Vancouver Island based musician Katrina Kadoski combines art with music as she recounts the tale of Vancouver Island character and all round touch, resourceful woman Cougar Annie in her one woman show “Cougar Annie Tales.”
She brings Cougar Annie Tales to the Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Sunday, April 22 with a multi-media presentation including video, photographs and music, followed by a performance by The Edgedwellers, her duo with Peter Wahl.
“Cougar Annie moved to Canada to avoid marrying a man her father wanted to marry. She outlived four husbands and six of her children (she had a total of 11 children) and is reputed to have shot 70 cougars, which is why people call her Cougar Annie,” said Kadoski, who performs under the name Kat Kado.
“ You have to be pretty resilient person to lead a life like that, so that really inspired me,” she said, adding she found a lot of inspiration in Annie’s story and decided to create a multi-media performance based on her life from 1915-83.
“It’s a one woman play, but there are other components like visual and audiovisual aspects as images of letters and photos are displayed behind me during the show,” she said,” adding moving to Vancouver Island and learning about Cougar Annie inspired her.
“I was between jobs and got a job as a caretaker north of Tofino. I actually first learned about her on a first date, so that encouraged me to research her life. She spent a lot of time at the Cougar Annie museum and read Margaret Horsfield’s book“ Cougar Annie’s Garden” about Cougar Annie as well as talked to some of the people who knew her.
“ It’s actually only a 33 minute float plane ride from Vancouver depending on weather and water conditions. But it can be pretty remote if the weather is bad,” she said, adding she didn’t mind the isolation.
“It was actually a really fun experience,” she said.
She performed Cougar Annie Tales at Fringe festivals in Port Alberni and Victoria, which lead to performances all over western Canada. It has grown a lot in the process, since she began performing it over the past seven years.
“People have letters and their own stories to share about Cougar Annie. So I’ve incorporated them into the show,” she said.
“It’s been quite a journey,” she said.
“It’s a nice show for an intimate audience,” she said.
The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 is advance, $18 at the door.