Winnipeg playwright Tricia Cooper’s new play tells the story of a Canadian family who takes in one of The Lost Boys of Sudan. The project could not have come at a more apt time. “Social Studies” opens its two-week Vancouver run on the 21st of November, at the Firehall Theatre. The Syrian Refugee Crisis is weighing heavy on the global conscience today. In this climate of excessive opinions and equally under-represented facts, Tricia draws on her own unique experience to illustrate just how taking in refugees is really not the end of the world. Relax, already! Tricia is a writer, an actor and a comedian. She has written plays that have won awards at Fringe Festivals all over Canada. She has also written several short plays that have collected many accolades: “Two for Tea”, “www.playdate.com”, and “In Session”. When Tricia’s mother took a Sudanese refugee into her home almost a decade ago, Tricia was inspired to write her first full-length play. She talked to me about writing “Social Studies” and its relevance in today’s pressing political atmosphere.
“Social Studies” was inspired by true events from your life. Can you tell us more about the premise of the play and how it came about?
When I was living in Toronto, as an actor slash waiter, I was not doing very well. I was feeling sorry for myself. My agent had fired me, I was single and unemployed, and I was going to move back in with my Mom in Winnipeg! My Mom was like “Sure! But I’ve given your room to this guy, who is a refugee from the Sudan”. I was like, “Oh! How long is he staying?” and she said, “Well, who knows? A few years perhaps?” I ended up staying for a couple of months with him and my Mom. That was the germ for the beginning of the play. The springboard! The story came from the experience of getting to know him and from the reactions we got from other people. Reactions like “Oh my God! What is your Mom doing?” and “Who is this guy? Does she even know him?” He was very nice and we had a couple of interesting cultural clashes, but there was no real drama in that story. When I started to write, everything was based on truth. Later I had to take that plain story and inject drama into it. I played some things up and completely added others.
What year was this in?
The play is set in 2006. He had been in Canada a year and a half at that point, so the play is based not long after it all happened. A big group of The Lost Boys came to Canada in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Was it a very scandalous event for a quiet town?
It wasn’t scandalous. It’s just that it wasn’t through a program or anything like that. My Mom and her friend went to a conference on war-affected children. They found out there that this refugee was living in an apartment and he was trying to go to school full-time. He wasn’t homeless or anything but there were six guys living in that apartment with him. It was not a conducive environment for studying. He was out of harms way there in a sense, but still, Winnipeg is cold! It is a long bus ride to the university and she just thought she could help.
Do you think your Mom is braver than the average person for having taken such a big step?
Yeah I mean, she is very generous! She really does walk the walk. We have a lot of fun at the expense of the character of the mother in the play, but she is not at all based on my Mom. I think what my Mom did is amazing and she still is very generous. She really does feel like she has enough. She doesn’t need anymore. I have asked her before, “If you won the lottery, what would you do? How would you live?” And she really wouldn’t live any differently. She would probably give it all away or to us! I mean, she lives in a nice cottage and she gets to travel. It’s not like she is living like a pauper or anything, but she has an attitude that is really admirable to me.
Did her taking in a refugee affect your own personality and outlook on life?
Yes, it did. I was raised to know that we had a lot of privilege and that we were lucky. But you really can’t know. And I still never know! You can’t know how privileged you are until you are literally sharing a house with somebody who has been through what they have been through. When we travel and read, we can pick up on that to a certain degree. I definitely don’t think that I know all there is to know now. Our experience with the Sudanese refugee made me a more aware person. For example, when the federal government started cutting refugee healthcare I was just like, “Are you kidding me?” Are the refugees not going through enough that now we are not going to let them get their teeth cleaned?! It all became more personal to me, instead of it being some distant, terrible thing that the government was doing. After the experience I knew people that it directly affected. The issues refugees face have become closer to me.
This is your first full-length play. What was the creative process like for this project as opposed to the shorter plays you have written?
I really hope I can write another full-length play that doesn’t take as long as this one! There are a few reasons it took me so long. I had written pages and pages about all these characters but there wasn’t a full narrative or an ending in place. That took me a while. I was lucky to be in the playwrights unit at the Prairie Theatre Exchange in Winnipeg. I was able to meet with them every couple of weeks and get feedback. That was really helpful and really positive. I started writing this play when my daughter was one, and then I had a son after that. I would write like crazy and then I’d put it in the drawer. Then I’d write like crazy, apply for a grant, get a lot more done, and then put it in a drawer again. The play wasn’t always my first priority. It ultimately all came down to grade ten English- getting the beginning, middle and end. I come from sketch comedy so I felt like I knew how comedy works, but I really didn’t know how to pull it all together for the longest time!
Was it a smooth ride from being a waitress after University, to having your own play now?
God, no! It’s actually quite funny. When “Social Studies” was first playing in Winnipeg, it was getting great reviews and there was a wonderful buzz about it. But I still went to the grocery store and got denied from my bank account! It’s not an easy life to be an actor or a writer. It does sometimes feel a bit cheque-to-cheque. My partner is also in the same industry so at times it’s just like, “What are we doing this for?” But at other times it is wonderful and rewarding. Like getting to fly to Vancouver to see my play! This is all hugely exciting.
Although the play focuses on the adoption of a Sudanese refugee, it also examines what being Canadian is. What surprising discoveries did you make about the Canadian identity when writing the play?
One thing that I was surprised to find, for instance, was that when refugees come to Canada, they have to pay for their own flight here. We think of ourselves as saviours who are opening our doors but we are really charging refugees to get here. They have a year to pay back their flight. If they don’t pay it back within a year there is interest charged, so they basically come here in debt. Some refugees, like The Lost Boys, are sixteen, seventeen years old. They don’t have a house, they don’t have clothes and they have to make a monthly payment to pay off a $2000 flight. There are things like that where I’m like, “Are you kidding me?” It is wonderful that we can be proud as Canadians for opening our doors but we certainly don’t make it easy once they get here. I don’t think we are as good as we think we are!
You write humorous stories. Are comedies your favourite genre to write?
I think so. I don’t know that I have written anything that doesn’t involve comedy. There is a lot of tragedy in this particular story. I think comedy is all I know to write right now. Maybe as my writing develops I’ll write more drama.
Are you a funny person? I have heard that stand-up comics are quite depressing in real life.
That is really funny. I have experienced that too. I am not a stand-up comic but I think I am a funny person. I have found the same thing with people who have made comedy their career. They are very depressed and neurotic people. I guess I am neurotic but it hasn’t come with depression yet. Knock on wood!
With the pressing Syrian Refugee Crisis in the news, what mindset would you like to see Canadians adopt to alleviate the situation?
Even if it did take that terrible picture of the little boy on the beach, I have been moved by how many people are asking how they can help. I guess we can do practical things. There are just not enough programs that offer help to refugees when they get here. Refugees need jobs and they need housing. They need furniture. I think we have a tendency to be like, “Oh yeah, the government’s got that, they get welfare and they get this and that” but they really don’t! They get a little but it’s a very small amount. The guy that stayed with us, and all his friends, are still doing everything they can to send money home. They are not just trying to live on what they are getting. It is tough. If we acknowledge how rough refugees have it then there are things we can surely do. We can’t make assumptions about them being covered.
Is it difficult to get an audience or producers for socially conscious content?
I think Canadian regional theatres want socially conscious material. It is hard to get looked at for any play unless you are established. I was really lucky to be in the playwrights unit. I sent the “Social Studies” script out to as many theatres as I could think of. The director of my play in Winnipeg, Bob Metcalfe, talked it up like crazy. Artistic directors are all connected and they talk to each other about what they are working on and what they like. Donna from the Firehall then showed interest in the script. I think Canadian audiences do want plays with some meat. This is also a comedy so it makes the subject easier to take in. It is social conscience with some laughs. I have noticed more and more that people do want more than just a boy meets girl story.
From your life experience and from writing the play, do you find that there are more similarities between humans than differences? Can the world really be brought together?
Oh yes, absolutely! Ultimately we are all people. The refugee who stayed with us, and I, had a lot in common even though we came from crazy different backgrounds. We had more in common than we did not.
You are hopeful for the future then?
Yes! For sure.
Can you talk about a play, a movie or a book that changed your life?
Joan MacLeod, who has written several Canadian plays, wrote a play called “Amigo’s Blue Guitar”. I remember seeing that play staged years ago at Prairie Theatre Exchange. She also wrote “A Refugee Story”. I felt like I recognised myself, my family and my community in her work. It was the first time that I saw a contemporary play that I could relate to. It was so unlike the fun glitzy musicals, movies, TV shows or sitcoms that I was used to. Even the actors just looked like normal people. That was a big deal at the time.
What would you want the audience to walk out of your play with?
I hope that enough arguments are presented in the play that the audience can see that it is a fair fight. I hope the audience can see everybody’s side. Whether they agree more with one character than another, I hope they see everyone’s experiences. I also hope that they enjoy themselves and laugh a lot! When we are laughing we are taking it in. We have more of an appetite to learn when we are laughing.
I am really looking forward to seeing the play. I Googled all the actors and they all look great. It seems like a talented bunch.
You haven’t met the actors yet?
No! I haven’t met anyone besides Ritchie, who played Deng in the Winnipeg production. He is getting a huge opportunity. “Social Studies” in Winnipeg was his first professional show. He came to Canada from Liberia when he was very young, so many things in “Social Studies” resonate with him. I’m really excited to see him and all the other actors on stage!
“Social Studies” plays at the Firehall Theatre from the 21st of November till the 5th of December. Buy your tickets here!
-Prachi Kamble