Season Brochure! - Obsidian Theatre Company

season sponsor:
artistic
Director’s Note
So many times the question
gets asked about what you
would tell your younger
self. This Obsidian season
gives two answers to that
question. Both “Master
Harold”...and the Boys by
Athol Fugard and Passing
Strange by Stew channels
their voices to reveal who
they once were. Two very
different styles of plays but
both dig deep, smelt true,
to create plays of the finest
steel. To see our yesterdays
all we have to do is turn
around and truly look.
Come gaze with us this year
philip Akin, artistic
director
“ It’s hard to imagine a stronger
production of this play.”
– The Globe and Mail
By Athol Fugard
Directed by Philip Akin
Port Elizabeth, South Africa — 1950. In
a tea-shop owned by his parents, Harold
does homework while two black men
rehearse ballroom dancing. Hally and the
men, who have long worked for his family,
recall fond memories of times spent
together as the young boy escaped his
family life. But when news comes that
the boy’s father is returning home,
the personal becomes political. First
produced in 1982, the play was initially
banned in South Africa and has since
become an enduring, modern classic
that continues to speak to inequality
and injustice.
In association with Shaw Festival
" Master Harold"...and the Boys is
presented by special arrangement
with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.
Starring James Daly, Allan Louis and
André Sills
October 8th - 23rd, 2016
Toronto Centre for the Arts
5040 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M2N 6R8
Tickets available at the TCA Box Office
Online: www.tocentre.com
Telephone: 1-855-985-2787
“ Flawless casting, great acting
and highly sensitive direction from
Philip Akin”
– The Toronto Star
“ Call it a rock concert with a story to tell, trimmed
with a lot of great jokes. Or call it a sprawling work
of performance art, complete with angry rants and
scary drag queens… I’ll just call it wonderful.”
– New York Times
“ With excellent songs and a vulnerable heart,
Passing Strange could join Hedwig and the Angry
Inch as a punk musical milestone.”
– Variety
Book and Lyrics by
stew
Music by
stew & heidi rodewald
Created in Collaboration with
Annie Dorsen
Passing Strange is a bold coming of
age story told through sex, drugs and
rock ‘n’ roll. In the late 1970s, a black teen
is driven from Los Angeles to Amsterdam
and Berlin in search of himself and a
place to call home. Fusing punk rock,
R&B and soul, and performed at Toronto’s
preeminent music venue The Opera
A co-production with
Acting Up
Stage Company
Directed by
Philip Akin
House, Passing Strange is unlike any
musical you’ve seen before. Winner of
the 2008 Tony Award for Best Book of
a Musical and three Drama Desk Awards
including Best Musical, don’t miss the
show that has been universally applauded
for its originality, authenticity, and
powerful score. Jan 24th - Feb 5th, 2017
The Opera House
735 Queen Street East
Toronto, ON M4M 1H2
Tickets on sale Nov. 7th, 2016
Online: www.obsidiantheatre.com
Telephone: 1-888-324-6282
the Mentor/
Apprentice Progr
the
am
Obsidian Theatre Company
Professional Training Program
Funded by the Department of Canadian
Heritage and the Metcalf Foundation,
Obsidian’s professional training program
is grounded in the philosophy of training
through exploration and production to
enhance knowledge, share skills, increase
marketability and strengthen community.
S
Playwright's
Unit
2016-2017 Apprentices
Obsidian Theatre Playwrights Unit
2016-2017 Playwrights
Ketrice Anderson – Costume Design
Charles Azulay – Directing
Samson Brown – Production
Management
Samantha Kaine – Producing
Sean Mayes – Musical Directing
Stephen Surlin – Sound Design
Obsidian’s Playwrights Unit is 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.
Motion
Stephen Jackman-Torkoff
Sashoya Shoya Oya
“ It's safe to say that most of my present employment is directly
“Spaces that are dedicated to the development of African-Canadian
influenced by the apprenticeship program. It was a year full of
constant learning and musical and theatrical exploration with
Acting Up Stage/Obsidian and Shaw Festival.”
storytelling, in all its multiplicity, are invaluable because they
continually mold an inclusive and equitable cultural landscape
in our changing nation.”
– beau dixon, 2011-2013 musical directing apprentice
– d'bi.young anitafrika, 2015-2016 Playwrights Unit
Obsidian Theatre Company
Artistic Director
Philip Akin
General Manager/
Producer
Tania Senewiratne
Play Development
Coordinator
Mel Hague
Mentor/Apprentice
Jamie Robinson
Program Coordinator
Associate General
Manager
Luke Reece
Made possible by funding from the Metcalf
Foundation Performing Arts Internships
Public Relations
Graphic Designer
PenelopePR Tiffany Astle and
Jess Seguire
Erika Madsen
Contact: erikamdesigns@gmail.com
Board of Directors
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Chair)
Dayo Kefentse (Vice Chair)
Walter Gibbons (Treasurer)
Bev Salmon (Secretary)
Harmony Cohen
Founding Members
Awaovieyi Agie, Philip Akin, Ardon Bess,
David Collins, Roy Lewis, Yanna McIntosh,
Diane Roberts, Kim Roberts, Sandi Ross,
Alison Sealy-Smith, Djanet Sears, Satori
Shakoor and Tricia Williams
our Donors and sponsors
Black Glass
up to $99
Stewart Arnott
Stacey Norton
Kenneth Pearl
Tanisha Taitt
Leighton Williams
Belarie Zatzman
Anonymous
Red Mahogany
$100 to $249
Diana Abraham
Shari Caldwell
Marjorie Chan
David Crawford
Barbara Fingerote
Walter Gibbons
Alicia Jeffery
Jon Kaplan
Alfred Marguerite
Grecia Mayers
Derek Miller
Daniel David Moses
Sonya Popovich
Bev Salmon
Leslie Sanders
L.A. Stokell
Leonie Thelwell
Silver Sheen
$250 - $5499
Anonymous
Rosalind Smith
Gold Sheen
$500 - $999
Shani Greenlaw
Mary McDougall Maude
Sarah Garton Stanley
Rainbow Sheen
$1,000 or more
Joan Boxer
The Pat and Tony
Adam’s Freedom Fund
for the Arts
Jefferson & Sally Mappin
Professor J.W. Michael &
Dr. Edith Lorimer
Contact us
Obsidian Theatre Company
1089 Dundas Street East
Toronto, On
M4M 1R9
Phone: 416.463.8444
office@obsidiantheatre.com www.obsidiantheatre.com
Thank you to our
season sponsor:
thank you to our sponsors and partners:
Obsidian graciously thanks all its generous Donors, if for some reason you
have not been mentioned in this list, please accept our apologies.
Obsidian Theatre Company Inc is a registered charity #87327 3122 RR0001
TOTAL: $
I wish to Donate: $
Donations can be made online
at www.canadahelps.org or
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payable to: Obsidian Theatre
Company Inc.
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Obsidian is passionately
dedicated to the exploration,
development, and production of the Black voice in
Canada. We are extremely
proud of what we do and
are honoured to be able
to support all the talented
artists we work with. Your
support makes it possible
for us to continue to serve
our community. Please
consider making a donation
to Obsidian as we celebrate
our 2016/2017 Season!