Artist Talk Series
Kim Blackwell In Conversation With...
Even as the world has begun to open up again, the demand from audiences hungry for insightful arts programming that can be enjoyed from home, has encouraged 4th Line Theatre to program a second series of free-of-charge virtual live stream artist talks this summer.
The successful virtual Artist Talk series offered this past May, created in response to the importance of finding ways to bring the world of theatre into people’s homes, engaged audiences nationwide. Participants joined live from as far away as Reykjavik, Iceland and more than 2,800 people have viewed recordings of the events online since their original air dates, inspiring a follow-up series.
Nexicom Presents 4th Line Theatre @ Home - Kim Blackwell in Conversation With… will illuminate the political realities of the Canadian theatre scene, featuring Canadian theatre artists on the cusp of the present seismic shift in Canadian arts ecology as they grapple with the issues surrounding anti-black and systemic racism that indigenous artists and cultural workers are facing in the arts sector and beyond.
The series, which honours the achievements of women in the Canadian theatre landscape, will be live streamed on Tuesday evenings in July and August. The series will open on Tuesday, July 28th with Kim Blackwell in Conversation With… Jani Lauzon, a Juno nominated singer/songwriter, Gemini award winning puppeteer, award-winning screen actress and multi-nominated stage actress from East Kootenay, British Columbia. Concluding the summer Artist Talk series on Tuesday, August 25th, Blackwell will speak with Sedina Fiati, a Toronto-based performer, producer, director, creator and activist for stage and screen.
Managing Artistic Director Kim Blackwell is excited to launch this new Artist Talk Series as part of 4th Line’s Epic Women’s Directing Project, launched in May 2017, to provide female Canadian directors the opportunity to train and work in the company’s unique community-based model. Proudly sponsored by Supporting Roles Interactive Training Inc., the Epic Women’s Directing Project aims to address the issues around gender parity in the performing arts.
KIM BLACKWELL
Managing Artistic Director
“ I am absolutely thrilled to sit down and talk to three of Canada’s most exciting theatre artists who are also very politically active,” says Blackwell. “I think this is a real opportunity to listen and understand what issues need to be addressed in Canadian theatre.”
May 2020 Artist Talk Series
Managing Artistic Director Kim Blackwell is thrilled to launch a new Artist Talk Series, as part of 4th Line’s Emerging Women’s Directing Project, called Kim Blackwell In Conversation With, focusing on Canadian women theatre artists who are pioneers in their field. 4th Line’s Epic Women’s Directing Project was launched in May 2017 to provide female Canadian directors the opportunity to train and work in the company’s unique community-based model and aims to address the issues around gender parity in the performing arts.
The series, which honours the achievements of women in the Canadian theatre landscape, will be live streamed on four Tuesday afternoons in May. The series will open on Tuesday, May 5th with Kim Blackwell In Conversation With Jillian Keiley, an award-winning director from St. John’s, Newfoundland, founder of Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland. Then, on Tuesday, May 12th, the series continues with Judith Thompson, Governor General’s Award-winning playwright, director and theatre educator. Next, on Tuesday, May 19th, the series continues with Kim Blackwell in Conversation With Nancy Palk, acclaimed actor, director, educator and a founding member and resident artist of Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Company. Concluding the May Artist Talk series on Tuesday, May 26th is Kim Blackwell In Conversation With Fiona Reid, celebrated, award-winning English-born Canadian television, film, and stage actress.
Kim Blackwell In Conversation With...
KIM BLACKWELL
Managing Artistic Director
“Our Artist Talk events have come to be some of the most popular gatherings at 4th Line. For several years now, I have been wanting to sit down with some of Canada’s most influential women theatre artists to delve deeper into their careers and practice, I am thrilled to be sitting down with women whose work I have long admired.”