b current Welcomes New Artistic Director Catherine Hernandez

The Board of Directors of b current, the hotbed for culturally-rooted theatre creation, announced today the appointment of a new Artistic Director: Writer, performer, and producer Catherine Hernandez, an artist with a ten-year association with the company.

"The Board of Directors is happy to announce the appointment of Catherine Hernandez as the new Artistic Director. A staple in Toronto's theatre community, Catherine joins b current bringing with her a wealth of knowledge from her work as an accomplished artist, writer, producer, educator, and administrator. Her zeal and creative exuberance will undoubtedly serve the organization immensely during its transition of leadership and into the future. Please join us in welcoming Catherine Hernandez," said Karim Morgan, Chair of the Board of Directors.

Catherine Hernandez is a proud queer woman of colour, twice-published playwright, performer, and award-winning author. Her one-woman show, The Femme Playlist, premiered at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre October 2014 as part of b current's afterRock Plays series co-produced by b current, Eventual Ashes and Sulong Theatre. She has served playwright residencies at b current, Theatre Passe Muraille, Carlos Bulosan Theatre, Shaw Festival Theatre, Blyth Festival Theatre and Nightswimming Theatre. Her skills in producing, arts administration, marketing and education have been put to use at Native Earth Performing Arts, Theatre Passe Muraille, Aluna Theatre, Cahoots Theatre Projects and countless other companies. She is currently the Thinker in Residence at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Her children's book, M is for Mustache: A Pride ABC Book, was published by Flamingo Rampant Press and her award-winning novel, Scarborough, will be published by Arsenal Pulp Press in April 2017.

"My political activism in the areas of uplifting and amplifying the voices of Black, Indigenous, of-colour and LGBTQ2S communities through arts education and production is a lifetime journey for me and I am excited to continue this allyship as Artistic Director of b current," said Ms Hernandez.

Jajube Mandiela and Alison Wong worked for four years together culminating in the company's 25th anniversary season which included the re-visioning of dark diaspora ... in dub into the epic diaspora Dub, and the launch of the company's first Canadian and international tours with Brotherhood: The Hip Hopera.

With years of performance work under her belt, Jajube now craves to deepen her own artistic voice and will pursue projects in theatre and on screen. During her tenure as Artistic Director she helped raise the company's profile and proudly developed bcHub, b current's new training program.

After seven years with b current, Alison will continue her ongoing work in theatre and opera as a director and performer, as well as a producer with Small Wooden Shoe with Jacob Zimmer. She looks forward to bringing the spirit of advocacy and culturally-rooted arts practice she fostered at b current into her future work.

"The Board of Directors wishes to thank outgoing Artistic Director, Jajube Mandiela, and Artistic Producer, Alison Wong, for their years of dedication and service, particularly for their many contributions in ushering in the organization's 25th Anniversary. The Board and entire b current community wishes Jajube and Alison well as they pursue other endeavours and look forward to many collaborations in the future," finished Mr. Morgan.

For more information, visit bcurrent.ca or follow on social media: @bcurrentLIVE | facebook.com/bcurrentLIVE.

Pictured: Catherine Hernandez. Photo by Zahra Siddiqui.

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