73 replies to this topic

[dkuitu]

Someone needs to cancel woke permanently.

 

the only person that has that authority is Taylor Swift

[Victoria Watcher]

What about Sydney Sweeney?

[LJ]

Indigenous facilitator, is that the same as the mafia guys that "work" on construction sites?

[Nparker]

From a recently received Belfry Theatre newsletter

...Local poets and spoken word artists of all ages are invited to submit six-to-eight-line poems for the Public Poetry Remix Project. Marie Metaphor Specht, Victoria’s Poet Laureate, will curate a collection of poems that will be recorded and will animate the interactive Musical Railings public art installation at the Yates Street Parkade. 

 

Poems should be inspired by Victoria’s own Musical Railings, any staircase, the concept of going up or heading down or any other topic that is inspired by the area around the Musical Staircase...

Your tax dollars well spent. 

[FawltyVic]

A tactic now by the offended is to dispute the claims a playwright is Metis/Aboriginal. If they can can bring doubt to someone's ancestry, they have more power to derail a production.

 

We can't let people decide if a play is good or not. We can't let people form an opinion outside the narrative.

 

Knowing Belfry Theatre's history, I bet they'll give in.

 

https://cheknews.ca/...ctoria-1222045/

 

The plot of "1939":

 

Anticipating a visit by King George VI, an English teacher at a fictional Residential School in Northern Ontario enlists her students in a production of All’s Well That Ends Well. But her rigid ideas of how Shakespeare should be performed are challenged as her Indigenous students start finding parallels between themselves and the characters in the play – and, far from letting themselves be defined by colonial expectations, set out to make Shakespeare’s bitter-sweet comedy defiantly their own.

 

 

I'm sorry, but as someone who sat in the audience to many wonderful, and sometimes thought provoking plays, this angers me.

 

Art can be expression of feeling and opinion. Art is, at times, meant to cause offense.

 

If these people who disagree don't like it, they should see the play for themselves and write a review or write a play of their own.

Edited by FawltyVic, 31 October 2024 - 07:52 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Here is the problem though, who cares the ancestory or the race or religion or nationality or skin colour of the person that created this fictional show?

 

The current controversy is the ancestory of this creator and it should not be.  Anybody should be able to make a fictional play about anything.

 

 

 

 

Both Cyca and Wastasecoot say the potential pretendianism around Lauzon’s claiming Métis identity has an impact on how the 1939 play, supposedly based on her family’s experience, should be framed to the public when they see it.

 

“The basis of this play, is typically obviously fictional, but 1939 has really been presented as something that’s really supposed to honor the experience of survivors their experiences and to advance the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s mission,” said Cyca.

 

“This play might have a lot of different artistic merits, but I really question whether it can advance truth and reconciliation when it’s not truthful.”

 

“You know I just wonder what people are taking away, if they think there were First Nations children learning Shakespeare from well-intentioned nuns and priests, then they’re not really engaging with the true history.”

 

The Belfry Theatre Indigenous staffer who initially blew the whistle, has since quit. Stratford Festival and Belfry Theatre have not yet made public statements since Cyca’s story published Monday, but told CHEK News they’re working on one.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 November 2024 - 12:39 AM.

[Blair M.]

Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 doesn't require a person to actually have a First Nations ancestor, or any First Nations blood in order to be declared Metis.

There are only three requirements by Canadian law in order to declare yourself Metis.

1. Self-Identification (as Metis)
2. Ancestral connection to the historic Metis community
3. Community acceptance (of your self identification)

Basically, if a person has lived, or lives in or around a Metis community, and if they so choose to declare themselves Metis, or if they have an ancestor who has done those same things, they are then Metis by the legal definition of the word.

So if a white settler chooses, or has previously chosen to live in or around a Metis community (or has an ancestor who has done so), and if they participated to any degree whatsoever in that community, and if they choose to call themselves Metis, then they are by law - Metis.

 

The legal metrics are so broad in Canada that pretty much anybody who chooses to "become" Metis, and meets a few basic requirements, is Metis.

Edited by Blair M., 01 November 2024 - 04:53 AM.

[Tony]

1. Community acceptance (of your self identification) ............................Does the local metis community have to accept you as metis? How is the local metis community defined if at all defined?

[spanky123]

^^ Anyone can claim to be Métis as you state. In order to receive benefits however you need to be a member of a Federal or Provincial Métis group and they each have their own rules for membership but generally require that you have an ancestor somewhere that you can prove was FN or Métis.

[Blair M.]

In Canada, there is no blood quantum requirement to be accepted and legally declared as Metis. 

[FawltyVic]

Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 doesn't require a person to actually have a First Nations ancestor, or any First Nations blood in order to be declared Metis.

 

The legal metrics are so broad in Canada that pretty much anybody who chooses to "become" Metis, and meets a few basic requirements, is Metis.

It's tempting, but I enjoy haggis and bagpipes too much.   

[Victoria Watcher]

The Belfry Theatre will open its doors to the public on Saturday, Jan. 10, hosting an interactive open house from noon to 4 p.m. as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations.

 

The free event will feature guided and self-guided building tours, interactive and static displays, and a ticketed historical walking tour of Fernwood led by John Adams of Discover the Past Walking Tours.

 

 

https://cheknews.ca/...ersary-1296281/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 22 December 2025 - 12:07 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, the Belfry Theatre will be hosting an interactive open house on Saturday, Jan. 10, featuring guided or self-guided building tours, interactive and static displays and a historical walking tour of Fernwood. 

 

Between noon and 4 p.m., the theatre will be host to what they call ‘Meet the Donuts,’ an event that occurs at the start of every rehearsal period where the cast and creative team meet the Belfry staff.  “For our open house, we invite people to stop by, introduce themselves and grab a free hot coffee, hot apple cider, tea, or hot chocolate,” noted a release from the theatre.

 

“Staff will give patrons the lay of the land, get them started on our scavenger hunt contest, and send them on their way to explore the building and our interactive displays.”

 

 

Read more at: https://vicnews.com/...ary-open-house/

[Victoria Watcher]

After 18 years of leadership at the Belfry Theatre, Michael Shamata has stepped down from the role of artistic director.

The Belfry Theatre’s Board of Directors announced earlier this week that “it has reluctantly accepted Michael Shamata’s decision,” signifying the impact he’s made after nearly two decades of contributions.

“Michael has been a remarkable artistic director. He is an amazing artist, programmer, and leader. He is also a gentleman—firm when needed, but always thoughtful, sensitive and open to the perspectives of others,” said Richard Brownsey, past president of the board. 

https://cheknews.ca/...esigns-1324208/