Yellow Bellies

Premiered in 2016

Yellow Bellies is an historical drama that highlights the experiences and public response to Mennonite Conscientious Objectors during WWII. This episodic tale takes audiences across Canada, featuring verbatim interviews, fictionalized scenes, and live music from an often-overlooked chapter of Canadian history.

Yellow Bellies is a reflection on World War II Conscientious Objectors, exploring both the guilt and the pride of this polarizing issue. Is it cowardly to not fight for your country in a time of utter chaos, where every man could make an impact? Or is it a brave choice to stand beside your beliefs and try to make an impact at home? Yellow Bellies was first staged as a reading on April 15, 2016, at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives, one of the main resources in the creation of the play. It opened on June 11 of the same year, at the University of Waterloo’s Theatre of the Arts, to a huge audience. Be a part of Yellow Bellies first tour. Listen to Rudy Enns and Alvin Bender, the men who said “No.”

Audio Drama

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Playwrights: Johnny Wideman & Rebecca Steiner

Director: Sukhpreet Sangha

Editor: Michal Heuston

Check out our teaser tRailer!

A huge thank you to MCEC, our lead sponsor!

Theatre of the Beat presents a three episode Audio Drama series of Yellow Bellies. This historical drama highlights the experiences and public response to Mennonite conscientious objectors during World War II. This episodic tale takes audiences across Canada, featuring verbatim interviews, fictionalized scenes, and songs that would have been sung by conscientious objectors, from an often overlooked chapter of Canadian history.

To keep the arts alive and our communities engaged during this pandemic, we have adapted the original stage version of Yellow Bellies into a piece of art that can be enjoyed while physically distancing.

Audiences can listen to a thirty minute episode of Yellow Bellies and enjoy the audio drama solely as a piece of theatre, or engage in our study guides and react to the material in a group context. We are offering a full, hour-long arts experience that is ideal for church programming for both youth and adults, family discussions, community forums or even school at home. Our format enables educators and churches to engage with the piece virtually. It is an all-in-one package that requires little to no prep on the host’s end but can lead to community-building discussions.

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Interested in bringing this audio drama to your community?

Package Option #1

Yellow Bellies the Audio Drama in Canadian Mennonite. Pictured: Cedric Martin — Yellow Bellies the Audio Drama in Canadian Mennonite.
Pictured: Cedric Martin

$250 CAD for all three episodes and all three study guides

Add-on Option

$100 CAD per session for a cast member to come and lead the study guide. (Availability dependant)

Package Option #2

$175 CAD for all three episodes. No study guides are included.

*Please note* We are able to offer an exclusive discount to all MCEC churches, thanks to a generous sponsorship from MCEC.

Package Option #3

$18 CAD for all three episodes for individual purchasers

Click here to learn more about the show.

Press For Yellow Bellies

Read our interview with Canadian Mennonite about Yellow Bellies the Audio Drama here.

Read the review from SesayArts Magazine about Yellow Bellies the Audio Drama here.

Read the review from Entertain This Thought about Yellow Bellies the Audio Drama here.

Cast:

Cedric is a Toronto-based actor, director, producer and playwright. Cedric is the Artistic Director of Theatre of the Beat, as well as Co-Artistic Director of Don't Look Down Theatre Company. Recent credits for Theatre of the Beat: Rudy in Yellow Bellies (on stage), and Stage Manager of Selah's Song. Don't Look Down credits: Brian in Skyline, Dan in The Valley, Frank in Never Swim Alone, John in Rose of Youth. Directing credits include: The Ends of the Earth, Criminal Genius, Not Good, and Local Man Ruins Everything, as well as Dramaturge for Here lies Henry. Film work: Winterbourne: A Horror Anthology, (Stained Glass Media,) Bourne Obstruction, (Kevin O’Connor,) Frost, (Heather McDowell.) Cedric also likes to spend time working with the youth at his church, and spending time with his wife, Alyse.

Joseph McLellan grew up exposed to a variety of music and enjoys playing and listening to many different styles. He currently studies classical guitar at University of Waterloo. Outside of school he plays with ensembles ranging from jazz and rock groups to worship groups and everything in between.

Kimberlee Walker

Kimberlee Walker is a social worker, actor, and Applied Theatre facilitator. After graduating from the University of Waterloo’s Peace and Conflict Studies program with a Drama minor, Kimberlee became a founding member of Theatre of the Beat in 2011 and has been involved in the company in some way ever since. She performed in nearly all of the company’s major touring productions; selected credits include the roles of Sue Steiner in Gadfly, Robyn in Forgiven/Forgotten, and Alex in This Will Lead to Dancing. After receiving a Master’s of Social Work degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, Kimberlee developed TOTB’s “Restorative Justice Theatre Program” at Grand Valley Institution for Women. This program marks the first time that a professional theatre company has collaborated with federally incarcerated women in Canada, and has been the subject of a recent academic publication. Kimberlee is passionate about using the arts as a tool for personal and social change, and is thankful to have many opportunities to do so. In addition to her theatrical pursuits with TOTB, Kimberlee has held a number of social work positions and now works as a therapist at Transformation Counselling. In her spare time, Kimberlee enjoys training on the aerial hoop and eating rainbow sherbet.

Johnny Wideman is a playwright, short storyist, dramaturg, actor, facilitator, and the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award for his work in Theatre from Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo. Wideman received his Honours Bachelor of Arts in Drama from the University of Waterloo, ON, and the University of Sussex, UK. In June of 2011, he founded the grass-roots social justice theatre company, Theatre of the Beat. In 2012, Wideman’s first screenplay GODART was awarded "Best Low-Budget Feature Film" at the Toronto Independent Film Festival and “Official Selection” at the Polish Independent Film Festival. Wideman’s work has been performed over 260 times throughout the U.S. and across Canada, including: This Prison or: He came Through the Floor, Gadfly: Sam Steiner Dodges the Draft, Forgiven/Forgotten, A Bicycle Built for Two, This Will Lead to Dancing, and Yellow Bellies.

Production team:

Sukhpreet Sangha is a theatremaker, lawyer, poet, and barfly. After studying theatre and English at the University of Waterloo, she studied law at Osgoode Hall and questions that decision regularly. She spends her days working in legal education at a non-profit dedicated to youth and her nights, well, wouldn't you like to know. She is co-Artistic Director of Informal Upright Theatre Collective.

A recent graduate from the RTA School of Media, Michal Heuston is a filmmaker and editor currently based out of Toronto with an enthusiasm for exploring different ways of storytelling. In everything they do, Michal aims to create accessible content that people can connect with, while promoting inclusivity and diversity in their work. Most recently, Michal has worked as the editor on Body So Fluorescent, an upcoming short film adapted from the award-winning theatre production, set to premiere at this year's Inside Out Festival. They've also recently worked as a co-editor and the post-production supervisor on Nancy's Workshop, a short documentary film for the CBC Short Docs program that was an official selection at this year's Hot Docs Festival. Other recent works include creating an artist feature short for CBC Arts, as well as working as an editor and social media content creator on BA Johnston's Ham Jam, a Bell Fibe comedy documentary webseries. On days off, Michal can be found painting or on a hiking trail with their partner, Matt.

Johnny Wideman is a playwright, short storyist, dramaturg, actor, facilitator, and founder of Full Bodied Short Stories. As a playwright, his work has been published by Theatre of the Beat, and performed over 260 times throughout the U.S. and across Canada. As an author he has been published in Geez Magazine, and the Utne Quarterly, and released his first collection of poems and short stories To Aid Digestion in 2017. Johnny lives in Stouffville, ON in the Das Farm Haus Community with his partner Leah and their friends.

Playwright Rebecca Steiner

Rebecca Steiner studied performance and its intersection with a wide array of subjects at the University of Waterloo. As a founding member of Theatre of the Beat, and with company roles of playwright, director, and actor in several of TOTB's productions, staging change always remains near to her heart. While highlights include Gadfly, Forgiven/Forgotten, Selah's Song, and A Bicycle Built for Two, Rebecca's swan song was co-writing, workshopping, and directing the original Yellow Bellies cast, after which, she began the dramatic endeavour of parenting! Most recently, she co-founded a company that curates thrift and second-hand finds, called REBYL goods. Rebecca is thrilled to see TOTB's growth, impact, and brave new projects.