Volume 27 Issue 4 - February 2022

DAVID COOPER
“I give a clue, the
inspiration, the
breadcrumb trail
and say, bring your
best self to this.”
— Philip Akin
harnessed performers leaning out of the wall’s windows to sing to
each other on multiple levels.
The artistic wall can, however, evoke challenges beyond the
physical, particularly for Black artists and audiences.
“We need to speak of this,” says Akin. As the founder of Obsidian
Theatre, Canada’s first and perhaps only theatre that specializes in
work by Black writers, he has significant experience with the vagaries
of Canada’s performance industry. “You also have to break down some
walls, to be able to acknowledge who else is in a rehearsal hall full of
predominantly white people. I have not seen another Black person
working in the building (RCM/Koerner Hall), not even a janitor.
However, everywhere I work is a Black space. I bring this to the table.
By inhabiting the space that does not include some, we bring them to
the table.”
Michael Hidetoshi Mori, artistic director and Jaime Martino, executive
director of Tapestry Opera, are also engaged with broadening
what opera is, who does it and who hears it. Additional specificities
to the concept of artistic struggle for excellence have been woven
into the production process. Tapestry Opera’s Women in Musical
Leadership program ensures that women conductors are mentored
and included in the process. Jennifer Tung and Juliane Gallant are
assistant conductors on this production. Akin has brought in Sheree
Spencer as assistant director and award-winning set and costume
designer Rachel Forges – two Black artists. “We have to bring others
along,” he says.
Finding an Artistic Compass
Gould continues to serve as a guide for many musicians, not all in
a traditional way. Says Balkan, “There are those who can inspire, be
a muse, and support a climber. Gould’s work can directly be that for
some. It can also be something to stand on, to launch from. It can be
a spiritual/practical mentoring – through memory/essence/naming.”
Gould once spoke at a graduation ceremony at the Conservatory,
Balkan says. “After an extraordinarily long speech about art and
listening, and silence and creation and finding your own voice, he
said, ‘If I could give you anything, it would be to remind you not
to rely on the advice of others.’” The quote is included in Balkan’s
libretto.
Akin has a less elliptical experience of mentorship to draw on, both
as mentor and mentee. As a young theatre student at Ryerson, he was
recommended by theatre journalist Herbert Whittaker for a part in
the Shaw Festival’s production of Caesar and Cleopatra. At that time,
there was little work for Black artists. He auditioned, won his first part
and was working six months after graduating from Ryerson’s theatre
program. To later receive the Herbert Whittaker Award in 2019 for his
contributions to Canadian theatre was deeply meaningful.
His version of mentorship, particularly for Black artists, he refers to
as “radicalization.” He gives an example: “You are a dark skin, black
woman, you have strong ideas. You know, the task is not just 50%
more difficult. You have to prepare for that. It is not the same as being
twice as good to get half as far. You need to be determined. You need
to be strong. You need to call out. You need to go and do whatever you
have to do to make your art happen. And you know you’re not going to
get the same kind of respect because you’re not a child. You grew up
POSTPONED
Thursday, February 3 at 8 pm
Ensemble
Made In Canada
Thursday, February 24 at 8 pm
Miró Quartet
Tickets: 416-366-7723
option 2
27 Front Street East, Toronto
| music-toronto.com
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