Intrepid Theatre

Black & Rural returns following its Victoria premiere at the 2023 Incoming Festival.

Black & Rural is the story of a lone Black country woman struggling to defy the monolith of what matters to Black lives. Derived from dozens of real-life interviews with Black folk tucked away on the countryside across Canada, Shayna Jones weaves together a story of vulnerability, quiet triumph, and striking humanity. The show features Shayna’s unique storytelling voice, interspersed with new folkloric tales and verbatim reflections from her interviewees.

This show and tour is supported by Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council and BC Gaming.

ADVISORY INFORMATION: Black + Rural is drawn from the true stories of Black Canadians, and explores their lived experiences with frankness and grace. This show features strong language. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to info@pitheatre.com.

 

Accessibility:
Metro Studio Accessibility Guide & Visual Story can be found here.

 

About Pi Theatre

Pi Theatre produces and presents theatre that is intellectually alive and emotionally charged. We invest in work that creates artistic encounters that challenge perceptions and generates conversation. We are concerned with creating social moments, community connections, and artistic impact. We create work that extends beyond the stage and gets people talking.

Founded in 1984, Pi is now under the leadership of Artistic Director Richard Wolfe, and Operations Manager Libby Willoughby. Pi is invested in the continuing work of creating an inclusive, diverse, and caring theatre. We believe we have a responsibility to reflect Canada’s diversity on stage and behind the scenes, and to that end we’re committed to the fundamental work of supporting artists, employees and audience members from all cultural backgrounds and lived experiences.

We believe there is an essential value in audience members seeing the world around them reflected onstage. We also believe that everyone should be given an opportunity to empathize and connect with experiences that are different from their own.

 

Credits:
Shayna Jones – Creator/Performer
Featuring Voice Over by: Tom Pickett, Giselle Clarke-Trenaman, Britney Buren, Omari Newton, Kwasi Thomas, Mariam Barry, and Ivy Charles
Richard Wolfe – Director
Kayleigh Sandomirsky – Stage Manager
Angela Konrad – Dramaturg
Cecilia Vadala – Set Designer & Costume Consultant
Brad Trenaman – Lighting Designer
Rufus Cappadocia – Composer & Musician
Amber Barton – Movement Director
Alex Forsyth – Production Manager

Featuring voice-over performances by: Tom Pickett, Omari Newton, Kwasi Thomas, Giselle Carke-Trenaman, Ivy Charles, Britney Buren, and Mariam Barry

About the artists/company:

Shayna Jones – Creator/Performer

Shayna Jones is an award winning actor, a multi-disciplinary spoken word artist, and an applied folklorist. She combines her passion for live, theatrical performance with the study of traditional African and Afro-Diasporic folklore and contemporary Black experience to create dynamically soulful, nuanced, and visceral performances. She has had the privilege of spending the last decade performing her work for theatre companies, festivals and schools across Canada. For this she is continually awed and deeply grateful. Learn more about Shayna and her work at: www.wearestoryfolk.com

Tom Pickett – Voice Over

Tom’s career has spanned more than 30 years. Theatre credits (selected): Harlem Duet(Bard on the Beach, Director Charissa Richard); Master Harold and the Boys (The Pacific Theatre/Director: Morris Ertman; Jessie Richardson Award), Once on this Island (Acting Up Stage/Obsidian Company/Director: Nigel Shawn Williams; Dora nomination), The Whipping Man (The Pacific Theatre/Director: Anthony F. Ingram; Jessie Richardson nomination), and Walt Whitman’s Secret (Frank Theatre Company/Director: John Jack Paterson; Jessie Richardson nomination). Film and Television credits (selected): Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief, Christmas Time Is Here, Turner and Hooch, and Fire Country.

Kwasi Thomas – Voice Over

Sharing personal stories and provocative opinions, Kwasi Thomas is a crowd pleaser across the country. From Montreal’s ComedyNest to Ontario and BC’s Yuk Yuk’s venues as well as countless independent tours, Kwasi spends a healthy portion of his life on stage. Kwasi has represented Montreal at the Just for Laughs Homegrown Competition as well as the Best of the Fest Showcases. Most recently he took on the role of Kitch in Antoinette Nwandu’s PassOver. Kwasi can also be found lending performances in Canadian filmed television shows such as “Lucifer”, “Altered Carbon”, “Series Of Unfortunate Events”, “Super Pupz” the Crave Original “Pillow Talk” as well as TV movies “2 Hearts” and “A Clusterfunke Christmas”. He currently Guest stars in Netflix’s “Snowpiercer” and feature film “Love Hard”.

Britney Mocca – Voice Over

Britney Mocca is a Vancouver artist who enjoys performing, teaching and creating new works. She has gained many of these skills through her completion of a Bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts, an Associates Degree in Psychology and a Musical Theatre Diploma from Capilano University. In addition to being a theatre artist she also works in film. Her recent credits include Girl in Room 13, The Good Doctor, Puppyhood, and Tryst.

Mariam Barry – Voice Over

Mariam Barry is a multidisciplinary artist of Norwegian and African descent. Her creative work as an actor, screenwriter, director, filmmaker, theatre artist, and producer, is grounded in her experience as a Third Culture Kid. This multi-lens ignites Mariam’s work as her voice celebrates what it means to be Black around the world. She was a recipient of the Netflix-BANFF Diversity of Voices Initiative in 2021 and an alumni of “Black Women Film!” Canada’s TIFF 2021 Cohort. Mariam holds a BFA in Acting from the University of British Columbia, and is a film editor and youth arts facilitator with Reel Youth where she mentors emerging filmmakers in their productions. Mariam’s filmmaking credits include: “Cypher” (Short doc, Telus Storyhive), “RISE” (Short film, Bakau Consulting Inc), “Legacy” (short film, ETC & Iris Studios), “Tiana” (short film, upcoming, Harold Greenberg: BC Shorts Program & Creative BC), and a mini-series currently in development.

Giselle Clarke-Trenaman – Voice Over

Giselle has roots in the Toronto theatre community and holds a B.F.A. Hons in Theatre from York University. She has worked with CanStage/Volcano Theatre on the acclaimed Another Africa as well as The National Arts Centre/Young Peoples Theatre’s production of i think i can. Now a resident of Vancouver B.C., Giselle was recently nominated for a Jessie Award (2019) for her work in Stage Management and highlighted by the Black Theatre Caucus for their 101 Black Stage Managers Celebration. She is currently the Production Coordinator at Presentation House Theatre in North Vancouver. Recent Stage Management credits include working with Presentation House Theatre on Cat Killer and So, How Should I Be? and Learning and Forgetting the International tours of Jack and the Bean and Where the Wild Things Are and the National tour of Baking Time. She has worked with Carousel Theatre, Goh Ballet, SoulPepper, Highlands Opera Studio and Opera Atelier to name a few. As the founder of Black History Matters, she has presented to schools in the Vancouver area reaching over 3,000 students with her tailored age-appropriate presentations. The program uses the Arts to impact unintended bias in K-7 students by homing in on three core competencies: communication, critical thinking and personal and social development. She has also done several presentations geared towards Educators and Parents.

Omari Newton – Voice Over

Omari Newton is an award-winning professional actor, writer, director and producer. As a writer, his original Hip Hop theater piece Sal Capone has received critical acclaim and multiple productions, including a recent presentation at Canada’s National Arts Center. He has been commissioned by Black Theater Workshop (BTW) in Montreal to write a companion piece to Sal Capone entitled Black & Blue Matters. Omari and his wife, fellow professional playwright Amy Lee Lavoie, have received commissions from The Arts Club Theatre to co-write a new play: Redbone Coonhound. A bold and innovative satirical comedy that confronts instances of systemic racism in the past, present and future. Omari is co-directing the first in a series of rolling world premiere at The Arts Club Theatre in October of 2022. The play will then open in Montreal (Imago Theatre) & then Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. The husband and wife duo also just completed “Black Fly,” a satirical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus that centers on Aaron and Lavinia. Newton’s work in Speakeasy Theatre’s production of Young Jean Lee’s The Shipment earned him a 2017-2018 Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor, as well as a nomination for Best Direction. He has recently completed directing critically acclaimed productions of “The Mountaintop” by Katori Hall, and “Pass Over” by Antoinette Nwandu. Notable film & TV credits include: Lucas Ingram on Showcase’s Continuum, Larry Summers on Blue Mountain State and lending his voice to the Black Panther in multiple animated projects (Marvel). Most recently, Omari has a recurring role as Nate on Corner Gas (the animated series) and a recurring role as Corvus of Netflix’s hit new animated series The Dragon Prince.

Ivy Charles – Voice Over

Ivy Charles (she/her) hails from Winnipeg, MB – Treaty 1 Territory, homeland of the Métis Nation. She is now based in Vancouver, BC, on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples – Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam Nations. Select theatre credits include: In My Day (Zee Zee Theatre Company), Beautiful Man (Pi Theatre) which landed her a Jessie nomination for Outstanding Lead, Orlando (RMTC), East Van Panto: Pinocchio (Theatre Replacement) and Urinetown, Antony and Cleopatra and Cabaret (Studio 58). Ivy is a graduate of Studio 58’s acting program. She was the Head Coordinator of the Diversity Committee and then the Head Facilitator the following year. Ivy was awarded the Hnatyshyn Developing Artists Grant (English Theatre) 2019 while attending Studio 58. Ivy was last seen on stage at her alma mater as Richie in A Chorus Line. You can see her next in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage.

Richard Wolfe – Director

Richard Wolfe Richard is the Artistic and Producing Director of Pi Theatre as well as a dramaturg, educator and specialist in contemporary theatre and performance who’s received, among other awards, the Larry Lillo Prize and the Ray Michel Award. He’s been nominated 6 times for Outstanding Director (winning twice) and once for Significant Artistic Achievement. Seven new plays that he’s premièred have gone on to publication by Talon Books or Scirocco Drama. Plays and performance pieces he’s directed recently include: the Canadian premiere of Lampedusa, by Anders Lustgarden, Dance Like No One’s Watching by Munish Sharma and the audio drama At the Speed of Light by Peter Dickinson. This is Richard’s 4th show at Pacific Theatre. Others include: The Busy World is Hushed by Keith Bunin, Cherry Docs by David Gow, and the musical chamber piece The Meal by Rick Maddocks. He’s very pleased to be back with this beautifully human story by Shayna Jones.

Kayleigh Sandomirsky – Stage Manager

Kayleigh Sandomirsky is a stage/production manager, producer, curator and performer. She recently toured Departure by Marissa Wong, 003_playback by Caroline MacCaull, BLUSCRN by FakeKnot, New Societies by Re:Current Theatre, and Ying Yun by Wen Wei Dance. Stage/Production Management credits: Double Happiness: Detour this Way by Nancy Tam and Robyn Jacobs, The Array by UpintheAir Theatre, Dancing to Remember by Aeriosa Dance and Butterflies in Spirit, The Sun and The Moon by Crimson Coast Dance, In Response to Alabama by Little Thief Theatre, and Kwê by Jeanette Kotowich and collective. Kayleigh also curated with UpintheAir theatre as their Resident Curator for 3 years, and recently curated the Conversation Series for Peek Fest by Impulse Theatre.

Cecilia Vadala – Set Designer & Costume Consultant

Born and raised in Italy, Cecilia has a background in Philosophy and Art History. A recent graduate of the MFA program in Theatre Design and Production from the University of British Columbia, Cecilia designs for the stage and the screen, focusing on the scenic design practice.
As a designer, Cecilia considers herself a visual storyteller. Her aesthetic is suggestive and evocative. In her work the space is another character that evolves and tells a story on its own. As an artist, Cecilia explores the connections between emotions and materials, feelings and textures, often introducing a sensorial component to her designs. Portfolio: ceciliavadala.com

Brad Trenaman – Lighting Designer

For Pi Theatre: The Events. Vancouver: White Noise (Savage Society / Firehall), Kindred (Belfry), Salmon Girl (Jessie Award – Raven Spirit / Carousel), Redpatch (Jessie Nomination – Hardline Productions / Arts Club), Where The Wild Things Are (Presentation house). Toronto: Shakespeare in High Park (Canstage), CATS (NuMu Productions). Las Vegas: Matt Dusk (Hilton Residency ) and Menopause the Musical (Luxor). Touring: The Stepcrew, magician Ted Outerbridge, National Chinese Acrobats. Freelance writer for Professional Lighting and Production Magazine, member of Associated Designers of Canada and President of New Works, a Vancouver based dance support organization celebrating its 30th anniversary next year. www.batlighting.com

Rufus Cappadocia – Composer/Musician

Rufus Cappadocia is a multi-lingual musician, performer, composer and recording artist of incredible range and diversity. Cappadocia has made a career of going where few cellists have gone before. Born in Hamilton Ontario, Cappadocia has made New York City his home for the last 30 years. His deep understanding of poly-rhythm and modal music has led to performances and recordings with a broad spectrum of musicians and dancers, such as “Bonga” and the Vodou drums of Haiti , Odetta, Urban Tap, RossDaly, Yacouba Moumouni, David “Fuze” Fiuzynski, The Paradox Trio , and Stellamara. He also performed with Aretha Franklin, Kasse Mady, The Peace Poets, Vishal Vaid, The Black Rock Coalition,Kif, Vernon Reid, The Campbell Brothers and many more. Cappadocia has toured throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia and has also performed in Mali Niger and Nigeria.

Amber Barton – Movement Director

Amber has spent the majority of her life working in the arts as a professional contemporary dance artist, performing, choreographing, producing and teaching dance. She received her professional dance training with Goh Ballet Academy, Arts Umbrella, Ballet BC’s Mentor Programme and the Banff Centre for the Arts.
As a choreographer, her work has been presented in various venues in Vancouver, across Canada, and internationally. As she extended her practice into the theatre community, she has had the privilege of working, collaborating and choreographing for such companies and artists as Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, Mindy Parfitt of Search Party Productions, Studio 58, Neworld Theatre and Electric Company.
Amber is currently studying to become a Yoga Therapist and has been the Interim Program Director at New Works since 2022.

Alex Forsyth – Production Manager

ALEXANDER FORSYTH (he/him) is a multidisciplinary artist with focuses in theatre and film acting, playwriting, and visual arts, residing on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəyəm, Skwxwú7mesh, and Səlílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh Nations. Both Alex and the company he founded – K.I.A. Productions – originate in ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐊᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ on Treaty 6 territory, where he began writing, producing, and performing plays that tour across Canada and the UK in collaboration with his wife and co-artistic director Keltie Forsyth. As a technician, Alex has worked for artists and companies ranging from Vancouver Opera and Cirque du Soleil to Lady Gaga and Guns ‘n’ Roses with stints on shows like Stephen King’s The Stand and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Alex holds a Master of Fine Arts with Distinction in Acting from East 15 Acting School (London, UK) and a Bachelor of Arts in Drama and Creative Writing from the University of Alberta.