The call of an owl becomes an omen for Eddie, a former residential school student in Brandon University professors Darrell Racine and Dale Lakevold’s new play Owl Calling. But what kind of an omen will it be for a man who has just opened up about his residential school experience?
The play premieres in Winnipeg September 25 — with a staged reading in Brandon at BU’s Evans Theatre on Oct. 3 as part of the university’s Truth and Reconciliation Week.
Owl Calling depicts the journey that two Indigenous men undertake with their families as they go through the federal government’s compensation process for former residential school students.
Their families believe this process will help Eddie and his brother-in-law Jim heal from their school experience and find justice. But the compensation model, as the family members in the play discover, has little to do with healing.
“Owl Calling is a play about the flawed attempt of the Canadian government to compensate First Nations people who attended residential school,” says Racine, a Native Studies professor at Brandon University. The play takes the audience inside this process.
“Yes, the Independent Assessment Process (IAP) awarded compensation. But it did little to heal former students from the trauma they experienced at residential school. In some cases, the IAP re-traumatized them.”
Lakevold, a Creative Writing prof at Brandon University, says the play shows how Indigenous knowledge and narrative, and the nurturing of relationships, enables the characters to embark on their healing journey.
“It’s a story that will help Canadians understand their role in the reconciliation process,” Racine adds. “It’s a reminder that Canadians must be prepared to come to terms with their history and be prepared to engage in reconciliation in a meaningful manner.”
The playwrights recognize the importance of the play’s social content, but they also want to emphasize that the play includes other dramatic elements such as humour, love, and music.
“We’re excited about the live music performed as part of the story,” says Lakevold. “It will be a full theatrical experience for the audience. On top of that, we have some of the best designers anywhere.”
The play is a production of Brandon’s Root Sky Theatre Company. It features the directing of Winnipeg’s Charlene Van Buekenhout, most recently on the production team of Cercle Moliere’s tri-lingual Rise, Red River by Tara Beagan.
Owl Calling brings together an all-star cast from Winnipeg and Toronto, led by Tracey Nepinak, Jeremy Proulx, and J.D. Smith, all who most recently appeared in Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s production of Rosanna Deerchild’s acclaimed The Secret to Good Tea.
A trio of exciting, young professionals — Calla Adubofour-Poku and Braiden Houle, both recently arrived in Winnipeg from BC, and Winnipeg’s Leah Borchert — round out the cast.
The show will feature the music and sound design of multiple award-winning Cree musician/composer Jason Burnstick, whose latest sound design was experienced in The Secret to Good Tea.
Owl Calling received an award for Best Full-Length Play in the Theatre BC Canadian National Playwriting Competition for 2021.
It is the third in a series of five plays by Racine and Lakevold that explores Indigenous culture and history in Canada. Their play Stretching Hide, set in a Saskatchewan Metis community, was produced by Theatre Projects Manitoba in 2005 and published by Scirocco Drama also in 2005. Their first play Misty Lake (1999) was re-issued by Scirocco Drama in 2023.
Owl Calling runs from September 25-28 with shows nightly at 7:30 pm and a matinee at 2 pm on September 28 in the Rachel Browne Theatre in Winnipeg.
Following the Winnipeg production, the play will go on the road for staged readings at the University of Regina on October 2 and at Brandon University on October 3. The readings will be held at 7 p.m. with admission free to all.
The production has received funding support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Manitoba Arts Council, and the Native Studies Endowment Fund, the Rowe Fund, the Margaret Laurence Endowment Foundation, Keller Developments, Westman Fire Protection, and several areas of BU, including Gender & Women’s Studies; English, Drama & Creative Writing; the Office of Vice-President Research; and Indigenous Initiatives.
For more information: contact@rootsky.ca or lakevold@hotmail.com. By phone: 204-867-3908 or 204-717-1488. Purchase advance tickets at https://rootsky.ca/
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