Playwrights' Workshop Montréal

Billy Merasty began exploring the art of acting in the summer of 1983, when he began working with Native Earth Performing Arts Incorporated, in Toronto. He played the part of Simon Starblanket in the original Playwrights' Workshop Montréal ensemble and the premiere production cast of Dry Lips Oughta Move To Kapuskasing. Vincent Tinguely, archivist/activist of Playwrights' Workshop Montréal, spoke with Billy Merasty by phone on June 12, 1998.

What was your first experience working with Tomson Highway?

It was an experimental ensemble work involving his brother [René]. A dance piece that he provided music to, and I read a poem that he wrote in Cree. I did the narration in Cree. That was basically our first involvement together in theatre, our different mediums brought together: his music, René's dancing and my acting. A dance performance called "New Song, New Dance". That was back in 1984.

How did you start working with him on Dry Lips?

I was a hired hand. I was a hired actor. I just happened to be one of the more experienced actors that was around at that time, and when the call went out for Native actors for this new play that was to be developed, I was called in.

What kind of input did you have during the creation of the play?

I'd like to think that I contributed immensely to the play. Both plays, The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips, are stories from up North, where we [Billy and Tomson] come from.. A lot of those stories come from home, involving our families and our relatives. I used to visit quite a bit back then. My first fourteen years of my life I grew up in Northern Manitoba. Tomson and René, they went to residential school from age five, so a lot of those stories, I'd like to think, come from me, from the stories I gave Tomson.

Tomson said it was a very collaborative process, and that he was rewriting the script right up until opening night.

Yes. And everybody contributed as actors too. Fleshing out the characters, the plot line . . . we were free to expand the roles, as far as recommendations and advice. It was more like an ensemble piece, everybody contributed.

Do you find that's a different sort of experience than working on a television show?

There's just no comparison. Theatre and TV, there's no comparison there. In theatre, there's more influence from the director and playwright, and the actors. While in TV, it's a producer's medium. It's very rarely that [laughing] actors get to contribute in TV productions, but in theatre it's more of an ensemble, collaborative event.

How did you find the experience of the workshop for Dry Lips here at Playwrights'?

It was quite incredible. Any workshop period of developing a play is actually quite wonderful. I remember the week that we spent with Dry Lips was so exciting because we were developing a new play. A play that was an extension of the publicity created by The Rez Sisters. All of us found ourselves quite lucky to be involved in this new production of a new play that we were sure was going to be another hit for Tomson and those involved. The whole creative process was quite exciting. Everybody got along, and we were totally immersed in this world that we were all involved in and helped to create. Another thing I really enjoyed about Dry Lips was I got to work with Gary Farmer, Graham Greene, Kennetch Charlette, Ben Cardinal and in some instances Tom Jackson, Doris Linkletter, Gloria May Eshkibok . . . immensely talented Native actors who otherwise wouldn't be known. Wouldn't be employed! We became like a really close-knit family and we keep in touch.

Were there elements of Native culture in the way Dry Lips was developed? Was it a different process than what you would do in a more mainstream theatrical production?

Theatre has its own process. Each playwright, each group of people involved generate their own process. The stories come from the culture, the Cree people from Northern Manitoba, with the language intact, using as much of the language as possible. Which is another way I contributed to the play, because I speak Cree fluently, and most of the people involved didn't. I sometimes helped translate it, and also helped people say their Cree the way it was supposed to be said. So yeah, there's much Native culture in it, because it does come from Native culture, but uses the English language to attract a more mainstream audience.

Did you identify with Simon Starblanket, the character you played in Dry Lips?

It was quite the complex role, because he spiralled into a tragedy, into his own demise. And yes, I identified with it. It involved a young man who accidentally killed himself. It was based on this young man's real life, back home. All of those stories, all of those events, all those tragedies and humour and joy are actually based in real life with real people, our relatives.

The Rez Sisters was a big hit for Tomson Highway. And then, when he did Dry Lips there was a lot more controversy concerning depictions of women, among other things. Why do you think the content of Dry Lips was so much more intense, compared to the script of The Rez Sisters?

Because it dealt with the male world, and the male world can be quite misogynistic. And who they are misogynistic against are women. [Dry Lips] basically depicted that end of the scale. A macho-influenced society that people found themselves in, at a certain period of time.

Did your involvement in the process of creating Dry Lips change you, as an actor, and as a person?

That's very hard to answer. It definitely is part of my resumé, part of my career, my process. To some extent I suppose it did change us. We were all involved in this hit play. We were all touched by this play that people adored.

Does the phenomenon of The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips' success nationally reflect a change in Native culture?

It was quite inspirational, being involved in that play, that creative process. It was definitely one of the best experiences of my life . . . a highlight in my experience. I consider myself lucky to have been involved in the whole process of creating Dry Lips, and to have it received so well to this day.

It built a theatre-going audience, especially in the Native community. When those two plays became big hits, it generated its own audience. It did involve the non-Native audience, but it established a theatre-going audience in the Native community. And that is very important. Crucial.

It was wonderful to be part of Native theatre history, and Canadian theatre history.