Students shine in The Witch of Niagara

By Barb Nahwegahbow

TORONTO – Students of the Centre for Indigenous Theatre (CIT) presented their annual year-end performance at the Helen Phelan Playhouse May 4 to 7. Third year graduating students Shirley Marie Bennett, Brendan Austin and Blayne McLeod and second year students Pesch Nepoose, Jesse Wabegijig and Nathan Warrior were the ensemble performers for The Witch of Niagara.

The Witch of Niagara, written by Daniel David Moses from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory is an intriguing re-telling of the story of the Maid of the Mist. Commissioned by CIT, it was first presented in 1998. The decision was made to remount it because it offers so many opportunities for the students to express the breadth of their training and talent.

The hour-long play is about a sickness in a village and there’s a young sickly girl at the centre of the story. A travelling old trader says he can cure the sickness and save the people from dying, but only if he’s allowed to marry the girl. Will her parents sacrifice their daughter to save the village?

The actors are kept busy on stage as they change characters using masks and their voice training. There are eight characters – the girl, her mother and father, an aunt, an uncle, an old man and a young boy. The character changes are seamless and the story moves along fairly quickly. All of the actors shine in the various roles they inhabit, without exception. There’s a strong sense of cooperation and fun among the ensemble which makes the play a joy to watch.

Actor and third year student Blayne McLeod, Cree/Scottish from Alberta said working on the play was, “like a roller coaster, but worth it because I love what I’m doing.” He played five characters including the young man and the young girl, and working with the masks was the most challenging “because you have to move your head a different way.”

Nathan Warrior, Blackfoot is in second year.  Embodying some of the characters was easy while others were a struggle, he said. “The old man and the old woman came easy because I was raised with my grandma and her older friends,” he said so he was able to draw from that.

For actor Jesse Wabegijig from Wikwemikong who has many years of performing under his belt, he said using the masks was something new. “We had to learn a whole new form of performance,” he said, “that isn’t so much internal as external. The production was an amazing challenge,” he said.

Actor Shirley Bennett is graduating this year and plans to continue working in the performing arts. She played three roles including the boy, the old man and the mother. The most challenging role was playing the young boy, she said, but she enjoyed the whole experience, “going on this journey into a whole other world,” she said. Bennett is from Saugeen First Nation.

CIT’s Artistic Director, Rose Stella said, “I am so proud of the work the students/actors did: the mask work, the voice work and playing several characters – beautiful. The director Ed Roy and the design team, Gabriella Caruso and Glenn Davidson brought the world of Daniel David Moses’ play to life so beautifully. I am so thankful and proud – everyone works so hard to get to year-end and it is a blessing to see their transformation so brightly on stage.”

For information about CIT: www.indigenoustheatre.com.