and our Southcentral Foundation contact, Katie Stam. We were immediately encouraged to visit the local museum, where we learned all about McGrath’s history as a trading post, gold rush town, and recently as an archaeological site.
The cast was delighted to spot a traditional Athabascan bear spear at the museum. In The Winter Bear, a traditional hunting spear plays a major role in the climax of the play.
We played theatre games with the kids on the day of the show, drumming up excitement for that evening’s performance.
Actors Brían and Aurora giggle with the kids during a theater game focused on eye contact.
We had heard in advance that McGrath folks can cook, and the prophecy was true! The potluck was definitely one to remember.
The frybread in the foreground was GONE in a few minutes.
It was bittersweet performing for the last time, so of course we took one last round of photos with the kiddies afterwards.
A little boy named Skyler was excited to meet our Skyler, who played Wolf.
Lynx (played by Aurora Lewis) customarily gets mobbed by the young ladies after each show.
We finally got the whole group together for a photo. An amazing feat in and of itself!
After flying in separate groups to many of the smaller locations, we all headed out of McGrath together with Pen Air.
We miss the road already! Thank you to everyone in McGrath who made our closing performance so memorable.
