Margo Kane facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Margo Kane
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Margo Gwendolyn Kane
August 21, 1951 |
| Occupation | Actor, Writer, Director, Artistic Managing Director |
Margo Gwendolyn Kane (born August 21, 1951) is a talented Cree-Saulteaux artist. She is known for her amazing solo performances like Moonlodge and Confessions of an Indian Cowboy. Margo Kane also leads a theatre company called Full Circle First Nations Performance.
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Margo Kane's Early Life
Margo Kane was the only Indigenous child adopted into a white family. She found a love for dance when she was very young. Even though she was a good student, her teenage years were tough.
Margo knew she was Indigenous even before her father told her. She remembers seeing children from a residential school and feeling a connection. After high school, she felt a bit unsure of herself.
By age twenty, Margo decided to follow her passion. She enrolled in a performing arts program at MacEwan University in Edmonton. There, she was excellent at dance, acting, and singing. Her hard work earned her scholarships to famous schools like Banff School of Fine Arts and Circle in the Square Theatre Company in New York.
Acting, Teaching, and Cultural Work
Margo Kane became well-known in the late 1970s. She starred in the play The Ecstasy of Rita Joe at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton. In 1982, she toured with this play across Canada. Margo also joined a national youth group that brought theatre to small Indigenous communities.
In the 1980s, Margo got involved with the National Native Role Model Program. This program celebrates the achievements of everyday Indigenous youth. Through this, Margo visited many places to share her story and inspire others. Around this time, she also played a school teacher in the CBC TV series Spirit Bay.
Margo became the first Indigenous artistic director of Spirit Song Native Theatre School in the 1980s. She realized there weren't many acting roles for Indigenous women. So, she used her experience to create her own plays. Many of her works tell stories from her own life. Her most famous solo play, Moonlodge, has been performed for over ten years. Her shows mix traditional storytelling, songs, poetry, and dance.
In 1991, Margo won a Canadian Achievement Award in Ottawa.
Full Circle: First Nations Performance
Full Circle: First Nations Performance is Margo Kane’s own theatre company. She started it in 1992 and is its managing and artistic director. The company's main goal is to help Indigenous artists, writers, and performers. They want to share the real experiences of First Nations people. They also work to combine traditional Indigenous ways with modern theatre.
Full Circle hosts an annual event called the Talking Stick Festival. This festival is a special place for new and professional Indigenous artists to show their work. It also helps people in Vancouver learn about modern Indigenous art. The theatre company is a leader in its field, offering workshops and training for artists.
Understanding Solo-Voice Theatre
Solo-voice theatre, also called monodrama, is a type of play performed by just one actor. It's like storytelling, but on a stage. The actor often plays many different characters. Moonlodge is a great example of this. In her solo shows, Margo Kane uses many techniques. She tells stories, performs rituals, dances, and uses mime. She changes characters by moving her body, mimicking voices, and using stage props.
About Moonlodge
Margo Kane created Moonlodge to help her people heal. She believes that Indigenous people have survived many challenges with humor, dignity, and honor. She hopes her play helps them shape their own future and the future of their children.
Inspiration for Moonlodge
Margo wrote Moonlodge to honor the women who have supported and guided her. While the play isn't exactly her childhood story, it feels very personal. Margo used stories and experiences of children who were separated from their families in the 1950s.
Moonlodge Performance History
Moonlodge was first performed in 1990 at the Women in View Festival in Vancouver. Since then, it has been shown in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Australia. In 1994, it was even made into a radio play for the CBC.
Margo Kane's Works and Appearances
Plays and Performance Art
- Moonlodge – writer, actress - Premiered at Women In View Festival 1990
- Memories Springing/Waters Singing (Banff Centre, 1992) – an art piece combining environment and performance
- Princess Minnehaha at the Tikki-Tikki Lounge (Vancouver 1992)
- Confessions of an Indian Cowboy – writer, actor
- The River-Home (Vancouver 1996) Performance Art Installation.
Appearances in Film and TV
- Running Brave (1983) - Catherine
- Spirit Bay (1985) - school teacher
- Higher Ground (1988) - Mala Bremer
- Powwow Highway (1989) - Imogen
- Good Things Too (1996)
- Dreamkeeper (2003) - Cross Clan Mother
- On the Corner (2003) - Dolly
- Unnatural & Accidental (2006) - Mavis
- Rustic Oracle (2019) - Iris
