Profs nab national award for play

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This article was published 20/06/2022 (1297 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon University professors Darrell Racine and Dale Lakevold recently received major accolades for one of their latest creative projects, titled “IAP,” which took home the award for best full-length play from Theatre BC’s 2021 National Playwriting Competition.

Talking to the Sun last week, Racine and Lakevold said they were very excited to receive the news a month ago, since this kind of countrywide spotlight increases the chances of their script getting picked up for a full stage production.

“And we’re kind of at that point where we’re following up on all the leads that were laid last year,” said Lakevold, an associate professor of English, drama and creative writing at BU. “So we’re still looking for a production and we’re hopeful.”

Outside of their personal gratification, the BU writing team are also hoping the play gets produced because of its weighty plot and themes, which delve into Indigenous reconciliation and the history of residential schools in Canada.

The title “IAP” refers to the independent assessment process, a real-life government procedure residential school survivors must endure to resolve claims of physical abuse and other wrongs suffered at these facilities.

The plot of Racine and Lakevold’s new play revolves around two middle-aged Indigenous men who are forced to go through this process and relive the trauma they’ve been carrying since childhood.

“It opens up a lot of old wounds for these two characters, but they rely on family to get through it and on cultural traditions and Indigenous knowledge,” Lakevold said.

“This story has a heavy subject matter, but it’s very affirming by the end.”

“IAP” isn’t the first time Racine and Lakevold have collaborated on a project together. In fact, the pair won the same award from Theatre BC in 2005 for their play “Stretching Hide,” which was later turned into a production in 2007.

Since then, the team have refined their creative process and discovered a system that works, since they both bring unique qualities to the table.

“Dale teaches creative writing, so he understands structure and what we need in a story,” said Racine, who is an assistant professor in Native studies at BU.

“I’m Métis and I learned a little bit about storytelling, so I can make up a few stories when we need one inserted. So it’s really a 50-50 process.”

In order to lend an extra layer of authenticity to the serious subject matter featured in the play, Racine and Lakevold decided to consult with a law firm that’s represented thousands of residential school survivors throughout the independent assessment process.

Additionally, during a virtual script reading session in February 2021, the pair also engaged with an audience of former residential school students, mental health workers, elders and IAP adjudicators, which gave them the confidence to move forward with the script.

“It was very emotional and heart-wrenching to hear those former students reflect on their experiences, but they had come through it,” Racine said in a news release from BU.

“Their courage in being there at a reading of a play about dealing with the residential school experience was inspirational.”

While the status of “IAP” is still in limbo, Racine and Lakevold remain hopeful their award-winning play will eventually make its way to the stage, especially since Manit oba theatre companies are just now returning to in-person performances following two years of inaction due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We weren’t as active in terms of finding a company [back then], because we weren’t sure where they were at because of COVID,” Lakevold said. “So with live theatre coming back, and with the award now, that definitely helps our efforts.”

In the meantime, the pair are already hard at work writing a followup play titled “Franklin’s Fate,” which delves into Capt. John Franklin’s ill-fated arctic expedition from the mid-19th century.

The team also told the Sun they are developing a script about ’60s Scoop survivors, with Indigenous cultures and histories being a common theme that ties most of their works together.

“There are plays that we’ve written in the past that have dealt with healing at the individual level, the community level and the national level,” Lakevold said.

“So that’s an important part of what we are doing.”

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @KyleDarbyson