THERESA CUTKNIFE

BIOGRAPHY

Theresa Cutknife is a mixed Nehiyaw (Plains Cree) and Puerto Rican Iskwew (Woman) from Maskwacîs, Alberta located on Treaty 6 Territory and is a member of the Samson Cree Nation. She has been living and learning in Toronto for the past four years and is a graduate of the Centre for Indigneous Theatre. Theresa is an emerging actor, playwright and director. This past February Theresa was one of five curators as part of a decentralized approach to curatorial decision making, led by Festival Director Clayton Lee, for the 2020 Rhubarb Festival at Buddies and Bad Times Theatre. Prior to COVID-19 Quarantine Theresa was working with Young People’s Theatre as an Apprentice Resident Artist Educator working with youth in an after school drama program.

PLAY DEVELOPMENT

Talk Treaty to Me

Earlier in the year we came together with the idea to write a play about Treaty 6 from our distinct perspectives as both women & “Treaty people”. This is a collaborative theatre project that explores Treaty 6 relationships through the different perspectives of Canadian and Indigenous law. Our goals with this show are to inform, create dialogue, and foster deeply needed conversations about what it means to be part— or not— of the Treaty within the settler state known as “Canada”, and to make legal terms accessible for an audience to engage with in a way that goes beyond the traditional western theatre narrative.