Our Story About From One Cultural Strand to Many Teesri Duniya Theatre was established in 1981 by Rana Bose and Rahul Varma. Our premier production was a Hindi-language play titled Julus by Badal Sircar. Today we are one of the few culturally all-encompassing companies producing plays about diverse communities, cultures, and identities that make up our world. Teesri is pivotal in building cross-cultural bridges between Quebecers of Asian, African, Middle Eastern, Latinx, mixed-race, First Nations, and European origin. Until the 1970s, only Black Theatre Workshop provided opportunities for non-white artists in Montreal. Indigenous experiences, cultural plurality, and political drama were absent in theatrical productions. In the 80’s, Teesri emerged as one of the few multicultural companies with a decidedly political mandate. The beginning years were not easy. The discriminatory policies of the arts-funding bodies prevented Teesri from receiving funding for over 15 years. The situation changed with the institutionalization of multiculturalism and the implementation of racial equality in the arts. Today, all public arts funding bodies support Teesri Duniya Theatre. Since its inception, Teesri has produced over 75 plays and dance dramas in English and other languages including French, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Bangla and Tamil. The majority of our plays are world premieres directed by women. We present local plays with global significance in a manner that gives each play a distinctly Canadian voice. Mandate Teesri Duniya Theatre is an intercultural theatre company dedicated to producing politically relevant plays that propel positive change. Our productions foster critical thinking and cross-cultural dialogue. We address injustices and enhance the representation of racialized and marginalized artists. Indigeneity, multicultural diversity, LGBTQ+ representation, and interculturalism are central to our work. Our plays and programs infuse art with social responsibility through a decolonizing consciousness. Our Vision Teesri Duniya Theatre considers theatre a transformative tool that can challenge oppressive forces to enact positive change. Our goal is to transform awareness into engagement by addressing conditions that imprison people in systems of poverty, injustice and oppression. We regard multiculturalism as a framework to tell stories by, for and about people struggling against colonial institutions and practices. By doing so, we aim to bring visible minorities from the margins to the center, uplifting their voices and thus, increasing their representation. Teesri prioritizes BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other minoritized writers in Canada, who advocate social change. Fireworks, our guided play development program, uses intercultural dramaturgy to develop conscious and diverse playwrights. We see no separation between the personal and the political, between the issue and the aesthetic. The plays’ characters do not exist in isolation as individual entities. They function within a political system that determines their personality and behaviour. Class, race, culture, and gender consciousness are central to our stories. Teesri’s socio-political goal is to unite marginalized artists and community groups in solidarity. Our plays are supplemented by various paratheatrical activities including artist talk-backs, student and community engagements, and collaborations for social justice. Teesri is a place for everyone regardless of class, culture, race, language, gender, or ability. Fireworks Play Development Program Fireworks Play Development Program is an intensive, structured, and guided play development program. It is designed to assist playwrights, including artists of colour and Indigenous peoples, queer and gender-diverse individuals, to develop their voice and professional profile. Fireworks is a development program for new and original plays. Monthly Community Programming When not engaged in production, Teesri dedicates itself to producing activities and events that engage its diverse audiences and communities. These activities are presented as themed panel discussions with leading experts and practitioners in the field (e.g., ‘Feminist Pathways’ and ‘LGBTQ + BIPOC Activism’ roundtables). We host creative community-based programming with diverse collaborators (musicians, dancers, spoken word artists, etc.) giving them a platform to showcase their art. Rangshala Studio Rangshala is our multipurpose, multifunction and convertible studio for productions, presentations and practice. Equipped with a convertible stage, lights and sound, it can seat up to 100 people. Teesri Duniya Theatre and organization based in the Cité-des-Hospitalières carry out their works at the Rangshala and other studios. Rangshala is available to our partners, theatre companies, art groups, and communities for rehearsals, presentations, community gatherings, meetings, conferences and other events at affordable costs.