Illustrations by Lea Monique Escano Clarin
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
In light of the evolving public health situation regarding COVID-19, The X Page team has decided, out of an abundance of caution, to cancel the 2020 live performance for The X Page: A Storytelling Workshop. "The X Page Workshop: Stories in Transit" was scheduled for Friday, April 3 at 7:00PM.
In lieu of a live performance, we will be working with participants to further develop their stories and publish them online. The workshop has already produced incredible stories from women who are refugees and immigrants in our community and has fostered a supportive network amongst the workshop team and its participants. Thank you to all of our supporters and sponsors for helping this community flourish.
about.
The X Page: A Storytelling Workshop is a community arts initiative that connects women who are immigrants or refugees with artists who assist and mentor them in writing and performing their own stories. Our workshops use exercises based on Lynda Barry’s teaching and philosophy. The X Page is the opposite of a blank page: it’s the space where we enter into an image using all of our senses.
Throughout the 12-week writing and performance workshop, participants develop a personal narrative, and work collaboratively to bring their individual stories together into a cohesive presentation. The project culminates with a performance before a live theatre audience.
View the 2019 performance below. Read the full stories here.
join.
Applications to the 2020 Workshop are now closed.
If you identify as a woman ➢ are over 18 ➢ came to Canada as a refugee or immigrant...
JOIN The X Page: A Storytelling Workshop
Do you have a story to tell? The X Page Workshop pairs you with professional writers and performers to tell your story in your own voice. One evening a week, you and a small group of women will work to create a personal narrative with novelist Tasneem Jamal and director Pam Patel. Tasneem will help you shape your story into a short, written memoir. Pam will help you to perform your story onstage at the end of the workshop.
You will be paid $200 to publish and perform your story.
No writing or performing experience necessary!
When: Wednesdays, Jan. 15 - April 1, 6 - 9PM
Where: Kindred Centre for Peace Advancement, Conrad Grebel College
Final Performance: Friday, April 3 at the Theatre for the Arts, University of Waterloo
Meet Our Team
Tasneem Jamal
Writing Coach
Tasneem Jamal was born in Uganda and immigrated to Canada in 1975. After more than a decade spent working as a journalist at a number of Canadian daily newspapers, she published her debut novel Where the Air Is Sweet in 2014.
Pam Patel
Performance Coach
Actor Pam Patel is the artistic director of MT Space, Waterloo Region's first and only multicultural theatre company. A graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University's music program, Pam has acquired a special focus in improvisation, both music and physical theatre.
Carrie Snyder
Stage Manager
Carrie Snyder is the author of three books of fiction, including Girl Runner, which was nominated for the Roger's Trust Fiction Prize and The Juliet Stories, nominated for a Governor General's Literary Award. She teaches creative writing at the University of Waterloo.
Lamees Al Ethari
Coordinator
Lamees Al Ethari immigrated to Canada from Iraq in 2008. She holds a PhD in English Language and Literature from the University of Waterloo, where she has been teaching since 2015. In 2018, she published a collection of poems, titled From the Wounded Banks of the Tigris.
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Melissa Durrell
Vocal Coach
Melissa Durrell is an insatiably curious news junkie and political wonk. Sharpening her journalism and storytelling skills as a CTV reporter, she is now the President of Durrell Communications, where she ampliflies changemakers from tech firms to women’s human rights organizations. Melissa also served two terms as a Waterloo City Councillor in the Uptown ward where she lives.
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Pamela Mulloy
Editor
Pamela Mulloy is the editor of The New Quarterly and the creative director of the Wild Writers Literary Festival. Her debut novel The Deserters was published by Véhicule Press in April, 2018. She has lived in Poland, England and the United States and now lives in Kitchener, Ontario.
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The X Page: A Storytelling Workshop is supported by:
 Kindred Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative serving people across Ontario who want to connect their values and faith with their finances. |  Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement is a dynamic space on the University of Waterloo campus, home to peace-oriented innovators, and established organizations from the region's vibrant peacebuilding field. |  The City of Waterloo is making cultural development a priority to make Waterloo an even better place to live, work, learn, and play. |
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 Durrell Communications is a boutique PR Agency specializing in Media Relations and Communications. |  Project Ploughshares is a Canadian peace research institute with a focus on disarmament efforts and international security. |  MT Space is a Multicultural Theatre Space that brings different communities together to create a community of difference. |
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 The New Quarterly is an award-winning literary magazine that publishes Canadian poetry, fiction, and essays. |
