You are invited to the 22/23 Obsidian Playwright's Unit Showcase on Thursday, June 22 at 7 PM at Factory Theatre, Studio Theatre (125 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON M5V 2R2)
After an 8-month playwriting intensive facilitated by Toronto-based actor and writer, Lisa Codrington, our Playwrights Unit will be sharing excerpts from their works-in-development followed by a talkback with some of the writers.
Learn more about the playwrights and their work!
Playwrights & Plays
Kais Padamshi (He/Him) - @kaispadamshi
Kais is an emerging writer and playwright who's work encompasses academic, research-based texts, curatorial essays, poetry, and exhibition reviews centering African Diasporic narratives. As a playwright, his work weaves together themes of cultural identity, ethnicity, belonging, queerness and spirituality/religion.
Halal by Kais Padamshi
When even home and its people seem as foreign as himself, a young boy questions the role of faith against choice and self-determination. Set in modern-day Kenya, Halal weaves together the heart of family, faith, tradition, love and the will to stand in one’s truth. When challenged by both the world around him and his own kin, where not even faith seems to hold him close amongst all else, young boy questions' “For if all man is created in the Image of God, what does it mean for a man who is said to be forsaken to begin with? Can one claim that which has not claimed them?
Jamillah Ross (She/Her/They) - @jamkillah
Jamillah is an alumnus of Toronto’s Second City Mainstage and starred in the Toronto Fringe hits St. Peon of the People and the award winning Show Stopping Number. Film and television credits include Kim’s Convenience, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Good Doctor, and the upcoming Netflix film Slumberland. Jamillah’s a Capricorn.
Rodeo Road Trip by Jamillah Ross
While helping her eldest brother Nate Holder clean his apartment, Aaliyah Holder discovers that amongst his hoard, are their mothers ashes. She devises a plan for the two to drive from Toronto to Calgary, to scatter the ashes at the Calgary Stampede. Along the way, they meet with their other brother Darryl, strengthen the familial bonds and find redemption and forgiveness.
Alten Wilmot (They/He) - @altenw
Alten is a multi-award winning New Generation artist working in theatre, dance, and film. They have worked with companies from coast to coast, using stories and dance to create visceral artistic experiences that inspire and provoke.
Facing A Widowed Father by Alten Wilmot
The play follows Allison, a first year university student living on the brink of mania after her Father impulsively spends the money saved for her tuition. In her frantic quest to regain the funds before the weekend is up, she must stop running away from her family and their trauma, and - with the help of one dysfunctional friendship, one unexpected friendship, and one dedicated sister - end her four month streak of not speaking to her Father. The story dives into themes of navigating familial relationships amidst the sharp edges of collective trauma, particularly amongst youth with Caribbean immigrant parents, and learning to move through grief in a healthy way.
Playwright's Unit Facilitator
Lisa Codrington (she/her)
Lisa 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.
