The Black Theatre School is for newly emerged, mid-career and established multi-hyphenate theatre practitioners of any age (over 18), all genders, and any sexual orientation, who wish to train in the Anitafrika Method and deepen their practice in biomyth monodrama, pantodub theatre, and decolonial approaches to theatre-making from a Black queer transfeminist perspective.

The 2026 Black Theatre School residency occurs from April 6 to December 6, 2026. This includes in-person training, professional productions, festivals, research, writing, and symposium. Intensive in-session periods such as the Anitafrika Method modules and production rehearsals run from Monday to Saturday 10am-6pm. Please note: All dates are subject to change.

The tuition fee for the nine-month professional theatre training residency is $10,000 CAD. All Canadian residents accepted into the program are awarded a full tuition scholarship.

The residency alternates between Anitafrika Method intensives, biomyth monodrama making, mainstage pantodub theatre rehearsals and productions, and research periods, allowing practitioners to move between rigorous training, professional practice, and critical inquiry, often occurring Monday to Saturday 10am-6pm from April to August. The research and mainstage production period is from September to December. Full presence and sustained engagement are required throughout the residency. Sessions will occur in two to three week blocks, followed by one-week off, except in the case of rehearsing and staging productions which extend intensive periods to four to six weeks fulltime.

Yes. Practitioners who have previously attended the Black Theatre School—whether they completed the program or not—are encouraged to reapply for the residency.

The residency is highly immersive and rigorous. Sessions will occur in two to three week blocks, followed by one-week off, except in the case of rehearsing and staging productions which extend intensive periods to four to six weeks fulltime. Duration intensive weeks training generally runs Monday to Saturday 10:00am–6:00pm, with practitioners working with established artists across performance and non-performance disciplines, including: • Performance • Writing and dramaturgy • Devising and ensemble creation • Directing • Set, costume, lighting, and sound design • Stage Weaving • Producing and production leadership Practitioners are required to engage fully in all aspects of the Black Theatre School, including the professional productions, as part of their immersive training. Please note: All dates are subject to change.

Yes. All practitioners studying at the Black Theatre School receive the opportunity to participate in professional mainstage productions. Involvement ranges across the disciplines of theatre such as playwriting, devising, performance, dramaturgy, direction, design, producing, stage weaving etc. Participation in mainstage productions is a requirement of the residency.

There are three mainstage productions in the 2026 season, two of which will involve Black Theatre School practitioners.

No. The Black Theatre School does not operate a drop-in program. Consistent attendance, participation, and accountability are required to be an artist-in-residence. Practitioners who attend inconsistently or who are unable to meet engagement expectations will be asked to withdraw from the residency. In such cases, they will be encouraged to reapply for a future residency when their circumstances allow full participation.

Practitioners whose life circumstances change in a way that affects their ability to meet the required attendance and participation commitments will be asked to withdraw from the program. In such cases, they will be encouraged to reapply for a future residency when their circumstances allow full participation.

No. Practitioners are required to embody and engage multiple theatre disciplines (two or more, such as playwright/performer, actor/director, or director/designer) in order to be artists-in-residence at the Black Theatre School. While artists may enter the program with a primary discipline, they must be willing and able to train, collaborate, and create across disciplines as part of their development as holistic, multi-hyphenate theatre makers.

Practitioners will learn decolonial approaches to theatre-making from a Black queer transfeminist perspective, grounded in the Anitafrika Method. Training includes: • Creating biomyth monodrama • Developing pantodub theatre • Applying the Three R Process (re/membering, re/storying, re/futuring) • Embodied and decolonial somatic practices • Ensemble Integrity Practice and consent-based collaboration • Black performance aesthetics and dramaturgies • Decolonial research methods, documentation, and publication • Professional practice and multi-leadership development • Playwriting, devising, dramaturgy, acting, voice & speech, movement, designing, producing, and stage weaving

Practitioners will learn from Dr d’bi.young anitafrika, the Founding Artistic Director of the Watah Theatre and the Black Theatre School, alongside a roster of established theatre artists. See the About Us (https://www.blacktheatreschool.com/about)section for the growing list of 2026 faculty. Dr d’bi.young anitafrika is an internationally celebrated biomythicist, theatre-maker, and decolonial pedagogue whose work spans performance, scholarship, and arts leadership across four continents. Laureate of the 2025 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize, they have shaped contemporary theatre and performance training through their pioneering methodology, the Anitafrika Dub Praxis—a system integrating the Anitafrika Method, Critical Dub Pedagogy, the Biomyth Three R Process and Dubography. Dr anitafrika has authored twelve plays, released seven dub poetry albums, published four poetry collections, and headlined festivals and theatre seasons worldwide. Their contributions have been recognised with numerous honours, including three Dora Awards, the KM Hunter Theatre Award, the Canadian Poet of Honour Award, a Siminovitch Playwrights Prize Finalist, and a Global Leader in Theatre and Performance distinction from Arts Council England. Their PhD, Personhood, Practice & Pedagogy in Black Womxn Theatre, is a groundbreaking dubography that theorises Black womyn’s theatre-making and addresses critical research gaps in Canadian performance scholarship. A sought-after educator, Dr anitafrika has taught at Addis Ababa University, Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, London South Bank University, and the University of Victoria, where they received the 2025 Innovative Course Design Award for their decolonial pedagogy. Founding Artistic Director of the Watah Black Theatre School and Spolrusie Press, and Principal Researcher of the Black Womyn in Theatre Archive, Canada’s first national archive dedicated to Black womyn theatre-makers, Dr anitafrika is co-editor of Free To Be More: Creative Activism in the Era of Black Lives Matter (University of Regina Press) and is currently developing their doctoral dissertation into a literary publication.

No. Practitioners who study at the Black Theatre School for nine months are not accredited to teach the Anitafrika Method. Please inquire about the Anitafrika Method teacher training program to learn more.

Key public-facing moments include the School’s festivals and major productions, including: • Mikey Smith Raw Works Festival: April 18, 2026 • Audre Lorde Works-in-Process Festival: June 20–21, 2026 • Word! Sound! Powah! Festival: Aug 8-9, 2026 • Orisha Trilogy / Pantodub Theatre productions Fall 2026 • Symposium & Culmination Ceremony Dec 5-6, 2026. All dates are subject to change.

The Black Theatre School application period runs from January 5, 9am until Friday March 6, 5pm, 2026.

Yes. In-person interviews will occur March 10, 11, & 12 from 6-8pm. Ensemble Interviews will occur on Friday March 14, from 6-9pm. Attendance to the Ensemble Interview is required for all practitioners who are invited. Practitioners will be notified of acceptance into the residency on or before March 23, 2026. The residency officially begins on April 6, 2026.