Tiny Sparks Everywhere: Birch Bark Biting as Land-Based Dramaturgies

Abstract

In this article, Lindsay Lachance reflects on her term ‘land-based dramaturgies.’ Land-based dramaturgies may involve physical interaction with land and waters or may be invoked philosophically in developing the process’s framework, and/or practitioners may look to creation stories and language structures as land-based resources. Through defining and highlighting some land-based processes performed by Monique Mojica (Guna and Rappahannock) and herself, she demonstrates how some Indigenous theatre artists are exploding notions of ‘the well-made play.’ As an Algonquin Anishinaabe theatre artist, Lachance looks to birchbark biting as a starting point when building a dramaturgical process. This article paddles down a river, exploring how individuals and collectives investigate and actually use cultural material, objects, familial teachings, and place as artistic collaborators when creating theatrical works. To conclude, the article describes how Lachance navigated working with land-based principles during an online play development workshop of Yolanda Bonnell’s (Anishinaabe) My Sister’s Rage during the COVID-19 pandemic.