Paula Lindo – Our histories, stories, present, future.

“Anansi and the Poinsettia Tree” tells the inspirational story of Anansi and the tricks he plays to provide for his family at Christmas during a recession.

The play, written by Eintou Pearl Springer, is being put on by the Indigenous Creative Arts Network (ICAN) and the students of San Juan South Secondary.

The student actors said they are excited to perform in front of their families and friends when the play runs. Reheem Bain, who plays Anansi, said while he’s a bit nervous, he’s enjoying the experience and the story. Lashunda Waldron, Anansi’s wife, said she finds being in the play really terrific and she likes that the story is “really teaching you something, about how to go about doing things the right way instead of trying to cheat your way out of things, so it’s really encouraging and it’s a learning process.” Kamiylah Alexander, who portrays the Poinsettia Tree, said this is her first time acting with ICAN and it’s really enjoyable. “I’m looking forward to when we perform in front of everyone to let them see what we worked really hard to produce together.”
Dara Healey, co-founder of ICAN, said the group wanted to do something for Christmas that “would feature the young people and Anansi and the Poinsettia Tree seemed to be the perfect play because it is such a heartwarming story about values and sharing and community. We thought it would achieve a lot in terms of teaching the children theatre but also using our local traditions to teach values as well.”
She said ICAN has had a relationship with the school for the last few years, as they worked with them to produce the Camboulay for the Junior Carnival. “We realized the students are very talented and very interested in theatre as a means of expressing themselves and showing off their talents, so we thought it would be good to continue the work we’re doing with them outside of Carnival as well.”
Healey said one of the main difficulties is finding a time and place for everyone to rehearse, as the school is currently on a shift system due to financial difficulties and classroom space is also limited.
She said keeping the teenagers focused has been difficult at times, but they are very enthusiastic and involved in the process. “They understand the lesson behind the play and the closer it gets to performance time, the more serious and the more focused they are becoming and it’s easier to get them to mobilize, focus and work.”
Healey is doing movement and choreography, while former COTT President Ryan Romany is coordinating the parang element. A Parang CD produced by the school will be on sale, along with books and refreshments, as the event is a joint fundraiser for ICAN and the students of the school.
Healey said “we’re trying to be independent in the way that we fund our community programs and do our outreach, so this play is the second fundraiser we’re doing for the year. It’s something that we want to continue doing, so that we have two or three theatre-focused fundraisers every year.”
The play will run from December 9 to 11 at the St. Georges College auditorium, Barataria. For more information, find the Indigenous Creative Arts Network, ICAN on Facebook, email icancreativearts@gmail.com or call San Juan South Secondary School at 638-2271 or 638-0233.