The Cast

SAM BOB  |  Trickster

Sam‘s traditional name is Tulkweemult of the Snaw-Naw-As First Nation. He is a nationally recognized Vancouver-based actor, a former Jessie Richardson GVTA nominee for Best Actor in Headlines Theatre’s Out of the Silence, and nominated for Best Actor by Edmonton’s Dreamspeakers Film Festival for his performance in Dana Claxton’s The Red Paper. Same’s theatre productions include Drylips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing (Arts Club); Storyweaving and Bah! Humbug! (Vancouver Moving Theatre); Age of Iron, Farewell, and Ecstasy of Rita Joe (Firehall Theatre); Time Stands Still (Native Earth); and Abandoned Boy (Lytton River Festival/Savage Society).

Sam was part of Weaving Reconciliation‘s company during Weesageechak Begins to Dance 30.


VERN BEVIS  |  Darryl-with-a-Chip-on-his-Shoulder

Vern hails from Vancouver and is from the Okanagan Nation. He has been involved in Vancouver’s film industry for over a decade as a filmmaker and as an actor. Vern will appear in episodes of the upcoming Altered Carbon, the Netflix science fiction television series. He has also appeared in Market Master’s Legal (TVC) and No Reservations (directed by Trevor Carroll). Vern’s music and poetry can be heard on Soundcloud under the stage name Broadway Street, and on his personal YouTube channel.

The future can only get brighter.


TANIA CARTER  |  Muriel

Tania‘s Salish on both sides of her family with links to Irish, Welsh, Basque, and Chinese. She was raised in potlatch, her mother’s culture, and in the East side of Vancouver, before North Commercial was called Little Italy. Surrounded by artists and people who wanted social change, she became an artist. With a young daughter and family support in Toronto, she graduated with a Master’s in Theatre. She dabbles in poetry more for herself than anyone else, and is here to perform and incite positive change.


JONATHAN FISHER  |  Old One

Jonathan
is Anishinaabe from the Wikwemikong Unceded First Nation on Manioulin Island, Ontario. He has performed as an actor, dancer, and singer in productions across Turtle Island. Favourite roles include: Jayko/Candy Man in Night (Human Cargo); Lupi in Lupi, The Great White Wolf (De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre Group) in the Anishinaabe language; John Pai in The Indolent Boys (Syracuse Stage); Almighty Voice in Almighty Voice & His Wife (Native Earth); Creature Nataways in Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing (Red Roots Theatre); Mark in Time Stands Still (Native Earth). He was part of Ian Ross’ Governor General Award winning play, farewel (Prairie Theatre Exchange/Great Canadian Theatre Company/Traverse Theatre), for which he performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Jonathan also performed in Prague, Czech Republic, and Aboriginal festivals in Woodford, Australia.

Jonathan was recently the cast of both Native Earth and Blyth Festival’s productions of Ipperwash as Tim Cloud, and part of Weesageechak Begins to Dance 30.


TAI AMY GRAUMAN  |  Nicole

Tai Amy Grauman is Métis Cree and Haudenosanee from Ardrossan, Alberta. She is bilingual as she grew up speaking French. She has a BFA in Acting from UBC with a minor in First Nations Studies. She is currently part of Full Circle’s ensemble training program. Tai was Vancouver Mayor’s Emerging Theatre Artist of 2015 nominated by Margo Kane. She is also working with Nightswimming Theatre on a commission of a new play which will be developed over the next five years. She is an intern with Alley Theatre, where she is developing a one-woman show which will reflect on Pauline Johnson’s career as a performer. Tai is also the Arts Club’s LEAP program’s Level 3 participant. With LEAP, she has written a full-length play called You used to call me Marie. She just completed The Banff Centre’s Indigenous Storytellers residency.

Recent credits include: Thanks For Giving (Arts Club), THOWXIYA (Axis Theatre), The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Carousel Theatre). Tai also wrote and directed Her name was Mary at the 2017 Vancouver Fringe Festival.


STEPHEN LYTTON  |  Steve

Stephen is a member of the Nicomen Indian Band within the Nlaka’pamux First Nation. He lives with a disability (cerebral palsy), and is a survivor of St. George’s Indian Residential School. An accomplished actor, writer, and presenter, Stephen has presented in Western and Eastern Canada to groups regarding his personal experiences in residential school as an Indigenous person living with a disability. He has lived in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside since 1992. He loves the character, the heart, and the courage of this community where he’s learned about the human spirit and its will to survive in spite of all the challenges it encounters.

He enjoys people he meets, poetry, creative writing, acting (The Downtown Eastside Community Play, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Storyweaving). He serves as President of BC Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (BCANDS). Stephen is the recipient of the 2016 Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award in recognition of his significant, sustained, unpaid contribution to his community. He believes that the arts are one of the many ways to build bridges culturally and socially.


SOPHIE MERASTY  |  Mom

Sophie is of the Dene and Woodlands Cree Nations on the Northwestern tip of the beautiful Reindeer Lake of Manitoba. Her extensive theatre background has brought her into contact with several Canadian theatre companies including Hardly Art (Whitehorse) in Yvette Nolan’s Anna Mae’s Movement; Spark Theatre (Saskatchewan) in Tomson Highway’s Rez Sisters; Signal Theatre (Toronto) in Bearing for the Luminato Festival.

Her credits include film, television, and voice-overs for radio drama. She performed in Marie Clements’ Unnatural and Accidental Women which premiered at Vancouver’s Firehall Arts Theatre and was Leo nominated for her role as Verna in the film version. She has also hosted two season of Kim Soo Goodtrack’s Wankaheja, an Aboriginal children’s television series for APTN. Sophie recently performed in Reneltta Arluk’s Pawakan Macbeth with Prospero Theatre (Edmonton), and is now pleased to be part of Vancouver Moving Theatre’s production and tour of Weaving Reconciliation: Our Way.


DALGUM’HA – DELHIA NAHANEE  |  Marge

Dalgum’ha is Nisga’a from the House of La’ay. Through songs, dance and storytelling, she shares her Indigenous culture with the world. Dalgum’ha holds two Bachelors Degree in Psychology and Social Work. She works with families and children as a Family Service Plan coordinator at Raincity Housing.

She has performed with the Chinook SongCatchers for 25 years. The group has performed locally and overseas in Asia and Europe.


LATASH MAURICE NAHANEE  |  Woody

As a life long learner and practitioner of Squamish culture, Latash is proud to share his culture locally and internationally. He has traveled overseas to Asia and Europe as a cultural ambassador for the Squamish Nation. He has performed in Taiwan, Japan, Switzerland, and Italy. He has traveled abroad to share traditional songs, legends, and dances at cultural festivals. His cultural teachings come from examples of his parents and community elders. Latash has been performing for over 25 years as a lead singer and speaker with his family dance group, the Chinook Song Catchers. He was also featured as a speaker in The Road Forward, a play and film by Marie Clements which documents the rise of First Nations activism.


TRACEY NEPINAK  |  Rosemary

As the daughter of a residential school survivor, Tracey grew up in the fallout of the residential school system and believes strongly in the reconciliation process. Tracey began her theatre training in Vancouver in the late 90’s at Spirit Song Native Theatre & Training Co. She moved home in Manitoba, completed an Honours Degree in Theatre from U of W, and has worked professionally since 1993, as family commitments (two now grown daughters) would allow.

Recent theatre and film credits include: Crazy Bone in A Short History of Crazy Bone (World Premiere – TPM); Cleopatra in Antony & Cleopatra (SIR); Rose in Burden of Truth (Eaglevision); Lady Capulet in Romeo & Juliet (SIR).



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