celebrations of the past

[Ric Knowles]

Hi all,

I wonder if rather than getting nostalgic for the heyday of the early 70s and before we might celebrate some of the best ways of looking back--such as the current revival of Salt Water Moon at Factory Theatre, directed by Ravi Jain and featuring Kawa Ada and Mayko Nguyen? In fact, Factory's whole season of revivals seems celebratory. Up next is Nigel Shawn Williams's production of A Line in the Sand, then Judith Thompson directing The Crackwalker in a way that acknowledges Theresa's Indigeneity. Those heady early days were pretty white and pretty male ("after the revolution, where are the women?"). Factory is adding some colour, and I expect/hope that this is happening elsewhere too.

I'd love to see a discussion on this list of revivals elsewhere that are injecting new life into our field--and also into our curricula, since we're talking about courses and programs. I wonder when and where the first courses on Canadian intercultural performance were? Or the first courses on Indigenous theatre in the land now called Canada?

Cheers,

Ric

Professor of Theatre Studies
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
N1G 2W1

ph: 519-824-4120, x52931 (w)
FAX: 519-824-0560
email: rknowles at uoguelph.ca
http://www.uoguelph.ca/sets/sets-ric-knowles