Spring 2008 - Canadian Actors` Equity Association

E Q U I T Y
Q U A R T E R L Y
EQ
S P R I N G
2 0 0 8
SEEKING EQUAL FOOTING
DEVELOPING NEW NATIVE VOICES
A PAL FOR YOUR RETIREMENT
Undeniably visible
Starting with Thomson
Highway’s The Rez Sisters
A GENERATION OF NATIVE
PERFORMING ARTISTS HAVE
FOUND THEIR WAY INTO A
HANDFUL OF ABORIGINAL
THEATRE COMPANIES SCATTERED
ACROSS CANADA. WITH THE
STAGING OF MARIE CLEMENTS’
COPPER THUNDERBIRD AT THE
NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE LAST
YEAR, ABORIGINAL PERFORMANCE
HAS FOUND ITSELF EMERGING
ONTO THE LARGER STAGE.
President’s
message
Let me begin by welcoming Yvette Nolan as guest editor of our first anniversary issue
of EQ. With only four issues under our belt, EQ is still working to refine its voice, but it seems
very fitting to me that with so many excellent voices among the ranks of our membership, we
should be turning to them for knowledge, inspiration and challenge on the many topics that EQ
will continue to cover. I hope this is only the first in such a series.
There is another item making its debut today, and that is the issue of Council Link you will
find tucked inside this magazine. With the departure from the 10-issues-per-year format of the
newsletter, Council lost the opportunity to talk directly to the membership on the same basis that
it had enjoyed in the past. Long lead-times for developing the kind of stories
that EQ strives to cover means that up-to-the-minute communication from
your board is more difficult to incorporate. We have posted material on the
website, but that does not come to you, and not all members have computers
or ready access to one.
Council Link was developed to fill that gap. It will vary in length and schedule according to need, but the lead-time for producing this simple insert is
much more manageable, and cost-effective. Needless to say, Council Link
is still a work in progress at this point, and I hope to bring voices other than
my own into your home as we develop it further. However, I can think of no
better use for the first edition than to bring your voices to you in the form of
a report from our recent survey.
In keeping with the theme of this issue of EQ, I’ll point out that one of the sections in the survey
centred on the challenges our members face in pursuing their careers. Heaven knows there are
more than enough of these, but diversity barriers rank among the most long-standing and, seemingly, intractable of them. And yet, pondering the matter, I can’t think of a good reason why this
topic is not so “yesterday” by now.
I’ll close with something I just read in the transcript of the 1986 (!) National Symposium on
Non-traditional Casting. Sean Mulcahy, then Acting President of ACTRA National, shared the
following:
[In 1963] the distinguished Black actor, Percy Rodrigues, stepped onto the stage
of the Shaw Festival in Androcles and the Lion as Ferrovius the Gladiator, and to
his eternal credit, the then-critic of the Toronto Telegram, in finishing his blazing
review of this actor said very quietly, “I understand that this is the first time the part
of Ferrovius has been played by a Black [sic] performer. From now on I will have
difficulty accepting anyone less.”
Shouldn’t we, the entire Canadian theatre community, have dealt with diversity barriers and
levelled them a long time ago? Let us not accept anything less.
Allan Teichman
President
SPRING 2008
EQUITY QUARTERLY 1
E Q U I T Y
Q U A R T E R L Y
EQ
6
9
10
S P R I N G
V O L U M E
2
2 0 0 8
N U M B E R
Reclaiming
our voice
1
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
3
NOTES FROM ARDEN RYSHPAN
4
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Initiatives for
the future
5
EQ MOVES
Supporting the
next generation
12 EQ VOICES
13 EQ LIVES
14 FONDLY REMEMBERED
16 EQ BACKSTAGE
17 EQ CLASSIFIEDS
EQ
SPRING 2008 – Volume 2, Number 1
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Lynn McQueen
EDITOR Marianne Lepa
GUEST EDITOR Yvette Nolan
DESIGN Fresh Art & Design
www.freshartdesign.com
DESIGN & LAYOUT Chris Simeon,
September Creative
1
Coming issue: SUMMER 2008
Equity members are encouraged to submit notices of births, marriages, memorial
notices and letters to the editor. Notices and accompanying photos MUST be sent via
email ([email protected]) or on disk with accompanying hard copy. Article submissions
MUST be sent via email ([email protected]) or on disk with accompanying hard copy.
The copy deadline for submissions is May 7, 2008. EQ reserves the right to edit for
length, style and content.
Publications Mail Agreement No. 40038615
EQ is published four times a year by Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.
EQ Equity Quarterly (ISSN 1913-2190) is a forum to communicate to Equity members
the activities of the Association and issues of concern to the Association. With the
exception of the editorial staff, the views expressed in solicited or unsolicited articles
are not necessarily the views of the Association.
Subscriptions are available at an annual rate of $35, including GST.
COVER AND INSIDE FRONT COVER: Billy Merasty performs in the National Arts Centre’s 2007 production of Copper Thunderbird.
ABOVE: Native Earth / Turtle Gals 2007 co-production of the world premiere of The Only Good Indian reclaimed and redefined the little known history of Aboriginal performers.
Notes from
Arden Ryshpan
Since I started this job last fall, I have literally travelled from coast to coast. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with members from B.C. to Newfoundland with many stops in between. And what
I have noticed is that the tremendous variation of landscape, climate and lifestyle in this country is
one of our greatest assets and, at the same time, one of our greatest challenges.
Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I can talk endlessly about the importance of Canadian cultural sovereignty. In fact, anyone who knows me well has probably had to sit and listen
(more than once… and over dinner too, probably…) while I carried on about it,
since I believe there is no issue of greater concern to the arts community. The
subtle erosion of our borders has given us access to the very best the rest of the
world has to offer; but, it has often crowded us out of our own backyard.
Ensuring that there is space in our bookstores, on our airwaves and on our
stages for Canadian material is of utmost importance. The rather hackneyed
phrase “telling our stories” is one that the politicians always use when paying lip
service to supporting the cultural industries. And, when they hear that phrase,
many Canadians roll their eyes and think, “Oh, here comes another dreary tale
about beavers and wheat.” But, they would be wrong.
What “telling our stories” really means is that we are expressing our concerns,
values and aspirations to each other – in ways that may be either familiar or not, but in ways that
hopefully resonate and make us say, “Yes, I recognize that, and it has something to do with me.”
That is why I am so pleased that this issue of EQ is spotlighting the work done in the Aboriginal
community. As a vital part of the weft and weave of the cultural fabric of this country, Canadian
Aboriginal companies use a mix of traditional and contemporary theatre, dance and song to express
the concerns, values and aspirations of their community. In doing so, they illuminate issues of
concern to all of us. Concerns about the environment, our children’s futures, the state of our health
and healthcare system, our ability to find work that pays us enough to live with some modicum of
comfort and aging with dignity – these are ideas that occupy us all. And then there are the tales of
how change can affect an entire community, the family dynamic and, of course, love found and
lost. These are stories that speak to us all.
There are some provocative ideas expressed in this issue – ideas that some of you may not be
familiar with and may not be sure how to respond to. That was, in fact, what I wanted when we
first started planning this issue. I hope that future issues of EQ will also take on big issues and bring
a new level of dialogue and perspective to the concerns and challenges facing all the members of
our profession.
Arden R. Ryshpan
Executive Director
SPRING 2008
EQUITY QUARTERLY 3
Letters to the editor
Support for Broadway stage hands
acoustics and audience comfort.” What
appreciated
was not mentioned was the major loss of
By now you are probably aware of the work two important theatres, the Betty Mitchell
stoppage that occurred on Broadway dur- Theatre in the Southern Jubilee Auditorium
ing this past November. The battle that was and the the Walter Kaasa Theatre in the
waged against Local One, the IATSE stage Northern Jubilee Auditorium. Both were
named to honour individuhands who work on Broadals who greatly influenced
way, was contentious and
the development of theatre
often heated. The strike lasted
in Alberta. The loss of both
19 days, and while the over
The Money Issue
those venues has had a pro800 actors who were working
found impact on the profeson Broadway weren’t involved
sional theatre in Alberta. The
in the negotiations, they were,
Kaasa Theatre housed in the
of course, directly affected by
basement of the Northern
the event. For 19 days while
Jubilee Auditorium was the
theatres were dark, the actors
home for long periods to
never wavered in their supWorkshop West, Northern Light, and the
port of Local One.
Some of your (CAEA) members were late Phoenix Theatres as well as a number
appearing in shows that were closed during of independent companies. The elimination
the strike. I am writing to say thank you to of those theatres should never have been
them for their support and understanding allowed to happen.
– James DeFelice, Equity member
of what was at stake. We at Actors’ Equity
Association believe that only through solidarity with our fellow unions will our indi- The challenge of new media
vidual unions survive in this world of glo- I was wondering if there were any plans to
balization. I was delighted to see that your discuss the issue of videos and photos that
members believe that, too.
we now find posted on My Space and FaceBroadway is once again open and boom- book in upcoming newsletters. I am appalled
ing. I hope that scenario will continue for a at how frequent this now is, mainly because,
very long time. And I pledge that when your I am not sure colleagues really do underunion faces situations similar to what we just stand what is required before doing this.
experienced, our members will stand by you
– Betty Hushlak, Stage Manager, Alberta
in solidarity.
New media usage is a significant challenge
– Mark Zimmerman, President,
facing the Association. While electronic
Actors’ Equity Association (U.S.) posting of photos and video is addressed
E Q U I T Y
Q U A R T E R L Y
EQ
Renovated Jubilees meant loss of
theatre spaces
I read with interest the article about the
history and the recent major refurbishment
of Alberta’s twin Jubilee Auditoriums. The
accompanying photographs showed the
exterior and interior of the auditoriums.
According to one of the captions “the theatres were gutted and rebuilt to improve
4 EQUITY QUARTERLY
W I N T E R
2 0 0 8
FINANCIAL PLANNING IS KEY
ALBERTA’S TWIN LADIES
LETTERS on subjects of concern to Equity members
will be considered for publication. The editor reserves the
right to limit letters and to select one or two representative
letters when many similar letters are received. Letters must
be signed, but names will be withheld on request for those
letters that may affect members’ employment.
Signatures will not be withheld on letters that are
antagonistic or accusatory, either implied or expressed,
against other members. Opinions expressed in Letters to
the Editor are not necessarily those of Canadian Actors’
Equity Association. Letters that include artistic criticism
of Equity members may be withheld or edited at the
discretion of the editor.
CHOOSING AN AGENT
in many of our agreements and policies, it
is hard to keep ahead of the rapid expansion of the internet and electronic technology. Equity members are encouraged
to direct questions regarding specific situations to their applicable regional Business Representative, or contact busrep@
caea.com for assistance or to report any
suspected unauthorized use.
– Executive Editor
NATIONAL OFFICE
44 Victoria Street, 12th Floor, Toronto, ON M5C 3C4
Tel: 416-867-9165 | Fax: 416-867-9246 | Toll-free:
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Western Office
505 - 321 Water Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1B8
Tel: 604-682-6173 | 604-682-6174 | Toll free:
1-877-682-6173 (members only)
woffi[email protected]
PHOTO CREDITS:
Cover and inside front cover: Andrée Lanthier
Contents page: Tim Matheson
Page 5: Tarek Abouamin
Page 6: Photographer unknown
Page 8: Nir Bareket
Page 10: Photo of Yvette Nolan and young man courtesy
of Native Earth Performing Arts; rest of page courtesy of
Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company (SNTC)
Page 11: Courtesy of SNTC
Page 14: Brydon Paige – Collection de la Bibliothèque de
la danse de l’Ecole supérieure de ballet contemporain &
Keith Knight courtesy of The Stirling Festival Theatre
Page 15: Photo courtesy of the Morse Family Archive
Page 16: Both photos courtesy of PAL Vancouver
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Cover and inside cover: Copper Thunderbird by
Marie Clements produced by the National Arts Centre
(Ottawa). Directed by Artistic Director Peter Hinton and
dramaturged by Paula Danckert. Cast: Herbie Barnes,
Reneltta Bourque, Byron Chief-Moon, Jonathan Fisher,
Margo Kane, Kevin Loring, Billy Merasty, Paula-Jean
Prudat and Michelle St. John. Stage managed by Louise
Currie with Assistant Stage Manager Stéfanie Séguin and
Apprentice Stage Manager Richard Wilson.
Contents page: The Only Good Indian co-production
between Turtle Gals Performance Ensemble and
Native Earth Theatre. Directed by Yvette Nolan and
dramaturged by Marie Clements. Written and Performed
by Jani Lauzon, Michelle St. John, Falen Johnson
(apprentice) and Cheri Maracle. Also conceived and
written in part by Monique Mojica. Stage managed by
Isaac Thomas.
Page 5: The Veil written and directed by Shahin Sayadi
based on Masoud Behnoud’s Khanoom. Produced by
OneLight/Neptune/Mermaid Theatre (Nova Scotia).
Cast: Lara Arabian, Valerie Buhagiar, Martin Burt, Nadiya
Chettiar, Pasha Ebrahimi, and Genevieve Steele. Stage
managed by Hilary Graham.
Page 6: fareWel by Ian Ross produced by Prairie Theatre
Exchange (Winnipeg). Directed by Libby Mason with
assistant direction by Monica Marx. Cast: Ryan Black, Lorne
Cardinal, Mark Dieter, Marsha Knight, Michael Lawrenchuk
and Tracey McCorrister. Stage managed by Rose Passante
with Assistant Stage Manager Wayne Buss!.
Page 8: The Scrubbing Project produced by Turtle Gals
Performance Ensemble co-produced with Native Earth
Performing Arts in association with Factory Theatre.
Directed by Muriel Miguel. Cast: Jani Lauzon, Monique
Mojica and Michelle St. John, Stage managed by
Deborah Ratelle.
SPRING 2008
EQ Moves
Performing arts people are going places
ACTRA Toronto presented Eric Peterson with the
2008 Award of Excellence in February. The Award
recognizes outstanding performances by local members and celebrates accomplishments and excellence
in the television and film industry.
Keira Loughran joined the Stratford Shakespeare
Festival (Ontario) as play development co-ordinator
in January 2008. She will oversee new play development for the theatre. Michael Rubenfeld has taken
over Keira’s position as Artistic Producer of the SummerWorks Theatre (Toronto), a juried theatre festival
featuring predominantly new Canadian plays.
Gideon Arthurs has replaced Chuck McEwen as Executive Director of the Toronto Fringe.
Jane Hargraft was appointed General Manager of
Opera Atelier (Toronto). She replaced David Baille
who left this position last year to head the International Society of Performing Arts in the U.S.
Del Surjik has accepted the position of Artistic Director
at Persephone Theatre (Saskatoon). Del was on hand
as the Saskatchewan arts and culture community celebrated the Persephone’s official grand opening of its
new riverfront home on January 22. After 10 years as
Artistic Director, Del leaves Pi Theatre (Vancouver) in
the hands of his successor, Richard Wolfe.
Kelly Robinson was named the Banff Centre’s new
director of Theatre Arts, succeeding John Murrell,
who left the post in 2007 to become the Centre’s
emeritus artist-in-residence.
Martin Burt, Nadiya Chettiar and Valerie Buhagiar (standing) in the OneLight/
Neptune/Mermaid Theatre production of The Veil nominated for six Merritt Awards.
Jeff Strome has been awarded the first-ever Victor S. Cowie Memorial Scholarship in the Performing Arts (Winnipeg). The Award was
created posthumously to recognize the work of the late Equity
member Victor Cowie, an actor, director and University of Manitoba
English professor, who died in 2004.
The Union of B.C. Performers named actor Duncan Fraser as
this year’s Sam Payne Lifetime Achievement Award winner. The
Award, inaugurated in 1995, recognizes a member’s outstanding
body of work. Jackson Davies was named the 2008 Sam Payne
Award winner, in recognition of his humanity, artistic integrity
and encouragement of new talent. Former Equity member Payne,
who died in 1982, had a lifetime career as a performer and passed
on his skills and experience to generations of actors.
SPRING 2008
After 12 years as Artistic Director of Theatre Aquarius (Hamilton)
Max Reimer is leaving the position to become the new Artistic
Managing Director of the Vancouver Playhouse Company in the
summer of 2008.
Members of the Nova Scotia theatre community
celebrated the presentation of the 2008 Merritt Awards
on March 3rd. The Awards, named for Dalhousie
University Theatre educator Robert Merritt, recognize
achievement in Nova Scotia theatre. In all, 18 shows from
13 theatre companies from across the province were
nominated for awards. Mary-Colin Chisholm received the
Mayor’s Award for Achievement in Theatre, and Christian
Barry was the recipient of the Mayor’s Emerging Theatre
Artist Award. A complete list of nominees and winners is
available at EQUITYONLINE (www.caea.com).
EQUITY QUARTERLY 5
A B O R I G I N A L
P E R F O R M I N G
A R T I S T S
A R E
F I N D I N G
RECLAIMING
Native people first experience an “Indian” from a western movie
BY MICHELLE ST. JOHN
or pop culture’s negative portrayal of us. The damage has long
been done, reinforced by extermination and assimilation policies
SPOKANE AUTHOR
that define these colonial constructs called Canada, the U.S., and
, poet, and film-
Mexico. As artists we are often expected to filter our experiences
maker Sherman Alexie once said to me, “White writers get to
through the white gaze when portraying ourselves in film, televi-
be responsible to themselves and their art, we don’t have that
sion and theatre. For many of us, this is unacceptable and theatre is
luxury.” As Aboriginal artists, everything we do is representational,
but one of the ways we’ve chosen to shift this paradigm: to control
from the roles we choose, to how we disseminate our work and as
our own image – on stage and in life.
a result, we are inherently responsible to our communities.
During the filming of the CBC mini-series, Conspiracy of Silence,
The impact of images of First Nations peoples – from dime
I worked with Monique Mojica and Jani Lauzon. On set we shared
store novels to early burlesque and vaudeville shows through to
stories of our common experiences as urban mixed-blood Native
silent film and Hollywood – reverberate to this day. Most non-
women. We talked of creating a piece that explored identity and
6 EQUITY QUARTERLY
SPRING 2008
T H E I R
W A Y
O N
T H E I R
O W N
T E R M S
OUR VOICE
work, the impact of our presence and the legacy we are creating.
One might wonder if this experience is cross-cultural yet white
folks find affirmation every time they turn on the TV and skim the
season brochures of regional theatres across this county.
Emerging artist Waawaate Fobister told me how seeing The Rez
Sisters at PTE in 2002 changed his life. Seeing his first play, written
by a Native writer and performed by an all Native cast told him
that he matters – that his story, his voice can have a place on stage
and therefore in the world.
This validation led Waawaate to Humber College’s Theatre program. This past fall, Waawaate played Nanabush in The Rez Sisters
at Theatre North West. He has since performed in Native Earth’s
Death of a Chief in Ottawa and Toronto and his original one-man
show Agokwe will open Buddies in Bad Times season this fall. This
is the ‘ripple effect’ made real for
one artist – from seeing his first
play, to training, to creating his
own work – all within six years.
We Aboriginal, First Nations,
Indigenous peoples of this land
have very few opportunities to see
our truths reflected back. While
that may be true for people of
other ethnicities, this is our land.
We don’t have another country to
refer to, or to connect our identity
with. We are deeply rooted in the
earth here on this continent and
Left: : Ryan Black in Prairie Theatre Exchange’s 1996 production of fareWel
therefore the stakes are therefore
The name “Turtle Gals” comes from Turtle Gal, a story by much higher and fundamentally different for us than for all immiMohawk writer Beth Brant. Turtle Gal was a young girl so trau- grant groups who can always look back to their mother country
matized by the loss of her mother that she refused to speak. We to remember who they once were.
Traditionally, our cultures, faiths, histories and arts were not
chose the name to give voice to that child in all of us who has been
silenced through our individual and collective trauma: trauma from mutually exclusive. Though we have lost much since the Europethe continued effects of colonization, genocide; residential schools ans arrived, we are continuously working to rebuild and reclaim on
and the sexual abuse suffered there; fractured families, forced assim- all fronts. Therefore, for us, artistic faculty is not a fancy; it is the
ilation. . . the list goes on. It is through this voice – the speaking, expression of our identity, healing, survival and sovereignty.
Manitoulin Island’s De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre Group is
the singing, the moving and the telling of our stories, over and over
grounded in the Anishnaabeg worldview, and the company travagain – that we find ourselves, our families, our communities.
So, when an elder purchases a theatre ticket and travels two els to remote communities that have no access to theatre to work
hours to witness her people tell her own story back to her, we are with peoples there to foster Indigenous cultural creative expresall transformed. We do not take for granted the weight of our sion. Companies like Full Circle, Native Earth, Red Sky, Saskatchfrom that conceptual seed emerged Turtle Gals Performance
Ensemble. In 2002, we premiered The Scrubbing Project at Factory
Theatre, co-produced by Native Earth Performing Arts.
We could not have anticipated the overwhelmingly positive
response to the play, and though it is a challenging form, nonlinear in structure and utilizes storyweaving, song and movement
– people of all ages and backgrounds expressed their gratitude for
the courage it took on our part to say what we had to say. In turn
we acknowledge the courage on their part for being open enough
to experience – us – in the centre of our own worldview.
We have since toured The Scrubbing Project to communities
and universities across the country. Native folks still talk about
the play and how important it was for them to see three strong
Aboriginal women telling their own stories on stage.
It is through this voice – the speaking,
the singing, the moving and the
telling of our stories, over and over again
– that we find ourselves, our families,
our communities.
“
”
SPRING 2008
EQUITY QUARTERLY 7
A B O R I G I N A L
P E R F O R M I N G
A R T I S T S
ewan Native Theatre Company, and
others also actively work to develop
a non-Native audience base because
building these bridges and healing
these wounds through story is a lofty
aim, and we know that we do not live
in a vacuum.
Can we be on the main stages without being mainstream? Do we want
to be on the main stages of regional
theatres across the country? Hell yeah!
What does it take to build that bridge?
Faith in audiences? Willingness to risk
in programming? Better knowledge of
First Nations people? Better knowledge
of First Nations artists? Peter Hinton,
Donna Spencer and a few other allies
have made us an integral part of their
programming and that offer is essential if there is to be true reciprocity
between our communities.
The National Arts Centre closed last
season with Marie Clements’ epic,
Copper Thunderbird. It was the first
time in seventeen years that an entirely
Native cast claimed that main stage in
a work written by a Native writer. Why
did it take so long? This season, nine
First Nations artists took on Julius Caesar in an adaptation called Death of a
Chief in the NAC Studio.
We are at a turning point, witnessing the explosion of First Nations artists on a scale never before seen and
the funding and programming now
Turtle Gals Performance Ensemble describe their production of The Scrubbing Project as engaging
need to catch up with the ripple effect
“the healing powers of humour to reveal the self-erasing impulse to scrub oneself of one’s colour: of
in action. We’ve been running to catch
one’s own skin.”
up to the founding “Key Institutions”
and their descendents for 40 years and hey, we’re still here. Michelle St. John is a Dora nominated; two-time Gemini Award
We’ve survived the un-survivable and we are hanging on to the winning actor, playwright and producer. She has apppeared in
Where the Spirit Lives, Smoke Signals, Northern Exposure, The
pendulum that is about to swing back, full force.
Sherman Alexie is right – we cannot underestimate the power of Business of Fancydancing, Unnatural and Accidental Women,
simply being visible and the value it has for our people. As Indig- Copper Thunderbird, Annie Mae’s Movement, Death of a Chief
enous peoples of this land, we are standing on the shoulders of our and The Only Good Indian… Michelle also served as producer/
ancestors and simultaneously holding up the next generation and it host for Red Tales – a weekly Native literary show on Aboriginal
is for all of them that we do what we do and in the very doing of Voices Radio and is a co-founder of Turtle Gals Performance
Ensemble.
it, we are shifting the dominating paradigm of whiteness.
8 EQUITY QUARTERLY
SPRING 2008
I S
A N Y B O D Y
L I S T E N I N G ?
INITIATIVES FOR THE FUTURE
BY YVETTE NOLAN
IN 2005 , Aboriginal theatre practitioner Marie Clements undertook a
study for the Theatre Section of the Canada Council for the Arts. The study began
as a review of 10 years of support under the Developmental Support to Aboriginal
Theatre Organizations (DSATO); it quickly expanded to include interviews with
Aboriginal theatre practitioners across the country, and a catalogue of virtually
every Aboriginal theatre production in Canada between 1982 and 2004. The objective of the study was “to identify specific issues and challenges related to the production of Aboriginal works and provide options and recommendations for future
initiatives and developments.” Clements delivered the study in May 2006.
In October of 2007, the Clements report was launched at the Aboriginal Artistic Leaders Summit in Toronto, co-hosted by the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance and Native
Earth Performing Arts.
The report included a list
of recommendations for
action. The assembly at the
Summit, including artistic
directors and general managers from across the country, was asked to prioritize
the list, but people felt that
before that could happen,
the larger systemic issues
needed to be addressed.
The four priorities coming out of the Summit were:
stated support for the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance as the service organization for Aboriginal performing
arts; an articulated need for more adequate financial support from government(s) to
sustain and equalize the playing field in order for the Aboriginal performing arts sector
to survive for the next generation; recognition that the key Aboriginal arts organizations – Native Earth Performing Arts, Full Circle, Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company, Centre for Indigenous Theatre and De-ba-jeh-mu-jig – needed more support
because they are the breeding grounds for the new work, the training ground for new
artists; articulation of the need for Aboriginal facilities so that Aboriginal performing
arts can tour.
Aboriginal theatre exists, very often operating with so little infrastructure and its
resources spread so thin, that it is vulnerable to whim and the vicissitudes of politics. But
it is nonetheless what Clements calls “a hybrid possibility… a dynamic raw force whose
true success can only be measured in the future by what happens in the present.”
“
Aboriginal theatre exists,
very often operating with so
little infrastructure and its
resources spread so thin, that it
is vulnerable to whim and the
”
vicissitudes of politics.
SPRING 2008
• Aboriginal theatre did not, and
does not, have a great-grandfather
benefactor. There were no established theatres that Aboriginal artists moved into; no theatre standard
infrastructures to carry on; no institutional support of resources; no
theatre country clubs of networks;
no playwright resource centres and
few places that were willing to share
above lip service.
• There are only five Aboriginal theatre companies on operating support from Canada Council and out
of that five, only two have risen to
the average level of funding that 163
mainstream theatre companies enjoy
nationwide.
• In 2004-2005, Aboriginal theatre companies made up 3.0% of
the total number of companies in
the operating grants program, but
accounted for 1.8% of funding
awarded through the program.
• The average operating grant for
Aboriginal theatre companies is
about 60% of that of the average
overall for theatre companies.
• The average operating grant for
Aboriginal theatre companies has
historically been well below that of
francophone theatre companies outside Quebec although it has increased
in recent years to 94% of the level of
the francophone companies.
• The majority of the Aboriginal companies producing the majority of
Aboriginal work are weighted at the
very bottom of the funding scale.
Data excerpted from Marie Clements’ study on
Developmental Support to Aboriginal Theatre
Organizations.
EQUITY QUARTERLY 9
Supporting the next
Youth outreach and training is as important as production
Above: Established professionals mentor First Nations youth in the Young Voices Program at
Native Earth Performing Arts in Toronto.
10 E Q U I T Y Q U A R T E R L Y
SPRING 2008
generation
BY MARIANNE LEPA
REACHING OUT
Opposite page top and above: SNTC’s 2007 Circle of Voices program
production of Kehiw (Eagle).
Below: SNTC’s production of Annabel: Tale of a Girl and her Raven by Mark Dieter.
SPRING 2008
to Aboriginal youth is
another responsibility of the Native performing arts organizations scattered across the country. Companies such
as Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company in Saskatoon,
Full Circle: First Nations Performance in Vancouver and
Toronto’s Native Earth Performing Arts, Inc. have developed training and mentorship programs to encourage
young Aboriginals to use the performing arts to find their
own voice.
For Juritha Owens, 27, Full Circle’s Aboriginal Ensemble
Training Program, “really opened up the inner creativity
I have.”
Juritha, has just completed the two-year program and is
working as an intern with Full Circle while busily auditioning and networking in Vancouver for roles. She was drawn
to the performing arts after spending time doing outreach
work in South America.
Working in remote villages, Juritha saw firsthand how
culture among indigenous peoples could be transmitted and
maintained through song and story. “I was inspired to put
my own stories into my own art form,” she says.
Cultivating a sense of the medium is what Alanis King,
Artistic Director at Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company
(SNTC), hopes will come from two SNTC programs. The
10-year-old aboriginal theatre company is recognized and
associated with theatre and outreach in their hometown of
Saskatoon, across the Prairies and beyond, says Alanis.
An eight-week summer program hires students in the
SNTC training program to tour to eight remote communities and give the young people there a chance to experience the performing arts.
“It’s instilling some inspiration in a young kid who, five
years later, maybe will see a poster and come in,” says
Alanis. “It’s creating an awareness of the performing arts
and, we hope, generating future artists in our community
to replace our young actors who are being swooped up
by the major centres.”
For Juritha, the professional skills she gained in training
were just one part of the learning experience. “It teaches
you a lot about who you are as a person; you develop and
grow so much from all the activities.”
E Q U I T Y Q U A R T E R L Y 11
EQ Voices
We are on the cusp of being undeniably,
incontrovertibly visible
BY YVETTE NOLAN
It was the invitation
to serve as the Guest
Editor of EQ that
nailed it for me. Contemporary Native theatre has been around
for 25 years, but the
average Canadian
theatregoer might not
know it. Really, how
many people have
seen more than one
contemporary Native
theatre piece in the
last decade? To this
day, I sit on panels
and committees with
colleagues whose
entire experience of
Aboriginal theatre is The Rez Sisters. Yet since the phenomenal
success of Tomson Highway’s story about the journey of seven
Aboriginal women to the World’s Biggest Bingo, a whole generation of playwrights, choreographers, directors and actors have
grown up and made plays, dances, and theatre companies.
Really?
For two decades, Native theatre has existed on the margins
of the mainstream. Yes, playwrights like
Drew Hayden Taylor and Daniel David
Moses have emerged and with them a
body of work that is produced, translated,
published and studied, but how many
Native theatre companies exist and have
the resources to produce a play per season,
much less two or three? How often do
you see a Native-penned play in the
season of a mainstream theatre? Since the
beginning of a contemporary Canadian
theatre (arbitrarily identified by Producing
Marginality author Robert Wallace as the
1967 Vancouver Playhouse production of George Ryga’s The
Ecstasy of Rita Joe) dozens of theatres that served as incubators
for new works materialized: Theatre Passe Muraille (1968),
Factory Theatre (1970), Tarragon Theatre (1971), 25th Street
Theatre (1972) Prairie Theatre Exchange (1972). Those stages
produced a raft of playwrights – George F. Walker, Sharon
Pollack, David French – and prepared the soil for their spiritual
progeny Jason Sherman, Wendy Lill, Judith Thompson. But for
Native writers, there has been no such harvest. No theatres, few
companies, and audiences apparently completely uninterested in
what we as Aboriginal people have to say about our lives here,
on this land, at this time. But now, 25 years on, 25 years after
the founding of Native Earth, it feels like we are on the verge of
something. There is more work by more artists in more places.
More groups are springing up and surviving: Raven Spirit, Kahawi
Dance, Cheyikwe Performance, Turtle Gals. More mainstream
theatres are producing plays by Native writers: Western Canada
Theatre Company, Magnus Theatre. At the National Arts Centre,
Peter Hinton has made a commitment to including First Nations
works each season. Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company
and De-ba-jeh-mu-jig are both about to get their own facilities.
There is a piece in the new issue of The Walrus called “Riel’s
Prophecy,” about “the new confidence of Aboriginal theatre.”
That confidence allows us to eschew polemic, and enter instead
into a measured and productive dialogue.
And then there was an invitation to guest-edit this issue of EQ;
the offer of this forum, to discuss the challenges and realities of
Native theatre in this country, unmitigated by the white gaze, the
perception of what Native theatre looks like. That’s what nailed
it for me – that confirmed for me this feeling shared by many of
my colleagues – that we are on the cusp of being undeniably,
incontrovertibly visible.
“
Contemporary Native theatre
has been around for 25 years,
but the average Canadian
theatregoer might not know it.
12 E Q U I T Y Q U A R T E R L Y
”
Yvette Nolan is a playwright, director and dramaturg. Plays
include Annie Mae’s Movement and BLADE. Recent directing
credits include The Only Good Indian (Turtle Gals) and Death
of a Chief. She is currently the Artistic Director of Native Earth
Performing Arts, and a playwright-in-residence at the National
Arts Centre.
SPRING 2008
EQ Lives
First comes love, then comes marriage...
BIRTHS
1. Equity members Del Surjik and Johnna Wright are
thrilled to announce the birth of their son, Sascha Ray
Fortunato Surjik-Wright, on December 19, 2007. He is
now speaking fluent Italian and working on his second
doctorate. Proud parents are sleeping when they can.
2. On October 18, 2007, Equity member Danielle
Skene and her partner, Michael Morin, gleefully
announced the birth of their daughter Ella Marie Morin
and they haven’t stopped talking about her since.
1
2
WEDDINGS
3. Equity member Roxanne Prokop and Banff Centre Head Stage Carpenter Dave Miller
were married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Banff National Park on September 15, 2007.
While Roxanne will keep Prokop for theatre biz, she will be now known as Miller in life.
4. Congratulations to First Soloist Richard Landry and Second Soloist Julie Hay, of The
National Ballet of Canada, who were married in St. Lucia in January.
5. Equity member Amber Archbell and Equity Apprentice Tara Tomlinson were married January 12, 2008. Both attended Humber College for Technical Theatre Production in ‘97/’98
and then re-united at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre while working on Hysteria! in 2004. Amber
and Tara officially tied the knot with a small
ceremony and reception at the Walper Terrace
Hotel in Kitchener, ON where they have been
working with Theatre & Company. Thanks to all
our family and friends who helped us create and
celebrate this perfect day!
3
4
SPRING 2008
5
ENGAGEMENT
6. Equity members Andy Pogson and
Jenn Buffett would like to announce
their engagement. Andy proposed on
Christmas Eve, but not before asking
Jenn’s Dad for permission. When he
got down on one knee, Jenn cried
and then said, “Yes!” They plan on
getting married in New Brunswick in
June 2009.
6
E Q U I T Y Q U A R T E R L Y 13
Fondly remembered
Brydon Paige 1933 - 2007
BY VINCENT WARREN, OC
Brydon Paige, was a pioneer in Canadian and Quebec dance. Born in Vancouver, he began ballet training at the age of 16 with Kay Armstrong. In 1953,
he began dancing for Ludmilla Chiriaeff on the newly formed Radio-Canada,
and was a founding member of Les Ballets Chiriaeff, which later became Les
Grands Ballets Canadiens. A strong interpreter, Paige excelled in comic and
dramatic roles, and became a leading dancer in the troupe. Later, encouraged
by Chiriaeff, Paige emerged as a choreographer. In 1976, he became Artistic
Director of the Alberta Ballet, and in the course of 10 years, he put that small
company on the map of Canadian culture through his untiring and inspired
artistic decisions. He created many works there and developed young dancers
such as Mariane Beausejour and Claude Caron. His last major production was
the massive international production of Aida, which he mounted in major cities
around the world. He returned to Montréal, where he directed ballet programs
at Ecole Pierre Laporte and Ballet Divertimento. Brydon passed away after a
long struggle with heart disease and its complications. He will be sorely missed
by his fellow artists and co-workers.
Keith Knight 1956 - 2007
BY CAROLINE SMITH
I first set eyes on Keith in 1984 in a bar in Sault St. Marie, but
he always said he didn’t recall the incident. I do – I remember
everything about this wonderful man. We reconnected nearly
20 years later when Keith crashed auditions for The Drawer
Boy at the Stirling Festival Theatre where I was artistic director.
I cast him immediately as Angus, and from that moment, Keith
became part of Stirling’s heart – a beloved player, director and
friend. He could and would play anything, from over-the-top
roles in our Pantos to nutsy Uncle Teddy in Arsenic and Old
Lace. Keith’s last show was a country variety concert on the Stirling stage in April of 2007, telling jokes and laughing with good
friends Ken MacDougall and Don Harron. I know he had a blast.
If it’s true that there’s a bigger stage out there in the hereafter,
I have no doubt Keith is downstage centre, where he’s always
belonged. Everyone at the Stirling Festival joins Keith’s wife,
Jenifer, his family and his friends in remembering this sweet
prince with laughter, love and a pint or three.
14 E Q U I T Y Q U A R T E R L Y
SPRING 2008
Barry Morse 1918 - 2008
BY DAVID HOPE
Barry Morse, one of the
The Actors’ Fund of Canada’s original founders,
was widely known for his
compassion and respect for
people generally and for his
fellow actors in particular.
Novices and veterans alike
praised him for his helpful presence on set and his
ability to bring out the best
in others.
One day in 1958, Barry,
Donald Davis, Barbara
Hamilton, Jane Mallett and
William Needles, each put
$1 into a pot and began the
benevolent organization
that marks its 50th anniversary this year. Barry died
in England on February 2,
2008, at 89.
He began his theatrical career in England and, in 1951, immigrated to Canada, where
he played a pioneering role in CBC television. He wrote, narrated and produced A Touch
of Greasepaint, a half-hour radio program that ran for 14 years on CBC Radio. Known
to television audiences for his portrayal of Lieutenant Philip Gerard on The Fugitive and
Professor Victor Bergman on Space 1999, Barry also served as artistic director of the Shaw
Festival in the 1966 season and went on to play more than 3,000 roles in radio, film and
television and theatre. He eventually returned to England, where he was president of
the Shaw Society.
Commenting on Barry’s passing, Actors’ Fund of Canada President Graham Harley
said, “Barry Morse had a long and remarkable career on stage, screen and radio, and
made an enormous contribution through his humanitarian and charitable work. He was a
supporter of many causes but it was through his role as a founder and the first Treasurer
of the Actors’ Fund that his generous spirit found its most profound expression.”
Members who
passed in 2007
Jennifer Alexander
Zeyn Ali
Anagram
Eleanor Beecroft
Duncan Bell
Paul Craig
Richard Curnock
Richard Brent Davison
Pat Dawson
Denny Doherty
Tibor Feheregyhazi
Celia Franca
Colin Graham
William Hutt
Charmion King
Rick McNair
Colin Miller
Edward Mirvish (Honorary)
Gary Rideout
Bruce Swerdfager
SPRING 2008
E Q U I T Y Q U A R T E R L Y 15
EQ Backstage
Top: A model suite at the Vancouver Performing Arts Lodge (PAL).
Bottom: PAL residences offer affordable and secure living conditions for retired
performing artists.
A PAL is a retiring performer’s friend
Canada’s first Performing Arts Lodge (PAL)
opened in Toronto in 1996 after a 10-year fundraising campaign. In 2005, the Vancouver PAL opened
its doors. Between them, more than 300 performing
artists at or near retirement age have found affordable housing and care in their senior years. Planning
is under way to build PALs in Halifax, Calgary, Stratford, Winnipeg and Edmonton.
The goal of the lodges is to provide and maintain
affordable housing and comfortable living conditions
for those who have devoted their lives to the performing arts. The PALs in Vancouver and Toronto
provide a collegial environment among residents
who share a lifetime of memories from the stage
and screen.
Stage facilities are available in both PALs, so residents are able to continue in the “show biz” life,
hosting and performing in live performances and
cabarets. In addition, the facilities include libraries,
exercise space, art studios, and, in Vancouver and
Toronto, a rooftop garden where residents can relax
and socialize.
Each PAL has individual eligibility requirements,
but tend to cater to the person 55 years of age or
older who has devoted a significant portion of their
life to the performing arts. Actors, writers, musicians,
technicians, producers, directors and designers have
taken up residency in Toronto’s 205 and Vancouver’s 99 units.
Plans are underway to expand services to include
assisted living and nursing care for the very sick and
frail residents who now have to be moved into provincial nursing homes.
One of the significant challenges for the PAL
organization, is making corporations and the public
understand why performing artists have trouble saving for retirement. Most contributions to build and
support the lodges come from the performing arts
community itself.
For more information about the Performing Arts Lodges, visit www.palcanada.org. For
information specific to the Vancouver PAL, visit www.palvancouver.org and for Toronto,
visit www.paltoronto.org.
16 E Q U I T Y Q U A R T E R L Y
SPRING 2008
EQ Classifieds
JOY OF DANCE STUDIO
What actor doesn’t need a flexible second
job? Why not become a Ballroom Dance
Teacher? The Joy of Dance Studio at
Broadview & Danforth is now offering the
first professional teachers training program
in Canada. No previous dance experience
is required. Classes are either Mondays
& Thursdays 6-8 p.m. or Saturdays &
Sundays Noon-2 p.m. www.joyofdance.ca
THE TAXXMAN: PETER MESSALINE
I’ve already helped someone you
know. Been blindsided by Canada
Revenue? Work with me and shrug
it off. No attitude, just experience
and sympathy. Children, foreign
work, GST, incorporation advice,
back taxes. Tax for artists by an
artist. Call (416) 960-9272 for free
advice. [email protected]
www.petermessaline.com
INCOME TAX PLUS!
I am a chartered accountant specializing
in providing tax and financial services
to people in the entertainment field. I
offer e-file and paper filing for current
and prior years. I can help with GST and
other issues as well. You get friendly,
professional service and reasonable rates.
IAN G. HUNT, C.A. 79 Bowmore Rd.,
Toronto, ON M4L 3J1 (416) 463-6471
or [email protected].
FRIENDLY COACHING WITH BARBARA
GORDON will help you choose a
monologue or gear up for an audition.
With 30 years of experience in theatres
across Canada, film and television.
Barbara can lend an impartial eye and
ear to help you clarify your thinking and
boost your confidence. (416) 535-0058
SPRING 2008
SARAH SHEARD M.A.
PSYCHOTHERAPIST
Do you have trouble dealing with selfdoubt, depression, rejection, difficult
associates and other commonly
faced problems of artists? Perhaps
I can help you. I have a unique
understanding of your world, the world
of the creative artist. Since 1995 I have
helped people reboot their passion,
dissolve old emotional patterns, and
rediscover the joy of taking risks.
Reasonable rates. Riverdale office.
(416) 778-1224 or sarahsheard.com. For
upcoming workshop info email me at:
[email protected].
ATTENTION UNIVERSITY OF
WINDSOR GRADS!
In 2008-09, the School of Dramatic
Art is celebrating the 50th anniversary
of University Players, and the School’s
40th. Special events involving alumni
are being planned. If you would like to
be kept informed of these events, please
contact Chris Knack at (519) 253-3000
ext. 2818, or [email protected].
KUDLOW & McCANN
Chartered Accountants
• have innovative solutions to your tax
problems
• providing comprehensive tax
and accounting services to the
entertainment industry
A step beyond the ordinary!
21 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 401
Toronto, ON M4T 1L9
Tel: (416) 924-4780
Fax: (416) 924-5332,
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.kudlowmccann.com
SINGING LESSONS/COACHING WITH
DONNA GARNER
Qualified instruction (H.B.Mus.perf/
RCM Examiner) in vocal technique and/
or repertoire coaching for all ages and
levels. Twenty years’ teaching experience
in classical/contemporary/music theatre.
Studio centrally located, a 10-minute
walk from Davisville subway station.
A positive, straightforward teaching
approach with no mind games. For more
information call (416) 533-2643.
CUSTOMIZED MONOLOGUES
Experienced playwright offers original
material crafted to your specifications ...
reasonable rates and easy payment plans.
Email Mo at [email protected].
restore hope
The Actors’ Fund of Canada
Celebrating 50 years of
providing emergency financial
aid to Equity members and
other entertainment industry
professionals
regain control
rebuild a life
For more anniversary
information or to donate
online, visit
www.actorsfund.ca
E Q U I T Y Q U A R T E R L Y 17
E Q U I T Y
Q U A R T E R L Y
EQ
WHAT’S NEW AT EQUITY
What to find at www.caea.com
• “Me and My Money” retirement planning series
• Councillor, CPAG and Committee contact information
• Online events calendar
• Member Only zone (update contact information online)
• e-search, our online digital search tool for the opera, ballet
The Western Office is moving!
Equity’s Western Office will be relocating. Check
EQUITYONLINE www.caea.com for updated information.
The office’s email address, phone and fax numbers will
remain the same.
and theatre agreements
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
Suzy Crocker
Brian Sutton
Sylvie Charlotte Gosse
Emmanuelle Zeesman
Anne Brummel
Chantelle Lomness-Seely
Ashley Fenster
Carlos Gonzalez-Vio
Nadine Jackson
Patrice Goodman
Julian DeZotti
Joanie Ellen
Kevin Tookey
Atlantic
British Columbia / Yukon
British Columbia / Yukon
Eastern Ontario & the Outaouais
Manitoba / Nunavut
Northern Alberta & the N.W.T.
Ontario
Ontario
Ontario
Ontario
Ontario
Ontario
Ontario
Adam Sergison
Allison Angelo
Michael Hogeveen
Garen Boyajian
Ashlyn Ireland
Tanya Fraser
George Acheson
Mikel Mroue
Christine Aubin Khalifah
Catherine Marie Harrison
Ann Barrett
Rachel Parris
Ontario
Ontario
Ontario
Ontario
Ontario
Ontario
Quebec
Quebec
Quebec
Saskatchewan
Southern Alberta
Southern Alberta
Publications Mail Agreement #40038615
Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:
EQ
Canadian Actors’ Equity Association
44 Victoria Street, 12th Floor
Toronto, ON M5C 3C4
[email protected]
18 E Q U I T Y Q U A R T E R L Y
EQ is shipped in a recyclable polybag
SPRING 2008