Canadian remembrance of the Great War (1914-1918) in the early twenty-first century is often associated with grand gestures at national monuments like the opening of the new Canadian War Museum in 2005 and the restoration of the Vimy Ridge Memorial in 2007. However, these sites of memory, what Pierre Nora terms lieux de mémoire, are not part of the everyday environments of memory, the milieux de mémoire, of most Canadians. In my investigation of three contemporary works of Canadian literature: The Danger Tree by David Macfarlane, Broken Ground by Jack Hodgins, and Unity (1918) by Kevin Kerr, locally-based storytellers describe the continued influence of the Great War on their individual Canadian communities. The fictionalized narrating personas in these three works create what I refer to as bio-geographies: first-person accounts of the narrator’s particular social and memory environments. While the bio-geographers in these three texts lack first-hand experience of the Great War, their writing reflects the continued repercussions of the conflict in the weeks, years, and decades after the 1918 armistice. The Great War differentially affected thousands of communities in Canada and Newfoundland. Constructing a coherent national narrative that accounts for the multiple lived experiences of individuals in communities across North America is virtually impossible. Turning to local representations of the Great War (in the case of the three bio-geographic texts: depictions of communities in Newfoundland, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan) provides a sense of the nation as a diverse landscape of memory with multiple vantage points. Negotiating the complex terrain of self, place, and memory, the bio-geographers in the three works I examine create representations of the past that reveal how sites of memory, lieux de mémoire, come to be firmly embedded in the ongoing lived experiences of comunity members, the milieux de mémoire.

Canadian remembrance of the Great War (1914-1918) in the early twenty-first century is often associated with grand gestures at national monuments like the opening of the new Canadian War Museum in 2005 and the restoration of the Vimy Ridge Memorial in 2007. However, these sites of memory, what Pierre Nora terms lieux de mémoire, are not part of the everyday environments of memory, the milieux de mémoire, of most Canadians. In my investigation of three contemporary works of Canadian literature: The Danger Tree by David Macfarlane, Broken Ground by Jack Hodgins, and Unity (1918) by Kevin Kerr, locally-based storytellers describe the continued influence of the Great War on their individual Canadian communities. The fictionalized narrating personas in these three works create what I refer to as bio-geographies: first-person accounts of the narrator’s particular social and memory environments. While the bio-geographers in these three texts lack first-hand experience of the Great War, their writing reflects the continued repercussions of the conflict in the weeks, years, and decades after the 1918 armistice. The Great War differentially affected thousands of communities in Canada and Newfoundland. Constructing a coherent national narrative that accounts for the multiple lived experiences of individuals in communities across North America is virtually impossible. Turning to local representations of the Great War (in the case of the three bio-geographic texts: depictions of communities in Newfoundland, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan) provides a sense of the nation as a diverse landscape of memory with multiple vantage points. Negotiating the complex terrain of self, place, and memory, the bio-geographers in the three works I examine create representations of the past that reveal how sites of memory, lieux de mémoire, come to be firmly embedded in the ongoing lived experiences of comunity members, the milieux de mémoire.

Canadian remembrance of the Great War (1914-1918) in the early twenty-first century is often associated with grand gestures at national monuments like the opening of the new Canadian War Museum in 2005 and the restoration of the Vimy Ridge Memorial in 2007. However, these sites of memory, what Pierre Nora terms lieux de mémoire, are not part of the everyday environments of memory, the milieux de mémoire, of most Canadians. In my investigation of three contemporary works of Canadian literature: The Danger Tree by David Macfarlane, Broken Ground by Jack Hodgins, and Unity (1918) by Kevin Kerr, locally-based storytellers describe the continued influence of the Great War on their individual Canadian communities. The fictionalized narrating personas in these three works create what I refer to as bio-geographies: first-person accounts of the narrator’s particular social and memory environments. While the bio-geographers in these three texts lack first-hand experience of the Great War, their writing reflects the continued repercussions of the conflict in the weeks, years, and decades after the 1918 armistice. The Great War differentially affected thousands of communities in Canada and Newfoundland. Constructing a coherent national narrative that accounts for the multiple lived experiences of individuals in communities across North America is virtually impossible. Turning to local representations of the Great War (in the case of the three bio-geographic texts: depictions of communities in Newfoundland, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan) provides a sense of the nation as a diverse landscape of memory with multiple vantage points. Negotiating the complex terrain of self, place, and memory, the bio-geographers in the three works I examine create representations of the past that reveal how sites of memory, lieux de mémoire, come to be firmly embedded in the ongoing lived experiences of comunity members, the milieux de mémoire. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Ensemble creation in Canada is a popular form of script development. It began essentially in the 1970’s with The Farm Show, and has become the site for much theoretical and critical discussion. The Electric Company Theatre began as an ensemble in 1996 and since then has created fascinating productions with a range of topics in both site specific and touring venues. Brilliant! The Blinding Enlightenment of Nikola Tesla was a cornerstone piece for this group and existed in a number of incarnations before the script was eventually published in 2004 and the production toured again in 2006. This thesis examines how the Electric Company Theatre developed material for performance as an ensemble. I also discuss how the Electrics were influenced by the various resources they used in order to generate text and imagery for the production. Through these discussions, I argue that the collective creation product has a direct influence on the process. My research has mostly been conducted through interviews with company members, through research of their production history and script.

Ensemble creation in Canada is a popular form of script development. It began essentially in the 1970’s with The Farm Show, and has become the site for much theoretical and critical discussion. The Electric Company Theatre began as an ensemble in 1996 and since then has created fascinating productions with a range of topics in both site specific and touring venues. Brilliant! The Blinding Enlightenment of Nikola Tesla was a cornerstone piece for this group and existed in a number of incarnations before the script was eventually published in 2004 and the production toured again in 2006. This thesis examines how the Electric Company Theatre developed material for performance as an ensemble. I also discuss how the Electrics were influenced by the various resources they used in order to generate text and imagery for the production. Through these discussions, I argue that the collective creation product has a direct influence on the process. My research has mostly been conducted through interviews with company members, through research of their production history and script.

Ensemble creation in Canada is a popular form of script development. It began essentially in the 1970’s with The Farm Show, and has become the site for much theoretical and critical discussion. The Electric Company Theatre began as an ensemble in 1996 and since then has created fascinating productions with a range of topics in both site specific and touring venues. Brilliant! The Blinding Enlightenment of Nikola Tesla was a cornerstone piece for this group and existed in a number of incarnations before the script was eventually published in 2004 and the production toured again in 2006. This thesis examines how the Electric Company Theatre developed material for performance as an ensemble. I also discuss how the Electrics were influenced by the various resources they used in order to generate text and imagery for the production. Through these discussions, I argue that the collective creation product has a direct influence on the process. My research has mostly been conducted through interviews with company members, through research of their production history and script. / Arts, Faculty of / Theatre and Film, Department of / Graduate