Community Theatre Event – Nov 23 & 26 in Kitchener and Guelph
CCBR is coordinating the production of a forum theatre play about Indigenous-Mennonite relations in the Waterloo Region. This initiative responds to calls from Indigenous leaders for truth telling and reckoning with the ongoing impacts of settler colonialism. By engaging local Mennonites and Indigenous peoples in participatory theatre, the artistic collective will facilitate an exploration of shared histories, allyship, and reconciliation. Our approach brings forward a bold artistic vision: to use theatre not only to represent tension but to make space for the audience to embody possibility, courage, and change.
See the event poster below:
Event Dates and Locations:
Monday, Nov 23, 7:00pm
Victoria Park Pavilion
80 Schneider Ave, Kitchener, ON N2G 4G7
Thursday, Nov 26, 7:00 pm
Guelph Civic Museum
52 Norfolk St, Guelph, ON N1H 2W9
The interactive nature of forum theatre will allow the audience to step directly into moments of tension, offering an embodied way to rehearse actions that address inequities in Indigenous-settler relations. Forum theatre is a theatrical game in which a short scenario is performed to highlight a power imbalance. After watching the scene unfold, the audience is invited to intervene, step into the role of a protagonist or bystander, and rehearse alternative strategies to address the conflict. This produces a democratic space in which participants experiment with solutions, practice dialogue, and generate new insight into complex social issues.
A further goal of the project is to capture and share key creative insights. Through detailed documentation of the rehearsal process, audience interventions, and dialogue during the performance, an open-access report will be published that reflects the significance of the event. The insights generated will move beyond the performance itself, offering a resource for artists, educators, churches, and community organizations with an interest in building solidarity and participatory arts methodologies.
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Region of Waterloo arts funding. This event builds on research and community engagement led by Janna Martin through her PhD studies. The work has been supported by a SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship, a residency at Brubacher House (read more), and additional funding from the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation and the Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario. Thank you to our funders for making this work possible.
This project has been reviewed by the Research Ethics Board for compliance with federal guidelines for research involving human participants (REB#143).
