''Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing'' is a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

by Canadian writer

Tomson Highway Tomson Highway (born 6 December 1951) is an Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous Canadian playwright, novelist, children's author and musician. He is best known for his plays ''The Rez Sisters'' and ''Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing'', ...

(

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

), which premiered in 1989 at Theatre Passe-Muraille in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Character List

Nanabush Nanabozho (in syllabics: , ), also known as Nanabush, is a spirit in Anishinaabe ''aadizookaan'' (traditional storytelling), particularly among the Ojibwe. Nanabozho figures prominently in their storytelling, including the story of the world's ...

(playing the spirit of Gazelle Nataways, Patsy Pegahmagahbow, and Black Lady Halked): A mythical and spiritual creature that possesses the female characters. *Zachary Jeremiah Keeschigeesik: He is the main character and is having a nightmare that Nanabush put on him. He fears coming home to his wife after waking up on Big Joey's couch with Big Joey's girlfriend but ends up waking up from the nightmare on his own couch with his wife and child. *Hera Keechigeesik: Zachary's wife *Big Joey: Is a warrior for the rez. He denies being the father to Dickie Bird Halked. His violence is supposed to be against the oppressive white systems but instead his violence is more against the other Natives of the rez. He witnesses Dickie Bird sexually assault Patsy but refuses to intervene, or let Creature intervene. His reason for letting Patsy be assaulted is that he hates women (page 120). *Dickie Bird Halked: The illegitimate child of Big Joey. He was born in a bar and suffers from

fetal alcohol syndrome Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a group of conditions that can occur in a person who is exposed to alcohol during gestation. FASD affects 1 in 20 Americans, but is highly misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed. The several forms of the ...

; he is unable to talk. He sexually assaults Patsy with a crucifix, and kills her unborn baby. *Pierre St. Pierre: The Rez bootlegger *Spooky Lacroix: He has an obsession with Christianity. Throughout the play, he encourages his old friends to join his religion. He also frowns upon cursing and drinking *Simon Starblanket: He is struggling with self-realization because he lost his belief in spirituality and tradition. His girlfriend is pregnant. He intends to go to South Dakota because of the Native suppression. *Creature: Big Joey's side kick. He almost always takes Big Joey's side because he is in love with him.

Plot summary

Set in the fictional Wasaychigan Hill

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

, ''Dry Lips'' is a companion piece to Highway's earlier play '' The Rez Sisters''. ''The Rez Sisters'' focused on seven women from the community; ''Dry Lips'', whose original working title was ''The Rez Brothers'', is about seven men. It is written in a mix of English, Cree, and Ojibway. It tells the story of life on the Wasaychigan Hill Indian Reserve and the men on the reserve as well. The men talk about their plans; Big Joey wants to get a radio show, Zachary wants to open a bakery while Pierre St. Pierre got a new job as a referee for the women's hockey games. Nanabush is a trickster; she can change shape and gender, enact the men's phobias and fantasies about women and also shows the misogynistic attitudes of the men in the play. Each character has their own story within the bigger picture. The play's original cast included

Gary Farmer Gary Dale Farmer (born June 12, 1953) is a Canadian First Nations ( Cayuga) actor and musician. He is best known for his Independent Spirit Award-nominated roles in '' Powwow Highway'' (1989), ''Dead Man'' (1995) and '' Smoke Signals'' (1998). ...

Billy Merasty Billy Merasty (born 1960) is an Aboriginal peoples in Canada, Aboriginal Canadian actor and writer of Cree descent. Early life Merasty was born in Brochet, Manitoba, Canada. He is the ninth of fourteen siblings born to Viola and Pierre Merasty, ...

and

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

. Highway's brother

René René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name ( Renée being the feminin ...

and musician

Carlos del Junco Carlos del Junco (born May 17, 1958) is a Cuban-Canadian harmonica player. Career Del Junco was born in Cuba and moved to Canada with his family in 1959. He started to play harmonica when he was fourteen. He graduated from Ontario College of Ar ...

were also involved in the production. In 2010, Highway also staged ''Paasteewitoon Kaapooskaysing Tageespichit'', a

Cree language Cree ( ; also known as Cree–Montagnais language, Montagnais–Naskapi language, Naskapi) is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 86,475 people across Canada in 2021, from the Northwest Territories to Alberta to ...

version of the play.

Awards

Dora Mavor Moore Awards The Dora Mavor Moore Awards (also known as the Dora Awards or the Doras) are awards presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), honouring theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moor ...

, 1989 **Outstanding New Play (

) **Outstanding Production (

Theatre Passe Muraille Theatre Passe Muraille is a theatre company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is on Ryerson Avenue in the Alexandra Park neighbourhood of Toronto. Brief history One of Canada's most influential alternative theatres, Theatre Passe Muraille ("theat ...

and Native Earth Performing Arts Inc.) **Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Leading Role (

) **Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Featured Role (Doris Linklater) *

Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award The Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award was a Canadian literary award given to Canadian plays produced by any professional Canadian theatre company, and having performances in the Toronto area. The prize had a monetary value of $25,000, and wa ...

, 1989 *

Governor General's Literary Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

(shortlisted in English Drama){{Cite web, url=https://ggbooks.ca:443/past-winners-and-finalists, title=Past Winners and Finalists, last=, first=, date=, website=Governor General's Literary Awards, language=en, url-status=live, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023075315/http://ggbooks.ca:80/past-winners-and-finalists , archive-date=2017-10-23 , access-date=2019-11-01

Bibliography

* Djubal, Cla
"Strategies of Subversion: An Examination of Tomson Highway's ''The Rez Sisters'' and its Appropriation of Sonata Form"
The University of Queensland, 1998. Includes an analysis of ''Dry Lips.'' (Retrieved 31 January 2014).

External links

Script for ''Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing'' at playwrights.ca

References

Plays by Tomson Highway 1989 plays Northern Ontario in fiction Plays set in Canada Plays about Indigenous people in Canada Dora Mavor Moore Award–winning plays