Decolonizing Theatre
Presented by Indigenous Initiatives, Theatre Studies, and the Department of English and Writing Studies:
AN EVENING WITH CREATOR-PERFORMER YOLANDA BONNELL AND SCENOGRAPHER JAY HAVENS
Thursday, April 1, 2021 - 5:30-7PM
This event includes a viewing of bug, followed by a Q&A.
"bug is a solo performance and artistic ceremony that highlights the ongoing effects of colonialism and intergenerational trauma experienced by Indigenous women, as well as a testimony to the women’s resilience and strength.
bug is a solo performance and artistic ceremony that highlights the ongoing effects of colonialism and intergenerational trauma experienced by Indigenous women, as well as a testimony to the women's resilience and strength. The Girl traces her life from surviving the foster care system to her struggles with addictions. She fights, hoping to break the cycle in order to give her daughter a different life than the one she had. The Mother sits in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, recounting memories of the daughter that was taken from her, and the struggles of living on the streets in Northern Ontario. They are both followed by Manidoons, a physical manifestation of the trauma and addictions that crawl across generations. bug reveals the hard truths that many Indigenous women face as they carve out a space to survive in contemporary Canada, while holding on to so much hope.
Yolanda Bonnell (She/They) is a Queer 2 Spirit Anishinaabe-Ojibwe & South Asian, european mixed performer, playwright and multidisciplinary creator/educator. Originally from Fort William First Nation in Thunder Bay, Ontario (Superior Robinson Treaty territory), her arts practice is now based in Tkarón:to. In 2016, Yolanda and Michif (Métis) artist Cole Alvis began manidoons collective; a circle of artists creating Indigenous performance. In February 2020, Yolanda’s four-time Dora nominated solo show bug was remounted at Theatre Passe Muraille. 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 towards production. In 2018, Yolanda was invited to be part of the Banff Playwright’s Lab with her piece, White Girls in Moccasins, which is now in residency at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. She was also named one of NOW Magazine's 15 stage artists to watch with Natasha Greenblatt, who she co-wrote The Election, which premiered at Theatre Passe in October 2019. Yolanda proudly bases her practice in land-based creation, drawing on energy and inspiration from the earth and her ancestors. More: https://www.yolandabonnell.com
Jay Havens (he/him/they) is a multi-disciplinary, 2Spirit Artist of Haudenosaunee and Scottish Canadian ancestry and a proud citizen of the Mohawk Nation from Grand River Territory. Jay currently works throughout Turtle Island producing large scale installation for many kinds of circumstances such as sets, costuming and recently projections for live performance (Pacific National Exhibition, City of Stratford, Caravan Farm Theatre), works like murals (City of Vancouver, McMaster Children’s Hospital, Iroquois Indian Museum) as well as objects for display in galleries, museums or public spaces (New York State Museum, Waterfront Toronto, Woodland Cultural Centre, The Reach Gallery). More: https://www.jayhavens.me/about
