It’s Black History/Excellence Month! We’re recognizing some of the amazing people and organizations that are showcasing black excellence in their artistic field.
This week we are shouting out: Natasha Adiyana Morris and Piece of Mine Arts!
About Piece of Mine
The PIECE OF MINE Arts was created in 2013 to platform works in development by Black artists, providing a venue, marketing and mentorship for selected artists to test out their ideas without the financial risk. Based in Toronto, Canada the company platforms bold pieces in development as well as complete works from performing and visual/media artists.
PIECE OF MINE Arts nurture opportunities for the growth and legacy of stories that revere and preserve culture.
Founder Natasha Adiyana Morris
Founder and executive director of the PIECE OF MINE Arts, Natasha Adiyana Morris is a Toronto based playwright and producer. She specializes in developing the contemporary voice of Black arts in Canada. Her play, The Negroes Are Congregating, has been presented in Canada, the United States and Europe.
Connection with LSA
Natasha joined the LSA team last year on contract as the Festival Coordinator for our Signature Cultural HotSpot event, RexFest. Her phenomenal skill and work ethic helped to pull off a successful youth spoken word slam competition in her hometown of Rexdale.
More Connections! LSA’s very own Operations Manager Natassia Morris and one of LSA’s long-standing artist facilitators Paulina O’Kieffe-Anthony will be presenting an excerpt of a play they’ve co-written at the festival!
Women in Theatre
The concept of Black Women in Theatre has been in demand by artists who follow PIECE OF MINE Arts for a number of years, although we did not have the capacity with several projects on the go. February 2020 has presented itself as a prime time to finally realize this project and give it the space to manifest in its own right—and not in comparison to our successful Black Men in Theatre counterpart.
The opportunities that nurture Black women’s stories have shrunk in the city with the void of b current’s rock.paper.sistahz festival spearheaded by ahdri zhina mandiela and the AfriCanadian Playwright’s Festival founded by Djanet Sears. Black Women in Theatre will be a resurgence for professional artists, who identify as Black women, to have the freedom to flesh out work, receive dramaturgical support, and connect with an audience hungry for their stories.
Black Women in Theatre features both local Toronto talent, and visiting American talent from DC and North Carolina.
Schedule:
On Thursday February 6, 2020 at 7:30pm, Black Women in Theatre will feature readings by two notable artists; Korinn Annette Jefferies will read the water, a story about the beach, a tale of white sand and Black bodies, of lineage, and community.
Nicole Morgan will read Out of the Mouths of Boys, a conversation piece designed to engage audiences on the topic of where male sexual abuse survivors fit into the #metoo movement.
On both Friday February 7 and Saturday February 8, 2020 at 7:30 pm, Black Women in Theatre will feature excerpts by Anne Marie Woods, Anyika Mark, Dian Marie Bridge, Paulina O’Kieffe-Anthony, and Natassia Morris-Parson.
Why Black Women Whisper, by Anne-Marie Woods aka Amani, is a poetic piece, performed entirely in spoken word, about five Black women from different generations who struggle with life, love and their identity.
Making Moves, by Anyika Mark, delivers a day in the life of young, Black people in Toronto’s West-end. Drawing inspiration from Trey Anthony’s Da Kink in My Hair and Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, Making Moves stands as an embodied emotional response to the playwright’s lived experience as a young Black Canadian.
Crossing Into Lullaby, by Dian Marie Bridge, uses the true-to-life story of a mysterious childhood sickness to look into the desperation that can come with parenthood, and how knowledge of the closeness to which we live with death impacts our lives.
How Jab Jab Saved the Pretty Mas by Paulina O’Kieffe-Anthony and Natassia Parson-Morris, tells the story of best friends Iesha and Giselle as they prepare to play mas in the Grand Parade during The annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival festivities.
Show Details
Venue: Artscape Weston Common | 34 John Street, Toronto, ON, M9N 1J3
Showtime: Doors open at 7:00 PM, Show starts at 7:30 PM | Running 120 minutes including intermission
