Canadian Performance Documents and Debates: A Sourcebook

Canadian Performance Documents and Debates provides insight into performance activities from the seventeenth century to the early 1970s, and probes important yet vexing questions about Canada as a country and a concept. The volume collects playscripts and archival material to explore what these documents tell us about the values, debates, and priorities of artists and their audiences from the past 400 years. Analyses throughout rethink the significance of theatre, dance, opera, circus, and other performance genres and events. This landmark collection challenges readers to reconsider Canadian theatre and performance history. Foreword by Jerry Wasserman. Contributors: Clarence S. Bayne, Kym Bird, Justin A. Blum, Amy Bowring, Jill Carter, Jenn Cole, Cynthia Cooper, Heather Davis-Fisch, Moira J. Day, Ray Ellenwood, Alan Filewod, Howard Fink, Liza Giffen, J. Paul Halferty, James Hoffman, Erin Hurley, John D. Jackson, Stephen Johnson, Sasha Kovacs, Sylvain Lavoie, Louis Patrick Leroux, Allana C. Lindgren, Denyse Lynde, Erin Joelle McCurdy, Wing Chung Ng, Glen F. Nichols, M. Cody Poulton, VK Preston, Daniel J. Ruppel, Jordan Stanger-Ross, Paul J. Stoesser, Christl Verduyn, Anthony J. Vickery, Anton Wagner

Table of Contents:
Thematic Table of Contents Foreword | JERRY WASSERMAN Acknowledgements Introduction | ALLANA C. LINDGREN, GLEN F. NICHOLS, & ANTHONY J. VICKERY 1 | The Theatre of Neptune (1606) | JILL CARTER The Theatre of Neptune in New France | MARC LESCARBOT Translation by VK PRESTON & DANIEL J. RUPPEL 2 | The Conquest of Canada; or the Siege of Quebec (1766) | GLEN F. NICHOLS The Conquest of Canada; or the Siege of Quebec | GEORGE COCKINGS 3 | Acadius, or Love in a Calm (1774) | JUSTIN A . BLUM Acadius, or Love in a Calm | ANONYMOUS 4 | Early Quebec Circus (1797–1950s) | LOUIS PATRICK LEROUX 5 | Petitions Against Performances of “Jim Crow” (1840–1843) | STEPHEN JOHNSON Transcripts of Petitions 6 | Shipboard Performances (1851) | HEATHER DAVIS-FISCH Excerpts of Shipboard Performances 7 | Canadian Fancy Dress Balls (1876–1898) | CYNTHIA COOPER 8 | The Sweet Girl Graduate (1882) | KYM BIRD The Sweet Girl Graduate | SARAH ANNE CURZON 9 | A Red Girl’s Reasoning (1892) | SASHA KOVACS A Red Girl’s Reasoning | E . PAULINE JOHNSON (TEKAHIONWAKE) 10 | Walker Theatre, Winnipeg (1905–1907) | ANTHONY J. VICKERY 11 | Cantonese Theatre in Vancouver (1916–1936) | WING CHUNG NG 12 | The Man Who Went (1916) | ANTHONY J. VICKERY The Man Who Went | WILLIAM ANDREW TREMAYNE 13 | Little Theatre Scenography (1919–1937) | PAUL J. STOESSER 14 | The Wood Carver’s Wife (1919) | MOIRA DAY The Wood Carver’s Wife | MARJORIE PICKTHALL 15 | Evelyn Geary and the Uptown Girls (1922–1938) | AMY BOWRING 16 | The IODE’s Historical Pageant (1927) | ALLANA C. LINDGREN 17 | Rocks (1932) | ANTON WAGNER Rocks | HERMAN VOADEN 18 | Unity (1933) | ALAN FILEWOD Unity | OSCAR RYAN 19 | Cocktail (1935) | CHRISTL VERDUYN Cocktail | YVETTE O. MERCIER-GOUIN Translation by GLEN F. NICHOLS 20 | The Winnipeg Ballet Club (1939) | ERIN JOELLE MCCURDY 21 | William Tell (ca. 1943–1945) | CODY POULTON & JORDAN STANGER-ROSS William Tell | FRIEDRICH SCHILLER Act III, scene three, in a Japanese rendering by JOHN NIHE I Translation by MATSUKI MASUTANI 22 | Gay/Queer and Trans Performances and Cultures in Toronto (1946–1965) | J. PAUL HALFERTY 23 | The Good Life (1947) | RAY ELLENWOOD The Good Life | CLAUDE GAUVREAU Translation by RAY ELLENWOOD 24 | Hilda Morgan (1949) | JOHN JACKSON & HOWARD FINK Hilda Morgan | LISTER SINCLAIR 25 | Christmas Mummering Plays in Newfoundland (1949) | DENYSE LYNDE Oldtime “Mumming” Christmas Play in Newfoundland 26 | A Dialogue on the State of the Theatre in Canada (1951) | JAMES HOFFMAN A Dialogue on the State of the Theatre in Canada | ROBERTSON DAVIES 27 | Tyrone Guthrie and the Festival Stage (1953) | LIZA GIFFEN 28 | Zone (1953) | SYLVAIN LAVOIE Zone | MARCEL DUBÉ English Adaptation by AVIVA RAVE L (1977) 29 | How Now Black Man (1965–1970) | CLARENCE S. BAYNE How Now Black Man | LORRIS ELLIOTT 30 | Theatre in the Canada Pavilion at Expo 67 (1967) | ERIN HURLEY 31 | Lament for Confederation (1967) | JENN COLE Lament for Confederation | CHIEF DAN GEORGE (GESWANOUTH) Previously Published Documents Contributors Index

About the Author :
Anthony J. Vickery is Teaching Professor in the Department of Theatre at the University of Victoria. Glen F. Nichols is Professor of Drama at Mount Allison University. Allana C. Lindgren is the Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Victoria.

Review :
“Through the invaluable service of gathering together the breadth of crucial texts and materials addressed in its exploratory essays, Canadian Performance Documents and Debates creates, defines, and shapes the very subject of Canadian performance.” Shelley Scott, Professor, University of Lethbridge “Canadian Performance Documents and Debates reflects profoundly upon conceptualizations of Canadian identity and upon debates over the role of the arts in the formation of that identity: both vital questions for us to understand more deeply as we strive to move towards reconciliation and a more just, equitable, and compassionate society.” Roberta Barker, Associate Professor, Dalhousie University “A gargantuan undertaking by the editors and publisher, [Canadian Performance Documents and Debates] is highly informative, engaging, and enlightening with extremely high-quality editing. Considering the wide variety of themes, genres, and materials included, the designer did a fantastic job ensuring the content is manageable and easy to navigate.” Jury comments, 2023 Alberta Book Publishing Awards "Canadian Performance Documents and Debates: A Sourcebook undeniably fills a gap in resources for the Canadian performance history community through its unique content. The collection is aptly titled A Sourcebook as it spans four centuries, containing carefully considered content in which the compilation juxtaposes new publications and fresh points of view with previously available Canadian performance history materials. The text distinguishes itself as an accessible resource with the inclusion of a thematic Table of Contents which uses resonant and relevant categories, including race and gender, and allows a reader to hone in on topic(s) related to their interests. This organizational format contextualizes the contents and sutures the events and documents in time and place while putting them in conversation with one another…. Racism in performance is a thread that runs through many of the chapters, and the accu­mulation of these examples reifies a vivid tapestry illustrating Canada’s settler colonial rela­tions.” Tanya Berg, Theatre Research in Canada, 2023 (Full review at DOI: 10.3138/tric-2023-0027)