Peril to Promise: Navigating the Waters of Today's Canadian Theatre

Calls to Actions

In this final episode, Dian and Nina sit down with playwright, songwriter, and performer Velvet Wells, who now resides in Ottawa. They discuss the Black Pledge, social justice movements within the theatre community, cultural access, and the significance of the black square in our social media profile pictures.

The Production Exodus

In this episode, Nina and Dian sit down with Pip Bradford, an independent producer, production manager, stage manager, and member of the Means of Production. They discuss the current state of design, production, and technical personnel in theatres as the industry navigates creating and producing theatre during the pandemic and its aftermath.

The Great Resignation

In this episode, Dian and Nina converse with Jeanne LeSage, a leading arts consultant specializing in strategic human resources, organizational development, effective governance and leadership transitions. They discuss the current landscape of arts management, recruitment, governance, and the phenomenon the broader theatre community appears to be experiencing as "the great resignation."

Turning the Big Ship

In this episode, Nina and Dian sit down with Keith Barker, Director of New Plays at the Stratford Festival. They discuss Stratford’s program of Pre-Rehearsal Orientation (PRO) days, one of the festival's pivotal initiatives in recent years, the challenges of enacting rapid changes, and other significant transformations at the Stratford Festival.

Been There, Now What?

In the inaugural episode, Dian and Nina converse with theatre artist ahdri zhina mandiela, founder of b current Performing Arts and the Interlocutor for NAC English Theatre/BTW partnership, as well as NAC English Theatre Managing Director David Abel. The quartet reflect on the co-curation model between NAC and Black Theatre Workshop and how it evolved over the past two years.