Yolanda Bonnell
Yolanda Bonnell (She/Her) is a Queer 2-Spirit Ojibwe/South Asian performer, playwright and poet. She is now based in Tkarón:to. Yolanda's Dora-nominated solo show bug had its world premiere at the Luminato Festival in 2018, followed by a national tour and a remount at Theatre Passe Muraille in February 2020. She was also a part of Factory Theatre's The Foundry, a creation program for new career writers, where her play, Scanner continues to be developed towards production. Yolanda was also invited to be part of the Banff Playwrights Lab with her piece, White Girls in Moccasins, which is now in development at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. She and co-writer Natasha Greenblatt, were named "Stage Artists to Watch" by NOW Magazine for their show The Election, which premiered in October of 2019.
Books (2)
Synopsis:
bug is a solo performance and artistic ceremony that highlights the ongoing effects of colonialism and intergenerational trauma experienced by Indigenous women, as well as a testimony to the women's resilience and strength. The Girl traces her life from surviving the foster care system to her struggles with addictions. She fights, hoping to break the cycle in order to give her daughter a different life than the one she had. The Mother sits in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, recounting memories of the daughter that was taken from her, and the struggles of living on the streets in Northern Ontario. They are both followed by Manidoons, a physical manifestation of the trauma and addictions that crawl across generations.
bug reveals the hard truths that many Indigenous women face as they carve out a space to survive in contemporary Canada, while holding on to so much hope.
Reviews
"bug pulls back the curtain on the falsehood of reconciliation using storytelling and movement, bringing everything we've seen in the news and the history books into the heart and gut." - Mooney on Theatre
Educator Information
Recommended for grades 10 to 12.
Additional Information
80 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"
Synopsis:
Miskozi is searching for something...There's something missing. And she's not sure what it is. She goes on a search for herself and her culture, accompanied by her inner white girl, Waabishkizi, and guided by Ziibi, a manifestation of an ancestral river, both provoking her to try and find the answers. She begins the journey back before she was even born, right at the seeds of colonization when her ancestors were forced to hide their culture anywhere they could. Burying their language.Their teachings.Their bundles.Their moccasins. White Girls in Moccasins is a hilarious and poignant reclamation story that world-hops between dreams, memories, and a surreal game show. Miskozi recounts her life and is forced to grapple with her own truth, while existing in a society steeped in white supremacy. A love letter to brown kids born in the 80s, surviving in the 90s and all those continuing to deeply reclaim.
Additional Information
72 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | Paperback
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