Tawiah M’Carthy

Before they arrived at the NAC for rehearsals, we asked a few questions to the members of the 2014-15 Ensemble about themselves.

1)      What are you working on over the summer?
This summer I am workshopping two new pieces I am co-creating. Blue Bird with Brad Cook in residence with InterArts Matrix and lemonTree creations and Art of Marriage with Pam Patel at MT Space I am also performing in He Left Quietly directed by Leora Morris at SummerWorks.On top of that, I am finishing the second draft of my play Our Daughters, developed as part of the Playwrights Unit at Obsidian Theatre.

2)      What are you looking most forward to when you arrive at the NAC?
I am looking forward to working with the Ensemble. I am so honoured to have the opportunity to be a part of this unit which includes some of the artists who have been an inspiration since the beginning of my career. 

3)      How did you get involved in acting?
I am not able to tell you exactly when I got involved in acting but I can tell you when I decided to make it a career. In high school, my drama teacher encouraged me to consider acting as a profession. The only Theatre program I applied for was the York Theatre program, believing that if I got in, then it was a sign from God confirming that I should be an actor.

4)      What’s the most interesting thing that has happened to you on stage?
In 2008 during a presentation of my very first play, I was on stage talking to the audience asking questions in character. A young boy about five years old, who was there with his mother, sitting in the front near the stage and feeling concerned that I was asking questions and not getting answers, decided to talk back to me. "They just need a minute to think about it." I turned to him and said thank you. I was happy to know that he was paying attention.

Raised in: Accra, Ghana | Based in: Toronto, ON

For the NAC: 

NAC debut.

Theatre: 

Tawiah M'Carthy is a Toronto-based theatre artist, notable as a Dora Mavor Moore nominated actor and playwright. He is the creator/playwright/performer of the critically acclaimed, 2013 multi-Dora Mavor Moore Award-winning play Obaaberima, developed and produced in residency at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (Best Production).

As a creator/performer, Tawiah uses both African and Western theatre traditions; combining dance, movement, music, storytelling and poetry together with theatrical structure and design.

His professional creator credits include; Ato inBody 13 (MT Space); Nana in The Kente Cloth (SummerWorks Festival 2008).

In his practice as a theatre facilitator, Tawiah works with various youth organizations and communities, leading workshops in Play Creation, Acting, Movement, Character Body. He is among the workshop facilitators for Spring Theatre Project at Tarragon Theatre and a member of the Playwrights Unit at Obsidian Theatre in Toronto. He trained as an actor at York University in the Acting Conservatory BFA program.