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Spectacle of Empire: Marc Lescarbot’s Theatre of Neptune in New France (Talonbooks $21.95)
Having appeared in more than 130 movies and television episodes, with roles in X-Files and Smallville, Jerry Wasserman has simultaneously reviewed more than 1,000 plays, mainly for CBC and The Province.
In addition, the New York-raised Wasserman, who came to Canada in 1972, has written and lectured extensively on American blues music and Canadian theatre while teaching English and theatre at UBC. His latest literary project is the 400th anniversary edition of arguably the first North American play, a masque performed on the Bay of Fundy by members of the colony of Port Royal on November 14, 1606, to celebrate the return of Samuel de Champlain from a voyage to Cape Cod. Spectacle of Empire: Marc Lescarbot's Theatre of Neptune in New France (Talonbooks $21.95) includes the original French script, two modern translations and an extensive historical and critical introduction.
Born in Ohio in 1945, Jerry Wasserman is an ardent Canadian nationalist who set out to study engineering, but was soon waylaid by the arts. His education stateside, followed by his immigration north, has provided him with a unique perspective on his own secondary trade as an actor. "Canadian theatre became professional much later,"; he says, "whereas modern American theatre has much deeper historical roots, beginning in the early 20th century with people like Eugene O'Neill. Canadian theatre doesn't seriously begin until about 1967.";
Hence Wasserman has edited a collection of plays that emanated from Vancouver's New Play Centre and he is fascinated by the obscure play that was written and produced by New France lawyer, historian and poet Marc Lescarbot.
First performed 400 years ago, Lescarbot's paean to empire "transmuted the work of colonialism into spectacle"; as a thanksgiving ritual to mark the safe return of Champlain and Sieur de Poutrincourt from a journey in search of a more temperate site for their colony. "We tend to undervalue the accomplishments of Canadian theatre artists, and here is a play that marks, in many ways, the beginnings of Canadian theatre,"; says Wasserman, "[that is] if we exclude First Nations ritual performance.
"This is the first scripted play, written and performed on soil that became Canada. In fact, you could argue it was the first North American play. It certainly provides a point of reference or origin for Canadian theatre.";
Reprinted with a version of Ben Jonson's The Masque of Blackness (1605), a contemporary English imperial spectacle, Lescarbot's masque was also used as a tool to rally the troops, to get them through a difficult winter. "It's important for us to understand that culture has always been a very important tool by which people measure the success of their lives and help themselves get through difficult times,"; says Wasserman.
Wasserman's own involvement with theatre has helped him get through difficult times. When he entered university, he found he could not do physics, thus ending his dream of working in the NASA program. Around this time, he met and became enamoured with a woman involved in theatre. Having never acted before, Wasserman auditioned for, and earned a role in Leave it to Jane, a 1930s musical, and toured around Europe for two months. He later earned his doctoral degree in English. Given his experience and connections, Wasserman could probably write more about American drama, but he's happy focusing on theatre north of the border. "There are plenty of people to advocate for American culture, and I don't think it needs my help,"; he says. "But I don't think there are enough Canadians who support Canadian culture, and it's much more important for me to work on the Canadian side.";
In addition to editing books about Canadian drama and teaching young Canadian acting students, Wasserman supports local theatre on his website, www.vancouverplays.com. He started the site in 2004 when his CBC reviewing gig ended, and he decided to put reviews and other theatre information onto the web. With Sherrill Grace of UBC's English department, Wasserman has also co-edited Theatre and AutoBiography: Writing and Performing Lives in Theory and Practice (Talonbooks $29.95). As well, his two-volume anthology Modern Canadian Plays, now in its 4th edition, has become the standard text in its subject area.
"I think part of my job is to raise consciousness that Canada has an interesting history, maybe even a 'sexy' history,"; he says, "one worth knowing about. If you know history, it helps form your knowledge about contemporary life."; Wasserman is currently working on a book dealing with how Canadian theatre always struggles with the seductive power of American culture. "It's almost impossible to avoid comparing yourself to a country right beside you with a population ten times bigger,"; he says. "But we are getting on with it. In the last 20 years, there is a lot less worrying about how we measure up than there used to be. I think that's a good thing.";
All of which probably won't interest most Canadians as much as the fact that Jerry Wasserman appears with Will Smith in I, Robot.
Neptune 0-88922-549-4; AutoBiography 0-88922-540-0
John Geary is a Vancouver freelance writer.
[BCBW 2006]
In addition, the New York-raised Wasserman, who came to Canada in 1972, has written and lectured extensively on American blues music and Canadian theatre while teaching English and theatre at UBC. His latest literary project is the 400th anniversary edition of arguably the first North American play, a masque performed on the Bay of Fundy by members of the colony of Port Royal on November 14, 1606, to celebrate the return of Samuel de Champlain from a voyage to Cape Cod. Spectacle of Empire: Marc Lescarbot's Theatre of Neptune in New France (Talonbooks $21.95) includes the original French script, two modern translations and an extensive historical and critical introduction.
Born in Ohio in 1945, Jerry Wasserman is an ardent Canadian nationalist who set out to study engineering, but was soon waylaid by the arts. His education stateside, followed by his immigration north, has provided him with a unique perspective on his own secondary trade as an actor. "Canadian theatre became professional much later,"; he says, "whereas modern American theatre has much deeper historical roots, beginning in the early 20th century with people like Eugene O'Neill. Canadian theatre doesn't seriously begin until about 1967.";
Hence Wasserman has edited a collection of plays that emanated from Vancouver's New Play Centre and he is fascinated by the obscure play that was written and produced by New France lawyer, historian and poet Marc Lescarbot.
First performed 400 years ago, Lescarbot's paean to empire "transmuted the work of colonialism into spectacle"; as a thanksgiving ritual to mark the safe return of Champlain and Sieur de Poutrincourt from a journey in search of a more temperate site for their colony. "We tend to undervalue the accomplishments of Canadian theatre artists, and here is a play that marks, in many ways, the beginnings of Canadian theatre,"; says Wasserman, "[that is] if we exclude First Nations ritual performance.
"This is the first scripted play, written and performed on soil that became Canada. In fact, you could argue it was the first North American play. It certainly provides a point of reference or origin for Canadian theatre.";
Reprinted with a version of Ben Jonson's The Masque of Blackness (1605), a contemporary English imperial spectacle, Lescarbot's masque was also used as a tool to rally the troops, to get them through a difficult winter. "It's important for us to understand that culture has always been a very important tool by which people measure the success of their lives and help themselves get through difficult times,"; says Wasserman.
Wasserman's own involvement with theatre has helped him get through difficult times. When he entered university, he found he could not do physics, thus ending his dream of working in the NASA program. Around this time, he met and became enamoured with a woman involved in theatre. Having never acted before, Wasserman auditioned for, and earned a role in Leave it to Jane, a 1930s musical, and toured around Europe for two months. He later earned his doctoral degree in English. Given his experience and connections, Wasserman could probably write more about American drama, but he's happy focusing on theatre north of the border. "There are plenty of people to advocate for American culture, and I don't think it needs my help,"; he says. "But I don't think there are enough Canadians who support Canadian culture, and it's much more important for me to work on the Canadian side.";
In addition to editing books about Canadian drama and teaching young Canadian acting students, Wasserman supports local theatre on his website, www.vancouverplays.com. He started the site in 2004 when his CBC reviewing gig ended, and he decided to put reviews and other theatre information onto the web. With Sherrill Grace of UBC's English department, Wasserman has also co-edited Theatre and AutoBiography: Writing and Performing Lives in Theory and Practice (Talonbooks $29.95). As well, his two-volume anthology Modern Canadian Plays, now in its 4th edition, has become the standard text in its subject area.
"I think part of my job is to raise consciousness that Canada has an interesting history, maybe even a 'sexy' history,"; he says, "one worth knowing about. If you know history, it helps form your knowledge about contemporary life."; Wasserman is currently working on a book dealing with how Canadian theatre always struggles with the seductive power of American culture. "It's almost impossible to avoid comparing yourself to a country right beside you with a population ten times bigger,"; he says. "But we are getting on with it. In the last 20 years, there is a lot less worrying about how we measure up than there used to be. I think that's a good thing.";
All of which probably won't interest most Canadians as much as the fact that Jerry Wasserman appears with Will Smith in I, Robot.
Neptune 0-88922-549-4; AutoBiography 0-88922-540-0
John Geary is a Vancouver freelance writer.
[BCBW 2006]
Submitted on November 10, 2006 in By David.
