• 2021-22 Indigenous Screen Office (Canada) Development Funding Recipient

• 2021-22 Creative BC — BC Domestic Motion Picture Fund Recipient

• 2018 Screencraft Film Fund Quarterfinalist

• 2018 CineStory Quarterfinalist

• 2017 Oaxaca Film Festival Official Selection, Global Script Competition

  
  
  

EXCERPT FROM THE BLACK LISt

BOUNDARY BAY is quite impressive in its plotting. The script spans three time periods and seamlessly weaves them together to propulsive effect. The writer smartly utilizes the show's core cast across the multiple timelines, which is a really cool and stylistic gimmick that also feels economical from a production standpoint. Telqtela / Marissa is a particularly strong, double role for any actor who's lucky enough to play the two women; both of whom are loaded with fortitude and savage grace. …

That said, all of the show's cast works well in this piece; thoughtfully conjured, delightfully varied, and all involved in dynamic subplots that keep the pilot chugging forward with steam. Alan's antagonist arc is especially compelling and rife with uneasy tension and mystery. Thematically, this show feels all too relevant in its examination of race relations, ownership, and activism, which indicates that audiences would have an easy time identifying with this series. Finally, the show's U.S.-Canadian border setting feels relatively unique and filled with the potential to be gorgeously gloomy and cinematic as it plays on TV screens.

— BLACK LIST REVIEWER

Boundary Bay & LNG

Two genres, one story

Boundary Bay is an hourlong dramatic series written for television.

LNG is a full-length play written for the stage.

The two works came out of a collaboration with Indigenous Laws scholar Sarah Morales (JD, PhD) as part of Testify: Indigenous, a project of the Canadian based Indigenous Laws + the Arts Collective.

Both scripts have been developed further through a series of artistic residencies, workshops, and staged reading presentations.

context

The complicated stories of a fictitious Coast Salish Indigenous nation whose encounters with settlers have long tested their resilience & resolve as they struggle with a constantly evolving adversary.

These bodies of work challenge the notion of an arbitrary border forced upon people who lived freely up and down the coast for over ten thousand years before colonization.

TESTIFY INDIGENOUS
readings ACROSS CANADA 2016-2018

Through Testify, drafts of Boundary Bay have been presented in stage readings by nearly seventy actors, community members, and/or students. The majority of participants are members of Indigenous nations across Canada.

VANCOUVER, BC
Loungeworks, October 15, 2016 — The first Testify script reading was part of a weekend long presentation, that included visual and performative work by the Testify Collective. The reading featured seasoned and emerging Vancouver actors and artists.

NANAIMO, BC
Vancouver Island University, November 26, 2016 — The second draft was presented with a mix of Vancouver actors who joined us at VIU alongside a mix of actors and community members from the Nanaimo area.

TORONTO & WINDSOR, ON
University of Windsor / York University / Law Society of Upper Canada, Toronto. October 12-17, 2017 — A stage reading to a packed audience at the Law Society of Upper Canada and two University venues. Featuring the students from the Centre for Indigenous Theatre, along with students and professional Toronto-based actors at York and Windsor Universities.

MONTREAL, QC
McGill University, March 1, 2018 — A stage reading of the revised script by a collection of professional Montreal actors, artists, and McGill University students.

CHIPPEWA OF THE THAMES, ON
Chippewa of the Thames First Nation, May 12, 2018 — A stage reading of the revised script by a community members of the Chippewa of the Thames First Nation (the first group to nail the humour in the script!)

VICTORIA, BC
Legacy Gallery, University of Victoria, October 26, 2018 — A stage reading of the revised script by a mix of community members and students working in Indigenous laws policy as well as UVic student actors.

crowdfunding development for first draft

DEVELOPMENT Campaign page bitly.com/BoundaryBayLNG

It is impossible to count the hours that have gone into envisioning, mulling, writing, revising, submitting, etc., etc., for this project. It has meant leaving day jobs in order to find the necessary space to do the work.

Without the help from INCREDIBLY GENEROUS donors, my attendance of numerous artistic residencies and writing labs would not have been possible. They include: 

Rianne Svelnis, Alison Page, Anonymous Angels (12), Maria Ferreira, Rebecca Johnson, Lynne Kirby, Ryan Reith, Mark Rupp, Rod Barr, Claire Askew, Bryce Barros, Ronna Beal, Halie & Ardith Bruce-Walkem, Dan & Bev Crawford, Gwaai Edenshaw, Tim Stoenner, Laura Allen, Thomas Almojuela, Jerome Blake, Sadonna Cody, James Cowperthwait, Ramon Esquivel, Ahmed Kassim, Emma Logan, Marcos Meconi, Desiree Prewitt, Corbett Trubey, Diane Blunt, Kristen Connolly, Michael Crane, Amy Decker, Zoe Furlong, Will George, Robin Lee Greiner, Suzanne Griffin, Ian Kuhnert, Daniel Larner, Chantel Lucier, Tyler Robinson, Michelle Sinclair, Rachel Swaner, Nicola Freegard, Carolyn Nakagawa, Elizabeth Stuelke, Jennie Pack, Nicole Kempskie, Jude Lutz, Lisa Meserole, Mugs Cahill.

ARTIST residencies

Bilpin International Ground for Creative initiatives (BigCi)

Bilpin, Australia, November-December 2017

A residency focused on reimagining Boundary Bay. The first version of the script was very narrow—too talky, not enough action. The pilot’s scope was expanded. Further episode planning, big picture changes, and a realization of the ambitious series were solidified here. A presentation of my process was presented at BigCi's Open Day on December 17, 2017. More info is here (also a new work was created here call The Traveler with more information available for that work on the writing tab, soon.)

Rae and Yuri are wonderful hosts. Rae is so supportive in helping you make your vision a reality, and to optimize the time you are there with ideas and guidance if you need it. Yuri taps your explorative spirit in his constant treks out to the bush. Their activist work to protect the Blue Mountains from fossil burning industries (god it’s everywhere) is phenomenal.

Sointula Art Shed

Sointula, B.C., Canada, January 2018

Sointula offered the ability to quietly focus on the massive rewrite (much more than I had planned beforehand) on the screenplay, and allowed me to submit to a draft, and begin a third phase of rewriting.

Kerri, Tyler and Teddy are the sweetest hosts. Such a perfect place to write, and Sointula’s utopia vibe truly lives on.

lookout arts quarry

Bellingham, WA, October 2017

The Quarriors run a muddy oasis with tiny houses, converted buses, lots of chickens, a rock quarry, fabulous performance areas, a wood-fire toasty yurt, a cultural mecca that is the communal kitchen, and so much more. More info about their artist residency is here.

We all took part in an intimate reading after my hours of mulling and editing. The reading helped work out some spiritual and space/time aspects of this story I hadn’t tapped into yet. Definitely a incredible place to visit during their events throughout the year, and a residency well worth considering for one’s own artistic practice.

LNG was adapted for the stage from the pilot. The play script enjoyed a first draft workshop at University of California, San Diego, organized by professor Julie Burelle and her UCSD Indigenous Theatre classes in the spring of 2017.