![]() In conversation with the team at Obsidian, we decided to engage 21 writers from different generations and with different levels of experience - writers who reflected the rich diversity of Blackness in Canada. I was interested in new words, in new language, in what Black writers and thinkers across the country had to say about our future. I was interested in new stories about imagined Black futures to counter the messaging that was suddenly everywhere about us, but not from us. ![]() Was there a way we could come together in this moment and create something communal something unapologetically Black something with the Black gaze at its centre? A radical offering in unprecedented times. How could I respond and support Black artists from an institutional capacity? I thought about all the veteran artists who had been part of building Obsidian’s legacy and the aspiring theatre-makers, in various parts of the country, who had maybe never even heard of Obsidian. Especially when, around the world, the gaze of institutions, individuals and even politicians had turned sharply toward us. I wondered how other Black artists across the country were doing. With no access to the theatre and no access to community, I was hurting and in need of connection. With no end to the pandemic in sight, I went further into self-isolation, mourning privately the continuous murder of Black people at the hands of police. Prior to beginning my role at Obsidian, I was a busy freelance theatre director who had also seen all of my upcoming gigs disappear due to COVID-19. I had the choice either to wait out the pandemic or to adapt and create new programming that would reflect our times in both form and content. I was in the position of not only learning a new job, but also developing material for the 2020-2021 season. All the programming my predecessor Philip Akin had planned for his final season was cancelled or postponed. ![]()
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