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Summer Mixtape

Black Youth Theatre Intensive
Summer Mixtape

The Summer Mixtape course provides Black students with an exciting opportunity to experience the world of theatre creation from the inside.

APPLY TO THE SUMMER MIXTAPE

Who Should Apply

You should apply if you are a Black student, residing in Ontario, who will be enrolled in any of Grades 10, 11, or 12 in September 2022, or will be enrolled in post-secondary studies in September 2022, and you are interested in the performing arts and in expressing yourself creatively. You are also keen to explore Black Canadian history.

What IS THE SUMMER MIXTAPE

Developed in partnership with the Lifelong Leadership Institute, the Summer Mixtape course provides Black students with an exciting opportunity to experience the world of theatre creation from the inside. Happening in-person at Soulpepper Theatre this summer, this course will help participants grow and reinforce a sense of community after a difficult period of social isolation. Students will be invited to draw back the curtains and dive into storytelling and playwriting, collaborative creation, live performance, and more. All of this will be done by harnessing the power of theatre to tell stories rooted in both Canadian Black history and the present. Once the program is completed, participants will be sent off with a new creative toolkit as well as information about where to put it to use, inside and outside the classroom.

Soulpepper Theatre’s Black Youth Theatre Intensive is an accessible and inclusive course designed for participants both with and without prior theatre experience. It will be led by artist instructors who will introduce participants to their respective areas of expertise. In addition to training offered by the artist instructors, participants are paired with mentors for additional personalized support and feedback in small groups of two or three.

The curriculum will include:

Workshops:

Some of last year's workshops included:

Projects written and performed by students:

Some of last year's projects included:

Why this Matters

For some, this program may be an early start, a pathway to a career in theatre and performance. A mixture of participants who may or may not have prior experience in theatre will allow for peer-to-peer skill sharing. Moreover, having Black representation in theatre is one way for ensuring that Black stories and history are preserved, and this is empowering to the community and enriching to the still-growing culture of Canadian theatre.

The experience PROVIDES:

I loved meeting so many cool people and the instructors were awesome! I liked the different tasks and assignments we did, they really made me think and I could tell they were well thought out and not just mindless assignments school tends to give me all the time. I feel super lucky to have done the workshops too, the guest artists were really inspiring as was the mentor I had. (The welcome package was also a plus) Thank you!!

The program was something that was very out of the box, I found the fact that I was given so many opportunities to share my personal work made the program more engaging, because I was working hard to perfect and perform my work in the class, which helped improved my work as well.

I learned new things such as black figures, costume design, using technology in music performances and movies, and poetry/plays

Admission Details

Who:

You are a Black student, residing in Ontario, who will be enrolled in any of Grades 10, 11, or 12 in September 2022, or will be enrolled in post-secondary studies in September 2022. In addition, you are interested in the performing arts and in expressing yourself creatively. You are keen to explore Black Canadian history and are totally committed to attending all in-person classes.

Admissions Process: 

All eligible applicants will be considered for admission. Refer to application deadlines at https://llileaders.com/summerup/. Eligible applicants will be required to attend an orientation session.

Program Dates: 

The program will be in-person, over a span of six weeks starting Tuesday, July 12 and ending Thursday, August 18, 2022. Classes will commence at 10:00 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. A one-hour lunch break will be provided.

Noted below are the dates this course will meet. Before submitting an application, candidates must ensure they can attend all the scheduled classes.

Week 1: Tuesday, July 12; Wednesday, July 13 (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.)
Week 2: Tuesday, July 19; Wednesday, July 20 (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.)
Week 3: Tuesday, July 26; Wednesday, July 27 (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.)
Week 4: Wednesday, August 3; Thursday, August 4 (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.)
Week 5: Tuesday, August 9; Wednesday, August 10 (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.)
Week 6: Wednesday, August 17; Thursday, August 18 (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.)

Program Location: 

This in-person course will be delivered at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts (50 Tank House Lane) Distillery District, Toronto. The site is accessible by TTC.

APPLY FOR THE SUMMER MIXTAPE

Health & Safety: Since this course will be delivered in-person, certain COVID-19 protocols will apply. Admitted students must show proof of being fully vaccinated and must be prepared to wear masks when required to do so. Note: This course is delivered in-person. An online version will not be available.


Illustration by: Ngabo Nabea

For further information please contact Soulpepper Education at education@soulpepper.ca