Artist Mentorship Program Showcase

Start: 2022-06-03T14:00-0400
End: 2022-06-03T15:40-0400
Location: Azrieli Studio

Black Theatre Workshop

Theatre

NAC English Theatre

Jun 3, 2022 - 2 PM EDT

This June, Black Theatre Workshop presents their Artist Mentorship Program Industry Showcase, in partnership with NAC English Theatre.

The Artist Mentorship Program, which has been part of BTW’s programming for the past eight years, features 13 emerging artists across all theatrical disciplines (actors, directors, designers, playwrights, stage managers), placing them under the guidance of theatre professionals throughout the year. Mentorship sessions and workshops will culminate in this on-stage program showcase.

This year’s ensemble is a diverse group of emerging theatre artists who demonstrate talent, skill and potential in their respective disciplines!

We are ecstatic to introduce the AMP 2021-2022 Ensemble. Under our Artist Mentorship Program Co-coordinators Warona Setshwaelo and Mariah Inger, this new brilliant ensemble will embark on a bold, new season of theatre.

Over the course of the current season, they have worked alongside some of Montreal’s most sought-after theatre professionals, leading up to the popular Industry Showcase.

As NAC English Theatre’s Co-Curating Company this season, this program from Black Theatre Workshop will go national for the first time!

A recording of the livestream will be available to watch online after the event.

Artists

Playwright Tara L. Taylor
Playwright Tara L. Taylor

Tara L. Taylor – East Preston, NS; Light House GO Manager; Festival Director – Emerging Lens Cultural Film Festival; CBC Arts & Cultural Columnist; Playwright Atlantic Resource and Women in Film & Television – Atlantic board member; Inaugural Artist in Residence for the Halifax Public Libraries; 2021 Winner of the African Nova Scotian Music Awards Industry Development Award for her body of work in presenting musical theatre and film; a Proud Mom of four; a playwright, filmmaker, multimedia artist, singer, actress.
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Playwright Peace Akintade
Playwright Peace Akintade

Peace Akintade is an African Canadian Interdisciplinary Poet, Public-Speaker on Immigration and Refugee Rights, and Thespian residing in Saskatoon Saskatchewan. Currently attaining an Anthropology degree at UofS, Peace values the influence of storytelling when bridging cultural strife in foreign lands. Part of the Youth Speaker’s Bureau for the Office of the Treaty Commissioner. Recently one of the 21 Black Playwrights chosen for the Obsidian Theatre’s 21 Black Future Project. Her play Madness with Rocks can be found on CBCArts and CBCGem. Her poems focus on the impact of colonialization as a first-generation immigrant, and the liberation and strength of Black Joy.
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Cast Sasha Hayden
Cast Sasha Hayden

Sasha Hayden is of Jamaican and Canadian descent. She’s committed and passionate about her craft, and believes representation matters. Sasha was born in Calgary, Alberta. Her studies started at Company of Rogues Actors’ Studio. Sasha is now based in Vancouver where she continues to take an array of classes. Currently, she trains online at The Imagined Life Studio in L.A. She’s had appearances on networks such as Netflix, Lifetime, Hallmark and more.
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Cast Paul Smith
Cast Paul Smith

Paul Smith is a Thursday-born performer, creator, and facilitator from Stittsville, ON., Treaty 27. A graduate of Dan School of Drama and Music at Queen’s University, he uses his intersectionalities to create non-hierarchical spaces for a new generation of artists. He explores how narratives that center marginalized bodies can be adapted into stories of reclamation, innovation, and protest. When not writing his autobiomyth Anansi v. God(s), or thinking about the symbiotic relationship between theatre and film, Paul is developing his art practice through the principles of Sankofa, and listening to Frank Ocean (on repeat).
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Cast Natasha ‘’Courage’’ Bacchus
Cast Natasha ‘’Courage’’ Bacchus

I am Natasha “Courage” Bacchus, I am former 3 times Deaf Olympian Sprinter. Since 2019, I have participated as an actress for The Black Drum, The Two Natashas, 21 Black Futures, TV film Season 4 Netflix The Corner. I have participated as an art collaborator with numerous theatre and film productions in Canada as an interdisciplinary visual artist, art accessibility consultant, and activist for IBPOC Deaf art community and expanding IBPOC Deaf artists representation.
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Cast Isaac Cunningham
Cast Isaac Cunningham

Isaac Cunningham is an actor, born and raised in Manchester, England. From the age of 15, Isaac attended the Oldham Theatre Workshop and later went on to study Theatre and Performance at the University of Leeds. Since 2017, Isaac has been living and working in Toronto, strengthening his acting craft in classes for stage and screen, and has appeared in several short films and digital projects. He is currently in rehearsals for We Are Here, a play directed by Judith Thompson and will appear as a series regular in the upcoming Sloppy Jones show.
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Cast Grégory Yves
Cast Grégory Yves

Grégory Yves is a performer whose passion for acting and music collide in the form of a 6’0 Haitian-Canadian. Originally from Ottawa, since leaving he’s spent time training both in the US and Canada to refine his skills and accrue new ones as he studied everything from voice to ballet. Since settling in Montreal, he’s also become a player in the local and national music scenes under his solo project NOVEMBER, in addition to recently earning his BFA in Acting from Concordia. As this new step begins, he hopes the world is as ready for him as he is for it.
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Cast Christopher Parker
Cast Christopher Parker

Christopher Parker received his Master of Music in Literature & Performance at Western University. He made his professional debut at Centaur Theatre in the Canadian premiere of Choir Boy, by Oscar-winning writer Tarell Alvin McCraney, which won Best PACT Production at the 2019 Montreal English Theatre Awards. Since then, he has participated in the workshopping of new productions with Obsidian Theatre, Tapestry Opera, and The Musical Stage Company. Christopher made his Toronto stage debut in the critically acclaimed and 2020 Dora Mavor Moore Outstanding New Play nominee The Negroes are Congregating with Piece of Mine Arts and Theatre Passé Muraille.
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Cast Bongani Musa
Cast Bongani Musa

Born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Bongani Musa is a theatre artist who now lives in Saskatchewan. He graduated from the University of Regina with a BA in theatre and performance. He has acting credits in both theatre and film. His acting credits include The other side of the river, Mine to have, The Story (radio play), 4our (devised), Secrets From the Borne Settee (devised), Catherine Banks’ Bone Cage, Antigone, Terry Pratchett’s Mort, and The Caring Only Cry at Night (film), Mercy (film).
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Cast Audrey Thibault
Cast Audrey Thibault

Fascinated by performing arts, Audrey has always had a passion for acting. She decided to move to New York City to pursue this passion. Graduated from an intensive two-year acting conservatory in The Big Apple, she has completed other programs including a 6-month dance program at the Broadway Dance Center. She also was mentored by Anna Garduno for voice-over work. Having returned to Canada, she is ready to pursue her career here and internationally.
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Cast Alyssa Angelucci-Wall
Cast Alyssa Angelucci-Wall

Alyssa Angelucci-Wall is a half-Haitian Montreal-born artist/performer and Concordia University graduate, holding a BFA in Theatre with a Specialization in Theatre Performance. She has always been passionate about all facets of theatre. Some of her more impactful past roles have been Rhonda in Lion in the Streets, taking part in the Rose Festival as Lightning in The Last Place You’ll Look, and her recent work with Geordie Theatre’s 2PlayTour as Stella in Celestial Bodies. She strives to take part in art with strong cultural integrity that is accessible, embracing, addresses challenging subjects and focuses on fostering connection.
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Co-Director and Artistic Mentorship Program Coordinator Mariah Inger
Co-Director and Artistic Mentorship Program Coordinator Mariah Inger

Mariah Inger has been an actress for over 30 years, working in all mediums, from Film/TV, Video Games to Theatre. She has had the chance to work with some of the best in business, both in front and behind the camera. After 12 years of coaching actors both established and emerging, helping them achieve their career goals-She focused on advancing her own career goals, which include Script Consulting on new works, Directing, Producing, Mentoring, and creating new content…Another focus is helping to move forward diversity and inclusion in the industry as a whole- She has been named both ACTRA Montreal and National’s Chair of DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging), where she hopes to help the mandate of Diversity and Inclusion further.
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Co-Director and Artistic Mentorship Program Coordinator Warona Setshwaelo
Co-Director and Artistic Mentorship Program Coordinator Warona Setshwaelo

Warona Setshwaelo is a storyteller, mother and activist. Since moving to Tiohtià:ke 15 years ago, Warona has immersed herself in the theatre community, both locally and nationally. Apart from performing with several theatre companies in Montreal, such as Teesri Duniya, Repercussion Theatre, Geordie Theatre, Black Theatre Workshop, The Segal Centre, Centaur Theatre and Scapegoat Carnivale. She has performed in Toronto at the Tarragon Theatre as well as at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Company in Winnipeg and the Belfry in Victoria. Selected film, TV and video credits include White House Down, Quantico, On the Basis of Sex, Assassin's Creed Origins, The Division, and Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
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Set and Costume Designer Courtney Moses Orbin
Set and Costume Designer Courtney Moses Orbin

I am a set designer specializing in themes of societal decay and most recently reimagining traditional theatre works told from the perspective of charac-ters of color. I am a cis-gender Black woman of American heritage. I started my career as a costume design assistant for music videos and continued learning as an art department assistant on both film and television. I am an industry professional with dual degrees in both Film Production (Brooklyn College) and most recently, Scenography (Concordia University). A native from Brooklyn, New York; now residing in Montréal I worked for companies such as CBS, HGTV, and Paramount. I enjoy designing for theatre because of its collaborative nature and intimate symbiotic relationship with community and my peers. My journey led me to finding a family with Black Theatre Workshop and look forward to continuing that important relationship as the set designer for Black Theatre Workshop's "2022 AMP Ensemble", which premieres at the NAC in June of 2022. My pursuit in design is to offer an alternative to the European saturated constructs by elevating the Black gaze. Collaboration, sustainability, and genera-tive cultural reference are integral to my creative process. I relish the chance to support stories with a new and innovative visual representation. It is my core belief that we must continue to do the vital work of utilizing the arts as substantial catalysts for change.
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Sound Designer Justin Johnson
Sound Designer Justin Johnson

Justin Johnson or “Just J.” is a Montreal based performer of Jamaican and Canadian descent. You can catch him on CBC Gem’s new television show “Zoomizoom”. A bilingual children’s show developed around teaching younger audiences using both English and French. A regular on the Quebec theatre scene and a frequent collaborator with Black Theatre Workshop's many programs, readings, workshops and shows, Justin is excited to embark on this hip hop infused journey that deals with subject matter that is very personal and dear to his heart. At an early age, he lost his father to the tragedy that is police brutality. The lost opportunity of knowing his father has impacted his creative process and approach to life, but he has worked to turn pain into positivity as he uses his art as a tool to heal, explore and spread joy. Having studied Theatre at Dawson College in Montreal, and working closely with Montreal’s illustrious Black Theatre Workshop through their Artist Mentorship program, Justin fell in love with the process of charming audiences and making people smile. With a background in acting, directing, singing and dancing, multi-disciplinary powerhouse Just J. is also venturing into a journey of music making as a Hip Hop artist.
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Stage Manager Yutong Ngui
Stage Manager Yutong Ngui

Yutong is a fourth-year theatre student at the University of Ottawa. She is thrilled to be Stage Manager for the AMP’s annual showcase. She will be graduating in June and wants to continue pursuing a career in stage management, designing, and writing. She believes that the optimum temperature for NAC’s studio is deg F, and her dream is to make bus 14 in Ottawa come on time every day (if possible).
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Artistic Mentorship Program Ensemble Abigail Whitney, Alyssa Angelucci-Wall, Audrey Thibault. Bongani Musa, Christopher Parker, Grégory Yves, Henry Austin Shikongo, Isaac Cunningham, Natasha "Courage" Bacchus, Peace Akintade, Paul Smith, Sasha Hayden, Tara L. Taylor
Artistic Mentorship Program Coordinator Warona Setshwaelo
Artistic Mentorship Program Coordinator Mariah Inger
Acting Mentor Vlad Alexis
Acting Mentor Lucinda Davis
Acting Mentor Tristan D. Lalla
Acting Mentor Dakota Wellman
Directing Mentor Mike Payette
Set and Costume Designer Courtney Mose Orbin
Sound Designer Justin Johnson
Stage Manager Yutong Ngui
Technical Director James Douglas
ASL Interpreter/AMP Showcase Interpreter Marcia Adolphe
ASL Interpreter/AMP Showcase Interpreter Kimberley Johnson
ASL Interpreter Carmelle Cachero
ASL Interpreter Taedra Harris
ASL Consultant Jo-Anne Bryan
ASL Consultant and Translator Ebony R. Gooden
NAC Production Stéphane Boyer, Head of Studio; Leigh Uttley CAS Sound Engineer; Raoul Budavari, Sound and Props; Brandon Calder Videographer; Erin Finn, Assistant to the Production Director; Mardy Francoeur, Livestream Director (Encore); David Milliard, Head Projectionist; Stéfanie Séguin, Scheduler; Michel Henry, Technical Director; Rose Marie Thomas, Wardrobe; Peter Van Duynhoven, Video. Projectionists, Wardrobe Mistresses, Masters and Attendants are members of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 471.

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Black Theatre Workshop would like to thank the Government of Canada and DAN School of Drama & Music of Queen’s University for their support of this program.