Acting out

Crosscurrents festival promotes innovative works for artists of colour

BY: Pamella Bailey

THE CROSSCURRENTS FESTIVAL is back for a seventh year to promote innovative works from established and emerging artists of colour, including African Canadians, Asian, South Asian and Middle Eastern playwrights.

“This is the only festival that empowers the culturally diverse theatre community to have their stories not only told but developed,” says Nina Lee Aquino, the festival’s artistic producer. “We give artists a chance to develop their work, find voices and put it on stage.”

The 10-day festival features playwrights from across Canada, including Toronto’s Andrew Moodie, who tackles racial profiling with his play Toronto the Good, and Anita Majumdar, a South Asian playwright whose one-woman show, Fish Eyes, played to sold out performances in Toronto. She is set to stage her new play, The Misfit.

Many of the artists in the festival also participate in Undercurrents, a mentorship program for young, emerging artists of colour with an interest in theatre. Tiffany Martin, a recent graduate from the theatre performance program at Humber College, played Jill in George F. Walker’s Tough!. For her, this three-month program provides an outlet to explore her art and connect with professional artists.

Supporting emerging artists of colour like Martin is a driving force for Aquino, who comes from an Asian culture “defined by parents who want to see their kids grow up as engineers or doctors.” She understands the courage it takes to be a non-white artist.

“It’s different in every community — aboriginal, African Canadian — we all have our struggles. To have the courage to be an artist is a hard thing for us. I will do everything I can to support that.”

Crosscurrents runs from May 2-11 at Factory Theatre. For more information, visit factorytheatre.ca, or call 416-504-9971.