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20 years!20 years since Awaovieyi Agie, Ardon Bess, David Collins, Roy Lewis, Yanna McIntosh, Diane Roberts, Kim Roberts, Sandi Ross, Alison Sealy-Smith, Djanet Sears, Satori Shakoor, Tricia Williams and I took the steps to create Obsidian.
To build a place and a home for our aspirations.A place where we could bring Black voices to the stage.A place where Black comes in all colours.A place where Black voices were paramount.A place where support for Black artists was front and centre.
James Baldwin said: “The place where I’ll fit will not exist until I make it”
And we did.And here we fit.
It has been a glorious 20 years!
Philip AkinARTISTIC DIRECTOR
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S
NOTES
We’re helping connect people with their communities through arts and culture initiatives. It’s one of the many ways we’re working towards a more inclusive tomorrow.
Learn more at td.com/thereadycommitment
© The TD logo and other TD trade-marks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank.
Proud to supportObsidian’s 20thAnniversarySeason
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2019–2020 SEASON BROCHUREOBSIDIAN THEATRE
OBSIDIAN THEATRE
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CELEBRATING
OF BLACK EXCELLENCEIN CANADIAN THEATRE!
20 YEARS2020
Top to Bottom: Cast of Once on This Island, André Sills, Audrey Dwyer, Akosua Amo-Adem, Cara Ricketts, Daren A. Herbert, Shakura S’Aida, Lili Francks, Abena Malika, Cast of Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God, Joseph Jomo Pierre, Jenny Brizard, Karl Graboshas, Chelsea Russell, Meghan Swaby, Raven Dauda, Dean Marshall, Ordena Stephens-Thompson, Sabryn Rock, Edwige Jean-Pierre, Tatyana Mitchell, Natasha Mumba, Rachel Mutombo, Emerjade Simms, Bria McLaughlin, Yanna McIntosh, Sterling Jarvis, Sabryn Rock, Marcia T. House, Garnet Harding,Yanna McIntosh, Cara Ricketts, Joseph Jomo Pierre, Joanne Reece & Jajube Mandiela
*Full photographer credits available online
Amber and Tom, finding their way as freshmen at Princeton, spend a night together that alters the course of their lives. They agree on the drinking, they agree on the attraction, but consent is foggy, and if unspoken, can it be called consent? Anna Ziegler investigates gender and race politics, our crippling desire to fit in, and the three sides to every story.
dates September 14—29, 2019
venue The Greenwin Theatre 5040 Yonge Street
tickets 1.855.985.2787 hgjewishtheatre.com
Harold Green Jewish Theatre Companyin Association with Obsidian Theatre
Actually is presented by specially arrangement with Dramatists Play Service Inc, New York
— by Anna Ziegler
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set design Sean Mulcahy
lighting design Steve Lucas
costume design Alex Amini
sound design Christopher Stanton
stage manager Laura Baxter
apprentice stage manager Maya Bowers
production manager Crystal Salverda
direced by Philip Akin
starring Tony Ofori Claire Renaud
set design Julia Kim
lighting design Chris Malkowski
costume design Vanessa Fischer
sound design Miquelon Rodriguez
head of props David Hoekstra
stage manager Emilie Aubin
assistant stage manager Heather Thompson
production manager & technical director Crystal Lee
fight director Richard Lee
fire arms consultant April Nicolle
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Moses and Kitch stand around on the corner – just passing time and hoping that maybe today will be different. As they dream of their promised land, a stranger wanders into their space with his own agenda and derails their plans. Emotional and lyrical, Pass Over crafts everyday profanities into poetic and humorous riffs, exposing the unquestionable human spirit of young men who are stuck in a cycle and looking for a way out.
dates October 22—November 10, 2019
venue Buddies in Bad Times Theatre 12 Alexander Street
tickets 416.975.8555 buddiesinbadtimes.com
Pass Over is presented by special arraangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.
PASS OVERby Antoinette Nwandu
direced by Philip Akin
starring Kaleb Alexander Mazin Elsadig Alex McCooeye
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Set against the backdrop of the Kennedy assassination and the Civil Rights Movement, along with a musical score that blends blues, soul, gospel, classical and traditional Jewish melodies, this ‘modern masterpiece’ is a timely story of change for our socially-conscious world.
dates January 30—February 15, 2020
venue Winter Garden Theatre 189 Yonge Street
tickets Group Tickets: 647. 438.5559 thegrouptixcompany.com/caroline-or-change
Single Tickets on sale October 1st! Check out obsidiantheatre.com for details.
An Obsidian Theatre and Musical Stage Company Co-production
set design Michael Gianfrancesco
lighting design Kimberly Purtell
costume design Alex Amini
sound design Peter McBoyle
stage manager AJ Laflamme
direced by Robert McQueen
musical direction by Reza Jacobs
choreography Tim French
assistant stage manager Kate Sandeson
starring Jully Black, Damien Atkins, Oliver Dennis, Keisha T. Fraser, Deborah Hay, Alana Hibbert, Linda Kash, Stewart Adam McKensy, Sam Rosenthal, Vanessa Sears, Camille Eanga-Selenge, Samantha Walkes, and featuring Measha Brueggergosman
Book & Lyrics by Tony Kushner Music by Jeanine Tesori
CAROLINE, OR CHANGE Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com
apprentice music director Jonathan Corkal
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Klass, a homeless young Black man, sets up res-idence in the courtyard of the housing project where 18-year-old Ida Peters lives. After a fatal confrontation between a local vendor and the police, Klass and Ida develop a precarious bond, set against the backdrop of a restless neigh-bourhood. Inspired by the Greek myth Leda and the Swan, Blacktop Sky examines the intersec-tion of love, violence and community.
dates March 24—April 12, 2020
venue Streetcar Crowsnest 345 Carlaw Avenue
tickets 647.341.7390 ext. 1010 crowstheatre.com/blacktopsky
Obsidian Theatre in association with Crow’s Theatre and ShipWreck Collective
Blacktop Sky is presented by specially arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.
by
Christina Anderson
BlacktopSky
direced by Jay Northcott
starring Christopher Allen Stephen Jackman-Torkoff Makambe K. Simamba
set & costume design Julia Kim
lighting design Sharmylae Taffe-Fletcher
sound design Stephen Surlin
stage manager Ada Aguilar
production manager & technical director Crystal Lee
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PLAYWRIGHTS UNIT
Obsidian’s Playwrights Unit is a year-long intensive program that takes gifted Black theatre creators from a variety of experience levels and backgrounds. The Unit works with the company dramaturge to create finished drafts of new plays that reflect and refract the Black experience in Canada and beyond.
Obsidian’s 2019-2020 Playwrights Unit will be announced and listed on our website.
Be sure to join us for the Playwrights Unit: First Look Showcase in June 2020. More information will be available on our website closer to the date.
DARKTOWNObsidian exists to help develop and provide opportunities for theatre artists and this season we are diving deeper to make this an even bigger part of what we do. This multi-pronged approach to networking for young-in-craft artists, sponsorship support for other Black theatres and an exploration into movement creation and theatre, will all be under the Darktown banner. This includes our Darktown Director’s Project for this season, Blacktop Sky by Christina Anderson, directed by Jay Northcott
2019-2020 ASSOCIATES
Kanika Ambrose Assistant Director, Actually
Samson Brown Assistant Director, A Million Billion Pieces with Young People’s Theatre
Patricia Darbasie Assistant Director, The Color Purple with Citadel Theatre
Daniel Ellis Playwright/Performer, speaking of sneaking with CARIFESTA XIV
Jay Northcott Assistant Director, Pass Over
TBA Factory Foreman & Assistant Director, House with Factory Theatre
NEW PLAY &ARTISTIC
DEVELOPMENT
BLACK TIES
7:00pm November 25th, 2019Buddies in Bad Times Theatre Cabaret, 12 Alexander Street, Toronto
The popular Black Ties event returns for a third straight year in November. The evening’s goal is to bring together young-in-craft and professional Black theatre artists from across the nation to network, chat, and engage with each other about their current and upcoming projects.
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OBSIDIAN THEATRE COMPANY
For 20 years, Obsidian has been leading cultural specific work in Canada. Our mission is to produce plays from a world-wide canon focusing primarily, but not exclusively, on works of highly acclaimed Black playwrights; provide artistic support and promote the development of work by Black theatre makers.
ObsidianTheatreCompany
@obsidiantheatre
@obsidiantheatre
Obsidian Theatre Company
1089 Dundas Street East
Toronto, ON M4M 1R9
416.463.8444
www.obsidiantheatre.com
Awaovieyi AgiePhilip Akin – artistic director
Ardon BessDavid CollinsRoy LewisYanna McIntoshDiane RobertsKim RobertsSandi RossAlison Sealy-Smith– founding artistic director
Djanet SearsSatori ShakoorTricia Williams
STAFF
artistic director Philip Akin
general manager Michael Sinclair
producer Luke Reece
company dramaturge Myekah Payne
chair Harmony Cohen
treasurer Walter Gibbons
secretary Dr. Arlene Campbell
director Ashima Chopra
director Sascha Cole
director Kevin Hanchard
director Greg Holness
director Stacey Norton
director & past chair Bev Salmon
BOARD FOUNDING MEMBERS
Obsidian Theatre is a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) and the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) and engages, under the terms of the Canadian Theatre Agreement (CTA), professional artists who are members of Canadian Actors Equity Association (CAEA) as well as designers under Associated Designers of Canada (ADC).
graphic designer Seowon Bang
photography Cesar Ghisilieri
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SUPPORTERSSEASON SPONSOR
GOVERNMENT SUPPORTERS
PARTNERS
BLACK GLASSUP TO $99
Christopher Bautista Beatrice Campbell Nathan Carroll Andrea Carter Amanda Cordner Logan Cracknell Rashanna Cumberbatch Ariana Dhountal Zoé Doyle Allison Edwards-Crewe Rachel Forbes Robin Fraser, in honour of
Alexis Butler Jessica Goldson Caitie Graham Michelle Hillyard Rob Kempson Signy Lynch Elizabeth Mudenyo Lesley Nicholls Thomas Olajide Lise Olds Kenneth Pearl Steph Raposo Joanne Reece David Reid Alicia Richardson Vanessa Sears, in memory of
Jonah McIntosh Ordena Stephens-Thompson,
in loving memory of Ntozake Shange
Jennifer Stimac Laurie Thompson Mumbi Tindyebwa Karen Tisch, in honour of
Philip Akin Alten Wilmot Shopbrain Anonymous Anonymous Anonymous
RED MAHOGANY$100-$249
Diana AbrahamMarguerite AlfredMark ArnoldSharon CaldwellDr. Arlene CampbellHarmony CohenLisa Karen CoxJeff CummingsBrenda Darling & Ian GilmourTroy De FourMarion de Vries, in honour of
Philip AkinHenri FiksBarbara FingeroteWalter GibbonsShira HartKerene HarveyRay HoggRoberta HunterDerek MillerStacey NortonSonya PopovichLuke ReeceRose Marie ReeceBev SalmonLeslie SandersTania SenewiratneDennis ThomsonHersh Zeifman, in honour of
Philip AkinAnonymousAnonymous
SILVER SHEEN$250-$499
David CrawfordKamala-Jean GopieAlicia Jeffery & Neil FosterLarry LubinLeslie Rivers & Greg HolnessBurgundy Asset Management
GOLD SHEEN$500-$999
Sascha Cole & Michael Collinge
Kevin HanchardPatricia J.Tiana Koffler BoymanMary McDougall MaudeAmanda RosenthalWood Hart Fund at
Toronto FoundationAnonymous
RAINBOW SHEEN$1000+
Joan BoxerLawrence Family FundDana JansensJefferson & Sally MappinProfessor J.W. Michael
& Dr. Edith Lorimer
DONORS
DONATE TO OBSIDIAN
With extraordinary support from donors, supporters, friends, artists and theatre professionals in our amazing community, Obsidian now boasts over 60 past Apprentices, 36 Playwrights, 21 Dora Mavor Moore Awards and, most importantly, a home for Black artists to nurture, discover and develop their craft. We are extremely proud of what we do and are honoured to be able to support all the talented artists we work with at Obsidian.
Please consider donating to us today and help us to continue this work that we are so deeply passionate about.
Donations can be made online at www.canadahelps.org or by calling the office at 416.463.8444.
Actually by Anna ZieglerSeptember 14—29, 2019
Pass Over by Antoinette NwanduOctober 22—November 10, 2019
Caroline, or ChangeBook & Lyrics by Tony Kushner Music by Jeanine TesoriJanuary 30—February 15, 2020
Blacktop Sky by Christina AndersonMarch 24—April 12, 2020
Obsidian Theatre Company
1089 Dundas Street East
Toronto, ON M4M 1R9
416.463.8444
www.obsidiantheatre.com
