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<DIV>Just a reminder that the deadline for proposals for the Rita Joe Anthology is January 1, 2015 and the deadline for completed essays is February 1, 2016. </DIV>
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<DIV>Thanks for the abstracts and expressions of interest already received and I look forward to hearing from many more of you over the next few months!</DIV>
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<DIV>As always please continue to distribute far and wide - <BR><BR><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">ALL FOR PAPERS </SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">– </SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">A critical anthology commemorating the 50<SUP>th</SUP> Anniversary of George Ryga’s <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe </I></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">In his 1998 keynote address to the Association of Canadian Theatre Research, Robert Wallace identified the beginning of identifiable Canadian theatre with the Vancouver Playhouse’s production of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></I>Since then, many scholars and historians of Canadian theatre have agreed that <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe</I> marks the beginning of indigenous (though not aboriginal) Canadian Theatre. </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">Opening on November 23,1967, this seminal work in the history of Canadian theatre lived on long after the original production closed.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In 1969, the production toured to Ottawa (opening the main stage at the National Arts Centre); <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>it was subsequently filmed and televised on CBC; the play has had productions at many of Canada’s regional theatres, as well as productions across the globe (including an acclaimed 1973 production in Washington DC) and in 1971 the Royal Winnipeg Ballet transformed Ryga’s story into a ballet<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The effect that the original production of </SPAN><I><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe</SPAN></I><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">had on many aspects of theatre and theatre production has been vast and numerous artists would cite the play as a major influence upon their career.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Perhaps most specifically, as noted theatre critic Jamie Portman has argued the success of the play profoundly shaped Canadian playwrights and playwrighting.<SUP>1.</SUP><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The play continues to be produced in theatres around the world and, as the first play that most<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>students in<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Canadian Drama encounter it plays an iconic, if not, mythic role in Canadian theatre history. </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Over the past 25 years or so, critical assessment around the play, though not necessarily the place in holds in the development of Canadian theatre, has shifted dramatically.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In his introduction to the 1976 reprint of the script, Peter Hay wrote, “[b]ut there was something particularly new about </SPAN><I><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe </SPAN></I><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">and this has to do with the way George Ryga regards the theatre.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It was the first time that a playwright had use the Vancouver Playhouse to confront its largely middle-class clientele with the reality of Skid Row blocks away.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Ryga pointed a finger accusing that audience…” (8). By the late 20<SUP>th</SUP> century however, critics began challenging the historical <I>Rita Joe</I> narrative, often implicating Ryga in perpetuating colonial attitudes and appropriating the voice of its aboriginal characters.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Agnes Grant was not alone when she argued, “</SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Ryga’s play simplistically sentimentalised the aboriginal plight as the victimisation of passive children by irresponsible white parental authorities, and that this well-meaning but Eurocentric, patriarchal paradigm ultimately reflected the assimilationist policies of the Department of Indian Affairs at that time.“<SUP>2<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SUP>In 2009, acclaimed First Nations playwright, director, actor, dramaturg and cultural commentator, Yvette Nolan directed a production of <I>The Ecstasy of Rita Joe</I><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The production was a co-production between Western Canada Theatre (Kamloops) and the National Arts Centre (Ottawa) and, unlike the 1967/69 production featured aboriginal actor Lisa C Ravensbergen in the titular role.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Nolan’s production was a thoughtful re-imagining of the play but it achieved a new sense of urgency by connecting Rita Joe’s fictional story within the context of Stolen Sisters/Sisters in Spirit and Canada’s growing outrage and concern around the notorious ‘Highway of Tears’.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SUP><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"></SPAN></SUP> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SUP><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">1 </SPAN></SUP><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">Portman, Jamie. “Ecstasy of Rita Joe Still Manages to Shock and Scourge.” <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Vancouver Province </I>12 April 1976: pg 10<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN><SUP>2</SUP></SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Grant, Agnes. "Canadian Native Literature: The Drama of George Ryga and Tomson Highway." <EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Australian - Canadian Studies</SPAN></EM><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>10.2 (1992): pg 40.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">This edited anthology (to be published by University of Regina Press) </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">seeks an intra/cross/multi disciplinary collection of essays reflecting, commenting and challenging notions around the play’s legacy.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Simply put, what does <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe </I>mean today?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This call is</SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> seeking expressions of interest for scholarly work (critical, theoretical and/or creative work) that explores a wide range of opinions, readings and responses to </SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe -<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></I><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">the text, its production (s) and its cultural/social history within Canada and abroad.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">It is the intention that this collection will address an array of historical and contemporary issues connected to the play and its production.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>While it will have a strong focus on theatre history/studies submissions that inform<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>and respond to <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe </I>from diverse areas such as cultural studies, media and communication studies, dance studies, queer studies, indigenous studies, sociology, and urban studies, to name but a few, are most welcome. </SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"></SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">POTENTIAL TOPICS FOR CONSIDERATION COULD INCLUDE:</SPAN></P>
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<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">Reconsidering the place and role of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe</I> within the Canadian theatre cannon</SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">The effect of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe</I> on Canadian playwrights and playwrighting</SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">Aesthetic, dramaturgical and cultural issues around the nature of the first production</SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">The legacy of George Ryga as playwright and/or theatrical deviser</SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe </SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">as colonizing text /production</SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">Re-evaluating or re-framing George Ryga’s oeuvre</SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">The potential readings of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe </I>as a reclaimed post-colonial text</SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">Biographical sketches of key players involved in the creation/production of the play (for example George Ryga, Joy Coghill or August Schellenberg)</SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">Changing critical responses <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe </I>(as text or in production)</SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe </SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">as gothic/queer text</SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">Critical readings/responses the various adaptations of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe </I></SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">Challenges/rewards of teaching <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe </I>in the classroom</SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">Political, social or cultural readings and influences of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe</I></SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe </SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">as cultural ambassador </SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">The critical reaction <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe </I>outside of Canada</SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">The Ecstasy of Rita Joe</SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"> and the Canadian centennial</SPAN></LI></UL>
<P class=MsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">****This is a preliminary list only and is not meant to limit ideas or proposals****</SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><U><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-VARIANT: small-caps; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">Timeline</SPAN></U></B></P>
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<LI class=MsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">Interested authors are asked to contribute a short (300 word) abstract by <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">January 1, 2015 </B>and accepted authors will be notified by <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">February 1, 2015 <SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 4"> </SPAN></B></SPAN>
<LI class=MsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">Accepted and completed essays (4,000 – 6,000 words) will be due <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">February 1, 2016. </B></SPAN></LI></UL>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 36pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">The</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"> </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">University of Regina Press </SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">follows the humanities style of documentation according to <EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">The Chicago Manual of Style</SPAN></EM>.</SPAN><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"></SPAN></B></P>
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<LI class=MsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">Publication is scheduled for <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">fall 2017 </B></SPAN></LI></UL>
<P class=MsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA">For more information or to submit proposals</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"> (and all other correspondence) please contact </SPAN></P>
<DIV><BR><BR><BR></DIV><SPAN style="WORD-WRAP: normal; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal">
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Wes D. Pearce, Professor</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Associate Dean (Undergraduate) </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Faculty of Fine Arts </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>University of Regina</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>S4S 0A2</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>306 585 5571</FONT></DIV>
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