Falen Johnson

Falen Johnson is a Mohawk and Tuscarora playwright and broadcaster.

Falen Johnson
Born
Six Nations of the Grand River
NationalityMohawk, Tuscarora Canadian
Alma materGeorge Brown College
OccupationPlaywright, podcaster

Personal life

Born in 1982, Johnson is from Six Nations of the Grand River and graduated from the George Brown Theatre School.[1] in 2005. She is a member of the bear clan.[2] Johnson spent most of her formative years in Brantford, Ontario; she currently lives in Toronto.[3]

Work and education

She is the previous Coordinator of the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance, a member-driven organization of professional Indigenous performing artists and arts organizations. IPAA serves as a collective voice for its members and for Indigenous performing arts in Canada. It provides leadership, support, representation, advocacy, and practical assistance for the national development of Indigenous performing arts.[4]

Playwright

Johnson's plays include Salt Baby, Two Indians, and Ipperwash. Her plays focus on contemporary Indigenous identity, navigating spaces as an Indigenous women, and colonial contexts.[5]

Salt Baby was Johnson's first play and focused on the story of an Indigenous women navigating the differences between 'rez life' and the city. The play was semi-autobiographical and based on her experience living in Six Nations and Brantford, Ontario.[3]

Johnson's play Two Indians is a dark comedy that explores the realities of being Indigenous in Canada.[6]

She created Ipperwash (2018) in response to the Idle No More movement.[7] This play is rooted in the history of the 1995 occupation of the Ipperwash Provincial Park and focuses on the relationship of two cousins and kinship ties.[8] Ipperwash also marked Johnson's debut as a director and was created by working with member of the Stony Point Ojibway community.[5]

Johnson is currently working with Soulpepper Theatre on a play about the life of Residential School Survivor and artist Shirley Horn.[9]

Podcasting

Johnson co-hosts the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation podcast, Secret Life of Canada with Leah-Simone Bowen.[10] This podcast focuses on little known parts of Canadian history and explores the histories of marginalized communities in Canada.[11] Johnson has also been featured on The Moth storytelling podcast.[12]

In 2020, Johnson succeeded Rosanna Deerchild as host of CBC Radio's indigenous newsmagazine series Unreserved.[13]

Awards and recognition

Johnson was named one of the 20 people to watch in 2020 by Maclean's Magazine.[9]

In 2019 Johnson won the best audio work award at the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival. This award recognized her work on the Secret Life of Canada podcast.[14]

As part of its Indigenous Arts Award Laureates program, the Ontario Arts Council awarded Johnson with the Emerging Artist Award in 2015.[15]

References
  1. Johnson, Falen. "Falen Johnson, Author at Intermission". Intermission. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  2. "FALEN JOHNSON | Soulpepper". soulpepper.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  3. "Salt Baby: a play about Indigenous self-discovery". January 21, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  4. "Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance". Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  5. Johnson, Rhiannon (February 4, 2018). "Six Nations playwright makes directorial debut with Ipperwash". CBC News. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  6. "New work by playwright Falen Johnson looks at Indigenous identity in the city". August 5, 2016.
  7. Eneas, Bryan (June 2, 2019). "Two Indians play shares on and off-reserve Indigenous perspectives". CBC News. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  8. Nestruck, J. Kelly (February 8, 2018). "Review: You might want to do some research before seeing Falen Johnson's Ipperwash".
  9. "20 people to watch in 2020 - Macleans.ca". www.macleans.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  10. "9 Great Podcasts Hosted By Indigenous Women - FLARE". www.flare.com. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  11. Staff, Tyee (2019-10-28). "Vancouver Podcast Festival Is Back!". The Tyee. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  12. "The Moth | Stories | Invisible Toronto". The Moth. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  13. "Five questions for Falen Johnson, new host of Unreserved". Unreserved, September 8, 2020.
  14. "in20: award winners". imagineNATIVE. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  15. "Ontario Arts Council Indigenous Arts Award Laureates". Ontario Arts Council. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
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