intermediate senior music, drama & dance

nominee, governor general's literary award for drama dry lips oughta move to kapuskasing tells another story of the mythical wasaychigan hill indian reserve, also the setting for tomson highway's award winning play the rez sisters. wherein the rez sisters the focus was on seven "wasy" women and the game of bingo, dry lips oughta move to kapuskasing features seven "wasy" men and the game of hockey. it is a fast-paced story of tragedy, comedy, and hope.

in these two plays, drew taylor delves into the past and speculates about the future as he examines the dilemmas facing young native canadians today. toronto at dreamer's rock is a moving portrayal of a teenage boy who is torn between the traditions of his people, which he only vaguely understands, and the lure of modern life. his magical encounters with two members of his tribe - one from 400 years in the past and one from the future - make him aware of how little he has thought about what it means to be an indian. education is our right borrows from the familiar story of charles dickens' a christmas carol, but in this version the spirits of education past, present and future attempt to show the minister of indian affairs the error of his ways. drew taylor combines humour, passion, spirituality, and tough realism to create a hopeful vision of the future that will appeal especially to young adult readers. both plays have toured extensively to schools in ontario and quebec.

a very liberal contemporary couple--angel, an urban native science fiction writer, and colleen, a "non-practising" jewish intellectual who teaches native literature--hosts a dinner party. the guests at this little "sitcom" soirée are couples that represent what by now have become the clichéd extremes of both societies: angel's former radical native activist buddies and colleen's environmentally concerned vegetarian / veterinarian friends. the menu is, of course, the hosts' respectful attempt at shorthand for the irreconcilable cultural differences about to come to a head during the evening: moose roast and vegetarian lasagna. like all of drew hayden taylor's work, alternatives manages to say things about "whites and indians" that one is not supposed to talk about--it digs up the carefully buried, raw and pulsing nerve-endings of the unspeakable and exposes them to the hot bright lights of the stage. that he does so with a humour that the politically correct among his audiences continue to miss entirely beneath the sound and fury of their own self-righteous indignation is a measure of his immense talent as a dramatist. in the end, the play is not about cultural differences at all, but instead constitutes a full frontal attack on the personal qualities the sitcom holds most dear and pushes hardest at its audiences: taylor actually has the temerity to suggest that neither "attitude" nor "sincerity" are enough to address basic human issues, no matter which side of the cultural fence the characters are on. and that's hard for the pushers of what is considered a globally enlightened culture to take. cast of 3 women and 3 men.

two plays about residential school (indigenous education press) honours the fearless voices of residential school survivor larry loyie (cree, 1933-2016) and intergenerational survivor vera manuel (secwepemc / ktunaxa, 1949-2010).