Yvette Nolan
| Yvette Nolan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Yvette Nolan Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Occupation | Playwright, Director, Dramaturg |
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 Aboriginal theatre in Canada.[1][2][3][4]
Early life
Nolan was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, to an Algonquin mother and an Irish immigrant father.[4] Nolan was raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba and attended the University of Manitoba where she graduated with a B.A.
Nolan's commitment to Indigenous and feminist live art is attributed to the first time she saw a Native character on stage during Royal Winnipeg Ballet's adaptation of The Ecstasy of Rita Joe.[4]
Career
Nolan launched her career as a playwright at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival in 1990 where her play Blade premiered. It was later remounted at both the Best of the Fringe (1990) and Women in View Festival (1992).[5]
She has worked at various theatre companies throughout Canada including Agassiz Theatre, the Manitoba Theatre Centre, Nakai Theatre in Whitehorse, Native Earth Performing Arts.[6][7]
As a director, Nolan has contributed significantly to the development of Aboriginal theatre. She has directed plays by George Ryga (The Ecstasy of Rita Joe), Turtle Gals Performance Ensemble (The Only Good Indian) and Marie Clements (Tombs of the Vanishing Indian and The Unnatural and Accidental Women), Kenneth T Williams (Café Daughter), Melanie J. Murray (A Very Polite Genocide).[3][8][9]
From 1998 until 2001, Nolan was also president of the Playwright’s Union of Canada (now called the Playwrights Guild of Canada). She was artistic director of Native Earth from 2003 to 2010. She was president of Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance, and currently serves on the board of the Saskatchewan Arts Alliance.[4]
Writer-in-Residence
Nolan has been a writer-in-residence at several institutions including Brandon University (1996). During this term as writer-in-residence, Nolan wrote Annie Mae's Movement.[10] She was also playwright-in-residence at the National Arts Centre. She was also resident at Mount Royal College in 2009. In 2011 she began a nine-month term as writer-in-residence at the Saskatoon Library and playwright-in-residence at the University of Regina.[1]
Plays
- A Marginal Man
- Annie Mae's Movement
- Blade
- Child
- Job's Wife
- Shakedown Shakespeare
- The Unplugging
Director
- Café Daughter for Gwaandak Theatre (Yukon) 2011
- Tombs of the Vanishing Indian for Native Earth Performing Arts 2011
- Salt Baby for Native Earth Performing Arts 2009
- The Ecstasy of Rita Joe for National Arts Centre/Western Canada Theatre 2009
- A Very Polite Genocide Native Earth Performing Arts 2008
- Death of a Chief for Native Earth Performing Arts 2008
- The Only Good Indian for Turtle Gals Performance Ensemble 2007
- Annie Mae’s Movement for Native Earth Performing Arts 2006
- Death of a Chief for Native Earth Performing Arts Weesageechak 2005
- The Triple Truth for Turtle Gals 2005
- The Unnatural and Accidental Women for Native Earth Performing Arts 2004.[11]
Awards
- John Hirsch Award for Most Promising New Writer, 1995.
- James Builer Award for Playwrighting from the Centre for Indigenous Theatre, 1997.[5]
- Maggie Bassett Award for service to the theatre community, 2007.
- City of Toronto's Aboriginal Affairs Award, 2008.
- George Luscombe Award for mentorship in professional theatre, 2008.[1]
- Bob Couchman Award for direction (for Café Daughter by Kenneth T Williams (Gwaandak Theatre)).[12]
- Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Original Script, 2013 (for The Unplugging).[11]
- Mallory Gilbert Leadership Award, 2014.[13]
References
- 1 2 3 Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia http://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=Nolan%2C%20Yvette. Retrieved 8 April 2015. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Nolan, Yvette (11 Jan 2013). "Yvette Nolan on her new status: 'I was surprised to feel a measure of pride'". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- 1 2 "About Yvette Nolan".
- 1 2 3 4 Dempsey, Shawna (Fall 2009). "YVETTE NOLAN: TAKES CENTRE STAGE". Herizons. 23 (2): 23.
- 1 2 Shantz, Valerie (1998). Yvette Nolan: Playwright in Context (PDF). University of Alberta. p. 4. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ↑ Native Earth Performing Arts http://www.nativeearth.ca/theunplugging-nolan/. Retrieved 8 April 2015. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Hinten, Peter. "Aboriginal Theatre in Canada: An Overview" (PDF). National Arts Centre English Theatre Programs for Student Audiences. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ↑ University of Regina http://ipaa.ca/members/membership-directory/yvette-nolan/. Retrieved 8 April 2015. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Yvette Nolan". Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ↑ Shantz, Valerie (1998). Yvette Nolan: Playwright in Context (PDF). University of Alberta. p. 2. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- 1 2 "Yvette Nolan". Theatre wiki. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ↑ "About Yvette Nolan". Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ↑ "Yvette Nolan wins Mallory Gilbert Leadership Award (press release)". The Charlebois Post. May 9, 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2015.