Hayden Taylor: I may have to stop writing plays with Native characters

Sensible approach:

…I personally have no problem with classes studying my work, regardless of the students’ heritage. I have it on good authority that schools were designed to be places of education, of learning. And what better way to learn about a people, or a culture, than to put on a pair of moccasins or spend time in a First Nations community, even a fictional one, for a few hours? Wherever a play may take you – whether it’s a 16th-century Elizabethan court, or some small American town – embrace it and learn from it.

So, to return to the high school teacher, my words to him were: run with it. Let students understand the triumphs and tragedies of our communities – once he gets the title of my play right.

(Of course, that condition might backfire on me. Will this teacher believe I don’t think “Indians” can tell the truth, unlike drunks and children? See? It all gets so complicated.)

And as for those UBC students, they should have embraced the opportunity. It was probably their only chance to play Indigenous characters. Now, and probably for the rest of their careers, they will play nothing but settler characters. I would find that kind of limiting.

This all changes when it comes to professional productions.

On a professional stage, I think it adds to the production if the Indigenous characters are played by Indigenous people. Acting is all about authenticity….

Source: I may have to stop writing plays with Native characters