A roundtable conversation with Indigenous storytellers and artists Ashleigh Giffen, Margo Kane, and Renae Morriseau.
Location: Room 485, UBC Robson Square
Type: In Conversation, Indigenous Curator Program
Moderator: Frances Kocan · Guest Indigenous Curator
Readers: Ashleigh Giffen, Margo Kane, Renae Morriseau
About The Moderator
Frances Koncan
Frances Koncan (she/they) is an Anishinaabe and Slovene playwright currently living in Vancouver, British Columbia. Originally from Couchiching First Nation, they grew up on Treaty 1 territory in Winnipeg, Manitoba and attended the University of Manitoba (BA Psychology) and the City University of New York Brooklyn College (MFA Playwriting). Their plays have been presented at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, the National Arts Centre, the Stratford Festival, and more. They are an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia. Published plays include Women of the Fur Trade, zahgidiwin/love, and Space Girl (upcoming on September 15th!)
About The Readers
Ashleigh Giffen
Ashleigh Giffen (Galaxie) is a 27 year old mixed Oji-Cree multi-disciplinary artist. She is a recipient of a silver commission and an artist residency at the Arts Club Theatre Company. Her theatre pieces and poetry have been featured in Briarpatch Magazine, Canadian Arts and Stories, and Room Magazine. She has been in several cohorts and theatre programs including Green Thumb Playwrights Gym, Momentum 180 Parallel Project, and Block A with PTC theatre. Her filmwork and collages have been shown in the Polygon Gallery, as well as both the Kelowna and Lake Country Art Gallery. Ashleigh is also a co-creator of the Moody Garden Collective. She currently lives in the stolen and occupied territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations with her two kitties.
Margo Kane
Cree-Saulteaux Metis performing artist, Margo Kane is the Founder and Artistic Managing Director of Full Circle: First Nations Performance. With a career spanning over 50 years, she has made significant contributions as an actor, performing artist, and community cultural worker. Her commitment to sharing meaningful artistic performances with Indigenous peoples has been the driving force behind her extensive work, travels, and consultations with Indigenous communities throughout Canada and abroad. Kane’s celebrated one-woman production, Moonlodge, is regarded as an Indigenous Canadian classic. The show toured nationally and internationally for more than a decade, earning high praise from critics and audiences alike. During the inaugural Festival of the Dreaming in Australia, The Sydney Press lauded the performance, describing it as "in the top echelon of solo performance."
As a trailblazer in Indigenous Performing Arts, she developed and runs the annual Talking Stick Festival which celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2021 and numerous programs including Moccasin Trek: Arts on the Move!, and Indian Acts. These initiatives have provided valuable opportunities for Indigenous artists and have fostered community engagement through the arts. Margo Kane’s outstanding contributions to the performing arts have been recognized with several prestigious awards and honors including an International Citation of Merit from ISPA – International Society for the Performing Arts, an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of the Fraser Valley, the Order of Canada from the Governor-General, an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from SFU – Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC. and the National Arts Centre Award for Distinguished Contribution to Touring, Ottawa, ON Canada.
Renae Morriseau
Renae is a Cree/Anishinaabe (Saulteaux), multifaceted, intertribal artist involved in music, theatre, film, and television across Turtle Island. Through her community-oriented art practices, and production management skills, she has dedicated her life to sharing Indigenous stories. She is the manager and vocalist for M’Girl Music, an Aboriginal Women’s hand drum vocal ensemble, for almost two decades. She has trained new M’Girls in songs, and protocols of her Nêhiyawi/Anishinaabe culture. She has managed international touring for M’Girl to Europe and Aotearoa (New Zealand) including across Turtle Island.
Her compositions are featured in films such as Broken Angel (2022), Angela’s Shadow (2024), as well as in Public Service Announcements (2025, 2020). Renae’s music was heard in theatre productions such as, Weaving Reconciliation: Our Way (2018) Secret to Good Tea, (2024/25) Rose, (2026). Moreover, Renae has directed documentary television programming, including Down2Earth (2014) and Quest Out West (2023, 2024), for its second and third seasons.
Renae has directed theatre, from new play readings, to directing new works by Indigenous playwrights including the lateTaran Kootenayhoo’s, White Noise and Rosanna Deerchild’s, Secret To Good Tea.
Renae completed Season 2 of Kokum and Dot, a children’s web and television series teaching the Cree/Nêhiyawi language. She composed the music for this 8 part series. Season 1 can now be seen of Telus On Demand. Currently, Renae is an instructor in the Indigenous Digital Film Program at Capilano University.
