Voices of the Land

Katherine Koller

• Publisher: AU Press
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN: 9781926836959
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Canadian Drama
• Index: Literature

The sound of the wind across a Prairie field, the smell of grass on the first day of spring, the vocalization of birds in the early morning woods, the silence of the lake at night interrupted by call of the loon – these are the shapes and sounds of the Prairie landscape. Katherine Koller invokes the Prairie setting as a central character in each of the four plays in Voices of the Land. Serving a supportive and, at other times, antagonistic role, the landscape acts upon the characters, driving and intensifying their transformation. The land and those who live in intimate terms with it are the focus of Koller's plays. In The Seed Savers, farmers face pressure to purchase genetically modified seed; a protagonist refuses to sell untilled land for development in Cowboy Boots and a Corsage; a dying woman sees a lake as her final resting place in Abby's Place; and in The Early Worm Club, Millie realizes a deep sense of belonging to the Alberta parkland and its birds while searching for her mate. Nature goes beyond mere setting and backdrop in these plays to effect transformation and resolution on the characters. Ranging from romantic comedy to drama and from one-act to full-length, the plays in Voices of the Land show western Canadians at the point of leaving, returning, and renewing against the backdrop of their native landscape.

The SEED SAVERS

The Seed Savers, Station Arts Centre: Will Brooks as Solo and Carmela Sison as Sky. Photo by Michael Clark.

The Seed Savers, Workshop West Theatre: David MacInnis as Solo and Natasha Napoleao as Sky. Photo by Russ Hewitt.

The Seed Savers was first produced at Workshop West Theatre, in Edmonton, Alberta, from 29 October to 8 November 2009, with the following cast and crew:

MINDY Maralyn Ryan

JOE John Wright

SKY Natasha Napoleao

SOLO David MacInnis

TYLER Jesse Gervais

DIRECTOR Michael Clark

SET AND LIGHTING DESIGN April Viczko

COSTUME DESIGN Daniela Masellis

MUSIC AND SOUND DESIGN Paul Morgan Donald

CHOREOGRAPHY Amber Borotsik

STAGE MANAGER Anna Davidson

PRODUCTION MANAGER Ben Eastep

TECHNICIANS Eric Chamberlin and Erik Martin

PUBLICITY Fat Cat Media Relations

The Seed Savers was revised and produced at Station Arts Centre, in Rosthern, Saskatchewan, from 1 July to 1 August 2010, with the following cast and crew:

MINDY Sharon Bakker

JOE Kent Allen

SKY Carmela Sison

SOLO Will Brooks

TYLER Matt Josdal

DIRECTOR Michael Clark

SET DESIGN Hans Becker

LIGHTING DESIGN Tim Cardinal

COSTUME DESIGN Theresa Germain

MUSIC AND SOUND DESIGN Paul Morgan Donald

STAGE MANAGER Diana Domm

TECHNICIAN Craig Langlois

Characters

MINDY, Joe’s wife for fifty years, an earthy woman

JOE, late sixties, a farmer, successful, but not a stranger to hard times

SOLO, mid-twenties, farmer, has a few years of agricultural college

SKY, mid-twenties, Mindy and Joe’s granddaughter, of mixed...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Katherine Koller’s Prairie Synergism Women on the Land
• Cowboy Boots and a Corsage
• The Early Worm Club
• Abby’s Place
• The Seed Savers
• Plays by Katherine Koller