Volcano Welcomes Joel Klein As The Company's First Director Of Touring And Global Collaboration

Volcano has announced the appointment of Joel Klein as the company's first Director of Touring and Global Collaboration to oversee and manage all aspects of the company's national and international touring activities. Klein joined the team on August 1.

Part of his responsibilities are to implement the company's new Standard of Care model for equitable theatre practices, geared specifically to Volcano's work as an industry leader in international collaboration and touring. During the pandemic, Volcano undertook a deep review of their care practices, inspired largely by the We See You, White American Theater (WSYWAT) alliance of arts workers and their Principles for Building Anti-Racist Theatre Systems.

"At Volcano, we work experimentally, collaboratively, and we're known for making art that transcends borders and boundaries," says Manson. "When developing new policies, it was essential for us to ensure that in touring Black and racialized companies into majority White spaces, we could safeguard artists from some of the harms that have been all-too-common in the performing arts. Our new Standard of Care model and Asymmetrical Co-production agreement, created over many months of collaborative work among diverse arts workers, consultants and Volcano stakeholders, were designed specifically to foster equitable artistic collaborations both nationally and internationally - policies we are happy to share widely."

Joel Klein: "I'm delighted to join the visionary team at Volcano, where the commitment to pushing artistic boundaries and fostering inclusive, global collaborations resonates with my own passion for justice and cultural exchange. It's exciting to be back on the ground supporting such a depth of interesting productions as they seek a global audience. Volcano's expansive vision also allows me the scope to support the sector on a national scale through continued work with the Association for Opera in Canada and other large-scale organisations, as well as continued consulting support for Queer and racialized artists and arts organisations."

Klein is part of recent expansion at Volcano that includes Managing Director Andrew Adridge, and three new board members: Rose Genele, a strategic growth consultant, and the founder of The New Face of Inclusion, an inclusion and future of work social enterprise; Melissa Chetty, a seasoned senior manager, who has led teams at The National Ballet of Canada and in the Ontario Public sector; and Adam Davids, a well-respected Toronto-based US entertainment lawyer.

About Joel Klein: Joel Klein is a respected figure in the arts with extensive experience across opera, theatre, and dance. Known for his work in equity-driven arts strategies and global collaborations, Joel has significantly impacted the Canadian arts landscape. His career includes leadership positions at the Association for Opera in Canada and Dance West network, and ongoing consulting work.

Ross Manson, Founding Artistic Director: "I'm thrilled to have Joel join Volcano's small, but highly skilled team, as we look ahead to creation and touring work on four continents over the next two years, and beyond. Joel is adept at collaboration, at global touring, and is deeply experienced in working equitably across borders and cultural difference. We're lucky to have him on board!"

Scott Joplin's Treemonisha's creative team is preparing for a landmark international premiere at the Harris Theatre, in Chicago, on May 2, 2025. Other productions in development or on tour include The Book of Life (a Canada/Rwanda collaboration that has already played major festivals on three continents), I Have a Drum (a new concert/theatre collaboration between Rwanda, Uganda and Canada, co-commissioned by the Edinburgh International Festival, ArtsEmerson in Boston, and UGA Presents in Athens, Georgia, and featuring Ingoma Nshya, the Women Drummers of Rwanda), Inuktitut Waiting for Godot (the first-ever translation of Beckett's masterpiece into Inuktitut) and The Agreements (a video game/classical song cycle, exploring how to live ethically in our current planetary predicament).

About Volcano Non-Profit Productions

Volcano has accomplished much to advance the Canadian live performance/theatre sector over a nearly 30-year history. Volcano is a multi-award winning live performance creation company based in Toronto. It nurtures the emergence of ideas and art-making through collaboration across intersectional identities, varied artistic practices, and borders of all kinds, in service of a future built on justice and well-being.

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