Maori performing artists take Toronto by storm

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A unique cross-cultural exchange took place in a Toronto theatre this spring. The Toronto-based Centre for Indigenous Theatre (CIT), which runs a three-year, full-time training program and a four-week summer school, collaborated with the New Zealand-based Kahurangi Maori Dance Theatre on the production of Waiora, a two-act play written by Maori writer Hone Kouka. The production was staged April 3 at Dancemakers, a performance space in the Ossington-Dupont neighbourhood of the city.

Waiora is the story of John and Sue and their children Ameria, Rongo, and Boy. John and Sue have moved into town from their ancestral territory so John can take a job at the local sawmill. The play's narrative arc traces one afternoon and evening, as the family prepares for a Maori-style beach cookout meant to celebrate John's work promotion and Rongo's birthday. John's boss, Steve Campbell (a white man), is expected at the celebration. The family is joined in its preparations by a well-meaning but patronizing white schoolteacher, Louise Stones.

The cast included four current CIT students, a CIT alumna, and two professional actors hired to play the roles of the white New Zealanders. Five members of the Kahurangi Maori Dance Theatre played the roles of tipuna, or spirit helpers.

The CIT students and the members of Kahurangi didn't have much rehearsal time together. In fact, the Maoris did one workshop with CIT in Toronto, then headed off to California for a month. They came back to Canada less than two weeks before opening night.

The lack of preparation time didn't affect the collaborative aspects of the performance. The interaction between the main characters and their spirit helpers was tender and funny and sad. As John and Sue and the family interacted with one another, the Maori spirits watched from behind two large sheets of transparent plastic hung at the back of the stage (which illustrated the thin division between this world and the spirit world). The tipuna frequently moved onto centre stage to move around the family, reach out to them, and sing warrior chants and traditional songs (and a lovely rendition of "The Tennessee Waltz"). The tuneful polyphonic Maori singing style was a delightful change from the North American style of traditional unison singing.

The strongest performance among the CIT student actors was delivered by Patti Shaughnessy as Rongo. Her soliloquy to her dead grandmother was powerful, heartfelt and believable. Her performance made us believe we were watching a Maori girl called Rongo, while the rest of the cast were simply actors reciting lines. Shaughnessy inhabited her character in a way the rest of the cast did not.

Rachelle Arbez (a CIT alumna) got some laughs for her portrayal of the cynically outspoken Ameria, and for her physical comedy during a drunk scene. Bernard Starlight had a good sense of his character, Boy. To represent Boy's lack of self-esteem around John, who psychologically and physically abuses him, Starlight slumped his shoulders and turned inwards to literally fold in upon himself.

Too often, however, the lines were delivered without sufficient emotion or conviction, often in a wooden monotone or a loud yell. Candace Wilde (as Sue) and Murphy Patrick (as John) both delivered their lines with an undercurrent of nervousness that manifested itself in weirdly inappropriate smiles, although both improved as the play went on.

The Kahurangi Maori Dance Theatre is affiliated with the Takitimu Performing Arts School in Hastings, New Zealand, which specializes in the instruction and preservation of Indigenous Maori arts, language, and culture. Every year, the school selects several graduates to tour North America as Kahurangi. This year's touring company-Tammy Epps, Te Awhina Aranui, Charles Houia, Carlos Hawkins, and Piripi Selwyn-are disciplined and knowledgeable performers. They had a grace and athleticism-a whole-body awareness-that the Aboriginal performers from Canada did not.

"I my day job, I'm a massage therapist," said April Hoyt, who played Louise Stones. "I see a huge difference in the way the Maoris work. Their spirit comes through their bodies, not just through their voices or their words."

"In the 1960s, we were cut off from our culture," Aranui explained. "We were told by the Elders not to do it. But these days, there's a deep pride. We were strong, and we spoke up for our rights. Maori is now an official language in New Zealand, along with English. So pakeha [white people] learn it, too."

"I think the Maori people are leaders," Shaughnessy said. "A 19-year-old in New Zealand knows her culture and language. They are dedicated to its revival. They are gentle people who show a lot of respect."

"It's been a great experience," said Kahurangi tour manager Ellison Huata. "Educating people about our culture helps us keep our culture alive."