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DIVERSITY IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Margo Kane

Margo Kane

Margo received national attention during the late '70s with George Ryga’s play The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, performed at Citadel Theatre in Edmonton. Kane toured with Prairie Theatre Exchange’s production of the play in 1982.

Margo has also involved herself with a national youth caravan which brought theatre to small native communities across Canada. During the '80s Kane became involved with the National Native Role Model Program, which highlights the accomplishments of ordinary First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Youth. Through this program, Kane went to Prisons, recovery centres, and group homes.

Margo became the first Native artistic director of Spirit Song Native Theatre School in the '80s. It was here that she realized that she was teaching performance more than performing herself. Kane recalls that there weren’t a lot of roles or hr out there at the time, as she was "too old to be an ingenue and too young to be an interesting old lady".

Sue used her experience as a cultural worker to create roles for herself, mostly autobiographical. Her performances blend traditional ritual with storytelling, song, poetry, and dance. She is probably best known for her acclaimed solo-voice drama Moonlodge which has toured for over 10 years.

Kane created the Full Circle First Nations Performance theatre company in 1992, where she serves as managing and artistic director. The Vancouver company’s mandate is to create opportunities for Aboriginal artists, writers and performers to express the reality of First Nations experiences and to work in harmony with First Nations traditions while engaging modern, interdisciplinary theatrical techniques. Collaboration and networking are integral to Full Circle’s mandate – much of what is produced is a collaborative effort of the artists involved.

Full Circle puts on an annual event called Talking Stick Festival, which hopes to establish a unique showcase for talented, emerging and professional artists, to engage Aboriginal cultural communities, and to introduce Vancouver's many audiences to contemporary Aboriginal artistic practices." The Theatre Company has also proven itself a leader among other theatre companies through its various workshops, training projects, and performance opportunities.

Kane won a Canadian Achievement Award from the National Capital Commission in Ottawa in 1991.

 

Alvin Sanders

Alvin Sanders

Alvin joined SAG in 1973 (as a result of one-line in a James Caan feature called Cinderella Liberty), Actor’s Equity Association in 1975 (a school tour of Taming of the Shrew for Actor’s Theater of Louisville), Canadian Actor’s Equity Association in 1984 (the lead in a summer musical at the Barkerville Historical Park near Quesnel, BC), and ACTRA in the fall of 1984 (four days on a MOW called Brotherly Love starring Judd Hirsh).

Having spent 35 of his 56 years as a union actor, he knows how important a strong union is for the working actor. Alvin has served as a Director on the UBCP Executive Board since 2001. He served one year as a National Councillor (2003) and will be returning to the National Council in the coming year as the newly elected Treasurer from our branch in Vancouver.

 

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