Yellowknife (Oct 01/04) - Sheldon Elter's autobiographical one man show Metis Mutt opens with Elter performing a rapid fire sequence of "Indian jokes" that get more and more offensive.

The sequence is based on the stand-up comedy act Elter used to do while opening for hypnotist Marc Savard.

Jeremy Baumung bares his soul in his one man show Dead Man Talking, part of a double bill at NACC tonight. - photo courtesy of NACC

"These are stereotypical things I thought were funny," said Elter. "I thought I was being like Chris Rock or Richard Pryor and I thought I could say these things about aboriginal people."

He said that at first people laugh at the comedy, then get an "Oooo, that was nasty" look, then start to boo.

"I'm purposefully trying to get them to think 'what am I laughing at?'" he said. "These things are funny because they're true, but they're also tragic because they're true."

Elter's show is about growing up halfway between two cultures, surviving family violence and his coming of age. It challenges stereotypes through the use of stand-up, songs and multi-character vignettes.

Elter has performed Metis Mutt across the country, in New Zealand and for high school audiences in Alberta, though he had to edit out some of the swearing for the students.

"It's very harsh and very real," said Elter. "All I'm trying to do is tell the truth."

Metis Mutt forms half of the Two Man Monologue show.

Near death experience

Also on the bill is Jeremy Baumung's one man show Dead Man Talking, an autobiographical monologue about his near death experience.

Baumung fell victim to an outbreak of meningitis while at Grant MacEwen theatre school in 2002. He lost a few toes from the illness.

One of his colleagues died, and if not for a timely 911 call, Baumung might have followed suit.

So he wrote a play about it.

In performance after performance, Baumung crawls through his apartment, puking and violently convulsing from the inflammation of the lining of his brain. But Baumung said reliving the experience is healthy for him. It helps him remember how precious life is.

"Going through it all again reawakens me to life," said Baumung.

In the show, he becomes his parents, friends, doctors, nurses, reporters and even his dog.

Besides premiering the play with a reading at Nextfest in Edmonton and having a run at Azimuth Theatre, he has performed the play at medical conferences, to help doctors and nurses understand what patients with meningitis go through.

Next he takes the play to New Zealand.

"The show has got legs, minus a few toes," quipped Baumung.

Performances of Metis Mutt and Dead Man Talking take place tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m. at NACC.