Fonds F0555 - Obsidian Theatre Company fonds

Accession 2009-024 Accession 2012-002

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Obsidian Theatre Company fonds

General material designation

  • Textual record
  • Graphic material
  • Sound recording

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Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

F0555

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

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Date(s)

Physical description area

Physical description

ca. 2.36 m of textual records
ca. 180 photographs : col. and b&w ; 21.4 x 28 cm or smaller
5 drawings : b&w ; 60 x 90 cm
ca. 57 compact discs
4 computer disks
1 videocassette (60 min.) : miniDV
7 DVDs
9 posters ; 63 x 47 cm or smaller

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(2000-)

Administrative history

Founded in February 2000, Obsidian Theatre Company is a leading black theatre companies in Canada. As a producer of black theatre and community advocate, the company has endeavoured to produce plays, develop playwrights and train emerging theatre professionals. Their mission statement focuses on the exploration, development, and production of the black voice. The founding board included Awaovieyi Agie, Ardon Bess, David Collins, Roy Lewis, Yanna McIntosh, Diane Roberts, Kim Roberts, Sandi Ross, Djanet Sears, Satori Shakoor, Tricia Williams, Alison Sealy-Smith, and Philip Akin. Obsidian has encouraged Canada's local black playwrights and actors, mounting local works such as "The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God", "Consecrated Ground", "Born Ready" and "The Monument", as well as the first international collaboration (Canada and Barbados) of Austin Clarke's Giller Award winning novel "The Polished Hoe". They have also produced international plays such as "Intimate Apparel", "Late" and "Black Medea". Obsidian has established partnerships both locally and provincially working with companies such as The Stratford Festival of Canada, Mirvish Productions, The Harbourfront Centre, The Canadian Stage Company, Nightwood Theatre, The Harold Green Jewish Theatre, Factory Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, fu-GEN Theatre, Aluna Theatre, Roseneath Theatre, bcurrent, and the Frank Collymore Hall in Barbados. Obsidian produces plays from a world-wide canon focusing primarily, but not exclusively, on the works of highly acclaimed black playwrights.

Custodial history

Scope and content

Fonds consists of production material, organizational documents, correspondence, grant applications, budget reports, programs, posters, photographs, video recordings, as well as press coverage and reviews of theatre productions, community workshops, fund-raising concerts, public readings and other events organized and hosted by members of Obsidian Theatre Company's board of directors. Includes material from the following productions: The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God (2001-2002), The Piano Lesson (2002-2003), Consecrated Ground (2003-2004), Two Can Play (2004-2005), Cast Iron (2004/2005), Born Ready/Pusha Man (2005-2006), The Monument (2005-2006), Hip Hop (Who Stole the Soul?) (2006-2007), The Polished Hoe (2006-2007), Born Ready (2007-2008), Intimate Apparel (2007-2008), Black Medea (2008-2009), Late (2008-2009), Intimate Apparel (2011), Ruined (2011), Caroline, or Change (2012), Topdog/Underdog (2011), Shakespeare's Nigga (2013), The Whipping Man (2013), The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble (2013), dirty butterfly (2013), Nightmare Dream (2014).

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Donated by Mel Hague in 2009 and 2012 and Philip Akin in 2014.

Arrangement

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

Some files have been restricted as they contain financial information about third parties.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Finding aids

Associated materials

Related materials

Accruals

Further accruals are expected.

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Status

Final

Level of detail

Full

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

2014/05/16 A.St.Onge. Migrated from legacy EES system and revised.
2018/04/09 KCP. Added GMD and published.
2019/04/16 KCP. Created accession descriptions and uploaded legacy file inventories.
2019/04/18 J. Grant. Addition of accession 2014-004.

Language of description

  • English

Accession area