A.V.O. Collective Presents World Premiere Of Samson Bonkeabantu Brown's 11:11

The A.V.O. Collective in association with Triangle Pi Productions, is thrilled to announce the World Premiere of Samson Bonkeabantu Brown's powerful play, 11:11. Samson Brown takes the stage at the Theatre Centre with an exclusive run from May 27 to June 1, 2019 with a preview performance on May 26th at 7pm.

Where the spirit world and the real world meet, lies a bio-mythical monodrama unapologetically crafted and performed by critically acclaimed trans identified artist, Samson Bonkeabantu Brown. Dramaturged and directed by the multi award winning artist, d'bi.young anitafrika. 11:11 explores the other side of fear through the eyes of a young, Black transman struggling to obey the ancestral messages saturating his dreams.

Samson Bonkeabantu Brown is a self described, Jamal Of All Hustles, with a primary focus on trans advocacy and the arts. He uses the arts (acting, tap dancing, playwriting, stage and production managing) to create visibility for men of trans experience and to educate the general public on trans issues. Samson will be appearing in RARE Theatre's next production, Welcome to my Underworld, which takes the stage at the Young Centre in May 2019.

11:11 is presented as part of Why Not Theatre's RISER Project, a collaborative producing model generously supported by RBC, TD Bank Group, and the Government of Canada.

"Developing 11:11 through Why Not Theatre's Riser Project feels right on time,'' explains playwright and performer Samson Bonkeabantu Brown, "it is actually something that my ancestors and I had been working on manifesting since I completed, presented and published the first draft of 11:11 while I was an artist-in-residence at The Watah Theatre under the mentorship of d'bi.young anitafrika."

Leading the 11:11 team is dramaturge and director d'bi.young anitafrika. During the past 20 years, d'bi.young has written, performed & published numerous collections of poetry, plays & dub albums that decry the entangled inequity of racism, classism, misogyny, homophobia, colonialism & capitalism. She is a triple dora-award winning 'Canadian poet of honor' & 'womxn of distinction in the arts.' Founding artistic director emeritus, of the Canadian black theatre conservatory, Watah (2008-2018), & founder of the feminist micro press, spolrusie publishing; d'bi.young is also the creator of the anitafrika method - an emancipatory praxis for self-recovery, creative growth, and leadership development. Having taught the method worldwide, d'bi.young is presently engaged in further research as part of her postgraduate studies in London, UK. Her latest projects include a new monodrama on decolonizing academia, a publication of the sankofa trilogy by Playwrights Canada Press, and a new book of poetry entitled 'the collected dub poems of d'bi.young anitafrika' due out in spring 2019.

d'bi.young is joined by lighting designer André du Toit; stage manager Alexandra Sproule; and artistic producer Brett Haynes.

TICKETS contact Theatre Centre Box Office: Tickets.theatrecentre.org