Thunder Bay – Magnus Theatre’s first main stage show of 2022, Salt Baby by Falen Johnson, will focus on Indigenous Identity and its relationship to skin colour in communities.
Johnson’s semi-autobiographical work tells the story of a young Indigenous woman whose skin tone sets her apart, both in her First Nations community and in the city. Salt Baby finds herself growing up between two very different worlds and becomes determined to figure out how she fits into each.
Johnson is a Mohawk and Tuscarora playwright and broadcaster, and Salt Baby is based on her experience living in Six Nations and in Brantford, Ontario. It was published in 2013 and was Johnson’s first play.
SALT BABY is directed by Natalie Robitaille who was last seen on the Magnus Theatre stage in 2019 as “Lisette” in Keith Barker’s award-nominated drama, This is how we got here. She is currently Artistic Director of the Bruce County Playhouse in Southampton, Ontario.
“It’s all about sort of finding out who you are, even if you don’t look the way that you think you should look,” said Robitaille.
“But it’s also a bit of a romantic comedy at the same time because it’s all about salt baby who’s sort of exploring her culture and who she is between living in the city but being from a First Nations Reserve.”
Brianne Tucker stars in the show as the titular character and says that she relates deeply with the main character and the journey that she makes throughout the story.
“It’s so close to my heart because it really is about this woman’s journey of discovering herself and being a Métis artist, sometimes you’re kind of informed that you’re not enough of something, you’re not white enough, you’re not indigenous enough you’re not thin enough,” said Tucker.
“And it’s taken me a long time to really come to terms with the fact that just me is enough, I am Métis enough, I am Brie enough and hopefully that’s a journey that the entire audience gets to take with us.”
Tucker will be joined on stage by Jordan M. Burns who is making his Magnus Theatre debut as Salt Baby’s boyfriend, Alligator, along with Jeremy Proulx, an award-winning actor and multidisciplined First Nations storyteller, and Danelle Charette, a recent graduate of Randolph College for the Performing Arts.
The talented design team includes Lisa Macchione on costumes, Sean Mulcahy on set, and Adam Parboosingh on lighting.
SALT BABY will run from March 3 to March 19, evening performances start at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday matinees start at 2 p.m. Wednesday's matinees will start at 12 p.m.
Tickets for evening performances are $40 ($20 for students) and matinees are $35 ($15 for students).
There will be a Pay What You Can matinee performance on Sunday, March 6. Tickets for Pay What You Can will be available in person at the theatre on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 1:30 p.m. the day of the performance.
Tickets for all other performances are available on Magnus Theatre’s website at magnustheatre.com or through the box office by phone at 807.345.5552.
Following the matinee performance on Sunday, March 13, Magnus Theatre will host a Meet the Playwright event, where playwright Falen Johnson will be joining the theatre audience via live stream for a reading of her recent works followed by an interactive question and answer session.
The event will be streamed live on Magnus Theatre’s YouTube channel and Facebook page, and viewers will have the opportunity to submit questions during the session.
Questions can also be emailed to education@magnustheatre.com ahead of the event.
Meet the Playwright is presented by the Magnus Theatre in Education department.
Magnus Theatre will be observing all public health and safety protocols and patrons will be required to wear masks at all times while indoors. Tickets are limited as performances are restricted to 50 per cent capacity for the safety and comfort of all theatre patrons.
For more information about tickets, show-times, and health and safety protocols, visit their website.
