august 16 - august 21, 2010
admission: $10
venue: 918 bathurst street @ bathurst and bloor
time: 7:00pm doors | 7:30pm show

anitafrika! dub theatre wombanifesto

wombandate

housed in a beautifully renovated 1400 sq ft loft in toronto canada's liberty village, anitafrika! dub theatre is an intersection of radical creativity, activity, and thought. founded by artistic director d'bi.young in spring 2008 under the mentorship of visionary dub aatist ahdri zhina mandiela, adt is a radical arts initiative rooted in the orplusi principles of storytelling, being developed by d'bi.young.

orality, rhythm, political content, language, urgency, sacredness, and integrity are fundamental tools in the (re)emerging genre of bio-myth-solo-performance storytelling or 'dubbin solo', according to artistic director d'bi.young. through the intersection of these principles, the theatre seeks to explore and expand the relationship between the storyteller, their village(s), and transformation.

herstory

adt! is inspired by the seminal work of dubpoetry visionaries anita stewart and ahdri zhina mandiela. trained during the early to mid eighties at the jamaica school of drama (now the edna manley college of visual and performing arts), anita stewart wrote her thesis dubbin theatre: dub poetry as a theatre form on the progressive movement of dubpoetry into a theatrical realm which radically dramatized both the socio-economic tribulations of the jamaican people, as well as their potential for rebellion against their oppressors.

in her unpublished manuscript stewart identifies four major elements of the then emerging artform of dubpoetry -- music, language, politics and performance -- as bridges between the personal and the political and vice versa. stewart's early documentation and analysis of dubpoetry as a working people's socio-political movement, provide the primary lens through which adt! focuses.

in the late eighties early nineties, ahdri zhina mandiela coined and further developed the term dub theatre in reference to her own evolving work as a dub aatist. in the prelude to her dark diaspora... in dub: a dub theatre piece she defines dubtheatre as dramatized stage presentation comprised of varying performance component, including an indispensable/uniquely tailored dance language threading thru oral/choral work proliferating with endemic musical elements.

d'bi.young is a second generation dubpoet who learnt the artform from her her mother anita stewart and her mentor ahdri zhina mandiela. young is building on the foundational work of stewart and mandiela by developing dubpoetry/dubtheatre theory and practice through anitafrika! dub theatre: a launch pad of artistic training that locates itself within art for social change.

adt! collective

donna g director of operations/collective member

Nurtured on nighttime verandah duppy stories and Anancy tales in Jamaica, donna g followed through on her love of words by winning creative writing awards in the Canadian public school system, and thriving in drama classes. University studies lead to a creative reworking of the standard English/History degree so that she could focus her writing on the female and Black experiences. She also has a minor in Film Studies. Throughout the various managerial positions donna g has held, she has always infused some aspects of the arts into her work. As the Director of Operations for anitafrika dub theatre, donna g continues her mission to break down barriers (self-imposed or societal) to participation in the arts. When she's not at the theatre you can hear donna g on her Saturday afternoon arts radio programme, The More the Merrier, on CIUT 89.5 FM.

kemba king collective member

Kemba is a community peer counsellor. Monthly, she co-hosts Womyn's Word a feminist radio show that covers all topics affecting women locally, nationally and internationally. She is an artist-in-residence with anitafrika dub theatre! and a leader with the sacred women's centre. She enjoys enriching and being enriched by other people's lives. She is a writer, performer and womanist.

renee bryce collective member

trini born,t.o raised poet and lover of all things 'artsy', renee bryce is committed to creating inclusive, sacred spaces where storytellers, poets, writers, philosophers and others can simply be. her experience in operations coordination and administration combined with a willingness to see the divine in even the smallest of occurrences brought her to anitafrika where she intends to aid in the growth and sustainability of the theatre.

kiana eastmond collective member

kiana eastmond is a jamaican-canadian writer who is very active in the recording industry as well as her community. as the production manager for zero decibel recording studios she manages singer shi wisdom and artist/producers, k.r. moore and akil. kiana is heavily involved in youth issues and is the first youth member to sit on the board of directors for east metro youth services. besides being a board member for the past three years, kiana is a workshop facilitator, trainer and programming assistant.