Annual Report 2019-20 by Buddies in Bad Times

ANNUAL REPORT

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre creates vital Canadian theatre by developing and presenting voices that question sexual and cultural norms. Built on the political and social principles of queer liberation, Buddies supports artists and works that reflect and advance these values. As the world’s longest-running and largest queer theatre, Buddies is uniquely positioned to develop, promote, and preserve stories and perspectives that are challenging and alternative. Buddies achieves artistic excellence through its mainstage season programming, artist residency program, and community-based initiatives. Buddies serves a broad segment of the population who share a passion for theatre that celebrates difference. Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is situated on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabe, and the Wendat, and the treaty territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit. We acknowledge them and any other Nations who care for the land (acknowledged and unacknowledged, recorded and unrecorded) as the past, present, and future caretakers of this land, referred to as Tkaronto (“Where the Trees Meet the Water”; “The Gathering Place”). Buddies is honoured to be a home for queer, trans, and 2-spirit artists on these storied and sacred lands that have been stewarded by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years before the arrival of colonial settlers.

CONTENTS Artistic Director’s Message � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4 Chair’s Message � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 5 2-Spirit Cabaret

A R T I S T P RO F I L E – M I C H A E L A WA S H B U R N � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

The Rhubarb Festival

A R T I S T P RO F I L E – C L AY TO N L E E � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

Buddies Residency Program

A R T I S T P RO F I L E – W E OT H E R S O N S CO L L EC T I V E � � � � � �

6 8

Responding to the Pandemic � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 12 Queer Pride Festival � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 13 Digital Pride

A R T I S T P RO F I L E – DA I N T Y S M I T H � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre has identified three core values that serve as guiding pillars for all our activities and operations. DIFFERENCE

With our art, we simultaneously celebrate difference and question the mechanisms through which differences are constructed and maintained. With our space, we create an accessible, non-judgmental, and inclusive environment for everyone regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, economic position, race, creed, age, national origin, physical ability, or mental ability. With our daily interactions, we foster respect and dignity among all people.

EXCELLENCE

Financials � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 16 The Company � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 17 Our Donors � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 18 Our Sponsors � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 18

Our Values

2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

We provide our audiences with unforgettable theatre experiences, and we give our artists and staff the resources they need to achieve the highest standards of excellence.

COMMUNITY

We believe that the theatre plays a vital role in the educational, social, and economic health of a community. We strive to be a positive force by encouraging collaboration and constructive dialogue among the various groups and individuals who make up our community.

Buddies In Bad Times Theatre

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

14,446

people came through our doors

218

artists, designers, and technicians were employed by Buddies

new theatre works were performed on our stages

169

nights of theatre happened on our stages

222

people accessed our youth and education programs

The 41st Buddies season was, without question, a season like no other. This year the pandemic has changed our lives, and the entire cultural sector, in ways no one could have previously imagined. But despite the lockdown, which abruptly shut down our theatre in March, as we look back it’s clear that 2019/20 was still a season packed with memorable achievements, not only on our stage, but around the globe and over new digital channels. From the grand opening of our new and industry-leading all-gender washroom, to the release of our Youth/Elders Podcast; highly anticipated annual events like the sold out 2-Spirit Cabaret and The Rhubarb Festival, to the tour of Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools to Mexico’s renowned Cervantino Festival, to our Instagram live series Queer, Far, Wherever You Are, this season found new audiences and brought our communities together in both familiar and brand-new ways. The world premiere of Mine by Jenna Harris was just days away from opening when the pandemic lockdown began. The ensuing weeks brought a series of heartbreaking, unavoidable decisions to cancel and postpone more productions many years in the making. Buddies is no stranger to adversity, and I am proud of how we responded to the unprecedented challenges of this time: with creativity, innovation, and a continued commitment to our queer artists, communities, and audience. If this pandemic has proved anything, it is that Buddies is so much more than a building and that the resilience of our community knows no bounds. It has been a true honour and privilege to serve as Artistic Director of Buddies for five incredible seasons, and I want to personally thank you for all your support for my leadership. Thanks also to the many individuals, foundations, and government agencies who have seen us through this tumultuous, historic year. Your continued generosity and support is what will allow Buddies to not only survive this pandemic, but to come back stronger, braver, and more relevant than ever. Yours,

community groups accessed our space for performances, meetings, and fundraisers

Evalyn Parry Artistic Director

4 Buddies In Bad Times Theatre 2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

CHAIR’S MESSAGE Oh, the hard and the soft of it all. The season started with my heart soaring and my sides aching with the potency and laughter of the 2-Spirit Cabaret. I was poked and stretched by the Youth/Elders Podcast and the collectively curated Rhubarb Festival and was lovingly disrupted by the talented creators and cast of Box 4901. And while there was still the harshness of life, the spring brought a devastating time for the world and for our communities. The pandemic, the continuing exposure of our inhumanity, and the lack of systemic change astound. But as our queer histories can attest, we reach for each other in these times, for comfort, for survival. What has been tender are all the ways in which our audiences, artists, donors, funders, and staff have shown their care and commitment to Buddies and the future of theatre in Toronto. Our 2019/20 season was the fifth and last for Artistic Director Evalyn Parry. She has put an indelible mark on Buddies and on theatre in Canada. This year of change also saw a few long-time staff members move on to other roles. We are grateful for their contributions. And while the pandemic had us cancelling programming and working from home, being the innovative queers we are, we pulled off a quick shift to the digital sphere, with presentations like the Queer, Far, Wherever You Are streams and new systems for internal communications. The staff ’s dedication has been astounding. This year of uncertainty and change has also been a time of deep reflection for us as an institution. Our theatre has not escaped the legacy of colonialism, racism, and other forms of oppression. We have been called to account and we are listening. Our board and staff are currently engaged in a comprehensive organizational review that calls for introspection and action, transparency and accountability. This ongoing and evolving work aims to build a relevant, dynamic future as we begin a new chapter in the company’s history. So, until we can see you on the dance floor or on the mainstage, I, along with the board, want to thank you for your patience and your support as we build on our 42-year legacy and seize an exciting way forward. Yours,

67%

of the lead artists creating work in our season were women

65%

of the lead artists creating work in our season were people of colour

27%

of the lead artists creating work in our season were trans or nonbinary

Instagram streams for Queer, Far, Wherever You Are, March–June, featuring over 55 artists

12,500+

views of Queer Pride Inside on YouTube

31,000+ followers across social media platforms

7,000+ newsletter subscribers

Andrea Ridgley Chair, Board of Directors

2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

Buddies In Bad Times Theatre

2-SPIRIT CABARET

A R T I S T P RO F I L E

Michaela Washburn The 2-Spirit Cabaret, presented through an ongoing partnership with Native Earth Performing Arts, returned for a fourth year in November, curated by Michaela Washburn. The cabaret, which highlights 2-spirit, queer, and trans Indigenous artists from across Turtle Island, featured acts by Mx Wolverine, Dakota Camacho, Ansley Simpson, and more, as well as a reading of Yolanda Bonnell’s drip as part of the Climate Change Theatre Action initiative.

How did you first get involved with the 2-Spirit Cabaret? What was your previous association with Buddies and Native Earth?

I was invited to participate in the very first 2-Spirit Cabaret; however, due to circumstances beyond my control at that time I could not be there. The following year, Keith Barker at Native Earth reached out to see if curating the event would be something I’d be interested in. Prior to that, I had been involved with Native Earth since 2003. My first production with NEPA was actually presented at Buddies:

Marie Clements’ The Unnatural and Accidental Women. I have also been in numerous Weesageechak festivals as a performer, and I have been in a few mainstage productions. As for Buddies, my first experience was acting in the 2005 Rhubarb Festival in Yvette Nolan’s Freeman’s Wake. I have since been on the Buddies stages when Native Earth has presented work there and over the years have taken in many performances and events. I have also curated the 2-Spirit Cabaret since 2017. Both feel like creative homes for me in Toronto.

6 Buddies In Bad Times Theatre 2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

What do you feel is the impact of the 2-Spirit Cabaret? What has the community response been like?

I think the importance of the 2-Spirit Cabaret has been that it has provided a safe and supportive space for Indigenous artists who identify as LGBTQ2+ to freely express themselves, and it’s also a wonderful opportunity to define for oneself how they would like to be experienced and received.

Clockwise from top: Dakota Camacho, Brian Solomon, Mx Wolverine. Cabaret photos by Connie Tsang. Photo of Michaela Washburn by Denise Grant

What sort of ideas, thoughts, or questions go into putting together the lineup for the 2-Spirit Cabaret each year?

In the three years I have worked on the cabaret, as a curator, host, and performer, I am always interested in diversity, inclusion, and folks who are a pleasure to work with and who play well with others. I love the ability to celebrate artists who may not

the participants still feel the freedom to present what feels most relevant to them. What’s one of your more memorable moments from this year’s 2-Spirit Cabaret?

Every year I always feel so inspired and grateful for those who show up to participate, and for those who show up to witness. One standout moment from 2019’s 2-Spirit Cabaret was having all of the artists, and even some of the producers and crew, join us up on the deck during the final number, and we all sang a new song that I had written the night before with Greyson Gritt: “Blessings in Burdens.” The lyrics were also projected, so having the house sing together in celebration of the blessing of being an artist was pretty special. As an artist who works in live performance – what is keeping you motivated, engaged, or hopeful at this time?

otherwise have such opportunities, as well as the bringing together of a variety of performers across an intersection of practice, experience, and demography. I love being able to reach across the country, and sometimes even beyond, to bring people together, as well as sharing space with a spectrum of artists, from emerging to established. I also work to introduce new elements each year, and to challenge myself to expand as an artist as well. I have explored themes as well as simple provocations, so that

I recently moved to North Bay, Ontario, so getting out of the big city and into a community where I can have a much closer relationship with nature has been fundamental to my well-being. I am also quite fortunate to be presently engaged with several artists in a variety of ways, and that has helped me continue to feel creative, and less isolated. What’s one thing you’d like to see in the future at the 2-Spirit Cabaret?

Navigating a global pandemic has certainly reminded me how sacred it is to share live space with people, and how fortunate we are to have art to move us through challenging times. What I’d like to see in a future 2-Spirit Cabaret is how this extraordinary experience has informed and shaped us, and through us, the work. 2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

Community + Educational Programming

In addition to the 2-Spirit Cabaret, we hosted two QueerCabs this season as part of our community and educational programming. A staple at Buddies for many years, QueerCab offers emerging queer artists a platform to experiment and share their works — ranging from film to burlesque, and drag to theatre — with a supportive audience. Artists were also invited to develop their practices throughout the season, with workshops on performance, storytelling, and movement led by guest artists including LAL, Brian Solomon, Allyson McMackon, and Kai Cheng Thom. A key focus for the program in recent years has been building opportunities for engagement across the generational divide. This work continued this year with the release of the Youth/Elders Podcast, a pen pal program, and our intergenerational dialogue series, In Conversation. “One of the things I have loved about the queer community is the intergenerational aspect. I didn’t know ‘how’ to be a young queer and went looking for role models in the community (some good, others not, of course). Being paired up with an older queer pen pal has provided a unique connection point to another generation’s experiences and viewpoints.” —Ian, Guelph, ON

Photo of Ty Sloane by Henry Chan

Buddies In Bad Times Theatre

THE RHUBARB FESTIVAL

A R T I S T P RO F I L E

Clayton Lee This year marked the 41st for Canada’s longest-running new works festival and the first year with new Festival Director Clayton Lee. Clayton introduced a curatorial collective model and programmed the festival alongside Theresa Cutknife, Claudia Edwards, Van Lisa, and Victoria Mata. The festival opened with a food performance featuring Toronto’s Lao Thai and featured new works from local artists alongside presentations from international artists such as Keijaun Thomas, Last Yearz Interesting Negro, and Violeta Luna.

What drew you to Rhubarb before coming on as the Festival Director, and what were you excited to bring to the festival?

A friend once said to me that Rhubarb is where they learned to be an artist. I think a lot about the state of the performance ecology both locally and nationally and how it feels so geared towards this idea of professionalization or of “making it” as an artist. But how do you make it as an artist if you don’t learn how to be one in the first place? Rhubarb, to me, is an endangered

species. In Toronto, spaces for experimentation, especially as it relates to form, content, process, or some mix of the three, have become few and far between. My positioning as Festival Director, then, feels like it becomes about honouring this legacy of experimentation while intentionally offering, in small and large ways, disruptions to the status quo and responding to the results. The curatorial model was new this year – what was the motivation behind this change?

8 Buddies In Bad Times Theatre 2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

Clockwise from top: practicing listening to the subterranean murmurs, Scary Stories People of Colour Tell in the Dark, Lao Thai. Photos by Henry Chan and Dahlia Katz

When I applied for the Festival Director position in January 2019, the Toronto theatre scene had just gone through a wave of new artistic appointments. For me, it became a question of how we – the collective we – were preparing for the next wave and, specifically, noticing how few opportunities there were for emerging, live performance curators in Toronto. If Rhubarb is meant to be a space for artistic experimentation, shouldn’t that apply to curators as well? The process, then, moved towards language of active decentralization. How do I actively remove myself from being the sole decision maker? Even the selection (and compensation) of emerging curators, for example, came from the curatorial partners: Aluna Theatre, FADO Performance

deliciously and purposely vague memories: knock, knock, who’s there; the smell of fried chicken and fish sauce; Adidas, latex, and the idea of a thesis statement; the sound of balloon animals being made; the sound a blender makes when its contents are dumped out; 12 minutes; stuffing envelopes; sitting and standing and sitting; fake blood, real cake; fake flowers, real french fries; clowns; a cow heart; flowers dropping from the ceiling; pompoms dropping from the ceiling; a performance that changes every night; an artist that changes every night; friends vs. buddies; poetry recorded at 3 am; and the inevitability of memory, time, and live performance. How do you hope to continue to build and grow Rhubarb in the coming years?

Art Centre, Native Earth Performing Arts, and Workman Arts. From there, the curatorial collective – Van Lisa, Theresa Cutknife, Claudia Edwards, Victoria Mata, and I – discussed how we wanted to operate in relationship to each other and to the festival, and the rest, as they say, is history. Do you have a standout moment from this year’s Rhubarb Festival?

We framed this year’s festival as an experiment in density, so instead of a single standout moment, a list of

In thinking about the future, I’m curious about two things: first, how the format of Rhubarb can continuously reshape itself to better respond to the local performance ecology; and second, how Rhubarb is situated and perhaps situates itself in the larger, global context of experimental performance and, specifically, the development of such practices.

Expanding Our Reach

ON TOUR

Following an August trip to the Edinburgh International Festival, Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools, performed by Evalyn Parry and Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory (above) made two more stops this past season, with an October presentation at Mexico’s Festival Internacional Cervantino and a run at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa in January. Obaaberima had also been scheduled to present at Montreal’s Espace Libre in March 2020 (after a successful remount in our 2018/19 season). While the pandemic put a pause on any touring plans, we’ve built some strong connections and opportunities to share Buddies’ works around the world.

THE YOUTH/ELDERS PODCAST

As an artist who works in live performance – what is keeping you motivated, engaged, or hopeful at this time?

If visibility and the need for it are products or symptoms of longstanding capitalist and colonial structures, then hope, for me, resides in the inverse: invisibility and the possibilities of it. I’m excited by people who are imagining processes that actively move or gesture away from the system and who aren’t motivated by the perhaps natural instinct for recognition or praise. 2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

We took to the (digital) airwaves in September with the launch of the Youth/Elders Podcast, recorded with community members at the Oakwood Village Library the previous year. Hosted by Vanessa Dunn, the three-episode season featured intergenerational conversations on identity, activism, and home and was downloaded over 1,300 times. Photo by Jeremy Mimnagh Youth/Elders Podcast logo by Paul Dotey

Buddies In Bad Times Theatre

BUDDIES RESIDENCY PROGRAM A R T I S T P RO F I L E

We Other Sons Collective Our 2019/20 season plans included a month of Open Studios in May, where our residency artists would take over the building to work on their pieces and share some of their progress with our audiences. While the pandemic had other plans for us, residency artists We Other Sons collective were able to share some of their work What’s Done Must Come at The Rhubarb Festival in February.

How did the We Other Sons collective first come together?

“We Other Sons” were the words David Lewis-Peart used to describe a voice or perspective that had been present in his writing since adolescence. He recognized a kinship in the writing of his childhood friend Daniel Antonio, as well as the oeuvre of Jamaican-born Toronto playwright, actor, and acrobat Daniel Jelani Ellis. It was with these initial three that a trip to the second annual Los Angeles Lambda Literary Festival was planned to present their writing around the role shame played in their experience as queer men of colour. Over the next few years the collective grew to include other queer creatives and cultural producers living in Toronto: Roel Torres, Micha Edwards, Livio Lopes, and Driftnote.

we live and mis/understand our lives. It was the foundation for the work we presented in What’s Done Must Come: “What’s done in the dark will come to light.” Working models for collaboration seem to be a big part of your process as a collective – could you speak to how these ideas have evolved through your residency?

What are some of the themes and topics that you’re exploring through your residency?

We explore the role shame plays in intimacy, sexuality, race, and masculinity at the intersections of the sacred, profane, and prophetic from a queer POC perspective. The members of We Other Sons all come from very different backgrounds, but there are through lines that connect us all. One example is a conversation we had about losing your virginity. The spectrum of experiences encompassed innocent boy-meets-boy stories to midnight-intergenerational-park-sex stories; the commonality in that particular conversation was the secrecy and shame that accompanied all our experiences. That ever-present shame and secrecy has an effect on the way

10 Buddies In Bad Times Theatre 2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

Initially, we came with our separate writings around the topic of shame and sexuality. Over time, as we added more members to the collective, our process has evolved. We work from more formal writing exercises, like prompts, to really loose and informal conversations that are recorded and pieced together like a collage.

What’s Done Must Come at The Rhubarb Festival. Photo by Dahlia Katz

How has the residency program helped support your artistic development?

The residency has been a huge catalyst in helping us to formalize our direction and focus. The support from the dramaturges, Mel Hague and later Daniel

Artistic Mentorship

Playwright, actor, and arts administrator Daniel Carter was awarded a grant from the Metcalf Foundation to join Buddies as Artistic Director Intern for 2020. Carter, who had previously served as curator of our community and educational programming, worked closely with Evalyn Parry to hone skills in artistic programming, directing, and more.

Carter, has been invaluable, both from an administrative perspective and a creative one. Resources, like the space to meet and rehearse or just having creative and knowledgeable people to provide feedback and constructive criticism, have been instrumental in the development of our work. You shared some of What’s Done Must Come at The Rhubarb Festival. What was that experience like, and did it help inform the work?

Rhubarb was the first opportunity we had to present What’s Done Must Come in a more formal and professional way. It really inspired us to expand the scope of what we could present with lighting and costumes and music. It was also a trial by fire for members of the collective who were not used to performing in front of such a large audience, for four consecutive nights. The audience reaction to the show was different every night. There were nights where people in the audience laughed out loud and hollered and were really expressive, but there was also a night

where the audience was a lot more reserved. It has given us another perspective with which to refine our work. What are your next steps for What’s Done Must Come, and for the work that you’re doing as a collective?

Our next step is to further expand our presentation from the 2020 Rhubarb Festival. Our hope is to be able to stage a full 90-minute show sometime in 2021/22. As artists who work in live performance – what is keeping you motivated, engaged, or hopeful at this time?

We have found it helpful to have goals to work towards, like the residency. Even through the pandemic, we have been committed to advancing our work with We Other Sons, whether it was over video-conference or socially distanced and masked meetings. It has provided us with a purpose. And that has made it easier to hope for a future where we can still come together to tell our stories, a future where that kind of theatre can still exist. 2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

“I’m very grateful to Buddies and to Evalyn for having invested this time and energy in me. The past year, however difficult it may have been, was filled with such valuable learning experiences – about theatre, community, and leadership. While this year has been a roller coaster of events and emotions for numerous reasons, I think this was a profound time to learn, question, and grow. The past months, while challenging, have offered time and space to reflect on practices and develop ways to be adaptive and nimble and respond to the everchanging needs of artists and our communities. It has offered time to reflect on what leadership means, and what it can look like. And, it has offered the space to experiment and take risks. As I continue my career in this sector, these are invaluable lessons that will continue to inform and guide my work.” —Daniel Carter

Photo by Elliott Tilleczek

Buddies In Bad Times Theatre

RESPONDING TO THE PANDEMIC While we faced some difficult decisions about our season programming, we were committed to building and maintaining a sense of community in spite of new challenges and lockdown measures. Right away Buddies responded by developing virtual programming, reimagining Pride activities, and building opportunities for our queer communities to connect with each other.

MINE Jenna Harris’ Mine had been developed over three years in the Buddies residency program and was slated to make its mainstage premiere in March 2020. With the theatre closing its doors mid-month, this two-hander featuring Annie Briggs and Vanessa Dunn was put on pause. We marked our “opening night” on March 25 with a creative team Q&A livestream, reflecting on their experiences working on the piece.

Mine rehearsal. Photo by Greg Wong

QUEER, FAR, WHEREVER YOU ARE In late March, with all of our in-person programming on pause, we wanted to recreate the eclectic energy of our cabaret space and share the queer magic that Buddies is known for. Queer, Far, Wherever You Are was a daily Instagram live performance series, running from March to June. Artists from across the country took over our feed for short, intimate performances, with everything from Star Wars burlesque to solo sketch comedy and a drag-rollerblading tour of Moncton. Throughout this time we also animated the Buddies blog with listicles, musings, recipes, and more from staff and artists. ORGANIZATIONAL REVIEW In response to global protests and calls to action from community members in June, Buddies was prompted to reflect further on our own role in perpetuating systems of racism, anti-Blackness, and oppression. In June, our board made a commitment to undertake a multi-phase, community-engaged organizational review, working with a consulting firm to audit policies and procedures at all levels of the organization. This will be a long and ongoing process – one that, we hope, will make Buddies a more welcoming and inclusive space for staff, artists, and audience members.

“Things will never be the same, but we can shine in the creation of ourselves surrounded by the strength of routine and the realization that we are our homes and our work.” – PATRICIA WILSON

12 Buddies In Bad Times Theatre 2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

QUEER PRIDE FESTIVAL

EMERGING CREATORS UNIT For the second year, Buddies partnered with b current performing arts for the Emerging Creators Unit, led by Catherine Hernandez. Like many artists, this year’s cohort had to navigate a shift to the digital, and ECU participants Gabe Maharjan and Merlin Simard adapted their piece for an online presentation in June. e-transfers was presented in partnership with the National Theatre School’s Art Apart program.

Though this year’s format was very different, our 2020 Queer Pride Festival expanded Buddies’ reach well beyond our home in the Village, with a nationally livestreamed production, a digital Emerging Creators Unit, and pop-up performances and activations around Toronto.

QUEER PRIDE INSIDE A landmark collaboration with CBC Arts saw a Buddies Pride cabaret livestreamed across the country on CBC Gem. Hosted by comedy legend Elvira Kurt, the cabaret brought together some of our favourite regular Pride performers as well as new faces, with acts from burlesque to opera to drag. Performers included Les Femmes Fatales, Heath V. Salazar, Tawiah M’Carthy, Teiya Kasahara, Pearle Harbour, Luna Dubois, and Yovska, with special guest host spots from Trey Anthony and Ryan G. Hinds. Acts are available on CBC Gem until June 2021.

ANALOG PROJECTS CELEBRATING PRIDE IN PLACE With large gatherings out of the question, we spread some of the Queer Pride spirit across the city, with a series of commissioned performances, installations, and mail activations. Projects included a pandemic pas de deux in Regent Park, backyard installations in Riverdale, a Pride activation in Scarborough’s Morningside Park, a pop-up ASL performance at three Toronto sites including Buddies’ front steps, and a DIY Pride Festival zine.

PRIDE PEN PALS Leading up to Pride, we put out a call to queers interested in connecting with each other offline. With over 500 submissions spanning every province and territory, pen pals were introduced by email, and then invited to exchange addresses and letters.

Deaf Cabaret (top left), Pride Rocks (top right). Photos by Greg Wong

My pen pal and I have had several letters exchanged in the month of June. It’s been so much fun to receive her news and get to know someone this way. I’ve been receiving some letters transformed into origami creations and feel touched by the time and energy being put into our relationship. Ginette, Yellowknife, NT

2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

Buddies In Bad Times Theatre

DIGITAL PRIDE

A R T I S T P RO F I L E

Dainty Smith

(both racial and viral). It really takes a lot of trusting in the unknown and a lot of faith. My mantra these days is to just continue anyway and take things one step at a time.

Les Femmes Fatales: Women of Colour Burlesque Troupe has performed at Tallulah’s Cabaret many times over the years. Like many artists, founder and producer Dainty Smith found her plans changed when the pandemic shut down venues and performance opportunities. Dainty was one of the first performers in our Queer, Far, Wherever You Are series and brought Les Femmes Fatales to a national audience as part of our CBC Arts collaboration, Queer Pride Inside.

Tell us a bit about Les Femmes Fatales.

Les Femmes Fatales is a burlesque troupe that I founded in 2010 and is Canada’s first burlesque troupe for Black women, women, and femmes of colour. It includes storytelling, performance art, and theatrical elements. Our work is grounded in seeing performance and self-love as inherently political, queer, radical, and feminist. We believe in entertainment with a message. How has the pandemic impacted your artistic practice and plans?

As a storyteller, performer, and pro-

ducer, I tend to dream big and make plans and have ideas that are thought out months, sometimes a full year, in advance. It’s just a method that’s always worked for me. I like to have an art framework/outline to work with. It has been heartbreaking to have my work stopped and to have everything be so uncertain as to when I can start performing again in real time. So much of my art practice involves live performance, an intimacy and connection with a live audience. The pandemic has really changed all of that and taken so much of that away. It’s a very strange and hard time, to live and create during a double pandemic

14 Buddies In Bad Times Theatre 2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

How has it been adapting to digital forms? What is it like performing online rather than in-person?

I have performed in some online shows and I do find it challenging. I am not the most technological person, and adapting to this new way of performing has felt awkward and challenging. It is a very different way of performing. But it’s one of those things where you just have to try and hope for the best. How was the experience of participating in Queer, Far, Wherever You Are and in CBC Arts’ Queer Pride Inside?

Photo of Dainty Smith by Saajid Motala

Performing in Queer, Far, Wherever You Are was lovely. I had a lot of support with any questions I had on the process. I was supported by the producer, and my “event” was well promoted and attended; it was nice to speak with folks and answer any questions they had about my art practice. Queer Pride Inside was difficult in some ways; I curated a group dance number for the show. My dancers came up with an idea and theme and

Left: Dolly Berlin, Ivory, Ravyn Wngz, Sweet Delilah, and Violet Vixen from Queer Pride Inside. Below: Dainty Smith’s Queer, Far, Wherever You Are stream.

they worked incredibly hard to make a beautiful dance piece. But we ran into some problems, in terms of navigating the music licensing rights for my burlesque artists. In burlesque and cabaret spaces, this is not something that we as producers and artists have to deal with or work out with the music artists. Generally speaking, burlesque artists create and dance to music, and it works in the context and environment that we perform in. But working with a larger network such as CBC meant a different set of rules that affected the creative process. That said, Evalyn and Buddies were very helpful in finding solutions and making the dance piece work, which as the producer I was very grateful for. Do you have any standout or memorable moments from either of these experiences?

It’s always been a joy working with Evalyn. She’s always been so supportive of the artwork that I do and that my troupe does, and I have always appreciated that. Buddies has welcomed my troupe over the years and made space for Les Femmes Fatales to have our shows and tell our stories, and that’s meant so much to us.

Queer, Far, Wherever You Are Responding to the closures due to the pandemic, our Queer, Far, Wherever You Are Instagram series kicked off in late March with a virtual celebration for what would have been the opening night for Mine. From then until June, we hosted over 50 artists on our daily streams:

As an artist who works in live performance – what is keeping you motivated, engaged, or hopeful at this time?

What’s keeping me going during this time is stubbornness and blind faith, which is probably the same thing. But I am someone who tells stories. That’s my contribution to community, to art, to activism and resistance, and to making this world better, even if it’s only a little bit. So I am just doing my best to trust. I see it as a bit like working in a coal mine and digging for diamonds. My work is to keep my head down and keep believing and keep digging. I don’t have any clear answers, but I know how to do that. Day by day, step by step, keep believing and digging for diamonds, that’s what stories, theatre, and performance is. 2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

Ajahnis Charley Ali Eisner Amanda Cordner Bear Bergman BiG SiSSY Breton Lalama Brian Solomon Bruce Dow Cardboard Sword Collective Carl Nouveau Catherine Hernandez Charlie Quinn Coko Galore Curtis te Brinke Dainty Smith Daniel Jelani Ellis Erin Brokobić + Allysin Chaynes Heath V Salazar HEIST Kai Cheng Thom Katinka Kature Kirsten Rasmussen Lucinda Miu Max Hole Monica Garrido Myriad Augustine Ophira Calof Partner Prince Johnny Regina Gently Revi Lation Ryan G. Hinds Sadie Epstein-Fine + Makeda Zook Sage Lovell Sofia Fly Sofia Rodriguez, Augusto Bitter + Liz Der Stephen Jackman-Torkoff T. Thomason Teiya Kasahara Tom Hearn Tricia Black Ty Sloane Veronica Johnny Xavier Gould Yolanda Bonnell

Buddies In Bad Times Theatre

FINANCIALS An update from Managing Director Shawn Daudlin

The 2019/20 season began as the life of the party, dressed to the nines. Buddies’ community of supporters strutted in glittery outfits at our annual fundraising auction, ArtAttack!, an unforgettable evening that raised $70,000 for the theatre. Little did we know that March 2020 would bring with it the ultimate party crasher, COVID-19. Still, we would not be deterred. With staff staying home, we developed systems for working together online, shifted our programming, and reprioritized and adjusted budgets, resulting in a successful fiscal year. Our 2019/20 season ended with a healthy financial surplus of $187,060 after amortization. Our current financial position is strong, but it is worth noting that government support for staff wages through the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) of $156,666 contributed greatly to this sizable surplus. During this difficult period, we were fortunate to have seen an increase in support from our generous donors, which contributed to an increase in fundraising revenue of almost $25,000. At the end of our second quarter and throughout our third we saw a substantial decrease in ticket and bar sales, which were down $73,164 compared to our previous fiscal year. As expected due to the closure of our theatre from March to June and postponement of touring activities, expenses in the areas of production, marketing, and bar were all down from the previous season. There was a combined savings in these areas of just under $100,000. Our commitment to the employment of staff and artists continued during the closure; salaries and benefits expenses during the 2019/20 season ended at $723,021, which is comparable to a full uninterrupted season. We are expecting to continue to see a decrease in revenue moving into the 2020/21 season. However, to support both queer art and the employment of artists, we are not reducing our production budget or artist fees, but are increasing our financial commitment in these areas, drawing on our accumulated surplus.

16 Buddies In Bad Times Theatre 2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

REVENUES $1,795,677

Bar Sales 11% Ticket Sales + Venue Rental 15%

Government Grants 45%

Fundraising 20%

Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy 9%

EXPENSES $1,597,075 Fundraising 3% Bar Costs 6% Administration + Maintenance 10% Marketing + Promotion 10%

Production Costs 26%

Artistic Fees + Salaries 45%

THE COMPANY Artistic Director

Box Office Representatives

EVALYN PARRY

CLAYTON LEE

SHREYAS BATRA DANIEL BOWEN SAMANTHA CHAULK MONICA GARRIDO SHANE GRAMLICH BROCK HESSEL LUCIA LINARES-LEON SHAYLE KILROY CERIDWEN KINGSTONE NETA ROSE SAM ROULSTON MAHER SINNO CURTIS TE BRINKE

Emerging Creators Unit Director

Bar Personnel

Managing Director SHAWN DAUDLIN

Director of Communications + Development MARK AIKMAN

Head of Production CHARISSA WILCOX

Residency Program Director MEL HAGUE

Rhubarb Festival Director

CATHERINE HERNANDEZ

ArtAttack! Always a highlight event, our annual art auction, fundraiser, and party, ArtAttack!, had a successful year, raising over $70,000 for the theatre between ticket sales, sponsorships, the tuck shop, and our live and silent auctions. The glitter-ball-themed event showcased some of Canada’s foremost contemporary artists, as well as our 2019 limited edition print, Rajni Perera’s A Dangerous No (below). Photo by Connie Tsang

Artists in Residence

SABA AKHTAR CHARLEE BOYES CLAIRE BURNS CORSER DUPONT DANNY JENKINS SHAYLE KILROY KALEB ROBERTSON JESS RUSSELL HEATH V SALAZAR

Technical directors

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Marketing Manager

BUDDIES IN BAD TIMES THEATRE

Development Manager

Jamie Slater (Chair) Beck McNeil (Treasurer) Louis Tsilivis (Secretary) Elliot Smith (Past Chair) Marusya Bociurkiw Ronald Cummings Jim Lawrence Meg MacKay Adam Morrison Andrea Ridgley Pia Schmidt-Hansen Ronak Shah Andrew Wang

Metcalf Foundation Artistic Director Intern

DANIEL CARTER

BILAL BAIG + ANGEL GLADY YOLANDA BONNELL LEAH LEWIS + ROBERT CHAFE JUSTIN MILLER QUEER AF COLLECTIVE HEATH V SALAZAR WE OTHER SONS COLLECTIVE JACQUELINE COSTA + ADRIEN WHAN

JONATHAN MACARTHUR MICHAEL GILLIES

Development Coordinator SABAH HAQUE

Communications + Outreach Manager

AIDAN MORISHITA-MIKI

Manager of Touring CHRIS REYNOLDS

Box Office + FOH Manager STEPHANIE MALEK

Assistant Box Office + FOH Managers JULIA LEWIS + JOHN MURPHY

THE ALEXANDER STREET THEATRE PROJECT

Chamber Technician

RUSSELL MATHEW (chair) BECK MCNEIL (Treasurer/Secretary) JAMIE SLATER

AMBER PATTISON

Cabaret Technician STEPH RAPOSO

Bar Manager

staff and board lists reflect our 2019/20 season

PATRICIA WILSON

Assistant Bar Manager DEVIN REID

Finance Manager

Annual Report design Lucinda Wallace

CYNTHIA MURDY

2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

Buddies In Bad Times Theatre

OUR SPONSORS

OUR DONORS

L E A D CO R P O R AT E S P O N S O R

L EGACY CIRCL E

L EAD ER S ($1,0 0 0 – $ 2,4 99)

Ed Cabell + Roy Forrester John Alan Lee Russell Mathew + Scott Ferguson Richard McLellan Adam Morrison + James Owen Jim Roberston + Jim Scott Anonymous (2)

D. Arcand + A. Karmali Ken Aucoin + Gerald Crowell Ed Cabell + Roy Forrester Andrew Gillespie William Hodge + Robert Wylie Robert Houle Stephen McGregor + Tony De Franco The NigE Gough Shine on Foundation Jason Oord Mark Peacock Elliot Smith + Jonathan Steels Brian Terry Jaime Woo Anonymous

F E S T I VA L S P O N S O R + E D U C AT I O N PA R T N E R

M E D I A PA R T N E R

VISIONARIES ($5,0 0 0 +)

CO R P O R AT E PA R T N E R S + G I F TS I N K I N D

Paul Butler + Chris Black Hal Jackman Foundation Jim Lawrence + David Salak Martha LA McCain Anonymous

HEROES ($2,50 0 – $4,999)

P U B L I C AG E N C I E S an Ontario government agency un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario

FO U N DAT I O N S

18 Buddies In Bad Times Theatre 2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

Lawrence Bennett + Harold Wu The Bulmash-Siegel Fund Mark German + Michael Boyuk Russell Mathew + Scott Ferguson Adam Morrison + James Owen Craig Pike Mark Pratt

ADVOCAT E S ($480 – $999) Neil Betteridge Derek Billsman Kate Bishop + Doug Gerhart Sheila Lynn Cavanagh Shawn Daudlin Sebastien Fauvel The Charlie and Lulu Franklin Fund at the Calgary Foundation Paul Hartwick Barry Higgins Tim Jones + Taylor Raths Beck + Mandy McNeil Charlene Nero Evan Rankin Brian Sambourne Ronak Shah Jamie Slater Richard Sutton James Tennyson Louis Tsilivis Lucinda Wallace + Lesley Fraser Helena J. Wells J. Wilkie + R. Kong

PA R T N E R S ($ 2 4 0 – $ 479 )

FRI E NDS ( $2 5 – $2 39 )

Mark Aikman + Gustavo Cerquera Benjumea Cole Alvis – in honour of René Highway Lawrence Campbell Naomi Campbell Betty Carlyle Robert G. Coates James Davis Donna Daitchman Robert Davidovitz Susan Feldman Dennis Findlay Michael Gillies + Jamie McNeill George Grant Craig Hanson Brendan Healy Jaigris Hodson Dr. Ben Louie Gilles Marchildon Richard McLellan Lawrence Moore Aidan Morishita-Miki Edward Nowina Evalyn Parry Wes D. Pearce Jim Robertson + Jim Scott Jayne Schneider Shannon Thompson Lionel Tona Greg Tranah Michael David Trent Peter Walker + Sachil Patel Anonymous

Gerry Asselstine Vincenzo Barbatano Michel Beauvais Kristina Bendikas Lisa Berger + Richard Stall Dr. Kym Bird Marusya Bociurkiw Ken Brooks Mark Brodsky Neil Cameron Ky Capstick Estate of William Clelland Gemma Clifton Milusha Copas Russell Connelly In loving memory of Jonathan Crombie CWB Welding Foundation – in honour of Ken Aucoin Chrystal Dean + Jaime Martino Carol Dilworth Alan Dingle Bryan B. Eaton David Chayim Eden EMSCO Team Lindsay English Lois Fine Barbara Fingerote Adam Garcia Brian Gardiner Robin Gaudreau Charles Gibbs Danny Glenwright Rose Marie Gold John MacGregor Jordana Greenblatt David Grenier Berkha Gupta Alex Habib Dan Hadad Marnie Hamagami Jeffrey Hammond Beverly Harris

Jonathan Heppner A. Hernandez Renee Hlozek Keith J Holland Andrea Houston – in loving memory of Doris Houston Michael Hughes Tim Hughes Jenni Huntly Tom Hutchinson Daria Ilkina Rachel Iwaasa Tammi Jamison Karie Johnston Martin Julien Carl Karichian Karim Karsan + John Rider Rob Kempson Tom Keogh + Paul McClure Ronnie Kerr Moynan King Gary Klein + William Klein Paul Klein Rachel Koffman Kim Koyama Daniel Krolik Kristina Lemieux Megan Leslie Emma Lewzey Patrick Martin John B. Mayberry Allyson McMackon Anne McMaster Marc Michell Priya Mitra + Monica Mowery Rachel Moore Thompson Nguyen Lesley Nicholls Stacey Norton Kenny Pearl Rui Pires

Alan Poaps Tyler Powell Cesarina Primi VK Preston Susanna Reid Ingrid Randoja Andrea Ridgley Nanette Rosen Lea Rossiter Ksenia Sabouloua Mitsuko Sada Adam Seelig Tyler Shaw Chad Skinner Bianca Sprague Sarah Garton Stanley Steen Starr Gillian Steeve David Steinberg Peter Taylor Pixie Trix Ayse Turak Allison Vanek Blair Voyvodic Deb + Norman Waas Joan + Jeff Weed Feliks Welfeld Susan Wells Sybil Wilkinson Richard Willett Cathrin Winkelmann Bill + Sue Woodley Hersh Zeifman Stephanie Zidel ZOFF Anonymous (13)

Listed donations for July 1, 2019–June 30, 2020

2019/20 ANNUAL REPORT

Buddies In Bad Times Theatre

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