The Official University of Manitoba Students’ Newspaper
News
5
UMSU on standby Referendum results postponed temporarily
Research & Technology
8
Mutual respect Language research in Indigenous communities
Editorial
10
Take a breather Make time for what makes you happy
Comment
12
Competitive cuts Performance-based funding is harmful
Arts & Culture
19
A paw-sitive space The fuzzy world of Manitoba Furries
Sports
Students 20
Just passing through Bison QB ends uni career with all-time passing record
sowing Seeds Damien Davis & Jessie Krahn, staff photos: Ebunoluwa Akinbo, staff
Diversions
16
Horoscopes
17
Sports Schedule
20
Nov. 23, 2022
T
he U of M department of English, theatre, film & media’s (ETFM) theatre program returns with their first stage production since the spring of 2020 — Seeds by Annabel Soutar. Directed by ETFM assistant professor Katrina Dunn, Seeds follows a playwright who is unnamed throughout the play, on a mission to refashion interviews into material for the stage. Her chosen subject is Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser, who is being hit with lawsuits by biotech agri-behemoth, Monsanto. Based on a real court battle, the play poses questions about the ethics of rapid scientific development as it is outsourced to agribusiness and multinational fiefdoms carved out with antiquated patent laws. The show is a multi-media dramedy of jarring set-pieces which, overall, pull together seamlessly. Cinematic location titles projected on the
SINCE 1914
back wall, silly music to punctuate a joke and a hard-working lighting crew create an intriguing atmosphere. The rustic, pastoral set has a few Easter eggs. Audience members with a keen eye will spot a certain book by Naomi Klein tucked into a nook. Allison Holiday pulls off the heartfelt but at times damagingly one-trackminded playwright. Bill Kerr is exceedingly convincing as the salt-of-the-earth and homely Percy Schmeiser. Nadine Maranan stands out as the oily lawyer Terry Zakreshi. These successes extend to all members of the supporting cast. Everyone’s performances are energetic. Each cast member successfully shifts between multiple characters throughout the show and makes those alternate personae distinct, which is no small task. This return to a live format is replenishing and fun. The play revives the rich history
of student theatre at the U of M while exposing audiences to the medium’s possibilities. Dunn told the Manitoban that Seeds was born from a desire to introduce audiences and students to a different form of theatre. This production is a verbatim play — a genre of play that is documentary in nature, with dialogue taken from a collection of interviews, court transcripts and press recordings. Everything is word for word. Directing a production post-online learning has not been without complications and producing Seeds has not been a simple task. “Through the pandemic, the university gave us permission to do some of our classes in person, but that was only a portion of their training,” Dunn explained. “Students had a lot of Zoom classes and things, and a lot less opportunity to experience hands-on physical productions.” Cont’d p. 17 / ETFM
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VOL. 109, NO. 14