Little Wolf's Journal
Three Days of Trixster Fest
By Quentin Little Wolf
Trickster Fest kicked-off with the debut of Cowboy Smithx’s 2-pt Conversion starring Aaron Bear Robe, Vince Rider, Tyrone Ermineskin, Jon Big Knife and Denalene Manitopyes. 2-pt Conversion was short play about an injured football player mulling over his unfortunate injury during a big game. 2-pt was performed all three nights and audiences laughing all the way through and like Vince Rider’s character Donny Undertow would say “That’s bullshit!”
The second play that was performed was highly popular pantomime show Wizard on the Rez, starring Marcie Meguinis, Cherish Blood,
Creedence Vagabond and the Snagging Game have been entertaining audiences for over a year now. Snagging Game episode 2 starred Tyrone Ermineskin, Mike Ermineskin, Vince Rider, Latisha Hewton-Backfat and Cowboy Smithx. Snagging Game episode 3 starred John Rory Loftus, Marcie Meguinis, Cherish Blood, Jannicka Laboucane and Cowboy Smithx. Snagging Game All Star edition brought back fan favorites Marcie Meguinis, Janne Laboucane, Vince Rider, Tyrone Ermineskin, Latisha Hewton-Backfat and introduced newcomers to the show Stacy Da Silva and Aaron Bear Robe who eventually ended-up winning the trip to Compton Southern California. All episodes of the Snagging Game where improvised by the entire cast, but the shows were so good that no one could possibly tell.
An excerpt from the dramatic play Frontline gave Trixster Fest a good balance of narratives, which starred Marcie Meguinis, Aaron Bear Robe, Cowboy Smithx, Latisha Hewton-Backfat and introduced the professional acting skills of Mitchell Poundmaker. Frontline is about a group of counter intelligence agents going through the trials and tribulations of WWIII. With the lives of American soldiers on the line, the agents in question must use their skills and wits to help save lives, but if the agents don’t do the job right they may be subject to execution.
Another excerpt from Cowboy Smithx’s Napi and the Prettiest Girl in the Village gave way to the acting skills of the mother/son duo of Henri and Aaron Giroux. Playing the roles of two hillbillies, Aaron and Henri’s characters are wondering through the ominous
Finally the Trickster Trilogy was performed on Saturday afternoon in front of a less than capacity crowd where Lacey Yellowbird and Sean Desormeuax made their respective acting debuts. Every other performer in the Trixster Fest was represented which made the Trilogy a modern day masterpiece. Luckily for those who didn’t see it the first time the Trickster trilogy will be re-mounted on Thursday, March 24th @ 6PM in the Leacock Theatre. Now here is a breakdown of everyone’s individual performances at Trixster Fest.
Aaron Bear Robe: Aaron Bear Robe made his pantomime debut during Thursday night’s performance of Wizard on the Rez. Aaron had the onstage presence of the veteran thespian that he is. His performance as Richard Domo in Frontline was right on the money; while the role of the egotistical jock Rico Sanchez in 2-pt Conversion fit him like a tailor made glove. Overall, Aaron proved himself to quite the actor; he rounded off Trixster Fest with the role of an evil bounty hunter in the Trickster Trilogy.
Jon Big Knife: Mr. Big Knife was cast as one of Rico’s friends in 2-pt Conversion. Jon proved to be very good performer, as he assumed a role that was not only entertaining, but also challenging. Jon’s major contribution to Cowboy Smithx’s script was the phrase “fart on balls!”
Cherish Blood: Cherish Blood was recently accepted into theatre school in Toronto and is establishing herself as one of Alberta’s up and coming Aboriginal actors. She flexed her improvisation muscles in the ever so unfortunate Snagging Game. Cherish also took on the role of Blackout Witch, a role she plays very well. Then, in the Trickster Trilogy Cherish portrayed an evil troll named Vex; Cherish was awesome in her role as the menacing Vex.
Stacy Da Silva: Stacy Da Silva graced Trixster Fest with her presence on the last day of the festival. Reviving her role as the Creepervine Queen in the Trickster Trilogy, Stacy also took part in the Snagging Game All Star show, in which she was lucky winner. Stacy was throwing her fists like a bat out of hell during the big fight scene in the Trickster Trilogy, some of the other actors are concerned that she might give them a concussion when the Trickster Trilogy in re-mounted on March 24. Hopefully Stacy takes it easy on the poor Killer Klown.
Sean Desormeaux: Mr. Desormeaux was cast as Pirate Shade only minutes before the Trickster Trilogy was about to start. He did a great job, but he really got his butt kicked in the big fight scene.
Mahicans Diamond: Mahicans Diamond in his role as the inelegant Bucked-off Moose is always a crowd favorite. Mahicans and his method acting performances give pantomime theatre an energy that can only be found on the stages of Broadway. Mr. Diamond is an excellent performer and it shows.
Mike Ermineskin: “Mikey” as his groupies can him, is probably the most underrated performers of the bunch. He has the talent to maintain his integrity when most other performers would usually lose their composure. As the evil trickster Nomakks, Mike Ermineskin’s performance gave the Trilogy the ominous aura that was needed to make the entire production a major success. He was also quite the smooth bachelor in the Snagging Game.
Tyrone Ermineskin: Tyrone Erminskin was put the test as he had the most challenging role of the entire Festival; Bax the warrior trickster in Cowboy Smithx’s Trickster Trilogy. Bax was the central character throughout the entire Trilogy. Bax is a character that parallels the widely known Luke Skywalker in George Lucas’ Star Wars Trilogy, so Tyrone had his work cut out for him. Mr. Ermineskin was stellar in the Trickster Trilogy and showed us more of his acting abilities in 2-pt Conversion as the ever promiscuous Kip Cooner.
Aaron Giroux: Aaron is not only a great performer, but he is also quite the savant young prodigy. With an education level way ahead of his time, Aaron has managed to find the time to perform for Trixster Fest as the Outlaw Billy the Kid, Skratch the Hillbilly and a dastardly Ghoulie. Keep an eye on this young man, his potential is unlimited.
Henrietta Giroux: Henri and her son Aaron have been working on their scene as hillbillies for months, and when show time rolled around Henri and Aaron dominated the stage. Henri was also a last minute casting choice to play the role of Santa Clause in the Trickster Trilogy, where she made all the bad guys pay for their crimes.
Latisha Hewton-Backfat: “Tish” as she prefers to be called is quickly becoming one of Neo Eccentric Entertainment’s most powerful performers. Easily slipping into her prime role as Nayla the trickster, Latisha’s stage presence was absolutely excellent. Ms. Hewton-Backfat also took on the role of Sgt. Karen Goldwin in Smithx’s Frontline, where she showed audiences how talented of a performer she really is. Latisha rounded-off Trixster Fest with an improv role as a geek in the infamous Snagging Game.
Janneka Laboucane: Taking on the role of a hillbilly bachelorette and a hippy bachelorette, Ms. Laboucane proved to be quite the improviser as she starred in the Snagging Game episode 3 and Snagging Game All Star edition. Janicka was great both times; too bad she didn’t win either.
John Rory Loftus: Current holder of the Mr. Indian Universe title, John Rory Loftus contributed his usual riveting performance as the Killer Klown from outer space in Wizard on the Rez, Napi Pan and the Trickster Trilogy. He also starred as the most eligible mystery bachelor ever on the Snagging Game.
Denalene Manitopyes: Denalene Manitopyes took on the daunting role of the ever ditzy Roxy in 2-pt Conversion. She did a wonderful job and improved the element of beauty in the Trixster Fest as a whole. Denalene also put on the threads of the extremely seductive Chilled-out Witch in the Trickster Trilogy.
Marcie Meguinis: Marcie had wide range of roles that pushed her to the limit. Her roles consisted of a counter intelligence agent, a loopy city girl and of course a psychotic witch from the
Mitchell Poundmaker: Mitchell is product of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company (SNTC) and gave Trixster Fest some real depth in the performance department. Mitchell played the role of a family oriented counter intelligence agent in Frontline. Mitchell has been a professional actor for many years now and will be a great addition to the Neo Eccentric Family.
Vince Rider: Vince, Vince, Vince, what more can I say. Mr. Rider is easily going to be one of tomorrow’s big stars. Vince gave audiences the chills as he played the roles of Donny Undertow in 2-pt Conversion and the sneaky Tobacco Thief in the epic Trickster Trilogy.
Chassie Smith: Another last minute casting call, but Chas’ performance came out alright. She slipped into the role of Princess Leda and did a great job. Got a little too violent during the big fight scene, but I don’t think anyone noticed.
Cowboy Smithx: Apparently Disney and Pixar have vested interests in Cowboy Smithx’s wild imagination, but these are only rumors as far as I know. Mr. Smithx did another excellent job as the Blackfoot Trickster; Napi. For those who don’t already know, Mr. Smithx also played the roles of General David Gambit in Frontline, Creedence Vagabond in the Snagging Game and Klawber the dark magician in the Trickster Trilogy.
Lacey Yellowbird: Lacey was in charge of the door and only had to worry about the door, but when Marcie Meguinis was a no show on Saturday afternoon, Lacey was quickly cast as the wild and wacky Blackout Witch. She was great, especially for someone who didn’t even know the story.
Overall Trixster Fest was a great success!
~QLW
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