A little shameless self-promotion

About a year ago, I had my first taste of life as a television actor in Toronto.

An instructor of mine from the University of Western Ontario, Rita Deverell, had written a docu-drama, Not A Drop, based on a real class offered during the 2007 spring semester on diversity journalism. Diversity journalism, as we came to understand it, is about looking at stories from the perspective of a worldview different from our own.

Everyone experiences life through a unique lens and their perceptions are shaped by their culture, race, ethnicity, religion, family background, sexual orientation, economic situation, age and ability. Often, fear of these inherent differences means journalists don't talk to all the people connected to an issue and miss an important part of the story. Overcoming that fear, recognizing one's own prejudices and learning to listen to other voices is at the heart of diversity journalism. 

Rita wrote the script for the docu-drama with certain students in mind for each role, and dramatized our circumstances to make a point about diversity. We all had input into our characters, and the entire process — from vetting drafts of the script to filming scenes at Wallace Studios in Toronto and on location at the Walpole Island First Nation near Sarnia, Ontario — ended up being quite a powerful learning experience for everyone involved.

An excerpt from the press release explains the premise:

When students of diverse backgrounds — Japanese-Chinese (Hiromi Okuyama); caucasian (Alexandra Pope), and Afro-Canadian (Jeremy McDonald) — claim they are already “diverse enough,” their professor, a black, former U.S. southerner (played by Stefanie Samuels) and an Aboriginal activist (Pamela Matthews of One Dead Indian) take up the challenge and assign the class to report on the Walpole Island First Nation, located in what the locals in Windsor, Sarnia, and Detroit call 'Chemical Valley.'

"The people of the Walpole Island First Nation feel they represent all those communities who have not yet been able to say ‘No’ to the toxic living conditions some industries create,” says Rita Deverell, producer/director of Not a Drop. “My message with Not a Drop is that while we as journalists can be serious whistle blowers, taking action isn’t always part of the story – and I am deeply grateful to OMNI for their support in helping focus attention on this particular story, in hopes that real life action will be taken.”

The result of Not a Drop is that its characters — as well as its viewers — are provided with a first-hand learning experience about the deeply troubling issues of so-called “disposable peoples” in North America.

The finished piece premiered in Walpole Island in summer 2008 and at Wallace Studios in December. In honour of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Not a Drop will air in Portuguese on OMNI Television on March 21 at 10 p.m. ET and in English on March 22 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

If you have an hour to spare, it's worth tuning in.

(Photo: Me taking direction from Rita during filming at Wallace Studios)