Diaspora Dialogues

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Events

DD-TD Black Playwrights Program- Blood and Memory Live Reading (Obsidian Theatre)

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DD was thrilled to host a private reading of Blood and Memory, a new played by Dainty Smith, produced in partnership with TD and Obsidian Theatre as part of our DD-TD Black Playwrights Program.

Blood and Memory is a re-visioning of Lilith and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It is a conversation between Lilith and Eve, two Black women, who talk about life, sex, shadism and choices in the Garden of Eden, moments before Eve bites the fruit.

Dainty Smith is a Toronto based Actor, Burlesque Performer, Playwright, Producer and curator. She believes that through the art of storytelling and a willingness to be exposed that genuine human connections can be made. Her performances often tell deeply vulnerable stories regarding race, religion, sexuality and challenging social boundaries.

She wrote and self-produced a multidisciplinary play titled Daughters of Lilith, which is currently part of B Current Theatre’s Playwright Incubation 2021 season. The second play by Dainty Smith is titled Blood and Memory, which is currently being workshopped and supported by Obsidian Theatre in collaboration with Diaspora Dialogues.

Her diverse array of stage performances includes, Mayworks Festival, Rock. Paper. Sistahz for B Current Theatre, Caminos Festival for Aluna Theatre, The Rhubarb Festival at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, and the Luminato Arts Festival. She is the founder of Les Femme Fatales: Women of Colour burlesque troupe, the first burlesque troupe for women and femmes of colour in Canada.

DD-TD Black Playwrights Mentoring Program- Yellow Reading (Canadian Stage)

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In partnership with TD and Canadian Stage, DD is excited to present a reading of a new play by Kalale Dalton-Lutale, produced as part of our DD-TD Black Playwrights Program.

Yellow follows two artists/lovers trying to make work together while also sorting through their romantic relationship.

Kalale Dalton-Lutale is a Black queer playwright and performer originally from Tkaronto/Toronto. Her work embraces experimentation, mothers, loss and pop culture. Her current plays includes Pinky Swear (Geordie Productions, nominated for a Tom henry Award, directed by Mike Payette 2017), Crybaby (presented by Black Theatre Workshop and Playwrights Workshop Montreal, directed by Jesse Stong 2019), When We Were Young (Geordie Productions Festival Reading, directed by Dean Flemming 2019), and i am entitled to rest (New Words Festival Directer by Murdoch Schon, 2019), and Habibi’s Angels et la commission impossible (Talisman, directed by Sohpie Gee). Kalale is a graduate from the National Theatre school of Canada.

To register for the event, please visit:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/dd-td-black-playwrights-mentoring-program-yellow-reading-canadian-stage-tickets-148660586817

RECORDED EVENT: Literary Grant Writing 101

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Join Dance & Literary Grants Manager, Catalina Fellay-Dunbar, for a free workshop on literary grant writing.

About this Event

With the June 15th TAC Grant for Writers fast approaching, first time and repeat applicants may be wondering what they can do to strengthen their application and what things to avoid. Join Dance & Literary Grants Manager, Catalina Fellay-Dunbar, for a free workshop on literary grant writing tips, as well as advice on what applicants can do to create a strong application for their project.

Catalina Fellay-Dunbar is the Dance & Literary Grants Manager for the Toronto Arts Council, responsible for the management of dance and literary grants programs. Catalina has spent many years as a dance artist, educator and advocate. Her professional dance experience has long focused on a personal heritage in Flamenco and Classical Spanish dance. Catalina has a BFA and MA in Dance Studies at York University, an MA from the Drama Centre at the University of Toronto, and certification in Movement Analysis from the Laban Institute for Movement Studies. As a PhD candidate in Dance Studies at York University, her research examines the intersections between cultural policy and dance arts from fluid, pluralistic perspectives. Catalina comes to TAC after serving as co-chair of the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists – Ontario Chapter.

To watch a recording of the event:

Koffler Arts & Diaspora Dialogues Present: In Conversation with Tawhida Tanya Evanson with Sheniz Janmohamed

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DD is proud to partner with Koffler Arts for their latest Book & Ideas event.

Acclaimed Antiguan-Québecoise artist, Tawhida Tanya Evanson, discusses her new novel, Book of Wings, with spoken word artist and author, Sheniz Janmohamed. The Koffler’s Books & Ideas series is thrilled to present the new novel, Book of Wings, by Antiguan-Québecoise artist, Tawhida Tanya Evanson. In this sweeping, allusive novel, the celebrated poet, dervish, and oral storyteller comes to terms with what it means to stand on one’s own two feet in an uncertain world. Tracing a global journey, as a relationship with a lover and travel partner disintegrates, the artist finds herself on a path toward personal discovery and spiritual fulfillment that leads her deep into the North African landscape.

Tawhida Tanya Evanson will join spoken word artist, arts educator, and poet, Sheniz Janmohamed, in a virtual conversation.

Book of Wings can be purchased at A Different Booklist.

TAWHIDA TANYA EVANSON is an Antiguan-Québecoise poet, performer and producer. Author of two books of poetry, Nouveau Griot (Frontenac 2018) and Bothism (Ekstasis 2017), Book of Wings is her first work of fiction. With a 20-year practice in spoken word, she performs internationally and has released several studio albums and videopoems. Evanson is program director of Banff Centre Spoken Word. She has been named Poet of Honour at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, and has received the Golden Beret Award for her contribution to the spoken-word genre. Born and based in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, she moonlights as a whirling dervish.

SHENIZ JANMOHAMED is a poet, artist educator, spoken word artist and nature artist. A graduate of the MFA in Creative Writing program at the University of Guelph, Sheniz has performed nationally and internationally for over 15 years, including features at the Jaipur Literature Festival, Aga Khan Museum, and Vancouver Writers Fest. Sheniz has been mentored by authors Dionne Brand, Kuldip Gill, and Janice Kulyk Keefer, and has been published in various journals and anthologies including Arc Poetry Magazine, Descant, CV2 and Quill & Quire. She is the author of two poetry collections: Bleeding Light (Mawenzi House 2010) and Firesmoke (Mawenzi House 2014), and her third collection, Reminders on the Path, is forthcoming with Mawenzi House.

The event will take place on Thursday, April 29, 2021 from 7-8 PM via Zoom.

To register, visit: https://kofflerarts.org/Events/Books-Ideas/Tawhida-Tanya-Evanson-with-Sheniz-Janmohamed

RECORDED EVENT: A Beginner’s Guide to Bookstagram: For Authors and Bloggers

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Join Book Blogger and DD Marketing Coordinator Tiara Jade Chutkhan for a workshop on creating content and growing your Bookstagram page

About this Event

The ‘Bookstagram’ community has flourished on social media over the last few years, creating a unique space for readers and writers. For authors and bloggers, Bookstagram can be a great tool for sharing your work and connecting with like minded readers. With the right approach, there is so much potential this community can bring you— promoting your project, getting it into the hands of readers, creating fun and shareable content or simply enjoying book reviews and gorgeous bookish photos. Join Book Blogger, Writer and DD Marketing Coordinator Tiara Jade Chutkhan for a workshop on creating high quality bookish content, finding your niche and attracting the right following for your Bookstagram page.

Tiara Jade Chutkhan is a writer, editor and researcher born and raised in Toronto. Her love of literature led her to start blogging and sharing her reads, particularly those by Caribbean authors. Tiara’s Indo-Caribbean heritage is extremely important to her and she strives to create representation for her community. Her writing is geared toward exploring the Indo-Caribbean diaspora, its history and culture.

Tiara is the Editor-in-Chief at The Brown Girl Diary and Marketing Coordinator at Diaspora Dialogues. She is a regular contributor for The Brown Girl Diary and Caribbean Collection Magazine. Tiara is also working towards a certificate in Creative Writing from University of Toronto.

Tiara is currently working on putting together an anthology of Indo-Caribbean fiction and developing a short documentary on Indo-Caribbean representation in Toronto.

To view the recording:

DD-TD Black Playwrights Mentoring Program – Broken Windows Reading

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When a fight breaks out on a streetcar, Toronto’s newly instituted broken windows policing strategy leads to a fatal shooting. Two women are forced to deal with the consequences. 

New Harlem Productions and playwright Fiona Raye Clarke present a table reading of her new play, part of the DD-TD Black Playwrights Program.

Performers include: 

Andrea Lynn Carter as Mabel

Leighton Alexander Williams as Eddie

Ryan Ali as Farouk 

Maissa Houri as Nahina

Daniel Jelani Ellis as Rudy

This performance will be ASL Interpreted.
Fiona Raye Clarke is an award-winning Trinidadian-Canadian writer and community-engaged artist. Her writing has appeared online and in print in The Puritan Town Crier, Room Magazine blog, and alt.theatre, among others. Her plays have been produced by the rock.paper.sistahz Festival and InspiraTO Festival, and her co-created short film screened at the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival and the San Francisco Queer National Arts Festival. She is an alumnus of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and the Diaspora Dialogues Long-Form Mentorship Program. She is the Artistic Director of the Black youth oral history theatre project, INTERGENERACIAL and is currently working on her first full-length play Broken Windows as part of the Diaspora Dialogues Playwrights Mentoring Program.  

To watch the reading of the play, visit the link below:

https://www.crowdcast.io/e/vnhcn7i9?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=profile_web&utm_campaign=profile

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