Program Changes at Paprika

Hello! Amanda Lin here, Paprika’s new Artistic Producer. We have some big changes coming to Paprika this season, so I’m here to talk about it and give some context. 

TLDR; Reducing scale in order to increase pay and support for everyone at Paprika

Over the past two years, the Paprika leadership and Board of Directors underwent a strategic planning process, reaching out for suggestions and feedback from the community, including past staff and participants, supporters, and audience members. Overwhelmingly, people shared that the work that Paprika does is important, however, a great amount of concern was expressed over Paprika’s current operating structure. It was found that the rate at which our work was growing was not matching up with the amount that our resources were growing, and it became clear that in order to continue the important work that happens at Paprika, focus must be put towards ensuring that the work is sustainable and well-supported

Paprika has long done a lot with very little. Outgoing Artistic Producer Keshia Palm described the organization to me as “scrappy.” I like that. It paints a picture of an underdog, punching above their weight, quick and resourceful. But it takes a lot of energy to stretch a small amount of resources to serve such a large group of people. The topic of staff burnout and turnover is coming up a lot at arts organizations, and more and more folks are exiting the industry because they simply can’t afford to continue, financially and emotionally. Artists at different intersections of marginalization are impacted the most by this, and if we truly care about fostering a diverse theatre landscape, this issue is both vital and time-sensitive.

So Paprika is trying something radical. And scary. And brave. In an industry where bigger is often perceived as better, we are going smaller. Instead of stretching Paprika’s people and resources to beyond what is sustainable, we are scaling back. In 2024/25, Paprika will be switching to a biannual program model.

What does this mean? In short, instead of running six annual programs, Paprika will be running three programs per year on a two-year rotation. In 2024/25, we will be running the Indigenous Arts Program, the Creators Unit, and Creative Producers. In 2025/26, we will be running the Design Lab, Directors Lab, and Playwrights Unit. The programs will continue to accept the same number of artists as previous years.

While it is certainly bittersweet to be able to welcome fewer artists in every season, we are ecstatic to share that this means that everyone is getting paid more. From the staff, to artists, to facilitators, to festival contractors—this is the drastic change that is required for Paprika to meaningfully increase wages to be livable in Toronto in 2024. Artists will also receive larger production budgets and increased time with facilitators and mentors, meaning that they can dream bigger, and pay their teams better.

While this change is certainly a move in the right direction, we hope that it will be temporary. The hope is that this increased capacity will be exponential for Paprika—with better paid staff, we’ll have more time to find additional funding and resources, which will in turn create more capacity. Over time, our plan is to return to our six annual programs, but with the resources necessary for everyone involved to be well-paid and supported. From there, the sky’s the limit for Paprika’s growth.

I want to take a moment here to give credit to the folks who have initiated this change: Julia Dickson (Current General Manager), Keshia Palm (Outgoing Artistic Producer), and Cheyenne Scott (former Community Program Producer), the Paprika Board of Directors (Michelle Yagi, Naz Afsahi, Hana El Niwairi, Nicholas Koy Santillo, Katie Saunoris, Jasmine Spei, and Kimberly Yang), and Jed DeCory and Dominique Giguère (Currents Group).

Paprika represents a lot of artists’ firsts. First time being paid to make art, first opportunity to work with professional collaborators, first foray into the Canadian theatre industry. This is what originally drew me to the position of Artistic Producer—the opportunity to shape, with care, what someone’s entrance into a new industry can look like. This is also a first for me, as I enter my first artistic leadership role.

Your first experience with something is formative. It shows you what to expect going forward. It shows you what is possible. It is important that folks leave Paprika feeling hopeful about the future of the industry and empowered to advocate for good working conditions. People should feel like this is an industry where they can thrive. 

This change was made in order to move towards thriving. Towards showing emerging artists that just because you’re new, it doesn’t mean you should be underpaid. Towards demonstrating that theatre is for everybody, not just people with financial means. As many academic institutions and theatre conservatories tell young artists “this is how the world is, get used to it,” Paprika ought to be the counter-voice to that, instead asking, “how do you think the world should be?” and empowering artists to build towards the future they want.

Under this new model, we are so excited to welcome in a new era of Paprika with our call for artists beginning soon on October 1, 2024. This season (2024-25), we will be running the Creative Producers program, the Creators Unit, and Indigenous Arts Program. While the Playwrights Unit, Directors Lab, and Design Lab are taking a break this year, they will be back in full force in the following season (2025-26).

If you have any questions or want to chat about this change to Paprika’s programming, my inbox is open. Send me a note at amanda@paprikafestival.com. Let’s get to building!

-Amanda Lin

Paprika Artistic Producer 2024/25