In this first episode, Cheryl introduces us to her scholarship and a major through line of her work—how systems of production intersect with gender, race, and power structures. Describing blackface as a “socializing agent” during the 19th century, Cheryl explains how the theater acted not only as a form of entertainment, but a powerful educational tool on US enslavement, westward expansion, and the Jim Crow era. Without a school system or nationwide curriculum in place, minstrel shows taught audiences about these topics—but from an extremely biased point of view that introduced or reinforced existing narratives of Black people in the US North and South. Last, Cheryl connects back to the topic of infrastructure, illustrating how the railroads in Canada were integral to the growth of traveling theater groups.

In the second episode, Dr. Cheryl Thompson, Associate Professor in Performance at Toronto Metropolitan University, digs into the timeline and conflict of her book, Canada and the Blackface Atlantic: Performing Slavery, Conflict, and Freedom, 1812-1897 (https://www.wlupress.wlu.ca/Books/C/C...) . First, she discusses the difficulty in choosing a starting point for the title. Aiming to include the theater’s rich history, she elected to begin at the War of 1812—one of the defining moments of Canada and its burgeoning identity—and intersperse the theater’s techniques and history throughout the book. Additionally, as Cheryl explains, the War of 1812 revealed Canada’s varying viewpoints, with factions of Loyalists versus pro-America/Republic groups, and, later during the US Civil War, Unionists versus Confederates.