The Obsidian Playwrights Unit is a national intensive play development program that will support 2 to 3 Black playwrights through virtual group sessions and individual mentorship. Facilitated by actor and playwright, Lisa Codrington, the unit will discuss and develop their plays culminating in a performance where each playwright has the chance to workshop an excerpt of their piece with actors and a director, and hear it read aloud at Obsidian’s annual Playwrights Unit Showcase in Toronto, ON.
Obsidian Theatre is interested in showcasing the richness and complexity of Blackness in all of its intersections across the nation so that our art can truly reflect the communities we serve. What stories do you want to bring to the stage and why? What does your idea/play bring to a Canadian stage that has not been seen before? These are just some of the questions we are interested in discussing and exploring as we begin the journey of developing new work.
Meet the 23/24 Unit!
Taija Shonée Chung
Taija Shonée Chung
TAIJA SHONÉE CHUNG is a Jamaican-Chinese multi-disciplinary artist, based in Toronto. A passionate actor, mover and creator, she’s enthusiastic about work that explores our perception of others and ourselves in this ever-changing world — who we are when we are at our most vulnerable, when we are trying to make a buck or when we think we are alone. Her theatre credits include: The First Stone (dir. Yvette Nolan), The Humans (dir. Chris Stanton) and The Green Bird (dir. Adam Palozza). She looks forward to amplifying her voice as an artist, both on stage and screen.
Moboluwajidide D. Joseph
Moboluwajidide D. Joseph
Mobólúwajídìde D. Joseph is a Nigerian living in the diaspora. He has written and published essays, poetry, fiction and criticism. He is interested in work that dreams abolition and liberation for all.
Lili Robinson
Lili Robinson
Lili Robinson (she/they) is a playwright, actor, poet and facilitator born and raised on unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territories. Lili is passionate about centring voices at the intersections of queerness, the African diaspora, socio-economic diversity and femme identity in their work. Since graduating Studio 58 in 2018, Lili has worked in various roles with companies including Theatre Replacement, Rumble Theatre, Playwrights Theatre Centre, the Arts Club, Electric Theatre Company, the frank theatre, UpintheAir Theatre, New Harlem Productions and the Cultch. Lili’s debut play, Mx, was the winner of the 2019 Fringe New Play Prize and the 2019 Cultchivating the Fringe Award, and was subsequently presented as part of the Cultch’s 2021/2022 season. In addition to their acting and playwriting practices, Lili has also recently held the positions of Community Engagement Producer for both Playwrights Theatre Centre and the frank theatre, Resident Curator at rEvolver Festival, and as a dramaturg for the Parallel Project, supporting emerging BIPOC playwrights to develop new work. They are also the winner of the Playwrights Guild of Canada’s 2023 John Palmer Award, which recognizes a new generation playwright dedicated to making art that agitates the status quo.
Playwrights Unit Facilitator
Lisa Codrington
Lisa Codrington is an actor and writer based in Toronto. She has been nominated for the Governor General’s Award for Drama and is a recipient of the K.M. Hunter Theater Award and the Carol Bolt Award for Playwrights.
Selected writing credits include The Prescription – 21 Black Futures (Obsidian/CBC) The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God (Shaw Festival, Karamu House); Up the Garden Path (Obsidian Theatre); The Aftermath (Groundswell Festival, Femfest); The Colony – Opera to Go (Tapestry); Cast Iron (Nightwood Theatre & Obsidian Theatre).
Currently, Lisa is developing two new plays and is playwright in residence at Why Not Theatre.
For full list of past participants, follow this link: https://www.obsidiantheatre.com/artist-centre/for-playwrights-2
For any questions you might have about the unit, please contact our interim producer, daniel jelani ellis, at pd@obsidiantheatre.com.