What: Salt Baby
Where: Belfry Theatre, 1291 Gladstone Ave.
When: Thursday, April 19, through May 13
Tickets: $19-$52 at or 250-385-6815
Toronto-based Falen Johnson has been long been labelled a dramaturg, a theatre term used to describe an artist who handles multiple tasks at once.
The actor and playwright is now adding another title to her ever-expanding resum茅. Johnson is directing Salt Baby 鈥� her semi-autobiographical 2009 play about Indigenous identity 鈥� through May 13 at the Belfry Theatre, one of an increasing number of directorial assignments she has taken on this year.
Johnson, who is of Mohawk and Tuscarora descent, made her debut as a director in Toronto last year with Ipperwash, which she also wrote.
Salt Baby, which opens tonight at the Gladstone Avenue theatre, marks her second turn in the director鈥檚 chair, but it won鈥檛 be her last.
鈥淚 have another gig directing one of my own shows coming up later this summer,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淚t seems to be the theme of 2018, me directing my own work. I think I鈥檒l probably be sick of myself by the end of this.鈥�
She鈥檚 relishing the opportunity, but with a slight sense of remorse. Yvette Nolan, who has directed Salt Baby up to this point, has gone back to school and wasn鈥檛 able to take on the Belfry run. Nolan鈥檚 exit marked Johnson鈥檚 entrance 鈥� to a certain degree, out of necessity.
鈥淭here aren鈥檛 very many female Indigenous directors of theatre in this country,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e sort of at a deficit. Michael [Shamata, artistic director for the Belfry] and Yvette decided it was time for me to take the reins and step up and learn the skill, and start to do that work, so that there can be more of us. You can probably count all of [the female Indigenous directors] the across the country on less than two hands.鈥�
It was a role she accepted with pride, given how close she was to the subject matter.
鈥淭he people in Salt Baby aren鈥檛 damaged in the ways you might normally see Indigenous people being damaged on film or TV. It鈥檚 more about identity and what that means. It feels important to have an Indigenous woman on stage drinking a beer without making a statement about her being an alcoholic.鈥�
The play takes its cue from Johnson鈥檚 own experiences growing up on the Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario, the largest First Nations reserve in sa国际传媒.
She also spent time in Brantford, Ont., which is predominantly white. The identity crisis at the heart of Salt Baby is a direct result of this rudderless period in Johnson鈥檚 life, which became a source of unintentional laughs.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 set out to write a comedy. I set out to start writing, and then it turned out to be a comedy.鈥�
The title character is played by Dakota Ray Hebert, whose slightly Caucasian features provide the play with a deep pool of questions that not even a DNA test can answer.
She is joined on Salt Baby鈥檚 journey of self-discovery by Colin Dingwall and Timothy L. Hill (who play her family members) and Nathan Howe (who plays Alligator, her boyfriend).
The quartet of actors excel in the arena of comedy, Johnson said, which was integral to the success of the play. She used humour as a way to have white audiences understand what life in sa国际传媒 is like for those with a different colour of skin.
鈥淎t its core, it鈥檚 an identity story. We all go through that in our mid-20s, trying to figure out who we are in the world and what our place is. But it鈥檚 an absurdist comedy, because what seems absurd sometimes in the play is the reality for contemporary Indigenous people trying to exist in this country.鈥�
During its decade-long run, Salt Baby has been staged in variety of locales, from Regina to the Yukon. The reception to it has been dramatic and emotional, Johnson said.
鈥淚t seems to resonate in whichever community we鈥檙e in. It鈥檚 not just a First Nations story. It鈥檚 very much a story that people from across many cultures can relate to. When I wrote it nine years ago, I wasn鈥檛 sure how long it would be relevant. I thought the idea of blood-quantum laws and Indigenous identity would start to sort itself out a little more, but it鈥檚 only become more complicated. It鈥檚 good for the show, but I don鈥檛 know what it says about the world.鈥�
