North Barn Theatre
“Watching a North Barn show feels like an invitation to dream about the futures that could be. You sit in your seat with a wide smile and imagine yourself joining them in their magical and whimsical acts of resistance.”
Upcoming, Ongoing & Past Events
Ghosts
A co-production of North Barn Theatre and Callamazo & Crew featuring the Fundy coast, North Barn’s puppets and Ghosts, a song by Callum Gaudet. This piece celebrates landscape’s past, future and present. Filmed in March 2023 at Two Islands, Nova Scotia.
People's Parade for Life on Earth
Saturday, April 22nd, time TBD
Halifax Waterfront
North Barn is partaking in this grassroots community parade hosted by the Ecology Action Centre, Mi'kmaw Grassroots Grandmothers, School Strike 4 Climate and others. The vision is for a joyful celebration of Mother Earth, of Water, of our communities and of our beautiful resistance for love, justice and all our relations. This events aims to be something everyone can see a place for themselves in, from the Water Walkers to the Girl Guides to choirs and drummers and drag queens and beyond.
Free
Past Events
Solstice Walk
December 21st, 2022, 6 - 8pm
Gardens of Hope, New Glasgow, PEI
Join North Barn Theatre’s Ian McFarlane and Laura Stinson for the River Clyde Pageant’s Solstice Walk.
“The Winter Solstice reminds us of the cycles of renewal and the potential for change as we emerge from the darkness. In the midst of an ongoing pandemic and the climate crisis, The Solstice Walk shines a light on our capacity for transformation through attention to and presence with our community and the natural world.”
-from the River Clyde Pageant Website
Cardboard Construction: An introduction to puppet building – FREE!
King's Theatre
209 St. George Street Annapolis Royal NS B0S 1A0
Sat. Nov. 26 & Sun. Nov. 27 from 10am-12:30pm
North Barn Theatre’s Laura Stinson and Ian McFarlane will facilitate this workshop that involves sculpting, weaving, wiring, cutting, and stapling cardboard to make puppets and masks. These techniques are used to make small and large scale puppet structures that are finished with cardboard mache. In two x 2.5 hour sessions participants will be led through puppet building techniques from design to use.
Lantern Making Workshop
Fire and Ice Festival, Kentville
Join Ian McFarlane from North Barn Theatre for a two day, hands-on workshop in how to design and construct an illuminated sculpture. Discover how to shape red osier dogwood and old bedsheets into a creation of your very own. Participants will be led through a step by step process that culminates in a lantern procession through Miners March on February 12th at 5pm.
Workshop Dates:
February 11th & 12th, 2pm - 5pm
Location:
Kentville Recreation Centre, 354 Main St, Kentville
Hosted by the Fire and Ice Festival, Kentville Business Community and the town of Kentville.
Puppet Lantern Construction
King's Theatre
-209 St. George Street Annapolis Royal NS B0S 1A0-
Sat. Nov. 26 & Sun. Nov. 27 from 1:30-4:00pm
Puppet Artists Ian McFarlane and Laura Stinson will facilitate this workshop on making illuminated sculptures with red osier dogwood, willow, fabric, wood glue and wire. Techniques used include splitting and bending natural materials to create shapes, how to fix them with wire and using fabric to create a surface that holds light. This workshop will take place in 2x 2.5 hour sessions.
Please Note: For AGES 12+. This workshop involves the use of sharp tools.
MULTIPLIER Performance Festival
North Barn Theatre is thrilled to be presenting new work at MULTIPLIER on September 17th and 18th, 2022. Multiplier Festival is an immersive daytime performance event for all ages
Small groups of audience will be led on a 1.5 hour journey and invited to take in performances along this (short) walk
Each artist will be presenting a new site-specific piece that invites the audience to engage in art outdoors
This experience takes place on unceded mi’kmaw land.
Location: 2136 Black River Road, Lumsden Dam
(Parking Available along Black River Road)
Friday April 22nd, 2022
Join us for an Earth Day Celebration and Parade at the People’s Place
North Barn Theatre will be there with information on how to make protest puppets
March 19th-20th, 12pm – 3pm
The Old Trout Puppet Workshop: 3640 15A Street SE, Calgary, AB
The Festival of Animated Objects & The Canadian Academy of Mask and Puppetry present
Willow Pageantry:
An introduction to sustainable large-scale puppet construction
with Ian McFarlane and Laura Stinson
This two-day workshop will introduce a collection of ecologically-conscious building techniques through a hands-on process of constructing a parade-styled puppet. Exploring a branch of ecoscenography, this workshop explores the life of materials and endeavors to reach beyond the presentation of a performing material to the ecosystems in which they are entwined.
Lantern Building Workshops
The North Barn Theatre Collective is partnering with the River Clyde Pageant to offer a series of free public lantern building workshops. Participants will learn to make lanterns out of willow, red osier dogwood, wire and cloth. These workshops will take place on:
Thursday, December 16th from 6 -8pm
&
Saturday, December 18th from 6-8pm
Pre-registration is required.
NOTE: Due to recent outbreaks of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia, all our lantern workshops have been moved online.