projects

The Seventh Fire

The Seventh Fire is an immersive, in-the-round audio performance by Lisa Cooke Ravensbergen with Mishelle Cuttler, that sources traditional, oral Anishinaabe stories and societal roles as a way to evoke ceremony in the everyday.

The sound and the story are the somatic links to ancestral realms. The story takes place in the present, past, and future; above and below the earth. It follows disconnected sisters Daanis and Nimise, who reconnect on their ancestral territory. Their journey interweaves with that of Nokomis, their grandmother who raised them, as she lights her fires in the Spirit World.

A Neworld Theatre touring production. 

UPCOMING: The Seventh Fire will be featured as part of the Canadian Exhibition at the Prague Quadrennial in 2027.

Past touring locations include Australia, Ontario, and multiple runs in Vancouver, BC.

Here Here:
songs we sing for home

A red fleece vest. A lover’s pillow. A rabbit in the snow. In Here Here, 8 Vancouver writers contribute lyrics about their connection to the people, places, and things that make up home. Local composers Mishelle Cuttler and Molly MacKinnon shaped these words into songs that are in turns poignant, sexy, and sometimes hilarious. This collection of gorgeous tunes will be performed by a bespoke band of Vancouver faves, including Christine Quintana, Doug Gorkoff, Alan Ruiz, Sally Zori, and Cat Hiltz with an opening set from harpist/songwriter Elisa Thorn. From family histories to social anxieties, nature to migration, Here Here runs the gamut of story and style to offer a cohesive evening of reflections on ‘home’.

First presented by Little Chamber Music

Diamond Belly

Short film directed by Kyle D’Odorico. Alex’s grandfather is dying of stomach cancer. But when the old man starts claiming those aren’t tumours, but pilfered diamonds from a heist gone wrong in the old country, Alex starts seeing mysterious signs that this tall-tale might actually be true.

Composition and Sound Design by Mishelle Cuttler

Premiered at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival’s MAMM.

Bossy Girl Saves the World

Opera for Young Audiences currently in development through the Opera Sprouts program with Pacific Opera Victoria and Vancouver Opera. Music by Mishelle Cuttler, libretto by Scott Button