Playwright Tara Beagan tackles some serious issues with some humorous twists in Theatre North West's third play of the season, Dreary and Izzy, which starts Thursday and runs to Wednesday, Feb. 17.
After the very recent loss of their parents, two sisters adjust to the new circumstances in which they live.
Dierdre, although a year younger than Isabelle, takes responsibility for her adopted indigenous sibling who is affected by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD).
This isn't the first time Prince George audiences have seen Beagan's work. Theatre North West presented her Dora Award winning play Thy Neighbour's Wife in 2010 and she's here now directing her latest.
"The main thing that I am really excited about is that in many ways the casting of this piece is a political act because two of the characters are indigenous and all of the cast have indigenous blood," said Beagan.
"For me it was shaping the cast in such a way that I believe everyone else should be casting with a mind to who understands these roles, who is the strongest actors for these roles and including the people whose land we're on."
The play has many tones to its layers and Beagan offers some perspective.
"What I really worked with here was the peripheral impact on a family when one child has a great deal of special needs and the impact on the social life and the social development of the only other sibling," said Beagan.
The play is set in the '70s when special needs were not really recognized in the medical field so there really wasn't any support for the family which resulted in a drain both financially and emotionally, added Beagan.
As Isabelle's intellectual development arrested at age eight or nine, it affected Dierdre's life as she looked after her sister so much that she didn't have the time to bond with her peers, said Beagan. Dierdre didn't have a lot of time to go out and explore the world or find her own way to maturity, she added.
Two years ago, Beagan directed Dreary and Izzy and Dakota Ray Hebert who plays Dierdre, is reprising the role under Beagan's direction, which offers a depth of knowledge before rehearsal even began at Theatre North West.
Beagan wrote the role of Dierdre for herself but never actually played the role. She now claims she's too long-in-the-tooth but when she saw Hebert in another play, she knew she had found her Dierdre, said Beagan.
"Even though Dakota's energy is quite different from mine, she is well suited to Dierdre - the dark humour, very capable but also very repressed in some ways, she requires tension to function and those qualities come through Dakota so beautifully and she's a great comic as well," said Beagan.
"She can handle a lot of text but she can also deliver zingers to make the audience roar."
Hebert comes from Meadow Lake, Sask., and was the first native student at the Globe Theatre Conservatory in 2012, she said.
"I am an actor, writer, producer, I also teach theatre, I do a lot of workshops on reserves and I've branched out into comedy - stand up, improv and sketch," said Hebert.
As Hebert grows as an actor, she has changed her approach to the role of Dierdre since the last time she played it two years ago.
"Through the life experience that I've got now and the confidence that I've gained on stage, it's a very different role than how I played it two years ago," said Hebert.
"It's really great to have the opportunity to measure my growth in this way and to note what the differences are now from then and what the different layers are and how I take direction now. I also have more to draw from through my own experiences so I am able to bring those to the role."
Tickets for Dreary and Izzy are available at Books & Co., 1685 Third Ave., or by phone at 250-614-0039 or online at theatrenorthwest.com.
