Yvette Wong has a secret. She can't tell anyone she's part Cree...
* Playwright Kenneth T. Williams is a member of Playwrights Guild of Canada.
**They appear courtesy of the Canadian Actors Equity Association
Upcoming:
Culture Days: Drop by and see us and other arts and culture organizations on Sat. Oct. 1, 2011 at The Old Fire Hall, Whitehorse.
Go to In Development for more news on what's happening at Gwaandak Theatre.
Tour Schedule:
Wed. May 4, Dawson City, Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre, 7 pm
Thurs. May 5, Mayo Curling Club, 7 pm
Sat May 7, Pelly Crossing LINK Building, 2 pm
Wed.-Sat. May 11-14, Whitehorse, Guild Hall, 8 pm & Pay What You Can Matinee, May 14, 2 pm
Tues. May 17, Watson Lake Community Centre, 7 pm
Wed. May 18, Teslin School, 7 pm
Thurs. May 18, Haines Junction, St. Elias Convention Centre, 7 pmYukon community tickets available at the door. Dawson tickets also available at Max's and KIAC.
Whitehorse evening tickets available at yukontickets.com
School Matinees:
May 4, Dawson City, afternoon
May 6, Mayo, morning
May 11-12, Whitehorse, afternoon
May 17, Watson Lake, afternoon
May 20, Haines Junction, morning
About this new play:
Café Daughter is a one-woman memory play inspired by a true story. It's about a Chinese-Cree girl growing up in rural Saskatchewan in the 1950s and 1960s. The story begins in 1957: 10-year-old Yvette Wong helps out in her parents’ café. She’s incredibly bright but is put in the slow learners’ class because of her skin colour. Her mother Katherine has charged her with a secret – to never tell anyone she’s part Cree. This was a time when Aboriginal children were forced into residential schools, provincial law forbade white women from working in Chinese-owned businesses, and Chinese-Canadian men struggled to bring families to Canada.
Will Yvette come to terms with her own full identity, while following her dreams of university?
School Study Guide for Educators and Students:
Gwaandak Theatre’s first-ever School Study Guide is created by award-winning Yukon writer Mitch Miyagawa with Gwaandak artistic director Patti Flather. This downloadable guide is being distributed to schools. This Study Guide is possible with generous support from Yukon Department of Education.
For more information on booking Whitehorse school matinees May 11 and 13, contact Patti Flather, Gwaandak Theatre: ad@gwaandaktheatre.com or phone 393-2676. Space is limited for Whitehorse school matinees so schools are advised to book early.
About Playwright Kenneth T. Williams (Pictured above at a recent public reading in Whitehorse.)
Kenneth T. Williams is a Cree playwright, filmmaker and journalist from the George Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan. His plays Gordon Winter, Thunderstick, Bannock Republic, Suicide Notes and Three Little Birds have been professionally produced across Canada. A new play, Cafe Daughter, will be produced this year by Gwaandak Theatre in Whitehorse. As well as writing plays, Kenneth has edited three television series and teaches playwriting at the University of Saskatchewan. He is the first Aboriginal writer to earn an M.F.A. in playwriting from the University of Alberta. He currently resides in Saskatoon.
Gwaandak Theatre’s Development of Café Daughter
Since 2000 Gwaandak Theatre has been developing, producing and touring never-before-seen northern, Aboriginal and Canadian plays for Yukon audiences. This Café Daughter premiere is unique; the play development began with Gwaandak Theatre’s first-ever commission of a new play, with award-winning Cree playwright Kenneth T. Williams.
This has included intensive script development over two years, including an extra rehearsal week Whitehorse, readings of earlier drafts with actors, script consultations with dramaturges and the director, and writing time in Banff and Saskatoon. This critical play development was supported by The Canada Council, Yukon Arts Fund and Banff Playwrights Colony.
Director, Yvette Nolan at rehearsals in Whitehorse. Check out our Cafe Daughter photo album on our Facebook page @Gwaandak Theatre Society.
Funders/Sponsors:
Public Funders:
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Obsidian Investor:
Anonymous Investor
Red Ochre Benefactor:
