Following a successful production of zahgidiwin/love featured in last year’s Weesageechak, Frances Koncan returns once again for her second year. “Weesageechak is one of the few places dedicated to amplifying Indigenous voices and perspectives and that allows artists to explore issues directly relevant to our communities and experience.”
The Anishinaabe writer and director, and the recent winner of 2017 Winnipeg Arts Council RBC On the Rise award, Koncan brings her latest work Riot Resist Revolt Repeat to Aki Studio.
Inspired by recent events concerning pipelines and their environmental impact, Koncan aims to highlight the relationship between mental health and environmental health. Riot Resist Revolt Repeat follows a young Indigenous woman struggling with mental illness in her search for her missing sister in a world of scarcity and borders. With a similar dystopian tone and a sense of humour as zahgidiwin/love, the play questions established colonial ideas and concepts, including colonial treatments of mental illness of Indigenous peoples that perpetuate cycles of trauma.
Catch Frances Koncan’s riveting new work Riot Resist Revolt Repeat on Friday, November 17th.
More from Frances Koncan
What is your most memorable performance?
I recently read a 5-minute erotic fanfiction piece inspired by “Are You Afraid Of The Dark?”. I honestly thought it went a little too well.
Where do you find your inspiration for your creative work?
Everywhere! Usually in people and places that make me angry. Often in unexpected places, like 3 AM YouTube searches for “Brad Renfro Conspiracy Theory” that leads to something magical.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Fail big. Fail up.
What does Indigenous art mean to you?
I believe Indigenous art isn’t limited to traditional practices, but rather encompasses any medium and form that includes in some capacity an intersectional perspective provided by an artist that lives the Indigenous experience, whatever that experience encapsulates.
What is coming up next for you?
I’ll be in Montreal for infinitetheatre’s playwrights Unit, then Vancouver for Playwright Theatre Centre’s WrightSpace.
See France Koncan’s Riot Resist Revolt Repeat on
Friday, November 17th @ 7:30pm
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