TRUCK FIRE – Firefighters knock down a fire in a Ford Explorer truck in Arrowhead Trailer Park in the 1200 block of Sawmill Creek Road Saturday evening. One person received fire-related injuries and was taken to the hospital, Sitka Fire Department Chief Craig Warren said, and the truck was considered a total loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Warren said. The fire hall received the call about the fire at 5:33 p.m., and one fire engine with eight firefighters and an ambulance were dispatched, he said. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Weekend Play Highlights Sesquicentennial Issues
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The curtain goes up Saturday on a locally written play that takes a look from several perspectives at what Sitka may have been like at the time of the Alaska transfer in 1867.
In this sesquicentennial year, organizers hope the production will spur conversation from other perspectives – and healthy dialogue – among members of the community.
“It’s a good project because it addresses issues that need to be brought out,” said producer Jeff Budd. “We as a community need to be able to talk about it. Hopefully, it’s a step in the right direction for more connection and more harmony.”
“Sitka: A Transfer Story,” by Zachary Desmond, will be presented at 5 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi. The show is presented by the Sitka Historical Society, and runs about 50 minutes.
The story was inspired by the 1870 Sitka visit of Lady Jane Franklin, the wife of Arctic explorer John Franklin. After the British explorer went missing on his last expedition into the arctic, his wife spent the next 20 years looking for him.
“It was a huge international mystery,” said Director Taylor Ciambra.
The story is set in 1870, three years after the transfer of Russia’s Alaska claims to the United States. The story and the characters are fictional.
Four actors play all the roles, with Seaton Bryan, Destony Rosas, Lisa Brooks and Sarah Gibson doubling up to cover all the parts.
From left, Seaton Bryan, Lisa Brooks, and Destony Rosas get into character during a rehersal, Thursday. (Sentinel Photo)
Characters include Lady Jane Garfield (Gibson); Ivan the Russian trader (Rosas); Gregory, who is of Tlingit and Russian heritage (Rosas); Father Salkaloff, a Russian Orthodox priest (Bryan); Major Bell, an American major (Rosas); Benji, a California transplant who works with Lady Jane (Brooks); a Tlingit grandma (Brooks); and a prostitute, Mary (Rosas).
Brooks said she auditioned because she has enjoyed past theatrical experiences, and was eager to take on a play that tackles a challenging topic.
“It talks about a difficult subject we’re dealing with in our time, which is racism,” she said. “The play talks about how Native people were treated, and how a person who is biracial has to walk a difficult line.”
Brooks said she identified with this difficulty: her mom is a third generation Italian and her dad’s family is from Barbados.
“I never know what box to check,” she said.
She said the play should inspire more conversations on the subjects raised in the story.
“I like that this play goes deeper – I hope it promotes dialogue and conversations about who we are as a people and how we treat each other,” she said. “With the divide we have in our country, we need to think about how we’re all here together, living in this beautiful country, and we’re all in it together as one.”
The play is a project of the Sitka Sesquicentennial Committee, which has been creating programs and projects in connection with the transfer all year.
“It is important to consider this year as a commemoration rather than a celebration, because the transfer was not celebrated by all parties involved,” the committee says in its mission statement. “Still, the Sesquicentennial commemoration is an excellent opportunity to share in the different perspectives on the Treaty of Cession and its impact on Sitka and Alaska.”
Desmond, a Sitka resident who is currently studying acting at the Juilliard School, was selected a year and a half ago to write a play about the sesquicentennial.
Budd said Desmond turned out to be the “go-to person’ when the subject of finding a local playwright for the project came up.
It was not an easy task. Starting about 18 months ago, it involved feedback from the public, table reads, and recruiting a director. Ciambra majored in directing at college, and directed a one-act play in 2015 when she lived in Sitka as a Jesuit Volunteer.
She said she was happy to come back to Sitka for the directing job for a new play that takes on subjects, such as grief and racism, with a message in the end of harmony.
“Things aren’t how they should be but they can still be something good,” she said.
Budd said he wanted to thank the Rasmuson Foundation, First National Bank Alaska, Artists Cove, Alaska State Council on the Arts, Harry Race Pharmacy, Sitka Rotary Club, Sitka Historical Society, Holland America Advisory Committee and an anonymous donor for support.
Tickets are $10 at Old Harbor Books and the door.
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20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Businesses using the Centennial Hall parking lot testified Tuesday against a proposal to charge them rent in addition to the $200 annual permit fee. City Administrator Hugh Bevan made the proposal in response to the Assembly’s direction to Centennial Hall manager Don Kluting to try to close the $340,000 gap between building revenues and operational costs.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Alaska Native Brotherhood Grand President William S. Paul Sr. will be special guest and speaker at the local ANB, Alaska Native Sisterhood Founders Day program Monday at the ANB Hall.