Overview

Twenty-one short monologue plays exploring the future of Blackness, commissioned by Obsidian Theatre, Canada's leading culturally diverse theatre company. In 2021, Obsidian Theatre commissioned twenty-one writers to create twenty-one new stories about imagined Black futures. Each playwright was tasked with scripting a ten-minute monodrama in response to the question, 'What is the future of Blackness?' To counter the intense early-pandemic isolation and the trauma of witnessing heightened violence toward Black bodies, Obsidian's goal was to give as many opportunities to as many diverse Black artists as possible and to bring new voices together from both theatre and film. It was a grand experiment to create a rich tapestry of possibilities and to uplift Black artists in the process. The plays and playwrights included in this volume are: The Death Doula by Amanda Parris The Sender by Cheryl Foggo Jah in the Ever-Expanding Song by Kaie Kellough Beyere by Shauntay Grant Madness With Rocks by Peace Akintade-Oluwagbeye Witness Shift by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard Sensitivity by Lawrence Hill Special by Keshia Cheesman Umoja Corp by Jacob Sampson Notice by Luke Reece Blackberries by Miali-Elise  Emmett by Syrus Marcus Ware Georgeena by Djanet Sears Rebirth of the Afronauts by Motion Cavities by K.P. Dennis 40 Parsecs and Some Fuel by Omari Newton The Prescription by Lisa Codrington Chronologie by Stephie Mazunya Yɛn ara asaase ni by Tawiah M'Carthy Builders of Nations by Joseph Jomo Pierre Omega Child by Cherissa Richards Also included is an introduction by Obsidian's artistic director Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu. 21 Black Futures is a radical offering in unprecedented times. Joyful, aspirational, and empowering, it is the result of an invitation to come together in this moment to create something communal, unapologetically Black, and with the Black gaze at its centre – art as the architecture for creating those futures. This volume is published by Playwrights Canada Press.

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Obsidian is Canada's leading culturally specific theatre company with a threefold mission to produce plays, develop playwrights, and train emerging theatre professionals. Obsidian is passionately dedicated to the exploration, development, and production of the Black voice. Obsidian produces plays from a worldwide canon focusing primarily, but not exclusively, on the works of highly acclaimed Black playwrights. Obsidian provides artistic support, promoting the development of work by Black theatre makers and offering training opportunities through mentoring and apprenticeship programs for emerging Black artists.

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