Theatre director enjoys freedom

Page 5

Earning a residency at the Banff Centre gives artists an unprecedented opportunity to immerse themselves in their passions.

"No distractions, meals are prepared and everything is done for us. We can develop new work, spend time on an existing project, and collaborate with faculty and other artists-in-residence," said Muriel Miguel.

The artistic director of the Spiderwoman Theatre was one of four Aboriginal recipients recently awarded one of the 15 Paul D. Fleck Fellowships at the Banff Centre.

Miguel is no stranger to the Banff Centre. In 1999 she choreographed Throw Away Kids for the Chinook Winds Aboriginal Dance Program at the centre.

"Working here at the centre is exciting. We have so many resources at our disposal. For example, we have the latest in technology, such as the ability to put a production onto DVD," she said.

Although she is based in New York, Miguel has toured internationally for 28 years with Spiderwoman Theatre.

"It's the longest running, on-going, permanent, Native American feminist theatre group in North America, maybe in the world," she said. Spiderwoman is the name of a Hopi goddess and legend has it that everything that is made has a flaw in it.

"That means that the spirit of the object can always escape; it is never trapped," said Miguel. "As storytellers, we are not perfect and there's always flaws. Just like in a tree, the rings are not perfectly symmetrical. And so are we-organic but continuous," she explained.

Miguel was inspired by the Hopi Spiderwoman creation story that she heard from a dear friend who was Hopi and Winnebago. Miguel was entranced by the telling of the story, which her friend accompanied with intricate and meaningful finger-weaving.

"When she passed away from cancer, leaving five children, I really wanted to dedicate my work to her and named the group Spiderwoman," she said. The families are intertwined now too, and her friend's youngest son married Miguel's daughter many years later.

"Now we share a grandchild-she in the spirit world, me here on earth. I feel very close to her when I hold that child."

Miguel tries to recreate a feeling of emotion in all of her interpretations on stage.

"Many of our pieces are dedicated to parents, or generations coming up," she said. The members of the audiences often take the message and make it meaningful to themselves and to where they are in their lives at that moment.

"A university student once did a thesis on our theatre production and when I read it I scarcely recognized it. She has interpreted it as she saw it," she said.

Whatever the outcome, the productions touch the hearts and minds, the emotions, the thinking of those who watch and listen.

"That's our work, to tap into the audience."

There is never a shortage of stories, even after 28 years of performing.

"There are always stories waiting to be written. Coming to the peace and tranquillity of the Banff Centre allows us to concentrate on developing those stories," said Miguel.

Back home in New York, she works with her two sisters, Gloria Miguel and Lisa Mayo, who are also co-founders of Spiderwoman Theatre.

"We often go off and do our own thing, but we also get together and talk, and laugh, and sometimes argue. It's their job to write, and mine to put it together," she said. So there are three minds creating the stories and envisioning the productions.

Miguel's three-week May residency at Banff was devoted to working on Mother Courage.

"It's about justice and how our family insisted on us pursuing our culture and traditions. For example, we grew up as city Indians in an Italian neighbourhood in Brooklyn, yet we have strong cultural connections, thanks to our parents and grandparents," she said. Her own heritage is Kuna from Central America, off the coast of Panama where the culture has remained intact, and Rappahannock from Virginia and the legends of Pocahontas.

"We grew up in the city, so removed from our roots. There were o many other influences on our lives, sometimes creating schisms, and we had to overcome them and heal the rifts in the families so we could carry on our culture and family traditions to our children and grandchildren," she said. "Even though we die, the generations coming up must keep it going and we have to pass it on to them."

When asked about future endeavors, Miguel laughs.

"I'm 65 years old and have enough projects waiting for another 65." Her next project may be to explore the next generation and the problems on reservations.

"The heroine and cocaine, and the crack babies being born. What can we do to stop the cycle?"

There must be some way to approach young people, and she's not sure how to do it yet, but that's what she's looking at, she said.

7

Marrie Mumford, artistic director of the Aboriginal Arts Programs at the Banff Centre, recognizes the contributions that Spiderwoman Theatre has made to the arts community.

"As the first Native theatre in North America they have created a path and led the way for many to follow, creating stories of contemporary Aboriginal life addressing the issues in our communities with rigorous honesty," she said. Miguel and the others have set a high standard for Aboriginal theatre. Their work is wickedly funny and at the same time very moving.

"When Spiderwoman is in residence at Banff, half of the staff is never in the office," said Mumford. Everyone wants to work on Spiderwoman's project. It is like having your aunties visit.

"They are a lot of fun. There is always lots of laughter and we always learn a lot whenever we are with them."