Hayden Taylor: What happens if you don’t have Indigenous actors for a play about Indigenous people? It doesn’t get produced

Ironic and sad collateral damage:

…Thus, the conundrum. Obviously it would be pretty nice for my play to be produced. After all, Daddy needs a new pair of shoes … or, in my case, moccasins. In today’s world, hiring a non-native isn’t even considered. So the whole potential production has to suffer, being thrown out with the theatre water.

For me, the play is a loving tip of the hat to our elders, showing their perspective on the world and presenting a vision of the First Nations community that is seldom seen. I consider it a warm and humorous play about elder love in a fish-out-of-water context. This, I believe, explains the interest in the play. The characters are native but they don’t have to be. The story and characters are easily relatable by all people.

Crees in the Caribbean has been produced a few times already, but alas, the reservoir of Indigenous actors is quite low, especially ones who might be interested in doing theatre. The artistic director of the cancelled production told me that she contacted some of the more well-known television actors with little luck, and in one case, an agent actually laughed at her when she pitched her proposal. The budgets of theatre run shallow while television/movie resources run substantially deeper.

My real fear is that this could set a bad precedent. Do not write any First Nation characters older than, for the sake of argument, 55. Unless you know many out-of-work television actors. Or the theatre company has a makeup department skilled in aging people. But nobody wants that. Again, all part of the conundrum. 

The scariest possibility is that, at 63, I may have to start acting to fill this vacancy. And nobody wants that! 

Source: What happens if you don’t have Indigenous actors for a play about Indigenous people? It doesn’t get produced