“Prepping for this role was a bit of a challenge, which I love, for such challenges can only make us better artists in the long run.”

Curtis Peeteetuce

Biography

Curtis is Cree from the Beardy’s & Okemasis First Nation.  Since 2001, he has had the honour of working with many talented artists in theatre, radio drama, music and film. Selected highlights include Persephone Theatre (A History of Breathing, Bannock Republic), SNTC (Where The Blood Mixes, Thunderstick), CBC (Out in the Cold, Red Moon) and Rabbit Fall, season 2.  Curtis is the recipient of the 2012 Saskatoon & Area Theatre Award for Outstanding Male Performance.  He dedicates all his efforts and accomplishments to his beautiful son Mahihkan.  Special thanks to family and friends for years of support!

What about this play resonates with you?

I am quite fond of the storytelling style. Any piece of work which dares to tell the story in an unorthodox fashion – particularly beginning, middle, end – is of particular interest to me. I’m very happy to be working on this piece with this team of artists. 

What do you do to prepare for a role (or this role specifically)?

As an Aboriginal actor, I am usually cast in roles which reflect my ethnicity or look. These roles I am quite adept at preparing for, as I have a strong sense of identity, culture and language. In Stop Kiss I play a New York detective, which I know nothing about. Prepping for this role was a bit of a challenge, which I love, for such challenges can only make us better artists in the long run.

What does community engagement mean to you?

Community engagement is about opportunity and acknowledgment. Opportunity for storytelling, sharing, dialogue and collaboration. As a theatre artist I am not classically or ‘Westernly’ trained. In one sense this is a detriment, for I have little knowledge about classical theatre and its pedagogy or its great artists. On the other hand, I feel I contribute a valid and important perspective to the arts in our community. That inevitably opens the door for acknowledgment about the diverse forms of artistic expression within our discipline.