Augie's Dream

When the Ecstasy of  Rita Joe opened at the Vancouver Playhouse in 1967, after a pregnant pause, Canadian Theatre was born. It was at this time that, Actor/ Director / Producer John Juliani approached his dear friend August “Augie” Schellenberg about how wonderful Chief Dan George would be as King Lear; and the idea of an all-Aboriginal Lear was born.

“They asked Chief Dan George if he’d do it.

But Dan George said No.

We asked him, why not? It’s a good part.

Dan laughed and shook his head, Too many lines, too many lines.”

-  August Schellenberg

August vowed that one day he would play Lear with a cast of Aboriginal actors and for the next four decades He and John tried to piece that dream together. The most immediate and obvious obstacle at the time was the lack of Professional Aboriginal Actors with the chops to pull off such an ambitious production.

I first heard about the “ Native Lear” in 2009 while working with August on the Western Canada Theatre / National Arts Centre co-production of The Ecstasy of Rita Joe. Directed by Yvette Nolan, this production of Rita Joe, billed as the 50^th Anniversary production, is the first and only production directed by an Aboriginal director ever to be featured on the main stage of the National Arts Centre, Theatre Hall.

During the run Augie would tell us stories about his dream of doing an all Native Lear.  A lot has changed since 1967. Today we certainly have the actors to pull it off. What we needed was a director; brave enough to take it on and more importantly a producer with the resources to accomplish such a bold and ambitious production. It was clear to us that if anyone were going to do an Aboriginal Lear, it would be Peter Hinton at the National Arts Centre of Canada.  We just had to convince him that it was as good an idea as we all thought it was.

Augie met briefly with Peter during the run of The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, and pitched the idea, but he left the meeting feeling that Peter wasn’t all that interested.

While I was a member of the National Arts Centre English Theatre Acting Company in 2010-11, I made a point to remind Peter Hinton and Paula Danckert, the company dramaturge, about the Native Lear. In my research I came across a series of Manga versions of Shakespearean Plays written by Post Modernist Professor Richard Appignanesi. One of the Manga’s featured a Mohican Lear. I brought the book to Dankert in the hope that it would inspire them, to see the merit of such a production.  The dramaturgy of the Manga was quite sound. The narrative fit neatly into the context of a North America where the French, the English, and the Native tribes at relatively equal strength and the Colonial Powers vying for land and title. To me the comic book presented an example of how this story might fit an Aboriginal cast.

Whether or not the comic book influenced them, I don’t know. However, it is one of many reference books sitting in the rehearsal hall today. And at long last August Schellenberg is playing King Lear with all Aboriginal cast supporting him, and John Juliani’s son, Alessandro, is designing the sound for the show.

An Aboriginal community group called the Four Nations Exchange is also part of the production. Making up the “village” are twenty-seven community members, add that to the cast of thirteen and there will be forty Aboriginal actors on the main stage of the National Arts Centre on opening night!

The rehearsals have been electric, demanding, exhilarating. Everyone is meeting the challenges that the text requires, the weird Shakespearean syntax, the emotional scale of the piece and the mountainous speeches.  For Tantoo Cardinal (Regan) and Billy Merasty (Gloucester) English is their second language! We are all excited and terrified of the enormity of this show. And we all recognize the significance of it.

I am humbled to be amongst the artists in the room.

I have never felt so honoured to be a theatre artist. For me, playing Edmund in this production is the role of a lifetime. I can only imagine what is like for August, to have carried this dream for so long to finally be doing it, in the best possible way. In the rehearsal hall the other day, we had all the village members and the speaking actors together rehearsing Act 1 scene 1 for the first time. The large rehearsal hall at the NAC was full. August came over to me before we were about to begin, he had this sheepish grin on his face and he asked me if this was what I envisioned when we were talking about doing Lear in 2009.  I looked around the room, people were preparing themselves, smoke from the smudge bowl was filling the rehearsal hall and billowing down the halls of the NAC; forty smiling, laughing, beautiful, Aboriginal people gathered in a circle for one purpose: to tell one of the greatest stories ever told.

Was this what I envisioned?

“No Augie.” I said, “I couldn’t have imagined this in my wildest dreams.”

-Kevin Loring

National Arts Centre's productions of King Lear runs May 8 - 26, 2012.  For tickets call 1-888-991-2787 (ARTS) or click here.

The View from the Big Chair

Christine asked me to write a blog. I’ve never been much of a blog guy, even though I worked professionally in the media throughout the dawn of internet and the birth of on-line social media. Oh sure, I’m computer and web savvy, having reported on them for years, but blogs were just not my thing – not quite a magazine article and just more than a Larry King column – to me that’s what a blog is, and frankly, only a couple have been turned into movies, and they weren’t all that good.

The last time I wrote one of these I ended up with a long form essay, that was really just an extension of a movie review I’d given earlier, and I’m really trying to avoid that here.

Christine wanted me to talk about Native Earth or my time here as President and on the Board of Directors. Here’s what I’d say: it’s been my honour and privilege to serve on the Board at NEPA and as its president for so many years. I’m extremely proud of the company, and how far it’s come from when I first joined, moving offices, expanding staff and budgets, while providing a stage for our artists to tell their stories. I’ve loved working with the artists in the company and they’re the ones that have truly realized so many of the company’s goals these past few years, with Yvette and Tara leading the way. I will be so happy to sit in a seat in the new theatre and watch a performance in a space that NEPA manages and I know that while that will be a realization of one goal, other, grander goals lay ahead for a company that I believe will occupy an even more vital and larger position in this country’s cultural landscape in the years to come. There – that’s the official pitch for NEPA.

I would also say that I love this company and what it represents; how it connected me with people and a culture one can feel divorced from in the big city and one that wasn’t always part of my life due to events in the past. NEPA will always be a part of who I am, because it’s taught me so many things and helped me in ways I won’t even attempt to capture in a blog post. I truly believe that art can help elevate our people even in difficult times, and while there have been many of those, we triumph because we never stop creating.

Chi Miigwetch NEPA, for all you have given me these years and for all that will give all of us in the years to come.

Jesse Wente

Board President Jed DeCory blogs about his time as a Native Earth "staffer"

For the past 18 months I have experienced Native Earth in a completely new way.  I joined the board of directors a number of years ago and watched as Native Earth found a strong voice and told stories about and by our community.  When we embarked on the feasibility study with Lord Cultural Resources to determine if we should create our own theatre space I stepped off the board so I could contribute to the study as a staff member.

But, as in all stories, the plot didn’t turn out to be as linear as we all suspected at the beginning.  A few months in there was the opportunity to apply to be a tenant in the new Regent Park Arts and Culture Centre (RPACC) Artscape and Daniels were building on Dundas Street.  What an opportunity for an organization that was looking into its ability to own and operate its own theatre space!  We decided to go for it.

When our application was accepted suddenly the role of working on a feasibility study increased to planning a theatre space and new office for Native Earth.

Meanwhile, we were approached by Seneca College to partner on a new media grant offered by Heritage Canada.  Seneca had the technical expertise and Native Earth had the content.

The details of that project are likely best kept for another post.  Suffice to say that suddenly I was coordinating Native Earth’s involvement in the feasibility study, planning for the new theatre space and coordinating content for a multimedia site.

Suddenly, 18 months had passed and Jesse Wente’s term as board president came to an end.  I decided it was time for me to return to the board.

This period has been a wonderful learning experience and an opportunity that will make me a better board member for this incredible organization.

In my time as a “staffer” I have seen the dedication of the other staff members.  I have seen how Native Earth is more than a theatre company – it is a hub for our community.  Each week actors, playwrights and directors would be in and out of the office.  Some volunteering their time, some working for a couple weeks between gigs, some just coming to see friendly faces and get some support.

And there were the calls: 
- A small theatre company calling to get advice on how to deal with an issue
- A conference looking for a speaker or a panel members who could speak authoritatively on ethno cultural theatre
- A young person who wants advice on how to become part of the theatre community

All this in an environment where there always seemed to be music, dancing, laughter and a general celebration of life.

Now, as a board member, I have committed to ‘hanging out’ in the office at least once every couple weeks. I make it sound like I’m doing it because it will be easier for staff to know when I will be around to sign things.  But, truth be told, I have learned to cherish being part of this crazy, caring community. Those visits are really for me.

 Our new office space! Photograph by Jed DeCory.

Our theatre! Photograph by Jed DeCory.