YOLANDA_1.jpg
 

White Girls in Moccasins

March 9-20, 2022

A manidoons collective and

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre

co-presentation

created by Yolanda Bonnell

Digital Broadcast
March 26 – April 8, 2022

Bonnell’s storytelling feels audacious in the best ways: She shows stories that most First Nation, Métis and Inuit people experience in one way or another but don’t often speak publicly about. It’s an unusual way to see ourselves and be seen. For me, it’s as if I were watching my own story.
— Robyn Grant-Moran (Globe and Mail)
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manidoons collective is a circle of artists creating Indigenous performance.

The artistic leadership includes Yolanda Bonnell (Ojibwe-South Asian) and Cole Alvis (Métis) both based in Tkarón:to.

manidoons collective recognizes the importance of collaborating with Indigenous communities, specifically Indigenous women, 2-Spirit, trans and non-binary storytellers.

cover by Chief Lady Bird

bug

bug is a 60 minute solo show about women of an Indigenous family navigating addiction and intergenerational trauma. When their addictions manifest as manidoons (Ojibwe word for bug, insect or worm), the creature burrows beneath their skin, pushing them beyond the brink.

Using movement, poetry, and prose, creator/performer Yolanda Bonnell weaves stories of women grappling with their painful past and making tough choices to survive. This work is honest, unflinching, and raw; it will take your breath away.

Published by Scirocco Drama, bug by Yolanda Bonnell was nominated for a Governor General's Award for English-language drama in 2020


How We Tour

manidoons collective works with presenters to add community presentations in neighbouring Indigenous communities while on tour. This is an opportunity for our collective of artists to engage with local Indigenous leaders and for the presenters to develop and/or maintain relationships with the Peoples upon whose land their venue stands.

bug by Yolanda Bonnell has been developed with Native Women in the Arts, Native Earth Performing Arts, The Collaborations at National Arts Centre, and Luminato with support from Generator, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts.

Indigenizing Practices

 

  1. Work days are shorter, leaning more towards 5 hours (or 3-4 if online).

  2. Work weeks are 5 days a week (instead of 6), if possible – there will be no two show days in the production.

  3. Each day in the space begins with a check-in circle, an opportunity for folx to speak about where they are physically, mentally, spiritually etc. This is so we know how to be in space with each other by respecting boundaries and states of being. This removes the request to ‘leave baggage at the door’ as we choose to adjust the work plan as needed.

  4. Transparency in any and all things. No one is on the outside of knowledge. Everyone on the team is welcome to any meeting regarding the production.

  5. We work, play, create and exist in space by holding the 7 Anishinaabe Grandmother/Grandfather teachings of Truth, Honesty, Bravery, Courage, Love, Wisdom and Humility. We add Patience to this list as it serves our work.

  6. Everyone has autonomy. If a person needs to leave suddenly or needs to take care of themselves and their body, they are given space to do so. It is up to manidoons collective, as the holders of the process, to adjust.

  7. We start each project or process with a contemporary feast to begin that journey in a good way. Traditional Feasts in various communities have protocols that we will adhere to as long as they align with our 2 Spirit and anti-patriarchal values.

  8. We aim to provide sustenance in the room for well being through a ‘wellness table’, which may include items for self soothing, snacks, books etc.  

  9. We will listen with open hearts to any grievance or objection that an individual may have with the work or with us, as well as offering an outside option to speak to (a liaison or stage manager or cultural worker) should the need arise.

  10. If harm does occur in space, we will hold a talking circle to name the harm and collectively discuss our next action and accountability.

  11. No one will be asked to disclose personal trauma for the sake of the story.

  12. If the story triggers trauma for anyone in the room, we will stop to discuss and/or pivot the work plan as needed. Collective care is of utmost importance. 

  13. Traditional medicine (sage, sweetgrass, cedar, tobacco and potentially others) will be present in the room and made available for anyone to use.

 

2019 Dora Mavor Moore

Award Nominations

Outstanding new play

yolanda bonnell

outstanding performance in a leading role

yolanda bonnell

outstanding lighting design

michel charbonneau

Outstanding theatre production

Luminato presents manidoons collective

news

manidoons collective media request

In our process of Indigenizing performance practices, it is vital that we centre marginalized voices - particularly IBPOC (Indigenous, Black and people of colour). There is an aspect to cultural work - or in our case, artistic ceremony - which does not align with the white supremacy in colonial reviewing practices. In order to encourage a deeper discussion, our expectation of the media is that they will hire IBPOC reviewers to engage with our work. 

The unconscious bias within the lens that white settlers bring to criticism perpetuates harmful stereotypes infused with racism, transphobia and ableism that harms Indigenous, Black and culturally diverse artistry. We see a direct line between the gatekeeping of arts criticism from a colonial worldview and the under-reporting and misrepresentation of the #LandBack movement in the media. 

manidoons collective acknowledges the work and ongoing solidarity from our communities, knowledge keepers and those who have blazed the trail. At this time, we are calling for the reflections and worldviews of fellow marginalized voices, and in particular Indigenous women, Two-Spirit, trans and non-binary critics.

Here is the discourse that emerged from Indigenous, and other racialized critics when we made this call in February 2020 for the Theatre Passe Muraille / Native Earth Performing Arts copresentation of our play bug by Yolanda Bonnell:


Radical Refusals and Indigenous Gifts of Love 

By Sheetala Bhat May 31, 2021


Why it matters who reviews Indigenous theatre

By Yvette Nolan Feb 19, 2020


The role of white media in perpetuating online racism

By Sanchari Sur February 18, 2020 


A Cree professor and a white critic went to Yolanda Bonnell’s bug. Then, they discussed

By Karyn Recollet & J Kelly Nestruck Feb 16, 2020


bug: An Invitation To Not Look Away

By Christa Couture Feb 16, 2020


Why I’m Asking White Critics Not to Review My Show

By Yolanda Bonnell Feb 14, 2020


Yolanda Bonnell’s bug is an enthralling journey into Indigenous women’s lives

By Kelly Boutsalis Feb 13, 2020


Yolanda Bonnell in conversation with Ange Loft about the creation of bug

By Ange Loft Feb 8, 2020