Ursula, as an adult, remembers her idyllic summers with her grandmother, an anthropologist who, after completing her Ph.D. in Zurich, returned to Churchill, Manitoba to continue studying and living closely with the bears with whom she shares the land. Seven weeks before, Ursula's thirteenth birthday, the grandmother for whom Ursula was named, disappeared on the tundra. Ursula has not spoken a word since her grandmother's disappearance. The two Ursula's shared a deep and abiding love, not simply for each other but also for the bears of Churchill. Ursula knows her grandmother would not die without leaving behind the lesson Ursula must learn if she is to grow into the person her grandmother knows she can become.
Ursula's quest on the tundra to find her grandmother's final gift for her drives the action of the play. Ursula's mother, Joan, and her lifelong friend, Harold Poitras, an RCMP officer are desperate and they follow every clue that might lead them to the almost-thirteen year old they both love.
The play ends with Ursula, Joan and Harold re-united. All three have learned the lesson, Ursula's grandmother taught her: Never close your eyes to the miracle of life.
Keywords: polar bears Churchill, Northern Lights, aging, transformation
Genre: Drama, Theatre for Young Audiences
Acts: 2
Run time: 90 minutes
Cast size: 4 actors
Male roles: 1
Female roles: 3
Casting breakdown:
Female - any age from 30+
Female - age 60+
female - a young actor who can play approximately 13-16
Male - approximately the same age as actor playing Joan. The surname Poitras can be either Metis or Indigenous.