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Stages of Transformation

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© Amber Williams-King

Transformation Talks and other audio

Transformation Talks is an audio interview series, created by Mpoe Mogale and Nikki Shaffeeullah, about how the theatre community can better integrate the calls, work, and vision of abolition and transformative justice movements into our practice as theatre-makers, arts workers, and audiences.

In Season 1 (episodes 1, 2, and 3), co-hosts Mpoe and Nikki discuss the words of seminal abolitionists, and then interview a theatre artist who is engaging with transformative justice in their work.

In Season 2 (episodes 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8) co-hosts Santiago Guzmán and Miki Wolf speak with curators and artists involved with the Stages of Transformation project about their journeys to the intersection of art and abolition.

In The Harold Tree, Sarah Garton Stanley interrogates the institutional origins of the Canadian theatre sector, and reflects on legacies of disruption.

Featured artists

Raven Davis
Raven Davis

Raven Davis is an Anishinaabe, 2-Spirit, trans, disabled multidisciplinary artist, and educator whose mother is from Treaty Four, Manitoba. Davis was born and raised in Michi Saagiig Territory (Toronto, Ontario.) Davis resides and works as a professional artist as well as curator fluidly between Michi Saagig Territory and Kjipuktuk, (Halifax, Nova Scotia.) A parent of three sons, Davis works within the mediums of painting, performance, and media. Challenging systemic oppression, Davis fuses narratives of colonization, race, gender, disability, transformative justice, and 2-Spirit/Indigiqueer identity in their work. Davis’ performance practice bravely embodies their lived experience, their relationship to colonial systems, intergenerational histories, lands, lives, and futures.

Artiste multidisciplinaire trans et personne bispirituelle, Raven Davis est originaire du territoire des Michi Saagiig[SN1] (Toronto, Ontario). Sa mère est native du territoire du Traité no 4, au Manitoba. En situation de handicap, Raven Davis partage son travail d’artiste et de commissaire entre le territoire des Michi Saagiig et Kjipuktuk (Halifax, Nouvelle-Écosse). Parent de trois fils, l’artiste et pédagogue anishinaabe aime s’exprimer à travers la peinture, les prestations artistiques et les arts médiatiques. Dans un désir de dénoncer l’oppression systémique, Raven Davis fusionne les récits sur la colonisation, la race, le genre, le handicap, la justice transformatrice et l’identité bispirituelle et indigiqueer dans son travail. Sa pratique artistique convoque son vécu, les témoignages intergénérationnels, sa relation avec les systèmes coloniaux, les territoires, la vie et l’avenir.
NAC media featuring Raven Davis
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Santiago Guzmán
Santiago Guzmán

Santiago Guzmán (he/they) is an award-winning playwright, dramaturge, performer, and director originally from Metepec, Mexico, now based in St. John’s, NL. He is the Artistic Director of TODOS Productions in St. John’s, NL, and the Artistic Associate for the pan-Atlantic organization Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre. He is a proud member of The Quilted Collective.

Their work has been supported, developed and/or produced by theatre companies and festivals such as TODOS Productions (NL), Resource Centre for the Arts Theatre Company (NL), White Rooster Theatre (NL), Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland (NL), Poverty Cove Theatre Company (NL), Rising Tide Theatre (NL), Neighbourhood Dance Works (NL), Eastern Front Theatre (NS), PARC (pan-Atlantic), Ship's Company Theatre (NS), Theatre New Brunswick (NB), Boca Del Lupo (BC), Paprika Festival (ON), Banff Playwrights Lab (AB) and the National Theatre School of Canada’s Art Apart Program (QC).

Most recently, Santiago has been awarded the inaugural John Palmer Award 2022 through the PGC for being a change-maker in the theatre industry with their advocacy in the arts regarding equity, diversity, and anti-racism. He is a member of Playwrights Canada Press’s inaugural editorial committee.

Santiago Guzmán (il/iel) est un auteur, conseiller dramaturgique, artiste et metteur en scène primé originaire de Metepec, au Mexique. Il réside maintenant à St. John’s, à Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, où il est directeur artistique de TODOS Productions. Il est également collaborateur artistique pour l’organisation panatlantique Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre et est un fier membre du collectif The Quilted.

Son travail a été tour à tour financé, développé et produit par des compagnies de théâtre ou des festivals comme : TODOS Productions (T.-N.-L.), la compagnie de théâtre Resource Centre for the Arts (T.-N.-L.), White Rooster Theatre (T.-N.-L.), Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland (T.-N.-L.), la compagnie de théâtre Poverty Cove (T.-N.-L.), Rising Tide Theatre (T.-N.-L.), Neighbourhood Dance Works (T.-N.-L.), Eastern Front Theatre (N.-É.), Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre (PARC) (panatlantique), Ship’s Company Theatre (N.-É.), Theatre New Brunswick (N.-B.), Boca del Lupo (C.-B.), Paprika Festival (ON), Banff Playwrights Lab (AB) et le programme Art à part de l’École nationale de théâtre du Canada (QC).

Récemment, Santiago s’est vu décerner le tout premier prix John Palmer 2022 de la Playwrights Guild of Canada, en reconnaissance des changements qu’il a apportés au milieu du théâtre en se mobilisant pour l’équité, la diversité et l’antiracisme dans les arts. Il est aussi membre du tout premier comité éditorial de Playwrights Canada Press.
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Mpoe Mogale
Mpoe Mogale

Mpoe Mogale (they/them) reigns from Lebowakgomo, South Africa and splits their time between amiskwaciywâskahikan and moh’kínst’sis, in the colonial state of Canada. They hold a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Political Science, and a wealth of expertise in community-based research, facilitation, and arts administration.

Mpoe’s primary artmaking form is dance, with a curiosity in the place of Blackness in spaces that deny it, as explored through several projects including What (Black) Life Requires (produced by Mile Zero Dance and Azimuth Theatre). Mpoe’s current artistic imaginations have centered the brilliant, mundane, and joyous aspects that foreground the lives of Black folks.

Originaire de Lebowakgomo, en Afrique du Sud, Mpoe Mogale partage sa vie entre Amiskwaciywâskahikan et Moh’kínst’sis, territoires coloniaux du Canada. Mpoe Mogale est titulaire d’un baccalauréat ès arts spécialisé en sciences politiques et possède de solides compétences en recherche communautaire, animation et administration des arts.

En plus de nourrir une passion pour la danse, Mpoe Mogale s’intéresse à la place des personnes noires dans les lieux où elles en sont exclues au travers de plusieurs projets comme What (Black) Life Requires (produit par Mile Zero Dance et Azimuth Theatre). Son imagination artistique se porte sur les événements banaux, joyeux et extraordinaires de la vie des personnes noires.
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Nikki Shaffeeullah
Nikki Shaffeeullah

Nikki Shaffeeullah (she/her) is a director, writer, actor, and facilitator who creates theatre, film, and poetry. Past roles include artistic director of The AMY Project, and editor-in-chief of alt.theatre magazine.

As a facilitator, Nikki supports grassroots groups to navigate collective processes and to uphold equity and accountability in all aspects of their work. An award-winning theatre and film artist, Nikki collaborates with companies and artists from across Canada. She has held residencies with organizations including Canadian Stage, Why Not Theatre, The Theatre Centre, SummerWorks, and others. She has an MFA from the University of Alberta and is a fellow in the Salzburg Global Forum for Cultural Innovators.

Nikki believes art should disrupt the status quo, centre the margins, engage with the ancient, dream of the future, and be for everyone.

Nikki Shaffeeullah est une metteure en scène, autrice, comédienne et animatrice dans les domaines du théâtre, du cinéma et de la poésie. Précédemment, elle a été directrice artistique du AMY Project, et rédactrice en chef de la revue alt.theatre.

À titre d’animatrice, Nikki Shaffeeullah aide les associations à gérer les différents processus collectifs en vigueur et à s’assurer qu’elles respectent les principes d’équité et de responsabilité dans tous les aspects de leurs activités. Artiste de théâtre et de cinéma primée, elle collabore avec des compagnies et des artistes de tout le Canada, en plus d’effectuer des résidences auprès de plusieurs organisations, telles que la Canadian Stage Company, le Why Not Theatre, le Theatre Centre ou SummerWorks. Titulaire d’une maîtrise en beaux-arts de l’Université de l’Alberta, elle participe au Forum mondial de Salzbourg pour les innovateurs dans le domaine culturel.

Nikki Shaffeeullah croit que l’art se doit de secouer le statu quo, de faire la part belle au non-conformisme, de s’intéresser au passé, d’imaginer le futur et d’être universel.
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VP of Programming, Arts Commons Sarah Garton Stanley (SGS)
VP of Programming, Arts Commons Sarah Garton Stanley (SGS)

Sarah/SGS is VP of Programming at Arts Commons in Calgary and co-stewards historic Birchdale. Formerly the Artistic Producer for the National Creation Fund (NAC). As part of her PhD, in Cultural Studies at Queen’s, she created Massey & Me: Conversations at the End of Theatre. This  five-part series formally references the CBC Massey Lectures, and it reflects critically on the genealogical, political, and administrative structures that house professional theatre in Canada.

She is co-founder of SpiderWebShow and FOLDA, the Baby Grand Theatre, was the 1st female Artistic Director at Buddies in Bad Times, and was the inaugural Artistic Associate for The Magnetic North Theatre Festival.

SGS was named a 2022 Arne Bengt Johansson Fellow at The Banff Forum and returned in 2023. She was recently appointed to the board of Alberta Theatre and the Buddies Leadership Advisory Pilot and the National Advisory for the Creation Fund.

SGS is co-authoring Manifesto for Now with Owais Lightwala.

Sarah, alias SGS, est vice-présidente de la programmation d’Arts Commons à Calgary et codirectrice du légendaire Birchdale. Elle a également été productrice artistique du Fonds national de création du CNA. Dans le cadre de son doctorat en études culturelles à l’Université Queen’s, elle a créé Massey & Me: Conversations at the End of Theatre, une série de cinq événements de réflexion faisant référence aux conférences CBC Massey. Dans le cadre de cette réflexion critique, SGS explore les structures généalogiques, politiques et administratives qui régissent le théâtre professionnel au Canada.

SGS a cofondé le SpiderWebShow, le Festival of Live Digital Art (FOLDA) et le Baby Grand Theatre, en plus d’avoir été la première directrice artistique du Buddies in Bad Times et la première collaboratrice artistique du Festival de théâtre Magnetic North.

En 2022, elle a été nommée boursière Arne Bengt Johansson du Banff Forum, avant d’y retourner l’année suivante. Depuis peu, elle siège au conseil d’administration de l’Alberta Theatre et au Comité consultatif national du Fonds national de création du CNA, et fait partie du projet pilote de consultation en leadership du Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.

SGS a coécrit Manifesto for Now avec Owais Lightwala.
NAC media featuring Sarah Garton Stanley (SGS)
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Donna-Michelle St. Bernard
Donna-Michelle St. Bernard

Donna-Michelle St. Bernard aka Belladonna the Blest is an emcee, playwright and agitator. Her main body of work, the 54ology, includes Cake, Sound of the Beast, A Man A Fish, Salome’s Clothes, Gas Girls, Give It Up, The Smell of Horses and The First Stone. DM is currently the emcee in residence at Theatre Passe Muraille, associate artist at lemonTree Creations and coordinator of the AD HOC Assembly.

Donna-Michelle St. Bernard (Belladonna the Blest) est animatrice, dramaturge et agitatrice. Parmi ses œuvres principales, regroupées sous le chapeau « The 54ology », notons Cake, Sound of the Beast, A Man A Fish, Salome’s Clothes, Gas Girls, Give It Up, The Smell of Horses et The First Stone. Elle est actuellement animatrice en résidence au Théâtre Passe Muraille, collaboratrice artistique à lemonTree creations et coordinatrice de l’AD HOC Assembly.
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Tanisha Taitt
Tanisha Taitt

In addition to her role as Artistic Director of Cahoots Theatre, Tanisha is a director/actor/playwright, musical artist, theatre & anti-racism educator, accidental essayist, and audiobook director for Penguin Random House Canada. A former preschool teacher, her journey includes encounters with numerous arts organizations. She has been nominated for the Pauline McGibbon Award for Unique Talents, and her plays Admissions and Keeper are published by Scirocco Drama. Tanisha is a recipient of the Canadian Music Publishers Association Award & Scholarship for distinction in songwriting, and was a 2021 finalist for the Gina Wilkinson Prize honouring female theatremakers who centre community in their leadership. She is part-time faculty at Sheridan College's Music Theatre Performance program, where she teaches Acting Through Song, and George Brown Theatre School, where she teaches Contemporary and Canadian Scene Study. Tanisha is a two-time YWCA Woman of Distinction nominee for her commitment to artistic excellence and social justice.

Directrice artistique du Cahoots Theatre, Tanisha Tait est aussi dramaturge, metteure en scène, comédienne, musicienne, animatrice d’ateliers de théâtre et de lutte contre le racisme, essayiste par accident, ainsi que directrice de la collection de livres audio chez Penguin Random House Canada. Ancienne enseignante au préscolaire, son parcours est jalonné de nombreuses collaborations artistiques. Elle a été finaliste au prix Pauline McGibbon, et ses pièces Admissions et Keeper sont parues chez Scirocco Drama. Lauréate d’un prix assorti d’une bourse d’études en écriture de chansons de l’Association canadienne des éditeurs de musique, elle a été en 2021 finaliste du prix Gina Wilkinson qui récompense les femmes de théâtre qui placent la communauté au centre de leur leadership. Elle est professeure à temps partiel au programme de comédie musicale du Collège Sheridan, où elle enseigne l’interprétation à travers le chant. Elle enseigne également à l’École de théâtre George Brown l’étude de la scène contemporaine et canadienne. Tanisha Taita a été deux fois finaliste au YWCA Woman of Distinction Awards pour son engagement en faveur de l’excellence artistique et de la justice sociale.
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Miki Wolf
Miki Wolf

Miki Wabisca (Wolf) is a Southern Tutchone, Tlingit, and Cree multi-disciplinary performer and facilitator, proudly from the Champagne and Aishihik Nation in the Yukon. Miki holds a BFA from SFU School for the Contemporary Arts, and has studied embodied experimental acting, contemporary dance and movement, and voice extensively outside of the institution for the past decade.

Miki is actively pursuing research in new praxis methodologies for Indigenous performers that exist within and through colonial modalities of teaching. She is always interested in decolonization of accepted theatre-making practices through relationality, and cultivating a supportive internal partner for self and others via abundance mentality and gentle abolitionist viewpoints in creative spaces. She is currently dividing her time between her homeland in the Yukon, and Treaty 6 Territory (Saskatoon).

Miki Wabisca (Wolf) est une artiste multidisciplinaire et animatrice tutchone du Sud, tlingite et crie, fier d’être originaire des Premières Nations Champagne et Aishihik du Yukon. Miki est titulaire d’un baccalauréat en arts contemporains de l’Université Simon Fraser, et a étudié en profondeur le jeu expérimental, la danse et le mouvement contemporains, et la voix en dehors des établissements scolaires au cours de la dernière décennie.

Miki mène des recherches sur les nouvelles pratiques méthodologiques destinées aux interprètes autochtones au sein des modes d’enseignements coloniaux. Elle tente de décoloniser les pratiques théâtrales traditionnelles en ayant recours à la dimension relationnelle, et en cultivant un « partenaire intérieur » encourageant envers elle-même et les autres grâce à une attitude confiante et des opinions abolitionnistes mesurées dans les espaces créatifs. Elle partage son temps entre sa terre natale, le Yukon, et le territoire du Traité n˚ 6 (Saskatoon).
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Olivia Wheeler
Olivia Wheeler

Olivia Wheeler is a mixed-race, Chinese Canadian sound designer, composer, and multi-disciplinary artist. She is a recent graduate of the University of Victoria with a degree in theatre and minor in music. Her work specializes in sound design, composition, technical theatre, immersive performance design and puppetry.

Recent theatre design credits include associate sound design for The Three Women of Swatow (Tarragon Theatre), sound design for It’ll Come to Me (Theatre SKAM), and production design for The Fates, End of Term and Backliners (Theatre SKAM). Audio credits include sound design for Liberated Feminist Futures (Nightwood Theatre), Ganga’s Ganja (Red Betty Theatre), and Knife Skills (Blue Jaye Productions), and composition and sound editing for the podcasts A Slice of PI and Patchworks. Her upcoming work includes assistant sound design for Every Little Nookie, Hamlet-911, 1939 (Stratford Festival).

Olivia Wheeler est une compositrice, conceptrice sonore et artiste multidisciplinaire sino-canadienne. Elle est diplômée en théâtre de l’Université Victoria, avec une mineure en musique. Ses domaines de prédilection sont la conception sonore, la composition, les techniques théâtrales, la conception de prestations immersives et les marionnettes.

Parmi ses récentes réalisations, mentionnons Three Women of Swatow (Tarragon Theatre) en tant qu’associée à la conception sonore, It’ll Come to Me (Theatre SKAM) à titre de conceptrice sonore, et enfin The Fates, End of Term and Backliners (Theatre SKAM) comme conceptrice de production. En plus de ses conceptions sonores pour Liberated Feminist Futures (Nightwood Theatre), Ganga’s Ganja (Red Betty Theatre) et Knife Skills (Blue Jaye Productions), elle a signé la composition et le montage sonore des balados A Slice of PI et Patchworks. On la retrouvera prochainement comme assistante à la conception sonore des productions Every Little Nookie, Hamlet-911 et 1939 (Stratford Festival).
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Ravyn Wngz
Ravyn Wngz

Ravyn Wngz “The Black Widow of Burlesque” is a Tanzanian, Bermudian, Mohawk, 2Spirit, Queer and Transcendent empowerment storyteller. Ravyn is an abolitionist and co-founder of ILL NANA/DiverseCity Dance Company, Black Lives Matter Canada, & the Wildseed Centre for Arts & Activism, A Canadian Best Selling Author, Top 25 Women of Influence in Canada recipient of 2021. Ravyn is committed to eradicating all forms of anti-Black racism, settler colonialism systems of oppression while nurturing Black and Indigenous solidarity and healing in communities.

Ravyn Wngz, aussi connue sous le nom de « The Black Widow of Burlesque », est Tanzanienne, Bermudienne, Mohawk, bispirituelle, queer et conteuse à la voix puissante et transcendante. Ravyn est abolitionniste et cofondatrice de ILL NANA/DiverseCity Dance Company, Black Lives Matter Canada et Wildseed Centre for Arts & Activism. Autrice canadienne à succès, elle a fait partie du palmarès des 25 femmes les plus influentes au Canada en 2021. Ravyn travaille à éliminer le racisme antinoir et les systèmes d’oppression colonialistes tout en favorisant la solidarité entre les personnes noires et autochtones et la guérison dans les collectivités.
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Episode 1: Conflict is a Door

In Episode 1, Conflict is a Door, Nikki and Mpoe reflect on the words of Mariama Kaba and Ruth Wilson Gilmore, and chat with Tanisha Taitt, Artistic Director of Cahoots Theatre, about the concept of “conflict transformation” for theatre artists.

Featuring Tanisha Taitt
Created by: Mpoe Mogale and Nikki Shaffeeullah
Sound design and editing by: Olivia Wheeler

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Episode 2: Governance Models

In Episode 2, Governance Models, Nikki and Mpoe reflect on the words of adrienne marie brown and Robyn Maynard, and chat with playwright, director, dramaturge and researcher Yvette Nolan, about models of governance for arts organizations.

Featuring Yvette Nolan
Created by: Mpoe Mogale and Nikki Shaffeeullah
Sound design and editing by: Olivia Wheeler

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Episode 3: Investing in the Before

In Episode 3, Investing in the Before, Nikki and Mpoe reflect on the words of Prentis Hemphill and Kai Cheng Thom, and chat with playwright, theatre director, emcee, and arts administrator, Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, about accountability vs. liability within non-profit arts organizations, and what abolition can look like in artistic collaboration.

Featuring Donna-Michelle St. Bernard
Created by: Mpoe Mogale and Nikki Shaffeeullah
Sound design and editing by: Olivia Wheeler

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Episode 4: It’s More Achievable (and Less Scary) Than We Think

In Episode 4, hosts Santiago Guzmán and Miki Wolf introduce themselves and discuss each of their journeys to abolition as theatre artists, reflecting on the humanness of creation, how to move away from punitive ways of working, and the joy of centering care.

Hosted by Santiago Guzmán and Miki Wolf
Sound design and editing by Olivia Wheeler
Original series created by Mpoe Mogale and Nikki Shaffeeullah

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Episode 5: Moving Slowly

In Episode 5, hosts Santiago Guzmán and Miki Wolf speak with Stages of Transformation’s curator Nikki Shaffeeullah about the genesis of the project, rejecting neoliberal approaches to change, and the value of moving slowly and relationally.

Hosted by Santiago Guzmán and Miki Wolf
Featured guest: Nikki Shaffeeullah
Sound design and editing by: Olivia Wheeler
Original series created by Mpoe Mogale and Nikki Shaffeeullah

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Episode 6: Freedom is Life in Rehearsal

In Episode 6, hosts Santiago Guzmán and Miki Wolf speak with Stages of Transformation’s associate curator Mpoe Mogale about grace, freedom-making, and the magic that can happen when we center process over product.

Hosted by Santiago Guzmán and Miki Wolf
Featured guest: Mpoe Mogale
Sound design and editing by: Olivia Wheeler
Original series created by Mpoe Mogale and Nikki Shaffeeullah

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Episode 7: We Are Each Other’s Wealth

In Episode 7, Miki Wolf speaks with artist and activist Ravyn Wngz about “abolitionist integrities”, the importance of understanding oneself in abolitionist work, and her upcoming piece Signals, a new performance with lemonTree creations as part of her Stages of Transformation residency.

Hosted by Santiago Guzmán and Miki Wolf
Featured guest: Ravyn Wngz
Sound design and editing by: Olivia Wheeler
Original series created by Mpoe Mogale and Nikki Shaffeeullah

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Episode 8: Embodied Documentation

In Episode 8, Santiago Guzmán speaks with artist and activist Raven Davis about their lifelong understanding of the carceral state, how our bodies can be vessels of archival information, and the transformative and healing power of artistic spaces.

Hosted by Santiago Guzmán and Miki Wolf
Featured guest: Raven Davis
Sound design and editing by: Olivia Wheeler
Original series created by Mpoe Mogale and Nikki Shaffeeullah

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The Harold Tree

In this space of sonic contemplation, I present the concept of The HaroldTree as a potential avenue for challenging the entrenched ideals of professionalism that were solidified by the Massey Commission of 1951. It is a nostalgic recollection of the potential for transformative change, while simultaneously acknowledging the contributions of those who have preceded us. Should we eliminate the tree that has encroached upon our dwelling, or should we allow it to fall naturally? Perhaps we should seek guidance from an arborist to determine the most appropriate course of action.

Harold Kandel might have been one of the earlier arborists. He was always at odds – in the most disruptive way – with the institutional agreements of “the theatre”. His disruptions were beloved and legendary and, in truth, they were rarely easy. Additionally, how can we lend homage to all teachers, all the arborists, especially those who disrupt the norm, by recognizing the value they bring? This piece serves as a tribute to Harold Kandel, an audience member who loved independent Toronto Theatre creators. Through his passing, the Toronto Theatre community collectively came together to honor one another in an intergenerational and unregulated manner of celebration and recognition. It presents a modest example of how abundance can flourish, even within constraints – a glorious unruly, and unregulated tree nurtured by love, known as the Harold Tree.

- Sarah Garton Stanley