Current/historical commitment to the inclusion and representation of racialized voices and the decolonization of theatre

Updated: December 2023

Page1 Theatre is committed to supporting the development and growth of BIPOC artists/stories, both emerging and established. We acknowledge that dismantling systemic racism, colonialist practices, white supremacy, and creating a more diverse platform is not done overnight, though we are committed to the ongoing process.

Below is a historical record of the work we have done over the past five years. This list is a way for us to remain transparent and a means to hold ourselves accountable. Assessing how we can do better as a company is an ongoing process.

We look forward to ongoing conversations with our community, patrons, and the artists we engage with.

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PREVIOUS COMMITMENTS

2022 - 2023 Season

  1. Hired 7 BIPOC / Multi-cultural Artists (various shows / events)

  2. 10% of the Canadian Heritage Grant was paid to Indigenous Artists

  3. $200 raised for the RRANS (Rainbow Refugee Association of Nova Scotia)

  4. Followed through with our action plan set in 2021 / 2022 to connect and present more BIPOC artists at OutFest

  5. Contributed an additional 1.752% on any rental at The Bus Stop Theatre, in honour of the Peace & Friendship Treaty signed in 1752. This fund was established by the folks at the BST.

2021 / 2022 Season:

  1. Hired 5 BIPOC artists over the course of the season for various projects (Queer-prov, OutFest)

  2. Hired Pam Patel (AD of MTSpace) as the Director for our upcoming project, There Are No Gays In Chechnya.

2020 / 2021 Season:

*The company relocated from Kitchener, Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

  1. Expanded our Board so that 1 / 3 of our members are BIPOC.

  2. Updated our OutFest selection process to prioritize BIPOC artists

  3. Invested financially in Eastern Front Theatre’s (EFT) Accessibility Project, which will help assess barriers in the community

  4. With each rental at The Bus Stop Theatre, Page1 will commit to paying an additional 1.752% on our rental, in honour of the Peace & Friendship Treaty signed in 1752. This fund was established by the folks at the BST. You can read more about the initiative here.

  5. Participated in Dreaming Black Futures for Live Performance offered by PACT (Professional Association of Canadian Theatre).

2019 / 2020 Season:

  1. With support from the Waterloo Arts Fund, we launched Queer-Prov, an improv comedy show. Part of the grant was to provide training opportunities / a series of workshops for emerging or established queer BIPOC improvisers in the region, in partnership with The Making Box.

  2. Three racialized artists (1 director, 1 assistant director, and 1 actor) were hired to perform a 30-minute version of Toronto 1989 as part of OutFest 2020. The piece was then selected to be part of TACTICS Online Workshop series and was presented as a zoom reading in August 2020

  3. Hired a Black Queer artist to lead and launch a musical cabaret, featuring a cast of Black and Latinx performers.

2018 / 2019 Season:

  1. The University of Waterloo Accapella group, featuring a cast of BIPOC and racialized folks, performed several songs as part of OutFest 2018.

  2. Began work on There Are No Gays In Chechnya. Several queer Arab actors, including a stage manager, were hired to assist us with the development of this project.

2017 / 2018 Season

  1. Presented Award-winning spoken word poet, Johnny Trinh