Studio Series
Our 20th anniversary season
Check this page for information on our Studio Series of IN DEVELOPMENT and 180 READS plays in our 2022/23 season. Or learn more about our IN DEVELOPMENT and 180 READS programs and explore our past readings.
22 23
Windrush (or Gone To See A Man About A Dog)
Written by RBC Emerging Playwright Marcel Stewart
Directed by Lisa Karen Cox
Featuring daniel jelani ellis
Sound Designed by Andrew Lloyd Johnson
Spoken Word Consultation by Britta B.
February 28, 2023
7:00 PM
Buddies In Bad Times
12 Alexander Street
In this epic tale, a young Jamaican boy named Bwoi Son is left in the care of his grandfather after his parents leave for England. When a storm kills his grandfather, Bwoi Son and his younger siblings are forced to join their parents. Not wanting to leave, Bwoi Son embarks on a quest to find the River Mumma and her Golden Table to make a sacrifice in order to stay in Jamaica forever.
WARNING: Nature may be more magical than it seems. Approach with caution.
Marcel Stewart is one of our 2022/23 RBC Emerging Playwrights. Join us for our first in-person reading of Gone To See A Man About A Dog in its second year in development with Studio 180 Theatre.
Register for Windrush (or Gone To See A Man About A Dog)
Marcel Stewart
RBC Emerging Playwright
Marcel Stewart is a father, artist, facilitator, and arts administrator who loves smoked gouda. Marcel serves as Artistic Director of bcurrent Performing Arts and as an Artistic Associate for SpiderWebShow Performance. Marcel also sits on the Board of Directors for Essential Collective Theatre. He has worked with Soulpepper, Factory Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Obsidian Theatre, Suitcase in Point, The Theatre Centre, The Blyth Festival, Festival Players, Studio 180, The Grand Theatre, Persephone, Theatre Direct, Carousel Players, and Atlas Stage. For three years Marcel worked at Suitcase in Point as Outreach Director, co-founding the Nest Artist Residency and Electric Innovations, while also executive producing Freedom: A Mixtape and Lost & Found: A Community Mixtape. When Marcel is not creating theatre, he is an arts educator who has facilitated programming for community youth groups, professional actors, and students in university, high school, and elementary. He has taught theatre performance to students at the National Theatre School, Brock University, and Sheridan College. He was a member of the Soulpepper Academy and completed the Theatre Enhancement Program (as a Directing Foreman) through Factory Theatre. Marcel has directed the podcast play Toronto Pigeons (Factory Theatre); the digital play Meet Chloe (Carousel Players) and Serving Elizabeth (Thousand Islands Playhouse). Currently, Marcel is developing an immersive audio theatrical series. Loosely based on his dad’s life in Jamaica, the story weaves together themes of home, grief, family, and the influence of Caribbean mythology. Inspired by the teachings of d’bi young anitafrika, Marcel often returns to the questions: Who am I? How am I? How did I get here? Who have I lost? What is my purpose?
Additional Credits
Lisa Karen Cox
Director
A graduate of Concordia University’s Interdisciplinary Studies program, Lisa Karen Cox relishes work that combines music, movement and heightened language. Often playing men and other mythical creatures, theatre credits include: Director for 1851: Spirit and Voice (Soulpepper/Myseum), Beyere (CBC Gem/Obsidian Theatre), Anna Karenina for UTM/Sheridan, and Untamed (TMU). Assistant Director for We Are Proud to Present a Presentation about the Herero of Namibia…(Theatre Centre), Salt-Water Moon (Factory Theatre), The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God, and Associate Director for Why Not Theatre’s Toronto productions of Like Mother, Like Daughter. In addition to performance and direction, Lisa has explored playwriting, dramaturgy during the creation of Now You See Her and enjoys working with emerging playwrights. Lisa Karen Cox is an Assistant Professor of Acting at Toronto Metropolitan. She completed a Master of Science in Education (M.S. Ed.) and spent over a decade working in the performing arts with the Toronto District School Board.
daniel jelani ellis
Performer
daniel jelani ellis is a multidisciplinary artist from Jamaica working in performance-installation creation, playwriting, dub poetry, and acting. His artistic practice is Afrocentric and celebratory, he is especially passionate about arts-based community organizing for social justice. As a Black queer immigrant, he is committed to celebrating those of us who live within the margins.
Andrew Johnson
Sound Designer
Andrew (he/him) is a broadcaster, sound engineer and voice talent. Working for 106.5 Elmnt Fm, Andrew Johnson is currently one of the only black station managers in Canada. He was named as one of Radio INK Magazine’s, 2021 recipients of Radio’s Future African American Leaders. Graduating in 2008, Andrew has since contributed to the growth, and sonic development of several major market stations. Starting as a board operator, he worked his way through various station roles, before finding a passion for production. Andrew’ s work experience has allowed him to develop a strong understanding of the fundamentals of Radio. Andrew Johnson is also a national voice talent who has voiced commercials across North America for clients like Honda, Lexus, Universal Music Canada and Spotify. A current member of Advance, Canada’s Black Music Business Collective, Andrew is passionate about inclusion and showcasing Toronto’s diversity.
Britta B.
Spoken Word Consultant
Britta B. is an award-winning artist, spoken word poet, and professor of Spoken Word Performance at Seneca College. She holds an MFA in creative writing from University of Guelph and lives in Toronto.