An update on Residency projects and call for artists!
April 3, 2025
Residency is at the heart of everything we do at The Theatre Centre. Today, we announce changes and exciting additions to the current cohort of Residency artists and their projects — alongside the brand new company in Residence program. In addition to these updates we are thrilled to announce a call for Residency artists!
In 2020, The Theatre Centre brought in a new cohort of Residency artists in the midst of a global pandemic. This significantly changed how Residency functioned, with artists adapting to working from home while our doors were closed.
In the nearly 5 years since that time, lives have changed: new artistic opportunities and ideas have emerged and artists have moved away or taken on full time jobs. So, we have some updates for you!
Updates to the main program.
- We are thrilled to share that Adam Lazarus has joined Residency. The Theatre Centre had been supporting Adam in the development of Versus over the past three years, so we decided to make it official!
- Stewart Legere continues to work on The Unfamiliar Everything. Some of you may have seen his showing of this multidisciplinary work in December.
- Nehal El-Hadi continues to develop The Observer Effect. She recently hosted an invited screening of her latest workshop in February followed by a feedback session to support continued development.
In response to COVID-19, we added two new creation streams of Residency in 2020: Explorations and Finishing.
Explorations allows artists to spend a year supported in their pursuit of burning questions that may impact a larger work, or the future shape of their practice.
- PJ Prudat has begun exploring a number of possible ideas and big questions at a shifting moment in her creative practice, as she finishes post-graduate work in creative writing, and recent opportunities working as a director.
- danjelani ellis, who has been working on Iris Malcolm Housing Co-op, three interconnected plays, has moved into Explorations as well to specifically explore the third piece of this puzzle (i-and-i) which remains the most elusive to him.
Finishing creates an opportunity for an artist to take a work that has been in development for years into an intensive period of design and technical experimentation.
- Brandon Ash-Mohammed is pushing forward to a first production of The Reclusive Chanteuse in the Finishing stream of Residency as he works with collaborators to imagine the design and technical elements for the show’s premiere.
New: Company in Residence
In this spirit of inventing our way forward, we are excited to announce The Theatre Centre’s Company in Residence: d’bi.young anitafrika’s Watah Theatre!
In 2014 our Long Term Relationship (LTR) program was created for non-venued companies to make The Theatre Centre their home for several years, allowing for long-term planning and audience building. As a previously nomadic company for 35 years, we know how hard it is to be constantly on the move.
More recently as we’ve assessed the challenges our sector is facing, we’re seeing venues struggling to keep their doors open while more and more established indie companies and artists are not receiving project grants. We thought it was time for something new in our own models of artistic support.
As we continue to explore new ways to address gaps in how our sector supports creation, this new program is a cross between LTR and Residency, providing Watah Theatre with a 3-year commitment of space while also providing financial support and mentorship.
Rather than supporting the development of a single project from idea to production, they will receive The Theatre Centre’s commitment to their overall organizational growth, including structural, fiscal, and artistic support.
Watah Theatre specializes in the professional development and mentorship of emerging artists and was founded in 2008 by d’bi.young anitafrika. Arts-engagement sits at the core of Watah’s commitment to provide Black artists with the tools to self-actualize, create relevant art and uncover crucial mentorship skills for each one to teach one.
We are absolutely thrilled to announce our first call for Residency artists since 2019!
Residency is a minimum two-year mutual commitment (sometimes longer!) that provides groups/artists with the necessary space, funding and mentorship to craft ideas still in their infancy into finished works that are provocative, innovative, and ambitious.
We are in search of 1-2 new projects to join the program beginning September 2025. Residency is designed for mid-career and senior artists who require space to develop their ideas, as this is one of the most valuable resources we have to offer.
- Applications will be received by The Theatre Centre’s Producers, Liza Hersh and Angelo Pileggi. Assessments and decisions will be made by General and Artistic Director, Aislinn Rose and Associate Artistic Director, liza paul.
- Apply by May 15, 2025. More details at theatrecentre.org/residency
Residency facilitates a highly collaborative artistic process by asking artists “what do you need?” The program supports new work across all live art disciplines led by directors, designers, composers, choreographers, architects, visual artists, or even neurologists. We are looking for good ideas in their earliest stages.
Thank you so much to BMO Financial Group for their long term support of Residency! Thank you to the Metcalf Foundation for allowing us to create new opportunities for Explorations and Finishing this year.
About The Theatre Centre
The Theatre Centre is a nationally recognized live-arts incubator and community hub. Our mission is to offer a home for creative, cultural and social interactions to invent the future. We make work that spans disciplines and genres; work that pushes the boundaries of what is considered “art”. Our programming and our role as a community space are inextricably linked. Art is not made in a silo: it is connected to the world around it.
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