On August 6th, 2020, we presented what proved to be another important discussion about todays theatre in Canada or Turtle Island: Grounding Indigenous Art & Design On Mixed-Raced Teams: A conversation reflecting on creating spaces and processes for Indigenous Theatre with anti-appropriative practices and inter-Nation collaborations. Our panel included performer Yolanda Bonnell, sound designer/composer Mishelle Cuttler, costume designer Samantha McCue, and projection, set and lighting designer Emily Soussana. The panel was led by Fire Creator, Indigenous Theorist and Cultural Evolutionist, Kim Senklip Harvey.
This is another co-pro with the Associated Designers of Canada, who are generously providing a bit of funding for the moderators and panelists. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel so you don’t miss the next episode. Bios of are panel are below.
Bios
Yolanda Bonnell (she/her) is a Queer 2 Spirit Ojibwe/South Asian performer, playwright and poet from Fort William First Nation in Thunder Bay, ON. Now based in Tkarón:to, and a graduate of Humber College’s Theatre Performance program, Yolanda was named one of NOW Magazine's Theatre Discoveries and most exciting artists to watch in Summerworks 2016. Her solo show bug, had its world premiere at the Luminato Festival in 2018, followed by a national tour and co- presented at Theatre Passe Muraille by manidoons collective, which she runs with Michif (Métis) artist Cole Alvis. She was also a part of Factory Theatre’s The Foundry, a creation program for new career writers, where her play, Scanner continues to be developed. Yolanda also completed a season at the Stratford Festival as well as a residency at the Banff Playwright’s Lab with her piece, White Girls in Moccasins, which is now in residency at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Website: www.yolandabonnell.com
Mishelle Cuttler is a composer, sound designer, music director and actor/musician based in Vancouver. After 5 years working professionally in Vancouver, Mishelle moved to New York where she obtained an MFA in Musical Theatre Composition at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She returned to beautiful British Columbia in June, 2017 full of inspiration and ready to make more music. Mishelle has made music with numerous professional theatre companies throughout Vancouver, including Bard on the Beach, Arts Club Theatre, Rumble Theatre, Pi Theatre, Théâtre la Seizième, Ruby Slippers, and ITSAZOO Productions. . She is board member for the ADC and a core member of the Vancouver Design Forum. Website: www.mishellecuttler.com
Kim Senklip Harvey is a proud Syilx (silk), Tsilhqot'in (sil-co-teen), Ktunaxa (to-naka) and Dakelh (da-kell) woman and is a Fire Creator, Indigenous Theorist and Cultural Evolutionist. She completed the BFA program at UBC and is currently doing her Masters in Creative Writing at UVIC. Kim is interested in Indigenous creation works dismantling and troubling colonial and neo-capitalistic systems with a particular focus on the resurgence of Indigenous Matriarchal led systems and frameworks. Especially those amplifying the emancipatory journeys of those enduring state oppression. She is also really good at buck hunter, like really good. Website :www.kimsenklipharvey.com
Samantha McCue is an Anishinabekwe and Ned’u’den costume designer and anti-racism advocate based in Ottawa, Ontario. She graduated with a BFA in Theatrical Production from York University in 2017. With a variety of skills in costume design and construction, theatre management and administration, Samantha is passionate about developing the Indigenous theatre community in Canada and beyond. Website: sammccuedesign.com
Emily Soussana is a projection, set, and lighting designer based out of Tiotia:ke (jo-ja-jay) or Montreal. They are the co-founder of potatoCakes_Digital, a production design and digital arts collective whose mandate orbits around the integration of technology into traditional art forms and the exploration of how visual art can help facilitate the telling of a story. Website: www.potatocakesdigital.ca