Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 12/05) - An intensive two-week acting program is wrapping up at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre (NACC) this weekend, with a performance from the graduating class.

Students from the Centre for Indigenous Theatre (CIT) Summer School North will present Story Journey, a collection of new stories from the North, at 2 p.m. Sunday on the NACC stage.

The late Cree elder James Buller founded the Centre, and the philosophy behind the program, in 1974.

He believed that aboriginal artists have the power to participate actively in positive change and growth in their communities. Yellowknife's Rene Bourque is both a supporting instructor and a student in this year's summer school.

A graduate of the CIT program in Toronto, Bourque said she appreciates the combination of indigenous artistic culture and the principles of performance.

"It brings a meaning and an authenticity to everything we are doing and it provides a supportive and trusting environment," Bourque said.

The program involves nine students and a faculty of seven instructors, all industry professionals from around the country. They cover theatre technique, stage combat and story weaving. Film and stage veteran Larry Reese is among the acting instructors.

One of NACC executive director Ben Nind's former teachers, Reese is head of performance for the Motion Picture Arts program at Red Deer College in Alberta. He's appeared in Hollywood films like Unforgiven and Dead Simple and is familiar with the most prominent stages across the country.

"This program is the lifeblood of the theatre," he said. "It's in the community. It's the storytelling of the community. That's why something like this is so important."

Reese is challenging the students to express deeper emotional performances on stage.

"Confidence is the key to acting," he said. "I'm working with the group to find each individual's sense of confidence. If you work in a safe environment, you're likely to take the risks that theatre demands."

The mutual respect, honesty and trust shared by the close-knit group of students and instructors is a fertile place to start. It encourages the actors to allow themselves to open up and be vulnerable on stage and allows them to share a deeper communication through their roles, he said.

Throughout the program, Reese works closely with fellow acting instructor Sid Bobb.

Originally from British Columbia, Bobb works with a comedy troupe in Toronto called Tonto's Nephews. He is an alumnae of the Native Theatre School with a background in traditional plains dancing. He's been an instructor with the CIT since 2002.

"This overall program is about bringing forth indigenous performers and stories," he said. "We're working toward fostering professional artistic development in the North."

Bobb introduces the students to acting techniques, with an emphasis on improvisation and movement.

Blending eras

For a second year, Simon Fon came up from Toronto to focus on movement and stage combat. A fight master with Fight Directors Canada, he's working with the students to blend martial arts developed in the Philippines during Spanish colonial occupation with indigenous rhythms from this continent.

"The students here are very willing to try new things," he said. "It's a very unique and open environment.

The students and instructors share a peer atmosphere and that affects the learning process in the best possible sense."

Brantley Daniels, a Metis high school student at Diamond Jenness high school in Hay River, said he has gained much from the concentrated curriculum.

"It's much more than just reading texts," he said. "It's using your instincts and not just acting the character but being the character."

He said the program is increasing his desire to forge a career in television and film.

"It can be done," he said.