(Credit: Riddle Films)

Canadian baritone Elliot Madore will share the story of his experience as a biracial person through the new film, “Identity: A Song Cycle.”

In June of 2020, Madore’s Instagram post that read, “Being mixed-race has always left me justifying who I am,” Madore wrote. “I often get asked ‘What’s your background?’, replying ‘I’m black’, typically gets met with wide eyed disbelief” caught the attention of Against the Grain Theatre’s Founder and Artistic Director Joel Ivany. The two along with composer Dinuk Wijeratne and poet Shauntay Grant created the song cycle.

The filmed song cycle will explore themes of shifting identities, individuality, alienation, and belonging.

Through the support of the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund’s $100,000 grant, this work will be reworked.”Identity: A Song Cycle” will be set for stage performance for baritone, a jazz trio, and an orchestral accompaniment. These will premiere in the 2023- 24 season.

This work will begin streaming on Oct. 23.