CONTACT US
Shenkman Arts Centre
245 Centrum Blvd, Suite 260
Ottawa, ON K1E 0A1
Tel: 613-580-2767
info@artsnetottawa.ca
Charity number:
121777023RR0001
We acknowledge that our offices are on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. The peoples of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation have lived on this territory for millennia, stewarding the land, the water and all that contributes to life in this region. Today, many Indigenous communities continue to be denied the opportunity and resources to make and experience their traditional art on this land. We pledge to make justice and reconciliation a priority through our work by amplifying Indigenous voices and their experiences.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
NATALIE FRASER
Natalie Fraser started in acting and theatre at Concordia University. It opened the world of healing to Natalie. Theatre is the source. It is at the origins of modern religion, spirituality and psychotherapy. There she learned about obstacles, heroes, villains, victims, tragedy, love and resilience. She studied the very history, structures and archetypes of human nature. Over the past decade Natalie has performed with a company and used playback theatre to tell stories and help people heal and connect in many diverse communities in her own work.
JACQUI DU TOIT
Jacqui Du Toit is an award nominee, international theatrical performer and storyteller from South Africa. She has a B.A. in Thetare and Performance from the University of Cape Town. Her experience covers a wide range of fields including writing, directing, acting, movement and puppetry. She is the Co-owner of The Origin Arts and Community Centre. She performs theatre, dance and African storytelling with her company 8thGeneration Storytelling, travelling across Canada and South Africa, sharing love and telling the story.
REBECCA BENSON
Rebecca Benson is passionate about politically and socially conscious theatre that deconstructs systems of power and creates space for under-represented voices. She has works as an actor, director and instructor in Ottawa. Rebecca has taught with OttawaU’s Theatre Department, Carleton University, The Acting Company, and Ottawa Children’s Theatre. She currently directs and facilitates the Creative Well Theatre Project with Branch Out Theatre and the Psychiatric Survivors of Ottawa.
WISE ATANGANA
Wise Atangana is a Canadian artist, singer-songwriter, originally from Cameroon. He is a charismatic, dynamic and authentic artist dedicated to producing music with uplifting, inspiring lyrics, motivating rhythms accessible to youth, rooted in ancestral culture. Wise Atangana says he uses his talent, charisma and story to inspire and motivate people, marginalized or lacking self-confidence, and above all to create a positive space and atmosphere where people can connect.
NAOMI TESSLER, M.A.
Naomi Tessler, M.A. is the Founder, Artistic Director and lead facilitator of Branch Out Theatre. She has been working with communities globally for 16 years, using theatre to inspire positive change! She is a graduate of the Master of Arts program in Educational Theatre for Colleges and Communities, New York University. As a facilitator, Naomi has an extensive background in Theatre of the Oppressed, Playback Theatre, acting, physical theatre, storytelling, directing and playwriting.
COLLABORATORS
CONTACT US
Shenkman Arts Centre
245 Centrum Blvd, Suite 260
Ottawa, ON K1E 0A1
Tel: 613-580-2767
info@artsnetottawa.ca
Charity number:
121777023RR0001
We acknowledge that our offices are on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. The peoples of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation have lived on this territory for millennia, stewarding the land, the water and all that contributes to life in this region. Today, many Indigenous communities continue to be denied the opportunity and resources to make and experience their traditional art on this land. We pledge to make justice and reconciliation a priority through our work by amplifying Indigenous voices and their experiences.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
FROM THE ROOTS COLLECTIVE
BRANCH OUT THEATRE
The From the Roots Theatre Project will engage newcomer women and youth in building leadership, communication and theatre skills and culminate in the co-creation of a storytelling performance as well as a forum theatre play that seeks community support in addressing and transforming the conflicts common to immigrant women and youth including: language barriers, barriers to employment, isolation, discrimination and racism. They will co-create a storytelling performance after the first half of the workshops that shares their individual and collective journeys of coming to Canada. In the second half of the workshops, participants will co-create a forum theatre play. The latter half of the workshops for each group will involve identifying the focus for their forum theatre play, co-creating the script and rehearsing. From the Roots Collective artists/facilitators will direct the performances encouraging and supporting participants’ in exploring their own staging ideas.