Studio 180 IN DEVELOPMENT
launched in 2015
Join us in the writer’s room to experience the intimate reading of a play in process.
We invite you to learn about the writer’s concept, explore a social or political issue through theatre and share your experience of the work with the writer.
“One of my greatest joys as a writer is watching a piece develop and evolve every time I work on it… This partnership with Studio 180 Theatre was a gift to allow me to explore this play without the pressure of a finished product.”
Rachel Mutombo, IN DEVELOPMENT Playwright 2020/21
For playwrights, Studio 180 IN DEVELOPMENT gives you a helping hand as you develop new work exploring provocative social and political issues. We provide you with the time, space, and resources required to bring your insightful ideas to the stage, culminating in a public reading in our Studio Series.
past READINGS
22 23
Taylor Trowbridge, Marcel Stewart, Sara Farb
Tool for Rebellion
Written by Taylor Trowbridge
April 17, 2023
7:00 PM
Crow’s Theatre
Studio Theatre
345 Carlaw Ave
When the Toronto van attack occurred in April of 2018 it brought countless urgent questions to the fore. Born out of a gnawing and personal need, Tool for Rebellion is a verbatim theatre piece that asks how we can possibly disrupt the societal cycles that foster incel (involuntary celibate) culture. A quest that explores the limits of empathy, this piece seeks to generate a vital discussion on how to tenderly move forward and heal.
Taylor Trowbridge
RBC Emerging Playwright & Performer
Taylor Trowbridge (she/her) is an actor, educator, and playwright. As an actor, she has performed in productions for theatre companies such as Canadian Stage, The Shaw Festival, Nightwood Theatre, Bard on the Beach, Thousand Islands Playhouse and SummerWorks Festival. She holds an MFA in Acting from York University and a diploma in Journalism from Seneca College. Taylor’s work as a playwright examines near-impossible reconciliation, societal oversight and collective healing, and her documentary play Tool for Rebellion received the Equity Showcase Cayle Chernin Award for Theatre in 2022. Her next play WORK/life combines documentary theatre with off-the-wall satire to investigate the ways that work culture dominates the presence, quality and daring of our one, short life.
Additional Credits
Karl Ang
Actor
Karl Ang is always game to knock some words off a page and into the lively air. He has spoken words in several places, including the Shaw and Stratford festivals, and that one time up in the Yukon. He looks forward to the resurgence of live theatre and shared presence. May art offer us reflection and succour in a tumultuous time!
Paul Dunn
Actor
Paul’s plays include Offensive Shadows (winner of the NOW Magazine Audience Choice Award at the Toronto SummerWorks Festival 2007), High-–Gravel-–Blind (which opened the Stratford Festival’s Studio Theatre in 2002 and was recorded for CBC Radio), and BOYS (a one-man show which he performed as part of the Buncha Young Artists Festival at Theatre Direct in 2001). His work has been published in the anthologies “5 Hot Plays,”, “Acting Out”, and “Gay Monologues and Scenes” (Playwrights Canada Press) and in “Canadian Theatre Review.”. He is a member of the 2008 Tarragon Theatre’s Playwrights Unit and a guest instructor at the National Theatre School of Canada. As an actor, he has performed at the Stratford Festival, the National Arts Centre, The Canadian Stage Company, Tarragon Theatre, Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Citadel Theatre and Theatre New Brunswick. Paul is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada and a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada.
Jordan Pettle
Actor
Jordan has been working across the country on both classical and contemporary plays, and in television, film and radio for over 25 years. He has spent four seasons with the Stratford Festival and has worked extensively with Soulpepper Theatre (credits include: A Christmas Carol, Picture This, The Heidi Chronicles, Twelve Angry Men, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Speed the Plow). He has worked for Canadian Stage, Tarragon Theatre, Factory Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Nightwood Theatre and YPT. T.V and film credits include: American Woman; Suits; Titans; The Strain; Designated Survivor; Saving Hope; Rookie Blue; Lost Girl; Murdoch Mysteries; Fugitive Pieces; Lost in Wonderland. Jordan was a regular on the CBC radio drama Afghanada (ACTRA nomination for voice performance). He is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada. Upcoming credits include: Betrayal (Soulpepper); directing Metapmorphoses for George Brown Theatre, A Christmas Carol (Soulpepper).
Sepehr Reybod
Actor
Sepehr Reybod (he/him) is an Iranian-Canadian actor, playwright, and creator based in Toronto. Select stage credits include ENGLISH (Soulpepper & Segal Centre), R+J (WhyNot Theatre & Stratford Festival), Richard III (Stratford Festival). He is a Factory Theatre Mechanical (2018-2019) and Foundry playwright (2019-2020).
Tim Walker
Actor
Tim was born in Peterborough Ontario. He is a two-time Dora nominee, the recipient of the Tim Sims award for comedy (George Brown) and the Hollywood North Film Fest Best Actor award (I lost my mind). He has been working in film, television and theatre since 2007. He trained at the George Brown Theatre School & the international school for comic acting in Italy. Recent: Crazy Dave goes to town (CIT) Mules (Hit and Myth/BYgone theatre), White Heat (Cue6/Presgang/English Theatre Berlin).
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.
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.
Love Us Most
November 28, 2022
7:00 PM
Crow’s Theatre
345 Carlaw Avenue
Taking place in the women’s dressing room during a performance of King Lear leading up to the places call, during intermission, and then after the show, Love Us Most examines the toxicity of sexism, racism, ageism, and female competition in the theatre industry.
21 22
Taylor Trowbridge, Yolanda Bonnell, Marcel Stewart
Tool For Rebellion
Written by Taylor Trowbridge
April 21, 2022
7:30 PM
Digital Presentation
When the Toronto van attack occurred in April of 2018 it brought countless urgent questions to the fore. Born out of a gnawing and personal need, Tool for Rebellion is a verbatim theatre piece that asks how we can possibly disrupt the societal cycles that foster incel culture. A quest that explores the limits of empathy, this piece seeks to generate a vital discussion on how to tenderly move forward and heal.
Related events
Fact Over Fiction
April 19, 2022
7:00 PM
Online
Details
The Art of Verbatim Theatre Making
Verbatim theatre, theatre made completely from the words of real people, demands interesting questions of those who make it. Why choose verbatim theatre as the story-telling vehicle? What are the specific challenges and advantages included with this brand of theatre? What are some of the go-to items and approaches to include in a verbatim toolkit? And how do you string together facts and quotes into a story that’s engaging enough for an audience to follow? Join RBC Emerging Playwright Taylor Trowbridge, who has her own verbatim piece IN DEVELOPMENT, in conversation with renowned Canadian verbatim theatre creators Andrew Kushnir of Project Humanity and Annabel Soutar of Port Parole.
Taylor Trowbridge
Playwright
Taylor Trowbridge (she/her) is an actor, educator, and playwright. As an actor, she has performed in productions for theatre companies such as Canadian Stage, The Shaw Festival, Nightwood Theatre, Bard on the Beach, Thousand Islands Playhouse and SummerWorks Festival. She holds an MFA in Acting from York University and a diploma in Journalism from Seneca College. Taylor’s work as a playwright examines near-impossible reconciliation, societal oversight and collective healing, and her documentary play Tool for Rebellion received the Equity Showcase Cayle Chernin Award for Theatre in 2022. Her next play WORK/life combines documentary theatre with off-the-wall satire to investigate the ways that work culture dominates the presence, quality and daring of our one, short life.
Heather Johnson
Talkback Panelist
Heather Johnson is currently a workshop facilitator for Bad Subject which is a non-profit committed to teaching youth about consent, healthy relationships, and sexual health. As well as giving workshops she has also written a number of them around themes of media literacy, healthy relationships, and the ways that learning about consent can be made more accessible. In the past she has been interested by and studied things like sexual diversity, history, and film. Today she is a committed film nerd and spends a lot of time with her plants.
Additional Credits
Karl Ang
Performer
Karl Ang is always game to knock some words off a page and into the lively air. He has spoken words in several places, including the Shaw and Stratford festivals, and that one time up in the Yukon. He looks forward to the resurgence of live theatre and shared presence. May art offer us reflection and succour in a tumultuous time!
Amelia Sargisson
Performer
Amelia Sargisson is a bilingual theatre-maker from Montréal. Upcoming: Sue in Ann-Marie MacDonald’s Hamlet-911 at Stratford. Recently: Ginger in Rebecca Northan’s All I Want For Christmas at Centaur. Other faves: Eve in Paradise Lost, Luciana in The Comedy of Errors, & Peggy in The Front Page (Stratford); Paradise Lost, The 39 Steps, & The Madonna Painter (Centaur); Amadeus (TIFT); Twelfth Night/King Lear (Canadian Stage); The Watershed & Seeds (Crow’s/Porte Parole); The Millennial Malcontent (Tarragon); If We Were Birds & down from heaven (Cartes Premières Award for Best Actress) (Imago); Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare BASH’d – My Theatre Award for Best Actress); The Art of Catching Pigeons by Torchlight (SummerWorks – Spotlight Award); and seven seasons of Shakespeare-in-the-Park (Repercussion). Recent TV credits: See (Apple TV+) & Murdoch Mysteries (CBC). Amelia has narrated several audiobooks for Penguin Random House. She is co-creating, through Talk Is Free Theatre, two programs for fostering more communicative and compassionate collaborative spaces, ARCS and 2-Way Mentorship, and is working on her first ever solo show, Fer Shame.
Steven McCarthy
Performer
Steven McCarthy is an award-winning actor, director, and musician. In 2018, McCarthy was awarded a Canadian Screen Award (CSA) for Best Guest Performance in a dramatic series for his portrayal of a dying rock singer in the first season of Mary Kills People. His recent acting credits include recurring roles in The Expanse (Amazon), Barkskins (NatGeo) the Stephen King adaptation Chapelwaite (Epix), V/H/S 94 and in the upcoming Imagine Entertainment/FX limited series Under the Banner of Heaven based on Jon Krakauer’s bestselling book.
McCarthy made his directorial debut with the short film, O Negative, an unsettling fable about the lengths one will go to keep their love alive. The film had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and subsequently played festivals the world over before being named one of Canada’s Top Ten shorts of the year. His second directorial effort, From Across the Street and Through Two Sets of Windows, written by Rayisa Kondracki, premiered at the 2018 Vancouver International Film Festival.
McCarthy holds two diplomas, one for acting and one for directing, from Montreal’s prestigious National Theatre School of Canada. He is also the lead singer and manager of the ten-piece epic funk band The ElastoCitizens.
Jonathan Goad
Performer
Jonathan spent fifteen years with the Stratford Festival: Henry VIII, To Kill a Mockingbird, Hamlet, The Alchemist, King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Pentecost, Phèdre, The Music Man, King John, Pericles, Orpheus Descending, Henry Iv, Henry VI, Fiddler of the Roof, As You Like It, Fuente Ovejuna, Julius Caesar, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Bartholomew Fair, The Brothers Karamazov. Elsewhere: A Whistle in the Dark, Speaking in Tongues, (Company Theatre); Our Class, the Laramie Project (Studio 180); King Lear (Soulpepper); Arcadia (Theatre Junction). Directing: The Crucible by Arthur Miller (Stratford festival); John by Annie Baker (Company Theatre). Film/TV: Reign, Alias Grace, Dark Matter, Dorsal, Nikita, Republic of Doyle, Heartland, Murdoch Mysteries, Unnatural History, Othello, Rookie Blue. Training: NTS, Birmingham Conservatory, University of Waterloo, Banff Centre. Teaching: NTS, Fanshawe College
James Wallis
Performer
James is the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Shakespeare BASH’d. For BASH’d, James has played the title roles in Hamlet, Richard III, Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. With BASH’d, James directed over twelve productions and staged readings.
James has spent three seasons at the Stratford Festival. He was a member of the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Directing in 2016/2017 assistant directing Macbeth with director Antoni Cimolino (2016), the world premiere of Bunny by Hannah Moscovitch, directed by Sarah Stanley (2016), Romeo and Juliet (2017) and Julius Caesar (2018) directed by Scott Wentworth.
His other directing credits include: As You Like It (Theatre by the Bay), Titus Andronicus (Hart House Theatre), Antony and Cleopatra (Secret Shakespeare Project), Scenes from The Tempest (Playing for Free), Henry IV Part 1 and 2 (Theatre Erindale), Romeo and Juliet and Joni (Workshop Production)
Antoine Yared
Performer
Antoine Yared was born in Lebanon and raised in Montreal. He’s worked in theatres across the country; and in the US. He most recently appeared in a production of Cipher at Vertigo Theatre in Calgary. Prior to that, he performed in A Thousand Splendid Suns at Arena Stage in DC after having spent 5 wonderful seasons at the Stratford Festival.
My Sister’s Rage
Written & Directed by Yolanda Bonnell
Featuring Cherish Violet Blood, Shandra Spears Bombay, Samantha Brown, Theresa Cutknife, Ange Loft, Monique Mojica, Allyson Pratt & Tyler J Sloane
March 24, 2022
7:30 PM
Digital Presentation
With their Matriarch on her way to the spirit world, a family comes together on their reservation and in the hospital to be with her. A story about grief, love, laughter, rage and the brilliant strength of Indigenous women and their families, fighting to be seen and fumbling towards their healing.
Related events
Land-Based Creation
March 27, 2022
2:00-3:30 PM
Online Workshop
Details
A Workshop with Yolanda Bonnell
Following the encore presentation of My Sister’s Rage IN DEVELOPMENT, join award-winning theatre artist Yolanda Bonnell to do some creating of your own. Artists and artists-at-heart are invited to partake in a series of creation exercises and engage in discussions about land-body relationship. Come prepared to create in the medium of your choice, be that writing, visual art, music, physical movement or something else entirely!
Yolanda Bonnell
Playwright
Yolanda Bonnell (she/they) is a Bi/Queer 2 Spirit Anishinaabe-Ojibwe, South Asian mixed storyteller and multidisciplinary creator/educator. Originally from Fort William First Nation in Thunder Bay, Ontario (Superior Robinson Treaty territory), their arts practice is now based in Tkarón:to. They are the Co-artistic leader of manidoons collective, that they run with Michif (Métis) artist, Cole Alvis. In February 2020, Yolanda’s four-time Dora nominated solo show bug was remounted at Theatre Passe Muraille while the published book was shortlisted for a Governor General Literary Award. Yolanda was the Indigenous artist recipient of the Jayu Arts for Human Rights Award for her work and won the PGC Tom Hendry Drama Award for their play, My Sister’s Rage. Yolanda has taught at schools like York University and Sheridan College and proudly bases her practice in land-based creation, drawing on energy and inspiration from the earth and her ancestors.
Additional Credits
Cherish Violet Blood
Perfomer
Cherish Violet Blood is an actor, storyteller,activist and Blackfoot woman hailing from the Blood Reserve. Based in Toronto, Cherish is a professionally trained and seasoned performer with active followings in the national Indigenous and international theatre community. Cherish has performed all over North America. Select credits include creator/performer in Material Witness (Spiderwoman Theatre La Mama,NYC), creator/performer in Making Treaty 7 directed by Michelle Thrush in Calgary, AB. The lead role in Deer Woman, a new play that has been touring internationally by Tara Beagan. As a natural comedian Cherish has hosted album release parties as well as community events and fundraisers.
Shandra Spears Bombay
Performer
Selected Theatre Credits: If This is The End (Windsor High School Social Justice Forum/ Native Earth Weesageechak Festival/ SummerWorks Festival Lab/ Caminos Cabaret at Rutas Panamericanos Festival); The Rez Sisters (Magnus Theatre); The Berlin Blues (Magnus Theatre); Bidaasige Kwe-Sunlight Woman (Debajehmujig Theatre Group); Please Do Not Touch The Indians (Debajehmujig Theatre Group). Selected Film and Television: Paranormal Witness; Just Another Dead Indian; Forensic Factor 5: Eclectic; Mystery in Paradise; Vegas 911; Fear Thy Neighbour; Dual Suspects 2; Motives & Murders III; Brian Orser Blame It On The Blues. Upcoming: If This Is The End (commission Blyth Festival Theatre); Ganawenjigaazo (Native Earth’s 40 Seeds For 40 Seasons program). Awards: Blame it On The Blues won the Gemini Award for “Best Music, Variety Program Or Series.” Bidaasige Kwe-Sunlight Woman won the Critics’ Choice Award for the Atlantic Fringe Festival. Other: I’m Anishinaabe from Rainy River First Nations. I’m so grateful to be part of telling Yolanda’s amazing story, and to be part of this group of story-tellers who bring love and strength to every day. Miigwetch to everyone for making this possible.
Samantha Brown
Performer
Samantha Brown is an Anishinaabe and European settler actor currently living in Tkaronto. Coming from Northern Ontario to study and graduate from the York University Acting Conservatory. Selected Theatre Credits: Kamloopa (Soulpepper production); Around the World in 80 Plays: Moonlodge (Soulpepper); Oil (Arc theatre); Two Odesseys: Gállábártnit/Pimooteewin (Soundstreams and Signal Theatre); August: Osage County (Soulpepper); The Scavenger’s Daughter (Paradigm Productions); among more.
Theresa Cutknife
Performer
Selected Theatre Credits: The House of Bernarda Alba (Modern Times Theatre & Aluna Theatre). Selected Film and Television: Diggstown. Other: Theresa Cutknife is a queer Nehiyaw and Puerto Rican actor, writer, curator, storyteller, and producer from Maskwacîs, Alberta located on Treaty 6 Territory and is a member of the Samson Cree Nation. She is an alumnus of The Centre for Indigenous Theatre and past participant of the Indigenous Arts Program with the Paprika Festival. Theresa has gone on to continue honing her skills as a performer, playwright, storyteller, and producer and has had the pleasure of working with companies such as Native Earth Performing Arts, The Theatre Centre, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, and various Theatres in Tkaronto. I feel so lucky to have been entrusted with the telling of this story. Kinanâskomitin to Yolanda, Tarragon, and the whole team.
Ange Loft
Performer
Selected Theatre Credits: For Zitkála-Šá (Raven Chacon/Whitney Museum of American Art); Electric Prop and Hum Freestyle Variations (Maria Hupfield/National Gallery of Canada); Material Witness (Spiderwoman Theatre/Aanmitaagzi); Hoofs (Buddies/Rhubarb); The River Speaks (Thinking Rock Community Arts); After the Fire: Based on Interviews about Idle No More (ATF Collective); Opera 33 (Yamantaka//Sonic Titan); Hansel and Gretel: A Case Study (Shadowland Theatre); Circus of Dark and Light (Clay and Paper Theatre). As Associate Artistic Director: countless community creations (Jumblies Theatre). Upcoming: Stone and Bone Spectacular (Centaur Theatre) Awards: Toronto Biennial of Art’s Programs Prize for Talking Treaties’ Dish Dances Movement Workshop, inaugural Indigenous Artist Residency recipient at Centaur Theatre, inaugural Indigenous Research Fellow Centre for Canadian Architecture. Nominee for Polaris Prize and Juno Award with Yamantaka//Sonic Titan.
Monique Mojica
Performer
Selected Theatre Credits: The Unnatural and Accidental Women (NAC), Izzie M.: The Alchemy of Enfreakment, Chocolate Woman Dreams the Milky Way (Chocolate Woman Collective); I Lost My Talk; King Lear (NAC) As Dramaturg: The triptych, Re-Quickening/Blood Tides/SKEN:n’en (Kaha:wi Dance Theatre); for Ayita (Skirts Afire Festival). Selected Film and Television: Grandma Builds the Fire in Smoke Signals. Upcoming: 2023 book publication of Chocolate Woman Dreams the Milky Way: Mapping Embodied Indigenous Performance co-written with Brenda Farnell and Staging Coyote’s Dream, Vol. 3 co-edited with Lindsay Lachance. A member of the newly formed Indigenous Dramaturgy Circle at Tarragon. Dramaturg for several emerging Indigenous playwrights. Inaugural Wurlitzer Visiting Professor for 2022-23 in the Department of Theatre in the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Victoria.
Allyson Pratt
Performer
Allyson Pratt studied at the Randolph Academy (RAPA), and received the Triple Threat Award her graduating year. Allyson has performed memorable roles across the country, including Kawânihot Iskwew for Akpik Theatre, and Anne Shirley for The Charlottetown Festival. Allyson can be seen in the CSA nominated series Mohawk Girls in her recurring role as Iostha, and the award-winning web series Teenagers. Allyson starred in and co-created the short film Stephanie’s Room, which screened at the 2016 Cannes Festival. Allyson continually studies her craft in classes and intensives, including work with John Riven, John Boylan, and Angela Besharah.
Tyler J Sloane
Performer
Selected Theatre Credits: Crystalize (Caminos Festival 2019 – Aluna Theatre); Switch the Village (the Switch Collective); Youth/Elder’s Project (Buddies in Bad Times). As a playwright: Hummingbird (In Development – previously; Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity – Indigenous Playwrights Nest, Native Earth – Weesageechak Begins to Dance 31-32 – Annual Development Festival of Indigenous Work); Mx. (Radio Play – Alberta Queer Calendar Project). Selected Film and Television Credits: 1 Queen 5 Queers – Season 2: Episode 7, Season 1: Episode 5 and Episode 8 (Crave); Exploring the Mental Health Journeys of Young Asian-Canadians – Episode 3: ‘Tyler J Sloane – Surviving to Thriving’ (VICE). Other: Tyler J Sloane – They/Them. As an Anishinaabe (Oji-cree), Chinese, White mixed race Non-binary artist, my work emphasizes marginalized voices with an intrinsic intersectional lens and artistic framework. As a trans racial adoptee growing up in a predominantly white community, my desire to represent the beauty of experiencing racialization and queerness to translate it through stories and artistry is inherent. They are also engaged in Why Not Theatre’s ThisGen: PROVOKE Producing Fellowship. Beyond Theatre, Tyler is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus in Media Arts (Photography and Videography), Visual Arts (Mural Art, Watercolour, Mixed Media), and Performance (Burlesque, Drag, Performance Art). Ty is so honoured, humbled, and blessed to be cultivating such a healing storytelling space with such prolific Kwe, Chi-miigwech. To heal and share stories is to thrive for your ancestors and descendants.
Gone To See A Man About A Dog
Written RBC Emerging Playwright by Marcel Stewart
Directed by Natasha Mumba
Featuring Marcel Stewart
Sound Designed by Andrew Lloyd Johnson
Spoken Word Consultation by Britta B.
February 17, 2022
7:30
Audio Play
Admission by Donation
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.
Related events
Work(s) In Progress
February 15, 2022
3:00
Online Workshop
Details
So often, we start a piece of work with that work being left unfinished and undone. Our lives, our work, can get in the way. And with the creation of new, more exciting works, the chances of us revisiting and revising older versions of our past grow smaller and less likely.
Joél Leon—poet, author, performer and storyteller—wants to reframe the idea surrounding how we view past versions of our pieces. With “Work(s) In Progress” participants will be asked to bring to the table a piece of writing (poem, essay, song, monologue) that was started but never completed. During the course of an hour through prompts and a brief exercise, writers from any discipline will leave with a new sense of purpose revolving around the works of their past—in progress, not complete, but just as impactful.
Marcel Stewart
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
Natasha Mumba
Director
Natasha Mumba is a Zambian artist currently based in Toronto. She is a graduate of the Acting program at The National Theatre School of Canada and a Dora Nominated actress whose recent credits include: Canadian Stage: Measure for Measure; Shaw Festival: Henry V, The Adventures of the Black Girl; Obsidian Theatre: School Girls; Or the African Mean Girls Play; Factory Theatre: Trout Stanley, Acts of Faith. She also recently served as the Apprentice Artistic Director at Factory Theatre with the generous support of the Metcalf Foundation. Her directing credits include; Driftwood Trafalgar: Balance; Factory Theatre: Lady Sunrise (Assistant Director); YPT: The Water Gun Song; she is also Nominated for the Pauline McGibbon Emerging Director Award.
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.
20 21
sam Khalilieh, Rachel Mutombo, Ali Joy Richardson, Yolanda Bonnell
Palestineman
By Sam Khalilieh
Directed by Mark McGrinder
Featuring Sam Khalilieh
April 16, 2021
Digital Presentation
WARNING: Strong language, first dates, puppets and the Middle East.
Part origin story, part familial archeology, Palestineman is a journey of discovery for its subject and its audience. Returning for a second season IN DEVELOPMENT, playwright sam Khalilieh continues to put together the pieces of a show that has been in his head for over 30 years.
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Landed
April 14, 2021
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A Conversation on Theatre-Making and Immigrating
Prolific theatre artists John Ng and Anusree Roy will join sam Khalilieh in a conversation about immigrating to Canada and establishing a life in the theatre. Studio 180’s Byron Abalos moderates this intimate discussion, inviting your questions; delving into the complexities of identity; and celebrating the rich experiences and talent of our communities.
6×10
By RBC Emerging Playwright Rachel Mutombo
Directed by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard
Featuring Marcel Stewart & Amaka Umeh
February 19, 2021
Digital Presentation
WARNING: Imprisonment may not be limited to the incarcerated.
Isabelle and Jamal’s father was incarcerated for a violent crime. Though they’ve lived the majority of their lives without him, the stain of his actions has been on their lives ever since. Years of resentment and pain threaten to disrupt their lives when they learn of his impending release from prison. Despite the urge to continue to sweep it all under the rug, this pair of siblings is forced to come face to face with their complicated feelings and shared family trauma.
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Tell It Like It Is
February 17, 2021
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A Community Conversation on Playwriting
Get a glimpse into the writing process and join RBC Emerging Playwright Rachel Mutombo alongside fellow writers Andrea Scott and Djanet Sears in an intimate dialogue about identity, representation and community. Kimberley Rampersad (Associate Artistic Director of The Shaw Festival) moderates a discussion that connects audiences with some of Canada’s most provocative theatrical voices.
Dad
By RBC Emerging Playwright Ali Joy Richardson
Directed by Ann-Marie Kerr
Featuring Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster, Thomas Olajide & David Storch
December 18, 2020
Digital Presentation
WARNING: Pedestals may not be as sturdy as advertised. Watch for falling heroes.
Roy, a revered theatre school teacher, falls from grace after his behaviour with a student comes to light. Mark, his past student (now colleague), has to make him understand. Vic, Roy’s daughter, desperately needs her Dad to do the right thing. Nobody’s giving up without a fight.
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Be A Man
December 16, 2020
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A Panel Discussion on Reinventing Masculinity
Join RBC Emerging Playwright Ali Joy Richardson in conversation with expert panelists sexual health and violence prevention educator Tuval Dinner Nafshi, Jeff Perera from Higher Unlearning and Jake Stika from Next Gen Men discussing why men are essential contributors to the fight for gender equality and how we can transform notions of masculinity and what it means to be a man.
My Sister’s Rage
By RBC Emerging Playwright Yolanda Bonnell
Directed by Yolanda Bonnell
Featuring Cherish Violet Blood, Shandra Spears Bombay, Samantha Brown, Theresa Cutknife, Ange Loft, Monique Mojica, Allyson Pratt & Tyler J Sloane
November 20, 2020
Digital Presentation
WARNING: Family, fury and a hunger for reconciliation.
With their Matriarch on her way to the spirit world, a family comes together on their reservation and in the hospital to be with her. A story about grief, love, laughter, rage and the brilliant strength of Indigenous women and their families, fighting to be seen and fumbling towards their healing.
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Cultivating Care
November 18, 2020
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A Panel Discussion on Transforming Rehearsal Spaces
How can we identify and disrupt harmful modes of theatre-making and build a creative practice centring compassion and wellbeing? The pandemic has demanded that, as artists, we pause, reflect and innovate. How can we seize this opportunity to dismantle conventional models and transform our rehearsal halls into more equitable, liberating and caring spaces? A panel of visionary theatre artists, RBC Emerging Playwright Yolanda Bonnell, Donna-Michelle St. Bernard and Michaela Washburn, share their insight and experience.
19 20
Kate Cayley, Jonathan Wilson, Emil Sher, Sam Khalilieh, Jenna Harris
Promising
By Kate Cayley
Directed by Mark McGrinder
Featuring Maev Beaty
October 26, 2019
Buddies In Bad Times Theatre
WARNING: Strong Language, an unreliable narrator and raw, human vulnerability
A young teacher, Eleanor, adrift in her life and in her marriage, moves from Toronto to the small town her husband is from and begins working at the local school. Searching for meaning, she forms a strong and secretive connection with a damaged and violent young woman in her classroom, with disastrous consequences for herself and everyone around her.
A Public Display of Affection
By Jonathan Wilson
Directed by Chris Earle
Featuring Jonathan Wilson
October 25, 2019
School Reading
Buddies In Bad Times Theatre
On a drunken, late night return to Toronto’s queer Village, a middle aged man searches for the lost friends and landmarks of his youth only to find that they are all slowly disappearing and considers whether, at long last, so is he. Jonathan Wilson’s scintillating solo show is part history lesson, part stand-up comedy and ultimately, as is all theatre, a public display of affection.
Conviction
By Emil Sher
Directed by Mark McGrinder
Performed by Karl Ang, Lara Arabian, Neil Barclay, Herbie Barnes, John Bourgeois, Dmitry Chepovetsky, Jessica Greenberg & Celeste Sansregret
October 25, 2019
Buddies In Bad Times Theatre
WARNING: Strong Language, uncomfortable truths and limited opportunities to distance yourself from the problem
Two families were destroyed by the findings of Dr. Charles Smith, who eventually admitted his training in forensic pathology was ‘self-taught’. Conviction weaves original interviews, testimonies and court transcripts into a new work of verbatim theatre that promises to be dramatic and damning. We speak of justice delayed, of justice denied. In Conviction, notions of justice will be disassembled, with the audience left to put the pieces together again.
Palestineman
By RBC Emerging Playwright Sam Khalilieh
Directed by Sarah Kitz
Featuring Mahfuz Sami Khalilieh
October 19, 2019
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
WARNING: Strong Language, troubling notions and introspection
My name is Mahfuz Sami Khalilieh. I believed I could whitewash my Middle Eastern- ness and be regarded by the industry and audiences as “just a guy”. That didn’t really work. Not only did it not work, it had some insidious results. Palestineman is a semi- autobiographical one-man play about the unforeseen predicaments that immigrants and visible minorities encounter when they “become Canadian”.
(self-)portrait
By Jenna Harris
Directed by Sarah Kitz
Featuring Diane Flacks
October 18, 2019
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
WARNING: Warning: Poetry, alternative perspectives on history and zero tolerance for binaries
Conceptualized as a one-person play, (self-)portrait will feature the life, work and philosophical musings of the radical queer feminist surrealist artist and activist Claude Cahun. Using Cahun’s own writing (monologues, autobiography, diary entries, letters written in prison on toilet paper, resistance flyers…) (self-)portrait will take inspiration from Disavowels in philosophy, tone and structure to take shape as an anti-one-person one-person play.
18 19
Jonathan Wilson, Alison Lawrence, Yolanda Bonnell & Natasha Greenblatt, Bessie Cheng, Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks
A Public Display of Affection
By Jonathan Wilson
Directed by Chris Earle
Featuring Jonathan Wilson
May 15, 2019
Tarragon Theatre Workspace
On a drunken, late night return to Toronto’s queer Village, a middle aged man searches for the lost friends and landmarks of his youth only to find that they are all slowly disappearing and considers whether, at long last, so is he. Jonathan Wilson’s scintillating solo show is part history lesson, part stand-up comedy and ultimately, as is all theatre, a public display of affection
The Right
By Alison Lawrence
Directed by Mary Francis Moore
Featuring Rebecca Auerbach, Arlene Duncan, Tom Hauff, Karen Glave & Jenny Young
May 11, 2019
School Reading
Tarragon Theatre Workspace
The Right is about the legally and morally murky world of Medical Assistance in Dying. Late last year, Alison was told by a doctor that the defining term in the Medical Assistance in Dying legislation, Bill C-14, is that a person qualifies when death is “reasonably foreseeable,” which is “a statement of law that has no equivalent in medicine.” So what does that mean for someone who wants to die?
The Election
By RBC Emerging Playwrights Yolanda Bonnell & Natasha Greenblatt
Directed by Jennifer Brewin
Featuring Augusto Bitters, Sarah Kitz, Joelle Peters, Anand Rajaram, Rose Stella & Courtenay Stevens
May 10, 2019
Tarragon Theatre Workspace
During the federal election of 2015, Jennifer Brewin enlisted Natasha Greenblatt, Yolanda Bonnell, Qasim Khan, Anand Rajaram and Courtenay Stevens to volunteer on five different election campaigns across the province and commissioned them to document their experiences. Some of the creators were politically engaged before the election, others had never campaigned before; everyone became emotionally invested in the process that affects us all. Studio 180 is delighted to partner with Common Boots Theatre for the next phase of development on The Election, spearheaded by our RBC Emerging Playwrights Yolanda Bonnell and Natasha Greenblatt.
Dirt
By Bessie Cheng
Featuring: Anthony Perpuse & Miquelon Rodriguez
December 19, 2018
Private Reading
Roseneath Theatre
Dirt is a queer coming of age story that follows two boys of opposing ethnic groups growing up as best friends and takes place in Urumqi, China, and in Toronto. Dirt explores the intersection between queerness and race and the idea of power being a violent force.
Apple
By Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks
Directed by Mark McGrinder
Featuring: Lara Arabian, Belinda Corpuz & Alex De Jordy
November 19, 2018
Palmerston Toronto Public Library
Based on the playwright’s real life experience growing up attending and leading annual youth abstinence retreats, Apple explores critical themes of consent, choice, sexuality, and faith. Framed theatrically by a “Right to Wear White” retreat, Apple explores these issues through the young characters of Faith and Cain as they grapple with questions of faith, identity, and parental pressure, and struggle to make their own choices.
17 18
Norman Yeung, Alison Lawrence, Paul Dunn, Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks, Amy Rutherford, Stephen Orlov
Theory
By Norman Yeung
Directed by Esther Jun
Featuring Bilal Baig, Sascha Cole, Audrey Dwyer, Asha James, Kyle Orzech, Anthony Perpuse & Gord Rand
May 3, 2018
Tarragon Theatre Workspace
Isabelle, a young tenure-track professor, tests the limits of free speech by encouraging her students to contribute to an unmoderated discussion group. When an anonymous student posts offensive comments and videos, Isabelle must decide whether to intervene or to let the social experiment play out.
The Right
By Alison Lawrence
Directed by RBC Emerging Director Sarah Orenstein
Featuring Rebecca Auerbach, Trish Fagan, Allegra Fulton, Tom Hauff & Alana Hibbert
April 20, 2018
Berkeley Street Theatre
The Right is about the legally and morally murky world of Medical Assistance in Dying. Late last year, Alison was told by a doctor that the defining term in the Medical Assistance in Dying legislation, Bill C-14, is that a person qualifies when death is “reasonably foreseeable,” which is “a statement of law that has no equivalent in medicine.” So what does that mean for someone who wants to die?
This Great City
By Paul Dunn
Directed by Mark McGrinder
Featuring Karl Ang, Laura Condlln & Jessica Greenberg
October 20, 2017
918 Bathurst
Lydia and Jonathan are grown siblings, both adopted and raised by the same set of left-leaning foster parents, in Toronto’s Annex. Jonathan has built a life for himself, while Lydia has made a bit of a mess of hers along the way. Her child has been living with Jonathan and his wife Jackie as Lydia tries to clean her life up. As the political tension in the city builds, it enters the home, and the characters’ ideological differences threaten to tear the whole family apart.
Apple
By RBC Emerging Playwright Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks
Directed by Mark McGrinder
Featuring Gabriella Albino, Niko Oullette & Jennifer Villaverde
October 11, 2017
School Reading
918 Bathurst
Based on the playwright’s real life experience growing up attending and leading annual youth abstinence retreats, Apple explores critical themes of consent, choice, sexuality, and faith.
Mortified
By Amy Rutherford
Directed by Anita Rochon
Dramaturgy by Jonathon Young
Featuring Paul Braunstein, Rachel Cairns, Bria McLaughlin, Sarah Orenstein, Liisa Repo-Martell, Amelia Sargisson, Margarita Valderrama & Sophia Walker
October 5, 2017
918 Bathurst
A woman runs into a man from her past and is surprised by the power he still holds over her. In an attempt to uncover the truth of what happened between them, she recalls her adolescent self: a 14-year-old synchronized swimmer, struggling to make sense of the world around her.
Birthmark
By Stephen Orlov
Directed by David S. Craig
Featuring Valerie Buhagiar, Richard Greenblatt, Will Greenblatt & Cynthia Hicks
October 4, 2017
School Reading
918 Bathurst
Birthmark, a dark-comedy-drama and political thriller, thematically explores the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on relations between two Montreal diaspora families, one Jewish and the other Palestinian, and how that seemingly endless battle abroad over birthright and homeland effects the complexity of youth radicalization in Canada.
16 17
Paul Dunn, Kate Cayley, Jason Sherman, Marie Beath Badian
This Great City
By Paul Dunn
Direction and Dramaturgy by Mark McGrinder
Featuring Jessica Greenberg, Sam Kalilieh & Lisa Norton
April 4, 2017
Roseneath Theatre
This Great City examines the intersection of the personal and the political, set in Toronto, during the years of the Ford mayoralty. The play has morphed significantly from its initial Studio 180 IN DEVELOPMENT outing, moving from an exploration of a city at large to an intimate portrait of the divisive power of politics in a familial setting.
Student
By Kate Cayley
Direction by Mark McGrinder
Featuring Jessica Greenberg
April 3, 2017
Roseneath Theatre
Student is about a wildly inappropriate connection between a teacher and a student, and the unraveling of a marriage, while also unpicking some of the mythologies we cling to about our own institutions.
The United Nathans
By Jason Sherman
Direction and Dramaturgy by Joel Greenberg
Featuring Jonas Chernick, Murray Furrow, Jessica Greenberg, Sam Kalilieh, Robert Persichini, Michael Rubenfeld & Shaina Silver-Baird
November 19, 2016
April 14, 2017
Roseneath Theatre
A final instalment in a decades-spanning trilogy, The United Nathans also stands on its own, exploring the intractability of the conflict in the Middle East and the fragility of Western idealism when confronted with the realities of a seemingly endless history of cultural, religious and political animosity.
Common: Part I & Part II
By Marie Beath Badian
Direction by Mark McGrinder
Featuring Bilal Baig, Maddie Bautista, Ngabo Nabea & Lisa Truong
November 12, 2016
April 11, 2017
Roseneath Theatre
Originally commissioned and developed with Project: Humanity, Common: Part I and Common: Part II are inspired by kids killing time in the common room at Toronto’s largest youth homeless shelter.
15 16
Paul Dunn, Sean Devine, Hannah Moscovitch, Kate Cayley, Jenna Harris, Jill Andrew
This Great City
By Paul Dunn
Directed by Paul Dunn
Featuring Jessica Greenberg, Mark McGrinder & Kimwun Perehinec
November 27, 2015
In This Great City, something terrible is happening. Daily, the news is filled with the scandals, criminal associations and bigotry of the city’s right-wing Mayor. A small group of left-wing activists decide to take matters into their own hands. But will that cure the city? And the angry voices that he has awakened and encouraged… will those just go away? How far are we willing to go, when we think we know what’s best for other people?
Daisy
By Sean Devine
November 21, 2015
Based on true events, Daisy explores a moment in television history that forever changed how we elect our leaders. War was the objective. Peace was the bait. Everyone got duped.
Later I Can Tell You About Jesus
By Hannah Moscovitch
November 19, 2015
Loosely inspired by a story close to home, the play explores how the tension between freedom and culture can turn violent. The story is a domestic tragedy: a headstrong, rowdy girl and her traditional father battle it out in Toronto’s West End.
Student
By Kate Cayley
Directed by Mark McGrinder
Featuring Kimwun Perehinec
November 15, 2015
Private Reading
Student is about a wildly inappropriate connection between a teacher and a student, and the unraveling of a marriage, while also unpicking some of the mythologies we cling to about our own institutions.
So She Said
By Jenna Harris
November 14, 2015
So She Said is inspired by the playwright’s relationship with her grandmother and the concept of legacy – what we leave behind in this world, and that which is passed down generation to generation through our familial genes, that which shapes who we are, what we say and how we interact with our world.
Fat In The City: Monologues Of Corpulent Proportions (The FAT Monologues)
By Jill Andrew
Bringing 10 self-identified women’s body stories to life onstage, this project provides an opportunity for participants to artistically demonstrate how they feel/live/love/work/experience/etc. in a body that is or is self-perceived as FAT. All too often fat bodies are being talked about… it’s time to hear fat-identified people speak for themselves.