For 10 years, the Young Ruffian Apprenticeship Program has welcomed exciting new creators, and this year is absolutely no different!
Led by Desirée Leverenz and Education Coordinator Makram Ayache, this year’s program is a paid 4-week creation course, where participants from across Ontario are gaining skills in diverse creation methods, creating solo pieces as well as ensemble pieces, and interrogating play structure and content creation. They are learning the rules of creation and daring to break them as they discover, uplift, and amplify their own unique and vital theatrical voices.
Alongside creating with Desirée, participants are being mentored by artists Kwaku Okyere, Jeff Yung, Maddie Bautista, Jeff Ho and Erum Khan.
Check out these amazing artists and their work live on July 30th from 5:30pm to 8pm. This is an informal sharing session where we will share stories, poetry, films and be in conversation with the audience. Email Desirée for the zoom link!
The Young Ruffians
Marco DeLuca
Marco DeLuca is an actor, singer, dancer and creator living in Oakville, Ontario and hails from Treaty Six. He will be entering his final year in the Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance Program at Sheridan College in the fall of 2021 and is thrilled to be an administrative assistant and team member for Sheridan College’s Expanding the Lens Diversity and Inclusion initiative. Marco is always eager and thrilled to continue honing his craft through writing and creation. In his work, Marco hopes to inspire and elevate community passion through impactful and delicate stories that encourage and embrace individuality and authenticity.
Ericka Leobrera
Ericka is a Philippine-born multi- and inter-disciplinary performer and creator. As a storyteller, their imagination manifests itself in more ways than one. In creation, Ericka intertwines various artistic practices; playwrighting, physical theatre, movement, dance, poetry, and sound. Ericka is a graduate of Humber College’s Theatre Arts – Performance program where they trained in devised and physical theatre. Selected theatre credits include: TomorrowLove (dir. Christopher Stanton), Elektra (dir. Richard Greenblatt), Through The Bamboo (dir. Nina Lee Aquino), Odd Ones Out (dir, Herbie Barnes)
Kiara-Kumail
Kiara-Kumail is a South Asian trans-feminine actor and artist from Tanzania. They currently study Performance Acting at what is now called X-University. Their most recent-credits include Wanda Murley in the radio-play Can’t See Home From Here at the Pocket Festival. They also have experience with classical Shakespearean texts such as their performance of Falstaff in King Henry IV Part 1. They are committed to telling stories from a decolonized, queer and racialized perspective to liberate marginalized voices. They have a profound interest in uncovering the mysteries of the deep sea and the creatures that lie within.
Sid Malcolm
Sid Malcolm is a recent graduate from Brock University, Hons. BA in Dramatic Arts with a minor in Music. Sid has a passion for the world of production and performance with a new found desire to explore storytelling.
She has been able to pursue production as the Assistant Technical Director to three consecutive shows at Brock. Most recently, she had the pleasure of directing, devising, and performing in anthology piece Ouroboros (2021)
Sid has a passion for sharing truths and combining stories of injustice with theatre. She strives to create art which questions the practices that are considered normal in day to day life.
Summer Mahmud
Summer is a Queer writer, director, actor & musician, and fresh graduate of McGill University. They are currently a Writer-in-Development at Teesri Duniya Theatre in Montreal, and an Artistic Associate at Theatre Artaud. Previously, they have worked as Art Director & Curator at Tuesday Night Cafe Theatre, and have played multiple concerts across Pakistan & Canada. Summer is interested in the malleability of form and the absurdity of being[;] anything at all.
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