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Click the links below to jump to different sections of this position posting:

• The Company
• The Position
• The Artists
• The Ideal Candidate
• The Details
• The Next Step
• The Fine Print

the company

Good isn’t good enough. At Why Not Theatre, we’re out for better.

We shake up the status quo to make the world we want to see. A world where everyone can achieve their full potential. We question everything. Rethink how stories are told. And who gets to tell them. We believe in art. It’s how we make change. We MAKE great work that takes chances, and tours all over the world. We SHARE everything we have, because more artists mean more stories. We PROVOKE change because we believe art should be for everyone. We push boundaries, build community, and find new ways. We represent Toronto, at home and on the world stage. We are led by Co-Artistic Directors Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes, and Executive Director Kelly Read.

Founded 15 years ago, Why Not has grown to a team of 11 full-time and 1 part-time, and over a dozen projects underway across the country and world. We are redefining what a theatre company can be.

We are grounded in imagination, integrity, collaboration, empowerment, and sustainability. These are the values that define how we impact change.

• Imagination: We are curious. We encourage big dreams and push ourselves to invent new ways of thinking that allow us to do better and be more human.
• Integrity: We believe in honesty and accountability, and stand up for what we believe in.
• Collaboration: We are connectors. At home and around the world, we believe in the strength of many hands and different perspectives.
• Empowerment: We believe art is for everyone. We make room for more artists and audiences. Support others, remove barriers, and create access.
• Sustainability: We make choices with the future in mind. Of artists, of the planet, and of our company.

We bring it. We dream, share, and take risks. To create a world where art plays an essential role in the lives of all people. Where everyone is welcome. Everyone has a voice. Everyone can realize their full potential. We make things, better.

the position

Why Not has a unique organizational and reporting structure to support the different kinds of work that we do. Through our SHARE Platform, we provide resources and infrastructure to independent artists and collectives so that they can achieve more significant impact with their work than they could on their own, while maintaining their artistic independence, and the ability to facilitate a process that works the way they want to. This position is a two-year contract for a part-time role that consists of work as lead producer for two separate productions beginning in different phases of development through to their premiere.

This position will include work with Sunny Drake on his upcoming production (premiering Fall 2022), and with Quote Unquote Collective on their new project-in-development (premiering Fall 2023). Sunny Drake’s production is a series of internationally co-produced audio plays. QUC’s production is a large-scale international part-concert, part-theatre play interwoven with acapella voices.

The position will report to Managing Producer, SHARE Platform, and be accountable to the lead creators from both artist collectives.

the artists

Sunny Drake

Sunny Drake‘s inventive and award-winning theatre works have been presented in over 60 cities across the world and translated into 4 languages. His wide range of audiences have spanned international arts festivals goers, queers in underground warehouses, elderly ladies in regional theatres and young people in drop-in centres. Sunny was commissioned by PACT, PGC and ATFC to write the 2019 World Theatre Day message for Canada. He was awarded the inaugural Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize 2019 ($25,000) for having a significant impact on performing arts in Ontario. He’s currently developing Every Little Nookie with the Stratford Festival, Climate Change & Other Small Talk in residence with Why Not Theatre, CHILD-ish is on a digital world tour, and he’s adapted his comedy Men Express Their Feelings into a 3 episode audio drama to be released by Downstage later this year.

Climate Change and Other Small Talk

Climate Change and Other Small Talk is a constellation of creative works, starting with a season of nine short audio dramas written by nine playwrights from across the world. The shorts will delve into the human forces and stories which shape our responses to climate change. In the pilot episode, a couple leaves outraged product reviews on Amazon while their home fills with flood water.

A group of climate justice leaders from around the world will collaborate with playwrights on the works. The season will be presented by festivals, theatres, and grassroots groups around the world, either digitally or in live/digital fusions.

Quote Unquote Collective

Quote Unquote Collective: is a Toronto-based multi-disciplinary performance company that aims to work outside the boundaries of tradition and expectation. Engaging with urgent social and political themes, the company is founded on the firm belief that art and performance are tools to provoke conversation and change. Co-founders Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava’s first project, the multi-award winning Mouthpiece, premiered in 2015. It went on to tour internationally for the next four years, a sold out Edinburgh Fringe, a showing in LA sponsored by Jodie Foster, published by Coach House Books and Oberon UK, and has been translated into French, Turkish, Romanian and Spanish. They then adapted, starred in, and composed the score for the award-winning feature film Mouthpiece with acclaimed Canadian director Patricia Rozema. The film opened TIFF 2018 and continues to screen internationally. In 2018 they created the six-woman rock-opera Now You See Her (also published by Coach House Books) which had a sold-out run in Toronto.

Universal Childcare

The facts are clear and our mission is simple: it is still women who carry most of the burden of responsibility for child care. Without significant federal funding and policy change, the lack of affordable child care will remain a central barrier to equality for multiple generations of women — and we’re angry.

Universal Child Care will scream about this using a nine-person choir. Through music, text, highly-stylized movement, projected surtitles and song delivered in multiple languages, we will compare different approaches to child care around the globe. The narrative involves four couples from four of the wealthiest countries: Canada, USA, Denmark and Japan. There is also a childminder from Mexico who has left her children behind in order to take care of someone else’s. The intimate stories of these individuals will blend full-on rock wailing, heart-wrenching solos, operatic duets and nine-part vocal gymnastics. By piloting a project that also provides childcare subsidies and flexibility to its working artists/parents, we hope to practice what we preach and prove that change is possible.

the ideal candidate

You are someone who:

• has a passion for theatre and performing arts;
• is passionate about social activism, especially regarding the environment and child care;
• is able to manage multiple projects and priorities in parallel;
• is adaptable and able to shift gears frequently;
• has a keen eye for detail and loves budgets, contracts, and planning;
• likes collaborating and working closely with many kinds of partners – artists, designers, technicians, venues, other producers, audiences, and donors (to name a few);
• is digitally savvy and operates well in a paperless environment with tools like Google Drive, Slack, Asana, etc.

Ideally, you also have some or all of the following:

• experience in brokering partnerships with theatre companies and festivals;
• experience with ACTRA Agreements, and Canadian Actors’ Equity Association’s ITA and CTA agreements;
• experience managing large budgets;
• experience working with other unions and associations like IATSE, TMA, ADC, etc;
• experience producing and managing tours nationally and internationally;
• experience in marketing, communications, and audience development.

the details

You will be responsible for:

• RELATIONSHIPS
  • being the primary contact person for both projects, including but not limited to artists, venues, partners, funders, Why Not team, and other stakeholders;
  • working closely with SHARE artists Sunny Drake and Quote Unquote Collective to ensure the desired style of process is facilitated for both;
  • oversight of all production and collective-related personnel in delivery of the aforementioned projects;
  • regular check-ins with the Managing Producer, SHARE Platform;

• PROJECT MANAGEMENT
  • management and execution of a portfolio of two (2) projects, including development, premiere production, and potential touring;
    • across both productions, activities requiring coordination will include: in-person and virtual development workshops with technical elements, inter/national writers’ rooms, multiple festival and theatre partnerships, posting production content across a variety of platforms;

• NEGOTIATION AND CONTRACTING
  • creation and coordination of all project contracts, including but not limited to all development and production personnel, venues, co-productions, and presentation agreements;
• BUDGETING
  • managing a large budget for both projects, coordinating payments, invoices and expense tracking with all the artists involved;
  • working with the Managing Producer of the SHARE Platform, to develop an annual cash flow projection for each project;

• COMMUNITY
  • contributing to the development and execution of production outreach strategies with community partners and stakeholders;
  • helping to coordinate invited sharings, opening night, and complimentary ticket outreach lists, etc.
• FUNDRAISING
  • Working closely with the lead artists to support on grant applications, partnership building, sponsorships, and private donor asks, as applicable, in order to achieve budget goals;
• MARKETING
  • working closely with production-specific marketing folks for creation and execution of project specific marketing and communications strategy: audio/visual digital content, website content, social media content, PR, newsletters, etc;

• PRODUCTION LOGISTICS
  • working closely with show-specific production folks on all logistical production elements: production schedules, budget, shipping, personnel, travel and accommodations, venue and production coordination;
  • leading process for project-specific international needs, including but not limited to visas, taxation, shipping;

How much time will it take?

A two-year part-time position, approximately 20 hours per week, flexible hours, with the understanding that Why Not’s usual working hours are between Mon-Fri 9-6pm, and collaborative work will need to happen in those timeframes; specific schedule to be mutually agreed upon. Given the nature of the work, there may be some evenings and weekends, with the flexibility to take time off elsewhere as appropriate. Producers also are often required to travel with tours of projects nationally and internationally.

How much will it pay?

$25,000 CAD annually plus extended health and dental benefits, 2 weeks paid vacation time per year, and support for Professional Development activities in related courses of study.

the next step

In order to apply, please send us:

• your resumé (1 – 2 pages)
• a cover letter – tell us about why you would be a good fit for this role, and what experience you have doing similar work, and at what scale. We’d also love to know if you have other skills or talents, like speaking other languages, for example.

Submit your materials here by 11:59pm on Thursday, October 7th, 2021.

If you have questions or require accommodations to the application process, please reach out to [email protected].

the fine print

As a company that values diversity of backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives in our team, we highly encourage candidates to self-identify when applying. We welcome applications from people with disabilities. We will aim to accommodate accessibility requests for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

We are grateful for everyone’s interest, but please note that only those selected for interviews will be contacted.