I forgot that I’m teaching Tomson Highway’s The Rez Sisters this week, so I reread it this morning. It’s wonderful and deserves all the accolades it’s received, although I might like Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing better, despite its darkness, perhaps because I took my students to see the NAC production 35 years ago. Plays can be hard to visualize when you read them. Even though I have a theatre degree, I find that’s sometimes the case, and I acknowledge that with my students. A play is like a blueprint; the production is the building. My solution is to get them to do a table reading, if only for a few minutes. Despite their shyness and lack of experience, they start to get a feeling for what the play might be like when it’s up on its feet. I’ll try that again this week. Wish us luck!