The World Premiere Of Taran Kootenhayoo's WHITE NOISE Comes to Firehall Arts Centre

The Firehall Arts Centre and Savage Society are honoured to present the world premiere of White Noise, written by Taran Kootenhayoo, from Saturday, April 16 to Sunday, May 1st, 2022.

A comedy about two families who have dinner together for the first time during Truth and Reconciliation week, White Noise explores what it means to live in Canada from two different paradigms and asks us to consider: How do we deal with internalized racism? Do we keep pushing it away and pretend to live safely in our day-to-day?

"When I first saw the workshop production of White Noise, I knew it was a play that would interest and entertain Vancouver audiences," says Firehall Arts Centre's Artistic Producer, Donna Spencer. "While it has many entertaining comedic moments, it is powerfully thought-provoking, making us think about our role in reconciliation and our responsibility to gain a greater understanding of the Indigenous people and their history here on Turtle Island and in Canada. The Firehall is proud to be working in partnership with Savage Society on this premiere production and honouring Taran's legacy."

Savage Society's Artistic Director Kevin Loring adds, "Savage Society had been working with Taran for about five years. We had been trying to help nurture his growth as an artist and support his artistic ambitions and out of that work came White Noise which is a wonderful example of Taran's imagination and artistry. We miss Taran dearly and this production will help us celebrate him and share his bright light with the wider community."

For more information on the Firehall Arts Centre, please visit www.firehallartscentre.ca

About Taran Kootenhayoo:

Taran "Standing Sunrise" Jerry Kootenhayoo was proud to be Denesuline and Stoney Nakota. Born in Cold Lake, Alberta, and a member of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation. Taran was like water flowing between many different mediums and disciplines. First and foremost he was a storyteller, and all of his passions filled a big basket that he shared with us. He was an activist standing up for Indigenous rights, weaving his activism and art because he cared about the land and the people. He was an actor and had the gift of captivating an audience by understanding his body's movement and truth to the words he said; he was a poet and spoken word artist. That was a place where he could bring his activism, humour, and powerful voice to life; he was a skateboarder, which was also a considerable part of his film creation. He was a transformer. He was a director. He was a writer. He wrote for the screen and stage. He was a fantastic dancer and had style-the poster boy of Indigenous fashion. He had a popular meme page. Taran was cool in whatever he was involved in. He could steal the show, but he was always generous in his offerings as a person and performer. He just made things better.