A Tremendous Responsibility: The Words and Work of Vera Manuel

Vera Manuel was a Ktunaxa-Secwepemc writer and educator who used theatre to heal her communities. The daughter of a residential school survivor, she used plays to tell the stories of survivors, long before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission began its work. Although her work was labelled dramatherapy, her sister Emalene Manuel suggests that what they were trying to do was “decolonize theatre.” Co-editors Michelle Coupal, Deanna Reder, Joanne Arnott, and Emalene Manuel collect Manuel’s plays, poetry, and stories and contextualize the work in accompanying essays.