Give Voice is an anthology of twenty-minute plays created between 2006 and 2009 with the coaching, guidance, and support of artistic director Philip Akin. The book is divided into three sections: Families, in Their Many Shapes and Colours; Relationships, in Their Ups and Downs; and Social Issues, Too Tough to Ignore. At the end of each season of the Obsidian Playwrights Unit, Philip Akin and other directors and actors showcase the work at public readings called the Mussorgsky Project.

The ten plays in this volume range from theatre for young audiences to mature adult themes, cast sizes from two to five, and several have been produced and expanded to full-length works. These short plays, in the many dialects of the black voice, are ideal for a classroom setting.

Rita Shelton Deverell, C.M., Ed.D. is a theatre artist, broadcaster, university professor, and television producer/director/writer. Deverell has received numerous awards, including two Geminis, the Black Womenâ??s Civic Engagement Network Leadership Award, and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2005 for her pioneering work in broadcasting, notably the founding of Vision TV and mentoring her Aboriginal successor at APTN National News. She has served on several boards of directors, among them Obsidian Theatre Company, Creative Womenâ??s Workshops Association, and OCAD University.

Rita Shelton Deverell's profile page