THE SEED SAVERS
Directed by Michael Clark. Written by Katherine Koller. Starring John Wright, Maralyn Ryan, Jesse Gervais, Natasha Napoleao, David McInnis. La Cité Francophone (8627-91 St). Oct 29-Nov 8. Tickets available through the Workshop West box office (477-5955, ext. 301/www.workshopwest.org)

Old Macdonald had a farm. E-I-E-I-O. And on this farm, he accidentally grew copyrighted genetically-modified canola. E-I-E-I-O. With a lawsuit here, personal ruin there. E-I-E-I-O.

Or something like that.

Workshop West’s season-opening production, Katherine Koller’s new drama The Seed Savers, explores the confrontation that results when big biotech business runs up against that sacred prairie institution, the family farm.

“I think it’s nearly impossible for Albertans to not be connected to a farm in some way,” Koller says. “Even though I live in the city, I still feel a connection to agriculture — through the food that I eat, and to my friends and family who have farms.”

This feeling of connection to the family farm is what got Koller interested in the now-infamous case of Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser. His story has been told in countless forms (including documentaries with titles like The Future of Food and David Versus Monsanto), but here’s a quick recap. In 1998, Schmeiser discovered genetically-modified, herbicide-resistant canola growing in his field — canola he believes was blown there by the wind. The biotech giant Monsanto, who designed the invading strain of canola, took Schmeiser to court, alleging, somewhat incredibly, that Schmeiser had infringed upon their agricultural copyright. The lawsuit nearly ruined the family, but also became something of a test case in the battle between individual property rights and big business in the age of genetically modified food. Although The Seed Savers is neither a biography of Schmeiser nor a specific dramatization of his case, Koller uses a similar set of circumstances as a background for her play.

“I think this is an issue almost everyone has a stake in,” says Koller, referring to the encroachment of technology upon more traditional ways of life. “Technology has changed everything about us: how we live, how we communicate with each other, how and what we eat. This is a story that puts this conflict at the centre, and examines how technology impacts the people it touches.”

Especially poignant in The Seed Savers is the sense that, in a broad sense, the institution of the family farm may itself be under threat. “My characters, especially Joe and Mindy, will be recognizable to most people,” Koller says, “as they are a pretty typical farm family. There is a great deal of drama that occurs on a farm — farmers are always battling the elements, money is usually tight, and the relationship of the farmer to the earth and the weather is key. In this play, the wind is felt as almost another character. I love how [director and dramaturge Michael Clark] has used the wind to totally enmesh the audience in the play.”

Workshop West’s mandate is to develop and provide a performance forum for new plays, and Koller is particularly impressed by the relationship between dramaturge, director, writer, and cast within the company. “The attention to detail is huge,” she says, “and so is the commitment to getting the work just right. Michael has a great sense of how to tell a story, and we went through this play line by line, to truly craft it to capture our specific intentions. Most plays don’t get that kind of attention in their first production — if ever! So it’s certainly been a great group effort to make this play work so well.”

And of course the cast has been significant in the development of the play as well. “It’s gotten to the point,” Koller says, “where I can just hear John Wright’s voice in my head. I’ll hear him speaking Joe’s lines, and I’ll just know how to tweak the lines to perfect them.

“Writing for the theatre is about making sure things will work in performance, not just on the page. It’s very hard to imagine all of the aspects of performance when you’re at your writing desk. Therefore, by getting the script into actors’ hands, by seeing it on a stage and hearing it read, it provides the writer with so much information about what works and what doesn’t. To me, it’s an absolutely invaluable process, and I’m so glad this play has benefitted from such a talented group.”