Stage Door News
Stage Door News
TORONTO, Aug 17, 2016 -From August 25th to 28th 2016, Why Not is hosting a group of diverse and dynamic artistic leaders from Canada, USA, UK, Rwanda, Nigeria and Turkey in Toronto, Canada for a 4-day gathering called ThisGen. ThisGen is a gathering of local, national and international artists who are all making significant impacts within their communities, through the arts. They are current artistic leaders working in a range of roles, in companies that range from grassroots organizations to institutions - and everything in between. We are bringing these people together to have conversations, build an international network, and engage with the question: “What’s next for the theatre?”
Funded by the Canada Council for the Arts’ Equity Office, the gathering, over the course of the 4 days will be hosted by several venues (The Theatre Centre, Soulpepper Theatre, Canadian Stage and Factory Theatre), with an intimate group of 24 invited artists from across Canada and the world. The participants will be joined by guest speakers from Canada (Artistic Directors Franco Boni, Albert Schultz, Nina Lee Aquino, Ravi Jain), the United States (National Consultant on Diversity and Inclusion, Carmen Morgan) and the UK (Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre Madani Younis, and cultural activist, writer and prominent Live Art advocate Lois Keidan).
In order to recognize the abundance of leaders in our community, we will be hosting two Long Table conversations at two different Toronto theatre venues open to practitioners from the Toronto theatre community. Long Table is a conversation format developed by UK artist Lois Weaver. It's a provocative, experimental, and non-hierarchical format for public dialogue - anyone is welcome to the table to make statements, leave comments, ask questions, or simply to listen.
Community Long Table Discussions:
Friday Aug 26th, 2016 from 7pm to 8:30pm
Hosted by Soulpepper Theatre
At the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in the Garland Cabaret
50 Tank House Lane, Toronto ON
Saturday Aug 27th, 2016 from 7pm to 8:30pm
Hosted by Canadian Stage Company
At the Berkeley Street Theatre in the Main Lobby
26 Berkeley Street, Toronto ON
Tickets for Long Table Discussions are free, but require an RSVP. Visit thisgen.org to rsvp for each of the events.
ThisGen2016
Co-curated by Ravi Jain and Jenny Koons
Produced by Kelly Read and Owais Lightwala of Why Not Theatre
With the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, The Theatre Centre, Soulpepper Theatre, Canadian Stage and Factory Theatre
Participants: Nina Lee Aquino (CAN), Marjorie Chan (CAN), Ryan Cunningham (CAN), Evalyn Parry (CAN), Donna-Michelle St. Bernard (CAN), Guillermo Verdecchia (CAN), David Yee (CAN), Quincy Armorer (CAN), Christian Barry (CAN), Majdi Bou-Matar (CAN), Anita Rochon (CAN), Joyce Rosario (CAN), Christine Quintana (CAN), Mumbi Tindyebwa (CAN), Jillian Keily (CAN), Sarah Stanley (CAN), Jenny Koons (USA), Jonathan McCrory (USA), Stephanie Ybarra (USA), Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway (UK), Gbolahan Obisesan (UK), Ria Parry (UK), Wole Oguntokun (Nigeria), Hakan Silahsizoglu (Turkey), Hope Azeda (Rwanda)
Guest Speakers: Carmen Morgan (USA), Madani Younis (UK), Lois Keidan (UK)
About Why Not Theatre
Founded in 2007, Why Not Theatre is an award-winning Toronto-based theatre company with an international scope. Led by founding Artistic Director Ravi Jain, Why Not has established a reputation as a company synonymous with inventive, experimental, cross-cultural collaborations resulting in shows featuring new Canadian writing, company-devised and site specific shows alongside revitalized interpretations of classics. In recent years, the company has also become known for its presentation of international productions and workshops from diverse cultures and artistic practices, along with support for the development of local emerging artists and companies. For more info, visit theatrewhynot.org
2016-08-17
Toronto: Why Not Theatre presents "ThisGen 2016", a gathering of artistic leaders from around the world