Category Archives: Uncategorized

What Happened to Keisha?

I wrote an article for The Ride or Die Project Blog which was launched this week. Check it out…

The Ride or Die Project

By Amanda Parris Note: This article includes hyperlinks to videos and articles that include intense scenes of violence. Click at your own discretion. A question that I asked all of the interviewees in the first phase of research for The Ride or Die Project was: How would you define what it means to be ride-or-die? In the numerous varied responses that I received, there was one name that kept coming up. When the name was said, I would smile and nod in recognition and we would laugh and shake our heads as though reminiscing over an old friend. However, she was not someone any of us knew personally. She also was not a celebrity or well-known actor. She was not a rapper or a b-girl or a graf writer. This person did not preside over turntables, host radio shows or direct music videos. In fact…this person was not even “real.” The…

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Amanda Parris is a Guest Speaker Today at Centennial College’s Creativity in Context Course

I will be visiting Centennial College’s Creativity in Context course to speak about Music Community Engagement in Canada. I have been asked to speak about how I developed skills to achieve my creative projects and how I help creative professionals achieve their objectives. It has been interesting to reflect on the huge role music has played on my work considering that I am not a musician by any stretch of the imagination.

Thank you to Michael Murray for the invitation.

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32C at Alameda Theatre’s De Colores Festival (October 23rd)

De Colores

Amanda Parris’ one-woman play 32C is being presented at Alameda Theatre’s De Colores Festival this Thursday, October 23rd.  The reading marks the culmination of her one-year playwriting residency where she worked under the guidance and support of dramaturge Stephen Colella to develop the script she began back in 2008 while an artist-in-residence at d’bi young’s anitafrika dub theatre (now called Yemoya).  The festival is also the final instalment by Alameda Theatre which will be closing at the end of this season. Alameda Theatre Company produces Canadian theatre with a distinct Latin American perspective. The De Colores Festival of New Works is a playwright’s unit and festival that exclusively features Latin American Canadian writers and exposes Canadian audiences to new theatrical works featuring Latin American actors and directors.

32C is a one-woman play by Amanda Parris that explores the baggage that three generations of women accumulate, carry and unpack through their intimate relationships. The play moves across time, borrowing from settings such as the Salem witch trials, the Grenada Revolution and toonie-Tuesday movie nights at Sheridan Mall in Toronto.  The audience is invited to ride on the 32C Eglinton West bus as a triptych of stories reveal the ways masks are constructed, armour is tightened and baggage is carried and passed on.

Written by Amanda Parris
Starring: Bahia Watson
Directed by: Anita LaSelva
Dramaturgy by: Stephen Colella

When: October 23rd
Time: 8pm
Where: Wychwood Theatre at Artscape Wychwood Barns (601 Christie Street)

For more information, please visit: http://www.alamedatheatre.com/decolores2014.html

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Survey Request from Amanda Parris and Rakhi Mutta

We are working on a project seeking some data from people who identify as female and live in Toronto. This survey is an attempt to gather some insight into the experiences people have had in work environments and the things they would desire in their ideal work space. If you could take a moment to fill out this survey it would be very much appreciated. The survey should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete.
Please click here for here for the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/W7HP2WC
Your time and feedback is very much appreciated!

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Donate to the Piece of Mine Festival Today!

The Ride or Die Project

Indie- POMF

The Ride or Die Project play Other Side of the Game premiered it’s first draft reading at the incredible Piece of Mine Festival. They are currently attempting to raise$16,000 to expand the festival. As part of the campaign they interviewed Amanda Parris about her experience at the festival. Check the video out here and more info on the campaign and how you can donate below. The PIECE OF MINE Festival (POMF) is an annual theatre production taking place in Toronto, Canada. We platform fresh and imaginative work-in-development by emerging and established black playwrights. The festival stages plays packed with compelling content and contemporary elements, such as hip-hopspoken word,dance and live music. Each evening closes with an audience talk-back dedicated to provide the artists with vital feedback to further develop their work. This year’s dynamic line-up: d’bi.young anitafrika, Dian Marie Bridge, Najla Edwards…

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