COME GOOD RAIN BY GEORGE SEREMBA DRAMATURGICAL PORTFOLIO
Resources for Further Investigation
Protests in Canada:
These additional resources will aid in the exploration of making artistic and educational points of connection between Seremba’s story and the historical, local, and contemporary experiences of social, political, and educational unrest in Canada. Particularly, these sources focus on issues that have concerned the young adult demographic in Canada which allows for points of connection and consideration between Seremba’s story and the target audience of this contemporary production of Come Good Rain in Toronto.
Paradkar, S. (2017, May 05). The Yonge St. riot of 1992 ... or was it an uprising?: Paradkar. Retrieved December 09, 2020, from https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/05/05/the-yonge-street-riot-of-1992-or-was-it-an-uprising-paradkar.html
This source provides further information on the local Toronto uprising against police brutality during the same year that the play premiered at Crow’s Theatre. The play was incredibly successful during its first run and this source will aid in a further analysis of what universal themes spoke to Toronto audiences that ensured its success. Furthermore, it will help the creative team to find points of connection of what social topics still concern the youth of Toronto to help this adaptation of Come Good Rain to speak to a contemporary audience targeted towards young emerging Toronto artists in 2020.
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Bennett, P. W. (2013). Campus Life in Canada’s 1960s: Reflections on the “Radical Campus” in Recent Historical Writing. Acadiensis, 42(2). Retrieved from https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/Acadiensis/article/view/21108
This journal written by Paul W. Bennett explores the different radical movements supported by university students throughout the 1960s in the Greater Toronto Area. This article provides historical and cultural information that is relevant to the city in which it is being performed, and demonstrates similarities and differences to the cultural context of the political student uprisings in Come Good Rain. This article will aid in considering the points of connection and disparity between student protests in Canada and student protests in Uganda. As this performance is being performed by and for students in Toronto, it is important to understand that our artists and audience members cannot identify with Seremba’s experience, therefore, it is important to find larger, universal topics and elements that can act as points of connection. This article will aid in understanding points of connection with student response to educational unrest.
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Lukacs, Martin. “Quebec Student Protests Mark 'Maple Spring' in Canada | Martin Lukacs.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 2 May 2012, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/may/02/quebec-student-protest-canada.
This article written by journalist Martin Lukacs explores students in Quebec, Canada protesting against increases in government tuition fees. These protests are relatively contemporary and related to student-specific issues in Canada in comparison to the student-led protests in the 1960s which revolved around more large-scale international issues. This protest against education funding creates a direct contrast to the student protests in Come Good Rain; it highlights the universality of activism in young adults whilst also showing the severity in difference between faults in government systems. This source acts as one, specific option to consider in the artistic, creative, and dramaturgical journey of trying to connect a story that is rooted in one very specific place and time to another.
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“Black Lives Matter.” The Varsity, thevarsity.ca/tag/black-lives-matter/.
This source is a compilation of student-written and organized articles, videos, and resources concerning and supporting the current Black Lives Matter movement in Toronto. These sources provide an in-depth view into what social issues the target audience and group of creators for this production of Come Good Rain are immediately involved with. It analyzes from the perspective of students what issues regarding racial injustice particularly affect them on an educational, local, and global level, and shows a first-hand perspective of what our target audience is experiencing in regards to their own social and political uprising within their city and educational institution. These sources are fantastic for drawing immediate connections between Seremba’s experience and those of the target audience and creators for this production of Come Good Rain. It also poses new questions to the creative team: how has social justice for young people within education systems changed since Seremba's experience? How does the internet and social media affect our understanding and impact of these social changes?
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The Poetics of Resistance
In this video, Seremba speaks of his resistance experience. This video will inspire the creative team to understand and ask questions about how art works as a medium to heal trauma, and the power we hold in sharing our artistic voices. This video will also give performers an understanding of who Seremba is as a person, so that they can give an authentic and accurate portrayal of his character.
George Seremba and the Ugandan Uprising
As Come Good Rain is an autobiographical piece, it is important for the creative team to have an in-depth understanding of the playwright and the history behind his story. These additional resources will provide the creative team with a better understanding of who Seremba is, the social and political history of his story, and how these elements are rooted in the themes of the play and the overarching goals of this contemporary adaptation for and by a target audience that is very far removed from Seremba’s experience.
King, Jason, and George Seremba. “Canadian, Irish and Ugandan Theatre Links: An Interview with George Seremba.” The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, vol. 31, no. 1, 2005, pp. 117–121. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25515567. Accessed 24 Nov. 2020
This source provides published elements of an interview with Seremba himself. Analyzing Seremba’s responses will help in determining the ways in which the creative team can authentically share Seremba’s story. It will also aid in capturing an analysis of a link between Ugandan and Canadian theatre, which will pose the creative team with suggestions and further artistic questions of how to connect two theatrical styles from different places, times, cultures, and context? Furthermore, it will generate and challenge questions of how the creative team can ensure that this story is being told respectfully, ethically, and authentically.
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Koehler, Robert. "The Politics of 'Good Rain' : Theater: Ugandan Actor George Seremba Recounts His Life and Near-death after an Attempted Execution by Firing Squad in His Play, Which Has Its U.S. Premiere Tonight." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 30 Sept. 1993. Web. 24 Nov. 2020.
While this source is a review of one of Seremba’s performances in Los Angeles in 1993, it provides an interesting perspective to consider on the production politics and reception of the piece. Not only will this piece aid the creative team in their exploration of the politics, but it will also generate questions on how Seremba’s performance of personal story has the ability to resonate with so many audience members, and what elements of his particular acting choices and style may be useful to inspire this current production.
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Marshall, Julian. "Obituary: Milton Obote: The First Leader of an Independent Uganda, He Imposed Virtual One-Man Rule, but was Twice Overthrown." The Guardian, Oct 12 2005, p. 36. ProQuest. Web. 23 Nov. 2020 .
This source provides an overview of the politics behind Seremba’s trauma in Come Good Rain. It is easy to understand from a foriegn perspective making it incredibly accessible for the creative team to reference and utilize throughout their production. It also poses the question of how can the creative team make the historical politics accessible to their audience members who may not be familiar with it? What techniques can be used? It also prompts comparisons and connection points to be drawn between Ugandan politics and Canadian historical politics.
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"PEACE Talks between the Ugandan Government and the Rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have been Extended by Six Weeks in an Attempt to End One of Africa's Longest-Running Civil Wars.." Tribune Jul 14 2006: 5. ProQuest. Web. 23 Nov. 2020 .
This source provides a 2008 update on Ugandan politics and provides understanding of how the political situation in Uganda continued to change as Seremba performed Come Good Rain around the world. It allows the creative team to consider questions of how methods political and social resistance change over time, and allows a comparison how methods of political resistance in Canada compare to those in Uganda and globally.
Creative and Staging Elements
These sources will provide a better understanding of how the creative team can ethically tackle staging Come Good Rain in a contemporary context, and will help provide further insight in to creatively and respectfully answering our guiding questions:
Olaogun, Modupe. “Dramatizing Atrocities: Plays by Wale Soyinka, Francis Imbuga, and George Seremba Recalling the Idi Amin Era.” Modern Drama, Volume 45, Number 3, Fall 2002, pp. 430-448. https://muse-jhu-edu.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/article/500087/pdf Accessed 23 Nov 2020.
This source provides information on how to dramatize atrocities on stage specifically through the lens of the Idi Amin Era in Uganda. It specifically references Seremba’s Come Good Rain and also looks at other plays that have staged the tragedy by Wale Soyinka and Francis Imbuga. This source provokes creative thought and analysis on how perspective affects the dramatization of a historical tragedy. It also prompts the creative team to explore how art helps one to heal after tragedy and provides other artistic resources to look when understanding an artistic response to tragedy.
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Nikki Owusu Yeboah (2020) “I know how it is when nobody sees you”: oral-history performance methods for staging trauma, Text and Performance Quarterly, 40:2, 131-151, DOI: 10.1080/10462937.2020.1788133
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This source provides professional advice on staging trauma for theatre. Specifically, it focuses on the most effective ways to respectfully stage racial trauma. This is an important source for every element of the creative team to refer to that will allow an understanding of ethical staging as this is a contemporary production put on by a group of students who cannot identify with Seremba’s story. This source will also prompt further creative questions about the different intentional and unintentional impacts our sharing of Seremba’s story may have.
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Petropoulos, Jacqueline. “Performing African Canadian Identity: Diasporic Reinvention in Afrika Solo.” Feminist Review, vol. 84, no. 1, Oct. 2006, pp. 104–123, doi:10.1057/palgrave.fr.9400303.
This source provides an important perspective on staging the African-Canadian identity. It is extremely important that the creative team has a well-rounded perspective on how identity affects the stories that we share. It also poses the creative team to ask further questions of how our identity as Toronto artists of different races affects the way in which we share Seremba’s story. Furthermore, it should engage conversations between the creative team on making the entire production process inclusive in the most ethical way possible.
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