Jars Balan, Edmonton
Canadian Content on the Ukrainian Canadian Stage: New World Themes in Plays Written by Immigrant Authors in the Interwar Era

The years between the First and Second World Wars saw both the maturation and the peak in vitality of Ukrainian-language theatre in Canada, as well as the beginning of its gradual decline. At the same time, the repertoire of the Ukrainian Canadian stage began to include an impressive number of plays that were not only written in Canada, but featured Canadian settings and New World themes. Given the large audiences which attended Ukrainian dramatic performances and the important role that theatre played in the activities of Ukrainian community organizations, it is not surprising that immigrant playwrights should want to address local issues in their works and to appeal to the changing tastes of their increasingly Canadianized public. While plays from the Old Country still dominated the repertoires of amateur ensembles regardless of their size, level of sophistication, and political or religious affiliation, a growing body of theatrical literature produced by authors in Canada began to be incorporated into the dramatic programming of Ukrainian halls across the country during the 1920s and 1930s. My paper will discuss these works and their authors, while attempting to gauge the impact which Canadian content plays had on the cultural life of those who participated in the mass phenomenon that was the Ukrainian Canadian stage.