Let the artists speak for themselves

Peter Hinton introduces the 06-07 Season
Peter Hinton on Copper Thunderbird
Marie Clements (A), playwright Copper Thunderbird
Marie Clements (B), playwright Copper Thunderbird

Copper Thunderbird dives into the life of Canadian painter Norval Morrisseau. Inside the power-lines in which the artist boldly defines his work are the colours he experiences between his Ojibwa cosmology, his life on the street, and his spiritual and philosophical transformations to become The Father of Native Contemporary Art and a Grand Shaman. We meet Norval as he sits on his bed and dreams his entire life into existence – himself as a boy, himself as a young man, his abusive white "Auntie", his parasitic drinking buddies, his art dealer and friend, his ex-wives, his true wife, his Ojibwa painting brother, an indian saint, and many others who inhabit his world. Throughout the play, we watch as the old Norval transforms into the shamanic inner master, the young Norval transforms into the Thunderbird, and the boy Norval becomes an artist. The three natures of Norval parallel the three natures of the Holy Trinity, and just as the story attempts to reconcile the three aspects of the Christian deity: God/Man/Spirit, so Norval, throughout the journey of his life and the play, attempts to reconcile the three aspects of his own being: Indian/Artist/Shaman. In the end they are one.

"The world of Norval Morrisseau is visual and visceral;, it is about the Indian and the Artist, two sides of the same coin in an ever -changing universe. It is timely for me to ask the questions Norval demanded of himself. What was first, the Artist or the Indian? Norval dove deep in an attempt to answer the unanswerable. He has given me courage to keep going, to keep seeing, to write words that see into the dive." Marie Clements

Copper Thunderbird is a work of impressive theatrical and visual complexity. As in many of her plays, Marie is working on a canvas of historical and mythological scale that makes it almost impossible for the smaller independent theatres to consider producing the play alone, while many of the larger regional theatres are hesitant to take on such politically and artistically controversial material. When I was appointed to the English Theatre at the NAC, I immediately thought of this play, for it is exactly the kind of work that befits the forging of a new and relevant repertoire for our "national" theatre. Copper Thunderbird marks the first premiere of a First Nations work on our mainstage, and our largest aboriginal production since Tomson Highway’s Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing in 1991.

"I go to the inner places. I go to the source. I even dare to say, I go to the house of invention where all the inventors of mankind have been." Norval Morrisseau

"People always ask if I was influenced by Picasso. No one ever asked Picasso if he was influenced by Canadian art, and yet look at his masks. Who's to say Picasso hadn't been influenced by us?" Daphne Odjig, painter

Billy Merasty in front of Norval Morriseau's Observations of the Astral World, by permission
Photo: Laird Mackintosh
Illustration: Lino

Artist (s)	By Marie Clements (Galiano Island) Directed by Peter Hinton Dramaturg Paula Danckert Set and Costume Design by Mary Kerr Lighting Design by John Webber Sound Design by Noah Drew With Jonathon Fisher Margo Kane Kevin Loring Billy Merasty Michelle St. John 7 actors to be announced
House	Theatre
Seating Plan	Theatre - 100k
Ticket Information	Single tickets $30 to $63
On Sale Date	Single Tickets on sale September 5th
Company	An NAC English Theatre/urban ink productions (Galiano Island) coproduction
Group Information	Groups of 10+ receive great discounts! For more information contact grp@nac-cna.ca.
Season	2006-2007

Performance Schedule	Time(s)	Buy Tickets Online
Tuesday, May 22, 2007	19:30
Wednesday, May 23, 2007	19:30
Thursday, May 24, 2007	19:30
Friday, May 25, 2007	19:30
Saturday, May 26, 2007	14:00
Saturday, May 26, 2007	19:30
Tuesday, May 29, 2007	19:30
Wednesday, May 30, 2007	12:30
Wednesday, May 30, 2007	19:30
Thursday, May 31, 2007	19:30
Friday, June 01, 2007	19:30
Saturday, June 02, 2007	14:00
Saturday, June 02, 2007	19:30
Tuesday, June 05, 2007	19:30
Wednesday, June 06, 2007	19:30
Thursday, June 07, 2007	19:30
Friday, June 08, 2007	19:30
Saturday, June 09, 2007	14:00
Saturday, June 09, 2007	19:30

Box Office Information

Box Office Hours

Monday to Saturday: 10:00 to 21:00

Sundays and Holidays:
When a performance is scheduled, the Box Office will open 2 hours prior to curtain until 15 minutes after the curtain time of the last performance.
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