Whale

Running Time: Two Act (time N/A) | Grade Range: All Ages

Touring: Currently not touring

Actors: 30 Characters

WHALE is an epic story based on real events where a group representing diverse facets of society work together for an environmental cause.  The contemporary story is interwoven with Inuit legends, and is suitable for family audiences.

To set the scene a storyteller relates the Inuit legend of Sedna, a girl with the most beautiful hair.  All men are in love with Sedna, along with the curious Raven.  Sedna fears the Raven and her suitors paddle her out to sea.  Thinking the Raven is chasing them, the men throw Sedna overboard, cutting off her fingers which become the fishes, seals, walruses and whales of the sea.  From that point on, Sedna is said to live in the bottom of the ocean, catching and drowning sea animals in her hair when she gets unhappy and punishing humans by taking away their food sources.  This legend becomes the premise for the events to come.

The action shifts to the present day. Off the coast of Alaska, three grey whales that should have migrated to warmer waters for the winter are trapped under a sheet of ice with no hole to breathe through.  The local community shows interest in the whales and work to keep the hole open to keep the whales alive.  Soon the task becomes too large for them, and the cause attracts the help of Alaska Oil employees, the Alaskan National Guard, a small suburban inventor and his children, even the US President and a contingent of Russians, attracting the attention of the international media.  This diverse group work together against the angry spirit of Sedna who constantly closes the ice over with freezing winds.

The play ends as it began returning to the Inuit legend.  The Raven wakes the spirit of a whale hunter and together they appeal to Sedna to untangle her hair and free the whales.

Curriculum Connections: Environment | First Nations | Wildlife Conservation