Class studies boarding-school play

An article about Where the Blood Mixes, an Aboriginal play by Keith Loring.

TRU students first in Canada to study new aboriginal play

Rebekah Seagle & Kaleena LoehrThe play is set in Lytton, B.C., in the present, but it deals with the effects and aftermath of residential schools on native families. The play shows the issue remains cuttingly relevant.

“The title of the play does not mean where the rivers meet,” Loring said. “It is about the place inside the heart where the blood mixes … what’s beneath it, where the words come from.”

And even though the story contains tragic elements, it speaks as a triumph of human spirit and perseverance.

Aboriginal playwrights often take an unexpected approach to drama, Ratsoy said. The humour in the play acts as a coping mechanism and relieves stress.Comment:  I'd be more surprised if a Native play wasn't "a triumph of human spirit and perseverance" and didn't use humor as a "coping mechanism" that "relieves stress."

For more on the subject, see Native Plays and Other Stage Shows.