Working with Respect is a one-day conference for theatre practitioners in Newfoundland & Labrador offering two streams of attendance - one for theatre performance artists (A Stream) and one for theatre directors & managers (B Stream). Registration is free and is limited to 24 participants per stream (see below for more information on Registration).

The main conference offerings will be two 3-hour workshops:

Respectful Workplaces in the Arts
led by Tabitha Keast (A Stream) & Jenn Deon (B Stream)

Canada’s Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC) is supporting efforts to address all kinds of harassment in arts workplaces (including sexual harassment bullying, discrimination and violence), and to lay the groundwork for “respectful workplaces” as the norm in the cultural sector.

Under the Respectful Workplaces in the Arts banner, CHRC’s Maintaining Respectful Workplaces workshops have been created to explore how to best deal with harassment situations through:
  • discussions of what IS and IS NOT a respectful workplace
  • a review of situations and scenarios to identify how to create and sustain a respectful workplace
  • an in-depth consideration of the roles of employers*, artists, and cultural workers in establishing and maintaining a respectful workplace

In this three-hour workshop, tools and tips, including province/territory-specific legislation, will be highlighted for employers*, artists, and cultural workers to create and maintain a respectful workplace.

What folks have being saying:

"Excellent presentation! Very helpful and useful. Great opportunity to open the discussion."

"As a senior director, I felt well-supported in the discussion, I was initially worried about the possibility of conflicts erupting, but that was well-managed, thank you!"

"Very good format, informative and respectful of people's possible triggers in these topics."

"Thank you. I needed this and it has certainly provided clarity."

"Great to be able to discuss with other members of the community to build a shared understanding. It seems much more doable to me now."

"Yes, it provided scenarios which can lead to open questions without raising anything personal."

*A note for arts employers in Newfoundland and Labrador, this workshop is one means for an employer to "participate in training relating to harassment prevention,” as per section 24.2 (1) of the recently amended OHS Regulations under the Act – visit WorkplaceNL for more information.

Handout: Canadian Code of Conduct for the Performing Arts
Introduction to Intimacy Choreography
led by Siobhan Richardson (A and B Streams)

Learn techniques and language to stage human sexuality, creating choreography that is dynamic and serves the story. This methodology focuses on specific and subtle details in choreography, employing acting techniques to keep partners connected, physically and emotionally.

This approach allows actors to explore vulnerability within a dramatic context for the purpose of telling the story of the scene, which allows the scene to sustain both consistency in storytelling choices, and a safe space for all persons involved.

Tools include:
  • creating chemistry with a scene partner, safely and sustainably
  • closure and emotional fitness
  • conversations and practices for consent, “yes, and” (without compromising boundaries
  • text work, specific to scenes of intimacy
  • describing intimacy-specific movement and touch

The morning session for directors and managers will also look at various ways that directors and managers can support the work of Intimacy Choreography, for example, facilitating conversations, supporting the time needed for effective exploration of scenes of intimacy. We will also discuss:
  • ideally, when is an Intimacy Director (ID) needed?
  • budgeting (both time and money) for an ID
  • due diligence when looking for an ID

Touching is part of the workshop, for instance, a handshake. Please note that there is no mandatory contact. The core concept of this work is physical, psychological and emotional safety. All touching is consensual, and participants are always invited to engage in the content to an extent that is useful for them. Full participation, stepping out of an exercise to audit and other variations are welcome.

Handout: The Five Pillars of Rehearsal and Performance Practice
Picture
Rehearsal still from Serenity Wild at Summerworks Performance Festival, August 2017. Intimacy Director Siobhan Richardson, Dainty Smith and Julia Matias, co-produced by Tender Container and the frank theatre company. Photo by Blaize Thomas.
Awkward Conversations
A lunch-and-learn with Tabitha Keast from PACT
(A and B streams)

The Respectful Workplaces in the Arts session discusses provincial legislation relating to harassment, sexual harassment, and bullying and the policies and procedures that your organization is expected to have in place.

But what happens when your co-worker comes to you with an actual complaint? What are the essential steps in those conversations? Should you be the one leading it?

In this lunch-and-learn session with Tabitha Keast, Human Resources Specialist with the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT), we will talk about the essential steps in an investigation and invite anonymous written questions from the attendees.
Theatre Folk Social
Open to all

At day's end, join us across the road at Bitters Pub with fellow theatre folks for some informal networking and unwinding.

For those of you who may be interested in continued training in intimacy choreography and the process of certification, Siobhan will be facilitating that chat about this over at Bitters at 5pm following the sessions.
Conference Schedule At-A-Glance
Monday February 24, 2020
  • 8:15am - Registration, coffee, snacks and networking - ACC Lobby & Pinafore Room
  • 9:00am - Plenary gathering address and welcome - Pinafore Room
  • 9:30am -  Respectful Workplaces in the Arts (A Stream) with Tabitha Keast - Irwin’s Court
  • 9:30am - Introduction to Intimacy Choreography (B Stream) with Siobhan Richardson - 2nd floor Gallery
  • 11:00am - Snack break - Pinafore Room
  • 12:30pm - Lunch-and-Learn - Awkward Conversations with Tabitha Keast from PACT - Pinafore Room
  • 2:00pm - Respectful Workplaces in the Arts (B Stream) with Jenn Deon - Irwin’s Court
  • 2:00pm - Introduction to Intimacy Choreography (A Stream) with Siobhan Richardson - 2nd floor Gallery
  • 3:30pm - Snack break - Pinafore Room
  • 5:00pm - Social gathering at Bitters, including a table for continued conversations with Siobhan Richardson - Bitters Pub, Field Hall, 216 Prince Philip Parkway
The Working with Respect conference will be held at the St. John's Arts and Culture Centre, 95 Allandale Road, St. John's, NL A1B 3A3. The Centre is fully wheelchair accessible.

WHAT TO WEAR
  • Dress for the conference is casual, with a recommendation to be wearing something comfortable enough to move around in for the intimacy choreography workshop.
  • Winter coats and boots and whatnot can be hung in the Pinafore Cloakroom for the day (we’ll lock it but cannot guarantee the safety of valuables)
 
WHAT TO BRING
  1. Indoor sneakers or shoes to change in to – the concrete floors are brutal and during the intimacy choreography workshop, you’ll be doing some moving around.
  2. Your own drink containers for hot and cold beverages
 
WHERE TO PARK
  1. Park in the Arts & Culture Centre parking permit lots located around the building and indicated with blue lettering on white signage (not the MUN lots)
  2. Come in to the registration desk in the main lobby near the Pinafore Room to pick up your parking pass
  3. Go and place it on your dashboard so that security can see it
Registration
There is no cost to attend this conference, but enrollment is limited to 24 per stream.

Conference registration includes morning coffee, break-time refreshments and lunch, as well as all conference materials. Participants will be asked to bring their own re-usable hot and cold beverage containers.
Travel and Accommodations
No subsidies are available, per se, for out of town attendees; however, those traveling to the conference from out-of-town are encouraged to connect with us for assistance with arranging a low-or-zero cost billet for accommodations in St. John's, and/or in-town transportation.
Presenter Bios
JENN DEON
Jenn Deon is an artist, entrepreneur, feminist and activist. She has worked as an independent professional theatre practitioner for over 20 years and also operates as an accredited business communicator (ABC) with her company Jenn Deon Consulting Inc. She is a founder and current producing artistic director of the PerSIStence Theatre Company, a PACT affiliate member that uses professional theatre to respond to the persistent and universal need for promoting, understanding and embracing the core beliefs of feminism.

As artistic director with the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival from 1995-2015, she directed many of its productions over the years, including a female-driven production of The Taming of the Shrew (2014) and an all-female production of Much Ado About Nothing (2008).  In 2013, Jenn was a recipient of a Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for her community involvement, and received the 2018 Woman of Distinction Award for Arts & Culture from the YWCA St. John's.

Jenn is committed to the expansion of respectful workspace practices in all environments and is very pleased to be a trainer for CHRC’s workshops on Maintaining Respectful Workplaces. Learn more at jenndeon.ca.
TABITHA KEAST
As the Human Resources & Finance Specialist with the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT), Tabitha Keast provides consultation and support to PACT members on HR issues, including: Employer compliance and employment standards in relation to Canadian theatre; Training in HR policies, practices and administrative systems/processes; Direction on the implementation and adherence to the Occupational Health & Safety Act; Best practices in performance management and employee retention; and Workplace complaints and investigations. Learn more at pact.ca.

Prior to coming to PACT, Tabitha was a Human Resources professional at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre where her experience in Recruitment, Compensation & Benefits, and Labour Relations led to her role as an HR Generalist. And prior to moving into Human Resources, Tabitha was an actor and producer in Toronto and remains connected to the community now as a playwright, most recently with the InspiraTO Festival and the Write From the Hip Program at Nightwood Theatre. It was a long journey back into the industry that she loves and she is delighted that her association with PACT has connected her with the Cultural Human Resources Council as one of several workshop facilitators who will bring the materials from their Respectful Workplaces in the Arts program to cultural organizations across the country.
SIOBHAN RICHARDSON
Siobhan Richardson is a pioneer voice in the Canadian Theatre Industry regarding Intimacy in Performance. Her work as an Intimacy Director has appeared at the National Arts Centre, the Shaw Festival, The Canadian Opera Company, Soulpepper, Tarragon, Factory Theatre, the Stratford Festival, and at numerous Theatre Training Institutions. She has been teaching Intimacy extensively across Canada over the last three years, travelling from Vancouver to Halifax to teach this work, in professional and amateur settings, and in educational institutions. She has also shared these techniques across the United States and in Europe. Siobhan was the first intimacy director in Canada to be recognized by Intimacy Directors International.

Also a Fight Director, she is the preferred Fight Director and Instructor for a number of theatre companies, actors and directors, and a certified Fight Director with Fight Directors Canada. Stage Combat Instruction has, likewise, taken her across Canada, the USA and Europe. In 2009, she received the Chalmers Arts Fellowship from the Ontario Arts Council to study stage combat with some of the world’s foremost experts in this craft. Meanwhile, she continues to perform as an actor/fighter/singer/dancer, most recently in The Penelopiad (Grand Theatre, London, ON) and A (musical) Midsummer Night’s Dream (Driftwood Theatre). Through all her projects, it is Siobhan’s dearest wish to help enhance our profession through the art of movement, and to help performers around the world connect more through their bodies to continually grow as storytellers and joyful co-workers. Learn more at SiobhanRichardson.com
Conference Contact

The Working with Respect conference is administered by PerSIStence Theatre in partnership with the Arts and Culture Centres and is supported by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Cultural Human Resources Council of Canada.

For more information, please contact us at [email protected] or 709-743-7287.
St. John’s is home to a rich, diverse, and vibrant urban Indigenous community. Located on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Beothuk, the lands and waters in and around the City have traditionally served as a gathering place for the Mi’kmaq. The broader region of Newfoundland and Labrador continues to be home to diverse Indigenous Peoples, including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. We honour and pay respect to the past, present, and future caretakers of these territories.

We also must acknowledge the labour theft extracted from people of African descent, used to build European wealth and economies globally, and in the Canadian nation state, including Newfoundland and Labrador’s shipbuilding and cod fishery industries, through the violence of trans-Atlantic enslavement.

We thank both First Light and the office of the Vice-Provost of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism at Memorial University for crafting and sharing these words that provide us with important perspectives.