Indigenous theatre is nothing new to the world of performance art. This form of creation and expression has been around for decades and is the product of thousands of years of nuance and meaning.
With the launch of the new Indigenous Theatre program at the National Arts Centre (NAC) in September, this unique art form will be taking up permanent residency on the mainstream stage for the first time. Indigenous artists and playwrights across the country are excited about what this means for the future of Indigenous theatre and its relationship to Canada.
Listen to a short audio documentary on the Mòshkamo Festival, which inaugurated the Indigenous theatre department at the NAC. The documentary was co-produced by Regan Brown and Clare Duncan.
“One of the biggest things Indigenous people feel has been denied to them is a sense of legitimacy and sovereignty to be able to choose what form of art represents the different nations,” said Jesse Wabegijig, an actor from the Wikemikong Unceded Anishnaabek Territory on Manitoulin Island, Ont.
Wabegijig is currently studying at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in Toronto and has been acting professionally for years. Whether or not different Indigenous groups get to produce their art can depend on funding decisions from government organizations such as the Canada Council for the Arts. Wabegijig said the NAC’s Indigenous Theatre programs could open new doors.
“We’re hoping with an Indigenous theatre, it will have its own sovereignty to choose which productions get to be seen and which artists get to produce work,” said Wabegijig. “It will allow us to have greater control over Indigenous theatre as Indigenous people in a country where we don’t normally have a voice.”
Highway wrote the now-classic play The Rez Sisters in 1986 during his time on Manitoulin Island. It tells the story of a group of women going to Toronto to participate in the world’s largest bingo game.
He later brought this play to Toronto where it received an overwhelmingly positive response. It was one of the first plays written by an Indigenous playwright to be produced on mainstream stages.
The Rez Sisters was funded and put on by Highway and the Native Earth Performing Arts Group, as he could not find anyone to produce the play.
Drew Hayden Taylor, another Indigenous playwright, has written about how a reluctance to produce Indigenous theatre can be due to a lack of understanding for its storytelling roots. In his 1997 essay, “Storytelling to Stage: The Growth of Native Theatre in Canada,” Taylor writes about how European theatre is based in conflict. Take Romeo and Juliet. The play’s plot advances through the two titular lovers’ inability to be together and the ensuing conflict between their respective families. This narrative style is in direct contrast with Indigenous storytelling, which often promotes harmony among people.
“There’s no big fight, there’s no big car chase, there’s no big conflict per se,” writes Taylor. “So a lot of the artistic directors didn’t know how to handle this different way of telling a story.”
Indigenous theatre is entirely rooted in the culture of the people creating it. This is evident even in the various pre-production requirements of an Indigenous play, said Raymond Mitchell, assistant technical director of Indigenous Theatre at the NAC.
“I never got to think about the cultural needs of the artists in my previous work,” said Mitchell.
Mitchell said he has had in-depth discussions with artists to ensure their cultural needs will be met, which has included turning off the building’s smoke alarms to welcome smudging ceremonies.
Mitchell relayed a story where he himself went out to handpick cedar leaves for a playwright. “You have to be in the right state of mind to properly prepare for these artists,” he explained. “Everything they do has such a deep meaning and they need to feel that their practices are welcome here.”
Creating a feeling of safety is a huge area of focus for the current team at Indigenous Theatre. Lindsay Lachance, artistic associate of Indigenous Theatre, is finding ways to get people excited about coming to the NAC.
The Indigenous Theatre program has not received federal funding for its current season. Lachance voiced her hopes for the department to receive federal funding in the next year, but until then, she has been focused on community outreach.
“I use relational methodology in my outreach practices,” said Lachance. “I have been reaching out to relationships I have and inviting them to be involved in the work we are doing.”
This methodology has included inviting her friend John Chabot, an Algonquin NHL player, to give a pre-show chat to Indigenous youth before a production of The Hockey Sweater in December.
Lachance has also organized events like Adàwàning, an Indigenous women’s art market, last December. “We are working hard with the people we know to build community by creating safe and welcoming spaces,” she said.
For Lachance, these safe spaces create environments for spiritual and intellectual transformations. “The actual joy and proudness that goes into creating Indigenous Theatre, to me, really creates these moments of permanent transformation in the minds and the spirits of the performers,” said Lachance. “I think it can create moments of transformation for audiences as well. They can connect to something or learn a history they didn’t know about before.”
Lachance explained how building these transformative relationships is what Indigenous Theatre at the NAC is all about. “We are facilitating cultural exchange to have more knowledge on the past but also to work together to stronger futures together,” she said. “But there can also be transformation from non-Indigenous folks who are learning something for the first time or just coming to enjoy the show.”
Janne Cleveland, an English professor at Carleton University, specializes in the history of theatre. From a non-Indigenous perspective, she said the best thing folks can do is think about how they can support this initiative in a loving and respectful way.
“People need to get out there and get their butts in the seats,” Cleveland said. “This is truly something that will make us all richer.”
Having a permanent Indigenous Theatre program on the national stage opens very important doors, said Keith Barker. Barker is artistic director of Native Earth Performing Arts, an Indigenous theatre group based in Toronto.
“The visibility, the acknowledgment, and the voice the Indigenous playwrights are entitled to is now a possibility,” said Barker. “This new Indigenous program has a right to be there just as much as the French or English program, if not more.”
“This is not a gift–it’s self-determination.”
Indigenous theatre groups across the country are excited about the opportunities the new program at the NAC presents for artists. Jennifer Dawn Bishop, artistic director of the Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre in Saskatoon, said she cannot wait for people to experience the craft.
“People who are new to the art of Indigenous theatre should approach the work with an open mind and an open heart,” said Bishop.
She had lots of advice on how to enjoy the art form.
“Sit there, be yourself, don’t be afraid to laugh. Don’t be afraid to enjoy the story. If we are there to make you laugh, laugh!” exclaimed Bishop.“If it’s sad, then cry with us. Experience what you see with us.”
Feature image by Jessica Wittmann / NAC.
