Paprika Festival Announces: The Intersection

THE INTERSECTION Logo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 15, 2016

The Paprika Festival Announces: The Intersection
Second Annual Conference for the New Generation of Theatre Artists in Toronto

Toronto, ON – February 15, 2016 – The Paprika Festival announces The Intersection, a return of last year’s sold-out conference for the new generation of artists. After fifteen years of presenting theatre created by young artists, Paprika is growing and expanding its newest initiative: a day of education, professional networking, and debate aimed at serving artists under 30. Paprika presents its 2015/16 season in partnership with Native Earth Performing Arts.

The Intersection will focus on what political and artistic goals matter to the new generation, as well as the practical matters of how to make and sustain a life in the arts today. This event will be a space for young artists to voice their experiences in the professional theatre arts and critically discuss what skills or resources they need as they develop their careers as professional artists. This initiative is devoted to supporting the future of Toronto performance.

This year, under the leadership of new Artistic Producer Darwin Lyons, the conference is hosted by Paprika’s Industry partner Theatre Passe Muraille and Lemontree Creations on Sunday March 13 from 2pm until late.

The event is curated by the returning team of Paprika Artistic Programs Manager and Dora award-winning playwright Rosamund Small, with Associate Producers: Anika Johnson (co-creator of the Edinburgh Fringe musical Blood Ties and Toronto Fringe’s Summerland), Jeff Ho (performer of SummerWorks hit Unknown Soldier), and Richard Lam (Soulpepper Academy actor, musician and sound designer). The event was conceived and created by Rosamund Small in 2015 to expand on and continue The Paprika Festival’s tradition of training the next generation of young artists.

The day starts off with a casual meet-and-greet for young artists, with roundtable discussions on pressing artistic and political questions that artists are tackling in the city today. Roundtable topics will include: How do we make exciting live art for the Netflix generation? In today’s environment, are we alienating audiences by asking them to turn off their phones? What will Canadian theatre look like in ten years?

This will be followed by a choice of workshops in both artistic and practical skillsets. In the evening, special guests will take part in a debate series focused on the role of young artists in the city, today and in the future. The evening will end with an after-party at a nearby bar Tequila Bookworm.

The 2016 Intersection Workshop Leaders

Rebecca Burton and Sedina Fiati lead #ShareTheStage: Mapping Equity Initiatives in Canadian Theatre, Film, and Television
Sedina Fiati is a multidisciplinary performer, creator, producer, facilitator and activist for stage and screen. CAEA Councillor & 2nd Vice President. Rebecca Burton is an editor, educator, researcher, theatre practitioner, and arts administrator who works for PGC and co-leads the Equity in Theatre (EIT) project.

Mitchell Cushman leads A Director's Approach to Immersive Theatre
Mitchell Cushman is a director, playwright, producer, educator and Artistic Director of Outside the March, one of Canada's leading immersive theatre companies.

Dr Kate F. Hays leads Mental Skills for Optimal Performance
Dr. Kate Hays is a psychologist specializing in the mental aspects of peak performance through her Toronto-based consulting practice, The Performing Edge.

Nick Wallace leads Misdirection
Nick Wallace is an illusionist, consultant and theatre creator.

Peter Wylde leads Welcome Back To Language!
Peter Wylde has taught acting, history and English courses for thirty years at the National Theatre School of Canada, George Brown Theatre School and Ryerson Theatre School, and at the Stratford Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre.

Blair Steinbach leads Leadership: The Power of Conversations
As co-founder of GreenLine Conversations, Blair has trained senior executives around the globe in Australia, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Jamaica, Brazil, Singapore and North America.

TICKETS: Tickets for the full day conference can be purchased for $15 on the Paprika Festival website at paprikafestival.com. The evening debate series will also be open to the public as a separate Pay What You Can event.

The Paprika Festival gratefully acknowledges annual operating and project support from the Ontario Arts Council, and annual operating support from the Toronto Arts Council. This project is also made possible, in part, by the Youth Theatre Training Program of Theatre Ontario, funded by the Ontario Arts Council.

The Paprika Festival is a youth-led performing arts organization focused on providing professional training and mentorship programs to emerging artists across Toronto. Now in its 15th year, Paprika presents year-round programming including an annual festival of new work, a conference for the next generation of theatre artists, a diverse group of productions, playwrights-in-residence, a Creators’ Unit, a Regent Park Collective, a youth advisory board, ongoing mentorship, training days and a vibrant connection to the professional arts community. Paprika’s programming is delivered at no cost to the participants and culminates in a week-long festival May 23 to 29, 2016 at Native Earth’s Aki Studio in the Daniels Spectrum, in partnership with Native Earth Performing Arts.