The Howard Phillips Hall, decorated with greenery and snowflakes, was filled for Masset’s traditional, mostly annual, Community Christmas Concert, its 29th in fact. Fuelled by Nora-Jane Edenshaw’s determination to have a concert, it became extra-special this year because our youth stepped up and took on most of the concert jobs, from Door to Lights (Franklin Edgars) and Sound (Frankie Collison), and jobs between, helping to produce, pick the cast, and stage manage.
Several people accepted the role of mentor. Haw’aa to Jack Litrell, Toby Samniya, Warren McIntyre, David McLean, and Jenny Nelson.
A giraffe, a slice of bacon, and a robin were the MCs, a perky trio who kept the audience entertained from beginning to end – Maggie Samniya, Melody Smith, and Wren Binnama.
Grade 2-3 carollers began the show singing in Xaad kil and English. Then Maisie MacDonald gracefully danced her first solo as the Snowflake Fairy, followed by a trio of musicians – Joy Herrera on electric guitar, Nadja Smith-Hanson on violin, and singer Nashville Layson. There were the Riddlers of course – Luka Janzen and Andrew Hobbs – who laughed hilariously at their own jokes. The evening closed with a piano-playing elf and an ‘impromptu’ duet with Tian Wilson and Santa.
Since the 1990s we have often recycled the first decade of plays. This was actually Last-Minute Christmas Concert #2. A few weeks before our first Last-Minute Xmas Concert in 1988, Jenny and the kids wrote a play, “Trolls’ Christmas,” and rehearsed it in an old boatshed. Also featured show night was the high school band.
“A Troll’s Christmas” was first co-written and performed by Klarka Hermanek, Nathan Eaman, Michael Morgan, Jeff Hunter, Gryn White, Gwaai and Jaalen Edenshaw, with help from Linden and Robin Penker. Manager and props was Justin Yeltatzie.
One of the kids’ words has survived from that time: He said, “We may not have good scenery; so we’ve got to have good lines, funny actions and good costumes. And big lights so we can’t see what’s going on.”
Which made some of us remember that at that time our backdrops were big clumsy flats that took up half the stage. It was a Huge Moment for all of us when Alden Bateham and the late Wendy Riley built us the present backdrop panels and constructed a set-up that allowed the panels to swing around.
Since then, for the last 12 years, artist Dejah Busch has painted and re-painted these panels, masterfully and magically creating the settings for our plays. So the lovely Victorian streets of London for Scrooge’s “Christmas Carol” becomes the world of Winnie the Pooh and eventually the Queen’s rose garden in Alice in Wonderland.
The play itself was a comic melodrama with fast action, three duels, and a surprise ending that made the audience gasp. Big and Little Troll are jealous of Santa because “he gets all the fun. Trolls never get Xmas.” They plot to steal the toys, and to give Santa Polliwog Poison which “will turn Santa into a…a…a Polliwog!” The enthusiastic cast made suggestions, accepted suggestions, and were a solid group in three short weeks: Rylie Stocker and Nashville Layson as Santa and Mrs. Claus; Elves – Oscar Reynolds, Desmond and Grace McLean, and Huxley Murphy; and Trolls Seth Bellis and Wiijaa Edenshaw.
Donations at the door went to the Masset Drama fund for repairing or replacing light and sound equipment. Thanks to the Village of Masset, the Playhouse, and the Lions for sharing rehearsal space; to Daaxiigan Sk’adaa Nee and Northern Savings for printing; and to Jen Bailey for the programme and poster.