Black Shoulders Legacy Award Invites New Applications

The Philip Akin Black Shoulders Legacy Award steering committee is accepting applications for the 2024 Awards, to be given to five performing and non-performing artists who show promise and are working towards a future in theatre. Applications are due May 17, 2024.

This national award will further amplify Black voices in the Canadian theatre landscape. Each recipient will be awarded a $5,000 honorarium towards training and other opportunities to enhance and grow their artistic craft.

The Black Shoulders Legacy Award was founded in June 2020, at the end of Philip Akin’s tenure as the Artistic Director of Obsidian Theatre. This groundbreaking award was created to safeguard the legacy of support for emerging Black Canadian theatre artists that Philip Akin catalyzed. This is the first award of its kind, solely dedicated to the success of Black Canadian theatre artists, ensuring creators are equipped with the skills to be at the top of their professional game.

Dora Award-winning actor Peter Fernandes (Toronto), recipient of the 2023 Award in support of his pursuit of mentorship and training in magic/illusionist work in theatre, says: "Thanks to the Philip Akin Black Shoulders Legacy Award, I've had the invaluable opportunity of receiving ongoing mentorship from acclaimed Illusions Designer and Director, Skylar Fox. In early 2023, I joined Skylar in New York as he worked on the Broadway transfer of The Public and National Black Theatre’s production of James Ijames' Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Fat Ham. This show marked the National Black Theatre's first Broadway production, and I was honoured to contribute as the only black member of the illusions team, gaining my first Broadway credit in the process. Fat Ham went on to receive multiple Tony, Drama Desk, and Drama League Award nominations, as well as winning an Outer Critics Circle Award. Working alongside these award-winning performers and creators was a transformative experience that wouldn't have been possible without the generous support of the Black Shoulders Legacy Award.

"Upon returning from New York, I was immediately able to apply my newfound skills to
several projects. First, as magic consultant for the Next Stage production of Gregory Prest’s Bremen Town and second as co-creator of a new piece of Magic Theatre titled The F Word: Illusions of Fatherhood, which received additional support from fu-GEN and Cahoots Theatre. This immersive piece of intimate storytelling and magic will see me act as both director and illusions designer. I am also excited to share my illusions insight on the Canadian Premiere of Fat Ham when it is produced by Canadian Stage in 2025. Additionally, thanks to the mentorship, training and experience provided by the BSLA, I was appointed as one of the 2024 Shaw Festival Neil Munro Intern Directors. In this role, I will continue to grow as a professional director, assisting on productions of Witness for the Prosecution and Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Human Heart, as well as providing magic consultation for ancillary programming for the festival."

For more information about Black Shoulders Legacy Award applications, or to make a donation in support of the Award Fund, visit bsla.ca

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