Table of Contents
- 1 What is the purpose of the Rez Sisters?
- 2 Where is Tomson Highway from?
- 3 Why can Marie-Adele see nanabush?
- 4 What does bingo symbolize in the Rez Sisters?
- 5 What is the function of the trickster figure nanabush in the Rez Sisters?
- 6 Who lost Eugene to Marie?
- 7 Why is Tomson Highway important?
- 8 Why can Marie-Adele see Nanabush?
- 9 Where did Tomson Highway live as a child?
- 10 What kind of plays does Tomson Highway write?
- 11 How is Tomson Highway related to Billy Merasty?
What is the purpose of the Rez Sisters?
The Rez Sisters features an ensemble cast of seven women dreaming of winning, and working toward raising enough money to attend, “The Biggest Bingo in the World,” and one male actor/dancer in the role of Nanabush (originally played by the playwright’s brother René Highway).
Where is Tomson Highway from?
Brochet, Canada
Tomson Highway/Place of birth
Where was the Rez Sisters first performed?
November 26, 1986
The Rez Sisters/First performance
Why can Marie-Adele see nanabush?
“Nanabush” is the Ojibway name for the Trickster, a central figure in Native mythology. Throughout The Rez Sisters, Nanabush observes the action, seen only by Marie-Adele and Zhaboonigan (because their suffering has brought them closer to the spirit world).
What does bingo symbolize in the Rez Sisters?
Bingo represents the ultimate escape—more pathetic even in the case of the belles-soeurs whose rewards seem hardly worth getting worked up about (“plaster dogs, floor lamps”) than for the rez sisters, who are true gamblers at heart, always expecting the big jackpot that will take them out of their misery.
When was Tomson Highway born?
December 6, 1951 (age 69 years)
Tomson Highway/Date of birth
What is the function of the trickster figure nanabush in the Rez Sisters?
In both plays, and particularly in The Rez Sisters, Highway uses the figure of Nanabush to explore the spiritual subtext of his writings, embodied in the character of Nanabush—a trickster figure—who offers commentary on the politics of gender as well.
Who lost Eugene to Marie?
Annie lost her sweetheart to her own sister, Marie-Adele, who is now stricken with cancer. And Philomena, who seems the most jovial of the group, secretly wonders about the child she was forced to give up twenty-eight years before.
Who is the trickster in Ojibwe culture?
Nanabozho is the Ojibwe trickster figure and culture hero (these two archetypes are often combined into a single figure in First Nations mythologies, among others).
Why is Tomson Highway important?
Significance. Tomson Highway and his works have influenced Indigenous literature in Canada. His written works speak to important issues affecting First Nations peoples in Canadian history including residential schools, reserve life, Indigenous identity and more.
Why can Marie-Adele see Nanabush?
Why is Nanabush important?
Nanabozo (Nanabozho or Nanabush) is a culture hero, creator and trickster of various Indigenous oral histories. He is known by a variety of names and appears prominently in many origin tales. Nanabozo (Nanabozho or Nanabush) is a culture hero, creator and trickster of various Indigenous oral histories.
Where did Tomson Highway live as a child?
Tomson Highway. Tomson Highway was born in a tent near Maria Lake, Manitoba in 1951. He was the 11 th of 12 children born to Joe and Pelagie Philomene Highway. His father, Joe, was an accomplished hunter, fisherman and sled-dog racer. His family lived a nomadic lifestyle and his first language was Cree.
What kind of plays does Tomson Highway write?
He is best known for his plays The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing, both of which won him the Dora Mavor Moore Award and the Floyd S. Chalmers Award. Highway has also published a novel, Kiss of the Fur Queen (1998), which is based on the events that led to his brother René Highway ‘s death of AIDS.
What was the first language of Tomson Highway?
He was the 11 th of 12 children born to Joe and Pelagie Philomene Highway. His father, Joe, was an accomplished hunter, fisherman and sled-dog racer. His family lived a nomadic lifestyle and his first language was Cree.
Biography. Tomson Highway was born north of Brochet, Manitoba in 1951 to Pelagie Highway, a bead-worker and quilt-maker, and Joe Highway, a caribou hunter and champion dogsled racer. Cree is his first language. He is related to actor/playwright Billy Merasty .When he was six, he was taken from his family and sent to Guy Hill Indian…