Project Description

From the Heart: Enter into the Journey of Reconciliation is an innovative community dialogue project from Will Waigler inspired by Paulette Regan’s bestselling book, Unsettling the Settler Within. A multi-cultural group of non-Indigenous Canadians between the ages of 18 and 79 are finding common ground working together to create a unique theatre production and public dialoge about reconciliation in a creative form.

The story how the project was developed and how it was like in performance was photodocumented by Iya Stavitsky and formed a basis of the book “From the Heart – How 100 Canadians Created an Unconventional Theatre Performance about Reconciliation”.

Project Details

Client Will Waigler
Date February – August 2013
Skills Photography, Video Documentary

Project Gallery

Over a year of production and over a hundred of Gigabytes of photos.

Starting with an enormous web of twine that held and framed photos from workshops and production of the show at From the Heart’s lobby, to the depth of the labyrinth built from salvaged doors. windows, and fabrics, this gallery is just a glimpse at this innovative community performace/dialogue about Indigenous People in Canada and the legacy of colonization.

Video Documentary

A short documentary of workshops with interviews, and recordings of the production process of unique theatre experience.

Videography and Editing: Ilya Stavitsky

After having seen Ilyaʼs compelling photo documentation of several cultural
events at the Inter-Cultural Association, I was eager to invite him to join my professional
team of artists to document a major theatre production we created in Victoria, BC. 

Ilya has a knack for taking vivid images that, in a single frame, consistently capture the essence of what is
happening in the moment. I see a palpable sense of confidence and assuredness in his
work. I also asked Ilya to create a simple photographic record of the scenic elements of
the show and was thoroughly impressed by his capacity for finding beauty in each shot.

Will Weigler, PhD

Director, Producer, Playwright, Author, Community-based Theatre