Roll for Initiative: Children's play uses fantasy setting to tackle systemic racism

Roll for Initiative explores themes of acceptance, courage and standing up for what is right, by using a dice-rolling fantasy world to engage audiences. (Photo courtesy Cloudsway Dance Theatre)

Kunji Ikeda loves fantasy stories like the Lord of the Rings trilogy as much as anyone, but always found the racial subtext underneath those imaginative universes a little troubling.

"I adore Tolkien and I think he was ahead of his times in many respects," Ikeda said in a release, "but the fantasy genre has a lot of problematic tropes that are finally starting to be discussed and re-examined."

Basically, by 'problematic tropes', Ikeda means for a long time in fantasy fiction, heroes were white guys, while villains were frequently not even human, but rather things like Orcs, whom J.R. Tolkien himself described as "squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, with wide mouths and slant eyes."

Ikeda, a former Calgarian who teaches in the theatre department at the University of British Columbia, created Roll for Initiative, a show that follows the story of a half-orc named Teji who faces discrimination and prejudice living in a world where magic is forbidden for orcs.

Kunji Ikeda and Daniel Fong

The show opened Wednesday night at C Space in Calgary, with performances Thursday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.

Roll for Initiative explores themes of acceptance, courage and standing up for what is right, by using a dice-rolling fantasy world to engage audiences.

It's recommended for audiences nine years old and up and offers a message about the impact of systemic racism, environmentalism, and the power of unity.

Ikeda previously explored some of these themes in his solo show Sansei: The Storyteller and turned video games into a Calgary Fringe Festival hit with 8 Bit: The Video Game Dance Show, so he's got a track record in both areas.

"This is my attempt to bring a lived understanding of systemic racism," he says, in a release, through a heart-warming adventure.

"Systemic racism is a complex issue," he adds, "but through the lens of this fantasy world and its characters, we hope to spark conversations and encourage empathy and understanding in young audiences."

Roll for Initiative features new compositions from Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra's Donovan Seidle, and is directed by Daniel Fong, who just starred in Theatre Calgary's Forgiveness.

For tickets and info, go here.