{"id":122439,"date":"2026-03-10T12:17:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T16:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=122439"},"modified":"2026-03-19T15:49:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T19:49:29","slug":"scoop-red-sky-performance-toronto-symphony-orchestra-present-world-premiere-holds-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/03\/10\/scoop-red-sky-performance-toronto-symphony-orchestra-present-world-premiere-holds-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"THE SCOOP | Red Sky Performance & Toronto Symphony Orchestra Present The World Premiere Of She Holds Up The Stars"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Scene
Scene from Red Sky Performance\u2019s She Holds Up the Stars (Photo: Jason George)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Red Sky Performance and Toronto Symphony Orchestra have announced the world premiere of She Holds Up the Stars, an Indigenous-led production for young audiences, and anyone who enjoys storytelling and immersive performance. It\u2019s based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Sandra Laronde, and takes the stage at Roy Thomson Hall on April 19 for two public performances.<\/p>\n

There will also be school shows from April 13 to 18.<\/p>\n

The multidisciplinary immersive production includes theatre and large-scale puppetry with live orchestral music. It\u2019s a coming of age story with themes that revolve around belonging, connection, identity, and our relationship to the land.<\/p>\n

Written, created, and directed by Sandra Laronde<\/strong>, She Holds Up the Stars was commissioned by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in association with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, TO Live, and the National Arts Centre\u2019s National Creation Fund.<\/p>\n

\"Scene
Scene from Red Sky Performance\u2019s She Holds Up the Stars (Photo: Jason George)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Story<\/h3>\n

\u201cWhen I was first writing She Holds Up the Stars, I knew that I didn\u2019t want the words to only sit on the page; I wanted them to lift, to move, to breathe and to be embodied,\u201d says Laronde <\/strong>in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis production weaves storytelling, movement, music, visual design \u2014 and even life-sized puppets \u2014 into a bold hybrid that centres an Indigenous girl\u2019s inner life \u2014 her intelligence, emotional depth, humour, and relationship to land and family. I want young people, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to see themselves authentically reflected in this story, and to recognize that their lives hold beauty, complexity, and \u2014 most of all \u2014 possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

She Holds Up the Stars, published in 2023 by Annick Press, won the Horace Mann Upstander Award and was named one of CBC Books\u2019 Best Canadian Books for Young Adults. It follows the story of a young Indigenous girl named Misko. She has moved to the Rez to live with her grandmother, and she\u2019s searching for her mother, who as gone missing. At her grandmother\u2019s, she finds a connection with a wild horse who\u2019s been captured and broken by ranchers, but still holds his spirited. Their friendship sends Misko on an emotional journey of healing.<\/p>\n

Laronde was inspired by her own experiences as a member of the Teme-Augama Anishinaabe (People of the Deep Water) in northeastern Ontario. She grew up longing for stories by Indigenous writers that connected with her own roots and culture, reflecting her connections with the land, along with the realistic inner life of a young person living in a complicated world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up with a deep connection to land that I wanted to explore in She Holds Up the Stars,\u201d says Laronde<\/strong>. \u201cThe story speaks to kinship and relationship to the environment, not ownership. By inviting audiences of all ages to experience the land as alive and relational, the work encourages care and stewardship rooted in respect. I want audiences to feel this relationship as a source of deep joy.\u201d<\/p>\n