[ad_1]
Kim O 'Bomsawin gets married on Saturday, so spending six hours Thursday night talking about cultural appropriation with Robert Lepage was not part of his original plans for the week.
But she could hardly say no after signing the open letter of members of the Native communities of Quebec and their allies question the absence of indigenous actors in the next Kanata play of the lighting of Quebec theater, then invited with more than 30 of his peers to participate in a discussion with Lepage and his collaborator Ariane Mnouchkine of The Theater of the Sun of France
"I thought to myself:" Maybe with the experience that I have, I can explain (Lepage) what he represents on the human scale – the pain of people ", the filmmaker Abenaki, whose recent documentary, Ce silence that kills, interests missing and murdered Aboriginal women. "Is it really necessary (to exclude Aboriginal actors), in the name of art? Of course, you have the right, but is it really necessary? "
After the controversial production of SLAV from Lepage, a" Slavic Songs-Based Theatrical Odyssey "with a predominantly white cast and presented as part of the Kanata International Jazz Festival of Montreal is of interest to Canadian Aboriginal history, including the Indian residential schools system and missing and murdered Aboriginal women
After the publication of the aforementioned open letter in Le Devoir last weekend, Lepage and Mnouchkine invite aboriginal leaders to take part in dialogue Thursday night at SAT.On Friday morning, O & # 39; Bomsawin was still re-enacting what she felt about this experience
"In general, it was very courteous and respectful, "she said.
Participants were sitting in a big circle," According to O & # 39; Bomsawin. The evening began with a ceremony recognizing that the meeting was being held on unceded Mohawk territory, followed by an opening prayer and a traditional mohawk song by Kevin Deer.
From there, the discussion turned in all directions. Although they listened to native speakers, Lepage and Mnouchkine revealed that the casting of the production would not change and would continue as planned for upcoming performances in Paris in December, as well as in New York and, later, in Quebec City. 19659009] Canadian playwright, actor, director and director, Robert Lepage.
Sean Kilpatrick /
THE CANADIAN PRESS
"I found it amazing not to be able to imagine that the room could be stronger with us," said O & B. Bomsawin.
"There was not much opening (from them). They said that they were doing theater, and that the basic principle of the theater is that you have the right to play the other. They talked about creative freedom. I understand all this … but what really bothers us is the sometimes condescending tone of Mrs. Mnouchkine
"She said," You want to censor us, "several times. I said: "The last thing we want to do is censor you, you talk to a people who knows about censorship, we've been censored for 400 years – do not talk to us about We want your game to shine and be a success, but we think it could work much better with us. "[Peoplehavebeenveryhurtbyhisstatementsandsomepeoplehavefounditverydifficult19659002] There were moments of tension, including tears from some Aboriginal participants. But Lepage and Mnouchkine did not seem to grasp the impact of their choices on those present, according to Nakuset. The general director of the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal stated that she had burst into tears on her return from the discussion, which she had left before the end
"I had enough," she said. "It gets to the point where you're trying to get your message across and it does not seem to get in. You just think," They're committed to artistic freedom, and they can decide what they want to do. "[19659002] "It was like a train accident, and I could not watch the train anymore, if you do not engage in something, then I have to go."
For Nakuset, who is screaming and whose mother was forced to attend residential schools, the general feeling of native representatives in the room could "
" When Kevin (Kahnawake's eldest Deer) spoke, we sat down straight – everything the world was watching and getting engaged. "That was the body language afterwards," she says, collapsed.
"People did that," she added, putting her hands on her face. "We really wanted to engage with them, and we were trying to have a dialogue, but when someone does not hear you …"
The Lepage company, Ex Machina, issued a statement Friday baderting that "Although not all concerns have been lifted, Ariane Mnouchkine and Robert Lepage believe that they can hope for a big step towards mutual understanding."
Although disappointed by the lack of progress made during the meeting, O & # 39; Bomsawin is comforted by watching the long game.
"I'm not frustrated, but I do not go out of this super enthusiast", she said. "I'm a bit neutral I do not know what this meeting was, in the end I can not say for what purpose it served or served." I have the impression that this has cast the basics of a dialogue that will continue.They promised that it would not stop there, and that we will talk again.We will see. "
[ad_2]
Source link
