Exploring the spooky world of The Raven in Iqaluit

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, / Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before,” Edgar Allan Poe, a master of the dark and eerie, wrote in his famous poem The Raven.

The Iqaluit Community Theatre is hoping Iqalungmiut will explore that strange and spooky world with its new production, Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe.

The play combines characters from four of Poe’s stories, including The Raven.

The play is scheduled to be performed in February 2020.

“Community theatre creates different types of experiences for people. Some may never have been to a live theatrical production,” Jenni Bell, the community theatre’s chairperson, told Nunatsiaq News.

“It’s fun and a way to express yourself, meet new people and experience different things.”

The non-profit theatre group was established in 2017, Bell said. They put on their first production in 2018 and followed that with two productions in 2019.

This year has seen the small theatre group gain momentum, with funding from Nunavut’s Department of Culture and Heritage, the Embrace Life Council and the City of Iqaluit, said Bell.

“That really catapulted us into being able to do real theatre.”

With the new funding, the group will be renting out the Francophone Centre for its February 2020 performance. Until now, their productions have been at the high school.

And the theatre group is becoming more involved with other organizations in the community.

For example, the group held a barbecue with the Embrace Life Council this summer. And it has partnered with the Frobisher Inn to put on a Halloween night. Kids will have the chance to walk around decorated booths and go trick-or-treating, alongside actors in Halloween costumes.

It’s part of the theatre group’s outreach to engage Iqalungmiut of all ages.

“We’d love to involve youth in our productions. It’s a great way for them to gain more skills: socializing, memorization, creativity. They’d get to meet like-minded people in an inclusive environment,” Bell said.

Bell said part of her motivation to help run the volunteer theatre group is remembering how much theatre meant to her growing up. Now that Bell, who has lived in Iqaluit for five years, has a young daughter, she wants kids to have that same opportunity.

But for now, the Iqaluit Community Theatre is catering to adults.

Auditions will be held for Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe at a future date that has yet to be determined, Bell said.

They are also recruiting other creative volunteers to help with set and production.

If you would like to get involved with the theatre group, or for more information, you can find the Iqaluit Community Theatre on Facebook or contact info@iqaluitcommunitytheatre.com.