By Randi Bjornstad

BlueJay’s Canoe, which opens at The Very Little Theatre on Nov. 7 and runs through Nov. 23, will be a special production in several ways. It is being produced by illioo Native Theatre, a company formed five years ago by three women — Marta Lu Clifford (Chinook, Cree, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde), Lori Tapahonso (Diné, Acoma Pueblo), and Theresa May — who have spent the past several years bringing the play from concept to performance.

The play

“You are about to experience the first staged production of our play, and in this way, you become part of our creative process. We’ve walked with BlueJay’s Canoe for more than three years of creative research, consultation, writing and rewriting,” they say in their introduction. “We have presented concert readings of our work-in-progress at the Many Nations Longhouse and at Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland. Those performers and audiences contributed greatly to the development of our play, and we are grateful to them. Now, we welcome each of you to be part of our canoe family.”

Clifford and May co-wrote BlueJay’s Canoe, and May describes the process as “a collaboration with the Willamette Confluence, conservation lands stewarded by the McKenzie River Trust. As Marta Lu and I visited and listened to the land, stories rose up from the waters and the woods. As we came into relation with the land, conversations began to give rise to characters, and those characters began to speak about their lives, labor, histories and cherished memories — stories rooted in the lands that they love.”

illioo Native Theatre — the word illioo means “joyful” in the language of the Kalapuya people, who “live in what is now called Oregon, but it is the Willamut River, the mountains and the sky that carry our stories beyond borders,” the group’s mission statement says. “We believe that it’s our job to help create the world we want to live in.”

Clifford, the Indigenous cultural advisor as well as co-writer of the play, writes in her notes about the production:

“There was a time when our stories were stolen from us, along with our culture and our languages. I center my Storytelling work in BlueJay’s Canoe around rectifying the damage caused by colonization by reclaiming our ability to share our stories, our language and culture. BlueJay’s Canoe invites us to hear and feel the stories as living containers of knowledge and hope. Our stories are our way of speaking back and help us to practice our culture. These stories are alive and will not be forgotten.”

She also explains that playgoers “will hear Chinuk Wawa, the language of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, spoken in our play, as well as the colonial languages of English and Spanish. Language revitalization has been a central component of cultural revitalization throughout Indian Country. For me, learning my language has been a gift because with it I recover the stories that have been sleeping …. We say the language has been ‘sleeping’ and is waiting for us to wake it up.”

As for the name of the play, “The canoe is a central part of the play because the play is about family,” Clifford writes. “Our kenim, our canoes, aren’t empty vessels that we simply use to travel. They are members of our family. They have names. They have hearts. They have a job like every member of our family.”

Production Team and cast

May directs BlueJay’s Canoe, assisted by associate director Larry K. Fried, production manager Carol Dennis, and stage manager T. Acosta.

The cast includes Rowan Keith-Chirch (Heron, spirit person), Kirby Brown (BlueJay, radio host), Marta Lu Clifford (Goldie, storyteller), Robin Galan-Hill and Akash Dhruva (Xak, radio intern), David Georgieff (Xak’s father), Becky White (Cascadia/Cass, Xak’s mother, Ellen Chace (Hazel, a neighbor), Sydney Therrell (Cricket, Hazel’s grandchild) and Becky White (honor song in Canoe Ceremony). On opening night, the honor song is performed by Kevin Simmons (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde).

BlueJay’s Canoe at the Very Little Theatre

When: Evenings at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 7-8, 14-15, 21-22; and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. on Nov. 9, 16, and 23; special “talk back” with refreshments after the Nov. 16 performance

Where: The Very Little Theatre, 2350 Hilyard St., Eugene

Tickets: $20; online at thevlt.com or through the box office at 541-344-7751

 

In foreground, playwrights Theresa May (left) and Marta Lu Clifford; photo courtesy of Theresa May