Theatre as Education: Chemical Valley Project Seeks To Inform Audiences Over Atrocities of Chemical Valley
On November 13th, I had the unique privilege of virtually attending a digital live-stream of The Chemical Valley Project, a production featuring a unique mix of projection design, object puppetry and solo-performance. This show first premiered in 2017 at the Art in Solidarity: Performance in Protest in Toronto, Ontario. Since its original premiere, the show has toured across Ontario, BC, and even in Germany in 2018. The production was performed from the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in St Catherines, Ontario, but was co-presented by The Grand Theatre (Kingston, Ontario), The Rose Theatre (Brampton, Ontario) and the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts (Oakville, Ontario).
The show primarily focuses on the Chemical Valley, a literal valley of over sixty two chemical factories in Sarnia, Ontario. Specifically, it discusses the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, an Anishinabee First Nation band located in the midst of the factories, whose physical health has been profoundly affected by the factories. This production proved how theatre can be a tool for social change as it informed myself, and likely other viewers, about the health disparities that the Aaamjiwnaang’s people are subjected to. In fact, members of the tribe are more likely to be still-born or asthmatic than non-members because of the amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the region. In fact, a 2013 study found that children within the Aamjiwnaang tribe had two to seven times higher levels of PCB’s than the average child. The Chemical Valley Project highlights two members of the tribe, Vanessa and Beze Gray, who have been doing ample amounts of activist work to fight for their own community.
The show was exclusively performed by Kevin Matthew Wong, Artistic Director of Broadleaf Theatre, a theatre company exclusively devoted to tackling environmental issues with theatre. The show itself clocked in at 7 minutes. Towards the beginning of the show, a blanket with a QR code embedded onto it was presented on the stage. Viewers then took out their phones, scanned the QR code and were taken to a page full of “digital candy”, with tons of resources surrounding Aamjiwnaang, as well as other issues relevant to Indigineous rights in Canada such as the Wet’Suwet’en Solidarity and Mi’Kmaq FISHERS solidarity. It was issues such as the recent Mi’Kmaq Fishers in Nova Scotia who were subjected to horrific attacks by non-Indigeinous fisherman for exercising their rights to fish outside the commercial season, that only amplified the sense of urgency and relevance within the show.
As well, the unique mixed media of the production was phenomenally well-done. I loved the documentary elements, and how the show innovatively used technology (such as the QR code) as a source of education and activism. Parts of the show felt a bit out of place: while Wong’s repeated joke about his bubble tea was clearly meant for some comic relief in between moments of heavy and sombre discussions, the joke itself felt pretty cheap. However, Wong is a gifted story-teller, beautifully balancing a calmness and presence, allowing himself to use his passionate anger without losing clarity of the situation.
It also discusses other aspects of Indigineous culture that don’t directly deal with land issues such as Two-Spirit Identity, a term used within Indigenous communities to describe those who do not conform to the Gender Binaries, while also referring to an umbrella term for Queer Identity within an Indigenous context. The show also felt incredibly educational as in some moments it even taught audiences basic Indigenous vocabulary words. Again, moments like these in the show prompted me to educate myself and research afterwards, which is one of the biggest praises an audience can give towards a show.
I especially admired the ending of the show: Wong reflecting on his heritage with parents born in Hong Kong, an obviously colonized country. He discussed how perhaps his own history as being part of a colonized country led him to become so invested in Indigenous issues in Canada, despite Wong not being Indigineous himself. He even went as far to discuss how his parents were proud to an extent to be from Hong Kong, a colonized country, as that meant they came to Canada as English-speakers, easily able to immerse themselves within Canada.
It also discusses other aspects of Indigineous culture that don’t directly deal with land issues such as Two-Spirit Identity, a term used within Indigenous communities to describe those who do not conform to the Gender Binaries, while also referring to an umbrella term for Queer Identity within an Indigenous context. The show also felt incredibly educational as in some moments it even taught audiences basic Indigenous vocabulary words. Again, moments like these in the show prompted me to educate myself and research afterwards, which is one of the biggest praises an audience can give towards a show.
I especially admired the ending of the show: Wong reflecting on his heritage with parents born in Hong Kong, an obviously colonized country. He discussed how perhaps his own history as being part of a colonized country led him to become so invested in Indigenous issues in Canada, despite Wong not being Indigineous himself. He even went as far to discuss how his parents were proud to an extent to be from Hong Kong, a colonized country, as that meant they came to Canada as English-speakers, easily able to immerse themselves within Canada.
The simplicity of the production design worked exceptionally well for the tone of the show. It encouraged viewers to hone in on the stories and issues being presented, rather than be distracted by theatrical elements. While I’m sure it was mesmerizing in person, I felt that the minimalism of it translated beautifully to a virtual screen. I would recommend this show for a piece of education, as well as it’s entertainment and production value. I went in unaware about the horrors of the Chemical Valley, and left with an informed awareness of an atrocity in my own province I was born and raised in, eager to learn more.