Q&A with Creator Sandra Laronde
Sandra Laronde is a leader and multidisciplinary artist from the Teme-Augama Anishinaabe nation. She has created, directed, and produced over 21 original productions that have been seen across the globe. As the founding artistic director of Red Sky Performance, Canada’s leading Indigenous contemporary performance company, Sandra brings bold new forms of storytelling and innovative collaborations in dance, theatre, music, and multimedia.
The company has performed close to 4,000 shows on stages in 24 countries on 4 continents. Her inexhaustible energy extends to cultural diplomacy, forging stronger ties by representing Canada on prestigious global stages and at influential international events such as the Venice Biennale, Canadian Heritage’s inaugural Creative Industries Trade Mission to China, a Trade Mission to Europe, two Cultural Olympiads (Beijing and Vancouver), among others.
She Holds Up The Stars follows a young Indigenous girl searching for her mother’s truth. Through an unexpected bond with a spirited horse, she finds courage and resilience–mirroring Laronde’s own lifelong exploration of identity, belonging, and the enduring pull of land and family.
The production blends theatre and striking life-sized puppetry (created by UK designer Nick Barnes) with an original score by composer Eliot Britton, performed live by the TSO. The result is an immersive and emotionally charged experience for audiences of all ages–and a significant artistic leap for Laronde as she transforms a deeply personal novel into a large-scale theatrical and symphonic production.
Editor’s Choice
How would you describe your journey of She Holds Up the Stars?
When I was first writing She Holds Up the Stars, I knew that I didn’t want the words to only sit on the page; I wanted them to lift, to move, to breathe and to be embodied,” says Laronde. “This production weaves storytelling, movement, music, visual design–and even life-sized puppets–into a bold hybrid that centres an Indigenous girl’s inner life–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–most of all–possibility.
The stage play is not a literal adaptation of my novel. I distilled the novel. I chose what was essential and what would work on stage. I didn’t translate—I reimagined. I moved away from internal narration and turned everything into action — what Misko thinks becomes what she does on stage. I also reimagined the horse — instead of describing it, we experience it through a life-sized puppet, which creates a completely different emotional relationship. And structurally, I distilled the story down to its essential journey — And I stripped the story down to its core — letting go of anything that didn’t serve the emotional journey in a theatrical way. My concept of performance has always explored the relationship between multiple disciplines including storytelling, theatre, movement, live music, and media. For the first-time, I am working with life-sized puppetry as a new avenue for storytelling.
What does the relationship between the girl and the horse reveal about trust, healing, or guidance?
The relationship between Misko and the horse is not about control and domination—it’s about mutual recognition. Misko meets the horse with compassion, empathy, and honesty. Through that, trust is built one step at a time, and that trust becomes a pathway to healing for both Misko and for the horse. It’s a two-way relationship.
The horse feels like more than just an animal—how would you describe its presence in the story, and what does it represent for you?
The horse really represents a spirit that can never be conquered or dominated. The horse is deeply connected to land and represents land as well as the Indigenous spirit. The horse feels Misko’s love—he feels understood—and that’s where a different relationship becomes possible. Not control, but trust, and the horse remains still wild deep in his heart.
What was process like working together to create and bring the horse to life?
I was drawn to Nick’s work because of the emotional life he brings to puppetry—it’s never just technical. From the beginning, I was clear that the horse had to feel real, not symbolic. We worked closely to shape its design and movement language so that it could breathe, listen, and respond. It was a true collaboration, grounded in a shared commitment to bringing the horse fully to life.
How did movement and puppetry help express something spiritual or emotional that words couldn’t, and how did you guide the performers to create the horse’s personality, rhythm, and presence?
I wanted to explore the limitless creative possibilities of puppetry and how it can expand storytelling, technique, and stagecraft. Puppets are not bound by human anatomy—they can be massive, delicate, surreal, or shapeshifting—and that allows us to move beyond human limitation.
Puppetry communicates on a deep, often fantastical level. It can transcend language and cultural boundaries, reaching audiences in a more immediate and visceral way. Because it is such a specialized form, it requires focused expertise. I brought in Scarlet Wilderink as puppetry movement director—she’s incredibly astute and works with the performers to build a shared rhythm, breath, and sense of ensemble so the puppet feels fully alive. The puppeteers are also mic’ed so you do hear them whinny, bray, and scream. It adds a beautiful sonic layer to the show. The horse’s voice is not silenced.
In what ways does the horse help the audience feel the land as a living, relational presence rather than just a setting?
The horse is deeply connected to the land—it moves with it, responds to it, and reflects its energy. Through the horse, the audience begins to feel that the land is not passive, but active and alive. It’s robust. It shifts the perspective from land as backdrop to land as relation. That relationship is central to how the story unfolds.
How did Teme-Augama Anishinaabe teachings about land, stewardship, spirituality, culture, and connection influence how it appears in the story?
Teme-Augama Anishinaabe teachings are foundational to how the story is shaped. The understanding that everything is in relationship—people, land, spirit—guides both the narrative and the process. These teachings aren’t explained; they’re lived through the characters and the structure of the work. They ground the story in a worldview that is both specific and deeply resonant of my experience growing up on land and in relationship with land. As Indigenous peoples, land is first and my relationship to land is a source of joy.
Have you continued any connections with horses through your life, and if so how have they influenced you as an adult?
Horses have remained a point of connection for me over time. Since the age of five, I’ve been drawn to them—I don’t fully know why, but it’s been constant. I’ve explored this connection in earlier works as well, including Tono, which focused on the plains horse cultures of Canada and Mongolia. That dance and live music production went on to be performed at two Cultural Olympiads (Beijing and Vancouver), World Expo Shanghai, and toured across Canada. There’s a presence and intelligence in horses that I deeply respect. They respond to compassion, clarity, and relationship—they can’t be forced. And, quite simply, horses have given so much to human civilization, often without acknowledgment. They are, in many ways, the unsung heroes of stories that tend to center only on humans—generous, perceptive, and big-hearted.
What do you hope audiences—especially young people—take away about connection: to land, spirit, and themselves?
I want audiences to feel moved — and to understand that their relationship to the land can be different, that it’s relational. I want them to see that young people can stand up for what they believe is right and just, and to recognize that the world extends way beyond the human. And I hope they come away understanding that Indigenous stories are powerful, exciting, and expansive.
Are you working on any new projects now, and can you give us a hint about what’s next?
There are always new ideas in motion. I’m interested in continuing to push form—bringing
together disciplines in ways that feel unexpected but grounded. There are a few projects in early
development, but I never reveal what they are until further down the track. You will have to wait
and see. Sandra says with a smile.
She Holds Up The Stars, an original contemporary Indigenous story presented by Red Sky Performance will be playing on April 19th at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall on April 19, 2026 (1:30pm & 4pm). Click here to find out more and purchase tickets.
