"I am because you are because we are"
[ ubuntu ]
Mission
The goal of the Watah Theatre is to cultivate the professional development of Black artists as self-actualised creative leaders who co-create a holistic, equitable and compassionate society.
About
Formerly the anitafrika dub theatre, Watah specializes in the professional development and femtorship of Black arts practitioners and was founded in 2008 by d’bi.young anitafrika. The organisation cultivates artists as femtor-leaders of integrity. Arts engagement sits at the core of Watah’s commitment to providing Black artists with the tools to self-actualise, create relevant art, and develop crucial femtorship skills to teach one another. Year-long artist residencies, skill-building workshops, one-to-one femtorship with professional artists, community field placements, and the staging of ground-breaking new theatre, are the foundation of Watah’s programming.
How We Work
Watah contributes, supports and develops the legacy of Black Theatre in North Turtle Island by:
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1) cultivating and sharing a unique African-Caribbean-Canadian theatre aesthetic, heavily informed by the radical performance tradition of Jamaica’s dub poetry and dub theatre;
2) challenging systemic barriers that exclude Black theatre artists; and
3) giving Black arts practitioners a local, national and international platform to showcase and celebrate their work.
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Watah advances a radically innovative approach to biomyth monodrama, panto dub theatre, self-actualization, creativity, equity, mentorship, and leadership.
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Watah offers artists the unique and accessible intersectional decolonial Anitafrika Method that equips them with the skills to lead non-hierarchically in their communities.
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Watah supports artists in identifying and practicing a self-defined process of self-empowerment through creativity.
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Watah fosters the artist’s creation of a significant solo work that emerges from their process of self-actualization.
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Watah nurtures artists as femtors, collaborating with them to connect the dots between self-actualisation, art creation, and leadership.
Accomplishments
From inception to present, Watah has facilitated the growth and development of over 500 artists locally, nationally and globally through residencies, workshops and one-to-one mentorship. Watah Alumni include change-makers such as Amanda Parris founder Lost Lyrics, Randell Adjei founder of R.I.S.E, Che Kothari founder of Manifesto, Kim Katrin Crosby and Naty Tremblay co-founders of The People Project, Natasha Adiyana Morris founder of Piece of Mine Festival, Mriga Kapadiya co-founder of Nor Black Nor White Fashion House, Lishai Peel poet/arts educator, liza paul and Bahia Watson co-creators of internationally-celebrated play pomme is french for apple, and Ngozi Paul actor-playwright and producer of ‘da kink in my hair’ tv show. These artists are leaders in their own creative fields today, incorporating Sorplusi’s transformational skills-building and mentorship techniques as crucial facilitative, pedagogical and social frameworks in their creative and activist endeavors.
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Watah has also published five popular anthologies through Sorplusi Publishing, featuring the theatrical and literary works of alumni arts practitioners, underscoring its commitment to archiving. The organisation has also professionally produced 60 new plays (from 2008-2025) by resident artists in our annual festivals: Mikey Smith Raw Works, Audre Lorde Works-In-Process and Word! Sound! Powah! Award-winning productions include Addicted by Raven Dauda, Lukumi Dub Opera by d’bi.young anitafrika, and I Cannot Lose My Mind by Najla Nubyanluv.