Marshall Vielle

Marshall Vielle is an actor, playwright, and director from the Kainai Nation in Southern Alberta. Marshall also performs drag as Mavis Vontrese, a “granny-chic” alter-ego inspired by the persona they used when prank-calling their Grandma as a teenager!

Growing up, Marshall enjoyed making others laugh and being “very extra.” While pursuing a Fine Arts degree at the University of Lethbridge, they enrolled in a drama class, and were instantly “addicted to the stress” of performing on-stage in front of an audience. “I love rehearsing a show then going on stage to perform it and knowing at any point something could go wrong. It’s how I know I’m alive!”

Marshall has graced many stages over the years. One of their favourite gigs to date is playing the Ghost of Christmas Present in Theatre Calgary’s A Christmas Carol, a role which Marshall manifested and has been performing and re-inventing since 2019. Another role close to their heart was their recent portrayal of Granny in an Indigenous re-telling of Father Tartuffe, presented by The Arts Club in Vancouver, which allowed them to pay homage to the women who raised and uplifted them. 

A common thread through all of Marshall’s projects is their desire to share stories which create visibility, facilitate understanding, and build connection and support. Last year, Marshall co-wrote and co-directed the theatrical show Yisstsiiyi (Blackfoot word for ‘Listen’), a collection of stories and reflections about the land and its history contributed by artists from Making Treaty 7 and students from U of L. Marshall’s piece about a residential school survivor is also immortalised in the MT7 film Istotsi (Blackfoot word for ‘to immerse yourself’).

Marshall identifies as Two-Spirit, and continually looks for opportunities to create visibility and space for Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer people. In their role at The Centre for Sexuality , they strive to ensure that the needs of these communities are represented and served. In 2022, they partnered with The GRAND to debut the exhibit, 50 Shades of Brown, which featured photographs by Alanna Bluebird, of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer people living in Mohkinstsis and Treaty 7. 

They also created Where the Two-Spirit Lives, a 1-person memoir and drag show encompassing movement, storytelling, and lots of lip syncing about stepping into one’s power, which had its world premiere with Theatre Outre in 2019. Marshall has performed the show in multiple Canadian cities and hopes to one day share it with family and friends in Calgary.

Marshall encourages others to “to show up and show out . . .representation is a two-way street and it's important to show up for yourself and your community and hold space for others, even if they're still navigating parts of themselves that they aren't yet ready to celebrate.” They also live by Maya Angelou’s words: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

Outside of their artistic pursuits, Marshall enjoys reality TV, horror flicks, driving, going for brunch, and baking banana bread with Nutella and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. More recently, they’ve discovered peace and joy in being a plant-Mom.