Holiday Season News from Brock University in St. Catharines/Niagara
Posted December 3rd, 2025
When Molly Solomon brings her contemporary Fancy Shawl Dance to life in Brock University Dramatic Arts’ (DART) mainstage production, she will draw strength from her Ojibwe name, Ishkode Kwe.
The name, translated to “Fire Woman” and “First Spark in my Heart,” was gifted to the third-year DART student by her grandmother — and she wears it proudly, just like the handcrafted regalia she dons on stage.
Solomon plays the Maple Sugar Fairy in Brock’s upcoming production of Métis Nutcracker, which opens Friday, Dec. 5 at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre.
The new play was written by award-winning Canadian playwright and DART Assistant Professor Matthew MacKenzie, citizen of the Métis Nation of Alberta, and is directed and choreographed by celebrated theatre artist Monica Dottor.
Solomon says sharing her Indigenous heritage with the Brock community is a profound experience.
“I feel so welcome when my peers and mentors are genuinely curious to learn about my Indigenous identity,” she says.
Brimming with magic, song and dance — and sprinkled with a dash of playful audience interaction that may involve throwing snowballs at the stage — the story is inspired by MacKenzie’s family heritage.
In Métis Nutcracker, two Ukrainian refugees named Tatiana and Vanya are forced to flee from their home in the Red Pine Forest to escape the evil Rat King. They seek safety on Turtle Island where they are taken under the protection of the Métis Nutcracker, played by DART Walker Cultural Leader<https://brocku.ca/miwsfpa/walker-cultural-leaders-series/> and multidisciplinary artist Nicole Joy-Fraser.
Brock Dramatic Arts students are preparing for the University’s upcoming mainstage production of Métis Nutcracker written by award-winning Canadian playwright and Assistant Professor Matthew MacKenzie. Third-year student Ella Martin, Assistant Head of Wardrobe (left), adjusts third-year student Molly Solomon’s (centre) handmade Maple Sugar Fairy regalia, assisted by fourth-year student Nav Brar, Wardrobe Co-ordinator. Photo courtesy of Brock University
“They travel in the four directions learning about different nations and sacred medicines in the Land of Flowers, Land of Berries, Land of Snowflakes and Land of Pine Cones,” MacKenzie says of the characters’ journey in his adaptation of the classic Nutcracker tale.
Created for young audiences, the play celebrates identity and diversity.
“My son is Ukrainian and Métis, and I wanted to be able to speak to him about his Indigeneity while exploring concepts of colonialism in a way that he could understand,” MacKenzie says.
For Joy-Fraser, performing the role of the Métis Nutcracker also resonates with reclaiming their own Indigenous background. Joy-Fraser is a proud bear clan matriarch who grew up in Mississauga with Euro-Settler, Tsa’tinée, Nehiyaw and Métis bloodlines from Horse Lake First Nation in Alberta.
Paramount to the production was ensuring that youth — particularly those with an Indigenous background — had the opportunity to experience Métis Nutcracker. Support from St. Catharines theatre company Carousel Players helped to achieve this goal, with two school-day matinee performances now sold out.
“I hope every Indigenous child sitting in the audience sees themselves and their beliefs reflected in the beauty of the show,” Joy-Fraser says. “It’s magical storytelling embedded in nature, which is so much a part of who we are.”
Indigenous practices of cultural significance are woven throughout the play, including set pieces, costumes and regalia featuring intricate beadwork as well as custom painted canoe paddles, created in collaboration with Indigenous theatre cohort Pemmican Collective<https://www.pemmicancollective.com/>.
MacKenzie, who teaches Contemporary Canadian Indigenous Theatre, says learning about different Indigenous nations alongside the cast and crew has been transformative.
“Métis Nutcracker celebrates differences,” he says. “Everyone involved at Brock has come together to honour those differences, putting the ‘action’ in truth and reconciliation.”
As the first Indigenous DART faculty member to write an original mainstage production for the University, MacKenzie says the in-house work of Indigenizing theatre is gaining momentum.
MacKenzie is also excited to see more Indigenous representation at the University in the future.
“We have such a supportive environment at the MIWSFPA, a true willingness and curiosity to learn,” he says. “Our conversations are centred on this performance, but they will carry forward.”
Additional performances of Métis Nutcracker will take place Saturday, Dec. 6 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. General admission tickets are $25 and tickets for students and seniors are $20. Visit Brock University Tickets<https://brocku.universitytickets.com/?cid=185> to reserve seats.
MacKenzie and Joy-Fraser will also host a public artist talk<https://experiencebu.brocku.ca/event/308199> related to the production at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre on Friday, Dec. 5.
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