Why, 'The Blacktor's Studio'...

I have always been fascinated with the origin stories of my favourite performers.

When I discovered the TV show Inside the Actor’s Studio, I was transfixed.

Each performer inspired me and no doubt, countless others to pursue a career in the arts. After watching years of the late, James Lipton interview some of the greatest film actors in the world, I became intrigued as to why, this show, originally crafted as a seminar for theatre students of the esteemed Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University, was centred on the history of Film actors. Taking that a step further, I wondered why, there were very few actors of colour represented on that stage. As my career flourished, an answer to the 2nd question started to become very clear. I was often the sole representation of diversity in a production unless the show was a Black show or specifically about Black and Other race relations. This, in a career that spanned 20 years and aside from the productions I had done in the United States or Europe, the majority of all major theatre houses in Canada. Through conversations with white friends and colleagues who had the ignorant and pervasive thought that this stemmed from the fact that “we just don’t have enough black people in Canada for (insert any number of things), it became apparent to me that Canadian performers of colour needed a platform to be seen and their stories to be heard. Not only to facilitate job opportunities but also, to inspire the future of the industry. Young people of colour need to know that there is a place for them in entertainment and that each journey is individual. Conversely, art can be used to help humanize the Other to those accustomed to only seeing the same.

And, so began The Blacktor's Studio.