Good afternoon to you all!
I am very excited to study Canadian literature with you all during our upcoming semester together! I am eager to get to know you all personally.
My name is Sean Dyer and I am a graduate of the University of Victoria, with a BFA in Theatre. My specialization was in Acting, however I enjoy writing drama just as much. My secondary focus is on literature. I have an extreme interest in classical and modern drama with a particular interest in Canadian Drama. Some of my greatest idols are Canadian playwrights. Kevin Kerr is a personal friend and idol of mine. I hope to emulate his work. I hope to join his ranks and others like him to produce new, relevant drama about Canadians, set in Canada. I am currently writing a full length farcical play set in Whistler. The project is slow going but I am optimistic about its potential.
I enjoy conversation and debate. I hope to engage in some friendly debate and philosophical conversations with you all during our upcoming semester.
It is my intention to apply for UBC’s Bachelor of Education in Secondary studies with a specialization in English and Theatre. This class stood out to me as the perfect way to learn more about what makes Canada unique and how I can integrate that knowledge into my art.
With the chance of sounding like a suck-up (although it is not my intention) I am excited to work with Professor Erika Paterson. Upon reading her biography, I’ve come to learn her background is very similar to my own and I am excited to learn all I can.
Expectations:
Lately, I have been musing about our cultural history. What makes Canadian’s Canadian? I have been discussing this question with several of my Pen Pals in recent months and don’t have an answer. I hope by studying Canadian culture through literature, I can find a satisfactory answer to that question, and help to define that answer with my work. I hope the answer is broad and leads me down many interesting paths. I hope to learn more about Canada’s literary canon, read some excellent works, and find out how a new country develops their identity through literature.
To hopefully spark your interest in Canadian Drama. I have included a link to the Ryga festival, which is “multi-day arts festival featuring live music, play readings and artistic workshops, symposiums, and more – all with a connection to – or that are inspired by – internationally performed Canadian playwright, novelist, poet, and Summerland resident George Ryga” (Ryga festival website/ About the festival) just outside my home town of Penticton B.C.
Another wonderful CBC article that I happened to come across that you all might find interesting is this one: Here are some 14 plays that changed Canadian Theatre according to CBC.
An image from Judith Thompson’s Lion in the Streets, produced at the University of Victoria’s Phoenix Theatre. (I’m the priest)
Works Cited
“The Ryga Arts Festival.” Ryga Arts Festival, www.rygafest.ca/ryga-festival/
“The 14 Plays That Changed Everything for Canadian Theatre | CBC Arts.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 3 Nov. 2017, www.cbc.ca/arts/the-14-plays-that-changed-everything-for-canadian-theatre-1.4385954.
Hi Sean,
It’s so cool that you’re Canadian Theatre guy! I didn’t know much about it until I took a course through TRU called Modern Canadian Theatre. So many awesome plays to read and study (you can check out the syllabus here: https://www.tru.ca/distance/courses/engl4341.html – Lion in the Streets was the last one we studied so it was neat to see you played the priest in that one! There was an added component to that course of watching videos (from the mid 90’s) where Canadian theatre people talked about and did scenes from the plays — it was very entertaining and illuminated the plays even more. I’m curious if you have a role you haven’t played yet but are interested in doing… from Canadian literature or theatre, of course.
Hi Andrea!
I’m glad to hear that you’re interested in Canadian Theatre as well! That’s fantastic. Thank you for the link, I will be checking it out in some detail! I love actor and designer talk backs. I think they are so important to see the process in which people bring the work to life. What a great addition to the class.
There are so many roles I’d like to play. I think the one I’d like to play most is from a play called Mustard by Kat Sandler. it was just written and so it hasn’t been published yet. It’s about a teenage girl growing up while her parents are getting divorced but she still sees her imaginary friend named Mustard. It’s so tragic and so funny and so brilliantly written. It was just at the arts club in Vancouver recently. If it ever comes back to town you should see it!
Hi Sean,
Thanks so much for this thoughtful and personal post! I think it’s great that we have people attacking this course from so many different backgrounds and fields of study – including, of course, fellow theatre folk! I think looking at different means and methods of storytelling beyond published and printed novels is essential for beginning to wrap our brains around the expansive and multifaceted enigma that is ‘Canadian Literature,’ and I’ve always thought of theatre as a medium particularly well suited for sharing Indigenous stories with a wider audiences, being more of a mid-point between the written and oral storytelling experiences.
With this in mind, I think your feature here on plays that have significantly changed the face of Canadian theatre is a really essential contribution to the conversation, partially for passing on good recommendations, and partially to ensure we never get too locked into looking at books specifically in considering the web of Canadian stories (I’m a former film major myself, so half my examples and illustrations are bound to be from movies – go figure). So thanks for that! Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts throughout the course!
PS: I saw Mustard at Arts Club this year (I’m actually friends with the woman who played Thai in the most recent production), and it blew my mind. So uniquely funny and devastating all rolled into one. Fingers crossed you get to take a crack at it someday!
Hey Kevin.
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I absolutely agree. We have many different avenues in which our stories can be told. Literature, Poetry, academic articles and reference materials are good ways of bringing stories to life and it is important to read and discuss the material being presented here.
I’m so glad you’re interested in theatre as well! It’s such an important medium to be able to tie our emotions to the material being presented. I find a lot (not all) other mediums can lack that emotional connection that drives us to participate in the conversation on a greater level, possibly inspiring activism and practical critical thinking. We just need to know where to look.
I’m also super excited that you have seen Mustard and liked it! It was incredible! I’m still so jazzed on it. I tried to order the script the minute I got home from the show, but unfortunately its not yet published!
I’m eager to hear more of your thoughts this semester!
Cheers
Sean