Corey Payette
Corey Payette is an interdisciplinary storyteller, writer, composer, director in theatre and film. He is a member of the Mattagami First Nations, with French Canadian and Irish ancestry, and lives on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl’ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples. Known for his deeply moving, large-scale original musical creations, Payette’s work challenges the public’s notion of what musicals can be, inserting Indigenous perspectives and narratives into mainstream spaces, igniting conversations that inspire social change. Payette’s work explores themes of colonization, Indigenous language revitalization, cultural healing, reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, and the complexity of historic and contemporary Indigenous experiences across music, theatre, and film. Payette’s deeply collaborative, multi-disciplinary, and community engaged creation process has been integral in shining a light on stories that have gone unheard for generations. In 2021, Payette received the inaugural BC Award for Reconciliation from The Honourable Janet Austin, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, created to honour those who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, integrity, respect, and commitment to furthering Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in the province of British Columbia.
As a musical creator, Payette writes the music, lyrics, and directs the productions. His original musical Children of God has been performed across Canada since 2017, Les Filles du Roi (The King’s Daughters) written in English, French, and Kanien’kéha (Mohawk) with Julie McIsaac had its world premiere in 2018, and his original musical Starwalker commissioned and developed by Musical Stage Co. (Toronto) and won the “Best Musical” award at the Playwright Guild of Canada’s Tom Hendry Awards in 2022.
