NEWS RELEASE
MARIPOSA ARTS THEATRE
********************************
Mariposa Arts Theatre is thrilled to bring our February 2025 production of The Thanksgiving Play to the Orillia Opera House.
This contemporary play is the creative brainchild of Larissa FastHorse, the first known female Native American playwright to be produced on Broadway. Since its Broadway debut in 2023, The Thanksgiving Play is now one of the top 10 most produced plays across North America, and premiered in Canada with Mirvish Productions in Toronto this past fall.
The show follows four well-meaning but misguided white theatre and education professionals as they set out to create a Thanksgiving pageant for an elementary school that somehow manages to succinctly summarize, and celebrate, the first Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Month — without ruffling any feathers. This sharp comedy spotlights the contradictions of “woke” culture, dishing up the hypocrisies of North America and performative activism with a generous side of satire.
High school drama teacher, Logan (Caitlin Robson), faces a petition calling for her termination after a previous disaster of a show. Having secured several grants, she gathers three eclectic individuals to help realize her new show and salvage her career: Jaxton (Jack Quail), Logan’s yoga/actor hobbyist boyfriend, Caden (Peter Merkle), a nerdy history teacher and aspiring playwright, and Alicia (Ashley Legedza), a professional actress who believes she can “pass” as Indigenous. Their mission: tell a culturally conscious, fully inclusive, and politically-correct story about what it means to be Native American — with an all-white cast and crew.
This casting decision comes from FastHorse herself, who deployed this clever workaround after being repeatedly told her plays could not be produced because they had “too many” Native American actors in them. In a recent interview with CBC Q's Tom Power, FastHorse says: "I gave myself a challenge and I said, 'OK theatre, I'm going to write you a play with all white presenting people, but that still deals with Indigenous issues in the way that I like to in my work..."
A team effort
Orillia residents Samantha Cole and Alyssa LaPlume have teamed up as co-directors to bring this unique show to the Sunshine City. Cole says she is grateful to co-direct with LaPlume, as their combined unique experiences and perspectives have created a “synergistic relationship” that makes them “one very effective and cohesive unit”.
She says, “we have spent lots of time on rapport building, character development, and ensuring our actors have autonomy with choices on blocking and character.” LaPlume, similarly, is “honoured” to be making her directorial debut with MAT alongside Cole, saying, “(her) extensive experience at the helm of play production has provided me with a wealth of knowledge.”
Both directors have extensive and varied backgrounds within the education system themselves. Cole says she was excited by The Thanksgiving Play ’s satirical take on challenging material, and undertaking this production is art (somewhat) imitating her own career as a well-meaning, white secondary drama and French teacher.
“I see, and engage in, the work being done to educate those in my field and try to make culturally sensitive and relevant content a part of the curriculum and beyond”. She acknowledges the work towards undoing the impacts of colonization is ongoing, saying, “I’m continuing to grow my knowledge on Indigenous issues and my role in bringing to light the Truth in Truth and Reconciliation.” Of the show, she adds, “this is one step of many in acknowledging what we don’t know, questioning why, what we get wrong, and taking actionable steps towards making it right. Education is a very important step.”
LaPlume similarly felt the weight of responsibility when first reading FastHorse’s script, admitting she contemplated her ability to do the playwright justice.
“The line between comedy and satire can be razor thin, and a ‘swing and a miss’ in translating her writing into performance can produce an offensive and harmful show.” LaPlume has been in theatre for almost 20 years, and recently obtained an HBA in Sociology. Her Master’s work is centred around the social norms of whiteness and racial privileges.
Within her academic work, LaPlume is, “familiar with the ways we white people sometimes scramble to be our best when approaching racial inequalities, and how fragile we can be when our egos take a hit in that process.” She believes the show was “the perfect opportunity” to marry her two passions, Sociology and performance art, together.
When asked about the ongoing rehearsal process, both sang their praises about the cast, acknowledging the extra homework- including lecture-style table work- undertaken to do the show justice.
LaPlume explains, “we combed through the main themes together, including whiteness as a socioeconomic advantage and ‘standard’ for social living, systemic racism, and the problems with performative activism and fragile allyship.” She says while the characters in the show are largely ignorant of their actions, the actors who play them are not. Cole agrees, saying, “we are very fortunate to be able to work with this thoughtful, open-minded, and talented cast as they are integral to the success of the play.”
Performances of The Thanksgiving Play run Feb. 6-16, 2025 at the Orillia Opera House Studio Theatre. Evening shows start at 7:30 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased through the Orillia Opera House website or by calling their Box Office at 705-326-8011. Use discount code: GROUP10 online for groups of 10 or more tickets. Recommended for ages 14+.
To learn more, and explore further resources in Larissa FastHorse’s own words, please visit the website. Show poster artwork by Windigo Army.
The Thanksgiving Play is presented in arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
Call for youth vignette actors and set painters
We are looking for youth actors who are interested in acting on-stage in several vignettes throughout the show, and for youth set painters to join our Production Team. Visit the website for the full notice and registration form link.
********************************
