Generator’s annual partnership with SummerWorks Performance Festival looks a little different each year—from the “Imagining the Future” Pecha Kucha in 2016, to “Creating Sign Language Magic” in 2019, and all of the conversations and collaborations in between. This past summer, our partnership took the form of peer mentorship: we had the absolute pleasure of connecting SummerWorks Assistant Artistic Producers Fatima Adam and Haley Vincent with peer mentors Kitoko Mai and xLq (Maddie Bautista and Jordan Campbell), all three of whom are alumni of Generator’s Artist Producer Training program.
We’re so grateful to these five wonderful individuals for experimenting with this format with us (and on Zoom, no less)! We’re delighted to share some of their learnings and reflections with you here.
xLq (Jordan Campbell + Maddie Bautista)
HALEY: What role has peer mentorship/mentorship played in building your career?
xLq: A sense
Of wonder
And belief
In ourselves
To validate
Our wildest
Fantasies.
A way forward in the darkest hours
A tiny crack of light to crawl into
Being held accountable by other artmakers
For the kind of art and the choices we made
Learning about the kind of artists we wanted to be
And who we didn’t want to be.
GENERATOR: What’s something from the mentorship sessions that resonated with you?
HALEY: There are so many wise words that have stuck with me from my time with Maddie and Jordan. An idea that really resonated, that they both embrace so well, was committing to fun. Even during the mundane or frustrating or difficult parts of creating and producing, making a conscious effort to have fun is a priority! There have been times when the stress or pressure has made me forget that making art and working with creatives is the best!
FATIMA: The most important piece of advice Kit gave to me is, make your voice heard even if you think no one is listening. So often we choose not to speak up because we think our words will be ignored but, if we say nothing, we are guaranteed to be ignored. Reaching out to people with inquiries, comments or even criticisms, is not something I did regularly before our mentorship. However, since speaking with Kit about this, I have contacted multiple organizations to ask questions, critique their productions/policies, or just let them know I enjoyed a show of theirs. Doing so has not only connected me with theatres and artists across Toronto, it has also started necessary dialogue about issues pertaining to our community.
xLq: How are you becoming the mentor you wish you had when you started out?
KIT: By showing up as my authentic self—meaning I brought my disabilities in the room with me and asked for accommodations—by being flexible and asking the mentee what they need and want, by being honest about how I have to navigate the industry with my identities, my low capacity, and the oppression clique (white supremacy, patriarchy, etc).
FATIMA: An aspect of this mentorship I deeply appreciated is the care and flexibility Kit and I provided to each other. It was lovely being part of an artistic collaboration where your personhood is placed before your workload because unfortunately, that’s not always a guarantee.
GENERATOR: What’s something about this mentorship relationship that really worked that you want to remember and repeat?
KIT: The fact that Fatima and I are only a few stages apart when it comes to our careers. I feel like the advice I offered was stuff that I learned recently, tried recently, and shared with her. It's advice that she can use immediately. It's not dated because it reflects the industry that we are both navigating right now. I think peer to peer mentorship is incredibly valuable.
HALEY: I really enjoyed getting to know Jordan and Maddie through having casual non-outcome-driven chats about life and art. These conversations led to learning and activities in a very organic way. Based on our talks, xLq led a few career planning exercises, that we all did together, that made me rethink how I approach my work!
xLq: An exercise
Or two
Couldn’t hurt
(no need to hit the gym)
We know more
Than we think
We can share
Ourselves
And be honest
(candour is key)
Making lists of 50 puts things into perspective
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50
Haley Vincent
Fatima Adam
KIT: I often felt like I was giving you information that I learned yesterday, was using today, that you might use tomorrow. What was it like for you to engage in mentorship with someone who is literally only a few steps ahead of you versus more established within the industry?
FATIMA: I found it incredibly helpful to engage in mentorship with Kit because the part of my journey I am currently in, is where Kit was not too long ago. The advice and suggestions they gave felt more applicable because they can speak directly to their experience being in my position and the circumstances they faced are similar, if not the exact same. Often when speaking to those who are further along than myself, so much time has passed since they were where I am that the environment, conditions and challenges that I am experiencing, either did not exist or were completely different for them. Therefore, the advice they’re able to give feels incomplete but, with Kit that’s not the case. We are experiencing the same or similar barriers, opportunities, joys, difficulties, etc. Being able to confide in, seek guidance from, and create community with someone who’s only a few steps ahead of myself, has been incredibly helpful both personally and professionally.
SUMMERWORKS: What are some ways that creative curiosity can be made more a part of our processes as producers?
KIT: If the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that we can be creative about finding ways to meet the needs of our communities as they change. We shouldn't need a pandemic to force us to find more ways to pay artists, develop more ways to share art or make art, or even curate communities within digital space. Challenges (especially those related to disability accommodation) should be embraced as they are opportunities to explore and be innovative. I think the Toronto and Hamilton theatre communities have been more creative (in terms of how we curate community, make and share art, find ways to pay artists) during this pandemic because everyone was affected. There wasn't a choice. When this is all over, I want that creativity to continue, I want challenges that stem from community needs to be embraced as exciting opportunities to grow and provide care. Theatre (performance as a whole) is an art form that is living and meant to grow (i mean like every performance builds on the last, can change, can develop in ways that more static forms of art don't. Yes this is debatable.) When we stop being curious, we stop growing.
HALEY: I want to investigate and dive deeper into projects that are aligned with the values I hold. Using producing as its own form of storytelling, a place to ruminate on important questions and a way of exploring human connection.
xLq: We must
let go
Of all we thought
We knew
A playful practise
Is a prerequisite
For this pathetic pathological party
Do you still remember how to play????????
It might take practise
Practise isn’t perfect
A process isn’t a production line
When do producers really get to play?
Kitoko Mai
1 month ago
We wrote a poem
(it was an application)
It felt true to us
It was still under 1000 words
FATIMA: If you could give one piece of advice to yourself from 3 years ago, what would it be?
KIT: Only one???? Okay. To Baby Kit: You are a bad bitch (even if you don't see it ) and everything that doesn't make sense about producing will make more sense after you try it, fail, learn, and then try again!
HALEY: To Haley from 3 years ago, although it may seem like nothing will ever work out, it sooo will! It'll work out exactly how it's supposed to. Your path won't look like everyone else's and that's okay.
Keep exploring what you love, caring about community and those around you, building your skills, and being you! Love, present Haley.
About the Artists
Fatima Adam (she/her)
is a Toronto based writer, performer, facilitator, and producer. Passionate about creative collaboration, she has worked with BlackCAP, The AMY Project, SummerWorks Performance Festival, and more. Currently, she is an Associate Producer with the Culchahworks Arts Collective. Fatima hopes to continue working within media production and the performing arts, bringing underrepresented talent to the forefront, and widening accessibility for artists in the GTA to pursue theatre.
Haley Vincent (she/her)
is an emerging artist originally hailing from Treaty 1 Territory, Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is a graduate of the University of Winnipeg, holding a BA Honours degree in Theatre and Film. Haley is a creator, performer, administrator and producer with a passion for multi-disciplinary performance, nuanced storytelling and community building. Her work has taken her across Turtle Island and to the UK. Haley is always searching for new creative outlets and opportunities for diverse and meaningful learning.
Kitoko Mai
is a disabled, non-binary, multidisciplinary performance, media, and community artist. Their artistic practice is best described as a chaotic collage. It is a collection of film & video art, photography, performance, collage, installation, sound, poetry and chaotic Alt Black femme weirdness. Kitoko is the recipient of the 2021 Promising Pen Prize from Cahoots Theatre and the 2020 Gilded hammers Emerging Artist Award. They are a member of the community arts collective, Care Collective, are currently taking part in a residency at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, and completing a year-long script development program with Nightwood Theatre through their Write From the Hip program. You can also see their cheeky and informative YouTube series called “The BIPOC Survival Guide”, designed to support post-secondary students and produced by the CBC. Their work is rooted in social justice, anti-oppression, and the pursuit of messiness. Their personal philosophy is to produce work that aims to destabilize hierarchies of power, embraces fluidity of content, form, and process; as well as prioritizes accessibility.
Bio written by Kitoko and made infinitely better by Claire Calnan
xLq
is a POP ART performance duo comprised of Jordan Campbell and Maddie Bautista. Dedicated to radical performance forms, xLq combines ritual, fashion, dance, music, and queer pop aesthetics to create complicit audience experiences.
Their original performance creation 4inXchange received Nightswimming’s 5x25 Commission and won the NOW Magazine Audience Choice Award at the 2018 SummerWorks Festival, then proceeded to tour to the rEvolver Festival 2019 (Vancouver, BC), FEM FEST 2019 (Winnipeg, MB), the Grand Theatre (Fergus, ON), Registry Theatre (Kitchener, ON), and Waterford Old Town Hall (Waterford, ON).
They are currently in residence with Nightswimming Theatre, where they are developing All for One for All, which premiered at CAMINOS 2019, and was created while in residence with lemonTree creations.