that would be relevant to the students who would then see their histories represented in the play . Instead they are being told what is ultimately a white story — a slave-owning story — that has been re-imagined to maybe include the possibility of mixed heritage in Alexander Hamilton , which perpetuates the idea that he was mixed race , but we don ’ t know that ."
Though musical theatre is problematic , Schroeter understands that it fulfills a purpose : " The musical fills this void in not requiring audiences to work very hard to understand what is going on in the story ," she says . Musicals also " bring various departments , music , dance , theatre , and art departments together for these wide scale productions that involve a lot of kids ." Schroeter clarifies her position saying , " I ’ m not taking away from the bonding experience or artistic learning , but I want to know what these productions do to us as a public , pedagogically , and to students in particular , and also to acknowledge , as Gastambide-Fernandez & Parekh found in their 2017 study of arts programs , who is included in those productions and who is excluded historically in drama and theatre programs in our schools .” Schroeter is encouraged that increasingly IBPOC scholars , educators , and artists are raising their voices about this exclusion in representation and taking on leadership roles in musical theatre , such as director and producer .
Schroeter still wants to see plays integrate music , and art with drama , but she would love to see them be stories relevant to youth . " I ’ m not going to deny that kids want to do Grease ( 1971 ). I get that teachers are in a delicate position of having to do what kids want and push them .”
Avant garde theatre is one alternative to musicals because " avant garde theatre artists are often trying to avoid stereotypes or trouble the tropes . Then you get really controversial theatre because opinion is divided — with some hating and some loving it ," says Schroeter . Likewise , " when you make original theatre and stories told by students and their points of views , sometimes parents don ’ t like the stories that kids have to tell and sometimes the stories are experimental and people don ’ t get it ."
Through interviews with local drama teachers , Schroeter is finding some teachers “ that just won ’ t do the musical because they are going to create plays that involve music and singing , but not musicals — once you open that door , you can ’ t close it because that is what people will want and expect .” With student-created theatre , Schroeter says , “ you can cast more diversely , and the tools you are giving students are much bigger because you are training them as story tellers .” Other teachers , she says , “ are aware of the issues , are trying to address stereotyping and problematic representational practices by having conversations with their students about it and by not letting the problems disappear .”
So far , Schroeter says , her research is “ reinforcing what I already know about the value of arts education — giving students the tools to come together and make and create original art .”
BAC STUDENT PROJECT SUPPORTS RECONCILIATION EFFORTS
From U of R Feature Stoies by University Advancement & Communications
Bac Education student Wahbi Zarry on location in front of First Nations University of Canada . Photo : courtesy of Wahbi Zarry
Wahbi Zarry is a third-year Faculty of Education student in the Baccalauréat en éducation ( le Bac ) program . Originally from Casablanca , Morocco , Zarry grew up in France and later relocated to
Montréal before moving to Regina to study to become a French teacher . His interest in Indigenous languages was fueled by his attendance at several conferences where he discovered that many of the world ’ s First-Peoples ’ languages are at risk of disappearing . A multiple-language speaker ( French , Arabic , English ), Zarry is producing a documentary series called Canadian Languages , half-hour videos designed to build awareness about Indigenous languages .
" 10 Days of Cree " is the first of the documentaries that follow Zarry ’ s efforts to learn as much of the Cree language as he can in less than two weeks . To help him achieve his goal , Zarry enlisted the services of Solomon Ratt , an associate professor in the Department of Indigenous Languages , Arts , and Cultures at First Nations University of Canada , a U of R federated college . For more than 30 years , Ratt has taught Cree in the Y-dialect ( Plains Cree ). He has also authored several workbooks and story collections including mâcinêhiyawêwin ( Beginning Cree ) and nihithaw acimowina ( Woods Cree Stories ), both published by UR Press .
“ My main goal with the videos was to present the fragility of Indigenous languages in a different manner ,” says Zarry . “ It ’ s important that it be a story documenting my experience — I ’ m a foreigner — that didn ’ t grow up in
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