September 4, 2024
OP is very excited to announce the next phase of our Slow Touring Project! This winter, we’ll be hosting a virtual workshop series titled Transforming the Touring Sector: A Learning Series that will break down the basics of Slow Touring and share how you and your organization can transform your work to incorporate the values of sustainability, equity and empathy in the face of our ‘new normal’. All presenters, artists, and industry members are invited to join us as we look for new working models that are sustainable, not only in terms of the environment, but also with regards to people (keeping artsworkers in the industry and avoiding burnout) and organizational sustainability.
Transforming the Touring Sector: A Learning Series will take place on zoom, once a month from October - March. Registration is now open! Register here to let us know which workshops you are interested in attending: https://forms.gle/mfdfbJZxTcUKpjqF8
Description & schedule of each workshop:
Radical Hospitality
Monday, Oct 28 - 1-3pm
How can presenters and their communities be the best possible hosts to artists and audiences - especially those with marginalized identities? How can visiting artists be good guests and connect with the places they visit?
Consider bringing anyone on your staff who does direct liaising with artists.
Featuring special guests:
Kevin Matthew Wong (he/him) is a Hakka Chinese-Canadian theatre creator, producer, dramaturg and video artist who creates, produces and tours projects across Canada and internationally. Kevin has collaborated with organizations like Barbican Centre (UK), Canada’s National Arts Centre, Shaw Festival, Stratford Festival, Canadian Stage, Luminato, Music Picnic (Macau), and Festival Theaterformen (Germany). Kevin is the Director of Producing and Creative Associate at Why Not Theatre leading large scale projects like the critically-acclaimed world premiere and international touring of Mahabharata. Kevin is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Broadleaf Creative, a company that merges social justice and live performance. Kevin’s series of multidisciplinary projects entitled Benevolence document Hakka history in Canada and includes a documentary created with ReelAsian International Film Festival, a solo show premiering at the Tarragon Theatre in 2025, and a museum installation with Toronto History Museums and Why Not Theatre. Kevin is the inaugural winner of both the Jini Stolk Creative Fellowship and the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Innovative Experience. kevinmatthewwong.com / @kevinmatthewwong
Franco Boni cherishes his role as facilitator, producer, director, dramaturg, programmer and cheerleader of artists making new work. He has served as artistic director of several theatres & festivals and has been a member of the professional arts community for over 25years.
He co-created Residency @ The Theatre Centre, a new work development program for multi-disciplinary artists. Residency artists have included: Ravi Jain, Sarah Stanley, Susanna Hood, Jani Lauzon, Heidi Strauss, Hannah Moscovitch, Maev Beatty, Andrew Penner, Yvonne Ng, Darren O’Donnell, Stephen O’Connell, Andrew Kushnir, Ross Manson, Suvendrini Lena, Ian Kamau, Richard Lee, Byron Abalos, Colin Doyle, Dan Watson, Jess Dobkin, and many others.
Awards include the inaugural Ken McDougall Award for emerging directors, The George Luscombe Mentorship Award in Theatre, multiple Dora Awards & nominations, and the Rita Davies Cultural Leadership Award, recognizing his outstanding leadership in the development of arts and culture in the City of Toronto.
Lori Marchand became the first Managing Director of the NAC’s Indigenous Theatre in April 2018. A member of the Syilx First Nation, she has played a key role in the encouragement, development and production of Indigenous work, including during her time as Executive Director of Western Canada Theatre, 1999-2018. Her contributions in BC and nationally also include serving in many capacities for the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres and as a member of BC Arts Council (2010-2017), helping to drive policy change relevant to all theatre practitioners in Canada. Lori was recognized for her commitment to live theatre and the production of Indigenous work that has contributed to the arts and to Reconciliation with a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, from Thompson Rivers University in June 2018 and the Mallory Gilbert Award for Artistic Leadership in 2021.
Creating an Empathetic Workplace
Monday, Nov 25 - 1-3pm
Many arts organizations are already experimenting with ways to support the mental and physical wellbeing of their staff and artists, from flexible working schedules to providing resources like food or childcare. We’ll discuss some of these concrete mechanisms to make our industry healthier and prevent burnout.
Great for both artists and leadership of arts organizations.
Arts Centers as Community Spaces
Monday, Jan 20, 2025 - 1-3pm
As community engagement continues to become a bigger part of presenters’ work and a way of increasing our impact, what strategies exist for genuinely opening your doors to a wider range of people and activities?
Consider bringing any staff members that deal with audience and community engagement or education, as well as programming.
Sustainability in Touring & Presenting
Tuesday, Feb 18, 2025 - 1-3pm
Climate change is already impacting our sector as weather events lead to cancelled shows and challenges for artists on tour. How can we prepare for that future and lead the way in true sustainability? Hint: it not only involves reducing our footprint, but also understanding our connection to the land we’re on, and listening to Indigenous leadership.
Consider bringing any staff members that deal with operations of our venue, as well as leadership.
The Value of Rest
Monday, Mar 17, 2025 - 1-3pm
Slow Touring is ultimately about resisting the “urgency” model that pervades our sector, making it unhealthy for most of us, and particularly un-inclusive for our disabled colleagues. Is it possible to reframe the way work to value rest, flexibility and slowness?
Great for both artists and leadership of arts organizations.