When artist Norval Morrisseau suffered a life-threatening illness as a teenager, and conventional medicine brought no improvement, his mother called an Anishnaabe medicine woman. During a healing ceremony, she gave him the new name Copper Thunderbird.

Morrisseau went on to become one of North America’s most revered Aboriginal artists, achieving international acclaim and honoured as a member of the Order of Canada and an Anishnaabe Grand Shaman. But Morrisseau also faced his share of hardship and controversy.

His story inspired playwright Marie Clements to conceive the play Copper Thunderbird, which premiered this May at the National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa. Clements received a 2005 Banff Centre Fleck Fellowship for Copper Thunderbird and she developed the play over the course of three workshop residencies in Banff.

During the final residency, I spoke to Clements and National Arts Centre English Theatre artistic director Peter Hinton.

Where did the play begin?

Marie Clements: I saw a photo of Norval Morrisseau sitting on the edge of a bed on Vancouver’s eastside. It was a hard-on-your-heart kind of image that became the starting point for the play. We begin at the lowest point in his life in 1987, when the media were down on him and people were very vocal in their criticism of his work.

This play was part of the NAC’s Artist in Society season. What does it say about the role of artists?

Peter Hinton: I am trying to address issues that speak to the value and role of the arts in society, what contribution they make. What is art worth? Putting a dollar value on an artwork can make the artist famous, but then people accuse them of exploiting their art. And this theme emerged – asking how deeply we value culture – should theatre be an entertainment or should it address more serious issues?

What is it like creating a new work here at The Banff Centre?

Hinton: Creating a new play is different than mounting an existing play – the challenges are different. You have a delicate balance between creation and interpretation. Normally you are thinking what is this going to be like? But Marie’s job is to create something we have never seen before. There is great risk, and fear, but also great excitement and liberation.

This is our third time in Banff. The first workshop was just myself, Marie, and dramaturge Paula Danckert, and was focused on the script. In the second, we brought in our set, costume, and lighting designers and considered the visual world of the play, and in the third we brought in six actors and looked at the performative nature of the work.

Clements: The Banff Centre has a long history of supporting Aboriginal work, and both Peter and I have been here before as artists. When you come to Banff you arrive at a neutral place and then you are allowed to create. To have the resources and support you need, like computers and a beautiful rehearsal hall, is an incredible help when you have a show to create.

Hinton: I am always struck when I am here by how incredibly concentrated my time is. I am able to focus in a way I cannot in a city, I think in a different way. You get into bad habits in the city, you are constantly distracted. Here you can focus. And, at the risk of cliché, nature is a deep stimulus for the creative act. At some point in every workshop in Banff someone will say, “Look out the window.” And there is beauty there to inspire.