TORONTO, February 24, 2021 鈥� Three theatre students from 91亚色鈥檚 School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design are among the emerging Black Canadian talent who have created work inspired by Obsidian Theatre鈥檚 , a collection of 21 filmed monodramas streaming on

For the project, , Black Canadian students were invited to take on the challenge of creating an original work answering the question 鈥淲hat is the future of Blackness?鈥� 鈥� be it in spoken word poetry, an audio recording, a performed reading, or an Instagram essay.

21 Black Futures features a group of 63 Black Canadian playwrights, actors and directors creating art during the COVID-19 pandemic and a global reckoning with anti-Black racism. Seeding the Future participants are taking this artistic dialogue further through their responses, which are being published online on .

91亚色, Brock University, CBC Arts and Obsidian Theatre have collaboratively developed the project that features the creative responses from 21 Black theatre students from across the country, one for each piece in the original digital performance series. The respondents were chosen through a nationwide call for participants.

鈥淎s we work at Obsidian to develop and advance Black artists across the country, we also recognize the glaring lack of Black voices in arts criticism and journalism. When we were approached for this project, we wholeheartedly welcomed the opportunity to invite young Black voices to view and respond to 21 Black Futures,鈥� says Michael Sinclair, General Manager of Obsidian Theatre. 鈥淏lack and other BIPOC artists deserve to have voices at the table from their own communities engaging in dialogue about their work. We can鈥檛 wait to see what these 21 Black students have to say.鈥�

The students were divided into three groups and were matched with a Black mentor to guide their creative approaches: Signy Lynch, Theatre & Performance Studies PhD student at 91亚色; writer and critic Jordy Kieto; and actor and writer Omari Newton.

The first part of Seeding the Future, including 91亚色 theatre student Cassandra Henry鈥檚 creative response to one of the first seven monodramas produced in 21 Black Futures, is .

The second and third group of responses, including contributions from 91亚色 theatre students Dante Jemmott and Megan Legesse, will be published on March 1 and on March 8, respectively.

91亚色聽is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change and prepare our students for success. 91亚色's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.聽

Media Contacts:
Gloria Suhasini, 91亚色 Media Relations, 647.463.4354,聽suhasini@yorku.ca

The post Seeding the Future: 91亚色 Black theatre students share original work inspired by 21 Black Futures聽 appeared first on News@91亚色.

TORONTO, Wednesday, Nov.8, 2017听鈥撀�Theatre @ 91亚色聽launches its 2017-18 season with , a new work devised by students under the mentorship of an international collaboration between UK-based artist Deborah Pearson and Volcano, Toronto鈥檚 world renown boundary pushing theatre company. An innovative exploration of Canadian identity and citizenship in an increasingly populist world, Post National previews Nov. 19 and 20, opens Nov. 21, and continues to Nov. 25 in the Joseph G. Green Theatre on 91亚色鈥檚 Keele campus.

鈥淭here is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada.聽 There are shared values 鈥� openness, respect, compassion, willingness to work hard, to be there for each other, to search for equality and justice. Those qualities are what make us the first聽post-national state.鈥� 聽 聽聽鈥擩ustin Trudeau聽

Inspired by the prime minister鈥檚 comment that Canada is 鈥渢he first post-national state,鈥�聽Post National聽is a double bill. Continuing the tradition of shows that feature guest performers, pioneered by Rimini Protokoll鈥檚 100% Project, Tim Crouch鈥檚 An Oak Tree, and Nassim Soleymanpour鈥檚 White Rabbit Red Rabbit, Volcano is creating an instruction-based piece from and about Canada.聽 The first part of the evening consists of 12 guest performers between the ages of 18 and 24 from the 91亚色 community answering live questions on stage about their relationship to nationhood and protest. The second part of the evening features the fourth-year acting students from 91亚色, performing the piece they devised with Pearson and Volcano, exploring the same topics from a different perspective.

The cast of Theatre @ 91亚色鈥檚 Post National, created and performed by fourth-year students from 91亚色鈥檚 Acting Conservatory. Photo courtesy of the 91亚色 U Department of Theatre

The combination is a much-needed snapshot of university-aged students and how they regard nationalism in 2017.聽Questions will be asked: Where were you born?聽 Do you think that is a good question to start with?聽 What question would you start with? 聽

Discussing the project, Post National director and Volcano Artistic Director Ross Manson, said 鈥淲as our stylish prime minister talking politics or truth? We are thrilled to be working with our聽Post National聽Jury of Twelve to determine where Canada stands on the idea of nation and citizenship.鈥�

Commenting on the concept, Pearson added 鈥淟iving in the UK and witnessing the rise of the far right and nationalism in that country in such a visceral and disturbing way, I was both deeply touched and somewhat challenged by Trudeau鈥檚 assertion about Canada, the country where I was born. I wanted to go back and put this assertion under the microscope with a group of young Canadians, to see how it writhed or bloomed. Are we really setting a good example for the rest of the world?鈥�

Pearson is a live artist who tours her work all over the world and has most recently had her work staged at the Royal Court in London. She has a PhD in narrative in performance and has acted as dramaturg for more than 20 shows internationally, many of which have won multiple awards and accolades. She was also named one of the UK鈥檚 100 most powerful people in theatre in 2016 and 2009 by Stage Magazine.聽 Pearson is an associate artist with Volcano and teams up with Manson and Volcano Associate Artist and Choreographer Kate Alton, both of whom are celebrated figures in the Canadian performance community and frequently tour their work internationally.

Post National kicks off 鈥淲orlds of Exile,鈥� a season of plays exploring longing, belonging and displacement. Exile, refugee, asylum-seeker, nomad, migrant, immigrant, these are terms that share a sense of displacement and a feeling of Otherness. While some of these terms can be defined in legal and political terms, others speak to a rift that generates a social and psychological condition. With聽Worlds of Exile, 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Theatre reflects on aspects of the varied experience of persons who, either by choice or as a result of imposition, are living outside their home of origin, are 鈥渙thered鈥� by virtue of colonial exile practices, who have returned home only to find it unrecognizable, or who, as the children or grandchildren of exiles, are living in two worlds.

WHEN: Nov. 19 to 25

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

• 聽7:30pm from Nov 19 to 24
• 1pm on Nov. 22 & 24
• 2pm on Nov. 25
• Wednesday, Nov. 22 7:30pm is an ASL interpreted and Deaf performance
• Thursday, Nov. 23 7:30pm is a Relaxed performance

WHERE: Joseph G. Green Theatre, Centre for Film and Theatre, 91亚色鈥檚 Keele campus. See number 38 on the (

BOX OFFICE INFOMATION:聽Tickets are available聽聽or over the phone at 416-736-5888.

• Previews: $7, Nov. 19 & 20
• ASL Interpreted Performance: $5, Wednesday, Nov. 22聽7:30pm
• Relaxed Performance: $5, Thursday, Nov. 23聽7:30pm
• All Other Performances: Tickets: $20 Student/Senior $12
• Groups of 10 or more: $10 (Group price applies when all group tickets are purchased at once for a single performance. Not available online, phone or visit the

**COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE MEDIA.

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聽is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91亚色 students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world鈥檚 most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91亚色 U is an internationally recognized research university 鈥� our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91亚色 is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni. 91亚色 U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contacts:

Amy Stewart, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, 416-736-2100 ext. 44044, amy.stewart@yorku.ca

Sandra McLean, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097,聽sandramc@yorku.ca

The post Theatre @ 91亚色鈥檚 new play Post National kicks off a season dedicated to 鈥淲orlds of Exile鈥� appeared first on News@91亚色.

Award-winning Algonquin/M茅tis director and playwright Yvette Nolan helms Theatre @91亚色鈥檚 compelling new production of聽Br茅beuf鈥檚 Ghost,聽鈥渁 tale of horror in three acts鈥� by聽internationally renowned Aboriginal playwright Daniel David Moses. The show previews from January 24, opens January 26 and runs to January 30 in the Joseph G. Green Studio Theatre at 91亚色鈥檚 Keele campus.

Br茅beuf鈥檚 Ghost is a poetic and powerful story of the survival of聽Indigenous culture in the face of colonial oppression and destruction. The play is set in 1649 at Lake Nipissing, where the First Nations communities are at war with Christian missionaries. Worlds are colliding. On top of everything, the ghost of the Jesuit missionary Jean de Br茅beuf, killed earlier in the year in Huronia, has returned.

With Br茅beuf鈥檚 Ghost, Moses depicts a dark but ultimately healing vision of early Canada. The audience is drawn in to witness an intensely theatrical epic that reveals the shattering consequences of the collision between native and non-native cultures, traditions and social structures.

Nolan hopes audiences will truly experience the world that Daniel David Moses has created in Br茅beuf鈥檚 Ghost.

鈥淚聽think it鈥檚 really important to understand that this story is our story 鈥� the story of all Canadians鈥�, she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about contact between the Indigenous people and the people who came over to these lands. What I want audiences to take away from the experience of the play is an understanding of how we got to 2016.鈥�

For Br茅beuf鈥檚 Ghost, Nolan directs a talented young cast drawn from the 4th Year Acting Conservatory in 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Theatre. Upper-year undergrads make up the creative team handling all aspects of production design and execution, including sets, costumes, lighting and an original soundscape.

Daniel David Moses is registered as a Delaware Indian, though he hails from the Six Nations lands located on the Grand River near Brantford, Ontario. An alumnus of 91亚色鈥檚 Theatre program, he is one of Canada鈥檚 foremost playwrights. He has been hailed as 鈥溾�� a coroner of the theatre who slices open the human heart to reveal the fear, hatred and love that have eaten away at it鈥� (The Globe and Mail). His plays include Almighty Voice and his Wife, Coyote City, The Witch of Niagara, and The Indian Medicine Shows. A two-time nominee for the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre, he received the Ontario Arts Council鈥檚 Aboriginal Arts Award in 2015. He divides his time between Toronto, where he writes, and Kingston, where he teaches in the Department of Drama at Queen鈥檚 University.

Director, playwright, dramaturg, actor and educator Yvette Nolan is a major force in the creation and performance of Aboriginal theatre in Canada. Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, to an Algonquin mother and an Irish immigrant father, she has worked with theatre companies across the country, including Winnipeg鈥檚 Manitoba Theatre Centre; Nakai Theatre and Gwaandak Theatre in Whitehorse, Yukon; Eastern Front Theatre in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; and Toronto鈥檚 Native Earth Performing Arts, where she served as managing artistic director from 2003 to 2010. Her directing credits include the Western Canada Theatre Company/National Arts Centre co-production of George Ryga鈥檚 The Ecstasy of Rita Joe; The Only Good Indian for Turtle Gals Performance Ensemble; and Death of Chief, A Very Polite Genocide and Tombs of the Vanishing Indian for Native Earth Performing Arts. She has been writer/playwright-in-residence at Brandon University, the NAC, Mount Royal College and the University of Regina. Her honours include the George Luscombe Award for mentorship in professional theatre, Bob Couchman Award for direction, Jessie Richardson Award for outstanding original script, and Mallory Gilbert Leadership Award. Later this season, Theatre @ 91亚色 will present her adaptation of Aristophanes鈥� The Birds, recast as a tale of Indigenous and settler relationships on Turtle Island.

Br茅beuf鈥檚 Ghost is presented under the auspices of Performing Indigeneity, the Department of Theatre鈥檚 thematic focus for 2015-16. In Theatre @ 91亚色 productions, the Performance Studies (Canada) Speaker Series, curriculum and classroom dialogue, the department is exploring questions raised by Indigenous performance, including interculturalism, indigenous protocols, post-colonialism, and the staging of ethnicity. 91亚色鈥檚 theatre program joins the national conversation undertaken by the country鈥檚 most influential theatre organizations and leads the nation in addressing how post-secondary theatre training intersects with Canada鈥檚 Indigenous peoples and the diversity of their artistic practices.

Theatre @ 91亚色 presents Daniel David Moses'聽 Br茅beuf鈥檚 Ghost directed by Yvette Nolan
When: January 24 to 30, opening Tuesday, January 26
Schedule: Previews January 24 and 25 at 7:30pm, opens January 26 and runs to January 29 at 7:30pm nightly, plus matinees January 27 and 29 at 1pm and January 30 at 2pm.
Where: Joseph G. Green Studio Theatre, Centre for Film and Theatre, 91亚色, 4700 Keele St. Toronto |
Tickets: $20 | students & seniors $12 | previews $7
Group rate: $10 (for groups of 10 or more; not available through online purchase 鈥� please call the box office)
Box Office: 416.736.5888 or

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Media Contact:
Amy Stewart, Communications, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, 91亚色
416-650-8469 | 补尘测.蝉迟别飞补谤迟蔼测辞谤办耻.肠补听

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