Interview With The Artist

Internships are a valuable way to learn if a future career in theatre are a good fit for you. If you enjoyed theater in high school or are simply interested in exploring working as a theater professional, Perseverance Theatre has opportunities for you. 

Every year, Perseverance Theatre invites early-career professionals to join us for a season-long apprenticeship. Located on Tlingit Aani in Juneau, AK, these apprentices get practical, on-the-job experience producing professional theatre on the Perseverance Mainstage. Apprentices will work with Artistic Director Leslie Ishii, Managing Director Frank Delaney, Associate Producer Joseph Biaginni, and Marketing and Engagement Director Rio Alberto to complete a variety of tasks based on the specific needs of our Mainstage productions. 

These apprenticeships are fast-paced, multi-disciplinary, cross-departmental, and grounded in community offerings. Perseverance Theatre is guided by the values of Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Access (JEDIA). This apprenticeship is unlike other regional theatre experiences. By taking a holistic approach to learning and being involved as part of our team, Perseverance supports apprentices to become active leaders and members of our artistic community. 

As a part of that commitment, Perseverance manages an apprenticeship program that begins in August 2023 and goes through April 2024. This includes a $200 weekly stipend, housing, travel, and local transportation are provided. Perseverance Theatre recognizes there are very real social and economic barriers to accessing higher education. We are committed to an equitable application process, and encourage all to apply, regardless of level of experience or education. 

ABOUT THE THEATRE

Perseverance Theatre is Alaska’s largest professional theatre committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community of staff, apprentices, and individuals. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Leslie Ishii and Managing Director Frank Delaney, Perseverance produces musical, contemporary, and world premiere productions in Juneau and Anchorage. Founded in 1979 by Molly Smith and the community of Douglas and Juneau, Perseverance Theatre has grown to become a nationally-recognized institution that produces new works and uplifting Alaskan voices.

Interview with 2021-2022 Artistic Fellow Irene Martinko

Rio Alberto sat down with Artistic Fellow Irene Martinko before her departure to the Olney Theatre Center. Irene Martinko is a dramaturg, writer, producer, and performer currently working as Olney Theatre Center’s Casting and Producing Fellow. Originally from Springfield, VA, she graduated from Muhlenberg College in 2018 with a major in Theatre and minors in Music and Women and Gender Studies. From New York to Alaska, Irene has worked for regional theatres across the country including Perseverance Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, and the Adirondack Theatre Festival. Perseverance credits include: With (Assistant Director and Dramaturg), Silent Sky (Margaret), and Voyager One (Dramaturg). She also served as a Staff Writer with Onstage Blog for which she wrote opinion pieces, theatre news updates, and artist profiles, and her children’s chapter books can be found on Amazon. Irene is most passionate about new play development and is a member of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas and Ring of Keys.

Rio: How did you come about this artistic internship and Perseverance?

Irene: I graduated with a degree in directing, and that was in 2018. I knew that I wanted to go into an internship. There are a lot of different ways to start working in theater, but to me, internships felt like a stable way of getting into theater.

Where you can learn and grow without the pressure of being thrown headfirst into something, where you’re allowed to grow and learn. I was looking for different opportunities and at that point in my life, I was willing to work anywhere, I will live anywhere, and I’m so excited to travel. Where can I go? For the first time around, I started working for the Florida Studio Theater. I really loved it.

At that point in my life, I wanted something completely different. What’s completely different from Florida, is Alaska. I found this internship and was very interested in the idea of spending time in Alaska, I was very interested in the work that they were doing. I had this mindset that I wanted an adventure, to me, that felt like an adventure.

I applied, but I didn’t expect anything and wasn’t sure what my next steps were. When I got the position, I thought someone would fly me to Alaska so I could go do theater. The rest is history.

Rio: Where did you do your undergraduate?

Irene: Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania.

Rio: What was your favorite experience at Perseverance Theatre?

Irene: There were so many great experiences at PT! I enjoyed being in Silent Sky, that was very fun for me. I hadn’t acted in a long time. I loved the story, the cast, and I loved the design. There were so many things about that that were very exciting. I feel like I learned a lot from that process. Throughout the last three years one of the things I loved about PT is I’ve been able to work in different departments and do so many different things. The things that have excited me about each project is different. They all have their own victories.

Rio: If you were to return to PT again, what kind of projects would interest you?

Irene: It would depend on specific names. There are so many amazing playwrights and writers in Alaska. To be able to support those playwrights. I think we have so much writing talent in the state and PT is in a position to support them and nurture that. I would be excited to see those new plays.

Rio: Any thoughts on the most surprising thing about doing theater in Alaska?

Irene: I’m from the lower-48 and I had this idea of Alaska in my head. It’s not the same as when I first arrived. I am so glad I was able to learn what it’s like to live in Juneau. There is so much I’ve learned about the Native culture, and the way that theater functions. It was a surprise to me that there was a theater here at all. Maybe that sounds bad because there is theater everywhere. I think that all of us who work at PT get that, when we talk to people in the lower-48, and they are surprised we have theaters in Alaska.

An internship with Perseverance Theatre is so much more than just working for a theatre. It is about transforming the field at a national level while engaging deeply with our neighbors at a community level. 

How to Apply

Perseverance Theatre is seeking a Production and Stage Management Apprentice for our 2023/2024 Season! 

Perseverance fosters an organizational culture led by our values of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. To apply, please submit a cover letter and a resume (including three references) to joseph@ptalaska.org with the subject line “2023/24 Production/Stage Management Apprenticeship.” Applications are due by May 1, 2023.

If you have any questions, please email joseph@ptalaska.org 

The Opening the Box of Knowledge talkback after the performance on October 13th was incredibly heartwarming and eye opening. Qacung Blanchett and President Richard Peterson of Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska were the hosts for the evening. Together with the cast members they sat down to discuss the world premiere of Frank Katasse’s Where the Summit Meets the Stars and connect about their shared love of theater, representation of native voices in modern media, and enjoy each other’s presences. 

The energy in the room was warm and jovial from the get go, the participants almost immediately cracking jokes about Poutine before even introducing themselves. This quickly became a running gag – people would mischievously slip a poutine joke into their responses as the discussion progressed. The artists’ love for art and their community was ever present in the roles that each of them played in transforming the show from words in a script to a fully realized, incredible production. Remarking on how Ed Littlefield and Jill Kaasteen Meserve expertly  concocted an intricate soundscape for the show, Qacung said “…it felt at times like I was in a concert.” Jake Waid, who plays John in the show, mentions that he jumps at the chance to be involved in one of Frank’s shows saying, “He really is a genius, what Frank does is he just dives into the ocean and he comes up with a raw gem”. Naturally, this took a hilarious turn as each of the panelists made a point to face the previous speaker and lauded them for their genius. 

One notable theme of this discussion was the many ways the American theater has failed to equitably represent Indigenous stories. Focusing on shows that primarily highlight caucasian protagonists and stories.  President Peterson says, “I always talk about representation matters. Art and music, they’re kind of universal and can be taken in by everybody right?”  The panelists said that this is why Where the Summit Meets the Stars and the collaboration with Perseverance Theater is so important.  This work aids in the continued re-indigenization of theater and the decolonization of the rehearsal process. To this point the cast shared stories with President Peterson and Qacung Blanchett about how they would take days to go outside. Going on canoe rides, creative team blueberry picking trips, and taking a dip in the cold waters of Auke bay. Supplanting eurocentric ideas of what a rehearsal period looks like. 

Erin Tripp stated, “Especially since Vera’s ‘Our Voices Will Be Heard” and “Devilfish”, […] I feel like there’s been a bigger drive forward to indigenizing the stage here. And also making it, not just indigenizing the performances but also the space for the Native community to feel welcome to come here and create our art and tell our stories”. 

The conversation flowed very naturally into what representation means on a larger scale, in mainstream television and streaming services. With some shows such as Reservation Dogs representing Indigenous voices truthfully while many others not doing nearly enough. Not putting in the work necessary to craft stories that Indigenous people can truly see themselves in. But the participants of the talkback were proud of the work that Native artists are doing to lift each other up. Creating work that inspires others to have their stories heard. Qacung Blanchett says, “I feel like there’s been an explosion of indigenous cultural expression and we’re apart of it, all of us.” 

As the talkback was coming to a close President Peterson had one more message for the cast and for the audience, “Where the Summit Meets the Stars, Devilfish, all these other plays and what Perseverance is doing matters. Because representation matters. My heart’s really just full of gratitude for all of you for putting yourselves out there, sharing your art, sharing your love, and representing us in the best possible ways.” Perseverance is honored and humbled to be a place in which the Tlingit and all Alaskan Native artists can come to create art that captures their experiences, their lives, and their love. We seek to be good stewards of this land and of our stage so that trust and gratitude can continue to be built. 

Thank you again to President Richard Chaylee Éesh Peterson and Stephen Qacung Blanchett for collaborating on a wonderful talkback. Your partnership is forever humbly appreciated. Gunalchéesh!

Playwright, author, screenwriter, actor, educator, director… Tlingit theatre artist Frank Henry Kaash Katasse is certainly a multi-talented guy! And in just over a month, his brand new play Where the Summit Meets the Stars will receive its world premiere production on the Perseverance Theatre mainstage. 

Okay, that’s your cue to get really excited. Seriously! This is a good one. Here’s a little sneak peek: 

Where the Summit Meets the Stars is an ethereal Alaska Native story driven by music, dance, and the culture of the Tlingit people. When a near-death experience derails her flight through Southeast Alaska, Rose awakens to find herself in the care of the kind man who pulled her to safety. But who is this mysterious stranger? And how is it possible that she survived? As they journey by boat through the darkness and fog, Rose untangles the mysteries of her past, questions the world around her, and comes to an inescapable crossroads.

I mean, if you weren’t already pumped before, you’re definitely hooked now, right? In my own excitement, I decided to hop on the phone with Frank to learn more about this upcoming production, his work as a writer, and how Where the Summit Meets the Stars came to be. 

I asked him to go back to the very beginning and answer this question: How did you become a playwright? 

“Initially I wrote a monologue because I was wanting one to audition with, and I was having a hard time finding a Native monologue that I could use,” Frank explained. “I wanted to Indigenize my audition, and I was looking frantically for a monologue and I just could not find one!”

So in order to support himself as an actor, he sat down after work one day and wrote a monologue that was just a few minutes long. But what he found was that not only was he able to write pieces that spoke to him personally, but that he really enjoyed the actual process of writing. He was inspired by the things he saw around him, and that led to a new habit of writing on a more regular basis. And his monologues and poetry began to form something bigger.

“It all kind of came together and I realized I could make it a play,” continued Katasse. “And that became They Don’t Talk Back.” 

But at first, it was difficult to get the full-length play They Don’t Talk Back off the ground. 

“No one read it,” said Frank. “Not their fault! I get stuff and I don’t read it sometimes. So I thought, ‘Maybe it’s not that great’, and I kind of sat on it for a long time.”

But when Frank was introduced to Jean Bruce Scott, the founder and Producing Executive Director of Native Voices at the Autry, she learned that he was an emerging playwright and encouraged him to submit his work to a Native Voices full-length play competition. His play was a hit, and They Don’t Talk Back would eventually go on to be produced by Native Voices and La Jolla Playhouse, and by Perseverance Theatre. After that success, he continued to write, dabbling in plays, television scripts, books, short stories, and more.

“I still have major impostor syndrome, because I never studied how to do this,” said Frank. “But acting in plays for years beforehand gave me an idea of the style and tone of plays that I like to read and do. I was trying to use as much of that as I could.” 

And he has certainly been able to embrace his own interests, style, poetry, and humor in his work, exploring themes and stories that resonate with him and with his culture. 

“I like to tell contemporary Indigenous stories. I purposely try to timestamp all of them so I can try to fit them into different decades over the past forty years,” elaborated Katasse. “Going to school in Hawaii, I loved the idea of local theatre and Indigenous Hawaiian theatre and I thought, ‘This is something that’s needed in Southeast Alaska for my Tlingit culture!’ I want to do plays showing contemporary Indigenous stories. This is us right now. I’m trying to change the idea that a lot of Indigenous stories are in the past.” 

With They Don’t Talk Back, The Spirit of the Valley, his work as a writer for the PBS Kids show Molly of Denali, and now Where the Summit Meets the Stars, Frank is certainly succeeding in bringing contemporary Alaska Native characters and stories to the stage and screen. And he purposely creates characters that he knows anyone in the audience can relate to. 

“It’s like you’re playing darts and you’re throwing darts at a dartboard,” Frank explained. “Everyone can throw a dart at that board and find something they relate to in that play. People who are Indigenous are going to get closer to the bullseye. The random dude from San Diego is going to throw it and hit an outside ring because he knew the characters and knew the story. Making universal characters that people can relate to was really eye-opening. We’re all human beings and we’re all connected to each other!”

And this brings me back to Where the Summit Meets the Stars, a story set in Southeast Alaska featuring modern-day Tlingit characters facing very real and relevant challenges. Perseverance has been hoping to bring this piece to the mainstage for a long time, and if not for the pandemic, it would have already made its world premiere. Yet even with all of this anticipation, the script itself came together quite quickly. 

When Frank accepted a short playwriting residency with La Jolla Playhouse, he expected to use his time there to write a completely different story.

“But you get an idea in your head and you just start writing,” said Frank. “It was a seed of an idea that kept festering and grew. I’d wake up at four in the morning and feverishly write. I remember telling an elder that, and he told me that four in the morning was a magical time to be writing. It was a very magical journey to write this.” 

And when the folks at La Jolla asked if he could give them a dozen pages by the end of the week, Frank was able to tell them, “I wrote thirty yesterday!” Where the Summit Meets the Stars was written in just one week, an amazing feat for a full-length play, and the script has continued to grow and evolve since. 

Now, Katasse is directing the world premiere production of his own play on the Perseverance mainstage. And when I asked him how it felt to be directing a live in-person production of something he had written, he said, “It feels good, man!” 

He then went on to say, “There’s nothing like the excitement of being in the theatre on opening night. Every once in a while you’ll get a zap of zen when you’re working on these plays. It feels like the first time you’re hearing other people say your words or hearing people discussing your play, and you’re like, ‘Wow they really care about this!’ I think just being there and experiencing something with them and sharing the same heartbeat and perspective as an audience member, it’s something magical. It’s a very human thing.”

You can experience the magic by joining us in the audience for this ethereal Alaskan production.  And you can also support Frank Henry Kaash Katasse’s work by tuning in to Molly of Denali or keeping an eye out for his new play Once Upon a Tide which recently received a reading produced by Theatre Alaska featuring an entirely Tlingit cast.

Now I have to ask: How does it feel to know that we’ll be able to see Where the Summit Meets the Stars soon? It feels good, man.

Where the Summit Meets the Stars runs on the Perseverance Mainstage in Juneau October 7th, 2022 – October 23rd, 2022. For more information, go online to PTALASKA.ORG.

Theatre made me trans. 

No, but seriously, if I hadn’t been introduced to theatre, I would be a different person. And that person would be very unhappy and unable to make sense of who they are. 

Before I learned how to write, five-year-old me used Broadway cast recordings of Les Misérables, Urinetown, and Fiddler on the Roof as a means to express and perform my gender identity before I even knew what gender was. I would sing, dance, and act out all of the traditionally male roles — my favorites being Valjean, Officer Lockstock, and Tevye. My little voice would do its best to mimic the deep, rich sounds of the professionally-trained and fully-grown men. I would stand on a precarious stack of pillows to give the very convincing illusion that I was tall. Sometimes I would give myself facial and chest hair using my mom’s mascara. I felt like I could be anyone, like I was a shapeshifter who laughed at the idea of gender being static — but at the time, I settled with being a “tomboy.” 

At the adventurous age of seven, I wrote hundreds of pages of stories entirely constructed of dialogue, which my mom called plays. My most significant story was about an armadillo named “Army” who was based off of the title character from the movie Rango. When I wrote Army’s dialogue, I imagined what I would say as myself if I existed in the world of Rango, where quirky desert animal townspeople use water as currency and are under constant threat from hawks and gunslinging rattlesnakes. Army is just somebody who wants to help everyone. He’s also a guy, which was very important to me. He became the version of myself that didn’t need to come out as trans. 

Looking back as a seventeen-year-old who’s been out for almost six years, I see how little-me was already a trans playwright.

After I came out, it became my mission to help fill the void of trans representation in mainstream media. I only wrote about trans people, and a few of my teachers, especially my playwriting teacher at school, worried that I was limiting myself. They thought that I wouldn’t be “successful” as a writer, but their ignorance only fueled the importance of my mission. I indulged myself with all-trans casts, research about gender non-conforming people in the early twentieth century, and playwriting workshops on Zoom led by people who became my new mentors. For the first time ever, I had a trans writing teacher. 

He was the artistic director of a trans-owned and operated theatre in Minneapolis called Uprising. I watched recordings of the plays produced by Uprising, all of them centering trans voices, and I was invigorated. This, I thought to myself, is the kind of theatre I want to see everywhere. This is the kind of theatre I want to make! My first pandemic project became a one-act play about uncovering the lost history of trans people, while centering the life of Murray Hall. 

Murray Hall was a real person in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. He lived his entire life as a man for over fifty years, until his female sex was discovered after his death from breast cancer. He was originally from Scotland, but was forced to emigrate after his ex-wife outed him as a “crossdresser” to the police. To escape prosecution, he changed his name and escaped to New York, where he founded an employment agency and dabbled in local politics. All of this is just scraping the surface of his life story, which I’ve continued to research for the past three years. 

Writing a play about him was very emotional for me. I felt like I was learning about a long lost family member, like Murray was my great-great-great-grandfather. I believe that there’s this ineffable connection that all trans people can experience with each other — a connection that can transcend generations, families, and distances and allow us to feel like we really know and understand each other without ever having met before. It’s rooted in our shared experience, certainly, but I believe there is also a spiritual aspect to it as well — like all of our spirits are connected. 

The playwriting workshop I took at Uprising allowed me to establish my identity as a trans playwright. From them, I gained the confidence I needed to continue writing plays about trans people, despite the discouraging feedback I was receiving from school at the time. Unfortunately, Uprising is no longer in operation — they had to permanently close last year. When they closed, I was devastated, but I knew that they weren’t the only theatre out there where trans people are not just included, but celebrated. 

In 2021, Perseverance’s STAR program gave me the opportunity to stage my first ten-minute play. Violins With Alaskan Names is about a recently-out nonbinary kid (Aubrey) who goes camping with their step-dad, who is still learning how to be supportive. The play ends with them playing a violin duet together after they come to an understanding. I played the part of the step-dad, and one of the other STAR students played Aubrey. Rehearsing and performing this play was an intense experience for both of us, both emotionally and mentally. I remember feeling guilty for sharing a play that was so personal, but I was encouraged by my castmate and the mentors at STAR. They felt like this piece was important and that it could help people who are experiencing a similar conflict feel seen. I learned, from that experience, that theatre can help people find validation and closure. I am so grateful for everyone involved in STAR 2021 — without them, I wouldn’t have been able to develop the emotional confidence necessary to produce plays like Violins With Alaskan Names. 

Fast forward to May 2022, and I was commissioned by the STAR 2022 team to write a one-act play adaptation of a work in the public domain. I had already started to write an adaptation of As You Like It earlier in the Spring with a trans and contemporary spin, but I knew that STAR had recently produced an abridged As You Like It. I also wanted to challenge  myself to choose something that wasn’t Shakespeare. I was drawn to The Murder of Roger Ackroyd because it was by Agatha Christie, the “Queen of Mystery,” and because it was one of her lesser known works. 

I fell in love with the character of Hercule Poirot, and I quickly realized that The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is probably the most underrated Christie work ever. As I wrote this play, I thought about all of my past pieces, especially the one about Murray Hall. While Murray and Hercule are of different generations and one is fictional and one is not, I interpreted them both as being trans men who live “stealth” (trans people who live as their authentic selves, but don’t openly disclose their transness). With Poirot, I felt that same connection I felt with Murray Hall. I can’t really explain why, but I believe that one of the reasons why Poirot lived such a secretive life was because he didn’t want people tracing him to a different version of himself that he used to be. And like Murray Hall, some of the nosy and ignorant people around him believed that he was “hiding something,” but they couldn’t quite identify where their suspicion came from. Poirot also possesses a deep empathy and sense of awareness that contributes to his genius as a detective, but I wondered where and how he could learn to have such abilities.

I believe that him being of the trans experience explains this perfectly. When one is forced to hide a part of themself for a long time, they are required to develop a heightened awareness of their environment as a means of survival. His empathy could be attributed to the fact that he’s lived as different versions of himself and therefore can directly relate to the experience of people of both of the binary genders. He often talks about the differences in psychology between men and women (now an out-dated concept), and I noticed that his gendered ideas of psychology don’t actually apply to him. For example, he says that women are more observant and have stronger intuition than men, but he too is much more observant and intuitive than most people. He would probably explain this by saying that he is “a genius,” but perhaps he might also say that he has “the best mental qualities of both genders.” 

While I stand by the fact that theatre has enabled me to explore transness, I do not believe that I am “making” theatre trans. Anyone familiar with the origins of theatre would be able to see that theatre has been trans (or at the very least queer) for a long time. And likewise, I’m not “making” Poirot trans, I’m just affirming it as a possibility. Doing so also acknowledges the fact that trans people existed a hundred years ago, they just couldn’t be as open and explicit about it as a trans person like myself can be today. 

Producing trans plays like this adaptation of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd pays tribute to both the history of theatre and the history of trans people, and I am so grateful to Perseverance Theatre for housing my tribute as well as my growth as a trans playwright. 

It’s been a long journey since Covid first struck, and though it’s not over, it does feel good to say that we at Perseverance have completed our first full season of in-person theatre since March of 2020. 

We’ve had to be flexible, cautious, optimistic, and we worked hard to make it happen as safely as possible. And when we opened Fun Home in April of this year, a production we’d been waiting to present to the public since the pandemic first began its spread, I think it’s safe to say that the Perseverance Theatre community definitely felt like celebrating. We’re not out of the woods yet, but we can finally see the light through the trees. 

Of course, we certainly aren’t the only Alaskan organization that had to adapt quickly and creatively to these strange circumstances. Countless organizations, groups, institutions, and businesses were faced with challenges they had never expected to face. How could they continue to pursue their missions and serve their communities while staying safe, financially afloat, and adaptive? Could technology help us all to move forward and continue our work? With all of these changes, how will we all grow and evolve over time? Where will we be in ten years? 

It is these questions that inspired a season-long project that we’ve been working on since November of 2021: An Alaska-wide digital time capsule. And we’re getting ready to “seal” that time capsule on its flash drive in one short week, not to be “opened” again for the next ten years.

But first, let’s backtrack. 

Do you remember Voyager One by Jared Michael Delaney? The play that was chosen to open our first in-person season in the fall? Based on the fascinating history of the actual Voyager 1 space probe, the play is set in both the 1970s and the far distant future. The playwright asks the audience to think about how we’ll be remembered, what mark we’re leaving behind when we’re gone, and where we can find hope in our own future. We’re asked to think about our place in the universe as human beings and our relationship to each other. The story of Voyager One opens up conversations about space, time, humanity, and beyond. 

As we worked on this production, the themes of the play continued to resonate outside of the rehearsal room, especially as we thought about our own moment in time. We wondered what we could do beyond the production to continue to engage with these ideas and with our community.

The answer was simple. The real Voyager 1 space probe, launched in the 1970s and still floating through the cosmos to this day, contains a fascinating piece of history in the form of the Golden Record. This actual record plated in gold is filled with images, music, greetings in 55 different languages, and a series of “Sounds of Earth”, and was designed specifically so that if alien life were to discover Voyager 1, they’d be able to learn about humanity from what had been etched into its grooves. It is essentially a time capsule of humanity. 

Thus, our own time capsule was born. First, we determined the time capsule’s medium, settling on a digital time capsule contained on a simple flash drive. This would allow us the opportunity to look at how quickly technology can change over the course of ten years and to reflect on how significant those changes have been for all of us, especially over the last two years. It would also allow us to easily connect and share with organizations both in and out of Juneau. 

We then reached out to arts and cultural organizations throughout the state, and we asked ourselves and each other the following questions: 

What are we as artists and leaders working toward at this moment in time? Where do we hope to be in ten years? Where are we now and how are we moving forward? 

What emerged was an eclectic and beautiful mix of materials including images, text, audio, and video sent to us by 12 different organizations from Juneau, Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Palmer. From Alaska Native translations of text to images of successful in-person events to a full-length radio play, the time capsule contributions are a wide range of material showcasing each organization’s accomplishments, challenges, creativity, and perseverance over the last two years. 

And on June 30th at 4:30 pm, we will “seal” this time capsule in its flash drive and it will live in the Perseverance Theatre lobby for the next ten years. 

Sure, ten years may seem like a short time, but think about how quickly things change. Ten years ago, we couldn’t have imagined that a pandemic would ravage the globe and change so much of what we knew. We couldn’t have predicted that we’d be wearing masks and attending Zoom meetings and watching theatre online. We don’t know where we’ll be in ten years, and the other participating organizations don’t know either. 

What we can do is think about where we are now and where we would like to be. We can hope that the work we’ve done now has led to something positive and has done some good for our communities. We can hope that we are thriving and that we’ve continued to collaborate with each other beyond this time capsule. We can have hope for the future, just like those who sent Voyager 1 into space over forty years ago. And when we open the time capsule ten years from now, I hope we can look back with joy and think about how far we’ve come.

Participating Organizations: 

Alaska Humanities Forum

Alaska Native Heritage Center

Anchorage Concert Chorus

COVIDatos Alaska

Doyon Foundation

Fairbanks Arts Association

Juneau-Douglas City Museum

Juneau Ghost Light Theatre

Out North

Perseverance Theatre

Pier One Theatre

University of Alaska Fairbanks Music Department 

University of Alaska Southeast