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Artist Bio
Anne-Marie Woods aka Amani is an award winning multi-disciplinary artist, arts educator, producer, poet, playwright, director creative consultant and creativity coach. With roots in London, England and Trinidad; her life and career has always challenged boundaries and blended multiple genres or styles. In 2001, she held the honour of being the first African Canadian to have a featured play Waiting to Explode at the National Black Theatre Festival in North Carolina. Voted as one of 100 Black Women in Canada to Watch and the 2013 winner of the BBPA Harry Jerome Award for Excellence in Entertainment, she has performed and presented in all across Canada, in the UK, Trinidad West Indies, and the World-Famous Nuyorican Café in New York City. In 2016, her play described as a Theatrical Rhapsody, She Said/He Said was produced by Black Theatre Workshop (BTW) in Montreal where it had a very successful World Premiere at the MAI. In 2019 BTW also produced the World Premiere of her youth production on the history of African Nova Scotians, Scotian Journey. Her other youth production, The Three Friends that focuses on African Canadian History and race relations was produced as part of the Education Series at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing arts in 2017 and 2019. For the past few years she has also worked as an Educator for Outreach and Public Programming at the City of Toronto Archives, where she brings her passion for equity diversity and inclusion to the job.
In 2022 she was hired to create and teach Africentric Curriculum on Sheroes and Heroes of African descent who were significant to Black History in Canada. This virtual education course entitled Black History Shouldn’t Be a Mystery (a title that comes from a monologue in her play The Three Friends) was a huge hit with the Pre School and Middle School audience it was designed for. “Being booked to teach Black History all year is so rare for me in my line of work.” say Woods. But this program ended up being one of the highlights of 2022. The Heroes and Sheroes she developed the courses on were:
The Honourable Jean Augustine
Dr. Carter G. Woodson
Viola Desmond
Mathieu Da Costa
Portia White
The Honourable Lincoln Alexander
“I chose Historical and Herstorical figures that I learned about that made an impact on my life when I was younger.” says Woods
September 20th Special Announcement
Nova Scotia Talent Trust announces first recipient of the Anne-Marie Woods / Imani Enterprises African Diaspora Travel Scholarship
[September 20, 2023 – K’JIUPUKTUK/HALIFAX, NS]
K’JIPUKTUK/HALIFAX, NS – Imani Enterprises, in partnership with Nova Scotia Talent Trust, are pleased to announce Harmony Adesola as the first recipient of the Anne-Marie Woods / Imani Enterprises African Diaspora Travel Scholarship. Harmony Adesola, aka Harmz, is an up-and-coming hip-hop, spoken word, and theatre artist. He also hosts a podcast called Behind the Sound, an interview series that explores the Nova Scotian music scene. In the most recent episode, Harmz is the featured artist. Click here to watch the episode where Harmz talks about his experiences as an artist and the impact the Travel Scholarship will have in his career. He speaks about being the first recipient of this scholarship in the segment starting at 8:28.
Harmz discusses his journey as an artist and what inspired his love of theatre and spoken word:
“My journey into the world of spoken word and theatre arts was born out of a profound interest in expressive arts, which I nurtured since my high school days. I was first introduced to the enchanting realm of theatre in a drama class, where I discovered its unique ability to weave stories and create powerful emotional connections. The magic of theatre captivated me, opening my eyes to a different form of artistic expression that was both liberating and transformative.”
“Over time, my fondness for theatre has grown, and so has my curiosity about spoken word – a form of performance art that resonates with my love for hip hop and storytelling. I found spoken word’s rhythmic intensity and direct engagement with the audience to be a compelling way of sharing stories and expressing thoughts. My music, rooted in the hip-hop genre, already shares several elements with spoken word – narrative storytelling, rhythmic delivery, and a focus on wordplay. This realization was a turning point that led me to explore spoken word further, bridging the gap between my passion for music and theatre.”
July 2023 Special Announcement
My play ‘Cooking For Love’ is now on sale on the PGC Canadian Play Outlet Online Store
Cooking For Love Digital Script only $14.00 Here <- Click here
Synopsis
Susan, a woman in her mid-30’s who has been single for eight years, has signed up to take part in a reality TV show called Cooking For Love. She’s decided that she’s ready to try to take a chance, since other traditional and non traditional ways of meeting men don’t seem to be working. Scott the camera man comes to her apartment to set up for the taping of her segment and then Jeff her date for the show arrives for the taping. Things get interesting for Susan.
Keywords: food, cooking, single life, love
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Acts: 1
Run time: 55 minutes
Suitable for students 16+
Cast size: 3 actors
Male roles: 2
Female roles: 1
Casting note: There is a phone conversation but the character is not seen, nor do they have lines. The main character talks to her friend and responds or pauses accordingly.
I Started a New Scholarship for Black Disadvantaged Youth in Nova Scotia
| Media Release: Talent Trust announces new Anne-Marie Woods / Imani Enterprises African Diaspora Travel Scholarship View email in your browserFebruary 28, 2023 – MEDIA RELEASE[February 28, 2023 – K’JIUPUKTUK/HALIFAX, NS] Nova Scotia Talent Trust announces new Anne-Marie Woods / Imani Enterprises African Diaspora Travel Scholarship K’JIPUKTUK/HALIFAX, NS – Anne-Marie Woods, aka Amani, received a Talent Trust scholarship in 1996 and went on to build a successful career as an activist, playwright, director, producer, poet, lyricist, educator, creative consultant and composer. She never forgot what contributed to her success, so making a $2000.00 donation to be used towards a travel scholarship for emerging African-Nova Scotian Youth Creatives between the ages of 18- 35 was a need in the industry she knew needed to be filled. The Anne-Marie Woods/Imani Enterprises African Diaspora Travel Scholarship will award an African-Nova Scotian, Black, Caribbean or youth of African Descent, based in Nova Scotia $1000 towards travel to present, teach, perform or take part in professional development through a residency, internship or working with a mentor; provincially, nationally or internationally. The Award will be available in 2023 and 2024 for disadvantaged Black youth between the ages of 18 – 35 who are working on an artistic career in Spoken Word, or Theatre Arts. Eligible emerging artists can express interest in applying via the online scholarship application. Artists who have expressed interest will be contacted with further instructions regarding how to apply for this special Travel Scholarship. Ms. Woods discusses what inspired her to create this scholarship: “Growing up in Nova Scotia has had a huge impact on my life. It is the source of my creativity and the place that nurtured my love for arts and culture.” She used the Talent Trust scholarship she received in 1996 to attend a nine-month residency at Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia in 1997, one of the oldest Black Theatres in Pennsylvania. That residency changed her career path forever. Describing herself as a British Born Trini with Scotian Overtones, Woods’ work and creativity always has multi-disciplinary style storytelling with original penned songs and compositions. She is also credited with introducing Spoken Word as an art form to Nova Scotia in the mid 90’s. It was the pandemic that had her not only thinking about her career but also about what the word legacy means: “I lost my dad during the pandemic which took a real toll on me because I could not travel to Trinidad to attend his funeral. I became transfixed on history/herstory and how our names live on after we are gone.” Woods decided to create her own legacy and donated $2000.00 to the Nova Scotia Talent Trust to establish the African Diaspora Travel Scholarship in her name. “I’m not rich by any means and have not been born with a silver spoon,” says Woods, “As a matter a fact I was kicked out of my house in High School, and as a self-employed Creative, paying bills and making ends meet was often a challenge. One thing I always had in my favour though was my administrative skills and business acumen. And it was my ability to write grants and create diversity programming, presentations, plays and arts education outreach programming that afforded me the ability to travel to other parts of the world primarily through Canada Council for the Arts. But it was my skills as a playwright that got two of my plays professionally produced by Black Theatre Workshop in Montreal. In all those instances being able to attain funding to aid in travel allowed me the chance aid in my professional development as a Creative in a way that was not always available to me where I resided. And after attending a workshop at Nova Scotia Music Week this past November that looked at the disparity and marginalization that exists in funding available to African Nova Scotian Artists… I can see that the decision and donation I made last summer made sense as an investment toward the success of the next generation.” Woods hopes to gain public interest and raise support for this scholarship so it can continue beyond the two years of her initial donation. Contributions can be made on the Anne-Marie Woods/Imani Enterprises African Diaspora Travel Scholarship donation page, or by cheque/e-transfer specifying this particular fund. About Anne-Marie Woods: Amani is an award winning multi-disciplinary artist. She is a womanist, arts educator, producer, playwright, director creative consultant with roots in London, England and Trinidad, who spent her formative years in Nova Scotia. She was voted as one of 100 Black Women in Canada to Watch, winner of the 2013 BBPA Harry Jerome Award for Excellence in Entertainment and most recently with her singing group Four The Moment – winner of the Polaris Heritage Prize. For more about Anne-Marie Woods aka Amani, visit our blog or her website.  About Nova Scotia Talent Trust Since 1944, the Talent Trust has provided more than $2,5 million to over 1,000 Nova Scotians, primarily young people, who have demonstrated talent and potential to become professional artists in theatre, dance, fine craft and design, music, circus arts, media, film, literary, and visual arts. There is no other comparable organization in the country. For more, visit our website: nstalenttrust.ns.org |
| TALENT TRUST COMMUNITY PARTNERSThe Nova Scotia Talent Trust recognizes the support of Arts Nova Scotia. We are pleased to work in partnership with the province to develop and promote our cultural resources for all Nova Scotians.Copyright © 2022 Nova Scotia Talent Trust, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have supported NSTT in the past or have opted in at our website. Our mailing address is: Nova Scotia Talent Trust P.O Box 575, 2307 Clifton Street / 902-492-6801 Halifax, NS B3J 2R7 Canada Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. |
BOOKINGS, GIGS AND PRESENTATIONS
The City of Toronto Archives Presents… Beyond The Archives: Black Writers Lunch ‘n’ Learn Series
Beyond The Archives is an outreach initiative that highlights the authenticity of the City of Toronto Archives collections while connecting them to living stories, people, places and partnerships that can take the collections beyond the research hall.
Join host Anne-Marie Woods, City of Toronto Archives, alongside Rachelle Gooden, Toronto Public Library and Timaj Garad, Toronto Arts Council, for an online Lunch ‘n’ Learn series where Black writers/creatives of any genre are introduced to the City of Toronto Archival Collections, the Toronto Public Library’s Rita Cox Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection and Toronto Art Council’s funding resources.
Registration is required. Participants can register for one, two or three sessions.
This initiative is in partnership with the Toronto Public Library and Toronto Arts Council.
Monday, February 27, noon – 1 p.m.
Rachelle Gooden, Senior Services Specialist, Equity and Inclusion, Toronto Public Library, will highlight the many resources available at TPL, including the Digital Archives, online services, and research databases. Rachelle will show participants how to use The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star newspaper archives and share about the Rita Cox Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection, an iconic resource 50 years in the making.
Monday, March 27, noon – 1 p.m.
Timaj Garad, Outreach and Access Program Manager, Toronto Arts Council, will lead participants through an informative and interactive one-hour session that explores funding resources, grant-writing and project planning for Black writers interested in funding their projects. Participants will also be invited to ask questions, learn about successful projects and get advice on their own grant-writing and preparation.
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