Red Players Theatre wows them at the centre

Page 6

For eight or nine weeks, at least two times a week prior to mid-December, anyone at the Canadian Native Friendship Centre in Edmonton would find six women methodically practicing their lines in preparation for Drum With Me, a play written and directed by the centre's community relations worker, Ann M. Nipshank.

The all-Native women's drum and drama group, known as Red Players Theatre, staged the play - their first - on Dec. 19 and 20 before appreciative audiences that braved two of December's coldest days.

The focus of the play was based on true-life situations. Drum With Me demonstrated some of the harsh realities of the lives of some families during the Christmas season.

Poverty, hunger, alcohol abuse and prostitution were but a few of the tragic issues that came alive and hit home for the audiences.

For actress Michelle Roline, the drama was indicative of some bad times she had experienced in her past.

"It makes me sad because I grew up waking up to that," she stated. One of the more powerful messages was that "children are powerless," she added. By the same token she admits that the production had a healing quality for people[, like herself.

To observer Lloyd Auger, it caused him to reflect on the harshness of street life. He said he's amazed that no one's been found frozen as the temperatures in Edmonton dipped to 28 degrees below zero over the last few weeks.

Jenny Carlson, who played a distraught mom, said many people tend to just see the "glitz and glitter" of Christmas while "some people are so impoverished."

Raquel Nipshank, the youngest in the troupe at age nine, was a surprise to some. She impressed a number of people with her straight forward and assertive manner and confidence.

Charity Boxell and Kris Auger, also players, both say they hope to pursue acting in films.

Boxell plans to move on to a theatre group in Red Deer and Auger aspires to break into films at some point. As the prostitute in the play, she gets to die on stage, something she admits she's always wanted to do.

And, of course, "there's not enough people telling our Aboriginal stories," complains Ann. She said the group's next play may be a comedy.

Audience members brought toys and food that were donated to Santa's Anonymous to help the needy at Christmas.