LIA

As alumni of the Nightwood Young Innovators Producing Program we are disappointed, angered and saddened to hear that the 2023-2024 cohort experienced anti-Palestinian censorship at Nightwood Theatre during their organization of the yearly Fempocalypse Cabaret Fundraiser. 

We stand united behind the cohort and ask that Nightwood address the concerns of the cohort both privately and publicly, taking accountability for their actions and mending harm to move forward. 

Each year of the innovators program our cohorts worked together to produce a cabaret fundraiser and donated the funds to a charity of our choice. Not only was the act of producing this fundraiser a way to give us hands-on producing experience, it empowered us to unite on a cause to bring to our community. As the act of producing a cabaret in this capacity was/is a lot of labour, the experience brought us together and allowed us to support emerging performers and our community by rallying behind a charity we valued. Fempocalypse was rooted in activism and community care.

In reading about the experience of the 2023-2024 cohort where “participants in Nightwood’s Innovators Program had decided to donate proceedings of a cabaret show to a charity (Anera) helping Palestinian Refugees, but due to fears around funder reactions, the company wouldn’t let this happen …. and the program eventually fell apart” (The Grind) we are disappointed to hear the experiences of this cohort of creators, producers and artists – the loss of their training, the harm done to them/other artists and the censorship at the company. 

We stand behind our colleagues, artists, friends and community in solidarity against Palestinian censorship and the censorship of artists/activists.

We call on Nightwood to acknowledge and mend the harm they caused to the 2023-2024 cohort.

Sincerely,

The Innovators Alumni