Vera Cudjoe facts for kids

Vera Cudjoe was born in 1928 in Trinidad. She is a talented Trinidadian-Canadian actress, producer, and educator. She is best known for starting Black Theatre Canada (BTC), a special group that helped many Black performers and artists in North America.

Black Theatre Canada operated from 1973 to 1988. It was a place where young people and the community could learn about theatre. Many famous artists got their start there, including Delroy Lindo, Arlene Duncan, Leon Bibb, and Jackie Richardson.

Vera Cudjoe grew up in Trinidad. She trained to be a nurse in England. In 1960, she moved to Toronto, Canada. She started acting in 1962. She noticed there weren't many chances for Black youth in theatre. This made her want to create Black Theatre Canada.

Under her leadership, BTC put on many popular plays. These included the first Canadian show of A Raisin in the Sun in 1978. Another famous play was A Caribbean Midsummer Night's Dream in 1983, which won an award. A musical called One More Stop on the Freedom Train (1984) was about the Underground Railroad. It toured Ontario in 1985 and was even performed at Expo 86 in Vancouver.

Vera Cudjoe has also acted in TV shows and movies. Some of her roles were in E.N.G. (1989), Rookie Blue (2010), and Jumping the Broom (2011). For all her important work, she received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal and the African-Canadian Achievement Award.

Early Life and Education

Vera Cudjoe was born in 1928. She was the youngest of six children in Trinidad. She went to Naparima Girls' High School. Back then, it was hard to get a higher education in Trinidad unless you were wealthy or won a special scholarship to study in England.

Vera Cudjoe won one of these scholarships. She went to England to train as a midwife and a nurse. These were some of the few jobs open to women of color at the time. While in England, she joined the West Indian Students' Union. A friend who was an actor introduced her to performing. She acted in hospital plays and discovered her love for theatre.

After her training, Vera Cudjoe returned to Trinidad in 1955. She worked as a nurse for five years. But she felt restless and wanted to explore other paths. She looked for work in the United States because her sister lived in New York City. However, it was difficult for people from Trinidad and Tobago to move to the U.S. at that time. So, she found a job at Toronto General Hospital in Canada instead.

A New Career Path

Vera Cudjoe arrived in Toronto on December 13, 1960. She became a registered nurse (RN) at Toronto General Hospital. She found that nursing in Canada focused more on rules and paperwork than on helping patients. This made her feel disappointed with the job. She once felt upset when she was told to leave a patient who needed her attention, just because it was time for a shift change. This made her realize she wanted a different career.

A friend who worked at the CBC suggested she try something new. Vera Cudjoe started studying at Ryerson University to become a radio broadcaster. She studied for two semesters. But she had to go back to nursing because of money problems. Even so, she kept up with her theatre interests. She joined Ernie Schwarz's Studio Lab. She also trained at George Luscombe's Toronto Workshop Productions.

Founding Black Theatre Canada

Vera Cudjoe soon realized there were not many acting chances for Black performers in Canada. She thought there should be a Black theatre group. She got help from Ed Smith, who started the Buffalo Black Drama Workshop. He came to Toronto to put on a play called Who's Got His Own. This was to see if Toronto was ready for professional Black theatre.

The play was shown for one night to a full audience. This encouraged Vera Cudjoe to create her own theatre group. In 1973, she founded Black Theatre Canada (BTC). She wanted BTC to show the rich culture of Black people, especially those from the Caribbean, in Canada. She also wanted to train young Black talent. BTC was part of a bigger movement in Toronto. This movement included groups like the Black Education Project and Kay Livingstone's Congress of Black Women, which aimed to help the Black community.

Notable Productions and Community Work

Under Vera Cudjoe's leadership, BTC produced many successful plays. These included the first Canadian production of A Raisin in the Sun in 1978. Another big success was A Caribbean Midsummer Night's Dream in 1983, which won a Dora Mavor Moore Award.

Leon Bibb's musical, One More Stop on the Freedom Train (1984), told the story of the Underground Railroad in Ontario. It toured Ontario in 1985. It was even performed at Vancouver's Expo 86 as part of the Arts Against Apartheid Festival. This festival featured important figures like Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Harry Belafonte.

BTC also focused a lot on helping the community and educating young people. They offered performance training. They also encouraged people to write plays and held playwriting competitions. Vera Cudjoe's co-director, Amah Harris, visited schools with plays for children. These plays were based on the Anansi folktales. They were some of the first plays in Toronto schools to feature many different cultures. Because they were so popular, BTC was invited to the 1979 Afro-American Ethnic Festival in Detroit. There, they performed for 35,000 more children.

Sadly, Black Theatre Canada struggled to get steady funding. It eventually closed in 1988. Vera Cudjoe felt that the funding councils didn't understand BTC's focus on community and Black history.

Later Years and Legacy

After Black Theatre Canada closed, Vera Cudjoe continued to act. She appeared in shows like E.N.G. (1989), Rookie Blue (2010), and Jumping the Broom (2011). She also spent two years studying at Ontario Theological Seminary.

For her important contributions to arts and entertainment, Vera Cudjoe received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal and the African-Canadian Achievement Award.

Vera Cudjoe's work through Black Theatre Canada created a lasting impact. She helped many artists grow their careers. Some of these artists include Delroy Lindo, Arlene Duncan, Leon Bibb, Jackie Richardson, Joe Sealy, Tom Butler, Philip Akin, Denis Simpson, Diana Braithwaite, and Jeff Jones.

A famous artist named ahdri zhina mandiela shared her experience. She said that many artists, including herself, were part of BTC. They learned from Amah Harris and Vera Cudjoe. They worked on plays like the Anansi stories and got training in performing. Ahdri Zhina Mandiela worked as a stage manager, performer, and even an office assistant for BTC. She believes that almost all Black artists working between 1972 and 1985 were connected to BTC. She said that any theatre artist from that time who is still working today has a BTC story to tell.