Braving Beauty – The Strength and Power of Authenticity
When Braving Beauty Cabaret co-curators Toyin Lamas and Marshall Vielle came together to conceptualize the show, they knew that they wanted to share stories: stories from Indigenous artists from Treaty 7, the First Peoples of this land, and stories from members of the African diaspora in Calgary, many of whom have arrived recently by comparison. Between these two groups there are more commonalities than you might think, woven deep into their ancestral traditions and culture – commonalities of storytelling and dance, colour and vibrancy.
“Aside from coming from two extremely marginalized groups, there's a lot of beauty in the sharing of our traditional ways of knowing and what has been passed on to us despite us both living in – and all of us living in - this incredibly colonized world,” says Marshall Vielle.
As a local actor, director, podcaster, and drag performer from the Kainai Nation in Southern Alberta, Marshall is well known both on stage and off for his strength of authenticity and magnetic presence. He is also a recipient of the Theatre Calgary Stephen Hair Emerging Actor Award and performed in Theatre Calgary’s first virtual presentation of A Christmas Carol this past December. For Marshall, one of the biggest messages of the cabaret is centered around having the bravery to share very personal artistic expressions.
“I feel like a big part of the inspiration to bring this [cabaret] together is understanding that for a lot of marginalized voices, it's incredibly hard to show up, especially when folks aren't always welcoming you in the best way. Coming together to do this thing has been really special because it's been about how can we be brave enough to show off our beauty?” Marshall says.
In true cabaret style, Marshall and Toyin embraced the creation of the show by focusing on people. Considering cabaret is a true ensemble performance, it only made sense to look at who would create this story on stage together as a first step.
“I was coming from that immigrant angle,” says Toyin Lamas. “I was coming from the angle of - Who am I? What voice am I adding to this cabaret? What voice am I creating? And what do I want the people that will come to hear and see?”
To Toyin, Samuel Obadero was the natural choice: a gifted photographer and experienced stage performer, Samuel was also the 2019 recipient of the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society New Canadian Artist Award at the Mayor’s Lunch for Arts Champions.
“Sam is like a river. He has so many layers. He got that award for being a visual artist, but a lot of people don't even know about his artistry as a performer. What he does on earth is beautiful, and that’s just part of who he is,” Toyin says.
For Marshall, it was important that he elevate the feminine as much as possible. In his experience, Indigenous women are offered fewer opportunities on stage than men, and as a two-spirit person, he wanted to do his part to change that reality. That made the natural first choice Elizabeth Ferguson-Breaker. A dancer, theatre performer, and member of the Siksika Nation, Liz is also the co-artistic associate with Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society. For the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, she also had the distinction of being chosen as one of 70 Indigenous women from across Canada to represent her riding and take a seat within the House of Commons.
“We need to find ways to uplift the individual's voice as much as possible, but also take that one step further and give the voice to women so that they're represented at all levels in leadership as well as on stage,” says Marshall.
Along with Samuel Obadero and Elizabeth Ferguson-Breaker, the cast will feature Winner Brave, Alanna Bluebird, Olivia Tailfeathers, and Stephanie Brave Rock performing dance, spoken word, music, and poetry.
Putting together the Braving Beauty Cabaret has been no easy task, and both Toyin Lamas and Marshall Vielle are excited to share this powerful intersection between African and Indigenous cultures with Calgary audiences.
“You will see different expressions that show who we truly are,” says Toyin. “This is authentic to my person, my art, and I’m not going to apologize for that.”
Braving Beauty Cabaret had to be postponed from its original date due to current AHS guidelines, but you will get a chance to watch it virtually this July for free! Stay tuned to Arts Commons Presents Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more details. TD Amplify Cabarets are made possible by the support of naming sponsor TD Bank Group.
