Teiya Kasahara 笠原 貞野 in a photo illustration by BT/A from a photo by Tallulah Photography.
We were able to get money into the hands of artists who needed it. We were able to establish a policy that we feel proud of, that can continue into future seasons, and that we can share. We feel more ready to integrate this work into our continued systems through our operating budget.
Nightwood Theatre
Nightwood Theatre
Compassion Fund for Artists
Level UP! Strategy Area: Compassion Fund
Pilot Project: Piloting a compassion fund for contracted artists
Project Duration: January – May 2022
Continuing to Implement: Yes
Resources Shared: Project Field Notes, Compassion Fund Outreach Email to Artists, Compassion Fund Request Form
About Nightwood Theatre
Location: Ontario
Artistic Discipline: Theatre
Operating Budget: $100,000 to $1,000,000
As Canada’s preeminent feminist theatre, Nightwood cultivates, creates, and produces extraordinary theatre by women and gender-expansive artists, liberating futures, one room at a time. Founded in 1979, Nightwood Theatre has created and produced award-winning plays, which have won Dora Mavor Moore, Chalmers, Trillium and Governor General’s Awards. Nightwood Theatre’s incredible history has had a massive impact shifting the weight of what’s produced, and what key artists are at the helm of projects, and while still we see only 31% of plays by women, with less than 0.5% of plays by trans women, we continue to fight for parity in our industry.
Nightwood Theatre’s Level UP! Project
Nightwood Theatre implemented a Compassion Fund alongside their productions of The Queen in Me and Children of Fire in early 2022. The fund, offered to the artists and creative team, could cover child care, elder care, and transportation support/wellness support/general support due to under employment, loss of income, or increased care responsibilities.
Project Highlights:
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- Nightwood’s Artistic Director Andrea Donaldson and Managing Director Naz Afsahi focused their efforts in this pilot project on the language around self-selection, in order to better support artists with greater needs
Resources
Nightwood Theatre | Project Field Notes
About This Resource Nightwood Theatre created these Project Field Notes in 2022 to share details about their Balancing Act Level UP! Pilot Project.
Nightwood Theatre | Compassion Fund Outreach Email to Artists
About This Resource Nightwood Theatre created this Compassion Fund Outreach Email to Artists in 2022 as part of their Balancing Act Level UP! Pilot Project.
Nightwood Theatre | Compassion Fund Request Form
About This Resource Nightwood Theatre created this Compassion Fund Request Form in 2022 as part of their Balancing Act Level UP! Pilot Project. The content in this resource is drawn from a Google Form that Nightwood used to receive compassion fund requests from...
More Information
For more information about the Nightwood Theatre, visit nightwoodtheatre.net.
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