The Canada Council for the Arts believed that Marcel Gagnon had a story of national importance, the Sunset Theatre was doing nationally important work to correctly tell it, so they provided national funding to see it done.
A Canada Council grant is famously difficult to attain. Sunset Theatre owner and artistic director Karen Jeffrey has applied for seven of them to no avail, but this time the peer-based judging panel saw the merit in developing Gagnon's play.
Gagnon's fans and friends will likely be surprised to know he has stepped into the theatre world. The longtime singer-songwriter has won Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards and been nominated for a Juno. Music has been his trade.
That's what he was doing when he performed about a year ago at the Sunset Theatre in Wells and sparked the inspirational flame in theatre director Jeffery.
She had already worked with Gagnon when she was coordinating the artistic elements of the 2015 Canada Winter Games and Gagnon was one of the spotlighted performers, so hosting him at her theatre in Prince George's Cariboo back yard was an easy yes.
"I remember playing in Wells with (guitar player) Mike Vigano along with me, and we just played song after song as usual, but something I'd started to do differently, and I don't know why, just a sign I'm getting older I guess, I started to tell more stories in between songs and that sparked something for Karen," Gagnon said. "I really have her to thank for that insight."
Jeffery operates a unique program at her facility. Most professional theatre organizations run a slate of plays, and so too does Jeffery, but the Sunset is also home to The Exploration Series which gives playwrights a chance to workshop a new project, pre-perform scripts in development and think out loud about how an emerging play should be formed. A play often has to go through several revisions before it arrives at a finished point, and it is difficult for the writer to understand how to renovate until a play has been lived in a little.
The combination of Gagnon's stories and songs took on the working title The Awakening Of My People Through Sweat Lodge, and became one of The Exploration Series works in progress.
He expressed onto paper his lifetime of learnings that formed him into the Lheidi T'enneh First Nation elder he is today, with a fertile personal history in music and also in emotional/spiritual healing and education. Gagnon has, for years, been involved in such work with everything from federal corrections to community circles to school-aged kids.
"The title as it has developed as the performance has developed. It has become The Drum Is Calling Me Home," said Jeffery. "It's Marcel's journey of coming to the discovery and exploration of his Aboriginal roots."
The drum is a pivotal aspect of the performance. Gagnon holds one that he plays for rhythm, to evoke Aboriginal traditions, and also act as his cue-cards. The painting on the skin of his hand drum has more meaning than simply art.
As a sufferer of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, he has had to come to terms with his life's mistakes and put those into the play for its authentic power, but he also has to work with the symptoms of FASD as a performer.
"I'm not an actor. This isn't my world," said Gagnon. "But I have to follow a script, and for me, I easily get lost in my own words. So Karen made a brilliant suggestion. My drum has notes on it, to keep me on track."
Embryonic performances have been done, and because these stories are rooted in raw truths, Gagnon has had to face the eyes of real people in the audience who also have their view of the events he's speaking of. In that sense, a personal healing and interconnectedness has come to Gagnon, as much as he has given of himself to the audiences.
"There's two things," that stand out about this play for Jeffery, she said. "One, he is an elder, a compelling performer, an amazing human being, and just being him is worth supporting in whatever way.
"Two, the Sunset is a place where we say yes, your story is valuable to culture and important to Canada so we have a mandate to bring story forth. As a professional theatre we have to take those stories higher, through our theatre pathways, to a pro level for the audience so the voices can be heard and shown in their best light."
The funding from the Canada Council goes with financial input also obtained from the Rural Dividends Trust (B.C. government). It ensures more development work can take place so The Drum Is Calling Me Home can be finalized for an official world debut in August. Then, both Jeffery and Gagnon are hopeful it can be performed all across Canada, since the story of one intuitive Lheidli elder is also reflective of the nationwide Aboriginal experience.
