The History.

“Bunk #7” began as a series of scattered writings as Larry Guno was chronicling his experiences at residential school as a Nisga’a youth. 2000, he told his good friend in Terrace, Marianne Brorup Weston, a director and actor in community theatre, the story of a riot in residential school in 1959. Marianne told Larry it would make a great play. “Funny you should say that...” was his response.

Larry and Marianne were involved in the First Nations theatre company, Skeena River Players, at the time. Marianne suggested a dramaturg could help Larry shape the story into a play. She found Yvette Nolan, a playwright (Annie Mae’s Movement, Blade) in Halifax, and was able to secure funding to bring her to Terrace.

Yvette Nolan took on the challenge, and their work began. When she became Artistic Director of Native Earth Performing Arts, she brought the play into her fold for development. Larry and Marianne spent several years travelling back and forth working on numerous drafts. This work led to a staged reading at the Weesageechak Begins to Dance 16 Festival in Toronto in 2003, which Marianne directed at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.

Larry and Marianne traveled between Terrace and Toronto. In 2005, Bunk # 7 was chosen to premiere as part of the Native Earth season, in February 2006. In June 2005, Larry brought Marianne a copy of the glossy flyer announcing the première. There was one rewrite left. Larry expressed his deep desire to have his play shown to his own people, and Marianne promised she would do this. Two weeks later, she received a call to go to the hospital. Larry was dead.

With the play unfinished and the playwright gone, NEPA suspended the project. Many hearts were broken.

Subsequently, Yvette presented a staged tribute to “Bunk #7” and Larry’s legacy at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, attended by the Guno family. Marianne reaffirmed with the family her vow Larry that she would find a way to finish the play, and one day direct and produce it for Larry’s people. In 2008, Marianne, who had stewardship of “Bunk #7”, granted by the Guno family, contacted playwright Michael Armstrong about working to complete the play and bring it to the stage, support by the Kermode Friendship Centre. Michael flew to Terrace to work with Marianne to direct a series of readings of the play with at risk Kermode youth and IRS survivors in FN communities in northwest BC, including Larry's home town of New Aiyansh.

Subsequently, Michael received a Canada Council grant to work on refining the script. Using Larry's own extensive notes, several new drafts were completed. Larry himself became the narrator character in this version, which contains a series of monologues excerpted from Larry's notes, commenting on the past.

The play was dormant for several years. A northwest production directed by Marianne was cancelled, when Larry’s younger brother Ray Guno unexpectedly passed away in November 2012;

Ray, who attended Port Alberni Residential School, was to play Larry in the narrator version of show. In summer 2013, Yvette Nolan travelled to Terrace to meet with Marianne and for the first time witness Nisga’a Territory, the Nass Valley and New Aiyansh (now Gitlaxt’aamiks). Yvette was doing research for her book, “Medicine Shows” which includes an excerpt from “Bunk #7”. Cheryl Croucher of Porcupine Stone Productions discovered “Bunk #7” while working on a history of the residential school. She and Michael Armstrong, presented “Bunk #7” concurrent with the Truth and Reconciliation Hearings in Edmonton in 2014, hosted by CKUA Radio and funded by the Alberta Aboriginal Performing Arts Association. The Guno family attended the event. Following this, they rejected the changes to the script. Specifically they disagreed with the use of pig masks for the school staff, and the inclusion of Larry as the Narrator. In 2017, they reinstated Larry’s 2005 version as the starting point for finishing and staging the play.

In 2018, Donna Michelle’s anthology “Indian Act” – inspired by “Bunk #7”, received its book launch at Weesageechak Begins to Dance 31, in Toronto. Her reading from ““Bunk #7”” received overwhelming acclaim. As a result, the Raven Collective incorporated in October 2018 to fulfill Larry’s legacy. “Bunk #7” returned to Weesageechak Begins to Dance 32 in November 2019. Yvette and Donna revised the script, in preparation for the May 2020 presentations.

Marianne began work with Yvette Nolan as living writer, Donna Michelle St. Bernard as dramaturg, Eryn Griffith (Globe Theatre) as visual consultant, and National Theatre School alumnus Kat Maclean to workshop local actors and present “Bunk #7” in Gitlaxt’aamiks, Terrace and other communities in May 2020. Also working with the emerging actors on transformation scenes were Mike Dangeli, Dr. Miqu’el Dangeli, Simoighet Nisyok Martin Adams, Wal-Aks Keane Tait and Studio 58 alumnus Cameron Peal.

In March 2020, COVID 19 was declared a pandemic and Canada went into lockdown. Once again, “Bunk #7” was put on hold.