Martina's play part of vision for Canada's future

Department of Drama students Kelly McTaggart, Jillian Borrowman and Anna Mazurik workshop "Departures," a short play written by Natasha Martina and Gordon Portman for the Canada 300 project. Photo credit: S.E. Grummett

What will Canada look like 150 years from now?

As part of a unique national project, a short play co-written by Associate Professor of Drama Natasha Martina envisions one answer to that question and challenges Canadians to think about the future they want to see.

Martina answered a Canada-wide call for proposals last July from the Canada 300 project led by Prince Edward Island’s Watermark Theatre. Watermark sought short plays it could tour across the country to inspire a national conversation about Canada’s next 150 years—about Canada as it will look on its 300th anniversary in 2167.

Working with Manitoba playwright Gordon Portman, Martina co-authored a pitch for a short play titled “Departures,” which drew on themes and characters from an upcoming full-length play titled Displaced she wrote with Sue Mythen.

“Departures” explores the journey of an African immigrant who is supported in her transition to a new land by two immigrants from the past.

“She comes to realize,” says Martina, “that the need for courage does not necessarily end with the first step on the soil of a new land.”

Martina and Portman’s proposal was one of nine selected from among more than 100 submissions. In the fall, Portman and Martina developed the proposal into a finished script.

“Our first conversation with Watermark revolved around the fact that our vision for the piece was strongly rooted in text and movement,” says Martina. “How would Watermark anticipate this collaboration between our vision alongside the director’s?”

The solution, she says, was to workshop the play with local Department of Drama students. With funding support from the ICCC, Martina and Portman worked with student actors in Saskatoon to visualize the story. Martina then traveled to PEI for the first week of official rehearsals to collaborate with the director of the nine plays, Robert Tsonos.

Canada 300 is now midway through a 20-city tour of the country. In each city, a performance of seven out of the nine plays (chosen by the audience) is used to spark an in-person and online discussion on Canada’s future.

Canada 300 comes to Saskatoon (Tommy Douglas Collegiate) on March 12 and 13, and to Regina (Artisian Theatre) on March 16 and 17.

College of Arts & Science alumna Andrea Ledding (MFA’13, MA’14) also contributed a play to Canada 300 titled “Dominion.”