Red Mother Production Gearing Up for November 1- 4 Performances
Remarkable Mother-Daughter Duo Team Up for the First Time
Renowned actress and artistic director of New York’s legendary Spiderwoman Theatre, Muriel Miguel, has arrived at Trent University to begin rehearsals for her upcoming, one-woman show entitled Red Mother. Although a veteran of Indigenous theatre, this production marks the first time Ms. Miguel will have ever been directed by her daughter, Murielle Borst, who is also an accomplished actress, dancer and novelist.
“It’s a great thrill for me to work with my daughter, and it should be an interesting experience,” said Ms. Miguel.
Ms. Borst echoed the excitement of collaborating with her mother, adding, “I’m glad to have the opportunity to take this piece from dramaturgy to production and see the reaction of the audience so we can add the final layers before we go to full production.”
Inspired by the 1939 play Mother Courage written by legendary German playwright Bertolt Brecht, Red Mother tells the story of Belle, who travels through battles and various clashes that have inextricably changed the course of Indigenous ways of life. Through lying and cunning, she is a survivor, but does so at great personal cost. This new dance theatre piece explores the personal face of war and conflict by chronicling the earth journey of an aged Indian woman across the continent as well as her spiritual journey across the universe.
Ms. Miguel has been developing the play for four years, and began working on the project when she was chosen as the first Lipinsky feminist-in-residence by San Diego State University. “Red Mother is an abstract character, and she’s not nice,” noted Ms. Miguel. “Red Mother challenges the romantic myth of Indian women, confronting the perception that all our ancestors were ‘noble’. The culture survives today because of women like Belle; she is both the warrior and the hero.”
Ms. Miguel and Ms. Borst will be involved in a series of workshops, rehearsals and artists’ talks during their artistic residency at Trent University. Following these performances, Red Mother will tour to the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. for two special presentations on February 22 and 23, 2008.
See the Play
Red Mother will be presented on November 1, 2 and 3 at 8 p.m., and on November 4 at 2 p.m. at Nozhem: First Peoples Performance Space at Trent University. Admission is by donation. Tickets are available by calling (705) 748-1011, ext. 7921. Red Mother is presented in partnership with Indigenous Performance Initiatives.
Posted October 23, 2007
Ms. Borst echoed the excitement of collaborating with her mother, adding, “I’m glad to have the opportunity to take this piece from dramaturgy to production and see the reaction of the audience so we can add the final layers before we go to full production.”
Inspired by the 1939 play Mother Courage written by legendary German playwright Bertolt Brecht, Red Mother tells the story of Belle, who travels through battles and various clashes that have inextricably changed the course of Indigenous ways of life. Through lying and cunning, she is a survivor, but does so at great personal cost. This new dance theatre piece explores the personal face of war and conflict by chronicling the earth journey of an aged Indian woman across the continent as well as her spiritual journey across the universe.
Ms. Miguel has been developing the play for four years, and began working on the project when she was chosen as the first Lipinsky feminist-in-residence by San Diego State University. “Red Mother is an abstract character, and she’s not nice,” noted Ms. Miguel. “Red Mother challenges the romantic myth of Indian women, confronting the perception that all our ancestors were ‘noble’. The culture survives today because of women like Belle; she is both the warrior and the hero.”
Ms. Miguel and Ms. Borst will be involved in a series of workshops, rehearsals and artists’ talks during their artistic residency at Trent University. Following these performances, Red Mother will tour to the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. for two special presentations on February 22 and 23, 2008.
See the Play
Red Mother will be presented on November 1, 2 and 3 at 8 p.m., and on November 4 at 2 p.m. at Nozhem: First Peoples Performance Space at Trent University. Admission is by donation. Tickets are available by calling (705) 748-1011, ext. 7921. Red Mother is presented in partnership with Indigenous Performance Initiatives.
Posted October 23, 2007