Kenneth T. Williams

Last updated

Kenneth T. Williams
Born1965 (age 58–59)
Occupation playwright, professor
Language English
Nationality George Gordon First Nation, Canadian
EducationUniversity of Alberta (BA, MFA)
Years active2007–present

Kenneth T. Williams (born 1965) is a Cree playwright. He is from the George Gordon First Nation, Saskatchewan in Treaty 4 territory. Since 2017, Williams has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Drama at the University of Alberta.

Contents

Early life and education

Kenneth T. Williams was born in 1965 in Saskatchewan. At age 12, he and his family moved from the George Gordon Reserve to Edmonton. However, from the age of 12 through his early adulthood he lived off-reserve in Edmonton. [1]

Williams completed a B.A. [2] and then became the first Indigenous person to earn an M.F.A. in playwriting from the University of Alberta in 1992.

Career

Williams jokes he had the worst career path in Canadian theatre. He worked as an encyclopedia salesman on reserve, a bartender, a drummer and joined the Reservists. Then, for 15 years, Williams dabbled in journalism, writing art and literature reviews for journals. [1] Williams wrote a half-dozen plays before finally getting one produced: Thunderstick in 2001. [3] The play was panned by the Globe and Mail when it premiered in Toronto, earning a half star rating. [4] In Western Canada, the play fared better especially among native audiences. The play continued to tour for 10 years playing in every major city across Canada. [3] In 2013 Thunderstick went on a four-city tour in Western Canada, and featured Lorne Cardinal of Corner Gas fame and Craig Lauzon of Air Farce who traded off roles in the two hander on alternate nights. [4] [5]

In 2006, Willams devoted himself full time to playwriting. The jump worked for him and since then his plays Café Daughter, Gordon Winter, [6] Thunderstick, [5] [7] [8] [9] Bannock Republic, Suicide Notes, and Three Little Birds have been produced across Canada, including at Canada's National Arts Centre. [10]

Williams may be best known for Café Daughter, which was nominated for a Sterling award for Outstanding Production in 2016. [11] Café Daughter was warmly received [1] [12] [13] [14] as it toured major cities across Canada. [15] Williams loosely based the play on the life of Senator Lillian Dyck whom he met when she received an Aboriginal Achievement Award. [16] Dyck's mother encouraged her to hide her native identity as she was growing up. [17]

For the play "Gordon Winters" the role had been played by the indigenous actor Gordon Tootoosis, who played the lead. The play based on the fall from grace experienced by real-life First Nations Leader David Ahenakew who was disgraced after making anti-Semitic comments to a reporter. [6] [18]

His latest play, In Care, about a mother struggling against the child welfare system also received positive reviews. [19] [20] [21]

In 2016, Williams became the interim artistic director of the Gordon Tootoosis Nikaniwin Theatre in Saskatoon. [22] [23]

Williams is currently on faculty with the department of drama at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. [24] He received a University of Alberta Alumni Award [24]

Café Daughter , a film adaptation by Shelley Niro of Williams' play, went into production in 2022. [25]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

Lorne Cardinal is a Gemini Award-winning Canadian stage, television and film actor, and accomplished stage and TV director. He is best known for portraying Sergeant Davis Quinton on the comedy series Corner Gas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tantoo Cardinal</span> Canadian actress

Rose Marie "Tantoo" Cardinal CM is a Canadian actress. Of Cree and Métis heritage, in 2009 she was made a member of the Order of Canada "for her contributions to the growth and development of Aboriginal performing arts in Canada, as a screen and stage actress, and as a founding member of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company."

Lillian Eva Quan Dyck, is a retired Canadian senator from Saskatchewan. A member of the Cree Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan, and a first generation Chinese Canadian, she is the first female First Nations senator and first Canadian-born senator of Chinese descent.

The Aboriginal Multi-Media Society (AMMSA) is an Aboriginal publisher in Canada. AMMSA was established in 1983 under the Alberta Societies Act and launched its first publication in March 1983 – simply titled AMMSA. The name of this publication was later changed to Windspeaker in March 1986.

Wumpa's World is a Canadian-Chinese television series for children which first aired on many networks including Treehouse TV, The Knowledge Channel, APTN, TFO, Télé-Québec, CCTV, TVB and TDM with 26 15-minute episodes from August 2001 to May 2002. The pilot episode aired in late 2000. Today, the show's episodes are only seen in reruns late during the night and earlier during the day. The characters are portrayed as puppets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Lauzon</span> Canadian comedian

Craig Lauzon is a Canadian actor, writer, and comedian. He is best known for his time as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Farce. His main caricatures on the Farce include George Stroumboulopoulos, John Baird, Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Tootoosis</span> Canadian actor

Gordon Tootoosis, was a First Nations actor of Cree and Stoney descent. Tootoosis was a descendant of Yellow Mud Blanket, brother of the famous Cree leader Pîhtokahanapiwiyin. He was acclaimed for his commitment to preserving his culture and to telling his people's stories. He once said, "Leadership is about submission to duty, not elevation to power." He served as a founding member of the board of directors of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company. Tootoosis offered encouragement, support and training to aspiring Aboriginal actors. He served as a leading Cree activist both as a social worker and as a band chief. In Open Season and Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run, Tootoosis was the voice of Sheriff Gordy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CFWE</span> First Nations radio network in Alberta, Canada

CFWE is a radio network based in Edmonton, Alberta. Owned by the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society, it broadcasts programming targeting northern Alberta's First Nations communities, including mainstream country music, and specialty shows featuring Indigenous music or presented in native languages such as Cree and Dene.

Gwen Pharis Ringwood was a Canadian playwright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saskatoon freezing deaths</span> Deaths of indigenous Canadians linked to the Saskatoon Police Service

The Saskatoon freezing deaths involved Indigenous Canadians in and immediately outside Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in the 1990s and early 2000s, and are suspected of being linked to actions by the members of the Saskatoon Police Service. The police officers would arrest Indigenous people, who were usually male, for alleged drunkenness and/or disorderly behaviour, sometimes without cause. The officers would then drive them to the outskirts of the city at night in the winter, and abandon them, leaving them stranded in sub-zero temperatures.

Michelle Thrush is a Canadian actress and First Nations activist for Aboriginal Canadians and the other Indigenous peoples of the Americas. She is best known for her leading role as Gail Stoney in Blackstone, for which she won the Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role in 2011, and her recurring roles as Sylvie LeBret in North of 60 and Deanna Martin in Arctic Air.

Yvette Nolan (Algonquin) (1961) is a Canadian playwright, director, actor, and educator based out of Saskatchewan, Canada. She was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. She has contributed significantly to the creation and performance of Indigenous theatre in Canada.

Ruth Cuthand is a Canadian artist of Plains Cree and Scots ancestry. She is considered an influential feminist artist of the Canadian prairies, and is lauded for her interpretation of racism and colonialism. Her work challenges mainstream perspectives on colonialism and the relationships between settlers and Indigenous people in a practice marked by political invective, humour, and a deliberate crudeness of style.

The Tom Longboat Awards were established in 1951 to recognize Aboriginal athletes "for their outstanding contributions to sport in Canada" and continues "to honour Indigenous athletes across Canada" annually. As a program of the Aboriginal Sport Circle, the awards provide a forum for acknowledging top male and female athletes both at the regional and national levels.

Amy Malbeuf is a Canadian-Métis visual artist, educator, and cultural tattoo practitioner born in Rich Lake, Alberta.

Jennifer Wynne Webber is a Canadian writer, actor, dramaturge, journalist, and television producer currently living and working on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Wendell Smith is a Canadian actor born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

CIWE-FM is a radio station in Edmonton, Alberta. Owned by the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society (AMMSA), it broadcasts a freeform format targeting Central Alberta's First Nations communities.

Dakota Ray Hebert is a Dene comedian, actress and writer from Canada. She is most noted for her performance in the 2021 film Run Woman Run, for which she won the awards for Best Actress at the 2021 American Indian Film Festival and Best Performance at the 2022 Vancouver International Women in Film Festival.

Matthew MacKenzie is a Canadian playwright and actor. He is most noted as a two-time Dora Mavor Moore Award winner for Outstanding New Play, Independent Theatre, winning in 2018 for Bears and in 2023 for The First Métis Man of Odesa.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Nicholls, Liz (November 25, 2015). "Café Daughter gets its Alberta première". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Kenneth T. Williams tells the story of math". Curious Arts. January 26, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Thunderstick: PTE play stars Lorne Cardinal and Craig Lauzon - CBC Manitoba".
  4. 1 2 "As Idle No More heats up, Cree playwright Kenneth T. Williams descends on Toronto". The Globe and Mail. January 20, 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Terrific night of comic theatre... for 14-year-old boys". April 2, 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 Langston, Patrick (May 7, 2011). "A Richly Textured Examination of Racism". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Thunderstick is at the top of its game". October 15, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Thunderstick". January 28, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Split personalities". March 31, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Kenneth T. Williams - Biographies".
  11. ↑ "Sterling Award nominations salute the best in Edmonton theatre". June 6, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Reclaiming identity against the odds: Cafe Daughter". November 27, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Colin MacLean review: Cafe Daughter".
  14. ↑ "Café Daughter". January 16, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Compelling Indigenous Dance and Theatre Productions". Muskrat Magazine. December 10, 2015.
  16. ↑ http://artsandscience.usask.ca/news/n/3539/Cafe_Daughter_has_family_roots (originally published in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix)
  17. ↑ "Café Daughter reveals the secret and a dream - Windspeaker - AMMSA".
  18. ↑ "Actor and activist Gordon Tootoosis dies". Toronto Star. July 6, 2011.
  19. ↑ "PREVIEW: In Care looks to affect viewers and effect change". October 19, 2016.
  20. ↑ "New play, In Care focuses on child welfare system".
  21. ↑ "REVIEW: In Care mixes drama with real life". October 23, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Sharing Saskatoon's Indigenous stories important to theatre's interim artistic director".
  23. ↑ "Kenneth T. Williams takes over from Curtis Peeteetuce". December 13, 2016.
  24. 1 2 "Kenneth T. Williams". University of Alberta. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  25. ↑ Eden Suh, "Film: Café Daughter shooting wraps up in Sudbury". Sudbury.com , May 22, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Split personalities". March 31, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Lorne Cardinal's early beginnings with Thunderstick playwright - CBC Manitoba".
  28. ↑ "Colin MacLean review: Cafe Daughter" . Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Three Little Birds debuts at Saskatoon theatre - Windspeaker - AMMSA".
  30. ↑ "New play, In Care focuses on child welfare system" . Retrieved January 23, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.