The Arts Club Theatre Company’s returns to the Olympic Village Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre with its presentation of You used to call me Marie…. On stage until October 12th, the Savage Society & NAC Indigenous Theatre Production, directed by Lois Anderson, is an epic Métis love tale by playwright Tai Amy Grauman, herself a Métis Cree with ties to Haudenosaunee voyageurs, who shares Callihoo lineage with the subject of the play.
As much of Métis historical records focus on the men, Grauman had to research and fill in the tale of the Métis women who came before her to create this fable. The first draft of which was developed through the Arts Club LEAP playwriting program. You used to call me Marie… follows the creation story of Marie Callihoo and the generations of Métis women who echo her mythic love story through time.
Horses, fiddle music and dancing the jig, all important parts of Métis life, weave their way throughout the fabric of time as the story of Marie Callihoo and her kin unfolds. The narrators of the tale turn the pages of time to bring us the story, following Marie, Iskwewo (Lynny Jeanne-Marie Bonin), Napew (Aren Okemaysim) and Mistatim (“horse” in Michif) through the ups and downs of love, life on the harsh prairie and resilience as the Métis Nation emerges.
Carrying the audience along from creation to the fur trade, the dustbowl 1930s flight for rights, through to the modern era, Fiddler/Composer Kathleen Nisbet with singer/dancers Carmen Alvis, Sophie Dow and Krystle Pederson (Dance/Vocal captain) offer a soundtrack from flowing ethereal vocals to lively jigs.
Candelario Andrade’s projections of Jack Chipman’s video against Cecilia Vadala’s simple but imaginative set-design effectively mark the passage of time. While Costume Designers Evan Ducharme and Alaia Hamer bring the ponies to life and maintain the flow of time through the creative, often multi-purpose costumes that welcome imaginations to fill in any blanks. The simplicity of the set and costumes on the intimate stage, alongside the narrators’ telling of Grauman’s story, and the talented players stripped down presentation allows each audience member to paint their own pictures, like hearing a generations-old fairy tale, for a personal interpretation of the work.
On its years-long journey from LEAP to touring throughout the West in small towns and villages, that are mirrored in the play, to this triumphant return to The Arts Club, You used to call me Marie… carries the collected the energies of each of those readings, small stages, tents and theatres to create a wonderous fable of Marie and her kin.
Don’t miss adding your energy to this production! You used to call me Marie… plays until October 12, 2025 at Olympic Village Stage, 162 West 1st Ave, then carries onto a local tour where you could catch it again in your community. Visit artsclub.com for show details and tickets including for special performances: Talkback Tuesday Performance on Tuesday, October 7, at 7pm, and a VocalEye Performance on Sunday, October 12, at 2pm.