The Buz'Gem Blues
May 13, 2005
American regional premiere of romantic comedy from Canadian Native writer Trinity Repertory Company is proud to present The Buz'Gem Blues by Drew Hayden Taylor , May 13th through June 19th. Kennetch Charlette , artistic director of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company, will direct. Tickets are on sale at the Trinity Rep box office, (401) 351-4242 and online at www.trinityrep.com . Critics are invited to review on Press Night on Wednesday, May 18th at 7:00PM.The Buz'Gem Blues is a comic tale of finding love in your later years. Tribal elder Amos is beginning to wonder if his twenty-something girlfriend is really the one for him. Then he meets Martha, but they have nothing in common but their age. Can two people from opposing Nations and beliefs find true love? There's a buz'gem ("sweetheart" in Ojibway) out there for everyone!
Though Mr. Hayden Taylor's work is well known and often produced in Canada, this is the first regional theater production of his work in the United States. In staged readings, The Buz'Gem Blues was the comedy hit of Trinity's 2001 and 2002 Native theater festivals Theater From the Four Directions .
" The Buz'Gem Blues is the first full production of Theater from the Four Directions ," said artistic director Oskar Eustis . "Drew Hayden Taylor's delightfully funny and life-affirming tale of love and identity is the perfect choice: rooted in Native experience, yet wonderfully accessible to a non-Native audience. We believe this is the largest professional, entirely Native-led production in American regional theater history."
The first performance, Friday May 13th at 8:00PM, is Pay What You Can (PWYC). PWYC tickets go on sale at the box office at 7:00 pm, limit one per person. Preview performances (May 13th through May 18th ) are only $28. The Buz'Gem Blues is sponsored by The National Endowment for the Arts. Trinity Rep's season is sponsored by NBC 10, with supporting sponsors Cardi's Furniture, Rhode Island Monthly , RIPTA, RISCA, and The Gatehouse Restaurant and Catering Company.
Led by Native director Kennetch Charlette , The Buz'Gem Blues has an exciting cast of guest performers and familiar faces. Returning to the Trinity Rep stage are Darrell Dennis (whose credits include the hit Canadian television series The Rez and the feature film Leaving Normal ) and Sheila Tousey ( Woyzeck off-Broadway; In the Summer House on Broadway ); both performed in the Theater From the Four Directions festival at Trinity in 2001. Joining them are guest artists Dennis Ambriz (whose film and television credits include Goodbye My Love and Scare Tactics ) and Cheri Maracle-Cardinal ( The Rez; Exhibit A for Discovery Channel). Rounding out the cast are Trinity Rep Company member Timothy Crowe ( The Molière Impromptu; Noises Off ) and third-year Brown/Trinity Consortium graduate student Miriam Silverman ( The Henriad; Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience ). The artistic team includes William Lane (Costume Designer), Michael McGarty (Set Design), Tim Whelan (Lighting Designer) and Peter Hurowitz (Sound Designer).
Drew Hayden Taylor (playwright) has done everything from stand-up comedy at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. to lecturing at the British Museum on the films of Sherman Alexie. He is an award winning playwright, author of 15 books, a scriptwriter, a humor columnist, short story writer, and documentary film director - most notably Redskins, Tricksters and Puppy Stew , a documentary on Native humor for the National Film Board of Canada. His next project is a book on Native humor set for publication next fall. The working title is Me Funny . He is an Ojibway from the Curve Lake Reserve in Central Ontario.
Kennetch Charlette (director) is artistic director of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company. Born in Sandy Bay, Saskatchewan, he is a member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. He studied at the Native Theatre School in Toronto and the Royal Conservatory's Drama Program at the University of Toronto. He has worked as an actor and director with many renowned theater companies throughout North America and abroad. His film and television credits include Big Bear, Dear America, 'A' The Scarlet Letter, Pochahontas: The Legend, Sci-Factor and Prairie Berry Pie.
DETAILS AT A GLANCE
The Buz'Gem Blues by Drew Hayden Taylor
May 13 through June 19
Director: Kennetch Charlette
Set: Michael McGarty
Lights: Tim Whelan
Sound: Peter Sasha Hurowitz
Costumes: William Lane
Cast: Dennis Ambriz, Timothy Crowe, Darrell Dennis, Cheri Maracle-Cardinal, Miriam Silverman, and Sheila TouseyPress Night: Wednesday, May 18 at 7PM
Pay What You Can: Friday, May 13 at 8:00PM; tickets on sale 7:00PM at the box office, limit 1per person
Food for Thought: Sunday, May 15 at 7:00PM, post 7:00PM performance
College Night: Thursday, June 16 at 8:00PM (6:30PM pre-show reception at Trinity Brewhouse)
Under 30 Thursdays: Every Thursday $15 (except 5/19) with valid ID
Humanities Rep: Saturday, June 18 post 2:00PM performance
ASL-interpreted: Sunday, June 19 at 2:00PM
Group Info: Susan Robin at 521-1100 x223, discounts for groups of 10+
Web site: www.trinityrep.com , buy online
Box Office: 201 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903 (401) 351-4242
Group Sales: (401) 521-1100 x223Sponsored by: The National Endowment for the Arts
Season Sponsors: NBC 10, Cardi's Furniture, The Gatehouse Restaurant and Catering Company, Rhode Island Monthly , RIPTA, and Rhode Island State Council on the Arts
Since its founding in 1964, Trinity Repertory Company has been one of the most respected regional theaters in the country. Trinity Rep presents a balance of world premiere, contemporary, and classic works, including seven subscription productions, an annual production of A Christmas Carol, and the Trinity Summer Shakespeare Project, for an estimated annual audience of 185,000. In its 41-year history, the theater has produced 50 world premieres. Project Discovery, Trinity Rep's pioneering educational outreach program launched in 1966, introduces over 30,000 Rhode Island and Massachusetts students a year to live theater. Since 1973, Trinity Rep's home has been the Lederer Theater Center, a historic landmark built as the Majestic Theatre in 1917. With an annual budget of $7 million, the theater employs 130 artistic and administrative staff and annually generates more than $24 million in economic activity. For more information, call the box office at (401) 351-4242 or visit Trinity Rep's website at www.trinityrep.com