An Aboriginal Canuck in King Bush's Court

Page 11

Ann Arbor is as lovely little town about an hour west of Detroit. It's a university town and logically enough, it's full of students. While I am here not as a student, I am however here in an academic capacity. Playwright-in-Residence for Residential College is my official title, and I'm here to write a play for the theatre department, and offer up my experiences as a fairly successful playwright to the silly students who have opted to explore the world of theatre.

Surprisingly, the course I'm involved in teaching - Introduction to Canadian Native Theatre - has limited appeal here. So far, we have four students ? though I am assured it will double by next week. Even a Philosophy of Star Trek course would probably have a dozen more interested students.

This is the first time I have done anything like this. Personally, I have never been to university but I hear it can be fun. I've seen all the appropriate movies. As a result, I've been kind of self-conscious about coming here under false pretenses. Still, I am incredibly delighted to have been invited here by the theatre department. It's like I've seen with many Native actors who occasionally get cast in a Shakespeare play or other roles of a non-Native nature; it's a validation of them as an artist, not just an accident of birth. Many times I have seen a young Native actor excitedly tell me "I've got this really great role in a play/movie/television show, and I'm not playing an Indian!"

It's the same with my situation. You know what is sometimes said behind closed doors: "those Native people don't have to pay taxes, get cheap cigarettes and gas, and get all those plum writer-in-residency's at top American universities." Needless to say the Native American studies program seconded my appointment but I believe my point is still valid.

However, I must remain focused on my purpose. I am here to spread the message of Canadian Native Theatre. I will speak the gospel of Tomson, and how in 1986, he brought "the Word" to a small native community center in downtown Toronto, and how the Canadian theatrical community and bingo changed. I will preach about how the prophet Daniel David Moses spread the mighty waters of the Grand River to deliver the stories of his people into freedom. I will talk about how Native Earth, De-Ba-Jeh-Mu-Jig, Centre for Indigenous Theatre, Red Sky Performance and other vessels of understanding delivered their message unto the population.

The first thing I have told my students is to be ready for rejection, whether you are a writer or a performer. I have been turned down by so many theatre companies, I feel like a Jehovah's Witness.

The second thing of importance in the study of Native Canadian theatre is working knowledge of what I call B squared and R squared ? bingo, beer, rape and residential schools. Most Native plays will have some variation of these themes scattered through out the text. Sexual abuse, substance abuse, and in many cases, a sense of rebirth through the discovery of one's cultural roots pretty much make up what can be referred to as the Native theatre trifecta.

And thirdly, if you want to really understand the true essence of Canadian aboriginal theatre . . . good luck. We have comedies, dramas, tragedies, musicals, one-person shows, even puppet shows. So essentially, Native theatre is as varied as its people and cannot be summed up in one or two sentences or experiences. Some of us who have worked in the field for a decade or two are still trying to figure things out. Hell, I should be taking my own course.

Regardless, Ann Arbor seems like a lovely little town and I am delighted to be here. I do believe, however, that I was preordained to come here. It's been proven to me many times that God/the Creator/what ever term you want to use, has a sense of humor. And I'm usually somewhere in the joke. First example: Three days before I moved here, a Hollywood movie company came to Peterborough, a town about half anhour from my reserve, to shoot part of a movie. It stars Samuel L. Jackson and Hayden Christensen. It's called Jumpers and is some sort of science fiction story. The film company dressed up the downtown core to resemble a small American town. And as I walked through it going for a coffee, I noticed there were a lot of Michigan references on taxis and in store windows including repeated references to the Wolverines, the U of M football team. Then I saw a sign that said "Ann Arbor." The movie being shot a short drive from my home takes place in the town where I was moving to. And one of the stars was named Hayden.

Second example: Since I've been here, I've had quite a bit of trouble getting my university I.D. card. Today I found out why. There's already somebody here with my full name, Drew Hayden Taylor. Maybe I will be taking my own course.