The Professional Development Series
Open to all playwrights and theatre creators, the Professional Development Series is
a proactive approach to creating opportunity for playwrights. These hands-on workshops are open to all playwrights and theatre creators, and are
designed to encourage networking, strengthen skill sets and reevaluate the play
creation process. Lunch is provided.
Location: Harlem Restaurant, 67 Richmond Street East, Toronto
October 21-23, 2009
1-3:00pm
Cost: $ 10 per lunch or $25 for 3 lunches*
(Includes a ticket to that evenings’ reading).
Pre-registration is required and space is limited! Contact the office to
pre-register, or download the
registration form and mail it to the Obsidian office.
Wednesday October 21st: CopyWrong to CopyRIGHT
Facilitator: Nicolas Billon
From mash-ups to adaptations and the rich resource of the Public Domain,
participants are invited to join the engaging discussion on how Intellectual
Property Law and Copyright law directly affects the Artists/creators ability to
create freely and make a living. (Small amount of advanced reading required)
Bio
Nicolas’ first play The Elephant Song opened at Stratford's Studio Theatre. That
winter, Nicolas became the first playwright to attend Stratford's Birmingham
Conservatory. Stratford also produced Nicolas' second play, The Measure of Love, in
2005.
Nicolas was also a member of the inaugural Soulpepper Theatre Academy where he created a new version of Chekhov's Three Sisters, worked as the production dramaturge for Brecht and Weill's The Threepenny Opera and William Saroyan's The Time of Your Life, and co-created BLiNK with the other eight members of the Academy.
Nicolas is currently a member of the 2009 Tarragon Playwrights Unit, where he is
working on a new play, Smuggling Buddha. His adaptation of Molière's The Sicilian
premiered at the Toronto Fringe Festival in July 2009, followed by a new work,
Greenland, at the Summerworks Festival in August.
Wednesday October 21st: Going to Market: Who you are and why I should care.
Facilitator: Jules Bedeau
Like it or not, we are all products of our surroundings. Understanding who is around
us is one of the first steps in knowing your market. This highly anticipated
workshop offers insight into creating networks of support, self-promo, and how to
maximize the potential of an idea to create a marketing plan that works for you.
Bio
As Sales Director for Pixel Dreams, a Toronto-based Internet Marketing
firm, Jules' responsibilities include developing the sales team, sales
forecasting, and client retention.
Jules was one of the first employees scouted for this firm and prior to
this had an extensive career in corporate marketing, customer relationship
management and consultative fundraising coordination work for national and
international charities.
Outgoing, friendly and engaged in life, Jules is excited at the
opportunity to work with Obsidian.
Thursday October 22nd: Busy Bees (Cross-media pollination /Idea Generation)
Facilitator: Erika Batdorf
An exploration of Erika’s creation model and story generation ideas.
Bio
Erika Batdorf has written, created, performed, directed and choreographed original
movement theater since 1983. Her solo works have appeared in such places as the
Smithsonian Institute, The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Landegg Academy for
International Development in Switzerland, Nine Dragon Heads International Art
Symposium in South Korea, France, Hawaii, Mexico, and Harvard University. She has
performed, created plays and guest directed for universities and theatres across the
USA. She ran The Batdorf School for Movement Theatre in Boston for several years,
currently teaches at York University in Toronto and is an Associate Playwright at
CanStage. She has received 4 Dora nominations since 2005.
This past year The Red Horse is Leaving, ran for three weeks in Toronto at the
Theatre Centre and also in Michigan and Mexico. She co-created and directed Gorey
Story for The Thistle Project in Toronto which was listed number three on the ‘best
theatre of 2006’ in NOW magazine and received 4 Dora nominations. This spring she
did some theatre coaching for Denise Fujiwara’s new dance trio No Exit and her solo
Water and movement coaching for Archipelago Theatre’s Twilight Café.
This summer she will be co-creating and directing Faye Dupras in Bird’s Eye View for
Summerworks 07 and is developing a dance theatre duet for NYC’s Digby Dance
scheduled to premier in Boston spring 08.
Friday October 23rd: Word Architects
Facilitator: Joanna Falck
Know the rules before breaking them: An introduction to the ins and outs of Three
Act Structure.
Bio
Joanna Falck is the Literary Manager at the Shaw Festival, where she manages all
aspects of new play development. She edited the first publication of Githa Sowerby’s
long lost 1924 play The Step- mother, produced at Shaw in 2008. She has also worked
with playwrights from across Canada.
The Reading Series
In honour of the achievements of past playwrights and current theatre creators,
Canonize This! is a celebratory showcase of some of the pivotal works in the Black Canadian
Theatre canon.
Several of Canada’s most influential Black playwrights will read from the works that have helped
define the last three decades of Black theatre. The series opens with a memorial
tribute to playwright Lorena
Gale.
Berkeley Theatre
26 Berkely St., Toronto
October 21-23, 2009
8:00pm
Cost: $5 per evening or $12 for 3 evenings
Wednesday, October 21 - 8:00 p.m.
- Tribute to the work of Lorena Gale (performed by Miranda Edwards)
- Revolution writers: Sarah Michelle Brown, Dian Marie Bridge, Marcia Johnson, Darren Anthony, Michael Miller
- Honoring the work of Djanet Sears (performed by Miranda Edwards)
- Reading from their own work : Joan M. Kivanda, Sharon Lewis, Djennie Laguerre, Nicole Brooks, George Boyd
- Tribute to Sweet Sweet Music- inspire/poetic Dub and hip-hop Joseph Jomo Pierre, d’bi.young anitafrika, Donna Michelle St. Bernard, Motion and ahdri zhina mandiela
Dian Marie Bridge
Metcalf Foundation Intern Artistic Director
Obsidian Theatre Company
943 Queen St. East Toronto, ON M4M 1J6
PH: 416-463-8444
E: iad@obsidian-theatre.com
Canonize This!
Three lunch-hours of valuable playwriting skills workshops! Three evenings
of renowned writers electrifying the audience with their work!
Canonize This! is open to ALL theatre creators and enthusiasts,
celebrating and unlocking the rich vault of Black Canadian theatre.
Visit OTCtix.com for all events.