Waawaate Fobister

Waawaate Fobister (Anishinaabe) is a Canadian playwright and actor, whose debut work Agokwe won six Dora Mavor Moore Awards, including Outstanding New Play, in 2009.[1] The play, which premiered at Toronto's Buddies in Bad Times theatre in 2008, is a gay-themed play which explores the burgeoning attraction between two aboriginal teenagers, one a traditional Ojibwe dancer and the other a hockey player.[2] Fobister played all of characters in the Buddies production, including both teenagers.

An Anishinaabe from the Grassy Narrows First Nation north of Kenora, Ontario,[3] Fobister identifies as gay or two-spirited.[4] The title of his debut play Agokwe (as recorded by John Tanner for ayaakwe) traditionally means "genitalless", but in the modern usage to mean "two-spirited" in the Anishinaabe language.[4]

In 2014, Fobister was presented the Bonham Centre Youth Award from The Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, University of Toronto, for his contributions to the advancement and education of issues around sexual identification.[5]

In 2016, a French translation of Agokwe was released by playwright Olivier Sylvestre.[6]

References
  1. "Agokwe dominates Doras gala". The Globe and Mail, July 3, 2009.
  2. "Fobister’s a phenom". NOW, September 30, 2008.
  3. "New wave of aboriginal talent". Metro, July 20, 2009.
  4. "On stage: Agokwe". Xtra!, September 25, 2008.
  5. "The 2014 Bonham Centre Awards Gala celebrates Power of the Word on April 24, 2014, honouring authors and writers who have contributed to the public understanding of sexual diversity in Canada – Pennant Media Group". pennantmediagroup.com. 2014-03-19. Retrieved 2014-04-13.
  6. "La femme en soi". Le Devoir, July 28, 2016.


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