May 1, 7:30 pm

Written by Kris Alvarez
Performed by Kris, Jim, and Susan Alvarez

“BANANA MUSIK. The name my Dad gave his original music, recorded on his 8-track in our basement – that name, that spelling with a clean, precise, bamboo font from a mechanical pencil on the spine of dozens of cassette tapes neatly packed in a leatherette case.”

In this memory play about aging, reciprocity, and care, 50-year-old “immigrant kid” Kris gives you a tour of her childhood home – the sights, sounds, smells – to meet her parents, while she takes inventory of ALL their stuff, trying to get to know them better in real time.

The 45-minute play has been described as a love letter to “adult-(immigrant) kids paying back parents who gave up everything”. Circling concepts of identity, relationality, and Filipino diaspora-immigrant experiences, this play offers audiences space for kind conversation and deeper reflection about how we are and aren’t relating to our older ones.

Kris Alvarez is a Treaty 4 Filipina theatre artist who enjoys a big laugh & a good cry.
Kris makes art like an 80’s mom makes a trip to the beach in her two-toned station wagon, blaring her favorite mixtape, picking up old & new friends. “No seatbelts, no ETA , but great snacks! Enjoy the scenery.”

Kris is lucky to work in Saskatchewan as a creator (Banana Musik, Burnt Sienna Blvd, Golden Potluck), an Artistic Associate (Curtain Razors), dramaturg-playwright (Sum Theatre), collaborator (Homebuddies, Prague Quadrennial), and performer (Bad Blood, Carmen Angel –Joey Tremblay / Reasonable Doubt, Bright Half Life -Persephone / Making Spirits Bright, Peter Pan, Steel Magnolias, Christmas Carol -Globe Theatre).