Dead White Writer On The Floor

History & Costume Design

Costume Design:

- Billy jack is in a some what country western get up

- Injun Joe needs to have disheveled clothes, a bit dirty, ill fit with a somewhat omen like symbol (THE CROW)

- Old lodge skins has a large feather chief hat to show his age and high rank, with lots of jewelry

- Tonto is in an almost feminine outfit to hint at the supposed homosexuality of his character

Lainie & Tiana

Costume Design:

- Distinct types of clothing and symbols for different characters

- The Warrior is shirtless and either needs abs painted on or a bow in arrow - brutality

- Pocahontas needs to be wearing a short dress with long hair so show the sexualized ideal

History:

- Drew Hayden Taylor (born 1 July 1962)

- Ojibway from the Curve Lake First Nations in Ontario

- Taylor is currently the writer-in-residence at the University of Western Ontario

- He has been an award-winning playwright (with over 70 productions of his work)

History:

- Journalist/columnist, short-story writer, novelist, television scriptwriter

- Worked on over 17 documentaries exploring the Native experience

- Tried to educate and inform the world about issues that reflect, celebrate, and interfere in the lives of Canada's First Nations

Dead White Writer On The Floor

Character Analysis:

Billy Jack (Mike) - Half-breed hero with a strong sense of justice. Represents a leader who is realistic and logical. He wants to help and heal others.

Injun Joe (Fred) - Drunk Half-breed, beaten down by life. Wants to gain a proper education and believes the future is up to the individual.

Kills Many Enemies (Bill) - Mighty warrior of the Plains. Violent, aggressive man who desires to be funny. He wants more meaning in his life.

Character Analysis

Characters:

Old Lodge Skins (John) - Wise Old Elder seeking an adventure. Believes the younger characters take life for granted. Wants to help and positively impact people's lives.

Pocahontas (Sally) - Beautiful teenage girl, wants to be treated as an adult. She feels she has been taken advantage of and desires freedom and respect.

Tonto (Jim) -Faithful Indian Companion. Wants to succeed in life. A naive character, who looks to others for a sense of safety and security. He is tired of being looked down upon and wants to take charge of his life.

Characters and Plot Summary

- Mistaken identity

– Stereotypical portrayal of the different ‘types’ of aboriginal people

- Bringing together characters from different pieces of literature

- Sexual tension between Pocahontas and Injun Joe

Realization of Identity:

- Pocahontas’ rant about being a real woman and not a stereotyped aboriginal woman (54)-When the characters realize that their lives are not all what they have been made out to be

- Kills Many Enemies (60)

Savannah & Nathan

Why is It Funny?

Mathea, Savannah, Lainie,

Tiana, Nathan

Mathea

Tragicomedy:

Plot Summary:

- Tragicomedy

- The characters don’t find their happy ending

- They all regret the lives that they now lead

- Light closing in on them - death- Last line from bill “I… I didn’t even get a chance to be funny”

-Fade to black. End.

- Six Aboriginal characters find themselves in a locked room with body of a dead white writer

- Computer is seen as a dream-catcher which will allow them to re-write their lives

- Act two - No longer savages, Mike Jim Bill John Sally and Fred - re-wrote their history